History Characters / BaldursGateFriends

* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: In the past, she was granted a powerful wish. Since she could not resurrect her husband with it, she settled for getting dragon eggs.

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. [[spoiler:She's also the game's BigBad in disguise, but she's got a listing on the villain page for tropes involving her true colours.]]

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... [[spoiler: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.]]

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. [[spoiler:She succeeds.]]

* MentorArchetype: In ''Siege of Dragonspear'' Duke Janneth becomes this to Imoen, seeing to her mage training that keeps Imoen out of the plot.

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.

--> '''Voiced by:''' Tress MacNeille

* DeadManWriting: 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.

* {{Jerkass}}: He's rude and insults you whenever possible. Eventually it's revealed that [[spoiler:[[SlaveToPR he's only like this to keep his head above the water in a society where being a Jerkass is mandatory]].

* AntiHero: 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?

%%%%* DeadManWriting: He writes such a letter.
%%%%%%%So he dies. How does this relate to the origin story?
%%%%%* DeathByOriginStory:
* FromACertainPointOfView: 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.
* GoodParents: By all accounts, Gorion was a great parent, especially in comparison to your natural ones. Any bad behaviour from the player character can certainly not be blamed on any FreudianExcuse.

%%%%* PapaWolf:

** [[spoiler: It also doesn't stop a doppelganger from taking his form and attempting to pull a MindRape on <charname> after the player returns to Candlekeep.]]

A prominent male drow tasked by the drow leaders to supervise you when you infiltrate Ust Natha. [[spoiler: In reality, he is a well-disguised Eilistraee worshipping spy.]]

* [[spoiler: AntiHero: Type III. He goes to great lengths to disguise his true allegiance.]]
* [[spoiler: DarkIsNotEvil: On par for drow worshipers of Eilistraee.]]

* [[spoiler: GoodIsNotNice / [[GoodIsNotSoft Soft]]: Necessary to hide his true identity. He'd even commit murder if he had to.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: He's rude and insults you whenever possible.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Can give a delightful one to [[spoiler: 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. [[spoiler: 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, guess what... made a second bunch of fake eggs to give to Phaere.]]

* BeyondTheImpossible: 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, [[spoiler: Mercy succeeds]].

* [[spoiler: DarkIsNotEvil: Like most Eilistraee aligned drow.]]

* BalefulPolymorph: His apprentice Mellicam accidentally transformed himself into a chicken using a cursed artifact, there is a short quest to find a remedy.

* NeutralGood: His in-universe alignment. He's quite willing to do the right thing to save Mellicam, even after Mellicam admits to have stolen from him.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: Well, they were until Throne of Bhaal was released.

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 FiveBadBand that has united to kill all their lesser siblings. [[spoiler:She's also the game's BigBad in disguise, but she's got a listing on the villain page for tropes involving her true colours.]]

** [[spoiler:JerkassFacade: It was really an act, as a kind drow is a dead drow.]]

A bard, specifically a skald. For more information see BaldursGateSiegeOfDragonspearPartyMembers.

A bard, specifically a skald. For more information see Characters/BaldursGateSoDPartyMembers.

* BadassGrandpa: That fight against [[spoiler:Sarevok]] and his {{mook}}s was quite impressive.

* DeadManWriting: He writes such a letter.
* DeathByOriginStory: He's the main character's foster father, dies, and doesn't come back.

* PapaWolf: Oh yes.

* DatingCatwoman: [[spoiler: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 apparently cared nothing for him; when she got information, she fed it back to her clergy, and fought for Bhaal when the moment came. This also fixes [=ToB's=] retcon.]]

* DeathByOriginStory

* BlackAndGreyMorality: 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?
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive

* FromACertainPointOfView: In [=BG1=], his note to you says he knew your mother (in the, er, Biblical sense), but in [=BG2=], your mother was a psychotic priestess of Bhaal and it seems unlikely Gorion would have associated himself with her, so either he lied to you, it's a straight {{retcon}}, she was possibly, ah, pumping him for information (he ''was'' a Harper at the time), or, more poignantly, he knew and loved her before she joined the Dark Side. The fandom is divided on it.

* MentorOccupationalHazard

* PosthumousCharacter: 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.

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.

* [[MamaBear 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.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: She shouldn't be allowed to be ChaoticNeutral; druids are only allowed to be TrueNeutral under the 2e rules.

* TheGolem: His tower is guarded by a pair of flesh golems.

* NeutralGood: His in-universe alignment.

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 BG1 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.

[[folder: Ribald Barterman]]
-->''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.

* ArmsDealer: His shop is one of the only places in Athkatla that sells unique and powerful magical items.
* ChaoticNeutral: InUniverse.
* EverythingIsBigInTexas: Ribald is a half-elven former adventurer who lives in Amn, which is a FantasyCounterpartCulture for Spain, so it makes perfect sense for him to have a Texan accent.
* HalfHumanHybrid: Yet another half-elf.
* HonestJohnsDealership: 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.
* MeaningfulName: Really, now...
* RetiredBadass: As you'll discover if he catches you stealing from him.

[[folder: Cromwell]]
-->''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.

* TheBlacksmith: 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.
* BlasphemousBoast: See his quote.
* GottaCatchThemAll: What you'll have to do before he can create [[InfinityPlusOneSword uberweapons like The Equalizer, The Wave or the Crom Faeyr]].
* InfinityPlusOneSword: Well, they were until Throne of Bhaal was released.
* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: A dwarven weaponsmith isn't exactly a new or original concept.
* UltimateBlacksmith: He can forge some incredible weapons.

