Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is the second computer role-playing game in the Baldur's Gate series, which takes place just a few months after the events of Baldur's Gate. It is based on the (now defunct) Advanced Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying system, and is set in the Forgotten Realms, the most popular D&D story setting.

An expansion pack for the game was released in 2001, entitled Throne of Bhaal.

Gameplay

Baldur's Gate 2, like its predecessor, is played from an isometric perspective. The player controls a party of one to six characters. The player must create the main character from scratch, whilst the rest must be recruited from within the game world. (Note that players CAN technically, by exploiting the game's multi-player function, create more than one character for a party.)

Throughout the game, the player must make crucial choices, some of them vital to the character's development. Some of the more important choices to make include choosing to work for either the vile Shadow Thieves with charmeur Aran Linvail at the reigns, or a more secretive organization with a deeper vendetta towards bloodshed — vampires and their enigmatic leader, Bodhi. Regardless of the choices, the player would have to turn on either of the rivalling factions rooted in the heart of Athkatla.

Shadows of Amn is different from the first installment as the player can also 'manage' an actual stronghold which depends solely on the selection of their character kit at the beginning of the game. For example, as a fighter class, the player may successfully complete the quest at the de'Arnise Keep and begin to take over the stronghold in their control. It is not much of macromanagement at this level, but adds an interesting segment to the game when constant fighting and spellcasting become too much of a routine. Similarly, a mage may take over a magical Planar Sphere, whereas a thief character may choose to manage the other branch of the thieves' guild in the Docks district. A mod available also allows a character, regardless of class, to adopt all the different strongholds.

Prominent characters

Name	Race	Class(es)	Alignment	Voice Actor
Adalon	Dragon	Silver Dragon	Lawful Good	Diane Pershing
Amaunator	Avatar		Lawful Good	Frank Welker
Aran Linvail	Human	Shadow Thief/Mage	True Neutral
Bodhi	Vampire		Chaotic Evil	B.J. Ward
Ellesime	Elf	Magic user	Lawful Good	Kath Soucie
Firkraag	Dragon	Red Dragon	Chaotic Evil	Jim Cummings
Jon Irenicus	Elf	Mage	Neutral Evil	David Warner
Kangaxx	Demi-lich		Chaotic Evil
Lilarcor	Sentient sword	Two-handed sword	Chaotic Evil	Jason Marsden
Phaere	Drow	Cleric	Neutral Evil	Charity James
Renal Bloodscalp	Human	Shadow Thief	Lawful Evil	Maurice LaMarche
Ribald Barterman	Half-Elf	Fighter/Mage	Chaotic Neutral	David Prince
Rillifane	Avatar		Chaotic Good	Maurice LaMarche
Saemon Havarian	Human	Swashbuckler/Mage	True Neutral	Jeff Bennett
Solaufein	Drow	Fighter/Mage	Neutral Good	Michael Gough

Several characters from the first game make a comeback, some of which are NPCs who can (re)join the player's party. These are Imoen, Minsc, Jaheira, Edwin and Viconia. (Imoen has dual classed to a Mage/Thief.) Other NPCs appear only in sub-secondary roles, mostly to supply the player with quests. Because Baldur's Gate II doesn't check the status of these characters at the end of the first game, they appear even if they perished in the course of the previous adventure (often prompting the player character to ask: "Aren't you dead?" — which can be disconcerting, if they didn't die — if they survived, the player is given the opportunity to ask the ubiquitous "Can you remember me?", when the NPCs probably do not even have an inkling as to the player character's dark history.)

Plot

As Jon Irenicus prepares to perform more 'endurance' experiments on the captured player character, he is interrupted by a jailkeep golem servant. The golem reports a commotion in the upper levels of the dungeon, and Irenicus is forced to depart as a band of Shadow Thieves raid his underground complex. Also kept in the dungeon are old friends Imoen, Minsc and Jaheira from the first Baldur's Gate game, who will help the player character escape from the prison. Missing from the first game are Minsc's witch companion Dynaheir and Jaheira's husband Khalid, both of whom were killed in Irenicus' captivity, greatly distressing Minsc and Jaheira. As the main characters seek their way out of the dungeon, they encounter Yoshimo, a thief from far away country Kara-Tur, who are likewise a captive of Irenicus. On the way out, evidence is found for Irenicus' longing for an unknown woman, as he has gone so far as to clone her. When the player character finally escapes the underground complex, he finds himself in the city of Athkatla. Irenicus is using his magic to fight the thieves at the entrance to his dungeon, when Imoen, angered by what Irenicus tells her about unlocking her inherent power, casts a 'magic missile' spell on him. As unlicensed magic is banned in the city of Athkatla, both Irenicus and Imoen are seized by the powerful mage organization called the Cowled Wizards and sent to be imprisoned in a distant detention center, Spellhold.

