Larian Studios Knew We Would Ship These Characters Together
We have no choice but to stan and blush.
Baldur’s Gate 3 director Swen Vincke and many of the writers teased that there are many moments in-game that 99% of players will never experience due to all the options in the dialogue tree. Earlier this week, someone found a “hidden” scene where one of the two frequently shipped characters actually had a dream about the other one.
**Slight spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3**
One of the most thirsted-after NPCs in all of the BG3 fandom (that isn’t romanceable or a mutated spider) is Dammon. Along with the other Tieflings in the Druid grove, you meet the blacksmith as a refugee from Elturel. Having fled the city, Dammon wasn’t able to take many tools with him. And yet, the Tiefling puts kindness first and chooses to help anyone in need. This includes the Origin character and companion Karlach.
After ten years of enslavement by an archdevil (Zariel), Karlach escaped when the Mind Flayer’s nautiloid zoomed through the Nine Hells during the game’s opening credits. She isn’t fully free yet, though. Zariel put an infernal engine in Karlach’s chest to make her a more proficient killing machine. This means that while Karlach is on a revenge quest to hunt down the former liege who sold her to Zariel, she has to deal with this engine that feels like it’s about to overheat and combust. This ailment also prevents her from being able to touch people without setting them on fire. So, in addition to dealing with the tadpole, if you choose to play or recruit Karlach, you’re tasked with helping her find an infernal mechanic. As an expert blacksmith who works with fire all day, Dammon is such a person.
“The world just might be better with you in it – even in Avernus”
Throughout the game, Karlach must visit Dammon so he can work on tempering her engine. As a Tiefling who spent time in Avernus (when Elturel was plunged into it), Dammon is very sympathetic to her struggles and tries to help Karlach. Each time he works on her engine, she gets a moment of relief until she’s stabilized enough to touch people. After watching these sweet interactions between Dammon and Karlach, fans started to ship them. There’s fan-fiction, fan art, and even a #Heartforge playlist. Now, one player found evidence that this chemistry is not just imagined by the fans, it’s canon. Karlach actually crushes on Dammon enough to where she begins to dream about him.
A YouTube user named Sparrows found that each Origin character has a “hidden” scene if you solo long rest before recruiting any other companions. In the video’s description, Sparrows states that Karlach’s version is a fantasy about a threesome with a Halfling and a Goliath. However, by “flip[ping] the tags on the dialogue” they were able to trigger this scene after she met Dammon. So, instead of dreaming about the threesome, Karlach starts to think about Dammon. She fantasizes what it would feel like to be touched by that Tiefling with those eyes that pierce right into your soul.
This proves that their interactions are not little sparks, but full-on embers. Other people playing as Karlach have found similar special moments between Dammon and Karlach in Act 2. Not all of these moments of vulnerability happen alone at camp. For example, after he tinkers with her engine a second time, she will want to test it. Instead of her trying to hug your Tav, she/you will get to hold hands with Dammon. Actors Frazer Blaxland (Dammon, Anders, and others) and Samantha Béart (Karlach) have even re-enacted this scene. We really didn’t need to see this adorable dream sequence to already be Team KarlachxDammon. Still, I’m squealing that Larian Studios put it in the game anyway.
(via Sparrows on YouTube, featured image: Larian Studios)
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