Minthara

Minthara
Role	Companion
Voiced by	Emma Gregory
Information
Full name	Minthara Baenre
Title	Drow Exile True Soul
Race	Lolth-sworn drow
Class	Oath of Vengeance Paladin
Background	Noble
Hometown	Menzoberranzan, Underdark (former)

Minthara Baenre is a recruitable Companion with the Noble background. She is a Lolth-sworn drow and a Oath of Vengeance Paladin first appearing during Act 1.

Ruthless in service of the Absolute, she commands a camp of goblins planning an attack on the Druid Grove in the name of their god. Initially hostile, she can be encountered during Act 2 and saved from execution, and can potentially join the party as well as be romanced by characters of any gender.

“	Bhaal, Lolth... the Absolute. They do not have followers - they only have victims, and they reward devotion with death.	„
	— Minthara on gods.

Overview

For a full overview of Minthara's starting features, see the articles Paladin, Oath of Vengeance and Lolth-sworn Drow.

Background

A member of the ancient House Baenre, Minthara is a True Soul in the service of the Absolute and one of the three leaders of the Goblin Camp in the Wilderness. She and her fellow True Souls, Priestess Gut and Dror Ragzlin, set up a base of operations in an old Selûnite temple in search of a Mysterious Artefact by order of the Absolute. Will her cruel efforts be rewarded by the one she so reveres, or will she be cast aside as broken tool in the Absolute's path of conquest?

Starting class

Minthara starts as a Paladin, with a focus on dual-wielding maces. Her subclass is Oath of Vengeance, giving her a more offense oriented toolkit, with more ways of controlling and debuffing foes in battle.

Special features

• Minthara has the passive  Soul Branding, allowing her to grant herself or an ally an additional 5m (17ft) of movement and 2d4 + 1Fire damage on their next attack
• Furthermore, she will already have access to the following Illithid Powers:
  •  Favourable Beginnings
  •  Charm
  •  Concentrated Blast
  •  Psionic Backlash

Personal quest

Minthara does not have a personal quest like other companions, however, she is directly involved in two important quests.

As part of the main-quest Save the Refugees, the party can decide to which side to support in the conflict between the goblins and the druids of the grove. If siding with the druids and refugees, Minthara will be hostile and an objective of Defeat the Goblins. If sided with the forces of the Absolute, she will appear as an ally as part of Raid the Grove.

In Decide Minthara's Fate, the party can decide what will happen of Minthara after her trial at the hands of Ketheric Thorm and Disciple Z'rell at Moonrise Towers.

Recruitment

Recruitment statistics
Level 1
Stats
Initiative	+1
Ability scores
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 8 (-1) 10 (0) 15 (+2)
Proficiency bonus	+2
Saving throws	Str +3 Dex +1 Con +1 Int -1 Wis 0 Cha +2

Although Minthara can be encountered in Act One, she cannot join the player's party as a permanent companion before reaching Moonrise Towers in Act Two.

Act Two

• If left alive after the events of Act 1, Minthara will be found at Moonrise Towers facing trial by Ketheric Thorm for failing to find the mysterious artefact. Sentenced to death, she is taken to the Moonrise Towers Prison to be tortured until her execution. The party can find her and help her escape, and if invited to camp, she'll offer to join them. The only requirement for this is that she survived the events of Act 1.
  • Should the party side with Minthara during Save the Refugees and raid the grove with her, no additional steps need to taken in order to ensure she appears at Moonrise Towers.
  • If the party sides with the druids instead, but still wishes to ensure she appears at Moonrise Towers, when fought at the goblin camp in Act 1, she must be knocked out while being temporarily hostile. She will only appear at Moonrise Towers if both of these conditions are fulfilled. The easiest way to do this is to commit a crime in front of her. After knocking out Minthara the party needs to kill the other two goblin leaders in one go without a Long Rest.

Approval

See main article: Minthara/Approval

Minthara approves of displays of power and control, often in the form of violent, if not efficient, solutions to problems. She respects those with the strength to follow their own will, and enjoys cruel irony on occasion.

Minthara dislikes shows of compassion, especially towards those she considers weak. She will disapprove of any form of benevolence without something to gain for it, as well as senseless violence that does not aid the party in some way. Above all, she despises shows of weakness and any form of worship of Lolth.

