Every Time Tav And Durge Speak During Baldur’s Gate 3 Cutscenes

Although the members of the party in Baldur’s Gate 3 are a talkative bunch, their leader tends not to speak nearly as much. Cutscenes with a custom Tav or Dark Urge character speaking are very rare, considering how many lines of dialogue there are throughout the game, with most instances of voice acting coming from passive interactions with the world. There probably isn’t a BG3 player out there that hasn’t heard “these boots have seen everything” at least a dozen times when journeying in Faerûn in search of answers about the Cult of the Absolute.

For context, Tav is the default name for the blank-slate, custom character that players can make, and has thus become the collective name that BG3 players use for this character. Durge is short for The Dark Urge, an unusual BG3 Origin option that adds a mysterious, dark past and an urge that causes the character to randomly hurt and maim innocent characters. Because both can only be avatar characters and not companions, they don’t have many lines of dialogue and only speak in very specific cutscenes throughout BG3‘s three acts.

Tav Channels Their Inner Loot Ninja

In general, the few speaking lines both Tav and Durge have throughout Baldur’s Gate 3 tend to take place in very specific instances. One of the first examples occurs during Act 1 after the ordeal between the Druid’s Grove and the Goblin camp. The character will need to side with Minthara and the forces of the Absolute in attacking the Emerald Grove, which, as the evil path, is often the one less trodden. However, this alone is not enough to earn Tav their speaking part.

After winning the day for the forces of the Absolute, Minthara and her forces throw a party at Tav’s camp, which many of their companions will struggle to enjoy. Once here, Tav or Durge need to get on Minthara’s bad side, enough for her to attempt to kill them in their sleep. This will cause a battle with the goblins, and Tav will finally have their remark after surviving the skirmish. Players can also just channel their inner murderhobo and decide that they would rather have goblin corpses about to decorate their camp.

Once dealt with, a companion will make a remark about the slaying of the goblins. This depends on who is in the party, since a few members, like Wyll, will not remain in Tav’s group if they have attacked the Emerald Grove. After that, Tav will channel their loot ninja instincts and state “What’s done is done, but we should check the corpses for valuables.” as seen in CyberDoge‘s video on YouTube. It’s a pretty nonchalant response to all that bloodshed, but it could be in Durge’s character.

4 The First Encounter With The Githyanki

Except Tav Has No Party To Back Them Up

Players that have gone through Act 1 and followed Lae’zel’s questline are likely familiar with the group of gith led by Kith’rak Voss and his red dragon. When first encountering this group, a member of Tav’s party will make a remark depending on their level. If it is below level 5, it will usually be a statement of how the party probably shouldn’t try to fight the gith. If level 5 or above, the remark will be about how this is a fight that the group can actually win, which is usually followed by an enthusiastic Lae’zel running off to talk to Voss.

In normal situations, neither Tav nor Durge will say anything, since the companions will do enough talking in this instance, but someone will always have a line in the scenario. If players take their Tav or Durge alone, then they will make a remark after first seeing the red dragon riding in with Kith’rak Voss on its back. Again, the statement will be similar to the ones made by the companions, except Tav will say that fighting the group would be suicide since they’re alone, as seen in a Cennix video on YouTube.

It will also depend on whether Tav or Durge is a githyanki. Gith have unique dialogue options for this instance, which extends to the line spoken by Tav/Durge when meeting their kin. They will even refer to the group of gith as their kin, stating “My kin wield their spears formidably. It would be foolish to provoke battle with them now.” In general, both versions of this line attempt to discourage players from taking the gith on alone, since the fight is meant to be one of the trickier ones in Act 1.

3 First Arriving In The Shadowlands

An Introduction To Act 2

Of all the lines of dialogue spoken by Tav and Durge throughout the game, their remark about first arriving in the Shadowlands is likely the most common one to occur for most people. All that is needed is for the player to arrive in the Shadowlands after passing through the Underdark. This remark will not be made if the party enters the Shadowlands through the Mountain Pass, even though it is still an entry point into Act 2, and it will only be made if this is the first time the party sees the Shadowlands.

The line spoken will depend on whether Tav/Durge is a drow or not. As seen in MunkyBall‘s video on YouTube, the drow line will compare the Shadowlands to life in the Underdark, but such a life is not applicable for other races. Instead, a non-drow Tav will be confused about the place and say that the “Underdark looks like a sunlit meadow” by comparison, as showcased by Fangwarden on YouTube. Since both these remarks compare the Shadowlands to the Underdark, it’s no surprise that they don’t trigger after taking the other route.

What makes this line one of the easier ones to encounter is that it plays even if companions are with Tav, and entering the Shadowlands through the Underdark is a common occurrence. On top of this, a companion will make a remark after Tav in the cutscene, and this dialogue can even continue after the cutscene has ended. This is one of the few times that Tav/Durge can have a conversation with a companion that isn’t directed by the player, although it only constitutes a couple of lines.

2 Fighting Orin As The Dark Urge

An Impersonation Kind Of Counts

The Dark Urge gets a lot of story beats that are entirely unique to them, whether that’s resisting the Urge in an attempt to save their loved ones or embracing it to take on the deadly Slayer form and become Bhaal’s chosen. One of these story beats is a rivalry with Orin in Act 3, which culminates in a duel between the children of Bhaal. This occurs whether Durge has chosen to embrace their birthright or not, and the Tav version of this fight involves fighting everyone in the area as a party.

Before the fight takes place, Orin will use her changeling powers to take Durge’s form, sauntering around in it as she describes how she mutilated them and made them a puppet for the Absolute. When in Durge’s form, she will also take on their voice, essentially describing how she felled her rival the first time with their own visage. It is also revealed here that Orin was once an underling of Durge’s, back when they were the Champion of Bhaal and in league with Gortash, as seen in a YouTube video from Azumgi.

Technically, Durge isn’t speaking, but the character’s voice is nonetheless being used. Although it’s odd seeing the player character saunter in front of themselves while acting like Orin, it’s impressive that each of the Durge voices are able to emulate Orin’s behavior so well for such a small scene. Hearing a character that usually only talks in short sentences deliver a monologue is quite powerful in the moment.

1 Beating The Game And Controlling The Netherbrain

Whether It Be In Tav’s Name Or Bhaal’s

Despite having very little to say other than “these boots have seen everything” and “no traps please” about a thousand times, Tav or Durge can actually have the very last line in the game if players choose to take that route with them. By beating the game and choosing to have an evil ending by taking over the Netherbrain instead of destroying it, Tav or Durge can sit atop a throne as a dark god-emperor of sorts. Essentially, the player character can become the Absolute.

At the end of the cinematic, Tav will sit upon their throne and say “In my name” before the game fades to black, as seen in Tiege_Gaming‘s video on YouTube. If Durge sits upon the throne instead and gives in to their Urge to claim their birthright, there is a slight change to this ending. Instead of saying “In my name”, Durge will say “In Bhaal’s name”, which probably sounded a lot cooler in their head. Either way, the scene then ends with Durge having the final word.

It should be noted that both of these lines can only occur if the player chooses for their character to rule alone after taking control of the Netherbrain. They follow the trend of Tav and Druge’s lines in cutscenes only being used in very specific instances, which seems like an odd choice considering that these lines (other than Orin’s monologue) don’t add too much to the game. Perhaps Larian once intended Baldur’s Gate 3 to have a fully voiced player character, but in the end, the lines that are there are simply minor treats.

Source: YouTube (CyberDoge, Cennix, MunkyBall, Fangwarden, Azumgi, Tiege_Gaming)