Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Is Astarion really a pansexual?

Let me start by saying that I've played the game since the EA, and have completed 4 full playthroughs at point and I've romanced Astarion on each of them. And, honestly, I cannot believe that it took me a whole 4 runs to realize that even though Astarion was supposed to be a PANSEXUAL, his story line paints a completely different picture.

Throughout the game as his story unfolds we learn more about his past. But one thing you will notice for sure is that there is not a single mentioning of any female in his past. NONE.

As a matter of fact what you see are all males :
   1. A darling boy, who he couldn't bring to Cas.
  2. Sebastián
  3. A handsome virgin from his dream (a line when you visit Kuo-toa)
  4. 3 out of 4 prisoners in the cage of Casadors palace are males (and the only female looks like a male, actually, until today I was sure that she was a male)

     Honestly, now with all the pieces in place in the released game, it seems that Astarion was not written to be romanced by a female character at all. And it's perfectly fine, not every character needs to be unlocked for everyone to romance. If that is the way they wanted him to be presented, maybe Larian should've locked Astarion to a specific romance path like Dorian from DAI.
     But Larian presented Astarion as a PANSEXUAL, that was their sales pitch to us female players (the overwhelming majority of his fan base are females). Well, Larian has made a claim but they have nothing to show for it. You'd think that a true pansexual would swing both ways, but Astarion's story shows a clear preference for males, in fact it shows that it is his ONLY preference...

The reason for my rant is not that Astarion is written the way that he is, but the fact that he was ADVERTISED to be something that IMHO he is NOT. I feel like I've been LIED to by the Larian's false premise of him being pansexual, when in reality there is NOTHING to make me believe that it is so... I've been sold a story of a guy, who is based on his personal arc has no business romancing a female, at least judging by what is presented in the game. I really feel cheated by Larian's half-truths prior to a full release. And I CANNOT believe that there isn't a s...t storm of complaints from the female base about it.

If Larian stands by that Astarion is a pansexual, then they should correct his story line and include at least ONE mentioning of a female romance added to his story line, so it doesn't look all one-sided. Maybe change his story from a "darling boy" to a "darling girl" and add another female to the cage. That would add some parity... Give us at least SOMETHING to make it seem PASSABLE that he is actually interested in females just as much as in males.

This is my personal opinion and conclusion after going through the game many times, hearing and seeing everything that is presented in the game. Your mileage may differ

I'm female, I play females, I've romanced Astarion an unhealthy number of times, and I'm not bothered by it. Gale and Wyll are also canonically pansexual, but only show interest in women (as far as I know), so it balances out. Folks are allowed to have preferences.

Well, it balances out for those who romances others, not just Astarion . Also, neither Gale nor Wyll have a trail of previous lovers on display in the game, in Astarion's case its more then one...

Yes, we are all allowed to have preferences, but it's not my point, my point is that they sold him as a PANSEXUAL when based on the info in the game he certainly doesn't seem to be one.

All companions are - for the sake of the player, not the story - playersexual. It requires some suspension of disbelief, but I think it's a good choice because personally I've always considered it a little lame to lock a player out of certain romance just because of their character creation choices. Forcing someone to roleplay a bodytype they don't want to just for the sake of romance is a bit much. Just my opinion, of course. I fully understand if others disagree, as it can take away from the story to have someone fall in love with your skinny female gnome while they canonically only show interest in tall male bodybuilders (just an example of extremes).

I do admit Astarion's story certainly has the most emphasis on previous partners, though. Other than Gale with Mystra (which can be excused by her being a goddess having more sway than her being a woman), you don't really get much information regarding the other origin companions except for hints about their preferences and knowledge about their experience. For what it's worth, he does mention he was forced to seduced and bed a lot of people for Cazador, and he's over 200 years old, so the few you see are just scratching the surface. 7 spawn seduced 7000 people. You'll just have to imagine everything you can think of (within legal limits) is amongst those, I guess.

"All companions are - for the sake of the player, not the story - playersexual."
Thats kinda pretty well said.. i will just give yu a Exemple when they did not do this and couses some problems..
Like Judy in Cyberpunk.. (bunch of people get a litle bit pissed off becouse she only romance womans in the game..)
and Pannan actually become the number one for all of then becouse of this.
there are other games that do this and fall into the same mistake..
( i always felt that the best way indeed its what they did here.. dosent matter what yu are yu can Romance the one yu like Get it ?! )

Dragon Age inquisition has this limitations too some characters will only romance Male or Female..
but in my opinion the game when i had the Most Freedon of then all in relation of Getting Late.. was Witcher..
(Jesus yu can Bang at least 4 ladys during the game legit and Yen dont even Care.. and the Brothels WOW>> i was expecting something like that here actually yu can really do with many types of ladys and really choose the one yu like.. kinda crazy.)
and im not Joking Has one of then for all yu want even some Diferent Races too.

