Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion [END SPOILS WARNING] Addressing Karlach (PLEASE PUT SPOILERS IN TAGS)

So what you’re telling me is there’s a chance?

Tangential question: what games do you know of with whole new endings other than Mass Effect 3? Is this something which is commonly available for RPGs?

I keep hearing about that famous ox bug with Dammon in act 2 and now i'm terrified to jump onto act 2 with my Dark Urge barb lmaoooo.

As for mods, honestly I'd rather Larian fixes or 'tweaks' their game than modders adding scenes much like they did with Mass Effect (if possible). While admirable and appreciate modders for their hard work, I kind of want things to be fixed or added if possible by the ppl who made the game instead, you know? Because (for me) it'll feel like they're leaving the game to modders to do whatever they please while the 'vanilla material' remains as such, i.e. Karlach's heart not being fixable.


But I think mod tools will be released once Larian is happy enough with patching the game enough to be stable. Or maybe after DE releases, who knows.

I think the ME community was just that salty about the ending the trilogy got. They also got a "No, this one companion does not die and can be romanced till the end" mod under their belts, by the way Also the trilogy has been out for a long time now and seems to have very sufficient modding tools, so those people are experienced and well prepared.

That being said, I don't remember other cases like that. I'm sure Skyrim has all that and more, but that game has been a Wild West of modding for years and years now, you can remake it into something unrecognizable by now. And Bethesda's titles are known for being very moddable - won't be the case with BG3 I don't think.


I'm with you, honestly. If times passes, patches stop coming out, some kind of Definitive Edition does or does not happen in vain, and it becomes crystal clear that nothing will be added or changed officially, then it might be time to talk big mods.

There is one, by the Director. How feasible it is depends on how good the dedicated modding tools will be. Keep in mind that current modders are working with limited tools.

Oh that was an interesting read... and the options presented here are very similar to Astarion and Shadowheart's quests, such as 'Give Karlach to Zariel'. Because you can do that with Shadowheart, deliver her to

So weird we didn't get any critical options during her 'questline'.


Man, what i'd give for a small Avernus quest for Karlach because it's bothering me something fierce that the House of hope quest ended up being for Lae'zel.

Could've been giving her to Gortash, who then sets the rest in motion. You can already ally with the man, and ('special' Tav spoilers) , so it'd make perfect sense. I was quite surprised that wasn't an option. Not that I'd do it, of course.

Though I'll be honest, while I liked the very sad dialogue with Shadowheart after handing her over to make you really feel like a prick, I don't understand why she wouldn't rather die fighting instead of.. just walking away like she does now. I'd imagine Karlach would, too, if the option was given to hand her over.

I mean, to be fair, I don't think Gortash wants her at that point. Although it could be tied to the whole thing about her being the prototype, I suppose, but why, if what he has now is already an improved version?

Doubly so since he has no way of controlling her, unlike, uh, people in Shadowheart's situation. If you send a non-Origin Karlach in to talk to him alone their dialogue is literally two lines of "prepare to die" variety and then she launches at him. Sure, if you and the artefact go far away enough that she's no longer protected she can become just as much of a tadpoled puppet as many others, but. Let's be honest one of them would be dead before you could go that far.

That's all to say that in this case I am actually not surprised it's not an option. Shadowheart and Astarion are both wanted back and can be controlled (and also have the mental precedent of being controlled before). Gortash doesn't want or need Karlach back, can't control her, never did control her (the only thing he wielded over her is respect, and that's long gone).

Now, Zariel, on the other hand...

Yeah, that's what I meant with "he'll set the rest in motion". He would then continue selling her back to Zariel, while you cement your alliance with Gortash. Maybe in turn he'll give you Duke Ravengard back. That way they wouldn't need to even add any new areas or whatnot, everything's already present in the game.

I mean, I see your idea, I just think that Gortash wouldn't want to deal with a ticking bomb (in all the meanings of the word - she's set to kill him AND her engine is on its last fumes) like that without a really good reason. And since I don't think Zariel would pay again for what she has already bought from him once, there's really not much for him to gain except problems.

