Note that Karlach’s story spans the entire game, and has spoilers for all Acts of the game.
Contents
Act One
Meeting Karlach
Karlach struggles to control her infernal engine.
Karlach can be encountered as part of Wyll’s story or by speaking to Anders in the Toll House in the quest Hunt the Devil. She can also simply be stumbled upon on The Risen Road (X:111, Y:506). Karlach is below the bridge of the Toll Road, near the stream. Here, she appears to be struggling to control herself, her body engulfed in flames.
If Wyll or the Paladins were spoken to before Karlach, the party has a chance to question Karlach on her motives. She claims she is no devil, simply a victim of the Blood War who was involuntarily conscripted. The tadpole aids in proving her motives, showing Karlach desperate and afraid, hoping to escape to her home of Baldur’s Gate.
Choosing to believe Karlach has her join the party. She asks for help – her former master, the archdevil Zariel, sent a group of demons after her who are masquerading as Paladins of Tyr. They are holed up in the Toll House, recovering from wounds from their first confrontation with Karlach.
Karlach asks that she be brought along to confront them. If Karlach is brought along, Anders is shocked and afraid. He says the paladins won’t survive another assault and begs the party not to let her hurt them. An Insight check (DC 10) reveals there’s a squint in his eyes that indicates he’s lying.
Using Detect Thoughts also reveals Anders serves Zariel. If Anders is simply called out on his lie, he quickly drops the act and reveals his true allegiance with Zariel, attacking the party. Once the battle is over, Karlach goes into a frenzy, destroying things and setting fire to the Toll House. Karlach explains she has an Infernal Engine for a heart that lets her burn as hot as the Hells.
Unfortunately, it seems to be running in overdrive ever since she left Avernus. She says she needs to find a mechanic that can tune up her engine and that the paladins let slip that a tiefling infernal mechanic is in the area.
Finding an Infernal Mechanic
It’s possible to catch up with the infernal mechanic in three places:
- At the Druid Grove, in The Hollow.
- At the Last Light Inn, in the barn.
- In the Lower City, at the Forge of the Nine
Dammon inspects Karlach’s engine.
The mechanic in question is a tiefling named Dammon. When the city of Elturel fell to Avernus, Dammon was there and was put to work as a mechanic. Upon meeting Karlach, he instantly recognizes that her heart is from the hells. He believes that he can help her, but he needs to materials to do so. He has spotted several pieces of Infernal Iron on his travels and believes that it’s what’s needed to aid Karlach.
There are many places where Dammon can die. During the raid on the Grove in Raid the Grove, Dammon can become a casualty. Dammon can die during an attack on the Last Light Inn by Marcus and his minions. If Dammon makes it to Baldur’s Gate, he’s safe, so long as the party doesn’t randomly murder him. Additionally, Dammon can die if the Strange Ox is killed in Act One, as it’s implied to have saved him on the road.
Infernal Iron Locations
There are several different places to find Infernal Iron. Karlach’s heart only needs two in total to get the full set of upgrades from Dammon. Possible locations include:
- In the basement of the Blacksmith’s House in the Blighted Village – inside the same chest as the Highcliff’s Blueprints.
- In the locked room above Dror Ragzlin’s throne in the Shattered Sanctum.
- Received from Kith in Grymforge if all three checks are passed about the Ruins.
- Inside the Mason’s Guild in Reithwin Town in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
Upgrading Karlach’s Heart
In order to repair Karlach’s heart, return to Dammon with Karlach in the party. Karlach has to install the upgrades herself, so this only works if Karlach is present.
After the first upgrade, Karlach still feels hot, but not as bad as before. She feels more powerful than ever, but it’s not enough to solve the problem. Dammon commits to keep working and says that he’ll consider the possibility of enchanted coolant. He advises the party to keep an eye out for more Infernal Iron on the road for when they meet again.
Once the second upgrade is complete, Karlach is able to touch other people again without burning them up. She is immensely excited and can be hugged. The moment is highly significant for Karlach, who hasn’t touched another person in ten years.
If the first upgrade is done in The Grove, then Dammon says he needs to think further on how he can help Karlach. He won’t have a clear idea until after the party meets up with him again in the Last Light Inn. If the party initially encounters Dammon at the Last Light Inn, both upgrades can be received after a Long Rest. If Dammon was met in Baldur’s Gate, then both upgrades can be received at the Forge of the Nine after a Long Rest.
