Baldur's Gate

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Video game fandom
NameBaldur's Gate
Abbreviation(s)BG, BG II, BG III, BG3
Developer(s)Black Isle Studios
Publisher(s)BioWare, later Larian
Release date1998-2023
Genre(s)RPG
External link(s)BioWare BG homepage
Planet Baldur's Gate
Related articles on Fanlore.

General

Baldur's Gate box art displaying the iconic Bhaal emblem

The Baldur's Gate series of high fantasy (sword and sorcery) computer role playing games is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rule set. It was originally developed by BioWare and published by Black Isle/Interplay. Notably, Baldur's Gate III was developed by Larian Studios, known for developing the Divinity series. It consists of

  • Baldur's Gate (1998)
  • Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (expansion, 1999)
  • Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000)
  • Baldur's Gate II: Thron of Bhaal (expansion, 2001)
  • Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (spin-off, 2001)
  • Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (spin-off, 2004)
  • Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (2012)
  • Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition (2013)
  • Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear (expansion for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, 2016)
  • Baldur's Gate III (2023)

This hugely influential series has been credited with single-handedly reviving the then-ailing computer role-playing genre.[1] This may be an exaggeration, since several other RPGs in the late 90s and early 2000s helped the cRPG renaissance along.[2] However, it certainly did establish Canadian developer BioWare's reputation as a preeminent western RPG creator.

Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog (founded by Trent Oster and Cameron Tofer, both from BioWare), remade Baldur's Gate I and II for modern platforms in 2012 and 2013, respectively. These updates included bug fixes, new characters and areas, a new user interface, and increased modding capabilities.

Baldur's Gate III was released in early access (EA) on 6 October 2020 and remained so until it's full release on 3 August 2023. This EA period massively helped in the development of the gameplay, narrative and choices for the player. The game is widely praised as a prime example of what RPGs should be like.

Mods

To this day, the series remains a fan favourite with an active modding community, BG II in particular. This is in part due to its moddable (i.e., lending itself easily to modding) engine, the Infinity Engine, which is also used in the Icewind Dale series and the cult classic Planescape:Torment (both developed by Black Isle). This allows for cross-over mods like the (now defunct) Icewind Gate II.[3]

Mods come in any shape and size, from bug fix patches or adding new items [4] to romance options for NPCs (Non-Player Characters) like the Drow Solaufein [5] or insertions of new characters. As in fan fiction, the character creation and dialogue writing can lead to criticism ("angsty bisexual drows"[6] ) or accusations of Mary Sue.[7]

Departing completely from both the main storyline and the D&D setting is also possible, as this WIP Silmarillion[1] conversion mod shows.[8] It is set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth.

On a much lower level of customization, the Baldur's Gate games allow players to use their own avatar images and sound files for the PC (Player Character) as well as naming the main character. File collections of ready-made portraits and sounds [9] are widely available.

The series also familiarized many younger gamers who had never played pen and paper RPGs with the world of Dungeons & Dragons and the Faerûn setting.

Baldur's Gate III continues to have a popular modding community, mostly through character customization options, items, and abilities, often adapted from 5th edition D&D content not available in the game.[10] With the release of the official mod tools, including the level editor which was initially locked, these mods have expanded to include custom campaigns, with large fan mods such as the Path to Menzoberranzan having a team of hundreds working on writing, modeling, and voice acting[11]

Unofficial Almost-Sequel

Although the main story arc of the so-called "Bhaalspawn saga" had been concluded with the add-on Throne of Bhaal, a 'sequel'[12] was planned by Black Isle Studios, this time without BioWare's input, i.e, without the Infinity engine. Codenamed "Jefferson", it was to become Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound, but in 2003 Interplay, Black Isle's mother company, ran into financial troubles, lost the Dungeons & Dragons license, and shortly after laid off all Black Isle Studios staff. The commercial project "The Black Hound" was dead.[13]

