I confuse archduke with grand duke all the time LMAO. 😂 You've certainly piqued the intrigue of Potterheads now, helps a lot that Luscious Freaking Malfoy is playing Gortash in the game 😂
@@brooklynb8062 totes, in a world a vampires leading children to their deaths, wizards dabbling in dark magic, warlocks making pacts with devils, people get do hung up when we sympathize with the guy that was sold into slavery as a kid to a literal devil
@@marinawilson3337 Yeah. Even though he's absolutely evil and ruthless, you can read in his diaries that he thinks humans are by nature evil, pettty and flawed, so they need an absolute tyrant and removal of free will to bring them peace and happiness. He's so traumatized that he's damaged beyond repair but is still motivated by a twisted sense of idealism.
Just as a small correction, the scheme to use the Crown of Karsus was actually the Dark Urge's idea (Gortash tells you that himself if you play as Dark Urge), but Orin betrayed Urge and took their place in the Dead Three Chosen line-up.
when you play as dark urge, he doesn't betray you though. The game even goes out of its way to tell you that he fully intends to share power, and he respects you as an equal. He doesn't betray you unless you betray him first, which is nice. Even seems like he really missed you while you were gone.
interesting… i guess he finds a kindred spirit with the Dark Urge. have you read the letters Gortash sends to one of the Bhaal doppelgänger victims, Franc Peachtree? i didn’t include it in my video, but Gortash even tells Peachtree something like “i could kiss you” because Peachtree agreed to help him distribute weapons. just another example of Gortash being sentimental with other evil types? because Gortash wants authority over everyone, it makes sense he would also only befriend (and be loyal to) those who follow his directions & don’t get in his way. for me, whether Gortash would betray you or not is less important than his depraved goals & actions. he’s a proven sadist & Bane’s favorite, which i think makes him the most dangerous member of the dead 3. “trustworthy” was not the best point to end on tbh, but what i meant was: he’s extremely manipulative, on top of everything else.
@@nullwhere Maybe I mix up things, but I think in my very first playthrough(normal, no dark urge), where I wanted to see what happens if you try to have a bad ending but reign with him, if you stand your ground not giving up your netherstones he also agrees and does not push you any further. Not sure if that would have been an alience, since the elder brains kills him so quick we don't find out. But he is defently a lot more friendly towards Durge, some even suggested they had a relationship. But ultimatly I guess he just likes someone who shares his goal and would work with him more than someone he can't control like Orin. He could be just as manipulative as the Emperor, playing nice when it suits him, without actually liking the other person, you know what I mean?
@@madhattressnightcore2754 oh yeah I know what you mean. i've never played as the Dark Urge (I only play hero/good guy choices), but based on what you've shared & what i've been reading in these comments & elsewhere, i'm starting to think they *did* have some kind of meaningful relationship, beyond just collaborating.
@@nullwhere Actually some say Dark Urge is the "ultimate good run" because though you have these urges, you can fight them. So you can still make good choises and you get some more story bits and pieces(also romance scenes), so I'd highly recommend it! Though I have to say playing the bad person is also made intresting in the game, it helped me to make a charackter opposite of my gender because usally I also struggle making the bad desicions in games and then it felt less like "I" was making those desicions xD But a game like this has so many different routes to explore, I highly encourage you to try the bad one out one day too, maybe it's more intresting that you'd think^^
You can complete a dark urge play through with only taking the life of one innocent person inescapably, and it’s while your character is in a sub/unconscious state(even then I think you might be able to have a companion bite the bullet for you but it’s prob better just to own it lol). Its between 1 of 2 characters and if you don’t mind a minor spoiler you could just youtube “dark urge how to save” if you’d prefer it to be an npc you’d seemingly have less attachment to. Dark urge is honestly a much more compelling story than the base custom game with more rewarding high notes for heroism to experience. It provides more intimacy with your companions/romance, and certainly bridges the divide between you and them more as they all have their own tragedy/turmoil they're battling throughout the game and now you’re right there with them in a direct in-game storytelling sense and yes the relationship with gortash is certainly different as well
I agree! He’s very fascinating… like what happens to a guy that goes all-in on Bane’s tenets. I love his style, too, I’m ashamed to admit. 😳 He has some weird letters he sent to Peachtree (one of the murder victims of the Bhaal followers) that also show-off more of his sadistic personality (I think you can find them in Peachtree’s house). There’s also some additional voice lines if you play as Dark Urge. But yeah I wish there was more to see!!!
I'm a little disappointed we never got Gortash himself to talk about his time at the house of hope. Like being abandoned by your parents then sold to a literal devil who abused you alongside his servants, no wonder Gortash wanted power and control, sort of like an astarion situation really. I just wish as durge he was a bit open, even recalling a memory he has of Raphael.
