The Most TRAGIC Tale in Video Game History.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2024
- Baldur's Gate 3 is home to some of the most iconic villains we've seen in gaming in recent time. And while choices like Raphael make solid cases for being the greatest, I wouldn't blame you if Kethric Thorm was your favorite.
This brute of a character has one of the most tragic backstories I've heard of, and in this video we'll be diving into just what sort of loss has caused him to stand before us as he does. Broken and battered.
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Ketheric: maybe this god will help me out this time
3rd times not the charm?
Tbf myrkul did deliver with his promises. Sure there was a high price, but no strings or cruel ironies attached (that we saw)
@@HanyaPanya444 Neutral Evil at its peak.
@@jcdenton2187 Not bound by law and focused unlike chaos. Neutral evil is the alignment of just getting shit done.
Maybe if there was a god of therapy Ketheric could’ve been saved 😅
I think ketheric might just be my favorite character in the game and J.K simmons does such a good job
J.K. Simmons made the character for me.
He says my favourite line: We are copper pieces in their belts, tokens to be traded for scraps.
part of what makes Ketheric such a good villain is the fact that you can empathize with him - he's a man destroyed by grief having lost his wife and his daughter desperate to do anything to bring them back.
Having a daughter myself, i can definitely empathize with Ketheric. I was so well written.
One of the most real villains we've seen in some time.
I assume you mean empathize? Yeah, so do I.
@SuperHansburger93 thanks for the correction :)
Who did write you?
@@Mindinvasion Oups
"Have you ever heard of the tragic tale of Ketheric Thorm?"
It's not a story the Harpers would tell you.
It’s a Sharran legend
I’m surprised you didn’t talk about how if you learn about his wife before confronting him, you can try and convince him not to fight because this isn’t what she would’ve wanted. He turns you down because it’s too late to redeem himself, but he goes straight into giving himself to Myrkl instead of fighting you himself first. I feel like this shows that there’s still at least some part of him that knows what he’s doing is wrong, but he’s gone too far already to stop
"Mystra, I mean the groomer"
Iirc, she was dead for most of the time gale was alive. He was probably in his late 20s/early 30s by the time they got the hots for eachother
@4m4n40 I'm pretty sure Mystra noticed Gale When he was 8, started dating around 19 or 20.
@@Graves933I think you’re talking about Elminster, he is Gale’s mentor and a chosen of Mystra
@4m4n40 No, I meant mystra. It was said she noticed him at a young age
The story also has Dame Aylin, the groomer.
Ketheric intrigued me a lot in my first play through of the game. While I immediately fan boy’ed over the voice of Mr. Jameson himself delivering an incredible performance, his story made me pause. Unlike Orin and Gortash (with the exception of learning about his past through a certain companion) don’t have compelling stories like he does. Orin is crazy and does crazy things because crazy dad says do crazy things for the lolz, and Gortash is just another cog in the cyclical wheel of abuse. But when I got to Moonrise towers, I spent hours combing the place, looking for every bit of info I could to see how to remove his immortality. Piece by piece I put together his story, until it finally clicked into place after raiding his bedroom and reading the materials in there. Ketheric wasn’t a villain because his parents were horrible, or because he is innately evil, he was just a man who loved his family more than anything. Ketheric is interesting (in my opinion) because he is so human. Any one of us could become like him, minus the whole immortal death paladin living in a cursed land. He is also the only major villain in the game who can be reasoned with before and during his fights. Being able to remind him of who he was and making him reflect on what his wife would think of him now reveals traces of his humanity. Of the three, Ketheric is my favorite antagonist in the game, and the competition doesn’t come close, which is saying something considering how incredible Orin’s acting and animations are!
Elfanity (he's an elf) lol
J/k I agree with what you mean though, he's definitely one of the best written characters in the game.
J.K. Simmons was the voice of Ketheric. Although they probably both like Jameson Whiskey! LOL
@@angelstarlight6030He is a half High Elf. Still got humanity in there.
@@RazielTheUnborn ahh I thought he was a full elf and Melodia was human, sorry my mistake 😅
@@angelstarlight6030wait, does that make Isobel a quarter elf?
I honestly didn't know JK Simons did the voice of Kethric Throm until I heard his voice in game for the first time. It was absolutely epic.
Only JK Simmons could portray General Edgelord so compellingly. He is by far my favorite of the Chosen.
