Dead Three

The Dead Three are a trio of evil death-themed deities: ⁠Bane, the God of Tyranny, ⁠Bhaal, the God of Murder and ⁠Myrkul, the God of Death. They earned their moniker after all three gods were slain during the period known as the ⁠Time of Troubles. Despite their deaths, the Dead Three eventually managed to return to life.

Mural

“

Bane, Lord of Darkness. Bhaal, Lord of Murder. Myrkul, Lord of Bones. Once judged, ascended, then vanquished as one and as three. The alliance is reforged, mortal. The planes thus quake, and the gods shudder.

„

— Withers

Lore

Ascension

Before they were gods, ⁠Bane, ⁠Bhaal and ⁠Myrkul were once mortal men who dreamt of godhood. They set out into the world, amassing power and defeating all who opposed them. Once they had gathered enough power, they set their sights on Jergal, the ancient God of Death, whose power they coveted the most. They stormed Jergal's realm and confronted him at his throne. However, they were taken aback by Jergal's willingness to step aside as the Lord of the End had grown tired of his power and station. Jergal proposed a game of chance to the Three so they could equally divide his power amongst themselves without killing each other for it.

Bane was the ultimate winner of the game and chose Tyranny, Strife and Hatred. Myrkul came in second place and decided to rule the Dead. Bhaal came in last, so Murder and Death were given to him. Together, they were known as the Dark Three. Their goal achieved, the Three joined the Faerûnian pantheon and began to spread their new faith and dominions, while Jergal still retained some divinity and served Myrkul as his seneschal.

Time of Troubles

Despite their ascension, Bane and Myrkul still wished for more power, and the two stole the Tablets of Fate from the overgod ⁠Ao with the belief that the overgod's power was tied to the tablets. When Ao noticed the theft, he summoned all the gods and demanded that the thieves return the tablets, but no deity stepped forward. Tired of their constant power plays and negligence of their duties, Ao banished all the gods and forbade entry into the Divine realms until the tablets were found and returned to him.

It was during this time that the Three met their demise. In a titanic battle between Bane and the god ⁠Torm, thousands of Torm's followers sacrificed their lives to empower him, allowing him to kill the Lord of Darkness, though he ultimately perished in the battle as well. Myrkul was killed by ⁠Midnight, the mage who would become the next Mystra, as Mystra had been killed by ⁠Helm for violating Ao's decree. Bhaal perished at the hands of the mortal ⁠Cyric, wielding the sword ⁠Godsbane, which was actually a disguised ⁠Mask, the God of Thieves and Shadows. After their demise, they were named the Dead Three and Cyric, who ascended to godhood after the ⁠Time of Troubles, gained all of the Dead Three's divine portfolios and worshippers for a short time.

Return

Before their demise in the Time of Troubles, the Dead Three had prepared contingencies in the event that they were killed. The most infamous of these was Bhaal's, who foresaw his own death and begat progeny; the Bhaalspawn. Each child possessed a small portion of his divine essence, as the Bhaalspawn's true purpose was to serve as vessels and eventually die, so that the scattered divine essence inside them could be gathered and used to restore Bhaal to life. Bane's was not so dissimilar from Bhaal's, as he had sired a half-demon son named ⁠Iyachtu Xvim, who later reclaimed his father's domains of tyranny, hatred and strife from Cyric. Myrkul imbued an artefact known as the ⁠Crown of Horns with a portion of his power.

The first of the Dead Three to return was Bane, who consumed his half-demon son and reclaimed his divinity. The second was Bhaal, who was resurrected after the final two Bhaalspawn perished and reclaimed his domain of Murder from Cyric. Myrkul was the last, as he was resurrected during the ⁠Second Sundering along with many previously dead deities as the God of Death, but was forced to serve Cyric's successor ⁠Kelemvor, the new Lord of the Dead. The Second Sundering saw a change in how the gods interacted with the mortal world. The Dead Three decided to stay on the ⁠Material Plane as quasi-deities, the lowest rank in the divine hierarchy, as they wished to continue to spread their influence to mortals.

