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#940875 26/03/24 04:50 PM
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JandK Offline OP
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What I mean is, who do you picture the dark urge as being?

The canon white dragonborn storm sorcerer doesn't really feel right to me. I followed the Blood in Baldur's Gate thing closely, and I love the look of the white dragonborn. But when I think of the Dark Urge, when I imagine the character and the history and the role... I don't know, it's just not what I see in my head.

My first thought is that the Dark Urge is a rogue, surely. Perhaps an assassin mutliclassed with a gloomstalker. That makes a sort of obvious sense, right? And personally, I imagine him as a human or half-elf with long dark hair and a heavy beard from the time spent without being able to shave.

But that's all just my initial thoughts. I mean, it's almost too obvious. And then I wonder, does the former class of the Dark Urge have to be the same as what the Dark Urge becomes in the playthrough?

*

Once upon a time, there was a thread (which I can't find) where someone discussed playing the Dark Urge as a paladin. At the time, I said that made no sense. The Dark Urge took a vow, lost his memory and then woke up with the powers of the vow? Why didn't this evil thing become an Oathbreaker if it was once a paladin? No way that vow would still be in place.

Thinking about it now, I was wrong. It makes perfect sense that the Dark Urge might be a paladin. I could see the vow of vengeance, most especially, and I can imagine that the vow was made in a half coherent state after Orin's attack, or perhaps even after the insertion of the parasite, which may have helped keep the Dark Urge from completely turning into a true soul.

*

I very much view the Dark Urge as the main character of the story, at least in so far as the story can be said to have a main character as opposed to an ensemble cast.

*

As time has progressed, I think I've finally settled on my version of the Dark Urge.

I imagine that he was a half-elf draconic sorcerer (white dragon bloodline). In my mind, he had the Mask of the Shapeshifter, allowing him to take on different forms which helped him get away with much of what he did.

But something happened when the tadpole was put into his head. When he lay upon the table and saw his innards without. The illithid tadpole entered his head and that--coupled with his essence as a Bhaal-spawn--caused his mind to touch that of an outsider's. In the midst of his suffering, he caught a glimpse of an ancient and otherworldly being. A great old one.

In that moment, he became a warlock, unlocking strange abilities of the mind. It helped him maintain some sense of himself instead of becoming a generic true soul. He got the ability of Blade Ward which helped him survive much of the agony.

As he wakes up on the Nautiloid, mind awash in dizziness and nausea, he maintains that connection to the ancient alien entity. The power of which helps him to escape.

As time progresses, his natural aptitude at sorcery returns and his nature becomes three-fold, influenced as he is by this unfathomable mind he touched, by the blood of his dragon ancestor, and by the taint of Bhaal himself.

And ultimately, that's who the Dark Urge has become for me.

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Very nice character story there. I love finding out how others build their Dark Uge, because in my mind, it is the only playable character that really connects with the previous games.

My Dark Urge is a Drow Ranger. (A trope, I know, but I wasn't thinking at all about... that guy.) She was previously a Gloomstalker, a sniper from the shadows, back when she was working for her daddy. I figured Bhaal didn't want to make another human since that didn't work out so well before. He wanted someone who could terrify just from racial and cultural reputation.

(In the previous games, I ended up playing through as a Cleric of Lathander when BG1 first released. So this time, I'm playing a Ranger/Cleric. Obviously I don't play evil characters.)

So Eilistraee came to my Dark Urge while she was unconscious in the pod, and when she woke up, this is the only thing she could remember, besides how to shoot a bow. (And yes, I know that Eilistraee is not fond of bows, but the Dark Urge was an opportune project for her.)

I started off as a Beast Master because doggo, but when I realized how godawful the pet pathing is, I found the Drakewarden mod so the pet could fly. My only complaint with that mod is that I have to use a white drake instead of a silver one which is the beloved of Eilistraee.

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My only complete Durge play through was as a Vengeance Paladin. In my head cannon she became the Paladin the moment she woke up and had that first scene where she swears to find out who did this. It actually worked pretty well and she ended up resisting the full way through.

I still have no idea as to what she was before the tadpole other than a bloody mass murderer.

Last edited by Ranxerox; 26/03/24 10:20 PM.
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I made my durge a Tiefling sword Bard. It's worked great so far. Expertise in CHA skills is a hell of a tool. I made her look like Alfira. I think I stated that playthrough with the idea that Durge was actually a changeling like Orin, (but no mods, so i was using the shapeshifter hat) but I sort of dropped that idea part way into the run. I had a second Durge playthough where i was a Dragonborn vengence pally and planning to do a resist run. It took a while sorting through the Dragonborn skins, but I found one that basically looks like spilled petrol. She's beautiful, maybe i'll finish that run someday.

My reasoning is that I wanted a character who was either intelligent, or at least charismatic enough to seem intelligent. While the idea of the dumb brute Durge who knows nothing but murder, blood, eat roast dwarf and fuck corpse, has a certain appeal, looking at the canon information about durge's past, they seemed intelligent enough to come up with a scheme, and personable enough to get others enthusiastic about said scheme.

Maybe it was just my perspective, but it seemed like Durge had something about them that attracted people (god mojo maybe), they basically seduced an whole elder brain, and there are the implications about the nature of durge and Gortash's relationship pre-lobotomy. (also KRESSA fucking BONEDAUGHTER). The only one that seemed immune to their charm was Orin, and possibly Ketheric, who gave less than two shits when you walked back in the door after he spent weeks hiding you under moonrise and lying to Gortash about your death.

So I gravitated to classes like Bard and Paladin, classes that probably have decent CHA, and with varying abilities to fight.

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JandK Offline OP
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I tend to play my Dark Urge with low intelligence, not so much to signify he's a dullard, but more to showcase that his memory is gone. All the intelligence skills are low because of what's been taken away from him. But I still view him as intellectually competent otherwise.

I also like to play with some low physical stats to show that his body is "ruined" from the ordeal. (Ruined is, I believe, the word the Dark Urge uses in his intro in reference to his body.)

He tends to fight with a quarterstaff in my game. To me, it's something he actually uses to help him walk when the pain gets to be too much.

Last edited by JandK; 27/03/24 01:04 AM.
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My Dark Urge is supposed to be
Bhaal's take on what my BG1/BG2 character "should have been" (since she got mega powerful and could have taken the Throne of Bhaal, but utterly rejected it instead).
Since my Durge is like an evil clone or twin of my Charname, she is an elf sorceress (although I think vengeance paladin would be a great class for Durge).
But like my Charname, she eventually rejects Bhaal in the end
.

Last edited by celestielf; 30/03/24 06:55 PM. Reason: Spoiler tags

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