As the party wanders through the slums of Athkatla, a man named Gaelan Bayle offers to introduce them to associates of his, who can rescue Imoen for the price of 20,000 gold. Through a series of optional quests and adventures, the player character travel Athkatla and the surrounding lands in order to raise the sum acquired. These missions take the player through areas like the sewers of Athkatla, secret compounds in the Docks District, a multi-level tomb in the graveyard, and the town of Trademeet, battling classic AD&D creatures like beholders, dragons, as well as the Demi-lich Kangaxx. When the player has 15,000 gold or more, at any given point, a mysterious woman named Valen approaches them, and offers to introduce them to her mistress, the vampiress Bodhi. The player can ally with either Aran Linvail's Shadow Thieves, or with Bodhi's vampires to gain their trust. Eventually, the player must destroy the other faction; though the raid on Bodhi's lair only results in her retreat and the survival of several vampires.

Meanwhile, Irenicus breaks out of his cell at Spellhold, and kills his captors. With his new base at Spellhold, he continues his experiments on Imoen.

With the help of Saemon Havarian, a swashbuckling captain who appearently works for both Linvail and Bodhi, the party gains passage to the small island which holds Spellhold. In order to gain entrance into the magically sealed Spellhold, the party can follow a number of contacts and leads in the nearby port town of Brynnlaw. However the player character manages to infiltrate the asylum, a tour of the insane inmates follows, until Imoen is finally found. Irenicus then reveals himself, and captures the party with the help of a drug that either Yoshimo or Saemon slipped into their food.

The main character wakes up and, in the course of Irenicus's experiment, finds himself or herself in a dream, standing outside the childhood home of Candlekeep that represents the mind. The voice of Imoen urges the player character to "seek within", and as the main character approaches the doorway to Candlekeep he is met by a demon which demands a toll, a part of your soul, in order to let the player character pass. In the heart of Candlekeep, Imoen stands, asking the player character to bring the demon Bhaal, in order to vanquish him. When the main character defeats Bhaal, Imoen screams as the dream fades. The main character awakens without a soul, and Imoen has suffered similarly; their souls were claimed by Irenicus and Bodhi, respectively. The player escapes with Imoen, killing Yoshimo if he was in the party, and fights Irenicus until he is forced to retreat to the Underdark.

When the player next stops to rest, another dream sequence will occur. In it, Imoen, with a darker and more menacing tone, commands the main character to use the power he or she has to kill his or her enemies. In the dream, the player transforms into the Slayer, an avatar of Bhaal, and easily cuts down Sarevok, Bodhi, Irenicus, then Imoen.

The player can take two routes in following Irenicus to the Underdark. Either by trusting Saemon Havarian, who will need a ship to guide the player character, or by going through a direct portal to the Underdark. If the player trusts Saemon, he or she must comandeer the ship of the Pirate Lord of Brynnlaw, and deal with the pirate lord himself when he comes after the player. As a reward, Saemon gives the player the blade of a Silver Sword. Once on the sea, the ship is boarded by a band of Githyanki who seeks the Silver Sword which was stolen from them. A fight breaks out, and the player's ship is sunk. The party reaches the underwater city of the Sahuagin people, and is given the choice of helping either the insane King Ixilthetocal, or his rebelling son, Prince Villynaty, in order to procure a rope which allows the party to climb down to the Underdark. Alternatively, one can just slaughter both sides of Sahuagins and take the rope.

The party reaches the Underdark, and meets up with a silver dragon named Adalon; Drow have stolen her eggs and she will help the party reach the surface if they recover them. She turns the party into drow, in order to help them infiltrate the House Despana of the nearby city of Ust'Natha, who plans to use the eggs to summon a demon. After completing a few sidequests for the young Phaere Despana, in order to gain her trust, the player learns of her wishes to overthrow the Matron Mother Ardulace. Phaere recruits the player to switch the dragon eggs with artificial eggs, and deliver the real eggs to her. The player has several options, such as going ahead with Phaere's plan, reporting Phaere to the Matron Mother, or, if he or she spared the life of a drow named Solaufein, give Phaere his artificial eggs and keep the real eggs. No matter the route, Matron Mother Ardulace must die for the player to escape the city, and depending on his or her actions, the player may have to fight with her, Phaere and/or the demon. If the player returns the eggs to Adalon, she will open the way to the surface, but if the eggs are destroyed, she will attack the player.

