It is written that the named monsters can open runelocked door in the FAQ. So in trial by fire, can the dragon open the door to the demon and bring 1 master dragon + 1 master demon + 3 beastmen + 4 skeletons to section 2?

It seems a bit too much, but if they could not open the door, the dungeon would be too easy.

what happens if the dragon is killed: does the demon and all his beastmen henchmen die to if they were in section 2 too?

Galdred said:

Very good question. They jury is still out on this one.

Some people think that the level was designed taking into account that named leaders can open runelocked doors.
Others think that they forgot the FAQ when creating the level and actually intended the doors to only open when the leader was killed.

I read one thread a while back that this level alone was enough for one group of people to put RtL away in the box never to be seen again because it was so stupidly designed.

By the wording of the level card, when the leader dies, all other monsters in that section are also killed, so yes, everything else would die.

Personally, I have house ruled this level as follows:

26. Trial by Fire
Firefang is a Master Hell Hound with 12 extra wounds, 1 extra armour and Quick Shot
Grimfire is a Master Lava Beetle with 12 extra wounds and 1 extra armour.
Firebane is a Master Dragon with 16 extra wounds and 1 extra armour.
Add a 2x2 lava obstacle in the middle of the first 2 rooms. Use the lava room from RtL for Firebane’s room. Use other lava obstacles dotted around. The leaders are immune to the lava tiles and Burn.
Clarification: When a section leader dies, all monsters currently in that section (no matter where they came from originally) also die.
Reason: More monster variety. Use lava tiles. Firefang also needed a bit of a boost
Note: Still uncertain whether it was the intention to have the level leaders be able to open the runelocked doors but for now, I think that the named monsters on this level should NOT be able to open the runelocked doors.

Doesnt it matter if the dungeon is divided into Areas or Sections?

Areas - no, a named leader cannot open a runelocked door that leads to a new Area, nor are monsters in play that are behind a runelocked door that seals off an unexplored Area.

Sections - yes, a named leader can open any rune locked door. All Sections are in play from the start of the dungeon.

At least that's my take on it... anyone care to confirm or correct?

-mike

They are defined in the Quest book section of the RtL book as "Sections", not Areas.

And I'm pretty sure that the text of the Dungeon Level card overrides the part about Named Monsters opening Rune locked doors.

"There are three sections to this level, each with its own leader and minions. When a section's leader is killed, all the other monsters in that section die and the door to the next section (or to the portal, in the case of Firebane) unlocks and opens. "

I've always taken that statement to mean that you can't open the doors to the other sections until the leader of the section you are in is killed and that this overrides the FAQ ruling concerning named monsters and Rune locked doors.

Err, but it's not "overriding" anything. It does not SAY that the Bosses may not open the Rune-locked doors; it only says that they DO open when a boss is killed.

I agree it "seems" a little unintuitive; but unlike the usual case for Descent, there's absolutely nothing ambiguous whatsoever. The three sections are very clearly not "areas" and are all revealed at once, meaning the monsters can do whatever they normally do.

Rune-locked doors have always been a little wonky anyway, generally allowing the Heroes to abuse them terribly. I think the game would probably be better overall if there was just a blanket rule stating "once a rune-locked door is opened, it cannot be re-closed."