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Withers
“What is the worth of a single mortal's life?„
Overview[edit | edit source]
Background[edit | edit source]
Withers[1][2] is a camp companion who offers his various services to the party. Secretive, but wise and ever helpful, he can be found in the Dank Crypt in Act 1 and remains with the party throughout the game. If asked to leave or who he is, he declines to do so.
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
- Withers is an Undead creature whose level scales with that of the party.
- He can be encountered in Act 1 and remains with the party throughout the game.
- He cannot be damaged or killed; he can be stolen from.
- He is the only means of changing class and rearranging ability scores in the game.
Appearance[edit | edit source]
Withers has pale-brown, desiccated skin splotched with red spots. Strikingly, he lacks a nose but retains his other facial features. His outfit is tattered by the passage of time, and he wears bandages around his arms and chest. His face, arms and parts of his collarbone are adorned with elaborate gilded strips of metal which, despite these other salient aspects of his appearance, gives him a regal look.
Personality[edit | edit source]
Though he may seem cryptic at times, Withers appears genuinely invested in the party's success against the Absolute and not only offers his services to aid them, but also provides information and guidance, in his own mysterious way. He is usually very direct when spoken to, especially when it comes to gods and divinity and is never rude, but offers very little clues of his past. He respects those with the courage to stand up to fate and take destiny into their hands, such as The Dark Urge if rejecting Bhaal for good.
At times, he also shows a kindness rarely seen, as is the case with Arabella should she join the party as a camp follower. Withers soothes her after she finds her parents are dead, and gently guides her journey of understanding the Weave. He also organised the gathering after the events of the game simply for the enjoyment of the companions, and rescued Milil from the Fugue Plane he was trapped in, even if seemingly just to provide music and entertainment. Furthermore, he seems to enjoy more mundane activities as evidenced by his multiple luncheons with Tara and Gale's mother.
In the epilogue, Withers can be seen speaking to the mural of the Dead Three not only with a familiar tone, but also with great disdain, dismissing them as fools and vermin. Whatever his relation to them, he has no apparent respect for them, and chides them.
Services[edit | edit source]
- Resurrecting dead companions for 200 gold per resurrection.[3]
- Recruiting and resurrecting hirelings after reaching character level 3.[4]
- Respeccing party members for 100 gold, setting them back to level 1 and allowing to change their class, subclass, spells, ability scores, skill proficiencies, feats, etc.
- Characters cannot change their race, origin, appearance, or background with Withers;[5] this fixed nature includes selectable aspects of race, such as the high elf's choice of cantrip.
- Paladins who have broken their oaths must first restore their vows through the Oathbreaker Knight in order to access class changes.
History and identity[edit | edit source]
Little is known about Withers' history prior to the game, although through conversations with Arabella, it is revealed that Withers has always been a "bone man" and, as he is neither living nor dead, and thus may be immortal.
Whoever he was, he was important enough to be laid to rest in a richly adorned sarcophagus, alongside attendants to take care of the temple that serves as his resting place. Paladins and clerics feel a divine energy coming from him and, whoever he was before, he seems to have a deep understanding of gods and their nature.
Though never explicitly stated in game, it is heavily implied Withers is actually Jergal, the erstwhile "Lord of the End of Everything", and "Final Scribe", the ancient god of death who willingly gave up part of his divine portfolio to three ambitious evil adventurers who then became the Dead Three. Since this grand bargain, Jergal carries out his remaining duties as a bookkeeper of the dead.
Involvement[edit | edit source]
Act One[edit | edit source]
Withers is first encountered in the Dank Crypt - an ancient temple of Jergal. He can be found resting inside a sarcophagus within the hidden room. If released from it by the party, he asks the one who does so a cryptic question and then leaves. Party members with the Haunted One background receive the 
inspiration.
Later, Withers appears at the campsite and joins as a camp follower. If reaching the courtyard of the Goblin Camp, or progressing far enough without completing 
and meeting him in the crypt, he nevertheless still appears at camp. If visiting the crypt after his arrival at camp, this quest can be still completed, but his sarcophagus is empty then.
