Karlach: Difference between revisions

| role = [[Origin characters|Origin character]], [[Companions|companion]]

| race = [[Zariel tiefling]]

|va=[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1404374 Samantha Béart]|full name=Karlach Cliffgate|title=Fury of Avernus|size=Medium|type=Humanoid|initiative=+1|movement m=9|weight kg=90|level=1|hp=14|ac=13|str=17|dex=13|con=15|wis=12|int=8|prof bonus=+2|cha=10|str save prof=yes|con save prof=yes|resistances=fire resistance nm|passives=Darkvision, Hellish Resistance, Opportunity Attack|conditions=Infernal Fury}}

'''Karlach Cliffgate''' is an [[Origin]] character and a recruitable [[companion]] with the [[Outlander]] background. She is a [[Tiefling#Zariel tieflings|Zariel tiefling]] and a [[Barbarian]] first appearing during [[Act 1|Act One]].

Karlach starts as a Barbarian, with a focus on two-handed weapons. Upon reaching level 3, she will default to the [[Wildheart]] subclass, granting her access to a variety of animal-themed class features and actions.

Karlach will refuse to join the party if they have sided with the [[Goblins]] and laid waste to the [[Emerald Grove]] before meeting her, or provoked a fight between the inhabitants there. She will also abandon the party if they decide to side with goblins while having her recruited.

Despite her intimidating presence, Karlach has a soft and amiable face, with an easy smile on her lips. Her pointed ears stick out and her left horn curves backwards and out, while the right one seems to have been broken off some time ago. She keeps her hair, dark-brown with reddish accents, long and messy with some simple braids adorned by metal discs, falling on the right side of her neck, below the trimmed side of her head. Her eyes are dark yellow, with the distinctive tiefling slit pupils, and light moles and freckles mark her nose and upper cheeks.{{note|Throughout development Karlach had multiple design changes. In Early Access she only had a placeholder model created with the same assets as a custom character, with two horns and no scars and was a Fighter (with a datamined tag of a Paladin). Concept art shows different proposals for her face, initially planning to give her more scars and more aggressive features. She also had a few different starter armour designs with one repurposed to become [[Unwanted Masterwork Scalemail]]. Her other concept armour can be seen on her [https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/File:Karlach_CLB.jpg Magic: The Gathering Card].}}

Karlach is an extremely passionate individual who strives to live life to the fullest. She tends to speak excitedly regarding any of life's simple pleasures, whether that be food, drinks, friends, or intimacy. Her demeanor is generally joyous and very forward, having no fear of loudly proclaiming her love of being alive and how much she cares for those close to her. Her positive disposition and infectious energy seem to allow her to make friends easily, even if her honesty can cause her to come off as somewhat naive at times.{{note|Interactions with those who knew her prior to the events of the game's story imply that she has always been this exuberant, even as a poor child growing up in Baldur's Gate.}} Karlach is also very protective of her friends and companions, taking a genuine interest in them, especially with Wyll should he have been transformed into a devil after defending her.

Though oft friendly, Karlach is a very physical person and is not above getting into a brawl if provoked. She can be impulsive and easy to goad, and will lose sense and reason when confronting people she despises. Years in Avernus have made her lonely, compounded by the fact that her mechanical heart kept her from having physical contact with others, let alone intimacy. When talking about Gortash, beneath her outward rage, lies deep pain and a sense of betrayal, making her wary of trusting others as she once did. Despite their moral differences, she gets along well with {{CharLink|Astarion}} due to them both wanting to live their life outside the shadow of their abusers.  

After ten years in the Hells, the sudden appearance of a [[Nautiloid]] presented itself as a chance for escape, and Karlach made good on the opportunity. Cleaving the devils around her, she made her way towards the hurtling ship before running into Wyll, brought to Avernus to hunt her.{{note|It's never made clear when exactly Wyll arrives to Avernus or who really sent him. Though shortly before the events of the Prologue, Wyll couldn't have been hunting Karlach for long, as the time the nautiloid spent there before teleporting away is brief and Karlach's escape was an opportunistic decision. It's possible Zariel sent Wyll after Karlach via Mizora, but as Karlach herself says, she's largely inconsequential in Zariel's grand design. On the other hand, it's possible Mizora took the opportunity to remove Karlach as they both were in Zariel's inner circle and Mizora likely saw her as a rival.}} The two battled briefly, Wyll giving chase as Karlach desperately reached for the ship, until they made it to the nautiloid before being separated during the siege. Captured by the mind flayers as the ship escaped Avernus, Karlach was tadpoled just as all other uninvited guests, and awaited a slow transformation via [https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Ceremorphosis Ceremorphosis].

Should Dammon have survived the events of [[Act 1]], he will be found at [[Last Light Inn]] in the [[Shadow-Cursed Lands]], aiding the [[Harpers]] in their stand against [[Moonrise Towers]]. Karlach can speak to him, and he explains that after further tinkering, he can give her heart another upgrade if the party has some more infernal iron to spare. Dammon will tweak Karlach's heart for a second time, adding an insulation chamber to cool it to the point that she can touch others once more, something poignant for Karlach who hasn't been able to achieve physical contact with others for the last ten years. He also bears unfortunate news: her heart can't keep going outside the Hells. Too hot to exist in the material plane, the heart will burn her from the inside and consume her if she doesn't return to Avernus soon. Karlach dismisses the idea of ever returning to the Hells, content to celebrate her newfound ability to touch others for now.{{note|In the end, despite having access to Dammon, a surplus of infernal metal, Gortash's schematics and the help of the [[Church of Gond|Gondian]] and/or [[Clan Ironhand|Ironhand]] gnomes, there's currently no way of permanently fixing Karlach's mechanical heart.}}

Karlach has unique dialogue interactions as a companion available after certain events. Whenever one is available, she will have a floating [ ! ] icon above her.

* After finally killing {{CharLink|Enver Gortash}}, Karlach will be overwhelmed by emotion and rages at Gortash's complete apathy until the very end, and the imminent loss of her own life and freedom. Then, if as a companion, Karlach will tell that she loves the player character and feels thankful before leaving the party. <ref>[[Wyrm's Rock Fortress]], lines spoken by Karlach after she expressed her overwhelmed emotion.  

''"You can come and find me later if you want to. Thanks for listening, for existing...love you."''</ref>{{note|Players can trigger these lines without romancing with Karlach, and she will use familiar words in several other non-romancing occasions. This cannot prove romance relationship about her. }}

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== Notes ==

* Can be spoken to with {{SAI|Speak with Dead}}.

{{FRWiki|Karlach|long}}