Make your own canon
Wandering_Ranger
Member Posts: 175
As we all know, the canon party is Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc, Dynaheir, and protagonist. In BG2, it is all of the aforementioned group except Dynaheir and Khalid (with Dynaheir probably being replaced by Aerie, and the 6th slot probably being interchangeable for various NPC quests until TOB where Sarevok fills it). But we aren't here to talk about the established canon.
What's YOUR canon?
I you had to RP a party, what's a unique bunch of companions that fit together nicely for the entire saga?
Mine is:
Gnome cleric/thief protagonist (necessary for the classes involved). Chaotic Good. Our Protagonist is a Cleric of Baervan Wildwanderer. As the only gnome in Candlekeep, our Protagonist worships a gnomish deity for connection to his heritage, and has always dreamed of the wilds outside the stifling walls of Candlekeep besides. His thief side was always as a prankster, along with his childhood friend Imoen. Though of course, to survive in the wilds, a necessary skillset of stealth, trap-spotting, and trap-setting is necessary so it dovetails nicely with his deity (cleric) side.
Protagonist in our story rejects Gorion's path. After Gorion's death, Protagonist's trust is shattered, and he is sad and angry. Two near-death attempts in Candlekeep, then an ambush culminating in Gorion's death. Why did this happen? Why had his foster father told him nothing of this? He feels angry and betrayed. He decides that his last act of service to Gorion's memory is indeed to travel to the Friendly Arm Inn as instructed, but to tell Jaheira and Khalid that he has his own path in life and shall find his own way. Clearly, he tells Imoen immediately to go back to Candlekeep as he tells her that everything is too dangerous and the path ahead is his to bear. Imoen is disappointed but understands.
On the way to the FAI, our Protagonist is of course sick with worry and concern, fatigued and disoriented after the crazy recent events. He gets lost and bypasses the inn entirely and goes too far north, running into the Paladin, Ajantis, who is looking for evil to smite. Protagonist tells him of his plight and Ajantis guides him to the FAI where Protagonist proceeds to reject Jaheira and Khalid.
Now what? Well, with all the talk of the Nashkel mines from EVERYONE around, it prompts Ajantis to suggest that they themselves investigate the issues. Protagonist agrees, and they go to Nashkel (after completing a few quests in the Beregost and FAI region where Ajantis teaches Protagonist basic combat skills and such). They recruit a bard named Garrick in Beregost.
In Nashkel, however, before they have a chance to investigate the mines, they run into a hulking figure with a hamster who demands they help him. Ajantis cannot resist the damsel in distress tale involved and agrees to help the man, despite Protagonist being concerned about the man's mental state. Garrick, too, loves the potential for bardic songs involved in such a journey.
They travel to the Gnoll Stronghold and free Minsc's companion, Dynaheir. They then travel the land a while, recruiting a sultry thief called Safana on the way, and they all learn how to work together before tackling the mines. Safana is constantly mean to Garrick who has a crush on her. Despairing, he leaves the group just before the group is about to enter Cloakwood. He feels he has done his part and the dangers of adventure are not really for him anyway. Brave, brave Sir Garrick is bid goodbye by the group.
In Cloakwood forest, our group runs into Coran, a womanising debonair on a hunt. They complete his quest, and during that time, he and Safana have fallen for each other. They both decide to ditch the group and run off into the sunset together, finding each other much more interesting than Protagonist's quest.
Continuing their journey in Cloakwood, the group keep running into Druids hell-bent on destroying the unnatural Iron Throne mine complex. Protagonist likes their style, since they align with his love of the wilds, and decides to accept one of their number, a druid named Faldorn, into the group. Minsc, a ranger, supports this, though Dynaheir and Ajantis have their reservations. Regardless, the group works well together and they decide to stick together. They solve the mines. On their way to Baldur's Gate, they run into the first gnome who actually offers to join them - a quirky fellow by the name of Quayle. Protagonist, a felllow gnome, likes him, but no one else does, especially Dynaheir. Quayle is obnoxious and worships Baravar Cloakshadow. Through our Protagonist, and through their long journey, Quayle converts to Baervan Wildwanderer and MATURES. (He will later pass these teachings onto his ward, Aerie, in BG2.)
The group stays together until the end.
