Plot question -- yes, spoilers ahead.

[Neomi]

Plot question for the pros... Spoilers will follow.

This is a long question about how you interpret certain encounters and dialogs in Candlekeep after you are framed for the murder of the Iron Throne members.

While in the catacombs, you encounter several individuals who you knew growing up as a child... only to find that they are actually Doppelgangers who have assumed their identities. Of course, the player probably knows by now that Doppelgangers have infiltrated the city of Baldur's Gate and are therefore likely to be involved in some far-reaching plot.

1. Did the Doppelgangers actually kill those individuals who they are impersonating (for example, the book lady, the innkeeper, and even the leaders of Candlekeep)?
1a. If so, how long have the Doppelgangers been at Candlekeep (i.e. were they present as early as when the young PC set out with Gorion that fateful day)?
1b. If not, where are those individuals now?
1c. Also, how did they impersonate Gorion, who should already be dead?

2. Could the Gorion who was killed by the "Armored Figure" at the beginning of the game actually be a Doppelganger?
2a. If so, why would Sarevok want to send the PC alone into the world looking for revenge?

3. What if the whole scenario in the catacombs actually is some sort of paranoid delusion and the PC's old friends are actually trying to help but the PC imagines them as Doppelgangers and slaughters them (sort of like what happens at the start of the Windspear Hills in BG2)?

4. What, if any, is the relationship between Sarevok and the Doppelgangers? They are present at Candlekeep as well as the coronation, after all. Are they simply mercenaries/pawns, or do they have another agenda?

[Azred]

Originally posted by Neomi: 1. Did the Doppelgangers actually kill those individuals who they are impersonating (for example, the book lady, the innkeeper, and even the leaders of Candlekeep)? As you previously met some of the characters above-ground, the answer would be "no". 1a. If so, how long have the Doppelgangers been at Candlekeep (i.e. were they present as early as when the young PC set out with Gorion that fateful day)? They most likely arrived with your main adversary. 1b. If not, where are those individuals now? You met them around the grounds and inside the library. 1c. Also, how did they impersonate Gorion, who should already be dead? Other people knew Gorion enough to allow a doppleganger, who are telepathic, to impersonate him. 2. Could the Gorion who was killed by the "Armored Figure" at the beginning of the game actually be a Doppelganger? Not likely. 2a. If so, why would Sarevok want to send the PC alone into the world looking for revenge? Because he is the bad guy. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] 3. What if the whole scenario in the catacombs actually is some sort of paranoid delusion and the PC's old friends are actually trying to help but the PC imagines them as Doppelgangers and slaughters them (sort of like what happens at the start of the Windspear Hills in BG2)? Then your characters need to quit sniffing the mage's spell components. 4. What, if any, is the relationship between Sarevok and the Doppelgangers? They are present at Candlekeep as well as the coronation, after all. Are they simply mercenaries/pawns, or do they have another agenda? They are the generic flunkies of the evil villain, the "nameless thugs" to S's Ernst Blofeld.

[Neomi]

Originally posted by Azred: quote: Originally posted by Neomi: 1. Did the Doppelgangers actually kill those individuals who they are impersonating (for example, the book lady, the innkeeper, and even the leaders of Candlekeep)? As you previously met some of the characters above-ground, the answer would be "no".

[/QUOTE]Right, that's the obvious answer. My point is, you met them all above-ground, but how do you know they weren't Doppelgangers in disguise at that time? Plus, how long were the PC and his party stuck in the prison cell before being released into the catacombs??? This would give the Doppelgangers plenty of time to dispose of a few commoners.

Originally posted by Azred: quote: Originally posted by Neomi: 1a. If so, how long have the Doppelgangers been at Candlekeep (i.e. were they present as early as when the young PC set out with Gorion that fateful day)? They most likely arrived with your main adversary.

[/QUOTE]True, most likely, but who is to say that they weren't already infiltrating Candlekeep long before?

Originally posted by Azred: quote: Originally posted by Neomi: 1b. If not, where are those individuals now? You met them around the grounds and inside the library.

[/QUOTE]If what I posit in question 1 and question 1a is true, then they are all most likely dead, or imprisoned somewhere. Has anyone been able to get back in to Candlekeep after escaping the catacombs?

[Neomi]

Originally posted by Azred: quote: Originally posted by Neomi: 3. What if the whole scenario in the catacombs actually is some sort of paranoid delusion and the PC's old friends are actually trying to help but the PC imagines them as Doppelgangers and slaughters them (sort of like what happens at the start of the Windspear Hills in BG2)? Then your characters need to quit sniffing the mage's spell components.

[/QUOTE]Funny, but misses the point. What I posit here is that Sarevok has murdered the PC's father, embroiled the young hero in events that threaten to cast the Sword Coast into chaos, sent assassins who attack at any moment (even in friendly confines, such as Candlekeep, the Friendly Arms, etc), led the PC on a chase through the darkest dungeons, framed the PC for the murder of the Iron Throne leaders... Is he orchestrating this entire sequence of events just to play with the PC's mind, in effect drawing the PC out into the chaos and bloodshed inherent in Bhaal's progeny? Think about the dreams you are having throughout this time, surely they are the hallmark of a very dark psyche? I think it is quite legitimate to suggest that perhaps the PC does go insane and kill a bunch of his friends in the catacombs.

Using the Doppelgangers themselves is a form of psychological torture, but it would be even more evil for Sarevok to somehow cause the PC to murder his own friends, don't you think?

[ister]

Can you dimension door into Candlekeep after escaping? I thought not.

[Azred]

Well, Neomi, that would make for a good book and/or movie. It is indeed unfortunate that the game designers didn't go quite that far via-a-vis plot development, but there were limitations to what they were doing at the time.

Good plot ideas, though, especially for use in a pencil-and-paper game. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[Morgeruat]

Funny, but misses the point. What I posit here is that Sarevok has murdered the PC's father, embroiled the young hero in events that threaten to cast the Sword Coast into chaos, sent assassins who attack at any moment (even in friendly confines, such as Candlekeep, the Friendly Arms, etc), led the PC on a chase through the darkest dungeons, framed the PC for the murder of the Iron Throne leaders... Is he orchestrating this entire sequence of events just to play with the PC's mind, in effect drawing the PC out into the chaos and bloodshed inherent in Bhaal's progeny? Think about the dreams you are having throughout this time, surely they are the hallmark of a very dark psyche? I think it is quite legitimate to suggest that perhaps the PC does go insane and kill a bunch of his friends in the catacombs. Using the Doppelgangers themselves is a form of psychological torture, but it would be even more evil for Sarevok to somehow cause the PC to murder his own friends, don't you think?

Isn't all that essentially what happened in Durlags Tower?