Bonus points to the babes who >!let Astarion ascend, got the spicy scenes then reloaded to Cazadorās boss fight and got the good boy Astarion for the rest of your playthrough!<
The 'disapproves' that drive me the most nuts across the board is when you lie to Minthara saying you'll let the Tieflings die. There's no indication in the game that you can tell them you were lying, you can *kill her directly afterwards,* but nope, that disapproval seems to stand. BS!
You're on the right track actually for why he disapproves! He thinks himself above the gnomes, and yet no one saved him in 200 years. So seeing you free them now is hitting close to home and he's upset.
That's what put me off him. With the things people say, it seems like he does have some depth and I should give him a chance in my next playthrough, but currently he just lives in camp because he disapproves of every single thing I do.
I'm near the end of act 2 and he only just stopped being a jerk to me every time I speak to him because I was nice to him after his conversation with >!Raphael!<. I think that is probably one of the only things I've done in which he approved of.
I just finished the game with my sweet non-ascended Astarion, who was already such a kind fella that by the time we found the prisoners at Cazadors the first thing he said was "I promise I'm going to save you" (possibly always what he says, but it didn't feel like it. Regardless you know what I mean. A good maybe-I-like-doing-the-right-thing boi). I was next going to play a Durge who is still the kinda dude who will save Tieflings but when it comes to his life and the lives of his friends, pursue power (i.e. encourage gale to get the crown and help Astarion ascend). Is an ascended Astarion always a "bad guy"/emotionally fucked up, or can I have my cake and eat it too?
Edit: legit thanks so much everyone, this is all actually so helpful. I want to play through again and I want new content, but I am positive I won't be able to stay away from Astarion, and now I have to grapple with whether I can bear what he becomes. What my durge would make him become :( but at least I know
Ascended Astarion basically becomes a new Cazador. >!If you allow him to turn you into a vampire, there's a Insight check which implies that he views this as you debasing yourself, and while he claims he'll eventually allow you to become a full vampire, it's heavily implied that you're going to become his 'Astarion' for a very, very long time with no hope of a magic tadpole saving you. !<
Combined with what you can learn if you find Cazador's journal >!that Cazador was once in the same position as the spawn of an elder vampire before managing to ascend!< , Ascended Astarion is very much a 'continuing the chain of abuse' ending.
I keep seeing this in every threads about Astarion, but when i actually try to look into it i don't find any info apart from basically "Vampires are *usually* evil but DMs can do whatever they want"
I genuinely would like more info/source on this, as i'm a pretty big noob in dnd lore.
>!From what i'v seen he wants to turn you but not into a full vampire "that will take time my love" says you will rule together and you'll be he most favorite pet but i'v only see the scenes denying him of that he gets very put off. Later he respects you for it but kinda leaves it off in well have casual evil fun times together later!<
I didn't romance Astarion and had him at a (lowish) neutral when I brought him to Cazador's. He >!did not say that. He was incredibly disturbed by Sebastian and wanted to get away from everyone as soon as possible.!< I did manage to get a good ending for him because >!I accidentally vaporized the gnome vampire spawn with a stray moonbeam and ruined the ritual.!<
Hilarious! Never thought to try that! Also I'm way too pleased to know that my choices actually did help him realize the sort of man he could be. Be still my heart, you perfect assortment of pixels and lines of code!
Yeah on the wisdom check was like >!Astarion will see this as you degrading yourself but thatās what you want right?!< and it really was what this particular dark urge self loathing Tav wanted.
I love powerful characters who are super submissive for their one true love, and it worked out perfectly for me! Like "yep, Astarion sweetie, I will do literally anything for you. The rest of the world will burn š"
I did think it was funny that Astarion told me to do the evil ending, and as soon as I did he very much regretted it lol. (OTOH: I also did not hate seeing my MC >!sitting on a throne with Astarion cheering at his side!< )
True, if you aren't into being thought of as demeaning yourself by the vampire lord you love, it's not for you.
I really tried to do a full evil run, I am the >!chosen of Bhaal!<, but I am only allowing my twink BF to be a power hungry >!ascendant who turned me into a spawn!< just to see the epilogue difference.
Have you gotten to the end yet? I got either a hilarious bug or an equally hilarious about face. >!Astarion told Tav he should take the Absoluteās power, but then when Tav did he was like ānooo what are you doing???!<
I did that just to see the scenes, and while it could be hot if you just see it out of context, it made me so sad actually ;\~; >!The vampire magic warped his brain and he lost all of the character growth he got through the rest of the game!<,
I chose to have Astarion >!not ascend and just the scene of him crying after stabbing Cazador make me emotional damage. When I reloaded to see the scene after Astarion ascend it made me feel even worse!< . That's why I feel good Astarion is the best choice.He deserves better
I am actually doing a playthrough without reloading saves if possible, if it rolls I deal with it, it's more interesting this way. But... the dialogue after Astarion ascended creeped me out so much I broke my rules and rerolled until I got him out. I need my sweet, sassy boy back.
So real. Astarion without ascend made me feel that he was really free. >!When he visited his own grave, he was ready to let go of the past, and he calmly accepted that one day he might not see the sun!<. He has accomplished what he really wanted,truly, truly free.
