Months later Baldur’s Gate 3‘s release, I am still pursued by one man. His face appears on all my feeds, he’s been the center of some fan furor, and he feels like the natural evolution of some of my most beloved BioWare companions. I remain fascinated by Astarion, which has more than earned its place in the hall of fame of RPG allies, and I’m not alone.
It’s interesting that Astarion is at the center of so much discussion because he’s not the most popular romance option in the game. He’s not even in the top three, behind Shadowheart, Lae’zel, and Karlach. But the conversations surrounding him are particularly intense, as fans thirst for him, connect with his heartfelt storyline and discuss the nuances of his personality. Even months later Baldur’s Gate 3 was released, new updates and mods related to Astarion are causing controversy. Fans Dive into the dev notesto compare different variations of cutscenesand occasionally turn to each other to fervently debate in defense of their favorite vampire friend.
Astarion has an immediately obvious appeal: he’s a sexy vampire. Pop culture is littered with variations on this archetype; everyone remembers a few years of Twilight’s Edward Cullen being smeared everywhere, and he’s preceded by equally sexy icons from the literary canon. But beyond his immediate appeal, Astarion proved himself to be an entertaining companion. He’s hilarious occasionally passive-aggressive and deeply petty. It’s no surprise that he continues to inspire memes and jokes.
I’ve seen a surplus of silly memes that gave Astarion a gun or covered him in clown makeup, and based on my own experience, he inspires this tribute at a higher rate than the others. Baldur’s Gate 3 companions. This is in large part due to the performance of recent Game Award winner Neil Newbon, who does a phenomenal job portraying every facet of Astarion’s personality. A lesser performance may have tempted players to take on the thirsty vampire early on, but Newbon takes even simple scenarios to the next level with pitch-perfect dramatic execution.
This takes a huge amount of heavy lifting from Astarion’s previous appearances, but Newbon deftly handles the portrayal even as the play gets much more serious. The closer a player gets to Astarion, the more he discovers about his tragic past. Astarion is a vampire spawn, run by Cazador Szarr. Cazador is a cruel father, who tortures Astarion to force obedience. This is part of the reason why Astarion is much less afraid of the tadpole in his head than the rest of the party; the condition gives him the freedom to walk under the sun, free from his master’s oppressive control.
Astarion’s relationship with Cazador shapes his personality. He is manipulative, willing to trade his physical charms and extremely selfish. Ultimately, his story is one of the cycle of abuse. The player discovers that Cazador was abused by his own master, and when he took power, he inflicted the same pain on Astarion. Everything culminates in a final choice for Astarion: he can ascend, break the bonds of both Cazador and the tadpole, and become a powerful vampire lord in his own right, or he can reject power, accept his weaknesses, and live as a vampire brood in the world. darkness.
It is a compelling story that can be experienced in many ways. The player can are Astarion by an Origins run, and if they play Tav or the Dark Urge, they can befriend, romance, or betray Astarion. It is widely accepted that Ascended Astarion is the “worst” ending for him, one that allows him to continue the cycle of abuse. But that is not a universally believed theory; some players believe, thanks to the decisions they make and the bonds they form, that they can trust Astarion with that power. Others are more skeptical.
That conflict is further complicated by the fact that Astarion himself works to manipulate the player. When I first heard about the Ascendancy ritual during my Tav run, I expressed my concerns to Astarion… who then gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes and said he would find it exciting to do Ascend. “Don’t you want me to be happy?”
It’s masterful writing from Larian; it will take more than just falling in love with Astarion to redeem him. Instead, it takes true friendship, sincerity, and vulnerability from both parties. For all of Astarion’s Rule 34 sassy art lovers, the moment I felt most connected to him was in Act 2, when we held hands and made eye contact. If I had made different choices, things could have turned out very differently. Main role Tav can manipulate Astarion in returnand break the vampire’s heart in the process.
The plot of Astarion is full of nuanced, messy, and painful writing, and that’s what inspired such a long-lasting, bright-burning fandom for the character on social media. There are the silly, superficial memes about giving Astarion a gun – but there are also a lot of players who connected with his inner struggle and see themselves reflected in his scars. That deep characterization has inspired such a fervent fandom, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing Astarion’s arguments on my feed for months, and probably years, to come.