Could Belkar identify TMitD by scent?

[Particle_Man]

Belkar could identify Nale easily by scent. Has Belkar smelt the monster in the darkness yet? I wonder if that would allow Belkar to know what type of critter is under the umbrella.

[Squire Doodad]

Generally speaking the "The" is implied, so just MitD
Grey Wolf would be a better person to ask this, but given how MitD looks to be an obscure (or at least rare) entity, I imagine that smelling him wouldn't help identify his species. Further complicating matters is that MitD may well be a shapeshifting species (and possibly one that changes scent as well).

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Belkar has been in the presence of MitD, so I'm guessing he would recognize his scent if he came across it again, yes, just like he recognized Nale's.

But I take it you mean to ask if Belkar could identify the species of MitD from the smell? Doubt it, because it's Belkar. Just like Xykon, Belkar really doesn't much care about such things. All he cares about is whether if bleeds when he stabs them, and how much it hurts them when he does. The likelihood is that Belkar had never come across the smell before, and even if he had studied strange monsters (and he would have not), books tend not to come with scratch-and-smell margin notes.

Grey Wolf

[Particle_Man]

I think at the very least we can rule out undead. Belkar would know that at least (and likely would say something about that) since they are his main favoured enemy that we know of.

[woweedd]

I think at the very least we can rule out undead. Belkar would know that at least (and likely would say something about that) since they are his main favoured enemy that we know of.

In fairness, that hasn't been explicitly stated. Just heavily implied, what with his hatred of line about how "I spent months trapped behind enemy lines where the only things I was allowed to kill were undead. So I’ve gotten pretty good at it, really."

[CriticalFailure]

Undead are his favored enemy? I always assumed it was humans or something. or maybe kobolds

[Quebbster]

Belkar has been in the presence of MitD, so I'm guessing he would recognize his scent if he came across it again, yes, just like he recognized Nale's.

But I take it you mean to ask if Belkar could identify the species of MitD from the smell? Doubt it, because it's Belkar. Just like Xykon, Belkar really doesn't much care about such things. All he cares about is whether if bleeds when he stabs them, and how much it hurts them when he does. The likelihood is that Belkar had never come across the smell before, and even if he had studied strange monsters (and he would have not), books tend not to come with scratch-and-smell margin notes.

Grey Wolf

What I am hearing is that there is a market niche waiting to be filled.

[Schroeswald]

Undead are his favored enemy? I always assumed it was humans or something. or maybe kobolds

They probably weren't when he met MiTD but based on the most of a year where he could only kill undead they became it IIUC.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Undead are his favored enemy? I always assumed it was humans or something. or maybe kobolds

Rangers can have multiple. We tend to assume humanoids are definitely one of them, but as per Belkar's comment, now also undead.

What I am hearing is that there is a market niche waiting to be filled.

There are scratch-and-sniff books for children, so it's not as empty a niche as you might have thought.

Grey Wolf

[hroþila]

Yes, Belkar could identify MitD by scent. Next time he smells him, he'll think "There's that MitD again!"

[Squire Doodad]

Rangers can have multiple. We tend to assume humanoids are definitely one of them, but as per Belkar's comment, now also undead.

Grey Wolf

Actually, he has three.
Undead, Humanoids and Y*ky*ks.

[Nightcanon]

Yes, Belkar could identify MitD by scent. Next time he smells him, he'll think "There's that MitD again!"

This! Presumably he might also be able to identify MitD if he meets and smells an unmasked example of the same creature. I have pretty good eyesight, and can tell one human from another by how they look (as Belkar can by scent), but I can't identify either the names of people I've never met, or the species of creatures I've never encountered, just by looking at them.

[Jannoire]

Actually, he has three.
Undead, Humanoids and Y*ky*ks.

I always thought, he had one type of favorite enemy. "Everything that's not Belkar"

[Snails]

Yes, Belkar could identify MitD by scent. Next time he smells him, he'll think "There's that MitD again!"

Bingo!

As already stated, the MitD is probably rare enough that even a skilled scent tracker like a lycanthrope ranger is probably just going to say "Never smelled the likes of you before or since. And I will know you if we ever met again."

[D.One]

Considering identifying something requires personal experience in game, or a Knowledge skill, unless MitD is a super common monster whose kind Belkar has already encountered during his adventuring times, I believe the Belkster can't identify MitD even with a full view and the page from the monster manual

"How the Hel am I supposed to know what he is? It's not like I'm of a class that specializes in exploration or something!"

[Dion]

Undead are his favored enemy? I always assumed it was humans or something. or maybe kobolds

I’ve always assumed Belkar’s favored enemy was Halflings.

[Darth Paul]

Rangers can have multiple. We tend to assume humanoids are definitely one of them, but as per Belkar's comment, now also undead.
......

Grey Wolf

Then again, in keeping with Belkar's established characterization of "not being very good at being a Ranger", does he know he can choose favored enemies? Or was he disappointed when he couldn't choose "the world" and so is just holding onto his cards, so to speak?

[Schroeswald]

Then again, in keeping with Belkar's established characterization of "not being very good at being a Ranger", does he know he can choose favored enemies? Or was he disappointed when he couldn't choose "the world" and so is just holding onto his cards, so to speak?

He strongly implied that the undead are his favored enemies (presumably Haley told him to pick undead as his favored enemy during the 3 1/2 months in Azure City to make him more effective).

[D.One]

Then again, in keeping with Belkar's established characterization of "not being very good at being a Ranger", does he know he can choose favored enemies? Or was he disappointed when he couldn't choose "the world" and so is just holding onto his cards, so to speak?

He strongly implied that the undead are his favored enemies (presumably Haley told him to pick undead as his favored enemy during the 3 1/2 months in Azure City to make him more effective).

Here's his statement.

[Particle_Man]

He strongly implied that the undead are his favored enemies (presumably Haley told him to pick undead as his favored enemy during the 3 1/2 months in Azure City to make him more effective).

Haley may not have had to tell him. She could just suggest (assuming he didn't figure it out on his own) that he is still allowed to kill undead, so why not take advantage of his class ability to be better at killing undead?

[Quebbster]

Haley may not have had to tell him. She could just suggest (assuming he didn't figure it out on his own) that he is still allowed to kill undead, so why not take advantage of his class ability to be better at killing undead?

Belkar was already aware he could kill undead.

[D.One]

Belkar was already aware he could kill undead.

He even developed a supernatural ability that makes the enemy vomit warm summer days.

[Squire Doodad]

He even developed a supernatural ability that makes the enemy vomit warm summer days.

Vomiting warm summer days is the result of an extraordinary ability, fyi.