Also with Astarion and Shadowheart giving them over saves you a fight, and Gortash mostly wants to work together from the get-go.

Now that I think about it, out of characters we do have in the game ('cause I see your point, Zariel would have to be added) I think a potential betrayal option for Karlach could come from Mizora, actually. She has something to gain (Zariel's favor for returning her favorite toy to her) and she has something you want from her (Wyll's pact or the Duke's life).

(this whole conversation is such a prime example of the fact that we want not just a happy ending but a full quest with options I swear)

I know that Probably all of yu will Hate me for saying that.. but i Beleave that the Real Problem was to bring her into the game so Late..
she was shoehorned at the last Moment Like Halsin thats why they are Lacking a Real and Proper Narrative and are so Much Broken..
and i Beleave that by now Larian its actually seeing there mistake.
becouse if they never had put her in the game this would never had happen from the start..
i bet all of yu would have romanced other character and would not be feeling this way know..
i Do understand how unfair this is but i beleave that her case its far beyond Fixing..
i really dont beleave that Larian can rewrite her tail to ever be nice enought for evryone that like her.. thats why i think that the Real Mistake was bring her into the Game So Late..
if they really wanted her in the Game she should have been planed from the start like the other 5 origin original companions.. the ones yu see in the Poster Art.
(and i dont want to ofend nobody saying this.. im just saying what i beleave is the real problem with her..)
and i wish yu guys can really get something better for her i trully want not joking..
even so that i never care for her i want yu guys to really get what yu want becouse i know what is like to feel let down by some tale like that.. i trully know. and it SUX a LOT i Know better then anyone.

(and fun fact i actually saw something pretty related to her situation in another games, and they never managed to make things Nice for the players with those characters.. always get worse.)

Nah no offense taken, you are kind of right, we all see the big issue was she was added in late and her story wasnt able to be filly fleshed out. Just how wylls feels lack luster cause he had to be rewitten and even a new VA.
But I still have faith in larian that they will see these short comings (that were almost certainly due to time and money restraints) and implement player feed back to address them as best they can. Just doubtful it will be a patch. It will most certainly be a DLC or preferably a DE release. Now if a year goes by and theres no change then id have to concede theres no hope. And i would sadly have to reframe from buying the next larian game simply cause i dont wanna have to invest in characters and a story only to be robbed of player choice/ a happy ending option at the end of a 100+ hour journey again.
And the key word here is OPTION im fine with tragedies and evil playthroughs etc etc. But the option should still be there imo.

Weren't also Beast and Fane later additions? Or just Beast? And Larian actually gave him content in DE so maybe not all hope is lost with Karlach - or anyone whose story feels lacking...

What Beast got was more padding to his existing questline. Fane is more akin to Karlach's situation and, to my knowledge, his endings weren't changed in the DE.

Strange thing is, that when I played DOS2, all my companions I had in party were extremely boring to me and I have no idea why. I had Red Prince, which was the worst, Fane was almost the same and Ifan, which was kinda ok. So at the end of the game I didn't really care about their endings. In overall I loved the game, but companions weren't my cup of tea. (I read about Lohse later, that she has one of the best stories in RPG games ever)

BG3 is different story, I like all companions and I want more dialogues, more quests and more lore. So Larian, return removed content and give us moooooore Karlach

Thank you.

Lohse was essentially the prototype for Durge. They really nailed that formula down, it seems.

There's definitely a good amount of support in this thread for Karlach

Damn, that's a lot. It's not even a dedicated thread. We truly are legion.

Wow and some of the ideals are very cool.

Decided that I'll get a tattoo to commemorate this group effort if Larian actually does give Karlach a fully-fledged Act 3 engine fix story.

now that you mention it, @NomTheBurritos.

this whole thread reminds me kinda of the "no man skies-situation". after the devs fixed/patched the game, some fans collected money all together to buy a billboard with their logo on it as a thank you for the devs.

i had the small and random idea, that we could do something similiar, if larian decided to listen to us. obviously not buying a billboard-idea, but maybe some kind of letter, where everyone of "us" could say thank you to larian. like i said, just a random idea i had.