END OF BG1 PARTY: Protagonist, Ajantis, Minsc, Dynaheir, Faldorn, Quayle (travelled with Garrick, Safana and Coran)
BG2:
Protagonist escapes the dungeon with his old friend Minsc (either rejecting Imoen/Jaheira or leading them out of the dungeon before dumping them). They then hear of the local circus being weird, so they investigate. There, they run into Protagonist's other old friend, Quayle. He no longer wishes to travel, but thinks his ward, Aerie, should leave with his old gnomish pal, the Protagonist, to find her own feet. Aerie is happy to do so, especially since she has heard so many good things about Protagonist and already trusts him from Quayle's stories. (Minsc will later ask Aerie to be his witch, and Aerie will be Protagonist's romance, so this all ties in wonderfully with our story as all threads are coherent and linked.)
They then get approached by Bayle, who tells them they need to cough up 20k to rescue Imoen and get their vengeance on Irenicus. The Temples are offering some money for their task, as are the nefarious shadow thieves. At the Copper Coronet, they also learn of the Windspear Hills. Our Protagonist is wary of the murky thieves, so he chooses the temple route. On that questline, they encounter Keldorn - a name very familiar to our Protagonist since Keldorn's squire, Ajantis, had oft spoke of him in BG1! They recruit the veteran and sort out the temple questline. They also run into another old friend, Garrick, who is unsuccessfully trying to woo yet another woman in the Temple district. He has no desire to travel with the group as his adventuring days are long behind him. Minsc then gets approached by a small boy who sends them to Umar Hills. They first run into the ranger, Valygar, who Minsc accepts with open arms into the group. Then, they proceed to the Shadow Temple, where they rescue a brave young halfling by the name of Mazzy, who joins them. (Mazzy eventually recruits Valygar as her squire, so there is some nice interaction and coherency here!)
They go to the Windspear Hills next and sort out that questline, where they learn that they had killed their old friend, Ajantis. Keldorn grieves. Once that questline is done, they return to Athkatla, where they run into a messenger for Aerie, who tells her that Quayle has a quest for her. But before they do that, Keldorn beseeches the Protagonist to go visit his family, as he has not seen them for a time. They do so, and Keldorn finds the unfortunate news. Being an aged man, having sorted the Temple Questline, his squire Ajantis dead, and his family in tatters, Protagonist releases the old knight from his service. Keldorn says they have no need of two knights in a group regardless, since Mazzy has more than filled that role from what he has seen of her courage and valour during their travels. Mazzy is happy for the compliment from the knight and says she will see Protagonist's quest through in his stead. They bid the old man goodbye.
Then they do Aerie's quest and recruit Haer'Dalis. Aerie and Protagonist have been getting close, but Haer'Dalis also tries to woo her. They do quests around Athkatla to keep gathering money. Eventually Haer'Dalis challenges Protagonist to a duel, and Protagonist declines. Aerie isn't impressed with Haer'Dalis and so he leaves the group forever.
After all this craziness in the city, they hear of a small town called Trademeet in trouble. They go investigate and recruit Cernd. During this questline, they run into Protagonist's old friend, Faldorn, who has taken over the grove. Cernd kills her in combat, and Protagonist mourns her death, but they find Cernd to be a fitting companion and allow him to join the group. This group remains together until the end.
In Tethyr forest, they run into their old friends, Safana and Coran. Safana has betrayed Coran and is killed by the werewolf, but the group manage to save Coran, who no longer wishes to travel with them as he is heartbroken.
They finish the journey together, Protagonist and Aerie have a child and are married, Minsc becomes a legend, Valygar retires from adventure, Cernd dies, and Mazzy continues being a hero.
That's it!
Final BG2 group: Protagonist, Minsc, Aerie, Mazzy, Valygar, Cernd (travelled with Keldorn and Haer'Dalis for a time).
So, the links:
BG1 to BG2:
Minsc > Minsc (Minsc forms a bond with Aerie) - immediate link (Minsc also welcome Valygar)
Quayle > Aerie (Aerie is romance) - immediate link
Faldorn > Cernd - immediate link
Ajantis > Keldorn (immedaite link) > Mazzy > Valygar (secondary links, but both pair up)
We also see appearances in both games from Garrick, Safana, Coran in our tale. Haer'Dalis adds an interesting part to the story in the form of a love triangle before departing, making for good storytelling.
With these party members, I have woven a tale that is coherent, has LOTS of interparty links, connections, carry-over from BG1 to BG2, and a slew of great interactions. Basically everything in the BG2 portion is linked to BG1 in some way (usually a first-degree of separation only) without going the "conventional route." This is thus my own story.
(As a bonus, both in BG1 and BG2, the party is well-balanced and able to tackle everything WITHOUT being overpowered, thus still providing a good, fun challenge.)
