Balthazar

Balthazar
Level 8
Voiced by	Roger Ringrose
Information
Title	Commander of the Reborn Dead
Race	Undead
Class	Necromancy School Wizard
Stats
Size	Medium
Type	Undead
Hit points	91 (Balanced) 118 (Tactician)
Weight	100 kg ( lb)
Initiative	+7
Ability scores
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (0) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 10 (0)
Proficiency bonus	+3
Saving throws	Str 0 Dex +2 Con +6 Int +5 Wis +5 Cha 0
Resistances
Resistant	Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing, Poison
Conditions
Mage Armour	Base Armour Class is 13.
Legendary Resistance Tactician	+10 to your next 3 saving throws.
Undead Ward Aura	Nearby allied undead are resistant to physical damage.
Undead Ward	Resistant to physical damage.
Features
Alert	+5 to initiative and cannot be Surprised.
Grave Magic	Spells deal 1d8 Necrotic damage.
Grim Harvest	Once per turn, regain HP equal to twice the spell level of a spells that kills a creature.
Immune to Control Undead	Cannot be magically controlled by others.
Legendary Action: Spectral Aspect Honour	Spend a legendary action to adopt a Spectral Aspect after being struck.
Legendary Action: The Dead Wastes Honour	Spend a legendary action to create a Dead Wastes area, healing undead and harming the living.
Opportunity Attack	Automatically attack an enemy moving out of your reach.
Turn Resistance	Advantage on saving throws against being turned.
Undead Ward	Nearby undead are resistant to physical damage.
Magic Resistance Tactician	Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Balthazar is an Undead necromancer in service to Ketheric Thorm, who can first be encountered in the Gauntlet of Shar during Act Two.

Overview

Background

Balthazar is a necromancer in service to General Ketheric Thorm, sent to the Gauntlet of Shar to retrieve the Nightsong; the source of Ketheric's immortality.

Quests

• Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic
• The Chosen of Shar
• Defeat Ketheric Thorm
• Find the Nightsong

Involvement

Main article: Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic

Balthazar can first be encountered in the Gauntlet of Shar, behind a locked door guarded by his undead servants.

Approaching the door and/or his servants, wherever they are found, will generally trigger a conversation. A combat encounter will always trigger on conclusion of this conversation, where Dark Justiciar Avengers attack both the undead servants and the player's party. Once this combat resolves, the player may have the opportunity to speak to Balthazar further and learn more about the relic he is searching for. The player also has the option to simply attack and kill Balthazar at any time after this encounter.

The player also has the option to fully avoid contact with Balthazar and his servants until they delve deeper into the Gauntlet. It is impossible to avoid meeting Balthazar if the player reaches this point.

The second place he can be encountered, assuming the player has not killed him, is when the player crosses the threshold into the Shadowfell from within the Gauntlet. If the player has not yet met Balthazar at this point, he will simply introduce himself and give the player the opportunity to help him finish his mission.

Once the player finally meets Balthazar, they are generally allowed to choose at several points if they want to kill him or help him finish his mission.

If the player helps Balthazar obtain the Nightsong and later meets with Ketheric, Ketheric will take the player prisoner. They will wake up in Balthazar's lab at the Mind Flayer Colony, where Balthazaar prepares to find a way to remove the artefact from the player's possession; ultimately, a fight between the player and Balthazar will break out.

Combat

Balthazar will use a Potion of Speed at the start of his turn to gain Hasted unless you buy it off him during dialogue first (use the Trade button).

Spells and abilities

•  Animate Dead - Cast as a unique Level 6 variant, only when confronted in the Nightsong's Prison, to reanimate an army of skeletons from the surrounding bones.
•  Bone Chill
•  Cloudkill
•  No Rest for the Wicked
•  Ray of Sickness
•  Misty Step

Honour mode

•  The Dead Wastes
•  Legendary Action: Spectral Aspect

Loot

• Circle of Bones
• Broodmother's Revenge

Gallery

• 

  Digital Artbook concept art.

• 

  Digital Artbook concept art.

Related literature

• Stained Book (Thorm Mausoleum)
• Diary of Ketheric Thorm, Vol 2

Tissue and Organ Register

• Unsent Letter
• Ornate Letter

Written by Balthazar

• Attention Acolytes
• Balthazar Personal Notes: 2
• Balthazar Personal Notes: 3
• Balthazar's Notes
• Clasped Book (Moonrise Towers)
• Research Notes (Balthazar)
• Orders from B

Notes

• Balthazar's name (and ribs) were taken from the monk Balthazar, a character from Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.

External links

• Balthazar (necromancer) on the Forgotten Realms Wiki