Romance

See main article: Minthara/Romance

If the party sides with the absolutists and successfully raid the druid grove together, the player can have a one-night stand with Minthara to celebrate their victory.

Should Minthara be saved and recruited, she can be romanced by characters of either gender. Though initially cold, Minthara will show some of her deepest fears to her partner, as well as display a more romantic, if not jealous, side of her.

Description

Appearance

With a stern countenance and piercing eyes, Minthara has an imposing presence. Like most drow, she has purplish-blue skin, with crimson eyes and pointed ears. Her silver hair is kept in a messy top bun, with stray strands of hair adorning her face. On the left side of her neck, she bears the seal of House Baenre in black, marking her as a member of the ancestral house. Her combat equipment is well-made, and her at-ease clothes reflect some of her noble upbringing.

Personality

As a drow and follower of the Absolute, Minthara has a highly hostile and cruel attitude towards other beings, considering almost everyone as inferior. She has a special disdain for those who do not share her beliefs, and holds other of her race in high regard. Her upbringing as a noble in Menzoberranzan further compounds her superiority complex. Aligned with the Absolute, she's willing to do whatever it takes to serve it.

Power hungry, she is always looking for way to increase her standing among her peers, product of her drow upbringing. Having been a follower of Lolth once, she also knows that violence, deception and cruelty are great tools to obtain what she wants.

Despite her overt dislike for others, she is an observant person, always studying those that surround her. Minthara often understands the plights of her companions, even if she doesn't necessarily care for them, and she's always willing to give them a solution in her own way. Though her methods may sometimes be extreme, they always have a sound reasoning. Still, she doesn't support mindless cruelty if it serves no purpose, and even shows a weak spot for Scratch. If romanced, she also shows that she harbours doubts about her life and circumstances.

Whether due to her looks or attitude, Minthara reveals she's had quite a few lovers in the past and even has a few suitors among the goblins, unbeknownst to her.

If recruited and freed from the Absolute's influence, Minthara's cruelty will be more tempered, and her fury will be aimed solely at the other leaders of the Cult - particularly Orin. She also becomes contemplative of her actions under the Absolute's influence, and rues letting them exploit her fears and yearning for belonging to use her as a tool.

History

Menzoberranzan

Born into the ancient House Baenre of Menzoberranzan, Minthara was raised as a noble of the city in Qu'ellarz'orl, a plateau above the city expanse. Taught in the ways of Lolth, she eventually rose to be an important house matron, enjoying all the luxuries of her birthright. She survived her first assassination attempt when she was a child, and another at the hands of her mother when she came of age.

Sometime during her life there, she encountered a True Soul and two novices preaching the message of the Absolute. Minthara had them hanged and displayed as a warning against heresy, but curiosity got the best of her, and after using necromancy on the corpses to find their base of operations, she prepared a retinue of warriors to strike at Moonrise Towers.

Indoctrination and time in the Cult

Minthara gathered her allies to battle the absolutists, yet, when they arrived at Moonrise Towers, they were met with a lavish feast and a welcome fit for a house matron. Ketheric Thorm had been expecting her, and invited her to partake of his feast alongside Orin the Red. He explained he wished to form an alliance between Moonrise and Menzoberranzan, flattering Minthara and playing to her pride. Lowering her guard, Minthara was unable to react in time as Orin jumped on the table and sliced her men's throats as she approached her. Standing before her, Orin expressed her interest in Minthara, and Ketheric approved of it, ordering her to be taken to the Mind Flayer Colony. There, Minthara was held for some time, helplessly watching as her men were processed for food or to be turned into thralls. Eventually, Orin returned and placed the tadpole in Minthara's eye, sealing the drow's fate as part of the Cult of the Absolute.

Under orders of her new god, Minthara participated in many massacres carried by the cult, mostly against religious communities who refused to convert. She became a zealot, and in time, even began to admire Orin. Orin would manipulate her further, telling her lies of how she was a True Soul, chosen by the Absolute as her greatest weapon. For Minthara, the Absolute was more than just a god, it was everything she ever truly wanted. With a new purpose, Minthara heads to the Wilderness in search of a powerful weapon her new goddess desires, hungry to prove herself.

Involvement

Save the Refugees

See main article: Save the Refugees

Though Minthara does not have a personal quest, she is deeply involved in Save the Refugees.

