That's a very good point. I think that a lot of people have an inherent discomfort around the evil path of a game, since evil paths are by their nature negative, and they see the results of those paths as negative and undesireable. If you consider that the people commenting on Astarion and people's ascencion playthroughs care for his character as much as you guys do, then I think it does logically follow that they're sensitive to what they see as his being "harmed" in other people's playthroughs. That's a silly feeling for people to act on, but I think it does explain things. I've seen posters here have some pretty intense feelings about how bad it is for Astarion to be left as a spawn, so imagining the opposite being the case doesn't feel like a stretch to me.
What I kind of want to know is do they also judge people for playing a game like GTA, where there really is no way to play it morally? I'm not sure if I agree that it's logical that they'd be sensitive to people harming Astarion, since it doesn't affect the version of Astarion in their game at all.
I can't speak to others on this thread, but I don't personally think it's immoral to leave Astarion as a spawn, and I don't begrudge anyone doing it in their game. What I have a big problem with is people judging me and other players for choosing ascension, implying that there's something wrong with us, and that's why I don't hesitate to show ways the logic could swing both ways. It's not to say, "Actually you're the wrong one," but rather to show how silly it is to judge how anyone plays a game that doesn't affect them at all. I came to this forum because my social media algorithm was positively stuffed with content that decried not just AA, but the people who chose that path. And since that path ended up feeling so meaningful to me personally, yeah, you can bet I'm going to wax poetic about it in a forum where I've been given sanctuary to do so.
Originally Posted by Gray Ghost
As for the matter of people not questioning if travelling with Astarion is morally okay to begin with, again I'll start by saying many of those people love Astarion as much as the AA fans, and likely have a lot of the same rationales as to why it's fine travelling with him. Speaking as someone who honestly does not like Astarion as a character, I can also think of plenty of reasons why travelling with him isn't a morally complex situation. Firstly and very importantly in my opinion, for all his evil beliefs,it's been 200 years since he had the agency to actually do anything evil that he could be morally held culpable for. Secondly, it can be rationalized pretty easily that by bringing him along, you're actually keeping him on a leash preventing him from doing harm on his own. You're keeping him close so if he crosses a line you can in fact kill him before he causes too much harm. And thirdly, you can always say that the situation is grave enough that working with someone who's alll talk, no action evil can be justified. Not a great position, but an arguable one. You're right though that the question isn't grappled with often.
Ah, but is it moral to decide you're going to be the arbiter of what a thinking, sentient being can do by "keeping him on a leash?" Like he's a dog? I only ask because it's something I've thought about too, but it's mostly meant rhetorically. That's part of why I love this character. Pretty much everything you do with him raises very interesting moral questions.
