#durge ask game

[daemon-in-my-head]

As I am procrastinating and crafting backstories all in one go, I shall share a sheet of questions with you to share or answer yourself.

Past Life Dark Urge Asks - 1st Edition:

Do they miss their adoptive family? Why or why not?

Did they keep anything from their old family and home? A memento or a skill perhaps?

When Sceleritas fetched them from their comfortable home, what did they do on their journeys? Did they take on any jobs?

Do they speak casually or do they try to adorn their speech with frills? Do they maybe even dare to curse?

What was their relationship with Sceleritas like? Did they like their ever-adoring butler or did they try to run from the most wretched mother hen?

Bhaal loves money; did your Durge inherit that trait? Do they enjoy luxuries or try to live a frugal life, giving their all for their temple?

Did they have any connections or companions outside of the local underworld? If so, what were those connections like and if not, why?

What was their relationship with Orin like? Did it change at some point?

What would a typical meeting of the chosen have looked like when your Durge attended?

Gortash seemed to have admired Durge, what did they do to deserve this admiration? Did they have any notable personality traits or did they impress him in some other way?

The other cultists. How did your Durge view them? Did they enjoy their following or did they dread being idolised?

Durge gave a gold coin to a beggar once; why did they do it? Did this occur regularly?

Orin has her faithful group of changelings. Did your Durge have a similar 'personal guard' or task force at their back and call?

Durge famously acted as an assassin in the last decade or so. What was that like? Did they plan everything out meticulously, or did they act spontaneously and on whims?

Bhaal handcrafted Durge. Do they enjoy and worship their appearance, or did they have a rebellious phase, trying their best to change their Lord Father's grand design?

[kawareo]

Durgetash ask game N.7 please! :3

7. Somehow we all hc that Durge and Gortash attended some kind of Patriar function together. What was the thing they showed up to really and how did it go? How many deaths did he have to promise Durge for them to agree?

Ah, the fancy events.

Strike likes those things and can behave charming and polite, surprisingly - for about an hour, then he gets horrendously bored, and it's up to Gortash to figure out ways to entertain him or get him out of there before people start disappearing. At least at first, Gort doesn't have to promise anything other than a new experience, the first few times. Then he has to start bribing.

Strike doesn't accompany him that often due to above mentioned reasons, but he does join sometimes, especially towards the end of their plan. Gortash insists that his equal should get used of standing by his sides since they're about to be leaders of the world.

[sporeservant]

Get to know your Dark Urge!

I’m working on a Dark Urge questionaire to get to know the current or favorite Dark Urge of anyone who would like to participate. If you’re interested in being tagged in the questionaire once it’s finished, just interact with this post. Anyone is welcome to participate!

Much love to everyone who has responded to the ‘get to know your Tav’ questionaire so far, I’ve had so much fun reading about your characters.

Happy new year everyone, I can’t wait to get to know your Durge!

[luinen-bluewater]

#8 for the durge asks!

8. What was his relationship with Orin like? Did it change at some point?

(Be warned: drama, problematic and toxic family relationships + bg3 ending spoilers ahead! )

First of all thank you so much for asking! 💕

Tino has always had a difficult relationship with Orin, probably because his whole life he's been pushed to compete with her, bc you know bhaalspawn vs bhaalspawn rivalry. Also he hated the fact that she had the possibility to express her artistic side and he didn't. He really felt the pressure of being the chosen but, since it's always been like that since he was a little boy, he didn't realize how much of that pressure he was projecting into his sister. So he probably had some "tender" moments and surely he didn't want to see her hurt by someone other than him, but he was a shitty, toxic big brother and 100% deserved what Orin did to him. Honestly he should have seen it coming lol

After being tadpoled he felt disgusted by her way of being, and when he confronted her he even enjoyed tormenting her about Sarevok being her father and grandfather at the same time, at least at first. It's been a cold shower for him to see her (honestly well justified) reaction to that revelation. Seeing her freak out and then being transformed into the Slayer made him feel compassion for her for the first time: it hit hard, it devastated him and it was far too late. He ended up being grateful to her for what she did to him, because she helped set him free, but he never had the chance to tell her thank you or that he was sorry.

