Baldur's Gate is a series ofrole-playing video games set in theForgotten RealmsDungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The series has been divided into two sub-series, known as theBhaalspawn Saga and theDark Alliance, both taking place mostly within theWestern Heartlands, but the Bhaalspawn Saga extends toAmn andTethyr. TheDark Alliance series was released for consoles and was critically and commercially successful. TheBhaalspawn Saga was critically acclaimed for usingpausable realtime gameplay, which is credited with revitalizing the computer role-playing game (CRPG) genre.
Black Isle Studios had planned a third series to be set in theDalelands and be a PC-exclusivehack and slash game with pausable real-time gameplay. The game would not have been connected to the Bhaalspawn Saga series. The game was cancelled when Interplay forfeited the D&D PC license to Atari.[2]
The series was revived in 2012 withBaldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, an update of the originalBaldur's Gate using an enhancedInfinity Engine. The release of the Enhanced Edition marked the first release in the series in eight years, and was followed by an enhanced edition of the secondBaldur's Gate calledBaldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition.[3] Beamdog was granted permission to develop new games with the license, such asBaldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, an expansion forBaldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition.[4] The license was later given toLarian Studios, who developed and publishedBaldur's Gate 3, released in 2023.
TheBaldur's Gate series brought technical advancements over role-playing video games of the past. BioWare'sInfinity Engine offers a pre-renderedisometric worldview, withsprite-based characters.Baldur's Gate was the third computer game to make use of theLua scripting language. The engine was used forPlanescape: Torment and theIcewind Dale series.
The earliest released in the series are based on a real-time modification of the second editionAD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) ruleset. The player's party can have up to six members, either created by the player according to theAD&D rules ornon-player characters (NPCs) recruited by the protagonist from the game world.
Baldur's Gate 3 is based onDungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, and the party is limited to 4 characters.
Numerous side quests and plot twists are associated with particular NPCs and can be activated if they are found in the player's party. Through extensive, context-dependent dialogue, many characters inside and outside the player's party are fleshed out and given an added level of complexity.
The first game in the series wasBaldur's Gate and introduces the player character as a powerless orphan raised in the monastery ofCandlekeep, south ofBaldur's Gate and north of the kingdom ofAmn. The main character searches for the killer of their foster father Gorion, and becomes involved with the region's iron crisis which causes metal to crumble, while battling to stay alive. An expansion pack for Baldur's Gate calledTales of the Sword Coast did not add to the primary storyline, but presented the protagonist with more areas to explore along theSword Coast, more powerful enemies, more spells, and better equipment. It also allows the player character to reach higher levels of experience, made some general changes to gameplay, and altered the original game's final battle.
The sequel toBaldur's Gate wasBaldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. The main character is captured byJon Irenicus and must escape into the city ofAthkatla, the capital of Amn. Here the protagonist faces several different ways to figure out the reason behind the capture, as they journey through the region of Amn and theUnderdark. The game presents a number of innovations over the firstBaldur's Gate game, including further specialization of character classes, better graphics, and higher power levels. It also allowed more interaction with the game's joinable NPCs, including friendships, romances, and your own party members' interactions with one another.Throne of Bhaal is an expansion pack forBaldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and includes both an expansion of the original game, such as new areas to explore, and a conclusion to theBhaalspawn story arc started in the first Baldur's Gate game.
Theaction role-playing gameBaldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was developed bySnowblind Studios and others, and released in 2001 for thePlayStation 2 console, and laterXbox andGameCube video game consoles. The game takes place in the city ofBaldur's Gate and surrounding area and is set in theForgotten Realms setting, with a ruleset derived from the3rd edition of Dungeon & Dragons; the plot is unrelated to previous PC games. The console version used an overhead third person view, and hack-and-slashdungeon crawl style gameplay. AGame Boy Advance version was released in 2004, with reduced graphics quality using an2.5D isometric type perspective. While all ports were very well received, the original for the PlayStation 2 was the only one that gained universal acclaim.
A sequel,Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II was developed byBlack Isle Studios and released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox; the game used the same gameplay style as the original, and was also positively reviewed. The gameplay style was expanded to make the game more like a role-playing game, the ability to craft weapons, armor and amulets was added,Baldur's Gate became a hub city with the addition of a world map and being able to travel back to areas, making the game open world and many more side-quests were added as well as the ability to level up one's class.
