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This came up at our game today: Let's say a player with Cape of Escape temporarily closes a location when another player encounters the villain. Could the player with the Cape then use that item to move to a second location and close that as well?
We decided against it. Our thinking was that you have to resolve the checks to temporarily close locations before you could play the Cape. But I figured I'd throw it out there to see if anyone has a different opinion.
An excellent question. From my perspective; you're correct, you couldn't play the Cape in that situation.
If you're in a specific step of play, which is identified in the Mummy's Mask Rulebook, you can't play cards or use powers unless they are immediately relevant to the situation at hand (for example, they'll change what dice you're rolling or give you some bonus). As soon as you would encounter the villain (technically before you start the encounter), everyone gets an opportunity to temporarily close their locations.
At the point this happens, you are now in a specific step of play, "Attempt to Temporarily Close Open Locations" (Mummy's Mask Rulebook, page 16). Basically, you can't just use any power you wish anymore now that something is going on. So no casting Cures, or using powers to examine the top cards of decks, or anything like that. They only cards or powers that would be able to be used would have to immediately change a check that is currently being made; as a result, moving is not allowed during this step unless the card is allowed because of some other reason, like it explicitly states so. For a reference of a card that allows you to do this, see this power from the Ally "Dreamstalker" from the Occult Adventures 1 Class Deck.
When you could attempt to temporarily close a location, discard this card to move and attempt to temporarily close your new location instead; after all attempts to temporarily close locations, move to your previous location.
If you want to get really specific... there are situations when Cape of Escape would let you move during this step, though. Lets say you have to get into combat to temporarily close your location, in which case you can use the Cape of Escape to "Evade your encounter, then move". Maybe someone else's temporary close somehow caused you to get into an encounter (such as if they are at your location, summon a monster to close their location, and use a power like the one on the goblin Ranzak that allows someone else to take their encounter for them), and then you can use the Cape to evade and move.
In which case, the Mummy's Mask Rulebook also covers this.
If anything causes a character to move before his attempt is made, he may attempt to close his new location, not his previous location.
Emphasis added. If you've already made, or even started, an attempt to temporarily close; you're not going to get a second close even if you can legally find a way to move. If you are somehow moved before you make your attempt, you can try at your new location, but that's a very, very, very rare circumstance to occur.
Bottom line you can only attempt to temp close ONCE when a fellow character encounters a villain.
But there are ways to move during the temp close phase (triggered by a specific power you are allowed to play or the consequences of the temp close attempt by another character) and that may be very clever in some specific cases. I give you few examples, but we did play many others during our games:
You may want to move BEFORE attempting to close if
- you are at a already closed/temp closed location
- you are at the villain location and will be of no help there
You may want to move AFTER attempting to close if
- You want to avoid a local start of turn effect
- Being at another location will help defeating the villain (or avoiding some area effects of the fight against the villain) - for example you can join the fight at te villain location, or move to a location where the "at this location" permanent effect gives a bonus against the villain
And so on.
So even if you CANNOT make two attempts to close, moving during temp closing may have lots of good effects.