The Baldur's Gate 3 Dark Urge is an origin you can pick during character creation that determines a huge amount about your playthrough going forward. While they're still a customisable character, this time they have their own defined history, a past that they've completely lost their memory of and must rediscover as part of the game's plot. Not only that, but the only thing left in their mind is a frightening impulse - an urge to kill!
Basically, this is how you make a custom character without just making them a blank slate, as the Dark Urge is effectively a character under your control, but one who has their own past and history to discover and reckon with across the story of Baldur's Gate 3. It's also important to remember that the Dark Urge doesn't have to be evil - your strange bloodlust is something that your character can either wrestle with and fight against, or something you can gleefully give in to. It's your choice - maybe this is the inspiring story of a person battling their inexplicable need to murder and overcoming it to become a noble hero... or maybe it's the grim tale of somebody born with a killer's instincts, who grows to love the slaughter of innocents and becomes the most frightening figure of Faerun!
Whatever you choose, will cover all the details about the Dark Urge in Baldur's Gate 3, including what you can expect, what limitations there are (if any), and how it differs from a normal playthrough.
What is the Dark Urge in Baldur's Gate 3?
Dark Urge is a Baldur's Gate 3 origin archetype. Origins are preset characters with some locked-in attributes, allowing you to play the game as any of your companions, such as Lae'zel, Astarion, or Wyll. Creating a fully custom character in BG3 means you will be able to change any and all aspects of your playable character's stats, appearance, class, race, and more.
Unlike other origins, Dark Urge offers more of a mysterious backstory than a character in itself. It assigns unique personal quest goals and perspectives to an otherwise fully custom character for you to create, and what you uncover about their past won't be pretty.
Should you play as the Dark Urge?
You can play as a Dark Urge origin from your very first Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should. As recommended by a writer at developer Larian Studios, the Dark Urge origin choice in the game's comprehensive character customization menu offers a sordid twist on the main game plotline. It might be better appreciated once you've already played the main campaign as a totally original character, giving you more scope for comparison. However, nothing is stopping you from selecting it from the get-go.
It really comes down to personal preference – do you mind having an angsty backstory underscoring the game's events? Are you planning on playing a ruthless villain-type anyway? Or are you trying to be as humane as possible? If the latter is true for you, Dark Urge is not the Baldur's Gate 3 origin you'll want to opt for.
TL;DR: If you've played BG3 through and are keen for something new, Dark Urge might be something to consider. If you're just stepping in for the first time and don't want anything to detract from the core experience, it's probably something to try after you complete it at least once.
Spoiler Warning: from this point on the guide we'll be discussing more detailed elements of the Dark Urge's storyline. If you don't want the plot revealed, turn away now!
The Dark Urge's storyline
Dark Urge substantially changes Baldur's Gate 3 as you know it, both in storyline and in how you interact with the world around you. We're not going to spoil it, but the Dark Urge is actually implicates your character in the main plot in a very meaningful way by changing the events of Act 3 considerably.
Not only are you encouraged to kill your most beloved companion at once point, but there are some pretty major things your Urge wants you to do - should you heed its bloodthirsty call, after all, since there is always an element of choice in this huge RPG. One of these choices is to kill Isobel even after defending her at the Last Light Inn in Baldur's Gate 3, something that has cataclysmic effects later down the line.
Also, Dark Urge doesn't lock you into a certain appearance while making your character. Selecting Dark Urge gives you a fixed background as the Haunted One – "you see flashes of a wicked face in your dreams" – but you can still choose your own appearance, class, and race. You'll also run into the same cohort of Baldur's Gate 3 companions on your journey, so choosing Dark Urge doesn't seem to lose you any friends at face value.
That being said, you'll have the opportunity to react to events with unique dialogue options that might earn disapproval from your party members. During a conversation with an NPC, or even while having a private moment of thought, you'll often see a response option that sounds a bit more violent than the others. Whether it's dreaming of Astarion's "perfect pretty corpse" or letting a tiefling child die for your own amusement, your Dark Urge is always there to offer a wickeder, more macabre view of the world. Whether or not you follow the urge is entirely your prerogative; you can embrace it or fight against it, and what happens next is yet to be seen.
There are some unique gameplay moments that seem to only happen with Dark Urge selected. The Dark Urge brutally murders a tiefling bard named Alfira after she asks to join your party in earnest, and there's no way around it. While staying overnight at Emerald Grove and taking a long rest in Baldur's Gate 3, your Dark Urge character will awaken to find Alfina's butchered corpse splayed out in front of their bedroll, blood all over their hands. You can choose to quietly bury the body in a ditch, do nothing, or come clean to your companions. This is just one Dark Urge-specific moment in Baldur's Gate 3, but things get even more complex with the introduction of Sceleritas Fel.
Who is Sceleritas Fel in Baldur's Gate 3?
Sceleritas Fel is your Dark Urge butler, who you meet if you indulge your bloodlust and give in to those baser instincts instead of pushing the thoughts away. He introduces himself to you once night during a Long Rest following your slaughter of Alfira.
If you're wondering if there any Dark Urge-exclusive items in Baldur's Gate 3, you're in luck. To thank you for your violent outbursts, Sceleritas will gift you the Deathstalker Mantle as a token of his appreciation. The Deathstalker Mantle is a cloak that gives you invisibility for one turn after you kill an enemy in battle: a great trade for a bad day's work.
Can you romance as the Dark Urge?
Yes, you can romance with a Dark Urge character - and the experience is actually much richer when you do. Baldur's Gate 3 romance is a huge draw for many people, and although it's difficult at times cult to raise my approval with anyone except Gale and Wyll, you can still flirt with your companions as a Dark Urge origin. You still get to create your Baldur's Gate 3 guardian during character creation, still smooch your beau under the stars, and dream sweet dreams of them....until the bloodlust takes hold and you almost murder one of them in their sleep. Ouch.
What is the Slayer in Baldur's Gate 3?
In BG3, The Slayer is a behemoth shapeshifting form that the Dark Urge can transform into once per Long Rest. You are "gifted" the ability to turn into the Slayer as a reward for doing something especially evil in Act 2, and boy does it take the sting out of some boss fights. The Slayer comes with 98 HP and some very powerful attacks, making it not unlike the polar bear animal form that Baldur's Gate 3 Druids can take.
If you want to know what significance the Slayer has in terms of the Dark Urge's storyline, it might be a little bit spoilerific. Stop reading now if you don't want to know - but the Slayer is tied to Bhaal, God of Murder. This means that the Dark Urge is his long-long favorite child, and his true intended Chosen. Naturally, this also has ramifications for your story later down the line, especially when it comes to dealing with Orin the Red and getting her Netherstone
Unique endings for the Dark Urge in Baldur's Gate 3
As the Dark Urge, you can choose to give into your birthright as Bhaal's Chosen or reject him and rid yourself of his gifts. Should you choose the former, you'll have a mission goal called "DESTROY THE GATE IN BHAAL'S NAME". This plays out much like the BG3 ending where you command the brain and become the Absolute, only this time, you're doing it in Bhaal's name rather than your own.
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