Orpheus

Orpheus
Level 12
Information
Title	The Prince of the Comet
Race	Githyanki
Class	Way of the Four Elements Monk
Stats
Size	Medium
Type	Humanoid
Armour Class	19
Hit points	130
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Initiative	+4
Ability scores
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 12 (+1) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 21 (+5) 20 (+5)
Proficiency bonus	+4
Saving throws	Str +5 Dex +8 Con +3 Int +2 Wis +5 Cha +5
Resistances
Immune	Poison
Resistant	Psychic
Conditions
Orphic Favour Aura	Orpheus and nearby allies gain resistance to Psychic damage, and a +3 bonus to INT, WIS, and CHA saving throws.
Features
Advanced Unarmoured Movement	Difficult Terrain doesn't slow you down, increased jump while unarmoured.
Deflect Missiles	Reduce ranged damage with your reaction.
Evasion	Receive less damage from spells or effects that require a DEX Saving Throw.
Extra Attack	Make an additional free attack after making an unarmed or weapon attack.
Flurry of Blows	Punch twice in quick succession.
Ki-Empowered Strikes	Your unarmed attacks ignore resistances to non-magical damage.
Martial Arts: Bonus Unarmed Strike	After an unarmed or monk weapon attack, you can make another unarmed attack as a bonus action.
Martial Arts: Deft Strikes	Monk weapon attacks have a floor of 1d4 Bludgeoning.
Martial Arts: Dextrous Attacks	Monk weapon and unarmed attacks scale with your DEX, if it is higher than STR.
Opportunity Attack	Automatically attack an enemy moving out of your reach.
Psionic Empowerment	Your attacks deal 1d6 Psychic damage.
Purity of Body	You are Immune to Poison damage and can't be Poisoned or diseased.
Slow Fall	When falling, you can use your reaction to gain Resistance to Falling damage.
Stillness of Mind	Automatically removes Charmed or Frightened.
Unarmoured Defence (Monk)	Add your WIS modifier to your AC.
Unarmoured Movement	Your movement speed increases by 6m (20ft).

"Quickly now - even here, we do not have infinite time.

— Orpheus after being freed from his prison.

Orpheus, is a Githyanki that appears in Baldur's Gate 3. He acts as the supposed true ruler of the Githyanki. However, he has been captured and is imprisoned in the Astral Plane. Being a Githyanki, he seeks to destroy the Mind Flayers and remove Vlaakith from power.

Overview

Quests

• Discover the history of Prince Orpheus
• Free Orpheus

Background

According to the inscribed discs, banned by followers of Vlaakith and labelled as heretical, Orpheus is the first, and only, son of Mother Gith, the leader of the rebellion that freed the race that would then bear her name, from the Mind Flayer Empire. Sometime after the beginning of their freedom, the collective Gith race split into two cultures; the Githyanki and the Githzerai, the former, Orpheus was a part of.

Upon discovering that Vlaakith I (Not to be confused with Vlaakith CLVII) had betrayed his mother, sacrificing her to create a pact with Tiamat, Orpheus led Gith's Honour Guard in a revolt and named himself the rightful king of the Githyanki, triggering the War of the Comet. At the head of the Honour Guard mounted on red dragons, Orpheus bravely fought Vlaakith's knights in a battle in the Astral Plane, where he praised Mother Gith and accused Vlaakith. Yet he was overcome and defeated in battle against Kith'rak Voss, and was thought dead.

Unknown to all but Vlaakith and Voss; however, Orpheus was instead imprisoned within the Astral Prism, so that Vlaakith may exploit the powers he inherited from his mother.

At some time before the events of Baldur's Gate 3, The Emperor had discovered the Astral Prism, who proceeded to use it to rebel against the Elder Brain.

Involvement

Act Three

Orpheus is only ever mentioned in previous acts, either as the true ruler of the Githyanki people, or as a corruptive force. He is finally found, imprisoned within the Astral Prism when the party enters it to help The Emperor. The Party can either help The Emperor keep him imprisoned, or fight to free him, but only the former yields positive results, as the party, without The Emperor's assistance, falls to the Absolute, and are likely killed by Orpheus and his Honour Guard.

Orpheus' fate is entirely dependent on the player, and their choices. Several events can occur based on the following criteria;

1. If the party collects the Orphic Hammer through any means, and uses it to free him at the end of the game, he will accompany the players through the final hurdle, and help them destroy The Netherbrain.
   • If the player refuses to have anyone in their current party turn into a Mind Flayer in order to control the Netherstones, he will turn into a Mind Flayer himself. In this instance, he will desire to die, rather than to live as an abomination, but can be convinced to spare himself, only if Lae'zel takes his place as the Githyanki people's saviour if she is in the party.
   • If the player or a party member becomes a Mind Flayer, he will thank them for their sacrifice, promising they will be remembered as a hero. Once The Netherbrain is defeated, he will move to freeing his people from Vlaakith's rule, notably inviting Lae'zel to join him.
   • The player can choose to fight Orpheus after freeing him, but the battle can only lead to a game over: Orpheus kills the party if he wins, and if he is defeated they (naturally) lose his protection and are immediately dominated by the Absolute.
2. If the party does not collect the Orphic Hammer, or refuses to use it, The Emperor will consume Orpheus' brain, assimilating his abilities.

