You don't need to romance him to have him reject the ritual, you don't even need good approval. You just have to convince him he'll trap himself into becomming the next Cazador if he goes ahead with it.
I had this scene happen while playing yesterday, and I honestly needed to play it several times to hear the voice acting again. One line in particular just takes me out cold every time. "You're the only one. Other people don't have a heart like you. You're you. No one is like that." It's... it's so fucking sad. Nobody has ever shown him compassion. And he can't comprehend why Tav does. It makes me so sad. There are a lot of frankly raw lines that Astarion says. But this is very far up the list. Tav is the first person showing him kindness. It's so messed up. I've never felt so much sympathy for a fictional character. Ugh. This is scene is incredible.
Did you meet his 2 siblings in the flop house before this scene? I was wondering if you get one scene or the other, bc I met the 2 at the flop house but have yet to get this one ):
@@bigpoompkin I met his siblings in the flophouse, yes. It took a few nights to trigger. I think I've read somewhere that it actually only triggers if you have met the siblings before. Idk if that's true, though.
@@NeverNatter @bigpoompkin what happened in my first playthrough was that I met the two in the flophouse and the second encounter never triggered for me because I never went to Elfsong tavern so I'd guess for that to trigger you have to be there. then on my second & third I had Shadow with me with equipped blood of Lathander and the flophouse couple disappeared when I got closer as they were bothered by the sunlight sensitivity. I was able to get this second encounter though so it's not necessary to meet the first two in the flophouse.
Astarion has the most heartbreaking and painful lines I've heard in a game ever. This and the confession in act 2 where he expresses his feelings towards you even though he doesn't really know what's happening to him as he hasn't experienced it before is so gripping and deep. That's why I couldn't bear to make him Ascendant.. he looses all humanity that way, it just isn't the same person who opened up to you about his trauma. And he deserves a much better ending than what we get when he starts burning in the sun and nobody gives a damn. I noticed a little difference in his reaction after you choose either 'world can be a wonderful place' or 'there are many people like me who'd care for you'. When I chose these answers, the beginning is the same but instead of him saying 'I'm doing this for you too so we're both safe' he finishes with 'but perhaps there's something in what you say'. I'm not sure if playing dark urge makes a difference here.
@@asmalltalk You don't need to be in the tavern for the rest scene to happen! I was staying at the docks still (hadn't paid for the tavern yet) and the scene still triggered. So that's definitely not a factor in this.
It hurts so much to hear how he thinks so highly of you and cares for you in this scene only for him to later view you as lesser than him, like a possession/pet if he chooses to ascend.
in his ascension he loses the person he was. he's being genuine in this moment, but ascended astarion only sees through the eyes of a very powerful creature.
Honestly I don't get people who think Astarion ascending is the best for his character. He literally thanks you a million times if you stop him from ascending and says that he was someone else during the entire palace thing. Convincing him not to ascend is definitely the best option, for his roleplay and overall. Ascenscion makes him powerful but he loses every single inch of development he had the entire game.
You literally get an insight when he ask you to help him do the ritual. He was intoxicated by all the blood in the place meaning he only saw the power and the freedom that the ritual will bring him and nothing more. He was legit all this time with you until the ritual part because he lost himself.
same...in my first playthrough I went to kill Cazador without him because I was legit scared he's going to kill him (plus I suck at combat) but then I read he's not going to burn in the sun when you ascend him so I went on my merry way to replay the fight, took Astarion with me, did the deed, and was legit shocked how it changed him. so I was like nah, I ain't losing him for that sh*t. Considering how he then will treat you like a possession and even admits he'd ruin your love for him... hell no.
@@swivelkeyring3512 I think even good Urge and good Astarion is great.. there’s loads of quite deep empathetic lines Astarion has which no other companion could say as they haven’t experienced somebody else taking complete control over their bodies etc. bottom line is though that no matter which route you take with Astarion, he’s an absolutely amazing character.
Astarion actually has a different response at 3:40 if you don't romance him. Something along the lines of you having a point. With how protective Astarion gets of a romanced Tav, with how willing he is to use them as an excuse to make a grab for power, I can't help but think he's a healthier person without immediately jumping into a romance. With that said, Astarion is absolutely the best romance in the game.
Disagree. I think his relationship with Tav allows him to properly process his intimacy issues, whereas he still pretends to be into the drow twins orgy as a friend and won't voice his discomfort the way he does if romanced. He pushes more on ascension if romanced, but I think that has less to do with him being less healthy and more to do with his terror of the world being compounded by needing to protect not just himself but his partner too.
@@primrosett Good point. He makes an insane amount of progress from not being able to even express his discomfort around sex all the way to enthusiastically initiating it. By the end of his storyline, he’s as secure as it gets in the entire game. He’s confident he made the right decision in denying the ritual, hells, he’ll even have different dialogue if Halsin propositions you. It’s just all the time before while he’s exploring intimacy for the first time while back in the city he was abused in, he can be even more toxic than he was at the start of the game.
On the other hand, the romance helps him face some of his sexual trauma that the friendship plot doesn’t. There are pros and cons to both, IMO. Mostly he just needs somebody willing to see past the mask who won’t back down from challenging him in his worst moments.
