CHARNAME & Party members of both games
Party members: Baldur's Gate | Baldur's Gate II | Enhanced Editions | Siege of Dragonspear
NPCs: Friends and allies | Main villains | Other villains
Dark Alliance
List of the various friendly NPCs encountered in the Baldur's Gate series, including the Black Pits spinoffs.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Major characters
Characters who ally with Charname for a substantial length of time.
- You're a fool if you believe I would trust your 'benevolence'. Stand aside, and you and your lackeys will remain unhurt.
Voiced by: Jim Cummings
Gorion was Charname's adoptive father. Though he dies quickly into BG1 and only has a few lines in the game, he was of profound importance to many of the Sword Coast's important denizens, most importantly Elminster.
- Anti-Hero: It's suggested later into the story that Gorion, while unambiguously on the side of good, was perhaps not quite the lily white hero he's first made out to be. Lampshaded by his killer, of all people, in Throne of Bhaal.Sarevok: I killed far more than he, dear Imoen, in the course of my ambition. Ask yourself how many you have killed... or Charname. Are you so innocent? Was Gorion?
- The Call Knows Where You Live: He thought he could retire peacefully to Candlekeep and raise the PC. He was wrong.
- Dating Catwoman: In Siege of Dragonspear, a priestess of Bhaal reveals that Gorion and Charname's mother had a secret affair, despite him being a Harper spy and her being loyal to Bhaal. He genuinely did love her, but she cared nothing for him; when she got information from him, she fed it back to her clergy, and fought for Bhaal when the moment came. This also fixes ToB's retcon.
- Dead Man Writing: Several chapters following his death in the prologue, Charname finds a letter in his chambers explaining they're a Bhaalspawn, that he knew their mother and to beware of Sarevok. There is other information given, but some of it is lies or half-truths.
- Death by Origin Story: He dies at the end of the prologue to facilitate Imoen and Charname's adventures, as without his protection they must become ever stronger to defend themselves and without his influence they can't just go back to Candlekeep. (And even if they could, Sarevok's agents can still get inside its walls.)
- Good Parents: By all accounts, Gorion was a great parent, especially in comparison to your natural ones. Any bad behaviour from the player certainly can't be blamed on him.
- In Love with the Mark: How he knew Charname's mother. They had a secret affair, but Gorion was a Harper spy who either fell in love with her, or was previously in love with her. She, unfortunately, was dedicated elsewhere.
- Love Hurts: Fall In Love with the Mark and believe Love Redeems, only for her to really only care about Bhaal, laugh in your face when you plead with her to turn from her path, and then watch her die? Yeowch.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Guess what happens to him in the first five minutes?
- Metaphorically True: His letter to Charname tells them their mother was dear to him, which is true. However, he leaves out a lot of information about what type of person she was and the specifics of his relationship with her.
- Papa Wolf: He utterly refuses to let Sarevok have his adopted child.
- Posthumous Character:
- Gorion dies in the first twenty minutes of the first game, but that doesn't stop him from showing up repeatedly in flashbacks and dream sequences.
- It also doesn't stop a doppelganger from taking his form and attempting to pull a Mind Rape on Charname after the player returns to Candlekeep.
- Retired Badass: As his backstory would have it. He even adventured with Elminster.
- Ho there wanderer, stay thy course and indulge an old man.
Voiced by: Frank Welker
Elminster Aumar is the mage of the Forgotten Realms, predating Baldur's Gate. He shows up a few times to give advice, but he never directly intervenes. He doesn't show up in BG2 (unless you count the Terminsel encounter, which doesn't actually outright admit that it is he), but he does in ToB, mostly to... give out advice and not help directly. Which is his trademark modus operandi, actually.
See also The Elminster Series, which features him as the main character.
- The Cameo: Effectively. Sure, he shows up occasionally, but it's really mostly to say HEY IT'S ELMINSTER!
- Sdrawkcab Alias: If your PC completes Jaheira's personal sidequest in BG2 successfully, a guy named "Terminsel" shows up at the end of it to give her a powerful magic item. No points for guessing whom he really is. (Jaheira does.)
- Chaotic Good: In-Universe.
- Deadpan Snarker: To Volo in the manuals.
- Department of Redundancy Department: The information he gives you is never anything you don't know already, making you wonder why he bothers.
- Expy: Elminster is most certainly not Gandalf with an orange/red color scheme instead of a gray one. Why would you even suggest that?
- Glamor Failure: In the Enhanced Edition, the "Terminsel" illusion fails after Jaheira sees through it, confirming that it really is him.
- Robe and Wizard Hat: Like in the Forgotten Realms proper, he wears a red wizard's robe and pointy hat.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: His role in the first game consists almost solely of showing up whenever you completed a plot point and to give you vague tips on what to do next. Not that you wouldn't know anyway.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: His exchanges with Volo in the manuals seem to be this.
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Elminster's first language is an archaicnote form of Chondathan that is rendered as such in FR texts. He drops it for the sequel, though.
- "You have fought against brother and sister in recent days... fought and prevailed as they arrayed their forces against you."
Voiced by: Charity James
The Solar is an angelic creature from the Upper Planes who appears to CHARNAME after taking control of the Pocket Plane in ToB. She will ask the player questions and explain the last remnants of the plot as CHARNAME battles The Five.
- Deadpan Snarker: At times.Solar: You are not a goddess yet, mortal.
- Flaming Sword: She's wielding one, as with the other Solars with the same sprite.
- Karma Meter: She's the one who asks the questions that decide it.
- The Lancer: She will swear herself to CHARNAME if good actions are chosen.
