Better than Baldur

What Is It?

If you have to ask "What's Baldur's Gate?," we have to ask "where have you been the past two years?" Baldur's Gate is going to be the game that will be marked as the beginning of the RPG renaissance that we are currently experiencing. Just as there are those who claim that World War II should have officially started with the invasion of China by Japan, there will be those who claim that Fallout or Fallout 2 were the catalysts for our current revival. However, neither of those games sold nearly as many copies as Baldur's Gate, and the war between China and Japan was only a war between two countries.

Fine Conversation with Minsc

I wonder how many Carats...

If you don't know what Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is about, here's a quick rundown. Your character is the child of a god, a very bad god, if you must know. For a short time, the gods of Faerun were cast out of their domains and forced to walk the world in the forms of their avatars. One, Bhaal - god of murder, foresaw that he would die during this time and forged a plan to restore himself. Eventually, a bad man named Cyric killed Bhaal and took his place as the god of murder.

Of course Bhaal knew this would happen so he came up with a plan. Bhaal fathered many children - dozens, if not hundreds - each of which would have some of his essence. It was his hope that one of these would try to take his 'rightful' power - and force the usurper Cyric out of godhood.

Yes Minsc, you're so eloquent today

Suspended dock in mid-air?

One of these children did try just that. A certain Sarevok - your half-brother - devised a plan to start a war involving Baldur's Gate, the nation of Amn and the surrounding areas. He thought he could get power from all the deaths the war would bring and perhaps become strong enough to challenge Cyric. You, for whatever reason (selfishness or out of the goodness of your heart), stopped him. Thus, for a brief while, you enjoyed some notoriety and fame... which proved to be your downfall between BG and BG2.

The Backstory

You see, because of your exploits you caught the eye of a certain magician - a very powerful magician. This mage (who's name isn't revealed until you're almost done the prologue) has a certain interest in death, and who better to sate that interest than a child of the god of murder?

Your fallen brother

Nasty

This mage is quite possibly one of the most interesting gaming villains since SHODAN in the System Shock games. He's ruthless, amoral, intelligent, absolutely driven and immensely powerful. He is so interesting that he steals the show whenever he's on the screen. Even your character's unique story isn't as compelling a hook as figuring out what makes this sick bastard tick.

Thieves rock

Is this a morgue or something?