Bg Analysis - Blog Posts

okay i know astarion can potentially drain the mc to the point of death if they allow him to drink from them... BUT the persuasion check they have to pass to convince astarion to stop is only 5.

yeah it's higher than say a 2 but i still think this number is CRAZY LOW for a vampiric spawn who has been starved for centuries and has subsisted solely on the blood of vermin ever since he was turned. like this was his FIRST drink of PEOPLE blood, and all mc has to do basically is ask him nicely to stop. sorry to the people who failed the check OBVIOUSLY and this isn't saying it's not fucked up that he killed some of y'all (or that i wouldn't be annoyed if i ever fail and he kills my mc lmao). i'm just saying.. it's a REALLY low number for someone who's been starved and abused for so long, and is driven out of their mind w/ painful cravings every second of the day.

honestly i feel like it speaks to the little crack in astarion's emotional armor, and the tiny kernel of goodness beneath it that cazador couldn't crush.

I’m a fierce believer and defender of Smooth Brain Astarion (affectionate).

I love that, if left to his own devices, he ends up dead in a ditch. I love that this pasty menace of an elf is a walking disaster. I love that his brain produces one coherent thought per day, only to have it backfire on him later on. I love that his first choice in freedom is to unapologetically be the worst version of himself. Because it makes sense. 

That’s what abuse and trauma do to your brain—they fuck with it. 

And in Astarion’s defence, the man didn’t have to use his brain for nearly 200 years—it’s probably the very thing that kept him as alive as he can be; to survive 200 years of pure shit. 

And what use is his brain when his days and nights are dictated by someone else for as long as he can remember? When he has no say in what clothes he wears. When he doesn’t get to choose what or when to eat. When his body and mind aren’t his own, distorted by torture and hunger and self-loathing, forced to obey his vampiric master. Why use his brain when his survival depends exclusively on his abuser’s whims? 

Astarion could’ve come up with the most brilliant plan possible to escape Cazador or save a mark from their doom, but he never stood a chance of succeeding—which doesn’t mean that he didn’t get punished for trying (or even thinking about it) anyway.

Existing under Cazador was a game he couldn’t win, so why bother playing? 

And it’s only by chance that Astarion’s autonomy is returned to him literally overnight. It’s only natural that he’s overwhelmed by his newfound freedom. How is he expected to make sound decisions when he can’t even recall a time when he could do and say as he pleased? 

Of course Astarion is a walking disaster when he finds himself on that beach after the Nautiloid crash—and he’s fully aware of that! That’s why it’s so crucial for him to get on the player’s/other companion’s good side.

He’s self-aware enough to be so insecure about himself that he would rather trust a stranger’s capabilities than his own. 

Being a catastrophe of a person is part of Astarion’s character journey. Not only does he have to reclaim his personhood, he has to learn how to depend on his own brain again and I think that's such a painfully beautiful, important message Baldur’s Gate 3 sends. 

Because healing isn’t pretty. Nor is it easy.

You’re not alright the moment you’re free of whatever horrors you had to live through—and that’s ok! There’s time and room for you to adjust. 

And the moment Astarion feels more or less safe within his new environment, when he’s fed and treated like a person worthy of respect and consideration, his insights, skills and perception are crucial assets to the group.

Astarion knows his art and literature, and although his little remarks are unhinged at times, he's genuinely witty. Even his objections are, considering the circumstances, absolutely legitimate.

Personally, I love seeing Smooth Brain Astarion become more and more secure in his judgement the more Tav/other companions trust and support him.

Astarion is smart, his brain’s just been stewed for nearly 200 years.

Thinking about this line from Cazador and what implies:

I keep thinking about how strange and new must have been for Astarion to finally be surrounded by people who actually listen to him and no one there to punish him for speaking up. 

How it must have felt for him to be able to freely joke around and find that Tav actually laughs at his jokes and even joins in the fun. How new it must have been to be able to express himself and have people who actually listen to him and don't treat him like he is a nuisance, but truly listen to what he has to say. 

I imagine a Tav who just listens, even when he is complaining and whining on purpose, they listen and maybe smile a bit between themselves because they've seen through him, and they never tell him to shut up, they let him vent, they listen to his stories about Cazador, they laugh with him at his jokes. 

No wonder he falls so hard for Tav or becomes very fond of them in a friendship route.

After 200 years where even the Gods didn't care to listen, he has found someone who sits down with him and hears him out.

When I say that "no one cares about/likes Astarion," you need to pay attention to storytelling and character development. It's part of Astarion's entire arc and EXTREMELY hard to miss.

He tells you several times that no one cares about him throughout the game, and because of his arc, he is right. He even has a rant about it after his siblings try to kidnap him in Act 3. No one is like Tav. No one gives a damn. Tav is the only one who remains at his side, going above and beyond for him, and is the only one making a change in his life. It could be why he's such a ride-or-die for them, no matter their decisions. This means that none of the other companions are all that interested in doing that for him. They are just there because Tav is there, not for him. Astarion only got as far as he did because Tav is the only one who cares. Without Tav, Astarion will die in a ditch, or worse.

Hell, the WHOLE REASON he's the way he is is because no one cares for him. He's spicy in the same way a feral cat is and will only warm up to people who actively make an effort to help him or he feels safe around. He doesn't like seeing Tav helping others because he didn't get help when he needed it. He hates hero types because of this. If someone cared about what happened to him, he most likely wouldn't be in the situation he's in now. Even if you like someone, you don't want bad things to happen to them. You can try to make an argument that the companions do care about him, but it's nowhere near enough for Astarion to take notice.

I would say not to hinge on gameplay to prove this, considering a lot of it is mechanics and how your companions will side with Tav no matter what they do minus a few situations, but there are hints of it here and there. No one gets angry if something happens to him or leaves to "go help him". It's "he was bound to be trouble," "he was useful, oh well," or "We have bigger things to worry about." Even then, there may be a "he will be missed" comment thrown in but nothing else. I'm not even sure if there's dialogue from the companions from his Act 3 kidnapping because even Astarion himself doesn't comment when you save him.

Warming up to him is not the same as caring about him. It just makes one more tolerable to be around and the only reason he's around them is they have a common goal. Gale was blunt about that after being told to blow up due to Mystra if you don't romance him (though that may have been softened due to one of the patches). These are just a random gaggle of people thrown together for a single purpose and if you don't make an effort to help them, they stay that way.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE seeing art of everyone in the camp chasing after Astarion to try to protect him from the sun, but it only reminds me that no one moved a muscle to go see if he was okay and just commented on it instead.