- Lawful Good: Solars are Always Lawful Good in 2nd edition.
- Ms. Exposition: She's really there mostly to inform you of things there's no way for you to otherwise learn.
- Our Angels Are Different: Solars are the closest thing D&D has to actual angels.
- Time Abyss: She has "existed since the first strands of Fate were woven."
- You Are Not Ready: And she is there to fix that.
- You Monster!: An evil CHARNAME gets this reaction from her.
- Winged Humanoid: As standard of a Solar. In this case flame coloured wings.
- No! Put down your weapons, this is not necessary!
Voiced by: Heidi Shannon
A mage with a self-proclaimed 'interest' in the Bhaalspawn, Melissan has spent several years wandering Tethyr and the southern lands. She's apparently been shepherding the southern Bhaalspawn and helping them come into their own. She plays a fairly major role as the mentor/main questgiver of Throne of Bhaal, and guides you in defeating the evil team that has united to kill all their lesser siblings.
- Actual Pacifist: Usually espouses peaceful solutions to conflicts; they never pan out, and she gets rather resigned to CHARNAME having to solve all your mutual problems with violence.
- Dropped a Bridge on Her: Balthazar apparently kills her halfway through the game. He failed, given she is the Big Bad and all.
- Mentor: She describes herself as a mentor to Bhaalspawn. A cynical CHARNAME can describe her as "another one meddling in the fate of Bhaal's children."
- Too Dumb to Live: So, you found a bunch of Bhaalspawn, and figured there's safety in numbers. Ok, fair enough. You then decide to bring them all to a walled-in city to protect them... Apparently forgetting that one of The Five is a fire giant with a massive army at his beck and call. Not the cleverest tactical idea right there.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: She seemed to genuinely believe the insane and unhinged Gromnir — a half-orc so trigger-happy, for reference, that his own orc tribe threw him out for being too violent — would make an effective leader and that the player would be able to reason with him.
Minor characters
Characters who ally with Charname for a relatively short length of time.
- I am very proud of you, as I am sure Gorion is...
Voiced by: Hamilton Camp
One of the monks in Candlekeep. He cares for both Gorion and Charname, despite knowing of Charname's heritage.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He knows to trust Charname, and even if Charname confesses to killing Rieltar, Tethoril understands that it was for a good reason. He also knows that Charname will not be able to get a fair trial in Baldur's Gate and so helps him escape.
- Do not poke Drizzt! 'Tis entirely unsociable.
Voiced by: Jeff Bennett
Another well-known Forgotten Realms face, Drizzt has even less to do with the plot than Elminster but as one of the two best known characters of the setting (the other being Elminster himself) he shows up anyways. He has a brief cameo in the first game, then acts as an important ally in Chapter 6 of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.
See also The Legend of Drizzt.
- The Cameo: Even more blatant than Elminster.
- Can't Catch Up: It is very difficult for new players to beat Drizzt in a straight fight in BG1, however veterans can often solo or duo him with little trouble. In BG2 he's merely a level fourteen ranger and even with a party of his own presents little threat.
- Chaotic Good: In-Universe.
- Dual Wielding: He fights with his characteristic two scimitars and they can even be looted off his corpse, if you manage to do it.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: You can enlist his assistance in the fight against Bodhi.
- Infinity +1 Sword: In BG1 he carries by far the game's two best one-handed swords and some incredible chainmail. He carries them in the sequel as well, but by then they're nothing special.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much* The Drow example of "Forgotten Realms". Him being a good-aligned outcast Drow is brought up in-game.
- One-Man Army: His introduction consists of him fighting a large set of Gnolls. He can kill them all with ease, but he asks for help anyway.
- Optional Boss: Sort of, in both games. You'll have to be the one to pick the fight with him, but the game at least lets you choose to do so (Elminster, by comparison, cannot be fought ever).
- Our Elves Are Different: He's a dark elf, though his attitude is much more in line with surface elves.
- Out-of-Character Moment: An odd example. While Drizzt mostly comes across as the practically saintly hero he is, his voice-acted lines outside the actual dialogue are written so as to make him sound irritable and arrogant.
- Panthera Awesome: His ranger companion is a panther, as per the books.
- Stop Poking Me!: The only non-joinable NPC to have one.Drizzt: Don't. Poke. Drizzt. 'Tis entirely unsociable.
- What the Hell, Hero?: If you kill him in BG1, he'll ask you why you did it in BG2, and accept an answer of "You're a drow." If you say you'll help him in BG1 against the gnolls he's fighting and don't (although he's easily powerful enough to kill every single gnoll in the game at the same time by himself) he'll be offended and leave. He's also will attack you if your character's name is Drizzt and he has a low reputation.
- Zerg Rush: One of the most widely accepted ways of killing Drizzt in the first game is to spam him with summoned monsters or animated skeletons while sniping him with ranged weapons. Sure, he'll chop through those mooks like butter, but if you summon enough, he'll die before he can reach your party. The other way is to drink as many potions as you can (and use the aforementioned Protection of Evil bug) to improve your AC, and then confront him.
- It's good to see you again. How have things gone?
Voiced by: Neil Ross
The field commander of the Flaming Fist. Scar hires Charname for various jobs in Baldur's Gate, culminating in an effort to expose the true plot of the Iron Throne.
- Friend on the Force: Scar is a high-ranking member of the Flaming Fist, who serves as the police in Baldur's Gate. He also supports Charname.
- Killed Off for Real: Sarevok has him assassinated and replaced with his lackey Angelo to make sure that the Flaming Fist won't be ordered to interfere with his plans.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: 'Scar' probably isn't his real name, but it's the only one that anyone uses to refer to him.