Act One

Minthara is first encountered at the Shattered Sanctum within the Goblin Camp, planning an attack on Emerald Grove at the behest of the Absolute. When spoken to, she will quickly identify the party as fellow True Souls and reveal that she believes the druids are hiding a powerful weapon at their grove that the Absolute desires. She has been surveying the land in search of the weapon, sending search parties to track the leader of the grove, Halsin. Minthara will probe the party's minds with her tadpole, possibly leading to the grove's location being exposed.

The party can fight Minthara as part of the quest Defeat the Goblins, turning her and the rest of the goblins around her hostile. Fighting her will turn the rest of the camp hostile, leaving siding with the goblins to raid the grove off the table. With one of the three goblin leaders dead, Dror Ragzlin and Priestess Gut are next.

Alternatively, the party can entertain the possibility of raiding the grove with the absolutists. This will add the quest Raid the Emerald Grove to the journal. If they choose to ally with the forces of the Absolute and disclose the grove's location, the raid of the grove will begin after the next Long Rest. Carrying on with the raid will cause Karlach and Wyll to permanently leave the player's party. After the grove has been destroyed, Minthara and the goblins will join the party at their camp and celebrate their slaughter of the druids, even if they ultimately failed to find the weapon the Absolute desired. Minthara will also offer to have a casual encounter with the player character, rejecting her will anger her, but will have no negative consequences.

After the celebrations, Minthara will urge the party to join the forces of the Absolute at Moonrise Towers in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. She will give the party her Spider's Lyre to summon a guide that will help them through the deadly shadows, and departs shortly after.

Decide Minthara's Fate

See main article: Decide Minthara's Fate

What becomes of Minthara can be decided in this quest of hers.

Act Two

Should Minthara have survived the events of Act 1, whether friendly or hostile, she will be next encountered in Moonrise Towers on trial by Ketheric Thorm for failing to retrieve the Mysterious Artefact. The party can intervene on her behalf, but Ketheric will sentence her to death regardless of what's said. This will begin the quest Decide Minthara's Fate.

The party can choose to follow, in which case they'll find her at the Moonrise Towers Prison, undergoing torture by two Questioners. Here, a choice can be made: join the questioners in erasing Minthara's mind, turning her into a witless thrall of the Absolute, or slay them instead and help her escape. If freed, the party will need to escort Minthara out of the prison, either through dialogue or violence. Regardless, once out, Minthara can go on her own way or be convinced to join the party, at which point she will join the camp.

If the party allows Balthazar to take the Nightsong during Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic, and finds Isobel for the absolutists, they will be granted an audience with Ketheric Thorm who will allow them to pray at the altar of the Absolute. Doing so will ultimately result in the party being imprisoned in pods in the Mind Flayer Colony, where Balthazar will attempt to turn them into zombies in his service. In the fight that ensues the party may battle a Zombie Dror Ragzlin and Zombie Minthara, if either of them died during the events prior.

Get Orin's Netherstone

See main article: Get Orin's Netherstone

Having been indoctrinated into the Cult of the Absolute by Orin herself, Minthara has a personal stake in this quest.

Act Three

Minthara can be one of possible victims of Orin's kidnapping during Act 3 as part of Rescue Orin's Victim. If so, once Orin's defeated and Minthara's been rescued, she will have some words about the entire ordeal. Additionally, she'll also express being disheartened after killing her former abuser, as even though Orin could only copy the surface characteristics of her victims, Minthara saw her herself in Orin's bloodlust and madness, a shattered but possible version of herself had she not broken free from the Absolute's control.

Endings

Return to Menzoberranzan

After the defeat of the Netherbrain, a romanced Minthara will ask the player what their plans are now that they are free. She can be encouraged to return to Menzoberranzan, to which she will agree, suggesting they put the gnomes back to work to rebuild the Steel Watch, returning as conquerors to found a new noble House. Six months after the fall of the absolutists, Minthara will mention that the war against House Baenre is going well, but that she welcomes the distraction of Withers' party.

Quest rewards

• Gift from the Absolute — given by Minthara for siding with the absolutists and raiding the grove as part of Raid the Emerald Grove
• Spider's Lyre — given by Minthara after the camp celebration upon successfully raiding the grove as part of Raid the Emerald Grove

Interactions

Companion interactions

Minthara has unique dialogue interactions as a companion available after certain events. Whenever one is available, she will have a floating [ ! ] icon above her.