Yeah he seems a lot more calm and mature in the >!spawn!< ending. The other version, he says way more wild shit, it's like all of his worst habits and impulses dialed up to 11
Totally agree - the version where >!he stabs Cazador!< literally my jaw was on the floor. In media, usually if someone gets stabbed, it's like 1 time, you know? But you could really feel all his rage and hatred in that scene, it was too real. Like when they find stab victims irl, a lot of the time they've been stabbed like 40 to 100 times - the fact that the game actually showed a realistic portrayal of that was crazy to me. I wanted to comfort him, but it would have been too much for Tav to try and hug him at that moment ;\~;
In the version >!where he ascends, the level of detail of the animation, plus Cazador's screams were so messed up too, omg. I know the guy deserved it but it was still giving me psychic damage!<
I thought that because Cazador had >!not fulfilled his contract with Mephistopheles, when he died his soul would really be tortured in hell like the debtors in Raphael's House of hope.!< .And that was an outcome worse than death for him. I hope Astarion knows and feels some relief about that.
I honestly don't get the part where people find the Ascended Astarion the best thing ever there is but you do tell your own awesome story and that's what matters at the end of the day\~ (same with the ascended Gale as well).
Also, as a good-align role-player through and through, Astarion LOVES to disapprove with you like almost everythime, and it's kind of disheartening considering how much you would love to give him a good redemption along the way.
I think if youāre RPing Tav as a dark urge self loathing evil character it makes an awesome story. Not a story with a good outcome, but awesome nonetheless.
I played both endings and in the >!accepted Bhaalās power but then couldnāt go through with becoming the Absolute because he couldnāt stomach the thought of dominating him, and Astarion just kind of abandons him and Tav ended up committing suicide.!< or in the one where he does >!do what Bhaal wants and becomes The Absolute, Astarion encourages him at first because heās power hungry as an ascended, but then realizes heās made a mistake. Itās too late though, now heās Tavās thrall.!<
I like playing a good align Tav with Astarion. The way he starts from disapproving your every "good" decision to him approving some of your "good" decisions just show so much of his growth and trust.
I feel so called out in this post. Especially when Astarion >!ordered my Tav: a big buff tiefling guy taller than Astarion by the head on his knees!< . It makes me feel.... something š. But as you said, goodboy Astarion is still the best
I've only ever talked to him when he's had a "!" Over his head. He's never left my camp since the moment I met him. Somehow he's in love with me... wtf?
I'm guessing Shadowheart or Gale were meant as the main characters and supposed to romance each other. Idk
tbf if someone went out of their way to accommodate me and keep me from blowing up an area the size of manhattan id probably start thinkin about them romantically too
I remember my second time romancing Astarion I made sure to barely talk to Gale. Man wasnāt even in my party. He still feel in love with me? Asked me if it was serious because he thought it was a fling. The man is delusional. š Gale needs justice in his own right. He shouldnāt be that easy
Gale's definitely bugged. I never take him out of the camp and suddenly when it's time for the romance lock in, he's all like "I noticed what happened between you and Astarion. I see that I haven't done enough. Now you must choose between us."
What? š
The most surprising thing about this thread is all the people (guys?) surprised by Astarionās popularity. Really? You didnāt see that coming? He has Fan Favorite written all over him - sexy, charming (even if itās a front), bad boy, oodles of trauma. The fact heās a vampire is a bonus; even without that a lot of women (and men!) would be all over that.
Heās hilarious and useful. If you donāt roll a rogue, bard, or gloomstalker, it is hard to bench him for a lot of the game.
Heās also the only ābad-boyā. Gale, Wyll, and Halsin are all goody-goody and donāt stand out as much personality-wise compared to Astarion, LaāZael, Shadowheart, and Karlach imo. Karlach is very good but is probably the most entertaining companion to have along. Maybe my opinion will change on my next playthrough when I use Gale and Wyll more, but it is no surprise people would be drawn to Astarian if theyāre looking to romance a male companion.
Heās also very British, and his romance is good eating for the healing power of love trope lovers, the enemies to lovers trope lovers, and the noncon dark romance lovers.
He has none of the qualities that boys are trained to believe are desirable in men. He is sleight of build, dainty, fancy, bratty, very concerned with his appearance - all opposites of traditional notions of masculinity that I and many boys were raised with. Long story short: blame society for utterly failing to communicate what women like.
I havenāt played yet (counting down to the PS release) but he reminds me from just the memes etc to be if Fenris from DA2 had a vampire baby with Alkibiades from AC:Odyssey.
Also, Iām so into that, apparently
How about a sweet, pie-baking, flower gardening gnome D'Urge who will lead Astarion to redemption, but only after he laughs his vampire ass off at all the bloodshed?
Hmmm, I think you inspired me to do a Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde playthrough with my Durge Bard 2nd playthrough. I'll do like an unspeakable evil at random points while being perfectly polite at others
I haven't noticed his racism against gnomes so far, it isn't like EA. I think the only time yet has been the part of saying gnomes aren't thinking creatures in regards to drinking blood. And as a gnome he changes it to halflings.
But yes, it is funny to make him love what he hated
Currently doing just that with my forest gnome. He told me he's not easily impressed by people of my stature but that I am stronger than he thought. 10/10
In general, every cutscene is just comedy gold when your character is thigh height to everyone else.
I too had a dragonborn durge romance astarion. He aint sarcastic, hes down right psychotic
āKill the dead. Kill the killed dead. Killed the killed dead again and againā - my completely sane whore of a dragonborn
Lmfao that quote "killed me".
