Karlach: Difference between revisions

* Karlach can use [[Soul Coin|Soul Coins]] to power up her mechanical heart, giving her the passive [[Infernal Fury (Condition)|Infernal Fury]], granting her additional {{DamageText|1d4|Fire}} damage on her attacks when [[Rage|raging]] or when her [[hit points]] drop below 25%

** The first heart upgrade grants her {{SAI|Heart of Iron}}, giving her [[advantage]] on [[saving throws]] against [[Charmed (Condition Type)|Charming]] effects

Karlachs's personal quest is [[Our Fiery Friend]], spanning all acts of the game. Throughout it, Karlach's past will attempt to catch up to her as she is just beginning to enjoy her freedom.

One more sub-quest ties into her personal quest: [[The Hellion's Heart]]. In it, Karlach and the party must deal with her mechanical heart and the problems it causes her. Furthermore, [[Hunt the Devil]] will have her hunted by Zariel's agents, and [[Wyll|Wyll's]] companion quest, [[The Blade of Frontiers]], also features her as an important character.

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.

** If Wyll is brought along for the first meeting with Karlach, the two will confront each other. Wyll reveals that Karlach is the quarry he's been hunting for his patron, while Karlach claims to be a victim, not an agent of Zariel. Either of the parties can be sided with, though siding with Wyll results in battle with Karlach. The situation can also be defused by convincing Wyll that Karlach's words are true, as backed by the vision everyone shares during the dialogue thanks to their tadpoles.

Karlach disapproves of indiscriminate violence, being insensitive to the plights of others and dismissive of her own when she attempts to get closer. Dealing favourably with villains doesn't sit well with her, and siding with [[Enver Gortash|Gortash]], even if strategically sound, earns her disdain. Minimising her problems, especially that of her malfunctioning mechanical heart, is another sure way of earning her contempt.

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 the moral differences, she gets along well with [[Astarion]] due to them both wanting to live their life outside the shadow of their abusers.  

At some point, Karlach got hired by [[Enver Gortash]] to act as his bodyguard. Rising quickly through the criminal and political circles of the city, Gortash was beginning to paint a target on his back, and Karlach seemed like the ideal person to protect him. Lured initially by the money and a chance to support her parents financially,{{ref|name=gortash|Campsite, lines spoken by Karlach when talking to her after she's disclosed her relationship with Gortash.<br>''"One of my mates got wind of a bit of work guarding some indoorsy type with lots of enemies. Seemed like easy money, so I went in for it. (...) I kept him safe, and he paid me well. Well enough to move my folks to a better neighborhood and put something away for the future. ''My'' future."''}} Karlach eventually developed deep respect for Gortash, not only because he trusted her enough to put his life in her hands, but because he also made her feel valued.{{ref|name=gortash2|Campsite, lines spoken by Karlach when talking to her after she's disclosed her relationship with Gortash.<br>''"I respected him. Trusted him. And he returned that trust, that respect. His life was in my hands, and I took that seriously."''}}{{ref|name=gortash3|[[Wyrm's Rock Fortress]], lines spoken by Karlach when confronting Gortash after antagonizing him.<br>''"You make it sound like we were lovers. Or friends. But that wasn't it. I trusted you. I respected you. It was my job to protect you, and that's what I did."''}} The pair worked well together for a while, until Gortash made a deal with the [[Zariel|Archdevil Zariel]], and sold Karlach to her for a grand sum of money in order to fund his plans for domination of the city. Zariel's interest in the tiefling was to test her new infernal machine,{{ref|name=gortash4|Campsite, lines spoken by Karlach when talking to her after she's disclosed her relationship with Gortash.<br>''"Zariel laughed. Said she paid him well for my services. She'd wanted to test her new machine, and he said I'd be able to handle it."''}} and Gortash was confident Karlach could handle it, that she would serve as a great prototype for his dreamed [[Steel Watcher|infernal automatons]].{{ref|name=gortash5|[[Wyrm's Crossing]], dialogue exchange between a Steel Watcher and Karlach.<br>''Steel Watcher: "Your unit is a highly outdated model. The ra-gnax casement protecting your metallurgised-ised valves is burning well outside the recommended temperature. Please report to the Steel Watch Foundry for dismantling."<br>Player: "It thinks you're one of them, Karlach. Why?"<br>Karlach: "(...) If it turns out I'm the fucking prototype for these things, I'll dismantle every single one of them.''}}

After ten years in the Hells, the sudden appearance of a [[Nautiloid|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].

==== Act One ====

After the crash of the nautiloid, Karlach can be found at the [[The Risen Road]], near the Toll House occupied by [[Paladin|paladins]] of [[Tyr]]. If [[Wyll]] was recruited to the party, his quest, [[The Blade of Frontiers]], will add a map marker that pinpoints Karlach's location, otherwise the party will have a vague idea of where to find her. [[Anders]], leader of the paladins, reveals they are hunting a dangerous devil who has been hurting refugees, and that they must bring it to justice.