@@veronicashields4405 Absolutely. Astarion regresses a lot between the end of act 2 and the start of act 3. Being back in the place you were abused and within arm’s length of that abuser will do that to you. He is downright manipulative at multiple points. But the fact that he approves of you talking him down from the ritual but not from helping him is telling. He’s aware of those uglier sides of himself and wants a partner who will help him overcome them.
Oh this is interesting!! Thanks for uploading. I got the "good" Ast ending and he rejected the ritual, but I never got this scene. I hadn't camped there, though, so I must have cut it off :'( It is a great step in his character development.
Does this only happen if you stay in the elfsong then? I always stay in the elfsong cuz after being on the road for so long, I’m sure everyone would like to sleep in an actual bed, have a bath, a hot meal etc.
@@Lunakitty1234 staying in the Elfsong is not required, I imagine it might just be a combination of how far you are in Act 3 and if you have rested a certain amount of times.
@@rike1775 for me, Astarion’s siblings try to kidnap him almost as soon as I rest in baldurs gate. Doesn’t take very long for Orin to kidnap Halsin either. Wat triggers both these events? And I’m just curious but, if I do the poly Halsin/tav/Astarion romance, can you save Halsin from being kidnapped?
@@Lunakitty1234 with the Astarion one I am uncertain, as I have just gotten it myself personally, after quite a few long rests in Act 3. Orin's kidnapping depends on whether it happens in camp or in the sewers. But both definitely trigger some long rests after speaking to Gortash after the ceremony. The camp one during a long rest and the sewer one when you reach a certain point during exploration. And I believe as long as you have Halsin in your party, he shouldn't get kidnapped.
With the way everyone is arranged in the Elfsong Tavern, I found it odd how you wake up to see him right next to your bed when he normally is in a whole other part of the room with Gale, Karlach and Lae'zel's beds next to his. Did he just try to run over to you despite having other companions who were much closer? Meta reason is for the sake of a cutscene setup, I know that, but rp-wise does that imply something about who he really turns to when panicked beyond reason?
In one of his break-up scenes, he tells the player "I'll sleep alone tonight", which - ignoring the four bedroll animation for long rests - makes it sound like he and the player character were sleeping together in a literal sense. Given that he's romanced here, he may have just been on his way to Tav/Durge's bed to snuggle up for the night ;)
Throughout the game, you probably do sex and cute lovey dovey things on the regular but it’s all off-screen and you’re just supposed to use your imagination. Cuz through dialogue , he’s heavily implied that they’ve cuddled and have slept together more than just the three times we know.
Oh, this is painful.... espcially because I have to agree with Astarion's points. The problem is, the writers entagled Astarion's personal choices and the outcome of his quest inextricably with the Tav romance, unlike the quests of any other of the companions. The other companions can achieve their goals without being romanced. For Astarion, if Tav never gave a crap about him or their relationship never progressed to a sufficient level of trust and actual love, or it's an Origin character run where Tav doesn't exist and Astarion is the player avatar supposed to romance the other companions... then there is literally zero reason for Astarion _not_ to go through with the Rite of Ascension. While the other companions have more standard "good for them vs bad for them" endings, with Astarion the "unethical" ending (Ascension) is technically the _good_ ending (for him at least, not for the rest of the world) if we disregard the nebulous "the ritual will corrupt his soul" counterargument. (Even the objection "But think of the 7000 sacrificial vampire spawns you'd kill!" rings a bit hollow because, as Astarion states, most of them are beyond saving & a danger if they survive and are let out.) While the "ethical" ending (staying a vampire spawn without now without a tadpole) honestly sucks for Astarion, doubly so if there is noone there for him afterwards. Yes, with a loving Tav at his side Atarion is glad he "didn't lose himself". But if he is all alone, what then? Is he supposed to give up his dream of freedom for a nebulous "warm feeling to have done the right thing"? His wish not to turn into the next Cazador but to be "better" than him? If the Rite clearly stated he would have to sell his soul to Mephistopheles, that would be a different matter, but it didn't.
You have a good point there, but I need to disagree with "ascension is good ending". The point is -- ascension makes Astarion like his master. He literally goes deeper in his trauma and never recover from it.
Anyone who thinks ascension is the good ending is extremely deluded. It’s not going to bring him true happiness and it goes against who he actually is and what he truly wants. You can see this clearly in the good ending where he said he was blinded by fear, falsely self justifying. He thinks the can’t be better, but he can, and he doesn’t need ascension. Which actually does corrupt his soul, he even turns on you a bit, treating you unequally. The last thing he truly wants is to be like Cazador. Idk what the good ending is like without romancing him, but it’s still probably better than this. I think people actually trying to justify ascension, killing 7000 innocent people (who are actually not too far gone, that’s just an excuse) needs to reevaluate their morals.
I agree with you about how bad it is that Astarion's ending is linked to romncing him. I haven't played the game in full yet and I personally want to try being with Gale and Will but was on the fence about Astarion. If it was possible to make him see that he still has us as a friend/ companion then maybe he wouldn't make these decisions. And besides, you can let someone know that you care about them without making them your love interest. I feel like having to romance him puts a huge limit on the game and it's outcomes, not tomention that it's kind of cliche; the bad boy comes along and is influenced by the person who loves them and they come around because of ✨love✨. How about, instead, he realizes that there are people who do care about him, that those people are his friends, and they help support him to become a better person. You know, like realisic, platonic, relationships.
