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- Karlach's location
- Can you romance Karlach?
- Karlach or Wyll choice
Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the best companions you can find, a tiefling Barbarian with a heavy metal backstory, hunted by Wyll and the Paladins of Tyr. There are several outcomes to this Baldur's Gate 3 questline, but obviously you need to make a few specific choices if you want Karlach Demonsbane as a party member in. With that in mind, we'll cover Karlach's location in BG3, how you can get her as a companion, and if she's looking for romance!
Karlach's location in Baldur's Gate 3
We've got Karlach's location laid out for you on the map above. Karlach is simply sitting on a rock at the end of the path known as the Risen Road, while Anders and his warriors are in the abandoned Tollhouse in the ruined town North of her.
To find Karlach and Anders, the only real option we know of at the time of writing is to get into the Blighted Village and head North, then East. Keep in mind that the village is occupied by Goblins (though some dialogue checks will convince them to let you through), but the path leading East above the village is occupied by monstrous Gnolls - and there's no dialogue check that'll convince them that they want to do anything other than eat your gizzards.
Can you romance Karlach?
Don't worry, all you romantic sorts - by all accounts Karlach will be one of the many Baldur's Gate 3 romances in the final release of the game, though in early access that's currently not an option. All party members have romance options and dialogue to form relationships with them, and right now there's no indication that Karlach is going to be an exception to that rule, especially when it's already confirmed that the Baldur's Gate 3 Halsin companion will be a literal bear you can seduce.
Karlach or Wyll choice in Baldur's Gate 3 explained
In the early access version of Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach was only being hunted by the Paladin Anders and his team, but now in the full release Karlach is also being pursued by Wyll, fellow party member and the Blade of Frontiers. You'll have the choice about whether to hear her out or help one of the factions pursuing her, so we'll cover the major details below. Obviously there are spoilers for the Hunt the Devil quest, so keep in mind when reading on.
- Karlach is not a true devil, but simply a skilled Tiefling warrior who was enslaved and forced to fight in the Blood War for the Archdevil Zariel, and escaped by sneaking onto the Nautiloid that captured you when it accidentally flew through Avernus.
- Anders is a sworn knight - not of the god Tyr as he claims, but for Archdevil Zariel. He was a paladin of Tyr, but no longer. He claims he wants to do good and save others, but when Tyr's gifts let him down once too often and his family was killed, he sided with Zariel for greater power, hoping to use hellish magic to help people.
- However, as part of the deal Anders owes Zariel his soul - but now she's willing to let that part of things go if he brings her Karlach's soul instead. Anders is happy to view Karlach as a villainous devil if it means his own survival.
- Wyll is also hunting Karlach, but thinks she's a true devil. As part of his warlock pact, Wyll has been sent to hunt her down - but his patron knows that Wyll would probably refuse to cooperate if he knew she was a normal person, so she's obfuscated that fact.
With all that said, we definitely suggest that you choose to side with Karlach, to kill Anders and his team. Aside from the fact that Karlach is basically an innocent trying to escape a horrible existence as a slave warrior trapped in literal Hell, Anders' willingness to throw others in the fire to save himself suggests he's not as much of a tragic hero as he claims. You also want to make sure that Wyll hears Karlach out, as once he realises that she's not a real devil but just a normal person, he's horrified at the idea of hurting her and the pair of them quickly become friends.
Helping Karlach ensures you get her to join the team as a companion, and she's a good one, a worthy tank and melee fighter on the battlefield. By killing Anders, you also get his sword - a powerful weapon for those who can handle a greatsword.
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Joel Franey
Guides Writer
Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.
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