Like many others, I also made this account specifically to chime in about justice for Karlach. Accidentally finding out about her selection of exclusively bad endings broke my heart and killed any will I had to continue my main campaign, where my character is romancing her. I’m really very fond of her and could not stand to see any of those endings come to pass. So that’s 60ish hours of gameplay that will have to be aborted or put on hold until a good ending is added or revealed.
Karlach is the only companion I’ve found myself actually caring a lot for. I mostly like the others, but I’m not invested and would not mind a bad ending for either since to varying degrees I don’t feel like they are entirely undeserving of them. Karlach, however, has done nothing to deserve hers, and I’d argue she’s the only one that absolutely should have a good ending. She has been used and discarded with little to no agency of her own, which would’ve made for a fantastic story if she managed to get out of it, but instead she is doomed by no fault of her own. This unfairness is frankly both very upsetting and frustrating. You can come away from a tragic story with a feeling of catharsis or satisfaction, but this is not it. This feels simultaneously unfinished and just sad for sadness’ sake. Her story is presently one of futility, which, while it could ring familiar to many players, only brings misery. Think instead of the potential her story has for hope and finding your way out of an impossible situation; as an allegory for mental illness, life difficulties, etc., it works best if it could also bring inspiration and light in otherwise dark circumstances.
From what a lot of other people have been writing, it also seems like a lot of the pieces are already in place, just completely (and decievingly) unutilized. Please Larian, help me refind my enjoyment of this otherwise immaculate game. Up until this point I’ve been playing religiously, with an investment and enjoyment I’ve not had since I was a teenager. I know you would make a lot of fans very happy if you gave Karlach the ending she deserves.
Regards, Adolphus Gildani Tiefling bard and fencer extraordinaire
