Originally Posted by Linnea
Originally Posted by Nyloth
Originally Posted by Linnea
If you romance him while roleplaying an evil character then I doubt he would have a redemption arc. But if you romance him while roleplaying a good character I don't see why he couldn't have a redemption arc. People aren't static. They can change depending on life events, people they meet, etc.


At least because you need to do evil things to get Astarion's approval. If you do what he doesn't like (good actions), you won't get approval and you won't have romance... So how he will change if you need to do evil actions?
So if he can change in other way, like ‘not approved’ way, it’s stupid. Cuz Wyll, for example, doesn't get evil, he just walks away from you if he don’t like your choice. This is logical.


Originally Posted by Vamathi
Pretty sure, if you go ahead and tease him a little it doesn't matter. I definitely romanced him on neutral and mid approval.



And it's still something. You still need to do something for it. My opinion, Astarion should not approve of good choice. He literally approves of kicking squirrels and killing anyone lol. So if you choose a good option and he makes that pained voice, it should cause him to disapprove of your choice. This is what happens with characters, well maybe not Gale, he only thinks about magic food. And I don't see why it should be any different with Astarion. Like I said, Yes, maybe you can make him neutral. But kind? ... meh...

Also happy ending is not equal to a "good" ending, if you know what I mean...

edit: I mean imagine that you are playing as evil character and good character changes to the evil side (this is the reverse example). I've never seen this before... It's not fair that ppl always trying change evil characters, but this never happens with good characters.




I am not expecting a potential redemption arc to suddenly turn him into a lawful good saint. Just a little less...murder-happy?

However in the end 'it is what it is' and I can hope for a good ending for Astarion and my PC, but if it ends in heartbreak I will be fine. (I romance Solas in Dragon Age Inquisition so I know all about that lol)



That's pretty much what I'm expecting/hoping for too. I find his comment on the exchange of lives during the tiefling party interesting. He finds joy in killing and doesn't seem to value any individual life above another (aside from his own.) I've thought about this philosophy a lot because, as good characters, we tend to decide one group of people has more of a right to live than another without giving much thought to the group that's deemed 'bad.' Astarion's approach is truly zero-sum which is fairly in line with a neutral evil character. Ofc, some of his actions are more chaotic evil. It makes sense that at the point we meet him, he values all life equally low since lives were completely disposable under Cazador. His joy in killing and the torture of others could stem from Stockholm syndrome as a survival mechanism, where seeing these things inflicted on others meant his own safety. Until we know more about what he was like before he was turned, it's possible that a lot of his interactions and approval ratings may stem from how he survived and maintained a degree of sanity through Cazador's abuse. I think he could be pulled more toward true neutral if he could gain an overall greater appreciation for life and if MC doesn't treat him as a monster. Basically, I think this guy really needs a friend lol

I'm really hoping they don't go with unavoidable tragedy. I wanted to romance Solas but never could because my heart just can't take it. I've had enough tragedy in my real life. I want my characters to have at least happyish endings.