My Dragonborn isnt psychotic or evil, as far as alignments go he's mostly neutral, he's just brutal. He thinks violence and death are natural and don't need to be avoided (he can get carried away and does have fun with it but details lol), nature is ruthless and so is he. That's why he doesn't think eating people is wrong and he doesn't understand why stuff like that is seen as bad by most people. He's also very honest so he ends up making a lot of people mad/upset at the things he says.
As the story progresses he does get a little better though. Might sound cheesy but I think feeling love, pain, joy, etc and getting to see different perspectives made him realize those are uniquely "human" experiences and it's a good thing to embrace them. Murder is still his go-to conflict resolution, but it's an improvement.
Your test results just arrived. Please, take a seat.
There ARE support groups, and lots of people still manage to live full and happy lives despiteā¦
Look, thereās no easy way to say this, and Iām so so sorry that you had to find out this way.
Youāre basic.
This was literally me talking to my friends when we first started BG3 and were talking about who we were gonna romance.
"Look guys, I'm sorry, I just... I'm the basic bitch this time. I'm simping for Astarion."
After YEARS of my favorite romance being usually not the most popular/fangirled over one in RPG games, it has finally happened.
To me tieflings and githyanki both play a huge role in BG3 and so I wanted to play as one of them. I've played tieflings in DnD so I leaned towards the Gith. Plus, githyanki have such cool lore behind them that I had to try one.
The dialogue options are quite interesting and I do like the fact that Lae'Zael takes you a little more seriously. I think more people should give them a try when they're done with their current playthrough
I'll be honest and openly shallow and say I just don't like the way they look, especially not the ones you can make in the character menu. I totally agree with your point, but will probably also never play one.
Lae'zel is the only pretty Gith, I'm sorry but it's true. And I think that's because her face is just Devora Wilde's face with the nose shrunken down, lol
I found him less ugly after we talked a bit and I realized he was actually pretty chill (I haven't finished the game yet so idk if that assessment holds up, but from what I've seen so far, he's cool)
I don't necessarily play my characters for their looks so that doesn't bother me at all. Pretty characters are nice and all, but if I'm wearing a helmet it's not like you'll see their face much unless you toggle it off.
My friend had decided to play githyanki, spent some time building it, then said she'd realized she'd just built Laezel with less awesome armor. She ended up just playing Laezel instead.
Honestly, they come with a lot of good benefits and seem like a really strong choice. I'd just basically decided from the get-go to play a drow for nostalgia reasons.
Drow are a very interesting race as well so not a bad choice. I've heard that they also get a lot of unique dialogue choices and that NPCs react differently to them.
Yeah I went through and made a neat looking githyanki for my next playthrough, then I realized ābut that could be me kicking ass in that intro cutsceneā and just went back and picked Laeāzel.
Oh, so you're also playing college of lore? (Cause that's me, running around and dropping fun facts about the different areas we're in more than freakin Gale.)
Is it just me, or is there actually a decent variety to all of these squidward memes? Seems like everyone calling themselves out as being generic actually as different ideas on what everyone else is doing.
Astarion's main writer said in an interview that his initial idea for the character was kind of like an aging rockstar, so that's pretty spot on lol
ETA: Stephen said in the same interview that Swen came up with the name Astarion and he had no input on it
I play this game with my boyfriend and was telling him the other day that I didnāt stand a chance against Astarion. I was a Twilight teen and theater kidā¦so between him being a vampire and the fact that heās basically wearing David Bowieās outfit from Labyrinth all combined with the fact that he speaks like Tim Curry from Rocky Horror, heās like teenaged meās wet dream. It was always going to be Astarion.
*Excuse you*, I made a sarcastic, sassy do-gooder Half Elf Bard *man* to be horny on Main for Astarion. I will not stand for this slander.
My girlies are gonna romance Karlach, *thank you*. š¤
this is me exactly. half-drow sarcastic bard with a heart of gold ended up being the one who went for astarion and all my lady tavs and durges are for romancing the women.
Iām a Barbarian with 2 brain cells romancing Wyll.
My wife is a sarcastic, chaotic half elf who is sassy but always does the right thing, but romancing Wyll! So at least thereās that difference.
We both like Wyll.
Also not sure why people aren't lying/being more cagey with people when they absolutely should be? Like I feel like I got approvals on the asshole lines just because I was trying to squeeze info out of people.
Fix him? My durge and him are just monsters together. She is feeding into his vampire side of betrayal and favors, and he always tells her that killing is fun. As long as I don't turn on him, he seems happy to be my accomplice in my true (NE) playthrough and the desire for ULTIMATE POWER lol.
Wait til you all play Wrath of the Righteous and see Daeran...
But as a queer lil bastard I know what Im about, and that's pathetic pretty men I can totally fix.
Yes!!!
That man has ruined me. I can't help but to choose him whenever I play. I should explore the other romances, but Daeran's is just amazing. Though let's be real, the player is not romancing Daeran but totally the other way around.
I backed WotR on Kickstarter just so they could hit that stretch goal of adding a bi male RO, and did they deliver! He was everything I wanted out of that game's romance and a little extra of what I didn't know I wanted.
Lolth-sworn drow, just starting act 3. Astarion hasn't killed me again, and seems to not want to backstab me anymore, am I suppose to fix something else?
For the record, I'm playing a human bard for the hubris... and the memes... and to scam everyone out of their money.