- I need a small group of spies to break into the Iron Throne headquarters and see if they can find any proof of the Throne's involvement with the caravan raids. If you do this for me, you'll be paid extremely well...
Voiced by: Frank Welker
One of the four Grand Dukes of Baldur's Gate, and the only one who suspects that the Iron Throne is behind the recent unrest in the Sword Coast. He assists Charname in several ways, including by helping Charname get back into Candlekeep to continue his investigation.
- Friend on the Force: As the Commander of the Flaming Fist and one of the four leaders of Baldur's Gate, Eltan is perhaps the ultimate Friend on the Force. With his backing it would be possible for Charname to expose even people as powerful as the Iron Throne leaders. Unfortunately, Eltan is incapacitated before Charname can return with the evidence he needs.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He is willing to hear out Charname and look at evidence against the Iron Throne. Also, when Charname says that more evidence is currently in Candlekeep, rather than complain or object Eltan just helps Charname get back into Candlekeep to keep searching.
A wolfwere on Balduran's Isle. Unlike the rest of her community, she is not inherently hostile to Charname. After Charname's party rescues her baby she agrees to help them escape the island before they succumb to lycanthropy.
- Androcles' Lion: She's a literal beast, and by helping her the party can gain her loyalty so she helps them later.
- Voiced by: Nick Jameson
An elf shipwrecked on Balduran's Island. He's gone somewhat insane from the solitude and the perpetual threat of Karoug's werewolves, but he's still able to give some advice to Charname.
He later shows up in Spellhold as one of the inmates, where he is again able to assist Charname, this time in attacking Irenicus.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: It's happened to him.
- Killed Off for Real: Irenicus kills him along with the rest of Spellhold's inmates.
- I got the adventure that'll make ye yearn for glory!
A dwarf seeking to prevent the release of Aec'Letec, a powerful demon. He tasks the party with recovering a dagger before it can be used to summon the demon; when that fails, he advises the party on how to stop the demon from causing total catastrophe.
- Quest Giver: One of two quest givers that wants the party to go to Durlag's Tower (the other being Therella, whose son went missing in the Tower).
- Voiced by: Jennifer Hale (Liia) and Brian George (Belt)
Grand Duchess Liia Janneth and Grand Duke Belt are two of Baldur's Gate's leaders. They help Charname track down Sarevok after Charname saves them from being slain in Sarevok's ambush.
- Mentor Archetype:
- Belt meta-wise is the mentor to the player (as in, the one playing the game), as he's the one who runs the tutorial segment starting from the second game (the first game lacked a tutorial).
- In Siege of Dragonspear Duke Janneth becomes this to Imoen, seeing to her mage training that keeps Imoen out of the plot.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Both seem very reasonable. After Charname saves them, they trust Charname and provide assistance in tracking down Sarevok to stop him from launching another attack.
- Especially true in Siege of Dragonspear. After Charname is framed for the murder of Skie Silvershield, Belt is more than willing to hear their defense, even as the entire city, including fellow grand duke Entar, is screaming for their execution. In the end, he sees that Charname is secretly escorted out of the city after being arrested in order to avoid an all-out riot.
- Absurdly Dedicated Worker: Remains devoted to Bhaal and eager for his return despite not having any reason to believe he'll be coming back any time soon.
- Affably Evil: Towards Charname after she learns what you are.
- The Atoner: Charname can command her to become this once you save her, and despite her reticence to the idea she pledges to you she'll try.
- Ax-Crazy: Definitely, although the fact she's blind and locked in a cage means there's nothing she can do to threaten you.
- Been There, Shaped History: It's strongly implied the temple she presided over was the same one where Charname and Sarevok were almost sacrificed as described in Throne of Bhaal.
- Eviler than Thou: On the receiving end from the Cyricists, who debased her temple and made her their prisoner and chew-toy.
- Eye Scream: Both her eyes were removed, roasted in a brazier and eaten as an act of cruelty by the Cyricists.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Being a Bhaalist, she can't have been all that sane anyway, but being stuck in a cage for a long time and subject to mockery, torture and unnatural blindness, she's become even more unhinged than she was before.
- Hero-Worshipper: Unlike other Bhaalists and even Bhaal himself, Madele seems to revere Bhaalspawn as holy children. Enough that she exalts to hear that you are a child of Bhaal, and would be willing to seek redemption she never thought to seek if you command her to.
- Squee: She can barely contain her happiness if you tell her that you're a Bhaalspawn. Even less so if you free her and encourage her to stay true to Bhaal's teachings.
- Yes? You have something to report?
Voiced by: Cam Clarke
Aran Linvail is the Shadowmaster of Athkatla and therefore the leader of the local Shadow Thieves in their war against the new rival thieves' guild. He can help Charname get to Spellhold but needs help in removing some distractions first — such as the aforementioned Bodhi and her guild.
He plays a major role in Chapter 3 of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and a somewhat more minor role in Chapter 6.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: Though a thief who runs an operation that performs assassinations and torture, Aran is still the "good" option compared to the vampires. Keldorn and Mazzy will still support you if you choose him, though Yoshimo for some reason is less than thrilled.
- Affably Evil: He's a lot more polite and respectable than his underlings when dealing with you.
- Asshole Victim: Bodhi sends you to sack this thief's guildhall and kill him as the last of her tasks before she takes you to Spellhold. She really doesn't care about his nature but he's only so much less evil than her despite him leading a guildhall that performs Cold-Blooded Torture and assassinations.
