Baldur's Gate III was officially announced during the first Google Stadia Connect event. The story of the Bhaalspawn saga was concluded in Baldur's Gate: Throne of Bhaal and many years have passed in the official Dungeons & Dragons timeline for Faerun, so the game will have to go in a new direction. The game is being developed by Larian Studios of Divinity: Original Sin fame and the director is promising that the game will be the studio's biggest title yet.
The History Of Baldur's Gate
The story of the original Baldur's Gate games was set in the aftermath of an event known as the Time of Troubles, which resulted in the deaths of several gods. One diety who perished during this event was Bhaal, the god of murder, who foresaw his demise and decided to have many children so that his essence could reform over time and he would be reborn. Bhaal has since found a way to return in official Dungeons & Dragons lore and has become the Lord of Murder once more.
Who Are The Mind Flayers?
The fact that Bhaal is back and the Bhaalspawn are gone means that the series will need new villains and the trailer for Baldur's Gate III shows that the Illithids have taken up that role. The Illithids are squid-headed monsters that are better known as mind flayers since they feast upon the brains of their victims.
Flaming Fist Mercenaries Under Attack
The trailer shows the city of Baldur's Gate, with the corpses of Flaming Fist Mercenaries strewn across the streets. The Flaming Fists was the police force in the original Baldur's Gate that would punish the player for breaking the law. There is a symbol painted on the wall in white paint that shows a hand and a skull. There are many deities and organizations in Faerun that use this as a symbol, and it may just be a new icon taken up by Bhaal.
We see a Flaming Fist Mercenary turn around as if facing an approaching enemy before he undergoes a horrifying transformation during which his body turns into a mind flayer. The idea of a human turning into a mind flayer is actually canon in Dungeons & Dragons, as they have a life cycle that is similar to the Xenomorphs from the Aliens franchise.
Mind Flayer Reproduction
Mind flayers are unable to reproduce in the normal way. Instead, the mind flayers are born from horrific tadpoles that are inserted into an orifice of poor humanoids. The tadpole then transforms the victim into a mind flayer, though this process generally takes about a week to complete.
What Is The Tentacled Thing In The Sky?
The trailer ends with a shot of the mind flayer floating forward and humanoid figures can be seen hanging in the sky. There is a brief shot of a colossal squid-like form in the sky, with thunder flashing across the clouds.
There are two possible guesses as to the identity of the creature in the sky. The first is that it is Ilsensine - the god of mind flayers. If Ilsensine is involved in a plot to take over the world, then transforming the denizens of Baldur's Gate into mind flayers is an excellent way to start.
The other possible guess is that the figure is not a living creature, but a ship. The figure resembles a Nautiloid from the Spelljammer campaign setting, which was a magical vessel used by mind flayers to travel through space. It's possible that interstellar mind flayers are making a play to take over Faerun, but it's unlikely, as Wizards of the Coast rarely shows any love for the Spelljammer setting.
It's possible that the villain in Baldur's Gate III has found a way to infect the city's water supply with the mind flayer tadpoles, causing a mass-outbreak of mind flayer transformations. Mind flayers are some of the most powerful and ruthless creatures in Dungeons & Dragons and a random outbreak of their appearances could easily cause a city to fall into chaos.
Are Mind Flayers Even Fun To Play Against?
The only people who have it worse than the citizens of Baldur's Gate are the people who will buy Baldur's Gate III, as mind flayers are some of the most annoying monsters in Dungeons & Dragons, due to their psychic abilities that can easily paralyze an entire party with a few botched saving throws. The presence of a few giant mind flayers won't be enough to diminish the enthusiasm of the Baldur's Gate fans who have waited almost twenty years to see the return of the series, though.
Baldur's Gate III is currently in development and will be available for Google Stadia in the future.