Is it symbolic or is it just saying that there's a lot of mysterious and hidden stuff going on in and under Amn?

Or does it have no purpose other than to make the game sound cool and tell people that Baldur's Gate II has nothing to do with Baldur's Gate (the city).

Well, in my opinion it's to do with the dark background of of the Bhaalspawn, and in this case it is they who are the "Shadows" of Amn. (Amn being the whole Region you play in).
It does have something to do with Baldur's Gate however, since that's where the whole thing started, and it's also the largest city along the Sword Coast.

Just my opinion however.

Shadow Thieves... ;)
They are the strongest group in Amn.
Hence: "Shadows of Amn"

They are your main friends helping you through the game.

Unless you take the evil path and help Bodhi.

Or maybe you are a Paladin (like my game) and have the Hart Paladins help you kill Bodhi. But even then you still need the thieves to get to SpellHold.

I like Gopher's idea -- Amn is a mysterious place with wheels within wheels. The Shadow thieves are not really that big a part of the story after you hit spellhold.

The name sounds cool, and maybe that's the reason it was chosen.

I don't know...when I first finished the game I realized that the name "Shadows of Amn" could be just a representactive title for the apparition of Jonaleth, after all, after stealing your soul he just became some kind of "shadow" of the main character...a shadow that manipulated all the others enemies during the game. In the other way, it could be the opposite. Having him "your" soul, you would be the "shadow", while he was one of the Children.
Or I may be completely wrong, but it's how I see it!

[ February 10, 2003, 22:44: Message edited by: Silver Bear ]

i think the title 'shadows of amn' is baesd around the groups who reside in the background pulling all the strings.
the shadow thieves, the vampires, all keep illusive, but are all major in the scheme of things

I like all your ideas, especially Silver Bear's and Gopher's, but I now think it doesn't matter. The title just shows that everything has a dark side, and if you really think about it, it can be applied to nearly any aspect of the game.