Internal Plumbing in Baldur's Gate

Permidion_Stark

Perhaps the most significant difference between BG 1 and BG2 is the standard of internal plumbing. Many houses in Baldur's Gate have baths but there are no toilets. This problem was rectified in Baldur's Gate 2 where there are toilets galore. There are lots of them in Irenicus's dungeon at the start and if you go to d'Arnise Keep you can even find a star sapphire in a toilet bowl (how did it get there - surely a plot for a future side-quest?). Oddly, however, there are very few baths in BG 2. There is one lying upside down in Irenicus's Dungeon, which suggests that either big Jon isn't much on personal hygiene or perhaps prefers a shower? Anyway, which level of plumbing do you prefer BG1 or BG2?

Shin

Hm, I believe there are two baths in the de'Arnise keep as well, they feature in the romantic encounters mod.

Bjjorick

there were toilets and bathtubs in the game? i'll most likely see nothing but that when i play bg:ee....

Chippy

Surely this needs to be rectified and an entire profession system implemented where I can take up plumbing as a secondary skill.
Maybe even sneak ninja-like into the government district to sabotage their plumbing only to come back as the heroic plumbing-throne of amn at a later date.

Bjjorick

actually, i thought about what you were saying, and the odd thing is, no/few toilets in the first game, but the sewers are quite nasty, lots of toilets in the 2nd game, but the sewers looked clean enough to eat off of.

hmmmm :-?

Lemernis

Ed Greenwood (via The Hooded One) posted on this subject once at the Candlekeep forum. I think he said FR as he conceived it basically relied on chamber pots and wash cloths. Tubs were filled via buckets of fire heated water.

That said, the ancient Romans had plumbing for fresh water and they used communal toilets. So it isn't a terrible stretch to envision a metropolis such as Waterdeep or Athkatla having some sort of basic facilities like that.

purebredcorn

Baths are for sissys! XD

Bjjorick

@purebredcorn yeah, but you're a dog, all you need is your tounge for a good time.....i mean bath.

Space_hamster

I shower naked in the rain.

Permidion_Stark

Space_hamster said:

I shower naked in the rain.

I hope you cast protection from electricity on yourself first. Those random lightning strikes can be nasty. And I hate the smell of burnt hamster fur.

Ulfgar_Torunn

Somehow the "Iron Throne" now feels less intimidating.

Bjjorick

@ulfgar_torunn took me a min to get your joke, but lol nice one

@space_hamster next time i rains here, i shall go out and look for naked frolicking space hamsters to add to my collection. Thank you for the advice. Btw, your kind tastes well with just a bit of bar-b-q sauce.

Malbortus

Thank you for bringing this up. Initially, I too had difficulty understanding this blatant inconsistency in both games, which hindered my sanitary suspension of disbelief in BG2 for a long time.

Of a mage of Jon Irenicus's stature, one might assume access to magical solutions such as Prestidigitation, Zone of Sweet Air, and the service of air and water mephits. Commoners, however, are denied these tools, and thus require sewage. This is illustrated in the subquests in Baldur's Gate where the party is forced to undergo the rite of passage of every 1st - 3rd level adventurer in the Forgotten Realms: you go level up in the sewers.

Mr. Greenwood statement of people relying on bedpots makes total sense in this environment, given that sewers were traditionally infested by carrion beasts and other creepy-crawlies that would be the undoing of fixed toilet facilities: one would not care for being fondled by a paralyzing tentacles when relieving oneself.

Hence the absence of permanent toilet seats is only logical and bedpots must have carried to a nearby sewer opening as the need arose.

Clearly, BG1 had the right of it.

Solyaris

Malbortus said:

Of a mage of Jon Irenicus's stature, one might assume access to magical solutions such as Prestidigitation, Zone of Sweet Air, and the service of air and water mephits.

ah yes, water mephits, the proto-bidet

Kamigoroshi

I always was under the impression that every household in BG1 has its very own slime or ooze, which takes care of their fecal matters.

gfm50

You are the Bhaalspawn! Your excretion flows beyond the material plane! Duh!

Drugar

By now, this game as about as much obsessive pixelgazing as the Star Wars universe...