- The Dragon: Implied. According to the background material The Shadow Thieves are led by a group called the Shadow Council, whose names and identities are always kept secret and one of whom is on the Council of Six. Linvail could be one of them, or head of the local chapter, given extraordinary wartime powers.
- Note that he has one of his own — Renal Bloodscalp, who runs the Shadow Thieves' operations on the surface.
- Diabolical Mastermind: Has pretty much all of the trappings, barring that he's on your side.
- Moving the Goalposts: After paying the price to see him he decides that he needs a bit more aid out of you before he can send you on your way. To be fair, the war with Bhodi's guild is putting a severe drain on his resources.
- Neutral Evil:
InvokedHis actual alignment, but he will appear as True Neutral in an unpatched game because of a coding oversight. - Obviously Evil: He's not really much more subtle about his alignment than Bodhi is. The Shadow Thief guildhall contains examples of Cold-Blooded Torture, Training from Hell, and a number of unsavoury characters.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Working with a Good-aligned CHARNAME is this. Also his motivation for taking on the vampires is that they're infringing on his territory.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: The leader of the local Shadow Thieves, and, as revealed if you fight him as part of Bodhi's path, a high-level thief/mage.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He's mostly concerned with the overhead and preservation of the Shadow Thieves. He's also willing to sic assassins after Saemon for betraying your trust, and helps you fight Bodhi when she reappears later in the game even if she has no plans to resurrect her guild.
- Religion of Evil:
InvokedDuring the attack on his guildhall it is shown that his gang has the support of the clergy of Mask, the then-Neutral Evil god of thievery. - The Reveal: He eventually reveals that the Shadow Thieves were behind the attack on Irenicus' dungeon in the opening sequence, and that he's had you under surveillance for the first two chapters of the game to see if he could use you to strike back at Irenicus.
A member of the Order of the Radiant Heart. He gives out missions for the paladin stronghold quest, and can also agree to dispatch knights to help slay Bodhi.
He can help the party in Chapters 2 and 3 of Shadows of Amn (by providing the paladin stronghold quests) as well as in Chapter 6 (by providing those same quests and also by providing help against Bodhi).
- Knight in Shining Armor: He's one, and he's in charge of several more.
- We could argue about who's done what to whom all day. Or maybe less, as I imagine my being chopped to bits might make your argument a little more effective than mine.
Voiced by: Jeff Bennett
Saemon Havarian is a treacherous swashbuckler/mage who can and will sell out anyone, including Charname, to save his own skin. About as untrustworthy as a man can be, he is nevertheless not directly antagonistic and may even end up helping Charname out (by betraying his current employer). For some reason, most people will trust — or at least tolerate — him despite knowing his (very well-deserved) reputation; presumably he has an absurdly high charisma.
He plays an important role in Chapter 4 of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and—depending on the player's actions—may also be important in Chapter 9 of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Though it's worth keeping in mind that he eventually proves trustworthy when sufficiently motivated (i.e., after all of his friends and associates have been betrayed and murdered).
- Dirty Coward: Or Lovable Coward, depending on how sympathetic you find him. He never fights once in the game and only casts spells to escape.
- Dual Wielding: Possibly a subversion, as his cowardly nature means he never actually fights.
- Karma Houdini: He always ends up getting away with his crimes, which at the least involve robbery and frequently involve people getting killed. He survives bust-ups by running away at the first sign of danger and shrugs off Shadow Thief assassins through nothing but sheer Plot Armor. Unless the player finally kills him for good in Throne of Bhaal he'll go the whole series without getting arrested or killed for his crimes.
- The only way to kill Saemon (without exploiting bugs) is for the player to complete Dorn's full plot line in the Expanded Edition of Throne of Bhaal and then enter Saemon's name on the 'Divine Retribution' list in the heart of Lunia. Because this is deeply suboptimal play — the strategic option is to put surviving members of The Five on the list so that you get some divine support during their boss fights — most players don't do it, and Saemon thus escapes.
- Lovable Rogue: Though only so lovable once you realise he's basically a spineless wimp.
- Lovable Traitor: You're even allowed to lampshade it the first time you meet him. Everyone else will too, even if you don't. Even Irenicus implies that he trusts Saemon about as far as he can throw him.
- Makes Us Even: Play your cards right and he'll backstab someone for your benefit in Throne of Bhaal
- Meaningful Name: His first name is very similar to 'seaman', with two letters changed. His last name is the Norwegian word for "Shipwreck" (as in the event, not the ensuing derelict) with -an affixed to the end.
- Never My Fault: Dumps the responsibility and consequences for his screw-ups on you twice while trying to play it off as Nothing Personal.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Not directly 'stupid', but the manual reveals he's a level 12/14 swashbuckler-mage dual class, and is probably far more dangerous than his cowardly nature would imply.
- Pirate: He'll deny it, though.
- True Neutral: In-Universe.
- Voiced by: Tress MacNeille
A sahaugin who understands that her king is insane and that only by overthrowing him can her people be preserved. After Charname's party arrives in her city, she arranges for Charname to be freed and then gives advice on how the party can contact Prince Villynaty to defeat the mad king and save everyone.
- Affably Evil: She's nice and polite to you, and rewards you with the way to leave the sahaguin kingdom if you complete her request.
- High Priestess: She is one, and she's able to use her position to convince the king that Charname is a hero from prophecy and thus should not be killed upon arrival in the city.
- Oh captain, my captain.
A large and powerful beholder who Charname runs into near the end of Chapter 4 of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and in the middle of Chapter 9 of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. Unlike his less diplomatic siblings, he's chatty, friendly...and more than a little snarky.
