In the responses, the options are all very different, giving the player a good choice of motives for Tav.
I wanted what was best for you. (altruistic, reassuring)
I wasn’t about to release 7,000 hungry vampire spawn into the world. (chose the lesser of two evils)
I don’t feel great about it to be honest. (no motive given but expresses regret over allowing the ascension)
I wanted a powerful ally, and now I have one. (selfish, transactional)
However, player if choses the altruistic, reassuring first option, the second set of dialogue choices is far too narrow. There is not one positive response to the question,
'So, tell me what you desire. What can I do for my dearest pet?
I want to be a vampire, like you. (selfish, transactional)
I want you, I want your body. (selfish, transactional and completely insensitive!)
You can tell me that you've learned something from all this. (Preaching and hostile)
I am not your pet. (hostile)
These options are far too similar. There is no altruistic or reassuring option and I really feel there should be.
The first option has an answer suitable for a romantic line, but the second option is such a "romance" that the player can only gasp. Magically, the continuation of the altruistic, hopeful line is interrupted, there is no continuation, why was it even there in the first place? At the same time, two hostile lines appear at once, repelling the player and reducing all possible choices to two selfish options. The player is at a crossroads - which will be the lesser nasty? "To the evil Tav, an evil tongue" is somewhat irrelevant, given that there was an adequate line before that after all.
Personally, I feel that option two is the most problematic here, because Tav knows Astarion's past. They know how he was used by Cazador and the effect that had on him, so it seems very odd at this point in their relationship for Tav to say they also want to use Astarion.
The line about vampirism is also very unpleasant. First of all, Tav could exclusively want freedom for Astarion (Tav himself has no problem with the sun or hunger). Tav could want to share eternity with Astarion, but not demand it, especially now, at such a significant moment for both of them. In this line, Tav looks like a character using Astarion purely to achieve his own immortality. In the second version - using him for sexual gratification as a "body" while, as you correctly point out, knowing about his past. Using Astarion - either way, no option. And using Tav (on the game script side) as an example of a "bad girl/boy". No romantic companion in the game has such "on-rails" and dystopian dialog.
I also feel the player should have a chance to respond if they mind-read A.Astarion and find out that he feels Tav is degrading themselves by staying with him and speculates that they might enjoy that degredation. It makes no sense to me that Tav would not even attempt to have some dialogue with A.A. after a discovery of this magnitude, especially if they do not see things the same way as A.A.
I support it. No matter how you make sense of this scene, the game thinks you enjoy degrading yourself. It's like asking a person with a gag in their mouth if they agree, and then smirking with satisfaction, "Silence is a sign of agreement".
Why do I think this is a problem?
-It breaks the fourth wall.
If the player cannot chose an option that is a reasonable match for their Tav’s motivations, they are still forced to choose something and then deal with the consequences of that ‘choice’. This pulls Tav out of character and leaves the player feeling railroaded, forced to follow a narrative that does not feel true or authentic to them.
-It removes player agency.
One of the main selling points of a game like BG3 is that it gives the player the freedom to not only determine their character's appearance and class but also to give that character a distinct personality. Tav's personality is given expression through the choices the player makes in game and this gives a wonderfully rich experience that can leave the player very invested in their character.
However, when Tav's responses are limited as in the examples above, the player loses agency. They are no longer in control of the narrative and this makes their experience far less immersive and enjoyable.
Players have been talking about this for a long time and asking for other lines to be added for this dialog. This thread has offered some wonderful, logical, and roleplay-appropriate options. Fix one dialog or spend a lot of budget on high quality and detailed animated traumatizing content added to us by patch 6?
