So in skirmish relentless does damage instead of strain. I have a multipart timing question about how that damage works. Say the target of relentless dies before the attacker can roll attack dice.

1. Can the attacker still roll?

2. Can the defender still roll?

Why would one do this? To get surges. Characters like Ig88 can heal from surges. So he targets someone with one health within range 3, does one damage to the target right away, kills it before attack dice are rolled. He obviously still wants to roll attack dice, probably two yellow to maximize surge chance. Can he do it? If so can the defender try to defend it?

I'm also assuming that the player who controls the target didn't have any command cards to discard to prevent the one damage.

look at the Steps for an Attack on page 5 of the Rules Reference Guide it tells when the dice are rolled and when they are to be re-rolled , when the effects take place, etc, etc... This may be a simple answer about when in the steps for an attack that the relentless strain/damage is applied. It says effects are applied after the attack rolls and the re-rolls and that damage is applied at the very end. I know this is a little vague, but its late. :-) Read the steps on pg 5.

Relentless reads that the defender takes strain (damage in skirmish) when targeted. So your saying it takes damage when targeted but it's not applied until after the attack resolves? I guess I buy it but why in the world would it be worded like that? They could have just said "takes one strain / damage after attack resolves"

Also worth noting that Strain is not 100% equivalent to damage in Skirmish. If you suffer the strain it is converted to damage, but in Skirmish you can discard a command card to negate 1 strain damage. So real damage > Strain.

Also worth noting that Strain is not 100% equivalent to damage in Skirmish. If you suffer the strain it is converted to damage, but in Skirmish you can discard a command card to negate 1 strain damage. So real damage > Strain.

Ummm that's fantastic but doesn't really have anything to do with the question.

look at the Steps for an Attack on page 5 of the Rules Reference Guide it tells when the dice are rolled and when they are to be re-rolled , when the effects take place, etc, etc... This may be a simple answer about when in the steps for an attack that the relentless strain/damage is applied. It says effects are applied after the attack rolls and the re-rolls and that damage is applied at the very end. I know this is a little vague, but its late. :-) Read the steps on pg 5.

I think I'm not seeing what you are talking about. On page 5 of the rules reference I see step 4 and 5 talk about using surges and applying modifiers (step 4). Are you saying relentless is a damage modifier? It's just that it doesn't read like one. It doesn't say add on damage or strain to your attack. It says you take 1 strain / damage when targeted. If it's a damage modifier then it can be blocked! That's a huge difference in the way we have been playing. Are you sure?

Also worth noting that Strain is not 100% equivalent to damage in Skirmish. If you suffer the strain it is converted to damage, but in Skirmish you can discard a command card to negate 1 strain damage. So real damage > Strain.

Ummm that's fantastic but doesn't really have anything to do with the question.

It's a totally valid and relevant point since the Strain (and thus the Damage) suffered can be negated by the step described

Also worth noting that Strain is not 100% equivalent to damage in Skirmish. If you suffer the strain it is converted to damage, but in Skirmish you can discard a command card to negate 1 strain damage. So real damage > Strain.

Ummm that's fantastic but doesn't really have anything to do with the question.

It's a totally valid and relevant point since the Strain (and thus the Damage) suffered can be negated by the step described

Except for the fact that I'm asking what happens when it's NOT negated by discarding a card either by choice or because your out of cards. It's not relevant to the timing issue I'm talking about.

If the enemy character takes damage equal to their health, they're considered defeated and removed from the game.

So there would be no roll in this instance, if the person decided not to discard a command card, and let the damage occur, thus defeating their character.

If the enemy character takes damage equal to their health, they're considered defeated and removed from the game.

So there would be no roll in this instance, if the person decided not to discard a command card, and let the damage occur, thus defeating their character.

That seems to make the most sense to me.

Agreed. FFG tend to be pretty good at mechanistic rules - see X-wing, for example - and intend you to follow those rules literally and exactly. If the strain kills you, there's no 'roll dice' step, so no surges or 'after completing an attack' effects.