Karlach and her endings...

[Nox]

I suppose I just wanted to say my piece.

Hands down, Karlach is my favorite companion, she's just booming with positive energy which made me decide I'll focus on her for quests romance etc.

Starting on Act 2 and finding out that Karlach's engine will blow and seeing her questline done right at the start of act 2 worried me but I was thinking it's weird to have an ORIGIN companion questline end so soon.

So I couldnt give it a rest and had to look up if it aint bug or something and...holy ♥♥♥♥, what are those endings? Back to slavery, die, or become a mindflayer

Why did Larian just go in and thought that giving us the false hope for cure, for majority of the game, only to kick you in the balls in the end is a good idea?

I'll be honest, I take it hard when one of my fav characters dies or simply has a tragic ending and as much as I love Karlach, I just know it would probably completely ruin me, and I am on the edge of starting a new playthrough simply because of that. To play tens of hours of a single playthrough, looking for a way only to find that in a game where you have so many choices, so many playthroughs and just a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of content, you simply cant save her and all of the trying was for nothing.

Gale has a magical nuke for a heart that can be cured, why cant we cure Karlach?

I am just not fond of this bait and switch with her where you still are still falsely fed hope through dialogues only for it to have no meaning.

Well,I just wanted to get this off my chest, I just hope they will improve her somehow...which I would absolutely love to see happen, but I doubt it, which makes me even more irritated and honestly even more sad.

[PocketYoda]

Luckily i romanced Shadowheart, i did get some nookie from Karlach on the side but both seem into that.

[Nox]

Originally posted by Lani:

To me her story is one of the more uplifting ones.
When Dammon warns her what her options likely are in act 2 and at their first contact in act 3 his dialogue really drives home there's no hope for a 'good' ending.
She opts to enjoy what life is allotted her and make the best of it and not let it drag her down.
To me that's inspiring!
Mileage may vary, I'm sorry it doesn't work that way for you.

She may appear 'happy go lucky' as a companion, but when you play as her it becomes more obvious that she chooses the good in every situation and not dwell on the things she can't change. It's a conscious choice akin to stoicism.

I guess you're right, that's why I'm gonna go to Avernus with her. Ain't no way I'm letting her go back on her own to that place, a no brainer decision for me. As much as I would love to have an ending where we explore the world together and eventually settle down, we could take the trip to Avernus as our next adventure I suppose. Go into hiding, look for a cure for her infernal heart and then gtfo.

I really hope they'll expand her story somehow, it just feels odd to have an origin companion story - esentially one you can play as, end so early into act 2.

[Snake_In_The_Eye]

Originally posted by Shibendo Smilando:

Originally posted by Lani:

To me her story is one of the more uplifting ones.
When Dammon warns her what her options likely are in act 2 and at their first contact in act 3 his dialogue really drives home there's no hope for a 'good' ending.
She opts to enjoy what life is allotted her and make the best of it and not let it drag her down.
To me that's inspiring!
Mileage may vary, I'm sorry it doesn't work that way for you.

She may appear 'happy go lucky' as a companion, but when you play as her it becomes more obvious that she chooses the good in every situation and not dwell on the things she can't change. It's a conscious choice akin to stoicism.

I guess you're right, that's why I'm gonna go to Avernus with her. Ain't no way I'm letting her go back on her own to that place, a no brainer decision for me. As much as I would love to have an ending where we explore the world together and eventually settle down, we could take the trip to Avernus as our next adventure I suppose. Go into hiding, look for a cure for her infernal heart and then gtfo.

I really hope they'll expand her story somehow, it just feels odd to have an origin companion story - esentially one you can play as, end so early into act 2.

No idea what you mean, in my playthrough she sacrificed to kill the Elder brain and became a gyth hero whose song lasted through the ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IGs26eCoyo

[Nox]

Originally posted by Snake_In_The_Eye:

Originally posted by Shibendo Smilando:

I guess you're right, that's why I'm gonna go to Avernus with her. Ain't no way I'm letting her go back on her own to that place, a no brainer decision for me. As much as I would love to have an ending where we explore the world together and eventually settle down, we could take the trip to Avernus as our next adventure I suppose. Go into hiding, look for a cure for her infernal heart and then gtfo.

I really hope they'll expand her story somehow, it just feels odd to have an origin companion story - esentially one you can play as, end so early into act 2.

No idea what you mean, in my playthrough she sacrificed to kill the Elder brain and became a gyth hero whose song lasted through the ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IGs26eCoyo

I guess that's nice but what I was trying to say.

In a game like this with incredible freedom of choice, where you can have an incredible impact on your, companions and other NPCs stories, it just feels lazy to have an awesome companion's endings boil down to - die, go back to hell, or die for better cause.

