In the
roguelike game
ADOM, Khelavaster is an ancient
sage who was the first to notice the growing effects of
corruption in his world (
Ancardia). However, Khelavaster's
fate was similar to
Cassandra's in the
Iliad: despite his persistent warnings about the coming of
chaos, nobody believed him. Finally the old man got frustrated enough to try and locate the
source of corruption all by himself, and if possible, to remove it. With this noble intention, he entered the fabled
Caverns of Chaos - and of course no one ever saw him again.
That is, until now. In ADOM, Khelavaster can be found a few levels below the dwarven city, surrounded by Chaos warriors. He is about to die though, so if you speak to him, you'll only be able to hear his last words before the old guy snuffs it and leaves behind a rather unsatisfactory pile of junk.
However, it doesn't have to be this way. If you view Khelavaster's character description, you'll see that he's beyond any healing power, magical or otherwise. He is doomed to die, whatever you do... but isn't there something to make dying just a casual little experience, annoying but mercifully brief? Something like, say, an Amulet of Life Saving?
If you're feeling nice (or greedy for your just reward) and have such an amulet in your possession, give it to the poor guy *before* talking to him. He'll die, yes, but the AoLS will bring him back to life (I'm not certain whether it'll work if cursed, so watch out for this) and he'll be so grateful as to reward you with a heapload of good stuff, including no fewer than six of those coveted Scrolls of Chaos Resistance.
Of course, there's another reason to save Khelavaster's life... Five words: Trident of the Red Rooster.
Note: Khelavaster can only be saved in versions newer than g10.