Ixoth
D Ixoth 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 22 |
| Attacks |
Breath fire 8d6, bite 4d8, spell-casting, claw 2d4, claw quest-artifact-stealing 2d4 |
| Base level | 15 |
| Base experience | 545 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | -1 |
| Base MR | 20 |
| Alignment | -14 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 4500 |
| Nutritional value | 1600 |
| Size | Gigantic |
| Resistances | Fire, stoning |
| Resistances conveyed |
Fire (100%) |
|
Ixoth:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line3245 |
Ixoth, D, is the Knight quest nemesis. He is a red dragon that guards the Bell of Opening and the Knight's quest artifact, the Magic Mirror of Merlin.
Strategy
Approaching Ixoth can be difficult due to the layout and darkness of his cave; unless you have stealth, he will likely become aware of your presence and teleport next to you while you are navigating the southern bend. As with all covetous monsters, it may be more ideal to wait on the stairs and awaken him from there; the presence of ochre jellies throughout the quest mean that you will want corrode-proofed armor and weapons, both to clear them out before facing Ixoth and to maintain your AC and damage.
An AC of at least -15, fireproofed armor, and fire resistance or reflection are recommended along with corrode-proofed armor and weapons when facing Ixoth; fire resistance reduces the threat of his powerful flame breath, and reflection removes its threat entirely while protecting your inventory. This leaves both his nasty bite attacks, which can be mitigated with good AC, and his spellcasting, which can still destroy your armor and curse your inventory; magic resistance is also a great boon if you cannot keep Ixoth out of melee range. Ixoth can also cast aggravate monster, making it all the more important to clear out the ochre jellies before hand so you can avoid being engulfed mid-fight.
Ixoth respects Elbereth, and while he also respects the scroll of scare monster, it will not stop his fire breath from burning the scroll to a crisp underneath you. If you are still mounted and skilled or higher in lance, you can possibly joust him to death, especially if you can lure him out while remaining on the upstair.
Encyclopedia entry
In the West the dragon was the natural enemy of man. Although
preferring to live in bleak and desolate regions, whenever it
was seen among men it left in its wake a trail of destruction
and disease. Yet any attempt to slay this beast was a perilous
undertaking. For the dragon's assailant had to contend
not only with clouds of sulphurous fumes pouring from its fire
breathing nostrils, but also with the thrashings of its tail,
the most deadly part of its serpent-like body.
"One whom the dragons will speak with," he said, "that is a
dragonlord, or at least that is the center of the matter. It's
not a trick of mastering the dragons, as most people think.
Dragons have no masters. The question is always the same, with
a dragon: will he talk to you or will he eat you? If you can
count upon his doing the former, and not doing the latter, why
then you're a dragonlord."
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