Lord Surtur
H Lord Surtur 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 19 |
| Attacks |
Weapon 2d10, weapon 2d10, claw quest-artifact-stealing 2d6 |
| Base level | 15 |
| Base experience | 486 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 2 |
| Base MR | 50 |
| Alignment | 12 (lawful) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | Unique |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 2250 |
| Nutritional value | 850 |
| Size | Huge |
| Resistances | Fire, stoning |
| Resistances conveyed |
Fire (50%) |
|
Lord Surtur:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line3312 |
Lord Surtur, H, is the Valkyrie quest nemesis. He is a fire giant that guards the Bell of Opening and the Valkyrie's quest artifact, The Orb of Fate.
Like any other fire giant, eating Lord Surtur's corpse may grant fire resistance, with a 50% chance (compare to 30% from any other fire giant), and also has a chance to raise the player's strength.
Strategy
Lord Surtur is generally is generally considered one of the easier quest nemesis to defeat, with his only threat being two weapon attacks and an artifact-stealing attack that hit decently hard. Even so, he is likely one of the first covetous enemies a Valkyrie will meet, and novice players must still handle him carefully.
Since Surtur is generated meditating at the center of his lair, any Valkyrie can easily clear the area of his fellow fire giants and fire ants, along with the other monsters, unless they have somehow lost the stealth intrinsic they started the game with; beware of any explosive monsters if they spawn, and watch for the handful of squeaky board traps generated on the level. Like all other quest nemesis, you can also awaken him remotely and bring him to you; Lord Surtur respects Elbereth and the scroll of scare monster, which can be used to your advantage in either scenario.
Lord Surtur has the most monster magic resistance of all giants, but is still somewhat vulnerable to wands and spells; a wand of death will kill him if he does not successfully resist it, and the wand of cold and cone of cold spell will do extra damage against him. Frost Brand or even Giantslayer in the hands of a Valkyrie will bring him down quickly.
Lord Surtur providing a strength bonus makes him a popular target for tinning kits, since it provides a benefit outside of serving as a trophy, as is done with many other quest nemeses.
Mythology
Lord Surtur's depiction draws directly from Norse mythology; in The Prose Edda, Surtr is depicted as an important giant of Ragnarök, the Norse mythos's end of the world. The mythological name is spelled Surtr in Old Norse, and Surtur in modern-day Icelandic.
Encyclopedia entry
Yet first was the world in the southern region, which was
named Muspell; it is light and hot; that region is glowing
and burning, and impassable to such as are outlanders and
have not their holdings there. He who sits there at the
land's-end, to defend the land, is called Surtr; he brandishes
a flaming sword, and at the end of the world he shall go forth
and harry, and overcome all the gods, and burn all the
world with fire.
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