Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Larian, please ensure you don’t take away player agency with AA in patch 7

He always tells Tav they should rule together, whether they're his spawn or not. A Tav who is only friends with him enslaves him when they take over the brain; that doesn't mean it was the outcome he wanted or saw coming either. Being subjugated again is not what he is expecting when he says they should rule together. Absolute Tav and tadpoled AA would become a completely different dynamic that doesn't have much to do with a Spawn Tav and AA relationship during/after the game anymore.

Yes, he wants to rule together, but it doesn't mean that Tav has to go along with it. He's putting immense trust in them. He has to be prepared for some power play, he also jokes about Durge sitting on his lap when they threaten him. He doesn't mind being challenged in some instances and even finds it funny. How is him putting his life in somebody's hands ok but him not having a problem with being asked for a gentler kiss not?

It's a point. Thank you for your messages.

In one night, the character doesn't become a rapist who watches his partner uncomfortable and smiles. Who was he then, last night?
Only a headcanon that he lost his soul or dark desires could help that (but dark desires spawns have too) I don't think that was the idea.

Especially when in the script written that the character is free.
So what Tav\DU's enjoying the whole thing when they gave their consent.

Taken out of context and breaks the script in just a horrible way.


‘love flies in the air’
It could be an edgy joke if you're talking about AA in patch 6, sure. But whoever wrote that Tav likes their neck squeezed wasn't edgy joke at all. People felt that way. Mixing it with edgy dark fantasy rape abuse.... What a mistake.

Yeah, "a serious topic about abusive behaviour"...
The first thing he does is hold a knife to their throats, ‘Darling neck of yours’, discusses how to kill Tav, and is clearly thrilled. He doesn't care about them yet, still.
The thing is: overall he's inappropriate individual for an article about the serious subject of abusive behaviour over player characters for a narrative that some could believe was emphasised on Valentine's Day.

Then you could also say it doesn't make sense he won't let Tav go when they ask for freedom. There are limits to what he will do for Tav, and I personally think being told what to do would be one of them.
(I think we're getting off topic from the request for different expressions again, but I am open to talking more about this. Do you want to move this to the Astarion thread over in the Character discussion section, or just agree to disagree?)

It does make sense to me, he was a magistrate, he respects deals and he made one with Tav. He lets Tav do what they want, even cheat on him, the only condition is that they have to stay with him and not stray too far. He also isn't thrilled about going to the epilogue party, but it's hinted he does that because Tav wants to see their friends.

I'd rather stick to this thread, I'm not interested in long discussions anymore.

The narrator says he would have liked to host the party himself, that's why he was pouting, not because he didn't want to come. If he only went to the party for romanced Tav, he would have no reason to still be there in the friendship epilogue.

He still calls Tav "pet" if they objected to being called that, for example, so I don't think he would always go along with what they want.

If you want to move the issue elsewhere, go ahead, it's my last message on the subject.
Maybe there are limits to things he would do for the TAV, and I honestly don't think kissing would be one of them. Since they are a couple, I don't see why it's strange for the TAV to tell him how he would like to be kissed. Also because the request to be kissed would happen at a time when the TAV, even if a spawn, is not under the influence of AA. So if the TAV wants to give "orders" to AA, they can do so easily (and in a certain sense they already do it). While what you say is something that happens at the end when the TAV, no longer having the tadpole, is under the influence of AA.

I don't agree with this either. Except for that one occasion you mentioned, AA no longer calls the TAV "pet". But maybe I'm remembering wrong. And in any case in that case he doesn't answer the TAV by saying "I'll call you whatever I want", he just complains about the fact that the TAV lacks humor.

He does. If Tav says they want to break up and then "Sorry! I didn't mean it", he says "No, I thought not. I don't want to hear anything like that from you again, my pet."

Spawn calls Tav/Durge "pet" too, but we can't complain about it if he does it.
In the U.K. it seems to be a fairly common thing to call someone "pet". It's like a term of endearment, like "my little darling".

Yes, he would have preferred it. He's also not interested in sleeping in the dirt, which he'll have to do as they travel and he also doesn't find parties outside of the palace very interesting. He also doesn't care about the others, he mostly sees them as a source of gossip and potential future enemies. Tav is his only real friend so it makes sense he'd want to see them. When he's single he point blank admits to being lonely.

He only calls them pet again if they try to break up with him and then change their mind. He's rude when he's rejected and played with. Of course he won't get along with everything if he's treated unpleasantly, he's not a doormat.

No, it's only an option for Tav to say it bothers them with AA, because "It doesn't sound like a joke, it sounds like you mean it".

I don't see the breakup option as Tav playing with him. "Sorry! I didn't mean it" to me reads like Tav ended up being too afraid to go through with it. The notes even say his response is supposed to be threatening.

I'm sure he sees it that way though. Tav made an agreement with him and is testing him in that moment. Him being threatening makes sense. Again, he's always rude when Tav behaves in ways he finds ungrateful and dismissive of him.

Ok that's true, but it's also true that compared to all the other dialogues, the times he calls TAV "pet" are only 2 times. And that is a dialogue that yes there is, but it only occurs if you select certain dialogues. For the rest he always uses other nicknames.

Pet : "a word of endearment". He is calling Tav "pet" even before the ascension. I am not from the UK, but I read, that "pet" is or was common there somewhere (maybe someone from this region knows better). I also saw a character calling a woman "pet" in a positive or playful way in a late 19th century setting in England.

From a quote: "pet" is short for French "petit" from which they get the English word petty (adj. late 14c). And "Pet" is a term of endearment because a beloved, especially a child, is thought of as small.

To be honest - his : "No, I thought not. I don't want to hear anything like that from you again, my pet." is one of my favourite lines ingame and I clicked on this so many times, just to hear it from him If they have a statistic, I am one of the top!

Yes, it can mean that. In this context though, I read it differently. Tav is given the option to object to it, because "It doesn't sound like a joke, it sounds like you mean it". If it was just supposed to be a sweet term of endearment, I think it would have been set up differently.

I love it too. And his menacing "why?" Teasing him is fun. I find his attempts at being scary cute.

Tav is giving the answer, because *you* choose a negative answer and roleplay your Tav to be snarky, that they don't like this and want to argue with Astarion. Just because your Tav is behaving snarky and rude, it does not mean, that Astarion meant it in bad way. I would say: Tav shouldn't make assumptions about others, in this case, his lover and be so rude to him. I honestly, would be upset, too, if I call my treasure "treasure*, but suddenly he lashes out to me, that he would not be my treasure anymore.


O yes, absolutely adore this

And that "scary" face and tone when he says "You know I adore you terribly".