The above party in BG1 and BG2 just makes sense from an RP and storytelling perspective, and is my "non canon, canon" party.
What's yours?
What's YOUR canon?
I you had to RP a party, what's a unique bunch of companions that fit together nicely for the entire saga?
Mine is:
Gnome cleric/thief protagonist (necessary for the classes involved). Chaotic Good. Our Protagonist is a Cleric of Baervan Wildwanderer. As the only gnome in Candlekeep, our Protagonist worships a gnomish deity for connection to his heritage, and has always dreamed of the wilds outside the stifling walls of Candlekeep besides. His thief side was always as a prankster, along with his childhood friend Imoen. Though of course, to survive in the wilds, a necessary skillset of stealth, trap-spotting, and trap-setting is necessary so it dovetails nicely with his deity (cleric) side.
Protagonist in our story rejects Gorion's path. After Gorion's death, Protagonist's trust is shattered, and he is sad and angry. Two near-death attempts in Candlekeep, then an ambush culminating in Gorion's death. Why did this happen? Why had his foster father told him nothing of this? He feels angry and betrayed. He decides that his last act of service to Gorion's memory is indeed to travel to the Friendly Arm Inn as instructed, but to tell Jaheira and Khalid that he has his own path in life and shall find his own way. Clearly, he tells Imoen immediately to go back to Candlekeep as he tells her that everything is too dangerous and the path ahead is his to bear. Imoen is disappointed but understands.
On the way to the FAI, our Protagonist is of course sick with worry and concern, fatigued and disoriented after the crazy recent events. He gets lost and bypasses the inn entirely and goes too far north, running into the Paladin, Ajantis, who is looking for evil to smite. Protagonist tells him of his plight and Ajantis guides him to the FAI where Protagonist proceeds to reject Jaheira and Khalid.
Now what? Well, with all the talk of the Nashkel mines from EVERYONE around, it prompts Ajantis to suggest that they themselves investigate the issues. Protagonist agrees, and they go to Nashkel (after completing a few quests in the Beregost and FAI region where Ajantis teaches Protagonist basic combat skills and such). They recruit a bard named Garrick in Beregost.
In Nashkel, however, before they have a chance to investigate the mines, they run into a hulking figure with a hamster who demands they help him. Ajantis cannot resist the damsel in distress tale involved and agrees to help the man, despite Protagonist being concerned about the man's mental state. Garrick, too, loves the potential for bardic songs involved in such a journey.
They travel to the Gnoll Stronghold and free Minsc's companion, Dynaheir. They then travel the land a while, recruiting a sultry thief called Safana on the way, and they all learn how to work together before tackling the mines. Safana is constantly mean to Garrick who has a crush on her. Despairing, he leaves the group just before the group is about to enter Cloakwood. He feels he has done his part and the dangers of adventure are not really for him anyway. Brave, brave Sir Garrick is bid goodbye by the group.
In Cloakwood forest, our group runs into Coran, a womanising debonair on a hunt. They complete his quest, and during that time, he and Safana have fallen for each other. They both decide to ditch the group and run off into the sunset together, finding each other much more interesting than Protagonist's quest.
Continuing their journey in Cloakwood, the group keep running into Druids hell-bent on destroying the unnatural Iron Throne mine complex. Protagonist likes their style, since they align with his love of the wilds, and decides to accept one of their number, a druid named Faldorn, into the group. Minsc, a ranger, supports this, though Dynaheir and Ajantis have their reservations. Regardless, the group works well together and they decide to stick together. They solve the mines. On their way to Baldur's Gate, they run into the first gnome who actually offers to join them - a quirky fellow by the name of Quayle. Protagonist, a felllow gnome, likes him, but no one else does, especially Dynaheir. Quayle is obnoxious and worships Baravar Cloakshadow. Through our Protagonist, and through their long journey, Quayle converts to Baervan Wildwanderer and MATURES. (He will later pass these teachings onto his ward, Aerie, in BG2.)
The group stays together until the end.
END OF BG1 PARTY: Protagonist, Ajantis, Minsc, Dynaheir, Faldorn, Quayle (travelled with Garrick, Safana and Coran)
BG2:
Protagonist escapes the dungeon with his old friend Minsc (either rejecting Imoen/Jaheira or leading them out of the dungeon before dumping them). They then hear of the local circus being weird, so they investigate. There, they run into Protagonist's other old friend, Quayle. He no longer wishes to travel, but thinks his ward, Aerie, should leave with his old gnomish pal, the Protagonist, to find her own feet. Aerie is happy to do so, especially since she has heard so many good things about Protagonist and already trusts him from Quayle's stories. (Minsc will later ask Aerie to be his witch, and Aerie will be Protagonist's romance, so this all ties in wonderfully with our story as all threads are coherent and linked.)
