Interesting scenario for you rules gurus:

Vader deck v Cirpa & 6 Ewoks Deck ... One Ewok Warrior has Diplomatic Protection upgrade on him ... Vader has a 4 melee showing & plays F&DM.

Now F&DM says to deal the damage to each, Dip Protection says before character is defeated give each character 2 shields.

So ... is each damage dealt simultaneously, or one at a time? Also, per the rules, since the BEFORE 'interrupts' the queue does this prevent 6 instant deaths?

We're looking for some direction based on the rules. Thanks guys!

Simultaneously. I asked. This the other day with the rules guru in our group and he confirmed it was simultaneous.

This is one effect/source, you are not treating F&DM like it is resolving the dice 7 times, so the damage is simultaneous. Which means all the damage is applied, then the all characters would be flagged as defeated, the before trigger would interrupt the queue, apply the shields, but since they are already dead the shields do nothing to save them.