One of the early sidequests in Baldur’s Gate 3 is called “Hunt the Devil.” You can side with a Tiefling named Karlach or the Paladins of Tyr led by Anders. Here’s our mini-guide to help you out.
Note: To make this quest easier, you might want to check out what the best party class compositions are in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3: Hunt the Devil sidequest guide
You’ll encounter Karlach and Anders’ band once you’ve reached The Risen Road area in Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s further north past the Goblin Camp. However, you can take a shortcut if you go to the riverbed north of where you found Scratch the Dog. The way I got over to The Risen Road from here is by using my jump mechanic to jump into the middle of the river and I jumped again to get to the other side.
If you head south, the Tiefling Karlach will warn you not to come closer. You can make her back down via a skill check with Intimidation or Persuasion. I would recommend doing that, whichever one you’re more proficient in, to initiate a civil conversation with Karlach. Next, Karlach will tell you that, just like the main character, she’s also infected by a tadpole. If you agree to help, many of your party members, like Wyll and Astarion approve of this. You can also turn down Karlach’s offer and go find Anders.
Note: Though Karlach isn’t one of the five core Origin characters, she is a Barbarian companion you can assign to your party. She also has a tadpole in her head and is romanceable.
Anyway, if you speak with Anders inside the village, he’ll tell you that the “devil” is actually responsible for the murder of refugees. If you press further, Anders gives you clues that his target is Karlach. At this point, you need to decide if you’ll side with Karlach or Anders.
Note: There’s a corpse of a refugee inside this house. You can use the Speak with Dead spell (i.e., from the amulet found where the Hooded Skeleton is) to know what actually killed the guy. Sadly, I had already finished the sidequest when I found out about this, so I’m not sure how this would affect your decisions.
The choice is yours. Will you side with Karlach and have her join your party or kill Karlach and side with Anders? Honestly, I recommend siding with Karlach because her skills as a Barbarian make for one of the best companions in the game.
- If you side with Karlach – Go ahead and take out Anders and his merry band. You can loot the Sword of Justice, a rare two-handed weapon, from Anders’ corpse.
- If you side with Anders – Head back to Karlach and eliminate her. You have the option to examine the runes on her skin (Arcana skill check), and you also need to take her head. Bring it to Anders to obtain the Sword of Justice.
- Choose both Karlach and Anders – There is an option where you pacify both Anders’ and Karlach’s wishes. It’s hard to do because you have to say the right things and get the right rolls, but it is possible. If a fight breaks out with either Karlach or Anders, be sure to toggle non-lethal attacks so you just knock everyone out and can have everybody win.
