Why Charname Was A Dwarf
Grum
Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
For a bit of fun...and I do invite others to trawl through the game to find evidence to support their preconceived conclusions. No, this isn't really serious. :P So...why charname was a dwarf.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself, what do you mean Charname was a dwarf? He could have been anything! Well I say to you that you are wrong. Dead wrong. And you should count yourself lucky that I haven't entered your name into the book of grudges for this offense. With that out of the way...
Charname was probably a warrior
How do I come to this conclusions? Easy!
(1) Charname wasn't a mage. This is very clear from how he goes about, well...everything. Think of any mage in your tabletop games. They use their magic, not just to blow things up, but to make life easier for themselves and to solve problems in ways that make the GM pull their hair out. What does Charname do? He follows the rules to the letter. He doesn't try to fix the Planar Sphere. He doesn't teleport to Brynlaw (something which a mage should easily be able to do by that power level, given that we see an assassin teleport around inside the town. Only the asylum was warded. He doesn't use magic to disrupt the ritual in the Druid Grove. He doesn't use magic in any novel or unique way. He is also constantly being outsmarted and outwitted by his foes, showing that he doesn't have the highest intelligence. What he does do is take a party on the most direct path each quest and bashes in the skulls of each and every enemy in his way.
(2) Charname wasn't a druid or ranger. Why do I say this? Well first of all, in BG1 every animal you meet wants to kill him. He also grew up inside a fortress library. You also don't get an animal companion except for the easter egg Wilson...so yeah, those don't make much sense.
(3) This leaves cleric/fighter/thief/paladin/bard. I'd argue that it is unlikely that Charname was a cleric, given that the temples were in Candlekeep were for none of the deities you can choose from, unlikely to be a bard (as there are no NPC bards in Candlekeep, and really now, who sings in a library?) and also unlikely to be a paladin. I'd also say that Charname probably wasn't a thief. Simply because of how few quests seem to be approached with that kind of mindset. The default is to walk in and slaughter things. This leaves a fighter as the most likely class. Someone who walks in through the front door (as Charname is wont to do) and kills each and every thing in the room for glory, gold and xp. It also makes sense for Charname to be a fighter, as fighters are in the front line. The person in the game who talks is the first person who the NPC sees...which is the person in the front line. The leader of the party...the tank. The fighter.
The fighter bio text just screams dwarf
"Drawn to the clamor of the forge at an early age, you have become quite skilled working for the monks of the keep, and have kept them supplied with whatever tools are occasionally required."
How does that not say dwarf? Can you imagine that being used to describe some weedy little halfling, gnome or elf? No, that's the Soulforger in his blood right there. And from there, we see a mind which is orderly and lawful, someone who trains under the military of Candlekeep. A dwarven fighter if there ever was one.
Candlekeep had a sizable dwarven population
There is a dwarf sleeping upstairs in the Candlekeep Inn.
There was Arkanis, a dwarven fighter whom Charname trained with.
There was Reevor, a dwarven fighter whom Charname worked for.
How many elves do you see? How many gnomes? How many halflings? None! But all of those dwarves? That's not a coincidence. That's a clue it is.
Charname had the lawful, orderly mind of a dwarf
What does Charname do in BG1?
* He avenges his father's death
* He hunts and takes down the bandits plaguing the sword coast, even though he could easily have just fled
* He puts law and order above his own benefit. Despite quite easily being able to walk away from the whole mess, or taking the huge amount of money he could have gotten with the tome needed to get back in Candlekeep, he soldiers on.
* This mindset shows Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good, or Lawful Good. The three most common dwarven alignments.
Beamdog Acknowledges this in Siege of Dragonspear
Ok, I haven't played Siege of Dragonspear yet. Nor even read the spoilers...so dont' you damned do that to me. I'm patiently waiting for it to come out on IOS. But I have seen the new item list! And what do we see?
(1) There are no dwarven NPCs in Siege of Dragonspear. Not a single bloody one. But...
