So you're actually buying into how the tadpole conveniently explains everything that would be challenging about vampires because of game mechanics? That's precisely what makes the writing feel weak to me. They cherry picked the vampire traits that caused probelms and explained them with a really weak plot device "because tadpole". Daylight, entering houses, crossing water.. not a problem. Drinking blood, still a "problem" because you can have a fun ability and an extremely cringe camp scene.
In this particular situation, I do buy into this: something/someone wants to keep our group alive (or at least undead, in Astarion's case), for reasons yet unknown, most likely because it has some plans for us or needs us. Right at the beginning of the game, we witness some force intervening and preventing our character from crashing on the beach with full speed.
If Astarion still had all his vampire traits, he could very easily be killed by sunlight and running water, so whoever seems to protect our group has a good reason to remove these traits. And not beeing able to enter a home without invitation might be very impractical, if we are indeed, like I think, still needed for something. Drinking blood on the other hand would not be an obstacle.
I think that our group is somehow different from the other tadpoled people who did not survive the crash, and I think that we were saved because we have something useful: Gale, for example, has the Netherese orb, and is a former chosen of Mystra, and the scars on Astarion's back are definitely not a poem and may have some importance. To me, this would also explain why everyone in our party is very "special".
As for Astarion being Level 1, I am very fine with that. Luring/seducing people is not a skill that has practical value when adventuring
And being a magistrate is also not very helpful in this situation.
But these are just my thoughts and theories, and I love to read what other players think. Reading something written from a different perspective is always very interesting, I like the exchange of ideas 🙂
