Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Astarion romance improvements

The mystery is solved! This is what I ran into today (the website won't let me embed the short for some reason)

https://youtube.com/shorts/pCOVUyV-iRE?si=_WOIpKPQ6vt4-CK6

That kiss is something else... hot damn.

Daaaaaaaamn, 1 point goes to Gryff-Ametris-dor!

Sucks to be wrong yet again hahaha. Don't worry, I'm used to it!

I could've sworn it was a hand holding situation though, damn you Larian for giving us the most scuffed of angles for both kissing and love scenes...

The ingame angles are so prudish. I'd like to see this scene start off from the same back angle as in the short (so we can properly see the sexy grab), then switch to the profile shot and also allow us to see him using his second hand, then just continue with what is already there.

Well you can use the free camera mod. He makes exactly the same movement with his leg and then kisses you. Like I don't think I can upload it here because they're not wearing clothes!

Not sure if you guys have seen or brought up the vampire bride / groom theory for the ascended route, but I actually find it incredibly convincing. It answers basically all the open questions I still had about Astarion’s behavior immediately post ascension and after making the PC into a “spawn”.

It even creates a fitting justification for why the spawn PC does not burn up in the dock cutscene even if you kill Astarion, and it also justifies why Astarion would let spawn DUrge kill themselves on the dock in front of him after betraying Bhaal as his prophet. They’re not a spawn, but a bride / groom which are only bound to Astarion by a link that ensures they can’t actually injure one another without injuring themselves. They can’t actually be compelled.

Check it out.

Nyloth also has a fantastic short with overlaid text from 2e describing the bride groom method, here’s the link:

https://youtube.com/shorts/I4CfTJj64JE?si=Ne0EISXRHsl8PUUv

I've been thinking some more and have come up with new suggestions for the romance. I'll start with the one that would need the most work, down to the least complicated one.

1. An extra scene in act 3 after finishing Astarion's quest, basicly a date scene.
- If Tav is Astarion's consort he could take them out into the night to teach them more about vampirism and how to hunt. Also, he could show off his new powers without prying eyes nearby.
- If Astarion is a spawn he could take Tav out into the city and show them his favourite and/or secret spots where he used to hang out.

2. New options after passing the dryad love test if the romance was discontinued earlier.

Larian said before the release they wanted the romances to feel very real. One of the things that can happen in real life is that sometimes people break up, even end up with someone else, but then they get back together with their initial partner. You can't do that in the game. Once you break up with a companion, there's no way to rekindle the relationship. I think there should be a moment in act 3 where you can change your mind about your previous decisons. The love test is a fun gimmick scene but it could actually become something more and serve this purpose. You can ask any companion to do it with you and you basicly admit then that you have feelings for them. Surely that would make them think and see Tav in a new light, right?
I think it would only work if Tav had heard Astarion's confession, and they had high approval. If you passed the test, he could tell Tav afterwards that although the whole thing had been pretty entertaining, he was wondering about Tav's motivation for doing it with him if they'd previously offered to just be his friend or got involved with someone else. Tav could then pick one of the following options:

a) although at the time they thought it was the right thing to do, they can't stop seeing him as more than a friend, the feelings are still there
b) they still have feelings for him and regret getting involved with someone else
c) they still have feelings for him but it might be better to stick to the current arrangement
c) it was just for fun and the dryad is clueless (a total lie)

If interest in him is expressed then Astarion would ask Tav if what they meant is that they wanted to get back with him. Then the next lines would depend on his approval:
- if exceptional he would say he'd never stopped having feelings as well and that that is what he would like.
- if very good that he'd thought about it a couple of times and he would then ask for a confirmation if Tav was sure about it.
- If good, Tav would have to persuade him to get back together.
- if lower then he would turn Tav down.

If Tav was with someone else, then Astarion would ask them to deal with their current partner before they proceed.