I honestly feel so bad for them. They literally believe the man who turned them against their will is actually going to do anything other than be awful.
I wonder what happens if you tell him that the world can be kind & wonderful? Unfortunately at this point in the romance, my Celestial bladelock decided to fight about Astarion choosing to sacrifice the closest thing to family he's ever had for more power
He says something along the lines of “says you. You’re an unchanged mind flayer who goes around helping people” (something like that. I just tried it out) and then he says the same thing that the end of the dialogue option for OP’s choice says (the “I’m doing this for you too you know” bit)
This is why I couldn't possibly bring myself to let Astarion ascend. I appreciate that the opportunity exists because I think both paths are valid, and they complement one another. But I love seeing Astarion get his happy ending, and ascension is simply NOT his happy ending. It brings out the very worst in Astarion. And the thing is, if you persuade him not to ascend, he recognizes after the fact what a bad decision it would have been. Astarion chases power out of fear. Fear of being weak --- of being a victim. It's understandable, but giving into the fear isn't what he needs. He needs to be brave. And that's why I find the ending where he makes the brave choice to be the most satisfying ending for him.
Spoiler warning do not click to show more unless you want to see spoilers = = = = = == = = = = = = = = = = = Tbh astarion the ascendant vampire lord and chosen of bhaal makes quite a couple in my mind xD
redeemed durge and astarion tho is so nice too. both knowing what it means to be a monster, being controlled by an even worse one, the fact that he helps you fight the dark urge because he knows what its like to be at the will of another and he knows you're strong and can fight it. god, i honestly think astarion is meant as the most canon relationship. his whole story is affected and makes the most sense by being romanced, unlike the others, especially if you go for the good ending.
If you go bhaal, you end up doing the Absolute ending and control everything...including Astarion. Sadly the most ideal couple doesnt work, cause it wouldve been perfect. Bad writers :D
Takes a lot of long rests after meeting his siblings scene. It gets pushed off pretty easily with all Wyll's camp scenes tbh. You can auto trigger this scene by finishing the Necromancy of Thay quest then you don't have to wait on tons of long rests though. If you gave the Necromancy of Thay to Astarion in Act 1 for approval, you can find a book in the magic shop in Act 3 while doing Gale's quest that can help Astarion finish translating the Necromancy of Thay. The scene triggers everytime I've done this.
think it depends on your earlier dialogue options: if your tav supports his hunger for power and encourages him to try the rite out for himself, he'll start the first steps of his plan in this cutscene and lies to his siblings. at least, that's my guess - i've yet to see the honest version of him as i like my bad boys made worse 😁
@@PolkaMushroom I've seen a lot of these videos where he lies to them but then there are very few with a different set of dialogue - sth about them telling Astarion he gave up fighting which in turn can trigger him telling you not to judge him and the heartbreaking bit about a boy he refused to bring to Cazador and suffered for it. I'm just not sure how to get this because I've never supported his power-hungriness and I still got this dialogue.
@@PolkaMushroomi think it might be whether you talk to the vampire spawn in flaygos flophouse or not. in my first playthrough i didnt and this scene never happened but now im on my second one it did. i dont have any evidence beyond that though
how did you trigger this ? i think i've only done 2 or 3 long rests in the city at the moment but haven't started the cazador quest yet. Though i did meet two other spawn in the flop house some time ago
it takes quite a few rests for it to trigger as it can be overrun by the scene of Orin kidnapping someone or Mizora having her speech about Wyll's dad.
Little late but you can auto trigger this scene by finishing the Necromancy of Thay quest then you don't have to wait on tons of long rests. If you gave the Necromancy of Thay to Astarion in Act 1 for approval, you can find a book in the magic shop in Act 3 while doing Gale's quest that can help Astarion finish translating the Necromancy of Thay. The scene triggers everytime I've done this.
@@ohhello937are there only two spells you can gain? Because I never bothered to meet Gale and I’m already in act 3. If can’t do Gale’s quest, can I still not trigger this scene?
I wanted to know, does persuading him have any bad concequences? Without spoilers please. I usually let my companions do what they like in cutscenes and remain silent mostly because my approval is really high with them as mine is with Astarion and he's romanced. Just not saying anything didn't really sit right with me.
people be debating the good/evil aspects of it, I'm thinking "what about dracula but with more sass" a sassy vladimir tepes with a trusty shovel and some hitchhiker he picked up along the way. I'd like to see that.
I might just have piss poor memory, but my first playthrough Astarion didn't try to deceive them when the spawn attacked camp. Are there multiple variations of this event, or am I just crazy?
No spoilers please but I have a question: I'm playing and have this scene i wanna know if it's the moment where you can change him and make him not complete the ritual? Or this doesn't have an impact?
@@jaystrickland4151 I do have a hard time with long rests in act 3. I always had Orin kidnapping a party member when i tried to trigger this scene ^^ Is there any certain location you need to be or any certain spot in the story?
@@MoonsongReverb I have the same issue moslty because I like to have one tavern brawler monk that is addicted to giant strength elixirs and I am trying to stretch those.
@@sabrinagidney6066 I just had this cutscene. Through my play through since the first time the party found out about the rite from Raphael I kept somewhat agreeing with Astarion about the rite, never dissuaded or told him off but just warned him so to speak. Took some long rests once I reached the lower city and it triggered.
