Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion The romance with Astarion pulls you over to the "dark side".

Precisely! Some folks just seem to forget that he's a vampire - manipulation and seduction are his forte and he will present himself in a better light to make Tav want to help him. These people just turn a blind eye to many of his lines and approvals and even blame it all on his trauma. Of course, the trauma is a very important factor, but his actual core has been morally questionable from the beginning. Although they almost completely erased his mortal past, there are still hints that he was a harsh magistrate (corrupt too according to the artbook) and not the friendliest person already back then. It's also worth mentioning that none of his siblings seemed to like him, and especially the males had very strong, negative opinions about him. Even though we side with Astarion and sympathise with him, it's worth listening to the words of the people who'd known him for much longer than Tav did. His darkness is what drew me to him, and I also really don't want him to lose his humour, sarcasm and impish nature.


In my opinion he always wanted it and whatever was going on in Cazador's palace didn't change that. From the moment he hears about the ritual, he starts getting ideas to snatch it from Cazador. The fact the game forces you to persuade him to change his mind (and the roll is rather high too) is a gameplay mechanic that already shows that it was his actual decision. He consistently desires to achieve a specific outcome, no matter what choices you make in the game. It's also very eye-opening that if you kill Cazador without him, the first thing he complains about is not you killing his archenemy on your own, but you robbing him of the opportunity to become something more than just a spawn. He also blames you for sentencing him to an eternity in darkness and the conversation mostly revolves around the ritual. Him mentioning wanting to kill Cazador is clearly seen as a secondary priority to him.


To me there were two possible fates - either Cazador or Astarion becoming the Ascendant and the whole fight was about who would succeed in the end. Astarion rejecting the ritual is more of a curveball. And I partly disagree with Cazador making him the person he is. He had big influence over him, but ultimately Astarion still kept his mind independent, even though his body was not his. As previously mentioned, his problem was that Cazador did it to him. And he fought him till the very end, even if he physically stopped struggling at some point, he never stopped dreaming of his revenge and fulfilling his desires of gaining power. In a way, being Cazador's slave was a 'long-lasting and painful setback' and when Astarion ascends he discards his past as something that served its purpose, sees it as something that made him stronger and led to him becoming more, like he always wanted. He is purely pragmatic about it.

Basicly, it's a fight between two guys who are playing the long game and want to destroy each other and enact their plans. They are both tools and obstacles in each other's schemes.
I just can't shake off the feeling that Astarion and Cazador already had a past that involved some type of rivalry before they became "a family" and it's a story that's begging to be told. Astarion sounds cagey and dismissive when he talks about his magistrate past. Cazador made particular effort to try to break him, enjoyed torturing him the most, wrote a lot about him in his journal - the man was evidently obsessed. I'm sure Cazador also saw similarities between them and it was driving him nuts - he'd never admit it but instinctively he must have felt threatened by him despite having all that power over him.

The revenge on Cazador was immensely satisfying for both Astarion and me as well. The way it played out was also interesting and gruesomely intimate, because Tav and Astarion are literally in each other's heads and can see and feel everything the other does. It's not only him, but also Tav slicing Cazador up. His 'There... Perfect!' just sounds so damn awesome when he proudly admires his handiwork. You can feel his deep gratification. I thought it was all brilliantly dark and cathartic. I applauded Astarion for quick thinking and coming up with such a devious plan. I wish Astarion would also make him beg for his life, like he can in his origin. I agree, although he shares some similarities with Cazador, he is not like him and with Tav by his side he will be more balanced. He already calms down by the end of the game.