An early, yet optional side quests in BG3 is ‘Hunt the Devil’ wherein you will need to kill either one of two characters: Karlach and Anders.
No matter your choice, you can complete this objective, but you can miss out on a potentially important companion if you make the wrong choice. If you are trying to decide between killing Karlach or Anders in Baldur’s Gate 3, this is what you need to know.
Hunt the Devil side quest guide Baldur’s Gate 3
Whenever traveling through the Risen Road, you will start the Hunt the Devil side quest. If you venture south on the trail, you will run into Karlach, a Tiefling barbarian. Karlach will warn you not to come closer, though you can passive the situation with either an Intimidation or Persuasion skill check.
After speaking further with Karlach you will learn that she has been infected by a tadpole. You can either choose to help or ignore Karlach’s situation. No matter your choice, you can still side with Karlach at the end of the side quest.
Once you travel further into the village, you will meet a Paladin named Anders. The Paladin will tell you about a “devil” responsible for the death of several refugees. Without much snooping around, you’ll be able to determine that the devil he is referring to is Karlach.
From here, you will need to select if you want to side with Anders or Karlach.
Should you kill Karlach or Anders in Baldur’s Gate 3?
After speaking with Anders, you will be able to select between killing either Karlach or Anders to complete this side quest. We recommend killing Anders and siding with Karlach.
If you are a follower of Tyr and pass a religion check, Tyr will warn you that Anders is untrustworthy.
Not only is Karlach a valuable party member, but she also isn’t guilty of her accused crime. If you use Speak with Dead on a nearby refugee corpse, you can learn the refugees’ true fate and the nature of the Paladins.
You can still side with Anders even after learning everything. The fight against Karlach is considerably easier, although you will miss out on Karlach as a party member and the better reward. No matter if you kill Anders or Karlach, you’ll get Anders’ rare two-handed swords.
Tough decisions are made in multiple points in this game and one question is: Is Anders and his crew really wrong? They truly believe that Karlach is a devil since they are being puppeteered by a higher and more evil power.
Karlach is the lesser of two evils. Anders, on the other hand, is the devil’s servant. The real devil you are hunting is Anders and his crew.
Killing Anders and the crew will earn you a wonderful companion. However, killing Karlach will free Anders and his crew from Zarial’s contract, and they will be the good paladins they strive to be.
For us, it was not a hard choice, the company of companions over a random NPC’s story. Saving Karlach is the better choice here. No matter your choice, you will be able to complete the Hunt the Devil quest. Here is how to proceed with either killing Anders or killing Karlach:
| Choice | How to complete |
| Kill Karlach | Go back to Karlach and kill the Tiefling. You will need to behead the corpse and return to Anders for an Arcana check. As a reward, you will get gold, XP, and Ander’s rare two-handed sword. |
| Kill Anders | Kill Anders and his gang of Paladins. Note that you will need to slay all five Paladins, not just Anders, to side with Karlach. After this, you will learn the Paladins are messengers of Hell. |
