Astarion: Difference between revisions

Astarion approves of displays of power and cruelty, and appreciates snarkiness and mocking. He is inspired when the player gains access to areas or information by deceiving others. The player does not have to be "evil" to gain his approval, however — he approves when the player makes choices that support independence and autonomy, are understanding toward his past, and when the player helps certain characters in need.

Astarion can be romanced by characters of any gender. His romance deals heavily with his personal character growth, his relationship with intimacy, his discovery of what he wants in life, and the reclaiming of his autonomy. Astarion's romance also has different outcomes depending on the choices made at the end of his companion quest.

Astarion's personality at the start is very much influenced by his background as a high elf magistrate and his time spent as a vampire spawn slave. Astarion is charming, eloquent, cunning, witty, sarcastic, and practical. But, having felt abandoned by the world and its heroes, Astarion is also very bitter, cynical, self-centered, manipulative, distrustful, prejudiced, and vengeful. His top priorities are his own autonomy, his own safety, and his revenge on Cazador, though he also prioritizes the party’s safety as a whole. He is largely apathetic toward the feelings of others and has little interest in helping them for no reward, as he feels that if he didn't get help, nobody else should. He also holds prejudices against the Gur people and small races such as gnomes.

Astarion at the beginning of the game is very fear-motivated and has a low self-worth, despite his confident and arrogant persona. He will attempt to manipulate others with sex to get them on his side so that he has protection from Cazador, as he believes sex is all he is good for and it is one of few ways he knows how to form relationships with other people. He is also willing to do almost anything to gain power or advantage so that he can secure his own safety and avoid being under Cazador's control again, even if it means harming others or doing something he finds personally distasteful. Although, he has reservations about sacrificing his bodily autonomy even if it means he can gain an advantageous power.

However, as the story progresses, Astarion can develop and change his personality depending on how he is guided during his questline. If Astarion's fears, beliefs, and unhealthy behaviors are contested, he will begin to deconstruct his cynical worldview, learning to stand up for himself, show empathy toward others, reconcile with those he has hurt in the past, form genuine bonds with people he trusts, and start to heal from his trauma. But, if Astarion is led down a path where his behaviors, fears, and beliefs are validated and encouraged, he will instead become a fearful, power-hungry, and abusive man who continues to repress his trauma.

If the party stopped the ritual peacefully by persuading him to be better than Cazador or by euthanizing a different spawn during the battle, Astarion's sunlight vulnerability spontaneously returns to him a few minutes after defeating the Netherbrain, ending the hope that his immunity from the tadpole might be permanent. After quickly saying goodbye he is forced to run away and find shade, but the narrator or another companion reassures the player character that he will be safe. Back to a normal vampire spawn, Astarion continues adventuring on his own as a nighttime assassin, but a heroic one who only kills "the right people" that deserve it. Instead of grieving over his inability to be in the sun, he develops a renewed sense of self, accepting the dark as a part of him and being driven by his newfound inspiration of hope rather than fear. If he is romanced, the player character can join him in these adventures and explore [[Faerûn]] with him.

However, there are a few ways for Astarion to end up as a vampire lord without being evil. Like all other player characters, an ascended origin Astarion has the option to go to Avernus with Karlach in any relationship status, abandoning the vampire lord's life completely to fight demons by her side instead. Additionally, if an origin Karlach romancing Astarion does not rest between fighting Cazador and the Netherbrain (thus skipping the breakup scene entirely), he instead demands to bring her to Avernus himself.