Me too. Like I know they’re hungry, can’t control themselves and will probably drain a lot of innocents while in the underdark. But I can’t bring myself to unalive innocent children .
I'm on playthrough #3 and just got surprised by this scene yesterday, and only because I installed the mod that lets you know when a camp scene is waiting. I had finished a camp scene with Mizora and Wyll fairly early in act 3 (she has some dialog about him being all grown up), and upon leaving camp, immediately got notified that another camp scene was waiting. So I went right back to long rest, and this was the scene. I'm guessing it just gets overridden easily by other scenes if you don't trigger it right away, and then probably drops off the queue at some point. For a bit more of a reference point, this was only my second or so night at the Elfsong. Mizora had already lied to Florrick, and my kidnapped companion/Orin had already found me in the sewers to taunt me, but I hadn't done much else in the lower city yet. I loaded up an earlier Astarion romance playthrough to try to trigger this scene, though, and the camp kidnapping scene actually played first. The next long rest after that was this scene. So, if you have a save from right after the kidnapping, load it up and keep spamming long rests until this triggers.
Act 3 town, either persuade or pay to permanently reserve the upper floor of the inn. One of the long rests before you finish the Cazador quest will have this scene
/\ You don't need to be at the inn at all for this scene to happen. The exact same scene/dialogue triggered for me at the usual camp, out in the open, during act 3. I got the scene on the night after Astarion finished reading the Necromancy of Thay (the final reading after you get the Tharciate Codex book from Sorcerous Sundries vault), but I know of at least one person who got the scene during a random long rest in act 3, also not at the inn.
You have to progress the Pale Elf questline to the point where it says to go to Baldur's gate. It took me quite a few long rests to get it and I was just naturally meandering around the city at this point doing a bunch of side stuff. I did meet his two vampire spawn siblings at the flophouse prior to it happening but I don't think it was necessary for the scene to trigger. Baldur's Gate 3 rewards people who stop and smell the roses, long rest scenes happen if you don't progress quests too quickly.
@@quaritchsilco but he didn’t call other 7000 spawn as siblings tho, or maybe the 6 “siblings” and Astarion are the most potential spawn so Cazador made them siblings and put them circling him in ritual instead of just being locked up in cells?
@ant3910 I.... did you not pay any attention at all to the story? The spawn in the cells are the people Astarion and his 'siblings' gathered for hundreds of years, which unbeknownst to them, Cazador was locking up and turning into Spawn for the ritual. Astarion didn't know those people were down there. The 'siblings' are Cazador's working Spawn he sired for the specific purpose of gathering people. Asterion explained this extremely early in the game.
@@primrosett unfortunately you replied me once I have learned the lore deeper, I haven’t reach Cazador’s palace when I commented that. Now I learn the 7000 spawns are not only Astarion and siblings victim, but Cazador masters victim as well since Astarion said that Cazador stole the spawns when he read spawn list and seems the rite of ascension have been a thing for vampire lords before
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You don't need to romance him to have him reject the ritual, you don't even need good approval. You just have to convince him he'll trap himself into becomming the next Cazador if he goes ahead with it.
I had this scene happen while playing yesterday, and I honestly needed to play it several times to hear the voice acting again. One line in particular just takes me out cold every time. "You're the only one. Other people don't have a heart like you. You're you. No one is like that." It's... it's so fucking sad. Nobody has ever shown him compassion. And he can't comprehend why Tav does. It makes me so sad. There are a lot of frankly raw lines that Astarion says. But this is very far up the list. Tav is the first person showing him kindness. It's so messed up. I've never felt so much sympathy for a fictional character. Ugh. This is scene is incredible.
Did you meet his 2 siblings in the flop house before this scene? I was wondering if you get one scene or the other, bc I met the 2 at the flop house but have yet to get this one ):
@@bigpoompkin I met his siblings in the flophouse, yes. It took a few nights to trigger. I think I've read somewhere that it actually only triggers if you have met the siblings before. Idk if that's true, though.
@@NeverNatter @bigpoompkin what happened in my first playthrough was that I met the two in the flophouse and the second encounter never triggered for me because I never went to Elfsong tavern so I'd guess for that to trigger you have to be there. then on my second & third I had Shadow with me with equipped blood of Lathander and the flophouse couple disappeared when I got closer as they were bothered by the sunlight sensitivity. I was able to get this second encounter though so it's not necessary to meet the first two in the flophouse.
Astarion has the most heartbreaking and painful lines I've heard in a game ever. This and the confession in act 2 where he expresses his feelings towards you even though he doesn't really know what's happening to him as he hasn't experienced it before is so gripping and deep. That's why I couldn't bear to make him Ascendant.. he looses all humanity that way, it just isn't the same person who opened up to you about his trauma. And he deserves a much better ending than what we get when he starts burning in the sun and nobody gives a damn.
I noticed a little difference in his reaction after you choose either 'world can be a wonderful place' or 'there are many people like me who'd care for you'. When I chose these answers, the beginning is the same but instead of him saying 'I'm doing this for you too so we're both safe' he finishes with 'but perhaps there's something in what you say'. I'm not sure if playing dark urge makes a difference here.
