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Would this work within the timeline of CHARNAME & Imoen? *SPOILER ALERT*

I've had a long think about how this whole timeline nonsense comes about (reffering to how BG1 starts only 10 years after the Time of Troubles). I've read a lot of possibilities and the most common one I've seen is that the duo age quicker. The flaw with that is that they themselves would notice it in comparison to others around them, as well as others noticing it about them. Candlekeep is not your average citadel with beggars and such, this is a place for scholars and sages, I'm sure most of them would pick up on that if they were residents. In all of this I'm reffering to CHARNAME as a human.

Anyway, I've come to a possible conclusion which only changes one small fact.

If you've completed the whole saga, you know that Gorion saved CHARNAME from Bhaal cultists who wishes to sacrifice CHARNAME to bring back Bhaal (or at least donate their essence to him). It doesn't seem like a crazy possibility that Imoen might be there too, and that CHARNAME and Imoen have the same mother.

Now, here's the things I'd say that could be easily altered to make the story work...

CHARNAME and Imoen are actually 10 during their intended sacrifice, shortly after the Time of Troubles (with many mercenary groups/cities and organisations still in shock from this event). Gorion kills their mother, the Bhaal priestess, and saves them. Gorion knows that he will be looking after them, and let's face it, who would listen to a guy that killed their mother. No matter how evil she was in everyone else's eyes, she's still their mother, plus considering this event happened, they've got to be traumatised by it to some extent. So Gorion gives them a potion to erase their memories, meaning, when they wake up from the potion the next day, they're in Candlekeep and Gorion explains that they were orphans found somewhere and he's taken them in.

Just want to see if this would actually work? Considering it only changes a few facts.

Comments

  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    10 years is a pretty advanced age, and not having any memories before that would be a central theme to anyone's life; not to mention that having someone else around you with the exact same condition would be more than dubious and suspicious.

    Also, restricting the whole story to humans opens up as many plot holes as it supposedly closes; having a situation where a story is true only under specific circumstances is not exactly improving on the whole timeline question.

    All in all I don't think your story is a very likely explanation of events.
  • FrostyFrosty Member Posts: 190
    Charname and Imoen were born and brought to candle keep before the time of troubles. There rescue came years before the intended sacrifice
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Other explanation; Bhaal has known about the prophecy for centuries and started seeding children ages ago.
    This also explains Abazigal being a mature dragon and having a fullgrown son.

    He died during the Time of Troubles and the book about that time depict his actions. He didn't screw around.
    Most likely, he did all his boning before he was reduced to a mortal.
  • Frosty said:

    Charname and Imoen were born and brought to candle keep before the time of troubles. There rescue came years before the intended sacrifice

    But that doesn't make sense...You don't sacrifice people to ressurect an alive god? Unless if the Bhaalspawn essence is going to be in stasis until he actually dies, which sounds silly.

  • @Lord_Tansheron What if both CHARNAME and Imoen were told tales of their past and believed them? Or, for example, someone like Elminster or another powerful Harper took in Imoen for a few years before deciding that she would be safer in Candlekeep.

    There is a slight struggle with CHARNAME and Imoen about their past but that could easily be expanded on, especially once they realise they are Bhaalspawn and the memories come flooding back nearer the end of the saga.
  • FrostyFrosty Member Posts: 190
    It make perfect sense They were meant to be sacrificed after Bhaal died, but the harpers found them and rescued them years before there intended sacrifice date. so they lived in candle keep since they were toddlers, and were saved from being sacrificed
  • I thought they were saved literally during the sacrifice event?
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    edited September 2013
    We don't know for certain. The story is a bit hazy on the details, but given the timeline and in-game info, it seems unlikely. CHARNAME is reportedly ~20 years old, and BG1 starts 10 years after the Time of Troubles. That means that if CHARNAME really was an infant when rescued (as seems likely), that must have been before the Time of Troubles, i.e. when Bhaal was still alive. That of course means they weren't about to be sacrificed right then and there.

    A probably explanation is that the Harpers learned of a temple of Bhaal where priests were "preparing Bhaalchildren for sacrifice"; they didn't know, however, *when* (or why) this was going to happen. Naturally they assumed the worst (i.e. it's imminent) and attacked immediately. Safe > sorry and all that.
  • Not bad! :P
    Why isn't there much mention of the Time of Troubles in any of the games? Considering it happened 10 years before you'd expect people to be pretty fearful of gods.
  • I should explain myself better in that, I mean especially why CHARNAME or any of the other companions barely ever mention it.
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    There isn't a lot of smalltalk in the game to begin with, most of it is comments on the situation, or on a particular person's character/history. I imagine there's a lot of super deep philosophical discussions going on once the campfire's lit and the, uh, pipes are brought out.
  • Salted pork xD
  • Mrpenfold666Mrpenfold666 Member Posts: 428
    just a question on this which could offer quite a few more questions. what if you pay a non human CHARNAME? like say...an elf...who (if memory serves, if im wrong please correct me) an elf is a child untill he/she turns around 50 then its like a teenager untill 120 ish and is a young adult untill the age of 350 then becomes middle age

    but anyway my point does baldurs gate explain elf CHARNAMES age or is he still 20 which would make him little more than a toddler anyway or is it bhaalspawn mystical powers of shut up and play the game?....either way is cool :D

    assuming that charname is human is a poor yet admittedly roundabout way to go about it but then you learn that Bhaal had children with every kind of race on purpose to increase his chances of surviving should someone/something comes to kick him in the teeth *cough* TIME OF TROUBLES *cough*
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    @Mrpenfold666: please refer to the original thread for those questions. This thread is a spin-off of that original discussion, which has most of the answers you are looking for.
  • I've had all my queries on this answered by Lord_Tansheron :D
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