Balthazar

Balthazar was a human Bhaalspawn monk and one of the Five in Tethyr in the mid–14 century DR. He was perhaps the most powerful of them, and the only one whose goal was not to achieve power for himself.

Activities
Balthazar's ultimate goal was to destroy all other Bhaalspawn and, at the end, commit ritual suicide—he believed death was so deeply bred in the bones of his kind that they would always bring destruction regardless of intention, and that destroying them all was the only way to be rid of Bhaal's essence. As such, he was not very different from the other Five in his cooperation with the rest, since they all more or less intended to destroy each other to increase their own power. It was to this end that he saw it necessary to gather an army of his own in the form of the mercenaries, just like the others. He worked with Melissan without trusting her.

History
In the late 1360s DR, Balthazar was the de facto ruler of Amkethran in Tethyr, living in the monastery with his monks while his mercenaries lived in and largely controlled the town outside. He was so focused on achieving his ultimate goal that he let the town's populace fall into poverty and the dishonorable mercenaries run amok amongst them, bullying them at their leisure.

After the destruction of Saradush in the, Melissan advised Gorion's Ward and party to travel to Amkethran and meet her there. Once there, they met with Balthazar, who claimed that she'd left already. The group then needed to use Amkethran as a base in hunting down Sendai and Abazigal, but once that was done, Elminster appeared and revealed that Balthazar was a Bhaalspawn himself and that he'd had a hostile confrontation with Melissan, who'd fled. The heroes then returned to Amkethran, made their way through a town full of hostile mercenaries, and entered the monastery with Saemon Havarian's help. There they confronted Balthazar and learned his true motives. The ensuing conversation could only end in violence, even if Balthazar acknowledged that their intentions were honorable.

Appearances

 * Video Games:
 * Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal


 * Novels:
 * Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal