Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate is a video game in the role-playing (rpg) genre developed by BioWare Corporation and published by Interplay Productions, Inc. originally released in 1998. It is currently playable on Windows.

Candlekeep is an ancient fortress located on the rural Sword Coast. Recently, unexplained events have plagued this quiet place, which has long been a great library where men of wisdom and knowledge can study in peace. Unknown mercenaries try to enter the walls of Candlekeep, interested in a seemingly ordinary and unimportant young man: an orphan who was taken in by the wizard Gorion and treated by him as if he were his own son. One night, Gorion decides to leave Candlekeep and take his adopted son to safety. However, as they leave the fortress, they are ambushed by a group of assassins. The orphan manages to escape, but Gorion is killed in battle.

The gates of Candlekeep are closed, because its inhabitants fear to attract the wrath of the mysterious attackers. Only Imoen, another girl raised by Gorion and who has been like a sister to the protagonist, is willing to share the uncertain future. The two have nothing, no place to call home, only a wide hostile world in front of them. There begins a long and dangerous journey.

Baldur's Gate is a role-playing game using the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rulebook. Set in the Forgotten Realms universe, the game is the first part of the saga that allows the player to explore various cities, wilderness areas and dungeons, undertake many side quests and find companions for the long journey. The player creates the hero(es) by selecting their class, choosing between fighter, thief, mage, priest, ranger and druid (including subclasses, dual and multiclass characters); alignment (Good-Evil and Lawful-Chaotic axis), and weapon proficiencies. AD&D 2nd edition rules apply in the game during combat, character leveling, class restrictions, etc.

Up to six player-controlled characters can participate in combat. Battles occur in the same environment as exploration, and flow in real time, although the player can pause combat at any time to give precise orders to any of the characters. Once the game is unlocked, characters repeat the last action selected by the player until it is changed or impossible to execute. Characters can move freely during battles; group formation and positioning in combat play an important role.

Baldur's Gate is available at a reduced price on the following websites and is no longer abandonware.