I hate horrors

[NTJedi]

Originally Posted by markmayhugh

I am unsure why this thread is so long.

This is a very old thread you unburried... there's plenty of very long threads which are dead.

Originally Posted by markmayhugh

If I understand correctly:

If

1. the Pretender scripts Returning
2. and has two astral gems on hand
3. and is not at his home province (so keep him elsewhere)

Then

as defender he gets to cast Returning first, and no horror (or any other assassination attempt) can touch him under any circumstances. So no death, additional horror marks, or any other negative consequence. There is the one turn penalty of having to move back out of the home province next turn, after restocking Astral gems.

Is this correct? If so, then problem solved, so I can't understand why one would worry about bodyguards or any other less effective method of protection or evasion. If not, can someone enlighten me?

Your suggestion works if the pretender has astral magic... not all pretenders will have astral. Second problem is your suggestion permanently prevents the pretender from being available for any battle on the map or even on the border for pushing dominion.