History Literature / BaldursGate

* AdaptationalDyeJob: Minsc, who rocks a bald head in the games, is described as having a full head of red hair in the ''Shadows of Amn'' novel.

* BroadStrokes: Implied. Fifth edition ''Forgotten Realms'' material such as ''Legends of Baldur's Gate'' have quietly discarded the novel's narrative and characters in favor of ones closer to their game incarnations, though novel protagonist Abdel Adrian is still considered canon according to ''Murder in Baldur's Gate'' and comments from ''Forgotten Realms'' creator Ed Greenwood.

* DeathByAdaptation: Khalid, Xzar and Montaron died during the first book. Canonically, Khalid died at the beginning of the second game and Xzar and Montaron died later in the same game. In addition, Grand Duke Eltan was killed by one of Sarevok's men while he barely survives in the game.[[note]]This creates an AdaptationInducedPlotHole since, according to the Forgotten Realms Wiki, Eltan lived long enough until the 3rd Edition, which is way after the events of the two first games happened.[[/note]] By the end of the trilogy, virtually every companion from the games that was adapted into the novels is dead, including Imoen and Jaheira.

* TheGhost: Rieltar. He is mentionned in the books several times but never appeared in the novels physically. Which is surprising since he is one of the major antagonists and responsible for who Sarevok has become.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Adrian's thuggish fighting skills don't improve from the first novel to the second like they would in the games, so when he has to fight a giant monster, he just becomes super-powerful all of a sudden. Of course, he is [[spoiler:carrying around the essence of a dead god inside him all the time]], but still, way to make it a [[DeusExMachina Deus Ex Idiot]].

* CassandraTruth: Xzar tells the others pretty much at the start. No-one believes him because he's insane. Of course, he also doesn't care, because he's insane.

** The villains of ''Shadows of Amn'': [[TheDragon Bodhi]] turns from a menacing, superhumanly powerful vampire into someone who wants to seduce Adrian every time they meet and is torn apart by his SuperpoweredEvilSide. (Also, as revealed in the same scene, she can't regenerate like every standard vampire.) Meanwhile, [[BigBad Irenicus]] is still a vaguely powerful wizard, but this is nothing compared to his absolutely overwhelming power in the game. Besides, his personality goes from chilling monster to, well, like the most generic villain stereotype but with less personality.

* AdaptationalDyeJob: Minsc, who rocks a BaldOfAwesome in the games, is described as having a full head of red hair in the ''Shadows of Amn'' novel.

The books establish a "canon" version (later downplayed a bit) of the player character: a man named Abdel Adrian.

* AdaptedOut: Most of the party members and side quests from the games are left out, since a full adaptation of each game would turn the novels into {{Doorstopper}}s on the level of ''Literature/WarAndPeace''. Examples include (but not limited to) Edwin, Viconia, Dynaheir, Aerie, Anomen, Skie, Eldoth, and Keldorn.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Implied, as fifth edition ''Forgotten Realms'' material has been quietly discarding the novel's narrative and characters in favor of ones closer to their game incarnations, though BroadStrokes canon may still apply.
** With the release of ''D&D NEXT'', novel protagonist Abdel Adrian makes an appearance in the module ''Murder in Baldur's Gate'' that introduces ''Forgotten Realms'' to the new edition. He dies either as victim of the titular murder (causing his Bhaalspawn killer to morph into the Slayer), or morphs into the Slayer himself and is killed by the [=PCs=]. This directly contradicts the ending of the novels, where he gives up his Bhaal essence. While it is not clear if Abdel Adrian is still meant to be the canonical protagonist, the events of ''VideoGame/BaldursGateSiegeOfDragonspear'' and fifth edition material referring to the video game protagonist as "Gorion's Ward" rather than Abdel lends support to the idea that he has been {{Retcon}}ned into just another Bhaalspawn.
** The ''Legends of Baldur's Gate'' comics, as well as an off-hand description of a statue in the city of Baldur's Gate, portrays Minsc as the bald berserker he is in the games, rather than having a full head of red hair as in the novels.

* CassandraTruth: Xzar tells the others {{All There Is To Know About The Crying Game}} pretty much at the start. No-one believes him because he's insane. Of course, he also doesn't care, because he's insane.

* YourCheatingHeart: Jaheira sleeps with Abdel while married to Khalid.

* DeathByAdaptation: Khalid, Xzar and Montaron died during the first book. Canonically, Khalid died at the beginning of the second game and Xzar and Montaron died later in the same game. In addition, Grand Duke Eltan was killed by one of Sarevok's men while he barely survives in the game. By the end of the trilogy, virtually every companion from the games that was adapted into the novels is dead, including Imoen and Jaheira.