@@asmalltalk You don't need to be in the tavern for the rest scene to happen! I was staying at the docks still (hadn't paid for the tavern yet) and the scene still triggered. So that's definitely not a factor in this.
It hurts so much to hear how he thinks so highly of you and cares for you in this scene only for him to later view you as lesser than him, like a possession/pet if he chooses to ascend.
in his ascension he loses the person he was. he's being genuine in this moment, but ascended astarion only sees through the eyes of a very powerful creature.
Honestly I don't get people who think Astarion ascending is the best for his character. He literally thanks you a million times if you stop him from ascending and says that he was someone else during the entire palace thing. Convincing him not to ascend is definitely the best option, for his roleplay and overall. Ascenscion makes him powerful but he loses every single inch of development he had the entire game.
@@politecat9207 I got this cool interaction with him after the house of hope incubus. I’m really glad I didn’t ascend him
You literally get an insight when he ask you to help him do the ritual. He was intoxicated by all the blood in the place meaning he only saw the power and the freedom that the ritual will bring him and nothing more. He was legit all this time with you until the ritual part because he lost himself.
@@Selene_Moon98 Oh I know he was sincere up to that point, I meant it was sad that ascending changed his view of you.
I honestly don't think I can do an evil run romancing Astarion. I love him too much being nice Astarion.
same...in my first playthrough I went to kill Cazador without him because I was legit scared he's going to kill him (plus I suck at combat) but then I read he's not going to burn in the sun when you ascend him so I went on my merry way to replay the fight, took Astarion with me, did the deed, and was legit shocked how it changed him. so I was like nah, I ain't losing him for that sh*t. Considering how he then will treat you like a possession and even admits he'd ruin your love for him... hell no.
Yeah. It's not worth it anyway because he becomes even more cruel and there's no real "happy" ending if you let him ascend
True though evil durge and evil astarion bonding is great in my opinion
@@swivelkeyring3512 I think even good Urge and good Astarion is great.. there’s loads of quite deep empathetic lines Astarion has which no other companion could say as they haven’t experienced somebody else taking complete control over their bodies etc.
bottom line is though that no matter which route you take with Astarion, he’s an absolutely amazing character.
Same
Astarion actually has a different response at 3:40 if you don't romance him. Something along the lines of you having a point. With how protective Astarion gets of a romanced Tav, with how willing he is to use them as an excuse to make a grab for power, I can't help but think he's a healthier person without immediately jumping into a romance.
With that said, Astarion is absolutely the best romance in the game.
Disagree. I think his relationship with Tav allows him to properly process his intimacy issues, whereas he still pretends to be into the drow twins orgy as a friend and won't voice his discomfort the way he does if romanced. He pushes more on ascension if romanced, but I think that has less to do with him being less healthy and more to do with his terror of the world being compounded by needing to protect not just himself but his partner too.
@@primrosett Good point. He makes an insane amount of progress from not being able to even express his discomfort around sex all the way to enthusiastically initiating it. By the end of his storyline, he’s as secure as it gets in the entire game. He’s confident he made the right decision in denying the ritual, hells, he’ll even have different dialogue if Halsin propositions you. It’s just all the time before while he’s exploring intimacy for the first time while back in the city he was abused in, he can be even more toxic than he was at the start of the game.
On the other hand, the romance helps him face some of his sexual trauma that the friendship plot doesn’t. There are pros and cons to both, IMO. Mostly he just needs somebody willing to see past the mask who won’t back down from challenging him in his worst moments.
@@veronicashields4405 Absolutely. Astarion regresses a lot between the end of act 2 and the start of act 3. Being back in the place you were abused and within arm’s length of that abuser will do that to you. He is downright manipulative at multiple points. But the fact that he approves of you talking him down from the ritual but not from helping him is telling. He’s aware of those uglier sides of himself and wants a partner who will help him overcome them.
Oh this is interesting!! Thanks for uploading. I got the "good" Ast ending and he rejected the ritual, but I never got this scene. I hadn't camped there, though, so I must have cut it off :'( It is a great step in his character development.
Does this only happen if you stay in the elfsong then? I always stay in the elfsong cuz after being on the road for so long, I’m sure everyone would like to sleep in an actual bed, have a bath, a hot meal etc.
@@Lunakitty1234 staying in the Elfsong is not required, I imagine it might just be a combination of how far you are in Act 3 and if you have rested a certain amount of times.
@@rike1775 for me, Astarion’s siblings try to kidnap him almost as soon as I rest in baldurs gate. Doesn’t take very long for Orin to kidnap Halsin either. Wat triggers both these events? And I’m just curious but, if I do the poly
Halsin/tav/Astarion romance, can you save Halsin from being kidnapped?
@@Lunakitty1234 with the Astarion one I am uncertain, as I have just gotten it myself personally, after quite a few long rests in Act 3. Orin's kidnapping depends on whether it happens in camp or in the sewers. But both definitely trigger some long rests after speaking to Gortash after the ceremony. The camp one during a long rest and the sewer one when you reach a certain point during exploration. And I believe as long as you have Halsin in your party, he shouldn't get kidnapped.
