Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Patch 7 Closed Beta Feedback

You can. Just break up with him. Say no. That's exactly what you want to do. If you're saying that all these signs are "scary" and "offensive" to your character, then why does your character continue a relationship with him???? There's no logic to it. You can break up with him even 300 times before the epilogue, he has no power over it. So you're still left with the same reaction. Players who stay with him must be happy with their situation, otherwise they would have dumped him.

Except that’s not true at all. Narratively, there is nothing to suggest that doing so is safe for our character if we’ve already become his spawn. As soon as the tadpole is gone, he could hunt Tav down and use compulsions just like Cazador did to his spawn. And if the narrative doesn’t agree with me, then why the hell do we have an actual abuse dialogue chain where Tav can be intimidated into not breaking up with him?

Except that’s not true at all. Narratively, there is nothing to suggest that doing so is safe for our character if we’ve already become his spawn. As soon as the tadpole is gone, he could hunt Tav down and use compulsions just like Cazador did to his spawn. And if the narrative doesn’t agree with me, then why the hell do we have an actual abuse dialogue chain where Tav can be intimidated into not breaking up with him?

Also, you’re saying some really problematic things here. Victims stay with abusers they’re afraid of all the time and this is without vampire mind control magic being in the mix. Like, sorry, but you’re kinda coming across here as victim blaming.

Edit: And more importantly, you’re distracting from the real issue here, which is the lack of character agency, which was the complaint by people who wanted to see their Tav happy during the kiss no? So then Larian needs to meet in the middle and solve this either by toning things down to neutral, or giving us a choice. Stop trying to discredit my game choices and my perception of the route.

Please give a clear example of what kind of abuse dialogue (quotations preferred) you are talking about? I think it would be helpful

I won’t because you know damn well what I’m referring to and I won’t buy into your disingenuous attempts to bait people into arguments.

The issue is some of us find the new facial expressions problematic and take away our agency, so we would like them adjusted or be provided an option to choose how our Tav feels about the situation so they can react accordingly.

You have the option and gency - to break up, or mod an abuse-victi story where that option-break up is erased.

I'm sure you're also well aware that no one goes for a kiss when they're afraid or hateful.

But it’s not the tone the game wants to convey, that’s bullshit. At no point was the narrative “kinky bdsm uwu”.


FFS, this is the same route where Astarion will use every attempt to gaslight you into becoming a spawn, even going so far as to call you a humorless little wretch for trying to put up boundaries after ascension when he starts treating you like a pet.

We are given numerous options to express discomfort and hesitancy with going along with it. For instance, during the turning scene, initially saying no when he asks you to kneel will set your character’s facial expressions to uncomfortable / reluctant for the rest of the scene.

This is a route where the break up backpedal option literally has the description “abusively” written into the script. Our companions literally call out Astarion, With Wyll going so far as to say he’s a degenerate, while Halsin and Gale point out Tav is a slave. We can’t break up in the epilogue with him like you can with EVERY other character.

And sorry, the expressions were relatively neutral before. Tav looked rightly confused by Astarion’s sudden aggressiveness. He bites them without consent, he pushes them, he makes them kneel as a sign of humiliation. The old expressions had you react appropriately with surprise, confusion, or slight annoyance at being forced to do degrading things. This is a master and slave relationship based on everything the narrative has been building toward and once you’ve become a spawn, there is NOTHING to imply you will be safe for breaking up with him.

And finally, this is changing something that has been in the game for nearly half of its release. If this wasn’t the artistic vision, then it should have been updated months ago.

Tl;Dr: My character should not be smiling for things I’d be breaking up with my partner IRL for doing to me without my express consent. The fact that these facial expressions just decide my Tav is ok with it is gross and triggering.

LARIAN IS ROMANTICIZING ABUSE.

Some people will never see it, which I find deeply concerning, but at this point, the mods will lock the thread. It's getting out of hand and being derailed.

Funny thing is, I don’t need to because that’s literally what happens in the epilogue. <3

Ok, but if this is literally the first time you kiss him and then you find yourself being shoved, grabbed, bitten without consent, etc., that might very well be something that you find triggering and don’t expect to see your character smiling playfully during.

Hence why, again, I am asking for the ability to express that in the dialogue through facial expressions that match those feelings because I find the old ones to be more fitting. I’m not saying we can’t have both. I just don’t expect MY character to be ok with what I see as abuse.

Regarding Astarion, this is one of those things where Larian shouldn't have listened to the handful of people who couldn't stop talking about it.

Some feedback is good. Some ruins the game by inserting personal kinks into the narrative. The story, including the cycle of abuse, should come first. Unfortunately...

Cycle of abuse that never happened on game release, woah. The power of imagination is so strong. How good is that my emotional state is being protected by Marazhai from RT, hehe.

I'm sorry if you can't appreciate the power of the cycle of abuse story. Storytelling isn't for everyone.

I don't want to get too deep into it here, but to me these new faces are incredibly triggering, as it feels too much like they are turning a serious situation into something simply kinky and making light of it, in a way. Seeing Tav be forced to react in those ways felt horrible to me. I had a similar kind of visceral reaction to seeing them as other players had to Patch 6.

Tl;Dr: My character should not be smiling for things I’d be breaking up with my partner IRL for doing to me without my express consent. The fact that these facial expressions just decide my Tav is ok with it is gross and triggering.

At no point was the narrative “kinky bdsm uwu”. I can’t choose how to react to the event because Larian is deciding that for me by forcing my Tav to enjoy being pushed around and made to do embarrassing things.

Some feedback is good. Some ruins the game by inserting personal kinks into the narrative. The story, including the cycle of abuse, should come first. Unfortunately...

You're free to suggest whatever you desire, at the end, it is Larian's decision. But can you please refrain from trivializing real victims of PTSD episodes?

O thanks for kink shaming! (not)