Baldur’s Gate 3: Exploring the City's Past and Present
What happened to the city of Baldur’s Gate between Baldur’s Gate 3 and its predecessor Baldur’s Gate 2? That’s a question many fans of the classic RPG games are asking as the newest game in the series nears its release date. While we wait for the game to drop, here’s everything we know about the city in the Sword Coast, from its founding to its current state.
Baldur’s Gate history
Baldur’s Gate, sometimes called the Gateway to the North, was founded by an explorer named Balduran. The city is named after him. Balduran built a wall for the settlement before disappearing on his next voyage. There is actually a Baldur’s Gate within the city of Baldur’s Gate, which is the name of the city’s school of magic.
Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus is a tabletop D&D module that serves as a prequel to Baldur’s Gate 3, placing players in the rival city of Elturel as they try to save the city from hell. The module was released in 2012.
Baldur’s Gate 3 rumors
In a preview of the game, PC Game Spotlight spoke to Jon Carpenter, the creative director at Larian Studios. Carpenter said that the city of Baldur’s Gate is “the beating heart of the game,” and that we will get to see much more of it than in the previous two installments in the series.
Carpenter also said that the city will have a newspaper called Baldur’s Mouth, which will report on your adventures and is written by “the most annoying journalist in the world.” The game will also feature an in-game map, familiar to fans of the series, which shows the various districts of the city and the locations therein. Carpenter says that while the map has been “redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up” the city’s layout is “pretty much the same.”
While the map is largely the same, Baldur’s Gate has changed considerably since we last saw it. The last time we saw the city, in 2004’s Dark Alliance 2, it was still reeling from the events of Baldur’s Gate 2, in which the city was almost destroyed by a giant fire elemental. The city’s trademark Flaming Fist mercenary company is still in charge of protecting the city, but the city has found itself under attack from a new foe – mind flayers.
Carpenter says that the city “has been attacked by these horrific creatures from the Underdark,” a subterranean realm, and that “the people of Baldur’s Gate don’t know how to deal with them.” The mind flayers have also brought dragons with them, which Carpenter says are “very, very dangerous.” This is all according to the Baldur’s Gate 3 director, who says “it’s a mess, and it takes the player to deal with the situation.”
The Sword Coast, where Baldur’s Gate is located, has a remarkable history in the world of Faerûn. The region is home to many iconic PC games, including other Dungeons and Dragons games like Neverwinter Nights and Eye of the Beholder. The Sword Coast was also home to the Baldur’s Gate series, and it appears that it still is.
While it’s not clear yet whether the caves along the Sword Coast still contain the legendary loot left behind by Baldur’s Gate’s founder, one thing we do know is that Minsc and Boo, the iconic companions from the series, were turned to stone and mistaken for statues for over 70 years until somebody realized that they were actually alive.
The Flaming Fist is still in charge of protecting the city. It’s possible that the company is now led by a descendant of the original Flaming Fist leader from the first Baldur’s Gate game. Carpenter also talks about a “massive treasure that was left behind by the city’s founder,” Balduran, which may be hidden in the caves along the Sword Coast.
That’s everything we know about the city of Baldur’s Gate itself. Make sure you’re up to date on everything else we know about Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus. We’ve also got everything you need to know about the multiplayer game, including all the classes, companions, and more.
