During the second encounter of The Desecrated Tomb, the quest book says that Sir Alric Farrow 'carries' the Duskblade. It also says, that master monsters cannot weald the blade, they can only pick it up and give it to Lord Farrow. It doesn't actually specifically say whether or not Sir Alric Farrow can 'use' the Duskblade relic during the encounter, to gain the pierce 5 ability for example when attacking the dragon. It could make a huge difference to the difficulty of that encounter for the Overlord. Does anybody know the answer to this?

Thanks for you time guys.

it's logical no?

No really no... In the quest guide it often talks about figures 'carrying' items, but they can't use those items. In this encouter it talks about Sir Alric 'carrying' the duskblade. It doesn't actually say if he can use it though, it just says that master monsters cannot weald it. In fact, aren't Lieutenants counted as master monsters according to the lieutenant packs? Therefore, the quest guide is actually saying that Sir Alric and master monsters can carry the blade, and that master monsters cannot weald the blade, which would include Sir Alric. Therefore, master monsters (which include Lieutenants) can carry but not weald the duskblade.

It's logical no?

If I am correct, Alric, in the flavor, is swinging with the sword (because only the sword can harm the dragon) but the sword's abilities are not awake. You, as the OL, don't roll as if you have the sword equipped, so no. You don't get the bonus. It's alright. It's not hard to take the dragon down if I am remembering correctly.

Ah yes, that does make sense... thanks Kunzite.

This was answered in an FFG Sez: http://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Descent_Second_Edition_Unofficial_FAQ#toc69

Q: In "The Dawnblade" and "The Desecrated Tomb," when the quest book says that a hero or Sir Alric is carrying the Dawnblade/Duskblade, is that character actually wielding the item and allowed to use the abilities associated with the relic? If this is the case, is Sir Alric allowed to have two relics in these quests? For example, could he begin the encounter with the Shield of Zorek's favor and then later pick up the Duskblade?

A: No, carrying the Dawn/Duskblade doesn't give you access to its Relic card abilities; it only functions as an item-objective within the confines of the quest. It also does not count toward Alric's relic limit.

In fact, aren't Lieutenants counted as master monsters according to the lieutenant packs?

This is only the case for the lieutenant when summoned during a quest in which they are not already present (usually by replacing master and possibly some minion) monsters from a group. The cards from the summoning are a bit more limited (they don't have attributes, and there may be other differences). You are not allowed to play these cards if the lieutenant is already present in the quest, as is the case above, so that rule doesn't apply. (You're still right in that they can't use it, but this isn't the reason.)