The Dark Urge in Baldur’s Gate 3 Explained

Baldur’s Gate 3, the digital adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons that has long been in Steam Early Access, finally releases tomorrow. The game features a massive story and faithfully translates many of D&D’s mechanics to the screen. One aspect of Baldur’s Gate 3 that is especially exciting is character creation, with both prebuilt and custom options. While players have the ability to choose their race and class, creating a character from scratch, they can also play as a specific, premade character (with the bonus of additional story elements) or play as the Dark Urge, a customizable character with unique rules. Here’s how it works.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is an adaptation of the world-famous pen-and-paper RPG system Dungeons & Dragons, which was recently adapted into a well-received film. Developed by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game fans of the series have been waiting for for over 20 years.

The Dark Urge in Baldur’s Gate 3 Explained

The Dark Urge is a special character build that has some preset rules but also allows for some degree of customization. Per RockPaperShotgun, The Dark Urge is an insatiable lust for murder and violence: while the character’s other attributes remain up to the player, seemingly random acts of violence are built in, creating chaos and drastically changing how the character plays. Think Marvel’s Moon Knight, or, perhaps, a “murderhobo,” a type of character found in many D&D games in real life that wreaks havoc with sprees of violence and theft. Players have limited control over their character during these violent outbursts, and it’s up to them whether to lean into the chaos or try to rein it in.

The Dark Urge is just one option for Baldur’s Gate 3 characters but definitely a unique one, providing some of the story elements of a preset character without sacrificing the customization ability of a full, from-scratch character. The Dark Urge’s maddening, marauding habits will definitely be a challenge for Baldur’s Gate 3 players to control – or embrace.