Summary

• The Dark Urge eventually has to make a choice in Baldur's Gate 3 to either accept their birthright as Bhaal's Chosen or reject the god of murder.
• Accepting Bhaal has more material rewards, but they may not be sufficiently powerful.
• Rejecting Bhaal's offer is a more satisfying narrative conclusion to a Dark Urge character seeking redemption.

The Dark Urge is one of the Origin character options presented to players in "canonical" protagonist of the game. The Urge's plot line revolves around a case of serious memory loss and an inexplicable drive towards violence, which players can eventually discover comes from being a Bhaalspawn. This means they are the offspring of Bhaal, god of murder, and once even served him as the leader of his bloody congregation.

[Warning: Major spoilers for the Dark Urge plotline in Baldur's Gate 3.]

While the Dark Urge's path is full of difficult choices and fights with their inner demons, their personal quest culminates in a meeting with Bhaal himself and the chance to either regain their former station or reject the god's influence. This is a difficult choice for multiple reasons. Bhaal's favor would supposedly grant immense power and some relief from the fight against one's own nature, while rejecting him would free the Urge from their killing fate entirely but leave them fatherless and an enemy of the murder lord in his own home.

The Strength Of Bhaal's Favor Isn't All It Is Built Up To Be

Becoming The Murder Lord's Chosen Isn't The Surest Path To Power

For some, the main draw of accepting Bhaal's offer to become his Chosen might be the power that comes with that choice. And certainly, aligning with the murder god grants some unique and powerful abilities. The first of these is one use of a spell that can only be gained through this choice: power word kill. This spell is iconic, typically used by boss monsters from Dungeons & Dragons, infamous for its ability to strike a character down without even a saving throw. But it is honestly not that useful in the hands of a player.

"Our lord does not care for beauty. Bhaal cares only for death. Death in numbers. Death in droves."

- Sarevok

The spell instantly kills one creature that has less than 100 hit points, which sounds strong, but fights in Baldur's Gate 3 are often against groups of enemies with tons of health each. Especially by this point in the game, one casting of power word kill isn't going to be much use in any of the big boss fights left.

Bhaal's Favor Sacrifices Some Allies For Access To Powerful New Ones

The Dark Urge Can Ally With Some Truly Ruthless People

As for the other rewards, there are several allies that can only be gained by the Dark Urge who becomes Bhaal's chosen. These include several assassins of Bhaal's temple, Sarevok the Bhaalspawn (as long as the Dark Urge obeys the commands of the Murder Tribunal earlier in Act Three) and the evil butler Sceleritas Fel, who shows up in the player's camp. Each have some strengths, but gaining them comes at a cost.

Becoming Bhaal's Chosen will automatically turn Jaheria and Minsc against the party, along with any remaining Harpers. These two characters can be party and are strong in their own right, and losing them can be a heavy blow to any party. Still, for players who want to create an evil character or don't have those party anyway, this will likely be an acceptable loss.

The assassins are strong warriors, but cannot be of much help outside their area in the Undercity. Sarevok grants the party some bonuses in the final fight against the Netherbrain, which can be a big help. As for Sceleritas, while he is a fun addition to the player's camp and fills in some backstory for the Dark Urge, he doesn't have much in the way of practical use.

The Slayer Form Is Tanky, But Ironically Outperformed When It Comes To Killing

The Biggest Reward For Becoming Bhaal's Chosen Is A Bit Underwhelming

Of course, the largest reward for fulfilling Bhaal's orders is access to the Slayer form, a monstrous transformation which turns the Urge into a gruesome killing machine. It is a fearsome, four-armed creature that has several abilities all aimed towards slaughter. The Dark Urge gets access to the form at this point if they did not already have it from events in Act Two.

To get the Slayer form in Act Two, the Dark Urge must either kill Isobel, their romantic companion, or the companion with the highest approval rating.

