Ignore the first commenter, they’re being unnecessarily mean and gosh, the whole comment is just unnecessary on their part.
OP, I 100% agree with you about everything you’ve said. Thank you for sharing your perspective as someone with a chronic illness. And I agree that people with a chronic illness have a special insight into Karlach’s character and what’s at stake in the effort to give her a happier ending. Giving her a better ending is a way to subvert and go beyond the pain and struggles that folks feel now, having entered into a world of high fantasy where pretty much anything is possible.
I love that you said that there’s so much power in folks speaking for themselves. It’s hard to say whether someone with a chronic illness was consulted in developing Karlach’s character. That would certainly be a valuable perspective to include. I’m familiar with the slogan “nothing about us without us.” For sure.
For my part. I’ll say that I’m speaking as someone who has lost a parent to terminal illness. And seeing Karlach’s story progress the way it did, reminded me of some of the feelings I had when I was watching my parent succumb to their illness. The newer ending is better, but still so unnecessarily grim for Karlach. I’m not looking to re-live my trauma when I play this game. I’m looking to participate in a heroic, hopeful fantasy. As her story stands now, it almost seems like her illness, and what ultimately happens to her is supposed to be some kind of clever plot twist, a moving tragedy that the player will remember, or something like that. But I do think it’s inappropriate to use that kind of experience as a gimmick, of sorts.
But I don’t think this is what Larian intended necessarily and I don’t think it will stay that way. I am definitely optimistic that they will revise Karlach’s storyline. Larian seems very open to feedback from fans. So I personally think it’s only a matter of time. And that the endings that Karlach has now are not the only endings that will be available in the future.
Thanks again for sharing your very well-thought-out, incredibly articulate perspective! There are countless people on this forum who are just as invested in Karlach as you are, and are in solidarity with you for justice for Karlach. Feel free to add something to the “addressing Karlach” thread in this forum, too. The popular one with like 81 pages of comments.
Your voice would very much be valued there as well. It’s very consistently towards the top of the forum threads, so your perspective would be less likely to get lost there.
