In Baldur’s Gate 3, you try to prevent the “Zeromorphosis” throughout the game, that is, from becoming a Mind Flayer. Only one character truly wants this, as it means their freedom: Karlach. A few lines of text, which probably hardly anyone ever sees, reveal this.
Spoiler Warning: This discusses a possible ending of Baldur’s Gate 3 and the story of Karlach.
Who is the Companion?
- Karlach is one of the ten companions in Baldur’s Gate 3. You can find her quite early, already in Act 1, where you can recruit (or kill) her.
- The Barbarian is one of the most popular companions due to her lively nature and is considered the top romance by many players. Here we explain how Karlach becomes your girlfriend.
- However, Karlach has a problem: Instead of a heart, she has a devilish machine installed that threatens to explode. This condition condemns her to death – with a few exceptions.
This is her “best” ending: At the beginning of the game, you get a larva implanted that gives you strange powers, but also turns you into a Mind Flayer. So you die, and a new brain eater is born. Actually, because the process is stopped, by a secret visitor.
In Act 3, you finally have the opportunity to actively choose to become a Mind Flayer. You then lose your character and your class, learn new abilities, and truly become someone else.
For most, this is an unpopular outcome, but someone must accept this fate: Either you, the NPC Orpheus , or someone from your group. And this is where Karlach comes into play.
Because of her condition, Karlach is not only destined for this ending, it actually makes her happy, as a player recently discovered on Reddit. If you play as Karlach and transform, she has an internal monologue:
I’m still the same, right? I’m still me…? Yes… and no. But somehow I think that was intentional. Maybe not the tentacles, but… something else. And my machine. It… is… silent. Still there, but no longer threatening to explode. No pain. No gears. A calm I haven’t felt in a decade – or ever.
This means I will live.
I will live.
I will…
I get to stay alive. I get to stay.
Fuck yes.
Stories like this are one of the reasons why Baldur’s Gate 3 is so incredibly well received:
“Once she becomes a Mind Flayer, the lights go out”
The user giga-plum explains on Reddit, however, that Mind Flayers retain the memories of their hosts after transformation. The person they once were, however, is still dead.
Outwardly, this makes no difference, but it means: The soul is gone, and that matters in Faerûn, where souls and gods are real. Karlach is then gone, and in her place is a Mind Flayer who thinks they’re Karlach.
This leads to an extensive discussion about souls and the afterlife. However, there are still a few details that suggest a genuinely “good” ending for Karlach.
Lazarus, or Withers
, says that he can still feel traces of the old Karlach in the Mind Flayer. More precisely, he believes that Mind Flayers actually do not have a soul. This particular creature, that is the Karlach-Flayer, does.
Other users argue that Mind Flayers do have souls, but they come from a different plane of existence. Therefore, the god of death could not recognize their souls as such. That Lazarus still feels something here makes Karlach something special.
With later patches, new endings for Karlach were added, but until then, this was the only “good” ending for the Barbarian. And according to some players, it is still the best ending, even with the soul discussion.
