Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Let's make Minthara Great Again

Minthara (using Drow Priestess of Lolth stats with a few modifications for spell selection, etc.; she already used Bless once and still had it activate on the remaining 2 ogres and the 2 Sword Spiders. She used a 3rd level spell slot to bless the four creatures and 1 other which was now dead, so she had only 2 slots remaining)

It was then Minthara’s turn. She was no fool. She had not underestimated anyone. She recognized Gale upon the wall as her worst enemy; at least to start with. She wasn’t sure how powerful he truly was, but she didn’t want to take any chances. He had to die first.

And so, she cast Insect Plague. Instantly, swarming, biting locusts filled a 20-foot-radius centered on Gale. The sphere remained for 10 minutes or until she lost concentration, and its area was lightly obscured. The sphere’s area was also difficult terrain, and when it appeared, each creature in it had to make a Constitution save. The damage was 4d10 piercing damage on a failed save and half as much on a success. A creature had to also make a save when it entered the spell’s area for the first time and at the end of its turn there.

And so, Minthara rolled a 17 for damage, and Gale rolled a 22 for his save. He succeeded in taking only half damage, so a total of 8. He was fortunate. But he was not alone in the zone of swarming locusts. Vexir and Kaedyn both also suffered from the attack. Kaedyn rolled a 17 and took 8 damage, but Vexir took 17 damage because she only rolled an 11.

Minthara cursed when she saw that Gale hadn’t fallen. “Kill him first!” she commanded. “The wizard must die before the ogres and sappers move.”

Minthara’s eyes narrowed to slits. She saw Wynari as the smoke cleared, and she sneered. Wynari would be her next target for sure. She would die a horrible, terrible, painful death for what she’d just done. Half of her entire force was gone in moments. At that moment, she decided to change her strategy.

It was now Minthara’s turn. Seeing the battle going poorly, she drank a Potion of Speed, rushed forward 60 feet and used her Amulet of Misty Step to catapult her using a Bonus action another 30 feet. Then, with her remaining Action that round, she cast Guiding Bolt using her last Level 5 spell slot. If she hit, she would do 8d6 damage off of Wynari. She rolled a 21 and hit, dealing 27 points of damage. Wynari was still standing, but she only had 12 HP remaining. She also rolled an 18 and maintained her concentration on her Call Lightning Spell.

Next, it was Kaedyn’s turn. He knew Gale was struggling, and things would get very bad if he died completely, so he cast Healing Word again. He only had 1 level 1 spell slot remaining. He healed Gale for 9 HP. Then he cast Guiding Bolt using a level 2 spell slot. He hit Minthara with a Natural 20. In one hit, he took 33 HP off of her. Minthara screamed in fury and pain, the blast penetrating her black armor and searing her left shoulder. She now had a mystical dim light glittering on her armor, providing her next attacker with advantage.

Minthara was beyond furious. She ran 60 feet towards the wall, coming within 60 feet of it. There was a flash of light, an implication that she healed herself. Then, she cast Conjure Animals. She summoned 2 giant spiders near where Kaedyn was above the gate just to the east. Then she seemed to wink out of existence for a moment only to be seen running the rest of the way right up to the gate.

The giant spiders raced over and attacked Kaedyn, teaming up on him. The first failed to bite him with a Critical Miss, but the second flanked him and got advantage, rolling a 21 as its highest roll. It did 10 damage. Kaedyn resisted poison, but the damage was 13, so he still took 6. He was definitely hurting.

Lae’zel saw Minthara, alone, by the gate, and decided to take up the challenge. Doing something no one expected, she drank the last Potion of Speed, used her Githyanki Psionics Jump ability which tripled her jump distance, and she jumped down to land near Minthara. She rolled a 27 for her Athletics roll, landing like a cat without damage right near Minthara, Blooded Greataxe now in hand. Using Action Surge, she took another action and swung, rolling a 17 total to hit as her highest die. Minthara dove out of the way at the last second. She was much harder to hit than Lae’zel had expected. Still, Lae’zel felt the surge of battle within her. She would face this incredible foe in combat, and she would win.

This made Lae’zel every goblin’s primary target. Minthara was now being attacked in melee, and the goblins feared for her life. The Goblin Boss ran 30 feet towards them and fired. He received advantage for flanking Lae’zel, but he received disadvantage for long range. Therefore, he just rolled 1 die. He got a 16 and missed. Being so close to Minthara, he didn’t dare use another Thunder Arrow, so he had only used a poisoned one.

