Editing The Dark Urge

{{About

| subject = the established character, and contains many spoilers.

| use1 = the more spoiler-free origin page

| article1 = The Dark Urge (origin)

}}

{{SpoilerWarning}}

| role = Special [[Origin]]

| name = The Dark Urge

| image = BIBG The Dark Urge Cropped.png

| image_alt_text = The Dark Urge's appearance in Blood in Baldur's Gate.

| race = Any, [[White dragonborn]] (default)

| class = Any, [[Sorcerer]], [[Storm Sorcery]] (default)

| background = [[Haunted One]]

| hometown = [[Baldur's Gate]]

| family = [[Bhaal]] ("father"/creator)<br>[[Orin the Red]] (Bhaalspawn relative)<br>[[Sarevok Anchev]] (Bhaalspawn relative)<br>Unnamed foster parents<br>[[Minsc]] ("uncle", determinant)

|one-name=Character

|two=The Dark Urge (origin)

|two-name=Origin

'''The Dark Urge''' is an established character as well as a [[The Dark Urge (origin)|special origin]] in ''Baldur's Gate 3''. Suffering from amnesia, the Dark Urge remembers little but glimpses of their own past.

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Prior to their amnesia, the Dark Urge was a much more cold and calculated individual than their bloodkin, [[Orin]].{{ref|name=coronation|Dialogue with Gortash during his coronation|act3}} They believed in killing for killing's sake, preferring practical and simple methods over flair and grace, and took issue with extravagant or needlessly creative killings.{{ref|name=kidnapdialogue|Possible dialogue with Orin, when she reveals she has kidnapped Halsin.|act3}}{{ref|name=orinletter|Letter addressed to Orin, found in her quarters.|act3}} They were, on occasion, deeply loyal to Bhaal,{{ref|name=colonyletter|Letter by the Dark Urge, addressed to Bhaal, found in the mind flayer colony.|act2}} but would nonetheless often stray from their intended purpose.{{ref|name=oathbreakeract3|Dialogue with the Oathbreaker in Act Three.|act3}}

The Dark Urge is a Bhaalspawn, but unlike other Bhaalspawn, they weren't born – they were created from the dead flesh of Bhaal himself.{{note|The Dark Urge can tell [[Naaber]] that they have no birthdate due to the nature of their creation.{{ref|name=Naaber|Encounter with Naaber.|act3}}}}{{ref|name=felchosen|Dialogue with [[Sceleritas Fel]], after becoming Bhaal's Chosen.|act3}}{{ref|name=Devella|Dialogue with Gauntlet [[Devella Fountainhead]], after saving her and completing the [[Murder Tribunal]]|act3}}

The Dark Urge grew up outside the Cult of Bhaal, and were at some point taken in by a couple. They had a relatively peaceful childhood for a time, before succumbing to the urge and murdering their loved ones and foster parents.{{ref|Memories regained after casting Heal on the Dark Urge after rejecting Bhaal.|act3}}{{ref|Memories regained from casting Heal on the Dark Urge without rejecting Bhaal.|act3}}

After receiving dreams of Bhaal, the Dark Urge – in correspondence with [[Gortash|Enver Gortash]] – hatched a plan to steal the Crown of Karsus in a heist at Mephistopheles' Vault, so that they could fulfil their pledge to their Lord: They would create an army of soulless mind flayers, and with the help of this army they would exterminate all life — Including, as the last being alive, their own. Fully intent on eventually betraying them, the Dark Urge joined forces with Gortash and [[Ketheric Thorm]], [[Bane (God)|Bane]] and [[Myrkul]]'s chosen, respectively.{{ref|name=colonyletter||act2}}{{ref|name=memoirs}}{{ref|name=coronation||act3}}{{ref|name=parentnotes|Notes found at Gortash's parents' shop.|act3}}  

After the heist, Gortash suggested that they use the Crown on the elder brain located in the illithid colony below [[Moonrise Towers]]. The Dark Urge agreed to the plan, and joined [[Enver Gortash]] and [[Ketheric Thorm]] at Moonrise Towers.{{ref|name=memoirs}}

