Although playing as one of the ready-made origin characters inBaldur’s Gate 3certainly has its perks, it makes sense that the majority of players are going to gravitate towards making a custom protagonist, called “Tav” by default. It’s common for players to spend hours in the customizer, possibly using mods to their advantage to create their perfect main characters.
The Dark Urge origin also allows players to customize their own appearance, class, and name, but it comes with a pre-written backstory that allows players to feel more connected to the world with a small amount of wriggle room for their own stories. “Tav” seems to be a completely blank slate for players to project onto if they have no desire to play a character with murderous tendencies. Despite this,there may be more to the illustrious “Tav” than meets the eyein the official story.
“Tav” First Made An Appearance In A Prequel To Baldur’s Gate 3
The Initial interpretation Of Tav Was A Detective From Baldur’s Gate
A fun fact that many players are likely unaware of is thatthere was a community-driven browser game prequel toBaldur’s Gate 3, which ran before the game’s release. This was called “Blood in Baldur’s Gate,” and it marked the first instance of the name “Tav” officially being used in the series. Theunlisted introduction video for this game on YouTubecurrently sits at around 63,000 views. Considering thatBG3consistently has over 100,000 daily players, the vast majority of current fans were not around for this period.
ThoughBG3isn’t adirectcontinuation of the Bhaalspawn saga from the previous games, considering the Dark Urge’s obvious ties to it, the possibility of their story not being considered canon in a future sequel is extremely slim.
This limited-time story followed a character called Tav, trying to solve various murders happening around the city ofBaldur’s Gate. It will probably come as no surprise to you that the culprit was the Dark Urge, depicted as the origin’s default white dragonborn.Originally, the Dark Urge was going to be the only custom character ofBaldur’s Gate 3, and they are still widely considered to be the “canon” protagonist - which is why I think that Tav’s fate in the prequel’s finale is the closest thing we have to a canonical ending for them.
Blood In Baldur’s Gate Ends With Tav Being Murdered
With The Dark Urge As The Probable Canon Protagonist, Tav Could Be Left To History
The game’s events have long since concluded, and though you can still read through the community’s decisions in the browser game, it serves as an entirely different story fromBG3.Sceleritas Fel makes an appearance, and there are lots of references to in-game areas, but the ending is probably what most players will find interesting. In line with the Dark Urge’s sadistic nature prior to their amnesia at the start ofBG3,the game concluded with them murdering Tav.
Admittedly, there is little evidence to support these two Tavs being the same person. Especially when it comes to fans whochoose to play as a githyanki, Underdark race, or anyone who doesn’t originate from Baldur’s Gate, there are some possible continuity issues. However, given that Tav wasn’t originally supposed to beBG3’sprotagonist andthe prequel was setting up a story centered around the Dark Urge,I’d like to think that the Tav most players are familiar with is an alternate version of the character fromBlood in Baldur’s Gatewho never got the chance to investigate the murders.
If you don’t pick the Dark Urge origin,then, asReddit user Shinobi-King18found out, you’ll be able to find them dead in Orin’s room - presumably having been killed by her. It may be the case that, in this timeline, they didn’t live to be the driving force of events inBlood in Baldur’s Gate, or Tav possibly got tadpoled before they got a chance to look into their murders.The notion that Tav and the Dark Urge don’t appear to be able to co-exist (unless you’re playing multiplayer) is interesting.Choosing one essentially dooms the other.
In the case of Tavs who don’t originate fromBaldur’s Gate, the best explanation is likely that not all player decisions will be considered canon. For example, players could help Viconia redeem herself inBG2, but judging by her portrayal inBG3, this isn’t the storyline that Larian decided to keep. Even though Larian fosters player creativity, and you certainly can mold your Tav to your liking inBaldur’s Gate 3, a possibleBG4might consider “Tav” being a long-deceased detective from the Sword Coast as canon.