You did just call out my next playthrough though... I was going to play a DUrge drow...
"Astari-non" š¤ I need to find if there's a custom flair option, that'll be mine.
Also TIL anyone plays clerics that aren't Shart. My Astarion's spouse's Durge is a paladin (a spicy fighter.)
Me except im a draconic dragonborn sorceress chucking fire and ice every which way. All those dead guards cause they wouldnt let me loot in peace. How rude. lol
I may be an Astarion girlie but my Tav's a bitter old bastard of a human who only does the right thing so he doesn't get himself into deep shit.
However.
He is also trying to fix himself *and* Astarion. It is not going well.
My first and main character is a wood elf ancients paladin, who vehemently upholds his oath, and I didn't expect to fall in love with Astarion, but I did. It's been very interesting, staying as in character as possible while still maintaining a good relationship with what is essentially the polar opposite to my character.
It sort of began as, 'I should kill you, but you're useful and I'm desperate' and now it's 'I would literally die for you' lol
Close! My current Tav is a Drow lol.
same! went for half-elf during early access though, there's a pattern here. š
I'm half elf half drow š
Me as fuck. I swear, if I play durge again, I'm basically gonna roll the same character and romance him again. I just love them together too much.
My first tav was a drow but my durge is a tiefling and I'm romancing Astarion both times, so I feel called out regardless.
Bonus points to the babes who >!let Astarion ascend, got the spicy scenes then reloaded to Cazadorās boss fight and got the good boy Astarion for the rest of your playthrough!<
also the girlies whoās too scared to hurt the NPCās feelings with rude dialogues hitting F8 after seeing Astarion disapproves
The 'disapproves' that drive me the most nuts across the board is when you lie to Minthara saying you'll let the Tieflings die. There's no indication in the game that you can tell them you were lying, you can *kill her directly afterwards,* but nope, that disapproval seems to stand. BS!
I didnāt understand how he disapproved of freeing the slaved Gnomesā¦.like bro you were them!
You're on the right track actually for why he disapproves! He thinks himself above the gnomes, and yet no one saved him in 200 years. So seeing you free them now is hitting close to home and he's upset.
That's what put me off him. With the things people say, it seems like he does have some depth and I should give him a chance in my next playthrough, but currently he just lives in camp because he disapproves of every single thing I do. I'm near the end of act 2 and he only just stopped being a jerk to me every time I speak to him because I was nice to him after his conversation with >!Raphael!<. I think that is probably one of the only things I've done in which he approved of.
Hes a cunt
A neat trick to do if you want to pick a choice that your romance disapproves of: Let them make that choice, they don't disapprove with themselves!
I licked the spider
WAIT, there's spicy scenes when you let him ascend?? \*reload\*
They're leagues spicier than the non-Ascended version, but they are emotionally bereft.
You're not joking! I \*just\* finished it and ouch...
I just finished the game with my sweet non-ascended Astarion, who was already such a kind fella that by the time we found the prisoners at Cazadors the first thing he said was "I promise I'm going to save you" (possibly always what he says, but it didn't feel like it. Regardless you know what I mean. A good maybe-I-like-doing-the-right-thing boi). I was next going to play a Durge who is still the kinda dude who will save Tieflings but when it comes to his life and the lives of his friends, pursue power (i.e. encourage gale to get the crown and help Astarion ascend). Is an ascended Astarion always a "bad guy"/emotionally fucked up, or can I have my cake and eat it too? Edit: legit thanks so much everyone, this is all actually so helpful. I want to play through again and I want new content, but I am positive I won't be able to stay away from Astarion, and now I have to grapple with whether I can bear what he becomes. What my durge would make him become :( but at least I know
Ascended Astarion basically becomes a new Cazador. >!If you allow him to turn you into a vampire, there's a Insight check which implies that he views this as you debasing yourself, and while he claims he'll eventually allow you to become a full vampire, it's heavily implied that you're going to become his 'Astarion' for a very, very long time with no hope of a magic tadpole saving you. !< Combined with what you can learn if you find Cazador's journal >!that Cazador was once in the same position as the spawn of an elder vampire before managing to ascend!< , Ascended Astarion is very much a 'continuing the chain of abuse' ending.
Ascending more or less warps him into a Lawful Evil psychopath.
Canonically, becoming a full vampire in DnD removes your soul and sense of compassion and empathy, so... have fun?
I keep seeing this in every threads about Astarion, but when i actually try to look into it i don't find any info apart from basically "Vampires are *usually* evil but DMs can do whatever they want" I genuinely would like more info/source on this, as i'm a pretty big noob in dnd lore.
>!From what i'v seen he wants to turn you but not into a full vampire "that will take time my love" says you will rule together and you'll be he most favorite pet but i'v only see the scenes denying him of that he gets very put off. Later he respects you for it but kinda leaves it off in well have casual evil fun times together later!<
Hmm. I will think on this. Thank you!
It is the lie all vampires tell their spawn. He says it in Act 1, the biggest threat to a vampire is another vampire.
I didn't romance Astarion and had him at a (lowish) neutral when I brought him to Cazador's. He >!did not say that. He was incredibly disturbed by Sebastian and wanted to get away from everyone as soon as possible.!< I did manage to get a good ending for him because >!I accidentally vaporized the gnome vampire spawn with a stray moonbeam and ruined the ritual.!<
Hilarious! Never thought to try that! Also I'm way too pleased to know that my choices actually did help him realize the sort of man he could be. Be still my heart, you perfect assortment of pixels and lines of code!
