Gerringothe Thorm/Combat

Overview

Combat

This page focuses on Gerringothe's behaviour during her combat encounter. She can be fought in the Reithwin Tollhouse alongside her Grim Visages.

Attacks and abilities

 Claws ()

Damage: 6~12

2d4 + 4⁠Slashing

Lash out with deadly claws.

 Melee: 1.5 m / 5 ft

 Combustible Coins ()

Damage: 3~24

3d8⁠Force

Enchant a pile of coins to explode.

 DEX Save

 Recharge: Per turn

 Jealous Avarice ()

Damage: 8~96

8d12⁠Slashing

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 / 27 ft

 Recharge: Per turn

 Left Coin Whip ()

Damage: 5~33

4d8 + 1⁠Slashing

Whip a target with jingle-jangling fury.

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

 Range: 4 m / 13 ft

 Recharge: Per turn

 Right Coin Whip ()

Damage: 5~33

4d8 + 1⁠Slashing

Whip a target with jingle-jangling fury.

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

 Range: 4 m / 13 ft

 Recharge: Per turn

 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 / 27 ft

 Recharge: Per turn

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
5.  Coin Cuirass
6.  Coin Helmet

• Removing all her armour grants party members with the  Charlatan background the inspiration ⁠Takes One to Know One.
• 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.
  • Defeating all six Visages earns the Charlatan's Inspiration, "Takes One to Know One".
• 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.