Ketheric Thorm: Difference between revisions
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{{SpoilerWarning|act=2}} | {{SpoilerWarning|act=2}} | ||
General '''Ketheric Thorm''' is one of the Chosen of the [[Absolute]], the enigmatic [[Cult of the Absolute|cult]] taking over the Sword Coast, and serves as one of the main antagonists in [[Baldur's Gate 3]]. Once the governor of [[Reithwin Town]], personal disaster and grief drove him down the path of darkness and violence, eventually being defeated in battle a century ago by the combined forces of the [[Harpers]] and druids of the [[Emerald Grove]]. Now, risen from the grave to lead the Absolute's forces as their general, he seeks to destroy [[Baldur's Gate]] and spread the cult of the Absolute. | General '''Ketheric Thorm''' is one of the Chosen of the [[Absolute]], the enigmatic [[Cult of the Absolute|cult]] taking over the Sword Coast, and serves as one of the main antagonists in [[Baldur's Gate 3]]. | ||
Once the governor of [[Reithwin Town]], personal disaster and grief drove him down the path of darkness and violence, eventually being defeated in battle a century ago by the combined forces of the [[Harpers]] and druids of the [[Emerald Grove]]. Now, risen from the grave to lead the Absolute's forces as their general, he seeks to destroy [[Baldur's Gate]] and spread the cult of the Absolute. | |||
{{Q|I'll tell you a story, True Soul. About a man who sold himself piece by piece.|Ketheric Thorm}} | {{Q|I'll tell you a story, True Soul. About a man who sold himself piece by piece.|Ketheric Thorm}} | ||
== Background == | == Background == | ||
Risen from the grave a hundred years after the events that lead to his downfall, Thorm serves as the main antagonist of Act 2 of the game, being introduced during Act 1 through dialogue and in-game notes first. As the party searches for ways to cure their tadpole situation, many clues point towards Moonrise Towers and Ketheric himself and the party is ultimately tasked with bringing Ketheric down in order to rid the Shadowlands from its curse. | |||
Through battle with him, and later exploring the Illithid colony under the stronghold, the party discovers there's something more perverse going on with the tadpoles in their heads. Ketheric's alliance with [[Enver Gortash]] and [[Orin the Red]] is also exposed, and in the process of the fight against him, it's revealed that [[Myrkul]] brought Ketheric back from the dead. With Thorm dead, the party now have one of the Netherese Crystals that power the trio, and the clues to their next destination: Baldur's Gate. | |||
== Act Two == | == Act Two == | ||
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While speaking to NPCs such as [[Jaheira]], [[Z'rell]], and [[Balthazar]], it will be revealed, so some capacity depending on who you speak of, that a magical relic grants Ketheric Invulnerability. Assisting [[Balthazar]] will reveal that sometime between his life as a Sharran, and his time serving [[Myrkul]], Ketheric Thorm had discovered the [[Dame Aylin|Nightsong]], and used it to render him unkillable. | While speaking to NPCs such as [[Jaheira]], [[Z'rell]], and [[Balthazar]], it will be revealed, so some capacity depending on who you speak of, that a magical relic grants Ketheric Invulnerability. Assisting [[Balthazar]] will reveal that sometime between his life as a Sharran, and his time serving [[Myrkul]], Ketheric Thorm had discovered the [[Dame Aylin|Nightsong]], and used it to render him unkillable. | ||
===Act | ===Act two finale=== | ||
The party may encounter him again at the top of [[Moonrise Towers]]. Depending on the player's choices, namely if [[Isobel]] is to die, he will recount his life story, and his sacrifices, ultimately blaming the party for her death, but not punishing them, as he wishes to keep up the façade of the Absolute's judgement. | The party may encounter him again at the top of [[Moonrise Towers]]. Depending on the player's choices, namely if [[Isobel]] is to die, he will recount his life story, and his sacrifices, ultimately blaming the party for her death, but not punishing them, as he wishes to keep up the façade of the Absolute's judgement. | ||
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*{{SAI|Aura of Hate}} | *{{SAI|Aura of Hate}} | ||
*{{SAI|Invulnerable (Condition)|Invulnerable}} | *{{SAI|Invulnerable (Condition)|Invulnerable}} | ||
== History == | |||
