Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Interplay Entertainment in 1998. The first game in the Baldur's Gate series, it is set in the Forgotten Realms high-fantasy campaign setting and uses a modified version of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) 2nd edition rules. It was the first game to use the Infinity Engine for its graphics, which Interplay later used for other Forgotten Realms-licensed games such as the Icewind Dale series, as well as other licensed D&D campaign worlds including Planescape: Torment. The story follows a protagonist of the player’s creation traveling across the Sword Coast with a party of companions to investigate a sudden iron crisis gripping the region and uncover those responsible—while also discovering dark secrets about their origins and surviving repeated attempts on their life.

Candlekeep is an ancient fortress on the rural Sword Coast, long known as a great library where scholars can study in peace. Lately, strange and inexplicable events have disturbed its quiet halls. At the same time, unknown mercenaries attempt to breach Candlekeep’s walls, searching for someone who seems ordinary: a young orphan taken in by the mage Gorion and raised as his own child. One night, Gorion decides to leave Candlekeep and escort his adopted child to safety. As they depart, assassins ambush them. The orphan escapes, but Gorion is killed in the fight. Fearful of provoking the mysterious attackers, Candlekeep’s inhabitants lock the gates. Only Imoen—another child raised by Gorion and like a sister to the protagonist—chooses to share the uncertain road ahead. With no home and few resources, the two step into a wide, hostile world, beginning a long and perilous journey. Baldur’s Gate is a role-playing game built on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) ruleset and set in the Forgotten Realms. As the first entry in the saga, it lets players explore towns, wilderness areas, and dungeons, take on many side quests, and recruit companions. Players create their hero or heroine by choosing a class—fighter, thief, mage, priest, ranger, or druid (with sub-classes, dual-class, and multi-class options)—along with alignment on the Good–Evil and Lawful–Chaotic axes and weapon proficiencies. AD&D 2nd Edition rules govern combat, leveling, class restrictions, and more. Combat supports up to six player-controlled characters. Battles take place directly in the exploration environment and unfold in real time, with the option to pause at any moment to issue precise commands. When unpaused, characters repeat their last assigned action until it changes or can no longer be performed. Movement is free during fights, and party formation and positioning play a major role.