Bhaalspawn

In the fictional universe of Forgotten Realms, Bhaalspawn is a name given to all children of the fictitious Bhaal, Lord of Murder, who foresaw his own death during the Time of Troubles and fathered children who could one day be sacrificed for his own return.


 * The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny, chaos will be sown by their passage. - From the writings of the seer Alaundo.

During the storyline of the Baldur's Gate series of computer games the player (who is him or herself a Bhaalspawn) will encounter a number of Bhaalspawn, some as friends and some as enemies.

Issue number #288 of Dragon Magazine contains an article detailing Bhaalspawn for 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons, enabling a Gamesmaster to effectively reecreate the Baldur's Gate series of games for their own campaign, or to play a "post-games" campaign where not all of the Bhaalspawn were slain and where they retained the fragment of Bhaal's essence.

Notable Bhaalspawn
The Bhaalspawn came from a wide variety of races and backgrounds, from the humble to the powerful. Here are some of the known Bhaalspawn:

Abazigal
A male half-dragon (blue). He had one son, the half-dragon Draconis. He joined the alliance of Bhaalspawn known as the Five, and raised an eclectic army of nonhumans (and a very crazy wizard). He was eventually slain by Abdel Adrian and his companions.

Abdel Adrian
The Bhaalspawn raised by the sage, Gorion, at the great library of Candlekeep.

Abdel Adrian is the protagonist of the novelization of the Baldur's Gate series. As such, he corresponds to the player character in the games.

Due to the lack of any official name, the protagonist in the games as opposed to the novels is often referred to as "Charname" by the Baldur's Gate gaming community in reference to the designation given to this character in the game's code, which when the game is played is replaced by the name chosen by the player.

Balthazar
A male human monk, and a member of the Five. The leader of a monastic order based in the town of Amkethran. Balthazar wanted to kill all of the other Bhaalspawn before committing ritual suicide, so that the evil essence of Bhaal would be "locked away" forever. He was eventually slain by Abdel Adrian.

Gavid
A male human. Gavid was a seemingly normal man who was killed before he discovered his true heritage. His spirit challenged Abdel Adrian to the prospect retribution in Abdel Adrian's pocket plane.

Gavid is likely named after David Gaider, one of the designers of Baldur's Gate II.

Gromnir Il-Khan
A male half-orc who briefly ruled Saradush while the city was under siege by Yaga-Shura.

Illasera
A female human, and one of the Five. Known as "Illasera the Quick" for her superhuman speed in combat. She was the first of the Five sent by Melissan to hunt down Abdel Adrian. Abdel manages only to defeat her by resorting to his Bhaal-essence rage.

Imoen

 * Main Article: Imoen

A female human and the close companion of Abdel Adrian. A skilled thief and wizard, Imoen accompanied Abdel Adrian throughout his adventures.

Sendai
A female Drow and member of the Five. A powerful cleric and warrior, Sendai commanded an army of renegade Drow and other Underdark creatures before she was killed by Abdel Adrian.

Viekang
Viekang is a male human, who is taken by fear whenever he encounters another Bhaalspawn. Through his tainted blood, fear causes him to teleport away whenever he is afraid, causing his encounters with Bhaalspawn to be brief. However, after his encounter with Melissan in Saradush, he loses his power. It is possible for the player to scare Viekang into teleporting by casting a horror spell on him. Thus, if the player does, it is likely Viekang survives, but if the player does not, it is likely that Viekang is killed when Saradush is overtaken. However, it is more likely that Viekang dies, because, as is mentioned in the mini-quest involving a mage whose spellbook you have to return, there is a shield around the city which instantly kills anyone attempting to teleport out. You can see this fact proven if you choose not to warn the thief of this problem when he attempts to teleport out. Viekang's teleport, which is of divine nature is different enough to save him from this fate, so it is probable that he survives.

Yaga-Shura
A male fire giant, and member of the Five. This powerful giant commanded an army of humanoids and giants and, like Sarevok before him, wished to become the new Lord of Murder by killing the other Bhaalspawn. To this end, he laid siege to the city of Saradush, where many Bhaalspawn were in hiding. To stop him, Abdel Adrian discovered the secret to Yaga-Shura's invulnerability and destroyed it, making Yaga-Shura himself vulnerable. Before Abdel Adrian was able to return to Saradush and kill Yaga-Shura, Yaga-Shura was able to breach the city's wall and slaughter all of the Bhaalspawn within.