Act Two

• Upon joining the party in camp as a companion, she will talk about some of her time under the Absolute and vow vengeance.
• After defeating Ketheric, Minthara will sit on his throne, gloating. When spoken to, she will reveal more about how she was indoctrinated into the Cult, and her plans once the Cult is destroyed.

Act Three

• Upon reaching Rivington, Minthara will comment on the state of the refugees and city's refusal to let them in.
• If pursuing a romance with her, she will at some point ask to see the player's thoughts on her.

Unique interactions

As a companion, Minthara has unique interactions and special dialogue with the following characters, listed by the act they are first encountered in.

Act Three

• Viconia DeVir

Combat

Combat statistics
Medium Humanoid
Level 6 Lolth-sworn drow
Stats
Armour Class	16
Hit points	52 (Balanced) 67 (Tactician)
Movement speed	9 m (30 ft)
Weight	75 kg (150 lb)
Initiative	+2
Ability scores
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 10 (0) 12 (+1) 17 (+3)
Proficiency bonus	+3
Saving throws	Str +3 Dex +2 Con +2 Int 0 Wis +1 Cha +3
Features
Superior Darkvision	Can see in the dark up to 24m.
Opportunity Attack	Automatically attack an enemy moving out of your reach.
Defence	+1 bonus to AC while wearing armour.
Dual Wielder	You can use Two-Weapon Fighting for all non-Heavy weapons.
Dual Wielder: Bonus Armour Class	+1 bonus to AC while dual wielding.
Divine Health	Immune to disease.
Drow Weapon Training	Proficient with Rapiers, Shortswords, and Hand Crossbows.
Extra Attack	Make an free attack after an unarmed or weapon attack.
Fey Ancestry	Immunity to sleep and advantage on saves against Charmed.

The battle against Minthara isn't too daunting, but requires preparation in order to avoid being overrun by her allies.

Minthara will be found at the war table with Rozzak, planning their attack on the grove. A scrying eye will patrol the area between the library and the war table, any hostile action will alert the eye and it will in turn alert nearby enemies. Disabling the eye, such as pushing it off the bridge connecting both aforementioned areas, is the best solution. Near the war table, overlooking the chasm, is a war drum. Hostile goblins will attempt to use it to alert allies, so it's best to destroy it before the fight begins.

Minthara will cast  Hold Person on enemies, and buff her allies with  Soul Branding and  Bless, so it's best to prioritize or incapacitate her quickly. Her goblin allies will quickly swarm the party, so any crowd control spells work well to manage the dangers. The area surrounding the war table has quite a few chasm drops, so it's possible to shove enemies into them for easy kills, albeit losing their loot. The bridge connecting both areas can also be collapsed by attacking the wooden supports, preventing reinforcements from arriving as easily.

Finally, Minthara can be killed effortlessly by agreeing to raid the grove. She will then mote to marshal the goblins, crossing the wooden bride. This gives the party an easy opportunity to collapse the bride under her, killing her instantly but will lose access to her loot.

Enemy allies

• Scrying Eye
• Rozzak
• Skrut
• Warrior Bez
• Sazza — if alive and freed

Loot

Minthara can be killed and looted. She will have the same items as her starting equipment except for her underwear.

• Camp Supply Sack
• Keychain
• Alchemy Pouch
• Xyanyde
• Mace
• Spidersilk Armour
• Boots of Striding
• Drow Leather Gloves
• Minthara's At-Ease Clothes
• Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen
• Spider's Lyre
• Potion of Healing x2

Gallery

• 

  Base model.

• 

  Camp clothing model.

• 

  Underwear model.

• 

  Early Access post-Patch 6 model.

• 

  Early Access Patch 5 model.

• 

  Early Access pre-Patch 5 model.

• 

  Portrait by Edward Vanderghote.

• 

  At the start of Early Access.

• 

  Patch 5 of Early Access.

• 

  Patch 6 of Early Access.

• 

  Digital Deluxe artbook concept.

Related literature

• Drow's Letter
• Note to Self
• Parchment
• Unfinished Love Letter

Notes

• If the player is a Lolth-sworn drow, many unique dialogue options are available, one of which includes condemning Minthara and attacking her for abandoning Lolth.
• In traditional Drow names, the prefix "Min-" means "lesser", "minor", or "second", while the suffix "-thara" means "glyph", "marker", or "rune".

External links

Minthara Baenre on the Forgotten Realms Wiki