How to Beat the Brewer in Waning Moon in Baldur’s Gate 3

The curse has turned Thisobald Thorm into a grotesque monster who can be found in BG3 the Waning Moon Tavern in Act 2. Besides challenging you to a drinking game, he can be a tricky boss fight. Here’s how to beat the Brewer in Waning Moon in Baldur’s Gate 3.

How to Beat the Brewer in The Waning Moon in Baldur’s Gate 3

You can beat the Brewer in Baldur’s Gate 3 in two ways. The first is a simple non-combat route by accepting his drinking game and passing multiple Constitution and Performance checks. If this is your preferred method then I would check out our guide on the drinking game below and save before talking to him until you pass your checks.

The second method is through combat and he’s got a few tricks that you need to survive before taking him down. Thisobald’s main mechanic for the boss fight is that he’s immune to piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning damage. Therefore, I would bring one or two casters to the fight like Shadowheart, Gale, or Wyll. He usually attacks by drinking from his barrel and regurgitating his brew. Dealing any magic damage to him enhances this brew with additional effects like burning for fire damage. Since the regurgitation attack deals heavy AOE damage, I would split up my party to opposite sides of him. Focus your casters on dealing damage to the boss and your melee ones on taking out the nearby zombies.

If you survive three brew attacks, he blacks out and all attacks against him have Advantage and he loses his physical damage resistance. This is when I focused all my melee character attacks on him and took him down. You’ll need to act fast as he regains his resistance in two turns and the cycle starts again. Ideally, I would aim to take him down in this first cycle even if you have to use Potions of Speed or Haste Spore grenades to do it.

Either way, the main reason to complete this encounter and go to the BG3 the Waning Moon Tavern is if you decided to help He Who Was. This Necromancer tasks you with retrieving a ledger owned by a deceased woman, and it just so happens that it’s in the tavern.

How to Reach BG3 the Waning Moon Tavern

To reach Waning Moon Tavern, you’ll want to take note of Last Light Inn, which happens to have numerous important objectives, such as saving Isobel and meeting Jaheira, a returning character from the previous games. From Last Light Inn, go to the south and cross the river, which leads to Reithwin Town. From there, check the lower-left section of the town, more specifically, the southwest building to find the Waning Moon Tavern (X:-224; Y:-70).

How to Win the Drinking Game in Baldur’s Gate 3

The second method of beating Thisobald Thorm is the drinking game. When I got to the Waning Moon, none of the undead were hostile. Talk to Thisobald the Brewer and he’ll challenge you to a drinking game. I was able to beat the Brewer in Baldur’s Gate 3 by choosing Shadowheart (she does love her ale, after all) and succeeding on some Constitution and Performance checks. Make sure you keep a backup save to prepare for fails that lead to combat detailed above. Here’s a quick summary:

• I chose [Cleric][Saving Throw] “Whisper a prayer to your god.”
• There were a handful of DC16 Constitution checks, but Shadowheart had numerous advantages, such as her Constitution stat, the Dark Justiciar Helm, the Resistance spell, and just simply being a Cleric.
• The Constitution checks alternated with Performance rolls. Although Shadowheart didn’t have high Charisma (which governs the Performance skill), I was still able to succeed.
• If you do encounter failed rolls, you can use an Inspiration point or just reload a backup save.

Brewer Rewards

If you succeed in all the rolls in the drinking game, the Brewer will collapse dead. Here are the rewards that I got:

• Inspirations: I received “I’ve Had Worse” (Outlander) and “Lack of Moderation is Key” (Haunted One).
• Madeleine’s Ledger: This is the quest item required by He Who Was. You’ll find it in a removable floorboard next to the bar counter.
• Thisobald’s Brewed-up Bellygummer: This is a very rare potion. Unlock the door behind the counter and check the alchemist’s table at the back to find the recipe.
• Punch-Drunk Bastard: This two-handed greatclub grants bonuses if your character is drunk.

That’s everything you need to know about how to defeat the Brewer in Baldur’s Gate 3. Don’t forget to return to He Who Was with the Ledger so you can complete the Punish the Wicked quest. For more tips and tactics like how to beat the Thorms without fighting or defeat Ketheric, visit our BG3 guides hub.