The first part of Karlach’s questline in Baldur’s Gate 3 has you looking for Infernal Iron to repair the Infernal Engine in her heart. After you gather enough Infernal Iron, a blacksmith named Dammon is able to make repairs that cool Karlach down enough that she can touch other people. Unfortunately, Dammon has some bad news for Karlach. The Engine simply can’t sustain itself in Faerun. Karlach needs to return to Avernus, or she’ll eventually burn up and die.
You might imagine that the second half of Karlach’s quest would involve finding a way to keep her out of Avernus. You’d be wrong. Instead, Karlach asks for help getting revenge on Lord Gortash for sending her to Avernus in the first place. Killing Gortash satisfies Karlach’s thirst for vengeance, but it does nothing to permanently fix the Infernal Engine in her chest.
Just like the game’s other companions, Karlach has a handful of different endings available to her. None of them are as happy as fans might want. Karlach can remain in Faerun until her Infernal Engine explodes. She can also allow herself to be transformed into a Mind Flayer, which lets her survive in a less-than-ideal fashion. The “best” ending for Karlach sees her head down to Avernus with Wyll and Tav at her side. The three might be able to fight back the demons and find a new way to save Karlach, but the game doesn’t tell us if that actually happens.
A better ending for Karlach?
Karlach is the only character in the game who doesn’t have an option for a truly happy ending. Even her best-case scenario forces her to leave most of her friends behind and return to the place where she was tormented by Zariel for years. Believe it or not, her situation has actually improved since the game launched.
In the launch version of the game, Karlach didn’t have the option of taking a friend or two with her to Avernus. Fans weren’t thrilled that one of their favorite characters essentially had to choose between turning into a Mind Flayer or dying. Larian Studios added the new ending for Karlach in the game’s second patch.
The new ending may be an improvement, but it still hasn’t entirely satisfied fans. Over on the official forums for Baldur’s Gate 3, a growing number of fans are calling on Larian Studios to make a third pass on Karlach’s story. For now, everyone just has to cross their fingers that their fiery friend might get a better ending sometime in the future.
Can you romance Karlach in BG3?
Yes you can romance Karlach in BG3. Progressing your relationship with her is actually fairly easy. If you help out the Emerald Grove and make other good-aligned decisions, Karlach will start falling for you. At that point you need to talk to Dammon and find a way to start repairing the Infernal Engine in Karlach’s chest. Once you manage to cool her down to a safe temperature, you and Karlach can finally be together.
Best build for Karlach in BG3
The best build for Karlach leans into her fighting abilities. You should have Karlach take the Berserker subclass at level three because Frenzy gives you some versatile options for dealing melee damage. At level four you should take an Ability score increase to boost her Strength by two, and at level eight you should take the Great Weapon Master feat to maximize her damage with two-handed weapons. Then just let her clobber your enemies to death, and maybe consider a two level dip into the Fighter class near the end of the game to give Karlach Action Surge.
Karlach’s backstory in BG3
Before the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, Karlach was a citizen of the titular city. She worked as a bodyguard for Enver Gortash, but she had no idea he was planning on taking over the city. Eventually Gortash sold Karlach to the Archdevil Zariel in exchange for the money he needed to start his plan.
Zariel wanted to use Karlach as a test subject for the Infernal Engine. The Archdevil took Karlach to Avernus and replaced her heart with his machine. Then he forced her to fight in the Blood War raging throughout the plane. Karlach spent a decade forced to fight for Zariel until the nautiloid crashed through Avernus and gave her a shot at escaping. Once she managed to escape Zariel and make her way to Faerun, Karlach wanted to find a way to fix the Infernal Engine in her chest and to get revenge on Gortash for betraying her.
