Ketheric ThormLevel 11 Undead |
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| Location | Moonrise Towers (Rooftop) | Mind Flayer Colony |
| Act | Act 2 |
| Quests | Defeat Ketheric Thorm |
Ketheric Thorm is a Boss in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). BG3 Ketheric Thorn is a ruthless, half-elf necromancer and oathbreaker paladin, wizened by hundreds of years of experience in warfare.
He started off as a Selunite warrior, along with his beloved wife. After her passing he fulfilled his promise to her and raised their daughter, Isobel, as a cleric in their shared faith.
But time was not kind to Ketheric and the wounds of his grief were never truly healed. Once his daughter entered womanhood however, he could not be more overjoyed by her beauty and brilliance. For a brief respite his sorrow was silenced. When she was killed one day however, Ketheric's world came crashing down around him.
Unable to bear the weight of his losses he converted to become a Sharran paladin in service of the Dark Lady herself. In exchange for his devotion she provided him the gift of oblivion to forget the pain of his loss. Naturally gifted, he eventually rose through the ranks of her clergy and became a Dark Justiciar, before finally being crowned as Shar's Chosen and leading her armies in the role of a general.
Ketheric was responsible for approving the construction of Grymforge along with the legendary adamantine forge housed within, as a means to bolster his war effort against his enemies.
He had Moonrise Towers erected, as well as his family's Grand Mausoleum, beneath which he also had built an extraordinary temple to honor Shar, which itself connected directly to Grymforge through the Underdark.
He ruled over the surrounding lands as a tyrant, rooting out and persecuting any and all who opposed him and his faith, even what was left of his own family.
Eventually he was brought to heel and defeated thanks to combined efforts of the archdruid Halsin and High Harper Jaheira, backed by the druids of the Emerald Grove and the Harpers of Baldur's Gate, respectively, but not before unleashing the shadow curse that still blights the land to this day and acts as a reminder of his crowning achievement, and the cementation of his notorious legacy.
Raised into undeath by mysterious means some hundred years later, he then pledged his allegiance to a third god, this time one of the Dead Three, Myrkul, Lord of Bones. For his unyielding dedication the god of death returned his daughter to him.
Bosses in BG3 are powerful enemies that have increased health and pose a bigger challenge for players.
Where to find Ketheric Thorm in BG3
Act 2
- Moonrise Towers
- Moonrise Towers Rooftop
- Mind Flayer Colony
BG3 Ketheric Thorn Quests
- Defeat Ketheric Thorm
BG3 Ketheric Thorm Dialogue Options
- N/A
BG3 Ketheric Thorm Boss Guide
Ketheric Thorm Boss Tips
The fight against Ketheric Thorm is broken down into three distinct segments. Each phase of the fight works differently...
All adds mentioned in the fight overview will have full breakdowns of their stats and abilities detailed below under the Notes and Tips section.
Positioning and party composition will be rather important for not only this fight but also the interim when exploring and fighting creatures in the Mind Flayer Colony in between the first phase of the fight and the second. This is especially crucial as you will NOT be able to Long Rest at ANY point during this section of the game, instead having to rely on potions and elixirs like Potion of Angelic Slumber and Elixir of Arcane Cultivation (Normal, Greater, and/or Superior).
Before the final descent to confront Ketheric and initiate Phase 2 (or Phase 3, depending on your dialogue choices and Persuasion Checks) you will find a Neural Apparatus like those found on the Nautiloid in the prologue of the game. This will have the added benefit of replenishing all of your spell slots and health points as would a Long Rest.
You can actually cheese the Neural Apparatus by getting all your spells back, casting whatever personal or party buffs you need to in yourself and/or your companions, and then use the machine again to regain the used spell slot while still retaining whatever spell or ability was cast as they will carry over.
Phase 1: Rooftop
Fighting alongside Ketheric are a number of adds including Squire, The General's War-Hound, Susdera, Mistress of Souls, and eight Necromites.
After completing the first phase of the fight you'll have one last moment of respite and reprieve. Use this time to take one final Long Rest and sort out your inventory, party composition, spell preparation, etc.
Also, if Jaheira has survived everything up until now you should be able to recruit her a fully-fledged member of your party, regardless of whether you choose to take her with you through the remaining gauntlet of combat encounters in the Mind Flayer Colony or not.
Furthermore, if you looted the Dark Mind and Slave Mind from the prologue mission on the Nautoloid and kept them all this time, make sure to bring those along with you as you'll be able to use them in the Mind Flayer puzzle room (Necrotic Laboratory).
Phase 2: Mind Flayer Colony
Just like in the first encounter, Ketheric is aided by adds including a Mind Flayer and four Necromites to start.
Casting spells like Command - Halt, Hold Person, or Silence over Ketheric will temporarily take him out of play for a few turns while you focus fire on the Mind Flayer.
Phase 3: Apostle of Myrkul
Regardless of whether you convince Ketheric to atone for his sins or simply bring his health down all the way, he will initiate the third and final phase of this fight.
You'll be introduced to Ketheric's patron, the god of death himself, Myrkul. From here you'll need to defeat an amalgamation of bone called the Apostle of Myrkul. After which, Ketheric's body will be returned, allowing you to loot him after he shares with you his dying words.
