Among the possible Origin characters from Baldur’s Gate 3, one person stands out – The “Dark Urge.” Who or what that exactly is and why you should play this Origin story yourself, you will find out here.
What is the Dark Urge? The Dark Urge (in the original “Dark Urge” and affectionately abbreviated by many players within the community as “Durge), is a special Origin character from Baldur’s Gate 3.
The character cannot remember their past, but this becomes clearer over the course of the game, revealing the mystery of their origin. An inner, dark voice plagues the Dark Urge, urging them toward violence, torment, and murder. You can give in to these impulses, or resist with a lot of willpower (and successful rolls). It is possible to play a “good” playthrough as the Dark Urge, but it is not always that easy.
What distinguishes the Dark Urge from a regular character?
- Unlike the other Origin characters like Astarion, Shadowheart, or Karlach, the Dark Urge cannot be recruited in a regular playthrough with a self-created character. This character appears only in their own Origin playthrough.
- The character is deeply rooted in the lore of Baldur’s Gate and is an important figure in the story.
- The Dark Urge has its own special scenes and dialogue options that are not available to regularly created characters.
- You can customize the Dark Urge’s class, race, and attribute values to your liking. Only the background is fixed: the Haunted.
Why should you play the Dark Urge? (Spoiler-free)
A playthrough as the Dark Urge is a completely different experience than that of a regular character:
- The Dark Urge provides deeper insight into the lore and the powers of the game.
- You can indulge in the dark visions and impulses of the character and experience a truly grim gaming experience, but you can also tell a redemption story, depending on what you prefer. A character named “the Dark Urge” can be surprisingly versatile.
- The use of saving throws for decisions that go against the nature of the Dark Urge not only makes the gaming experience varied but also exciting. Sometimes you have to live with the terrible consequences of your dreadful deeds – or completely succumb to cruelty.
Here you see the animated short film for Patch 8 from Baldur’s Gate 3:
How do you play the Dark Urge?
Spoiler warning: From here on we will talk about content of the game and its consequences that will influence the Dark Urge and its development.
Throughout the game, you will confront it at several points with small snippets of memory. These could be a subconscious feeling, a reaction to an atrocity, or a similar influence that wants to guide the Dark Urge to make decisions with a sadistic look. And sometimes, as a player, you can do nothing against it.
Alfira, the Bard
The tiefling bard Alfira is introduced to you in the first act of the game. Just before you want to go to sleep in the camp, she will come to visit you and express her desire to accompany you on your journey and join the camp.
When the Dark Urge finally awakens, you will see that there is little left of Alfira but a badly mangled corpse, almost ritualistically dismembered. And next to the corpse, you notice something else: Your own blood-stained hands.
Here you have the choice to hide the corpse, wash off the blood, or confess to the murder.
Shortly thereafter, your “Butler” Scleritas Fel appears, who reports that he has been waiting for your return, even if you remember nothing. From him, you will receive your first reward for your gruesome deeds, a rather powerful item:
- Deathstalker Mantle: The mantle is a rare cloak that makes the wearer invisible for 2 rounds after killing an enemy.
Isobel, Last Light Inn
In the second act of the game, the Dark Urge must make an important decision. Scleritas Fel gives you a new target: the cleric Isobel, who protects the Last Light Inn from the shadow curse with her magic.
- You kill Isobel: If you kill Isobel, the protective barrier around the Last Light Inn will disappear. Several NPCs will die or transform into shadow beings and attack you. Keep in mind that this decision has further consequences:
- Dammon will die and will no longer be able to help Karlach.
- The sleeping soldier will die, preventing you from continuing Halsin’s quest.
- After Jaheira learns that you killed Isobel, she will attack you, and you will have no choice but to kill her. BUT: You will receive a powerful reward from your butler: The Slayer Form – We will explain this further after another spoiler warning.
- You do not kill Isobel: You do not have to kill Isobel, and while you will not be rewarded with the Slayer Form, many innocents will be spared. However, this decision leads to another challenge:
Your beloved
If you choose to spare Isobel and the Last Light Inn, your butler will appear and reveal a nasty surprise: As soon as you fall asleep, you will lose control and kill your beloved.
If you do not want to allow this to happen, you will wake the mentioned partner to warn him or her. The Dark Urge, however, will become more present, and you will need to succeed in several saving throws to stop the urge to kill. Here there are two possible outcomes:
- Failure: This happens if you do not succeed in your first Wisdom saving throw (DC 14):
- The Dark Urge will kill the partner.