- Benevolent Genie: Well, more Lazy Genie. When you first meet him he's been bound to guard the local ruler's magical chest. With a minimal amount of coaxing, you can point out to him that he's only been bound to guard the chest...not what's inside the chest, and thus is not obligated to stop you from taking it. With the added incentive that even the Beholder's Council wouldn't force him to guard an empty chest, he's all too happy to let you steal the loot.
- Deadpan Snarker: The main reason for his popularity with the fans.
- The Genie Knows Jack Nicholson: As you can see above, he quotes and somehow knows about Walt Whitman.
- I Always Wanted to Say That: His above-mentioned Walt Whitman quotation.
- Lawful Neutral: He's a creature of Helm, the LN god. Although he's a bit more snarky about than par for Helm's followers.
- Literal Genie: Inverted; the PC can avoid killing him by pointing out that he can be this.
- Loophole Abuse: With the help of the player, realises he can use this to mooch on his job.
- Minion with an F in Evil: He rarely makes any actual effort to act sinister, no matter what his employers have asked, not being evil and all.Spectator: ...Oh, that reminds me. I promised that mad little Sahuagin that I would make an effort to scare off intruders. So... boo! ...And that's about as much effort as I'm willing to put into that.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He's not the only non-evil beholder-type creature in the Forgotten Realms, being a member of an Always
Lawful Neutral sub—race of beholders, but he is the only one you encounter. - Odd Friendship: By the final time you meet it, you're able to actually have a halfway cordial conversation with him, before he metaphorically shrugs his shoulders and teleports himself home...you just having slaughtered his current employers.
- Punch-Clock Villain: To a T, and he’s rather unfond of his job. The first time you meet him, he’s all too willing to let you reinterpret his orders somewhat liberally so long as it gets him off duty. The second time, he convinces his employer to fight you personally because he gets to ditch the job again if he dies. In fact, he's quite happy to leave you alone and go check out the nearest hive for babes.
- Voiced by: Dwight Schultz
Prince of the Sahuagin. He is less evil than his father and is willing to assist Charname in exchange for help seizing the throne.
- The Evil Prince: From his father's perspective, since he's trying to overthrow and kill his father in order to take the throne. (He's also evil in general, though willing to help a good Charname in exchange for aid with the whole regicide thing.)
- I am Adalon, the guardian, and I have done my duty as well as I have been able for many a century. I was not the first, but I know the history.
Voiced by: Diane Pershing
A silver dragon, tasked by the elven god Corellon Larethian himself to guard one of the entrances to the Underdark and the temple that sits on top of it from invasions by the drow. However, the drow stole her eggs and threatened to destroy them if she left her lair. When the party finds her lair, she gives them a quest to infiltrate the nearby drow city and retrieve her eggs in exchange for her help in reaching the surface. This quest alone makes up about 3/4 of the content of Chapter 5 of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and it has ties to nearly every other quest available in the Underdark.
- Breath Weapon: As all dragons have.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: At the resolution of her quest, she briefly joins the party to escort them out of the Underdark. The drow guards near the exit don't live very long. Also, if Jaheira is in the party, she expresses regret that Irenicus didn't piss Adalon off, because their problem would have been solved nicely if the silver had curb-stomped him.
- Good Is Not Nice: Understandably, as she is quite stressed out at the loss of her eggs and the realization that her task of keeping the peace is all but impossible.
- Lawful Good: In-universe. Metallic dragons like Adalon are always some flavour of good, in contrast to their chromatic brethren.
- Mama Bear: She threatens to kill you if you don't bring her eggs back to her intact. If you fail to keep up your end of the bargain, you find out she wasn't exaggerating. She also mentions that she'd dearly love to slaughter those involved in kidnapping her eggs — if she didn't genuinely believe they would break them if she did.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Silver dragon.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Realizing that her task of keeping the peace is all but impossible, she decides to leave after she has taken vengeance on the drow.
- Silence, You Fool!: Your first clue that she is not exactly nice, or in the best of moods.
- Someone to Remember Him By: Her husband died sometime ago fighting a great evil. Adalon was granted a wish for her service, and tried to resurrect him with it. It couldn't work, so she settled for his spirit to fertilize some of her eggs. The same eggs the drow stole.
- Voluntary Shape Shifting: A standard power for most dragons in AD&D, but she is the first (and until Throne of Bhaal, only) dragon seen doing it on screen.
- I do what I must, when I must. Know this well...
Voiced by: Michael Gough
A prominent male drow tasked by the drow leaders to supervise you when you infiltrate Ust Natha. Often comes off as purposely rude and unpleasant. There is more to him than meets the eye.
- Anti-Hero: Type III. He goes to great lengths to disguise his true allegiance.
- Dark Is Not Evil: On par for drow worshipers of Eilistraee.
- Deadpan Snarker: Especially towards Phaere.
- Good Is Not Nice: Or soft. No price is too high to hide his true allegiance. He'd even commit murder if he had to.
- Genius Bruiser: Veteran fighter who is a lot cleverer than most of his commanders. He has also been living undercover as a spy for years.
- Jerkass: He's rude and insults you whenever possible. Eventually it's revealed that he's only like this to keep his head above the water in a society where being a Jerkass is mandatory.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Can give a delightful one to Phaere near the end of the questline. The Matron Mother has stolen a clutch of silver dragon eggs as a sacrifice for a Demon Lord's aid. Phaere has made a bunch of fake eggs she wants you to replace the real ones so the Matron Mother will be killed by the demon, allowing Phaere to be appointed as the new Matron Mother. Solaufein has a second bunch of fake eggs the player can choose to give to Phaere.
- Yes... it was a terrible punishment. But you violated everything we hold dear.
Voiced by: Kath Soucie
Ellesime is the leader of the elves of Suldanesselar, the city which Irenicus and Bodhi were from. She loved Irenicus, but was forced to exile him for his crimes. She plays an important role in Chapter 7 of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn by expanding on Irenicus' motivations.
- Chainmail Bikini: In her artwork.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Remember that sculptor near Nashkel Mines in BG1? Yeah, it was her statue he was making...
- Informed Attractiveness: Her beauty is said to rivals goddesses, yet her Charisma is only 15, and her artwork leaves a lot to be desired.
- Lawful Good: In-Universe.
- Love Makes You Dumb: A spectacular example. She wanted to believe the man she loved could change and redeem himself, which is understandable. Trying to encourage him to do so by stripping him of his soul but none of his powers, however? Unbelievably stupid.
- Love Ruins the Realm: Her botching of Irenicus' punishment means he can come back with an army and exact revenge on her people.
- My Greatest Failure: She says that Irenicus is this to her.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Remove a mad wizard's soul but not his powers? Oh sure, that'll end well.
- Replacement Goldfish: In the first dungeon, Irenicus tries cloning her. The clone rebels against the Ellesime identity, going absolutely insane and requiring death.
- The Reveal: She and Irenicus were once in love, but that ended when he started killing his own kinsmen in a bid to ascend to godhood. Ellesime stripped him of his soul as punishment and threw him out of Suldanesselar.
- Stupid Good: Exiling an epic-level evil wizard who'd already killed hundreds of his countrymen because you want him to "learn from his mistakes" and try to "redeem himself", without stripping him of his powers?!? Nice one, your highness.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Exiling Irenicus after taking his soul but not his powers just let him go on to directly kill Skie, Dynaheir, and Khalid, indirectly kill Yoshimo, torture Charname and Imoen, and destroy who knows how many lives.
- Come, my brethren! We must venture into the lower vault now that the Bhaalspawn has cleared the way... we must see for ourselves if the Imprisoned One is truly dead or not.
Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson
Leader of the Knights of the Vigil, a group of warriors serving Helm by ensuring that Demogorgon remains imprisoned in Watcher's Keep. When the prison's wards begin to fail, Odren comes up with the idea of enlisting another hero-such as Charname—to enter the tower, fight through the monsters to reach the lowest level, and then recite the ritual that will reset and strengthen the wards. This will keep Demogorgon imprisoned in Watcher's Keep for the foreseeable future... as well as whoever reads the ritual, which is why Odren doesn't want to do it himself and instead decides to trick someone else into doing it.
- Treacherous Quest Giver: Odren is being truthful enough when he says that the monster in the keep is at risk of breaking out, and that by reading the ritual Charname can keep him imprisoned. He neglects to mention, however, that whoever reads the ritual will be imprisoned inside Watcher's Keep as well.
- A journal found within Watcher's Keep shows that Odren didn't just do this to Charname. Rather, he's been doing this to various heroes and adventuring groups for decades, waiting for one to finally arrive which is strong enough to reach the bottom of the Keep.
- And... there. It be done, a simple thing, it is. The boy's heart is cold, now. As... as cold as his mother's old heart...
Voiced by: Grey Delisle
The Witch of the Glade, Nyalee is Yaga-Shura's adoptive mother and living in an old temple outside of Saradush. Charname seeks her out to discover the secret of Yaga-Shura's immortality in Chapter 8 of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.
- Chaotic Neutral In-Universe.
- Druid: She was once a priestess of Bhaal, but when he died, she had to turn to the druidic arts.
- Evil Mentor: She raised Yaga-Shura with the intention that he would do what Sarevok could not.
- Flunky Boss: She summons Shambling Mounds and forest nymphs to help her fight.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: She must be True Neutral according to 2nd edition rules. However, as Bhaal was a Chaotic Evil deity, Nyalee must be partially aligned to her deity to be his cleric. Unless she changed alignment, she is an impossibility.
- Happily Adopted: Although her initial motives were less than ideal, Nyalee grew to genuinely love Yaga-Shura as she raised him. She thought he felt the same way, but in the end he didn't care much for her; it's not stated whether this was always the case or he loved her as a child but stopped loving her when he grew up.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Being a fire giant, Yaga-Shura would have been just as tall as her before he was even ten years old, and several feet taller as an adult.
- Mama Bear: Adoptive mama bear. After her heart is returned and she remembers how much she loved Yaga-Shura, she attacks you because she knows you're going after her boy.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When you return her heart and she undoes Yaga-Shura's Soul Jar protection, she remembers her love for the giant and realizes she has helped make him vulnerable, upsetting her greatly; becoming desperate, she attacks you and is killed.
- Senseless Sacrifice: She accomplished nothing by turning against you. Not only did Yaga-Shura die anyway, but he didn't remember her with any fondness, or everything she did for him, and she only ended up getting herself killed as well.
- Soul Jar: She made this for Yaga-Shura, making him invulnerable. After this was done, he did this to her, so she could not undo it.
- Strange-Syntax Speaker: She talks exactly like Yoda.
Shopkeepers
These characters are not exactly allies or friends of Charname, but are willing to sell or construct items which can benefit Charname just the same.
- I can make whatever you wish for a wee little bit more than me competition...
Voiced by: Bert Kramer
A blacksmith who works out of a forge in Beregost. In addition to selling a variety of standard weapons, he can manufacture a suit of ankheg armor, which is both incredibly strong and incredibly light.
