How to Defeat Malus Thorm Without Fighting in BG3

Learn how to bypass a direct confrontation with Malus Thorm in Baldur's Gate 3. Discover dialogue options and skill checks to have his nurses deal with him, or turn them against each other.

Malus Thorm is located within The House of Healing, west of Reithwin Town. You can access this area via a locked side entrance at coordinates X: -185, Y:73. Upon entering the small room, be sure to read the book on the table, as it is crucial for later steps. Additionally, a chest to the right of the desk contains a pair of rare Poisoner’s Gloves.

Once you are ready, proceed into the adjacent room where Malus Thorm and several nurse women await. After initiating dialogue, you must pass a DC16 Persuasion check to convince Malus that his nurses are not yet ready. Following this, there are three primary approaches to resolving the encounter:

1. Engage Malus Thorm and all the nurses in combat.
2. Persuade Malus Thorm’s nurses to attack each other, then confront only Malus Thorm.
3. Convince Malus Thorm to lie on the operating table, allowing the nurses to kill him. This can also be achieved after the nurses have turned on each other.

The first option, direct combat, can be initiated at any point during the dialogue by choosing to attack or by failing persuasion checks. If you opt for this path, refer to the combat strategy section below.

The second and third options become available when Malus Thorm offers to extract your eyeballs. At this point, you can leverage the research you read outside and instruct him to “initiate the final lesson.” This command will cause his nurses to eliminate him, sparing you the direct conflict. These non-combat resolutions require either a DC18 Intimidation Check or a DC18 Persuasion Check. Alternatively, you can choose to have the nurses turn on each other, which requires a higher Persuasion check of DC22. If successful, you can then choose to either kill Malus Thorm or persuade him to end his own life with a Persuasion Check.

How to Beat Malus Thorm in Combat

If you seek a challenging fight, keep the nurses alive. They are surprisingly potent and possess crowd control abilities like Mind Screech, which can inflict Confusion on your party members, causing them to attack randomly, wander aimlessly, or skip turns. With multiple nurses, you can quickly become overwhelmed. It is advisable to focus on eliminating them before engaging Malus Thorm.

For a more manageable combat experience, aim to succeed in the check that causes the nurses to turn on each other. Then, you can fight Malus Thorm alone. While this simplifies the battle, he may occasionally revive one of the nurses to aid him. Malus Thorm has a substantial health pool of 276 HP (in balanced mode) and an Armor Class (AC) of 18, making him difficult to hit. He also possesses resistances to slashing, piercing, bludgeoning, and fire damage, meaning these damage types will only deal half damage. While you can still use these damage types, expect the fight to be prolonged. It is more effective to employ powerful spells that deal alternative damage types to quickly reduce his health.

Can You Save the Distressed Patient?

Unfortunately, there is no way to save the Distressed Patient. While you can prevent Malus Thorm from killing him during the cutscene by attacking Malus before he acts, after the fight, you can only interact with the patient. You will not be able to unlock the doctor’s table locks or heal him. The most compassionate action would be to end his suffering, but the choice ultimately rests with you.