It just feels like you were robbed, everything you done was esentially useless.

For sure give us bad endings for companions, but why can't you give us a happy endings as well? Reward the players for their time and their commitment to save who they want, don't kick them in balls after stringing them along for false hope.

I would understand if this game was linear, but this game is not. It's an extremely large and choice dependant game (and universe). Wish spells are a thing. True ressurection as well. And we are trying to save the whole ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ world. Don't tell me that we can decide if we totally ruin or save the whole world but our say on if we want to help Karlach or not is completely neglected, and ends the same way whatever you do.

[Aron Dalentor]

Originally posted by Shibendo Smilando:

Originally posted by Snake_In_The_Eye:

No idea what you mean, in my playthrough she sacrificed to kill the Elder brain and became a gyth hero whose song lasted through the ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IGs26eCoyo

I guess that's nice but what I was trying to say.

In a game like this with incredible freedom of choice, where you can have an incredible impact on your, companions and other NPCs stories, it just feels lazy to have an awesome companion's endings boil down to - die, go back to hell, or die for better cause.

It just feels like you were robbed, everything you done was esentially useless.

For sure give us bad endings for companions, but why can't you give us a happy endings as well? Reward the players for their time and their commitment to save who they want, don't kick them in balls after stringing them along for false hope.

I would understand if this game was linear, but this game is not. It's an extremely large and choice dependant game (and universe). Wish spells are a thing. True ressurection as well. And we are trying to save the whole ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ world. Don't tell me that we can decide if we totally ruin or save the whole world but our say on if we want to help Karlach or not is completely neglected, and ends the same way whatever you do.

there are also a number of elemental planes where her engine can exist safely, not only avernus
also there are divine interventions, kinder gods meddle with mortals for less, surely they can spare a heart for a saviour of the baldurs gate? communicating with them is also not something out of this world
guys from adamantite forge also could work something out

etc. etc.

at this point within this setting its just a stupid forced tragedy

i live with something like that, not from a first perspective, but my wife is sick (not terminally but chronically) and cant experience life to the fullest and suffers from pain from time to time, and i can do nothing significant to cure her

believe me none deserves to be dragged through such experience involuntarily, it can be shown as a perspective in a linear media, people do not play fantasy rpg to be robbed of power to change the crappines of life, that is no fun nor situation worth experiencing, that is literal mental torment i tell you and has no place in such games

it also hits too close to home in my particular case, and i dont even have it that rough like some folks who a forced to watch their loved ones inevitably perish before their eyes

[mutantbeth]

she says shed rather die prematurely happy and free over living as a slave again soo I guess technically that is her good ending. Shes not afraid of death. It is stupid though that her endings change depending if you play her or not it should all be available to both

[Schutzengel]

Thanks for the infos that there is no happy ending fpr Karlach. I wanted to play as her, but I really hate if the female MC must sacrifice herself. Ive had this in many Final Fantasy games, robbing me of any intent to finish the game after I know what awaits me.

Why cant god X intervene and replace that engine with a heart? Worked one way, should work the opposite way. Also, heart transplantations are a thing in our world too without any use of magic.

A good character should have a good ending. IMO, Karlach should get some post-launch treatment to work in a way as in one of my favourite movies, "Return to Me" ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_Me

[Overeagerdragon]

Originally posted by Aron Dalentor:

Originally posted by Shibendo Smilando:

I guess that's nice but what I was trying to say.

In a game like this with incredible freedom of choice, where you can have an incredible impact on your, companions and other NPCs stories, it just feels lazy to have an awesome companion's endings boil down to - die, go back to hell, or die for better cause.

It just feels like you were robbed, everything you done was esentially useless.

For sure give us bad endings for companions, but why can't you give us a happy endings as well? Reward the players for their time and their commitment to save who they want, don't kick them in balls after stringing them along for false hope.

I would understand if this game was linear, but this game is not. It's an extremely large and choice dependant game (and universe). Wish spells are a thing. True ressurection as well. And we are trying to save the whole ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ world. Don't tell me that we can decide if we totally ruin or save the whole world but our say on if we want to help Karlach or not is completely neglected, and ends the same way whatever you do.

there are also a number of elemental planes where her engine can exist safely, not only avernus
also there are divine interventions, kinder gods meddle with mortals for less, surely they can spare a heart for a saviour of the baldurs gate? communicating with them is also not something out of this world
guys from adamantite forge also could work something out

etc. etc.