[darksynkka]

Hey! Some dark urge asks from the list for you if you want :)

5. What was their class, and what was their favourite way to use its perks? Did they maybe even dabble in multiple ones?

11. After a successful sacrifice, all cult members are encouraged to take their victim's possessions. What's the one thing Durge claimed like that way that they're most proud of? What did they leave behind on purpose?

Thank you so much for sending me an ask! :)

So, I’ll be answering for Anirin since I do have a couple of other durges but they aren’t all that fleshed out yet.

5. Anirin is a blue dragon sorcerer with a dip in tempest cleric. His favourite perks from both those classes are the twinned spell metamagic and destructive wrath.

11. Generally, he thinks vanity and greed are pointless. Everything should go directly to the temple or be sold for the benefit of the temple. But the one time he did take something, it was for Gortash: a ruby ring that the tyrant ended up keeping.

[quacaserous]

1, 2, and 3! for the durgetash asks :> (for all your durges)

hehe tysm for the asks!! answering these for anyone who’d like to know more abt my murderbabies >:)

1. What’s durges creation myth? Not the ‘and then there was a gore baby’. Give me the details, what did Bhaal actually do for Durge to torment Toril in a few years?

ill be honest i havent thought about this one enough to provide an actual answer so im gonna update this post once i’ve figured it out! 😭

2. Did Bhaal always have a plan for Durge to just eradicate all life or did he have a different plan before his death and revival? What exactly did the lord of murder have in mind when creating that particular spawn?

i’m not sure about cerys and saber tbh but with cassius i think bhaal’s goal was to just have like. a clone/avatar of himself on toril, someone unapologetically murderous and hedonistic and he actually achieved that for a while!! cassius was everything father dearest needed him to be, “the purest bhaalspawn there ever was”. that was until gort came along ofc :) gortash nurtured the ‘tumor’ that was cassius’ own personhood, showing him he need not do everything in his father’s name - he can be his own person, which in turn caused cassius’ fall from grace

3. Was kid Durge a usual child before the Urge awakened, or were there some signs indicating something was off about the kid? How did the environment react to them?

cassius �� i’d say out all 3 of my durges cassius would probably take the crown for having the strongest “what the fuck is that thing” vibes lmaoo 😭 even if he didn’t look that much different from a regular tiefling (atleast to the dwarves’ knowledge) he definitely looked like an outcast in his foster family, and acted like one too. he lacked the tight-knit familial bonds that his dwarven foster parents and sister had, and really struggled with things like empathy, selfishness and emotional control. essentially it was like a (cannibalistic) cuckoo bird situation, they took care of this strange tiefling child that someone (sceleritas) dropped on their doorstep one day until he got so unsatiable he killed & ate all of them :,)

cerys — truth be told cerys was already a very impulsive, chaotic child so it would be kind of difficult to tell which parts of her behavior were influenced by bhaal and which were just cerys being cerys. her caretakers hoped she would grow out of it eventually - she wasn’t a bad kid, after all, just a little.. odd :) however, as she got older, her then-harmless antics grew into more alarming stuff, like sleepwalking towards knives, having recurring night terrors, hurting small animals for shits n giggles and so on. it also probably didnt help that she didn’t have the typical coloration of a tiefling, marking her as the black sheep in her community

saber — personality-wise saber was a pretty normal kid for the most part (if a little quiet/withdrawn, but that’s just what she’s like) so there was nothing too out of the ordinary regarding her behavior, but her looks did kind of set her apart from other drow children; saber doesn’t have the dainty, cat-like features typical for an elf, and seemed to loom over other children her age (which hasnt changed, she still towers over most people) so anyone but especially other, actual elves could sense there was something Off yet were unable to put their finger on exactly what it was abt her that creeped them out

[microcarbo]

ohh 1, 7 and if u want 11 for the Durge creator asks? I'd love to hear more about your Durge!!

