In my opinion SoD is not canon and is not canon and even not canon. Yeah. How it can be canon if it don't even look like BG, it looks more like, much more like Icewind Dale 2 actually. Quest, locations, encounters, overall resoruces are from IWD not BG. Well, Belhi.... oh, yeah. BG "canon" heh. No. Aesimars, yeah, typical BG stuff. Is SoD a good game. Yes. Is SoD canon. No. Never. 18 years, sorry it's just too long. I can be a little biased, for me even ToB is not canon. Fecking Melissan overgrowing tavern WENCH, get lost biatch! Come to think of it, even BG2 is not canon. Irrenniccuss? Seriously, who is that bastard and why should I care? Some pretentious elven spellslinger so much butthurt about wymenz he wants to destroy tha world and steal my soul like I even have a soul!! Good one! Steal my soul LOL
@InKal - Baldur's Gate ended after leaving Candlekeep. It totally jumped the shark with that ridiculous Armoured Figure guy and killing Gorion. I mean, what the hell they were thinking?
On the more serious note - SoD is official game from Baldur's Gate series, so it's enough for me to consider it canon. I don't think that simply disliking parts of it (and I think that writing of SoD is uneven at best) is enough of the excuse to judge it as non-canon. Attack of the Clones is awful, but still - it happened in Star Wars world and there is nothing we can do about it (obviously SoD isn't that bad, but you get what I mean).
Yeah you don't really get to define what is canon and what isn't as a fan...Though in certain cases I can understand why you might want to.
There seems to be two kind of extreme responses to content like SoD. On one end you have the people who loved the expansion. I mean not only is it a PERFECT bridge between the games, it's even better than anything offered in BG1/2 and really improved upon the storytelling!
Then you have the other camp that hates SoD and can't find anything redeeming whatsoever. A large majority of them never even played past 20 mins.
Yeah you don't really get to define what is canon and what isn't as a fan...Though in certain cases I can understand why you might want to.
There seems to be two kind of extreme responses to content like SoD. On one end you have the people who loved the expansion. I mean not only is it a PERFECT bridge between the games, it's even better than anything offered in BG1/2 and really improved upon the storytelling!
Then you have the other camp that hates SoD and can't find anything redeeming whatsoever. A large majority of them never even played past 20 mins.
I think you are correct about the polarisation of opinions.
But I do object to the idea that those who can't stand the game, for a variety of reasons, have a majority who have never played it through.
Especially as you post this on this forum. Perhaps on the review sites that might be the case, but I doubt that happened here.
And of course if it is true, then one has to ask why a significant number of fans, who I would say inevitably were fans of BG, couldn't get past the first 20 minutes. Not exactly a ringing endorsement is it?
@UnderstandMouseMagic "And of course if it is true, then one has to ask why a significant number of fans, who I would say inevitably were fans of BG, couldn't get past the first 20 minutes."
@UnderstandMouseMagic What is a "significant number of fans" and where do you get the information that people are unable to make it past the twenty minute mark?
@UnderstandMouseMagic What is a "significant number of fans" and where do you get the information that people are unable to make it past the twenty minute mark?
Why ask me? I was answering the post above by @batoor who suggested that was the case.
Yeah you don't really get to define what is canon and what isn't as a fan...Though in certain cases I can understand why you might want to.
There seems to be two kind of extreme responses to content like SoD. On one end you have the people who loved the expansion. I mean not only is it a PERFECT bridge between the games, it's even better than anything offered in BG1/2 and really improved upon the storytelling!
Then you have the other camp that hates SoD and can't find anything redeeming whatsoever. A large majority of them never even played past 20 mins.
I don't agree to the way your post implies that if SoD is only played to the end, you just have to like it. Also, you missed the third camp: people who played SoD, and find very good content in it, but still don't think it's a good bridge and also found other content they didn't like so much. And that's a completely valid opinion to have.