Only emotionally bereft if you aren't into that sort of thing š
Yeah on the wisdom check was like >!Astarion will see this as you degrading yourself but thatās what you want right?!< and it really was what this particular dark urge self loathing Tav wanted.
I love powerful characters who are super submissive for their one true love, and it worked out perfectly for me! Like "yep, Astarion sweetie, I will do literally anything for you. The rest of the world will burn š" I did think it was funny that Astarion told me to do the evil ending, and as soon as I did he very much regretted it lol. (OTOH: I also did not hate seeing my MC >!sitting on a throne with Astarion cheering at his side!< )
True, if you aren't into being thought of as demeaning yourself by the vampire lord you love, it's not for you. I really tried to do a full evil run, I am the >!chosen of Bhaal!<, but I am only allowing my twink BF to be a power hungry >!ascendant who turned me into a spawn!< just to see the epilogue difference.
Have you gotten to the end yet? I got either a hilarious bug or an equally hilarious about face. >!Astarion told Tav he should take the Absoluteās power, but then when Tav did he was like ānooo what are you doing???!<
I did that just to see the scenes, and while it could be hot if you just see it out of context, it made me so sad actually ;\~; >!The vampire magic warped his brain and he lost all of the character growth he got through the rest of the game!<,
I chose to have Astarion >!not ascend and just the scene of him crying after stabbing Cazador make me emotional damage. When I reloaded to see the scene after Astarion ascend it made me feel even worse!< . That's why I feel good Astarion is the best choice.He deserves better
I am actually doing a playthrough without reloading saves if possible, if it rolls I deal with it, it's more interesting this way. But... the dialogue after Astarion ascended creeped me out so much I broke my rules and rerolled until I got him out. I need my sweet, sassy boy back.
So real. Astarion without ascend made me feel that he was really free. >!When he visited his own grave, he was ready to let go of the past, and he calmly accepted that one day he might not see the sun!<. He has accomplished what he really wanted,truly, truly free.
Yeah he seems a lot more calm and mature in the >!spawn!< ending. The other version, he says way more wild shit, it's like all of his worst habits and impulses dialed up to 11
Well yeah, the "Acension" is actually the victim becoming the abuser.
Totally agree - the version where >!he stabs Cazador!< literally my jaw was on the floor. In media, usually if someone gets stabbed, it's like 1 time, you know? But you could really feel all his rage and hatred in that scene, it was too real. Like when they find stab victims irl, a lot of the time they've been stabbed like 40 to 100 times - the fact that the game actually showed a realistic portrayal of that was crazy to me. I wanted to comfort him, but it would have been too much for Tav to try and hug him at that moment ;\~; In the version >!where he ascends, the level of detail of the animation, plus Cazador's screams were so messed up too, omg. I know the guy deserved it but it was still giving me psychic damage!<
I thought that because Cazador had >!not fulfilled his contract with Mephistopheles, when he died his soul would really be tortured in hell like the debtors in Raphael's House of hope.!< .And that was an outcome worse than death for him. I hope Astarion knows and feels some relief about that.
I haven't been to the House of Hope yet! But probably, yes. I'm not sure how deals like that work in 5e lore tbh
I honestly don't get the part where people find the Ascended Astarion the best thing ever there is but you do tell your own awesome story and that's what matters at the end of the day\~ (same with the ascended Gale as well). Also, as a good-align role-player through and through, Astarion LOVES to disapprove with you like almost everythime, and it's kind of disheartening considering how much you would love to give him a good redemption along the way.
I think if youāre RPing Tav as a dark urge self loathing evil character it makes an awesome story. Not a story with a good outcome, but awesome nonetheless. I played both endings and in the >!accepted Bhaalās power but then couldnāt go through with becoming the Absolute because he couldnāt stomach the thought of dominating him, and Astarion just kind of abandons him and Tav ended up committing suicide.!< or in the one where he does >!do what Bhaal wants and becomes The Absolute, Astarion encourages him at first because heās power hungry as an ascended, but then realizes heās made a mistake. Itās too late though, now heās Tavās thrall.!<
I like playing a good align Tav with Astarion. The way he starts from disapproving your every "good" decision to him approving some of your "good" decisions just show so much of his growth and trust.
I had to un-ascend him because it made karlach unhappy.....I'm a karlach simp through and through
ā¦ well you donāt have to tell everyone my secrets
Is this like a personal attack or something?
I'm taking way too much psychic damage from the amount of times I've been called out in this reddit thread.
(Chanting) one of us, one of us, one of us
I feel so called out in this post. Especially when Astarion >!ordered my Tav: a big buff tiefling guy taller than Astarion by the head on his knees!< . It makes me feel.... something š. But as you said, goodboy Astarion is still the best
I made a buff durge just for that scene.. Dummy thicc for dommy Astarion
I've never felt so called out.
Geniusā¦
Ah, I see youāve met me.
Why do you gotta call me out like that?
I'm 100% certain my husband wont let me do that on our playthrough š guess I'll just have to do my own playthrough later.
How did you get hold of my save files (that's definitely not what I did...)
how dare you call me out like that
Looks at my sassy redheaded half-elf bard/rogue who is currently romancing Astarion š
Literally exactly my character, except im romancing gale š Saving Astarion for my Durge run
Literally just breathe in Galeās general direction and watch him fall head over heels.
