I’m currently on my 3rd playthrough, and I’m playing as a dark urge character who gives into his urges. For spoiler prevention I’ll describe what I just finished as vaguely as possible. I just completed the durge objective that gives you a powerful reward in act 2.
This is depressing. All of the good that I accomplished in my first two playthroughs is absent. My camp is nearly empty. Lae zel’s lifeless body has been laying in my camp for 2 full acts. Karlach, Wyll, Zevlor, Damon, Jaheira, and many others are dead, either by my hand or because of my actions.
I didn’t fully appreciate just how lonely and depressing, self-serving life would be. I have more gold and loot than either of my other playthroughs, and I’m more powerful, but to what end? My own lonely existence? I don’t think that I will continue past this point. I’ve accomplished what I set out to do, which was experience the game as an evil character. I don’t think I need another 50 hours of this to pound the point home.
Hats off to Larian for making such an emotional and realistic game, full of vibrant and exciting characters. I don’t enjoy the world where I have betrayed them all.
I am still highly amused that the bodies of people that die in your camp are carted around to all the different camp sites for the rest of the game.
“Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean they aren’t useful.” - Necromancer
I can highly recommend
Act 3 Durge spoiler
leaning into your urge the whole playthrough then denying Bhaal at the last second and killing the Netherbrain
for the true unhinged, depressing ending.
Make sure to select the “piss yourself” option when the opportunity arises
Yeah, I already pretty much figured that I’m a :::spoiler servant of Bhaal ::: considering the “reward” I got for killing a certain someone.
I will say it’s a bit more complicated than that…
If you can stomach/embrace the evil it opens up some fun/interesting Act 3 stuff. The Durge arc and the “full-send evil” endings for Astarion and Shadynasty specifically were neat to see given how not-evil they can turn out in a “good” playthrough.
What is the evil ending for Astarion? Is it when you let him become a vampire lord? Because I already did that both times. He seemed to really want it, and I didn’t think it would be smart to release 7000 starving vampire spawn into the streets of Baldur’s Gate.
Yeah that’s what I’d say is the “evil” ending, though your point is correct…I liked that his endings are morally ambiguous either way you choose (unlike Shadowheart, whose endings are pretty clearly “good”/“evil”).
I’ve still been playing this evil playthrough, but very sparsely. Shadowheart is already very different from my previous playthroughs, so I guess I will get to see her evil ending if I ever get there.
I am also doing my Durge playthrough and it’s so sad. I am making Shadowheart, Astarion, and Lae’zel the worst versions of themselves. They really did evil well.
I also got really sad about killing the cows after getting the act 2 reward for killing a certain someone. They didn’t ask for this.
Right? Especially if you talked to them with Speak With Animals first. They were so excited about their neeeewww friend.
Your post kind of convinced me to play again.
How so? You want to experience the loneliness and depression first-hand?
Maybe one can play the evil playthrough only before getting to know all the lovely characters a.k.a. on the first playthrough. That probably helps with the evil. Or you have to be borderline psychopath, I don’t know.
Removed by mod
They could have gone more evil and depressing in a specific part… Early on you can break the tiefling bard’s lute that was a gift from her dead comrade and she then goes up to the nearby cliff to cry. She totally could have jumped, which is hella what I thought was going to happen after doing it the first time.
That definitely would have been very dark. I never encountered that scene, probably because I didn’t spend much time talking to the random tieflings.
Edit: now I remember what you’re talking about! The durge scene! Oh man, I only chose nice options for her because I was so stoked about having a bard companion in the party. I was very disappointed with the outcome.
You can find her before the Durge scene and break her lute.
Are those updates included now that were announced a couple of months ago, which were adding content to an evil playthrough?
Idk, since this is my first time playing as an evil character. What did they say they were adding?
I don’t quite recall. Somehow they were going to flesh it out? Maybe mainly the ending? This was about 2 months ago
AFAIK all they did was give Minthara more dialogue.