(2)
Helmet of Dumathoin [BDHELM09]
- +3% Physical Resistance
- +1 Constitution (+2 for Dwarves)
Steadfast +2 [BDSHLD06]
- +5 Hit Points (+10 for Dwarves)
Lucky Boots
- +3 to Saving Throws (Dwarves only)
Three items meant just for dwarves. With two of them only being usable by dwarves. Why have items that nobody can use? Unless, of course...Charname is a dwarf!
Put together, there is only one logical conclusion. Only one possible conclusion. Only one! Charname was a dwarf! He was a dwarf, raised in Candlekeep surrounded by dwarven warriors who taught him the art of forging and combat, who lived a lawful life. He avenged his father, saved his step sister from capture, and despite again being quite able to flee, ended the reign of the Bhaalspawn. And finally, when given the chance of godhood, he turned down the evil portfolio, which is why Bhaal was eventually able to come back in canon lore. Because no true dwarf would take on such evil powers.
So remember this the next time you make a character. If you see your character on screen and he doesn't have a magnificent beard, then you are doing it wrong.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself, what do you mean Charname was a dwarf? He could have been anything! Well I say to you that you are wrong. Dead wrong. And you should count yourself lucky that I haven't entered your name into the book of grudges for this offense. With that out of the way...
Charname was probably a warrior
How do I come to this conclusions? Easy!
(1) Charname wasn't a mage. This is very clear from how he goes about, well...everything. Think of any mage in your tabletop games. They use their magic, not just to blow things up, but to make life easier for themselves and to solve problems in ways that make the GM pull their hair out. What does Charname do? He follows the rules to the letter. He doesn't try to fix the Planar Sphere. He doesn't teleport to Brynlaw (something which a mage should easily be able to do by that power level, given that we see an assassin teleport around inside the town. Only the asylum was warded. He doesn't use magic to disrupt the ritual in the Druid Grove. He doesn't use magic in any novel or unique way. He is also constantly being outsmarted and outwitted by his foes, showing that he doesn't have the highest intelligence. What he does do is take a party on the most direct path each quest and bashes in the skulls of each and every enemy in his way.
(2) Charname wasn't a druid or ranger. Why do I say this? Well first of all, in BG1 every animal you meet wants to kill him. He also grew up inside a fortress library. You also don't get an animal companion except for the easter egg Wilson...so yeah, those don't make much sense.
(3) This leaves cleric/fighter/thief/paladin/bard. I'd argue that it is unlikely that Charname was a cleric, given that the temples were in Candlekeep were for none of the deities you can choose from, unlikely to be a bard (as there are no NPC bards in Candlekeep, and really now, who sings in a library?) and also unlikely to be a paladin. I'd also say that Charname probably wasn't a thief. Simply because of how few quests seem to be approached with that kind of mindset. The default is to walk in and slaughter things. This leaves a fighter as the most likely class. Someone who walks in through the front door (as Charname is wont to do) and kills each and every thing in the room for glory, gold and xp. It also makes sense for Charname to be a fighter, as fighters are in the front line. The person in the game who talks is the first person who the NPC sees...which is the person in the front line. The leader of the party...the tank. The fighter.
The fighter bio text just screams dwarf
"Drawn to the clamor of the forge at an early age, you have become quite skilled working for the monks of the keep, and have kept them supplied with whatever tools are occasionally required."
How does that not say dwarf? Can you imagine that being used to describe some weedy little halfling, gnome or elf? No, that's the Soulforger in his blood right there. And from there, we see a mind which is orderly and lawful, someone who trains under the military of Candlekeep. A dwarven fighter if there ever was one.
Candlekeep had a sizable dwarven population
There is a dwarf sleeping upstairs in the Candlekeep Inn.
There was Arkanis, a dwarven fighter whom Charname trained with.
There was Reevor, a dwarven fighter whom Charname worked for.
How many elves do you see? How many gnomes? How many halflings? None! But all of those dwarves? That's not a coincidence. That's a clue it is.
Charname had the lawful, orderly mind of a dwarf
What does Charname do in BG1?
* He avenges his father's death
* He hunts and takes down the bandits plaguing the sword coast, even though he could easily have just fled
* He puts law and order above his own benefit. Despite quite easily being able to walk away from the whole mess, or taking the huge amount of money he could have gotten with the tome needed to get back in Candlekeep, he soldiers on.
