Baldur’s Gate 3 tells the stories of many different heroes. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus decided to play as the “Dark Urge”. The character is constantly drawn to murder. Now the background is clear – and the game gets even deeper.
Originally, I played the absolutely insane murderer just as a meme. While testing, I thought to myself: give it a try, someone else will play it at the launch anyway. Probably a bard since it’s the best class.
But then I took over the test save and decided to continue playing the character. There’s something about it, having flashbacks and invasive thoughts that don’t match what you actually plan.
Now I’ve been playing for over 60 hours on just that one save file and regularly struggle with myself, because the character’s wickedness slips from my hands. I constantly have the opportunity to do cruel things… and then I do them, because they just fit.
Surprisingly, the ladies in Baldur’s Gate 3 find this quite alluring, which is a truly unexpected but welcome side effect. I always wanted to pursue a romance with Minthara.
Additionally, as the story progresses, it becomes clearer how important the Dark Urge actually is for Baldur’s Gate 3. Now I’m close to the end of the game and have discovered who I really am. Suddenly, everything makes sense.
Spoiler Warning: I try to reveal as little of the actual story of Baldur’s Gate 3 as possible. But of course, I talk about who the Dark Urge is and reveal what happens to the character at the end of the game. As a buffer, here are a few details about the classes:
Am I just a killer without memory?
A short excursion into the origins: with the character “Dark Urge” you start as a person without memories. We know from the character selection and information that the character is constantly overcome by a lust for murder.
The Dark Urge is a crazy murderer, feared even by his friends. Upon the first contact with a human corpse, suddenly distinctly positive memories awaken.
The Dark Urge revels in brutality, blood, and violence. Anything related to killing is good for the character – even if they don’t want it. This leads to an inner conflict: how much of those thoughts are their own and how much should one give in to them?
Throughout the game, it becomes clearer and clearer that I am not just a “Jack the Ripper” serial killer. Murdering was my lifestyle and the thing I was so good at that I was rewarded for it.
Murdering your own sister to please dad
During the 3 acts of Baldur’s Gate 3, it occasionally becomes clear who I could really be. But only shortly before the end, in Act 3, is the identity truly revealed: I play as Bhaal’s daughter, the god of violence and literal murder incarnate.
This makes me a direct sister of Orin, one of the three main antagonists of the game. She is the one who stirred around in my brain with a scalpel, which is why I can’t remember anything anymore. And she is the one to whom I owe this damn larva.
So I became a lapdog for a long time – before the actual story. These circumstances will become important later, as Orin challenges me to a duel. She claims to be dad’s favorite child. I know better. And I want revenge.
The conflict culminates in a fight where either I kill her or she kills me. The ultimate blood sacrifice before the eyes of Bhaal, who finally decides who the true worthy descendant is. Spoiler: me, of course.
I am chaotic evil and I love it
At first, I struggled to commit truly “evil” acts just because they fit the character. With the knowledge of who I am, it gets easier and easier. I embrace my origin and become the Sword Coast equivalent of the Joker.
I kill, but not indiscriminately, rather always with a goal. Even if the target may be something minor like: This cat is annoying because it thinks it can command me around. I am the daughter of literal murder. Mess with me and see what happens.
However, the motto is always to prove to Bhaal that Orin is not worthy of his name. I am his legacy and I want to prove it now, even the actual end of the story is largely irrelevant to me. I want to pursue my goal.
The Dark Urge has transformed for me from a somewhat shaky character, who is “evil just because they are evil”, into an entity whose story I understand. As if I were reading the memoirs of a serial killer. Or rather: reliving them.
I will probably start anew sometime in the future. Again as Dark Urge, but this time to find out how one can resist their urges. Because that is also possible. In any case, it’s no wonder that the character has such a strange allure:
