Baldur’s Gate’s central mystery — why the Iron Throne is targeting the Sword Coast’s iron supply and why the protagonist is specifically hunted — connects to a piece of lore established in the original game through optional conversations with Gorion’s friends that most players skip in favour of the main questline.
The letters in Gorion’s pack, accessible from the start but easily missed in inventory management, contain a correspondence between Gorion and a Candlekeep sage that references the protagonist’s ‘nature’ without naming it. The correspondence predates the game’s events by years and implies that Gorion knew what was being raised in Candlekeep before the game’s inciting event.
BioWare built the revelation about the protagonist’s divine heritage into optional reading material available in the game’s first ten minutes. Players who read Gorion’s letters had a framework for understanding the Iron Throne’s specific interest in them long before the game provided exposition confirming it.
The original Baldur’s Gate shipped without a confirmation of its own central mystery in the main questline — the full revelation requires either reading the letters or importing the save to Baldur’s Gate II, which restates the lore for players who missed it.
Didn’t realise how much was hidden under the surface. Makes me want to replay it with fresh eyes.
This is why I always check every corner. You never know what’s been left for the observant player.