Summary
- Karlach is a charming and resolute warrior in Baldur's Gate 3, making her a suitable romantic partner for players who share her worldview.
- Gaining Karlach's approval is relatively easy, but her quest line requires sacrifices and major decisions to win her heart.
- Romancing Karlach can lead to a tantalizing slow burn romance, but players must be willing to navigate tensions with other companions and potentially face unpleasant consequences, such as a relationship with a mind flayer or a life in hell.
There are many opportunities for romance in romance options in Baldur's Gate 3, she's actively looking for love. As she travels with them, the player character can easily become the object of her desire if they play their cards right, but that comes with some unforeseen difficulties.
[Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for one possible ending of Baldur's Gate 3.]There are basically two prerequisites for any romance in Baldur's Gate 3: raising the character's approval through dialogue and situational choices, and progressing their quest line to the point that they're willing to set it aside to pursue a relationship. Gaining Karlach's approval is fairly easy, and the party has to go out of their way to upset her. However, her quest line requires a fair bit of sacrifice, and even more so if the player character intends to end up with her. First, though, here's everything that makes Karlach a suitable partner.
Pros Of Romancing Karlach In Baldur's Gate 3
Karlach is one of the most ineffably charming characters in Baldur's Gate 3. She's funny, kind, and a resolute warrior, which means she's certainly worth keeping in the party even on a purely Platonic level. Karlach strikes an interesting moral balance. She has a strong sense of justice, and values people who show comion, especially toward children and the downtrodden. However, she has a fiery temper, and she's not averse to using violence in sticky situations. In fact, she sometimes even relishes it. There are plenty of opportunities for all of that in Baldur's Gate 3, so if the player character has a similar worldview, Karlach makes an excellent match.
It's also relatively easy to bring Karlach's approval level to the point of infatuation, especially compared to, say, romancing Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3. Showing kindness, enacting justice, or defending her from those who would discriminate against tieflings will raise her estimation of the player character.
Per Karlach's backstory, she was previously enslaved in Avernus, but escaped with her life only to realize she took a souvenir along with her. Karlach's heart has been replaced by an Infernal Engine, and in a heavy-handed bit of metaphor, it's badly broken. This makes her skin so hot to the touch that she'll burn anyone who gets too close. As a result, she's never been able to pursue love before, and is interested in exploring her options. Therefore, the player character being open about their feelings can also endear her to them.
Karlach's condition may sound like a downside, but it actually makes for a tantalizing slow burn romance that can be immensely satisfying when it finally blossoms. However, not everyone approves of the player character dating a tiefling, and her quest line makes her ask some difficult concessions of the player character.
Cons of Romancing Karlach In Baldur's Gate 3
The first problem with romancing Karlach is that merely recruiting her creates a slight wrinkle in a fellow Baldur's Gate companion's quest. Wyll, the Blade of Frontiers and something of a monster-hunting hero, is actually sworn to kill Karlach. If they do decide to side with her in the quest "Find the Devil," that can create some initial tension in camp. However, the situation can be resolved peacefully by helping Karlach demonstrate that she's not the devil Wyll has been led to believe. Wyll's quest line can continue uninterrupted.
Recruiting Karlach also unlocks her very own quest, "The Hellion's Heart." This revolves around fixing Karlach's Infernal Engine. It requires the player character to make a series of correct choices, and ultimately some major sacrifices, in order to win Karlach's heart. First, they must peacefully resolve the tense situation between the druids of Emerald Grove and the tiefling refugees camped outside, ultimately leaving the blacksmith Dammon alive. The best way to do so is by traveling to the Goblin Camp and rescuing the druid Halsin, who'll help get rid of the goblins. With the threat removed, the tieflings, including Dammon, can travel safely onward and the druids can resume normalcy.
The party can find Dammon after Emerald Grove in Baldur's Gate 3 running a forge out of the Last Light Inn. He's an expert of Infernal engineering, and will offer to patch up Karlach's problem if the party is willing to bring him a piece of Infernal Iron. This is the first sacrifice required to romance Karlach: these are rare materials that can also be used to craft powerful weapons and armor. Once Dammon has performed his maintenance, Karlach will cool off long enough to touch someone, which will allow her and the player character to share a brief first kiss.
Dammon then requests another piece of Infernal Iron, which the player will have to sacrifice to Karlach again. This creates a more lasting fix, allowing Karlach and the player character to spend a night together if her approval rating is high enough. However, it's not totally permanent. Dammon will explain that life on Faerûn is too demanding of Karlach's ersatz heart, and that she'll eventually have to return to Avernus, the hellish underworld of Baldur's Gate 3, to survive.
Long-distance relationships aren't Karlach's thing, so if the player character wants to end up with her, they'll have to make the move to Avernus with her at the game's conclusion. A life in hell may not be the endgame they envisioned for themselves, but rarely are things so simple in love. However, there's another way to keep Karlach alive, but it's every bit as unpleasant.
Karlach May Turn Into A Mind Flayer At The End Of Baldur's Gate 3
Depending on the choices they make throughout the game, the party may have to take control of the Netherstones and destroy the Elder Brain as they hurtle towards the endgame. However, in order to do so, they'll need a mind flayer on their side. Unless they've recruited one or freed Orpheus in Baldur's Gate 3, that'll have to be the player character themselves or one of their party , and Karlach will volunteer. It'll keep her alive, but the end result isn't pretty. If they're okay with falling for a mind flayer, the player character can take this route, but there are better ways to resolve the game.
Love requires sacrifice, but it can be immensely rewarding in the end. Karlach's openness and broken heart make her one of the best romance options in the game, but serious concessions must be made in order to win her over. Those who are amenable to a lifetime in hell, a relationship with a mind flayer, or a messy breakup can go ahead and start flirting with Karlach. Those who aren't may want to let their eyes wander elsewhere in Baldur's Gate 3.
