The first choice when playing Baldur’s Gate 3 is to create a custom character from scratch or create one with an Origin. Origins refer to premade characters that come complete with their backstories, affecting all their interactions with the broader world and NPCs. Custom characters are yours to build freely, from class to backstory.
There are seven Origins to choose from: Astarion, Gale, Lae’Zel, Karlach, Shadowheart, The Dark Urge, and Wyll. They all have different perks and opportunities, but one thing none of them can offer is the absolute freedom of a custom character.
Should you play as an Origin or custom character in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Building a custom character is the best option, especially for first-time players. Having the freedom to customize them how you want makes the first adventure genuinely unforgettable. You can choose their abilities, class, skills, race, etc.
If all those decisions seem overwhelming and you’d instead jump right into things, Origins is a better fit. It provides a more story-driven experience complete with personal quests, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and having predetermined abilities and skills tied to their backstory is nice, too.
Origin vs. custom characters in Baldur’s Gate 3: What’s the difference?
Origin characters in BG3 come pre-built, meaning they have their backgrounds, story, and appearance, while custom characters are fully customizable. So, you can choose the race, class, sub-class, and anything else to do with your custom character. This means that if you want your custom character to be the epitome of an angel, you can, or if you want them to be the source of all evil, you can do that too because it’s all up to you.
Thanks to a patch, players can now remove custom players from multiplayer playthroughs so worry not.
The table below briefly overviews all differences between Origin and custom characters in Baldur’s Gate 3.
| Character type | Character customization | Quests, background, and world interactions | Available as a companion | Customizable appearance via the Magic Mirror |
| Origin character | None | Unique for each Origin | Yes | No |
| Custom character | Fully customizable | Standard | No | Yes |
| The Dark Urge Origin | Fully customizable | Unique | No | Yes |
Everything else in the game remains the same regardless of what kind of character you create. For example, all of them can multiclass at any point, and you can respec them if you have the gold. The only difference is that you can’t change the main class of an Origin character.
The Dark Urge Origin explained
The Dark Urge is Baldur’s Gate 3‘s customizable Origin, making character creation fully available to you, including classes and races, with an extra subplot to the narrative. It’s the best of both worlds if you need help deciding between a fixed Origin character and a fully custom one.
I played Dark Urge in my first playthrough, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But it’s not for the faint-hearted since it will force you to listen to or fight an evil voice inside your character’s mind throughout the campaign.
There isn’t a right or wrong answer, though. It all comes down to personal preference. That’s the beauty of Baldur’s Gate 3; you can play it however you want. If you enjoy the game as much as I do and have the spare time, why not try them all to see what works best? You can even change classes, too.