Interplay Entertainment placed its entire catalogue of video game intellectual properties (IP) and assets up for sale, including that ofDark Alliance in 2016.[14][15]
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition, a remake of the second game, was released in 2013. It was developed by Overhaul Games for PC, Mac OS X, iOS, Linux and Android, featuring a modified version of the Infinity Engine.[23] The game features a new content and widescreen compatibility, and utilized 2nd Edition D&D rules.[24] Beamdog also made enhanced versions of other Infinity Engine games, includingIcewind Dale,Planescape: Torment andNeverwinter Nights.
Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound (code namedJefferson andFR6) was mentioned in early 2001 as a new game in theBaldur's Gate series to be made byBlack Isle Studios using a new 3D engine.[25] The game was originally announced in 2002 and was said to have used the 3rd EditionDungeons & Dragons ruleset. Many new gameplay features were also going to be added to fit the 3rd Edition Ruleset better, and elements from theDark Alliance series would have also been borrowed. The game used the Jefferson Engine which featured 3D effects such as casting dynamic shadows.
The Black Hound was originally going to be a departure from the high-powered epic of the Bhaalspawn saga to a low-key, role-playing plot. With protagonists progressing to around level four at the end ofBlack Isle Studios' typically large campaign and a hard cap at level eight, gameplay was refocussed to adventure, with emphasizing quests over combat. The game was only titledBaldur's Gate due toInterplay having lost the generalD&D license toAtari, but still retaining the right to makeBaldur's Gate andIcewind Dale brandedD&D games (the same reason as forBaldur's Gate: Dark Alliance's title).[25] The game was not going to be connected to the previousBaldur's Gate series in any way and would start a new series, theBlack Hound series. It was to be a sequel in terms of gameplay and not story, although it would have continued some aspects of theIcewind Dale II story.
Development onBaldur's Gate III: The Black Hound was cancelled in 2003 and the third game in theDark Alliance series was also cancelled in 2004 when Black Isle Studios was closed in the same year by parent companyInterplay Entertainment Corp.[26] The engine forThe Black Hound was re-purposed for the development of the similarly ill-fatedVan Buren project, the working title for the eventualFallout 3. The game was 75% finished before it was canceled. Its cancellation happened due to Interplay losing the right to publishBaldur's Gate games on the PC yet retaining theBaldur's Gate name for consoles; the result of this wasBaldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II.
In an interview with Winterwind Productions,Black Hound developer Damien Foletto revealed the story and setting of the game, which would have been in the Dalelands. The player character would have been resting at their campsite when a woman chasing a Black Hound crashes in; she kills the hound, which dies on the player character 's lap. Accusing the player character of being in league with the dog, she is about to kill the player character as well, but the Riders of Archendale arrive and scare her off before questioning the player character. After a brief inquisition, the local magistrates tell the player character not to wander far because they may have more questions. The player's quest would involve finding out who the mad cleric was, what this has to do with them, why a black spirit hound follows them around, and why people can not leave the player character alone and do things for themselves instead.[27]
Atari stated in December 2008 in a press conference that theBaldur's Gate series (among others) would be revisited after 2009.[28] As a personal side project, Sawyer continued work onThe Black Hound as a module forNeverwinter Nights 2 for a time.[29]
After finishing the Enhanced Editions ofBaldur's Gate andBaldur's Gate II, Overhaul Games announced to developBaldur's Gate 3 with funding from Kickstarter.[30] The studio later clarified theirBaldur's Gate game to be a separate game fromThe Black Hound.[31] Game developer Trent Oster suggestedThay[32] andWaterdeep[33] as possible settings for the game. Beamdog began calling the gameBaldur's Gate Next as a way to differentiate it from the Bhaalspawn Saga.[34]
Overhaul Games and Beamdog eventually lost the rights to develop furtherBaldur's Gate games and the license was later acquired byLarian Studios, the Belgian developer behind theDivinity: Original Sin series. Their project,Baldur's Gate 3, was unveiled in 2019 and released four years later.
TheBaldur's Gate series features a wide array of characters. Some characters can be recruited by the player asparty members and accompany the player character in their adventures. Other major characters influence the plot of the game but arenot playable characters, serving as either antagonists or supporting characters in their interactions with the player character. The player character for the main series is fully customizable, whereas theDark Alliance sub-series feature a choice of defined characters for the player to choose from.
