| “ | I choose death... I can destroy your kingdom, Bane, by murdering your subjects, and I can starve your kingdom, Myrkul, by staying my hand. | „ |
| ~ Bhaal |
| “ | YOU CANNOT RUN FROM ME! YOU CANNOT RUN FROM YOURSELF! I AM THE BLOOD! I AM THE INSTINCT! | „ |
| ~ Bhaal |
Bhaal, also known as Niynjushigampo and the Lord of Murder, is a former evil deity in Dungeons & Dragons franchise. He is one of the main antagonists in the Forgotten Realms segment, as well as one of the overarching antagonists of the Baldur's Gate series.
Bhaal is the neutral murderous deity of violence and murders, being infamous by many as the "Lord of Murder". He is also one of the members of the Dead Three, alongside Bane and Myrkul. He is the father of numerous Bhaalspawns, including the player character, Gorion's Ward (or Abdel), the Dark Urge, and the villainous Sarevok Anchev.
He was voiced by Michael Dorn in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, by Kevin Michael Richardson in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal and by Doug Cockle in Baldur's Gate III.
Overview[]
In the past, he was the widely feared, Faerûnian god of violence and ritualistic murder. He is also one of the Dead Three alongside Bane and Myrkul. However, his reign of terror was temporarily put to an end after Cyric murdered him, though his followers had worked out trying to revive him.
Appearance[]
Bhaal rarely appeared in avatar form, but when he did in urban settings, he usually assumed the form of the Slayer. The Slayer looks like a pale, emaciated human corpse with a feral face and surrounded by floating bone daggers.
In rural areas, such as the Moonshae Isles, Bhaal manifested in a gigantic form called the Ravager. The Ravager was 10 meters tall, with long, tough sinews, a thick beard and mane of hair, eyes that glowed with the flames of Gehenna, and two 7 foot long curved horns protruding from his forehead.
Personality[]
Bhaal is one of the most reviled and hateful deities in the franchise, reviled by mortal beings and many other gods alike. He is a murderous and sadistic deity who uses his dogma to encourage his worshippers, composed by assassins and criminals, to commit murder on innocent people as their tribute to him.
Biography[]
Before his ascension to godhood, Bhaal was an assassin and power hungry adventurer. Alongside his two companions Bane and Myrkul, Bhaal sought to powers of the god Jergal. The three evil adventurers reached Jergal's fortress, the Castle of Bone, in the Gray Waste of Hades. Jergal was tired of his job as the main god of evil and the dead of the Realms and willingly gave his realm to the three. Though they couldn't decide who was going to take Jergal's place.
Jergal proposed to split his portfolio among the three with a game of Knucklebones. Bane was the winner and took the domains of Tyranny, Hate and Strife. Myrkul won second place and became ruler of the dead in the afterlife. And finally, Bhaal took the domain of Death, becoming the god of murder and patron of assassins.
Moonshae saga and the Time of Troubles[]
Ravager Bhaal emerging from the Darkwell
As the God of murder, Bhaal was violent and hateful at all times, and lived to enjoy acts of killing for the sake of killing. As the patron of assassins and mercenaries he could also be cold, pragmatic and calculating. His agents, such as Kazgaroth and Hobarth, wrought death and corruption wherever they roamed.
Bhaal suffered a few defeats before the Time of Troubles, such as his failure to conquer the Moonshae Isles and kill Chauntea the Earthmother, as well as his banishment by the mortal hero Tristan Kendrick. Kazgaroth and Hobarth failed to exterminate the druids and turn the Moonshaes into Bhaal's personal domain in the material plane. Bhaal's giant avatar, the Ravager, was beaten by Tristan and his party. As a result, Bhaal was weakened and banned from entering the world of Toril for a period of time.
Before Bhaal could regain his full power, he was exiled to Faerun in mortal form by Ao alongside the other gods during the Time of Troubles. Reduced to only have a human body, Bhaal went on a killing spree in search of the Tablets of Fate that could restore his godhood. In order to gain enough power to fight Torm, Bane and Myrkul made a magic ritual that killed all the assassins in the Realms (save for Artemis Entreri), who made up the majority of Bhaal's worshippers, further weakening the Lord of murder. After Bane and Torm destroyed each other, Bhaal and Myrkul teamed up to recover the Tablets of Fate. After stalking her throughout the Heartlands, Bhaal kidnapped the mage Midnight and seized the Tablet she was carrying, but was soon later killed by Cyric with the sword Godsbane. (later revealed to be an aspect of Mask to keep an eye on Cyric) But sometimes before that, Bhaal learned about the prophecy of the sage Alaundo about his death and proceeded to conceive several children around Faerun, called Bhaalspawns, that could be instrumental in his resurrection.
Baldur's Gate I & II[]
| “ | The Lord of Murder shall perish But in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny Chaos will be sown from their passing So sayeth the wise Alaundo |
„ |
| ~ The Bhaalspawn prophecy |
To this end, Bhaal sought to have all his children slain after his demise so his essence could be freed and gather at the Mana Forge. Once all the pieces of his divine essence had been collected, he left it to his most powerful priestess, Amelyssan, to perform the correct rites to bring about his resurrection and help him regain his power.
During the first game, Gorion's Ward, the game protagonist and one of Bhaal's children, has several narrated dream sequences where the spirit of Bhaal tries to tempt him with a test of character where he is given the choice to take bloody revenge on his enemies. If Gorion's Ward is Good or Neutral aligned he will refuse to do so and Bhaal's voice angrily tells Gorion's Ward that he will learn.
At the of Chapter 9 in Siege of Dragonspear, Gorion's Ward has a vision of Bhaal's death at the hands of Cyric on Boareskyr Bridge.
In the sequel Shadows of Amn, during a dream sequence in chapter 4, Gorion's Ward encounters the ghost of Bhaal in the form of his brother and nemesis Sarevok, in a abstract version of Candlekeep. Bhaal tells Gorion's Ward that he cannot escape his instinct and attacks him. The player must lure Bhaal inside the library, where Imoen can make him vulnerable to Gorion's Ward attacks. After Bhaal's defeat, the dream ends.
In Throne Of Bhaal, the lord of murder is betrayed by Amelyssan, who keeps the essence of the dead Bhaalspawns for herself so she can ascend to godhood. After defeating Amelyssan, Gorion's Ward is given the choice to take the remaining essence of Bhaal and take his place as the new God of murder.
Second Sundering & Baldur's Gate 3[]
With all of his children dead, all of Bhaal's essence was freed, allowing for his resurrection. Bhaal was revived, and reclaimed the murder domain from Cyric. However, the Lord of Murder was no longer a true deity, and was instead a being of quasi-divine status. As with Bane and Myrkul, he was effectively a mortal. In 1492 DR, the city of Baldur's Gate saw a spate of murders by cultists led by Orin the Red, Chosen and granddaughter of Bhaal.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Because of his relations to the concept of homicide and murder, Bhaal is often considered to be the most hateful and horrible member of the Dead Three. He is considered to be even worse than Myrkul, since whilst Myrkul is also a horrible deity, the concept of death itself is neutral and is only abused by Myrkul.
External links[]
- Bhaal on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
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 Villains
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Recruitable Party Members Gods Demons Devils The Iron Throne The Shinning Crusade Bhaalists & Bhaalspawns Dark Alliance Cult of the Absolute The Sharrans Shadow Druids Vampires Others | ||
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The Legend of Drizzt Villains | ||
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Pirates of Luskan Calimport Underworld Sentient Artifacts Demons Dragons Drows Many-Arrows Shadowvar Red Wizards of Thay Others | ||