The Dark Urge

This article is about the established character, and contains many spoilers.. For the more spoiler-free origin page, see The Dark Urge (origin).

Character

Origin

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

“	My rancid blood whispers to me: kill, kill, and kill again. My ruined body yearns to reap death in this world, and when this foul Urge calls, it possesses my whole being. Injured beyond repair, I know nothing besides this: I must resist the Dark Urge, lest it consume my mind. I must discover who I was, and what happened to me. Before my twitching knife-hand writes a tragedy in blood.	„
	— The Dark Urge, fearing their dark desires in their Introduction cinematic.

Description

Prior to their amnesia, the Dark Urge was a much more cold and calculated individual than their bloodkin, Orin the Red. 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. They were deeply loyal to Bhaal and never disobeyed him.

History

Early life

The Dark Urge is a Bhaalspawn, but unlike other Bhaalspawn, they were not born – Bhaal created them from a piece of his dead flesh. They are the only Bhaalspawn who had the guarantee of murder, the Urge, woven into their blood.

The Dark Urge grew up outside the Cult of Bhaal, and was at some point taken in by a poor couple in Baldur's Gate. They had a relatively peaceful childhood for a time, before succumbing to the Urge and murdering their loved ones and foster parents.

The plan

Eventually, the Dark Urge became the leader of the Cult of Bhaal, and pledged to end all life in existence for their father Bhaal. At some point, fellow Bhaalspawn Orin the Red joined and became their second-in-command.

Enver Gortash contacted the Dark Urge after reestablishing worship of Bane, and the two formed an alliance upon discovering common goals. They were visited in their dreams by Bhaal and Bane, who named them their Chosen and commanded them to ally with Ketheric Thorm, the Chosen of Myrkul. Gortash and the Dark Urge hatched a plan to steal the Crown of Karsus in a heist at Mephistopheles' Vault by having Helsik open a gate to Mephistar for them.

After the heist was successful, 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 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 the other Chosen, the Dark Urge joined Enver Gortash and Ketheric Thorm at Moonrise Towers.

Betrayal

At Moonrise Towers, the Dark Urge was treated like a god, and although nobody knew their name or rank, they were shown the utmost respect. The three Chosen initiated a raid on the mind flayer colony, and successfully used the Crown on the colony's elder brain, enslaving it to their will. At some point during this, the elder brain came to respect the Dark Urge and intended to go along with their plan, impressed by their unmatched cruelty.

After the Dark Urge put the Crown on the elder brain, they were soon betrayed by their sister Orin the Red, who was jealous of Bhaal's favouritism. 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.

The Dark Urge was found by Kressa Bonedaughter who, impressed with their willpower and resistance to the elder brain's influence, began to study them. She would cut them open and put them back together repeatedly over the course of several days in the mind flayer colony, during which the Dark Urge was unable to speak or do anything but attempt to inflict violence on themself or others.

Noticing his wife's obsession and hoping to snap her out of it, Kressa's husband, Maghtew Budj, arranged for the broken and amnesiac Dark Urge to be sent off on the Nautiloid Ship, where they would soon wake up with no memories of themself, or of their past.

The Urge

See Also: The Dark Urge (Origin) and The Urge.

The Dark Urge's unique quest, The Urge, has two distinct paths: The character can either resist their urges or embrace them.

If they resist the Urge and reject their legacy, Bhaal drains them of their unholy blood, resulting in their death, but Withers intervenes and brings them back to life, explaining that the loss of unholy blood through their heroism has not destroyed them but made them reborn as a new person. The rest of Act Three and its endings then play out the same as in other playthroughs beyond pre-existing dialogue differences from characters like the Netherbrain.

If they embrace the Urge and accept their legacy, they become Bhaal's Chosen once again and are tasked with resuming their plan to control the Absolute and kill all other beings. If they follow through and take control of the Netherbrain, the Dark Urge is confronted afterward by either their romantic partner or the companion with the highest approval, who scolds or praises them (depending on who it is and how their companion quest ended) for bringing about the end of the world; they can either mercy-kill that companion, kiss them goodbye while stabbing them (if romanced), or release all the surviving companions, telling them to run away. The Urge then uses the Netherbrain's power to kill everyone in the city with conjured daggers, and as they do so they are given a premonition of their success, worshipping Bhaal under a blood-red moon as the last living thing in Faerûn.

