| Shyssiryxius | |
| D | |
 | |
| Location | Water Dragon Cave |
|---|---|
| Monster type | Dragon |
| Alignment | Lawful |
| Unique? | Yes |
| Sees invisible? | Yes |
| Sees in the dark? | No |
| Magic resistance | Very high |
| Picks up items? | No |
| 1.1.1 KPL | N/A |
Shyssiryxius the great water dragon, a.k.a. Blup's mom, is a unique NPC. She resides in a large room full of (her) treasure in the depths of the Water Dragon Cave — meaning that the PC must be able to survive being underwater and facing some particularly nasty aquatic creatures to reach her without teleportation.
When the PC talks to her, she will ask if the PC has seen her son; returning from the cave and telling Blup about her will fulfil the Find Blup's Mom quest. The PC does not need to talk to her again for the reward to be sent; she will send it as soon as Blup leaves Terinyo. Of course, killing her before talking to Blup makes him angry and forfeits the quest.
One thing PCs need to be very careful of in the Water Dragon Cave is that everything lying on the floor, even items that the PC drops, are her treasure. It's not possible to pick items up while she's on the level, and attempting to do so for the first time will cause her to become hostile and teleport next to the PC (if possible). She is a very tough opponent, although she doesn't see in the dark, so at least darkness can be used to prevent her from unleashing her water breath attack.
It is possible to get rid of her using a staff of corruption dissemination or corruption traps by taking advantage of one of the many dead-end hallways her level features. If she's unable to find a path to the PC, she may end up getting stuck and trigger an appropriately placed trap many times. It's possible to lure her without risking annihilation by triggering autopickup by bumping into a wall. Since this doesn't take a turn, the PC will have time to teleport away. Transforming her into a writhing mass of primal chaos doesn't interfere with her quest, provided that the PC has already talked to her. Mindcraft works on her, including confusion blasts.
Special abilities[]
- Immune to cold
- Water breath attack
- Very often shrugs off bolts and other resistible magic
- Immune to death rays
- Regeneration 4
- Can break down doors
- Unique monster abilities
- Immune to polymorphing, petrification, and djinni strangling
- Unaffected by Calm Monster
- Cannot be swapped with
Common stats[]
Level: 1, DV: 70, PV: 40, Hits: 1168, Attacks: 3, Damage: 18-102, Speed: 120.
Corpse effects[]
Eating a water dragon grants the water breathing intrinsic; although PCs that manage to slay and eat Shyssiryxius should already be fine in this regard.
Monster memory[]
Water dragons this large are extremely rare in any but massive bodies of water, as most require very large ranges for hunting and treasure accumulation. This creature manages to be bulky and sleek at the same time, with large membranes between clawed fingers and fins along the entire body from fanged head to the powerful, swishing tail. The eyes glow slightly beneath the nictitating membrane, allowing excellent vision under most circumstances, especially when hunting for prey or additional treasures for the hoard. They are the fiercest when defending their treasure or their young.