Elan is poisoned, leaving Roy no choice but to don the Girdle.
Cast
Transcript
- Panel 1
Roy: The Belt of Gender-Changing??
Elan: You bet!
- Panel 2
Roy: You kept it? Why??
Elan: Well, you know, I thought it might come in handy some day.
Elan: And I was curious.
- Panel 3
Roy: I fail to see how being a woman would help either one of us defeat these assassins.
Elan: Not defeat—evade!
- Panel 4
Elan: You put on the belt and turn into a girl. Then when the assassins find us, we tell them the king slipped out a secret door or something.
Elan: Then we find V or Durkon and get them to change you back.
- Panel 5
Roy: No. No way. Those things are dangerous. What if it's permanent?
Roy: There is no way I'm saying goodbye to the Trouser Titan just so I can fool some lame-ass assassins.
- Panel 6
Elan: ...
Elan: You call it the "Trouser Titan"?
Roy: NOT THE POINT!
- Panel 7
Roy: Look, we can find another way. Maybe I can turn that mop into an improvised quarterstaff or—
- Panel 8
Three shuriken punch through the door scratching Elan, "crrsh! crrsh! crrsh!"
Elan: AAAHH!
- Panel 9
Elan: Oooo... I don't... I don't feel so good.
Roy: Crap, I think those shuriken were poisoned.
- Panel 10
Roy: Yeah, look: Constitution poison. Which means if I don't get you to Durkon soon, you'll be dead.
Roy: I don't have time to try to fight my way out of here.
- Panel 11
Roy: Sigh.
Roy: Well, I guess I should take pride in having found a new and exciting way in which I can disappoint my father.
- Panel 12
There is a magical glow from off-panel as Roy presumably puts on the belt.
D&D Context
- Most poisons reduce a character's stats. Constitution is a stat mainly meant to help determine the hit points of a character. If Constitution is reduced to 0 the character dies.
- The Girdle of Feminity/Masculinity first appeared in the AD&D (1st Edition) Dungeon Master's Guide. It is a cursed magic item which turns the wearer into the opposite gender. It was designed to appear identical to a Girdle of Giant Strength (a powerful item), tricking players in to immediately donning it. It can only be removed with a Remove Curse spell.
Trivia
- The title of the strip in which Elan acquires the girdle is "I am Curious, Elan", a sentiment which Elan quietly echos in the second panel of this strip.