You Can Save Karlach Without Becoming A Mind Flayer In Baldur's Gate 3

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It is no secret that 's companions are a massive contributor to its success. Thanks to how well they are written, their witty dialogue, and the charisma that the voice actors bring to the role, Larian has managed to produce one of the most beloved cast of characters in gaming, with Astarion earning Neil Newbon a deserving Game Award for Best Performance in 2023. Another popular member of the cast is the potty-mouthed tiefling, Karlach, who many have fallen in love with thanks to her fiery (pun intended) personality.

Karlach is a pillar of positivity and one of the few companions that is very openly good from a moral point of view. Ironically, she shares this trait with Wyll, who starts off as her enemy, but the pair can grow close if the player cultivates that relationship. In general, Karlach is one of the more tragic characters in the cast, and that's no mean feat considering that everyone is tragic to some degree. It seems that she is doomed to die, but there are ways to save her from her burning engine of a heart.

Karlach has an Infernal Engine in her chest that is slowly burning her to death as long as she isn't in Avernus, a section of Hell. Typically, players have solved this by either going with Karlach back to Avernus with Wyll, Tav, or both. She still has the Infernal Engine, but she won't die. Another way is to turn her into a Mind Flayer before the final fight, ridding her of the Engine but also her soul, and likely her personality later down the line. It isn't clear whether a Mind Flayer version of Karlach is really Karlach to begin with.

Wither's mentions that Mind Flayers don't have souls at the end of Act 2, after the party has defeated Ketheric.

Neither solution is ideal. One involves going to literal Hell while another requires that players turn their favorite, loudmouthed tiefling into an alien squid monster without a soul. Still, there is a third solution which rids Karlach of her Infernal Engine and allows her to stay as herself, or at least a