The Dark Urge

Special Origin
The Dark Urge
Stats
Level 1
STR 8 (-1) DEX 13 (+1) CON 15 (+2) INT 12 (+1) WIS 10 CHA 17 (+3)
Race	Any, White Dragonborn (default)
Type	Humanoid
HP	8
AC	11
Movement Speed	9 m / 30 ft
Size	Medium
Proficiency Bonus	+2
Initiative	+1
Character information
Class	Any, Sorcerer (default) [[Category:Any, Sorcerer (default)s]]
Background	Haunted One
Allies	Sceleritas Fel (dependant), Bhaal (dependant), Gortash (former / dependant)
Enemies	Orin the Red
Promotional Art

The Dark Urge is a special Origin in Baldur's Gate 3. The Dark Urge gives a custom character a special origin background and adds many new interactions, obstacles, and story elements for that character.

Unlike the other Origin Characters, The Dark Urge can be played using any race, class, and gender, and will not be part of the player's party if they are playing any other Origin Character.

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 this Dark Urge, lest it consume my mind. I must discover what happened to me, and who I was. Before my twitching knife-hand writes a tragedy in blood.

— The Dark Urge, fearing their dark desires in their Introduction cinematic.

Background

You remember nothing of your past besides that you walked a path paved with blood. As you venture on, you find yourself inescapably drawn towards unimaginable cruelties. Where do these thoughts come from?

Gameplay

A character with The Dark Urge Origin remembers nothing of their past and are plagued with dark urges of violence and cruelty. Like the other Origin Characters, The Dark Urge adds a unique storyline that surfaces over time as the true nature of The Dark Urge is revealed.

Guiding the Dark Urge in their time of need is Sceleritas Fel. A vile and loyal servant, Fel lives only to see the Dark Urge return to their rightful, bloodstained path and urges them to commit some of the most lurid acts of violence.

Over the course of the game, the player can choose to resist or indulge in their character's urges, as they slowly learn more about their past and their nature.

The Urge

The Dark Urge's primary personal quest is called The Urge, and guides the player as they interact with their butler and uncover more of their past.

Act One

During Act One, the Dark Urge will eventually have a long rest event where they murder a camp follower. If she is available, this will always be Alfira. Otherwise, it will be Quil. Soon after, in a separate long rest event, their butler will introduce himself, and gift the player the Deathstalker Mantle.

Act Two

During a long rest event, The Dark Urge will be given the task of killing Isobel at the Last Light Inn. Should the player forego killing Isobel, at a later long rest they will be informed that they will kill their closest companion, usually their lover. The player can choose to wake their companion up, if they pass a Wisdom check. If they fail the check, choose to go back to sleep, or choose to kill their companion, they must pass a separate check, or the camp will turn hostile.

If the player kills either Isobel or their companion, they are they are granted the Slayer form, a gift from their father.

The Dark Urge has unique content and dialogue in the Moonrise Towers, including a reunion with several of their former allies.

Act Three

If the player refused to kill either Isobel or their companion, after arriving at Wyrm's Crossing, it is revealed that the Dark Urge is a Bhaalspawn, and was once the leader of the Cult of Bhaal, before being betrayed and murdered by their sister. Further conversation with Gortash reveals they were one of the original members of the Chosen of the Dead Three, and alongside Gortash, had originally schemed to use the Crown of Karsus on the Elder Brain to falsify the religion of the Absolute. In this sense, the Dark Urge is very well the catalyst for the main story's events.

The only reason the Dark Urge is not within this position is because Orin the Red, envious of the Dark Urge's power and control over the cult, betrayed them, inflicted amnesia upon them, and took control of the cult herself.

After confronting Orin, the Dark Urge may restore themselves as Bhaal's Chosen, or refuse the title.

Should they refuse to become Bhaal's chosen, the Dark Urge will be drained of their father's blood and killed, but will be reborn by Withers, free from the Urge.

