This thread largely exists due to the major outcry of fans and players that has been building up over recent days, and is a credit to them and their tenacity about this topic. That said, this thread exists hopefully to reach the eyes of Larian's directing, writing and development team, and express our feelings about the hand we were dealt, and extend an olive branch for potential change in the form of an updated quest, endcard, cutscene or even a statement about a more positive outlook for Karlach's ending.
Whether that be improving her 'Return to Avernus with Tav/Wyll' ending, or truly giving us the option to save her. What most fans are after is just satisfaction, and a positive outlook for the character they love and have put so much time into.
Karlach's endings in Baldur's Gate 3, boiled down to dying, turning into a mindflayer or returning to the fires of Avernus with either Tav or Wyll (or both, in many of our head-canons), seem to neglect many branches and leads that create or offer the possibility of saving and giving a happier ending to Karlach's story in a way that felt perhaps rushed, or left on the cutting room floor. The Steel Watchers comment on her engine being a prototype, obsolete version of theirs.. Yet none of the Gondians, nor the Steel Foundry hold a solution? Dammon claims to be hard at work on the next step, but this never pans out? The vast amounts of in-game text and lore about the infernal engine, and many instances of different infernal metals, iron, alloy and the enriched infernal metal from the Foundry, but they have no purpose past the first two upgrades and Dammon's armor? It all seems strange, and doesn't add up with all the divine intervention, pacts, spells, tech and more that exist in the Forgotten Realms to subvert such an end. Makes little sense.
Ahead are Gale plot spoilers, please be warned;
Gale gets a deus ex machina out of his exploding magical core, but there really isn't a solution for Karlach? C'mon now Larian. That stings the worst! Especially when we get access to things such as Gale's revival scroll, Divine Intervention and more!
All this said, Larian created a character that many of us love for her bubbly attitude, positivity, prowess and more, who's voice actress put lots of heart and soul into, combined with the writing outside of these endings being great.. But also saw fit to write her into a corner with ways out we couldn't grasp?
While a great number of us understand that her choice to return to Avernus with Tav might be the "good ending", something after this that drives that home would've been much appreciated, rather than being left in the dark.
Larian, please consider this;
Whether it be an overhaul of Karlach's Act 3 questline, a statement, ending card, added objective, some dialogue/narration or just a confirmation that there is a happier end, or a better concluding moment to the Return to Avernus ending that gives a more positive outlook allowing Tav and Karlach to live happily, (Either a fix to her engine, or living possibly in Hope's new House of Hope? Or as badass demon slayers, just something tangible for the audience to know things are ok and there's a real future for her and Tav), or some more positive outlook for her story.
We'd appreciate it greatly, as the larger game is amazing, and seems to have had a damper put on it by this situation.
Thank you for an amazing game outside of this issue, I cannot express that enough.
The link to the original reddit forum post I created is here: Addressing Karlach
![[Linked Image from media.tenor.com]](https://media.tenor.com/PKXMDZh5R5sAAAAC/baldur%27s-gate-3-karlach.gif)