It was now Wynari’s turn, detecting that Minthara was within range to gang up on her, Wynari let the Call Lightning spell go. There was too much of a chance of harming Lae’zel, and Wynari had better plans. Minthara would not escape them, no matter what. So she cast Conjure Animals and summoned 2 brown bears to flank her and hem her in against the gate.

Then the first bear attacked and rolled a 17 and Natural 20. It did 11 damage off of her as a Critical Hit. It attacked with its claws and got a 21, hitting again. This time it did 9 damage. The second bear then hit Minthara with a 21 and did 8 damage. Then it did a final attack and hit with a Natural 20. It did 19 damage to her. But the bears were utterly confused. They could not figure out why their attacks were not taking Minthara down. She was right before them, and yet she seemed very much like nothing more than a ghost.

The reason for this was that Minthara was not actually at the gate. She was still 60 feet from the wall. She had played a devious, little trick on them. She had arranged the maneuver previously with her two goblin booyahgs who were a mere 60 feet behind her. After running 60 feet, Minthara pulled out a spider totem and used it to cast Conjure Animals. Because it was a special magic item, it did not require her concentration. The 2 spiders would exist until they died or for up to 1 hour. Period. She did not have to focus on it.

This allowed her to use Invoke Duplicity as a second action with concentration, and she had used it to project a perfect illusion of herself. She made it appear some 30 feet in front of her, making it seem as if she did Misty Step again, or something similar. Then she used a Bonus action to send her duplicate to the gate another 30 feet beyond.

At the same time, one of the two goblin booyahgs cast Darkness using yet another of Minthara’s magic items so that it engulfed the evil Drow Cleric but not her duplicate. Immediately, even those with darkvision could not detect the real Minthara. They could only see her duplicate. The booyahg had readied her action, waiting for Minthara’s signal which was her casting Conjure Animals. As for the healing spell, the second booyahg used Healing Word on Minthara just before she had been engulfed by magical darkness. The booyahg had healed her 15 HP using a higher level spell slot.

In the darkness of the night, the ruse was perfectly executed. Minthara was completely hidden from sight, and only her duplicate could be seen. The bears might have been confused, but they were dumb animals. They could not even remotely guess the truth, and Lae’zel had missed the duplicate, so she was still thoroughly convinced that she was, in fact, fighting the real Minthara.

But the Booyahgs had only used their reaction from the previous turn to do all that they did. They had readied their actions from the previous turn. Now it was their turn again. Both cast Guiding Bolt. The first hit Bear 1, dealing 10 damage. The second hit Bear 2, dealing 11 damage. The remaining goblins then attacked. They all aimed for the two bears as well, for they recognized that they were easier to kill but very much a threat to their Dark Lady. Both Brown Bears died, stuck with nine arrows between them.

Zevlor then launched Magic Missiles again at Minthara, or rather, who he perceived to be Minthara. This, finally, revealed the truth. The missiles shot right through the duplicate, striking the ground beyond. Horror filled Zevlor’s eyes. “An illusion!” he cried through gritted teeth.

Elegis was about to fire at the duplicate as well, but at the last second she recognized the deception and raised her sights towards one of the goblins. Her aim was way off, for she rolled a 1; a Critical Miss. She had fired before really aiming well, and her arrow sailed way over the goblin’s head. Then the other two Tieflings fired at the Goblin Booyahgs. One hit and the other missed. The one who hit killed the goblin Booyahg with a single shot through the chest. Fortunately for Minthara, this was not the goblin who was maintaining the Darkness spell.

Round 4. Vexir searched the battlefield for Minthara, but she could not find her quickly. Therefore, she fired at the second Booyahg. Too bad it was at a disadvantage because of range. She rolled a 20 and 11 on her dice. She had to go with the 11 for a total of 16. She still hit, but it wasn’t a Critical. She did 7 damage; not enough to kill the Booyahg. She reloaded and fired again. She hit with an 18 and did 4 more damage. This put a bolt right through the goblin’s abdomen. The Booyahg fell to the ground; dead.

The Darkness vanished. The real Minthara appeared. “Son of a…” Vexir nearly cursed, but she stopped short. Minthara was smiling again. Vexir could see her in the dim light of the fading fires. It was as if she had something far more sinister still planned for them. It unnerved the Drow Battlemaster to no end.

Ryth-Shan, however, didn’t hesitate. Hunter’s Mark was on Minthara, and he fired. He rolled an 18. Minthara batted the arrow away with her shield as if she was swatting a fly. He fired a second time. The same result. Minthara seemed hardly concerned.

