Anders

Anders is a human former paladin of  Tyr in Act One. He is hunting for  Karlach with his companions along the Risen Road.

“

We are paladins of Tyr, Lord of Justice. He sent us after an infernal being, straight out of the Nine Hells, hiding in the form of a one-horned tiefling.

„

— Anders, attempting to deceive the party

Involvement

Act One

Anders,  Cyrel,  Trynn, and an  unnamed deceased companion are in the Risen Road Toll House. The corpse of another companion  Buckle is on the bridge near the Toll House among several dead Gnolls. If spoken with, Anders tells the interacting player character that the Toll House is safe under Tyr's protection. He explains they are hunting a dangerous one-horned devil responsible for slaughtering refugees, who takes the form of a  Tiefling. He requests aid from the party in hunting the devil, initiating the quest ⁠Hunt the Devil.

The party can discover the "Tyrran's" ruse through a number of methods, including passing a  DC 15 Religion Check when interacting with Anders, challenging him to recite a creed as a  Cleric of Tyr, or speaking to the corpse of the unnamed companion in the next room via  Speak with Dead. In doing so, it is revealed he is a fallen paladin of Tyr pacted to the Archdevil  Zariel.

If the party brings  Karlach's Head to Anders, he rewards them with his  Sword of Justice. Otherwise, a fight breaks out, and the sword can be looted from his body. Killing Anders grants the ⁠Warrior of the Hells inspiration to party members with the  Soldier background, which includes  Lae'zel, if present.

Companion approval

If a party member meets Anders before speaking with Karlach and offers to hunt down the monster:

•  +1  -1

Combat

Attacks and actions

 Divine Smite ( + )

Damage: 3~24

Normal weapon damage

+ 2d8⁠Radiant

+ 1d8⁠Radiant (If the target is undead or a fiend)

Your weapon deals an additional 2d8⁠⁠RadiantDRS damage, increased by 1d8⁠⁠Radiant damage when attacking Fiends or Undead.

 Range: Normal weapon range

 Main Hand Attack ()   –  Sword of Justice

Damage: 7~17

2d6 + 5⁠Slashing

Make a melee attack with your equipped weapon.

 Melee: 1.5 m (5 ft)

 Thunderous Smite ( + + )

Damage: 2~12

Normal weapon damage

+ 2d6⁠Thunder

Your melee weapon rings with thunder as you strike, pushing your target 3 m (10 ft) away and possibly knocking them  Prone.

 STR Save

 Range: Normal weapon range

 Tyr's Protection ()

Protect a creature from attacks: increases its  Armour Class by 2.

Spell ends when the Sword of Justice is unequipped.

 Range: 18 m (60 ft)

 Recharge: Short rest

Allies

•  Cyrel
•  Trynn

Encounter details

Anders can be a dangerous opponent for early game parties. Using  Divine Smite and  Extra Attack, he can deal enough damage to easily kill a party member in one turn.

He is also less susceptible to common crowd control spells like  Command and  Hold Person due to his proficiency in Wisdom  Saving Throws and  Aura of Protection.

Tactics

It may be helpful to view fighting Anders as a damage race. Attempts to slow him down will likely fail due to his high saving throws, so it is recommended to deal as much damage as quickly as possible. Once he is dead, neither Cyrel nor Trynn are difficult in combat due to their low damage.

The party can also begin the battle by ambushing Cyrel when she periodically walks outside onto the balcony. A successful  Shove can push her off the cliff and usually kills her instantly, reducing the difficulty of the fight.

Loot

• Longsword
• Scale Mail
• Sword of Justice

Related quests

• ⁠Hunt the Devil
• ⁠Our Fiery Friend

Idle banter

Anders occasionally chats with  Trynn:

• Anders

  Cut it out. There's worse than gnolls out there.

• Trynn

  Nothing we need to worry about.

• Anders

  How about a dragon? Would that worry you?

• Trynn

  I'd give it a bloody good fight, that's for sure.

• Anders

  Ha! Only thing you'd give a dragon is bad gas.