That scene where Ketheric casually gets impaled, gets back up, and tells them "Try Again" is the best scene for an antagonist I've witnessed in the last couple years ngl
Pro tip: When attempting to acquire pictures of Spider-Man, don't consort with evil deities to get them. Not fun, would not recommend.
I was really joping you'd make an analysis on this! Ketheric was easily my favourite out of the three chosen and, at least in my opinion, the best written. A villain, yes, but ultimately a broken man who lost everything and felt abandoned by the goddess he upheld. All he wanted was his daughter back. Also helps that J.K Simmons nails every role he's in.
Thanks for waiting patiently! I hope you enjoyed.
It's possible that an agent of Shar approached Ketheric during his moments of weakness and eroded memories that would've kept him faithful to Selune.
I could really see his tragedy be played out in a Demiplane of Dread, though I'm not sure how it would work with his role as Chosen of Urkel
When I heard Throm first talk I was like yep Omniman threat than sure enough he proofed to be a Omniman threat
my goal is to write a character as deep as Ketheric Thorm at some point
Actually the Mystra you meet in BG3/5e is Midnight (Renamed Mystra), the First Mystra and the Second coming of the goddess of magic was murdered
Thanks for the clarification! These forgotten realms deities can get a bit confusing 😅
This channel is criminally underrated. Very awesome BG3 video essays!
Had a pretty crappy day and watching through all of these has helped a lot, so thank you!
Happy to hear I could help you out for a moment in time! Thank YOU for watching and enjoying!
Ketheric is the most serious figure of the Chosen three.
I can't get over the fact that he is voiced by j k Simmons.
J Jonah Jameson! Omniman!
slight correction, the Mystra we meet in game is technically the fourth goddess of magic. Mystral came first, then the og Mystra who sacrificed herself, then Midnight who was a mortal woman ascended to godhood and took Mystra's name, She died and was eventually brought back but she merged with the echos of the last two so she isn't all Midnight(and this is the one we end up meeting).
Lore so deep the wiki still confuses me I guess 😅
@@FiguringOutFantasy yup Forgotten Realm lore is dense af.
You got one of the best BG3 channels out there
Thank you so much! I aspire to be peoples' go-to for fantasy content like this.
The current goddess of magic is the fourth iteration of her. Mystryll died during the events of Karsus's Folly, the first mystra died during the time of troubles and the third died in 1385 assasinated by Cyric causing the spell plague
In typical mage fashion, she dies very easily.
1:15 just a quick thing here. In the forgotten realms Myrkul is not actually the god of necromancy, that is another god known as Velsharoon (not like forgotten realms ever uses him, also he is dead last I heard). Myrkul was the god of the dead, (now a semi deity with the much more minor roles of decay, aging, and other stuff related to that) and the whole undead and necromancy situation was just myrkul being an asshole with the role and powers given to him (tho tbf most death deities do that). Good video though.
By the time BG3 rolls around Ketheric is just a twisted shell of the man he once was and you need to stop him cause he's too far gone to stop himself. Solid Character
Let's just take a moment to appreciate the fact that they got this voice actor to voice this character. What a freaking legend. When from bring me pictures of Spider-Man to bring me my daughter back to life.
HEY, KETHERIC THORM HERE, JUST SAYING THAT IF A GOD OFFERS HELP, YOU TAKE THAT HELP, BECAUSE WHEN THEY TRY TO SWINDLE YOU YOU CAN JUST FIND ANOTHER GOD. ALWAYS WORKS, NEVER FAILS. ILLITHIDS, ILLITHIDS.
Fuck me reading all those books in game actually equipped me pretty darn well for this video
I'm kind of confused when it comes to Isobel about her father.
She seems so weirdly dismissive about the whole thing, even after his death. Like, if the game didn't spell out the opposite for me, I'd think she wanted him to die ever since Dame Aylin came into the picture. Like some kind of fucked up rebellious teenage daughter murderplot.
I'd prefer if she showed more confliction or remorse that he dies and/or can't look at Aylin the way she wants right away because she'd feel like her love for Aylin is the reason he became what he became.
Idk man, it makes sense that she'd have some serious disdain for Ketheric considering everything he did from her point of view.
