Baldur's Gate 3 - Dark Urge Origin Guide

Baldur's Gate 3 lets you choose from several origins. These are essentially characters with their own stories to tell. For instance, you can pick a custom character, a blank slate if you will. Alternatively, you can play a campaign as one of the unique companions. And, of course, there's the Dark Urge, someone who's guided by a malevolent entity. Our guide discusses what you can expect if you choose the Dark Urge origin in Baldur's Gate 3. Likewise, please be reminded that this guide contains spoilers.

Baldur's Gate 3 Dark Urge Origin Guide

Our Baldur's Gate 3 Dark Urge guide discusses several facets that will come up as you progress further in the campaign. Basically, the Dark Urge has a murderous past shrouded in blood, violence, and gore. It's quite unlike regular playthroughs: there's going the evil path, and there's the really evil-to-the-point-of-being-disturbing path.

Yes, there will be lots of deaths along the way, most of which involve your companions. Also, the Dark Urge is locked to a single background called The Haunted One. You can learn more about it, as well as how it gains Inspirations, in our Haunted One guide.

Alfira the Bard and Your First Meeting With Scleritas Fel

A Baldur's Gate 3 Dark Urge character tends to have a sinister look whenever certain dialogue options appear, mostly those with a sadistic theme. At first, you won't think much of it, until one random event that happens as you're about to sleep in your camp. There, a Tiefling bard by the name of Alfira will ask to spend the night. Let her do so and, once you wake up, you'll realize that she's been violently ripped apart. You can choose to hide the body, wash the blood away, or admit your wrongdoing to your companions.

Soon thereafter, your "butler," Scleritas Fel, will also pop up just as you're about to sleep. He tells you that he's been awaiting your return, though you can't seem to remember anything. This begins the Dark Urge adventure proper, which is filled with unique dialogue options and events. You don't need to go through with every infamous deed. In fact, part of your journey is trying to hold back your murderous intentions.

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Miscellaneous Murders: Dark Urge Events

Below are some examples of key events where you could kill someone as a Dark Urge player in Baldur's Gate 3:

• Gale - When Gale first appears, you need to drag him through a portal. Dark Urge players can imagine chopping off the arm, which actually happens. Guess that means we won't be seeing Gale anytime soon.
• Nettie's bird - In the Druid Grove, you can choose to torture the bird that Nettie is curing.
• Minthara - If you followed an arc that lets you romance Minthara, you can snap her neck after your character sleeps with her.
• Pixie - When you find a Moonlantern to keep yourself protected in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, you'll realize that there's a pixie trapped inside. You can decide to crush her after she's freed.

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Important Decision: Isobel and Last Light Inn

An important decision has to be made during Act 2. There, Scleritas Fel informs you that you have another target: Isobel the Cleric. She has a ward that protects Last Light Inn, the headquarters of the Harpers. You can choose to murder her due to your mission, or you can avoid doing that entirely.

If you kill her, the barrier that wards off the curse will disappear. Multiple NPCs will die or transform into corrupted husks, preventing you from completing certain tasks:

• Dammon the Blacksmith will no longer be able to fix Karlach's Infernal Engine.
• The sleeping soldier will get killed, which might prevent you from fully recruiting and romancing Halsin.
• If Jaheira discovers that you murdered Isobel, she'll be distraught. After defeating all the husks, she'll attack and you'll have no choice but to kill her. Naturally, you won't be able to recruit Jaheira.

As an aside, these incidents can also occur later once you've met the Nightsong. If you allow Shadowheart to kill her, the curse will seep through the inn, and not even Isobel can stop it. Jaheira dies off-screen because of this.

Important Decision: Your Lover

The Baldur's Gate 3 Dark Urge origin has another key event that happens, assuming you kept Isobel alive. This time, it involves your lover (i.e. the one that you're actively romancing, such as Karlach or Shadowheart).

Scleritas Fel says that the moment you sleep, you'll lose control and you'll kill your lover. You obviously don't want that to happen, which means you need to wake up your partner. However, if you do that, the Dark Urge attempts to take over, and you need to pass several checks. There are two possible outcomes.

Failure: You Lost Control of the Dark Urge

• This occurs if you fail the first saving throw (Wisdom 14).
• Your character will brutally kill their partner, and they can cry over their corpse.
• The next day, your companions will notice what you've done, and they'll question how many more have to die. You can try a Deception 30 check, but you'll likely fail.
• This leads to a battle against all the companions that are in your camp. Your character will probably get killed because of this (especially once Lae'zel and Karlach start bashing you). That's a game over, so make sure you successfully pass that saving throw.

Success: You Managed to Control the Dark Urge Temporarily

• If you pass the first saving throw, your character will wake up with their hands tied behind their back.
• Your lover promises to help you, and you'll have to pass three more saving throws (Wisdom 18). You do gain a bonus because your partner believes in you.
• This ends the major incidents for the Baldur's Gate 3 Dark Urge, at least for this chapter.

Rewards: Deathstalker Mantle and Slayer Form

Being a Dark Urge player does have its benefits. Here are two examples:

• Cloak: The Deathstalker Mantle - We received this during Act 1, though we're not sure about the specific trigger. It might have something to do with the attack on the Druid Grove due to how many enemies ended up dead. The cloak has a perk called The Shadow Itself, which makes you invisible for two turns after you kill an enemy.
• Transformation: Slayer - We obtained this one after the Isobel/Last Light Inn task. It can also occur if you don't kill Isobel, but you let Shadowheart kill Nightsong. With this, you can turn into a horrifying mutant creature, which has multi-hit attacks with its claws, as well as pincers that can cause the bleeding status.

Spoilers: Act 3 - The True Nature of the Dark Urge

We're delving deeper into additional spoiler territory now, so read at your own risk. These events transpire during the game's third act. Likewise, we've opted not to include any images to avoid spoiling the fun.

A Tribunal and a Battle

Accept or Reject a Blessing

These are what we know of the Dark Urge in Baldur's Gate 3 based on our playthrough. We'll update our guide soon, so stay tuned.