Few heroes in D&D lore are quite as memorable as Minsc and Boo. Maybe it’s because they’re pure of heart, determined to do good as they travel the lands of Faerûn. Maybe it’s because they bring so much comic relief to the stories they’re in. Or maybe we’re all just a sucker for an adorable hamster companion. Whatever draws you to this dynamic duo, you can learn all you need to know about Minsc and Boo right here.
Minsc and Boo can be found in plenty of games, and we’ve got guides for fans of each. RPG-ers can craft a new character with our guides to DnD races and DnD classes, while Magic fans can keep up with all the latest news in the MTG 2023 release schedule. Or, for the latest from Baldur’s Gate, keep a close eye out for the Baldur’s Gate 3 release date.
Here’s all you need to know about the mighty Minsc and Boo:
Who are DnD’s Minsc and Boo?
Minsc is a human DnD Ranger who originally came from the Berserker Lands of Rashemen. His bald head sports a distinctive purple tattoo, and his stature is as huge as his heart. In short, he’s not an easy man to miss in a crowd.
Boo is (reportedly) a miniature giant space hamster that hails from the Wildspace of the Spelljammer setting. Since the terms ‘miniature’ and ‘giant’ end up cancelling each other out, Boo is the exact size of a regular hamster. Boo is fiercely loyal to his human companion and accompanies him on many adventures. Minsc even insists the rodent talks to him.
Though the pair have fought battles everywhere from Avernus to Ravenloft, they’re most closely associated with the DnD city of Baldur’s Gate. They resided here for a long time and are even members of a party known as the Heroes of Baldur’s Gate. At one point, Minsc and Boo were literally part of the city’s architecture – having been petrified by magic and placed in a town square after being mistaken for a statue.
Baldur’s Gate Minsc and Boo
Minsc is a potential companion in the Baldur’s Gate computer RPG series.
Baldur’s Gate
In the first Baldur’s Gate game, Minsc will join your party if you agree to help him rescue the mage Dynaheir (or, alternatively, just do it for him). The pair were sent to the Sword Coast together as part of Minsc’s ‘dajemma’. This is a rite of passage intended to expand Minsc’s horizons and ready him to join a prominent Berserker lodge. As part of this, he’s charged with protecting Dynaheir, whatever the cost.
Boo is also in the first Baldur’s Gate videogame, but he’s stashed in Minsc’s inventory. His influence on your adventure is pretty limited, but you can interact with him a little bit if you go through Minsc’s pockets.
Baldur’s Gate 2
When you next meet Minsc, his charge Dynaheir has been killed, and he’s imprisoned. Convince him to rage his way out of his cage, and he’ll join your adventuring party shortly after.
Boo is still found in Minsc’s inventory, but he joins conversations more regularly in Baldur’s Gate 2, often squeaking to communicate with his Ranger companion. There’s also a mod for the game that lets you embark on a hamster-centric quest, The Kidnapping of Boo.
Baldur’s Gate 3
As Baldur’s Gate 3 hasn’t yet had a full release, we can’t confirm if Minsc and Boo will resume their adventures in the series. However, one Baldur’s Gate 3 trailer from December 2022 shows the pair about to break free from their petrified, statue state in the city of Baldur’s Gate. With any luck, the pair will soon be back in action.
Minsc and Boo MTG
As icons of the Forgotten Realms, Minsc and Boo naturally got a starring role in several of Magic: The Gathering’s D&D crossover sets. Both can be found in the card Minsc, Beloved Ranger from the Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set. Additionally, the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate set features the most recent card depicting the pair: Minsc and Boo, Timeless Heroes.
Minsc and Boo, Timeless Heroes can be used as a Commander in an MTG Commander deck. This is a card that really shows off how much Minsc loves his furry little buddy. When the card enters the battlefield, you can create a legendary 1/1 red Hamster creature token at the beginning of your upkeep phase. This paper representation of Boo comes with trample and haste, so while it’s a puny hitter to begin with, it hits fast and is hard to block.
Timeless Heroes is an MTG planeswalker card, so you can use its loyalty counters for further in-game effects. Its +1 loyalty ability lets you put three +1/+1 counters on one target creature that has trample or haste. Boo is the obvious choice here, but a deck built around these keywords will provide plenty of solid options.
Minsc’s -2 loyalty ability calls for you to sacrifice a creature – and in exchange, the card will deal damage equal to the sacrificed creature’s power. Plus, if the sacrifice happens to be a hamster, you can draw cards equal to its power, too.