* This mindset shows Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good, or Lawful Good. The three most common dwarven alignments.
Beamdog Acknowledges this in Siege of Dragonspear
Ok, I haven't played Siege of Dragonspear yet. Nor even read the spoilers...so dont' you damned do that to me. I'm patiently waiting for it to come out on IOS. But I have seen the new item list! And what do we see?
(1) There are no dwarven NPCs in Siege of Dragonspear. Not a single bloody one. But...
(2)
Helmet of Dumathoin [BDHELM09]
- +3% Physical Resistance
- +1 Constitution (+2 for Dwarves)
Steadfast +2 [BDSHLD06]
- +5 Hit Points (+10 for Dwarves)
Lucky Boots
- +3 to Saving Throws (Dwarves only)
Three items meant just for dwarves. With two of them only being usable by dwarves. Why have items that nobody can use? Unless, of course...Charname is a dwarf!
Put together, there is only one logical conclusion. Only one possible conclusion. Only one! Charname was a dwarf! He was a dwarf, raised in Candlekeep surrounded by dwarven warriors who taught him the art of forging and combat, who lived a lawful life. He avenged his father, saved his step sister from capture, and despite again being quite able to flee, ended the reign of the Bhaalspawn. And finally, when given the chance of godhood, he turned down the evil portfolio, which is why Bhaal was eventually able to come back in canon lore. Because no true dwarf would take on such evil powers.
So remember this the next time you make a character. If you see your character on screen and he doesn't have a magnificent beard, then you are doing it wrong.
20
Comments
Though a question... WHICH kind of fighter?
(1) Berserk could fit. Bhaalspawn who gets crazy angry? Check. Also it'd make him a battlerager. But...
(2) Korgan is a battlerager. Two dwarves of the same class? Unlikely.
(3) The items in SoD are a helmet that gives physical damage resistance, boots that increase saving throws (berserker rage makes those less useful) and a shield that further boosts hit points. All three items seem custom made for a dwarven defender.
(4) A dwarven defender is the only class that can go toe to toe with Sarevok in BG1. The closest is a fighter/Mage, but stoneskin runs out fast. I have solo'd Sarevok with a dwarven defender. Every other class needs to kite him or distract him. Given the respect Sarevok shows you in ToB, it is unlikely he remembers Charname kiting him or using lots of summons. What he does remember is charging at a dwarf, watching helplessly as his sword was knocked aside, and how his head was caved in by a hammer.
So all in all...charname was probably a dwarven defender.
Bonus points! His canon party:
BG1: Imoen (kid sister, protected her)
Khalid and Jaheira (respecting the wishes of his late father)
Xan (found him in the mines, the elf was sent to investigate)
Yeslick (priest of Moradin who seeks vengeance, found in the old dwarven cloak wood mines)
SoD: No idea, waiting to play it. But guessing Khalid, Jaheira, Minsc, Dy, and either glint of Safana.
BG2: Jaheira and Minsc (both seeking vengeance), Yoshimo/Imoen...for the last two could be anyone. Nobody else just fits perfectly. But it should include Raasad, as it leads Charname to an enslaved dwarven clanhold.
I like your reasoning though. Any particular reason not for paladin? You don't really justify it in your explanation, @Grum .
So only somewhat later and bhaalspawn blood makes 20 for a dwarf believable.
As for Paladins...the game requires you to steal, lie, and side with either shadow thieves or vampires. On top of that, there is no paladin tradition or trainers in candlekeep. So while possible, not as likely. The most likely paladin class is inquisitor (keeping candlekeep safe from hostile mages), but like the berserker there is already an npc with that class.
http://isandir.com/ferthgil/
Sorry (not sorry).
Hmm. It may even reinforce this theory, given she bothers to say relatively at all.
That's nothing to say for female PCs who either had to be compatible with Anomen or had nothing. If only Haer'Dalis had been part of the vanilla game, I bet he wouldn't care about race.
*edit* @Grum Your thread may have just convinced me to play a dwarf. I've been running almost exclusively halfling and half-elves for over ten years. So, congrats