SPOILER WARNING: THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR BALDUR’S GATE 3 AHEAD
The opening ofBaldur’s Gate 3is filled with important choices: should players create a fully custom character or check out one of the Origin characters like Astarion, Karlach, and so forth is but one. Serving as a midway point, players can also chooseThe Dark Urge - an Origin character with a unique storyline that is fully customizable. The Dark Urge wipes the player character of their memory but leaves them with a deep hunger for murder, as the name would suggest.
This compulsion for murder is ever-present, and no one is safe even from theBaldur’s Gate 3player’s imagination. For example, when players first meet Gale, they can imagine murdering him. That imagination sees the player black out, and next thing they know, Gale is dead and his hand is in their inventory. As players progress throughBaldur’s Gate3, not only do these Dark Urges become stronger and more powerful, but the truth slowly comes to light.
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Baldur’s Gate 3: Giving In or Resisting the Urge
While there are tons of variables andpermutations inBaldur’s Gate 3, there are two major routes for the Dark Urge: Give In or Resist. The former obviously sees players murder hobo their way throughout the game, but resisting it is just as compelling as the murder is fun. As there are Dark Urge choices present throughout the game, it means that players are constantly facing temptation, and it’s not always easy to say no. And no matter how hard one resists, they will kill people eventually. One of the big incidents is a Tiefling Bard that would seem to join the player’s party, just for the player to murder them in their sleep. From there, how much players reveal about their Urges is entirely up to them, but sometime after, they will be approached by a mysterious figure known as Scleritas Fel.
From him, players will learn a little about their dark compulsions and that their “father” is watching. Scleritas will give players another target, and again depending on choices, Scleritas will also try to force the player to kill their love. How they interact with them then goes a long way in establishing and supporting that relationship, with aKarlach romance inBaldur’s Gate 3being incredibly sweet about it all. Furthermore, when players arrive at Moonrise Towers, it becomes apparent that the various folks there will have known the PC in the past and one of the big bosses of the game, Ketheric Thorm, will seemingly enjoy the player’s newfound amnesia. Whatever bits of truth players find here, answers will ultimately await them in Baldur’s Gate.
Baldur’s Gate 3: The Truth Behind the Dark Urge
Players will learn/remember that they are Bhaalspawn, children sired by the god Bhaal, Lord of Murder. It makes perfect sense, but the Dead Three’s role inBaldur’s Gate 3comes as a surprise, especially given the Illithid plot. It’s convoluted, but essentially, the player is a sibling of antagonist Orin the Red. They were the leader of the Bhaalist Cult prior to Orin’s attempted murder; she is the reason the player lost all memories and were captured by the Illithid. But it still goes deeper than that: players learn that the entire plot was theirs. At Moonrise Towers, it was the Dark Urge player who put the Crown on the Elder Brain and sought to control/destroy the world through the Absolute. Armed with the truth, they can defeat Orin, reclaim their place, and fulfill their plot for their father. Or, players can defeat Orin the Red for her stone and reject their father outright.
Angering a God doesn’t tend to work out well inBaldur’s Gate 3, and this is no exception. Someone trying to resist the Dark Urge and redeem themselves are struck dead by Bhaal for their defiance. While it seems like a Game Over at first, Withers intervenes - yet another surprise for players.Withers has some deep connection to the Dead Threethat goes unsaid, but here in this moment, he brings the player back to life. He tells them that Bhaal has only killed their former self, freeing the player of the Dark Urge, but the person who was born after must still live. He’ll even add that, “the heart of a savior has overcome the mind of a murderer,” a line of dialogue that honestly has no right to go so hard.
And, with that, players are able to leave, wrap up any other stories, and head intothe ending ofBaldur’s Gate 3as a Redeemed Savior who must undo the harm they’ve caused or a full-blown Bhaalspawn.
Baldur’s Gate 3is available now on PC. A PS5 version releases on September 6.
