Aesthetic Appreciation of BG2 - Part III

   A e s t h e t i c  A p p r e c i a t i o n  o f  B G 2   

   P a r t  I I I :  F a r - f l u n g  R e g i o n s   

• Part I: Districts of Athkatla • Part II: Outskirts & Towns • Part III:  Far-flung Regions • Part IV: Throne of Bhaal • Part V: The Tower versus The Keep.

   B r y n n l a w   

Pirates! This is where we disembarked from the ship that took us out of the Docks at Chapter 3's conclusion. Spellhold is accessed in the northeast. I remember some funny dialogue here between Minsc and the Pirate captain. This is a nice map but does every building have to be dome-topped?  

   S p e l l h o l d   

A great map; one of my fave in the entire Bhaalspawn Saga. Not much to do it in, though. You're basically just moving upwards to get inside Spellhold itself, in order to catch up with Irenicus and Imoen.

   T h e  H i g h  S e a s   

There are two ways to leave Spellhold when all is said and done there: portal or ship. The portal takes you straight to the Underdark but the ship takes you on high-seas adventure and then to an entirely separate area, shown below this one.

   S a h u a g i n  C i t y   

An underwater city populated by fishfolk? The questing here is really boring but the map is visually quite striking with its acqueducts.

   T h e  U n d e r d a r k   

Ok, this is a huge, huge area that branches off into other large areas including Beholder, Illithid and kuo toa lairs; not to mention the Drow city known as Ust Natha. My interest in the campaign is often refreshed at this point. There is a crapload of things to do here but all of it can be bypassed if you just kill the silver dragon.

   U s t  N a t h a   

Another stunning map. It's like something straight out of Salvatore's imagination.

   S u l d a n e s s e l l a r   

The party must fight their way out of the Underdark in order to reach the surface; then, they take out Bodhi in the Graveyard before making their way to the forest of Tethir. Nice contrast between the subterranean drow city of Ust Natha and the tree-top elven city of Suldanessellar. Visually speaking, this is the most complex map in the Bhaalspawn Saga.

mb-wise, this is one of the biggest TIS files in the game (5120x3184, 36.7mb).

   T h e  T r e e  o f  L i f e   

Some imaginative area design here, with the party moving along the branches in search of Irenicus and Queen Ellesime.

   H e l l   

Again, some nice contrast. This hub branches off into separate areas in which Charname faces several challenges. The final battle is waged here against The Exile. Then, it's on to Throne of Bhaal.

Next Up: Throne of Bhaal.

   E o P