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Werewolf Island Lore [Spoilers]

johntyljohntyl Member Posts: 397
I just completed the Isle of Balduran quest and although I kind of get the gist of the story, there are some parts I still can't get my head around. See here for brief recap: https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Balduran

1) It's mentioned that the crew of Balduran were infected by a curse of lycanthropy by the Cursed Lord of Anchorome. Am I right to understand that the curse had caused two strains of lycanthropy, leading some of Balduran's crew to become Werewolfs and the other Wolfweres?

2) Although Balduran's final fate was never confirmed, it was stated that he was "left to his ship by the ancestors of the village". If he was left to his ship, wouldn't he be co-existing with the Wolfweres who had taken over his ship (while the Werewolves built the village)? But he couldn't be living with the Wolfweres since "he was instrumental in the killing of many on both sides of the conflict" and that he never truly "belong" to either clans. I am confused.

3) The last bit was the battle with Kaishas Gan. I do not understand her logic that it was inevitable we had to fight. Prior to the battle, I had agreed to accept the lycanthropy but that had caused a mutiny within her clan. She said she will "absolve me" for killing her mutinous Werewolf kin and will await me at the ship. Then when I've killed off all the Werewolves and met her at the ship, she said she had to kill me? I'm like what? I don't get it. Am I missing something, or is this just some kind of illogical story structure to further the gameplot?

Thanks for reading, and looking forward to your insights!
Post edited by johntyl on

Comments

  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,037
    1) I am uncertain how the infection led to two different strains, because I don't know if magical diseases mutate. Regardless of how it happened, the two groups definitely dislike each other.

    2) He probably tried fighting them until he died. This means that Balduran's actual final fate was "torn apart then the bones scattered and gnawed until almost nothing remained".

    3) She was lying all along. The whole point is for Mendas to send you there to kill the wolfweres so Kaishas can get to the ship.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    Nope, what she needed was the sea charts, otherwise she could have left at any time. The bay where they were building the boat was isolated from either camp geographically, but accessible via a cave that terminated in the village.

    Also, you do not necessarily have to kill Kaishas if you play your cards right on the island. I try to avoid it whenever I'm playing ToSC.
  • johntyljohntyl Member Posts: 397
    2) He probably tried fighting them until he died. This means that Balduran's actual final fate was "torn apart then the bones scattered and gnawed until almost nothing remained".

    Oh, where did you find that quotation?
    3) She was lying all along. The whole point is for Mendas to send you there to kill the wolfweres so Kaishas can get to the ship.

    The route to the bay where the boat is in fact isolated from either camp geographically, accessible only via a cave under the village as @Maurvir has pointed out. So there was actually no direct need to clear the Wolfweres.

    Furthering this trend of thought, if the main point was to get CHARNAME to the isle with the hidden agenda to get Kaishas the sea charts, perhaps the ploy to get Charname to kill the Wolfweres was a) they really hated each other, so might as well get some outsiders to kill them and/or b) sending Charname to kill Wolfweres will probably weaken him so Kaishas can easily get the sea charts off him (that's her ultimate goal)

    However, when Kaishas found out that Charname actually killed off the Wolfwere clan and came back unscathed, she needed another reason to lay her hands on the sea charts. Hence, her contingency plan to infect Charname with lycanthropy and offering them the chance to join the clan, knowing full well that many of her Werewolf clanmates will never accept that and will try to kill Charname (hoping again to get her hands on the sea charts) - what a cunning b*tch really.

    Anyway, she did get the sea charts off Charname under the pretence of 'protecting' it before the battle in the village begins. Her true colours finally revealed, she didn't care if Charname and her clanmates die killing off one another, what she needed was the sea charts and she got it.

    So when Charname finally got to the bay and met her there, she needed to kill him because it was never her intention for Charname to leave the island.

    Omg, I just stream-of-consciousnesssed this whole thing and it all made perfect sense now lol. If this is really what the devs had in mind, this whole manipulation ploy was really brilliantly thought out and hidden between the lines.
  • johntyljohntyl Member Posts: 397
    Maurvir wrote: »
    Also, you do not necessarily have to kill Kaishas if you play your cards right on the island. I try to avoid it whenever I'm playing ToSC.

    How did you avoid killing her? Every option will inevitably lead you to the bay where she will await you there and kill you before you can board her ship.
    sarevok57
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    In the unmodded game, you have to kill her there. Some mods (SCS, as I've played it) allow you to talk her down in that final confrontation.
    ThacoBelljohntylsarevok57
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,325
    There are two possible theories for why the curse manifested itself as two different strains. It's been a while since I played TotSC, but IIRC, wasn't Balduran's crew composed partially of native Baldurans from his home city, and partially of natives pressed into service from the new land he visited? If so, it's possible that the curse affected the two races differently.

    Alternatively, the curse split more along mental lines. Those who embraced a more savage, feral lifestyle (Chaotics) became Wolfweres, content to live as little more than hungry beasts looking forward only to their next kill. On the other hand, those who wanted a more orderly, regimented life where the pack deferred to the will of the alpha and set about planning for longer-term goals like escaping the island (Lawfuls) became Werewolves, and thus the schism came about.

