How Baldur's Gate should have ended.
SionIV
Member Posts: 2,689
Well another thread got me thinking about this, and i'm very curious to hear other peoples opinion about it.
The whole part with Shank and Carbos being sent to assassinate you is just plain silly, and Sarevok et Co have many more brilliant moments just like that. So it's not just plain luck that gets you through the early hours of this game, it's also very bad planning from the enemy. I love reading the bounty hunter papers and see how my character goes from "Shouldn't be a problem" to "Do not underestimate this person..."
So why did they send Shank and Carbos, two people greener than cucumber to kill the ward of Gorian, an old harper of quite some power?
But now to the important part, and the reason i made this topic. How do you think it should have ended? And what would you have done differently if you had been in Sarevoks shoes?
-------------------------------------
My take on it.
- Create your character
- Enter the game
- Two minutes later, inside random house.
"Well, well, well, dear. What have we here... blade fodder?"
And then after two seconds of shock, you get backstabbed and see the ending screen.
[Edited] :
On a sidenote this game did end for some of my friends back in the day when they got to Friendly Arm Inn and died to Tarnesh again, and again, and....
So they actually gave up on the game as they couldn't get past him, i think it took one of them two years to start the game again and level up once or twice before going there.
Tarnesh must really have been one of the best road blocks in any game.
The whole part with Shank and Carbos being sent to assassinate you is just plain silly, and Sarevok et Co have many more brilliant moments just like that. So it's not just plain luck that gets you through the early hours of this game, it's also very bad planning from the enemy. I love reading the bounty hunter papers and see how my character goes from "Shouldn't be a problem" to "Do not underestimate this person..."
So why did they send Shank and Carbos, two people greener than cucumber to kill the ward of Gorian, an old harper of quite some power?
But now to the important part, and the reason i made this topic. How do you think it should have ended? And what would you have done differently if you had been in Sarevoks shoes?
-------------------------------------
My take on it.
- Create your character
- Enter the game
- Two minutes later, inside random house.
"Well, well, well, dear. What have we here... blade fodder?"
And then after two seconds of shock, you get backstabbed and see the ending screen.
[Edited] :
On a sidenote this game did end for some of my friends back in the day when they got to Friendly Arm Inn and died to Tarnesh again, and again, and....
So they actually gave up on the game as they couldn't get past him, i think it took one of them two years to start the game again and level up once or twice before going there.
Tarnesh must really have been one of the best road blocks in any game.
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Comments
I feel the rest makes some sense. Gorion is dead and you are just some naive 20-year old whose been raised in a library. They wouldn't think you were a threat at all. I didn't actually realise that the Wanted Poster changes somewhat in the way it advises bounty hunters about you. That's a nice touch.
Also, Tarnesh is perhaps the most infamous (I don't think your friends are close to alone in their fate), but I think on your first play through a lot of the bounty hunters are actually quite nasty. If you know where they are, they become simple, but the first time you enter the Red Sheaf in Beregost, or the Nashkel inn and get attacked, or return from your lengthy trudge through the Mines and have to confront Nimbul, these can be really quite nasty encounters if you're not prepared. Despite all the clamourings for integrated SCS by the honed veterans, BG is actually a really, really hard game the first time you play.
So, I guess, basically what I am saying is that Shanks and Carbos aside, I think the early game plays out fairly logically. Yeah, with the benefit of hindsight Sarevok maybe should have sent Angelo, Tazok, Davaeorn, Tamoko, Slythe and Kristin after you right out of Candlekeep, but why would he? Those characters have better things to be doing than chasing after some 2-bit kid, lost and alone and unwise in the ways of the world.
Though it does beg the question of how they got into Candlekeep without anyone knowing given that they ARE a pair of idiots.
I dunno about Tarnesh, but I got butchered by that first Terror Wolf in the Gorions Rest area right after Gorion gets killed. It's why I ALWAYS pick up Xzar and Monty regardless of alignment - so I can survive that murder wolf. lol.
