Evade During the Encounter

[Preston Poulter]

I seem to remember seeing a card that indicated if you failed a combat check against a monster you could treat the monster as being evaded instead... or something like that. This brings the question of when a card can be evaded. If I have a Potion of Ghostly Form, can I discard it to evade a barrier AFTER I checked to defeat it?

[Andrew L Klein]

I don't have the rulebook on me to quote the exact order of steps, but evading specifically comes before you ever even make your check. Unless a card specifically allows you to evade after that point (you'd have to check the rulebook to see where exactly that step falls), you cannot use it.

[Sandslice]

It's:

-When you encounter
-Evasion step
-Before you act

...etc.

[Jason S]

Preston Poulter wrote:

I seem to remember seeing a card that indicated if you failed a combat check against a monster you could treat the monster as being evaded instead... or something like that.

Some polearms/weapons break the rules on evasion. +1 what the others said.

[Pyrocat]

I think there are several villains/monsters that say

Before you act: succeed at this check or the monster may not be evaded.

I'd need to go home and check though.

edit: derp, already answered:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2sbdc?Before-you-act-and-Cannot-be-evaded

[Frencois]

Unless it's a card that clearly says that it allows you to evade at a given time (e. g. after you fail a check to defeat), then a card that just says it allows you to evade only allows you to do it during the "evasion step" before the "before you act step" (thus before you even dream of checking to defeat).

Thus Potion of Ghostly Form only allows to evade during the evasion step.

First rule of PACG : cards don't do what they don't say, never assume.

[MSpekkio]

Related question, Scenario B5's villain has a similar power "If Undefeated, evade and blah blah blah" I assume that you would take Combat damage from the failed check (since it's already happened?) and any other resolved effects, and it's not 'pretend this combat didn't happen'.

[Sandslice]

What exactly does the card say? (Cards do what they say, and "blah blah blah" doesn't say much. ^^; )

[Vic Wertz]

You do take damage from failing the check before you determine whether the monster was undefeated, and there are very few things in this game that let you undo things that have already been done—the ones that do exist are very explicit about it.

[Dave Riley]

Don't remember exactly what the card says, but he's right. Unless it says "instead of taking normal damage," (like dire rats?) you're taking Combat damage and then doing whatever else the card says you do.