This unfortunately killed the game for me. I don't think it would have if I was playing an origin character, but as my own character, it did. I'm very invested in my character, because it's my character, and finding out that I can't succeed at perhaps the only thing I wanted, really just makes me not want to continue at all.
After the Act 3 date night and the subsequent conversation, it seemed like the game was again telegraphing that there was no good ending. I thought that surely that must not be the case, but knew I would be mad if it was, so I went to find out. Glad I did, because it spared me the experience of finding out first hand only after investing even more time and emotional energy into the game. She's perhaps the only character I actively liked from the start, one of the few who isn't arrogant, self-righteous, or self-serving. Being made to listen to Karlach's happiness about being free and in the world, the city she grew up in, and the people she cares about, only to learn that her choices for life are being a slave for eternity, being mutilated, or being dead, really crushed any desire I have to keep playing. Dropping the game 80% of the way through is rough, but when I load it up I just feel no motivation to continue playing.
It's a fantasy world with plenty of opportunity, not just in the general D&D universe, but *specifically in the game* and having them all completely disregarded, is a tragedy. Such a wholesome character wasted on what I think the writers must have thought was deep and tragic, but is instead just offensive and disappointing. People have already covered the plentiful ways that her story could have been addressed by things specifically called out in the game as being possible and real solutions, but literally any of those would be better than what we got. Have the Grymforge gnomes fix her, have Dammon fix her, let me use Divine Intervention on her, do literally anything that has already been established as possible, but not just "lol oh well she must suffer for all eternity because we think it's funnier that way."
Guess I'll see if it gets fixed in a Definitive Edition, because right now I can't find the motivation to continue.
We can all only hope that its remedied in a Definitive Edition (given the work), or sooner. So many people have approached me on the discord, or posted similar comments to yourself that it either ruined their experience, made them want to give up, or that they were glad to be spoiled, saving themselves the emotional turmoil of having the ability to save her, but being refused the opportunity to investigate, or grasp it. I hope Larian hears us out, and in the coming months, or even year, we succeed in getting Karlach the ending she deserves.