For a time, the Dark Urge was worshipped as a god at [[Moonrise Towers]],{{ref|The narrator's statements when the Dark Urge arrives at Moonrise Towers.|act2}} but during a visit to the mind flayer colony beneath the towers, during or after the raid,{{note|Conflicting information in Orin's notes and Gortash' memoirs.}} they were betrayed by their sister [[Orin the Red]], who was jealous of Bhaal's favouritism.{{ref|name=orinnotes|Notes written by Orin, found in her quarters.|act3}}{{ref|name=orinduel|Dialogue with Orin, when she is confronted by the Dark Urge in the Temple of Bhaal.|act3}}

The Dark Urge had their skull pierced and opened with a dagger, and was infected with a tadpole that began to eat their liquidating brain, resulting in their amnesia, as well as them becoming the first True Soul.{{ref|name=orinnotes||act3}}{{ref|name=orinduel||act3}}{{ref|name=memoirs}}{{ref|name=kressadialogue|Dialogue with [[Kressa Bonedaughter]].|act2}}{{ref|name=kressanotes|According to journals found in the Mind Flayer Colony and dialogue.|act2}}

The Elder Brain came to refer to the Dark Urge's condition as a "[[True Soul]]", inspiring Gortash with the idea of creating more True Souls, perfecting his plan to create the false religion of "[[the Absolute]]", with the purpose of realising his so-called master plan of Unity.{{note|There is conflicting information about this, as the Awakened Mind possibly contradicts this version of events.}}{{ref|name=elderbraindialogue||act3}}{{ref|name=kressanotes||act2}}

{{hatnote|See Also: [[The Dark Urge (Origin)]] and [[The Urge]].}}

If they resist the Urge and reject their legacy, Bhaal will drain them of his unholy blood resulting in their death, only for [[Withers]] to intervene directly and bring them back to life.

If they embrace the Urge and accept their legacy, they will become Bhaal's Chosen yet again.

The goblin-like creature Sceleritas Fel served the Dark Urge and joined them during a series of grisly murders in Baldur's Gate. Sceleritas was deeply devoted to the Dark Urge and found great pride in serving them, even sharing in The Dark Urge's more intimate moments and thus able to reveal to the player that the Dark Urge was a necrophiliac before Orin's treachery. In fact the simple question of serving another Bhaalspawn like Orin made Sceleritas so queasy that he asked for the "bucket of Bhaal" to vomit in.

* The Dark Urge is a cannibal.{{ref|Eating a Noblestalk Mushroom prior to meeting Sceleritas Fel. Can eat food such as cooked dwarves.|act1}}

* Even after being freed of the Urge, the Dark Urge still has access to unique, violent dialogue – with the Urge references removed – suggesting that at least part of the Dark Urge's available actions could be the result of their own character, rather than simply Bhaal's influence.{{ref|As discovered in numerous possible dialogues in Act Three.|act3}}

* Even if the Dark Urge gets rid of their father's blood, the [[Netherbrain]] still refers to the Dark Urge as "murder incarnate". This may be in reference to Ed Greenwood's - the creator of the setting - revelation, prior to the game's release, that a Bhaalspawn can never fully remove Bhaal's essence. (https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1396624159363448832){{ref|Potential dialogue near the end of the game.|act3}}

* In a campaign where the Dark Urge isn't chosen as an Origin Character, the player can find the corpse of an NPC with the default appearance of the Dark Urge Origin, simply called "Fallen Bhaalspawn", tortured and murdered by [[Orin]].{{note|Assuming this is the Dark Urge, it is likely that this version of the character was abandoned by Bhaal, as their death would not make much sense otherwise. It is also possible that Orin betrayed and killed the Dark Urge with the latter's involvement with the Absolute intact, but simply chose not to send them to the Nautiloid Ship, instead keeping the Dark Urge's corpse for herself. It is not directly confirmed if this version of the Dark Urge was still the original True Soul or not.}}{{note|The [[Journal of Magthew Budj]] still references Kressa's obsession with the "pet" she used for her experiments, and the plot to have it sent to the Nautiloid Ship. Likewise, notes penned by the Dark Urge themselves that refer to their collaboration with Gortash and a letter that berates Orin for her incompetence can be found regardless of whether the Dark Urge Origin has been chosen.}}