Gerringothe Thorm

Gerringothe Thorm is a unique intelligent Undead, the toll-master of the Reithwin Tollhouse. Seemingly made of gold, she is driven by endless greed and is relentless in enforcing the toll to cross the river to Moonrise Towers.

Gerringothe's greed isn't limited to just her mannerisms, as she also wields powerful abilities that are influenced by the amount of gold a character is carrying. As well, her Visages grant her coin armour, which increases her total hit points.

	“	I REQUIRE GOLD	„
		— Gerringothe Thorm about everything

Involvement

When approached, Gerringothe will quickly demand gold from the party. Besides attacking her, the party can toss her some gold, though she will simply demand more. When asked for a clear price, she will demand all of the party's gold. However, if given anything short of 5.000 gold, Gerringothe will claim she was given too little and attack.

If Gerringothe Thorm is paid more than 5,000 gold, the party will receive the Signed Trade Visa which casts the unique and powerful one-use spell:  Flesh to Gold.

Dialogue

If choosing "I have no more gold" or "I have no more money to give", she will start combat. Otherwise, the party can do a variety of social Skill Checks to avoid it:

• One way to open the Skill Check options is to first "Toss the creature a gold piece", then choosing "I don't hand out so much gold for so little in return":
  • A DC 18 Persuasion check will question why she remains when she can take what gold she has and be free. Or with advantage for a Warlock DC 18 Persuasion check suggesting "Gold is such a limited desire. With the right help, you could become so much more". She will be steadfast on her role to collect the gold in the service of the toll and you are left with the options:
    • Another DC 21 Persuasion check, questioning how she has no one to oversee her duties.
    • A DC 21 Deception check, claiming that the local authority has decreed all the gold belongs to her now.
    • An DC 21 Intimidation check, bluntly telling her she no longer has a job.
    • (Monk) DC 18 Persuasion check The happiness gold grants is temporary at best. Do not let your need for gold trap you here.
• After giving her a coin, if chosing "I've already paid", there will be:
  • A DC 18 Deception check (with advantage for Bard), claiming to be the new toll master to replace her.
    • Another DC 21 Deception check, claiming she's been promoted and moving to a better tollhouse.
    • A DC 21 Persuasion check, praising her work and insisting to take over.
    • An DC 21 Intimidation check, threatening her and demanding she leave.
    • (Drow? Cleric of Lolth only) a DC 18 Persuasion check with advantage (Evil Cleric), recognizing lust and avarice, telling her she'll never be happy no matter how much gold you give.
  • (Paladin only) A DC 18 Intimidation check check with advantage, refusing to bow to her corrupt demands and declaring Gerringothe "an endless pit of avarice."
    • A DC 21 Persuasion check to convince her she needs gold not for the toll, but for herself.
    • A DC 21 Intimidation check to insist she stand down.
    • A DC 21 Deception check to claim that "requesting more than one toll per traveller is quite illegal, per the relevant statutes," and inquiring about her defence.

If the party does not have any gold at all (because it was stashed away), all available conversation options will eventually lead to a fight.

Whichever approach is taken, succeeding will lead to her having a moment of clarity before stating she will "pay it back". Then she seemingly kills herself. The party will be fully rewarded experience as if they defeated her and all her Visage minions and also get the full amount of gold magically bound to her.

Combat

Attacks and abilities

 Claws ()

2d4 (2~8) + Strength or Dexterity modifier Slashing

Lash out with deadly claws.

 Melee: 1.5 m / 5  ft

 Combustible Coins ()

3d8 (3~24) Force

Enchant a pile of coins to explode.

DEX Save

AoE: 5 m / 15 ft (Radius)

 Jealous Avarice ()

8d12 (8~96) Slashing

Seizing on greed, the toll collector damages a character based on how much gold they're carrying.

For every 500 gold a character is carrying, damage is repeated multiple times.

DEX Save

 Range: 8 m / 26 ft

 Left Coin Whip ()

4d8 (4~32) + STR modifier Slashing

Whip a target with jingle-jangling fury.

Removing the Toll Collector's right arm makes using this attack impossible.

 Right Coin Whip ()

4d8 (4~32) + STR modifier Slashing

Whip a target with jingle-jangling fury.