Act Two
Moonrise Towers
At the end of Act Two, Karlach finds a new enemy if she is brought to the Mind Flayer Colony. The party realizes that the Chosen Three are controlling an Elder Brain using three Netherstones and a Netherse crown. These individuals are Ketheric Thorm, Orin the Red, and Enver Gortash. Karlach is shocked to see Gortash there, and even more so that he is calling himself the ‘Lash of Bane.’
Later, Karlach explains that Gortash was the reason she was sent to the Hells. Karlach grew up in Baldur’s Gate, struggling to survive as a child. She had a rough childhood, brawling her way through the city. Gortash set his sights on her at a young age, and hired her on as a bodyguard. She initially trusted him deeply and was willing to put her life on the line to protect his.
However, he betrayed her and sold her into the service of Zariel. Zariel had wanted to test her new Infernal Engine and Gortash said Karlach could handle it. Now that she is aware he is at the heart of the Absolutist plot, she vows to put an end to his misdeeds.
Act Three
Confronting Gortash
After entering Wyrm’s Rock Fortress, Karlach finally has a chance to see Gortash in the flesh. Gortash takes control of a Steel Watcher and invites the party to his coronation. If Karlach is in the party, she prepares to confront him then and there.
- [PERSUASION] Careful, Karlach – the Steel Watch will destroy us in one swipe if we attack here.
- [PERSUASION] We might need Gortash alive to save the city. Let’s wait to strike until we’ve had the chance to question him.
- Wyll is right. We attack Gortash, Ravengard falls too.
- Lead the charge, Karlach – Gortash dies today.
If the last option is chosen, Karlach attempts to run up to Gortash, but is stopped by a Steel Watcher. She’s taken to Wyrm’s Rock Prison, where the party can later release her.
As part of Get Gortash’s Netherstone, the party must confront Gortash one way or the other. If the party chooses to kill him for the Netherstone, Karlach wishes to see his body if she’s not in the party. At the death of the man who sold her into servitude, she mourns both his apathy and the imminent loss of her own life and freedom.
Karlach’s Fate
During the confrontation of Confront the Brain, the party will fail to control the Elder Brain, as it has become a Netherbrain. The Emperor arrives and whisks the party to the safety of the Astral Plane and explains that only an Illithid could hope the defeat the Brain at this point.
If the party doesn’t trust the Emperor or sides with Orpheus, Karlach can volunteer to become a mind flayer. If this happens, Karlach remarks that her engine feels quiet and she is able to stay in the mortal plane.
If Karlach does not transform into a mind flayer, her engine finally overheats after the battle is over. If Wyll becomes the Blade of Avernus as part of his story quest, The Blade of Frontiers, then he offers to go with Karlach to Avernus to try and find a solution to her engine problem.
A character with a suitably high approval can offer to go with her, either alone or as a trio with Wyll. Otherwise, Karlach’s desire not to go back to the Hells can be honored, in which case her engine fully overheats and she explodes into flames.
Leaving the Party
There are some instances in which Karlach permanently leaves the party. During Act One, if the party chooses to side with the goblins as part of Raid the Grove, Karlach immediately leaves the party.
If the party raided the Grove without recruiting Karlach, then Karlach says she knows what they did. Enraged, she asks the party if it made them feel big to abuse the refugees. Then, she becomes hostile and attacks the party.
Conflict with Wyll
As part of his mission as a devil hunter, Wyll is pact-bound to kill Karlach. With the aid of the tadpole’s telepathic powers, however, Wyll can be shown that Karlach was a victim of the Blood War, rather than a perpetrator. As Wyll is further convinced, he realizes that he’s made a grave error and stands down.
In the conflict, rather than attempting to broker peace, the party can also pick a side with either Karlach or Wyll, causing the other side to become hostile. In that case, the hostile party member is lost, as they could not make amends.
If peace is brokered between Wyll and Karlach, the two become close. Several long rests after their fight, Mizora, Wyll’s patron, comes to punish him for failing to abide by their pact.
As punishment, Mizora transforms Wyll’s appearance, giving him massive horns and a more devilish appearance. After this, Karlach feels an immense guilt towards Wyll for having him sacrifice so much to keep her alive. Through this, they gain a strong bond of friendship.
Notes
- If Karlach is not recruited before moving on to the Shadow-Cursed Lands of Act Two, she dies and her body can be found.[Needs Verification]
- It’s implied that the Strange Ox protects Dammon on the road to the Shadow-Cursed Lands. If the Ox is killed in Act One, then Dammon does not survive the journey.
- Although the Steel Watch has unique interactions to Karlach’s infernal engine and the Gondians worked with infernal iron, there are no options to pursue more solutions for Karlach past the two upgrades with Dammon.
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