Karlach Cliffgate

Karlach was a mighty warrior and champion of Zariel that fought for the archdevil in the Blood War on Avernus during the late 15 century DR.

"I was a prisoner, forced to fight in the Blood War&mdash;the eternal battle between bad and worse. Most souls in Avernus are just meat for the grinder. But not me."

- Karlach.

Description
Karlach had dark red skin, that was covered in scars, and black hair that she wore long on the top, and sheared on the sides. Her two black horns resembled those of a ram, though the right horn had broken in half.

Personality
An energetic and joyful presence, Karlach had a great passion for life, appreciating it all the more after escaping the Hells. She deeply enjoyed simple, physical pleasures such as food, sex, and the thrill of battle. Karlach seemed to feel emotions strongly, sometimes descending into fits of screaming rage, wailing sorrow, or giggling joy, depending on the circumstances. As such, she had difficulty concealing her feelings, usually coming across as extremely earnest, almost awkwardly so. Still, Karlach was a courageous warrior and fiercely fought for what she believed was right.

Possessions
She wielded a great battleaxe and a crossbow in battle.

Abilities
Karlach was an exceptional martial combatant. Due to her time in Avernus, she seemed to possess an encyclopedic knowledge of fiends and how to fight them. Additionally, Zariel had Karlach's heart replaced with an infernal engine, enhancing her physical prowess and causing her body to burn like fire, especially in moments of great passion. This engine could be further enhanced by inserting soul coins. However, the engine was not made to operate outside of the Hells, and threatened to burn Karlach alive if she remained in the material plane for too long.

History
At some point Karlach lived in Baldur's Gate in Faerûn, where she worked as personal bodyguard for Lord Enver Gortash, however in 1482DR Gortash betrayed her, by selling her to Zariel, the archdevil ruler of Avernus. Karlach was forced to serve as a soldier to fight the blood war for 10 years.

In the, Karlach witnessed a mind flayer nautiloid pass overhead on the battlefield of the blood war while being chased by the Blade of the Frontiers. She saw the vessel as an opportunity to flee from her position as Zariel's champion, and boarded it as a stowaway. Unfortunately, she like others aboard the ship, was implanted with a mind flayer tadpole, albeit one that did not immediately begin the process of ceremorphosis.

The nautiloid traveled the planes from Avernus to the world of Toril on the Prime Material. It plummeted to the ground in an area of Faerûn known as the Sword Coast, and several of the captive―or in Karlach's case, stowaway―passengers were left alive after the crash. Karlach then became the quarry of Zariel's agents on Faerûn. A band of her followers led by the fallen paladin Anders tracked her down to a tollhouse along the River Chionthar, wounding but not quite killing the Zariel's runaway champion.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate III
 * Card Games