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Baldur's Gate II was the second game in the Baldur's Gate series. An expansion pack for Shadows of Amn, entitled Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, also developed by BioWare and published by Black Isle, was released on June 21, 2001. Throne of Bhaal added a variety of features to the base game: a new dungeon called Watcher's Keep, new features and enhancements, such as the Wild Mage character class, a higher experience point cap, and high-level class abilities, and new spells, such as Wish, Bigby's Crushing Hand, and Dragon's Breath. Throne of Bhaal also takes the protagonist's history further, and, being the final chapter, concludes the Baldur's Gate saga. Throne of Bhaal was well received; it won the "PC Role-Playing" award at the 2002 Interactive Achievement Awards. Awesome D&D styled RPG! The second great from BIOWARE. :)

Description:
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Black Isle Studios. It is the sequel to Baldur's Gate, and was released for Microsoft Windows in September 2000. Like Baldur's Gate, the game is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting and is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rule set. The game uses BioWare's Infinity Engine, which was used in Baldur's Gate and other Black Isle games, including Planescape: Torment and the Icewind Dale series.

Gameplay:
Baldur's Gate II opens shortly after the events of Baldur's Gate and continues the story of the protagonist, Gorion's Ward, whose unique heritage has now gained him or her the attention of Jon Irenicus. The game's plot revolves around the protagonist's encounters with Irenicus, and is set south of the events in Baldur's Gate in the country of Amn, mainly in and around the city of Athkatla.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition computer role-playing game. The central quest of the game consists of about sixty hours of play, while the full game, including all side quests, totals around 300 hours. The player controls a party of up to six characters, one of whom is the protagonist. If the latter dies, a saved-game must be loaded, or a new game begun. The game begins with character creation, where, through a series of configuration screens, the player creates a player character protagonist, choosing such things as class, ability scores, appearance and alignment. Alternatively, an existing character from Baldur's Gate or Tales of the Sword Coast can be imported. Once in the game world, the player may recruit certain non-player characters (NPCs) to travel with him or her, though only five may do so at a time; depending on who is present in the group, bickering, romance, and side quests can result. NPCs in the party often converse with the player or with one another, and at times interject into the player's conversations with others.

The game is played from an isometric perspective, and the screen, which does not need to remain centered on the protagonist, can be scrolled with the mouse or the keyboard. Areas are revealed as they are explored by the player's characters. A fog of war effect hides explored areas when the player's characters move away from them. The player can also change the formation in which the party moves. Clicking an area exit, such as a doorway or staircase, causes another area to be loaded. Clicking on the edge of an outside area causes the party to travel there; the game then presents the player with the World Map, from which the player may select a destination.

The player interacts with characters and objects by clicking on them. Clicking on the ground causes the player's selected characters to move. The gameplay, though in real-time, can be paused, whereupon commands may be issued to controllable characters, who will attempt to execute them when the game is unpaused. The game can also be set to pause automatically at certain times. Dialogue is started by NPCs at certain scripted times, or by the player's clicking on NPCs who are not immediately hostile. When speaking to an NPC, the player must often choose what to say from a list of responses. Dialogue may lead to quests or important information. When the player clicks on a hostile being, the currently selected characters will advance to attack it. Information about characters, creatures, items, and buildings in the game environment is shown on a tool tip, which appears when the mouse pointer is held over game elements.

When a character in the group gains the necessary experience points, he or she gains a level. Experience points are awarded for certain player actions, such as killing enemies or completing quests. The party also has a reputation, which is affected by the player's moral actions, and which, along with the party leader's charisma attribute, influences how NPCs in the game world react to the player. The characters in the party will also complain if the party's reputation conflicts with their alignment. Resting heals the characters in the party and refreshes those who are fatigued; also, resting allows a character to memorize spells. The game contains over 300 spells available for memorization. With the exception of sorcerers, magic-users must memorize spells before they can be cast. Spell-casting takes time and may be disrupted by attacks or other spells.

The player can access sub-screens through the interface: area and world maps. The journal, which tracks important information, such as quests and the game's plot. the inventory page, which is used to manage and equip items. The record screen, which is used to view information about, as well as level up, characters in the party. The mage book and priest scroll screens, where spells can be inspected and memorized, and the options screen, where settings may be altered, saved-games loaded, or the game saved or quit.

Setting:
The Forgotten Realms, the high fantasy campaign setting in which Baldur's Gate II is set, is a fictional world similar to a medieval Earth, but with its own peoples, geography, and history. In the Realms, as its inhabitants call it, fantastic creatures and magic are common.

Baldur's Gate II takes place mainly in Amn, a country on the subcontinent of Faerûn. This country, known commonly as the Merchant Kingdom, lies south of Baldur's Gate; wealth and trade are the chief concerns of the region. The capital city of Athkatla, around which a fair portion of the game revolves, is the most important in Amn, and is ruled by the anonymous Council of Six. The local thieves' guild, the Shadow Thieves, also has considerable power. The group, which operates all along the Sword Coast, is based in Athkatla. Another powerful organization in Amn are the Cowled Wizards, who regulate the use of magic in the region. The Shadow Thieves, the Cowled Wizards, and the Harpers, a semi-secret conglomeration of good organizations, all factor prominently into the story and provide side quests.