- The next morning, the other companions will notice. If you do not succeed in a pretty high Deception roll (DC 30), all your companions will turn against you and attack. BUT: Even here you can be rewarded with the Slayer Form.
- Success: If you succeed in the first saving throw, your character will wake up bound.
- Your partner will help you to withstand the takeover of the Dark Urge, for which you need to succeed in three more Wisdom saving throws (DC 18). However, you will receive a bonus from your partner’s support.
Further “collateral damage”: Who else could become a victim of the Dark Urge?
While the previously mentioned events are significant for the story of the Dark Urge, they are not the only victims of its bloodlust.
- Gale: When Gale first appears, you must pull him out of a portal, for which he can only offer one of his hands to grasp. The Dark Urge can imagine lopping off the hand, which then happens almost in a frenzy. After that, Gale is never seen again, but you can take his hand as a souvenir.
- Nettie’s Bird: In the Druid Grove, the healer Nettie is caring for a bird. The Dark Urge can take care of it in its own way, to put it mildly.
- Minthara: If the Dark Urge follows the storyline that allows a romance with Minthara, you can snap her neck after a night together.
- Pixie: In the shadow-cursed lands, you will come across a moon lantern inhabited by a pixie, which makes the lantern useful. If the Dark Urge decides to free this pixie, they can crush her immediately after her newfound freedom.
The Past and the End of the Dark Urge
Second spoiler warning: In the following, we delve into the background of the Dark Urge, why the character is plagued by brutal visions, and what happened in their past.
The true origin of the Dark Urge can already be revealed after the possible murder of Isobel or your partners.
There, you will receive the previously mentioned Slayer Form: A fearsome creature that you can transform into, which has different types of attacks with its claws, can make multiple attacks and great leaps, and can cause a serious bloodbath.
It functions similarly to a druid’s Wild Shape, adopting the Slayer’s attribute values and possesses two extra attacks.
The Slayer Form is not just any gift, but a skill granted only to the most powerful and devoted followers of a specific deity. And here, the past of the Dark Urge comes into play.
Orin, the Red and Bhaal’s Legacy
Those who resist this until the third act and have not yet been informed about the past of the Dark Urge will experience a dream sequence at the beginning of Act 3, in which Scleritas Fel admonishes you for your “foolishness.”
It is revealed that the Dark Urge is a descendant of Bhaal, and not just any: it turns out that the Dark Urge was Bhaal’s chosen one before Orin (one of the three main antagonists from Baldur’s Gate 3).
It is revealed that Orin betrayed the Dark Urge and seized the title of Chosen for herself. She is also responsible for the Dark Urge being captured by the mindflayers and infected with the larva.
In the Temple of Bhaal, you can finally face Orin in a duel, or fight alongside your companions against her and other Bhaal cultists. Afterwards, the Dark Urge can decide whether to accept Bhaal and its associated fate or reject it.
How you screamed as my knife split your skull, your brain juices sticky and sweet.
A little hole, big enough for the worm, your body a blood sack to feed him.
Bhaal’s favorite became a puppet of flesh, strung up by the tendons and torn apart by my hands.
Orin, the Red
Sarevok Anchev and the Murder Tribunal
Another situation for the Dark Urge in Act 3 is the murder tribunal with Sarevok Anchev, a legendary descendant of Bhaal, known from earlier Baldur’s Gate games. You can follow his offer or decide to kill him. But be careful, because Sarevok should not be underestimated as an opponent.
Again, you have the option to confess to Bhaal or reject him.
Should the Dark Urge accept or reject Bhaal?
Whether you accept or reject the fate of a descendant of Bhaal has various impacts on the rest of the story and the possible endings of the Dark Urge.
Option 1: You accept Bhaal and his legacy
- You receive the spell “Word of Power: Death” (Power Word: Kill)
- You receive the Slayer Form (if you do not have it yet)
- Jaheira and Minsc will attack you, and you will have no choice but to kill them
- You will unlock special endings of the game, whether you destroy the Elder Brain or take over in Bhaal’s name.
Option 2: You reject Bhaal and his legacy
- Bhaal will kill you.
- However, a mysterious but familiar entity will resurrect you to give you a second chance so you can continue your adventure.
- You will then be free from Bhaal.
What about you? Have you played the Dark Urge yet, and did you like it or not? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments. If you were still undecided, we hope this guide was able to help you. If you want to know more about the Dark Urge, check out this article from MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus, who played through this character’s story himself: Baldur’s Gate 3: I now know what the “Dark Urge” is, and it makes the character much better