With the way everyone is arranged in the Elfsong Tavern, I found it odd how you wake up to see him right next to your bed when he normally is in a whole other part of the room with Gale, Karlach and Lae'zel's beds next to his. Did he just try to run over to you despite having other companions who were much closer? Meta reason is for the sake of a cutscene setup, I know that, but rp-wise does that imply something about who he really turns to when panicked beyond reason?
He also drinks your blood while you're asleep so... he could've been going to feed at that moment.
In one of his break-up scenes, he tells the player "I'll sleep alone tonight", which - ignoring the four bedroll animation for long rests - makes it sound like he and the player character were sleeping together in a literal sense. Given that he's romanced here, he may have just been on his way to Tav/Durge's bed to snuggle up for the night ;)
Throughout the game, you probably do sex and cute lovey dovey things on the regular but it’s all off-screen and you’re just supposed to use your imagination. Cuz through dialogue , he’s heavily implied that they’ve cuddled and have slept together more than just the three times we know.
I sadly never got this because i bee lined for cazador's place when i got to act 3 XD lol
Okay, how do you get this nice house to sleep in ? My group is still living in some back alley/forest.
You can rent rooms at the Elfsong Tavern in the city
@@sungravedamn, in a baldur's gate game there was a tavern with a similar name, it seems it still exist!
@@sungraveThanks.
IM SO SAD I DIDNT GET THIS SCENEEEEE
Oh, this is painful.... espcially because I have to agree with Astarion's points. The problem is, the writers entagled Astarion's personal choices and the outcome of his quest inextricably with the Tav romance, unlike the quests of any other of the companions. The other companions can achieve their goals without being romanced. For Astarion, if Tav never gave a crap about him or their relationship never progressed to a sufficient level of trust and actual love, or it's an Origin character run where Tav doesn't exist and Astarion is the player avatar supposed to romance the other companions... then there is literally zero reason for Astarion _not_ to go through with the Rite of Ascension.
While the other companions have more standard "good for them vs bad for them" endings, with Astarion the "unethical" ending (Ascension) is technically the _good_ ending (for him at least, not for the rest of the world) if we disregard the nebulous "the ritual will corrupt his soul" counterargument. (Even the objection "But think of the 7000 sacrificial vampire spawns you'd kill!" rings a bit hollow because, as Astarion states, most of them are beyond saving & a danger if they survive and are let out.)
While the "ethical" ending (staying a vampire spawn without now without a tadpole) honestly sucks for Astarion, doubly so if there is noone there for him afterwards.
Yes, with a loving Tav at his side Atarion is glad he "didn't lose himself". But if he is all alone, what then? Is he supposed to give up his dream of freedom for a nebulous "warm feeling to have done the right thing"? His wish not to turn into the next Cazador but to be "better" than him? If the Rite clearly stated he would have to sell his soul to Mephistopheles, that would be a different matter, but it didn't.
You have a good point there, but I need to disagree with "ascension is good ending". The point is -- ascension makes Astarion like his master. He literally goes deeper in his trauma and never recover from it.
Anyone who thinks ascension is the good ending is extremely deluded. It’s not going to bring him true happiness and it goes against who he actually is and what he truly wants. You can see this clearly in the good ending where he said he was blinded by fear, falsely self justifying. He thinks the can’t be better, but he can, and he doesn’t need ascension. Which actually does corrupt his soul, he even turns on you a bit, treating you unequally. The last thing he truly wants is to be like Cazador. Idk what the good ending is like without romancing him, but it’s still probably better than this. I think people actually trying to justify ascension, killing 7000 innocent people (who are actually not too far gone, that’s just an excuse) needs to reevaluate their morals.
@@kstar14891000% agreed. It's not a good ending.
I agree with you about how bad it is that Astarion's ending is linked to romncing him. I haven't played the game in full yet and I personally want to try being with Gale and Will but was on the fence about Astarion. If it was possible to make him see that he still has us as a friend/ companion then maybe he wouldn't make these decisions. And besides, you can let someone know that you care about them without making them your love interest. I feel like having to romance him puts a huge limit on the game and it's outcomes, not tomention that it's kind of cliche; the bad boy comes along and is influenced by the person who loves them and they come around because of ✨love✨. How about, instead, he realizes that there are people who do care about him, that those people are his friends, and they help support him to become a better person. You know, like realisic, platonic, relationships.
@@kstar1489100% agree, people that think this are past delusional at this point
I honestly feel so bad for them. They literally believe the man who turned them against their will is actually going to do anything other than be awful.
I wonder what happens if you tell him that the world can be kind & wonderful? Unfortunately at this point in the romance, my Celestial bladelock decided to fight about Astarion choosing to sacrifice the closest thing to family he's ever had for more power
He says something along the lines of “says you. You’re an unchanged mind flayer who goes around helping people” (something like that. I just tried it out) and then he says the same thing that the end of the dialogue option for OP’s choice says (the “I’m doing this for you too you know” bit)
wonderful acting. :D
This is why I couldn't possibly bring myself to let Astarion ascend. I appreciate that the opportunity exists because I think both paths are valid, and they complement one another.
But I love seeing Astarion get his happy ending, and ascension is simply NOT his happy ending. It brings out the very worst in Astarion. And the thing is, if you persuade him not to ascend, he recognizes after the fact what a bad decision it would have been.
