Ahmet Cem Alemdar @AhmetCemAlemdar
Dear @TheEdVerse,
I humbly ask, how would a 1v1 duel between Telamont Tanthul and Mordenkainen would end. Who would win and if Telamont were to end up in Barovia would he share Mordenkainens fate there. Thanks.#dnd— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 16, 2020
1)
Assuming the duel occurs when Mordenkainen isn’t raving insane, and Telamont doesn’t manage a disabilitating ambush to begin the fight, Mordenkainen would almost certainly mop the floor with Telamont, who is arrogant and far 2)
…too used to being obeyed by underlings and not fighting against those who do not consider him their superior. Mordenkainen has far more dirty-fighting and ‘walk many worlds, face many foes and challenges’ experience.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 16, 2020
3)
The besetting fault of the Princes of Shade is their overconfidence/dismissal of everyone else as ‘lesser;’ it’s a weakness that gets them in trouble every time. Experienced beings like the Srinshee and Larloch can often 4)
…easily manipulate senior Thultanthans without necessarily ever having to fight or confront them, just by seeing and exploiting their weaknesses.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 16, 2020
5)
Telamont in Barovia would very likely wind up sharing Mordenkainen’s fate and worse, because he’d underestimate the capabilities of not just Strahd, but nigh everyone else he encountered.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 16, 2020
Telamont Tanthul is more than two thousand years old, and he is level 30+ because he deserves to be. Pitting Mordenkainen against him would be like giving a child a stick and sending him into the forest at night to hunt a bear.
You cannot compare their accomplishments. Telamont has access to all the spells available at the height of Netheril, and in two thousand years of practice he has certainly invented dozens more which he reserves solely for his own use.
He is *twice* the age of Elminster. There was no goddess watching over him as he grew up. Most of his life was spent in the shadowfell, which is a far more hostile environment than the prime. He has led Thultanthar through dozens of wars and participated in thousands of combats against all kinds of awful stuff.
Saying that Telamont is spoiled and soft while Mordenkainen is “hard” is absurd.