Elrond

[mmadsen]

Nuh-uh. Not with 75% magic resistance.

Quite right. The Type VI Demon of OD&D is not just a Balrog but a Balrog+. If we remove the Type VI Demon's random Gygaxian powers -- telekinesis, massive magic resistance, etc. -- we're still left with a Balrog that would be unstoppable from the dwarf kingdom's perspective.

The point of the original article was that Gandalf only demonstrated the magical powers of a 5th-level magic-user. We can quibble about the details of who wields how much power, but the salient point is that 5th level can either be middling or epic, depending on how we frame things. In OD&D, where most soldiers were 0-level with one hit die, 4th level meant hero, and 8th level meant superhero. In 3.5E, 4th level means some guy, and 8th level means some competent guy. We expect heroes and superheroes to be 15th- to 20th-level now, but that wasn't always the case.

 

[Klaus]

Yes, unstoppable against the dwarves, but not something a low-level magic-user could take on.

That old Dragon article only convinced me that Gandalf was successfully *posing* as a 5th-level magic-user. Because, behind-the-scenes, he is said to be doing lots of stunts.