First announced in 2001 and commonly known as Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound, the game actually bears no relation to the plot, location or characters of the previous Baldur's Gate game. It wouldn't even be developed by BioWare, or use the famous Infinity Engine. In fact, the name “Baldur’s Gate III” was a legal trick, as during its development Interplay lost the Dungeons & Dragons license to Atari but could still develop D&D games under the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale brands.
Under code names like "FR6" and "Project Jefferson", The Black Hound began as its own game in late 2000, being developed by a small team as a side project. Full development would only begin in 2002, after Icewind Dale 2 was released. The team was led by Josh Sawyer, a History Major, and while it would still use the AD&D ruleset and be set in Forgotten Realms (like Baldur's Gate), it would be a more grounded, low-level adventure, with a heavier focus on role-playing.
What is known of the original plot is that you would be set in the Dalelands region of Forgotten Realms. There you would create a new character – not a child of gods or special in any way – that would run into the eponymous black hound being fiercely hunted by a cleric named May Farrow. More than just a mere animal, the hound was a physical manifestation of her guilt for allowing her husband to die and then failing to properly resurrect him.
She would kill the dog, but it's spirit would bound to you, allowing you to see and interact with the guilt of others. The cleric would then begin to hunt you as well, and the game would be centered on your journey to understand what happened to you, interacting with factions like the Archenriders, the Church of Lathander and the Red Wizards of Thay, until eventually confronting May Farrow's husband - now a powerful abomination which feeds from guilt.
Not much is know about the gameplay, other than it would be based on the previous Infinity Engine games - with multiple party members are real-time-with-pause combat -, but updated to the recently released D&D 3rd Edition ruleset. Karma would be a central part of the game, as players would be able to explore the game's world in a non-linear way, but would face the consequences of their actions, including failed and incomplete quests. To ensure this, a robust reputation system was devised, which would track your relationship with individual factions and locations, as well as your overall fame/infamy.
You are a brave man, Delterius.
