Thoughts on CHARNAME focusing on going after Irenicus in chapters 1-3

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One thing that struck me as odd is that some of the dialog choices show Charname choosing to focus on getting revenge on Irenicus in addition to freeing Imoen.
As far as CHARname is aware of at this point, Irenicus is in jail for his crimes. A jail that they rarely release prisoners from.
It seems to me that he could very well be content to just try to go about securing Imoen's release and choose to let Irenicus rot in Spellhold, only worrying about him should he be released. Irenicus shouldn't be a problem any more.

Yes, I know it's cliche in both the Realms and in comic books that said villains will invariably escape jail, but by the same token a proper hero should wait until said villain escapes before seeking revenge rather than breaking into jail to deal with the villain permanently. Once he proves that the jail is unable to contain him, then the Hero can step in and slay the villain.

I'm reminded of another character "Mr. Black" where he encouraged the rumor to be spread that the safest place for an evil criminal to be to avoid his wraith is a jail cell undergoing their just punishment without any bribery or special conditions, but serving out a real sentence.

 

In the dialogue choices the protagonist wants to get to Irenicus to question him.

 

Not so much revenge, but a thirst for knowledge or perhaps even power. It's obvious that Irenicus knows about you and your heritage (and the dream sequences hint that he knows how to channel it, or perhaps even suppress it, depending on your tastes). Bottomline: If you're someone who plans to deal with your heritage directly, Irenicus is a person of interest. Shockingly dangerous, and yet he knows something even Elminster doesn't.

What better opportunity to parley/bargain/interrogate/force the knowledge out of the man?

 

From what we can gather in the series too is that Bhaalspawn don't think much of sibling relationships

 

That is somewhat true, especially since they are half-siblings from a guy that slept around with anything and none of the other Bhaalspawn grew up together. It's not that different from the half-siblings spawned by different women visiting a sperm bank.

On the other hand, Charname and Imoen grew up together and I believe it says in BG1 that Charname views her as their little sister (have to double-check in the game, but it's on the other computer). Thus, finding out they actually are half-siblings only reinforces the bond. The difference is the upbringing where these two grew up together, while the others just happen to share a father, but have generally not met until they were adults. Thus no emotional attachments to these long-lost siblings. Especially since I doubt Bhaal was that concerned about finding consenting mothers and probably raped them, even if Charm spells or the Divine Aura (been too long since I read the 2nd edition books on deities to remember the correct term) was involved.

 

^ Great post.

I agree.
For me Immy was the only reason valid enough to go after Jon.
I always liked her, and later learning that we are even more connected, only reinforced this.

 

Without Immy there is no BG2