The release of Baldur's Gate 3 is imminent, and if there's one star at the heart of Larian Studios' new CRPG, it's not Minsc nor the size-defying hamster Boo, but the city of the same name. The city where we once dabbled with thieves and sold metric tons of bandit gear to anyone who would take it is an imposing setting for a new role-playing adventure, but how much do we really know about the most famous city in the world of Faerûn? As I reacquainted myself with my old places, I learned and remembered a variety of things that might help prepare for our return to a dear old city.
It's been a long time since Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn was released back in 2000 - and the Throne of Bhaal expansion pack in 2001 - and roughly the same period as Baldur's Gate itself, which last appeared in the spinoff Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 in 2004. While nearly two decades is a long time, and a lot has changed in the world of video games, in the world of Faerûn it has been much longer. In total, more than 120 years have passed since the events of Baldur's Gate 2, and thanks to the sudden appearance of the Mind-Lovers and Dragons, the city is in turmoil.
Honestly, though, turbulence might just be his natural state - after all, when we last saw him in Dark Alliance 2, he was in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.
Baldur's Gate is located on the Sword Coast, an area with a dangerous history in computer games
The Sword Coast stretches along the Sea of Swords, and is home to some powerful cities that have a loose alliance called the Alliance of Lords. The Baldur's Gate series has roamed all over the Sword Coast region - especially in the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion - but there have been other iconic PC games in the region.
Neverwinter has hosted both the Neverwinter Nights games from the teams at Bioware and Obsidian, both of which have been known for the custom toolkits they've provided. Many budding dungeon masters will fondly remember the many hours they spent creating their own campaigns in the game for others to subdue. It was also a key location in the recent D&D movie, Honor Among Thieves.
Back in the dawn of the PC, Westwood's 1991 Eye of the Beholder (yes, the same Westwood that would release Command & Conquer four years later) is set under the city of Waterdeep. Dubbed the 'City of Grandeur', Waterdeep is the most powerful city on the Sword Coast and the loudest in the Lords' Alliance, which is pretty impressive for a city that looks like it was named by a forgetful and very literal sea captain. There's also Lords of Waterdeep, which is often rated as one of the best board games, if your speed is more up to it.
Baldur's Gate was founded by an explorer named Baldurran who built a wall
As it seems, the name of the founder is Balduran and not just Baldur. I think Balduran's Gate rolls just fine, but I guess I'm not the one responsible for naming D&D cities. The original settlements in the area were Gray Harbor, a protected meeting place for smugglers and pirates, and a village that grew up around it called Lockley. Balduran himself was a native of the region, and made a decent fortune as an explorer of the sea. After that, he returned home and invested some of his looted treasure in a suitable stone wall for the settlement before disappearing on his next trip.
As far as legacies go, the Wall is nice, but the City is even better.
Yes, there is indeed a Baldur's Gate within the Baldur's Gate
The D&D module is a table top prequel to Baldur's Gate 3, where you try to save Elturel's rival city, Baldur's Gate, from hell
Released in September of 2019, Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus is a time-traveling adventure that leads to a journey into the First Order of Hell and its fall into the Blood War - a kind of eternal brawl between the demons and the demons of the Nine Hells. She is in a position of loss in the midst of it, which is a loss in planning successfully. Mad Max: Fury Road, which is a major enough driver for Doomguy so far.
There are a number of pages that follow.
In Baldur's Gate 3, an account named Baldur
On behalf of Baldur's Gate, I want to communicate with you recently. How wonderful to have a newspaper. Finally, the military party, the military party, the military party...
Minsk and Bo have hung as statues in the city for more than a century
Minsk the disjointed ranger and his squeaky hamster assistant Bo are practically the series mascots at this point, and they have a very strange backstory after the events of Baldur's Gate 2. The pair agreed to let themselves be turned to stone, so they could be revived if they were ever needed again. So for over 70 years they were mistaken for just another statue inside Baldur's Gate, until a wild magic user named Delina accidentally hit them with a spell and brought them back to life. Since then, they have been involved in several comic adventures in the years leading up to Baldur's Gate 3.
Baldur's Gate is still (sort of) protected by the same company of mercenaries
While the flaming fists weren't that hot when we last saw them in the Baldur's Gate 3 trailer - where they mostly acted as sanity-invading fertilizer for the city - they still manage things. Although it's been 120 years in Faerun since the events of the first two Baldur's Gate games, it's the same group of mercenaries that once helped or hunted you down, depending on your character alignment. Those who have played Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will know that the additional campaign added a companion to the Flaming Fist.
Rumors persisted of an enormous treasure left behind by the city's founder
Back in Baldur's Gate 1's Tales of the Sword Coast expansion, you can track down the wreck of the Wandering Eye, the ship Balduran used to explore it and recover all sorts of random artifacts, including... the legendary Butter Knife? Although his cutlery is unlikely to return in Baldur's Gate 3, there have always been rumors that Balduran has plenty of money left over after building his great wall. The thorny cliffs that line the Sword's coast are called Sword's Teeth, and it was rumored in Faron's world that Baldoran had hidden his greatest fortunes in the countless caves that dotted the cliff faces. Maybe we'll look for it...