Open Your Scars

Dark Urge headshot

Open Your Scars is a sub-quest of the Quest The Urge for the Dark Urge in Act Two of Baldur's Gate 3.

Objectives

Find old friends.

• Kressa the Myrkulite necromancer patched you together... you were a tadpoled wreck down in this fleshpit. Nearly dead, head half-caved in. She said you were the first ever tadpoling victim. You're either one-in-a-million unlucky, or someone hated those stinking guts of yours to do such filthy work. Bloody vengeance seems appropriate.
• You discovered the old illithid pod that might have been your coffin in the Colony. Someone put you there long ago, and must have eventually dragged you out to the nautiloid. The pod was cracked and rank. You were beating every part of your precious body against it, trying to escape.
• That man. Ketheric Thorm. He knows you. Past you. Not amnesiac carriage-crash-pile-up you. You must have been a big deal in the past amongst all the scum of this plane. Perhaps there's someone else in this Tower who knows even more?
• Enver Gortash revealed more about your former glory. It was you who first put together the plot of the Absolute. As the greatest Bhaalian assassin in your prime, you were due to bring devastation to the mortal planes with the Absolute's legions. And you can get it all back, by collecting the Netherstones and reclaiming your place in the Temple.
• Helsik the Diabolist revealed that your distinguished self hired her services in the past. You and Gortash travelled to Mephistopheles' vault to steal the Crown of Karsus. Helsik also gave you the Butler's hat, which it would surely be beneath you to wear.
• The slimy thing in the Moonrise crack called you its fallen star. It was very reverent. It must have known you when you were still in one piece. See? You are worse than everyone else. Filthy hierophant of the broken and the damned. And apparently good at playing with tentacles. The illithid tide can be dominated by you.

Quest Complete!

• The Netherbrain hailed its old kingmaker. It claims to have been crowned by the Chosen of Bhaal before it broke free. All along it has been filled with admiration. Now it is time to end what was begun.

Walkthrough

This quest can be started at various points during Acts Two and Three (or not at all), depending on who is or is not interacted with.

Ketheric Thorm

After reaching Moonrise Towers in Act Two, Ketheric Thorm will be holding court in the throne room. Once they are pulled into the conversation, the Dark Urge must draw Ketheric's attention by yelling "Don't kill them!", or "Hear, hear!". Ketheric will remark that he is surprised to see the Urge here again, but will give them no further information on their past.

The Moonrise crack

High up on the rafters in Moonrise is a cracked wall (X: -127 Y: -178), which can be spotted with a DC 5 Wisdom check. The Urge can interact with it, and even chose to reach their arm inside. The slimy thing in the wall will wrap its tendrils around the Urge's arm, but they should remain still.

The tendrils will tighten, and the presence will reveal itself to be the Absolute. The Absolute will call the Dark Urge by name, and will reveal that the Urge was part of the Grand Design, but they left the Absolute a slave of the Chosen and are now instead a "flaw".

Kressa the Myrkulite

Within the barracks of the Mind Flayer Colony under Moonrise, Kressa Bonedaughter will recognise the Dark Urge. Not expecting the Urge to talk or have awareness, Kressa will explain how she watched over and healed them, and learned about the parasites. Kressa eventually became obsessed with the Urge, cutting them open to explore their innards, enjoying the way they fought back, that they were "indomitable".

Old illithid pod

Inside the tadpolling centre in the Mind Flayer Colony the Urge will find a broken illithid pod. They can investigate the pod to find that it seems abandoned, rather than just empty, with a dusty and bloody interior. The Urge will infer from the blood and break in the casing that the occupant took a lot of damage while inside, trying to fight back, and throwing themselves against the glass to try and break free.

With a successful Charisma check, the Urge will remember a laughing woman who taunted and betrayed them. With a successful Investigation check, they will find that the blood is still somewhat fresh. Further, if Astarion is present, he can smell the blood and confirm it to be the Urge's.

Enver Gortash

After reaching Wyrm's Crossing in Act Three, Enver Gortash will invite the Dark Urge to his coronation in the fortress' audience hall. Gortash will greet the Urge warmly, calling them his "favourite assassin". From Gortash, the Urge learns of their original involvement in the Absolute plot; Gortash and the Urge initiated the plot, obtaining the Crown and then uniting the Dead Three. He will further explain how the Urge vanished and Orin the Red took their place, claiming to the others that she now spoke for the temple of Bhaal.

Helsik

The diabolist Helsik will recognise the Dark Urge if they visit her store, the Devil's Fee, in the Lower City. If the Urge can ask Helsik how she know them, she will explain that she is the "Latchkeeper of the Nine Hells"; someone who breaks people into the Hells. Helsik will say that she opened a portal for Gortash and the Urge, and that they stole the Crown of Karsus from the Archdevil Mephistopheles' vault, gaining the attention of Raphael.

Bugs

• Bringing Karlach with the Dark Urge to Gortash's coronation at Wyrm's Rock Fortress will bug out the opening conversation with Gortash and prevent his journal entry from appearing in "Open Your Scars".^{[Needs Verification]}
• If Minthara is alive and being judged by Ketheric in his throne room instead of the goblins, then the journal entry on Ketheric Thorm will not be logged in the sub-quest, even if the Dark Urge engages in conversation with Ketheric by asking "You know me? You know my madness?".^{[Needs Verification]}