Hunt the Devil is one of the first side quests that you will complete in Baldur’s Gate 3. Though the stakes aren’t too high in this early quest, you can miss out on an early companion if you choose the wrong side.
Whether you side with Karlach, a Tiefling Barbarian, or Anders, a Human Paladin of Tyr, you can complete the Hunt the Devil quest chain. If you are unsure of which side to pick, or how to start this quest, this is everything that you will need to know.
How to start Hunt the Devil in Baldur’s Gate 3
You will start the Hunt the Devil sidequest chain in Baldur’s Gate 3 after you reach the Risen Road. This is just north of the Goblin Camp that you will clear out early in the game. Here, you will reach Karlach. This Tiefling will warn you to stay away, but you can perform an Intimidation or Persuasion check to get more information out of this mysterious NPC.
If you pass your skill check, Karlach will divulge that she has been infected by a tadpole. You can agree to help her, which will earn you slight points with several companions, such as Wyll and Astarion. Whether or not you verbally commit to helping Karlach will not lock you out of siding with her yet.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3 Goblin Camp: How to kill the Goblin leaders in BG3
After you speak with Karlach, you will venture further to find Anders and his gang of Paladins. The Paladins will claim that the ‘Devil’, Karlach, was responsible for the murder of several refugees. Anders will ask you to kill Karlach, though you can do some further investigating to discover if Karlach is actually responsible or not.
How to Speak with Dead in Baldur’s Gate 3
If you want to uncover the truth behind the refugees’ fate, you can cast Speak with Dead on a nearby refugee corpse. This spell is restricted to a relatively few classes early on. Bards, Clerics, and Wizards can all use this spell early on. If you are not one of these lucky classes, however, you will need to find an Amulet of Lost Voices.
An early Amulet of Lost Voices can be found near the Overgrown Ruins around the Ravaged Beach, close to where the Mindflayer ship crashed. Go along the Roadside Cliffs until you see a cave entrance. Here, you should be able to find this useful item after dealing with some bandits and cultists.
Once you either have an Amulet in your possession or have the prepared spell, you can cast the spell on the refugee corpse. You will soon learn that Karlach does not match the description and instead, it was Anders and his band of Paladins who slaughtered the refugees.
Should you pick Karlach or Anders in Baldur’s Gate 3?
After you discover Anders and his gang are Oathbreakers, you will need to choose between siding with Karlach and Anders. The path for both sides is pretty clear: kill the other choice. If you decide to look past Anders’ Oathbreaking ways, return to Karlach, slay her, then return to Anders with her head to claim your reward.
If instead, you side with Karlach, you will need to slay Anders. Note that only killing Anders will be enough, all his fellow Paladins must also die to correctly choose Karlach’s side. Though this fight is significantly harder, given that Anders has help, choosing Karlach will unlock her as a potential party member, and either way you can claim Ander’s two-handed sword.
Personally, I recommend that you spare Karlach and kill Anders and his Paladins. Not only is Karlach not guilty of her crime, but she makes an incredibly valuable party member, especially if you lack frontline damage.
