# Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
**Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast** is an expansion pack for the 1998 role-playing video game *[Baldur's Gate](https://www.edgepedia.org/baldurs-gate-video-game)*, developed by BioWare and published by Interplay, released for PC in the United States on May 4, 1999[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196361/releaseinfo/) • [2](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/196688-baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast/data). Rather than continuing the main storyline, it expands the game world with new areas, quests, items, and spells, and raises the experience point cap[3](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf). Its content has been included in every later re-release of the original game, most prominently *Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition* (2013)[4](https://store.steampowered.com/app/228280/Baldurs_Gate_Enhanced_Edition/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Expansion pack for *Baldur's Gate* (1998), not a standalone game; requires the base game installed[3](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf) |
| Release | May 4, 1999 (PC, United States); Poland July 17, 1999[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196361/releaseinfo/) |
| Original build | Version 1.3.5508, April 28, 1999, shipped on one CD-ROM; patch 1.3.5512 followed on June 22, 1999[5](https://rpgwatch.com/news/baldurs-gate-47460.html) |
| Experience cap | Raised from 89,000 to 161,000 experience points, allowing at least one additional level depending on class[3](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf) |
| New content | Four new areas of varying size, centered on the town of Ulgoth's Beard, plus new spells, items, and enemies[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast-review/1900-2538171/) |
| Estimated length | Roughly 20 hours of additional gameplay[7](https://sorcerers.net/Games/BG/tosc_faq.php) |
| Later availability | Bundled with *Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition* (Beamdog, 2013)[4](https://store.steampowered.com/app/228280/Baldurs_Gate_Enhanced_Edition/) |
## Structure and new areas
The expansion is not a new chapter in the saga. After installation there is no distinction between the base game and the expansion: the new areas, quests, and items merge into the existing world, and the content is played within the chapters of the original campaign[3](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf). Players who have already finished the game can load their final save and begin in the fishing village of Ulgoth's Beard, north of the city of [Baldur's Gate](https://www.edgepedia.org/baldurs-gate), with the party in the condition it was in before the game's conclusion[3](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf) • [6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast-review/1900-2538171/).
Four discrete new areas of significantly varying sizes can be explored in any order[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast-review/1900-2538171/). The two largest quests are **Durlag's Tower**, a trap-filled dungeon named after the dwarf Durlag Trollkiller, and **the Ship of Balduran**, which takes the party to an island[8](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/196688-baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast/reviews/34359). The original game had lacked a substantial dungeon crawl, and Durlag's Tower supplies one, with dozens of traps and hostile creatures; a party without a capable thief slows to a crawl there under constant trap damage[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast-review/1900-2538171/). A final event in Ulgoth's Beard, involving an evil god, concludes the expansion's content[9](https://moarpowah.com/2012/09/03/retro-review-baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast/).
Because the content is designed as late-game material for a highly leveled party, play order matters.
## Rule and interface changes
Installing the expansion altered the base game in several ways documented in the manual[3](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf):
- All area-effect spells now harm only characters still inside the area when the spell triggers, so a character can run out of a Fireball's blast radius as it explodes.
- A thief's ability to hide in shadows now depends on the presence of actual shadows, and a backstab attempt requires the thief to be behind the target.
- The speed of all projectiles, normal and magical, was doubled.
- New options include an autopause when an enemy is sighted, inventory autostacking, blue tinting for unidentified magic items, and travel times in hours shown on the world map.
- The experience cap rose from 89,000 points, which allowed 7th- or 8th-level characters depending on class, to 161,000 points[3](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf) • [7](https://sorcerers.net/Games/BG/tosc_faq.php).
The expansion also added all level 4 and 5 wizard and priest spells to the documentation, including spells such as Confusion, Dimension Door, and Improved Invisibility, and shipped with the Roger Wilco voice-communication utility for multiplayer play[3](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf).
## Reception
GameSpot's review by Desslock scored the expansion 8.1 out of 10 ("Great")[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast-review/1900-2538171/). The review judged the new areas varied, well designed, and graphically detailed, at least as interesting as those in the original game, while noting flaws typical of expansion packs: the storyline of the original game is not extended, and the new items, creatures, and spells take liberties with the AD&D rules, often being modified from their pen-and-paper equivalents or original developer creations[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast-review/1900-2538171/). A GameFAQs review similarly described it as a quite good but rather limited addition, whose substance is essentially the two large side quests of Durlag's Tower and the Ship of Balduran[8](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/196688-baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast/reviews/34359).
## Later releases
The expansion's content became a standard part of the game. The original release also included a patch for the base game on the expansion CD, so no separate official patch was needed[10](https://www.mobygames.com/game/5464/baldurs-gate-the-original-saga/reviews/windows/).
## References
1. [Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast – Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196361/releaseinfo/)
2. [Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast – Release Information for PC, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/196688-baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast/data)
3. [Playing Tales of the Sword Coast (official manual), Museum of Computer Adventure Game History](https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur-swordcoast-manual.pdf)
4. [Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/228280/Baldurs_Gate_Enhanced_Edition/)
5. [Baldur's Gate – Version, Release and Demo History, RPGWatch](https://rpgwatch.com/news/baldurs-gate-47460.html)
6. [Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast Review, GameSpot (Desslock)](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast-review/1900-2538171/)
7. [Tales of the Sword Coast Frequently Asked Questions, Sorcerer's Place](https://sorcerers.net/Games/BG/tosc_faq.php)
8. [Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast – Review, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/196688-baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast/reviews/34359)
9. [Retro Review: Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, Moar Powah!](https://moarpowah.com/2012/09/03/retro-review-baldurs-gate-tales-of-the-sword-coast/)
10. [Baldur's Gate: The Original Saga reviews, MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/game/5464/baldurs-gate-the-original-saga/reviews/windows/)
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