Aerie is anavariel, an elven subspecies that possess wings, but she lost hers as a child when she was imprisoned in a circus by slavers.[35] She was eventually rescued and restored to health by Quayle, agnome and potential companion inBaldur's Gate. Aerie is relatively young and inexperienced during the events ofBaldur's Gate II, and embodies thedamsel in distress archetype.[36] She is a recruitable companion, and potential love interest for a male player character inShadows of Amn; if the romance continues into theThrone of Bhaal, she will eventually bear the player character's child.[37]
Allessia Faithhammer is one of the player characters ofBaldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II. She is aCleric ofHelm, the god of guardians, protection and protectors. She travels to Baldur's Gate during the events ofDark Alliance II after hearing of the troubles in the city.PC Gamer likened her to a medieval version ofRoboCop, a "do-gooder bound to protect the innocent and serving the public", and who "has a neat range of magical attacks at her disposal".[38]
Anomen Delryn is a warrior priest of Helm, and an acolyte of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart. Deeply insecure due to his father's treatment of him, Anomen presents himself as a vain and arrogant character, frequently bragging about battles he most likely never fought. He is a potential companion, as well as love interest inShadows of Amn if the player character is female. Depending on the player's actions, he may succeed or fail at his knighthood quest to ascend as a full member of his Order, the outcome of which changes his personality and in-game alignment.[37]David Gaider noted that Anomen'sromancesubplot was his first attempt as a writer employed by Bioware.[36]
Edwin Odesseiron is a haughty member of theRed Wizards of Thay who seeks the player character's cooperation to kill a potential companion, the witch Dynaheir, and will join the party if the player character agrees to help him. He may also be recruited inShadows of Amn, where he may be encountered as an agent employed by theShadow Thieves of Amn. Progressing Edwin's personal side quest to pursue the Nether Scrolls will result in him changing sex after he attempts to invoke the scroll's power; while the story arc itself is treated as purely comic relief with no connection whatsoever to areal-world issue, Esther MacCallum-Stewart noted the subplot as an early example of anLGBT theme being included in a Bioware-made RPG.[39]
Imoen is the player character's childhood friend and fellow ward of their foster father Gorion, living inCandlekeep where they were raised.[40] She is a loyal companion throughout the originalBaldur's Gate series, and her skills as an expert thief may be put to use throughout the series.[38] Childlike and naive by nature, she is forced to endure a series of traumatic experiences duringShadows of Amn; she is tortured along with the rest of her companions, and is later arrested and incarcerated by an organisation of magic-users known as the Cowled Wizards for unlicensed magic use.[41] Imoen's popularity with theBaldur Gate series fandom was not anticipated by Bioware; the original purpose of her inclusion inBaldur's Gate was to "fill a non-psychotic-thief gap in the early levels" late in the development cycle.[42]
Jaheira is ahalf-elfwarrior druid and member of the Harpers, a semi-secret organization dedicated to promoting good and maintaining a balance between civilization and nature. Gorion leaves instructions for the player character to meet her and her husband Khalid after he is killed, although it is optional to recruit the couple into the party. Jaheira is available as a companion in the beginning ofShadows of Amn, and is revealed to be widowed soon afterwards. She is a potential love interest for a male player character if certain conditions are met; Gaider noted the romantic subplot itself was lengthy in terms of content, but riddled withbugs.[36] Jaheira is one of the most popular and well-regarded characters in theBaldur's Gate series.[35][43]
Jan Jansen is agnome, a race with an average lifespan of over 350 years,[35] and the eccentric inventor of multiple gadgets which only he knows how to use, and tends to ramble on with lengthy stories that never get to the point.[36] He is a recruitable companion inShadows of Amn; he is encountered peddling his wares in the city of Amn, which in actuality are dangerous weapons in their own right.
Jon Irenicus is the chief antagonist ofShadows of Amn.[44] He is a cold and calculating mage who was first encountered torturing the player character with powerful magic, as part of his experiments in order to divulge the mysteries of their divine ancestry. Originally anelf known as "Joneleth", he was exiled from his home city of Suldanessellar by its ruler Queen Ellesime as a result of his hubris to attain godhood.
Khalid is an effete half-elffighter, member of the Harpers and husband of Jaheira. He is a nervous, peace-loving warrior with a pronounced stutter.[38] Khalid, like certain other companions, comes with Jaheira as an inseparable pair; if one leaves or is removed the party, the other will follow suit.[45] Khalid is murdered by Irenicus inShadows of Amn, widowing Jaheira and leaving her withsurvivor's guilt.[37]
Korgan Bloodaxe is an evil-aligneddwarvenberserker, who could be found at the Copper Coronet Inn. He is highly rated as a worthy companion, not only for his combat skills which would prove invaluable for an evil-aligned party, but also for the quality of the banter between him and any good-aligned characters in the party.[38][35]
Minsc is a berserkerranger from the human nation of Rashemen, with a strong though somewhat unhinged desire to uphold good and be heroic. His animal companion is a hamster named Boo, who he believes is a "miniature giant space hamster" and consults for advice.[43] Minsc is originally tasked with serving as a bodyguard to the Rashemi witch Dynaheir as part of his rite of passage, and is inseparable from her once she is rescued. He is a potentially recruitable companion throughout the originalBaldur's Gate series, outliving Dynaheir, who is murdered by Irenicus prior to the events ofShadows of Amn.