Contrary to what some believe, accepting Bhaal's favor does not make the Slayer form any stronger. The Slayer's strength is tied to player level, not necessarily any story events. However, this does not change the fact that the Slayer has a ton of health and good physical stats, and can provide a tanky transformation for the Urge. However, many of the Slayer's abilities revolve around saving throws, and the difficulty class of those saves is rather low.

In addition, at this point in the game, players are likely around level 11 or 12. A level 12 character of any class likely has some combination of abilities that can do far more damage than the Slayer's attacks, such as casting chain lightning or cloudkill, using an action surge, a sneak attack, or even summoning damaging creatures. When it comes down to it, taking the Slayer form is inefficient when it comes to dealing damage, which is antithetical to the idea of what the Slayer represents: carnage incarnate.

Rejecting Bhaal Is By Far The More Dangerous Choice

Saying No To The Murder God In His Own Temple Is Bound To Have Some Drawbacks

For as much as Bhaal rewards the Dark Urge for accepting his offer, he dolls out a far worse punishment for rejecting him. If the Urge denies the murder lord and refuses to give in, Bhaal will kill them, painfully and immediately. If this choice is made, the Dark Urge will die.

Fortunately, they have the power of Withers on their side, who shows up to save them and give them a new life. This time, without the influence of the murderous urge or Bhaal, the Dark Urge is finally free to make their own choices. And all the Dark Urge had to do was away horribly to make it happen.

If the player already had the Slayer form before making this choice, they now lose access to it permanently.

Many players may celebrate this release from the control of Bhaal, but it does come with some setbacks. For one, if the player already had the Slayer form before making this choice, they now lose access to it permanently. Furthermore, their access to a certain vendor at the hideout of the Murder Tribunal will be revoked, meaning they potentially lose out on some of the best gear in the late game. And of course, they lose the respect of every member of the temple of Bhaal.

Rejecting Bhaal Is A Moral Victory At The Very Least

While Players Won't Get Much Gear For This Decision, The Story Impact Is Massive

Rejecting Bhaal has no physical reward, no loot or gold to add to the party chest. But what it does have is a massive impact on the characters in the story, their relationship with the Dark Urge, and the ending for this redeemed murderer. Going around camp and speaking to the Urge's allies after this choice is hugely rewarding, with each of them congratulating the Urge on forging their own path and denying Bhaal his control over their soul.

Not only that, but for a character who has constantly been at war with their desire to cause carnage, this complete release from their violent urges is enormously relieving. This is reflected especially in the game's ending. After the defeat of the Netherbrain, the narrator states that the Urge's mind is totally their own, for the first time possibly ever.

The epilogue is much better for a reformed Urge, as well. Rather than taking over the world in the name of the god of murder or losing their mind and killing their friends, the reformed Urge will be able to celebrate with their teammates and live their own life, finally getting a sense of free will. It's an ending that feels truly earned after all the Urge went through and gave up to be a better person.

A Conflict Between Power & Freedom

This Final Choice For The Dark Urge Perfectly Concludes Their Arc

No matter what choice players make in the Temple of Bhaal, it acts as a great way to finish the character arc of the Urge. Their whole story is about rediscovering who they are and who they want to be, fighting both internal and external controlling forces from their past and developing some sense of agency. For some, this may be achieved by rejecting Bhaal and gaining a new family with their party, while for others, this may be reclaiming their evil birthright, but this time doing so willingly.

Alternatively, an ending where the Urge succumbs to Bhaal's will could be seen as the tragic conclusion of a failed hero, someone who fought to escape their destiny, but ultimately didn't have the willpower to stand against a god. It's a sad ending, and one that does not paint the protagonist in a glorious light, but it's one that works for players constructing a corrupted antihero or a descent into darkness, and can definitely be impactful.

Of course, Dark Urge players just looking for the best rewards and loot will likely want to become Bhaal's Chosen. Even if the rewards aren't world-shattering in their strength, they are fun to use and completely unique to this choice. However, for players looking for a more redemptive story arc or approval from their Baldur's Gate 3 party, rejecting Bhaal is the way to go.