A devoted worshipper of [[Deities#Selûne|Selûne]], Thorm lived with his wife Melodia and daughter [[Isobel]] in the family stronghold of [[Moonrise Towers]], ruling over the [[Reithwin Town|town of Reithwin]]. Disaster struck the Thorm family when Melodia passed away, leaving Ketheric to raise their daughter alone. With a child in his care, Ketheric persevered, and though doubts plagued his mind, he never abandoned the selunite ways he would raise his daughter in. It wouldn't be too long after, however, that tragedy would befall Ketheric once more, this time with Isobel dying. | |||
Grief-stricken and unable to cope with her loss, he renounced the worship of the Moonmaiden and turned to worshipping [[Shar]], the Lady of Loss. In his downward spiral into darkness, Shar compelled him to build an army of [[Dark Justiciar|dark justiciars]] beneath his home village in order to cleanse the world of Light. Ketheric would trick his daughter's lover, [[Dame Aylin|Aylin]] and trap her in a prison, made to serve as a perpetual sacrifice for dark justiciar initiates. Reithwin soon became the site of battle between Ketheric's army and the combined forces of the [[Harpers]] and [[Druid|druids]] of the [[Emerald Grove]]. | |||
In the end, the sharran army was defeated, Ketheric himself perishing along with them. Yet, before the final blow was struck, he would curse the lands with a terrible darkness that would persist long after his demise, afflicting any survivors from the battle and all the inhabitants left. His body was buried in the [[Thorm Mausoleum|Thorm mausoleum]]. | |||
Years later, Thorm would be brought back from the dead by [[Myrkul]], tasked to form an alliance with the apostles of the other Dead Two and bring death to the world. Not long after, he would set out to revive his daughter [[Isobel]] with help of [[Balthazar]], though his plan at a family reunion failed when she saw his broken visage after being revived, fleeing from him. Empowered by Myrkul, and granted immortality by the [[Nightsong]], Ketheric begins amassing an army of followers of the [[Absolute]] in order to march to Baldur's Gate and sow destruction. | |||
Tasked with the recovery of the mysterious artifact, the only object capable of thwarting the [[Dead Three|Dead Three's]] plans, he ultimately fails and falls at the hands of the party who kill him for good. | |||
== Loot == | == Loot == | ||
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* It's unclear what degree of kinship Ketheric and [[Gerringothe Thorm|Gerringothe]] share. It can be presumed she's his aunt following Malus' situation, however, notes and narration mention that Ketheric dug up many of his ancestors tombs, which could indicate she could be a far older relative if necromancy was practiced on the corpse too. | * It's unclear what degree of kinship Ketheric and [[Gerringothe Thorm|Gerringothe]] share. It can be presumed she's his aunt following Malus' situation, however, notes and narration mention that Ketheric dug up many of his ancestors tombs, which could indicate she could be a far older relative if necromancy was practiced on the corpse too. | ||
* Ketheric's kinship with [[Thisobald Thorm|Thisobald]] is not quite clear, either. Though Thisobald refers to Ketheric as "father", neither Ketheric nor {{Blur|Isobel}} ever acknowledge him in dialogue or otherwise. Given that Ketheric and [[Balthazar]] have desecrated the Thorm mausoleum and resurrected {{Blur|Isobel}}, it's possible that Thisobald is another resurrected relative and refers to Ketheric as father not in the paternal sense, but as "creator". | * Ketheric's kinship with [[Thisobald Thorm|Thisobald]] is not quite clear, either. Though Thisobald refers to Ketheric as "father", neither Ketheric nor {{Blur|Isobel}} ever acknowledge him in dialogue or otherwise. Given that Ketheric and [[Balthazar]] have desecrated the Thorm mausoleum and resurrected {{Blur|Isobel}}, it's possible that Thisobald is another resurrected relative and refers to Ketheric as father not in the paternal sense, but as "creator". | ||
* Ketheric's method of immortality derived from the Nightsong isn't clearly explained in the game. The Nightsong mentions being taken captive shortly after the death of Ketherics daughter, and being used as the sacrifice for the dark justiciar initiates employed by Thorm. Given she hasn't been moved in over a century, it can be assumed that Ketheric enjoyed the same immortality back then as he did in the present, however, if that were the case, it's unclear how he was able to be defeated in the first place. | |||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||