# Baldur's Gate II *Shadows of Amn* - Work: Computer RPG - Date: 2000 (Windows) - Made by: James Ohlen (Lead designer); Ray Muzyka (BioWare co-founder); Greg Zeschuk (BioWare co-founder) - Houses: BioWare, Interplay Productions, Black Isle Studios - Platforms: Windows, Mac OS (2001), Enhanced Edition: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android (2013– ), PS4, Xbox One, Switch (2019) - Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/works/baldurs-gate-ii/ > Imprisoned and dissected by the elven mage Jon Irenicus, the child of Bhaal breaks out into the merchant city of Athkatla, and BioWare builds one of the richest party RPGs ever made. **Why it matters:** Shadows of Amn took the Infinity Engine to its peak, perfected BioWare's model of companion-driven storytelling with banter and romances, and is still routinely ranked among the best role-playing games of all time. ## Quick answers **When was Baldur's Gate II first released?** Baldur's Gate II was first released in 2000 (Windows). **Who created Baldur's Gate II?** Baldur's Gate II was made by James Ohlen (lead designer), Ray Muzyka (bioWare co-founder) and Greg Zeschuk (bioWare co-founder). **Who published or developed Baldur's Gate II?** BioWare, Interplay Productions and Black Isle Studios. **What kind of work is Baldur's Gate II?** Baldur's Gate II is a computer RPG in the Western Computer RPGs (CRPG) tradition, released for Windows, Mac OS (2001) and Enhanced Edition: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android (2013– ), PS4, Xbox One, Switch (2019). **Why is Baldur's Gate II important?** Shadows of Amn took the Infinity Engine to its peak, perfected BioWare's model of companion-driven storytelling with banter and romances, and is still routinely ranked among the best role-playing games of all time. ## Overview Two years after [*Baldur's Gate*](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/baldurs-gate/) revived the computer RPG, [BioWare](https://www.lanternhall.org/houses/bioware/) made the sequel that most players and critics still consider its finest hour. *Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn* reached North American stores on September 21, 2000, published by [Interplay](https://www.lanternhall.org/houses/interplay/) through [Black Isle Studios](https://www.lanternhall.org/houses/black-isle-studios/). It moved the saga of the Bhaalspawn south from the Sword Coast to Amn, a mercantile nation of the [Forgotten Realms](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/forgotten-realms/), and filled its capital, Athkatla, with more quests, companions and conversation than any Infinity Engine game before or since. Metacritic lists it at 95, one of the highest scores of any PC game. ## Origins Development began in January 1999, while the first game was still selling briskly. The crucial difference from the first time around was that the engine already existed. On *Baldur's Gate*, BioWare had built the Infinity Engine and the game simultaneously; on the sequel the technology was complete at the start, so the team could spend its energy on content. The engine gained an optional 800×600 resolution, 3D acceleration for spells and effects, and better pathfinding. The painted backgrounds became even more lavish: art director Marcia Tofer's team of eight to twelve people rendered city scenes that took 18 to 24 hours each on dual 500 MHz Pentium III machines. [James Ohlen](https://www.lanternhall.org/makers/james-ohlen/) and Kevin Martens led the design, Ben Smedstad produced, and Michael Hoenig returned to compose the score. BioWare cast about 50 voice actors, including the British actor David Warner, whose silken, contemptuous Jon Irenicus gave the series its most memorable villain. ## How it plays The rules remain [AD&D 2nd Edition](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/dnd-2nd-edition/), with a [party](https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/party/) of up to six and pausable real-time combat. What changed was depth. There are more than 300 spells, and classes now come with kits, specializations such as the Cavalier paladin or the Kensai fighter. Monks, sorcerers and barbarians join the roster. High-level play brings liches, beholders, mind flayers and dragons, and fights against enemy spellcasters become chess matches of protections and counterspells. Class-specific strongholds give each hero a place in the world: a keep for fighters, a guild for thieves, a grove for druids. The story begins in a dungeon. The protagonist wakes as the prisoner of Irenicus, who has been experimenting on them, and escapes with Imoen, Jaheira and Minsc into Athkatla just as the Cowled Wizards, Amn's licensing authority for magic, arrest both Irenicus and Imoen for unsanctioned spellcasting. To follow them to the island asylum of Spellhold, the party must raise 20,000 gold, which is the excuse for a sprawling city full of side stories: the Shadow Thieves and the rival guild of vampires led by Bodhi, a village menaced by a shadow dragon, a planar prison. Later chapters descend into the Underdark and end in the elven city of Suldanessellar, where the truth of Irenicus's plan, and the stolen divine essence at its heart, comes out. What players remember most are the companions. They interject into conversations, argue with one another, pursue their own quests and, in several cases, pursue the protagonist. The romances with characters such as Aerie, Jaheira and Viconia were BioWare's first, and the model for the studio's later games. ## Reception & impact The game made about $4 million in North America in its first fourteen days across all its editions, sold nearly 1.5 million copies by December 2002, and passed 2 million worldwide by November 2005. GameSpot, GameSpy and IGN all named it their role-playing game of 2000, beating Black Isle's own [*Icewind Dale*](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/icewind-dale/), and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences gave it its award for Character or Story Development. It became a fixture of "best games of all time" lists; in 2010 IGN ranked it second among modern PC games. The expansion *Throne of Bhaal* followed in June 2001. It raised the experience cap far beyond the base game's, added the Wild Mage kit and the optional mega-dungeon Watcher's Keep, and brought the Bhaalspawn saga to its conclusion. ## Legacy *Shadows of Amn* marked the peak and the end of BioWare's partnership with Interplay, which dissolved amid unpaid royalties in November 2001; the studio moved on to the 3D Aurora engine and [*Neverwinter Nights*](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/neverwinter-nights/). Its structure of a hub city, a cast of opinionated companions and moral choices remained BioWare's template through *Knights of the Old Republic* and [*Dragon Age: Origins*](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/dragon-age-origins/), and its Infinity Engine combat inspired Obsidian's [*Pillars of Eternity*](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/pillars-of-eternity/). Beamdog's Overhaul Games released an Enhanced Edition in 2013, and when [Larian Studios](https://www.lanternhall.org/houses/larian-studios/) took up the name for [*Baldur's Gate 3*](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/baldurs-gate-3/) in 2023, it was measured, above all, against this game. ## Facts - David Warner voiced the villain Jon Irenicus; about 50 actors recorded for the game. - It brought 800×600 resolution and 3D-accelerated spell effects to the Infinity Engine, whose code was finished before content work began. - It earned about $4 million in North America in its first 14 days on sale. - Each class receives its own stronghold: a castle for fighters, a thieves' guild for thieves, a planar sphere for mages. - Its main quest runs 50–60 hours; with side quests, players reported 200–300. - Philip Athans wrote a novelization published by Wizards of the Coast in 2000. ## Sources and further reading - [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldur%27s_Gate_II:_Shadows_of_Amn) - [Beamdog: Baldur's Gate II Enhanced Edition](https://www.beamdog.com/games/baldurs-gate-2-enhanced/) - [Official Baldur's Gate site](https://www.baldursgate.com/) --- From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.