While I think it does actually take a fair bit of skill to effectively duel in a free-form situation if the setting and the rules are probably balanced (often resulting people being incredibly creative and overall being able to defeat the opponent in a battle of wits and with understanding of their skill sets), and therefore their views and mine are in pretty significant contrast in this sense (I've been a long-standing specialist in power-scaling characters so it usually bleeds over to how I GM duels), [@BrokenPromise] has emphasized exactly what my biggest concern with this current role-play is (which I made clear in my last post); the idea that the match-ups will be unbalanced on arrival due to the dice rolls determining your build, though this is, frankly, common with combat systems using RPG-mechanics; I've never seen a balanced PvP in any RPG or MMORPG, for example.

I'm also generally opposed to using stat systems and Tabletop mechanics in combat during a role-play (though I've definitely tried my hands at it and even done GMing around it), mostly because it significantly stifles creativity on the part of the competitors and also because it usually ends up being far more about luck of the dice rather than any sort of tactical skill, but I won't go into this anymore since it's not the focus of the topic; more just giving my own perspective on the previous post and the whole idea of this interest check in general.

Since they've offered to test this out with you, and I'm honestly neither at home with this environment nor do I have much time on my hands really, I'll probably make this my last post here unless something in particular pops up that I feel like giving my input to. All the best with the idea, [@ELGainsborough].