OK. I'm seriously wondering if we're all playing the same game. What part of what I said is me making anything up and telling my own story? How do I have no foundation or basis?

Let's state the facts found in the game?

1. We don't REALLY know anything about Astarion other than he is a creature of the night who was prowling in the streets at night in Baldur's Gate. We only know this because we mind linked with him when we first met him. So we only got a brief snippet of who he really is. Nothing more.

2. He SAYS he is a vampire spawn. Do we really know this? For all we know, he could be Cazador himself.

3. He SAYS, if you trigger the dialogue, that he was a noble some 200 years ago who was dying and Cazador saved him by biting him and making him into a vampire spawn. We only have his word for this.

4. He SAYS he only feasts on animals, never on people. However, he asks you to let him drink your blood, AND, more importantly, as soon as you find out he's a vampire spawn he gains the ability to bite people and drink their blood. He can then do so, and he tells you that he will only kill those who are your enemies. He promises. He swears it. Really.

5. Just about every dialogue option you choose that is murderous, greedy, etc. makes him approve. Everything nice and kind and unselfish makes him disapprove.

6. He has scars on his back, supposedly from Cazador. Once again, this is only coming from him. You don't REALLY have any proof of that.

7. When you first encounter him, he puts a blood dagger to your throat, if you make the wrong choice. So, yes, if you make the right choice, he doesn't put the dagger to your throat and might not be able to kill you. However, if you make the wrong choice, it doesn't take much to slit a person's throat when you have a dagger to it. He obviously didn't want to kill you. He wanted you to be his meat shield. He wanted to hide behind you, and he lets you do all the work while he remains in the background.

8. Yes, he acts cocky and prissy and... frankly... like a noble. That's the part he's playing, naturally. However, you see snippets of his evil side come out when you visit with the priest of Loviatar, when you kill the Tieflings and druids, etc., etc. etc.


And there are more. The point is, many of you are judging these characters too soon. The game's only about 20% done. Wait to see what their true stories are. THAT was all I was trying to say. I"m not "building an entire scaffolding of judgement and character assessment here all on your own with virtually nothing to support it and a lot to detract from it." This is also not "all based largely on a personal preference and a fiction you've built around them that isn't reflected in the game in any tangible way." It's fan theory. I'm not saying I think I'm totally right. I even said I could be wrong. I'm not thinking that I've guessed every aspect of every character in the game.

I'm just saying that many so quick to assume Astarion is some lame, flamboyant character with no good story and he's just some Twilight wannabe good only for memes. It's only 20% of the game! Your take is that he's just weak and lame. My take is something totally different. All you can see is that he's dumb. I'm trying to get people to maybe, just maybe, consider the possibility - possibility mind you - that Astarion and ALL the origin characters are maybe just a bit more than what you think they are.

Gale didn't connect mentally with you immediately upon meeting him. He's the only one. Why? If he was Mystra's lover boy, he must have been REALLY powerful. If he got that crazy magic in him, he must have been a GREAT wizard of some kind. Wyll was the Blade of Frontiers. At one point, he says he could summon fire and such. He makes himself sound like he was level 10 or higher. Shadowheart may have been some super servant of Shar, or possibly a powerful Selune Cleric. Lae'zel sounds like she could have, and she believes should have, been worthy of being a Kith'rak. She makes several comments about how she SHOULD have been one and it was her right.

So I ask you, if all that is true, why would Astarion just be some level 1 rogue weakling with no real vampire spawn traits to speak of?
Why would every other companion potentially be someone really tough only to wind up being level 1 noobs also? Could it be that when they got the tadpole, their entire lives were reset from scratch, just like your MC? They were super tough, but now they're not. Why? And if the others were tough, why wouldn't Astarion be? If he is, in fact, 200 years old, why on EARTH wouldn't he be tougher than a level 1 rogue UNLESS whatever has happened to him has messed with his abilities? And, if he was tough previously, why WOULDN'T he be deceptive and pretend like he's some weakling who can't do anything until he's able to regain some of his former strength? Why wouldn't he make everyone think he's flamboyant and funny and not a threat at all?

I mean, why would a vampire or vampire spawn ever want to make people think that they are baby weaklings who aren't a threat? Why would they ever pretend to be friendly and witty and just go with the flow? Even IF Astarion really is just a vampire spawn and he's just trying to escape Cazador, why wouldn't he still want to convince people that he's not a threat to them at all? If he hardly uses his teeth and other vampire spawn abilities, wouldn't they naturally begin to think less of him; like he's not a threat? And if he concocts some story about being torture by Cazador and forced to eat rats, wouldn't that only add to the illusion he's potentially creating to lull his companions into a false sense of security?

I mean, think about it. He's got you all fooled into thinking he's just some idiot flamboyant moron. If he was real, I wonder what he'd do with you all if you walked alone with him at night... or even during the day. I'm fairly certain you'd all write him off as nobody dangerous, and you'd find out real quick he is holding back.

But again, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe my fan theories are totally off base. Maybe Larian did just create an idiot comic relief character with no real depth or personality. Maybe he IS just a meme and he won't amount to anything. If that's true, then yes. I'd be VERY disappointed. However, I think you're all kidding yourselves if you think that's going to happen. Look at the pics. The man has blood trailing from his lips with a wicked smile on his face. He might retain his flamboyance. Who knows? But I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was someone WAY more special than he appears to be in EA... just like all the origin characters... just like how YOU, the MC, are obviously far more than you appear to be in the EA.