Has age continuity ever been addressed in this game?

Kneller

What I'm talking about is how the whole Bhaalspawn thing happened 20 years prior to the start of the first game. Yet, you (can) have Bhaalspawn that are fully grown dragons (100 yrs old), elves (110), Dwarves (40), etc. I figure, after the first game, someone must have picked up on it and it would have been addressed in the second game at some point. Any thoughts?

Lord_Tansheron

This discussion has been held, at length. Check the forums for the thread, it's literally tens of pages of theory and speculation as to how the timeline might fit and why.

TL;DR: A Wizard did it.

Gallowglass

Alt_TL;DR: it's an inconsistency in the story which can't be fixed.

semiticgoddess

We should actually answer the question asked.

The reason is that Bhaal walked the earth long before the Time of Troubles began. That period ended 20 years ago, but it started much earlier. We don't know when he started, so it's entirely possible for a Bhaalspawn to be more than 20 years old.

Lord_Tansheron

That still doesn't answer the question completely though, as it doesn't account for the race issue; we know there is an "early childhood" memory of CHARNAME escaping the Temple of Bhaal with Gorion, but as the different races have so different rates of maturity that doesn't really fit with the timeline.

Unless you go "a Wizard did it" and just assume Bhaalspawn age differently.

Dee

Although an elf reaches formal "adulthood" at age 110, dwarves at 40, everything I've read about them suggests that elves and dwarves younger than that aren't toddlers running around for decades in diapers and blankets. They reach physical maturity at around the same time as humans, but at that point they're essentially teenagers, spending the next 30-90 years of their lives learning all of the things that will eventually make them adults in the eyes of their peers.

So an Elf Charname isn't 110; he's still 20, and fully grown, and nowhere near the mental or emotional maturity of other elves.

sarevok57

Dee said:

Although an elf reaches formal "adulthood" at age 110, dwarves at 40, everything I've read about them suggests that elves and dwarves younger than that aren't toddlers running around for decades in diapers and blankets. They reach physical maturity at around the same time as humans, but at that point they're essentially teenagers, spending the next 30-90 years of their lives learning all of the things that will eventually make them adults in the eyes of their peers.

So an Elf Charname isn't 110; he's still 20, and fully grown, and nowhere near the mental or emotional maturity of other elves.

makes sense, because the bg series insists that charname, imoen and sarevok are all around the same age

Dee

It also explains why the player doesn't have different dialogue options based on race. Regardless of your race, your upbringing is fixed.

semiticgoddess

@Lord_Tansheron: The OP asked why there were fully grown dragon Bhaalspawn; s/he did not ask about Charname. You're the first person to mention Charname in this thread. That's your question, not @Kneller's.

If you're referring specifically to the Temple of Bhaal memory of TOB, which conflicts with other in-game information, that's another question, and I don't think we have an explanation for that.

But if you're wondering why an elven Charname can be fully grown at 20, @Dee has your answer.

sarevok57

Dee said:

It also explains why the player doesn't have different dialogue options based on race. Regardless of your race, your upbringing is fixed.

actually if your character is male take a trip over to the dale of the seven vales in wauken's promenade and have a chat with the owner

Nuin

You people should also know that Forgotten Realms lore is a lot like Marvel Comics lore. People die/get resurrected all the time, people have clones/simulacra, there's reincarnation/parallel universes/multiple realities...

Go-to reason: Magic.

Lord_Tansheron

Never understood that obsession with bringing back characters, it's truly a plague that is running rampant these days. Hardly a story in the SF/Fantasy genre all across the board where you don't see people brought back over and over, as though they're running out of creativity to make good characters. Wait, maybe they ARE...

Didn't they miraculously bring back the old Drizzt gang in one way or another, too, in the latest books? Heard something like that...

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Kneller

semiticgod said:

@Lord_Tansheron: The OP asked why there were fully grown dragon Bhaalspawn; s/he did not ask about Charname. You're the first person to mention Charname in this thread. That's your question, not @Kneller's.

Actually, I'm kinda wondering both. I make a lot of my character and gameplay choices based on an attempt to be true to the story and setting. I could never bring myself to play some of the demihuman races due to the whole thing with charname and Imoen being the same age. What @Dee says makes sense, though. You're not going to be a toddler for decades, and when you live for hundreds of years, you are not likely to be seen as mature until around 1/4 the way through life regardless of how long it is. So, I guess that legitimizes the dwarven Fighter/Cleric I've always wanted to play.

However, that still leaves me wondering about the bhaalspawn dragon. I haven't completed this game yet, I just heard that it exists. As long as it's eventually explained, I'm satisfied.

Dee

A twenty year old dragon would be young, but still plenty strong enough to be mistaken for an adult.

Rodrian

Kneller said:

However, that still leaves me wondering about the bhaalspawn dragon.

Dee said:

A twenty year old dragon would be young.

Spoiler: NEVER SEEN BEFORE SCREENSHOT OF AERIE AND YOUNG DRAGON BHAALSPAWN!

HE'S JUST A SMALLER DRAGON! O.O

Back to seriousness.. I fully agree with @Dee. In my "version": what they (non-human races) simply do for the rest of their lives is acquiring lore, common sense and wisdom (and obviously, I'm not talking about P&P statistics here ) rather than actual physical appearance.

semiticgod said:

The OP asked why there were fully grown dragon Bhaalspawn; s/he did not ask about Charname. You're the first person to mention Charname in this thread.

@semiticgod actually, he did too.

Kneller said:

you (CAN) HAVE Bhaalspawn that are fully grown dragons (100 yrs old), elves (110), Dwarves (40), etc.

Besides, my real problem with *age* in BG, is that also Jaheira is suppose to be around 20!
She was born during the Civil War in Tethyr (around 1347 DR), and we all know that the game starts in 1368 DR.. any thoughts on this?

semiticgoddess

@Rodrian: I said that because "Charname" doesn't pop up in the first post.

Rodrian

@semiticgod Litterally no, but he clearly meant Charname. Doesn't matter anyway ^^

MrNooby

@Rodrian Really? She's 20? I had no idea.

Kneller

You would think she was older considering her history with Gorion and presumably having been married for a while.

scriver

We know she was a child during the Civil War of Thethyr because when the castle she grew up in was sacked, she had to flee until she was adopted by druids. We don't know when during the war the sacking was, but even assuming it was very early in the war, and that she was at the upper reaches of childhood at the time, puts her at at most 30-35 years old, and at a minimum of around 20 years. So yeah, she is much younger than she wants to convey.

elminster

Both of her biographies state that she was born during the civil war. So she's like 21 or so at the time of the first game. That being said she was taken from her family as a baby and raised by druids. So she probably started communicating and working with the Harpers at a young age (by that I mean like 13 or something).

Rodrian

elminster said:

So she probably started communicating and working with the Harpers at a young age (by that I mean like 13 or something).

Let's just hope that Harpers didn't have to spy in disguise at their pedophile-type enemies

Kilivitz

Jaheira isn't 20 years old. Don't trust the in-game calendar.

The Time of Troubles officially happened in the year 1358 DR, or mere eleven years before the game starts in Candlekeep (1 Mirtul 1369). The prologue text unambiguously says you are 20 years old.

My guess is that the developers didn't pay too much attention when placing the game in the timeline, which is OK, because they probably didn't expect people to notice.

elminster

BG1 starts on 1 Mirtul, 1368.