3. Romanced Astarion should have different dialogues when he's dismissed from the party.

It's quite jarring when he's telling Tav 'I thought we had something special' when it's already established that that's the case, even more so after finishing his quest. He should have different lines for Act 2/pre-Cazador and then new lines post-Cazador for spawn and ascendant paths. Maybe he could even have different lines if he'd been dumped at some point.

4. A gifting option for Astarion.

Shadowheart can get a flower and I'd like to give him a small gift too! He has this funny banter with her about missing his calling as a perfumer, so I think a perfume would be a nice present for him.

5. Astarion should totally have a funny comment when distracting disciple Z'rell with lusts for him.

I mean, everyone has a unique comment depending on how we've dealt with the goblins a moment later. It should be the same in this situation, especially if you choose such a hilarious deflection and Astarion is right there and he can hear Z'rell drooling over him.

I'm almost sure we need Upper City for this. Astarion even has a comment about upper city. I am sure this is his real location, not the lower one.

I really don’t think Durge needs help in that department.

There is no doubt about it in mind, we are his Ascended Bride. Astarion still attempts to probably control us through manipulation by telling us we are a spawn, but we are most definitely a bride. Period. I just want everything when it comes to Astarion. Ascended, Non-Ascended. I want more in the story & cut scenes. Hell, I would watch movies of cut scenes of the life after the game with Astarion. Neil & the writers who brought Astarion to life have made my perfect pixel man. In all the aspects of him, the whole package. Either way, he is the reason I play the game. If it was not for this character, I don't know if I would play as much as I do. Period. So I have high hopes for how much more they will show us of the amazing story of this character. I seriously want it all.

Astarion makes me feel greedy and, honestly, I’m happy with that!

I'm hoping we get to see it one day and that they relocate Cazador's mansion. Astarion talks about it being imposing and such and then we see it awkwardly perched above the Lower City and have to access it through some random guard tower. It needs a proper grand entrance!


They could always tailor the scene to Durge like they do with other origins.


I find the whole bride explanation both extremely touching and silly of Astarion. He finally finds someone who truly cares about him after 200 years of pure shit and then he's so desperate to keep them that he 'marries' them as soon as he can. And then he can tell them he doesn't intend to die, if they don't. Retreating into the palace for a decade to spend time together also sounds like his idea of a honeymoon. He's such an adorable love sap sometimes.


Same. We need more of him!

I have a lot of negativity about the game, storytalling i mean, but only Astarion keeps me in the game for 700 hours. i hope Larian give us new content or DE or DLC. I want tolk only good singth about this game =D

I've been playing computer games since the days of Daggerfall (yes I'm that old - sigh) and I don't think in all those years any other game character has had as much impact as Astarion.
Most game NPC companions are just fun with a few quests, or eye candy, or basically pack mules.
Astarion actually touches my heart in a way I never expected a pixel character to ever manage. Like another poster said earlier, he's probably the only reason I'm still playing this game instead of moving on to others.

Neil and the writing team did a superlative job - well, until last battle and the end anyway and I'm honestly unconvinced that the same writer wrote the end scenes.

But thats why his unascended ending on the docks is such a kick in the teeth, you can't make us care about characters then pull the rug out from under like that.
It not only disrespects the character, but it disrespects their entire narrative throughout the game and the players who become fond of him.

I'm going the bride path this time out, simply because the so called 'good route' is the worst ending for a character I care about that I could imagine and the total lack of anything remotely resembling a proper wrap up ending just makes it 100 times worse.

I also believe, with a few other posters here, that Larian has a downer on his character. Every patch breaks something integral to his romance as if we are not supposed to get together with him.
Much as I like kissing Astarion I would prefer it to be on the mouth not him kissing my forehead sigh.
His actual romance scenes often cut dialogue short now and we get the infamoous 'continue' when they played perfectly pre patch 3.
And apparently we can't see him naked in sex scenes without strategically placed candles or the camera deciding that the ceiling looks lovely at this time of year?
So sex with a bear is OK but not with Astarion?
Really Larian? - grow up!