Aaaaaaa thank you a lot it makes me so happy to know you want to hear more! Answering this ask game What or who inspired your Durges design the most? A particular idea or vibe or perhaps another hottie or baddie? Character design comes a lot more easy to me if i think about characters in terms of their lived spaces so my first steps when i'm making up a guy are almost always a) doing a bit of research about the general setting (this blog has a ton of useful posts about D&D lore, i spent a lot of time reading them and the wiki!) and b) using the information i gather to imagine their room/workplace/usual haunts. I knew about durge's child of bhaal's bit already because i happened to see a very cool fanart of the temple before i started playing, so from there on it was a matter of asking myself: what would this dude i got a very general idea of put in a room to make it "theirs", what would fit their vibe? I liked the idea of them keeping a lot of scattered paper, scrolls and books around and from there i made up their interest in history and magic. The temple is home to a murder cult, it has corpses lying around and blood running all over the floors so i went on by wondering how they would react to the smell and found out that i liked the idea of a killer being squeamish about it, someone who would hang censer burners to the walls and obsessively scrub out every bit of gore after a kill, maybe even keep a little collection of perfume vials. There also are a lot of candles down there and they were my main inspiration for their clothing lmao head to toe flowy, wax-white robes. Once i managed to get all these little bits down, i developed further from there while playing and adjusted the details on the go (: Is their personal story represented in their overall design? Do they carry any mental scars or physical alterations from the shit that happened to them? Yes! Their pre-tadpole design features very long robes and a veil and if i'm drawing something related to that phase of their life i never represent them without it (i've read that bhaalists are known to wear it to cover their faces, though i've taken the liberty of making it white instead of black/purple). Even their slayer form retains some scraps of it over its eyes and body. They lose it post forced lobotomy and during the events of act I and II they only retain the robes, which they discard completely after the duel in act III to adopt civilian clothes. Rejecting Bhaal also changes their class from the canon storm sorcerer to wizard, because i like the idea of their magical talents being directly related to their demigod status. I feel like this last bit is particularly relevant to their development because it puts them in the position of only needing to rely on knowledge they have gathered by their own volition (something they start pursuing and studying post nautiloid incident but can't quite indulge before that), and because they actively have to keep nurturing it if they want to keep making progresses and sustain themselves on it. What's your go to medium for their portrayal? Google Docs, a niche notes app, perhaps one specific for writing, Procreate, Clip Studio, MediBang? Hit me with those recs. Do you sometimes mix em up? It truly just is my head and a questionably legal version of PS i got back in 2021.....i can't even say that i have a moodboard or something because while i like researching lore through texts i absolutely loathe gathering references lol I DEARLY WISH i hadn't completely stopped writing for pleasure after high school and that i had put more effort into learning english because sometimes i feel like wanting to portrait something that would work way better in a written format than how it would with illustrations...i want to make it up for it eventually but it's a slow process, so for now art it is hehe

[kelandrin]

Hello! I’m curious about number 20 on the Durge question for Atlas and would love to know. 23 as well. I always love hearing what music people associate with their characters :3

Atlas isn't actually a durge so I will answer for Kelandrin instead ^^ TYSM for the ask btw!

20. Is your Dark Urge open about their Urge or do they try to hide it? Why? Kelandrin was pretty quiet about his urge initially but like everyone could tell he was a little fucked. Normal people don't cackle maniacally as they violently remove a goblin's organs. Though he was pretty straightforward with Astarion (evil bastard safe space). Kelandrin can keep it together in mixed company though, like when infiltrating places. Jaheira: you have a tadpole in your brain Kelandrin: yes but other than that I think I am pretty normal

23. How does your Dark Urge feel about what others think of them? It really depends on the situation. People (of the living variety) are supposed to be useful in some way (otherwise just kill them you know?) so he works hard to make them perceive him in a way that allows him to get the most out of them. Bhaalites? He wants their respect and worship. Tieflings in the grove? He wants their adoration and dependence. Goblins? He wants their fear. The other companions? He wants them to trust him. Usually, if he doesn't care about your opinion it means he is probably going to kill you soon.

