What exactly does "will not pursue" mean in Munchkin?

Question

My friends and I were playing Munchkin last weekend and we had an interesting experience.

I happened to be lucky enough to have the "Kneepads of Alure" (and not much else). I was level 1. My friend who was winning was level 6.

On my turn, I opened a door and came across a high level monster that would not pursue anyone of level 4 or below. I wanted to make sure that my friend would be included in the fun so I used the Kneepads to bring my level 6 friend into the fight.

We were not going to win the fight and my friend (who himself was in the fight) promised to help the monster should we be able to win. He wanted to force me to have to run away (and him as well), but I argued that because the monster wouldn't pursue characters of level 4 or below I didn't have to roll to escape the "Bad Stuff".

What is the correct rule in this situation? Do we both have to roll to escape or just my friend who was level 6?

Answer 1

The monster that will not follow level 4 or below will not pursue you, only your helper will suffer bad stuff if they fail to escape. The FAQ at Steve Jackson Games covers this.

Q. I'm at Level 2 and I encounter a Level 9 monster. Another player (Level 5) joins the combat. A third player wanders in a new monster that will not pursue Level 3 or below. We are now losing and have to run away. Does the wandered-in monster go after both of us?

A. In combat, monsters fight side by side. But when it comes to pursue the fleeing munchkins, they act individually and munchkins must attempt to escape from each as normal. So the wandered-in monster will not pursue you, but will pursue your helper.

Answer 2

We always did the obvious: the monster will fight everybody, no matter what level but if you are running, it will only follow characters of level 5 or higher.

Therefore, you can safely run away as long as your char is below level 5 as it will not follow you! Only chance that bad stuff happens to you would be having a way of preventing your running completely. Your friend of course is in a worse situation as he is above level 4 and therefore the monster will follow him. He has to roll the dice and hopefully not manage to have a 5 or higher ;-)

The "help" system in Munchkin is very easy and a monster can follow none, one or split up and follow both fighters, depending on itself and their level.