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Ketheric Thorm

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Overview Combat

General Ketheric Thorm is the Chosen of Myrkul Myrkul, and one of the leaders of the enigmatic Cult of the Absolute and serves as one of the main antagonists in Baldur's Gate 3.

Portrait Ketheric Thorm.png
“
Our darling will live again. What kind of man would I be if I didn't raze the world entire for her sake?
„
— Ketheric Thorm in a diary entry

Overview

Once the governor of Reithwin Town, personal tragedy, loss and grief drove him down the path of darkness and violence, the eventual result of which was his defeat 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, spread the cult of the Absolute, and have his daughter Isobel Thorm Isobel with him once again.

Background

Risen from the grave a hundred years after the events that lead to his downfall, Kethric 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 him down in order to rid the Shadowlands from its curse.

By exploring Moonrise Towers, through subsequent battle with him, and later exploring the Illithid colony under the stronghold, the party discovers there is an elaborate conspiracy behind the tadpoles in their heads. Ketheric's alliance with Enver Gortash Enver Gortash and Orin Orin the Red is also exposed, along with his plans to secure all three Netherstones for himself [4] . Also in the process of the fight against him, it's revealed it was Myrkul Myrkul that brought Ketheric back from the dead. With Thorm dead, the party now have one of the Netherstones that power the trio, and the clues to their next destination: Baldur's Gate.

Gameplay

  • Ketheric Thorm is a level 11 Undead boss that retains some features of his past life as a Half-Elf, and one of the main antagonists in the game.
  • He can be found throughout Act 2, while being referenced through dialogue and notes in Act 1.
  • Fighting him is required in order to obtain his Netherstone and proceed with the story.
  • In combat, he is most similar to an Oathbreaker paladin, able to cast a form of Smite with his attacks, as well as having access to Aura spells and able to raise Undead minions.
  • Despite his status as a boss, Ketheric can still be disarmed, knocked prone or affected by other types of weapon abilities.
  • True to his skill as a general, Ketheric commands his allies to focus their attacks on targets he deems especially troublesome via Deadly Orders.
  • The outcome of the quests relating to the Nightsong, as well as dialogue checks, can influence the encounters with him.

Description

Appearance

Ketheric has straight, grey hair kept shoulder-length and tucked behind his pointed ears. His countenance is severe, face wrinkled both by his glare and age, and he keeps a thick, full beard that connects to his hair. Ketheric wears a simple circlet with the skull of Myrkul, and an extravagant, well-crafted suit of armor that marks him as the Chosen of the Lord of Bones. His Netherstone rests on his chest, secured by an ornate gold cage.

Personality

Though best described as a man tormented and transformed by grief, his daughter Isobel Thorm Isobel speaks of a loving, doting father while she was growing up, one who had the admiration of his subjects for being just and fair, full of love for his wife who he adored more than anyone else. Tragedy, however, would turn him into a bitter, wrathful man, willing to cleanse Reithwin from any Selûnites to spite the Selûne Moonmaiden for abandoning him.

Whatever the man he once was, the Ketheric the party encounters is a callous one, evident by his dismissal of Minthara Minthara and the goblins, ordering their torture and execution for failing him. Though courteous when needed, he will quickly condemn the party to death should they defy his orders. Above all, however, he is ruthless and relentless [5] in his pursuits, willing to burn the entire world just to be reunited with his daughter.[6]

Though his loss and anguish moved him to change his patron god twice in search of relief, he proved to be an ardent believer of each while serving them: for Selûne, he built Moonrise Towers in her honour, for Shar, he built a grand temple under town in her name and for Myrkul Myrkul, he amassed a great army ready to raze Baldur's Gate to the ground.

Through it all, he kept a note from Isobel close to him, showing that deep down a small part of him still remembers the man he once was.

History

Governor of Reithwin

A devout worshipper of Selûne Selûne, Thorm lived with his wife Melodia and daughter Isobel Thorm Isobel near the town of Reithwin as governor of the region. Such was his devotion to the Moonmaiden that he would commission a local mason, Infernal Mason Morfred, to construct a grand bastion in her honour: Moonrise Towers.

Yet disaster struck the Thorm family when Melodia passed away, leaving Ketheric to raise their daughter alone.[7] With a child in his care, Ketheric persevered, and though doubts plagued his mind, he kept the Selûnite ways. As Isobel grew older, their happy years had a sour note: he disapproved of a budding relationship between his daughter and an immortal Aasimar visiting the town, Aylin Dame Aylin, daughter of Selûne.

