Joining in with a *consort-hug.*
Welcome back Marielle and I'm happy that you got to come back to such great news. <3 I was so elated about it.
Yeah, it's great! We can play with mods for now, and in the fall it will be very interesting to see what kisses will be. And new modding tools - I think modders will create something awesome with them eventually!
Sceleritas was extremely mean right away, as expected of him... but I learned from that. Doni can talk! We just went down to the Tiefling children and Doni was standing on the edge. Sceleritas then threw him into the abyss because he was in his way when he wanted to jump over to the box. He is immediately revived, but then shouts that he has to get help and runs off to the other children.
I better send Sceleritas out the door before we have to fight children who can't die. ^^
Oh how convenient. The one time he talks is when he wants to get us in trouble. *eyeroll*
I guess Sceleritas didn't even do anything wrong, if they can't die anyway.
Maybe they'll even learn a life lesson about standing too close to chasms.
Poor Doni went through stress and learned to talk.
It's a good thing they can't die. I remember in the Witcher 3 game, you could accidentally kill a cat in combat - they would run underfoot and random damage would go through them. It was horrible - after a difficult battle and defeating an enemy to see two cat corpses lying on the ground. I restarted and agonized over how to somehow lure the enemy away to where cats don't run. It's a good thing that in BG3 they reinsured and made the kids immortal for such cases. By the way, in BG3 I didn't have a single instance where I ever killed someone randomly who I didn't intend to kill.
As soon as Sceleritas is out of sight, one of Astarion's scented candles comes flying from the background and lands in the middle of the puddle of blood. Sceleritas calls out to Astarion "Sorry Master, it slipped out of my hand".
Sadly, Sceleritas was found face-down floating in one of the bloodlakes the next morning (no worries, he will revive soon, feeling refreshed and full of fresh new ideas)
The blood has a rejuvenating effect, Sceleritas has fewer wrinkles and is more refreshed.
I love this, he's so sweet to her. He can accomplish many things with only that one patiently disapproving look.
"Really, darling... Must you do this now?" *gives the look* "Well. Not to worry, he will pay for this... when the time is right. You just relax now and let me take care of it."
Mmmm, it's nice to be around such an Astarion, “You just relax now and let me take care of it”... Rare man, DU is very lucky to have him... <3
Dark Urge sits down at Astarion's right hand, smiles placatingly, and whispers affectionately in his ear:
- How good I feel next to you, my love... I feel I have nothing to fear anymore.
Astarion took her hand and intertwined their fingers tightly:
- My powers grow stronger every day, I can protect you from any threat. What were you afraid of before? - Astarion squinted his eyes and furrowed his brow, as if preparing to deal with some unseen threat.
- The existential emptiness associated with the absence of determinate values. - Dark Urge whispered in his ear, kissing the tip of his ear a final gentle kiss. - You've already dealt with it, my joy...
Astarion laughed, a sincere and ringing laugh of joy, and, still without unclasping their hands, led his consort to dance.
So many great points. About the passionate connection with AA, yes, I believe it's much more than just that. They become deeply bonded – sharing each other's blood, giving everything to one another, sharing an everlasting bond, literally until the end of the world (just like he says). This requires an immense amount of trust. I would also describe that as being a love/bond that goes way beyond the ordinary; fusion is a good word to use to describe this, especially after the vampire bride ritual. The vampire bride now has a part of his essence. How it feels to me is the two of them don't really need anyone else in their life, except for each other.
Yes, that's right! They are completely happy dissolving into each other, complementing and filling each other. The vampire and his bride have a mental connection, they can mentally communicate, just like with the tadpole before, only they don't need any tadpole for that. If one of them feels some very strong emotion, the other will automatically feel it too. Fear, pain, threat - and will be able to quickly come to the rescue, before the first one calls for help, while feeling where he is. Well, they don't go far away from each other anyway. Joy, love, pleasure - this will also be felt by the other, and it can be shared, as if doubling and multiplying these feelings. Emotional and spiritual merging is a greater pleasure than just physical intimacy. And with physical intimacy under such circumstances, with the ability to feel what your partner feels, it's probably just something fantastic, inaccessible to ordinary mortals, unless they are powerful psionics. Maybe I'm fantasizing a lot, but it seems to me that the bond between a vampire and his bride would develop and strengthen just like that.
