Balduran... A Thrall? (minor spoilers)

[Jaeleth]

If you rented those fancy lodgings to serve as your party's camp at Elfsong Tavern you'll notice a book lying around (The Elf Song) with the lyrics of the song you'll be hearing in background while there. The lyrics read:

" O, sing a song of Balduran,
who founded Baldur's Gate
Empire golden, built on trade
who could not avert his fate
when three though dead, assailed his port
transformed he fell their thrall"
etc...

Problem here is the last rhyme.
If I remember, Balduran succumbed FAR from Baldur's Gate to the curse of Lycanthropy in Werewolves Island even before the Spawns of Bhaal wars (BG1 BG2) (at least that was the implicit conclusion of finding Balduran gear in that shipwreck on Werewolves Island ion the early BG series), actually hundreds of years before BG1, BG2. So, who are these three he succumbed to? I hope they're not talking about the 3 chosen in BG3, that would make no sense at all...

[Millstone85]

The whole song is a huge spoiler. I don't know why it plays so soon.

[アンジェル]

Цитата допису Jaeleth:

Balduran... A Thrall? (minor spoilers)
If you rented those fancy lodgings to serve as your party's camp at Elfsong Tavern you'll notice a book lying around (The Elf Song) with the lyrics of the song you'll be hearing in background while there. The lyrics read:

" O, sing a song of Balduran,
who founded Baldur's Gate
Empire golden, built on trade
who could not avert his fate
when three though dead, assailed his port
transformed he fell their thrall"
etc...

Problem here is the last rhyme.
If I remember, Balduran succumbed FAR from Baldur's Gate to the curse of Lycanthropy in Werewolves Island even before the Spawns of Bhaal wars (BG1 BG2) (at least that was the implicit conclusion of finding Balduran gear in that shipwreck on Werewolves Island ion the early BG series), actually hundreds of years before BG1, BG2. So, who are these three he succumbed to? I hope they're not talking about the 3 chosen in BG3, that would make no sense at all...

Are you trying to take bardic lyrics as histocial facts?

[seeker1]

Welcome to the retcon.

So, TotSC leaves Larian wiggle room. Some folks tell you Balduran became a werewolf or joined the werewolves. Others that he just died. But, the truth is, no one seems to know for sure nor can you, at least in that game, find a tomb. So ...

But that song is most definitely referring to the so-called Chosen Three. BTW, you should also look at the Lyrics for Verse 4 in that song.

[Verse 4]
A knave, a wizard, devil, gith
The odds are cast anew
And Baldur's fate now turns upon
The whims of fortune's few
[end]

Well, that's you and your party - no? Tav the knave, Gale the wizard, devil could be Wyll or Karlach, and Lae'Zel the gith. All in something called "The Song of Balduran".

My point being, yes, Larian have left foreshadowing hints at something they intend to reveal later about Balduran, and I'll stop there before spoiler territory.

[アンジェル]

Цитата допису Millstone85:

The whole song is a huge spoiler. I don't know why it plays so soon.

Funny how no one complaint like that about Diablo III intro.

[Jaeleth]

Цитата допису アンジェル:

Are you trying to take bardic lyrics as histocial facts?

Yeah, bards are the worse, lol...

[Jaeleth]

Цитата допису seeker1:

Welcome to the retcon.

So, TotSC leaves Larian wiggle room. Some folks tell you Balduran became a werewolf or joined the werewolves. Others that he just died. But, the truth is, no one seems to know for sure nor can you, at least in that game, find a tomb. So ...

But that song is most definitely referring to the so-called Chosen Three. BTW, you should also look at the Lyrics for Verse 4 in that song.

[Verse 4]
A knave, a wizard, devil, gith
The odds are cast anew
And Baldur's fate now turns upon
The whims of fortune's few
[end]

Well, that's you and your party - no? Tav the knave, Gale the wizard, devil could be Wyll or Karlach, and Lae'Zel the gith. All in something called "The Song of Balduran".

My point being, yes, Larian have left hints at something they intend to reveal later at Balduran, and I'll stop there before spoiler territory.

Yep, I noticed that too. And yes, I know what you mean. Still... What'll be the "excuse" for him to have lived THIS long?... You see, he was human, if he turned into werewolf he would still be a young one, but if Larian is turning him into that OTHER thing than... Impossible, the "squids" do not live nearly that much. ;) I see another Larian gut-wrenching plot re-engineering coming...

[seeker1]

Цитата допису Jaeleth:

Yep, I noticed that too. And yes, I know what you mean. Still... What'll be the "excuse" for him to have lived THIS long?... You see, he was human, if he turned into werewolf he would still be a young one,

So, here is their in-game answer.


In the Wyrmway, you can view a mural of Balduran with Ansur where Balduran appears to be an elf.

That is the core retcon. Ed Greenwood, the creator of the character Balduran, says he was human, and all the original lore says he was human.

Larian needed to make him an elf for the exact reasons you are saying.

[Jaeleth]

Цитата допису seeker1:

Цитата допису Jaeleth:

Yep, I noticed that too. And yes, I know what you mean. Still... What'll be the "excuse" for him to have lived THIS long?... You see, he was human, if he turned into werewolf he would still be a young one,

So, here is their in-game answer.


In the Wyrmway, you can view a mural of Balduran with Ansur where Balduran appears to be an elf.

That is the core retcon. Ed Greenwood, the creator of the character Balduran, says he was human, and all the original lore says he was human.

Larian needed to make him an elf for the exact reasons you are saying.

I knew those Larian guys were cheating, lol. It would be slightly better to say werewolves could be subject to ceremorphosis or, even much, much better, to leave Balduran RIP and find another subject...

[seeker1]

So, yeah, here's the thing. They clearly want to foreshadow the later reveal. My favorite example of this is:


In the Emperor's lair, you can find the Emperor's butter fork. That is a clear callback to the fact that in TotSC you can find Balduran's Butter KNIFE aboard the Shipwreck.

But in the Emperor's version of his story, he never explains how he got off the island where the Wandering Eye shipwrecked, if he is Balduran.

What I just want to point out is fascinating is the Forgotten Realms Wiki has incorporated Larian's retcon in the article on Balduran, but not without noting its contradictions.

[psychotron666]

Easy explanation is that he was revived with the reincarnation spell