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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Sep 2023
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None of what you say explains what Raphael describes the vampire ascendant is. He clearly states that Casador will have all the arousals of men return to him meaning that he will be a LIVING vampire with the appetites and feeling(?) of men. Basically a "superman" with vampire powers. The lore you state is a description of a true vampire, not an ascendant. There has NEVER been a vampire ascendant (at least that what the game states) before according to Raphael, because the ritual (besides being diabolical) is almost impossible to perform. Casador have been at it for nearly 200 years, collecting the souls, getting all the pieces in place.
So it really is all speculations on our part, for we have no concrete description as to what the ascendance does to a vampire. Well, as far as i concern the ascending was a good ending. And i can't even believe that there are people who is actually thinking that letting 7000+ vampire spawns to go wild/free is a "good ending". But, when after ritual he began to tell how he wants take over the world (this guys many times said how much he hate when powerfull dudes dissing around the small folks), i remembered that oh yeah, this is is Hell's ritual made up by Mephisto, so ofc it has fine print details to it, as for example pulling the "alignment"/soul of the ritual user closer to Hell, it could not been any other way. So Dunno, i would say it still better that the alternative, at least its more climatic.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2020
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There are three possible resolutions to Astarion's quest, not two -
ascending, not ascending + spawn "alive", and not ascending + spawn "dead".
If the future state of the Underdark really bothers you, pick the third option.
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member
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member
Joined: Jan 2021
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Agreed. The way the writers joke about his suffering really killed the mood for me I don't like Astarion one bit and let me tell you that I was smiling from ear to ear when I saw that. I think he is a ridiculous character that in a real campaign around a table with your friends would be unceremoniously murdered on the spot, looted and forgotten as one of the many edgy npcs of the DM. BUT, hear me out  I get why people like him and its completely fine and valid. I think that what that scene needs is the option to help him/follow him. Maybe the other party members make a joke about him starting to burn and you get the option to angrily shut them down, as you remind them that Astarion is your friend/lover and that for him being robbed of his ability to stand in the sun is very serious and sad. Then maybe your character could grab something like a cloak and shield him from the light or simply ran after him. The other option would be to join the other party members in the hilarity of the situation and point and laugh at the poor bastard. That's what I'd do, but both options should be available for the player so that those who like him and those who don't can both get their saying on the matter.
- Firm believer in Mindflayer supremacy -
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Sep 2023
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I also support this idea to get a possiblity to have a better 'sun scene' with Astarion.
In my 1st playthrough I was not a big friend with him, as a rogue myself, I have never had him in my group and I have even missed most of his personal quest, so the ending seemed somehow appropriate.
But now in my 2nd playthrough I am romancing him and if I imagine, that the ending scene will be completely same... It is just so sad and humiliating for him. He had so much growth as character during the game, especially if he rejected the ritual and all he gets in return are his companions (and lover) just standing there and making fun of him. Yes, he is basicaly 'evil', but even in this case, if the player is friend with him or even a lover, this is such an awful scene... Would be really nice if Larian took this in consideration.
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2020
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Oh, and one little thing about the ascending storyline made me feel like this was the deathblow to the romance and couldn't give the happy ending: If you decide to let him make you his spawn and you pass the insight (or maybe it was mind reading) during the sex scene, you learn that while he demands you to get on your knees, he'll also resent you if you do. I think it's a great example of writing where the character doesn't actually want what he wants. It's great and it's horrible. He doesn't resent you. In that scene if you pass the wisdom check to look into his mind narrator states that he thinks that for as long as you will remain with him you are degrading yourself and that maybe you do want to degrade yourself and he knows it. There is absolutely nothing about him resenting you. But him thinking that you are degrading yourself is... almost just as bad. He clearly stopped loving Tav/Durge the moment he ascended and instead he became overly possessive of them. Hence the 'degrading yourself' line.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Dec 2020
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I'm not the biggest Astarion fan, but he did grow on me a bit during the game and I'm kind of sad seeing him just running from the sun again.
I mean, I headcanon, that the group will help him cope, but still. There is honestly not even an alternative - I won't let him ascend into a monster or take control of the brain (which wouldn't really help anyway).
Is the romanced ending a bit better?
"We are all stories in the end. Just make it a good one."
Doctor Who
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Aug 2023
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I'm not the biggest Astarion fan, but he did grow on me a bit during the game and I'm kind of sad seeing him just running from the sun again.
I mean, I headcanon, that the group will help him cope, but still. There is honestly not even an alternative - I won't let him ascend into a monster or take control of the brain (which wouldn't really help anyway).
Is the romanced ending a bit better? You get a little talk with him afterwards. (If you are lucky to get it, seems its bugged and not everyone gets it) The scene at the docs is the same. 
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Dec 2020
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I'm not the biggest Astarion fan, but he did grow on me a bit during the game and I'm kind of sad seeing him just running from the sun again.
I mean, I headcanon, that the group will help him cope, but still. There is honestly not even an alternative - I won't let him ascend into a monster or take control of the brain (which wouldn't really help anyway).
