Beloved Baldur's Gate 3 companion gets a happier canon ending in new D&D lorebook

A new Dungeons & Dragons lore book offers fresh details about everyone's favorite Destiny Baldur's Gate 3 Barbarian tiefling – and officially confirmed a happier canon ending than the game itself offers.

warn! Spoilers for “Baldur's Gate 3” follow…

In Baldur's Gate 3 itself, Karlach has a series of possible endings, and your companion's mechanical heart always seems to be on the verge of shutting down.

In fact, without intervention, players can watch Kalach's infernal engine eventually burn and tragically burn to the ground, or sacrifice themselves and become a mind flayer. Meanwhile, another option is for the player to convince Kharak to leave Faerûn to live in Avernus and hopefully obtain a more permanent cure – leaving the character's ultimate survival up for debate.

Now, fans think they finally have the answer to what happens next if Kharak does return to Avernus, thanks to the classic Astarion's Hungry Tome Dungeons & Dragons expansion pack. The book confirms that two other D&D titles featuring Kharak are set after Baldur's Gate III. So, per usual, Kharak survived a few years after the end of the game and returned to Faerûn.

Social media user RenMasaoAnkoku wrote: “Advancing the year to 1501, Carah's reappearance in the city means her engine has been repaired in canon.” Game Radar+.

They advance the year to 1501, and Carah's reappearance in the city means her engine has been repaired in canon https://t.co/A8akZTyUzQ

— An Guo Ren Masao (@RenMasaoAnkoku) November 12, 2025

The post shares an official timeline of companion Astarion's life, with the “Events of Baldur's Gate 3” taking place in 1492, written by Dalereckoning (DR). At the same time, the events in Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn and Forgotten Realms: Adventures of Faerûn in which Kalach appeared occurred three years later in 1501 DR.

This fits with what we already know about Kalach's possible future, should she be convinced to return to Avernus. At the end of the game six months later, Caraher mentions a recent adventure in which she was given a set of blueprints that offered possible solutions to her Hell Engine. It seems that these measures worked – at least for the next few years – to bring her back to Faerûn and hopefully reunite with your group.

Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian may have completed a major update, but Still releasing occasional patches. In the meantime, much of the studio is figuring out what’s next for the company—but This won't be Baldur's Gate 4. Nonetheless, it is expected Another studio will eventually make a sequel to the highly successful role-playing game. Here’s hoping Callah appears in it again.

Tom Phillips is IGN's news editor. You can contact Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social