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

I get this alot. It makes alot more sense that they needed to use certain language in the interview so they wouldn't hinder the games sale on the Xbox which was releasing soon at that point. But to say your vision from the jump was to have her die on some random dock. Alone and burning alive or give up everything and sacrifice herself to become a mindflayer. It doesnt hinder the games sale to say that you were exploring more endings for some companions. Especially one with so much community push behind it.

Larian seemed adamant when stating that nothing was ''cut off'' from the game, especially when the person in that IGN interview brought this notion up on the topic of karlachs quest. But that doesnt mean content wasnt rushed and it definitely shows in most questlines in act 3, karlachs quest especially. They probably stated ''karlach was meant to always die at the end'' because they dont want to concede to the criticisms of karlachs quest having plotholes and not making any sense, cos that would make them look bad or something lol.

We can only speculate what was going on in the writers room and with the executives that lead to karlach having such a lackluster questline. My guess is its a combination of karlach being a late addition to the game which lead to a rushed, unfinished questline, and poor communication within the team on whether a story about someone dying of basically heart failure is gonna thematically fit in to this game's overall story (the answer, in my humble opinion, is a fat no due to her problem being a nothingburger in a dnd world).

Still, the CEOs can spout whatever they want, as long as they and other devs at larian have taken the ACTUAL criticisms players have brought up to heart and can rectify this in a future update/definitve edition of bg3. It still bothers me how they seem to think the only problem players have with karlach is that her ''ending was sad'', instead of acknowledging the actual gameplay and writing issues. It feels super dismissive and makes larian look like they think players are toddlers who just hate sad endings as a whole - and while im sure there are fans who just hate the sad ending, the feedback from players has pretty consistently been about her actual quest having plotholes, feeling rushed and not congealing well with the overall theme of the game. Hell, wasnt there a video from larian where they stressed the importance of player agency, allowing players to use clever problem solving and do whatever they want in the game? That doesnt really fit in with how karlach was written, does it.

Yea that's another sticking point if the game was gonna be fantasy and everyone gets a happy ending. Right up until my favorite character is railroaded to burning alive from the dnd equivalent to heartburn. It makes 0 sense in a dnd setting and 0 sense using the games own logic. It's clear her story was rushed and left underdeveloped by the team and now i can only hope we get additional content specifically that damn forge.

Maybe. He's pretty utilitarian on the whole and is often ok with things that aid a greater good. (In this case defeating the Brain.) It's just odd that he disapproves of betraying Shadowheart with -5 and is overall wary of the Shadow Weave in the Cloister but his dialogue, while somber and disillusioned in tone, does not reflect that. Then again, maybe he also just doesn't feel like moralising and replies with melancholia instead because he knows that blowing himself up might also be the safest choice to end the matter in the end.

Just here to keep this thread alive because karlach deserves her happy ending

#JusticeForKarlach

Okay so serious question to all of ya.
If we are really huffing the copium hopium that the recent new epilogues are a Spoiler for an DLC (and especially/hopefully an actual fix for Karlach) what would your prediction be on the release of it? Still somewhere in 2024?

And what about the Definitive Edition most people are hoping for (which would be the last chance for an Karlach fix if the DLC aint releasing/aint giving us an fix) would that be for some time in 2025 or rather in 2026 with some big changes to Act 3

Lemme hear some of the release date wishes and thoughts of y'all

DLC is quite unlikely. Definite (or the "Absolute") edition, however, is quite possible. Here's to hopin' it features a lot of new content!

There was an interview last week with karlachs writer on that idle championship channel. It's almost an hour long and I haven't watched it so idk if there's anything new.
Regarding dlc and the de I think it's pretty much guaranteed personally. Larian as a company doesnt have a history of doing dlc sure but they specifically said in interviews they aren't ruling it out which isn't much but it's big for larian. And I think it's also just aslikely we get a definite edition this year maybe closer to Christmas or december

I think there's a reasonable chance for DLC. I recall that before launch there was something said in an interview that implied DLC wasn't on the table, but in an interview post-release the rhetoric on that became more cague and leaning a little more towards maybe they would. I think it's a mix of two things; the first is that the game is such a financial success that doing a DLC becomes a really smart business move. The second is that the team seems to have enjoyed making this game, and they're only human, it makes perfect sense to me that they would feel emboldened to go back and work on more new stuff for it in the wake of this outpouring of positive feedback. People keep doing things they DIDN'T like because they got lots of praise for it. It's not crazy to methat they'd be convinced to keep working on a project they enjoyed because of the boost in moral the games reception gave them. In terms of timeline for such a DLC, I'd say late this year-early next year seems plausible.

Plausible DLCs like new companions are unlikely.

Maybe a DLC for extended current companions is likely.
New gear for sure.
Maybe an arena mode or scenario mode to replay your favorite encounters.

But anything like Descent into Avernus I would say is far more than couple years away if ever.
I would definitely love a mini DLC like help Karlach get the engine fix she needs... that could be possible, they did tease that...

But anything beyond that I very much doubt it...

