JeBuS wrote:@BCSWowbagger @LORE @Professor Scott You guys may remember this situation from July 2020. Has anything changed with Cytherians interactions since then?
I don't remember it, but there's a bunch of stuff from that far back I have no memory of!
(I started writing this post before Professor Scott commented. I largely agree with him.)
I don't think A1 or A2 can be correct, because
actions - required says:
"Must do nothing but" means that the affected ship and/or crew cannot initiate or continue any other voluntary actions (cloaking, beaming, attempting, battling, etc.) until the required action is completed, even if that takes more than one turn.
Attempting is a voluntary action that is cut short by any "must do nothing but" effect. Cytherians isn't being encountered for the first time, but its global "must do nothing but" effect returns as soon as Q is gone, which means the affected ship cannot continue the attempt.
That leaves B1 and B2.
I don't think B1 is correct, because I find no support in the rules for "resolve the entire current dilemma
before [BAD THING]."
For a few years, there
was a ruling that, if you were deprived of all matching personnel during the first effect of a multi-effect dilemma, you resolved the entire dilemma before the attempt failed for lack of matching personnel. That's probably where the idea for B1 came from. However, that ruling never extended to anything else (that I recall) and that ruling is no longer on the books, because the game no longer checks for matching personnel except at the start and end of an attempt.
That pretty much leaves B2: [BAD THING] hits immediately, before the dilemma fully resolves. However, I think the bolded part of B2 is wrong, too:
B2) Cytherians become active immediately, so the attempt ends immediately (just as if Cytherians had been just placed on the ship). if the current dilemma has any steps remaining it gets replaced under the mission.
The bolded sentence can't be right, because:
Clarification: Reseed After Escapes (7.2.6.0.1)
If, just after encountering a dilemma, but before it has any effects, the entire crew or Away Team leaves the mission attempt, reseed the dilemma. On the other hand, if the dilemma encounter has begun to resolve when the entire crew or Away Team leaves the attempt, continue resolving the dilemma as if it were being faced by a crew or Away Team with zero members. For example, if you special download The Gift just after revealing Disgraceful Assault, it has had no effects; reseed the dilemma. However, if your ship is destroyed after the first effect of Disgraceful Assault, resolve the rest of the dilemma (including its "discard dilemma").
(This was very recently clarified -- like two months ago? -- because of ambiguity about what to do if Disgraceful Assault blows up your ship on the first effect.)
If the dilemma has already had the effect of killing Q of Borg, the dilemma has begun to have effects. Therefore, it will resolve. (The only question is whether it resolves before or after your ship takes a Cytherians hike, and I think the only supported answer in the rules is "after.")
So, to be extra clear, here's how I'd resolve this whole encounter (note not blue text).
Let's say
Cytherians is on the
J-25 Cube but blocked by
Q of Borg during a scouting attempt where
Misinterpreted History is the next seed card. (This seems pretty common.)
1. Misinterpreted History is revealed.
2. Things that happen when a dilemma is revealed (like Squire's Rules stops) happen.
3. Misinterpreted History's first effect is encountered: "Personnel with highest CUNNING OR most Treachery (if any) is killed (opponent's choice)." Opponent inspects entire crew, identifies valid targets (including
Q of Borg), and selects Q of Borg to die.
4. Valid responses are allowed here (like
Security Sacrifice or
Team of Ambassadors), but nobody plays any.
5. Misinterpreted History's first effect resolves: Q of Borg dies.
6. Cytherians' "ship must do nothing but" comes back into force on the ship. Ship leaves scouting attempt, because it's a voluntary action they cannot continue. (It does not yet move away, because the scouting attempt is still active.) Ship and crew are not stopped.
7. The "Reseed After Escapes" rule instructs us that, since Misinterpreted History has already started to have effects (it killed Q), the rest of it must be resolved as if encountered by a zero-member crew. So...
8. Misinterpreted History's second effect is encountered: "To get past requires Law and Archaeology OR Exobiology and 2 Leadership OR a President." The zero-member crew cannot meet these conditions. I can't even think of a valid response to play here, so no valid responses.
10. Misinterpreted History's second effect resolves: the zero-member crew cannot get past.
11. Because the zero-member crew failed to meet a condition, the mission attempt fails. The zero-member crew is stopped (but doesn't really exist so this makes no difference). The actual crew was kicked out of the attempt at Step #6 and so it remains unstopped. Misinterpreted History is reseeded.
12. You, the player, are now free of the scouting attempt and can take other actions. However, you cannot end your execute order phase until you have exhausted the J-25 Cube's usable RANGE fulfilling Cytherians.
Rules Manager | Official Rulings in
blue. All else opinion. |
Rules Archive
"We pledge our loyalty to the Glossary from now until death."
"Then receive this reward from the Glossary. May it keep you strong."
~Iron Prime