To the original topic question "SoD canon or not": Considering SoD opens a hole story telling wise that is not (yet???) closed in BGII, that alone is a huge reason for me not to be able to see it as canon. (There is also my opinion that it doesn't serve as a bridge to BGII at all since it doesn't explain why the canon NPCs are with you at the end but that's just my point of view.)
Yes, there are many opinions here. Personally I found the complaints about a so-called SJW agenda + transgender NPC + claimed changes in NPC personality rather silly, but there are a number of gameplay and story concerns that I think are valid.
For me those issues include:
I didn't like part of the encounter design
Storywise it drew too much upon other IE titles, especially with the final boss and Irenicus was used too heavily
But we had some of those issues also in ToB and/or much beloved mods. I mean, did Ascension really have to recycle Irenicus *again*?
Yes, there are many opinions here. Personally I found the complaints about a so-called SJW agenda + transgender NPC + claimed changes in NPC personality rather silly, but there are a number of gameplay and story concerns that I think are valid.
For me those issues include:
I didn't like part of the encounter design
Storywise it drew too much upon other IE titles, especially with the final boss and Irenicus was used too heavily
But we had some of those issues also in ToB and/or much beloved mods. I mean, did Ascension really have to recycle Irenicus *again*?
For me:
BG 2 > TotSC > BG 1 > SoD >> ToB.
Yes!! Finally! Someone who agrees! I always felt Irenicus didn't belong in Ascension. His story ended in the Nine Hells! Where he belongs!
Comments
Is SoD a good game. Yes.
Is SoD canon. No. Never. 18 years, sorry it's just too long.
I can be a little biased, for me even ToB is not canon. Fecking Melissan overgrowing tavern WENCH, get lost biatch! Come to think of it, even BG2 is not canon. Irrenniccuss? Seriously, who is that bastard and why should I care? Some pretentious elven spellslinger so much butthurt about wymenz he wants to destroy tha world and steal my soul like I even have a soul!! Good one! Steal my soul LOL
On the more serious note - SoD is official game from Baldur's Gate series, so it's enough for me to consider it canon. I don't think that simply disliking parts of it (and I think that writing of SoD is uneven at best) is enough of the excuse to judge it as non-canon. Attack of the Clones is awful, but still - it happened in Star Wars world and there is nothing we can do about it (obviously SoD isn't that bad, but you get what I mean).
There seems to be two kind of extreme responses to content like SoD. On one end you have the people who loved the expansion. I mean not only is it a PERFECT bridge between the games, it's even better than anything offered in BG1/2 and really improved upon the storytelling!
Then you have the other camp that hates SoD and can't find anything redeeming whatsoever. A large majority of them never even played past 20 mins.
I think you are correct about the polarisation of opinions.
But I do object to the idea that those who can't stand the game, for a variety of reasons, have a majority who have never played it through.
Especially as you post this on this forum.
Perhaps on the review sites that might be the case, but I doubt that happened here.
And of course if it is true, then one has to ask why a significant number of fans, who I would say inevitably were fans of BG, couldn't get past the first 20 minutes.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement is it?
"A large majority of them never even played past 20 mins."
Source?
Why ask me?
I was answering the post above by @batoor who suggested that was the case.
To the original topic question "SoD canon or not": Considering SoD opens a hole story telling wise that is not (yet???) closed in BGII, that alone is a huge reason for me not to be able to see it as canon. (There is also my opinion that it doesn't serve as a bridge to BGII at all since it doesn't explain why the canon NPCs are with you at the end but that's just my point of view.)
For me those issues include:
- I didn't like part of the encounter design
- Storywise it drew too much upon other IE titles, especially with the final boss and Irenicus was used too heavily
But we had some of those issues also in ToB and/or much beloved mods. I mean, did Ascension really have to recycle Irenicus *again*?For me:
BG 2 > TotSC > BG 1 > SoD >> ToB.
Because it was your claim.
It wasn't.
I was responding to this, which was posted by @batoor
"Then you have the other camp that hates SoD and can't find anything redeeming whatsoever. A large majority of them never even played past 20 mins."