Gale then staggered out of the cloud of insects only to realize that it had already vanished. When Minthara had used Invoke Duplicity, she could no longer concentrate on her previous spell. Therefore, it had vanished like a wisp of smoke. Gale’s eyes then focused on Minthara. “Allow me to wipe that cocky grin off your wretched face,” he muttered to himself. Then, he cast Lightning Bolt. Minthara resisted. Gale did 24 damage to her, but she only took 12. Minthara lost her concentration from the damage she suffered, rolling only a 1 to maintain it.

Now it was Minthara’s turn. She cast Cure Wounds using a level 4 spell slot, healing herself 4d8+6 HP. She received 21 HP back. Then she did it again and healed another 29 HP. She was almost full health. It was as if they hadn’t even touched her. Finally, she used Shield of Faith to increase her AC by 2. As if all that wasn’t enough, she then ran to the wall off to the west side as opposed to where Lae’zel was at the gate. It wasn’t entirely clear what her next move was going to be.

Lae’zel was furious. She charged and jumped. With her Jump Githyanki Psionics activated, she could jump triple her distance. Thus, she landed near Minthara within attack range. She brought her Blooded Greataxe down with a vengeance. She hit with a 26 and did 13 damage. Minthara lost her concentration, and Shield of Faith was dropped. Lae’zel then tried to hit her again, but she failed to connect with only an 18. Minthara dodged to the side, Lae’zel’s weapon only grazing the evil Drow’s shoulder plating.

Minthara laughed mockingly. “You have the accuracy of a blind gnome, Gith,” she quipped.

“I will END you!” Lae’zel shot back in fury.

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” said Minthara in reply.

Ryth-Shan didn’t care about the goblins. He wanted Minthara’s head. Therefore, he fired at her twice. Since he was flanking her, attacking her from a different angle than Lae’zel was, he got advantage. Still, his first shot missed completely. He aimed better for the second shot and hit with a Critical Hit. The shot was incredible, piercing deep into Minthara’s shoulder. He did 44 damage total. Still, Minthara did not fall.

Minthara was hurting, but she used her last Level 4 spell slot to heal herself. Thus, she healed 25 HP. She cast Shield of Faith again and took a swing at Lae’zel. The Gith dodged effortlessly with a laugh. “Who’s blind now, Drow!” she retorted. Then she countered and missed, slicing air.

Minthara didn’t reply this time. She just smiled as if toying with Lae’zel. This enraged Lae’zel even more, for all she wanted to do was wipe that grin off her enemy’s face. She tried a second swing, but once again she only created wind. She then used her Second Wind to heal 8 HP.

With the numbers thinned, Vexir decided to take Wynari’s and Lae’zel’s lead. She rushed to the edge and dropped down as she pulled out her Everburn Blade. She failed the roll, rolling only an 11 total. So she suffered 3d6 damage, losing 8 HP. Still, she had enough movement to get back to her feet, and she swung at Minthara with advantage because she was now flanking her.

Vexir rolled a 14 and 19+5=24. She missed, for Minthara’s armor gave her 19 AC alone, for it was Plated Armor + 1. Her shield added +3, taking her to 22. Her Haste spell then added 2 more, taking her AC to 24, and Shield of Faith took her to 26. That meant that, with only a +5 to hit, Vexir had to literally roll a Natural 20 to hit Minthara.

Vexir’s eyes went wide as Minthara deflected her blow effortlessly. She could have sworn the blow would have landed hard. She tried a second swipe, but it had the same result. She rolled 24 as her highest roll. Minthara batted her huge, flaming sword away like it was nothing.

“Her defenses are too strong!” Vexir cried. “I need someone to break her concentration!”

Ryth-Shan heard her and fired. He missed by rolling only a 20 total. His second shot was only 18. Her armor alone deflected his shots. Gale was now free to assist, and he and Will-o’ ran to the edge of the wall. Dragon’s Breath would never reach that far, but Gale could hurl Magic Missiles at the evil cleric. He did 9 damage, but Minthara succeeded in her save by rolling a 20. Gale cursed.