Besides Athkatla, other places the player will pass through include: an island, on which stands both the port town of Brynnlaw and the asylum Spellhold, the Underdark, the city of Suldanessellar; and the Astral Plane. There are also other places, which may be explored: the Umar Hills, where people have been disappearing; a temple ruins, fallen under the shadow of the Shade Lord; the de'Arnise Keep, home of the de'Arnises but recently overrun by trolls; the town of Trademeet, under attack by animals; a druid grove connected to Trademeet's woes; the Windspear Hills, where the player becomes entangled in the intrigues of Firkraag, a dragon; the underwater Sahuagin city, and the Planar Prison.

Baldur's Gate II is set in the year 1369 DR (Dale Reckoning), and thus takes place not long after the Time of Troubles (1358 DR), when the Tablets of Fate, powerful magic items which maintain a balance between good and evil, were stolen. Lord Ao, the Overdeity, forced the gods to become mortal until the Tablets were found, some gods died while in this mortal state.

Characters:
Bhaal, the God of Murder, was one such god, slain by an adventurer named Cyric, who himself became a god. But Bhaal foresaw his destruction, and walked the land before the other gods. He left behind him "a score of mortal progeny," whose later deaths, when they were slain by heroes, would fuel his rebirth. The game's protagonist is one of these offspring but, through the choices of the player, may be either good or evil. The character grew up in the library fortress of Candlekeep, watched over by the mage Gorion. Imoen, who grew up there as well, became a close friend. The story of the first Baldur's Gate follows their adventure along the Sword Coast, where the hero learns of their heritage, and defeats their half-brother Sarevok, a fellow child of Bhaal.

Some notable characters in Shadows of Amn include: Gaelan Bayle, who offers the party the help of the Shadow Thieves, Aran Linvail, the leader of the Shadow Thieves, Saemon Havarian, who sails the party to an island, Adalon, a silver dragon whose eggs have been stolen and given to drow, Elhan and, Queen Ellesime, the ruler of Suldanessellar. Jon Irenicus, and his sister Bodhi are the chief antagonists, with Irenicus the game's main villain. Drizzt Do'Urden also makes an appearance; and if the player solicits his aid, he and his companions will later help the player.

In Baldur's Gate II, several characters from the first game reappear, and some can join the player's party: Imoen, who grew up with the protagonist in Candlekeep, Jaheira, who, with her husband Khalid, was a friend of Gorion's, Minsc, a warrior who carries with him a hamster named Boo, Edwin, a Red Wizard of Thay, and Viconia, a dark elf cleric. There are also many new NPCs who may join the party. These are Aerie, a winged elf who has lost her wings and was sold to the circus by slavers at a young age, Keldorn, an older paladin and a powerful and respected member of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart, Mazzy, an honorable halfling fighter and "the nearest thing to a paladin that a halfling can aspire to, Nalia, who is of the upper class, but, though conscious of class distinction, tries to help those less fortunate than herself, Valygar, who is of a family noted for its talented magic-users, but hates the art, Anomen, a member of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart, and whose wish is to become a full knight, Cernd, a druid, Haer'Dalis, a tiefling bard and one of the actors of an acting troupe, Jan, a gnome, of the Jansen family, Yoshimo, a thief from the land of Kara-Tur, and Korgan, an evil dwarven fighter.

Story:
Shortly after the events of Baldur's Gate, the hero and companions are overcome and taken captive. When the game opens, the hero awakens in a cage, and is shortly thereafter experimented upon by a wizard named Jon Irenicus. The hero escapes from the complex with a few other companions, including Imoen, and emerges into the city of Athkatla. At the entrance to the complex, Irenicus and Imoen are arrested by the Cowled Wizards for the unsanctioned use of magic and teleported away.

In the slums of Athkatla, a man named Gaelan Bayle offers the party the help of a powerful organization, who can find Imoen or Irenicus for the large sum of 20,000 gold pieces. The party is approached by and offered the help of another rival guild headed by Bodhi, it is the player's choice whom to side with.

Imoen and Irenicus are removed to an asylum called Spellhold situated on an island. Irenicus soon breaks his bonds and prepares to experiment on Imoen. In Athkatla, the party raises the money necessary and receives assistance from whichever organization it has decided to work with, and gains passage to the island on a ship sailed by Saemon Havarian. The heroes enter Spellhold, but are captured by Irenicus, who has taken control of the prison and had planned all along to bring the protagonist there. Irenicus subjects the protagonist to a ritual which takes their soul. Imoen, who is revealed to also be a Child of Bhaal, has already been subjected to Irenicus's ritual, and her soul has gone to Irenicus's sister Bodhi. Bodhi then abandons the party to the maze beneath Spellhold so she may hunt them. When they face her, the protagonist, having lost his soul, loses self-control and transforms into a creature called the Slayer, one of the avatar forms of Bhaal, which scares off Bodhi. The hero returns to their normal self, and the party battles Irenicus, forcing him to retreat. The party follows, and reaches the surface via the Underdark.

Upon reaching the surface, the party encounters the army of the elven city of Suldanessellar. The elves cannot return to the city, for Irenicus has magically hidden it. To gain access to it, the party secures the Rhynn Lanthorn from Bodhi, who has stolen the artifact; upon Bodhi's death, Imoen's soul is restored. The Rhynn Lanthorn lights the way to Suldanessellar, which has been invaded by Irenicus and his minions. The party proceeds through the city and, at the Tree of Life, learns Irenicus is draining the power of the Tree, which will doom Suldanessellar. The heroes defeat him, but because Irenicus still has the protagonist's soul, they and the rest of the party, are dragged into Hell with the wizard. When they defeat Irenicus, they return to life, and are honored by the elves of Suldanessellar.