As for songs I associate with Kelandrin:

Just a few of the top tracks from his playlist! ^^

[thespacelizard]

18 and 23 for the durge asks!

hi fox!! ty for sending me Rune brainrot questions <3

18 - How does your Dark Urge feel about love?

confused and afraid. when he first starts having feelings about party members, it’s just physical, and a need to scratch some kind of itch. I don’t think he even realises that’s what it is when it starts squirming in his heart for Astarion. I don’t even think he really believes it exists. it's a word. people say it. it doesn't mean anything.

once he gets more memories back, I think he has this kind of torn feeling, on the one hand of it being a leash, and the other a proof that he can be more than his past and his Urges. because I imagine that he starts getting thoughts like ‘oh I shouldn’t do that, it would upset/inconvenience Astarion’, and it snaps him like a choke chain, and then he goes ‘wait, why does that matter???’

doesn’t help that his main camp bestie is Minthara, who at least in my Durge run, would never tell him about love in any kind of useful way. the drow conception (Lolthite, anyway) of love is (in my headcanon) so fucked up. Rune don’t ask the Baenre girl about love. what are you doing.

23 - How does your Dark Urge feel about what others think of them?

Oh he doesn’t give a single fuck. Rune’s going to do what he wants, and if someone has a problem with him, that’s their problem. Fight him about it.

That man will walk into a tavern covered in blood and order a drink and probably not even notice anyone’s looking at him weird.

also I only went resist-Durge mid Act-3, so he was just doing bad things and getting yelled at by half the party for ages, and just. didn't care mostly. like Karlach and Wyll fucked off and he was like well. your loss. have fun dying in the wilderness.

(he gives a little bit of a fuck now, at least when it comes to Astarion. it's the only reason he dresses in Real Person Nice Clothes, ever)

give me brainrot about my Durge again

[maleficore]

1, 7 and 11 for the durge ask thingy :^〕

I went a bit off with these ones nonnie, I'm so sorry... But you asked for it! So here it is

1. What circumstances led to your Dark Urge becoming their Class/Subclass?

The sorcerer part is easy -- a gift from dad. Since he’s an invoker (I modded the Divine Soul subclass into the game, but there’s genuinely dialogue that implies that Durge’s sorcery is of divine origin so…) there’s not much more to it than that, that part of his power comes straight from his heritage. As for Paladin though… it’s a bit of a story. I imagine he started out as an Oath of Devotion (or if I had the entire 5e roster to choose from, Redemption maybe? Since that would hit close to home for him) paladin in a loose service of The Triad when he was young, but that oath did not last long. He was barely 21 or so when Bhaal decided he’s had enough of that whole “I’m better than the whispers of slaughter carried by my blood” charade, and forced his hand by unleashing the Slayer upon Ezra’s paladin order. That itself did not break the oath since he had no choice in the matter, but coming to his senses and finding everyone he knew so shredded their state could barely be classified as solid anymore, stripped Ezra of all the hope and lead him to break the oath by swearing allegiance to Bhaal and eventually becoming High Primate of his temple. He had no reason not to become an Oathbreaker at that point (“Sure, why not. What more damage could some more dark power shoved up my ass do, might as well start a collection” essentially) and he’s been one ever since. He doesn’t remember it of course so he doesn’t really seek to reclaim the oath he lost over a 100 years ago and it’s not like he really believes in the tenets anyway, not anymore. Oathbreaker suits him just fine.

7. Did your Dark Urge recall any childhood memories? If yes, how do they feel about the revelations? If no, was it by choice or lack of options?

He did eat the Noblestalk and I switched some stuff around to have that be the trigger for the memory of murdering his foster parents. He did not like that much obviously, but the memory was so brief and there was so much other shit going on he really did not have the brainpower to dwell or process it properly. However! I like the idea of his memories, especially the really deeply buried pre-Bhaal ones, being more triggerable than they are in the game. Those show up for Ezra a few times once the party arrives in Baldur’s Gate and are mostly tied to the ilmatari temple. I’m not gonna go much into detail about what they are because I’m still ironing that out and don’t wanna spoil the eventual fic, but those are the pleasant ones. They both deliver the painful truth -- “Was I sweet once?” No, you were not, but that’s okay – and the balm to soothe the burn in the form of there being people who cared about him anyways. It’s something he needs a lot at that point in the story and is very grateful to remember.

