Unleash the Beast Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arijani (Rakshasa)

In the card game world of Spellfire Arijani is a level 6 monster from the Ravenloft deck.
Although his level is only moderately high, his special power makes him a valuable force in your deck. As he can pick the defending champion when attacking, he can be used to easily take out supporting enemy characters like Tasslehoff Burrfoot or Marco Volo who usually do not take part in any combat action.
A nasty combination presents itself when Arijani is equipped with the Ravenloft artifact Fang of the Nosferatu: You can first chose which defender Arijani faces, and then switch your power with the Dark Sun level 4 monster Earth Elemental. Now Arijani automatically defeats any defender whose card number has a last digit of 3 or less. Thus you can automatically take out, for example, the fearsome red dragon Flashburn or the night-loving vampire Strahd Von Zarovich, who are both otherwise hard to defeat.

In the roleplaying game of Dungeons & Dragons Arijani - son of the rakshasa deity Ravana - is the Ravenloft domainlord of Sri Raji. You can find out more about this demi-god in the Ravenloft source books as well as the campaign setting 'Domains & Denizens'.

Answer: Skie (Dragon)

Skie is a level 6 monster (dragon) from the Dragonlance plane.
Since he is a flyer he can chose to attack any of your opponent's realms, thus avoiding the possibly devastating power of his frontmost defending realm like Dementlieu from Ravenloft. Furthermore, the first ally card that is played with Skie is also considered to be a flyer, so you can have a reasonable chance of conquering the realm.

In the regular D & D roleplaying game, Skie is the mount of Kitiara Uth Matar, half-sister of Raistlin and Caramon Majere. He is extremely loyal to her and even willing to defend her with his life. You can read about him and his Highlord in the works of Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis - such as the 'Dragonlance Chronicles' (1984 - 1985), the 'Dragonlance Legends' (1986) and the 'Lost Chronicles' (2006 - 2009).

Answer: Cyan Bloodbane (Dragon)

Cyan Bloodbane is a level 7 monster (dragon) and one of the most formidable champions of the Dragonlance deck.
He can fly, and is therefore able to chose which opponent's realm to attack. He can cast wizard spells, and magical items attached to him cannot be taken from him. Also, allies of the Dragonlance deck cannot be removed from him or forced to switch sides for any reason. Finally, their level is doubled when fighting along Cyan Bloodbane; as the Dragonlance ally cards are already quite powerful in itself - take, for example, the Sivak Draconians, Kapak Draconians and Aurak Draconians - they make Cyan a force to be reckoned with.
Of course, you can also further his power by equipping him with Dragonlance artifacts like Takhisis's Mirror and Sword or the Medaillon of Faith or magic items like the Horn of Blasting or Shield of Huma.

In the D & D roleplaying game Cyan Bloodbane is responsible for turning the kingdom of Lorac's Silvanesti elves into a land of nightmares. He is currently bound to the dragonorb that ends up in the possession of the archmage Raistlin Majere. You can find out more about this great wyrm dragon in the 'Dragonlance Chronicles' and, of course, in the usual Dragonlance campaign sttings and supplements.

Answer: Fi Lendicol (Dragon)

In the card game of Spellfire Fi Lindicol is a level 7 wizard (dragon) with versatile powers, who hails from the Forgetten Realms deck.
He - and all attached ally cards - can teleport to any opposing realm; he can therefore avoid your enemy's first and possibly strongest realm, such as the Spiderfell from the Birthright deck or Acererak's Tomb of Horrors from Greyhawk. He can use unarmed combat cards as heroes can, and, last but not least, he is immune to offensive cleric spells - thusly he cannot be harmed by the Conjure Fire Elemental or the Conjure Grave Elemental spells. Finally Fi Lendicol is immune to any of the opponent's psionic powers (such as the Psionic Blast card as well as the quite devastating special powers of Davron Parscall and Lyr of the Mists.

In the roleplaying game Fi Lendicol comes from the Forgetten Realms supplement Draconomicon which also features many, many other quite remarkable dragons. Worth reading if you want to present your group with some high level challenges!

Answer: Acererak the Eternal (Demilich)

In the Spellfire card game Acererak the Eternal is a level 8 monster (undead) of no particular plane.
As one of only few champions Acererak can use both wizard spells as well as use psionic powers in battle. His offensive powers grow even more because he can summon one undead ally from any discard pile. To make sure that this works out well, it is usually wise to play (and afterwards discard) one in a previous battle. For instance the +5 ally Kargat Vampire from the Ravenloft deck or the +7 ally Fey Dwarf from the Underdark should certainly be valuable to constantly have around.

