Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Why scaring off from Dark Urge?

I honestly think that Dark Urge is the superior way to play this game. Tav is fine I guess if you are really into roleplaying something very specific (but it will be very hard for the game to accommodate it).

A good DM doesn't force a player to do things just to appease their own sense of what's proper. It's not the DM's job to police if the player is playing their character right. Their role is to make sure the characters and the story are meshing and interacting properly. In the situation you gave, a good DM would talk to their player and figure out what about this idea of playing a maniac apps to them and work together to figure out how everyone involved can have the best time possible. Maybe that ends up meaning that the player decides to play something different because they agree that the maniac idea doesn't work, maybe it it doesn't. Sometimes a good time in a campaign means going through some serious emotional ringers and intensity, but there's a difference between that and being forced into situations you say at the start you don't want to be in.

I avoid horror books and books with heavy gore because I don't enjoy that sort of thing, but I still enjoy reading stories involving intense emotional hardship. Just because someone doesn't want to experience a certain kind of thing in a game doesn't mean they want no hardship or difficulty. Maybe they want to have to deal with conflicts of people they wronged in the past, or they want to play a character who eventually gets justifiably murdered in the end, or whatever. It's not for the DM to decide when they're playing their character "wrong" unless the way they play their character I'd disrupting the story or the experience at the table.

I feel like I am being trolled there. Do people really expect to play a character titled "dark urge" with an intro that depicts a complete psychopath to be playable as a normal character just by rolling some dices? DnD isn't about saying you want to do something, roll a 20 and being able to do it regardless of what you asked. Especially when you know what is truly happening with this character.

People are having an emotional reaction to the experience they're having and it's making people not want to play. This exact thing is probably why Larian discouraged starting with DU. They knew that it would leave a bad impression with some people feeling like the game forced them to do things they didn't want to do, and it would put them off the rest of the game with them worrying that maybe all of the game was like that no matter the origin. Instead they suggest the origin that gives you full freedom to build your character and then you know what the game is meant to feel like, so you don't judge it incorrectly when you try DU.

I honestly think some Dark Urge plot points are way over the top and again, feels like Larian writers try too hard to be edgy and cool, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Also, I think they are interested in the concept much more than to actually flash out the story in a way it will make sense...

Honestly I don't think the story really works with two people ... One without their memory is quite enough thanks

Talk - yes. But if player will plainly keep ignoring DM, pretending he is some superhero from comics - eventually DM have to act. Not even for the sake of story integrity. But for the sake of other ppl, who actually put effort to ROLEplay fair, and not "draw blanket on themselves"

have you actually played DU completely?
Also have you played original Baldur's Gate trilogy?
It makes perfect sense why devs put DU into the game, and why DU exactly as he is.

This exactly. As a good DM you talk to the player and find out, what they really want to do and then discuss together, how to best achieve it.
( I love horror btw, still have to be in the mood to play a serial killer)

^^^THIS^^^
For real it is wild to me how many people are hating on the Dark Urge when they clearly haven't seen the entire story of the character and have no idea what happened in BG1 and BG2. The Dark Urge is hands down *THE* way to play BG3. Get over any silly dislikes and fully experience the story of that origin.

Honestly I wish Larian had stuck to their guns and left the Dark Urge to be Tav as seems to have been intended without splitting the Dark Urge from Tav. Or at the very LEAST they should have publicly announced the Dark Urge as the most recommended way to play.

Sure, but that's not what's happening in this context. And again you're assuming that the person in your example doesn't put effort into roleplay, when they just don't want to deal with one particular aspect of the experience. It could very well be that they're putting their all into other aspects of the role. And regarding the DM stepping in for the sake of the other players, I would argue that the DM forcing things in the way DU works would be more of a nuisance to the rest of the party, forcing DU to kill characters the rest of the party like and care about. I certainly wouldn't want to play in a group where one player could randomly just kill an NPC we like or need. Doubly so if the GM is forcing the issue.

Tbh a lot in BG 1&2 was edgy as hell too including the plot point combining Durge and Gorions Ward ( I mean did anyone not anticipate what the Durges deal was knowing the lore of the first two games?)
And I'm ok with Durge being there and I actually made one and probably will play her at some point, but it is very specific and not everyone wants that.
I'm glad they offer us both Tav and Durge, so everyone can be happy.
I think it is pretty clear with Durge what you will have to work with, if you click on their introduction, so I wasn't surprised about some events. But as I said before, I have to be in the mood for that kind of character.

