This Baldur’s Gate 3 enemy would be a “near impossible boss” in D&D

One of the villains in Baldur’s Gate 3 would be one of the strongest enemies in D&D 5e, especially when you factor in the level he’s supposed to be faced at.

In D&D 5e, all monsters have a “Challenge Rating” (or CR), which determines the average level at which a party should face them. This means the DM knows that a level 1 party can fight a Brown Bear while a level 20 party can face a Pit Fiend.

One factor in determining an enemy’s strength is its hit point value. The more hit points an enemy has, the longer it will last, giving it more time to chip away at the party.

Baldur’s Gate 3 focuses much more on combat than D&D 5e. As such, the enemies have been made tougher than their tabletop counterparts. This has had the surprising effect of making one of its bosses far tougher than most D&D creatures.

Wizards of the Coast/Livia Prima

As discussed by fans online, Raphael the devil has 666 hit points, which ties into his infernal theme. This makes him one of the strongest creatures in D&D 5e regarding hit points, as the actual rulers of the evil afterlife can’t come close.

By comparison, Baphomet (CR 23) has 319 hit points, Demogorgon (CR 26) has 464 hit points, Graz’zt (CR 24) has 346 hit points, and Orcus (CR 26) has 405 hit points. These are top-tier demons and devils, yet they’re nowhere near as hardy as Raphael.

Even the almighty Tarrasque, the most powerful monster in D&D 5e, has 676 hit points.

That said, Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t a direct translation of the D&D 5e rules. If it were, the game wouldn’t be as fun. The Raphael battle is a great example of this, as a group of four level 12 characters can take this on, which you do with effective builds and cheesing the system as much as possible.

Raphael’s biblical hit point score is more there to scare players than to accurately reflect the power level scaling of Demon Lords and Archdevils. It’s a good thing, too, as Raphael could win D&D’s Blood War between devils and demons with his bulk.