corrupt magistrate astarion is never elaborated. But I don't think they'll change it.
Better to show the character's evil with kisses and evil faces... eh? No.
I honestly just can't connect a plot like this - ritual abandonment and ascension. That a corrupt, narcissistic magistrate would become such a Lord - yes, I believe it. Ritual abandonment, well, only in the romance line. The rest I find hard to believe. There was definitely an ending for a good path. But what this ending was planned and how much content was cut (Upper City) to lead to it. A more difficult morally gray quest. It's weird in general if the player only listened to and studied Minthara and Shedowhart, and Astarion was for opening locks. Yes, the player made approvals, became a friend. And yet for Astarion to give up a ritual for something for someone he's known for less than a month and who's only on SH - no. In the path of evil, that sounds like a joke. In that case, it is logical for Astarion to leave\attack regardless of the die roll, consequences. He can't ascend without someone's eyes to help him. Unless you could add a "redraw my scars on a piece of paper" scene because of which there would be consequences. Or let Astarion ask companions who are nearby and the player will be silent.
People who study data mining knew how much was in Astarion's quest. And how much of it went away, including simply because of a lack of time.