He betrayed Isobel by bringing her back to life against her will, betrayed their chosen goddess by switching to Shar/Myrkul and capturing Aylin, betrayed the place she lived in by causing the shadow curse, and on top of all that, she gets to find out about all of this long after he's completely changed from the guy he was when she died. I wouldn't blame her for thinking the real Ketheric died when she did; I'm pretty sure he echos a similar sentiment in one of his journals
The character design, that face is real AF, his facial animations....wow, feels like I'm watching an actor and not CGI.
With Ketheric, entering act 2 I thought his power was over exaggeration
Me, marching in as a True Soul: "I've gotta be honest with ya general, I don't think religion is your thing. Have you considered atheism and grief counseling? I can refer you to a guy I know."
*me after killing kethric*
"Aylin chill. Da-DAYUM CHILL!"
Off topic, but someone mentioned Ketheric tadpoling Isobel to a "1950s lobotomy for my unruly daughter," and I think that's so fucked up. It goes to show that in the end, while Ketheric wanted his daughter alive, he didn't want the person she actually was.
Only person scarier than kethric is Durge and Kethric knows it lol
This Mystra is more of a 4th incarnation of Mystryll, rather than 2nd.
Great lore vid! I'm still on my first run through but yeah Kethric is quite a complex character. I like how it is up to the player to patch together the fragments of his life to see how he got to this
Thank you! Keep digging in act 3 and you’ll find even more about the chosen.
these videos are really high quality and deserve way more views, this channel feels like your a youtuber who already knows what hes doing from another channel but could not branch out so you started this one as a new start, i know some youtubers that have done that. this content is really nicea nd well put together please dont give up on it because its not getting crazy views or subs yet
Ketheric is omniman if his wife and son died
This is a great video, my man. He’s so well-written.
Happy to hear you enjoyed!
tragically my first encounter with Ketheric was at the complete end of act 2, we didn't go to moonrise until the end, and the Durge player killed Isobel right before we went, after I freed Aylin. kinda made the whole scenario a bit odd but we reached the top of the tower and beat him with 2 speech checks. it wasn't until well after that I learned he's actually pretty neat and not just a sad guy who dies and becomes a big boney boy
Amazing video 👍
A lovely and very interesting video once more, my friend. Are you planning to do the companions or the other chosen as well? I'm kinda curious to see you do Gortash
From the iteoduction of Ketheric when you enter Moonrise to seeing the intro of the apostle of Myrkul act 2 really gave us great cutscenes
Note. Selune was originally the Goddess of Light period, full stop. And of course Mystril favored Selune, she's Selune's daughter.
Great video!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed!
Honestly, I think one of the biggest reasons people see Ketheric as more sympathetic than the other Chosen is that his story is a lot more grounded and relatable than Orin or Gortash. Ketheric's story is one of a man broken by his grief for his lost family and the trauma from his Goddess seemingly abandoning him, whereas Orin and Gortash, while their stories do have parallels to some more realistic scenarios, are still much more fantastical. I mean, not many people are the children of the God of Murder, much less raised in a murder cult, nor are most people sold to the literal Devil himself. Of course Orin and Gortash's stories do have some similar themes to Ketheric's, specifically in regards to familial trauma, what with Gortash having been sold by his abusive family to an arguably even more abusive master before breaking out and then serbing a cult that is devoted to yet another master, and Orin being abused since she was a child in the cult of Bhaal, which is the only family she's ever known and basically groomed to be a tool for her god.
Ketheric being so well written and having an entire act to be developed for himself is what made him such a great character. Imagine if act 3 was broken up into 2 separate acts 1 on the lower city and 1 on the upper to develop his buffoons of fellow chosen.
Great video could you do a video on either Gortash and Orin.
You can likely expect a video covering most of the prominent characters in bg3 at some point! Thank you for watching.
Tbh I rather worship umberlee than shar if I was forced to pick lol
I've only watched half the video, but I've played through the game a couple of times and I feel compelled to comment. Almost ANYONE would do what ketheric did if he truly loved his daughter and wife. What we see of him in the actual game is just the husk left after his deal with the dark gods. The fact we cannot progress towards act 3 without killing him is a testament to this - it is a mercykilling.
We still don't know how Melodia and Isobel died...
According to some in the comment section, there was apparently supposed to be some context surrounding at least Isobel's initial demise related to Halsin. But overall there doesn't seem to be hard answers regarding their deaths.