The conflict would be cut short, however, as tragedy would befall Ketheric once more, and his daughter Isobel passed away.[8]

Conversion to Shar

Grief-stricken and unable to cope with his loss, Ketheric Thorm renounced the worship of the Selûne Moonmaiden and turned to Shar Shar, the Lady of Loss.[9][10]

Moonrise Towers, once a bastion of Light, turned into a symbol of darkness and grief; Thorm systematically erased all Selûnite trace of the town, forcing all believers of the Moonmaiden to convert to Shar, flee, or die.[11] Those who remained devout to Selûne did so in secret, arranging a fledgling resistance fledgling resistance even as Sharran spies began to infiltrate their gathering places.[12]

In Ketheric's downward spiral into darkness, Shar compelled him to build an army of Dark Justiciars beneath his home town in order to cleanse the world of Light. Ketheric lured Isobel's lover, Aylin, whom he had once quarreled with under Selûne, and trapped her in a prison. He had the immortal demigod serve as a perpetual sacrifice for Dark Justiciar initiates – a design of his closest confidante, the necromancer Balthazar Balthazar.[13][14]

As terror gripped the town he had previously served so faithfully, the Harpers, a loose organization that roots out villainy, saw that Ketheric had committed "Murder, Slavery, and Desecration of Temples Most Holy." They began to seek an alliance to end his reign.[15]

Reithwin soon became the site of a wintertime battle between Ketheric's army and the combined forces of the Harpers and druids of the Emerald Enclave.[16] Ketheric's Justiciars repelled the combined forces, and the Harpers unsuccessfully attempted surrender. [17] All the while a devil's bargain was struck with Raphael Raphael beneath the town by the Selûnite-in-secret Infernal Mason Morfred as well as Yurgir Yurgir and his merregons; they then worked to annihilate Ketheric's Dark Justiciar army.

In the end, the Sharran army was defeated, virtually all Dark Justiciars were slain virtually all Dark Justiciars were slain, and finally Ketheric himself perished [18]. And yet, before the final blow was struck and his defeat was sealed, he unleashed a Shadow Curse upon the land - a curse that would persist long after his demise, afflicting all battle survivors and any remaining inhabitants who did not flee. His body was later buried in the Thorm Mausoleum.

Chosen of Myrkul

Portrait Ketheric Thorm.png
“
I'll tell you a story, True Soul. About a man who sold himself piece by piece.
„
— Ketheric Thorm

More than a hundred years later, Thorm would be brought back from the dead by Myrkul Myrkul as General Ketheric Thorm. The God of Death tasked the general to form an alliance with the apostles of the other two of the Dead Three and bring death to the world, offering in payment the resurrection of Ketheric's daughter Isobel.

After reviving his daughter with help of Balthazar, Ketheric's plan at a family reunion failed. When the revived Isobel saw his broken visage, she fled into the darkness, protected by her goddess Selûne. The town had been ravaged by Ketheric's death rattle, the Shadow Curse. Looming over the town for a century, all within had either died outright from it or been twisted into horrific monsters.

Undeterred, empowered by Myrkul, and granted immortality by the Nightsong, Ketheric began 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's plans, he ultimately fails and falls at the hands of the party.[19]

Involvement

Though the party learns about Ketheric during Act 1, his involvement in the Cult of the Absolute is only explored during Act Two, allowing them to meet Ketheric himself at Moonrise Towers either before or when it's sieged.

Act Two

Moonrise Towers throne room

The Party's first encounter with Ketheric Thorm starts with the general judging members of the Absolute's forces from the Goblin Camp, including Sazza Sazza, Fezzerk Fezzerk, and Minthara Minthara if any of them are still alive. Should Minthara be alive, he will send her to the dungeons to be punished, and is left with the goblins. Drenn Drenn then attacks him out of fear and desperation. Even when impaled and nearly decapitated by her with a halberd, he shrugs off the wounds as if they were minor annoyances; Ketheric then kills her to make an example of the futility in resisting him. He will leave the fate of the remaining goblins to the party.

The party can visit him before the finale by going on the top floor of Moonrise Towers. If noticed attempting to go through the door that leads to him, everyone around it will turn hostile.

While speaking to NPCs such as Jaheira Jaheira, Z'rell Z'rell, and Balthazar Balthazar, it will be revealed, to some capacity, that a magical relic grants Ketheric immortality. Assisting Balthazar will reveal that sometime between his life as a Sharran and his time serving Myrkul, Ketheric Thorm had discovered the Aylin Nightsong and used it to render him unkillable.

