How to beat Malus Thorm in Baldur’s Gate 3

I think one of the best things about games like Baldur’s Gate 3 is that some folks will find a boss — or a mini-boss — they feel is a truly significant challenge, while others will have no problems overcoming said challenge. And then, there’s a third type of player that hypes themselves up for what will probably be a significant challenge, only to bypass the boss entirely.

This is my experience when it comes to the second act and its boss named Malus Thorm. You encounter this boss at the House of Healing, only prompted by reading the note found on Art Cullogh’s sleeping body at the Last Light Inn. I really liked this character’s aesthetic — he’s got metal contraptions for hands and arms, and looks like a character straight outta Bloodborne.

And with only a few successful dialogue rolls, I made this character take care of himself.

Let me explain

As you approach Thorm and his “sisters,” he’s about to begin surgery on some poor fool. He notices our arrival and thinks of us as a student willing to learn his sadistic techniques. 

It’s then made clear who we’re dealing with here — it not only doesn’t seem like he’s affiliated with The Absolute, but rather, a true servant of Shar. He goes off on a tangent about absence and how it’s preferable to presence, which is clearly doctrine favoring Shar over Selune. 

I made my first dice roll here — and checked for religion. I had been talking with Shadowheart about her devotion to Shar, so I chose the second option: Recall what you know of Shar’s teachings. I must emphasize that, to this point, I still believed I had a fight on my hands. 

This dice roll was successful, leading to a second set of options, of which I chose the first: The sisters require a willing volunteer, a master of the art. In a second wave of surprise, the dice roll checking for persuasion was successful, and therefore, Thorm agreed with me and ordered his “sisters” to repeatedly stab him in the chest until he died. At this rate, The Absolute doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in the nine hells against me and my silver tongue. 

As I left the House of Healing and headed back to the Last Light Inn, I was left with only one thought: how far can I take this? Could I cheese my way through every future boss?