- The Blacksmith: The preeminent one in the first game.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: His ankheg armor is a true work of art.
- I be Thalantyr, mighty mage of Beregost.
A wizard living in the High Hedge, a mage tower a few hours west of Beregost. He will be the major go-to guy for any arcane casters in the party for the first four chapters, as he runs one of the only two shops in the first game that sell arcane spell scrolls, and the other one does not unlock until after the Cloakwood mines. He also sells a large collection of useful potions, some wands and other magical items, and the very powerful Robes of the Good- and Neutral Archmagi, the best armor for wizards of those respective alignments in the game.
- Forced Transformation: His apprentice Melicamp accidentally transformed himself into a chicken using a cursed artifact, there is a short quest to find a remedy.
- Golem: His tower is guarded by a pair of flesh golems.
- Good Is Not Nice: He may be good but he still doesn't like you entering his tower uninvited.
- The Hermit: He does not like having visitors, and will constantly remind you of that.
- Neutral Good: His in-universe alignment. He's quite willing to do the right thing to save Melicamp, even after Melicamp admits to have stolen from him.
- And who might you be then? Hmmph? Come to check out the wares of ol' Halbazzer? Well, be quick about it! And mind you don't get fidgety when we talk payment. You knew when you came in the door that my wares were magical; premium items demand a premium price.
A wizard who runs the Sorcerous Sundries in Baldur's Gate, a shop that sells all kinds of magical potions, scrolls, wands and weapons. He can also create the Nymph's Cloak after the party obtains some nymph's hair.
- Arms Dealer: His inventory includes a few enchanted weapons and armor.
- Lawful Neutral: His in-universe alignment. Doesn't seem to care much about anyone as long as he gets paid.
- The Adventure Mart is the finest shopping in all of Faerun... widest selection, lowest prices, and nary a fancy illustration. Just the goods, fair and plain.
Voiced by: David Prince
A former adventurer who runs the Adventure Mart, a shop for adventurers. He has no effect on the story, but virtually every Charname will visit his shop at least once because the stuff he sells is just incredible. He also knows Jaheira from a while back.
- Arms Dealer: His shop is one of the only places in Athkatla that sells unique and powerful magical items.
- Chaotic Neutral: In-Universe.
- Everything is Big in Texas: Ribald is a half-elven former adventurer who lives in Amn, which is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture for Spain, so it makes perfect sense for him to have a Texan accent.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Yet another half-elf.
- Honest John's Dealership: Subverted: Ribald enjoys his showmanship and posturing and buys stuff for a significantly lower price than other merchants (making him a really bad choice to sell your loot to), but his prices are the same as everyone else's and all his stuff is genuine and appears to be on the up-and-up. He also sells a number of very useful items you can't find anywhere else.
- Meaningful Name: Really, now...
- Retired Badass: As you'll discover if he catches you stealing from him.
- I've made armor from the scales of a basilisk, a helmet from a cockatrice... items to put fear into the hearts of the bloody gods themselves. Hah!
A dwarven smith living in the docks district of Alkathla. He can help Charname by repairing several broken artifact weapons—if Charname can collect all their parts.
- The Blacksmith: It's what he does, and the things he makes are quite useful, even though you can't get most of it until you've already been in some very dangerous places.
- Blasphemous Boast: See his quote.
- Gotta Catch Them All: What you'll have to do before he can create uberweapons like The Equalizer, The Wave or the Crom Faeyr.
- Infinity +1 Sword: Well, they were until Throne of Bhaal was released, and even there they are still pretty good.
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: A dwarven weaponsmith isn't exactly a new or original concept.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: He can forge some incredible weapons.
- Cespenar is good servant. Oh yes!
Voiced by: Jeff Bennett
Bhaal's imp butler, who apparently has been doing nothing since the big guy kicked the bucket. He hangs around Charname's Pocket Plane.
- The Blacksmith: His main purpose. He is ToB's equal to Cromwell, taking various useless items and fusing them to make some truly awesome stuff. Or taking good stuff and making it better.
- Infinity +1 Sword: His only purpose in the game is providing stuff of this caliber.
- Minion with an F in Evil: For a former servant of the god of murder, he's not especially malevolent.
- Nice Guy: You wouldn't expect a butler to be otherwise, really. Even if he is an imp.
Gladiators in the Black Pits series
Gladiators trapped in the same arena as the player's party in The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay. They are willing to help the player's party fight in the arena, though generally for a price.
An assassin. He claims to be a priest of Lathander, though a brief questioning reveals that he knows virtually nothing about that deity—and also that he's very quick to threaten others when questioned.
- Badass Preacher: Averted—he's a strong fighter, but he's not really a preacher.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He makes violent threats as soon as the party begins picking apart his story.
An ancient mage (specifically a conjurer). Though very powerful, he's also going senile. He can provide the player's party with several useful services, including fighting alongside them in the pits and also creating the spell to remove Bannor from his adamantine body, but he requires regular doses of magical potions to restore his mind in order to function.
- The Archmage: He's able to cast Level 9 spells such as Time Stop with ease.
- Scatterbrained Senior: Without regular potions from Bellowgulp and The Concoter, Ebonbeard is so senile he can't even perceive the player's party talking to him.
A fighter/thief, Feldrack is a short-tempered gladiator who constantly threatens to kill anyone who annoys him, which is almost everyone. However, the player's party can exploit his zeal for battle by asking him to help them in the arena; he's so bloodthirsty that he'll agree to do so without pay.
- Psycho for Hire: He was a professional killer before he was forced to be a gladiator. Although, he admits he sometimes kills people just because they annoy him, or because they're the biggest guy around.