I don't understand why DM is even mentioned here, it isn't a thing in a video game. The closest to an actual DM in digital form is ChatGPT, you can actually coerce it to fit your headcanon and react to anything you do. The best thing Larian can do is to make a coherent character with a good explanation of it. Good thing there is an intro for each origin stories, and Durge one couldn't be clearer on what you are getting into.

Well, it's your subconscious edgy, not you. And due to your amnesia you actually can be a new you.
Sure, original BG protagonist wasn't actual Chosen of Bhaal. But still a Bhaal spawn, who experienced horrible nightmares, intended to break him eventually.

Do you think Larian intentionally told us not to play the Dark Urge, so that subconsciously we would. It is a basic but effective psychological trick that you more you tell someone not to do something the more they are tempted to do it.
Also any ideas as to why Wisdom is the mental stat associated with resisting the Urge? Is it related to the brain damage we suffered before the game started at the hands of a certain someone?

I'm sure some people might think that way but Larian were very open with what the dark urge was, and the game briefs you quite well on what the origin is about before you even start the game so adding that on top of them telling you not there is absolutely no reason to blame anyone but yourself. Even though as I said...they should have just been honest and told people that the Dark Urge is honestly the best way to experience the game...because it literally is. Any dislikes or reservations are absolutely silly...especially if you see the way the dark urge escapes said urge. Larian really should have made the dark urge just be Tav rather than an option separate from Tav as it appears to have originally been their intention.

Dude, have some perspective. It's one thing to say that people should be aware of what they're getting into based on the game broadcasting it (I'm sure plenty of people never followed the press on this game and Swen warning people off from starting as DU so I'm not counting that really) but it's another to say people should get over their dislikes about DU playthrough. That's like saying if you got over your dislike of mushroom pizza you'd see mushroom pizza is the best pizza. People are actually playing DU and not liking it. If people want to push past their issues to experience the game thats on them if they want to do that. But plenty of people - myself included - don't want to force themselves to go through an experience they don't like to experience a story they probably also won't like because its tied up in an experience they don't like anyway.

I also am skeptical that Tav and DU were originally one and the same. I suspect that if that were thr case then Tav as DU would have been a watered down version and separating separating two allowed them to go whole hog, since nothing in EA came one to what's apparently happening with DU.

Okay, Darth_Trethon, other people are perfectly entitled to their own views and it's not okay to dismiss them as "silly". You have made your own view clear, which as long as it's about the game and not the quality of other people's opinions is also okay, and I think now it's time to agree to disagree.

My main issue is a lot of people don't know how that story progresses. And it doesn't work to just spoil it for them either. It is something that can only be understood if you experience it. I absolutely believe that if they just stick through the one or two tough moment with the Dark Urge(and it literally is just one or two tough moments that are either forced or need dice rolls to avoid) they themselves would understand how good the origin is. That's my entire point: do not dismiss this character...you will not be forced into much more than the one or two tough situations and the payoff is amazing. That's why I said it is "silly" to dismiss the character and it is a terrible thing to do.

The Dark Urge playthrough is interesting and deep, but people have limits to what they feel comfortable with. I do not understand why are some people saying that Custom Tav should be removed and DU should be the only gaming option. In my view Larian gave us the best of both worlds - you can play DU as your custom or, if you get triggered by the gore in it you can have a playthrough as a completely independent character.

I am not sure if it was a sound decision to keep that one camp scene in the game as unavoidable (and No, creative use of the game mechanics is NOT the same as avoidable, that is borderline cheating), as that is the scene that scares most people off and it is quite early in the game as well. However it is a strong and clever scene that gives a good feel to the player about what they are actually really dealing with and it would be a shame to miss it.

In a way Du is like curry. Maybe most people would love a good curry in theory, but in reality you can never make it perfect - make it too hot and it will put some people off, whileothers will say it is perfect, make it milder, and it will put some people off because it is not hot enough. When you are dealing with a huge range of customers, you can never go fully extreme, and therefore allowing them to choose between the extreme and the basic is a good way to handle the issue. In fact, the thing that you can play DU as a semi custom character or just choose Tav if you don’t want to, is one of the best options in this game imo.