Astarion chases power out of fear. Fear of being weak --- of being a victim. It's understandable, but giving into the fear isn't what he needs. He needs to be brave. And that's why I find the ending where he makes the brave choice to be the most satisfying ending for him.
Spoiler warning do not click to show more unless you want to see spoilers
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Tbh astarion the ascendant vampire lord and chosen of bhaal makes quite a couple in my mind xD
An evil couple for sure 😂
That is what I am doing on my Dark Urge playthrough.
redeemed durge and astarion tho is so nice too. both knowing what it means to be a monster, being controlled by an even worse one, the fact that he helps you fight the dark urge because he knows what its like to be at the will of another and he knows you're strong and can fight it. god, i honestly think astarion is meant as the most canon relationship. his whole story is affected and makes the most sense by being romanced, unlike the others, especially if you go for the good ending.
If you go bhaal, you end up doing the Absolute ending and control everything...including Astarion. Sadly the most ideal couple doesnt work, cause it wouldve been perfect. Bad writers :D
he will be corrupt if we let him acesend but hey. he's got the right words to almost let me have him do it.
Nooo, I never got this scene. I wonder why.
Takes a lot of long rests after meeting his siblings scene. It gets pushed off pretty easily with all Wyll's camp scenes tbh. You can auto trigger this scene by finishing the Necromancy of Thay quest then you don't have to wait on tons of long rests though. If you gave the Necromancy of Thay to Astarion in Act 1 for approval, you can find a book in the magic shop in Act 3 while doing Gale's quest that can help Astarion finish translating the Necromancy of Thay. The scene triggers everytime I've done this.
@@ohhello937 Thanks!!
This made me sad
How did you get this kind of dialogue from astarion? Other videos ive watched have him not lie to them
think it depends on your earlier dialogue options: if your tav supports his hunger for power and encourages him to try the rite out for himself, he'll start the first steps of his plan in this cutscene and lies to his siblings. at least, that's my guess - i've yet to see the honest version of him as i like my bad boys made worse 😁
@@PolkaMushroom I've seen a lot of these videos where he lies to them but then there are very few with a different set of dialogue - sth about them telling Astarion he gave up fighting which in turn can trigger him telling you not to judge him and the heartbreaking bit about a boy he refused to bring to Cazador and suffered for it. I'm just not sure how to get this because I've never supported his power-hungriness and I still got this dialogue.
@@PolkaMushroomi think it might be whether you talk to the vampire spawn in flaygos flophouse or not. in my first playthrough i didnt and this scene never happened but now im on my second one it did. i dont have any evidence beyond that though
how did you trigger this ? i think i've only done 2 or 3 long rests in the city at the moment but haven't started the cazador quest yet. Though i did meet two other spawn in the flop house some time ago
it takes quite a few rests for it to trigger as it can be overrun by the scene of Orin kidnapping someone or Mizora having her speech about Wyll's dad.
do you need to meet with petras and dal first? or does it just happens automatically@@asmalltalk
Little late but you can auto trigger this scene by finishing the Necromancy of Thay quest then you don't have to wait on tons of long rests. If you gave the Necromancy of Thay to Astarion in Act 1 for approval, you can find a book in the magic shop in Act 3 while doing Gale's quest that can help Astarion finish translating the Necromancy of Thay. The scene triggers everytime I've done this.
@@ohhello937oh wow, thank you. I’ve never tried that as that booked creeped me out so I always destroy it lol
@@ohhello937are there only two spells you can gain? Because I never bothered to meet Gale and I’m already in act 3. If can’t do Gale’s quest, can I still not trigger this scene?
Why does this camp look more civilized? I've completed the game twice - each time I've been in town, the camp has been over the harbour?
Rent a room in elfsong tavern
@@Soveey Thank U! ♥
I wanted to know, does persuading him have any bad concequences? Without spoilers please. I usually let my companions do what they like in cutscenes and remain silent mostly because my approval is really high with them as mine is with Astarion and he's romanced. Just not saying anything didn't really sit right with me.
*it doesn't*
From what I have seen, persuasion only has disapproval consequences if you’ve used charm person to influence the roll.
Anyone had their game skip this cutscene?
Can u get this scene when you meet his other siblings, Petras and Dal? Also, where u find that camp clothes for Astarion?
if my Astarion can’t persuaded out of ascension I would END THE GAME I’D QUIT RIGHT THERE IF I COULDN’T GET HIM TO STOP
Wait how do you get this to trigger? I've played twice once asending him and once not... I didn't get this either time.
Is anyone having a problem at the end of the fight where asterion is talking to Wyll instead of you?
Is that lady dimitrescu singing?
people be debating the good/evil aspects of it, I'm thinking "what about dracula but with more sass"
a sassy vladimir tepes with a trusty shovel and some hitchhiker he picked up along the way. I'd like to see that.
How do you have this encounter? I finished the game once and never saw it. Didn't think I rushed to Cazador either.
Have to find his siblings in the flophouse and then long rest after
Oooh what shirt is Astarion wearing??
Wtf what is this scene. Never had that?????? Is this only for spawn astarion or also ascend astarion
I didn’t get this dialog when the vampire spawn attack him. What did I miss?
I might just have piss poor memory, but my first playthrough Astarion didn't try to deceive them when the spawn attacked camp. Are there multiple variations of this event, or am I just crazy?
