Who is Karl?

[Madman]

Sometimes there are dialogues that mention this name. The game is not focused on the lore but I was curious

[JeanneOskoure]

It's me. I'm Karl.

[Chibbity]

"The very last time,
That I saw him alive,
The drop pod was leaving,
He was holding the line.

I shouted at him,
To come to the door,
But the bugs were a tide,
That filled up the floor.

The roar of his gun,
The roar of his cry;
"I'll hold them off brothers!
but this is good bye."

His eyes were set grim,
His beard wet with gore,
And then we took off,
I could see him no more.

Born on a space station,
Raised in the caves,
Rock and stone,
Was all that he craved."

-An excerpt from "The Ballad of Karl."

[Blargo]

Lorewise, he's meant to be a legendary dwarf that everyone looked up to as a sort of "Jesus figure". He is said to have been a previous miner employed by DRG some unknown time ago who was very friendly, uplifting, and extremely proficient in combat on the job. There are rumors that he could drink Blackout Stouts without passing out and take on endless swarms of bugs without breaking a sweat - pretty much nothing could take him down.

Then one day, he became the first dwarf who was left behind on a mission (don't remember if there are specifics as to why), which sparked the whole "leave no dwarf behind" mantra.
Some believe he is still alive in the planet somewhere, surviving off sheer will & grit.

In reality though, it's not known if Karl even was a real dwarf or is just a myth that has been passed down through time.
The darker side of the story is that Karl could even just be corporate propaganda manufactured by DRG to keep the dwarves' morale high.

[Max]

first dwarf died by leech

[Nova Solarius]

He's Karl. What more do you need? Go to the Memorial Hall, and the giant ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ golden statue in the middle is a portrait of Karl.

All jokes aside, Karl is a former coworker of the dwarves. Every time you kill an enemy down on Hoxxes IV, you are not only defending yourself, but also taking a small measure of revenge on them for taking Karl. Whether he's actually dead or yet lives, however, is ambiguous.

Whether you believe he's alive or not, it doesn't hurt to leave behind one or two supply pods when you return to Space Rig 17. Just in case.

[niceGuy]

Karl is the one who stalks the stalkers and oppresses the oppressors

[Ser Pounce]

Originally posted by Madman:

Sometimes there are dialogues that mention this name. The game is not focused on the lore but I was curious

https://deeprockgalactic.wiki.gg/wiki/Karl

Here is all the canon lore we know about it - which is almost nothing, really. A lot of the lore is just people's own headcannon and assumptions.

[FAR SIGHTED]

our species can't help but envision an ideal

[𝔇𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔪𝔞𝔫]

Karl max. Dig together get stoned together

[myxlmynx]

While we're at this topic, I have this (not well supported) hot take that Karl originated from a voiceline "Fu(k All" (which sounds like "For Karl") and then someone noticed "hey that sounds like 'For Karl'" and then the Karl meme kind of started.

This theory is at least very slightly supported by the fact that there are several more vulgar voicelines in the game which aren't active by default. So I guess originally the game was more vulgar, but they toned it down a bit. The "evolution" of "Fu(k All" to "For Karl" would fit into that.

I could probably check whether there's any reference that supports my theory at all in the available code/files, like audio file names, variable names or strings occurring within files. But maybe someone who knows the game internals better already knows whether that's likely true or not.

[Scuzz MB]

Originally posted by myxlmynx:

While we're at this topic, I have this (not well supported) hot take that Karl originated from a voiceline "Fu(k All" (which sounds like "For Karl") and then someone noticed "hey that sounds like 'For Karl'" and then the Karl meme kind of started.

This theory is at least very slightly supported by the fact that there are several more vulgar voicelines in the game which aren't active by default. So I guess originally the game was more vulgar, but they toned it down a bit. The "evolution" of "Fu(k All" to "For Karl" would fit into that.

I could probably check whether there's any reference that supports my theory at all in the available code/files, like audio file names, variable names or strings occurring within files. But maybe someone who knows the game internals better already knows whether that's likely true or not.

It's a tasty theory. But, I don't buy it at all. Ya there are couple of voice lines with 4 letter words, but I'm 99% there was never an "F" word voice line intended to be in the game. They've pared back voice lines because of complaints that were WAY less offensive than the F word.

Granted, I've only been playing the game for 5 years, and didn't play in the first or so of early access, but all the voice lines are clearly saying "Karl." And the earliest public version of the game is available to everyone through the steam panel or start up screen - anyone that plays that version can tell you instantly if there any voice lines that far back that even remotely sound like that rather than "For Karl."

I'm not 100% sure of it, it could be a valid theory - but I'd bet you anything on one of the dev's weekly live streams you could ask and if they decide to take the question at all, they'd probably be honest about it.

Even these days when cursing isn't the sin it once was, the F word is still generally one you seriously consider before using it. As George Carlin put it, it's one of those words "you save til the end of the argument."

[Chibbity]

The actual origin:

"In a Ghost Ship Games development vlog[4] put out shortly after Karl was first mentioned in the game, Mikkel and Robert, responsible for writing voicelines, stated that they decided to put the voiceline about Karl in the game to add some more depth to the dwarves' world (and more generally, just for fun[5]). They wanted it to feel like every enemy death was a bit of revenge for "Karl", who is purposely left faceless and with an unknown fate but is hinted at as both a former colleague and a good friend."

[DonStefan]

Originally posted by FAR SIGHTED:

our species can't help but envision an ideal

true

[Neutron]

One of the most lore-based games you will ever play

[Red Sabre]

It's cousin Okri