In addition to being fantastic, 
Karlach is also really strong. But… What if she was also really big? This was the question she asked that led to her concluding that 
Giants are, in fact, the strongest things she can think of. And so, Karlach decided to take after them, training herself so that her rages would make her even bigger, and therefor even stronger. This conclusion proved to be the correct one.
This introduction was written by Karlach as a petition to make sure she follows the new Path of Giants that was added in Patch 8.
Build Summary
Barbarians are always simple, but this build is even simpler: we want to make Karlach the strongest possible, and then to use that strength to push enemies around and dominate the battlefield. Unlike the 
Berserker subclass, which deals huge damage and makes Karlach strong in melee, the Path of Giants subclass that we will be using sacrifices a little bit of damage for massively increased versatility and environmental potential.
This build enables Karlach to push and throw objects and enemies to force enemies off edges or into other dangerous circumstances. And, because of the fantastic level design throughout the game, this ends up often being even stronger. You’ll frequently be able to send your enemies toward instant death, while still keeping up in terms of damage and tankiness with other martial classes.
Character Build Links
See this build at various levels (roughly corresponding with how the build should look by the end of each Act) in our Baldur’s Gate 3 Build Planner below:
Character Creation
Character creation is very simple for Giant Karlach. You want her to be very strong and very tough. As such, we make sure she has the maximum 
Strength and 
Constitution possible, as well as a decent 
Dexterity in order to have decent AC. The other 3 abilities really won’t matter (though they do mean she will suffer when against spellcasters that require spell saves).
For skills, there is no reason not to pick up 
Perception and 
Intimidation, even though Karlach should really not be in a position where she needs to use many skills. Perception is at least moderately useful at avoiding traps and noticing things, and Intimidation may be necessary (not to mention thematic) on the off chance that Karlach finds herself in a conversation.
Subclass Choices
For our Subclass, we are not just picking Path of Giants because it’s kind of funny, but because it genuinely does give unprecedented control over positioning (especially of your enemies). Path of Giants is not quite as strong when it comes to direct damage as a Berserker, but it makes up for it by giving your throws and pushes a lot more utility and power.
And, because there are bottomless pits, lava traps, poison clouds, and running waterways everywhere, that means that you almost always have the ability to instantly kill or massively disadvantage enemies by putting them into a place they really don’t want to be. This subclass also gives Karlach better ranged options by letting her throw items, weapons, and enemies themselves. This gives her a lot more to do when pitted against ranged foes (most enemies in the late game).
Level Map for Feats & Abilities
Level 1
At first level, Barbarians do not get any choices outside of skill proficiencies. However, there are some things to note; primarily, 
Unarmoured Defence. There are arguments for disregarding it for very powerful sets of Heavy Armour, but for this build we will be leaning into it and building around it. A lot of clothing options are intended for Monks, but become very powerful in the hands of a Path of Giants Barbarian thanks to their frequent use of improvised and thrown weapons. So, we can keep Unarmoured Defence‘s boost while taking advantage of those.
Level 2
Again, Level 2 doesn’t really have any choices. And, unlike Level 1, there isn’t really much interesting to say about the new Class Features from this level. 
Danger Sense is nice to have and 
Reckless Attack is useful against enemies with low AC that you can use the ability to one-shot.
Level 3
At his level, we finally get the build going for real. We take Path of Giants, which gives us immediate access to Vaprak’s Greed and the special Giant’s Rage. Now, Giant’s Rage is the real selling point here: it makes Karlach bigger (the same effect as the Enlarge half of the 
Enlarge/Reduce spell), increases weapon damage, and gives her advantage on Strength checks and saving throws.
What’s more, Giant’s Rage also increases throw damage, which is going to be a critical part of this build. This is enhanced by Vaprak’s Greed. At first, it seems underwhelming to just increase carrying capacity, until you realize that that means you can carry that many more throwable items (the heavier the better). This synergizes well with Giant’s Rage and other features and abilities we will get later.
Level 4
The first Feat choice in this build, Tavern Brawler, is an absolute staple of Barbarian builds already, and is made only stronger by the Path of Giants’ focus on throwing things. The feat makes all thrown attacks stronger and increase Strength to the next even number, making it easily the most important Feat for this build. It can also improve unarmed attacks, which makes them somewhat viable in Giant’s Rage (though we still prefer weapons).
Level 5
Now it gets fun. 
Extra Attack and 
Fast Movement are both going to help you, but in the mundane, expected ways that an extra attack and movement speed would. Boot of the Giants, however, is unique: it is essentially a highly-improved Shove that lets you push creatures twice as far as that check. All you have to do is beat your target in an 
Athletics challenge — which Karlach will already be amazing at even before factoring in the advantage she gets from Giant’s Rage. Use this to push enemies into deadly obstacles or away from squishy allies.