11. What motivates your Dark Urge to either embrace or resist the Urge?

I don’t really follow a straight embrace/resist path with Ezra just as I don’t separate him into different people before and after the tadpole. He’s the same person who fucked corpses and ate babies, the person who crowned an elderbrain and stood by a megalomaniac tyrant’s side knowing full well that the man’s climb to power will be paved with corpses. Lobotomy did not suddenly make him a good person. He’s still selfish, he’d still rather result to cruelty if it’s the easiest option, he enjoys the rush of ecstasy that makes his breath tremble when he’s nearly elbow deep in someone’s chest cavity... But he does not remember being stripped of the hope that he can be more than that, if that makes sense? When he resists the Urge it’s not because he would not enjoy breaking a paralysed girl’s legs like twigs or smile feeling the energy in the air shift as a child breathes her last laying on cold stone floor, he knows he would love it. But what does that make him? A monster, nothing more. And maybe that’s what he is, a wretched thing, but there are these people around him now, that look at him much different than he sees himself and he likes that even more than he enjoys wrecking mindless carnage. There’s no Gortash (who he might not remember, but the echo is still there) who saw him as a person even at his worst, he doesn’t know how they’d react to seeing what he really is so he does not let them. If they were not present, he probably would not bother to deny himself. The same way if explicitly given permission or encouraged to, he will a 100% go wild. Stuff like Astarion telling him to nibble on goblin toes or Shadowheart encouraging him to take over for lousy torturers will have Ezra hold his breath in excitement and comply most eagerly. But while he does not give a flying fuck about hurting strangers, because of them seemingly genuinely caring about him in their own ways, he really does not want to hurt any of the companions no matter what the Urge whispers in his ear. They’re the only people that are off limits.

Still, there’s someone that dies during the events of Ezra’s post-tadpole story that while not a death he himself caused, consciously or otherwise, is very much something that he could’ve prevented and so its weight gets put on his shoulders to bear anyway. That causes a bit of a shift in him, the guilt makes him go from resisting the Urge because he wants to conceal it to resisting it because he’s had enough and is tired of being defined by it. He even starts going a bit out of his way to save people when in the past he would’ve just left them to die because he realises that every death he does not prevent might as well be intentional, just because of the nature of who he is. Does that mean he stands up to Bhaal as a true resist Durge would? Fuck no. Selfish, remember? And scared. By the time he reaches Bhaal’s altar he’s seen what happens to the souls he claims, they are bound forever into his servitude as echoes of themselves. That’s something Ezra can’t bring himself to accept, just as he can’t bring himself to let Bhaal kill him and leave all his friends behind while there’s still an elderbrain they’re bound to fight. He’ll die, he’ll have to if he wants to be free, but that requires it to be on his own terms. Not upon Bhaal’s damn altar in his godsdamned temple, you know? So the Urge he might resist, but he doesn't have as much of a drive and courage to outright deny his heritage, no matter the consequence. Not until the end.

[daemon-in-my-head]

Past Life Dark Urge Asks - 9th Edition:

OK but how does Durge actually view relationships and romance?

What does their room look like? Describe it to me. Neat? Messy? Organised mess where everything has its place?

What's their favourite spot to hang out at after a long day of temple managing and murdering in Father's name? Is it by the altar, their desk, a certain someone's office or by the docks?

Gorion's Ward was a hero and a Bhaalspawn that defied Bhaal. But they're also a powerful person who rose far above many, as well as the reason Sarevok once returned. What does Durge think of them? Is he an idol or a villain to them? When did their view of them change or do they perhaps even feel pity for the sibling which had been led astray?

Durge loves efficient killing, but what was their one little indulgence whenever they did it? I don't mean getting loot, keeping trinkets. Did they perhaps draw out the hunt or play with the mouse unfortunate enough to fall into their trap?

There's this funny bit that Durge refused to clean themselves, but is it true for yours? Did they indeed always carry the scent of entrails or did they bathe regularly? After all, Bhaals Scion has a reputation to uphold.