I agree 100%, it would be interesting if he shared more about his past. I’ve also been curious how exactly he escaped from the House of Hope & then… did Raphael not try to find him afterwards? Or maybe Raphael knew at that point Gortash was going to become a force for evil & suffering (which devils love) so he just left him alone? How old was Gortash when he escaped? When *exactly* did he start worshipping Bane (or did Bane somehow seek him out)? A lot of little details that I want to fill in here.
Gortash was close with Dark Urge, who was the real master mind behind the Crown plot. If you speak to him alone, he is softer and friendlier, says how much he likes you and prefers you over Orin. So his looks to me is a result of his mourning a dear friend. He is genuine in his proposal to both Tav and Durge to take the stones and rule together - if you don't blow up the Iron Throne and don't get intimidated by him (by actually giving him the stones instead of standing your ground). He's happy to let the main character try to overtake the brain and unfortunately dies in a cut scene. I truly wish we had an evil ending with him, he's a fascinating character. Thank you for the video, I would appreciate it if at some point you make an update version and give the poor guy a break. He just wants us to rule the world together, ok?
this is all just standard “charming” psychopathic behavior from him, no? he’s nice to those who agree with him and support his goals to rule the Sword Coast… and if you stand in his way, he might enslave, torture, or kill you (and your family!) and maybe after all of that, he’ll use your brain forever in a steel watch robot so he can terrorize others. of course he’s nice to Durge. of course he’s friendly! why wouldn’t he be? ruling alongside you suits his ends just fine. if he had lived in the end, how quickly would he turn on you if he calculated that Durge/Tav were going to hinder him in some way? how quickly would he find a new useful “friend”? imo regardless of how nice he may seem to a fellow evil character, he still is inherently evil. he still does evil things, has evil goals, and has ruined countless lives for his own selfish pursuits. which is the point of this video, really. it goes without saying that even a tyrant has allies, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are a tyrant. so to answer your question about “[giving] the poor guy a break” - personally no, i cannot. he has harmed far too many. no breaks for that, just swift justice 😇 thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts btw!! i appreciate it even when people disagree. it’s one of the things i really enjoy about this game.
He is one of my favourite characters in terms of lore. Don´t forget, that Dark urde played a big role in his plans too, as it was their idea mostly. Also, you can name Gortash any names, if you want, but demented? Hardly. He was highly inteligent individual and that got him from the bottom to the top. He went from a poor kid, hell slave to god´s chosen and archduke and was almost aiming for a "godhood". I would also like to point, that he grew up with no love, not a single caring person or friend - sold by his parents, enslaved in hell and tortured. His only close friend/lover was Dark urge. ( I won´t count his afere with lady Janneth, cause I believe he had his reasons to get her on his side). He had nobody else and his vile methods were the only thing, that saved him from hell - he didn´t really had a chance to learn better. Not defending him ofc, just reminder, that this played a huge part of what he had became.
Kethric: serial betrayer, has become numb to everything. Orin: straight forward, ultra-sadistic serial killer. Gortash: started from nothing, well on his way to ruling the world through cleverness, doesn't mind being unbelievably cruel to do it.
Be awesome if you made more videos like this. So much lore in bg3 you need to dig around to fully understand. Like the connection between the steel watch and the automatons in the underdark.
Gortash is another Turkish word used in the game, interesting (another one is Aylin. It is a name that means moonlight - but the pronunciation is wrong, we pronounce it eye-lin.)... it means "the seeing stone". I think he was the only clever one among the three evil villains. Ketheric did what she did because of what she lost... so he was blind. Orin did what he did because of what he never had... so she was blind too... But Gortash knew that he might have something if he played right. He played perfectly right. But he lost because we had to win ! I find that funny tho. Turks don't plan in those details (as a history lover - turks just smite, they are soldiers, like Karlach) ... *enver is also a name that we use as a name in Turkey...
Omg I literally subscribed to your channel after this video since I love it so much.💖He’s my favorite hottopic tyrant and he should’ve been romanable😔😔🤌🤌
to me gortash def represents the character who went thru shit and just kept getting worse lol. he never had a tav to help or guide him to a better path. just bane prob. so ofc he's an evil tyrant. i do love him as a villain.. and i'm too deep in the durgetash bin so... that all being said, i will always kill him on every NON durge run. c: final note. i can't let the rat slander go by! xD rattos are actually very empathetic creatures!
