Ketheric Thorm/combat

Ketheric Thorm
	Stats
	Level 11
Race	Undead
Type	Undead
HP	188
AC	22
Size	Medium
Weight	75 kg / 165 lbs
Proficiency Bonus	+4
Initiative	+1
	Passive features
	Arcane Enchantment Darkvision Defence Divine Health Extra Attack Fey Ancestry Immutable Form Improved Divine Smite Magical Plate Opportunity Attack Reaper's Rigidity Shield Bash
	Resistances
Character information
Location	Moonrise Towers; Mind Flayer Colony

This page focuses on Ketheric Thorm's behavior during turn-based combat gameplay.

Spells and abilities

Conditions and passives

Allies

The encounters with Ketheric may involve the following allies for either side. Detailed information in their respective pages.

Enemy allies

Player allies

Dame Aylin

Encounters

Ketheric Thorm's actual battle has three individual stages, with some of the choices of the party coming into play in them.

Phase 1

The first part of the encounter with Ketheric is atop the Moonrise Towers. Ketheric will be joined by Susdera, an acolyte of Myrkul, as well as eight necromites. Susdera will stand immediately before the party, while Ketheric will stand on the small balcony behind her, necromites flanking the stairs to it on both sides.

The necromites can be safely ignored if the party is equipped to have a high DC or has necrotic resistance, as they only cast "Reach from Beyond", a low damage spell. However, both Ketheric and Susdera can summon more of them, so it's best to dispatch them with AoE attacks to avoid being overwhelmed.

Susdera herself may prove to be more of a direct threat at the start of combat given that she can cast Fireball and the party begins the fight grouped together by default. "Silence" or "Darkness" spells can neutralize her and give the party a chance to form up as needed. She's also able to cast "Bone Chill", preventing healing for one entire turn.

Ketheric may be a challenge if the party has no means of reliably damaging high AC enemies as he boasts a strong 22 AC. Additionally, though his Dexterity skill is relatively low, he has advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws via Ketheric's Shield. Spell with a dex save component can still be used should Ketheric use Reaper's Embrace, which would negate the advantage he has. Charming or putting him to Sleep is out of the question too given his Fey Ancestry.

Ketheric has relatively low Intellect, so spells with it as a saving throw are a good means of damaging him. Alternatively, players may lean more into the melee side of things and attempt to knock him prone, paralyze him, disarm him or otherwise. Blinding him or other means of granting the party Advantage are also means of getting hit in more reliably.

Ketheric's main source of damage will be through a combination of his melee attacks and Smites. As a Paladin type of enemy, his attacks can very quickly burst down party members if his hits all connect. Radiant damage resist, AC increasing spells and granting him Disadvantage are all methods to mitigate his burst damage somewhat. At the end of his turn, Ketheric will also order his necromites to focus fire using Deadly Orders and cap his turn by casting Incubate Death. Be careful of the AoE explosion of the summoned entity should it not be destroyed before transformation.

Ultimately, the best course of action is to burst Ketheric down as soon as possible through whatever means available. Should the player have spared Aylin, she will join the fight on the party's side and assist. She's capable enough of quickly dispatching Susdera through her own Smites and greatly help with Ketheric.

Once Ketheric's health drops to around 25%, he will interrupt the fight by summoning a gargantuan tentacle, kidnapping Aylin should she be present, and fleeing down the destroyed tower to the Mind Flayer Colony. If all of his allies are dead, combat ends immediately, otherwise they must be dispatched first. The party is then free to explore the surroundings and follow Ketheric when ready.

Phase 2

Phase 3

After either destroying, or liberating the Nightsong, his invulnerability is lost, and he can finally be killed. During the first stage of the boss fight, he will eventually flee to the lower levels of the Tower, towards the Mind Flayer Colony to reconvene with Lord Enver Gortash and Orin the Red, revealing himself, Gortash, and Orin as the Chosen of Myrkul, Bane, and Bhaal respectively.

If Gale uses his Netherese Orb Blast, the game can end at this very moment, allowing the party to kill Ketheric Thorm, Enver Gortash, Orin the Red and the Absolute in one fell swoop.

The latter two will leave Ketheric to retrieve the Mysterious Artefact in order to lead the Absolute's army to Baldur's Gate. During this second segment of the boss fight, which the player can bypass entirely with a successful Charisma skill check. In either case, if the Nightsong has not been destroyed, he will retrieve it once more, and either he, in the second stage or the Apostle of Myrkul in the third, will regain their invulnerability - but this can be rectified by using a Help Action on Nightsong.

Once he is defeated, he will finally die for good, allowing the party to retrieve his Netherstone, and proceed to Baldur's Gate.

Notes

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