Thisobald Thorm

Thisobald Thorm is a unique, intelligent Undead, and the master brewer of The Waning Moon. He is possibly the son of  Ketheric Thorm.

“

Go on. Drink, make it drank, be drunk. You and I both, to our good health.

„

— Thisobald Thorm, offering a drink to the player character

Involvement edit

Thisobald Thorm stands near the bar in the Waning Moon. When approached, the avatar character always sits down at the bar.^[2] Thisobald tends the bar and insists that the player character drink with him. He is not hostile unless refused, whereupon he immediately attacks. After accepting, a series of  Constitution saving throw and  Ability check options are presented. The ultimate goal is to "outdrink" him so he bursts through over-indulgence.^[3]

There are a number of opportunities to earn inspiration here:

⁠A Story You Won't Believe ( Entertainer background) – for successfully passing all  Performance checks
⁠I've Had Worse ( Outlander background) – for actually drinking and succeeding on at least one saving throw
⁠Lack of Moderation is Key ( Haunted One background) – for successfully killing Thisobald with his own brew, regardless of whether the player character drank anything
⁠Safety-Averse Quaffing ( Guild Artisan background) – for drinking Thisobald's brew at least once
⁠The Best Offence is Virtually Nonsense ( Soldier background) – for killing Thisobald without entering combat
⁠Thorm Family Secrets ( Sage background) – for interacting with Thisobald and all of  Ketheric Thorm's other family members
⁠Tricks of the Trade ( Charlatan background) – for taking each opportunity to make  Sleight of Hand checks to pretend to drink, and succeeding on all of them

Drinking with Thisobald edit

There are three phases to each round of drinking: the drinking phase, the story phase, and the questions phase. During each drinking phase, the player character can choose to either drink the brew and make a  Constitution saving throw (with certain classes gaining  Advantage) or pretend to drink and make a  Sleight of Hand check (with  Rogues having  Advantage and a lowered DC).

If the player character fails one  Constitution saving throw, they become  Drunk until long rest and have  Disadvantage on Dexterity and Charisma checks, making any  Sleight of Hand checks and each ensuing story phase much harder. After failing two  Constitution saving throws, the player character becomes  Poisoned until long rest (can also be removed with an Antidote). After failing all three  Constitution saving throws, the player character falls  Unconscious for 10 turns, and Thisobald immediately begins combat.

If the player character fails a  Sleight of Hand check, Thisobald notices the fraud and becomes hostile.

After drinking or successfully faking a drink, Thisobald asks the player character to tell a story. This is done using a  Performance check, with choices based on the events of the party's journey up to this point ( Bards have  Advantage on each  Performance check).

First drink edit

After picking up the tankard, the player character is presented with several options:

[CONSTITUTION] Drink with the Brewer. (DC 14)
[BARBARIAN] [CONSTITUTION] CHUG THE BEER. (DC 14 )
[CLERIC] [CONSTITUTION] Whisper a prayer to your god, then drink. (DC 14 )
[MONK] [CONSTITUTION] Steady your body and mind, then drink. (DC 14 )
[SLEIGHT OF HAND] Mime drinking. (DC 18)
[ROGUE] [SLEIGHT OF HAND] Pretend to swig deeply, avoiding the liquid at the last moment. (DC 16 )

If refusing to drink or failing a  Sleight of Hand check, Thisobald begins combat. Otherwise, he asks that the player character tell him a story.  Warlocks get the special option to make a  DC 16 Persuasion check based on their patron instead.

[DARK URGE] [PERFORMANCE] I massacred an entire Grove of Tieflings who thought me their protector. (DC 21)
[PERFORMANCE] From aboard a mind flayer vessel, I've witnessed the Hells themselves. (DC 21)
[PERFORMANCE] I gazed on nature's bounties in a verdant grove of druids. (DC 18)
[PERFORMANCE] I've seen the goblins' vile rituals with my own eyes. (DC 18)
[PERFORMANCE] A silver-tongued devil bade me feast in his lavishly appointed banquet hall. (DC 18)
[PERFORMANCE] I ascended a great tower infused with the most powerful of magic. (DC 16)
[PERFORMANCE] I explored a lost fortress buried deep in the Underdark's bowels. (DC 16)
[FIEND] [PERSUASION] I made a deal with a creature of purest sin and took its power as my own. (DC 16)
[ARCHFEY] [PERSUASION] I gained the faerie favour of a creature from another plane. (DC 16)
[GREAT OLD ONE] [PERSUASION] I am the favoured vessel of an unknowably ancient creature. (DC 16)
[THE HEXBLADE] [PERSUASION] I became the weapon-made-flesh for a lurking creature of purest shadow. (DC 16)

If the player character fails a check here, they have one final chance to weave a better story for Thisobald, this time using  Deception:

[DECEPTION] I slaughtered a gold dragon and collected its vast hoard. (DC 18)
[DECEPTION] I gazed upon all Faerûn from the four peaks of the Spine of the World. (DC 18)
[GITHYANKI] [DECEPTION] I walked the corpse of a dead god in the timeless Astral Plane. (DC 18)

Failing this  Deception check or refusing to tell a story results in Thisobald becoming hostile.

After successfully telling a story, it is possible to ask Thisobald several questions pertaining to himself and  Ketheric Thorm:

Who placed the curse on this land?
How did you become... what you are now?

