The bride/groom part was explained in the Monster Guide, the Vampire Guide, as well as other books that are now out of print from when they had their "horror" aspect of the game (which Baulder's Gate in on one of those planets, Talin.) [BTW, I have these books sitting right beside me & telling you what they state] In the Ravenloft/Greyhawk/Planescape/Talin spheres, where...to be honest....vampires are rare. Wizards of the Coast (DnD) never updated the rules for them because they still work for even 5e campaigns. Now, where many people divide is how it seems that Larian is going with not only JUST 5e rules but a little of their own homebrew to make the game work in a video game setting. Larian is also treating Ascended Astarion EXACTLY like a true vampire that can walk in the sun & can have sex because True Vampires can not walk in the sun nor have sex. And there is supposedly only either a good path or an evil path. There are no shades of gray. Which, in my opinion, some of their writing has lots of gray, but I am just trying to explain why a lot of people are upset. SO PLEASE DO NOT COME FOR ME!!! I am just trying to explain this all.
Firstly, with vampires...there is no such thing as "spawn". There are fledgling vampires (what Larian is calling spawn) and their masters (older vampires and they are calling them the "master" vampires). For a master vampire to control his/her fledglings, they usually terrorize them to the point that they are so extremely frightened of their master due to beatings/terror/torture/starvation/punishment/etc. etc. so they can keep them only focused on that instead of feeding on "thinking creatures" which would instead make them "happy" (and if they go too far, they would then create more spawn themselves instead). If they are happy, their "powers" manifest & they learn that the older they get, the more powerful they become. It then becomes a natural procession of a vampire, if they were taught this way instead of having extreme torturous control over them but then they would probably rise up if they didn't like the way the "master" vampire was leading them & then would kill them (which as Cazador's story & Astarion's story shows, they always end up doing it anyways).
So now we come to the bride/groom ritual. Which, for the most part, is how they animated the sex scene before Astarion turns Tav. Usually a "true vampire" has to be 400+ years old at the very least to be powerful enough to do this. The other "master" vampires think that this is a weakness if a "master" vampire does this. And they turn it into a war against the bride's creator. The bride (I am just going to use the term bride instead of typing bride/groom, but know I mean no offense to anyone, it is meant as a genderless term...just as the manuals do) is bitten at least 3 times, whereas the third bite is where the last of the blood is taken. The "master" then opens his own neck & allows their bride to feed from them. He must be strong enough to pull their bride away in order to not give her too much of his blood because it will kill the master and the bride will go crazy. So Astarion also states that he gave only one drop, which I don't know how you can only get one drop of blood from either his neck or heart, but ok Larian. (Astarion is lying, as usual). The bride's turn would be euphoric & happen in a matter of hours. If he just wanted a fledgling (spawn) then no blood is required and all he would need to do is bury their fledgling (which has the painful severe turning as he explains when he is turned) and then when they wake up (which takes a day or more), they have to usually get themselves out of the coffin & claw their way out of the dirt. So, the master does all of this to make the change euphoric for the bride and must be able to know just how much blood to give to not make the bride a broken that will act like a feral beast (kinda like the DUrge if they didn't follow what Bhaal said, & get the ending of which some of you know what I speak, it is on YouTube if you want to watch a bad DUrge ending). If the "master" did all this correctly, the master & bride now share a telepathic link, & the bride keeps her own mind intact as well as be able to help control the master's emotions (the bride is not able to be compelled or controlled either). So, that is where some of the "fantasy" of happy wife = happy life comes in. The bride is also more powerful than a typical fledgling, but now the master & bride are linked & become a very tough couple to break or destroy. (They can read each other's emotions & eventually will be able to communicate in their own way, without words...but not like the tadpole-type mind connection if that makes sense). So the bride has full autonomy & is powerful, just not as much as the master...but formidable, nonetheless. Dynamic couple to take on the world type of thing.....
Since Larian animated it this way, this is what many people thought they were getting before the patch 6 release. Astarion is a "new" kind of being (a kind of mortal/fledgling/master) type of being with all the benefits of the way he was with a tadpole, but more powerful than a "master true vampire" since he is enhanced. But!!! This is not what Larian decided at this time. They decided to just make him like a more powerful "true" vampire & instead of Tav being a bride/groom, they are a "spawn" or fledgling. Larian has a chance to go the route of the bride/groom story and truly make him a new kind of being that would be a vampire ascendant, but as of Patch 6, he is just a true vampire master with the power of the 7007 souls & ability to walk in the sun. Currently, they do not have his EA backstory in the game, so at this time...it is not canon because that was under a different company.
Maybe if you all care to write Larian about the chance to follow this route, this may be a more suitable outcome for some of the fans of Ascended Astarion. But, as of right now, it looks as if they are going to go with the good vs evil route only.
Also, just so any of you who have not played as a paladin yet as a romanced individual of Astarion...the Oath of the Ancients breaks their oath by letting the "spawns" free. The oath of vengeance is broken by the opposite.
In my opinion, there are more ways to write a character than just black or white in a storyline, but that is my humble opinion. Please let Larian know your thoughts in feedback, not on the forums. Not all of us Ascended him for an S&M fantasy, but for us to be a couple that would walk this life together in a dangerous Talin with more to come from it in the future as a vampire couple. Also, let's not forget!!!! There are still a GREAT number of bugs in the game & many of these trigger signs have not come through in all playthroughs. So, please don't shame others for what they like or don't like. I just love the character but now the way they have made him, I can't play either Spawn or Ascended. I may never play again, I just don't know. Especially since the entire BS fighting and the attacking has become that much stronger. Also...on another note.....if they did this to one "evil" character, they will end up doing it for all. God Gale, Dark Justicar Shadowheart, Minthara, etc etc. Just watch, so please don't rub it into people's faces. It might happen to you too. Thanks for listening. Please don't bash me for trying to explain what some saw as potential in the story & what was on the screen of my game with its bugs & all. Thanks.
