Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Do you guys like Astarion as an NPC?

I like Astarion as an NPC. Not my favorite, but I enjoy his personality and also want to know how his story develops.

I find it kind of funny how many people compare Astarion to the Twilight/True Blood vampires, when he always reminded me more of the Interview with the Vampire ones... he's just too flamboyant and not nearly broody enough to be in any way similar to Edward Cullen or whatever. In my opinion at least.

Anyway, I find Astarion as an NPC just fine. I've talked to him a lot more in my latest playthrough and I don't know if it's connected to the latest patch or just me being out of the loop, but he has gotten a lot of good and interesting dialogue that better characterize him. Like the whole mirror conversation is kind of funny if you decide not to take the flirty route, and the fact that you can actually kill him outright when he tries to nibble on you is pretty great.

If I recall correctly killing him was an option in the very beginning but was removed later on to encourage the interaction with him. I think it is a safe bet to say that the "kill" option will be there at release.

Don't mind him, not my favourite.

I like all the companions in their own way, they are quite different from each other and add flavour. People are way too sensitive...

I very mcuha gree. Anne Rice's/World of Darkness is the lore fo vampires I like absolutely best.

I think the author of the topic is a troll. Astarion is an absolute favorite of the majority girls who play the game, and in general, a very charismatic character. And not only girls, it is also a character for the lgbt community which at the same time does not cause irritation heterosexual players like Dorian Pavus (radical gay from Dragon Age Inquisition) which is very good

Source?
What? Source... I guess? What?

He reminds me of Daeran from Pathfinder: https://pathfinderwrathoftherighteous.wiki.fextralife.com/Daeran

Annoying at first, but fun later on.

Although, Daeran is more interesting.

I don't really like him myself. So I just leave him on the beach. His introduction felt really off. He comes off like he is flirting with you right from the get go. Maybe if they rework his introduction scene. Honestly I hope they introduce other characters that can join you.

i laughed when the Queen said she wanted me to keep him after i said i didn't want him, and then two minutes later i sent him packing. So satisfying lol. You can tell the game knew he would be annoying to a lot of players if they have to give you a contrived reason for him to stick around.

If you would have let him stay, you wouldn't have regretted it, he's one of the funniest characters as the game progresses.

I just love this character.

He seems to divide the players community into two fronts, those who hate him and those who love him. No matter which side you're on, he evokes strong emotions - and that just shows how well written he is. Especially since people could just avoid him, but why would anyone, since he makes us feel so much?

Additionally he's quite interesting to observe as well:


I'm super curious, how his story will continue and what's gonna happen to him, I just don't want him to break my heart, I'm not ready for another Solas, I am still not over that.

Please no. Don't assume that my dislike of Astarion is due to how well written he is, like he's a Geoffrey from Game of Thrones or something. He's just a terrible character. He's a pouty vampire that you're forced to be stupid around when you meet him because Larian. That's the entire extent of my feelings around him. I hate him because my character turns into an idiot around him without my choice.

Right - people with different opinions are trolls now? Interesting.
I'm a girl and I hate Astarion. Not everyone is into Twilight stuff.
I would like to see proof for your statement.

I think that after reading people's takes on him I have begin to find him a little more interesting from a narrative sense. I agree that in particular his singularity in being the one character who wants to use the tadpole makes him of particular interest. If people's theories turn out to be true that we might end up facing the party members we don't bring with us as enemies I think he will make the most interesting villain too, because of said tadpole thing.

I don't like astarion and kill him on sight with holy fire. he is a disgrace for the rogue profession and is so edgy, listening to him inflict slashing damage instead of thunder damage.

that being said, my problem is with the idea of him, the execution is absolutely perfect. but as I said somewhere else, the moment he draws his butter knife, roll initiative.

