Active Defense

[Ich]

In the first season of the show, when Jaime and Eddard are fighting outside Little-finger's brothel, they fight for some time without inflicting any injuries. However, mechanically speaking with two skilled warriors in the game, this is highly unlikely to happen. Am I missing something? Is there some active defense, some cautious form of fighting that can make you harder to hit?

[coldwind]

You can't always map fight scenes on the big or small screen to RPGs.

That said, they both could have been using Cautious attack - both upping their defense and taking penalty dice on their attacks. They could have been feinting/probing, rather than trying to strike to wound. The could just have "really poor die rolls".

Unlikely? Perhaps. But it could happen.

[Zeroed]

Well, you could also use a Greater Action to make an Agility (Dodge) test, plus any Defensive bonus from shields or weapons, minus your armor penalty. The result of that test replaces your combat defense for the round, but you cannot attack during that time, unless you spend a Fatigue Point to perform an extra lesser action.

[rulandor]

Once I checked another duel in the show, the combat between Bronn and Ser Vardys Eagon, with the availabe rules in the game. Everything was there, the dodging and maneuvering and moving around and distracting, the moving in for the kill after rounds of extensively used options.

Of course, for such a combat you have to heavily use the advanced combat rules in the game.

[Ich]

Well, you could also use a Greater Action to make an Agility (Dodge) test, plus any Defensive bonus from shields or weapons, minus your armor penalty. The result of that test replaces your combat defense for the round, but you cannot attack during that time, unless you spend a Fatigue Point to perform an extra lesser action.

Good call, that one.

Now that you mention it, you could attack as normal and take a Fatigue Point to remove the Armor Penalty to improve your defense while in plate mail, too.