Minsc

Minsc was a kind-hearted&mdash;but rather addled&mdash; Rashemaar warrior that enjoyed many adventures across the Sword Coast and beyond. He joined many adventuring parties throughout the 14 and 15 centuries DR, including the Heroes of Baldur's Gate. Minsc was famously known for his habit of talking to a hamster called Boo, whom he believed was a miniature giant space hamster, despite no one else ever witnessing any evidence of this. "Where goes the stench of evil, so goes the cleansing wind of Minsc and Boo."

- Minsc pondering evil

Description
Minsc was a large, bald human. His face was partially covered in a purple tattoo.

Personality
Minsc was very capable physically but mentally much more limited. Besides talking to the hamster Boo, whom he believed to be a miniature giant space hamster, he had a very simplistic view of the world and was often quick to decide that someone was evil and should be attacked. Fortunately, he was also kind by nature and was determined to be a hero. He was somewhat unstable and prone to flying into a rage, as if his witch were being threatened.

He espoused either a neutral or chaotic version of a morally good outlook on life.

Abilities
While Minsc often favored hunting gnolls and later vampires early in his adventuring career, by the 1480s DR, he stated his favored enemy as simply "evil".

It was believed that that Minsc had suffered significant head trauma sometime in his past; it was not known what his mental capacities were before that, but he mentioned that it had happened around the time he befriended Boo.

Relationships
"Sometimes a warrior can only trust his hamster."

- Minsc, to Boo.

Minsc's most trusted companion was Boo, whom he knew had a brilliant mind and brave heart.

Minsc was wholly dedicated to the protection of his traveling companion and "witch" Dynaheir. He believed her to be a brilliant woman, that would lead him to great glory. After Dynaheir's evenutal passing, Minsc went on to form close friendships with other mages, including the wild mage Neera and the elven sorceress Delina.

The brave hero even found himself an "arch-enemy" in Krigar the Courageous, an oni mage that masqueraded as a competing hero in Baldur's Gate.

Early Adventures
Minsc hailed from the far-off land of Rashemen. As a young man he hoped to gain admittance into the Ice Dragon berserker lodge. To prove his worth, he undertook his dajemma traveling alongside the young witch of the Wychlaran, Dynaheir, serving as her bodyguard. Dynaheir led Minsc in their travels, making their way to the western lands of Faerûn. At some point in the, the pair became separated as Dynaheir was abducted by a rather ferocious band of gnolls. Minsc traveled to the nearby town of Nashkel looking for heroes to help him save his charge.

Following the events surrounding the iron crisis on the Sword Coast, Minsc and Dynaheir settled in Baldur's Gate for a short time. Dynaheir wanted to stay in the region to investigate rumors regarding the Shining Lady, Caelar Argent. Some time later, when the hero Abdel Adrian was secretly released from prison for murder, Minsc joined him in his travels, accompanied by Dynaheir, the young mage Imoen, the Harpers Jaheira, and Khalid, and of course Boo. The group was ambushed in the forest and imprisoned in a dungeon beneath Athkatla. Several members in their party were tortured, and both Khalid and Dynaheir were killed.

In Minsc's eyes he caused a failure that resulted in the death of Dynaheir. He was distraught over the loss of his witch, who had been murdered in front of his eyes, and his failed dajemma. He was believed to have escaped the dungeon at the same time as his allies Abdel and Imoen.



Return to Baldur's Gate
Around the, the merchant Orburt Lewel ordered the construction of a -tall statue and pedestal in the Wide in honor of Minsc, who had saved Lewel's life. The statue, known as the Beloved Ranger, depicted Minsc cupping Boo in his hands. It was a popular landmark and meeting point in the busy commercial district. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the statue was actually the real Minsc and Boo under the effects of petrification magic.

In the, a group of teenagers vandalized the Beloved Ranger statue, breaking off its hands and Boo. The vandals were later apprehended and the statue was fixed.

Sometime in the 1480s DR, the Beloved Ranger was accidentally struck by a wild magic surge caused by the wild mage Delina, as a result of an attempt to cast a spell at an attacking gargoyle. The surge dispelled the petrification effect, returning Minsc and Boo to life. Fleeing from the city watch, Minsc, Boo, and Delina joined up with the thieves Krydle and Shandie, and eventually uncovered the schemes of a local Cult of the Dragon cell. Coran, now a member of the Parliament of Peers, was the only person who recognized Minsc as anyone but someone who was dressed like the statue.

The Domain of Dread
Some time later, Minsc and his companions, who became known as the Heroes of Baldur's Gate, while working as sellswords in the Lower City district of Baldur's Gate, helped defend a temple of Kelemvor against an attack of werewolves who had broken in. The werewolves fled after stealing the temple relics in search of a magic amulet and kidnapping Nerys, a cleric of Kelemvor. Upon chasing them back to their lair with the help of Boo, Minsc and his companions were swept up by mists and transported into the land of Barovia.

While in Barovia, Minsc had his fortune partially read by Madam Eva, but stormed out of her tent after she predicted that he would fail in destroying the evil that permeated those lands. The companions also briefly interacted with the wereraven Davian Martikov after saving his son Adrian from an attack of ghouls and spent the night at the Wizard of Wines winery.

The following day, the companions proceeded to Vallaki, which was holding the Parade of Purple decreed by the burgomaster Vargas Vallakovich. During the parade, they were attacked by Strahd. After narrowly surviving a confrontation with Strahd and his vampire and werewolf minions, the badly wounded companions managed to escape Barovia through the activation of the amulet by Delina and were transported back to Faerûn somewhere in the Spine of the World, about half a day's travel away from Fireshear.

