In BG2, if you are playing a Bard, you get the theater below the Five Flagons Inn as your stronghold. You have to set up a play in the theater. The play is called "The Sorcerer's Bane" but there is a curse attached to the play; the actors are even afraid of naming it and call it "The Turmish Play" because it takes place in the land of Turmish.
This is a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth which is also said to be cursed. Actors often refer to it as "The Scottish Play" since even naming it is believed to be bad luck.
(Ah well, what would a Bard stronghold be without a reference to "The Bard"? :-))
I remember really nice one: In Nashkel there's a cementary (tombstones with some of the developers names, nicknames, even Brian Fargo:-)) Somewhere in the middle at the south side of the cementary if you cklick on some tombs there many times (4-5 times on one tomb) a mage will apear. If you talk to him 2 or 3 times then he will summon 10 or so fire (phoenix) guards who attack you. Quite funny, as the guards explode like a fireball when you kill them. It was a bad susprise for me when I discovered that easter egg myself in my very first playthrough while reading and clicking on the tombstones...
Another one: Another funny stuff was when you explore the area where Captain Brage is, just North of his spot you can find an old relic statue in a small dungeon. Next if you go to Firewine dungeon you run into some warrior spirits, who were asking you to bring some broken armor from a skeleton just north of them. If you bring this 2 items (old statue and broken armor) to the spirit-guy in Ulcaster, he will give you a superb longsword as a reward :-) Or you can give the broken armor to the spirits and obtain some exp, and sell the old statue for 100g.
Next if you go to Firewine dungeon you run into some warrior spirits, who were asking you to bring some broken armor from a skeleton just north of them. If you bring this 2 items (old statue and broken armor) to the spirit-guy in Ulcaster, he will give you a superb longsword as a reward :-) Or you can give the broken armor to the spirits and obtain some exp, and sell the old statue for 100g.
Unless I'm missing something, the long sword you can get from the above is cursed, and not worth having? I usually just give the broken armour to the spirits for the XP.
It certainly is. It is a reverse vampiric sword, aka it sucks health from you and gives it to whoever you hit. Not worth it. Love how many cursed items are in this game.
Unless I'm missing something, the long sword you can get from the above is cursed, and not worth having? I usually just give the broken armour to the spirits for the XP.
I noticed a couple Clan of the Cave Bear references...in Candlekeep during the prologue there is a guy who trains you in fighting named Jondalar, a character from the book. Also at the xvart village they summon Ursus the cave bear to protect them...might just be the latin name for cave bear but since they already had 1 Clan of the Cave Bear reference I'm assuming this is referencing that as well.
When Quayle asks to join outside Baldur's Gate with the words, "It is the same as I! Surely this leads us a familial bond of sorts...."
You can turn him down with the words, "No, and don't call me Shirley." (The PC is supposed to have heard "Surely" as "Shirley"). It is a reference to a conversation in the movie Airplane:
Ted Striker: "Surely you can't be serious?" Dr. Rumack: "Of course I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley!"
One of Khalid's selection sounds is "Th-th-that's all f-f-folks!", a clear reference to Warner Bros.
Along those same lines, Jaheira has a monotone sound selection of "By your command" that's a clear reference to the original Battlestar Galactica Cylons
There's a map in the south (can't remember exactly which one) where you can meet a kobold, a tasloi and an xvart named Larry, Darryl and Darryl. You can ask them for an autograph, which they grant. They are a homage to the '80s TV series "Newhart," where Larry, Darryl and Darryl always used the same introductory line the three monsters use in Baldur's Gate when you first approach them.
The spiderwoman in Cloakwood Forest, as mentioned, was one of Irenicus's lovers and spill some beans on him (he used to be called Jon Icarus in BG2's early drafts).
In the Underdark in BG2, the mayor of the Svirfneblin village asks you to help them remove a monster they have uncovered by digging too deep. This is a reference to the Balrog of Moria in LoTR ("Too deep we delved there, and woke the nameless fear").
Not sure if it has been mentioned yet but Xzar's line "I am become DEATH. Destroyer of Words!" is the line that Openheimer used after he created the Atomic bomb.
Not sure if it has been mentioned yet but Xzar's line "I am become DEATH. Destroyer of Words!" is the line that Openheimer used after he created the Atomic bomb.
Who in turn was quoting from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu holy text. The more you know.
"I am become" isn't good grammar. never knew why he would say it like that.
It may not be common parlance, but it is grammatically and thematically correct. And it is a quote anyway, so.... It's like Shakespeare. Just from a different time.