One thing that really annoys me is the lack of any reference to previous games and vampire lore from them. Even the cut withers end dialogues still waffle on about Astarion and Tav searching through old tomes to find a cure for Spawn Astarion.
If Jaheira is alive all they have to do is ask her, she is a cured vampire herself from BG2. Continuity with previous games (and the lore they created) is a least something they should give a passing nod to.
Game went to the trouble of putting Astarions age and apparent length of time as a vampire sufficiently far under the point of no return time span to make a cure possible. It just doesn't make sense that if shes alive she wouldn't tell Tav or if she's dead that one of her kids dooesn't find her notes on it and pass them on.
I mean in real life if you know something that can make a friends life easier you'd tell them right?

Be believable Larian, plot holes for the sake of angst and poignancy with nothing to back them up make zero sense, something that happens a lot in this game towards the end and not just to Astarion.

I agree with nearly everything said by the OP and many of the suggestion they make, and comments from other posters, are things that I believe almost every Astarion fan has either thought or posted about before.

i agree with op too. And i want add, Kazador/Astarion storytale must be more long. We have 5 minutes dialog and it is strange. In EA time, i think this will be more dramatic and informative. But all i get this 5 minuts. I dont say about cut content and political Kazador role...
In this topic or another somebody saing about bal in Kazador castel. I was thinking the same thing. Maybe something like Winter Palace in DAI.

I can't say this is a plot hole. Apparently, this must be an artistic trick in which Astarion deserves redemption by sacrificing the sun for the sake of the people he ruined. Redemption must be bitter. Another thing is that I hate all our actions at the end. We can't run after him. We can't comfort him or anything like this. I also hate how he reacts to our suicide. All final reactions are performed very poorly. Also, do not forget that Astarion is 200 years old, many options for curing vampirism do not work for him. If they add some cure to the game, then his lesson will not be learned.

It honestly feels like they slapped the ending together just to have something there for the release but didn't focus on any details whatsoever. Too many things, reactions and options are missing in there. Enjoy the ascended route, Bethra! It's much more coherent.


Isn't the cut epilogue merely a followup to the option to look for a way for Astarion to walk in the sun again? He never expresses willingness to revert to being a mortal in the game so it wouldn't make sense for Withers to refer to that.
I think what they could give the players instead is the ability to convince Jaheira to let Tav use her Rite of the Timeless Body scroll to perform the druidic ritual so they can slow down their aging. This way they can extend their time with Astarion.

If anyone was curious if the hotfix 11 patched anything related to our romance grievances... It didn't. At least the broken kiss was promised to be fixed in the future.

Dang it, still waiting for Larian to fix the stupid candle scene in AA romance…

I remembered a line from the devs before launch how Astarion's romance starts once we allow him to feed on us and that that's just how it works with him. Let's compare it to Gale's (weave scene) and Wyll's (dance scene) romance beginnings, which are clearly romantic and intimate in nature. Although, the bite is without a doubt intimate due to it's physical proximity aspect, there is nothing amorous about it. In fact, throughout the scene Tav looks like they're suffering and struggling to break free. We could argue it's Astarion's first time and he's very hungry and not gentle at all, but then later on, he comments on noticing how we'd enjoyed it and we can actually admit it to be true. The words just don't match the actions.
It seems this scene was designed to be neutral and noncommital so it would work for both friendship and romance paths, and I'd prefer if it did in fact have more suggestive undertones, like with other male romances. I think there should be an extra option where we can select that Tav is feeling excitement with Astarion being suddenly so close to them and finding the whole thing pleasurable. The animation should change then to a more relaxed and sensual one, maybe with Tav putting their hand on his back and him leaning down a bit lower or even straddling Tav during the last persuasion check when he's losing himself in the bloodlust.
If Tav can tell him they enjoyed it, I want to actually see them do that in the scene and not writhe in agony.

This is exactly how i justify some of my characters letting him bite them. I was surprised such an obvious option wasn't available. Especially if the scene serves as a starting point for the romance.