Highlights
- Playing as the Dark Urge in Baldur’s Gate 3 provides the opportunity to make dark choices and face the consequences of those actions.
- The Dark Urge is a customizable character that allows players to explore their evil streak, but making enemies can make the game more challenging.
- Players should be cautious when playing the Dark Urge and avoid choices like murdering defenseless people, fantasizing about horrible things, and confessing their dark deeds to their companions.
Baldur’s Gate 3 allows the player to explore the world as either their own custom character or one of several Origin characters. Besides the six that players can either play as or recruit as companions, there is another, the Dark Urge. This character can be customized to fit the player’s playstyle at the start of the game, but it also has many dark choices and encounters the player will face.
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There is a lot to pack into Larian’s RPG, but some stops are definitely worth making before progressing past the first act of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Unlike with a regular character, players will sometimes get choices with great repercussions when playing the Dark Urge, which may be a little extreme. With that in mind, these are the choices a player should avoid while playing the Dark Urge in Baldur’s Gate 3 if they wish to step away from their evil streak.
There are Dark Urge storyline spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 inside this article. These include plot points and the end of the game.
8 Don’t Murder/Torture Defenseless People
Tieflings And Even Goblins
While this may at first seem obvious, players who are looking to keep friends while still being the Dark Urge should choose their moments of violence carefully. Yes, it may be fun to force choke a group of Goblins to befriend the followers of the Absolute, but breaking the legs of an already paralyzed Tiefling in Act One is just cruel.
That is, however, part of the fun when playing the Dark Urge, as players may feel that this character is their best excuse for an evil run. Though sometimes making enemies can make completing each act more of a challenge than it needs to be.
7 Do Not Fantasize About Horrible Things
Act 1 — Meeting Gale
As the Dark Urge, the player is likely to have countless bloody fantasies that swirl around their head during every encounter with both a regular NPC and a possible companion. This can start very early in the players’ adventure as they encounter Gale trapped within a portal.
A new dialogue option appears for the Dark Urge that has them fantasizing about hacking off Gale’s hand. However, after choosing this option, players will quickly realize it did not stay as a fantasy. Through the screams of Gale and the severed hand left on the ground, players won’t see Gale again but are left with this ‘trinket’ to remember him by.
6 Talking To Animals Without Speak To Animals
Act 1 — Roaming Near The Emerald Grove
Animal lovers beware of the Dark Urge, as it appears to have something greatly cruel against animals. While many of the fluffy critters the player encounters give players the freedom to either do something horrible or to hold their tongue.
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Baldur’s Gate 3 is long and dense, and players should pick up these items during Act 1 to get started on the right foot.
Approaching this adorable squirrel in Act 1 that goes by the name of Timber, without casting Speak With Animals, it will automatically see the player kick her into the tree. With no warning of this happening, a player is likely to be shocked and sickened by themselves, while the Dark Urge looks around confused at what they have just done.
5 Admitting To The Player’s Bad Deeds
Act 1 — A Camp Moment
While at first, it may seem like a good idea to admit to the player’s party members that they may have accidentally killed the bard, Volo, they allowed to stay at the camp or tell them about the dark evil thoughts that litter their head, sometimes it’s better to hide the bad things and act like nothing is wrong.
Players will be saving their approval with the whole camp by simply denying they had any involvement with the body that may or may not be on the ground. It may even be an even better idea to hide the body, so the companions are none the wiser. Coming clean may clear a player’s conscience, but everyone will hate them for it.
4 Encouraging The Death Of A Child
Act 1 — ‘Save Arabella’
Few games allow players to harm children and while the Dark Urge can’t literally kill a child, they can encourage a snake to do it for them. When first meeting Kagha in the Druid Grove, players will see her arguing with another Druid about what to do with a small Tiefling girl.
Witnessing this display, the Dark Urge realizes how dangerous the snake is and can decide to encourage it to attack the girl. This will kill Arabella instantly, upsetting her parents, and causing the player to miss out on future scenes that involve Arabella.
3 Murdering Isobel
Act 2 — ‘Kill The Kindly Cleric’
Isobel is the only person keeping the people safe inside the Last Light Inn. Without her cleric abilities, the people within the inn would be taken over by the Shadow Curse. When using an average custom character, players will find themselves easily helping Isobel and the people within the inn. However, the Dark Urge has different plans.
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The Cleric is much more than just a typical healer, but for one of the best support builds in Baldur’s Gate 3, look no further than this setup.
Meeting Isobel will fill them with rage as they want to randomly kill her. This is only further encouraged by the Dark Urge’s butler, who tasks them with Killing the ‘Kindly Cleric’. Players do not need to do every quest they are given and this is one to definitely avoid if the player wants to keep the people inside the inn safe.
2 Completing The Murder Tribunal
Act 3 — ‘Investigate The Murders’
Once reaching the third and final act of the game, players may start to understand who the Dark Urge is. While helping to investigate the murders that have been happening around the city, they will finally encounter the Murder Tribunal; an event the Dark Urge seems to enjoy.
If players manage to recruit Jaheira in Act 2 as the Dark Urge, agreeing to take part in the Murder Tribunal and then going through with it and therefore becoming a follower of Bhaal will cause this elf that players may remember from past games in the franchise to permanently leave the player’s party. This then also has the chance to cause Minsc to leave later on too.
1 Becoming Chosen At The End
Act 3 — Control The Elder Brain
After learning that the Dark Urge is a Bhaalspawn and, therefore, that the god of murder, who hopes to control the Elder Brain, is the player’s dad. Players are left with a tough choice once encountering Orin, if they wish to accept themselves as the Chosen of Bhaal or resist their father’s dark blood.
The player’s companions will naturally disapprove of the player accepting themselves as the Chosen, as this will likely mean they will control the brain at the end. However, once facing the Elder Brain, even as the Chosen of Bhaal, a player shouldn’t take control of the brain. This is arguably a shorter scene and, although epilogues are not in the game, players won’t be able to see how each companion’s story truly ends.
Baldur’s Gate 3
- Platform(s)
- PC, Stadia, macOS, PS5
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- Genre(s)
- RPG
