Michael Linke
Adventurer
The entry says you "must make a save vs death ray or choke to death within 6 rounds." It seems like a lot of old rules interpretations hinge on where/when/whether the editor felt a comma was appropriate.
The most immediately obvious interpretation is that you make a save when the spores hit you, and if you fail, you know you have 60 seconds to "live". This makes a 25 XP monster terrifyingly deadly for low level characters.
Another interpretation, which i will probably adopt as a permanent house rule, is that the character begins choking as soon as he or she is hit by the spores, and continues to choke until a successful saving throw vs death ray. If the character chokes for 6 rounds without recovering, they die. This interpretation is less immediately lethal for low level characters, but could make these creatures consequential obstacles for higher level characters. They're very likely to shake off the choking before dying, but will be incapacitated (and noisy) for at least a round. A few of these in a room could temporarily neutralize a character, especially if the monsters in the room are Undead, and immune to the effect.
The most immediately obvious interpretation is that you make a save when the spores hit you, and if you fail, you know you have 60 seconds to "live". This makes a 25 XP monster terrifyingly deadly for low level characters.
Another interpretation, which i will probably adopt as a permanent house rule, is that the character begins choking as soon as he or she is hit by the spores, and continues to choke until a successful saving throw vs death ray. If the character chokes for 6 rounds without recovering, they die. This interpretation is less immediately lethal for low level characters, but could make these creatures consequential obstacles for higher level characters. They're very likely to shake off the choking before dying, but will be incapacitated (and noisy) for at least a round. A few of these in a room could temporarily neutralize a character, especially if the monsters in the room are Undead, and immune to the effect.