Elminster

Elminster Aumar, commonly known as simply Elminster, is a renowned wizard who appears in Baldur's Gate 3. He is the current Chosen of the Goddess Mystra, and plays a key recurring role in the story of Gale. He is first encountered under the name Weary Traveler.

“

Ho there, wanderer. Stay thy course a moment to indulge an old man.

„

— Elminster greets the party

Overview

Elminster is a recurring character in the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons and Dragons, including previous entries in the Baldur's Gate series. The steeple-hatted wizard is of legendary renown across realmspace, having appeared in over twenty novels, four adventures, and each prior installment in the Baldur's Gate series. He is an old acquaintance of Volo and occasionally fact-checks his books, including Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate. Gale describes him as being approximately "thirteen centuries old."

Appearance

Elminster wears a flowing orange-red robe with a matching hat, whose drooped steeple hangs backwards. Luscious silver locks of hair pour outward from the wide brim of his hat and blend into an equally long beard, between which sits a round, wizened face. A brilliant blue sash, decorated with jewels and signets, is draped between his left shoulder and right hip. Completing his finery is a necklace gold and silver plates and a single blood-red jewel, with a belt to match. In stark contrast to this opulent getup, he wields a single plain, unenchanted quarterstaff.

Though bearing his humanoid appearance, the Elminster that appears in the game is a Construct, which when defeated melts into a pile of water, strongly suggesting him to be a Simulacrum of the real wizard.

Involvement

Gale must be alive and recruited as a companion (or chosen as Origin) in order for any encounters with Elminster to trigger.

Act Two

Elminster can first be found near the entrance to the Shadow-Cursed Lands from Rosymorn Monastery Trail or near the ruined Sharran temple if the party used the elevator from Grymforge. If the player avoids Elminster at the earlier two locations, he will appear on the stone bridge right in front of Moonrise Towers, close to the Waypoint. Gale's personal quest, The Wizard of Waterdeep, must have progressed to the point where his condition is no longer responding to treatment for Elminster to appear. If Gale does not receive all three items by the time the party reaches the Shadow-Cursed Lands, Elminster will appear at the camp after a long rest once Gale has received the last item.

At camp, Elminster delivers Mystra's message to Gale, entrusting him with a mission of detonating the orb of malevolent magic within his chest in order to destroy "the Heart of the Absolute" in a suicidal attack. To help ease the task, Elminster also imparts an enchantment on Gale which stabilizes the orb, negating the need to consume more magical items. He then departs as quickly as he arrived, leaving Karlach (should she be in the camp) wondering if he was "Gale's grandad".

Act Three

After Gale reads The Annals of Karsus in the Sorcerous Vault during The Wizard of Waterdeep, Elminster appears for a second time, either outside Sorcerous Sundries or in your camp. He brings yet another message from Mystra, asking Gale to meet her at her holy shrine in the Stormshore Tabernacle, located in the city of Baldur's Gate.

Combat

Attacks and abilities

Fighting Elminster is ill-advised. To say nothing of his overleveled stats relative to the party when he is encountered in Act One, he also leaves no loot when defeated, and his hostility will permanently lock Gale out of progressing in his personal quest. If the party does successfully defeat Elminster in combat, they're awarded a respectable 1000 experience.

 Misty Step ()

Surrounded by silver mist, you teleport to an unoccupied space you can see.

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Otiluke's Freezing Sphere ()

10d6 (10~60) Cold

Create a ball of churning ice that can be launched instantly to generate a frosty explosion or stored for later use.

CON Save

 Melee: 1.5 m / 5  ft

 Polymorph ()

Transform a creature into a harmless sheep.

If the sheep's Hit Points drop to 0, the target reverts to its original form with its original Hit Points.

WIS Save

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Slow ()

Alter time around up to 6 enemies to Slow them. They won't get far, they can't do much, and they're easier to hit.

WIS Save

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Sunbeam ()

6d8 (6~48) Radiant

A beam of brilliant light sears and  Blinds all creatures in its path.

Until the spell ends, you can recast Sunbeam without expending a spell slot.

CON Save

AoE: 18 m / 60 ft (Line)

Related Quests

•  The Wizard of Waterdeep

Related literature

• Born to be Wild
• Elminster by Cherish Holdomen
• Letter from Elminster
• Letter from Elminster (Epilogue)
• Ramazith (book)
• Volo's Complete Guide to the Behaviour of Nymphs
• Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate
• Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate (Signed)

Gallery

• 

  Elminster's model

• 

  Character portrait by Edward Vanderghote

• 

  Concept Art by Levinna Angelita

See also

• Gale
• Mystra

Notes

• When meeting Elminster, he will greet the party by saying "Ho there, wanderer. Stay thy course a moment to indulge an old man." This is a reference to the first Baldur's Gate game, where he greets the player in the exact same way.
• Elminster rewards 1000 experience if killed.

External links

• Elminster on the Forgotten Realms Wiki