I honestly don’t know why the subject of this piece never occurred to me before. Evil is around every corner after all. If you’re not careful, you might step in some. That’s why it is important to bring along trustworthy companions that you can rely on. The best are in full plate, packing steel.
Then there’s Minsc.
Minsc was introduced to the gaming community in 1998 with the release of Baldur’s Gate and immediately became a fan favorite for his amazing one-liners (masterfully delivered by Jim Cummings, aka Hondo Ohnaka and Winnie the Pooh among many, many others) and his devotion to a rodent he affectionately referred to as Boo, the miniature giant space hamster that was clearly the brains of their partnership. Minsc returned in Baldur’s Gate II and has appeared in numerous games and even a comic book series by IDW. With the rumors of Baldur’s Gate III being developed by Divinity: Original Sin producers Larian Studios, could we soon be seeing more of this lovable ranger?
In the meanwhile, I attempted to take a stab at a lower level version of Minsc that you can include in your home games, Forgotten Realms or otherwise. Those familiar with the character and the game will be notice the equipment choices are in line with the character’s proficiencies from Baldur’s Gate and Boo even made it into his character sheet. From a practical standpoint I started off with a level of Fighter for the Great Weapon Fighting Style and some better armor options. Minsc was technically a ranger, but he was built to be a tankier character with his exceptional Strength score. While favored enemy isn’t as potent as it was in earlier editions, you can still see the hatred this man bears for the gnolls that captured Dynaheir on their journey. And while his Wisdom is higher than the games might suggest, I choose to believe that he, like The Fool, may in fact be the wisest of the party despite his less than stunning mental prowess. I also picked Colossus Slayer from the Hunter archetype to represent his unflagging determination and resilience in battle. I debated doing a level dip into Barbarian to get his rage, but the more I thought about it, the less it made sense, and could easily be roleplayed without any practical effects at the table (aside from maybe a point of Inspiration for playing it well and throwing yourself into danger).
Remember – go for the eyes! Swords for everyone!
Ben Erickson