However, many former Black Isle employees went on to form Obsidian Entertainment[2]. Game designer Josh Sawyer, who had previously worked as lead designer on The Black Hound, now working at Obsidian, had retained access to the design documents. He decided to continue the project unofficially and on his own time, as a campaign module built with Obsidian's Neverwinter Night II tool set, that is, as a Neverwinter Nights II mod.[14] Although progress is slow, work has not been abandoned as of September 2008.[15]

It is important to note that J.E. Sawyer himself states clearly that The Black Hound is not a sequel to the Baldur's Gate series,[16] but Baldur's Gate fans are likely to make a connection between the series and the mod due to the history of the WIP mod and the company involved in the commercial Black Hound project.

Canon Romances

The original Baldur's Gate game did not have any player romance options, however certain companions were in relationships. Jaheira and Khalid were married, Eldoth and Skie were dating, and Coran and Safana would begin a relationship if they were in the same party.

Baldur's Gate II introduced player romance with four romanceable companions, Aerie, Anomen, Jaheira, and Viconia. All four romances were locked for race and gender, with Human, Half-Elf, and Halfling characters able to romance any, Elf characters unable to romance Viconia, Gnome characters only able to romance Aerie, and Half-Orcs only able to romance Viconia. Additionally, all four romances were heterosexual, with Anomen the only romance option for a female player character. In addition to player romance options, companions would flirt with each other in dialogue, and Aerie and Haer'Dalis would start a relationship if she was not romanced by the player.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition added in three romance options, Neera, Rasaad yn Bashir, and Dorn Il-Khan. While Rasaad and Neera were required to be romanced by a player character of the opposite gender, Dorn Il-Khan could be romanced by male and female characters, making him the first bisexual romance option in the series. These romances continued into Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition, which also added Hexxat, the first lesbian character in the series.

Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear continued the romance options (excluding Hexxat, as it was set between I and II), and added additional romance options, including an earlier route with Viconia and romance with Safana, as well as introducing new romanceable companions, Voghlin, Corwin, the second character who could be romanced by any gender, and Glint, the first gay companion and romance route. Safana and Voghiln could have an affair while in the party together.

Baldur's Gate III removed race and gender restrictions on all of their romance options, which include all six origin companions, Halsin, and Minthara, as well as flings with Mizora, The Emperor, and two prostitutes. While some companion will mention pairing for sex, they do not start a romance, however origin characters can be chosen as player characters to romance other companions.

Fandom

As of December 2011, Baldur's Gate is currently eligible for Yuletide, a rare fandom fic exchange.

After the release of Baldur's Gate III, several fans of the Dragon Age franchise have joined the player base and fandom. The game shares many similarities with the Dragon Age franchise, being a high fantasy RPG, but it also came during a waiting period, as most fans await the release of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf after years of no new releases. The game features a romance system that allows the player to romance companions through approval, similarly to the Dragon Age franchise. It also, according to fans and even old developers, shares tropes and character types that make players feel nostalgic for Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II[17].

Shipping

The most popular pairings from Baldur's Gate I and II were between the player character (Gorion's Ward/Charname) and companions. On the Attic, a fanfiction archive beginning in 2003, most pairings were with the canon romance options from BG2 (Aerie, Anonem, Jaheira, and Viconia), although there was a large range of pairings with other companions, NPCs, and non-player pairings. On AO3, Gorian's Ward/Dorn Il-Khan is the most popular pairing with 51 works as of May 3rd, 2025., followed by the other romances in Baldur's Gate II: Extended Edition except Neera, as well as non-romanceable companions Edwin, Sarevok, Xan, and Imoen. Jaheira/Khalid is the most popular non-player character pairing.

