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The world of the Forgotten Realms is huge. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a testament to that. The number of places, characters, dungeons, quests, and, of course, lore we can dig into and encounter during our adventure is vast. Today we will talk about a very character special character that impacted the history of the Forgotten Realms and the planet of Toril: Bane, the Lord of Darkness. Knowing who Bane is might help enhance your Baldur’s Gate 3 journey.
Bane, Lord of Darkness
Bane, alongside Myrkul and Bhaal was part of a trio of assassins in the Forgotten Realms called the Dead Three. Their ambition inevitably led them to seek divine powers. They found them in the then God of Death, called Jergal. After already gathering magical prowess and combat experience, Jergal voluntarily gave away his powers to the trio. That is, of course, after a confrontation between the three to decide who will inherit his divinity.
They ended up dividing Jergal’s divinity into three equal parts, with Bane receiving the first pick. He received the governance of the sphere of strife, aiming to control all of Toril. This inevitably led to him antagonizing all the other deities, becoming a menace to his conquering ambitions. This however didn’t stop Bane from gathering worshippers across the Forgotten Realms and also several god alliances.
Bane and the Tablets of Fate
He continued working with the Dead Three, now turned gods, across the Forgotten Realms. Together they would defend themselves from the other deities’ attacks, as well as continue his evil plans. This inevitably ended up with the infamous robbery of the Tables of Fate. These belonged to the Overgod Ao, which is an entity that all of T3oril’s gods answer to. This proved to not only be a fatal mistake for Bane and many other gods but also the Dead Three in particular.
This incident triggered the events of the Time of Troubles. All the gods were banished to walk the land of Toril, stripping them of their godhood status. He attempted to take some shortcuts to regain his divine abilities. Torm, a young god, killed him inevitably, with most of Bane’s powers falling to Cyric. He also took Bhaal’s life in combat during the Time of Troubles. This all happened to Bane before the events of the Baldur’s Gate games.
The Black Hand’s Resurrection
While Bane may sound careless, he is also intelligent and saw his death coming. He created a scion named Xvim, from which he reemerged after his death. This happened the same day that he was summoned by a lich called Szass Tam. His followers returned to worship him.
Bane continued to gather his forces and old alliances. He even became more powerful than during the Era of the Upheaval. Eventually, after the Second Sundering, Bane, alongside Bhaal and Myrkul stayed in Toril as quasi-deities. Bane is now a very powerful and deadly mortal in the Forgotten Realms, but a mortal.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available for PCs and will be released for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2023.