Second drink edit

Whether Thisobald is questioned or not, a second round of drinking begins:

[CONSTITUTION] Do as he says. Drink. (DC 16)
[BARBARIAN] [CONSTITUTION] AGAIN! DRINK! (DC 16 )
[CLERIC] [CONSTITUTION] As you drink, call upon your god to steady you. (DC 18 )
[MONK] [CONSTITUTION] Fortify your spirit with a silent mantra as you drink. (DC 18 )
[SLEIGHT OF HAND] Mime a sip of your drink. (DC 18)
[ROGUE] [SLEIGHT OF HAND] Take a sip, but spit out the liquour before the creature notices. (DC 16 )

Thisobald then requests another story, this time involving killing. The more bosses the party has defeated, the more choices are available:

[DARK URGE] [PERFORMANCE] I have transformed into an ancient beast. One of pure hate. (DC 21)
[PERFORMANCE] I ripped apart winged imps spawned from the fires of Avernus. (DC 21)
[PERFORMANCE] An owlbear mother lunged at me. I slaughtered it in reply. (DC 18)^[4]
[PERFORMANCE] I conquered infamous hobgoblin Dror Ragzlin and his minions. (DC 18)
[PERFORMANCE] I slayed a hideous, pustule-ridden hag. She died a gruesome death. (DC 16)
[PERFORMANCE] I challenged a daunting phase spider. Its corpse is all that remains. (DC 16)
[PERFORMANCE] A bulette made me its prey, but proved no match for me. (DC 16)
[PERFORMANCE] A towering creature rose from molten lava. I felled it with great wit and might. (DC 16)
[PERFORMANCE] I bested an inquisitor - a dreaded champion of the Lich Queen, Vlaakith. (DC 16)
[GITHYANKI] [PERFORMANCE] I bested an inquisitor - the vaunted champion of my own Queen, Vlaakith. (DC 16)

Failing this  Performance check, Thisobald demands a better story, allowing the player character one last chance to entertain him with a  Deception check:

[DECEPTION] I disembowelled a balor with its own pointed horn. (DC 18)
[DECEPTION] I ripped one head from an ettin and force-fed it to the other. (DC 18)

Failing this  Deception check or refusing to tell a story results in Thisobald becoming hostile.

Otherwise, he allows the player character to ask more questions:

How do the Thorms sustain the shadows?
What can you tell me about Ketheric?
- What do you mean? How can I defeat Ketheric?

Third drink edit

After the final round of drinking, Thisobald dies, and so there is no need to tell more stories, and no further questions can be asked. So long as the player character has not failed two  Constitution saving throws before this point, there is no risk of Thisobald attacking if the player character drinks, even if they fail the save.

[CONSTITUTION] Steel yourself and drink. (DC 18)
[BARBARIAN] [CONSTITUTION] CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! (DC 18 )
[CLERIC] [CONSTITUTION] Swear eternal devotion to your divine as you knock back the drink. (DC 18 )
[MONK] [CONSTITUTION] Channel your focus to a sharpened point as you drink. (DC 18 )
[SLEIGHT OF HAND] Mime drinking. (DC 21)
[ROGUE] [SLEIGHT OF HAND] Take a drink, but hold it in your mouth instead of swallowing. (DC 18 )

If defeated through dialogue, the party earns the same experience as if defeating Thisobald and his four zombie patrons in combat.

Combat edit

Loot edit

Thisobald drops several bottles of alcohol and some alchemical ingredients.

Worn Key

Gallery edit

Dead
Early sketches by Tan Burci
Render by Nikolai Chugunov
Render by Nikolai Chugunov

Related literature edit

Notes edit

↑ Thisobald's kinship with Ketheric Thorm is unclear. Although Thisobald refers to Ketheric as "Father" and introduces himself as "Son of Thorm", neither Ketheric nor Isobel ever acknowledges him in dialogue or otherwise. In The Waning Moon: Consignments, Thisobald calls him "Father Ketheric", which makes it more likely that Thisobald is referring to Ketheric as a principal figure of Shar rather than a literal parent, similar to how Shadowheart refers to Viconia DeVir as "Mother".
↑ Prior to patch 6, it was the closest party member who sat down at the bar.
↑ While he mostly has the general shape of a humanoid – albeit extremely bloated – Thisobald Thorm has four legs and a tail, akin to a centaur. It is unknown whether this was a change caused by his transformation into an undead.
↑ It is sometimes possible to tell Thisobald that the party killed the Mother Owlbear even if they did not. This line seems to also be available if the party talked the owlbear down using  Speak with Animals, and it later died to goblins.

External links edit

⁠Thisobald Thorm on the Forgotten Realms Wiki

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[1] Thisobald's kinship with Ketheric Thorm is unclear. Although Thisobald refers to Ketheric as "Father" and introduces himself as "Son of Thorm", neither Ketheric nor Isobel ever acknowledges him in dialogue or otherwise. In The Waning Moon: Consignments, Thisobald calls him "Father Ketheric", which makes it more likely that Thisobald is referring to Ketheric as a principal figure of Shar rather than a literal parent, similar to how Shadowheart refers to Viconia DeVir as "Mother".

[2] Prior to patch 6, it was the closest party member who sat down at the bar.

[3] While he mostly has the general shape of a humanoid – albeit extremely bloated – Thisobald Thorm has four legs and a tail, akin to a centaur. It is unknown whether this was a change caused by his transformation into an undead.

[4] It is sometimes possible to tell Thisobald that the party killed the Mother Owlbear even if they did not. This line seems to also be available if the party talked the owlbear down using  Speak with Animals, and it later died to goblins.

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