Speaking of Water, Baldur's Gate is a Port City. What did Durge think of the sea? Did they long to sail or do they prefer solid ground beneath their feet? Did they feel any connection, or was it just a body of water, perfect to drown some innocent souls?

Durge is clearly a skilled master of their craft, but would they ever consider taking an apprentice? Perhaps they already did? Or would they absolutely detest those who yet lack skill and prefer they attain it on their own?

Orin makes for a great spy and even the Bhaalist Temple relies on intelligence to survive and operate more efficiently. Did Durge ever try to help out Orin in attempts to gather intel? What was it like? Did they charm their way into hearts and minds, or did they rely on the thing they did best, a skillful killing?

Bhaalspawn are pretty similar to Aasimar in every aspect, well except that Aasimar are children of celestials and good aligned powers while Bhaalspawn hail from the Lord of Murder. What did Durge think of their goody-two-shoes counterparts?

Bhaal is widely hated or feared, as are Bhaalspawn, but what does Durge think about that notion? Would they hunt down anyone who dares speak I'll of their father, or could they not care any less? Do they perhaps revel in that fear and hatred?

If Durge knew they'd lose all their memories in the future, what would they think? Would they weep for their treasured moments or perhaps even feel delighted about forgetting a dreaded past?

Name a personality trait of theirs which is, in theory, something great, but they've taken it to such extremes it became something negative.

How is Durge handling failure? Do they handle it at all or do they just refuse to acknowledge any?

Would Past Life Durge like for their life's story to be told and remembered? Why or why not? In what way would they have liked it to be remembered?

In general, how does your Durge cope with stress, life, and the things that happened? How did it affect them? Are there any lasting effects from an outburst once?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how easily does your Durge snap? 1 being the world could end, and they'd barely be mildly inconvenienced, and 10 being somebody looks funny in their direction, and the next minute, they're in a nasty brawl.

What is their favorite spell? It doesn't have to be one they themselves know or learned. Just a spell they think is neat, handy, cool, etc.

If there happened to be a street fair in the Gate, would they attend? Yes or no, who would they go with, what would it be like visiting one of those with them?

Bhaal was a netherese arcanist. Does Durge, considering they're made from Bhaals flesh, consider themselves to be netherese? Have they ever thought about these things or do they simply not care?

I totally forgot I had these I'm sorry lmao. They've been rotting away in my drafts the whole time.

[kawareo]

Durge ask 3: Was kid Durge a usual child before the Urge awakened or were there some signs indicating smth was off about the kid? How did the environment react to them?

As an adult, Strike is rocking 24 Charisma, but as a child he was just incredibly creepy and unsettling, before he learnt how to act properly. He was a sweetheart with his moms and would be with other people, but he just had this very offputting aura around him, yknow? Noone knew what race he even was, he had those creepy eyes that he stared at people with way too intensively, animals were scared to be around him... It was this mix of neurodivergency but also uncanny valley, especially if he was around elves as they can tell best that whatever he is, that is not right.

He was very much "something that is masquerading as something more normal" until he grew older and got this big interest in people and the way they act and react to things, his charisma is very much a learnt skill that he kind of had to develop if he ever wanted to interact with normal people

[bardic-perdita]

8, 9, and 10 for shrike? :>

Thank you for the ask! These were really fun to answer so the responses got a little long!

8. Being the head of a temple comes with lots of tedious work, did they truly manage all of it or did they try to outsource the best they could?

Shrike finds it difficult to learn anything that isn't directly tied to their interest in fighting (and gratuitous violence). Their knowledge on medicine, weaponry, armour, military strategy both historical and cutting-edge is unparalleled. However, filing taxes, collecting tithes, and renewing temple licenses is not something they would find easy to wrap their head around. Their rise to leadership was due to their bloodline and their sheer force of personality: when they talk albeit rarely, people stop to listen. They would delegate as much of the tedious paperwork and statuatory duties to Sceleritas, or any other willing volunteer. For anything that requires their specific input, they'd seek out the assistance of a certain Banite that has an excellent working knowledge of the city's regulations and infrastructure.

