Who is Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3? Karlach is a powerful ally should you choose to recruit her. As an Asmodeus Tiefling, Karlach looks remarkably like a demon – and fights like one, too. Her Barbarian class is somewhat straightforward when compared to other classes in the game, yet with the right preparation and build, she can cleave an easy path through your enemies. She also rivals Gale as the companion with the best hair.
Confused as to what exactly a Tiefling is in Baldur’s Gate 3? Never fear – our races guide will help you understand this demon-esque race and its subclasses, as well as every other race in the game. Be sure to peruse our classes guide as well, to get an idea if her Barbarian skills will complement whichever build you’ve gone with for your player character. Once you’ve got that necessary reading under your belt, continue on to see what makes Karlach so formidable.
How to recruit Karlach
Karlach can be found along The Risen Road in the first chapter of the game. This will trigger a quest called Hunt the Devil, which sees you side with her or a shady Paladin named Anders.
If you side with her and protect her from Anders and his equally shady friends, killing them all, she can be recruited at a later time.
Karlach’s attributes, starting equipment, and skills
We weren’t lying when we said Karlach is a powerhouse. As she seeks revenge on those who sold her into slavery, she needs the stats to back up her anger. Karlach has an infernal engine in her chest, which has a secondary use of powering tanks in hell itself. We can therefore assume she may need to be fed with souls, or boost herself by doing so.
Here are Karlach’s stats:
- Strength: 17
- Dexterity: 13
- Constitution: 14
- Intelligence: 11
- Wisdom: 12
- Charisma: 8
Here is Karlach’s starting equipment:
Here are Karlach’s skills:
Her skills are currently unconfirmed.
How to complete Karlach’s companion quest
There is no information on Karlach’s companion quest or if the Hunt the Devil quest relates to it. However, at the end of the quest, she warns that the Archdevil Zariel will send more hunters after your party.
How to raise Karlach’s approval rating
As a Barbarian, it’s likely that showing your strength will improve your relationship with Karlach. Furthermore, she was previously enslaved, so freeing slaves will likely garner sympathy from her. At the moment, that is all we can speculate.
How Karlach gains inspiration
Inspiration points can be gained by both your own character and your companions based on your background. These points then can be used to reroll ability checks during key moments.
Karlach’s background is currently unknown. We expect her to have the Soldier background due to her time as a slave soldier.
Best Karlach build
It is unclear which subclass Karlach will subscribe to: Berserker, Wildheart, or Wild Magic. There is a chance Karlach has a different school not available in Early Access. Berserker does seem her style, dishing out high-damage attacks and using the frenzy of battle to her advantage. Barbarian Berserkers do not feature a lot of choice in the early game; as a result, their build is rather straightforward.
We recommend choosing Ability Improvement at level 4 to give Karlach +1 to strength and +1 to dexterity for higher modifiers. The alternative is to lean into Karlach’s ferocity by taking the Great Weapons Master feat, which buffs up damage by 10 at the cost of a penalty to attack rolls. This, however, can be toggled during combat, making it a versatile option.
At the moment, this is all of the information we have access to for Karlach the Tiefling. Much like the other companions, expect her to have an extensive backstory to explore, quests to complete, saucy romance scenes, and unique abilities pertaining just to her.
Karlach will use melee weapons more often than not, so reading through our collection of the best weapons in the game will help make sure she’s fully kitted for battle. If you’re wondering if you want to play the game as Karlach or your own character, check our overview of the comically gruesome – and unique – Dark Urge origin option.