Summary

  • The original design document for Baldur's Gate 3 included a Bhaalspawn companion.
  • This was later changed to be a playable character, who then became The Dark Urge.
  • As a companion, this Bhaalspawn would have kept "f**ing up" everything.

Baldur's Gate 3 gives you two options for customisable characters. You can either start with a blank slate, creating your own character backstory as you would in Dungeons & Dragons, or you can play as The Dark Urge. The character itself is still customisable, but it gives you a set backstory that unfolds throughout the game.

Spoilers for the classic Baldur's Gate games and The Dark Urge storyline in Baldur's Gate 3 ahead.

As you discover in Act 3, The Dark Urge is a Bhaalspawn - a child of the God of Murder. Since this interacts with and even changes the main narrative so much, it's generally recommended that players opt for this path on their second playthroughs. However, that doesn't mean The Dark Urge was tacked on at the end by Larian.

Speaking to Eurogamer, writers behind The Dark Urge shed some light on how this path was implemented into Baldur's Gate 3. Turns out, Larian had decided from the very beginning that it wanted a Bhaalspawn character in the game, but originally envisioned them as a companion instead.

"We went through god I don't know how many versions of it," says Adam Smith, writing director at Larian. He adds that the words "Bhaalspawn companion" were on the very first design document for Baldur's Gate 3, and that they were envisioned as someone who "keeps f**ing up and doing things" - just like we do as The Dark Urge.

However, the team eventually decided it would be more compelling if players were controlling the Bhaalspawn. They went through several iterations of this too, before coming up with the idea of The Dark Urge.

As it stands, The Dark Urge is the only playable Origin character who does not become a companion if you don't play as them. Fun fact: they are still in the game, though, as you can stumble across their dead body in Orin's room. After all, they're so tied to the story that they still had to exist - they just won't survive if you play as anyone else.

The Dark Urge Isn't The First Bhaalspawn In Baldur's Gate

Creating The Dark Urge separated Baldur's Gate 3 from the first two Baldur's Gate games. In the classics, you also play as a Bhaalspawn, but they have a more customisable backstory, as they were saved as a child and grew up away from their evil father.

Given that the first two games centred around this, it's no surprise that Larian wanted to explore what it means to be a Bhaalspawn in its own game. That said, the studio certainly put its own spin on it with The Dark Urge - our character's nightmares in the first two games were a walk in the park compared to what their Baldur's Gate 3 counterpart has to deal with.

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Baldur's Gate 3

RPG Systems 5.0/5 25 9.4/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 96/100 Critics Rec: 98% Released August 3, 2023 ESRB M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence Developer(s) Larian Studios Publisher(s) Larian Studios Engine Divinity 4.0
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Baldur's Gate 3 is the long-awaited next chapter in the Dungeons & Dragons-based series of RPGs. Developed by Divinity creator Larian Studios, it puts you in the middle of a mind flayer invasion of Faerûn, over a century after the events of its predecessor.

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