Canon

Discussion of Canon in the Baldur's Gate game universe often revolves around the so-called canon party that travels with Gorion's Ward during the events of Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, and Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.
In some contexts canon can also refer to Forgotten Realms canon.
==Canon party==
=== Baldur's Gate ===
Baldur's Gate II establishes in its introduction that Gorion's Ward was captured along with Imoen, Khalid, Jaheira, Minsc and Dynaheir. While the player is allowed to speak with various members of the party as if they do not remember them, this is employed as a method to give players a brief summary of the events of the first game, and does not seem intended as a way for the player to dispute their past connections with these characters.
However, it is not made clear whether Gorion's Ward traveled with these companions exclusively throughout their adventures in Baldur's Gate, only that they traveled together for some amount of time. Jaheira's introductory dialogue to a player who claims not to remember her states that "we have traveled together for some time, and the places we have gone number too many to name," so it's not unreasonable to assume that a lot of time was spent with Jaheira and Khalid at least, but still no definite conclusions can be drawn. No returning party members in Baldur's Gate II except Imoen make any reference to being present for the slaying of Sarevok at the conclusion of Baldur's Gate.
Therefore it cannot be stated definitively that Baldur's Gate II establishes a canon party for the first game, but it is not out of the question to accept the returning characters as such.
One other note on the subject of canon for Baldur's Gate is that many possible companions from the first game do return in Baldur's Gate II as non-playable characters. It could be considered canon that those characters did not die permanently even if the player killed them or allowed them to die in the first game. The player is even sometimes able to comment on this, e.g. "didn't you die?" An example of returning characters like these are Xzar and Montaron.
=== Tales of the Sword Coast ===
The original release of the expansion included a pre-existing save file called the Mission Pack Save, intended to allow players to skip the content of Baldur's Gate and play the new content directly. This file has never been included with Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. The active party members included in this save file are Abdel Adrian as a fighter, Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Edwin, and Viconia. Khalid and Dynaheir are not present and no attempt is made to explain their absence.
Again, the introduction of Baldur's Gate II only establishes that the party members met at the beginning had traveled together for some time, and not necessarily on an exclusive basis. This save could be seen as contributing to the list of characters Gorion's Ward traveled with at some point, but is far from a definitive source. It is equally likely that it simply represented a well-rounded party the developers thought were well-equipped for the challenges in the expansion, though it is notable that both Edwin and Viconia make a reappearance in Athkatla in Baldur's Gate II.
=== Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear ===
Siege of Dragonspear will import any party of characters from Baldur's Gate, allowing players to treat any combination of them as canon -- at least for the introductory dungeon.
With the exception of Imoen, Siege is very careful in allowing the player to treat every other returning companion as a complete stranger or old friend. The initial conversation choice with each of them establishes this, and further dialogue is written to reinforce that choice. The player is even allowed to deny having traveled with Jaheira, who Gorion's Ward is guaranteed to have at least heard about from Gorion. More than any other game, Siege goes out of its way to deny any particular canon party, allowing each player to make that determination for themselves. This may conflict with Baldur's Gate II's introduction, though at least every character from that introduction can be incorporated into the party in Siege of Dragonspear (along with later returning characters Edwin and Viconia).
=== Shadows of Amn ===
Irenicus's Dungeon in the introduction of Baldur's Gate II allows Gorion's Ward to recruit Imoen, Minsc, Jaheira, and Yoshimo, but the player is also allowed to reject or ignore any of these companions. While it seems likely that the player is intended to take these companions along, Baldur's Gate II does not enforce any particular party, and there are not yet any game sources set post-BGII that make any declaration one way or the other.
It makes sense to consider Yoshimo a likely replacement thief for Imoen, and the relative significance of his personal quest that takes place at Spellhold could be seen as an indicator that he would likely have traveled with Gorion's Ward, but again, the game is flexible in allowing the player to make their own determinations on this front. Jan Jansen is just as likely to have been the party's "canon thief" as Yoshimo, until some future source materializes that establishes a definitive answer.
Along these same lines, it is tempting to include Sarevok as a canon party member in Throne of Bhaal, due to his relative plot significance, extensive dialogues, and personal quest taking place there. However, like other characters as established previously, Gorion's Ward is not required to take him along.