If they embrace the Urge but do not obey Bhaal's orders, Bhaal begins to shred their mind mere minutes after destroying the Netherbrain as the party is leaving to celebrate. The Dark Urge can either accept their fate, turn themself into prison, attempt to fight back, or simply kill themself before Bhaal gets the chance, reuniting with a proud Withers in the Mortal Plane. If the latter is not chosen, however, they show up in a shortened version of the Epilogue, bloodsoaked and insane due to the madness Bhaal has left them with, and they plot to kill all their former companions in their sleep while licking Bloodthirst.

Past relationships

The Absolute

The Absolute, an Illithid Elder Brain evolved into a Netherbrain from the power of the Crown of Karsus, actually had a positive relationship with the Dark Urge before they were betrayed. The Dark Urge was the one who placed the Crown on the brain's head, and as such it revered them for giving it so much power. The brain especially respected the Dark Urge for the calculated cruelty of their plan to kill all living beings. It intended to follow the plan and let the Dark Urge control the army it would amass. When the Dark Urge disappeared, the brain felt like it was abandoned as a slave to the other Chosen. The Chosen fought like children without the Dark Urge's presence, so the brain changed its plan which would eventually lead to its freedom.

Bhaal and his Temple

The Dark Urge commanded great respect, admiration, and devotion from the devotees at the Temple of Bhaal in Baldur's Gate. They inspired them with their sheer ruthlessness, staggering amount of victims, and the intelligence of their schemes and planning.

Bhaal himself loved the Dark Urge the most of all his children as he had personally handcrafted the Dark Urge's body from his own flesh, and filled them with blood directly from his body, thus making them the perfect child in his eyes. This also stands in contrast to the other Bhaalspawn who were born from myriad dalliances with mortal women of various races during the Time of Troubles, as such the Dark Urge is considered a pureblood Bhaalspawn. Bhaal's uncharacteristic level of love and concern for the Dark Urge is shown in the amount of attention that the Dark Urge receives from Bhaal, even after losing their memories. Most chaotic evil gods (including Bhaal) would discard a Chosen if it was no longer useful such as Myrkul did with Ketheric after his defeat, but Bhaal went to great lengths to restore the Dark Urge to their former place, and made sure to guide and reward them until they returned to the Temple.

This seems to indicate that Bhaal felt an amount of paternal pride and love for his child, at least as much as the malevolent deity was capable of displaying.

Enver Gortash

Enver Gortash and the Dark Urge had a close relationship, and Gortash considered the two of them to be friends. Gortash thought of the Dark Urge as his favourite Bhaalspawn and assassin, regarding them as one of his "nearest and dearest". He respected the Dark Urge's cold-bloodedness and the slaughter they brought, as well as the mastery and control they had over their urges. Gortash actually liked the Dark Urge while he only tolerated Orin. The Dark Urge for their part always liked Gortash as well, admiring his genius and the brilliance of his plans. Nonetheless, they did intend to betray him in the end when they would kill the world for Bhaal.

The two met when Gortash contacted the Dark Urge following his establishment of the cult of Bane. Gortash informed the Dark Urge that some of their ancestral torture racks and the bones of one of their relatives were displayed in the Hall of Wonders. The Dark Urge and Gortash teamed up to recover these artefacts, which eventually led to them forming an alliance when they discovered they had common goals. They shared coded correspondence with each other as they discussed the failures of previous Banites and Bhaalists and how they might avoid them. Gortash and the Dark Urge came up with the Absolute plot and worked together to steal the Crown of Karsus from Mephistopheles.

When Orin betrayed the Dark Urge, Gortash was unaware of what had happened, only knowing what Orin had told him of the situation and that she had made a fool of the Dark Urge. Gortash was unable to interfere as they had agreed not to meddle in each other's affairs. When he reunites with the Dark Urge right before his coronation, Gortash is relieved to see them again and happily reminds them of their shared history. He is eager to renew their old partnership and would be honoured to help the Dark Urge reclaim their birthright and kill Orin.

Orin

Orin was the Dark Urge's second-in-command and their sister, but the two of them always had a turbulent relationship. Orin believed that the Dark Urge's murders were too mindless to be worthy of Bhaal and that the Bhaal Temple decayed because of them. She was jealous that the Dark Urge was the favourite of Bhaal even though their killing lacked beauty and talent. The Dark Urge thought that Orin did not understand that Bhaal only wanted death in numbers, and that she was wasting Bhaal's time by killing in an extravagant way.

