Escape Attempt (phase 2b) says "The player guarding Gollum cannot commit characters to this quest (unless he is the only player remaining in the game). If the players quest unsuccessfully, Gollumn escapes and the players have lost the game."
Player 1 is guarding Gollum. Player 2 quests. During staging, I drew a tantrum card, which says "That player must choose a new player to guard Gollum, if able". Gollum therefore switches to Player 2.
My question is this:
Since Player 2 is now guarding Gollum, does this mean none of his characters' willpower is counted toward questing (in which case it's an instant loss of the game)?
Or, does the action of "committing" to a quest take place before staging, so that once characters have been committed, Escape Attempt cannot prevent their willpower from counting toward questing, regardless of which player is guarding Gollumn during quest resolution?