Playing as the Dark Urge inBaldur’s Gate 3changes much about the game and the story it follows, including adding one new character that is truly depraved. That is Sceleritas Fel, the goblin butler who appears to the Dark Urge at night and encourages them to enact new atrocities. Sceleritas is delightfully grotesque and bloodthirsty, taking immense joy in the Dark Urge’s violence and expressing dismay at their self-control.
It is through this figure that players can learn much about their own backstory, butthe butler is remarkably tight-lipped about his own identity.He claims to serve the Dark Urge, but as the player has no memories, they have little to verify this until later in the game. And even then,when the mystery of the Urge’s nature is discovered, Sceleritas remains an enigma. But thanks to some theories made by fans and analysis of Forgotten Realms lore, it is possible to deduce just who - or what - this goblin is.
Sceleritas Fel Is A Goblin With A Murderous M.O.
The Most Brutal Butler On The Sword Coast
Sceleritas first appears shortly after the Dark Urge’sfirst big moment of unbridled violence: the killing of Alfira(or Quil, in some cases). He appears out of nowhere to speak to the Urge, granting them apowerful cloak as a rewardfor their actions, and encouraging them to “be true to yourself.” He shows up a few more times across the course of the game, always at night while the rest of the party is dreaming. He encourages all sorts of awful actions, from killing Isobel in Last Light Inn, to murdering the player’s companions.
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Sceleritas definitely seems powerful from all of this, able to appear and disappear seemingly at willand avoid detection like a rogue with expertise in stealth. He also acts as a messenger between Bhaal and his prodigal spawn, carrying immensely powerful boons. He is one part fairy godmother, one part violent hallucination, and always building the Dark Urge up with his encouragement and advice. Because while the butler seems to be very strong,he never acts himself, always using his power to influence the Dark Urge to make certain choices.
Is Sceleritas Fel A Servant Of Bhaal Or The God Himself?
A Lackey, Or An Avatar Of A Deity?
In this way, Sceleritas almost acts like a warlock patron influencing their followers,or a deity providing guidance to their clerics.Some fans have gone as far as to speculate that this goblin is in fact an avatar of Bhaal, or even some disguised form of Bhaal himself. And while most gods wouldn’t take as much interest in one follower as Fel takes in the Urge, Bhaal has never been a normal god.
Descriptions of what Bhaal may have looked like in life are scant and inconsistent, making it possible that this butler resembles the god’s true form.
Bhaal is one ofthe Dead Three, once mortal folk with ambitions of godhood. Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul worked together to replace Jhergal, the old god of death, and ascend to their current status. All three gods have since fought, influenced mortals, died in unholy battle, and returned again to continue haunting Faerun. Bhaal in particular does so in the form ofhis blood-starved prodigy, the Bhaalspawn, who are haunted by constant nightmares and violent urges that drive them to do their father’s bidding.
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The culmination of the Dark Urge’s journey in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a choice of whether to accept or reject their birthright as Bhaal’s Chosen.
Bhaal is much more closely related to his followers than other gods, and it would make sense thathe would keep a close eye on the ones he favors most, like the Dark Urge. Evidence in the game suggests that Bhaal bestows butlers on many of his spawn, like how he gave the imp, Cruor, to Orin, but Sceleritas in particular seems cunning and persistent, coming back after death to continue enacting Bhaal’s will. He might be just a butler, but the evidence suggests he is more than that.
What Fel’s Final Scene Proves About The Dark Urge’s Butler
Bhaal’s Dramatic Appearance Caps Off Fel’s Story
At the conclusion of the Dark Urge’s questline in the temple of Bhaal, Sceleritas makes an especially gruesome appearance. Afterdefeating Orin inBG3,the Urge sees their butler stabbed multiple times by spectral knives, before floating over and forming a blood pool on the ground. Reflected in this pool is Bhaal himself, god of murder, in the form of a much more intimidating version of Sceleritas. At the heart of his power in Baldur’s Gate,Bhaal appears in the form of this twisted goblin. Not in the form of the Slayer, or his skull emblem, but a goblin butler.
This may point to the fact that Bhaal has some fondness for this form, beyond it being one of his loyal subjects. Especially given how much the Dark Urge is painted as the favorite child of Bhaal inBaldur’s Gate 3, it would make sense for the murder lord to give him aid in his own image, perhaps even a form that can act as his avatar when necessary. It’s a theory that holds a lot of weight, and likely bears some truth, especially with that last scene in mind.