Removing the Toll Collector's right arm makes using this attack impossible.

 Summon coin halberd ()

Summon a coin halberd from a pile of gold to fight alongside you.

The pile of gold is destroyed.

 Range: 8 m / 26 ft

Allies

• Visage of Cowardice
• Visage of Greed
• Visage of Guilt
• Visage of Heartlessness
• Visage of Obedience
• Visage of Regret

Encounter details

• Gerringothe is surrounded by 6 Grim Visages scattered throughout the building. For each one killed, she will lose 100 of her Hit Points and some of her powerful abilities. The piece of coin armour destroyed follows a fixed sequence each time, irrespective of which Visage is killed:

1.  Coin Vambrace (L), disabling Left Coin Whip
2.  Coin Vambrace (R), disabling Right Coin Whip
3.  Coin Cuisse
4.  Coin Cuisse (R)
5.  Coin Cuirass
6.  Coin Helmet

• Visages have the passive condition  Shadow Visage which prevents them from being damaged until the party begins combat. Once the battle has begun, they will teleport up to the 2nd floor and surround the area where Gerringothe patrols.
• Visages have an unlisted immunity to falling damage.
• Her large amount of Hit Points makes it difficult to defeat her quickly without also targeting the Visages.
• Gerringothe's  Jealous Avarice spell deals more damage based on how much gold the target is carrying.
• As the fight continues, Gerringothe will begin using  Combustible Coins to force the party to be on a constant move. She can also turn larger piles of gold into Coin Halberds throughout the battle.

Tactics

• Instead of focusing on Gerringothe, it is better to target the Grim Visages spread throughout the building.
  • They are all vulnerable to Psychic damage, making certain weapons and Illithid powers particularly effective at dealing with them. Bard's  Dissonant Whispers can notably one shot them, especially when upcast.
  • The Visages are also vulnerable to effects that target the Undead. A 5th level Cleric with  Destroy Undead can potentially destroy or turn multiple Visages at once if they are grouped up together.
  • It is important to kill two Grim Visages as soon as possible to remove Gerringothe's ability to use Left Coin Whip and Right Coin Whip, since these attacks deal substantial damage.
• Storing the party's gold at camp will minimize the threat of her  Jealous Avarice which can otherwise easily one-shot party members if they are carrying a few thousand gold.
• Picking up the piles of Gold spread around the building before battle will limit the effective use of  Combustible Coins and deny Gerringothe opportunities to create halberds.
•  Combustible Coins that are about to detonate can be easily countered by picking up the coins since they won't explode in the party's inventory.
• Alternatively, the party can instantly kill her (or at least leave her on the verge of death) by sneaking up behind her and using  Shove or  Telekinesis to hurl her out of a nearby window. Depending on how much damage she took, it may still be necessary to kill at least one Grim Visage. This is a fast and easy way to unlock the "Penny Pincher" achievement.

Honour mode

In Honour mode, Gerringothe gains  Legendary Action: Sublimation, which allows her to try and  Sublimate one of your party members whenever she loses an armour piece. This can happen either by damaging Gerringothe or killing one of her Grim Visages.

This reaction can be avoided by staying more than 4 m (13 ft) away from her or by passing a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, your party member will be  Turned to Gold for 4 turns, effectively taking them out of the fight for a while.

Notable loot

• Twist of Fortune
• 600 Gold dropped near her, if defeated through skill checks. Otherwise a stack of 100 will drop each time a layer of her armour is removed, up to six times.
• If the party paid her earlier, she'll also drop the amount given.

Related literature

• BAN LIST, Gerringothe is listed as banned from the Waning Moon distillery
• Heavy Book, a teller is surprised when Gerringothe appreciates something besides "the cold clink of gold."
• Scribbled Note (Last Light Inn), a traveller during Ketheric's Shar-following days notices something is awry
• Tollhouse Ledger (Reithwin), a dwindling record of traders passing through the town

Written by Gerringothe Thorm

• Gerringothe's Logbook
• Tollhouse Ledger (Reithwin)
• Unsigned Trade Visa

Gallery

• 

  Gerringothe's armoured model

• 

  Gerringothe's exposed model

External links

• Gerringothe Thorm on the Forgotten Realms Wiki