Some interesting points, but not sure I entirely agree. The books have shown a steady progession of skill development and treasure gain over an extended period. I always think of Monty Haul as games (or books) where the skills, abilities, perks, magic items, treasure, etc. are not earned. I'd say for the most part, Vlad earned what he got over an extended period of time. Also, I don't agree that Vlad is an outsider to Morrolan & Company...something about genetics? In contrast, I played in a d&d game where one guy's character had more hit points than possible based on the rules, and he had the best magic items in the game (5th level character, +5 plate, dancing sword, etc.). After we were attacked, one of the other players noticed that this guy had taken a lot of damage for a 5th level character, the dm did the math, and the cheater's character died. The cheater teared up (a 20 year old male), tore up his sheet, swore at us, and stormed out.... Can't imagine Steven Brust crying at a gaming session.... > > Let's face it, if Vlad was just a bit less likable, he'd be a munchkin and > the GM would be one of the worst Monty Haul types around. > > Vlad is so accomplished a fighter and assassin that hardly anything gets > past him. > He has friends and "connections" among the most powerful people of the > Empire. > In addition to his political contacts, he semi-regularly has face-to-face > contact with his patron deity. > There are seventeen Great Weapons in the entire world and somehow, despite > being an outsider twice over, he befriends three of the people > who own those > weapons and is even instrumental in acquiring one of them. > As if that weren't enough, he's now the owner of what is arguably the most > powerful of the seventeen. (Iceflame might technically have a greater raw > power behind it, but even it held back rather than endanger its partner.) > > Now, there's a sort of poetic justice in the idea of a deity-killing knife > ending up in the hands of an assassin. However, it seems clear that > Godslayer/Lady Teldra is no ordinary Great Weapon (assuming you > could think > of any such as "ordinary"). We can assume that Vlad is now immune > to almost > any magical attack and he's shown time and again that he's well > equipped to > handle the purely physical. > > Where does he go from there? On the face of it,he's invulnerable; he's > Superman. Or, to put it in RPG terms again, he's the 40th level assassin > with the magic knife that projects an anti-magic aura and pretty much any > other powers that he can talk the GM into giving him. About the only thing > left is for him to ascend to deity-hood himself. > --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.689 / Virus Database: 450 - Release Date: 5/21/04