Very interesting about the different concepts under trauma in ancient times. Revenge often tends to be seen by people as something that has a negative connotation, but I can see it as a part of the healing / empowerment process for Astarion as well. There is not only one set path to achieve this for him.
Healing and empowerment - that's very well said. Healing on a physical level as well - Astarion no longer suffers from any of the problems associated with vampirism, he gets only the bonuses of it. He is no longer dependent on anyone, he doesn't have to adjust to anyone, he becomes the complete master of his destiny.
That hits really hard, thinking about how his senses are dulled after the tadpole is removed. I personally don't want to play a character who influences him into not doing the ritual. The whole time he wants to do the ritual and he doesn't change his mind when the time comes to do it. I would feel guilty about playing a part in him losing out on so much that he could have gained. The ritual was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he will now never get again. I wouldn't be happy about this.
I see the Ascendant route as Astarion staying true to who he always was - and now he really gets to indulge and enjoy the full range of his emotions and pleasure and everything else in the world. "Tasting everything that Faerun has to offer."
Because the tadpole brought him to life, awakening his senses. An Astarion spawn with a tadpole is completely different from a regular vampire spawn. Aside from the sun, after getting rid of the tadpole, Astarion will no longer be able to taste, he can only drink blood, but he will feel vampire hunger. In fact, hunger is the only problem the tadpole didn't fix, so the disappearance of constant hunger is the first thing Astarion felt after Ascension. The spawn's emotions are also blunted. The undead odor will also return. I, too, when I played with the Unascended Astarion, felt guilt and furious helplessness, from the impossibility to fix anything, I couldn't finish the game and I don't want to, I'd rather watch a video than mock my Astarion and myself in my game. This may sound silly, but I have a special affinity for “my” Astarion. I love learning his character and watching his different reactions and videos of him, but “my” Astarion on the PC in my house was born to love him.
So no matter what the roleplay is, other decisions I may make may be different, but with Astarion I still have the same decisions and the same lines in many places.
Hehe, it was a happy accident in my case. I think I forgot to turn off non-lethal damage.^^; And then got this as an interesting "reward."
I think it ties in really well with some of Jaheira's lines (during the game you can ask her if Bhaalspawn can have children; then during the epilogue, she mentions the subject again).
Awesome! I first discovered non-lethal damage when I encountered hostile gremishka in the game. They look a lot like cats (well, cats are cats in general, monster cats) and figuring out about non-lethal damage for their sake helped a lot in many other places. For example, fighting Viconia, even though it's a completely different Viconia from the one that traveled with me in BG2, but still killing my old friend wouldn't have been fun at all.
I love how happy he is that he can finally admire himself again after ascension. He really looked upset during the mirror scene, thinking about how his reflection was another thing that he's lost. He does seem so satisfied after you cheer him up.
And I like the way he says, "Veeerry good," if you say something that pleases him. Lol
Yeah, love that line! And admiring Astarion's narcissism is a special thrill.
Agree with your thoughts. It's easy to forget that Astarion also takes a leap of faith here. He doesn't just turn you into a spawn, you're basically getting married during the turning night. You're precious to him, his favorite person in the world (I personally think that's what he means by "You are my favorite"), his treasure. He means it when he says he wants to share it all with you (until the world falls down).
Yes I love how he says "Hello, my sweet little spawn." There's something special about how he says that hello.
Hehehe, it makes me want to cuddle up to him and purr afterwards.
I have never met in any game such devotion from a beloved companion and such a strong attachment.
Thank you! And that's a clever workaround! Why didn't I think to make him bite me instead? ><
But yeah, it feels like it's really easy to miss out on the "Feed on me" dialogue option.
Astarion bit all the companions in my game, just for fun. Just don't bite Gale, he's toxic, he makes Astarion sick!
Consorts are so creative. <3 This is just too cute! We're creating a whole book about Scel and Jr.'s adventures.
I love children's mischief and little hooligans!
I used to sometimes think, I wonder what an adorable mischievous little prankster elf Astarion must have been when he was little? Knowing his character... That might be embodied in his son.
