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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 9565040" data-attributes="member: 7737">Commentary:The crypt thing is a weird monster and a weird choice as guardian. I'll write more about it when I dig up my Fiend Folio from the basement.---The boss fight is simultaneously anticlimactic and thrilling. Anticlimactic because Beldon stood no chance against the sceptre-granted plot armor -- although that was foreshadowed sufficiently: the sceptre performed exactly as it was described by Thayne. Thrilling because it's not often you survive the Death Spell, and the description of how quickly the sceptre functions is well done.For the record, Death Spell is a level 6 magic-user spell in AD&D, which means Beldon was at least 11th level. The Death Spell instantly slays a certain number of creatures based on their hit dice, with no saving throw!With my amazing natural 6 at the start of the book, OUR Carr Delling has 14 HP. The magic-user class in AD&D has a d4 hit die, for an average of 2.5 HP per die. Thus OUR Carr Delling has 5.6 hit dice.Not a problem for Beldon's Death Spell, which could have snuffed out 2-8 creatures of 4 to 6 hit dice. Good thing we had the sceptre!---It's disappointing that from the time we finish climbing the tower until now there are no rolls required nor any opportunities to use other spells. One could imagine some INT tests to deduce things, CHA tests to placate the crypt thing, or uses of Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, or Read Magic in the crypt.---If you're wondering what happens if we try to cast a novice spell on Beldon: he laughs in our face, threatens to give us some Fireballs to juggle, and then… casts Armor on himself. Uhh… OK.We use the sceptre which drains away Beldon's Armor dweomer, which allows Rufyl to sting him to death with his O.P. pseudodragon tail. (Yeah. Pseudodragons have scorpion-like stingers.)</blockquote>

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