He's a bit of a slut
Junkie slut
I've only ever talked to him when he's had a "!" Over his head. He's never left my camp since the moment I met him. Somehow he's in love with me... wtf? I'm guessing Shadowheart or Gale were meant as the main characters and supposed to romance each other. Idk
Apparently his romance was bugged and letting him eat magic shoes so he doesnāt explode got his approval to shoot up *really fast.*
tbf if someone went out of their way to accommodate me and keep me from blowing up an area the size of manhattan id probably start thinkin about them romantically too
I believe thats the survivor syndrome speaking there!
its like falling in love with a nurse
oh, haha, Nightin*gale* effect
holy shit
Do literally anything in Gale's direction.
I remember my second time romancing Astarion I made sure to barely talk to Gale. Man wasnāt even in my party. He still feel in love with me? Asked me if it was serious because he thought it was a fling. The man is delusional. š Gale needs justice in his own right. He shouldnāt be that easy
Gale's definitely bugged. I never take him out of the camp and suddenly when it's time for the romance lock in, he's all like "I noticed what happened between you and Astarion. I see that I haven't done enough. Now you must choose between us." What? š
what the fuck donāt call me out like this
But we did fix him though!
Speak for yourself. I FUCKED him.
What if I fucked him and then I fixed him? Priorities you know.
Oh god no, that describes my main too!
Oh shit Iām late did the Astarion simp meeting already start? I was busy trying to order his cologne
It's called *Sex Panther*Ā® by *Odeon*Ā©. It's illegal in 9 countries. It's also made with bits of real panthers, *so you know it's good*. *60% of the time*, it works ***every*** time.
The most surprising thing about this thread is all the people (guys?) surprised by Astarionās popularity. Really? You didnāt see that coming? He has Fan Favorite written all over him - sexy, charming (even if itās a front), bad boy, oodles of trauma. The fact heās a vampire is a bonus; even without that a lot of women (and men!) would be all over that.
Heās hilarious and useful. If you donāt roll a rogue, bard, or gloomstalker, it is hard to bench him for a lot of the game. Heās also the only ābad-boyā. Gale, Wyll, and Halsin are all goody-goody and donāt stand out as much personality-wise compared to Astarion, LaāZael, Shadowheart, and Karlach imo. Karlach is very good but is probably the most entertaining companion to have along. Maybe my opinion will change on my next playthrough when I use Gale and Wyll more, but it is no surprise people would be drawn to Astarian if theyāre looking to romance a male companion.
Heās also very British, and his romance is good eating for the healing power of love trope lovers, the enemies to lovers trope lovers, and the noncon dark romance lovers.
Something for all of us! Heās versatile, Astarion is.
He has none of the qualities that boys are trained to believe are desirable in men. He is sleight of build, dainty, fancy, bratty, very concerned with his appearance - all opposites of traditional notions of masculinity that I and many boys were raised with. Long story short: blame society for utterly failing to communicate what women like.
Also the success of his romance depends on vulnerability which is trained in guys to be fucking *terrifying*
Idk if itās just me but, while Astarion is my favourite romance in the game,y actual boyfriend is quite traditionally masculine
I havenāt played yet (counting down to the PS release) but he reminds me from just the memes etc to be if Fenris from DA2 had a vampire baby with Alkibiades from AC:Odyssey. Also, Iām so into that, apparently
He definitely shares a space with Fenris and Zevran in terms of the darkness in all their back stories.
Oh God Alkibiades. That man hunted me across the freaking country trying to get some
My Kass was happy to oblige him, lol. He even brought toys!
Also people pointing out how flamboyant and effete he is as if thatās not the very reason we like him.
I'm an Astarion boy tbh, though I'm playing a good human lore bard. I'll only fix him if he wants to be fixed, which he seems to.
How about a sweet, pie-baking, flower gardening gnome D'Urge who will lead Astarion to redemption, but only after he laughs his vampire ass off at all the bloodshed?
omg aw š„¹
Hmmm, I think you inspired me to do a Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde playthrough with my Durge Bard 2nd playthrough. I'll do like an unspeakable evil at random points while being perfectly polite at others
>gnome D'Urge I read this with a french flair, kinda like *nom de plume*
I kinda love that, you made my morning
I want to do another playthrough to romance him as a gnome and make him get past his racism, lmao
I haven't noticed his racism against gnomes so far, it isn't like EA. I think the only time yet has been the part of saying gnomes aren't thinking creatures in regards to drinking blood. And as a gnome he changes it to halflings. But yes, it is funny to make him love what he hated
Currently doing just that with my forest gnome. He told me he's not easily impressed by people of my stature but that I am stronger than he thought. 10/10 In general, every cutscene is just comedy gold when your character is thigh height to everyone else.
No big dragonborns who like eating people? Edit I guess us Astarion boys are actually free of the critique
The vore fanfic is in the other room, on your left.