[[folder: Cespenar]]
-->''Cespenar is good servant. Oh yes!''
--> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeffBennett

Bhaal's imp butler, who apparently has been doing nothing since the big guy kicked the bucket. He hangs around Charname's Pocket Plane.

* TheBlacksmith: 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.
* InfinityPlusOneSword: His only purpose in the game is providing stuff of this caliber.
* MinionWithAnFInEvil: For a former servant of the god of murder, he's not especially malevolent.
* NiceGuy: You wouldn't expect a butler to be otherwise, really. Even if he ''is'' an imp.
* StrangeSyntaxSpeaker
* ThirdPersonPerson
* UltimateBlacksmith

!!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.

[[folder: Brother Ellraish]]

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.

* BadassPreacher: Averted--he's a strong fighter, but he's not really a preacher.
* HairTriggerTemper: He makes violent threats as soon as the party begins picking apart his story.

[[folder: Duff Ebonbeard]]

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.

* TheArchmage: He's able to cast Level 9 spells such as Time Stop with ease.
* ScatterbrainedSenior: Without regular potions from Bellowgulp and The Concoter, Ebonbeard is so senile he can't even perceive the player's party talking to him.

[[folder: Feldrack Feldrack'i]]

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.

* PsychoForHire: 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.
* WhatAnIdiot: He picked a fight with Bannor, an adamantine golem, at a bar. One short and exceedingly embarassing fight later, Feldrack was packed off to Dennaton's arena.

[[folder: Gerrold Darkfellow]]

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.

* IJustWantToBeNormal: 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.

[[folder: Gezzthemin]]

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.

* BlackHumor: When a rival gladiator tries to teleport away and gibs himself, Gezzthemin cracks some jokes.
* {{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.
* ServileSnarker: He spends most of his dialogues subtly ribbing anyone who tries to talk to him.
* SmugSnake: One of the most arrogant gladiators.

[[folder: Hort Il-D'rth]]

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.

[[folder: Lea Gosh'Aar]]

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.

* CloudCuckoolander: 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).
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: She's completely off her trolley, but can still hold her own in combat.

[[folder: Mercy Whitedove]]

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. [[spoiler:She succeeds.]]

* BeyondTheImpossible: 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, [[spoiler: Mercy succeeds]].
* IronicName: Mercy has none whatsoever.

[[folder: Symm Haximus]]

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.

* BerserkButton: Calling him a slave.

[[folder: Timmoth Goodtree]]

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.

* TheFundamentalist: An absolute fanatic when it comes to Tempus.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He can be real abrasive, but you can earn his respect and he'll watch your back if you do.

[[folder: Voghiln the Vast]]
A bard, specifically a skald. For more information see Characters/BaldursGateSoDPartyMembers.

!!Other allies in the Black Pits series

[[folder: Bellowgulp and The Concocter]]

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.

* CordonBleughChef: 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.
* KingIncognito: 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.

[[folder: Brodle]]

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.

----
* BigBrotherInstinct: 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.
* FriendInTheBlackMarket: 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.

[[folder: Molzahn of Tymora, Curell of Tempus, and Laris of Garagos]]

Three clerics ministering to the wounds of the gladiators in Dennaton's arena.

* TheFundamentalist: 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.

* FromACertainPointOfView: In [=BG1=], his note to you says he knew your mother (in the, er, Biblical sense), but in [=BG2=], your mother was a psychotic priestess of Bhaal and it seems unlikely Gorion would have associated himself with her, so either he lied to you, it's a straight {{retcon}},she was possibly, ah, pumping him for information (he ''was'' a Harper at the time), or, more poignantly, he knew and loved her before she joined the Dark Side. The fandom is divided on it.

* EyeScream: Both her eyes were removed as an act of cruelty by the Cyricists.

* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Being a [[ReligionOfEvil 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 normal.

* KarmaHoudini: 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 shrug off Shadow Thief assassins through nothing but sheer PlotArmor. Unless the player ''finally'' kills him for good (somehow) in ''Throne of Bhaal'' he'll go the whole series without ever facing up to the consequences of his actions.

* LovableTraitor: You're even allowed to lampshade it the first time you meet it. Everyone else will too, even if you don't. [[spoiler:Even ''Irenicus'' implies that he trusts Saemon about as far as he can throw him.]]

-->'''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''

[[folder: Aran Linvail]]
-->''Yes? You have something to report?''
--> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/CamClarke

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.

* KarmaHoudini: Technically you can kill him at one point, but it doesn't "count" as the game continues with the assumption that he lived. In any case, he always ends up getting away with his crimes, which at the least involve robbery and frequently involve people getting killed (in fairness, he never kills anyone himself, or even fights at all, but he's still responsible).
** Well, 'getting away' is a bit harsh. He never ''dies'' (permanently) but associating with you basically ruins him financially thrice over (two boats and one smuggling network), ''and'' you can make Aran Lindvail put a price on his head. And the people who get killed usually do so because they end up picking a fight with or associating with ''you''.
*** Even so, he always seems to bounce back with few lasting repurcussions, and the price you get put on his head obviously isn't working. And considering he pins the blame for his misdeeds on you ''twice'' and is not punished in any way, he sort of ''does'' get away with it all.

* MeaningfulName: 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.

A bard, specifically a skald. For more information see Characters/BaldursGateSoDPartyMemebers.

List of the various friendly [=NPC=]s encountered in the ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' series, including the ''Black Pits'' spinoffs.

* DecoyLeader[=/=]TheDragon: Implied. [[AllThereInTheManual According to]] [[ForgottenRealms 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.

* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: He's not the only non-evil beholder-type creature in the ForgottenRealms, being a member of an Always LawfulNeutral sub--race of beholders, but he is the only one you encounter.