Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Beat Thisobald Thorm in BG3

There are several bosses that you’ll encounter as you make your way through Baldur’s Gate 3. These boss encounters can be challenging because dealing a lot of damage and rolling a bunch of dice doesn’t always win the day, especially when attempting to face off against Thisobald Thorm.

You can find Thisobald in The Waning Moon on your way to Moonrise Towers. Thisobald is a massive enemy, that is nearly ready to burst. There are two ways you can handle this encounter, where the first is much easier, and the second is more combat-focused. Here’s what you need to know about how to beat Thisobald Thorm in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Who is Thisobald Thorm?

Thisobald Thorm is one of Ketheric Thorm’s many children and an undead master brewer. You’ll find him in The Waning Moon—a tavern located in the far west of the Shadow-Cursed lands in Act 2 of BG3, just above the Moonrise Towers waypoint. If you’re following the Punish the Wicked side quest, you’ll need to come here and get around Thisobald to grab a certain ledger.

Inside The Waning Moon, Thisobald Thorm will be standing at the bar on the ground floor. Once close enough on approach, your character will automatically sit at Thisobald’s bar and start a dialogue with him.

All Methods to Defeating Thisobald Thorm in Baldur’s Gate 3

You have two methods for defeating Thisobald Thorm, similar to when you fight against Gerringothe Thorm or Malus Thorm: phsycially fight Thisobald or drink him under the table. Getting into a physical altercation with Thisobald Thorm will require a specific set of skills and spellcasting whereas drinking with Thisobald requires passing several various skill checks.

Drink With Thisobald Thorm in BG3

The first way to beat Thisobald Thorm is by winning a series of Skill Checks when you initially sit down to share a drink with Thisobald in The Waning Moon. When I encountered these checks, my character was a Monk and a Rogue, they had access to a variety of options for this conversation. For example, my Baldur’s Gate 3 character had the choice to make decisions based on their Monk class, or they could try to be a bit more sly because they are a Rogue.

If you’d prefer to talk your way out of this encounter, I recommend bringing a Monk or a Rogue to face off against Thisobald Thorm. Astarion should do great here thanks to his Sleight of Hand and Deception capabilities.

Once you start your interaction with Thisobald Thorm, he will bring drinks to your character, demanding that they sip from his served beverages and then share a story with him. You can choose to drink and roll for a Constitution save that might keep your character from becoming drunk, or you can roll a Sleight of Hand check to try and trick Thisobald into thinking you’re drinking. Other classes, such as Monk, may have a few extra options here as well. Succeeding these checks will have you continue on and tell Thisobald a story.

Every time Thisobald Thorm wants to hear a story, that comes with a DC16 Performance Check. If you fail this check, you can try and save yourself with a DC18 Deception Check. If you fail both of these checks, the drinking game will end and Thisobald will attack you. Pass these checks, and you’ll move onto the next round of drinks.

There are three rounds of drinks in total, requiring you to pass at least five skill checks to get through the interaction with Thisobald Thorm safely. Only the first two rounds of drinks require you to tell a story. In between each round of drinks, you’ll have the opportunity to ask Thisobald some questions about himself and Ketheric Thorm.

So if you have a character that can balance these Constitution and Performance Checks, you can make short work of Thisobald Thorm in this Skill Check-based encounter while also gleaning some interesting info about him and his family. Succeeding in outdrinking Thisobald will net you the same amount of experience and rewards as you would get if you chose to fight him directly.

When you reach the end of this exchange, Thisobald will burst, falling on the floor. This is only one of the two ways you can beat Thisobald in Baldur’s Gate 3. The second method is much more direct and involves combat. However, it’s not traditional combat. Thisobald is immune to Slashing, Piercing, and Bludgeoning damage, and you’ll have to rely on Magic and Spells to do anything to him.

How to Fight Thisobald Thorm in Baldur’s Gate 3 – All Weaknesses

What makes Thisobald Thorm special in Baldur’s Gate 3 is his Numb status effect. With it, he is immune to all Slashing, Piercing, and Bludgeoning damage that your party inflicts on him. Not only that, but he’s immune to Thunder damage, so anything like Thunderwave is useless against him. Instead, you need to rely on Elemental spells, such as any Fire, Water, Lightning, or Acid-based ones that your party can use. It’d be best to have at least two characters that can effectively use them, such as a Warlock, Sorcerer, or a Wizard.

The goal is to hit Thisobald Thorm with multiple Magical based attacks. He’ll steadily attempt to use his drinks in combat against you, and it’s important to not let him. Every time you hit Thisobald with a specific Element, his attacks become that same element. If you hit him with Ray of Frost, his brew gains Cold damage. Eventually, he’s going to gain the Blacked Out status effect, and he becomes vulnerable to Slashing, Piercing, Bludgeoning, Thunder, Radiant, and Force damage, making him much easier to fight. This effect only lasts for a short time, though.

You may have to repeat this mechanic multiple times during the encounter to win, but once you do, you’ll have defeated him. You can loot him and the location he was protecting after the fight has finished.

Best Way to Beat Thisobald Thorm in Baldur’s Gate 3

Between the two methods, I found that doing the Skill Checks challenge with Thisobald Thorm was much easier. However, this might not be the case for everyone. The Skill Checks are all rather high and there are several of them. My character was a Monk and automatically had Advantage on Skill Checks against Thisobald, which made it much easier. I also had at least four Inspirations saved up, and I freely use them to reroll any Skill Checks that I missed against Thisobald.

However, after trying the combat fight against Thisobald, I do feel it is doable. The problem is that it might be difficult to pick up on the types of Elements you want to give your allies and ensure you have enough Spells and Cantrips ready to defeat him.