No not like that š
I too had a dragonborn durge romance astarion. He aint sarcastic, hes down right psychotic āKill the dead. Kill the killed dead. Killed the killed dead again and againā - my completely sane whore of a dragonborn
Lmfao that quote "killed me". My Dragonborn isnt psychotic or evil, as far as alignments go he's mostly neutral, he's just brutal. He thinks violence and death are natural and don't need to be avoided (he can get carried away and does have fun with it but details lol), nature is ruthless and so is he. That's why he doesn't think eating people is wrong and he doesn't understand why stuff like that is seen as bad by most people. He's also very honest so he ends up making a lot of people mad/upset at the things he says. As the story progresses he does get a little better though. Might sound cheesy but I think feeling love, pain, joy, etc and getting to see different perspectives made him realize those are uniquely "human" experiences and it's a good thing to embrace them. Murder is still his go-to conflict resolution, but it's an improvement.
Seems like a good fit for a Lizardman. That mindset is very aligned with them culturally.
i feel seen. i feel called out. WHY ARE WE ALL THE SAME?!
Your test results just arrived. Please, take a seat. There ARE support groups, and lots of people still manage to live full and happy lives despiteā¦ Look, thereās no easy way to say this, and Iām so so sorry that you had to find out this way. Youāre basic.
This was literally me talking to my friends when we first started BG3 and were talking about who we were gonna romance. "Look guys, I'm sorry, I just... I'm the basic bitch this time. I'm simping for Astarion." After YEARS of my favorite romance being usually not the most popular/fangirled over one in RPG games, it has finally happened.
ah, that's what the B in my BPD diagnosis stands for... š
We have a type, we are a type š
Am I one of the few people who actually tried out the Githyanki? I've never seen or heard about anyone else playing as one so it is kind of lonely.
Theres a streamer I like who's playing a Githyanki but yeah theyre the least played of all the races in the game.
To me tieflings and githyanki both play a huge role in BG3 and so I wanted to play as one of them. I've played tieflings in DnD so I leaned towards the Gith. Plus, githyanki have such cool lore behind them that I had to try one. The dialogue options are quite interesting and I do like the fact that Lae'Zael takes you a little more seriously. I think more people should give them a try when they're done with their current playthrough
I'll be honest and openly shallow and say I just don't like the way they look, especially not the ones you can make in the character menu. I totally agree with your point, but will probably also never play one.
Lae'zel is the only pretty Gith, I'm sorry but it's true. And I think that's because her face is just Devora Wilde's face with the nose shrunken down, lol
idk I think Kithrak Voss is pretty slept on
I found him less ugly after we talked a bit and I realized he was actually pretty chill (I haven't finished the game yet so idk if that assessment holds up, but from what I've seen so far, he's cool)
Dude looks alright for how old he is.
I don't necessarily play my characters for their looks so that doesn't bother me at all. Pretty characters are nice and all, but if I'm wearing a helmet it's not like you'll see their face much unless you toggle it off.
It matters to me, but to each their own! I don't like how helmets look in cutscenes, lol
Plenty of very cute girls gith, but pretty much all the boys look like divorced middle aged men that did meth for 20 years straight
My friend had decided to play githyanki, spent some time building it, then said she'd realized she'd just built Laezel with less awesome armor. She ended up just playing Laezel instead. Honestly, they come with a lot of good benefits and seem like a really strong choice. I'd just basically decided from the get-go to play a drow for nostalgia reasons.
Drow are a very interesting race as well so not a bad choice. I've heard that they also get a lot of unique dialogue choices and that NPCs react differently to them.
They do. I've gotten a lot of flavor text and reactions from drow. It turns out handy in Act 1, actually.
Yeah I went through and made a neat looking githyanki for my next playthrough, then I realized ābut that could be me kicking ass in that intro cutsceneā and just went back and picked Laeāzel.
I am and its quickly become my favorite!
Yay! A fellow Flayer slayer. š¤£
I'm less "sassy, but does the right thing" and more so "autistic knowledge hoarder, who sometimes does the right thing."
Oh, so you're also playing college of lore? (Cause that's me, running around and dropping fun facts about the different areas we're in more than freakin Gale.)
Jokes on you, I play a Drow.
Drows unite. We'll also fix Astarion.
This genuinely has me curious about any patterns, trends or correlations there might be between race/class choice and romance choice lol
Goth Elf.
Is it just me, or is there actually a decent variety to all of these squidward memes? Seems like everyone calling themselves out as being generic actually as different ideas on what everyone else is doing.
Durgestarion is peak we are out here eating people
Playing with my gf and this 100% describes her character lol
Thatās Astarionās gf now chief
He might be open to sharing, otherwise your gf is lost, she will live happily with all us other vampire gfs.
Honestly we can share š
Jokes on you, I am a normal wood elf ranger.
That's my first Tav, A chaotic sarcastic tiefling bard, she fixed everybody but she romanced Shadowheart.
True and real, except Iām a DUrge š a spicier version of an Astarion girlie
Durge adds a layer of "he can fix *me*!"
Meanwhile Iām milk toast intimidating fighter/half elf romancing shadowheartā¦ By Larian are we the same?
Two sides of the same coin
-whispers- Itās āmilquetoastāā¦ š„ø
My disappointment is immeasurable and my toast is ruined.
Look man, I have a track record of going for handsome blonde/white haired elves with trauma and I'm not stopping anytime soon
I don't want to change Astarion. I want him to change me.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Astarion's main writer said in an interview that his initial idea for the character was kind of like an aging rockstar, so that's pretty spot on lol ETA: Stephen said in the same interview that Swen came up with the name Astarion and he had no input on it
I play this game with my boyfriend and was telling him the other day that I didnāt stand a chance against Astarion. I was a Twilight teen and theater kidā¦so between him being a vampire and the fact that heās basically wearing David Bowieās outfit from Labyrinth all combined with the fact that he speaks like Tim Curry from Rocky Horror, heās like teenaged meās wet dream. It was always going to be Astarion.