So, in terms of a DLC, I would actually much rather they polish the game as it is. Because some major points in Act 3 are rough, to say the least. Minor Act 3 spoilers: And I don’t think that they will do a DLC, because I’m sure they understand that the game as is needs polish. Folks can say that it’s not either/or, and that’s technically true. But I doubt that the resources/energy exist to do both.

A fix to karlachs engine is all I'm hoping for but I'd like to get the dinner date with karlachs weapon Smith friend too. The only bad thing with larian is they aren't likely to reveal anything until it's almost out which is good and bad. I dont think we will see any new companions but expanding the current ones is most certainly probable

That's why I think polish will come in the form of dlc since it'll be a smart business move to bring in money to pay for further development. The game isn't perfect right now but itd say it's damn good as it is. Further development would likely be supplemented with major add on from dlc. Or maybe I'm wrong and it's all coming in some major de

I think its a clue that in the epilogue they are talking about an engine fix and Withers tells us that this isn't over.

Maybe a descent into Avernus is on the horizon, depending on your choices you are either avenging what happened to Karlach or saving her.
Along with that update they will polish the last act further and breath more life into it.

In the last game they made a funny new character companion, I see no reason for them to flesh out Minthara and maybe Halsin into having some more content that brings them to the same level as the others.
Honestly this last bit is more wishful thinking on my part than anything else.

I think there's a reasonable chance for DLC. I recall that before launch there was something said in an interview that implied DLC wasn't on the table, but in an interview post-release the rhetoric on that became more cague and leaning a little more towards maybe they would. I think it's a mix of two things; the first is that the game is such a financial success that doing a DLC becomes a really smart business move. The second is that the team seems to have enjoyed making this game, and they're only human, it makes perfect sense to me that they would feel emboldened to go back and work on more new stuff for it in the wake of this outpouring of positive feedback. People keep doing things they DIDN'T like because they got lots of praise for it. It's not crazy to methat they'd be convinced to keep working on a project they enjoyed because of the boost in moral the games reception gave them. In terms of timeline for such a DLC, I'd say late this year-early next year seems plausible.

I don't think they will release any dlc, but they'll re-release the game in some form of Definitive edition instead. The main focus will be on polishing and expanding unfinished Act3, but without changing the game mechanics, so no increasing the level cap and so on. I hope we will finally see the correct engine fix, maybe the witch sabbath mentioned by auntie Ethel, upper city and similar.

I mean I feel like not doing ANY paid DLC for the Game is such a weird thing. If it adds new story, maybe 1-2 new companions which you can have from the start of the DLC (ofc flesh out some other companions first, such as Karlachs companion quest or Minthara, shes also very barebones tbh) and people are willing to pay like 20+ bucks for that depending on the size of it.

Sure releasing a Definitive Edition (or Absolute Edition to make it "line up" with the Game lolol) is also and hopefully happening, with fixing Act 3 and making it feel less cramped or confusing, but why not both? Sure they got a HUGE financial push for their next game with the amount of sales, but releasing something for BG3 means they also get some neat profit again to make it safely through development.


But I'm also very afraid that we won't get an actual fix for Karlach even if they release a dlc / Definitive Edition, because iirc they said they wanted to give us something promising and hopeful with the epilogue to finish it off. Which they did tbh, that means they could just leave it open ended with Karlach and just not go any further with her, since her writer seems to be an absolute edgelord for whatever reason, he probably thinks that either letting her die, or sending her back to the place where she was enslaved for years and where she now has to fight basically non-stop to not be caught again, is peak writing and deserving for an award.

Returning mourner here to get his copium fix. Recently started replaying the game from scratch as I couldn't bring myself to finish it so far.

However, I've also been deep-diving Rogue Trader since before it launched. While it's comparable to BG3 in terms of its technical state, y'know what this absolutely grimdark game is better at doing? Giving and, with appropriate amounts of work and difficulty, fulfilling hope in a logical manner and within the limitations of the canon. In a universe where lives are worth pennies on the dollar, you can actually make things better for everyone while still being in keeping with the overall theme of "only war." Yes, there are repercussions, yes, it is difficult, but that only makes it all even more compelling and satisfying.

WARNING: somewhat major spoilers below even though I tried to keep them as vague as I can.


In my opinion, a to-the-core 40k story which not only allows, but bolsters humane choices while entirely respecting the canon's ethos only serves to raise further questions around BG3 and its confusing lack of choices around a lot of elements. I still want to give the benefit of the doubt and believe said lack is a result of rushing things to market, otherwise it's just bad writing... I would also like to believe that a Definitive Edition - Hel, maybe even DLC, although that feels like asking for the whole arm when needing but a finger at this point - is in the works, that they won't just leave it at that. This game deserves more respect than that.

Yeah, I tried to return to BG3, but I still can't bring myself to finish Act 2, knowing what will happen in the final one. It sucks, since I really like the game...

I know exactly what you mean... The first Act is the only piece of software to date which managed to overtake Fallout: New Vegas as my all-time favourite RPG. I felt like I lost all understanding of the world within the last.