Karlach

	Fury of Avernus
Karlach Cliffgate
	Stats
	Level 1
Race	Zariel Tiefling
Type	Humanoid
HP	14
AC	13
Movement Speed	9m / 30ft
Size	Medium
Weight	90kg / 180lbs
Proficiency Bonus	+2
Initiative	+1
	Passive features
	Hellish Resistance Darkvision Opportunity Attack
	Resistances
Character information
Class	Barbarian
Background	Outlander
Location	The Risen Road
Enemies	Zariel, Enver Gortash
Additional information
Voice actor	Samantha Béart
Models

Karlach Cliffgate is a tiefling with the barbarian class and Outlander background, who can either be selected as an Origin during character creation, or recruited as a Companion when playing a different character.

Avernus was never my home. It was my prison. I'm free now. And I'm never going back!
— Karlach, confronting servants of Zariel

In multiplayer, if Karlach is chosen as an Origin by one player, Wyll cannot be chosen by any other players, and vice versa.^{[note 1]}

Overview

Due to the Infernal Engine in her chest, Karlach is uniquely able to spend Soul Coins as consumable items. Doing so will grant her Infernal Fury until her next Long Rest.

Default starting skills:

Background

Once a soldier forced to fight in the fires of Avernus, now a woman on the brink of freedom. With a malfunctioning engine for a heart, Karlach is burning with desire to live. Will she be able to save herself, or will hell catch up with her sooner or later?

Description

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, drink, 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.^{[note 2]}

Quest

As Origin Karlach:
- Servant of None is the Personal Quest.
- Forging a Heart affects the state of her Infernal Engine.
As Companion Karlach:
- Our Fiery Friend is Karlach's primary Companion Quest.
- The Hellion's Heart affects the state of her Infernal Engine.

Approval

Karlach has a very strong sense of right and wrong. She enjoys attempting to help innocent people with their troubles and not expecting anything in return, something she finds in common with Wyll after their rocky first meeting. Her honesty can cause her to come off as somewhat naive at times. Karlach is very impulsive and easy to provoke, always ready to jump into a fight, especially if it means fighting someone attempting to talk their way out of answering for their crimes. She also gets along well with Astarion, despite their moral differences, due to both wanting to live their life outside the shadow of their abusers.

History

Karlach was a citizen of the Lower City of Baldur's Gate before being taken prisoner and forced to fight in the Blood War, the eternal conflict between demons and devils. She was a prisoner and champion of Zariel, Archdevil and ruler of Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. Taking a risky chance on escape, Karlach boarded a hostile Mind Flayer ship when it appeared in the sky of Avernus. Using it, she made her escape from the Hells but was infected with a Mind Flayer Tadpole in the process. Now hunted, Karlach is a fugitive on the run from Zariel's forces, who seeks to have her warrior returned to her, and punished.

Karlach's lust for life hides the trauma of betrayal and fear of a life cut short. After becoming a trusted confident (or so she believed) of Enver Gortash, the Banite sold Karlach out to Zariel as a lab rat to test her new invention, The Hellion's Heart. This forced her to live a life of conflict in the Nine Hells, as well as die relatively soon should she ever leave. Tyrants like Gortash and Zariel are some of the only things that can make Karlach act genuinely bitter and hateful due to how they stole away her chance at a normal life. Attempting to stop (or at least delay) the destruction of the infernal engine is the driving force of Karlach's personal mission, hoping to live in the world she loves for at least a while longer.

List of interactions

While either played as an Origin, or in the party as a companion, Karlach has unique interactions in conversations with the following characters listed here. (List may not yet be complete)

Spoiler warning! This section reveals details about the story of Baldur's Gate 3.

Characters are grouped by the Act they are first encounterable in.

Act One:

Act Two:

Act Three:

Achievements

Hot Date
Go on a date with Karlach - now that's playing with fire.

Gallery

Karlach's first appearance in early access
Karlach in Early Access Patch 9
Karlach in Early Access
Concept art with Karlach wearing a different starter armour (Unwanted Masterwork Scalemail)
Concept art with another starter armour
Datamined Karlach restored by mods
Datamined Karlach restored by mods
Armour Concept Art by Jane Katsubo
Armour Concept Art by Jane Katsubo
Armour Concept Art by Jane Katsubo
Promotional Wallpaper

Notes

Can be spoken to with Speak with Dead.
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. She had 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 Magic the Gathering Card.

Footnotes

↑ Karlach was originally voiced by Shala Nyx in Early Access.
↑ 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 the outskirts of Baldur's Gate.

External links

Karlach on the Forgotten Realms Wiki

Karlach's free D&D Character sheet pdf on D&D Beyond

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[1] Karlach was originally voiced by Shala Nyx in Early Access.

[2] 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 the outskirts of Baldur's Gate.

[note 1]

[note 2]