Baldur’s Gate 3: Who Is Balthazar?

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• Who Is Balthazar?

• Is Balthazar A True Soul?

Once you make it to Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll find yourself looking for the Nightsong, an artifact of great power being used by Ketheric Thorm. As you reach the Shar temple where it’s located, you’ll meet Balthazar, an enigmatic Necromancer.

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Balthazar only appears briefly, but his involvement in the story of Ketheric goes deep, being beside him even before the Cult of the Absolute was formed. Your conversations with him don’t lead to too much detail, so that leaves most players wondering who this mysterious character is.

Who Is Balthazar?

To make the character more of an enigma, Balthazar isn’t his real name. He took the moniker since he liked the sound of it, and he likely needed to change his name after turning anyone that knew him into an undead, from family to friends.

The original Balthazar is a Bhaalspawn Monk from Baldur’s Gate 2.

He had a twin brother who died at birth, and his mother resented him for it; once Balthazar developed his powers, he raised the stillborn as a hulking monstrosity and named it Flesh. Balthazar only mentions that his mother wasn’t pleased with this, and that he keeps her in a jar.

While it isn’t known exactly when Balthazar joined Ketheric’s army, it likely happened after Ketheric became Myrkul’s chosen. As a chosen of the god of necromancy, Ketheric needed a way to use necromantic magic; it’s a skill needed as champion of Myrkul, and one Ketheric did not possess beforehand.

Balthazar is clearly a follower of Myrkul, since he has the god’s symbol in the golden chain holding his robe.

Beyond that, Balthazar’s greatest feat was subduing the Nightsong, and linking her immortality to Ketheric. This was clearly done after Ketheric’s defeat against the Harpers and Druids, otherwise he would’ve already been immortal.

Is Balthazar A True Soul?

No, in fact, he was aware of the entire plan around the Absolute, likely having helped Ketheric from the beginning. This makes him the only one outside the Dead Three’s chosen that isn’t being mind controlled by the cult.

You can find a hint of this if you visit his chambers in Moonrise Towers. Finding the way to his secret lab, you’ll discover that he’s been experimenting with the Tadpoles; considering that all True Souls are unaware of the worms in their heads, this marks him as an outlier among them.

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