Baldur’s Gate 3’s new evil ending is guaranteed failure

Baldur’s Gate 3 added new evil endings in Patch 7, with the Dark Urge achieving ultimate victory. However, they won’t be successful for long, as many heroes and villains are waiting off-screen to ice them.

The first two Baldur’s Gate games had a huge effect on D&D canon, with its characters (like Minsc the Ranger) becoming part of the lore. In fact, D&D had to accommodate the events of Baldur’s Gate 2, as the game had multiple endings, yet the writers had to choose one, as they affected the tabletop game.

Baldur’s Gate 3 already has multiple endings, yet they’re unlikely to have a concrete effect on canon, especially as the game’s beloved characters will probably appear in other D&D projects. This is especially true of the evil endings, where the player takes control of the Netherbrain.

The teasers for the new evil ending show the Dark Urge mind-controlling people and causing destruction on a massive scale. The problem, as pointed out by users of the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit, is that plenty of factions will step in and put down the Dark Urge & Netherbain before they take over the world.

“See what the dominate brain ending doesn’t show you is a tired Elminster standing out of frame casting meteor swarm with a dejected look on his face,” one user wrote, while another said, “You do this, and Elminster steps out from the shadows, turns you into cheese, and then eats you. ‘Mystra sends her regards.'”

One player summed the situation up perfectly. “If this were the case, The Emperor is almost certainly correct; none of the various good gods of Forgotten Realms would put up with the Netherbrain for long.

“My guess is Mielikki would act first by sending Drizzt Do’Urden or possibly Mystra would follow up her failed Gale plan with Elminster if she could get him off his ass since he already had a stake in the whole thing (even if he just sent a construct to handle his part in the Gale plan).

“Additionally, we know Shar herself is acting in opposition to the Netherbrain and attempted initially to secure the Astral Prism for herself in order to defeat the thing. That on top of the Gith… yeah, good luck with that Netherbrain lol.”

Baldur’s Gate 3 has a level cap of 12, which means there are a ton of incredibly powerful level 20 characters in the Forgotten Realms who could eradicate them in a combat round. Elminster and Drizzt are commonly cited as the biggest threats, but many high-level good and neutral spellcasters could do the job.

This is to say nothing of the villains who would also try to destroy the Netherbrain, considering they likely wouldn’t want to be mind-controlled. The Zhentarim, Red Wizards of Thay, and the worshippers of the evil deities wouldn’t sit still and let themselves be dominated by Mind Flayers.

There’s also the Githyanki, who are the sworn enemies of the Mind Flayers. Vlaakith could finally put that Wish spell of hers to good use, starting with the Dark Urge.

(The Netherbrain itself also isn’t much of a factor. Two words: Mind Blank. The Mind Blank spell would make you immune to its power, reducing it to a big angry lump of jelly.)

The new Dark Urge ending will be more about personal satisfaction for the players who underwent the evil route without hesitation. Chances are, Larian isn’t going to show the aftermath, where the new Bhaalspawn gets obliterated by Meteor Swarms and Wish spells.