agreed! karlach makes a comment after you learn about his childhood: “hurt people will hurt people” or something like that. i cut it from the video unfortunately, but it definitely rings true also sorry for the rat slander! 😅 i was trying to think of an insult that wouldn’t be too offensive
I need more of Gortash so I'm bringing him back as a partitioner in the Outlands building war machines for Bane in the gate town of Rigus. I wanna make like a Dark Artifacer subclass for him
what kind of traits & skills would you have for Dark Artificer class? I was thinking the other day it would be interesting if Larian added some kind of artificer class to the game 🤔
In the prison below wryms crossing there is a cell with a skeleton holding a note with a summary of his "life". Its kinda interesting to see that even from a young age he was involved in shady stuff. Probably because of the whole sold to Raphael thing. Playing as a dark urge we can usually see a bit more on how the dead 3's dynamic was designed to work, but at the end all 3 of them were working for their own goal even though dark urge and Enver seemed to show respect to each other before Orin came and knocked the living shit out of Durge. The brain even says out of the 3 only the Dark urge had the potential to go through with their plan, yet they got minced to pieces by Orin. It just shows that all 3 of the chosen were just people at the end, not monsters, and they have gods they serve for reasons of their own. They deliberately choose that path based on their life experiences, and its not good, but we are shown why they choose it. I like when they do this to villains, they dont want to make them not seem evil, they just explain that its not clear black and white evil. This is clearly shown with Ketheric's story with his family - and its really on the nose. Especially his wife being a Selunite priest... and then dying to some illness which started his descent to madness and then Isobel just broke him. But by act3 if you want to learn about Gortash and Orin, you really need to talk to all dead bodies, and read all little notes to see the full picture (i think for Orin you even need to be Durge to get some special info out of Serovok or out of your butler)... And i think its not because they wanted them to be more mysterious, its just that, there was not enough time/ energy put into Act 3 to rush release. Also, people tend to look at Gortash as a very not well presented Villain because of the whole, extra stylish clothing with non groomed beard and anime hair and emo makeup. Which really makes no sense. His whole thing was to fit into nobility and look and act the role. But again, I think Larian just kinda rushed the final results with him, since if im not wrong his model looked very different originally (more "handsome" - supported by the description of him in act 1 when we get invaded by the brain on the bridge). I can understand that they wanted to make him not boyish, but more rugged, but the looks are just meh with this final result. Not really scary villain and def not evil Tyranny guy looks... the VA was on point tho. Oh lordy. Such a good job. For both him and Orin and Ketheric. 10/10 they all sound the evil part they play.
Oh whoa I didn’t know about the note - I’ll have to check that out! Also I agree about the villain characterizations here - I do like the background they gave him, as it explains sooo much about how he thinks and why he pursues power. Karlach says at one point “hurt people [will] hurt people”, or something to that effect. And it’s so true in this case. Despite how much of a hater I was in this video, I have to admit I’m very fascinated by Gortash 🫣 I wish there was more content about him…
I like to think he is the way he is because he had abusive/neglectful parents combined with the abuse he suffered in Avernus. Maybe he was a good child but started down the wrong path because of his awful parents. But he found Bane, the Tyrant, and he just got worse from there.
I really enjoyed this. I think that you may have mispronounced a name. The grand duke was not a Ravenclaw, perhaps you are thinking of Harry Potter. I am a Potter head by the way. I think the Duke was named Ravenguard. All Harry Potter fans are welcome in the DND world. Thanks again for producing this bit of lore for the world building.
You forgot one of Gortash's victims: Lenore, the former occupant of the Arcane Tower. You just have to take one look at Bernard to see that he's a prototype of the Steel Watch. And the last we seem to hear of Lenore is before she went to a conference in *Baldur's Gate* to present her discoveries in. It's never explicitly said, but it's strongly implied that Gortash imprisoned and killed Lenore and used her knowledge to create the Steel Watch.
HOLYYY!! that’s wild, i didn’t realize. you are absolutely right, he was a prototype. does she mention the conference in a journal? i don’t remember much about her.
@@nullwhere Yes, she does, in a letter iirc. There's a video all about her story, it's called "A Tragic Secret of the Underdark | Baldur's Gate 3 Lore" This effen game is a masterpiece.
@@nullwhere I was wrong. Her ex- partner, whom she once lived with her in the tower, was the inventor of Bernard. But she also provided technology, specifically the sussur bark power generator. "These empty sheets are all that's left of you. The last of all the thoughtless gifts you gave. I will hold onto them; it's all I can do. I can't throw them away; I've never been that brave." I'm not crying.... There is another poem in the tower which is clearly inspired by the Cohen's, "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets through."
I feel like I played a different game. I aint see any of this lore. I went to him, he asked me to kill Orin, and then I did. Came back to him, and Mama Karlach wanted to kill him, so I did, I just wanted to punch him in his final fantasy knock off face. I had no idea missed out on story with him.
He also tells the other banites to kill any of the slaves who resist and display their bodies where the other slaves can see them to prevent uprisings. So. He's very evil. Unfortunately he is also very sad boy and handsome so I will forgive him.
