The Dark Urge is one of the most commonly recommended origins inBaldur’s Gate 3, and there’s very good reason for that. Unlike the premade companion origins, the Dark Urge is almost fully customizable. With this origin, players can tweak their characters to their liking while still having a deep connection to the overall story, as well as obtain several unique abilities and items down the line.
Even though playing as the Dark Urge is great, with the game being released for such a long time,you may be at a point where your usual Tav and Durge playthroughs just don’t hit the same spot as before.Luckily,Baldur’s Gate 3is anything but devoid of content, and experiencing the story from another perspective can help you fall in love with the game again. After starting my most recent campaign, there’s one origin I’m starting to enjoy even more than the custom ones.
After So Many Dark Urge Playthroughs, I’m Starting To Enjoy Gale’s Origin More
Most Players Miss Out On Gale’s Sassy Feline Companion
Playing as theDark Urge will introduce Sceleritas Felinto the story - as much as I love the evil butler, I’ve found that he cannot compare to Tara. In most playthroughs, Tara shows up in the Lower City, then later accompanies Gale to the Epilogue party. Meanwhile, if Gale is a player avatar, she’ll appear after your first long rest and remain as a camp follower. For this alone,I think everyone should try out a Gale origin run at least once- it’s a massive shame that so many people miss out on Gale’s dynamic with his “pet” Tressym.
From a tactical viewpoint, Gale also has some of the best unique bonuses.The Dark Urge gets some great exclusive items and abilities, such as the slayer form, the Deathstalker mantle, and Power Word Kill. However, the slayer form is onlygranted to a character embracing Bhaal, and Power Word Kill can only be used once per campaign.
Wyll is a great character to choose if you want to feel like a true fantasy protagonist since he has the most links to the main story, but Gale’s origin offers more content.
Meanwhile,Gale gets a free legendary ring after reuniting with Taracalled the Ring of Evasion. If he chooses to rebel against Mystra, he can gain an extra level three spell slotby dabbling in Shadow Magic, which he can’t do if he’s simply a companion. It’s always useful to have more spells at your disposal, and this ability makes Gale one of the most efficient origin choices for honor mode.
Gale’s Storyline Hits So Much Harder Without A Tav To Comfort Him
It’s Much Easier To Grasp Gale’s Despair When You’re Playing As Him
Something that I’ve noticed when playing as Gale is that his storyline feels a lot lonelier without the main character comforting him. Thankfully, Tara - and later Elminster - are still there to try andtalk Gale out of using the Netherese Orbfor the sake of defeating the Absolute, but his prospects still feel so much bleaker.Without Gale as a party member, you won’t get the scenes where he opens up and confides in someone.
Instead, you’ll witness an alternative scene where Gale will be alone with his inner monologue.There are very few options to talk to other companions about his hardships,and nothing is as emotional as his usual stargazing sequence. Some players are rightfully annoyed by this, but I believe it hammers in just how hopeless he must be. Gale bottling up his feelings and choosing not to properly confide in anyone about his situation could be a great set-up for portraying him as a more desperate, and possibly villainous, character in the later story.
Gale Has A More Satisfying Evil Route Than The Dark Urge
Obeying Bhaal Isn’t as Impactful as Doing Wicked Deeds Out Of Your Own Volition
Although I’m currently not doing an evil campaign of my own with Gale, I thoroughly agree with the points made by Reddit User-Zima_Blue-regarding Gale’s potential as a villain or anti-hero.When it comes to the “bad” endings of most of the origins, they’re essentially acting on behalf of a bigger, more malevolent force.The Dark Urge embraces the will of Bhaal,Lae’zel gets consumed by Vlaakith,Shadowheart completely devotes herself to Shar, and even Wyll follows this formula to some extent, if you count him killing Karlach or sacrificing his soul for his father due to Mizora’s manipulation.
Theending where Gale ascends to godhoodis more akin to an evil Karlach waging war on Zariel, or even Vampire Ascendant Astarion. These aren’t exactly happy endings, but the characters in question end up defying their oppressors instead of serving them - the crimes they later commit are done in their own name, not their masters'. I think this makes Gale’s arc a lot more impactful. Karlach already hates Zariel, and Astarion will already do anything to free himself of Cazador, butGale undergoes the biggest change, as he still craves Mystra’s forgiveness at the start of the story.
Challenging Mystra as the god of ambition will not end well for Gale, but it’s still a unique and fitting ending for an evil campaign.
It’s certainly a big leap for Gale to abandon his morals, on top of breaking through Mystra’s manipulation.Gale’s character is also fascinating in the sense that his moral compass can be plausibly swayed in any direction.A character like Wyll or Karlach having their morals twisted is intriguing, but the idea that they would be willing to carry out atrocities is less convincing when they won’t stick around as companions if youraid the Emerald Grove. Astarion isn’tovertlyevil, but he’s already on a darker path when you meet him.
Gale, on the other hand, tries his best to do the morally correct thing, but his ambition can quite easily become corrupted - he also has a right to be angry after Mystra’s mistreatment of him, which could definitely be a motivating factor in straying away from the light. Alongside all the opportunities he has to indulge in things like Dark Magic, Gale’s possible fall from grace is disturbingly believable. If you’re sick of all your evil playthroughs following the same pattern, then you should consider playing as Gale inBaldur’s Gate 3.