Shrike prefers to spend their time training their clergy, imparting their wealth of knowledge to their otherwise amateur blood-thirsty assassins. They would enforce a strict discipline to their work, making the temple the most ruthlessly efficient it has been for generations. Paperwork should be left for more delicate hands than theirs.

9. The Feast of the Moon is a Bhaalian ritual where priests told the stories of particularly interesting or unique kills. Was one of your Durge's deeds ever discussed, or perhaps even turned into a beloved and often retold story?

Whilst Shrike was a paladin of vengeance, they had no shortage of notable kills intended to signal the impending threat as they closed in on their adoptive father. Their status as a paladin gave them some leeway for their overt violence and they relished mangling their victim's bodies in such a way to strike terror into any potential wrongdoer that dared to associate with their criminal gang. They weren't artistic with their presentation, like Orin sought to be, rather they allowed the senselessness and extremity of the murder speak for itself. Their reign of terror across the sword coast as the 'Blood-Soaked Knight' became an often recounted story by many of their followers, although much of its noble origins were lost in the retelling. They have a paladin's pride in their actions, and would proudly tell their tale to any and all who ask to hear it.

Their kills as a Bhaal leader and Oathbreaker are no less subtle, although lack the purposefulness and artistry of their former assassinations. They do not hide their murderous intent behind shadows or illusion, instead they don their plate armour and stalk their victim; like the spectre of death itself, their victim knows Shrike is coming for them and there is no way to hide or escape. They are feared not because their victim does not know if they will be attacked; they are feared because their victim knows that their death is inevitable. Their victims hardly get a chance to fight back as Shrike's strength and divine smite cut them down with ease. It is a duty they carry out diligently and reverently, doing all they can to maintain their father's divine favour. Shrike believes in the inherent value of life, which is why they understand the significance of taking a life in their father's name. They see Orin's playfulness as an affront to Bhaal's doctrine, causing the rift to form between them. Yet, it is still Shrike's kills that are discussed more often than Orin's extravagant masterpieces.

10. Speaking of, Day's farewell was another ritual everyone of the clergy had to attend as evening dawned over Faerûn. But was it really everyone that came to the gathering, or did a particular Bhaalist sneak out at times or outright refuse attendance? Did they maybe even appear early, eagerly awaiting another service?

Due to their military background, Shrike appreciates the value of routine and rituals to maintain order and discipline. Nobody understands the importance of keeping a small army of assassins in line more than Shrike. Attendance to Day's Farewell was mandatory and they enforced it strictly. One particularly wayward bhaalist repeatedly refused to attend, choosing instead to act on his own whims rather than following Shrike's express orders, so they made an example of him during one of these rituals. The display was so horrific, even for a clergy of hardened assassins, that even the mere mention of that sacrificed bhaalist's name was enough to scare the congregation into attending Day's Farewell every single night.

[luinen-bluewater]

For Tino!

7.What were Durges and Gortash's first words towards each other? (Be as vague as u want) 8.What were their last words towards each other? And who really got the final say? (Same as prev, be as vague as you'd like) 11.What portfolio would they have claimed if they ever got to ascend? Would they simply usurp the current dead three or ascend and claim an unrelated portfolio of their own? What's going on there?

Thank you for asking! <3

7. I made this small comic and that illustration about their first meeting, but that's too vague an answer even for my standards, so I'll contextualize it more because I think this deserves a longer explanation: in my head the first time they actually met in person it happened after some time of stalking and studying each other from afar, and after a long exchange of letters (with varying degrees of blackmailing implied) that they used to leave on relevant dead bodies or destroyed equipment (they loved to get in each other's way to measure the other's reaction) so, considering Tino's bratty attitude, it's probably been threats and insults. I vote for "I'll gut you" and "you wretched thing" in the top 3.

If I was better at writing and my English wasn't so wonky, I'd even attempt at writing something about it, but I'm not that good.

8. This is a tough one, and I'm publicly stating this for the first time, but I simply don't know, because I've never finished the game yet.

I barely finished act II but I'm trying to put remedy to it, even if very slowly. My job leaves me very little free time and when the choice is between playing or drawing, I always choose the second.