When the Dark Urge started the Absolute plot with the other Chosen, Orin grew even more resentful. She particularly despised Gortash's alliance with the Dark Urge, thinking that he was manipulating them. In response, Orin decided to infect the Dark Urge with a tadpole so she could replace them and rebuild the Temple in her own image. The Dark Urge was not aware of Orin's plan, as they believed that she worshipped them as much as all the other cultists.

After the Dark Urge placed the Crown of Karsus on the elder brain in Moonrise Towers, Orin attacked them, piercing their skull with a dagger and putting a tadpole inside it. She left them gravely injured on the floor of the mind flayer colony, where the Dark Urge was found by Kressa Bonedaughter. She healed some of the Dark Urge's injuries to keep them from dying and began experimenting on them, unaware of who they were.

Orin eventually learns that the Dark Urge is still alive after they obtain the Astral Prism. She abducts one of their party members and challenges the Dark Urge to a duel to the death in the Temple of Bhaal – the winner will be Bhaal's true Chosen and can claim her Netherstone.

Sarevok Anchev

When the Dark Urge was the leader of the cult of Bhaal, Sarevok Anchev was Bhaal's Deathbringer and a Bhaalspawn relative of the Dark Urge. He considered the Dark Urge to be the true master of murder, as they killed with no excesses or pretentions. However, Sarevok was displeased that the Dark Urge did not have any children and hoped that they might one day have a child with Orin.

After the Dark Urge meets him again following their fall, Sarevok encourages them to fight Orin and believes they will be the one to kill her.

Sceleritas Fel

The fiend-like creature Sceleritas Fel served the Dark Urge and joined them during a series of grisly murders in Baldur's Gate. He was sent by Bhaal on the day the Dark Urge reached their age of majority to guide them to their birthright as Bhaal's Chosen. Sceleritas loved the Dark Urge dearly and revelled in their depravity. He particularly enjoyed being killed by the Dark Urge. His regular duties included managing the Temple of Bhaal, as well as helping the Dark Urge with torture and murder. The Dark Urge frequently needed Sceleritas' assistance, and Sceleritas believed the Dark Urge struggled to conduct themself properly without him.

When the Dark Urge disappeared, Sceleritas missed them greatly and was deeply worried for their health. Once he finds them again, he helps guide the Dark Urge and rewards them for murdering specific targets. Sceleritas despises Orin and wants nothing more than for the Dark Urge to kill her and reclaim their position as Bhaal's Chosen.

Related Literature

• Bhaal Butler's Checklist – Morning
• Blood-Envy for the Unworthy
• Clasped Book (Moonrise Towers)
• Concerning Orin the Red
• Devil's Fee Observer's Report
• Journal of Magthew Budj
• Letter from Alfira (Dark Urge)
• Letter from Sarevok
• Memoir Notes with Recent Addenda
• Mistress of Souls' Research Log
• Prayer for Forgiveness
• Report on Activities of Enver Gortash
• Scrapbook of Letters
• Test Mission with Gortash

See also

• The Dark Urge (Origin) a spoiler-free page that lists player interactions as the Dark Urge.

Gallery

• 

  The origin's default appearance

• 

  Sceleritas Fel, The Dark Urge's guide

• 

  The origin's default appearance in Larian's Release Showcase.

• 

  The origin's appearance in Blood in Baldur's Gate.

• 

  Promotional art

Notes

• The Dark Urge is a cannibal. They can also eat the cooked dwarf meat from the Goblin Camp.
• According to Sceleritas Fel, the Dark Urge is a necrophiliac.
• The Dark Urge has much in common with the protagonists of many other party-based RPGs, such as being an amnesiac and having a hidden connection to the villains of the game that is revealed over time.
  • Notably, the protagonist of the previous Baldur's Gate games was also a Bhaalspawn.
• 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.
  • Immediately after the Dark Urge is brought back by Withers, the character can revel in their freedom to be evil without the Urge, and take joy in having fooled everyone that they are innocent.
  • The character can also embrace their goodness, which illustrates the virtue of a good-aligned Dark Urge, as they (and the player) truly choose to be good.
• 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)
• 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. 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 themself 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.
• If he is recruited, Minsc considers himself to be the Dark Urge's uncle.