Romance mods for Baldur's Gate II are a popular form of shipping outside of fanfiction, with both original characters and romances for non-canon pairings, including Edwin, Sarevok, Haer'Dalis, and Imoen.[18] Sarevok and Imoen are both Incest relationships, as the player character's half-siblings through Bhaal, with Imoen and the player character being raised together. The Imoen romance mod is one of the more popular romance mods. Haer'Dalis was originally intended as a romance option cut due to complexity, but was restored as a mod.[19]

Baldur's Gate III brought in a massive influx of fan works, and the majority of the fandom and fic on AO3 comes from these characters. The most popular romanceable character on AO3 and tumblr is Astarion, followed by Gale, with the most popular ship Astarion and the player character. Shadowheart is the most popular romance option over all; with half of the total players completing her romance.[20] Some of the other popular pairings include:

  • Tadpolycule - any romantic ship with three or more of the main party (Tav, Shadowheart, Astarion, Lae'zel, Wyll, Karlach, Gale, Halsin, Minthara, The Dark Urge). The term Tadpolycule typically refers to a relationship between all members of the party

Notable Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart

Resources

References

  1. ^ An example: Date unknown. Review site IGN UK. " [...]Baldur's Gate managed to revive a dying breed of game genre and breathe a deep breath of fresh air into its lungs. [...] " Accessed August 26th 2008.
  2. ^ Date unknown. Lara Crigger, Chasing D&D: A History of RPGs. 1up feature. Accessed August 26th 2008.
  3. ^ By Westley Weimer. Accessed August 26th, 2008
  4. ^ A listing of Infinity Engine mods is available from the Pocket Plane group. Accessed August 26th 2008.
  5. ^ Date unknown. Westley Weimer, Readme to Solaufein Romance Mod Release 103. Accessed August 26th 2008.
  6. ^ February 18th 2008. Gamespot Baldur's Gate forum. Post by Lunaticccc. Accessed August 26th 2008.
  7. ^ February 24th 2008. Gamespot Baldur's Gate forum. Post by Lunaticccc. Accessed August 26th 2008. [...] "Although I imagine that like the rest of the mod, they'd be written horribly in a way to further 'prove' how amazingly wonderfully spectacular the custom NPC is." [...]
  8. ^ February 15th 2008. Post by Zyraen. Accessed August 26th 2008. Game mechanics: " [...]the Silmarillion will be accessible through the TUTORIAL section of BG2 so as not to prevent players from playing standard BG2[...]'
  9. ^ An example: Pocket Plane Group archive listing, accessed August 26th.
  10. ^ https://www.nexusmods.com/games/baldursgate3/mods
  11. ^ https://www.vg247.com/baldurs-gate-3-path-to-menzobarranzan-custom-campaign-mod-interview
  12. ^ A sequel only in the very loose sense that it used the same D&D setting, Faerûn, and retained the Baldur's Gate trademark, much like the equally unrelated Baldur's Gate:Dark Alliance console hack'n'slay series. February 13th 2007. Gamebanshee.com Interview with J.E. Sawyer. Accessed September 17th 2008.
  13. ^ December 3rd 2003. Tor Thorsen. Interplay shuts down Black Isle Studios. Accessed September 17th 2008.
  14. ^ January 2007. 'Sammael', The Black Hound FAQ (fan-maintained FAQ page, not the project page itself). Accessed September 17th 2008./
  15. ^ September 17th 2008. Obsidian Forum Thread 'The Black Hound'. Post by J.E. Sawyer. Accessed September 17th 2008.
  16. ^ January 17th 2007. 'Sammael', The Black Hound FAQ, question "Is The Black Hound a sequel to Baldur's Gate?" Accessed September 17th 2008.
  17. ^ David Gaider regarding Astarion and Fenris https://web.archive.org/web/20230823070405/https://twitter.com/davidgaider/status/1693411682385904108
  18. ^ https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/34882/list-of-bg2ee-compatible-mods
  19. ^ https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/136-welcome-to-the-haerdalis-romance-forum/
  20. ^ https://x.com/larianstudios/status/1732091568243229159?t=42XM3jV7idTdJDPqSXMe7g



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