Summary of "Baldur's Gate 3 - Part 28 - The Grym Reaper"

Storyline / Context

The party explores the Adamantine Forge to craft items and recover loot. The forge requires four stations/platforms to operate in concert: insert ore and mold, pull a lever, open a lava valve, then pull the lever again to finish forging.

While operating the forge the group summons (or wakes) a powerful construct called Grimm — the Grym Reaper. Grimm is a high-HP, heavily-armored lava/construct enemy with unusual immunities and a violent phase-two earthquake ability. Defeating him yields heavy armor, a helmet, and a shield made from his remains.

Forge operation (step-by-step)

Insert ore and chosen mold into the correct crucible/chamber.
Pull the lever to drop the hammer partially.
Open the lava valve to flow lava over the crucible.
Pull the lever again to complete forging.

Use four party members (one per station/platform) to operate smoothly.
Be very careful of positioning: standing on the hammer platform when a lever is pulled will crush allies.

Loot / Crafted items obtained

Adamantine splint armor (heavy; AC 18)
- Reduces incoming damage by 2.
- Causes attackers to reel (attack penalties that stack per turn remaining).
Helm made from Grimm’s head
- Heavy-armor helm with fire resistance.
- Prevents crits from attackers.
- Grants a hunter’s-mark-like special property.
Shield (crafted last from remaining ore)
- +2 shield.
- On a missed melee attack the attacker is sent reeling.
- Has a reaction that can knock attackers prone if they fail a Dexterity save.

The party prioritized revives and on-field recovery (revivify, potions) rather than spending scrolls unnecessarily.

Enemy: Grimm (The Grym Reaper) — specifics & mechanics

Very high HP (around 450 when encountered) and high AC; low mental saves.
Immunities / resistances:
- Immune or highly resistant to psychic, poison, necrotic, fire, lightning, and sometimes radiant.
- Strong resistance to force in places.
Vulnerability:
- Weak to bludgeoning damage — the primary exploitable offensive weakness.
Movement / behavior:
- Becomes “superheated” when interacting with lava; terrain/valve usage affects his resistances and phases.
- Vengeful guardian trait: tends to target the last creature that struck him.
- Phase two includes an earthquake effect plus additional summoned enemies that can quickly destroy separated party members.

Strategies and key tips from the episode

Forge basics (reminder)
- Place mold and ore, pull lever, open valve, pull lever again.
- Use four operators for the stations; coordinate position to avoid environmental kills.
Primary combat tactics vs Grimm
- Exploit the bludgeoning weakness: equip and use warhammers, thrown light hammers, or other bludgeoning sources.
- Lure and positioning:
  - Use high-accuracy ranged attacks to bait Grimm onto specific tiles (central hammer platform).
  - Use slow effects (Ray of Frost) to control his movement.
- Improve hit chance:
  - Use Bless and the staff-of-arcane-blessing effect (grants bonus to spell attack rolls) on the spellcasters who need improved accuracy.
  - Guiding Bolt and other setup attacks can grant advantage even if their damage types are otherwise weak.
- Crowd control and aggro management:
  - Use blindness/slow to make hits easier.
  - Pull aggro onto a sturdy bait/tank to protect fragile casters.
- Valve / hammer timing:
  - Double-check party placement before pulling levers — the hammer can crush allies.
- Phase-two preparation:
  - Expect additional summons and an earthquake.
  - Keep key members positioned to avoid massive AoE/knockdown and have potions/scrolls ready.
- Summons/familiars:
  - Many lack ranged attacks and are limited as bait; a crab summon can still distract or slightly move Grimm.

Combat composition & role adjustments that helped

Put Bless / staff buff on the spellcasters who need accuracy boosts rather than non-spellcasters.
Use a hardy melee character (e.g., Carlac/Carl) to bait and absorb hits while other characters throw bludgeoning weapons or attack from range.
Bring multiple healing and revival options (potions, scrolls, revivify).
Swap gear to maximize bludgeoning where needed — give hammers to several party members, consider thrown bludgeoning weapons.

Mistakes & lessons learned

Don’t assume environmental or saucer/anti-magic effects will disable Grimm — read descriptors and test.
Splitting the team too widely prevented effective group healing and Bless coverage; balance spacing with station assignments.
Pulling levers without checking placements caused friendly deaths from hammer crushes—always double-check positions first.
Phase two is extremely punishing: if Grimm’s earthquake affects many characters, it can wipe the party quickly. Keep him isolated and focus burst bludgeoning to end the fight.

What ultimately worked (final successful approach)

Equip multiple party members with bludgeoning weapons (warhammers, thrown light hammers) and rely less on the hammer trap alone.
Keep high-accuracy buffs (Bless / staff) on characters making the luring shots.
Maintain one dedicated bait/tank on the platform while ranged/throwing characters guide Grimm’s movement.
Keep revival and potion contingency plans ready for casualties.

Result: Grimm was defeated by concentrated bludgeoning and careful positioning; armor, helm, and shield were crafted and distributed.

Final tactical takeaway: exploit bludgeoning weakness, control positioning, and be prepared for a punishing phase two.

Final notes & next objectives

There is more of the forge area to explore (a mysterious amulet, treasure, and possibly the Night Song).
The host plans to continue cleanup and follow-up exploration in the next episode.