at this point within this setting its just a stupid forced tragedy

i live with something like that, not from a first perspective, but my wife is sick (not terminally but chronically) and cant experience life to the fullest and suffers from pain from time to time, and i can do nothing significant to cure her

believe me none deserves to be dragged through such experience involuntarily, it can be shown as a perspective in a linear media, people do not play fantasy rpg to be robbed of power to change the crappines of life, that is no fun nor situation worth experiencing, that is literal mental torment i tell you and has no place in such games

it also hits too close to home in my particular case, and i dont even have it that rough like some folks who a forced to watch their loved ones inevitably perish before their eyes

ehrm... speak for yourself; I'm perfectly fine with the chance for a happy ending be robbed from me (I played Cp2077 too and plenty of other Cyberpunk games). That's life and it adds a modicum of realism to my fantasy games... sure no1 deserves it; nobody would voluntarily choose to do so... but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen... think that guy in the pod where you get the rune to free Shadowheart choose this life for him/herself?

[Aron Dalentor]

Originally posted by Overeagerdragon:

ehrm... speak for yourself; I'm perfectly fine with the chance for a happy ending be robbed from me (I played Cp2077 too and plenty of other Cyberpunk games). That's life and it adds a modicum of realism to my fantasy games... sure no1 deserves it; nobody would voluntarily choose to do so... but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen... think that guy in the pod where you get the rune to free Shadowheart choose this life for him/herself?

that is not life, that is a video game
if it wants to set its theme about harshness of real life than be it, but market it as such so people who are not interested could avoid spending money, time and emotional investment on such titles
but this game was marketed as funny power fantasy rpg about sleeping with your companions, talking with animals and rolling dice for fat crits and hilarious situations
shifting all that aside, churning out a serious grimace and telling "life sucks, man" at the very end of the story is complete subversion of expectations and in no way enriches the plot line

all it does i making me waste my time on this thread in attempts to put down the fire in my ass and then go replay wotr or something more satisfying

were you fine with mass effect 3 endings by the way?

[Nox]

Originally posted by Aron Dalentor:

Originally posted by Overeagerdragon:

ehrm... speak for yourself; I'm perfectly fine with the chance for a happy ending be robbed from me (I played Cp2077 too and plenty of other Cyberpunk games). That's life and it adds a modicum of realism to my fantasy games... sure no1 deserves it; nobody would voluntarily choose to do so... but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen... think that guy in the pod where you get the rune to free Shadowheart choose this life for him/herself?

that is not life, that is a video game
if it wants to set its theme about harshness of real life than be it, but market it as such so people who are not interested could avoid spending money, time and emotional investment on such titles
but this game was marketed as funny power fantasy rpg about sleeping with your companions, talking with animals and rolling dice for fat crits and hilarious situations
shifting all that aside, churning out a serious grimace and telling "life sucks, man" at the very end of the story is complete subversion of expectations and in no way enriches the plot line

all it does i making me waste my time on this thread in attempts to put down the fire in my ass and then go replay wotr or something more satisfying

were you fine with mass effect 3 endings by the way?

The thing is, cyberpunk had honestly more hopeful endings than Karlach did.

You have the space casino heist where this mysterious guy says that the reward is something extremely extraordinary - possibly a cure for V?

You leave with Aldecaldos, Panam herself mentions she knows some ppl that may help - so you leave with a ring of family / friends / lover still with a spark of hope for a cure.

Karlach doesn't get that.

She either dies.

Or goes back to hell with you, and there is no further clarification what happens. It apparently just ends there with no info whatsoever, you don't know if you are looking / found a cure. If both of you were caught by Zariel, nothing is known, which I suppose is good for headcanon but still.

And again, cyberpunk is cyberpunk.

DnD and BG3 is a universe with ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ level spells, divine interventions and other stuff like us saving a world while being protected from a god-like entity influence (the Absolute) from the start. Karlach's fate just feels forced and unreal.

If you really save the world and one of the most notorius cities in Faerun, shouldn't gods show some gratitude or whatever? Can't gods grant wish or anything?

[wolfsmile1966]

i expected great things outta karlach....uh no...goodriddance i say

[xposethedarkside]

Wait so you can save her?? I will not send her back to Avernus, she said she would rather die than return. And I would rather die than have to kill her myself.

[sonofthunder73]

Karlach really wanted to give me a happy ending

[Nox]

Originally posted by xposethedarkside:

Wait so you can save her?? I will not send her back to Avernus, she said she would rather die than return. And I would rather die than have to kill her myself.

I don't think there is a way to cure her. Developers themselves confirmed it apparently. I only heard that you can let her turn into a mind flayer ...she apparently stays the same but still.

There is as of now no way to keep Karlach's heart from exploding while keeping her the way she is a staying with her in Faerun...which sucks big time.