If the party chooses to spare Orpheus and become a Mind Flayer themselves, then Orpheus will speak to them as part of the epilogue. He commends the player character for choosing to make such a sacrifice to defeat the Nethebrain, and promises that they will not be forgotten. Alternatively, if Orpheus chose to become a Mind Flayer he will demand that the party kill him.

Combat

Attacks and abilities

Githyanki

Orpheus has the Orphic Favour Aura, giving all allies within 60ft/18m of him the  Orphic Favour condition.

In his githyanki form, Orpheus is a Way of the Four Elements Monk and has the following abilities:

•  Greater Invisibility
•  Sanctuary
•  Dimension Door
•  Telekinesis
•  Globe of Invulnerability
•  Misty Step
•  Githyanki Psionics: Jump
•  Stunning Strike (Unarmed)
•  Stunning Strike (Melee)
•  Harmony of Fire and Water
•  Fist of Unbroken Air
•  Flurry of Blows
•  Unarmed Strike
•  Flames of the Phoenix

Illithid

See also: Full-illithid

Additional Illithid powers
Stats
Armour Class	16
Hit points	150
Weight	kg (120 lb)
Initiative	+1
Ability scores
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) 21 (+5) 20 (+5)
Proficiency bonus	+4
Saving throws	Str +5 Dex +5 Con +2 Int +2 Wis +5 Cha +5
Conditions
Mind Flayer Form	Affected entity has embraced ceremorphoses and become a Mind Flayer.
Permanent Mind Sanctuary	While in combat, this entity can use actions and bonus actions interchangeably.
Features
Ability Drain	When you make an attack roll, the attack reduces that target's corresponding ability score by 1.
Charm	Charm an enemy that attacks you, preventing it from attacking you till its next turn.
Cull the Weak	When you reduce a creature's hit points to fewer than the number of your Illithid powers, it dies and all nearby creatures take 1d4Psychic.
Favourable Beginnings	The first attack roll or ability check you make against a target gains a bonus equal to your proficiency bonus.
Luck of the Far Realms	Once per Long Rest, you can change a successful attack roll into a critical hit.
Permanent Mind Sanctuary	You can use actions and bonus actions interchangeably.
Psionic Backlash	When an enemy within 30ft casts a spell, you can use your reaction to inflict 1d4Psychic per the spell's level.
Psionic Dominance	When an enemy within 60ft targets you with a spell of a level equal or less than your proficiency bonus, counter that spell.

If he undergoes ceremorphosis, Orpheus will have all the statistics (save his INT, WIS and CHA scores, which remain the same) and powers of a full-illithid. As well as gaining illithid passives, he will retain his original monk passives (but not abilities). The full-illithid ability Permanent Mind Sanctuary, allows Orpheus to use actions and bonus actions interchangeably.

Orpheus possesses the following illithid abilities:

•  Levitate (Illithid Power)
•  Tentacle Whip
•  Potent Concentrated Blast
•  Mind Blast
•  Extract Brain
•  Mind Sanctuary
•  Strengthened Force Tunnel
•  Augmented Shield of Thralls
•  Nebulous Black Hole
•  Synaptic Consumption
•  Fierce Perilous Stakes
•  Fracture Psyche
•  Displacer Beast Shape
•  Stage Fright
•  Transfuse Health
•  Psionic Overload

As part of his reason for becoming Illithid, he also possesses:

•  Karsus' Compulsion

Loot

• Orphic Ring
• 2x Potion of Superior Healing

Gallery

• 

  Concept art.

• 

  Concept art.

• 

  Orpheus chained in the Astral Prism.

• 

  Orpheus chained in the Astral Prism.

• 

  "It seems we must be allies".

• 

  Orpheus talking.

• 

  Orpheus' Tattoo in tir'su.

• 

  Tattoo in-game, datamined by Chubblot.

• 

  Orpheus' model.

• 

  Orpheus' illithid model.

Related literature

• Orpheus' history is mentioned in three githyanki discs:
  • Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part One: Betrayal
  • Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part Two: Sacrifice
  • Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part Three: Resurrection

Notes

• His tattoos have writing in tir'su - the gith writing system, see Gallery above.
  • Mostly nonsense and a mirrored word for Vlaakith - misspelled as "Alaakith". It was probably written as a defiance to her ways.
  • Githyanki and Githzerai use the same writing system but githyanki write clockwise while githzerai - counter-clockwise, though unlike Orpheus, the githzerai do not mirror the symbols.
• Orpheus is also the name of a demigod in Greek mythology who traveled with Jason and the Argonauts in pursuit of the Golden Fleece, but was primarily famous for his journey to the Underworld.

External links

Orpheus on the Forgotten Realms Wiki