Found a notice :
Tarnesh
Dwarf in beregost
Cleric in Nashkel
Bounty hunter female group outside nashkel mine
The group at gullykin
The ogre mage group in Baldur's Gate.
Got sent there by orders :
Nimbul
The group infront of the Cloakwood mine
The group under candlekeep
The group at ironthrone
Carbos and Shank (!)
And then there is that one group that wasn't sent by Sarevok, but to kill him. The group infront of the Bhaal temple.
There is no way Carbos and Shank could have found a notice as there were none out there at this point, because Sarevok was going to end you himself that night in the forest. So they were probably sent by Sarevok to put pressure on Gorion and force him to leave Candlekeep and walk right into Sarevoks trap.
So this plan had two possible outcomes
1.) Shank and Carbos actually kill CHARNAME.
2.) They force Gorion to leave and walk right into Sarevoks trap.
The one I don't get is Nimbul. The idiot attacks you on a town street directly in front of guards that will help, while you have a full party. Even though he has a note on him warning him to play it smarter and not underestimate you. Worst Assassin Ever.
Nimbul was ordered by Tazok (?) to kill you, and the way his dialogue goes it was ment for him to attack you in the middle of the night.
But yes, they were sent to light a fire under Gorion to get him out of Candlekeep. Sarevok cared enough to send the very best to kill Gorion and CHARNAME- himself! Then, after the battle with Gorion proved too expensive for him in terms of men and materiel (He nearly lost Tamoko! Oh noes!), and he saw how weak and powerless CHARNAME was, he decided to try and farm out the job to others. (He probably also had other things to do, like running the whole Iron Shortage/Bandit Plague/Iron Throne thing.) It's CHARNAME's growing power and prowess and interfering with Sarevok's plan to become one of the Lords of Baldur's Gate that force him to confront you again directly- but this time, he takes allies and (Hopefully) it's still not enough.
And don't discount Shank and Carbos. If you aren't equipped and roll badly, they CAN kill you and/or injure you severely. I have been killed by one of them more than once, and if you aren't aware they are there, and have the wrong weapon proficiencies and no equipment, you can end up in a lifeless heap on the ground. Sometimes even equipped, if they get a few lucky rolls.
There is no way two amateurs like Shank and Carbos 'overheard' an important figure discussing Sarevoks plans. And even if they somehow fell onto this bit of information, can you imagine the both of them traveling to candlekeep from Baldur's gate just on a whim?
There is no bounty notice out yet, so they wouldn't even know what it was worth.
The only reason i can see Sarevok hiring Carbos and Shank would be because they are fools and no one knows them as they aren't very famous. So as someone mentioned they probably got sent there by Sarevok and got into the place as stable boys or something.
I think the whole attack part was somewhat planned, it would force Gorion outside either that very evening, or the one afterwards. So if Shank and Carbos failed, they would atleast push Gorion into the waiting arms of Sarevok.
Sarevok was waiting for the ball to start rolling, and catch it on it's way downhill. And Shank and Carbos was the catalyst to start the whole reaction.
These are my opinions anyway.
[Edited] :
I just read the letter from Elminster to Gorion again and he does urge Gorion to leave this very night. This makes me wonder because this brings up two questions.
1.) When did Gorion get this letter from Elminster? Did he ponder over it or did he take Elminsters advice to leave that very night?
2.) Isn't it a little odd that the very night Elminster wants Gorion to leave, Sarevok is standing there and they walk into his trap? How did Elminster get this information, and was it a trick from Sarevok to get them into his trap, or was it just blind luck?
I think they were sent in there to get the ball rolling.
1.) Gorion gets a letter from Elminster saying it's not safe in candlekeep.
2.) There is an Assassination attempt on CHARNAME inside candlekeep.
3.) Gorion make the descision to leave that very night
4.) Sarevok just got interrupted in his chess game with Ogre #2 as Gorion just walked into his trap.
Again.