Atop Moonrise Towers

The party may encounter him again at the top of Moonrise Towers during the siege and, if so, are granted a quick exchange with him before combat. Should Isobel be dead, he will recount his life story, and his sacrifices, blaming the party for her death, but not punishing them, as he wishes to keep up the façade of the Absolute's judgement. If Aylin Aylin was saved, she will interrupt the conversation and combat will soon begin. Otherwise, the encounter begins as normal.

Once his health drops to around 25%, Ketheric will flee down into the Mind Flayer Colony.

If, however, the party chose to let Balthazar take the Nightsong in the Shadowfell, Ketheric will offer the party to pray at the altar of the Absolute. Doing so will skip the fight at the top of the tower and the party will instead end up imprisoned in a pod in the Mind Flayer Colony, where Balthazar is tasked with recycling the party into zombies and retrieving the Mysterious Artefact. It's then necessary to break out of the pods and defeat Balthazar to continue.

Eventually, the party finds Ketheric having a conversation with Enver Gortash Enver Gortash and Orin Orin the Red, revealing the true form of the Absolute. The party will then engage Ketheric once more and when he falls, the last portion of the fight will begin, this time against the Apostle of Myrkul Apostle of Myrkul.

If asking Ketheric to repent by passing multiple Persuasion and/or Intimidation checks, both atop Moonrise Towers and in the Mind Flayer Colony, then the first half of his fight in the Mind Flayer Colony will be skipped as Ketheric gives himself to Myrkul.

Defeated for good, Ketheric's body will contain the first Netherstone.

Combat

Main article: Ketheric Thorm/Combat

Ketheric serves as the main antagonist of Act 2 of the game and must be fought thrice in it. His defeat marks the end of the act and allows the party to proceed to their next and final destination: Baldur's Gate.

Loot

Related Quests

Related literature

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Books by Ketheric Thorm

Notes by Ketheric Thorm

Achievements

A-No Free Lunches.jpg

No Free Lunches
Defeat the Apostle of Myrkul before it consumes any necromites.


Gallery

  • Ketheric's model

    Ketheric's model

  • Character portrait by Edward Vanderghote

    Character portrait by Edward Vanderghote

  • Character render by Alena Dubrovina

    Character render by Alena Dubrovina

  • Early Design of the Chosen

    Early Design of the Chosen

Notes and References

  1. ↑ A note written by Malus Thorm found in the House of Healing refers to Ketheric as nephew, thus it can be safely inferred that Malus is indeed his uncle.
  2. ↑ It's unclear what degree of kinship Ketheric and 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.
  3. ↑ Ketheric's kinship with Thisobald is not quite clear, either. Though Thisobald refers to Ketheric as "father", neither Ketheric nor Isobel ever acknowledge him in dialogue or otherwise. Given that Ketheric and Balthazar have desecrated the Thorm mausoleum and resurrected Isobel, it's possible that Thisobald is another resurrected relative and refers to Ketheric as father not in the paternal sense, but as "creator".
  4. ↑ Elder Brain Domination found underneath the floorboards by the bed in Kethric Thorm's quarters.
  5. ↑ Suelto's Ethics of War on the floor near a makeshift shrine to Myrkul in Kethric Thorm's quarters.
  6. ↑ Diary of Ketheric Thorm, Vol 3
  7. ↑ Letter to Ketheric
  8. ↑ Mason's Log
  9. ↑ Diary of Ketheric Thorm, Vol 1
  10. ↑ Tablet Fragment (3)
  11. ↑ From a Shadow Vestige: "An older man turns his head away in shame. His neighbors would not renounce Selûne - now they hang in the town square."
  12. ↑ Investigation Notes
  13. ↑ Ornate Letter
  14. ↑ Teachings of Loss: Dark Justiciar
  15. ↑ Scroll of Evidence
  16. ↑ The Price of Pride
  17. ↑ Harper's Testimonial
  18. ↑ Ketheric's first death, and the timeline of his immortality, isn't explained in the game. He survived a poisoning by the Harpers, and Thisobald wrote that it was because Ketheric was immortal. If that's true, it's not clear how he later was able to be killed.
  19. ↑ Missive from Gortash
  20. ↑ Available only if disarmed during the first encounter atop Moonrise Towers.

External links

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