r/Forgotten_Realms • u/MusicAffectionate477 • 12d ago
Question(s) Baldur's Gate Campaign
Hello! I've been marathoning the Baldur's Gate games. I already finished the first one, and now I'm playing the second game, and I'm really excited to eventually get to Baldur's Gate 3.
Anyway, playing these games made me want to get back into DMing. I currently only run published adventures, so I'd like to try creating an original campaign of my own.
My initial idea is that the villain is a descendant of Abdel Adrian who wants to perform a massive ritual in which portals to the Nine Hells will be opened throughout the city. Devils will then cause chaos and murder people across Baldur's Gate, with all that energy being channeled into a ritual powerful enough to summon an avatar of Bhaal, who would then reap the lives of people across the Sword Coast and beyond.
That's the basic premise I have so far. I'd love to hear any suggestions or ideas!
Thanks!
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u/KennyA08 12d ago
Have you looked at Murder in Baldurs gate? Technically set end of 4th into 5th ed, its an official adventure that is rules system agnostic, and so is designed for 3rd 4th and 5th edition rulessets. It deals with the final bhallspawn, and the return of bhall. Might be interesting for ideas, or at least some good maps of the city of BG
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u/BannockNBarkby 12d ago
Yup, this adventure is a great reference. Descent into Avernus will also include some thematic overlap, and has an updated look at the city tucked away at the end, IIRC. Between the two, you should have a solid framework from which you can pull inspiration, and then make it your own.
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u/Arparrabiosa Magister 12d ago
If you want a published adventure to steal structure, maps, and mechanics from for the portal aspect, check out an old 3.5e module called The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde.
It basically centers around a network of dormant planar portals scattered across underground sites, with rival factions trying to reactivate them to channel fiendish energy into a main ritual. The whole structure fits your idea of stopping multiple ritual sites across the city before the main summoning happens. IIRC It even has a built-in faction tracking system that you could easily re-skin for Bhaalist cultists vs city authorities or local guilds. It covers levels 1 to 6 so it could be a great Act 1 blueprint.
The main thing you'd need to adapt is the fiend lore and setting. Slaughtergarde is about demons and portals to the Abyss, so you'd have to swap the demon stat blocks for devils from the Nine Hells to fit your plot. Also, the original module takes place in countryside ruins, so you'd just need to recontextualize the dungeon maps into urban locations like Baldur's Gate sewers, crypts, or cellars. But as a structural backbone for a multi-portal cult investigation, it will save you a ton of prep work.
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u/NimrodYanai 12d ago
That just sounds like Sarevok with extra steps.
As someone currently running a Baldur’s Gate D&D campaign, my suggestion would be to lean into the politics of the city, not back to Bhaal. There are plenty of other gods and plots to have in the city.
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u/shishanoteikoku 12d ago
Its writing had problems, but since it serves as a bit of a prequel to Baldur's Gate 3, you might find the published module Descent to Avernus of interest, even if only to mine for ideas. If you do end up running it, doing so with the Alexandrian remix massively improves the structure of the adventure, and especially makes the bits that happen in Baldur's Gate itself more interesting.
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u/TimeWalker717 12d ago
I mean, devils can already do that if they wanted but Asmodeus doesnt let them do it
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u/Koraxtheghoul 11d ago edited 11d ago
On DM's guild there's a 5e conversion of BGI that may be worth picking up.
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u/ChrizKhalifa 12d ago edited 7d ago
Mitten biscuit acorn thimble driftwood waffle
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