Adventure in the North
In the mountains, the weary group was ambushed by ogres, but was helped by Saarvin, a dragonborn of gold dragon ancestry. Despite their victory against the ogres, Minsc, demoralized by the defeat and narrow escape from the clutches of Strahd, felt unworthy and a shadow of his former self, despite receiving encouragement from Nerys and Boo. By his figure, the group would need to defeat five times as much evil in order to regain their status as heroes of good.

Soon after the group's recovery in Fireshear, the city was attacked by a group of frost giants led by Lord Gryttmort. The giants were holding the white dragon Nylanthe captive. The adventurers, helped by a detachment of griffon riders trained and commanded by Dasharra Keldabar, defended the city from the attack, while Krydle set Nylanthe loose to attack her former captors and force them to break off the attack.

Interrogating Fjroul, a captured frost giant, Shandie learned that Gryttmort planned to overthrow Storvald and become a jarl in order to ascend in the broken Ordning, by stealing an orb of dragonkind from Nylanthe's lair. In possession of the orb, Gryttmort would muster an army of giants and dragons and conquer the North. Upon reaching Nylanthe's lair to warn her of the impending threat, the dragon revealed that Gryttmort was holding her eggs hostage in exchange for her cooperation and agreed to help the group if they retrieve her eggs. However, the giants attacked and used the orb to command Nylanthe to collapse the cave on Minsc's group.

After escaping, the group then flew to Svardborg to reclaim the orb on Dasharra's griffons, whith whom Minsc got along especially well. However, upon attempting to recover Nylanthe's eggs, the group was ambushed by the giants. In the fight, Krydle successfully stole the eggs, while Shandie separated the orb of dragonkind from Gryttmort, releasing his hold on the white dragons. At the same time, Boo accidentally drunk a potion of growth and temporarily became a giant-sized miniature giant space hamster. Victorious, the group returned to Fireshear to celebrate.

Sword Coast Adventures
Upon the groups return to Baldur's Gate, they each went their separate ways for a while, leaving Minsc to dispense justice with only Boo by his side. Minsc soon met a daring adventurer, Krigar the Courageous, who refused to work alongside the ranger and his hamster when the Blades of Burgust once again threatened the city. When Krigar slew the Blades and revealed himself as an oni mage, Minsc found who he believed was the true villain and dealt him a devastating blow that made him vanish in a cloud of smoke.

After Minsc and the heroes reunited shortly thereafter, they soon discovered that their friend Nerys had been inflicted with lycanthropy. They brought to Father Alby at her home temple and prepared to assist with a ritual to free her from the curse. As Minsc and his allies restrained Nerys in her werewolf form, Father Alby help Nerys find her true self so the companions could be a whole group once again at peace.

When the death curse afflicted all the people of the Realms that had undergone resurrection at some point in their life, Minsc and Boo accompanied the cleric Celeste, the famous writer Volothamp Geddarm along with the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge on a voyage to Port Nyanzaru Chult. Despite their ship being turned over by a dragon turtle, the group continued on with their journey and Minsc eventually returned to the Sword Coast.

In the, Minsc and Boo assisted the Emerald Enclave in Neverwinter, during their battle against the four elemental cults that threatened the Sword Coast North. he even helped Drizzt Do'Urden and Bruenor Battlehammer drive the Cult of the Eternal Flame from Gauntlgrym, and defeat demons that threated to spill out from the Abyss into the Underdark.

Descent Into Avernus
When Minsc and Delina were shopping in one of the markets of Baldur's Gate, they encountered a pair of Hellriders being attacked by a hell knight from Lower Planes. The pair could not prevent one of the holy warriors from being taken to the Nine Hells, but promised their companion Aubree Lucent they and their companions would retrieve him. Together they met with the knowledgeable Fremin Greer, who directed them to Great Reader Sylvira Savikas in Candlekeep. where Minsc was nearly seduced by the succubus Semyaza.

After meeting with Reader Sylvira, Minsc and his allies were teleported to the city of Elturel, just as it was being dragged down to Avernus on the Nine Hells. Beset by devils from all sides in the city streets, Minsc, Nerys and others helped defend the innocents of Elturel, before the pair were plunged down a chasm during a second battle with the hell knight Haruman. Landing on a colossal pile of bones on the wastelands of Avernus and witnessing the horrors of the Blood War, Minsc and Nerys were taken captive by a band of scavengers known as the Bloodrovers.

During their abduction, Minsc was submerged in the foul waters of the River Styx and was stripped of all his memories and instinct for quite some time. It wasn't until he came face to face with the archdevil Zariel that Minsc could once again recognize and know it was his duty to defeat evil. When the city of Elturel returned to the Prime Material plane and was safe from the fiends of the Hells, Minsc had gained back his restored sense of purpose but not his memories. He spent time listening to the exploits of his life shared to him by Boo, believing the stories too outlandish and amazing until he was reassured by Nerys.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Murder in Baldur's Gate • Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
 * Novels
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
 * Comics
 * Legends of Baldur's Gate • Shadows of the Vampire • Frost Giant's Fury • Evil at Baldur's Gate • Infernal Tides
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate series (Baldur's Gate • Shadows of Amn • Throne of Bhaal • Siege of Dragonspear) • • Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms 
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
 * Board Games
 * CLUE: Dungeons & Dragons
 * Card Games
 * Dungeon Mayhem: Battle for Baldur's Gate •
 * Card Games
 * Dungeon Mayhem: Battle for Baldur's Gate •

Behind the Scenes

 * Minsc was the roleplaying character of Cameron Tofer years before being part of the story of Baldur's Gate. In fact, many of the characters from the Baldur's Gate video game featured in a real pen-and-paper campaign run by James Ohlen.
 * Minsc appears in all the games in the Baldur's Gate series and is voiced by Jim Cummings.