For context, I am writing a magic system that allows certain users to have short-term (a few seconds) precognition exclusively of their opponent. This means that they know what their opponent will do at any given moment, as they can see it. The problem is when two people with the same precognitive ability fight. Would a fight between two equals with precognitive ability converge to a perfect fight or diverge into a rapidly changing mess?
For context, all weapons are handheld blade weapons, as many opponents would have enough time to easily dodge projectiles like arrows.
My thoughts for the first option:
- In the first scenario, the two fighters know what their opponent will do and so they plan to do something better. This concept repeats itself until both opponents are equally matched and neither can defeat the other. Both individuals have perfect counters to the other's move. In this case, the one with the most endurance would probably win.
- I think of chess engines, who also predict each other's moves. In chess games between the top engines where they start from a balanced position, they both hold each other off at a draw to infinity.
My thoughts for the second option:
- In the second scenario, the two fighters change plans after seeing their opponents next action, causing a chain reaction where both see the opponents constantly changing plans of action. This would often make the fights deciding factor reaction time.
For two equal opponents, making daring moves that are not the best move would result in a loss, so I don't think that would ever be done. The answer might be affected by how different their plans are at the start, but there is no need for that level of detail for now.