They then get approached by Bayle, who tells them they need to cough up 20k to rescue Imoen and get their vengeance on Irenicus. The Temples are offering some money for their task, as are the nefarious shadow thieves. At the Copper Coronet, they also learn of the Windspear Hills. Our Protagonist is wary of the murky thieves, so he chooses the temple route. On that questline, they encounter Keldorn - a name very familiar to our Protagonist since Keldorn's squire, Ajantis, had oft spoke of him in BG1! They recruit the veteran and sort out the temple questline. They also run into another old friend, Garrick, who is unsuccessfully trying to woo yet another woman in the Temple district. He has no desire to travel with the group as his adventuring days are long behind him. Minsc then gets approached by a small boy who sends them to Umar Hills. They first run into the ranger, Valygar, who Minsc accepts with open arms into the group. Then, they proceed to the Shadow Temple, where they rescue a brave young halfling by the name of Mazzy, who joins them. (Mazzy eventually recruits Valygar as her squire, so there is some nice interaction and coherency here!)
They go to the Windspear Hills next and sort out that questline, where they learn that they had killed their old friend, Ajantis. Keldorn grieves. Once that questline is done, they return to Athkatla, where they run into a messenger for Aerie, who tells her that Quayle has a quest for her. But before they do that, Keldorn beseeches the Protagonist to go visit his family, as he has not seen them for a time. They do so, and Keldorn finds the unfortunate news. Being an aged man, having sorted the Temple Questline, his squire Ajantis dead, and his family in tatters, Protagonist releases the old knight from his service. Keldorn says they have no need of two knights in a group regardless, since Mazzy has more than filled that role from what he has seen of her courage and valour during their travels. Mazzy is happy for the compliment from the knight and says she will see Protagonist's quest through in his stead. They bid the old man goodbye.
Then they do Aerie's quest and recruit Haer'Dalis. Aerie and Protagonist have been getting close, but Haer'Dalis also tries to woo her. They do quests around Athkatla to keep gathering money. Eventually Haer'Dalis challenges Protagonist to a duel, and Protagonist declines. Aerie isn't impressed with Haer'Dalis and so he leaves the group forever.
After all this craziness in the city, they hear of a small town called Trademeet in trouble. They go investigate and recruit Cernd. During this questline, they run into Protagonist's old friend, Faldorn, who has taken over the grove. Cernd kills her in combat, and Protagonist mourns her death, but they find Cernd to be a fitting companion and allow him to join the group. This group remains together until the end.
In Tethyr forest, they run into their old friends, Safana and Coran. Safana has betrayed Coran and is killed by the werewolf, but the group manage to save Coran, who no longer wishes to travel with them as he is heartbroken.
They finish the journey together, Protagonist and Aerie have a child and are married, Minsc becomes a legend, Valygar retires from adventure, Cernd dies, and Mazzy continues being a hero.
That's it!
Final BG2 group: Protagonist, Minsc, Aerie, Mazzy, Valygar, Cernd (travelled with Keldorn and Haer'Dalis for a time).
So, the links:
BG1 to BG2:
Minsc > Minsc (Minsc forms a bond with Aerie) - immediate link (Minsc also welcome Valygar)
Quayle > Aerie (Aerie is romance) - immediate link
Faldorn > Cernd - immediate link
Ajantis > Keldorn (immedaite link) > Mazzy > Valygar (secondary links, but both pair up)
We also see appearances in both games from Garrick, Safana, Coran in our tale. Haer'Dalis adds an interesting part to the story in the form of a love triangle before departing, making for good storytelling.
With these party members, I have woven a tale that is coherent, has LOTS of interparty links, connections, carry-over from BG1 to BG2, and a slew of great interactions. Basically everything in the BG2 portion is linked to BG1 in some way (usually a first-degree of separation only) without going the "conventional route." This is thus my own story.
(As a bonus, both in BG1 and BG2, the party is well-balanced and able to tackle everything WITHOUT being overpowered, thus still providing a good, fun challenge.)
The above party in BG1 and BG2 just makes sense from an RP and storytelling perspective, and is my "non canon, canon" party.
What's yours?
