Same. I don't like slow burns. I space out before Wyll even finishes his sentences and I don't know what he's talking about anymore. His flowery, convoluted speech is off-putting. I like SH but as a friend and Karlach had a good start but my interest in her as a character quickly fizzled out and eventually she started getting on my nerves.
I don't mind the slow burn, but romance without friendship doesn't have any appeal to me. Karlach, Shart and Wyll just seem to have a desire to fill their romance slot without trying to connect with you otherwise.
And alas, I can't even adequately rate them because I'm too "obsessed by Astarion". But when I watched other romances on youtube, Gale's romance seemed to me the most beautiful of the others.
In the sense of approval? If you step out of the conversation as soon as Gandrel mentions Astarion, it has no effect at all. If you follow the conversation to the end and make all the covert vampire allusions and then step away, Astarion will be annoyed and you loose approval. Otherwise, you can get a bittersweet scene with him and his daughters in the sewers should both Gandrel and the spawn survive. He's pretty much a decent bloke, he just wants his children back and is otherwise surprisingly cool with Spawn-Astarion and the group once the Gur have understood that Astarion has is free will back.
That's curious. I just came across the notion that Astarion comes to you and starts a romantic relationship after you kill Gandrell together. And in my game, that's how it coincided! And I was wondering, if you didn't kill Gandrel, the romance with Astarion still happens, but in this case already at the party or also before the party? Maybe it's just a coincidence, and killing just allows you to "finish" the approval to some level, after which Astarion can start the romance earlier.
I always called it „creepy“, when he behaves/looks odd, instead of acting evil. They shouldn’t make Astarion look so ridiculous cartoonish! The scene right after the Ascension and the scene after turning/or not turning Tav into a spawn are creepy/cartoonish enough in some of his facial expressions. No need to change facials expressions later in other scenes to make him look more ridiculous, otherwise, I assume, less player will play this route, when Astarion becomes rather insane than evil.
Hmm, maybe this is how the developers are trying to lower "the attraction of evil"? Sounds like a "conspiracy theory" of course, and there are plenty of opportunities for the player themselves to do quite evil and creepy things in the game. Reduce the attractiveness of Astarion to players who are "seduced" by it? Sounds ridiculous, but damn, it's hard to explain the desire to intentionally degrade the image.
And I guess he has the most ridiculous break-up scene („kick in the balls“) - for making fun of Astarion aka „the evil“, isn’t that already enough caricature and ridiculousness?)
Yeah, I was pretty pissed off by the presence of that line/action in the scene. No adequate options for Astarion's dialog to explain what's going on to a player not ready for this scene, but "act for bastards" and ridiculousness - please, spelled out.
Luckily, I have edited my own Version now.
Do you make mods? Would really like to see your version.
In the romance scene, after saying „no“ to his demand of kneeling down, it would have been greater and more realistic to be forced down by him. THAT would show he IS evil and dominant. But instead he breaks up. But! The reason seems to be very simple: They don‘t want to force the player into something! They do NOT want to show this type of cruelness. It would be too hard stuff. And also instead of letting Astarion be evil in his actions, someone decided to make him only say some mean things. ['In the Epilogue scene, when you cannot break up and he says: "You're mine!'" and "there is no backing out now" with that incredible mean laugher, that's really nice! At least here we can sense his evil side!]
The kneeling seems to be some kind of test of his so I think it should stay the way it is. But there could be an additional dialogue to provoke him and he'd do it then. Imagine if they added an extra option when kneeling to get cold feet after his speech about what he'll do to you. In that moment if Tav tried to bail on him, he'd just keep them in place and bite them regardless. Now THAT would be evil. But I guess too many people would find it problematic. I love that laugh and 'you're mine!'. Real consequence of trying to mess with a vampire lord and making promises you can't or don't really want to keep.
Yes, additional dialog would have been wonderful. It would be especially interesting to see how Astarion would "dominate" a loving Tav who genuinely doesn't understand his humiliation theme, but instead of a simple "No" tries to express his feelings somehow, maybe even tears on her part or some questions, confessions, etc. Or would that be too cruel too? Or would that be too hard and realistic, hard to work out Astarion's reactions to that?
On the topic of forcing the player - they "don't want to force", but in fact they do. Only not by Astarion's behavior within the game, which would be interesting and realistic, but in a "metagame" way, through his own story. You don't help ascended, you get all the pain and suffering of the so-called "good ending" and a sad, vulnerable Astarion in the course of the game. Didn't kneel? The romance is broken - there's no point in playing any further. For me, there's only one option for any playthrough, and I'm perfectly happy with it, but the fact that the game itself forces the player to do so is beyond me.
Oh, if you liked my Astarion, Advertising for my YT is coming per pm, maybe you’re interested in.
Yes, interested, thank you!
I heard that in early access he was more evil. I saw a vid where he also had a super angry remark where he threatened Tav with death for disrespecting him. He doesn't even sound as furious when facing Cazador as he does there.
That's interesting, turns out Astarion has already been made less evil in the main game. It's a shame such an original idea wasn't fully realized. Perhaps a "more evil" Astarion wouldn't have let himself be "convinced" to give up the Ascension, or would that have been too unrealistic and he was softened for the sake of this second option?
Apparently on his grave it says he was 39 years old when he was turned and his surname is Ancunín.
Where is this grave? (it's impossible to read anything in the graveyard scene). I have not yet passed with the Ascended to the end of the game, I missed a lot of things from frustration in the previous, unfinished passage with unascended, now I climb into every corner, maybe I have not reached it yet.
Astarion also killed him during the bite night because of a nat 1 roll.
He said it was totally worth dying for afterwards.
Awesome! I let Astarion "kill" myself, I didn't throw checks, I wanted to see what would happen and let the vampire finally eat properly
It's funny that none of the companions (including Astarion) react to the corpse in the camp, they get up quietly, go to their places as if it's just as they should
Karlach and Lae'zel know too. Does he like to gossip with the ladies?
It seems like Wyll and Gale are completely clueless.
Curious.
I haven't had them say anything. True, Laezel tried to "start an affair" even before Astarion, and was already rejected, and Karlach never tried (though they write that there is a scene with her trying to start a relationship with Tav on her own). Maybe she just knew and kept quiet?
Mini-dialogue when you walk around. For some reason a lot of these banters don't trigger.
Oh, let's see if it still works - I'm taking Lae'zel a lot right now, she's made an awesome fighter.