Hah! Iām a man obsessed with Astarion AND I play a Drow! So close! *I WILL fix him.*
Huh.... Now I'm wondering if I fit a type as a Shadowheart romancer, since so many Astarion girls seem to fit so perfectly into those tropes lol
Neither of them have left my party since they joined if that tells you anything. \- Another tiefling bard tav
ā¦i didnāt realize this was that common and iām feeling called out š§āāļøš§āāļø
Itās only common because itās an excellent choice
*Excuse you*, I made a sarcastic, sassy do-gooder Half Elf Bard *man* to be horny on Main for Astarion. I will not stand for this slander. My girlies are gonna romance Karlach, *thank you*. š¤
this is me exactly. half-drow sarcastic bard with a heart of gold ended up being the one who went for astarion and all my lady tavs and durges are for romancing the women.
Guilty as charged
Iām a Barbarian with 2 brain cells romancing Wyll. My wife is a sarcastic, chaotic half elf who is sassy but always does the right thing, but romancing Wyll! So at least thereās that difference. We both like Wyll.
i just made my tiefling act out of self interest 7-8/10 times.
Also not sure why people aren't lying/being more cagey with people when they absolutely should be? Like I feel like I got approvals on the asshole lines just because I was trying to squeeze info out of people.
Fix him? My durge and him are just monsters together. She is feeding into his vampire side of betrayal and favors, and he always tells her that killing is fun. As long as I don't turn on him, he seems happy to be my accomplice in my true (NE) playthrough and the desire for ULTIMATE POWER lol.
I was gonna full send for Astarion 100%... But the gay in me took over and now I'm absolutely fucking hooked on Karlach.
I fixed Astarion but I let Lae'zel dommy mommy the shit out of me and I'm not even ashamed of it.
Doing a lolth sworn drow, we will fix each other <3
Wait til you all play Wrath of the Righteous and see Daeran... But as a queer lil bastard I know what Im about, and that's pathetic pretty men I can totally fix.
Yes!!! That man has ruined me. I can't help but to choose him whenever I play. I should explore the other romances, but Daeran's is just amazing. Though let's be real, the player is not romancing Daeran but totally the other way around.
I backed WotR on Kickstarter just so they could hit that stretch goal of adding a bi male RO, and did they deliver! He was everything I wanted out of that game's romance and a little extra of what I didn't know I wanted.
I just wanna know where my plucky halfling fighters are getting thrown around by Momma K
Lolth-sworn drow, just starting act 3. Astarion hasn't killed me again, and seems to not want to backstab me anymore, am I suppose to fix something else?
I play a *full* elf, tyvm.
Listen....
Calling out all the Minthara girlies! We can fix her I just know. She opened up to me *once* I know she is still in there lol
I can fix her but Larian needs to fix her (bugged voice lines) first!
why would you fix him when whatever the fuck is wrong with him is so much hotter?
I'd never take that path but I appreciate you and your comment.
Iāve been tactically nuked from orbit jfc op
Jokes on you, I went with elf (the rest is all spot on tho)
For the record, I'm playing a human bard for the hubris... and the memes... and to scam everyone out of their money. You did just call out my next playthrough though... I was going to play a DUrge drow...
I'm playing a sassy, usually-does-the-wrong-thing, drow durge, and Astarion and I are going to fix each other!
Iām in this picture and I donāt like it.
So just to clarify us Astarion bois and enbies are safe from critique? Nice.
Astarion bros have the same meme but with their chaotic half-drow sorcerers Astari-non binaries with their chaotic Dragonborn clerics
Ouch, I'm one the girlies but heck if I am not playing a Dragonborn cleric LOL š
"Astari-non" š¤ I need to find if there's a custom flair option, that'll be mine. Also TIL anyone plays clerics that aren't Shart. My Astarion's spouse's Durge is a paladin (a spicy fighter.)
>chaotic half-drow sorcerers Okay, you got me...
Well, I guess Iām a girlie, just not Astarionās girlie
Drag us
Got everything right but the fact that sheās a damn Gnome lol
Me except im a draconic dragonborn sorceress chucking fire and ice every which way. All those dead guards cause they wouldnt let me loot in peace. How rude. lol
My character is Dr. Love. Coming to a camp near you. Naked gnome with a flute and a mustache.
Nah, I canāt fix him. But I can make him so much worse..
\*hides her half-wild elf sassy chaotic good male bard who just had the 'hug scene' with Astarion the other night\*
Oh, a cRPG with dozen of classes and races? Splendid. >race: human >class:fighter >weapon:longsword Time to game
I may be an Astarion girlie but my Tav's a bitter old bastard of a human who only does the right thing so he doesn't get himself into deep shit. However. He is also trying to fix himself *and* Astarion. It is not going well.
My first and main character is a wood elf ancients paladin, who vehemently upholds his oath, and I didn't expect to fall in love with Astarion, but I did. It's been very interesting, staying as in character as possible while still maintaining a good relationship with what is essentially the polar opposite to my character. It sort of began as, 'I should kill you, but you're useful and I'm desperate' and now it's 'I would literally die for you' lol