While travelling you might meet a person called "Peter from the North". Without any doubt this is a reference for the famous pornstar "Peter North", also called "the Cumshotmaster" or "the Decorator"... Come on guys, you all know who he is, don't play dumb lol
Don't you think that's a bit far fetched? I mean, aside from peter and north, are there any other indicators that it is a reference to Peter North?
"I am become" isn't good grammar. never knew why he would say it like that.
It may not be common parlance, but it is grammatically and thematically correct. And it is a quote anyway, so.... It's like Shakespeare. Just from a different time.
I'm not sure if it's actually gramatically correct, but yeah I always just thought of it as a quirk of the quote. Also, the somewhat awkward phrasing actually makes it that much more memorable to me. It actually shows up in another of my favourite games, Civilization 4, exept with an additional line:
"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One. I am become Death, destroyer of worlds."
It plays everytime you research a certain technology (fission, I think), so I heard it almost every game I played, so I ended up memorizing it.
Mencar Pebblecrusher is also the name of one of the old forumite's. I think he's the only one that made it into BG1 via the TOSC expansion.
Lanfear obviously in BG2 along with Gromnir and Draconis in Throne of Bhaal.
Not sure if any others made it in.
Trying to remember waaaay back to when I was a regular on that forum: didn't Gromnir have an obsession/long-running joke regarding a "twin-hooked sword of paladin-gelding"? I don't suppose that made it into the game, did it?
I think it would be, "I have become death..." That sounds almost as good as "I am become death..."
I like the original a LOT better. "I have become death..." sounds so mundane and ordinary. Something that anyone would say the morning after a few bottles of Jack.
"I am become Death! Destroyer of Worlds!" really speaks of Apotheosis. It speaks of Becoming. Transcending. Evolving.
"I have become" sounds like you were late for a carpool. "I have become late for picking up the kiddies after soccer practice." No where near as much of a punch.
"I am become" isn't poor grammar, just archaic. There used to be a rule in English that, if you used a participle to describe the subject's movement or state ("come," "become," "gone," etc.) then you used the verb "to be" instead of "have." Hence why a church sign will read "Christ is risen" and not "Christ has risen."
This rule doesn't really exist in English anymore, but it's still used in German. E.g. "Ich bin gekommen, um Sie zu sehen" literally means "I am come to see you."
Comments
This is a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth which is also said to be cursed. Actors often refer to it as "The Scottish Play" since even naming it is believed to be bad luck.
(Ah well, what would a Bard stronghold be without a reference to "The Bard"? :-))
In Nashkel there's a cementary (tombstones with some of the developers names, nicknames, even Brian Fargo:-))
Somewhere in the middle at the south side of the cementary if you cklick on some tombs there many times (4-5 times on one tomb) a mage will apear. If you talk to him 2 or 3 times then he will summon 10 or so fire (phoenix) guards who attack you.
Quite funny, as the guards explode like a fireball when you kill them.
It was a bad susprise for me when I discovered that easter egg myself in my very first playthrough while reading and clicking on the tombstones...
Another one:
Another funny stuff was when you explore the area where Captain Brage is, just North of his spot you can find an old relic statue in a small dungeon. Next if you go to Firewine dungeon you run into some warrior spirits, who were asking you to bring some broken armor from a skeleton just north of them.
If you bring this 2 items (old statue and broken armor) to the spirit-guy in Ulcaster, he will give you a superb longsword as a reward :-)
Or you can give the broken armor to the spirits and obtain some exp, and sell the old statue for 100g.
You can turn him down with the words, "No, and don't call me Shirley." (The PC is supposed to have heard "Surely" as "Shirley"). It is a reference to a conversation in the movie Airplane:
Ted Striker: "Surely you can't be serious?"
Dr. Rumack: "Of course I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley!"
The more you know.
"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One. I am become Death, destroyer of worlds."
It plays everytime you research a certain technology (fission, I think), so I heard it almost every game I played, so I ended up memorizing it.
I wonder what stats such a weapon should have...
"I am become Death! Destroyer of Worlds!" really speaks of Apotheosis. It speaks of Becoming. Transcending. Evolving.
"I have become" sounds like you were late for a carpool. "I have become late for picking up the kiddies after soccer practice." No where near as much of a punch.
This rule doesn't really exist in English anymore, but it's still used in German. E.g. "Ich bin gekommen, um Sie zu sehen" literally means "I am come to see you."