    As for Balduran, I don't remember ever running across anything that explicitly spelled out his final fate, but given that Balduran was never seen again, and that there was no way off the island, I think it's safe to say that Balduran met his end on that island. How exactly it happened remains a mystery though.
    ThacoBelljohntyl
  • CamDawgCamDawg Member, Developer Posts: 3,438
    A werewolf is a human infected with lycanthropy; a wolfwere is a wolf infected with lycanthropy. I've always assumed the wolfweres started as native wolves living on the island that got infected from the werewolves that arrived on Balduian's ship.
    ThacoBellBlackravenAerakar
  • Very_BigSwordVery_BigSword Member Posts: 222
    As I recall Balduran lost a lot of his crew to illness etc on the return journey from Maztica. They stopped at an island to resupply and replace the crew that were lost. While at that Island they were infected by Lycanthropy becoming werewolves although they did not know that until later. The new crew members were already wolfweres. After some time at sea the two factions clashed and during the battle the ship wrecked on the new island (which was not inhabited)? The wolfweres stayed around the ship, Dradeel was trapped and the werewolves set up a village in the south. Something like that.
  • Very_BigSwordVery_BigSword Member Posts: 222
    Or there were human natives in the south already that Baldurans crew mingled with and infected. One of those two scenarios.
  • johntyljohntyl Member Posts: 397
    Zaxares wrote: »
    There are two possible theories for why the curse manifested itself as two different strains. It's been a while since I played TotSC, but IIRC, wasn't Balduran's crew composed partially of native Baldurans from his home city, and partially of natives pressed into service from the new land he visited? If so, it's possible that the curse affected the two races differently.

    Yes, that makes a lot of sense! I'm convinced! :)
  • johntyljohntyl Member Posts: 397
    edited March 2020
    CamDawg wrote: »
    A werewolf is a human infected with lycanthropy; a wolfwere is a wolf infected with lycanthropy. I've always assumed the wolfweres started as native wolves living on the island that got infected from the werewolves that arrived on Balduian's ship.

    I thought so too, that was why I was confused about this whole 2 strains theory.
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,325
    CamDawg wrote: »
    A werewolf is a human infected with lycanthropy; a wolfwere is a wolf infected with lycanthropy. I've always assumed the wolfweres started as native wolves living on the island that got infected from the werewolves that arrived on Balduian's ship.

    That is true. :) However, it's not possible for a werewolf to transmit lycanthropy to ordinary wolves, or a wolfwere to create a werewolf by biting them. Wolfweres are actually a completely different species of Shapechanger, and in fact a great enmity actually exists between various lycanthropic breeds and their animal-were equivalents.

    Of course, it is still possible that the curse was broad (and powerful) enough that it affected both Balduran's crew AND the native animals of the island, so your theory could still be correct.
  • johntyljohntyl Member Posts: 397
    Zaxares wrote: »
    CamDawg wrote: »
    Of course, it is still possible that the curse was broad (and powerful) enough that it affected both Balduran's crew AND the native animals of the island, so your theory could still be correct.

    I don't think the theory of the curse affecting the native animals of the island holds much water tbh. From what we're told, the curse was directed at Balduran and his crew as a punishment for plundering Anchorome.

    Though the whole idea of the curse causing two strains of lycanthropy might be pushing the believability of the plot a little too much :/
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    jmerry wrote: »
    In the unmodded game, you have to kill her there. Some mods (SCS, as I've played it) allow you to talk her down in that final confrontation.

    I could have sworn I was able to pull that off in unmodded EE (not sure about vanilla, that was a long time ago for me). However, I might be mistaken.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Maurvir wrote: »
    jmerry wrote: »
    In the unmodded game, you have to kill her there. Some mods (SCS, as I've played it) allow you to talk her down in that final confrontation.

    I could have sworn I was able to pull that off in unmodded EE (not sure about vanilla, that was a long time ago for me). However, I might be mistaken.

    I only started using SCS in my last run, and it was the first time I've seen that resolution. Its listed as one of the components. IIRC, there's also a BG1 stonghold mod currently in beta that has the same component, but without making Karoug harder.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    Maurvir wrote: »
    jmerry wrote: »
    In the unmodded game, you have to kill her there. Some mods (SCS, as I've played it) allow you to talk her down in that final confrontation.

    I could have sworn I was able to pull that off in unmodded EE (not sure about vanilla, that was a long time ago for me). However, I might be mistaken.

    I only started using SCS in my last run, and it was the first time I've seen that resolution. Its listed as one of the components. IIRC, there's also a BG1 stonghold mod currently in beta that has the same component, but without making Karoug harder.

    Yep, that sounds about right now that you mention it. Once I went to using SCS, I never went back.
    ThacoBellAerakar
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @Maurvir Well, SCS IS quite good.
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