Baldur's Gate 3 offers players the choice to create a custom character to lead their party or pick from among seven pre-made "Origin" characters with their own stories that go beyond the fight with the Absolute. Even if you don't pick any of these Origin characters, they still show up as potential of your party during the first act of the game. All except one, that is: the Dark Urge.

The following article includes spoilers for the Dark Urge's story in Baldur's Gate 3.The Dark Urge is the most customizable of the Origin characters, with no set class, race, or appearance. Only two things about this character are true no matter what: they have lost their memories before the events of the game's opening, and they are plagued by terrible, violent urges that compel them to murder others. By playing as the Dark Urge, players will see how their story connects to the murder lord, Bhaal, and exactly how they came to be on the nautiloid with no memories. If players don't pick them, however, things could end up being totally different.

This Bhaalspawn Proves Resilient, Even Without An Adventuring Party

This Addled Murderer Makes It All The Way To Baldur's Gate

Texts found throughout the game and evidence of the Urge's actions prove that they definitely still exist in a world where they aren't the player character, and that their story loosely lines up for the first bit. The broken nautiloid pod where the Urge was first held is still present in the Illithid Oubliette underneath Act Two's Moonrise Towers, as are Kressa Bonedaughter's notes on her experiments on the Bhaalspawn.

It's even written that the Dark Urge was sent aboard the same Nautiloid the player's party was infected on, and given their absence at the crash site, one might assume they didn't survive the ship's landing. Nonetheless, they manage to. Somehow, despite their brain injuries, illithid infection, and any physical impairments following the crash, the Dark Urge winds in the lower city of Baldur's Gate by the game's end. In all likelihood, they did this while under the influence of the Absolute, perhaps believing themselves to be a True Soul.

After all, the Dark URge wouldn't have had the protection of the Astral Prism to maintain their autonomy. To reach the city, it makes the most sense that the Dark Urge made the pilgrimage to Moonrise Towers like so many other True Souls and then departed with the Absolute's army to reach the city.

Without The Player's Help, The Dark Urge Is Destined For Death

It All Ends In Slaughter

Ultimately, though, the Dark Urge does die. Their corpse can be found within the Temple of Bhaal, naked and scarred, on the floor of Orin the Red's chambers. Given that Orin was the person who originally maimed and infected the Urge before replacing them as Bhaal's Chosen, two possibilities seem likely. The first is that, upon realizing the Dark Urge was still alive and in the army of the Absolute, Orin used her Netherstone's power over the illithid parasites to bring the Bhaalspawn to her, before torturing and killing them.

The body in the Temple of Bhaal is a white dragonborn which matches the default form that the Dark Urge takes (although there is no canonical race or appearance for the Dark Urge). This is the only real indication that this body is the Dark Urge's, since the player characters just comment on it as the corpse of one of Orin's victims.

The other possibility is perhaps more interesting. After reaching the city, Bhaal's influence over the Dark Urge may have become stronger than that of the parasite. Much like the player may if they were in control of the Dark Urge, this Bhaalspawn may have decided to challenge Orin for leadership of the murder lord's cult.

Without the of the party or the experience gained by fighting across Acts One and Two, however, the Dark Urge was no match for their sibling, and Orin defeated them. No matter what, the Dark Urge's story is a tragic one no matter what, but at least with the player's help, they can work towards redemption and live to tell the tale in Baldur's Gate 3.