This page is about Balduran in the games preceeding Baldur's Gate III. To find or add info about Balduran in the Larian game, go to Balduran (BG3).
Balduran was a famous seafaring explorer and founder of the city of Baldur's Gate.
History[]
He was the first inhabitant of Faerûn to travel to and explore the fabled isles of Anchorome, aboard his ship the Wandering Eye. Balduran returned with tales of strange, vast lands across the sea. On this adventure he acquired vast wealth and on returning to his small home harbor, invested much of this wealth into fortifying the towns walls. He then set off to explore Anchorome further but never returned. His money was put to good use however, and the small harbor soon became Baldur's Gate, one of the largest cities in Faerûn.
Balduran's Final Voyage[]
About three hundred years ago, Balduran sailed back to the wondrous lands he had discovered with a crew of two hundred. They were granted permission to adventure through the lands by the Cursed Lord of Anchorome and they gathered a great store of wealth.
| “ | ...but 'his grace' has deemed me worthy to proceed through his lands. I am quite sure the two hundred-strong complement of the Wandering Eye aided in the decision. | ” |
— entry in Balduran's logbook | ||
Upon returning to the city, they were attacked, presumably by the Cursed Lord, and one hundred and fifty men were killed. Balduran conscripted locals to fill his depleted ranks for the voyage home. There were incidents while at sea, the mood of the crew was getting worse, and the ship began to run low on supplies. Having discovered by accident what became known as the Isle of Balduran, the crew anchored off the northern half to replenish their supplies.
Around the time they reached the island, Balduran made note in his logbook that both the original crew and the crew he hired in Anchorome were beginning to exhibit the initial effects of what turned out to be Lycanthropy, unbeknownst to them that they were indeed infected with the curse.
| “ | ...original men seem quite shallow in the face, quite different from the pallor of the new recruits, but all are most definitely ill... | ” |
— final entry in Balduran's logbook | ||
Not long after landing on the island, the curse struck and fighting broke out. It appears, from eye-witness accounts, that some of the crew may have never contacted the curse and it is presumed that they were all killed in the ensuing conflict.
| “ | Galen died first, his throat torn open by one of the changed men. I couldn't tell who killed him, of course, since they were unrecognizable in their changed forms. | ” |
— Dradeel | ||
During the battle the ship was beached and scuttled. This may have been on purpose to prevent the curse from leaving the island. With the ship destroyed and no other way to leave the island, the two strains of lycanthropes were left to fight amongst themselves for survival. When the fighting reached a standstill, the wolfweres took residence in the ruins of the ship while the werewolfs withdrew to the southern end of the island and established their village.
Dradeel, the guide for Balduran's adventures to Anchorome, was in charge of the landing party when the curse hit. Being an elf, the curse had no effect on him. He was knocked out by a lycanthrope in the fighting and when he came too the battle was over. He searched for survivors and found none.
| “ | I awoke in the dark, several hours later. I crawled painfully back to the beach. The ship was half sunk in the surf, a huge hole in her side, as if a giant had punched through her in a rage. There was a smoldering fire on the deck and in that sickly light I could see the bodies of the ship's crew, gutted and hung in the rigging like so much meat. | ” |
When dawn arrived he came upon an ancient village and took shelter in an abandoned hut. He discovered a cave below the hut and survived on water from a freshwater stream and a peculiar sightless fish for the past three hundred years. Dradeel's attempts to negotiate with either clan or cure their lycanthropy via enchanted food met with failure. He correctly conjectured that the leaders of the clans must be exterminated to dispel the curse, but without his spellbook, which was still on board the ship, Dradeel lacked the strength to do it and was unable to venture far from his abode.
| “ | The creatures on this isle are unusual beyond their splitting into two factions. Theirs is an odd curse, one that defies the traditional remedies […] | ” |
As for Balduran's fate, tales passed down through the generations by the members of the Werewolf Village, indicate that he may have contracted the curse as well and that he fought on the side of the wolfwere's. It seems he was instrumental in the killing of many on both sides of the conflict and that he refused to "belong". He was left to his ship by the ancestors of the village and his personal fate yet remains a mystery.
Items[]
As a long-deceased historical character, the player never meets Balduran in the game. However, the player is given the chance to acquire a number of items that belonged to Balduran towards the end of the original game and during the expansion pack (Tales of the Sword Coast), with more becoming available in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.
| Name | Icon | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Helm of Balduran | 
|
 Baldur's Gate (1998)Content from the original Baldur's Gate main campaign
|
| Cloak of Balduran | 
|
Baldur's Gate (1998) Content from the original Baldur's Gate main campaign
|
| Balduran's Logbook | 
|
 Tales of the Sword Coast (1999)Content from the original Baldur's Gate campaign Tales of the Sword Coast
|
| Sword of Balduran | 
|
Tales of the Sword Coast (1999) Content from the original Baldur's Gate campaign Tales of the Sword Coast
|
| Sword of Balduran | 
|
 Shadows of Amn (2000)Content from the original Baldur's Gate II campaign Shadows of Amn
|
| Butter Knife of Balduran | 
|
Tales of the Sword Coast (1999) Content from the original Baldur's Gate campaign Tales of the Sword Coast
|
| Plate of Balduran | 
|
Shadows of Amn (2000) Content from the original Baldur's Gate II campaign Shadows of Amn
|
| Shield of Balduran | 
|
Shadows of Amn (2000) Content from the original Baldur's Gate II campaign Shadows of Amn
|
Achievements[]
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