Karne is a recurring villain and supporting character in the videogames Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II.
A Zhentarim agent working for the beholder Xantam and leading a Thieves' Guild in Baldur's Gate. He's apparently killed by the three heroes, but he's back on his feet in the sequel, where he works with the Zhentarim to take control of the Onyx Tower.
Appearance[]
Karne wears a stylish helm which covers most of his head and bears a peculiar engraving vaguely resembling a scorpion.
Personality[]
Affable, slimy and arrogant, Karne never loses his calm and always has a backup plan up his sleeve. He is surprisingly polite and pragmatic.
History[]
As a sellsword, Karne operated out of Nashkel, though it is unknown if he was actually from Amn. In Nashkel, he fought the Harper agent Jherek, and it appears they had a long fight that ended in both believing they'd let the other live.
Karne then encountered the vampire Mordoc SeLanmere, who very quickly became his mortal enemy. Mordoc defeated Karne, though it was apparent that Karne faked his own death, something Mordoc soon figured out.
Dark Alliance[]
Karne was then recruited by the Zhentarim and his skills proved of great use to them. Karne and his partner Sleyvas then hatched a plan that could restore the Zhentarim to their former glory. They were to remove the fallen paladin Eldrith from her status as ruler of the Onyx Tower and give it to the Zhentarim. This plan landed Karne a spot as a direct advisor to Fzoul Chembryl.
Karne then returned to Baldur's Gate after a long time and led his own thieves guild, named Xantam's Guild after the beholder Xantam, whom Karne appeared to serve. Karne sent his best man to the castle of the Pale Night, posing as a servant of Eldrith the Betrayer. The vampire alchemist constructed the Orb of the Undead, which Karne used to wreak havoc in Baldur's Gate.
Baldur's Gate, Karne attacked three adventurers and robbed them of their gold. These adventurers later destroyed the Orb of the Undead and rescued a former thief, Eathon, from Xantam's Guild. They then tracked Karne down to the thieves guild headquarters. Here they attacked him and he, seeing their fighting abilities, feigned his own death to orchestrate Xantam's death.
Karne and Sleyvas then began to secretly guide the trio through a series of events that led them to the Betrayer, whom they killed. Slevyas then reported back to Karne, who created a goblin army and a thieves guild, the Hands of Glory, in Baldur's Gate.
Dark Alliance II[]
After learning that the Onyx Tower has been taken over by Mordoc SeLanmere, Karne led the Zhentarim in the Heartlands and attempted to stop five unlikely allies, Harper agents, from activating the Onyx Tower (though the Harpers were only activating it to destroy it). Though he failed, he was forced to place the Zhentarim into an alliance with the Harpers and for the first time since Nashkel, he saw Jherek. Working with Jherek and five Harpers, Karne stormed the castle of the Pale Night and freed the three adventurers of the previous game.
Karne then led the eight heroes into Mordoc's chambers, while he and Jherek stayed on previous levels to shield the heroes and thus orchestrated the defeat of his mortal enemy. However, Mordoc fled and took the Onyx Tower to Baldur's Gate. At Baldur's Gate, Karne assisted the soldiers of Baldur's Gate in fighting the vampires and undead. Following Mordoc's death, he disappeared quietly.
 Villains
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Recruitable Party Members Gods Demons Devils The Iron Throne The Shinning Crusade Bhaalists & Bhaalspawns Dark Alliance Cult of the Absolute The Sharrans Shadow Druids Vampires Others | ||