Act Two[edit | edit source]
Withers can be encountered in Moonrise Towers after defeating Ketheric Thorm, where he asks the party whether they think illithids possess souls or not. Regardless of the answer, Withers affirms that they do not.[6] He also ponders why the Dead Three would amass an army of soulless beings, when souls are what gods need to imbue them with power.
Act Three[edit | edit source]
If the The Dark Urge is chosen as origin and refuses to become the Chosen of Bhaal after killing Orin the Red, Bhaal seemingly kills the player character. However, in the final moment, Withers appears and tells the player character that while Bhaal could destroy his own spawn, he could not destroy the new self that the player character had become by resisting the Dark Urge. He pronounces the player character redeemed and being free of Bhaal's influence and brings them back to life.
Withers can be found among the allies and companions gathered in High Hall for the final battle against the Netherbrain. He offers his services as always, and has some words of encouragement for the fight ahead.
Epilogue[edit | edit source]
Six months after the events of the game, Withers extends an invitation to all companions, gathering them all at the campsite that served as home for many days for a celebratory party. For this, he has prepared food and beverage, a fact many companions remark upon with surprise, as well as summon Milil, a god trapped in the Fugue Plane, to provide music and entertainment. After mingling with the guests, he can be spoken to and he offers a toast to the heroes of Baldur's Gate, telling them that there may yet be a time where they are called to action once more.
Tara, Gale's tressym, reveals that Withers has regularly joined her and Mrs. Dekarios for luncheons on numerous occasions in the past six months.
If the player character attacks anyone, Withers banishes them to an unknown realm through a portal, and the game ends immediately.
After Credits Scene[edit | edit source]
In the after credits scene, Withers is seen talking to a mural of the Dead Three disappointed in their actions and telling them that he overestimated them.
Combat[edit | edit source]
Withers cannot be damaged, is functionally invincible[See: Bugs], and never engages in battle, even if provoked.
If Withers is attacked, he responds in banter with one of the following:
- Ah, yes. Well struck.
- Thy accuracy would be lauded, had it a purpose.
- Hast thou considered this is a waste of mortal energy?
- When one tries and fails so many times, it is often named madness.
Loot[edit | edit source]
Withers cannot be killed or looted.[See: Bugs]
Related Literature[edit | edit source]
Related Quests[edit | edit source]
Achievements[edit | edit source]
- Outsourcing
- Recruit a hireling. You can befriend them or use them as cannon-fodder - we won't judge.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Withers' in-game model.
Appearance during Early Access.
Official concept art by Jane Katsubo.
Concept art from the Digital Artbook.
Withers as featured in Community update #24.
Notes and References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ There is never a point where Withers actually reveals that his name is Withers, this information is revealed purely via the subtitles. It is unclear how the party members themselves learn this.
- ↑ In Early Access, he was initially called The Hooded Skeleton even though he had no visible hood. He was later renamed to Talkative Skeleton, and finally Withers.
- ↑ Withers puts the gold that he receives for his services into a pickpocketable inventory, so it is possible to steal back any money paid. Withers does not react to failed pickpocketing, allowing unlimited attempts.
- ↑ If speaking with a hireling, it is revealed they do not speak and that Withers instead speaks for them remotely. In a sense, this makes Withers indirectly a companion as well.
- ↑ Although The Dark Urge and Custom characters can change their appearance, this is done with the Magic Mirror, not Withers.
- ↑ Mind Flayers (illithids) are generally considered to not have souls, or at least not in the way typical humanoid races do. This comes from a mix of older and newer sources:
- Volo’s Guide to Monsters mentions that illithids are soulless in the eyes of most gods, which is why they do not have afterlives or meaningful religious connection.
- Many resurrection spells in D&D (like Resurrection or Raise Dead) require a soul to call back - so even if a Mind Flayer died, one would not be able to bring it back that way.
- Mind Flayers are often seen as aberrations - creatures not of the natural world - so they do not always follow the usual life-death-afterlife loop that soul-having creatures do.
Bugs[edit | edit source]
- As of Hotfix 21, there is a bug where Withers can be killed in camp during Act 3 by a partial-illithid character, via repeatedly using an Intelligence Cantrip (or other Spells) to trigger Ability Drain to bring Withers' INT to 1, and then using Devour Intellect. Withers only drops a regular
Quarterstaff.
External links[edit | edit source]
Withers on the Forgotten Realms Wiki