I know what you're talking about with a different body types... when my muscular body type female paladin lifted up Astarion and smashed him in to the tree, I thought it was hilarious and disturbing at the same time .

As for 200 years of seducing for Casador, yes, it is so. Nonetheless, out a 1000 people Astarion only manages to remember 2 men and not a single woman? I mean, Larian could've made it a one man (Sebastián) and another a woman. Wouldn't it be fair to assume that out 1000 people he could find 1 woman to remember, with Astarion supposedly being equally into both genders? Unless, he really is not into it...

I don't think that I have relayed my point correctly.

I'm not against the playersexual companions, I am all for it. But I'd like it to be equally presented. However, in this case, Astarion has been presented to be a pansexual, but his story is a testimony to the opposite. It's hard to believe that a person is a bi, when all their past lovers are of any one particular sex. In Astarion's case there is not a single FEMALE anywhere in his story, which implies that he has a strong preference in the matter, and is not really a bi-sexual.

That is the point I'm trying to make, that Larian sold him as a pansexual, when his story is a strong indicator that he really is NOT.

Aye don't worry, I understood what you meant. And I agree, they could've put a little less emphasis on who he bedded. Though since it's sort of necessary for his story right now, it could've simply been more diverse like you asked for, to avoid the need for that much suspension of disbelief if you roleplay a female character.

I'm a female and I've never played a male except for the Witcher .
But, yes, a diversity (seems to be a very popular word nowadays) that is exactly what I want. Would it kill them to write one of those poor wretches from Astarions past to be a female?

It's not a mistake, it's an artistic choice. BG3 is a game that serves you everything you want, but the cost of it is that some things in it are game-y and not very realistic. Cyberpunk on the other hand is a game in which realistic character's psychology is very important, and the price for it is making the world and characters not that much player-dependent.

Astarion? Like frying pan?

Wouldn't be out of character is all I have to say.

…Huh? Astarion will potentially sleep with Lae’zel at the Tiefling party. If that’s not proof enough of his canon interest in women, I don’t know what would be. He also flirts with both Lae’zel and Shadowheart multiple times in party banter.

I don’t understand being so hung up on the men he mentions in his past when he only mentions two out of one thousand people. Not exactly a great sample size. He also wasn’t in love with them. He had compassion for them, but that’s not the same thing as love. Tbh no matter what his sexuality is I would assume that most of his victims would be men anyway. It’s a lot easier to convince a man to go home with a total stranger than it is to convince a woman to do the same.

No, that would be Wyll on both accounts.

Astarion has kind of an awkward banter with Gale about enjoying walking with him with Gale's answer "Yes, in silence".

Well, because there is a clear pattern to it, it's all men that he mentions and not a single female. He clearly singled them out for a reason, these two are the ones that he remembers out of 1000 (handsome and shy, and never been kissed and a darling boy). And who's to say that it was compassion and nothing more? That's what it seems to you, but not to me.

As for bringing men home being easier then women, well, let me give you an example from the game, as to apparently just how easy it is to lure a female as well. In the sewers you'll meet a girl who is waiting there for Petras to take her to a party. Well, that didn't seem hard for him to convince an unfamiliar female to go to the sewer and then to the party without asking many questions. So, clearly in a world of BG3 it is just that SIMPLE.

Yes, he flirts with everyone that is true, but is not a concrete indication for his preferences, its more that he does it instinctively.

Like others have mentioned already all companions are playersexual (Personally, I'm not a fan of playersexual companions.) so all of them can and will accommodate the players playstyle/roleplay.

But yeah, Astarion is obviously fujo bait.

No, Astarion is indeed one of her options at the party. That's been a Thing Which Happens since EA and it's still in the game.

Maybe it never triggered in my games because I romance Astarion.

But (!) I also remembered a banter between SH and Astarion, where he said something like "Why such a beautiful flower is so sad" with SH's answer "Go away, I heard you rehearsing that line."
Kind of flirting with expressively "business-like", since Astarion is already known by this time for using sex and seduction as protective tools.

However, I do not remember if it is still in the game or one of the data-mined banters

Playersexuality isn't a point of this thread. I have nothing against it.
Misrepresentation is the point that I'm trying to make.

I had to look it up :), never heard of this before. You could be right. I don't know...

LOL, glad I could introduce you to a new term.

I get where you're coming from tho, the way Astarion was written (at least his sexuality) he obviously leans towards one gender. The playersexuality is only an excuse but It allows you to romance him with a female character.

Now, whether you can deal with it or not is entirely up to the player. Will they change anything in regards to it? Ehhh I'm not sure, probably not.

edit. As for marketing, I mean its marketing. They'll say anything/present it in such a way to sell more 'shit'.