Space_hamster

When staying at an inn for the night, we need an instance (when Viconia or jaheira) are in the party to play a bathing movie. Nothing like a hot steaming bath at the end of a hard sday marching through the bushes, that armor really chafes
Would definitely remedy the situation., don't ya think?

zarffyn

There are a couple of toilets in D'Arnise Keep...I remember because one of them has a diamond or sapphire or somesuch in it.

Tr_ond

I like toilets, there`s not enough toilets in games. Certainly not enough destructible toilets.
Baths i can do without. Waters to wet anyway.

Bjjorick

i think having toilets in a game is the same or worse then a sex scene. i mean, what could be dirtier then that. i mean like, ewwwww. i think i'll call the fca and let them know about this.

it's a joke btw, but theres a reason why you don't see alot of toilets in tv in movies. in fact, orginally the hitchcock movie 'psycho' was denied because it had a toilet in a scene. so when hitchcock hears the news, what does he do? waits a few days and sends the movie back in to be approved, and they never check it. apparently was a controversy at the time because there was a toilet in a movie.

CoM_Solaufein

BG use chamber pots and are clean people. Those of Amn use toilets and are dirty people judging by the lack of tubs.

LadyRhian

Is it wrong that when I first read the title of this thread, I got ENTIRELY the wrong idea? Internal plumbing...

Quartz

Permidion_Stark said:

if you go to d'Arnise Keep you can even find a star sapphire in a toilet bowl (how did it get there - surely a plot for a future side-quest?).

So glad I'm not the only one who thought that was a bit odd...

LadyRhian

@Quartz You know how some people have kidney stones? Well, some people have such tight, um, ends that they can make diamonds. And some people don't quite have enough internal pressure to make diamonds...

Permidion_Stark

Irenicus is so madly obsessive about his provision of toilets that he has even built one for Aatagah, the djinni who quizzes you when you first escape. Get a grip man! A djinni doesn't need a toilet. It can't sit down; it hasn't got a butt.

Bjjorick

@permidion_stark noooo, that was irenicus's personal toilet, and whenever the djinn was bad, irenicus would make him use it as his lamp.

@ladyrhian you know, nalia did act a lil like her S. didn't stink. Maybe there was a reason for it? hmmmm, maybe i should start checking behind her.

LadyRhian

@Bjjorick Maybe it wasn't her, but someone else in her family... And yes, Nalia was kind of annoying with her attitude towards the less fortunate. Noblesse oblige and all that... Thankfully, she learns better. Whereas Anomen... ugh.

Djimmy

There are plenty of inns out there and they are full of toilets and baths.

Bjjorick

@LadyRhian actually, now that i think for a second, it was her aunt who would surely poop diamonds and and spit ambrosia. Shame she was too much of a lady to ever spit.

And the de'arsine keep romance gave her a bit more character, but she was still a bit spoiled. I never traveled with anomen. The saerileth mod though, that added a strong, innocent character that had alot of fire and spirit and was a paladin. She also made comments about items/etc, and if you said something evil, she would either get extremely mad at you or outright leave your party. I loved her passion greatly, but i think it was because she loved people.

@Djimmy I hate to say it but i still haven't noticed a single toilet. Well, the one in de'arsine keep sure, but that had gems in it. I noticed more the fountains and random birds flying, especially when it's a glitch and the bird is flying backwards across the sky.

Djimmy

Bjjorick said:

@LadyRhian actually, now that i think for a second, it was her aunt who would surely poop diamonds and and spit ambrosia. Shame she was too much of a lady to ever spit.

And the de'arsine keep romance gave her a bit more character, but she was still a bit spoiled. I never traveled with anomen. The saerileth mod though, that added a strong, innocent character that had alot of fire and spirit and was a paladin. She also made comments about items/etc, and if you said something evil, she would either get extremely mad at you or outright leave your party. I loved her passion greatly, but i think it was because she loved people.

@Djimmy I hate to say it but i still haven't noticed a single toilet. Well, the one in de'arsine keep sure, but that had gems in it. I noticed more the fountains and random birds flying, especially when it's a glitch and the bird is flying backwards across the sky.

I agree but use your imagination. There is no way for an inn to have no toilet and bath.