Revelations

Act One

Passing the Investigation check for the  Book of Dead Gods references the Dead Three. The Brand of the Absolute bears a striking resemblance to their symbols: the black hand of Bane, the skull of Bhaal, and the triangle-inset skull of Myrkul.

Act Two

In Act Two, it is revealed that the Dead Three are behind The Absolute and its cult. The Dead Three's Chosen control a powerful Illithid Elder Brain using the  Crown of Karsus and the Netherstones that control it. Their three chosen are:

•  Enver Gortash – the Chosen of Bane
•  Orin the Red – the Chosen of Bhaal
•  Ketheric Thorm – the Chosen of Myrkul

The Chosen summon the Elder Brain, invoking their patrons' names when using their Netherstones: The Edict of Bane, the Lash of Bhaal, and the Testament of Myrkul.

During the conversation with Ketheric Thorm, he reveals that he became Myrkul's Chosen after Myrkul resurrected his daughter  Isobel. If defeated in battle or passing a Persuasion check, Ketheric Thorm turns himself over to Myrkul, summoning the  Apostle of Myrkul.

The Dream Visitor speaks to the party after they obtain  Ketheric's Netherstone and gives information on who the Dead Three are.

 Withers appears in Moonrise Towers after leaving the Mind Flayer Colony, wishing to speak to the party. Talking to him shows that he is confused by the Dead Three's actions of building an army of Illithids, as mind flayers are devoid of souls that could empower gods. The party can tell Withers that he seems to know a lot about the Dead Three, to which he concurs and gives a brief but cryptic summary of their rise and fall.

Act Three

If speaking with Enver Gortash as the Dark Urge, he reveals that the Dark Urge was the original Chosen of Bhaal and one of the masterminds of the Absolute plot before they were betrayed by Orin. If Enver Gortash is fought, he calls to Bane for aid. Bane speaks to the party if  Speak with Dead is used on Enver Gortash. The party can ask Bane how to earn his favour. If doing so, he tells them to take control of the Netherbrain. To him, the party's desire to win against the Absolute empowers him either way. This interaction does not have any in-game consequences, even if the player character follows Bane's advice.

The player character can become an Unholy Assassin of Bhaal if they select certain options in the quest ⁠Impress the Murder Tribunal.

When confronting Orin, she can be told the truth about  Sarevok Anchev, who ordered her mother,  Helena Anchev, to kill her when she was a child. If passing a skill check, she suffers a mental breakdown, and Bhaal forcefully transforms her into the Slayer. If the Dark Urge defeats Orin,  Sceleritas Fel is possessed by Bhaal. Through him, Bhaal tells the Dark Urge to become his Chosen again, offers them the Slayer form (if they do not already have it), and commands the Dark Urge to take control of the Netherbrain and use it to slaughter the world in his name.

If the Dark Urge refuses Bhaal, then Bhaal kills them, but  Withers intervenes and resurrects them, proclaiming that they are free from the Urge. Whether the Dark Urge actually chooses to entirely renounce Bhaal after this is up to them, but Withers affords them the opportunity.

In the post-credits scene, Withers talks to a mural of the Dead Three and chides them for their plot, and ultimately states they will not trouble anyone anymore.

Quotes

“

I am Bane, The Black Lord. I am the Ultimate Tyrant. I am Fear, I am Hate.

„

— Bane

“

Our lord does not care for beauty. Bhaal cares only for death. Death in numbers. Death in droves.

„

— Sarevok

“

I am the smile of the worm-cleansed skull. I am the regrets of those who remain, and the restlessness of those who are gone. I am the haunt of mausoleums, the god of graves and age, of dust and dusk. I am Myrkul, Lord of Bones, and you have slain my chosen. But it is no matter. For I am Death. And I am not the end - I am a beginning.

„

— Myrkul

Notes

• All three members of the Dead Three were originally available as deities for Clerics in Early Access, but the option was cut in the full release of the game.
  • Many of the dialogue options for a Cleric of one of the Dead Three remain in the game files and can be accessed with mods.
• Dead Three cultists in Baldur's Gate are the main antagonists in the first section of the D&D adventure ⁠Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, the events of which are frequently referred to in Baldur's Gate III.

External Links

• ⁠Dead Three on the Forgotten Realms Wiki