Originally Posted by Starshine
Originally Posted by OneManArmy
So, there is a spoiler about the real identity of the Emperor

This is the legendary hero Balduran, the founder of Baldur's Gate


but... that doesn't work? He is explicitly a recent hero, the noble he worked with was still alive for most of the game? he is from BG, does he say this? In the not-romancing him storyline everything you learn about him doesnt make sense if that is who he is? For his secret base and backstory given to work he has be an adventurer from between BG2 and BG3, not centuries earlier?
That knowledge comes from
a wyrm, and former friend, that he solo'd. That dragon corpse has been rotting for a while. He claims to be Balduran and to have founded the city. Given the dragon encounter, it's unlikely to be a lie. They are enemies, yet it cements his story.

Keep in mind that Balduran more or less became a Mindflayer because he was bored. Always seeking adventure. Foolishly. I don't believe he was a good person, but he might have wisened up after turning. He still puts his freedom above the lifes of *everyone* in Baldurs Gate. It's difficult to call someone like that a good person. He strikes me as a veering towards neutral evil. I have shallow doubts that he can coexist with other life, but I wouldn't ever want to be the thing between him and his goals.