A wild mage whose violent surges have killed many people. He was lured to the arena with the promise of a cure for his condition, only to be trapped and forced to fight like the other gladiators. He is much cheaper than most of the other gladiators, since he's a much more risky partner than the fighters or the mages who can control their powers.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: All he wanted was to drop the 'wild' part of his magic. Instead he was captured and forced to fight for his life in Dennaton's arena.
A drow mage (specifically an enchanter). He can help the player's party in several ways, including fighting alongside them and also brewing a poison to deal with Joker. He's also one of the most expensive gladiators to hire.
- Black Humor: When a rival gladiator tries to teleport away and gibs himself, Gezzthemin cracks some jokes.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He used to help out and advise The Winged, a corrupted fallen planetar. Eventually, she lured him into a trap and brought him to Dennaton, victimizing him just as he used to help her victimize others.
- Servile Snarker: He spends most of his dialogues subtly ribbing anyone who tries to talk to him.
- Smug Snake: One of the most arrogant gladiators.
A barbarian half-orc who values nothing more than combat skill. He refuses to help the player's party in the arena until they've earned his respect by winning other fights. Once they earn it, though, he charges less than most of the other gladiators.
- Revenge: Even after the party earns his respect, he makes them swear an oath to seek revenge upon everyone even vaguely associated with Dennaton's arena should they escape.
A fighter/mage, Lea is completely demented and thinks the furniture and imaginary animals are talking to her. She's a capable gladiator nonetheless, though.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: She's arguably the most insane person in the entire Baldur's Gate franchise, and that's including Minsc (of the Miniature Giant Space Hamster) and Tiax (who thinks he rules the world).
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: She's completely off her trolley, but can still hold her own in combat.
A fighter serving Hoar, the god of vengeance, as a vigilante. She demands the player's party prove itself before being willing to help them fight, and also charges 1,700 gold pieces for her help—more than the standard rate. She is a powerful warrior, though, and thus can be worth the extra expense.
In the main series, she is referenced in Dorn's epilogue as having been hired by his victims to hunt him down and deliver retribution to him. She succeeds.
- Beyond the Impossible: By the time Mercy gets involved, Dorn has beaten the gods themselves by breaking into the heavenly plane of Lunia, slaughtering its defenders, and manually removing his name from the list of those deserving divine punishment. Yet though the gods have failed to bring Dorn to justice, Mercy succeeds.
- Ironic Name: Mercy has none whatsoever.
A fighter (specifically a dwarven defender) who has convinced himself that he's not really a slave and is instead a 'master gladiator' who lives for battle and loves what he does. While willing to fight alongside the player's party in the arena, he develops contempt for them when he learns they are trying to escape. He joins Tartle to interfere with their escape attempt.
- Consummate Professional: Fits the bill for the most part, constantly training or fighting in the arena to improve his style and skills, but his rudeness towards the player undercuts this.
- Insufferable Genius: He's a very good fighter, but a complete jackass about it. He constantly refers to the party as amateurs for not being as wholly dedicated to the fight as he is.
- Lawful Neutral: His in-universe alignment. He only cares about fighting, but is not Ax-Crazy or a Blood Knight, and the player can easily persuade him to fight by their side and later on, to just walk away and not die for Dennoton's ego.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Well, he's not exactly a villain, but he will gladly agree to fight alongside you in the arena for free to study your fighting styles in preparation for the day you fight one another, and before your encounter with him during the escape, he can be persuaded to stand down by suggesting he'd be dying for no reason and being the slave he so denies being.
- Skippable Boss: See above.
A berserker/cleric serving Tempus, the God of War. Timmoth gets into frequent arguments with the clerics in the arena's shrines, alternately accusing the clerics of worshipping the wrong gods and of cowardice (since they spend more time ministering to the wounded than actually fighting). He is temperamental and will only help the player's party under certain conditions; if they have not won enough battles yet, he does not think them worth his time, and if they have won too many, he says they don't need him. Nonetheless, he is a strong fighter to have on the player's party's side.
- The Fundamentalist: An absolute fanatic when it comes to Tempus.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be real abrasive, but you can earn his respect and he'll watch your back if you do.
Other allies in the Black Pits series
A friendly gnome and his myconid friend who are repeatedly captured and forced to brew potions for gladiators. They appear in both The Black Pits and The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay, as well as the final stretch of Siege of Dragonspear.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: The Concocter creates potions by ingesting raw materials, mixing them within his flesh, and then carefully secreting the finished potions into flasks. The potions work, but are still stated to be disgusting.
- Forced Transformation: When you encounter him in Siege of Dragonspear, he has just shaken off the effect of a failed potion which transformed him to living stone.
- King Incognito: The Concocter is actually myconid royalty, but he shows no sign of this. If Bellowgulp didn't tell his story then nobody would ever know it.
The slave in charge of the day-to-day operations of Dennaton's arena. Chafing under Dennaton's rule, he can help the player's party to obtain various supplies that can help them escape. He is also the brother of Tartle.
- Big Brother Instinct: He is very protective of his cousin Tartle, even though Tartle is completely on Dennaton's side. Brodle even demands that the player's party promise not to kill Tartle during their escape attempt.
- Friend in the Black Market: He acts as this for the player. For instance, he can obtain the spell components that Ebonbeard needs to scribe the spell that will remove Bannor from his golem body.
Three clerics ministering to the wounds of the gladiators in Dennaton's arena.
- The Fundamentalist: There are frequent arguments over which of their gods are better, with Curell and Laris the most combative while Molzahn tries to keep the peace.
