Should you side with Karlach or Anders in Baldur’s Gate 3?

If you have decided to have Wyll join your party as a companion or have simply been exploring the map in Baldur’s Gate 3, you might have stumbled across a bloody area that is said to be the home of a devil. Wyll proclaims that the area is being ravaged by Karlach, a Zariel devil who needs to be stopped at all costs. A local Paladin of Tyr, named Anders, will also state that Karlach has been tormenting their village in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Should you side with someone that is being called evil?

Depending on how you go about the situation, you could find yourself in a position to believe what Anders is saying or what Karlach says after you find and speak to her. For players that find themselves in this predicament and can’t make heads or tails of it, allow me to illuminate the subject for you.

As you might expect, there will be spoilers for Wyll and Karlach’s questlines below.

Siding with Karlach or Anders in Baldur’s Gate 3

First and foremost, let’s get this out of the way: Karlach is not a devil like everyone is saying she is. She’s a tiefling with one horn chopped off and was forced to do the bidding of Zariel during the Blood War. She was trapped on the nautiloid ship, the same as you, and has a mind-flayer parasite in her head. When you speak to her and she says all of this, it’s the truth. If you have Wyll in your party, he won’t believe any of this.

Here is how the story will play out depending on what you choose to do:

• Siding with Karlach forces you to confront and kill Anders. You can choose to do this with Karlach in your party or send her to your camp and finish the job yourself
• Siding with Anders will force you to kill Karlach, thus ending any chance you had of adding her to your party

It is my whole-hearted recommendation that you side with Karlach over Anders in Baldur’s Gate 3. Reason number one is she is a misunderstood tiefling who has had it extremely difficult in life thus far. Reason number two is that Anders is an agent of Zariel who pledged his soul to the devil. He once was a true Paladin of Tyr, but Tyr’s gift kept letting him down and he eventually switched sides. Anders owes his soul to Zariel, but that debt is forgiven if he brings the devil Karlach’s head.

When you go back to Anders to say you’ve sided with Karlach, he will attack you on sight. There are some dialogue options that call him out for being tied to Zariel as well. Killing Anders rewards you with his greatsword along with some other valuable items. If you return to him after killing Karlach, you will receive his sword as he promised.

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Upon deciding to save Karlach, Wyll will soon realize that he was led astray and that the tiefling is not a true devil after all. This can happen the next time you make camp or while Wyll is in your party. Of course, this realization will have future ramifications for Wyll, but I won’t get into that now.

In the end, it’s your choice. If your character has a hatred for tieflings and that’s how you’re role-playing, then killing Karlach might be the only way to go. However, Karlach is also a skilled barbarian that makes an effective tank for your party in Baldur’s Gate 3.