But I have some ideas about it of course! Tino is a resisting Durge, but he's a dramatic sad boy, so I have yet to see in what kind of mess he'll be involved at the end.

11. Ok, considering that I know the bare minimum about the lore and the deities, he'd go for obsession, if it's not already taken.

Yes. He's that edgy lol

[mt07131]

For Solanine and Lethe: 11. What motivates your Dark Urge to either embrace or resist the Urge?

11. What motivates your Dark Urge to either embrace or resist the Urge?

Solanine: For Solanine, she embraces the Urge because it feels right. Her life has been thrown into disarray, and the only thing she knows is her name and the Urge. Her thought process is that she wouldn’t be this way if it wasn’t right, so why shouldn’t she embrace it?

Lethe: Lethe resists the Urge truly because of the people around her. Not just the main companions, but everyone she meets. She doesn’t believe, or rather, she refuses to believe that she was so driven by something so cruel simply by who she is instead of her actions. She sees how everyone else faces their own darkness and strives to be better than whoever she used to be, if not for her then for them.

Ask me about my tavs

Ask me about my durges

[quacaserous]

6 and 9 from the most recent durge asks? For all three obviously >:3c

AHH tysm for the ask :)) i had lots of fun thinking about the answers hehe <3 (answering these asks for anyone interested in my murderbabies)

6. How did they actually learn their craft/class? Was it before or after becoming Bhaal’s chosen? Did they study it under someone? Did they have a natural talent?

cerys — well, she’s a rogue/circle of the moon druid multiclass, so she learned to steal & blend into the crowd as a child out on the streets, while her druidic powers were a natural talent – she first discovered them when she got lost in the forest as a little kid, and made her way back home with the help of a bird :) afterwards, she’d go on to experiment with her powers and learn spells intuitively, the way a sorcerer would. she lost touch with her druidic magic after getting tadpoled however, and only recovered it with the guidance of halsin & jaheira, who both felt a spark of it within her, despite her firm insistence otherwise.

cassius — cassius is an assassin rogue with a few levels of fighter, so, like cerys, he first learned to steal as a poor kid in the streets of baldurs gate and then honed those skills at the temple of bhaal, where orin, then excited to have a sibling to share her talents with, taught him the precise, murderous art of being a rogue. sarevok, on the other hand, through relentless training (that definitely wasn’t intended to just kill him) taught him endurance and spread his fighting horizons to duelling, not just ambush from the shadows.

saber — saber, upon hearing the whispers of bhaal & (regrettably) killing her foster family in the underdark as a teen, ran away from home and began to wander upside, pursuing less-travelled paths at the edge of wilderness until she stumbled upon a monastery. there, seeking to find balance within herself and a way to control these urges, saber became a way of the shadow monk, before, of course, slaughtering the entire place :) finally giving in, saber let her instincts lead her to the temple of bhaal in baldur’s gate, but felt no need to change her class, since her hands proved to be a useful enough weapon.

9. Bhaalists are surprisingly skilled with a wide range of weapons. Which one was your Durge’s favourite? Did they use it often or did they use something else for their ‘regular’ schedule?

cassius — he prefers using his body as a weapon, actually! even when not transformed, cassius’ tail resembles that of a slayer’s, which is spiked and pretty heavy, so it packs quite the punch! and his teeth & claws of course, but if none of those are an option he prefers daggers or flails, depending on if the goal is to murder someone or just torture them.

cerys — cerys prefers light, one-handed weapons like daggers and sickles so that she can have one in each hand and also really, really likes enchanted/magic weapons (shiny... 👁️👁️). huge bonus if they’re engraved or have a nice shape like bloodthirst or stillmaker, she enjoys anything with a unique design/personalized (gortash will use this information for evil). unlike cassius, cerys will only lash out with her claws & teeth if given no other choice, or if possessed by the urge.

saber — as a monk, she mostly fights with her fists but she’ll use a longsword or a spear ocassionally! saber likes a weapon that will allow her to keep a fair distance between her and the victim/enemy, so up-close and personal weapons like daggers are not her favourite.