Baldur's Gate

Plot Summary

The player character and his/her friend Imoen have grown up together since childhood under the tutelage of their guardian, the mage Gorion. As orphans, they were raised in Candlekeep, an ancient fortress-turned-library in the rural Sword Coast region, which lies south of the city of Baldur's Gate. However, strange things are afoot on the Sword Coast: iron production has virtually halted, metal already produced quickly crumbles, and bandits scour the countryside hunting iron over any other treasure. Strangest of all, even inside the secure walls of Candlekeep, there are mercenaries with designs on the main character's life. Gorion knows what is going on, but will not tell the player character, and instead decides to leave Candlekeep and journey with the player character to a hiding place. However, the night after leaving Candlekeep, they are ambushed by a group of bandits led by a mysterious "armored figure" who kills Gorion when he refuses to hand over the player character, who flees into the night. The player character soon runs into Imoen, who had been following in secret after reading a note about the journey on Gorion's desk. She too saw Gorion's murder, and now insists on accompanying the character.

 
The Baldur's Gate series relies heavily on storyline and dialogue.

The nearest cities are closed to the player: Candlekeep demands a unique, valuable book as its admission fee, and the city of Baldur's Gate is closed off to outsiders for fear of the bandit hordes. Seeking safety, the player character teams up with other adventurers, and soon he or she sets out to find the cause of the iron shortage by traveling to the source of the iron, the mines of Nashkel, and in doing so begins to unearth a deeper conspiracy. Kobolds have been contaminating the iron in the mine, and documents at the Nashkel mine connect the mine operation with the iron-hunting bandits, and ultimately leads the main character to the secret campsite of the bandits, who appear to be mobilized mercenary companies employed by the Iron Throne, a mysterious organization, which is aggressively expanding its influence. The Iron Throne intends to gain control of the Sword Coast by diverting the iron supply to its own armies exclusively, and stockpiling all plundered iron at the only working iron mine in the region, deep in the Cloakwood forest. As the main character sabotages the mercenary installation in the Cloakwood mines, the pressure on Baldur's Gate is relieved enough for the city to be re-opened to outsiders, and the player character can confront the local Iron Throne leaders at their headquarters.

At Baldur's Gate, the player character is enrolled by the Flaming Fist city guard to investigate the Iron Throne, but as no damning evidence is to be found, the player character returns to Candlekeep to spy on a meeting of the Iron Throne leaders. Much has changed in Candlekeep since the player character left, and it is soon discovered that the fortress has at least partially been taken over by Doppelgängers. The player character also encounters a mysterious man named Koveras. Soon after leaving the company of Koveras, the player character is charged with the murder of the Iron Throne leaders (who, surprisingly, have been killed); the only route of escape is through the catacombs below the monastery. The player character manages to escape the catacombs, and returns to Baldur's Gate. But things only get worse, as the player is framed for the murder of a Flaming Fist officer and must stay hidden as the player character works to uncover the truth and finally uncovers a grand scheme masterminded by the "armored figure," Sarevok. Seeking to confront him, the characters find out that he is actually half-brother to the main character, both of whom are children of the dead Lord of Murder, Bhaal. The main character's Bhaalspawn ancestry explains much about their past and raises questions about their future. Sarevok's plans turn out be much more sinister, as the Iron Throne is just a façade for his real intentions. Through manipulation of politics and resources, Sarevok plans to start a war of sacrifice between Baldur's Gate and the kingdom of Amn to the south, causing enough carnage to become the new Lord of Murder. In the end the player character defeats his brother Sarevok, and sends his tainted soul back to Bhaal.