Karlach is one of the few companion characters you can find while playing Baldur’s Gate 3. Shortly after meeting her, you’ll discover that an infernal engine has gone into her chest, replacing her heart. It’s a device that can only function in Avernus, and she’s trying her best to repair it throughout your campaign. However, she has few options available, and it looks like the deck is stacked against her.
As you conclude your campaign, Karlach does not have too many options available to her to save her life. Can you stop Karlach from dying in Baldur’s Gate 3, and can Karlach be saved from Avernus?
Can You Help Karlach’s Infernal Engine in Baldur’s Gate 3?
We can confirm that beyond controlling the infernal engine during Acts 1 and 2 with Karlach, there’s no other way to bring it under control. My Baldur’s Gate 3 group could not find a way to preserve Karlach and ensure she would live while she still had the Infernal Engine in her chest. From what I can tell, there’s no way to find a solution to this issue, and Karlach will face the tragic reality that when the Tadpoles are gone, she will die, especially because she refuses to return to Avernus.
When you reach the end of your Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign, Karlach will be on the ground, surrounded in flames. Her infernal engine will be overheating, and she’d rather die in this world than ever return to Avernus to be surrounded by devils, taking orders from them the way she had been for the past 10 years before you met her.
The driving point for Karlach throughout Baldur’s Gate 3’s campaign is to fix her infernal engine. Again, you can get close to finding a solution around Act 2, but Dammon, the one who has been working on Karlarch’s engine and trying to get it under control, warns her the fix is not permanent. When she loses the tadpole, she’ll be forced to return to hell or die if she does not return.
However, this is one alternative and a way to save Karlach from this fate. You can prevent Karlach from returning to Avernus and not dying by having her become a Mind Flayer.
Making Karlach a Mind Flayer in Baldur’s Gate 3?
When you reach the end of the Baldur’s Gate 3 storyline, you will have to side with the Emperor or with Orpheus. Regardless of your choice, there is an opportunity for Karlach to assume the role of becoming an Illithid, and she’ll transform into a Mind Flayer. At the end of the game, you’ll learn that you need at least one Mind Flayer on your side to control the Netherstones and take control of the Elder Brain to destroy it.
When Karlach makes this decision, she will lose her infernal engine. She gains all the powers of a Mind Flayer but retains many other powers and class skills you gave her throughout your Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign. Although Karlach will be different, she won’t have to return to Avernus and can remain in this world with your character.
My main character felt this was one of the better decisions because he wanted to remain with Karlach and not lose her. The two characters still share a bond, despite Karlach’s change, and although she is slightly different and calmer, as a Mind Flayer, the two can still build a relationship and future together.
What Happens If You Don’t Make Karlach a Mind Flayer in Baldur’s Gate 3?
When you reach the end of the campaign, and you decide for your character, Orpheus, or for the Emperor to destroy the Elder Brain, Karlach still has to deal with her fate. Her infernal engine will start to go into overdrive, and she has precious seconds before she dies or she’s forced to return to Avernus.
With the additional, epilogue ending created by Larian, there is a chance for you to see what happens when Karlarch ends Avernus. You also have the chance for your Baldur’s Gate 3 character to join her in hell to protect her, or for Wyll to join her by completing this side quest, The Blade of Frontiers. These are choices to give her a fighting chance, rather than sending her back to Avernus alone. She won’t want to go, otherwise, and would prefer to die in Faerun.
This is a way for Karlach to live in your Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign. Karlach won’t be a Mind Flayer, but your character will remain in Avernus with Karlach, or Wyll become her protector. It’s the best outcome, but it is a way to prevent her from burning her up during the final cutscene.
