Am I adjudicating this right?

[KL Sanchez]

Rum Punch Scenario:

"Before you attempt a check to defeat Nefti Unwesha..."

Nefti Unwesha:

"Before you act, choose a card from your hand..."

Am I correct in interpreting this as, you shuffle out the card upon encountering Nefti, then you attempt the check and can pull from the ally pile? Either way, I haven't even started yet and I'm not looking forward to probably losing one of my good items to the box (because chances are I won't find my item again before the scenario ends).

I've also been interpreting "Before you act" to mean before you even attempt a check to Evade.

[csouth154]

"Before you act" happens immediately AFTER the evade step, so it doesn't happen at all if you evade. And there aren't any checks to evade...it's either something you can or can't do, based on powers or cards in your hand.

"Before you attempt a check to defeat" means exactly that. It happens immediately before a check to defeat...not just any check required by the card, because the wording for that would be "a check against".

[Hawkmoon269]

Here is the Encountering a Card Sequence

S&S Rulebook p32 wrote:

Encountering a Card

Apply any effects that happen when you encounter a card.
Apply any evasion effects.
Apply any effects that happen before you act.
Attempt the check.
Attempt the next check, if needed.
Apply any effects that happen after you act.
Resolve the encounter.

You go through those in order. So if you evade, you don't do the rest of the sequence. If you don't evade Nefti Unwesha, you apply her "Before you act" power next. Then you apply Rum Punch's "before you attempt a check to defeat Nefti Unwesha next. Just keep going through it in sequence.