The Black Hound Interview
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GB: Tell us about the different factions in The Black Hound and how the player will become involved with and/or manipulated by them. Josh: There are about eight different factions that have prominent roles in the game, with varying levels of interest in the central plot. Two that emerge very quickly are the Silver Ravens of Sembia and the Red Wizards of Thay. The former are ostensibly in Archenbridge to oppose the foundation of an enclave by the latter.
The Silver Ravens are a tricky group to deal with for a few reasons. Almost without exception, they have an insufferable level of nationalistic pride. They also run a wide gamut of moral and ethical boundaries. Some Silver Ravens are noble and forthright, others are incredibly despicable, and the rest fall somewhere in the middle. To use their own phrase, the Silver Ravens are a "tangled basket" -- often operating in an intricate and dizzying fashion, with various sub-groups being completely unaware of the goals and actions being taken by the others.
In contrast, the Red Wizards of Thay are sharply divided on their goals in the Dales. Beyond their interest in May Farrow, the enclave regularly quarrels about their political policy, trade agreements, and even how they present themselves in public. The official leader of the group is a reasonable young enchanter named Caed Marr. He is regularly opposed by an older invoker of the old "kill 'em all; let Kelemvor sort 'em out" school named Feul Zaddechar. Beneath these two figures are an array of wizards and slaves that have varying allegiances and levels of political concern. At least two of the wizards seem more interested in testing the insulating properties of rubber from a shocking grasp on a cat.
As for manipulation... if I told you how the protagonist was going to be manipulated by factions, that wouldn't be very much fun, would it?
GB: How much of a factor does good and evil play into the module? Will the player be free to play exactly what type of character he wants, regardless of how law-abiding or ruthless he wishes to be?
Josh: I doubt I can imagine exactly what type of character everyone wants to play, but there should be a pretty broad range between the saintliest of the goody two-shoes and the blood-soaked town murderer. If you want to lay low the population of Archenbridge, you will be allowed to do it and continue on with the main story. There are very few plot critical characters and none of the companions are required. Of course, many people will hate you if you're a scumbag, so be prepared.
GB: You're the only one working on The Black Hound at the moment, but given the fact that you work at Obsidian Entertainment there's obviously a lot of other talent you could potentially tap into. Have any other Obsidian developers offered to contribute to the project?
Josh: I regularly ask other people questions on how to do things, but no one has outright offered to leap onto the project.
GB: Out of curiosity, who currently owns the rights to develop Baldur's Gate III? What would it take for a developer to continue the franchise and do you personally think it will ever happen?
Josh: I am guessing, but I think that Atari has the rights to make an "actual" Baldur's Gate 3. If Atari wants to make it happen, I'm sure they can find someone to do it.
Thanks Josh!