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Comments
I actually post these playthroughs in a lot of detail on the Challenges & Playthroughs board, but I also keep a recap. For example, here is a playthrough I completed with a Neutral Good Wizard Slayer>Thief:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/82198/bgee-roleplaythrough-ng-wizard-slayer-thief-minimal-metagaming-reloads-complete
Baldur's Gate 1 Recap
Baldur's Gate 1: Tales of the Sword Coast Recap
Siege of Dragonspear Recap
Shadows of Amn Recap
Thone of Bhaal Recap
I also have a completed Avenger run (he was obsessed with balance in all conflicts, and eventually became Neutral Evil and murderous):
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/81953/bgee-roleplaythrough-ne-half-elf-avenger-minimal-metagaming-reloads-complete
And a few others in progress on that board too: Chaotic Evil Berserker, Kensai>Cleric, Cleric/Mage, Fighter/Mage...if you're interested!
Thank you for sharing
There's so many combinations and potential for various stories; it's insane.
Here's another one...
The Redemption/alignment-bending party:
BG1:
- Ranger, Paladin, or Cleric/Ranger... FALLEN status (typically achieved by killing Unshey at the FAI for getting the belt back)
- Imoen (included because she will never abandon you, no matter your reputation, so she's "special" in that way... also a child of Bhaal who ends up being "redeemed" (ie, letting go of her taint by story's end)).
- Kivan (stays with you until his own "redemption" (revenge) is complete (plus Cloakwood as a "thanks" for helping him with his task), OR until he comes to blows with Viconia, at which point he doesn't get redeemed and dies... good storytelling regardless)
- Viconia (future romance/alignment change, continuity in our story)
- Minsc (needs redemption after his witch dies in BG2 - a catastrophic failure from his perspective, as he was on his rite of passage, his dajemma, so protecting her was his only duty in life)
- Dynaheir (necessary for Minsc's redemption path, continuity with our story)
- Quayle replaces Kivan once you get to Baldur's Gate (Kivan decides to go his own way, and tromping around cities isn't for him anyway. As for why Quayle, well, he is an obnoxious individual in BG1, helpful sage/father figure in BG2, hence has his own "redemption" in the greater story - also connected to Aerie, who is a necessary part of Minsc's redemption arc, providing continuity)
BG2:
- Ranger, Paladin, or Cleric/Ranger... REDEEMED via stronghold quests
- Yoshimo/Imoen (redeem Yoshimo by way of returning his heart, eventually "redeem" Imoen by getting rid of her Bhaal taint in TOB... also, she's a continuity from BG1)
- Viconia (romance/alignment change, continuity from BG1)
- Minsc (continuity from BG1, redemption path with Aerie)
- Aerie (connection to Quayle, so nice continuity, but she's also redemption necessity for Minsc and gets her own "redemption" via maturing through adventuring with you. Her non-romance epilogue shows she matures and becomes a community leader, thus finding her peace in life after her loss.)
- Sir Anomen (alignment change, knighted... follows you until TOB, where he has fulfilled his duties to you and goes on to be a knight afterwards)
- Sarevok replaces Anomen in TOB ( Sarevok also has a redemption path/alignment change)
Due to playing the entirety of BG1 and part of BG2 with fallen status, it can be a bit difficult, but this would undoubtedly be a fun challenge with LOTS of RP value.
As with the other party I mentioned above, our protagonist is jaded by Gorion's failure to tell him what has been happening, so he forges his own path, rejecting Jaheira and Khalid. Being a child of Bhaal, and recently exposed to bloodshed, it "awakened" something dark inside of him which he must overcome. Due to Viconia's presence, who is evil, our party needs to work on keeping the reputation at a "middle" level, which requires murder here and there. This can be explained by the Bhaal taint "taking over" our protagonist, resulting in murderous rages which he did not mean.. he simply lost control.
The whole saga thus explores the redemptionary path and learning how to control the evil of his heritage, coming to know himself, despite the blood of a murderous deity running through his veins. It also explores the redemption paths of others who join the quest alongside the protagonist, in varying degrees. Everyone in this tale has something to atone for, whether it be their own personally subjective thing or objective thing.
Our protagonist is left to his own devices after Gorion's death. He is young and confused and deeply sad about what has transpired, so needs guidance. He goes from an inexperienced lad to a mature man throughout the tale.
Imoen is told she cannot come on this journey as it is far too dangerous for her and he doesn't want his childhood friend involved with such dangers.
Our protagonist gets lost and runs into Kivan first, the helpful elven woodsman, who guides him to the FAI, where he recruits Jaheira and Khalid, as per Gorion's instruction.