If you chose to save the Nightsong during the climax of the Gauntlet of Shar and Shadowfell storyline you'll have been rewarded with the Moonlight Glaive. Equipping this weapon on a character like Karlach can practically trivialize the fight against the Apostle since it applies Moonlight Butterflies (essentially Faerie Fire) without the need for any of your party members to take up and maintain a concentration spell, or risk having it interrupted by failing a CON save upon taking damage. Moreover, there's an increased likelihood of applying the glaive's Moonlight Butterflies given a barbarian's Reckless Swing and the fact it relies on an Attack Roll rather than a Saving Throw.
Combining this debuff on the boss while applying buffs on your party such as Haste or Potion of Speed will aid in your ability to nuke the boss' health with a flurry of multiple attacks per character every turn during combat.
In the event you didn't save Nightsong then using debuffs like Hex or Bestow Curse can help soften up the Apostle and set up a higher success rate in applying a spell like Faerie Fire on the boss, before finally leaning into it with damage output attacks, spells, and abilities.
Ketheric Thorm General Information
Race: Undead Half-Elf
Health: 145
AC: 22
Base speed: 0m
Size: Medium
Weight: 75kg
Attitude:
Ketheric Thorm Conditions
Aura of Protection
Aura of Hate
Ketheric Thorm Notable Features
- Arcane Enchantment
- Darkvision
- Defence
- Divine Health
- Extra Attack
- Fey Ancestry
- Immutable Form
- Improved Divine Strike
- Magical Plate
- Opportunity Attack
- Reaper's Rigidity
- Shield Bash
Ketheric Thorm Abilities
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 17
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 20
- Proficiency Bonus: +4
- Initiative: +1
Attacks & Spells
- Deadly Orders
- Divine Smite
- Incubate Death
Ketheric Thorm Resistances
Slashing Resistance
Piercing Resistance
Bludgeoning Resistance
Ketheric Thorm Rewards
| ???XP | Ring of Exalted Marrow (Rare) | Reaper's Embrace (Very Rare) |
| Ketheric's Warhammer (Rare) | Ketheric's Shield (Rare) | Netherstone (Legendary) |
- Ring of Exalted Marrow - lootable from a chest on the rooftop once the first phase of the fight is over. The chest is located right in front of Ketheric's throne (X:-152, Y:-169). You' can either use the Bone Key looted off of Susdera to OR lockpick the chest to retrieve the ring.
Notes and Tips
- Voiced by J.K. Simmons.
Phase 1
- Susdera "Mistress of Souls
- Ability Scores:
- Conditions:
- Resistances:
- Notable Features:
- Attacks:
- Squire "The Generals War-Hound"
- Ability Scores
- Conditions:
- Resistances:
- Notable Features:
- Attacks:
- Necromite
- Ability Scores:
- Conditions:
- Resistances:
- Notable Features:
- Attacks:
Phase 2
- Mind Flayer
- Ability Scores:
- Conditions:
- Resistances:
- Notable Features:
- Attacks:
- Necromite
- Ability Scores:
- Conditions:
- Resistances:
- Notable Features:
- Attacks:
Phase 3
- Apostle of Myrkul "Visage of the Dead God" Level 11 Undead (225HP | AC 19 | )
- Ability Scores: STR 20 DEX 12 CON 22 INT 13 WIS 17 CHA 19
- Conditions: Myrkul's Presence
- Resistances: Magical and non-magical resistance to Necrotic/Cold/Poison damage
- Notable Features: Consume the Faithful, Darkvision, Defence, Divine Health, Extra Attack, Fey Ancestry, Immutable Form, Improved Divine Smite, Opportunity Attack
- Attacks:
AnonymousThink Tav Think you join my army and I will let you marry my daughter Isobel
- Anonymous
Honor Mode: He gains a new buff for Deadly Orders and Legendary resistance. Legendary resistance gives a +10 to your next 3 saving throws. The buff to Deadly Orders gives his units 4-40(exact amount needs confirming) force damage when hitting a target.
Tip: Clear all the adds from his fight and let Aylin face tank him. If you have Blood of Lathandar, you can use Sunbeam to clear half of the Necromites immediately. I'm not sure if it's just honor mode, but Susdera also has a passive that causes enemies near enought to her to turn into incubators, which turn into necromites after 1 turn(With a start up turn when spawned). Turn undead will also work very well. Using the Spirit of Faith: Radiant and having your cleric run past these should one shot the incubators.
- Anonymous
What's the actual point of passing the speech checks before the fight? I managed to get him on his knees with some lucky nat 20's, but the fight still started as it normally does?
I freed the Aylin, who, as usual, just annoyed Ketheric until he got mad again, so could the speech check surrender options be for when you kill Aylin prior to the fight?
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
You can break the fight by petrifying or goldifying him. Doing so prevents him from speaking, or moving for his mid-fight monologue. Managed to petrify him twice... first stage, when he got to his threshold, he didn't start talking, just popped right out of it. So, being the super intelligent type I thought to myself... "If I broke this fight already... can I break it harder?"... thus, I goldified him. Now, I am stuck in perpetual combat with a gold statue of Ketheric Thorm on the top of the Moonlight Tower while Nightsinger just keeps mouthing off every round, doing nothing, skipping their turn. I also managed to petrify him when he was invulnerable... I mean, me and my big brain moment of "Well, he can't take damage... but I CAN stop him... permanently." Sooo... yep. That's a thing. Surviving the buggers smites was like tryin' to pickpocket a beholder, nigh improbable, but NOT impossible.
Minor Illusion can pull the Mind Flayer to the lower ledge where you can pick him off before starting the encounter.
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