help clairifing plot points please *BG1 spoilers, NO BG2 spoilers*

tyrannical

so I have this in the new players section because I don't want any spoilers for BG2. so a warning to people who have not completed bg1 THIS WILL LIKELY HAVE SPOILERS.

I was drunk for a large portion of the ending and im a little confused. sarevok is my half brother or gorions half brother? who are the spawns of bhaal? if I was adopted, who from? a god? I got the part at candle keep where I am framed for murdering the iron throne members but it gets fuzzy after that.

I would just re-play the game but I wont have time before bg2ee comes out. PLEASE NO BG2 SPOILERS

Jalily

Sarevok is your half-brother. Your background is explained in this letter from Gorion, which you were meant to find in Candlekeep (Chapter 6):

Hello, <CHARNAME>,
If you are reading this, it means I have met an untimely death. I would tell you not to grieve for me, but I feel much better thinking that you would. There are things I must tell you in this letter that I might have told you before. However, if my death came too soon, then I would have never been given the chance. First off, I am not your biological father, for that distinction lies with an entity known as Bhaal. The Bhaal that I speak of is the one you know of as a divinity. In the crisis known as the Time of Troubles, when the gods walked Faerûn, Bhaal was also forced into a mortal shell. He was somehow forewarned of the death that awaited him during this time. For reasons unknown to me, he sought out women of every race and forced himself upon them. Your mother was one of those women, and as you know, she died in childbirth. I had been her friend and, on occasion, lover. I felt obligated to raise you as my own. I have always thought of you as my child, and I hope you still think of me as your father. You are a special child. The blood of the gods runs through your veins. If you make use of our extensive library, you will find that our founder, Alaundo, has many prophecies concerning the coming of the spawn of Bhaal. There are many who will want to use you for their own purposes. One, a man who calls himself Sarevok, is the worst danger. He has studied here at Candlekeep and thus knows a great deal about your history and who you are.

Gorion

Corvino

Gorion is your foster father. The armored figure in the opening says "Hand over your Ward", and "Gorion's Ward" is often how the main character from the Baldur's Gate game is described.

@Jalily's cut to the meat of the business though, with that letter.

TL;DR version:
Bhaal the now-deceased Lord of Murder is your father.
Sarevok is your half-brother.
He was adopted by Reiltar, leader of the Iron Throne.
Sarevok tried to start a war with Amn to get a mass slaughter as a sacrifice to try and ascend to become the next god of Murder.

ryuken87

Telling the story through letters is one of the weak points of BG1 IMO.

meagloth

ryuken87 said:

Telling the story through letters is one of the weak points of BG1 IMO.

Or one of the high points.

Madhax

I missed that particular letter my first couple playthroughs, so I consider it a weakness. If you attack the Iron Throne leaders in Candlekeep before fully exploring the library, you miss it. It's too easy a mistake to make.

tyrannical

Madhax said:

I missed that particular letter my first couple playthroughs, so I consider it a weakness. If you attack the Iron Throne leaders in Candlekeep before fully exploring the library, you miss it. It's too easy a mistake to make.

that's exactly what happened to me, only they attacked me because I wouldn't leave them alone.

Time4Tiddy

You asked for no spoilers on BG2, but the BG2 intro video gives a nice summary of the important story elements from BG1. I don't really consider it a BG2 spoiler since you see it before you've played even 1 second of the game.

Up to you if you want to click. At the 2 minute mark it starts giving more intro to BG2 than backstory on BG1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq9N9ddsKg8