Should've had a scroll of true resurrection 🤦
I personally don't think it was the combined forces of Druids and Harpers that brought Ketheric down, at least not alone. As you said, there is evidence for people surrendering to him but him showing no mercy. While I'd argue that as a good General (which is stated more than once that he is/was), he wouldn't chase after his enemies if he didn't have the upper hand by a lot, there is also the architect of Moonrise in Raphael's house. He sold his soul to Raphael so Yurgir would tear down Ketheric's army and I think that played a huge part in Ketheric's defeat. Without the Druids and Harpers, this sacrifice might've not stopped Ketheric himself, but in my opinion, without Yurgir's intervention, the Harpers and Druids wouldn't have been able to defeat Ketheric either. I'm not sure if it is actually stated in the game, though I feel like it was. But even if it is not outright said, that is my personal interpretation of what happened prior to the story of BG3.
Have you thought about making any videos about Elden ring, Or for its DLC perhaps?
I have some older videos of mine on Elden Ring, and let’s just say it’ll certainly be making another appearance on the channel!
I love Ketheric's writing, and the fact that Aylin gets to kick his ass is amazing to me. I have never once handed Isobel over. Mostly because her and her girlfriend are perfect together
The lesbians are adorable together
You need more subs. This channel is great. I added mine to their number.
Sad backstory... still murder.
Did you ever mention when and how Isabelle died?
It wasn’t explicit, but implied through the portion of his monologue: “when she was killed…”
It’s not specified specifically when or how in the lore either. The specifics seem ambiguous.
Originally Halsin killed Isobelle in a fit of rage using a halberd he named Sorrow, he regretted what he did cause Kethric unleashed the Shadow Curse as a result. This was ultimately cut, though the halberd can still be found in the Emerald Enclave vault but, now has no narrative sense to exist.
Isobelle’s death is unfortunately a mystery. Larian probably wanted to keep the focus on Kethric and alluding to blaming Selune and by proxy Aylin, for not protecting his family.
Sorry but isn’t she called Isobel?
Grief over the death of a loved one would be so much different in the forgotten realms then in the real world, in the real world I understand why it breaks people we don't know if we will ever see them again, but it's not the same in D&D in D&D everyone knows the gods are real and everyone knows there is a afterlifeits such a obvious topic that is always missed. Why would Kethric miss his wife and child at all he knows exactly where they are, they are with the moon maiden, why does he break down at all?
Kethric was never as devoted to the moon maiden as Isobel and Melodia were. He followed because of them and felt betrayed by Selunah once they died as a result.
@@FiguringOutFantasy that is true, but in the D&D word everyone knows gods are real, its a rather interesting concept when you break it down, how would society structure itself if we knew god was real?
@@frankzappa9853 many people know the gods exist but either don't feel they are worthy of worship or refuse to believe that they are omnipotent or more than powerful magical beings. Ketheric may "know" that Melodia and Isobel are with the moon maiden but also because he wasn't really a true believer he likely wouldn't be claimed by Selune and thus wouldn't get to see them again in the afterlife after his death, which makes his damning actions all the more tragic
You sound just like serevok
Might be the best compliment I’ve been given on here!
@@FiguringOutFantasy awe! When I first clicked on the video I made the instant connection lol
Is this a re upload
A re-upload with an additional 11 minutes thanks to youtube finally working properly!
Might be good to change the title and thumbnail to "Ketheric" instead of "Kethric", just for accuracy's sake.
You’re the hero I needed.
@@FiguringOutFantasy proud to serve, m’lord.
So I heard that some things were cut with Ketheric being a potential character to talk to in camp. I feel like that is partly why the story around Ketheric felt kinda incomplete. Playing through it feels like there were some weird gaps? It's hard to explain but think those who have played understand.
so I guess "gaming history" and "gaming" mean Baldur's Gate 3 to you
Which "all-time" pieces of gaming history do you think deserve some coverage? I plan on doing some witcher 3 soon so let me know what other titles you love!
I don’t play these nerd games but I love your videos!
So you’re sayimg homophobia ruined the world…
I disagree Kethric Throm is fundamentally a weak man, he constantly blames everyone around him if it's his God he worships to his underlings, his judgement of Mithara highlights this and his fluttering from one god to another also highlights how weak he is it's always someone's fault never Kethric he is pathetic