No spoilers please but I have a question: I'm playing and have this scene i wanna know if it's the moment where you can change him and make him not complete the ritual? Or this doesn't have an impact?
No, that won't take place until you are actively in Cazador's home
I never even had this scene. Even if romanced, thes silblings never came. How do you trigger that encounter?
You have to take more long rests.
@@jaystrickland4151 I do have a hard time with long rests in act 3. I always had Orin kidnapping a party member when i tried to trigger this scene ^^
Is there any certain location you need to be or any certain spot in the story?
@@MoonsongReverb I have the same issue moslty because I like to have one tavern brawler monk that is addicted to giant strength elixirs and I am trying to stretch those.
Same here
@@sabrinagidney6066 I just had this cutscene. Through my play through since the first time the party found out about the rite from Raphael I kept somewhat agreeing with Astarion about the rite, never dissuaded or told him off but just warned him so to speak. Took some long rests once I reached the lower city and it triggered.
in my run i didn't get this cinematic, how do i get it in the next one i make??
I set 7000 famished spawn free.
Oops.
Me too. Like I know they’re hungry, can’t control themselves and will probably drain a lot of innocents while in the underdark. But I can’t bring myself to unalive innocent children .
So if you kill them does that mean Astarion can’t ascend ?
I don’t think you can kill them here. When you defeat them they probably run away to Cazador
What clothes is your character wearing??
Raffish Midnight Outfit
@sungrave where can this be found in the game? I can't seem to find it
Carm's Garms or Fabio's place iirc, you should have come across him as he's on the list of murder victims
@@XxX-vi9if
@@XxX-vi9if Any wardrobe in the city, or with vendors in the upper floor of Glimmer Hall and lower floor of Facemakers. Or in Cazadors palace.
How does this happen? I never got this scene
I'm on playthrough #3 and just got surprised by this scene yesterday, and only because I installed the mod that lets you know when a camp scene is waiting. I had finished a camp scene with Mizora and Wyll fairly early in act 3 (she has some dialog about him being all grown up), and upon leaving camp, immediately got notified that another camp scene was waiting. So I went right back to long rest, and this was the scene. I'm guessing it just gets overridden easily by other scenes if you don't trigger it right away, and then probably drops off the queue at some point.
For a bit more of a reference point, this was only my second or so night at the Elfsong. Mizora had already lied to Florrick, and my kidnapped companion/Orin had already found me in the sewers to taunt me, but I hadn't done much else in the lower city yet.
I loaded up an earlier Astarion romance playthrough to try to trigger this scene, though, and the camp kidnapping scene actually played first. The next long rest after that was this scene. So, if you have a save from right after the kidnapping, load it up and keep spamming long rests until this triggers.
@AndreaP_N7 I'm attempting to do it now once I find cazadors place
@@sabrinagidney6066 It triggered for me way before finding Cazador's place. It looks like it happens pretty soon after you get to the lower city.
@@AndreaP_N7 I just encountered the scene heh
@@sabrinagidney6066 Yay!
When does this dialogue happen??
Act 3 town, either persuade or pay to permanently reserve the upper floor of the inn. One of the long rests before you finish the Cazador quest will have this scene
/\ You don't need to be at the inn at all for this scene to happen. The exact same scene/dialogue triggered for me at the usual camp, out in the open, during act 3. I got the scene on the night after Astarion finished reading the Necromancy of Thay (the final reading after you get the Tharciate Codex book from Sorcerous Sundries vault), but I know of at least one person who got the scene during a random long rest in act 3, also not at the inn.
You have to progress the Pale Elf questline to the point where it says to go to Baldur's gate. It took me quite a few long rests to get it and I was just naturally meandering around the city at this point doing a bunch of side stuff. I did meet his two vampire spawn siblings at the flophouse prior to it happening but I don't think it was necessary for the scene to trigger. Baldur's Gate 3 rewards people who stop and smell the roses, long rest scenes happen if you don't progress quests too quickly.
Doesn’t he become a crazed cazador the second?
Only when you let him complete The Ascension
Hahaha omg that’s so funny
My question is how the hell Astarion has a tiefling and human siblings?😂
Because they aren't blood related. They're victims of Cazador that he forced to become a "family."
@@quaritchsilco but he didn’t call other 7000 spawn as siblings tho, or maybe the 6 “siblings” and Astarion are the most potential spawn so Cazador made them siblings and put them circling him in ritual instead of just being locked up in cells?
@ant3910 I.... did you not pay any attention at all to the story? The spawn in the cells are the people Astarion and his 'siblings' gathered for hundreds of years, which unbeknownst to them, Cazador was locking up and turning into Spawn for the ritual. Astarion didn't know those people were down there. The 'siblings' are Cazador's working Spawn he sired for the specific purpose of gathering people. Asterion explained this extremely early in the game.
@@primrosett unfortunately you replied me once I have learned the lore deeper, I haven’t reach Cazador’s palace when I commented that. Now I learn the 7000 spawns are not only Astarion and siblings victim, but Cazador masters victim as well since Astarion said that Cazador stole the spawns when he read spawn list and seems the rite of ascension have been a thing for vampire lords before
And this is why I ascend him every time - he’s a vampire, wtf are people expecting, this isn’t twilight 😂
he might be a total pr1ck, but he's OUR total pr1ck lol