Indulging the Urge

There are many instances of cruelty and violence the Dark Urge can commit;

Act One

• Tearing off Gale's arm when first meeting him. This prevents you from recruiting him.
• On meeting Timber the Squirrel at the Druid Grove, the Dark Urge will punt the squirrel with no input. The player can only control this choice if they have Speak with Animals active.
• Encourage Arabella to leave by flicking your eyes towards the exit, leading to her death.
• Killing Alfira while she is visiting the camp (Or a Dragonborn bard named Quil if Alfira is unavailable for any reason), leading to the first meeting of Sceleritas Fel. The player can not control this choice.
• Killing Minthara after sleeping with her if the Dark Urge sided with the Goblin Camp against the Grove.

Act Two

• Killing Isobel. The player can choose whether or not to do this, but will lead to a different event. Killing Isobel rewards the Dark Urge with the Slayer form.
• Killing your lover or closest companion. The player can choose to warn their companion of this, or choose to simply kill them. Doing this rewards the Dark Urge with the Slayer form.
• After freeing the trapped fairy from the Moonlantern, the player can choose to crush it.
• The player can torture a group of goblins in a variety of ways at the Moonrise Towers.

History

Childhood

Unlike other Bhaalspawn, The Dark Urge wasn't born, but instead created from the dead flesh of Bhaal himself.

They were at some point taken in by a couple, and had a relatively peaceful childhood for a time, before succumbing to the urge and murdering their loved ones and foster parents.

The Cult of Bhaal

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

After coming into contact with an Elder Brain, the Dark Urge hatched a plan to create the false religion of the Absolute, in order to allow for them to fulfil their pledge to their Lord. They recruited Gortash and later Ketheric Thorm, to enact their plan to use the Crown of Karsus on the Elder Brain to falsify the religion of the Absolute, so that they may build an army of soulless Mind Flayers to exterminate all life — Including, as the last being alive, their own. Fully intent on eventually betraying their allies, the Dark Urge formed a special relationship with the Elder Brain, who was on board with the Dark Urge's plan.

Betrayal

For a time, the Dark Urge was worshipped as a god at Moonrise Towers, but during a visit to the Mind Flayer Colony beneath the towers, they were 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 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 themselves or others, until they were eventually sent off on the Nautiloid Ship.

Uncovering the Dark Urge's Past

Numerous details from the Dark Urge's past can be uncovered in the game.

• Eating the Noblestalk mushroom as Dark Urge will unlock one of two memories:
  • If eaten before meeting Sceleritas Fel. they remember acts of cannibalism.
  • If eaten after meeting Sceleritas Fel, they remember the torture and murder of one of their victims.
• If Heal is cast on the Dark Urge, they unlock one of two memories:
  • If cast prior to killing Orin, they remember that they killed their foster parents.
  • If cast after killing Orin, they remember playing with friends in childhood, after being taken in by their foster parents.
• According to Sceleritas Fel, the Dark Urge is a necrophiliac.
• Dialogue with Kressa Bonedaughter will reveal that The Dark Urge was attacked at the Mind Flayer Colony by Orin, leading to their imprisonment and becoming the very first tadpole victim.
• Dialogue with Orin disguised as Zethino implies that she and Dark Urge may have had an incestuous relationship, but it is left ambiguous.
• The journal entry for Open your Scars suggests the that the Dark Urge may have had a sexual relationship with the Elder Brain.
• Walking by the graves of the Last Light Inn will reveal that it was once the Dark Urge's hunting grounds.

Notes

• The final origin character was revealed through Blood in Baldur's Gate ARG. The players controlled a detective investigating a chain of murders. On the final day of the ARG, The Dark Urge was revealed, along with Sceleritas Fel. The ARG ends with the white-scaled dragonborn killing the detective.
• Due to similarities the Dark Urge shares with previous Baldur's Gate protagonists, it is theorised that they are the canon protagonist of Baldur's Gate 3. This has not been confirmed or denied as of the time of writing.

• 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 defaults appearance of the Dark Urge Origin, simply called 'Fallen Bhaalspawn', tortured and murdered by Orin.
  • 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. Additionally, they were probably never sent on the Nautiloid Ship. It is unknown if this version of the Dark Urge was still the original True Soul or not.

Gallery

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  The origin's default appearance

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  Sceleritas Fel, The Dark Urge's guide