Karlach offers to join the party, and taking her to the paladins leads to a confrontation where Anders eventually drops the act and confirms Karlach's words as true: the paladins are servants of Zariel, and the archdevil wants her favorite attack dog back. After slaying them, a frenzied Karlach rages around the toll-house, setting it ablaze. When talking to her after she cools off, she confesses that she has an infernal engine for a heart that allows her to burn as hot as the Hells, though it's been running overdrive since leaving Avernus. She wants to find someone who has experience with infernal machines, and that she heard one of the paladins let slip that one is in the area. This begins [[The Hellion's Heart]].

This infernal mechanic turns out to be [[Dammon]], a tiefling from [[Elturel]] that learned his trade when the city was taken to Avernus by Zariel and was forced to work on infernal engines for her army. Dammon explains that in order to stabilize her heart, the party needs to find some [[Infernal Iron|infernal iron]] for him as it's the only material able to withstand the heat of the mechanical heart. When delivered, Dammon upgrades Karlach's heart, stabilizing it while still providing a boost to her abilities. He warns, however, that the solution is not perfect, and that he needs more time to research and prepare a more permanent repair. Should they cross paths again, he promises to have a solution by then.

When the party finally confronts [[Ketheric Thorm]], the battle eventually takes them down to the hidden [[Mind Flayer Colony]] beneath Moonrise. There, they spy Thorm consorting with [[Enver Gortash]] and [[Orin the Red]], with the latter two leaving for [[Baldur's Gate]] to continue with their plans. After dealing with Ketheric, Karlach confesses that she has history with Gortash, letting out that it was due to him that she was sent to the Hells and had her heart replaced with a mechanical heart. Hell-bent on revenge, Karlach urges the group to hurry to Baldur's Gate and chase after her previous employer.

After the initial confrontation with the Elder Brain, it is made clear that the only path to success is to harness the true power of the netherstones, which only an illithid can do. Though it's possible for the [[Emperor]] to do so, the player or [[Orpheus]] can sacrifice themselves and undergo ceremorphosis to become illithid instead. If Karlach is present during the discussion, she will volunteer, arguing that she is on borrowed time either way, and that this way her death would have meaning. If agreed, she transforms into a mind flayer and aids the party in the final battle against the Netherbrain.

After defeating the Netherbrain, Karlach's infernal engine will finally begin to overheat, signaling her end. With the setting sun on the background, Karlach thanks the player for being there with her, and mourns not being able to join them in the celebrations and further adventures. If her wishes not to return to Avernus are respected, they can stay with her until the engine finally combusts, leaving nothing but ashes where she once stood. At the [[epilogue]] party Withers reveals that her soul in the Fugue Plane burns so brightly, it pains gods to look upon it.

When Karlach's heart begins to enter its final stages after defeating the Netherbrain, players can attempt to convince Karlach to return to Avernus before it's too late. Though initially against it, she can be persuaded if the player offers to go with her, so that she may not be alone again. Likewise, if [[Wyll]] has completed his personal quest and became [[Wyll#The Blade of Avernus|the Blade of Avernus]], he too will offer to go Avernus with her.

During [[Withers|Withers']] gathering six months after the events of the game, Karlach mentions she and Wyll recently felled a high ranking [[Cambion|cambion]] who carried blueprints for what could be a possible solution to Karlach's mechanical heart. Though the forge they intend to raid is likely well-guarded by Zariel's forces, she has an old contact, a guard named Flo, that might be able to help them. Regardless, she expresses joy at being able to see her companions once more, happy to receive the opportunity of a night's rest without the danger of being ambushed by devils. She also comments how after spending months together in the Hells, she and Wyll have grown closer.{{ref|[[Epilogue]], lines spoken by Karlach during Withers' gathering when both she and Wyll ended up in Avernus by the end of the game.<br>''"Wish Wyll and I had more time to reminisce, but surviving Avernus is just non-stop. Still, having him there has been incredible. You really can get through anything with someone you love at your side."''}}{{note|Karlach's quote about Wyll isn't elaborated further, and can be interpreted as platonic or romantic love.}}

* After killing [[Anders]] and his group, Karlach will rage inside the Toll House. When she cools off, she'll tell the group about her mechanical heart and how she needs to find an infernal mechanic.

* After finally killing [[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.

* [[Wyll]]

* [[Lae'zel]]

* [[Mizora]]

* [[Nadira]]

* [[Raphael]]

* [[Lann Tarv]]

* [[Harper Elifer]]

* [[Jaheira]]

* [[Fytz the Firecracker]]