Baldur's Gate 3's party of horny fantasy weirdos are among gaming's most beloved casts of characters, which makes it all the sadder that some of them aren't able to enjoy a happy ending by the time the credits roll. Take Karlach for example, a tortured, but charming (not to mention jacked) Tiefling barbarian who quickly became a favored companion to many players.
Warning, there are spoilers ahead for Baldur's Gate 3 – proceed with caution.
Baldur's Gate 3 ultimately consigns Karlach to a pretty grisly fate, making her a fairly tragic character. Fortunately, a new bit of canonical D&D lore spotted by some fans seems to suggest Karlach does get her happy ending after all.
Twitter user Ren Masao Ankoku was seemingly perusing the timeline of another popular Baldur's Gate 3 character, Astarion, in the new Astarion's Book of Hungers D&D expansion when they found evidence that posits the events of two recent D&D books set in the Forgotten Realms, Heroes of Faerûn and Adventures in Faerûn, occur a few years after Baldur's Gate 3's conclusion. These books feature characters from the game, including, you guessed it, Karlach.
"Them progressing the year to 1501 and having Karlach in the city again implies she gets her engine fixed in canon," the Twitter user writes.
If you've played Baldur's Gate 3 and Karlach's quest to the very end, you know that adventuring in the Faerûn is the best possible ending Karlach could hope for, one which the game denies her. That's because early on, you learn that she has a mechanical heart – commonly referred to as an infernal engine – which is failing.
To make a long story short (after all, Baldur's Gate 3 can take players anywhere north of 70 hours to complete, and that's just sticking to the game's critical path), Karlach's personal quest involves looking for someone to possibly repair it, otherwise it will give out and she will die. Though you are able to upgrade the infernal engine a few times, enabling Karlach to live a better life outside of the Hells where she first receives it, you learn that she can't really survive outside of the unfortunately named realm.
By the game's end, she, like many others in the party, can sacrifice themselves for the greater good, or survive to a unique epilogue. Unfortunately, Karlach's endings either see her return to the Hells where she can survive (but not exactly thrive) or finally succumb to the infernal engine.
This new bit of lore, which is canonical, seems to confirm that despite the tragic outcomes suggested by Baldur's Gate 3's end, Karlach does find a way to survive outside of the Hells. Finally, justice for everyone's favorite Tiefling - even if it is in one of the best tabletop RPGs rather than on-screen.
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