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Elminster Aumar

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Elminster Aumar, also known as the Sage of Shadowdale, is one of the most famous and powerful wizards in all of Faerûn, a fair fighter and thief, and a founding member of the Harpers. He is also the chosen of Mystra, goddess of magic, which grants him extended longevity and magic prowess.

Biography[]

“ (El-MINN-ster) Elminster the Sage (Chaotic Good, Human Male, Wizard 29th level). The exact age of Elminster is unknown and his year of birth unrecorded. From his tales, it is suspected he learned his magical arts at the feet of Arkhon the Old, who died in what is now Waterdeep over five hundred years ago, and he may have been in Myth Drannor near that magical realm’s final days. The exact nature of these claims remains unproven, but most Realms natives who know him consider Elminster an eternal force in the world.
The Sage currently makes his abode in the tiny farm community of Shadowdale, living in a two - story house overlooking a fish pond with his aide and scribe, Lhaeo. He is often abroad, both elsewhere in the Realms and in other planes, where he hobnobs with the great and the not-so-great in a relentless pursuit of knowledge.
Elminster may be the most knowledgeable and well - informed individual in the Realms. His areas of specialization are the Realms and its people, ecologies of various creatures, magical items and their histories, and the known planes of 29 existence. Elminster no longer tutors or works for hire save in the most pressing cases.
He seems to prize his independence and solitude, but on several occasions he has opened his tower to newcomers and visitors. Elminster’s former students and allies include some of the most powerful good individuals in the Realms, including some of the Lords of Waterdeep; the Simbul, ruler of Aglarond; and the group known as the Harpers. 		”

— Volothamp Geddarm, Sword Coast Survival Guide

Baldur's Gate[]

Locations[]

Note: Every time, it's Elminster who seeks talks with a party member.

Gameplay[]

Elminster is one of the "difficult but not impossible" to kill NPCs in Baldur's Gate. Like Ulcaster and the Ghost Knights in the Firewine Ruins he has such low AC that the only way to hit him is a critical hit. Unlike those two, however, he will fight back. Once hostile he will target the nearest party member with either a Polymorph Other spell that turns the target into a chicken (Save vs. Spell negates), or the Cow spell from the Wild Surge effect list. Then he will disappear in a cloud of smoke.
Elminster is worth 26,000 XP when killed, which is extremely useful for getting characters and companions to max XP quickly. However, he has the same built-in 100% Magic Resistance as the Ghost Knights and since he disappears so quickly he cannot be killed with methods like the Dagger of Venom or the poison abilities of a Blackguard or Assassin. He must be killed extremely quickly lest he teleport away. Thus far the only method (as of EE ver. 2.6.6) that seems to work is seven traps from the Thief class's Set Snare ability. Each one does 2d8+5 missile damage, meaning a stack of seven (the maximum allowed on any map) will average ((1+8)+5)*7 = 98 damage. Elminster has 96 HP, so it may take some reloading to ensure that the dice roll high enough to kill him. In order for the traps to work they must be set outside his detection range since he will automatically attempt to initiate dialogue with party members who are in his sight. Once he is within range of the traps, attacking him with a bow will cause him to turn hostile and thus the traps will fire. With a slightly above-average roll he will die, and the party will get 26k XP (note that while you can still hurt him with ranged attacks, the odds of a party hitting him is ridiculously low given the need to roll a critical hit).
Elminster first appears in the third map of the game, Coast Way, in Chapter 1 as the NPC named "Old Man" and will immediately attempt to speak to the player. The player can run from this to the north or south and avoid speaking with him until they can set the necessary traps out of his sight. Given there is no shortage of Thief companions in the first couple chapters (Imoen, Montaron, Safana, and Shar-Teel if dual-classed) the player can safely dedicate one of these to investing their skill points into Set Traps. This can even be done after utilizing quick level gains in Mutamin's Garden to ensure everyone joining starts with 32,000 XP. If the player doesn't have a dedicated trap-setter, they can visit the Gnoll Stronghold and kill the Ogrillions on the bridge to get The Brawling Hands. It isn't optimal, but since it sets a character's Dexterity to 18 that will give any Thief character a minimum Set Traps score of 5 while equipped (which is a 1 in 20 chance to set a trap successfully, but for a player who hasn't invested into the skill and doesn't want to edit characters with a program or start over completely but still wants to farm Elminster for experience this is a workable last-resort).
Once the player has killed the boss of Nashkel Mines (thus beginning Chapter 3) Elminster will appear (from now on under his real name) outside Thunderhammer Smithy in Beregost. This can be easily circumvented since the player can set traps of their own accord long before he is spawned in.
After looting the chest in the main hut of the Bandit Camp (which starts Chapter 4) Elminster spawns directly outside the front door of the Friendly Arm Inn. This can be prepared for with a trap stack long in advance, but players who use the Friendly Arm Inn as a base of operations (given the fact the game directs the player there, the inn has dozens of safe storage containers to store equipment, and three of the Enhanced Edition companions return there upon dismissal with two returning to the inside of the building) will want to avoid having all their Thief companions dismissed inside the Inn, lest they be forced to kite Elminster around the entire inn to avoid him initiating dialogue while they try to get inside.
The fourth and final appearance of Elminster in Baldur's Gate I occurs at the main gate of East Baldur's Gate. This encounter is a little trickier - the player spawns into the map directly inside his detection range and they have no method whatsoever of kiting him around due to the small enclosed area of the map they start in. However, despite being a level 29 Mage Elminster isn't able to see invisible creatures, nor will he cast True Sight when the player is within detection range. Therefore the only safe way to get around him in order to set a trap stack is for the entire party to be invisible. Stealth will wear off if used in Wyrm's Crossing, and fails if used while in the line-of-sight of NPCs (unless the player themselves is a Shadowdancer). The player has a few options here: if they were extremely lucky with random drops (or if Baeloth is in the party and selected the spell upon leveling up) they can cast Invisibility, 10' Radius and then travel past Elminster's detection range. Otherwise, the player will require some combination of 6 castings of Invisibility or Potions of Invisibility to achieve the same effect. Alternatively, the player can just remove party members down to themselves and/or one Mage (other than Xzar who is banned from using Illusion spells) to sneak past him, and enter other areas of Baldur's Gate like Central Baldur's Gate or Southeast Baldur's Gate, then go back to pick up the other companions and fast-travel from the map to one of these other areas, so when they re-enter Baldur's Gate East they appear on the opposite side of the map from Elminster. From there trap stacks can be set, and he can be killed a fourth and final time.
While traps aren't the only way to harm Elminster, other methods are definitely less reliable, if not absurdly improbable. He could be brought to an extremely low HP value with a Bolt of Polymorphing, however this would require an extremely unlikely drop from a monster (since Bolts of Polymorphing do not spawn anywhere in the game), then a critical hit from the character firing it, and a failed save from Elminster, and another character shooting Elminster. Arrows of Detonation hit him reliably given their insane bonus of -65,535 to THAC0 rolls but alone these cannot kill him even with a party of 6 archers. At best these can be combined with said Bolt of Polymorphing to only require one critical hit and one failed save (and for the Arrow of Detonation user to roll anything other than a natural 1) to kill him, but this also carries the added danger of killing more Innocents than just Elminster with the blast radius, which could drop a player's Reputation extremely low and risks either Reputation-based attacks from the law or Good-aligned characters leaving the party forever.