Minthara laughed. “Die! Fools!” she cried, and she attacked Lae’zel. She rolled 19 and hit. She did 8 damage. Lae’zel rolled and resisted Faerie Fire, for Minthara’s mace cast Faerie Fire on anyone it hit automatically. However, since Lae’zel succeeded in her Dex save by rolling a 20, she needed a 15, she avoided the spell’s effects. Minthara actually had Multiattack, and she struck again. This time, she rolled an 18 and missed, her mace bouncing off Lae’zel’s armor. Since she was hasted, she got a third strike, and she swung one last time. She hit Lae’zel with a 22, dealing another 5 points of damage.

Lae’zel was struck upside the head. She flew to the ground, blood oozing from the wound. Because of this, the Goblin Boss turned and fired instead at Wynari. He, however, missed by rolling only 8 to hit. Wynari also registered Vexir’s warning, and she decided to rethink her own strategy. Moonbeam had a better chance of hitting. She cast it, dropping the moon’s light down so that it only fell upon Minthara. She had to be so careful, for Lae’zel was so close, and so was Vexir.

Wynari rolled an 11 for damage. Minthara succeeded in resisting by rolling a 21. She only suffered 5 damage. She rolled again to maintain her concentration and succeeded by rolling an 18.

Vexir tried again to hit Minthara, but this time she didn’t even get advantage. Lae’zel was down, and no one was flanking the Drow. She swung twice but neither roll was a Natural 20. Minthara caught Vexir’s blade with her mace and shield and held it a moment. “You should have surrendered when you had the chance,” said the wicked Drow with a gleam in her eyes. “Now you’ll die like the rest.”

Then Ryth-Shan scored a Critical Hit and did 44 damage. His arrow shot into Minthara’s skull from above. Blood spewed everywhere, and even the shaft of the arrow vanished inside his foe. It was a kill shot for sure. He screamed with delight, for he believed wholeheartedly that Minthara was dead.

But Minthara had activated Survival Instinct, the same Illithid Power that Shadowheart and Kaedyn had. If her HP reached 0, she would be restored 3d4 HP instead of falling. So instead of dying, black tendrils shot out of her skull, shoving the arrow back out. They mended her injuries, engulfing her in black, inky darkness for a moment. She rolled a 20 and lost her concentration (for she needed 22 to not lose concentration since that is half of 44 damage), but she was still very much alive.

Ryth-Shan was pissed and fired a second time. He was determined to save Lae’zel and avenge her at the same time. He still got advantage, because Vexir was flanking her, so he rolled a 12 and 25 for his attack rolls. All because Minthara lost her concentration, Ryth-Shan hit. This time, he did 21 damage with his Psionic Longbow and Hunter’s Mark. Ryth-Shan’s arrow struck Minthara in the chest, right in the heart.

Minthara staggered, her eyes widening in disbelief and fear. It couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t be dying. She was so sure that she would defeat them. She had been so confident in her faith in the Absolute and in her own abilities. All those years she had fought to prove herself. Wasted in a moment. A single, well-placed shot followed by a second, and Minthara Baenre was no more.

She fell to her knees, clutching her mortal wound. Staring up at Vexir, she shook violently as her vision began to darken; that wicked darkness that no vision could penetrate. The last thing she saw was Vexir’s strong, stoic expression. There was no pity there in Vexir’s eyes. There was no sorrow. There was only disgust and disapproval. It was the same disapproval she had witnessed so many times in her life… in the Underdark… from her own people. The Absolute had promised her that she would rise above such failings. She would finally prove that she was, in fact, someone worthy of honor and praise.

In the end, it was merely empty promises...

Minthara fell into impenetrable darkness. Fear clutched her soul; fear and damnation. Her soul was dragged to the Hells, and there she suffered far more torment than she had ever administered to anyone in her life. For every pain she had ever inflicted, she endured it all at the same time… forever… There would never be salvation for her, for she had chosen to reject good and embrace evil. Such was the fate of all who lived their lives in such a manner.

Minthara, two spiders, two ogres, bugbear, and like twenty goblins versus my 4 party members, Zevlor, Elegis and like a few others. I blew up some barrels, killed lots of goblins and ogres and spiders. Minthara and a Bugbear were all that remained. I ran up to them, finished the Bugbear, and killed Minthara in a couple of rounds. She had no chance at all and died without much of a fight at all. Not a single one of my characters fell or was injured too badly at all. I lost an NPC to a Sword Spider, but that was only due to a game glitch. For some reason, my spell did something janky and blew nothing up. The Sword Spider was low on health. If I'd hit the spider like I should have, it would have died and the NPC wouldn't have. So, in my playthrough of the video game, this same fight was super easy, Minthara was a weakling and died a baby cleric's death.