Longtime fans of Baldur’s Gate The franchise will remember the original game’s infamous villain Sarevok and be surprised to see him resurface in Baldur’s Gate 3 considering his previous destination. Sarevok’s role in Baldur’s Gate 3 is significant, but players will never be able to access some of its most important dialogue without trying to play as Dark Urge, one of the Baldur’s Gate 3 Original source characters. Players will have the opportunity to interact with Sarevok during the “Impress the Murder Court“, where the Dark Urge will have to resist or embrace his evil impulses.
This unique dialogue can only be accessed by playing as Dark Urge and reveals details about the origins of the Cult of Bhaal and Dark Urge itself, as well as Sarevok’s resurgence and master plan. To hear Sarevok’s true intentions, players will need to select specific dialogue and make a series of important decisions that impact important aspects of the story, including characters like Orin.
Who is Sarevok in Baldur’s Gate lore
Sarevok has a long and twisted history in the Baldur’s Gate universe
Sarevok was first introduced as an antagonist in the original Baldur’s Gatea Deathbringer clad in spiked armor and a deep, booming voice. Canonically, he is one of the mortal children sired by the Lord of Murder, Bhaal, an evil and lawful deity that players will be more than familiar with after playing as the Dark Urge. Above all, Sarevok’s intentions were to become the Lord of Bhaal through a sinister plan that would start a war between Baldur’s Gate and the kingdom of Ahn. Through some elaborate schemes, he ended up being named the next Grand Duke of Baldur’s Gate.
Importantly, by executing his great project, Sarevok builds a following of devotees who see him as a divine leader, who will become important years later, during the events of Baldur’s Gate 3. Sarevok finally failed and was killed by his brotherbut fortunately for him, all Bhaalspawn leave behind an “echo” of their souls in the kingdom of Bhaal, and he is eventually reborn thanks to an agreement with his brother, Abdel Adrian. In Baldur’s Gate 3, players discover that he is back to his old ways, plotting, conspiring, and murdering, still intent on fulfilling Bhaal’s evil desires.
Dark Urge and Sarevok have unique dialogue
Returning to Sarevok after defeating Orin reveals his sinister plot
During the “Impress the Murder Court“like Dark Urge, Sarevok will task players with killing Orin, the current Chosen Bhaalspawn, of which there can only be one. In the encounter with Orin, Dark Urge has the option to tell her that Sarevok was the one who ordered Orin’s mother to kill her as a childcausing her mental breakdown – and beginning her transformation into the Huntress. Upon defeating her, players will need to return to Sarevok as requested and finally allow him to express his true intentions. He congratulates Dark Urge, stating:
“Your despicable sister is dead, and your chosen body bathed in your blood.”
Selecting “And yet you still live, Sarevok, after all these years” in response will reveal Sarevok’s sordid past and some details of his deal with the aforementioned Abdel Adrian:
“A long time ago, my miserable brother brought me back. The fairest of Bhaalspawn, she bound me with soul to this shell.”
Here it becomes clear what Sarevok has been doing all this time and the rise of the Cult of Bhaal is revealed:
“Though I worship death, I refused. I wandered the Shore, gathering those who still held Bhaal in their black hearts. The cult survived, rotting beneath the city, with me as the eternal poison of the Gate.”
By becoming an Unholy Assassin of Bhaal, the Dark Urge bathed the streets in blood in the service of Bhaaland Sarevok seems quite grateful – at first. However, in true Sarevok fashion, he pulls the rug out from under Dark Urge’s evil feet:
“Bhaal’s will is absolute. The strongest of his bloodline will be the Chosen. A spawn that kills a Chosen must then become the Chosen himself. You have done me a great service, Son of Murder. By eliminating Orin, you have opened the way for me. With your death, I will prove my worth again. It is the Father’s way.
The Dark Urge has a few dialogue options here, but by selecting, “Come on, I did the work of killing her,” will lead Sarevok to a rather cheeky retort:
“And who advised you to do this? Who set a trap for the young hot-blooded Bhaalspawn and tricked them into returning? I knew the old way. Two wild Bhaalpups, vying for position at the top. One was going to die by the hands of the other. This way, the work of assassinating to the top would be reduced by half. They would never consider that another still remained entitled to their title. You didn’t even think about it when we talked before.
The Dark Urge, feeling like an idiot, slaps Sarevok: “This is pure illusion. Bhaal would never anoint you as the Chosen One, worm.” To which Sarevok replies:
“Perhaps not. But for your honor, I must try. Dying at the hands of a Chosen is the only death I could wish to suffer. My aching bones in this shell still feel every flicker of pain from the crystalline moment of my first death, in the Temple.”
At this point, the Dark Urge has no choice but to fight Sarevok to the death and become Bhaal’s Chosen once for all.
What Sarevok and Dark Urge’s conversation reveals
Bhaal’s cult is part of a larger scheme
This unique conversation gives players a glimpse into Sarevok’s master plan, and it turns out it was a trap all along. He used the cult as a means to gain prominence in the underbelly of Baldur’s Gate and to curry favor with Bhaal himself through Bhaal’s Unholy Assassins and the Court of Murder. By manipulating the Dark Urge to commit murders throughout the city, Sarevok can become Bhaal’s Chosen defeating the most worthy Bhaalspawn. And by convincing Dark Urge to assassinate Orin, he “halves“the difficulty of becoming the last remaining Chosen.
Not only did Sarevok intend to kill the Dark Urge from the start, but there can only be one true Chosen of Bhaal, pitting Orin and the Dark Urge against each other, he “paved the way” for his own rise as the Lord of Bhaal. In a tragically poetic display of devotion to Bhaal, Sarevok, the mastermind behind the Cult of Bhaal, faces the Dark Urge for a final battle to the death that will determine the last remaining Bhaalspawn. In his final words, Sarevok declares: “We will die Chosen, as only Bhaalspawn can.”