When the party reaches the surface, they encounter the elven army of the elven city of Suldanesselar, which is guarding the Underdark entrance in order to keep the drow at bay. The elves are trapped outside of Suldanesselar, as Jon Irenicus has magically sealed entrance to the city. In order to gain access to Suldanesselar, the player must retrieve the Rhynn Lanthorn artifact from Bodhi, who still resides in her base in the city of Athkatla. The player can recruit the aid of a few factions, before the assault against the vampires. The paladins of the "Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart", the adventurer Drizzt Do'Urden's party, and the Shadow Thieves are all potential allies. Once the party faces Bodhi, if the main character is in love with a person in his or her party, Bodhi abducts and turns that person into a vampire, and the player must cure his or her loved one. Once the player defeats Bodhi, Imoen's soul will be restored.

The party proceeds through Suldanesselar, and learns more about the early life of Jon Irenicus. He was once an elf of high standing, in love with the elven Queen Ellesime, but he and his sister Bodhi attempted to absorb the Tree of Life's power, almost dooming the elves. They were stripped of their elfhood, forcing them to steal souls. As Irenicus holds Ellesime prisoner, as he attempts to perform the ritual at the Tree of Life again, the main character confronts and kills him. The main character is dragged into hell upon Irenicus's death, as Irenicus still holds his or her soul, and the rest of the party follows. After undergoing six trials in hell, the main character finds Irenicus, who transforms into the Slayer and summons powerful demons. When the party defeats Irenicus, they return to life and are honoured by the elves of Suldanesselar. Irenicus, still in hell, is surrounded by a horde of demons, which charges him and knocks him into the fiery pits of hell. A mysterious council of cowled men discuss the main character's growing power, but one member suggests that "The spawn of Bhaal is doomed. There is no escape." The camera then reveals the emblem of Bhaal on the table.

Selected credits

Production (BioWare): Ray Muzyka (Exec. Producer), Andrew Nobbs (Line Producer), Nathan Plewes (Line Producer), Ben Smedstad (Producer), Greg Zeschuk (Exec. Producer)
Lead Designer: Kevin Martens, James Ohlen (Director of Writing and Design- BioWare)
Core Design Team: David Gaider, Brent Knowles, Lukas Kristjanson, John Winski
Lead Programming: Mark Darrah
Music: Michael Hoenig (Metamusic Productions)

Trivia

The game is dedicated to Daniel Walker, the graphic designer of Baldur's Gate.
Division Director Feargus Urquhart makes a cameo appearance in the game near the circus tent at Waukeen's Promenade.
To complete the pantaloons easter egg the player has to import a Baldur's Gate game with a party that carries the pantaloons, and have the Throne of Bhaal expansion pack.
In the Adventurer's Mart on Waukeen's Promenade are paintings showing characters from the old Dungeons & Dragons TV series.
In the cage near the circus on Waukeen's Promenade are a moose and a squirrel. They are perhaps a reference to Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Drizzt Do'Urden makes two appearances in the Baldur's Gate series. In Baldur's Gate, the cheat code "Cheats:DrizztDefends();" spawns Drizzt, who will defend the party while the cheat"Cheats:DrizztAttacks();" spawns a hostile Drizzt. The player can also encounter him in the forest and help him fight a pack of gnolls. Later, in Baldur's Gate II, the characters encounter him and his party at a certain point of the game, when the player can choose to have him help the group or fight them. If the player character is an elf named 'Drizzt' with low reputation, then the real Drizzt will challenge him for the honour of his name.
The game features two hidden bonus merchants, Deidre who sells items associated with Black Isle's Torment game (such as "Dak'kon's Zerth Blade" and "Vhailor's Helm" which are both references to characters the player would meet in that game) and Joluv who sells items linked to Icewind Dale (such as "Axe of Hrothgar" and "Jerrod's Mace", again referencing characters from the Icewind Dale game). However, NONE of the Planescape weapons retain their unique abilities (such as Dak'kon's Zerth blade increasing in damage as the player/NPC allies' levels rise)
Many minor NPCs in the game and its expansion were named after members of the suggestion forums provided by Bioware. Examples include Gromnir, Draconis, and Yakman
Biff The Understudy makes a cameo appearance as an understudy for a play, and is booed from the stage. Biff was a character from the first game who appeared when a character who was needed for a conversation was dead. Biff would play the part for that person, he was meant to fix bugs that would normally crash the game. He would sometimes crash the game if you somehow got him in your party

Notes

The bonus merchants were a part of the original game, but only those who bought the special edition versions of Baldur's Gate II would get an additional CD with, among other things, the means to unlock one of the two bonus merchants. It didn't take long until the files needed to unlock the merchants were shared on the internet, and with the latest patch for Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, one of the merchants have been unlocked. It is possible to find the means to unlock both merchants here.

External links

2000 computer and video games | Baldur's Gate series | Windows games | Mac OS games | Computer and video games featuring cooperative gameplay

Baldur's Gate II | Baldur's Gate II: Cienie Amn | 博德之门II：安姆的阴影

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