In Dungeons & Dragons Acererak the Eternal is first mentioned in the first edition adventure 'Tomb of Horrors' from 1978. He is known to have been apprenticed to the evil archlich Vecna. Vecna himself is still feared throughout the Greyhawk world, despite having lost his now infamous Hand & Eye of Vecna in an attack by Kas the Terrible.

Answer: Azalin Rex (Lich)

In Spellfire Azalin is a level 8 monster (undead) from the Ravenloft deck.
Azalin can cast wizard spells, which is always a useful skill in combat, especially when you can lay your hands on the Neverending Nightmare or the Meteor Swarm spell cards. Aditionally - when victorious in battle - he may take one played ally with him into the player's pool to automatically be available in Azalin's next battle. A straightforward option is to take a very high level ally (+9 ally Flaming Fist from the Forgotten Realms deck, for instance). A rather devious option suggests to take the +2 ally Assassins: If you win the battle they remain with Azalin and everything is fine anyway. As soon as Azalin loses a battle, the ally's special power will at least allow you to take down one enemy's champion anywhere in play. This should prove quite useful against heavily protected champions like Adon and Midnight or, of course, even against the very powerful and doom-bringing avatars.

In the roleplaying game Azalin can be encountered in Darkon, as you can find out in the various Ravenloft campaign and source books. A part of his story can also be read in P. N. Elrod's 'I, Strahd - The War Against Azalin' (1998).

Answer: Kas the Terrible (Vampire)

In Spellfire Kas the Terrible is a level 9 hero (undead) from the world of Greyhawk.
His special powers may be seldom needed in the game but whenever they are, they might well decide the battle: First, Kas is immune to all harmful events (such as Air Ship or the Water Hunters). And second, when Kas is equipped with the Sword of Kas while battling Vecna, the lich lord's level drops to zero, thus making him relatively easy prey.
As Kas the Terrible cannot cast any spells by himself, it may be useful to equip him with the Chest of Many Things, the Armor of Dispel Magic or the Necklace, making him even more powerful in combat.

For the Dungeons & Dragons game Kas the Terrible is described in the Ravenloft sourcebook 'Domains of Dread' as well as in the Ravenloft supplement 'Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead'.

Answer: Flashburn (Dragon)

Flashburn is a level 9 hero (dragon), aligned to now particular world in the Spellfire game.
Apart from being able to use the hero unarmed combat cards, Flashburn is a flyer and therewith able to attack any of your opponent's realms. What makes him a really powerful beast is his final special power: in every battle Flashburn can summon a +9 ally which cannot be forced to switch sides, thereby giving him a quite impressible level of 18, without any further improving cards.
If you want to make Flashburn even more dangerous, it may be wise to equip him with a combinations of the Star Gems of Martek: Amethyst and Opal, thusly giving him the ability to cast wizard and cleric spells as well as using psionic power cards. By then, Flashburn can virtually use any enhancing card you may happen to find in your deck.

Answer: Strahd Von Zarovich (Vampire)

In the card game Spellfire Strahd Von Zarovich is a fearsome level 9 monster (undead) from the deck of Ravenloft.
Aside from being a flyer and being able to cast wizard spells, the vampire lord is virtually impossible to permanently take out of the game: whenever Strahd is defeated in combat, he will not be discarded but instead return to the player's champion pool at the end of the next turn. Therefore, to effectively destroy Strahd, your opponent needs to come up with a way to defeat the vampire without facing him in battle. Possible methods include the special powers of psionicist Bilago Lumen from the Dragonlance deck, the previously mentioned Assassin ally card or the Ravenloft artifact Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.

Strahd Von Zarovich's dark and sad story is explained in the usual Ravenloft sources. If you want to read more about him, I recommend reading the works of P. N. Elrond 'I, Strahd - The Memoirs of a Vampire' (1993) and 'I, Strahd - The War Against Azalin' (1998) as well as James Lowder's 'Knight of the Black Rose' (1991).

Answer: The Red Death (Avatar)

The Red Death is a level 19 cleric (avatar) from the demiplane Ravenloft.
With a base level of 19 the Red Death is one of the most potent champions you can deploy in your deck - two of the even more powerful champions are Bahamut, avatar of the God of Good Dragons and Moradin's Avatar of the Dragonlance world, both of which have a base level of 21.
The Red Death can either corrupt and discard an enemy champion of level 5 or less, or the Red Death can chose to corrupt any champion of level 5 or less in order to use him as an ally card during one battle. Either way, this power is a very convenient possibility to avoid fighting strong opponents, such as the Dark Sun psionicist Seluna Darkenstar or the powerful Adon from the Forgotten Realms.
In addition, being a cleric, the Red Death can cast any cleric spells, thusly further boosting his magnificent combat prowess.
Equipping the Red Death with the Ravenloft artifacts Crystal of the Ebon Flame or the Apparatus might also prove to be valuable in combat.