Quotes[]

"Ho there wanderer, stay thy course a while and indulge an old man"


Ho there, wanderer. Stay thy course a moment to indulge an old man. Initial meeting
Oh, it is most distressing that this is the course thou've chosen. I remove my support and will have no further dealings with thee. Battlecry1
Damage
Dying
I can offer some guidance, but I will not interfere in your destiny. Select1
Thy mission is urgent! Must thou waste time poking the elderly? Select2
The years I have seen number hundreds, and yet I put up with thy prodding. Select3
Whoa, lord, it is hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way. Action4

Baldur's Gate II[]

Locations[]

  • Any time during Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn – if Gorion's Ward is romancing Jaheira, she will be forced to renounce her Harper's membership. Then, roughly two weeks after this event has occurred, a mage by the name Terminsel will appear somewhere outdoors, grant her a pardon, restore her membership and gift her with the Harper Pin. "Terminsel" is an anagram of Elminster.
  • Terminsel also appears to give you a note after Jaheira leaves your party during Summoned to the Harper Hold.
  • Chapter 4 – an illusion of Elminster, created by two imps for their riddle game, appears in the Sahuagin City.
  • Chapter 9 – you'll see him on your way back to the surface near the entrance to either Abazigal or Sendai, depending on which one is the fourth to fall to the might of Gorion's Ward.

Spell books[]

Elminster has a lot of spells memorized when appearing during Baldur's Gate II. Really – a lot. And each of them three times, if not stated otherwise.




Gameplay[]

Tactics for killing Elminster?

Quotes[]

I must fall back! Morale failure
So it's come to this, has it?! Battlecry1
Mystra, aid your devoted servant! Battlecry2
Damage
Dying

Dialogues[]

Greetings, old friend. Ha! Fancy meeting you here.
Oh ho! So you do know who I am now? I must admit, you've changed more than a little since the last time we met, before you were straddling the world with your power... so to speak.
Watching your progress? Well, not as much as I likely should have. I wish I had known long ago that Gorion would be right. I would have done more than just warn you about your destiny, I think.
No need to be bashful. There's only a handful of folks who'd be willing to take you on at this point. Not even I would dare... ho ho ho! And I've had considerable time to practice.
There's no need for your temper, child. I wouldn't dare fight you. Tch. I would have done more than simply warn you of your destiny had I known Gorion would be right. Ah well.
Have you any idea of the havoc the Bhaalspawn have caused up and down the Coast? The havoc you've caused personally? No, I don't suppose you have. Not that it's entirely your fault.
We Harpers have been working tirelessly for weeks now to prevent the panic from reaching a boiling point. Not a simple task. As I understand it, though, your quest is nearly at an end, correct?
I have to leave again soon, so I can't help you much. But I can help you a little, whether you like it or not. It's important that this all ends soon, but that doesn't mean I won't lift a finger over it.
There may be another way in, but you'll have to find it on your own. Now... I must go. From this point on, attaining your destiny is completely your own affair. I wish you well.

Bugs[]

Gallery[]

External links[]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 AR3300.bcs
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 AR2300.bcs
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