Jon Irenicus was the key antagonist of the “Baldur’s Gate 2” expansion, “Shadows of Amn.” He was an elven mage from the forest city of Soldanessellar who kidnapped the player-character in order to enact cruel experiments in an attempt to restore his scarred soul, destroy the Tree of Life and ascend to godhood. This wasn’t the only time he would appear in the “Dungeons and Dragons”-based franchise, either. Irenicus was so popular that developer Beamdog added a younger version of the character in an expansion called “Siege of Dragonspear” which was added to the Enhanced Edition of the original “Baldur’s Gate.”
One of the things that made Warner’s performance so memorable was his delivery. Irenicus was sadistic, contemptuous and quick to rage. He was incredibly powerful and ambivalent to the suffering of those in his path. These were all attributes that could only be expressed through voice as the isometric rpg offered only the most simplistic character models and no facial animations whatsoever. Still, Warner not only managed to convey these characteristics in every scene he was in, he performed them with such a casual menace that there was no doubt of the threat that Irenicus represented.
His passing is truly a loss for the cinema and gaming communities, but his work will certainly be remembered for years to come.
