Bhaalspawn

"The Lord of Murder shall perish

But in his death he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny

Chaos will be sown from their passing

So sayeth the wise Alaundo"

Bhaalspawn is the name given to the mortal offspring of the now dead god Bhaal. It is said that Bhaal foresaw his death during the Time of Troubles and came to Toril before the climactic event, mating with females of almost any species, not all of them humanoid. Like Bane, he would attempt to use these offspring to bring himself back to life. Alaundo made a prophecy about the Bhaalspawn that foretold the great destruction they would bring.

Nature
Note: General statements below are canonical. Game-specific examples, all indicated as such, are not. The canonical parts aside from Abdel Adrian's existence also apply to the games.

Bhaalspawn mostly seemed like normal members of their race at first, so long as the race was humanoid (Abazigal was considered a half-breed according to the game). Part of their soul was divine, however, and this would eventually reveal itself, sometimes granting supernatural powers of different kinds but usually also tempting them to evil and murder. Individual reactions were very different, however. The personalities of individual Bhaalspawn were just as varied as those of other people, but they all had to deal with similar issues when their other side manifested itself. Some, such as Sarevok and most of the Five, fell to the temptation of power and embraced their darker sides in a quest for divinity. Others, weak-willed rather than power-hungry, had no such ambitious goals and may have even tried to do what was right, but revelled in bloodshed nevertheless. Examples include Abdel Adrian (canonical) and Gavid, a serial killer who shade is encountered in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. Yet other Bhaalspawn - such as Balthazar, and the game's protagonist if they "succeed" in enough of the tests in the Pocket Plane - conquered their darker nature and acted selflessly, turning their divine power into something unlike its original nature. Finally, some Bhaalspawn hadn't even had to deal with their inner taint before being found out and being persecuted or taken advantage of because of it, like Imoen, or some of the Bhaalspawn in Saradush in the game version of Throne of Bhaal. Some of the latter were simply ordinary people who wished no part in the prophecy. And yet, it was that very prophecy that predicted that Bhaal's children should be not only of all races but also of all alignments.

If Bhaal's plans had gone as they were meant to, the Bhaalspawn would have destroyed each other until none remained, at which point the essence of Bhaal scattered among them would have accumulated, and his chosen follower, Amelyssan, would have performed rituals that would have brought him back. Neither Amelyssan nor the last Bhaalspawn (Adrian/the protagonist) complied to these plans, however.

As a side effect unintended by Bhaal, the Bhaalspawn's share of the essence meant that each of them had the potential to become a god in their own right, provided they could get all the rest of the essence - even if someone like Sarevok who tried to fulfil the prophecy would simply have turned into a resurrected Bhaal if he "succeeded". Another side effect was that it was theoretically possible if rare for a Bhaalspawn to turn into an avatar of Bhaal, either the Slayer or in more extreme cases the Ravager (both of which appeared as creatures far more bestial than the original avatars).

Bhaalspawn characters
A number of Bhaalspawn appear as characters in the Baldur's Gate series of computer games and in the Baldur's Gate novels.


 * The protagonist. In the games, this is the player character. Abdel Adrian is the protagonist of the series in the novels (which, unlike the games, are canon).


 * Imoen is a follower of the protagonist who only later on turns out to be a Bhaalspawn.


 * Sarevok is the main antagonist in the first game and novel, and a potential party member in the last, although by then he is no longer a real Bhaalspawn.

The Five
The Five were a group of supposedly allied Bhaalspawn that caused much havoc in Tethyr around the time of the fulfilment of the prophecy. They were all among the most powerful of their kind, and each plotted the destruction of the others, as well as of all their lesser siblings. Their group was brought together by Amelyssan, a former servant of Bhaal, who promised them demigod status once the Lord of Murder was resurrected, but also planned to destroy all of them and gain the powers of a god for herself. The Five included:


 * [[image:Abazigal_dragon_small.jpg]]Abazigal, a blue (half-)dragon.
 * [[image:Balthazar_small.jpg]]Balthazar, a monk who led the monastery in the town of Amkethran.
 * [[image:Illasera_small.jpg]]Illasera
 * [[image:Sendai_small.jpg]]Sendai, a Drow who organized an army of rebel Underdark creatures to attack Tethyr and the rest of the Sword Coast region.
 * [[image:Yaga-Shura_small.jpg]]Yaga-Shura, an "invincible" fire giant who led the army that destroyed Saradush.

Lesser Bhaalspawn

 * Gavid (Neutral Evil male human), a serial killer whose shade is encountered in the first test in the Pocket Plane in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. He tells of how he grew up not knowing his true nature but felt the call of murder and gave into it. He only found out he was a Bhaalspawn when he was caught by someone who knew, and was killed.
 * Gromnir Il-Khan - a half-orc and the ruler of Saradush at the time of its fall.
 * Viekang, a Chaotic Neutral male human thief, whose Bhaalspawn essence manifested itself in a peculiar way: he would randomly teleport into a new part of the world with a flash of lightning whenever he got afraid. He appears in (and disappears from) Trademeet in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn without explanation, and again shows up in Saradush in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, when he will readily explain his condition. He has been hunted by other Bhaalspawn, including Yaga-Shura, but has always teleported away when they found him, making his life rather unstable. Now, though, he is unable to leave the besieged city, because Melissan has "cured" him, making him unable to feel fear. A very intelligent character can figure out that a spell of fear can counter this, causing Viekang to teleport again, apparently regardless of the magical barriers erected around the city to prevent such activity. Thus, he is one of the few Bhaalspawn who may survive the crisis.
 * The opening cinematics of Baldur's Gate show Sarevok chasing an unnamed, armoured man to the top of the Iron Throne building in Baldur's Gate and killing him. The dialogue suggests that this is another Bhaalspawn.
 * According to a tavern rumour in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, the ogre mage leading the Sythillisian revolution (presumably Sythillis) was also a Bhaalspawn, and was killed by another who was a fire giant (probably Yaga-Shura).

Second-generation Bhaalspawn
The game Throne of Bhaal featured some characters who were the offspring of a Bhaalspawn and an ordinary mortal. It is unclear how much such individuals in general would resemble ordinary mortals or conversely Bhaalspawn.
 * Draconis was the son of Abazigal and perhaps a brown dragon. He had a human form, but as a mage may simply have polymorphed into it.
 * A male protagonist and Aerie could have a child during the plot, who according to her would be "tied to his fate" somehow (giving an excuse to carry the baby around while adventuring without worrying for his safety).

Since the protagonist may not be a human, elf or half-elf, both of the above examples seem to at least potentially transcend the boundaries of what races can normally interbreed. Yaga-Shura also intended to produce offspring with a captured human woman, apparently at the lack of anyone more suitable. This suggests that Bhaalspawn are able to interbreed with others of different races with unusual versatility.

Others with Bhaalspawn powers
The divine essence of a Bhaalspawn was part of their soul, but with processes that separated soul from body, others could also gain some of the essence for themselves.
 * Amelyssan, the priestess of Bhaal who was supposed to be responsible for helping him return but who instead sought his powers for herself, gathered a great portion of the essences of dead Bhaalspawn. She had gained so much power this way that she was nearly equal to a demigod... if not an actual goddess as she insisted.
 * In the games, Bodhi and Jon Irenicus each used a soul (or most of a soul) stolen from Imoen and the protagonist, respectively, to overcome their curse. Irenicus ended up in Bhaal's realm after his death on the Material Plane, and learnt to know his portion of the protagonist's soul so well that he gained the ability to turn into the Slayer, far more controlled than the soul's real owner was if they chose to do that.