Is the romanced ending a bit better? You get a little talk with him afterwards. (If you are lucky to get it, seems its bugged and not everyone gets it) The scene at the docs is the same. That is a real bummer, if the scene is bugged. You should be able to cast Darkness for him at the docks tbh. and then bring him out of the sun.
"We are all stories in the end. Just make it a good one."
Doctor Who
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apprentice
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apprentice
Joined: Sep 2023
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Oh, and one little thing about the ascending storyline made me feel like this was the deathblow to the romance and couldn't give the happy ending: If you decide to let him make you his spawn and you pass the insight (or maybe it was mind reading) during the sex scene, you learn that while he demands you to get on your knees, he'll also resent you if you do. I think it's a great example of writing where the character doesn't actually want what he wants. It's great and it's horrible. He doesn't resent you. In that scene if you pass the wisdom check to look into his mind narrator states that he thinks that for as long as you will remain with him you are degrading yourself and that maybe you do want to degrade yourself and he knows it. There is absolutely nothing about him resenting you. But him thinking that you are degrading yourself is... almost just as bad. He clearly stopped loving Tav/Durge the moment he ascended and instead he became overly possessive of them. Hence the 'degrading yourself' line. Well spotted! You are right, degrading is the word that they use in the exact line. I interpret that'd also include some level of resentment behind it. My reasoning is that he is giving an ultimatum in that scene, telling naked Tav that he either goes down on his knees or this is all going to end here, and the narrator tells you that he thinks Tav is degrading himself if he accepts this. I thought that feelings of resentment would also be a natural part of such a situation.
However, I also think that this is all open for different interpretations and don't think that mine is necessarily the best one. I might be well off from what the writer intended.
Also, I admit that I might also just get things plain wrong, since English isn't my native language and emotionally important words always translate with culturally different connotations.
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Oct 2023
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i think future content will be a thing maybe hoping lol .. more maps and more adventure dnd maybe cool and more lands maybe entire planet in the future lol
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Oct 2023
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Ascension should be the bad ending, Astarion has to kill several thousands of innocents in order to become stronger. Such a sacrifice should and did take its toll on his mental state, further worsening his urge to control both his fate and the fates of others.
However. Not ascending him does leave a bad taste in your mouth for two reasons at least:
1. Him remaining a vampire spawn comes with its downsides, one of which is the inability to stay under the sun. Through the course of the game Astarion has a chance to bask in the sun, has other privileges he'd been missing for many decades, and now that the tadpole is gone, everything is ripped away from him again. He has to come to terms with the consequences of his decision, and instead of focusing on that, the game ending plays it off as a joke. It would be great if that scene was somehow balanced.
2. Him not ascending means we have 7k+ vampire spawns going to the Underdark. These are not self-sufficient, strong-willed creatures, we're talking 7k+ tormented souls without any training or experience whatsoever wandering freely somewhere out there. There are numerous ways to get to the surface in Act 1 alone, imagine how many of those 7k+ will eventually climb up and succumb to their hunger. It's an entire evil army we can't even control... Releasing them is considered a good action, but it's stupid as hell, I can't understand why everyone just agrees with it and never brings it up again. Make it not 7k+ at least, that's way too much xd You can still kill the 7k spawn and not have him ascend. It's what I did. It's presented as a mercy killing (because they're dying, but their souls aren't being sent to hell like they would have been with the ritual, so they'll finally be at peace). I don't believe that option was presented as the "bad" one because the characters express doubts both if you do kill the spawn and if you release them, either way no one is 100% satisfied with the outcome. But even if it is supposed to be the "bad" choice, I don't care because unleashing 7,000 hungry and feral vampire spawn into the world is frankly idiotic. I wish there was an option to only release the Gur children but mercy kill the rest. I love the way Astarion's story is written. He is an unreliable narrator who keeps saying half truths and downplaying a lot of how he actually feels. A lot is not said and is left for the player to interpret. Here's an easy example: If you romance him and he doesn't ascend, you can ask him how he sees your relationship. He answers: "Uh, nothing special, of course. You're only the first person who I truly care for. Ummh..."
I believe that a) this relationship is very special to him, b) it's at least the first time in a very long time when he is in a healthy relationship where the partners are equals, and could be the first time ever and c) he doesn't actually mean that he never cared for anyone else, because we've seen how emotionally he reacts eg. when he finds out what happened to all the people he lured to Cazador. None of this is explicit in that answer, but I think it's still obvious enough. I think when he says "care for" in this line what he means is love romantically on a deeper level, he just doesn't want to come right out and say it. Because although it's clear that he felt some amount of care, compassion, and pity for certain victims of his, that's not the same thing as being in love with them. Though I don't know why he's being dodgy and dismissive about it after the graveyard scene where he is so open and honest with you. That line was just weird and out-of-place in general imo. It felt like something he should have said before you complete his personal quest but after the confession you get from him in act 2.
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