Sarevok Anchev is the chief antagonist ofBaldur’s Gate, and as a mortal spawn of the dead God of Murder Bhaal, the half-brother of the player character. As a child he was the would-be victim of a sacrificial ritual which was stopped by Gorion and the Harpers, and was later adopted by a member of a mercantile organization known as the Iron Throne, Rieltar Anchev. Sarevok's foster father is a central figure in fomenting the iron crisis inBaldur's Gate to gain power for the Iron Throne, as well as the doppelganger infiltration of merchant rivals. His goal is to take advantage of the ensuring chaos orchestrated by the Iron Throne to kill his fellow Bhaalspawn and ascend into divinity himself.[38] Sarevok reappears inThrone of Bhaal where the player character may restore him to life and recruit him as a party member.[46]
Vahn is one of the player characters ofBaldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. He is an Arcane Archer, known for their ability to shoot arrows with unerring accuracy, often with additional magical effects. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Vahn quickly finds himself mired in the political and social upheaval of the city of Baldur's Gate, and up against the Dark Alliance led by Eldrith the Betrayer, the main antagonist ofDark Alliance.[38]
Viconia DeVir is adrowoutcast and Cleric of Shar, the goddess of darkness, night, and loss. She is a recruitable companion throughout the originalBaldur's Gate series, and a potential love interest for a male player character inShadows of Amn, embodying thefemme fatale archetype;[36] if her relationship with the player character continues intoThrone of Bhaal, a possible ending in the game's epilogue would reveal that Viconia is murdered by agents of the drow goddessLolth.[35]
Yoshimo is a bounty hunterrogue fromKara-Tur who is encountered in Irenicus' complex early inShadows of Amn, and offers to join the party in order to increase their odds of escape and survival. If taken to Spellhold, where Irenicus and Imoen are incarcerated by the Cowled Wizards, Yoshimo reveals the terrible secret he had been hiding: he was under the thrall of Irenicus all along, and his purpose is to betray the player character as part of the mage's contingency plan.[47] He dies in battle with the party regardless of the player character's choices.[45] Yoshimo is the onlyShadows of Amn companion who is not available for the player character to recruit inThrone of Bhaal.
Philip Athans, editor of theForgotten Realms novel line, wrote the first two novels in theBaldur's Gate trilogy of novels:Baldur's Gate andBaldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, both are novelizations of the video game series' storylines. The novels follow the basic outline of the original stories, but eschew several of the games' numerous subplots and include only a few of the NPCs. The Bhaalspawn main character is named Abdel Adrian in the novels. The third novel,Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, was authored byDrew Karpyshyn.
A comic titledDungeons & Dragons: Legends of Baldur's Gate was released in October 2014. The comic is set generations afterThrone of Bhaal, and featuresMinsc as the main character. It is written by Jim Zub and pencilled by Max Dunbar, part of theDungeons & Dragons 40th anniversary celebrations.[49]
In 1999,Baldur's Gate won theOrigins Award forBest Role Playing Game Computer Game of 1998,[65] and in 2000,Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast wonBest Role Game Playing Game Computer Game of 1999.[66] TheAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded the originalBaldur's Gate theInteractive Achievement Award forPC Role-Playing Game of the Year.Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal andBaldur's Gate: Dark Alliance also would later win Interactive Achievement Awards forRole-Playing Game of the Year for its respective PC and Console categories for the release year of 2001.[67]Dark Alliance II won the 2004 RPG of the Year Award byGameFan, and was later inducted into theGameFan Hall of Fame.[68] By June 2001, the series sold more than 3.5 million units worldwide.[69]
PC Gamer's Paul Dean noted that the series "has always been as much about who these characters were as what they could do". He consideredBaldur's Gate's characters as the cornerstone of the series, and that some of them were the best RPG companions ever written.[47]
^Josh Sawyer (January 25, 2009)."regular work interferes".The Herald of Archenbridge: The Black Hound Blog. Archived fromthe original on April 26, 2009.
