Hey Mr. Snazzifus! When you ran RBRB how did you typically run combat encounters? I ran a quick session with some friends recently and we were sort of just getting our footing but I felt like I might have been missing some things or couldn't figure out how to balance fights.
The guidelines given (I think in the book) are basically total enemy level = player level for a tough combat. And then you start lowering the levels on the opponents side to make it easier.
It was honestly something I never really got a super good sense for. And because the health is so minimal and there are no reroll mechanics, you can have some combats that are really brutal against "easy" foes.
I'd recommend watching Seth Skorkowski's video on RBRB where he gives some tips. For example, for tied opposed rolls, use the second highest dice roll to determine the winner (8, 6, 3 vs 8, 5, 3, the first person wins the contest). This helps with initiative order.
The talking and analysis phase gives 3 common examples for what to do (get a bonus, psych out, and analyze). Those are just suggestions. Allow the players to get creative. As long as it's an action other fighting it should be allowed. And remember that if you're psyched out you have a penalty die for the initiative roll!
I also recommend watching some wuxia movies beforehand since it has some very specific tropes and concepts. Lemme know if you want any wuxia recommendations!