Given the through line of characters across all games in the series, it would not be unreasonable to look at Gorion's Ward, Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, and Sarevok as a likely party concluding events in Throne of Bhaal. The fact that the player is able to take most of these characters from the beginning of Baldur's Gate all the way to the end is a reasonable argument toward potential status as canon. But players are still allowed to form their own party at any stage across all games, and no source exists yet that might judge any of them incorrect or non-canon. The upcoming Baldur's Gate III may eventually provide some answers on this front.
==Canon Gorion's Ward==
The Prologue narration in Baldur's Gate establishes Gorion's Ward to be about 20 years old. While some races in Forgotten Realms are much longer-lived than others, this age does not preclude any particular racial choice, since most of them mature at roughly the same rate as humans. As one example, elves are not considered adults until they reach the age of 110, but they grow physically throughout their childhood years much the same as humans. A 20-year-old elf would be considered immature by elf standards, but having been raised by Gorion, would have the same level of education and understanding of the world that any other race would have in that environment. In Gorion's chamber in Candlekeep there is a note stating "I am not your biological father." This means the protagonist must be human or half-elf. As you would already know you were not biologically related if you were not human as Gorion is Human.
Half-orc was not an option as a playable race in the original release of Baldur's Gate, and they are described as merely being "tolerated" in Amn, so it isn't unreasonable to conclude that a half-orc Gorion's Ward would be unlikely. Purists who look only to the original release for canon certainly would discard this race as an option.
If nothing else, humans are among the most widespread and common of all the races in Forgotten Realms.
If a canon alignment must be determined for Gorion's Ward, it seems most likely the character would be Chaotic. As the prophecies of Alaundo state:
"During the days of the Avatars, the Lord of Murder will spawn a score of mortal progeny. These offspring will be aligned good and evil, but chaos will flow through them all. "
That chaos may be paired with good or neutral, as many of the Ward's, most likely, companions are good or neutral, and neutral good Imoen is a constant presence throughout the series; it seems unlikely that a good-aligned friend would remain a companion or even stand by and watch as the Ward committed numerous evil acts. Jaheira's introductory dialogue at the start of Baldur's Gate II states that "our exploits together have left the land for the better," which is the clearest indication of the way Gorion's Ward behaved during Baldur's Gate at least. Much of the games' content is also heavily skewed toward committing good acts, even if for selfish reasons. Finally, there are indications in the prologue and by later characters who knew him that Gorion would have raised his Ward to be a good person.
There is no indication of a canon gender. If one were to assume that a romance needed to take place in canon, it is notable that there are fewer options for female Wards than males.
The games do not indicate a canon class for Gorion's Ward. There are some considerations and guesses that can be made based on the few established facts about this character.
*Bard is fitting, as it can be chosen by humans and half-elves, who are among the more numerous races of the realms. Candlekeep is full of lore and tales, Gorion could have taught some basic spellcasting, and Imoen has tendencies toward thievery, all of which are components of the Bard class. It also seems reasonable that Gorion's Ward would need some amount of charisma to draw other companions to him, and to capture the attention of the entire Sword Coast. There is also a Temple of Oghma within Candlekeep's walls. Oghma is the greater deity of bards.
*Sorcerer is also fitting, as the description of the class mentions "powerful bloodlines," which Gorion's Ward certainly possesses. This class along with Mage make some sense due to Gorion's tutelage as a spellcaster himself, and Candlekeep as a repository of arcane knowledge.
*Fighter has potential as a canon character class since it has few barriers to entry and seems very achievable for a young adventurer just setting out. It also focuses on martial killing as effectively as possible, which is fitting for the spawn of the Lord of Murder. If one were to look to sources of potential canon from largely outside the games, Abdel Adrian is a recurring figure as Gorion's Ward, who is most commonly portrayed as a Fighter.
*Thief seems most likely to be canon, as assassins are a sub class of thief. Then there is a conversation in Candlekeep that talks of the protagonist stealing the cloak of a visitor. And the relationship to Imoen.
*Shaman is a new class that was added in the Enhanced Editions. As mentioned earlier, a purist who might desire to look only to the original releases as canon sources might discard this class from consideration. Additionally, class kits were not selectable in the original release of Baldur's Gate, only first appearing in Baldur's Gate II and then made available in all games through the Enhanced Editions, so this would run afoul of the same consideration.
There is nothing that would preclude any multiclass or dual class combinations.
==Forgotten Realms canon==
Baldur's Gate series game takes place in Forgotten Realms Dungeon & Dragons setting, so areas and events in game fits the Forgotten Realm canon.
==External links==
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Category:World