This group is very task-focused and thus goes straight for the main story - Nashkel (Xan is recruited), Bandits (Kivan's quest), and Cloakwood (Coran recruited). All side quests are done later.
The NPC's recruited all have something to do with the greater world and provide important political and cultural significance for the story. Jaheira and Khalid are Harpers, extremely relevant to the story, Kivan is hunting down bandits, like you, Xan is a mage from Evereska doing his own research in the area, and Coran is your guide through the city once you hit Baldur's Gate, since he is well acquainted with it (Kivan is your "wilderness guide" before that). Ultimately, the story follows our protagonist and Jaheira, with the others providing more "practical" elements to the story.
Due to Jaheira's influence, the party is all elven or half-elven in BG1.
So, the party is:
BG1:
- Protagonist (Fighter/Cleric) or (Fighter/Mage/Cleric)
- Kivan
- Jaheira
- Khalid
- Xan (briefly replaced by Safana until she does her quest, enabling Safana and Coran to meet, which is good for continuity and future events that unfold in BG2. You can just RP that Xan had some of his own business to attend to (perhaps studying with Thalantyr for a bit), and he rejoins the party once Safana's quest is complete.)
- Coran
Because Coran is the party's only thief, this can be a bit rough until you get to him, and even after. He has a low find traps, which means our protagonist will have to cast "find traps" (cleric spells level 2 sucks anyway so no big loss), but Coran can at least disarm them with his high pick locks. The going can be a bit tough due to this, but for combat purposes, the party is EXTREMELY strong, with lots of firepower from Khalid and Kivan and Coran, tankiness from Jaheira and Protagonist, and crowd control with Xan. By far the biggest loss is no web, which can make certain fights much, much harder than they would be with someone who can cast web. (If you love web and other invocation spells, you could make the Protagonist a Fighter/Mage/Cleric instead of Fighter/Cleric... this would make the game easier in BG1, but harder in BG2, since F/M/C gets hampered a lot due to having to split the experience points THREE different ways and will thus never be great at anything.)
BG2:
- Protagonist (Fighter/Cleric) or (Fighter/Mage/Cleric)
- Jaheira
- Nalia (stronghold)
- Cernd
- Keldorn to Mazzy
- Valygar
Being a fellow holy man alongside our Protagonist, Keldorn is recruited, until he is replaced by Mazzy due to his desire to remain home with his family (Mazzy is also a paladin, basically, and pairs well with Valygar for a bit of extra blending). Cernd is a natural bolt-on with Jaheira, as he is her superior and a fellow druid, so she would want him in the party. Valygar is also recruited for his nature-loving ways, and ties in with Mazzy, as both of them are tied to the Umar Hills, and Mazzy to Trademeet, where Cernd's quest begins. Nalia serves as the party mage and thief, as well as her stronghold - our Protagonist and Jaheira, after the journey ends, retire there as lord and lady of the keep.
This party is about two unlikely people falling in love through strange circumstances, but with a happy ending and an overall "larger picture" of things, much less personal than the other two parties.
Jaheira is the boss in BG1, and directs the path a lot. In BG2, she backs off a bit due to Khalid's death, and views Protagonist as an equal, and eventually, someone she falls in love with. They go through a hell of a journey together, with other party members really being a "backdrop" to the entire story, recruited for either practical reasons and their knowledge of the world, or their necessary class (or both). They then settle down in their keep and retire.
It's a story that would be written by someone exploring the events of a world (ie, a historian), with our heroes serving as the central figures of an important historical period for the realms.
The other two parties are much more "personal" and are much more focused on continuity and interpersonal relationships between all six party members. This one focuses primarily on just two.
Figured I'd copy-paste my recap here for my Avenger druid roleplay run. This PC was very angrily focused on keeping the balance between all things. Major motivations (especially later in the saga) ended up being keeping an alignment-balanced party and generally just using murder to help "balance out" situations. E.g. he allied with the Shadow Thieves to exterminate the vampires...then killed Aran and all the Shadow Thieves once he got back. Got turned evil during the Tears of Bhaal trials, maybe predictably haha.
Much more info here:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/81953/bgee-roleplaythrough-ne-half-elf-avenger-minimal-metagaming-reloads-complete
Baldur's Gate 1 Recap
Baldur's Gate 1: Tales of the Sword Coast Recap
Siege of Dragonspear Recap
Shadows of Amn Recap
Thone of Bhaal Recap