hi

me new to forum and have a question.

Let's say I have a character with 1 STR and axe (can initiate military challenge) and opponent has a char with 3 str axe. When his turn comes, he will definitely initiate military challenge on me and force me to kill a char. Can I initiate a blocking (doomed to losing) military challenge instead and make his char kneel thus get rid of losing a character.

thanks in advance

Well, assuming you have only the one 1-STR character with the military icon, your opponent has only the one 3-STR character with the military icon, and you are the First Player, your best choice is to initiate the military challenge. He will either block it and win (so neither of you will end up killing a character for military claim), or he will choose not to oppose it. (Remember, you never HAVE to declare a defender, even if you have an eligible one.) If he does, he may still initiate and win a military challenge, forcing you to kill a character, but he'll have to let you win an unopposed military challenge in order to win a military challenge you were expecting to lose anyway.