now that I've read the whole thread, I will go a bit deeper...
- the whole torture thing isn't an excuse to be a jerk, it never is. you choose the way you are treating others and, well, his choices lead him to meet the sacred flame. it is ironically fitting for a mediocre rogue to die to a dex save.
- having a bigger than life character in the party is fun, especially if it is just a facade to cover deep trauma, but if I have to travel and fight with someone, there is a bare minimum that he does not meet. not at first, not after.
- at no point our character is allowed to shut him down and force him to be a bit more humble, my character have twice his intelligence, I'm still forced to go along with his nonsense

the fact that he never learn is just the icing on the cake, I guess I could try an "evil" playthrough to see if there is something to him but honestly, siding with the goblins seems way more like a lack of wisdom than being selfish ( which is the definition of evil in d&d ) you cannot gain anything by joining a cult which uses illithid tadpoles and thinking you can control it is naive at best

note also that by design, average 5e characters are barely more intelligent than a giant ape since intelligence no longer impacts your proficiencies and became a dump stat... I saw that shadowheart went from 8 to 10, maybe astarion got the same (and in that case, my character don't quite have twice his int) but I don't really care.

I think Astarion has some potential as a character (he has clear values, agency, and goals as a character), but as it stands, his overall antagonistic actions/views towards the "standard" player and the party really makes it hard to like him as a companion. He really should just be an NPC (likely enemy)

As of right now, I feel like he's kept in my party mainly due to meta reasons (i.e. his face is one of the characters on the cover of the game, hence important, don't kill).

In general, the string of interactions you have with Astarion (in particular the his dumb plan and hostile introduction and plus the boundary breaking, creepy attempt to drink your blood) really forces a player to ask the question as to - why am I keeping this person around? Regardless of your player's alignment.

The blood drinking interaction is particularly heinous for any alignment of player character because he's actively attempting to harm a party member, an ally in battle. Even "evil" parties need certain limits and boundaries to co-exist properly. Not only is his actions boundary breaking and hostile (again), the fact that he was dumb enough to choose the main character as a target for this "first" attempt (who is a useful ally and can actually fight back) also shows a certain level of incompetence that is unattractive as an asset. E.g. the fact that he chose you to attack, over any relatively harmless prey (i.e. random, frail commoner X) or maybe even just staying behind to "finish off" one of the numerous wounded enemies the party faces, shows an inability to control his impulses and a lack of tact and strategic decision making. Even for evil main characters, Astarion is very likely a liability at best, and an antagonistic force at worst.

He is also the only companions that don't offer you something or a reason to keep him after being the only initially hostile companion. No cure solutions (Lae'zel). No knowledge (Gale). No artefacts (Shadowheart). No history being a comrade-at-arms (Wyll/Shadowheart/Lae'zel). The only reason why he joins the party is because he suffers from the same condition, but his eventual goal even shifts towards wanting to keep the parasite, which basically misaligns him with the main quest and casts of the game.

I think the easiest way to illustrate how "off" Astarion feels is to compare him to another more "blatantly evil" character - Lae'zel. Despite probably being willing to kill us with no hesitation, it makes way more sense for us to work with because:

1) She wants to be cured too
2) She offers a solution to cure the parasite
3) Your relationship with her starts off fighting side-by-side (in most cases)

It's very easy for a good or evil character to rationalize keeping Lae'zel in the party.

It really boils down to this. I really have no reason to keep Astarion around, and the story seems to actively push him towards being an antagonistic force, regardless of my character's own alignment.

I think the evil path in BG3 has issues in general, and in some ways, Astarion (being the most evil of companions) seems to suffer from that same issue. Maybe Larian is aware of this and that is why we're suddenly getting more interactions to exile/betray/kill Astarion.

I do not have strong emotions towards him at all. I do find him interesting but he is just not introduced in a way that I could include him in most playthroughs.

I can definitely agree with this. The only characters of mine who keep him around are those who feel sorry for him. Everyone else of any alignment is either going to kill him on meeting him or when he shows he cannot control himself with the blood drinking incident. A bit of a shame really because he works well as a companion for a pro tadpole run.

Everybody has different tastes in personality but given that Astarion is a high elf noble, vampire rogue. His personality fits his background. He is very useful in combat specially with his vampire bite that he gets after you allow him to drink your blood. 100% effective every time . I personally don't like Lae'zel's personality. I think she's a b**ch, lol, but I keep her because she's the only warrior companion, as I always play a magic type character.