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

Upon reaching Moonrise Towers in Act Two, Ketheric Thorm holds 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 then remarks that he is surprised to see the Urge here again, but gives them no further information on their past.

If Minthara was knocked unconscious in Act One, it is still possible to get the dialogue mentioned above if either doing nothing, attempting to use the tadpole on Ketheric, or failing the other dialogue checks.

The Moonrise crack

High up on the rafters in Moonrise Towers 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 wraps its tendrils around the Urge's arm, but they should remain still. The tendrils then tighten, and the presence reveals itself to be the Absolute. The Absolute calls the Dark Urge by name, and unveils 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 recognises the Dark Urge. While not expecting the Urge to talk or have awareness, Kressa explains 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".

Ruptured mind flayer pod

The remains of the mind flayer pod

Inside the tadpolling centre in the Mind Flayer Colony the Urge finds 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. If The Dark Urge passes a passive Insight check, they infer from the blood and broken 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. They can then pick one of the following dialogue choices to investigate further:

• [CHARISMA] Push deeper into the memory. (DC 10)
• [INVESTIGATION] Try to discern how long this pod has been empty. (DC 10)
• Humour me, Astarion, can you give this blood a smell? (if Astarion present)

With a successful Charisma check, the Urge remembers a laughing woman who taunted and betrayed them. With a successful Investigation check, they find that the blood is still somewhat fresh. Further, if Astarion is present, the Dark Urge can ask him to smell the blood. If Astarion has bitten and drank blood from the Dark Urge previously, Astarion recognizes the taste of the blood as theirs, even though it is stale. If the Dark Urge has not let Astarion drink their blood, Astarion humorously comments that he is "not some bloodhound".

Enver Gortash

Upon reaching Wyrm's Crossing in Act Three, Enver Gortash invites the Dark Urge to his coronation in the fortress' audience hall. Gortash greets 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 recognises 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 explains that she is the "Latchkeeper of the Nine Hells"; someone who breaks people into the Hells. Helsik says 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 may 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 may 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]}