Overview[edit | edit source]
Stelmane served as a member of the 
Council of Four until 1491, one year before the events of the game.[1] She was affiliated with the secret organisation known as the Knights of the Shield, and had had business dealings with The Emperor.
Later in her life, she suffered a stroke. The resulting health issues plagued her for over a decade, sometimes leaving her unaware of her surroundings[2], until she was murdered by Dolor who seeks to become an Unholy Assassin of Bhaal. Stelmane was targetted by Dolor because for reasons unknown her name is listed on the 
Bloodstained Parchment.
The investigation to Stelmane's murder is led by two Flaming Fist officers, Investigator Valeria and her assistant, Constable Devella Fountainhead. Constable Fountainhead is first encountered in Duke Stelmane's suite at the Elfsong Tavern seeking to find clues as to who is behind Stelmane's murder.
Character recounts[edit | edit source]
Several characters in Baldur's Gate 3 describe their past experiences with Belynne Stelmane.
Wyll[edit | edit source]
During Act Three, it is possible to ask Wyll about his own experiences meeting her.
Selecting the option Did you know Stelmane very well, back in the day? initially yields the following information:
The first time, I was a boy of seven or eight, at a banquet in the Flaming Fists's honor. One look and I was smitten. Chestnut hair that flowed behind her like willow fronds. She floated from one room to the next as if carried by clouds. The second time, Stelmane was - different. Even with the aid of a cane, each step she took was a struggle. Every word she spoke took great physical effort. 'A stroke victim?' I asked father later. 'No', he said. 'A stroke 'survivor.'
If passing a passive 
DC 10 Perception check after Wyll finishes speaking, the party can learn that Wyll questions whether Stelmane suffered a stroke. Another dialogue option appears, locked behind a DC 15 Persuasion check. If passed, he reveals, Something's always gnawed at me. At the banquet, Stelmane didn't seem to look at us, but through us. But that second time, her gaze never left me. It was steel, sharp and unyielding. It could just be my imagination. But I always felt that it was more than a stroke that had changed her. What, though... I couldn't say.
The Emperor[edit | edit source]
The Emperor describes Belynne as a former partner, but if pressed claims it used its illithid powers on her to make her its thrall.[3] This eventually caused her to suffer her stroke, and left her partially paralysed.[4][5]
Wyll, if spoken to afterwards, shows his anger at the revelations:
Not a mere stroke, as it turns out – but the scars of her possession. Gods, what I wouldn't give to drive a dagger through the Emperor's buldging head. We can never let it do to us what it did to Stelmane.
Related quests[edit | edit source]
Related literature[edit | edit source]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Stelmane listening
Stelmane and her Advisor
Notes[edit | edit source]
- A clue to the true nature of The Emperor's relationship with Stelmane can be found in the tabletop D&D adventure Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, where the segment on Stelmane describes her as fighting a secret, mental battle against a Mind Flayer possessing her. This Mind Flayer probably is the Emperor.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑
The Dukes of Baldur's Gate
- ↑
Patient Log: Duke Belynne Stelmane
- ↑ Dialogue with the Emperor in the Astral Realm, after it is rejected and distrusted
- ↑ Patient Log: Duke Belynne Stelmane
- ↑ Descent into Avernus pg. 162.