Level 6
The effects of Elemental Cleaver are twofold. First, you can use it to make your weapons deal elemental damage, which is good for ensuring they are always dealing damage that is effective against your enemies. The second, more interesting effect is to make any weapon you are using into a thrown weapon, and to have it return to your hand after you throw it. Now all of your very powerful weapons will benefit from 
Tavern Brawler, and you will always end the turn with them in hand, perfect for switching between melee and throwing attacks, letting you proc deadly melee weapon effects at a distance or up close.
Level 7
Feral Instinct comes automatically with Barbarians and… Well, you can’t really complain about better initiative and immunity to surprises, even if it isn’t the most exciting.
Level 8
At this point, we get our second Feat, which we will use simply to lean into the stated goal of this build: we will use it to make Karlach‘s Strength 20. Duh.
Level 9
There are no choices to be made at this level, but 
Brutal Critical is always good to have. You need it in order to keep up with the damage required to defeat late game enemies. But there isn’t much to say about it, and it’s passive nature means it isn’t very interesting.
Level 10
Now it’s time for what might be the best Class Ability in the game (in terms of humor), Mighty Impel. This allows Karlach to simply walk up to any enemy (medium or smaller), pick them up, and toss them to their doom/at another enemies/into something embarrassing. It does exactly what it says, and it makes this a blend of the most powerful version of Shove and a very strong improvised throwing attack (especially against heavy enemies). Just incredible, and incredibly funny.
Level 11
By the time you are in the late game, there are some enemies that Karlach — even a really big Karlach — cannot take on alone. And so, having 
Relentless Rage can be a godsend against those nightmarish fights, as it can let Karlach survive 1 more round than she normally would — often long enough to get healed or get a last hit in — before she gets knocked out.
Level 12
At this stage, you have a few options, depending on how you tend to play Giant Karlach. If you find yourself in melee often, not using your thrown weapons that much, than 
Charger is a decent option, giving you greater utility for those rushes. 
Dual Wielder, meanwhile, is great if you find yourself using two weapons, which can be very useful if you are often throwing one or both. However, if you keep yourself at a distance and use throws often, then 
Alert — giving you a general boost to Initiative — is going to be your best bet.
Equipment
The following equipment is presented first by Act acquirable and then by slot, with the actual items in that slot being given in no particular order (though the first item is usually the best in slot). An ideal build will try to acquire as much of the gear as possible, and to swap between the gear as different situations merit.
In general, we recommend high damage weapons, equipment that increases Strength, methods of increasing defensiveness, and effects that lean into Karlach‘s fire resistance or Barbarian traits (such as the condition Wrath).
- Act 1:
- Weapons: Monster Slayer Glaive, Club of Hill Giant Strength, Everburn Blade, Jorgoral’s Greatsword, The Blood of Lathander, Intransigent Warhammer
- Headwear: Cap of Wrath, Haste Helm
- Armour: Bloodguzzler Garb, The Graceful Cloth, Adamantine Scale Mail
- Handwear: Bracers of Defence, Gloves of Uninhibited Kushigo, Fleetfingers, Gloves of Dexterity
- Footwear: Linebreaker Boots, Boots of Genial Striding, Swiresy Shoes
- Amulet: Amulet of the Unworthy, Amulet of Misty Step
- Rings: Bracing Band, Crusher’s Ring, Ring of Flinging
- Inventory: Heavy and Explosive Items
- Act 2:
- Weapons: Thermodynamo Axe, Moonlight Glaive, Sword of Life Stealing
- Headwear: Coldbrim Hat
- Cloak: Cloak of Elemental Absorption, Cloak of Protection
- Armour: The Mighty Cloth, Enraging Heart Garb
- Handwear: Flawed Helldusk Gloves, Dark Justiciar Gauntlets
- Footwear: Acrobat Shoes
- Amulet: Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet
- Rings: Killer’s Sweetheart, Callous Glow Ring, Risky Ring, Coruscation Ring
- Act 3:
- Weapons: Balduran’s Giantslayer, Vicious Battleaxe, Hellfire Greataxe, Sword of Chaos, Nyrulna
- Secondary Hand: Bloodthirst, Handmaiden’s Mace
- Headwear: Helldusk Helmet, Bonespike Helmet
- Armour: Bonespike Garb
- Handwear: Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength, Bonespike Gloves, Craterflesh Gloves
- Footwear: Helldusk Boots
- Amulet: Amulet of Greater Health
- Rings: Ring Of Regeneration, After Death Do Us Part
