There are eight companion characters in Baldur’s Gate 3, which players can romance. Several NPCs have their own romance scenes, but players are unable to form relationships with them in the same way they can with their companions. While players will likely know that pursuing Mizora or Harleep will prompt certain reactions within the companions, romancing one main character can have dire consequences for another.

Characters will react accordingly if the player treats them poorly in a relationship; in some instances, they can even leave the party. However, players can seemingly do everything right, having secured the “good” endings for each of their companions, yet will still lose out on seeing one of them in the epilogue. Players will need to think carefully about certain choices if they don’t have to doom one of their party members.

Lae’zel Has One Of The Most Unique And Fulfilling Romances, But Leaving Faerûn With Her Will Cause Karlach To Die

Karlach Dies Without Player Interference

Despite her initial coldness towards the player, Lae’zel’s romance is surprisingly sweet, and according to Larian’s 1st anniversary statistics for Baldur’s Gate 3, 12.9% of players have experienced her Act 3 romance scene. This suggests that the majority of players have not reached the end of her romance story. Sadly, it seems like those planning to romance her could miss out on properly completing the story of another companion.

As shown in a video by Praetorian on Youtube, since Patch 6, all player characters can now join Lae’zel in her rebellion against Vlaakith regardless of whether they are a Githyanki or not. Githyanki avatars are also able to join her in “ascension” if they’ve taken the route where Lae’zel still has faith in Vlaakith. However, it seems as if this cutscene comes with a major downside for fans of Karlach. With no player to talk to, she is guaranteed to die whilst she burns up.

The most heart-wrenching thing about this is that players don’t have a choice in the matter. They could have told Karlach that they would be by her side when she dies and then have left her to burn up alone. Flying to the astral plane with Lae’zel is a perfect ending for a Githyanki character, but it will sacrifice one of the game’s most beloved companions.

Players Can’t Even Send Wyll With Karlach To Avernus, Meaning His Ending Is Also Limited

Wyll Can Also Only Join Karlach In Avernus With The Player’s Help

Unfortunately, it seems like Karlach isn’t the only character who can be negatively affected by the player leaving with Lae’zel, though certainly not on the same level. Usually, when Karlach begins to burn up during the Aftermath of the Netherbrain fight if Wyll’s storyline has been completed and he has become the blade of Avernus, then he will offer to go with her. However, without the player’s presence, then he won’t say anything at all, the cutscene will not trigger, and the player will not be able to let him take Karlach to Avernus.

If Wyll becomes a Duke, he cannot join Karlach in Avernus.

Him not speaking is out of character, and it feels wrong that Wyll and Karlach’s story arc can come to such a cruel and abrupt end after all their development. Although many are hesitant to send Karlach to Avernus, with Wyll and/or the player by her side, she feels a lot more optimistic about her situation. No matter who leaves with her, in the epilogue, she will note that she was able to find blueprints to possibly fix her engine. This is the happiest conclusion, yet the player won’t be able to witness it if they left beforehand.

Thankfully, Romancing Lae’zel Won’t Doom Karlach Indefinitely – But Players Have To Make The Right Choices

Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

If players want to keep Karlach alive, they’ll probably be relieved to know that they don’t have to completely avoid a romance with Lae’zel, but they’ll have to play their cards carefully. The most straightforward way is to just completely avoid leaving to the Astral Plane with Lae’zel. It’s not very satisfying to have a romance end with parting ways, especially to different planes of existence, so the best way to go about this is to convince Lae’zel to stay as an adventurer in Faerûn. In this ending, players are also able to properly raise Xan alongside Lae’zel.

Another way around this is to run a campaign with more than one player. The issue that causes Karlach to burn up is that there is no avatar present to witness her dying, but if one player decides to leave with Lae’zel, then another player is able to carry on the scene in their place and talk to Karlach. As is true in any run, the player can also stop Karlach’s engine from killing her if they decide to turn her into a mind flayer, but having her sacrifice her soul over her life seems like a much harsher fate.

Since Larian began encouraging modders to tweak the game to their liking, several people have also created various workarounds for this issue. However, it’s still sad that many people have been left to helplessly watch the cutscene of Karlach dying without being able to do anything about it. Karlach and Lae’zel are both great companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, and players are much better off keeping Karlach alive.