Baldur’s Gate 3 player ruined her playthrough by simping for Astarion too hard
Larian StudiosA Baldur’s Gate 3 player mentioned how his wife became so obsessed with pleasing Astarion that she ruined her character’s relationship with the vampire Elf.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has possibly created some of the best and most believable companions in an RPG. Almost every companion has a devoted fan base, particularly Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, Lae’zel, and Karlach.
Now, an Astarion fan appears to have gone to such extremes in the game that her husband felt compelled to post the tale on social media. She reloaded almost 3 hours of gameplay because she wasn’t satisfied with how Astarion turned out in her playthrough.
Baldur’s Gate 3 players have consistently praised how the companions in the game are nuanced and not flat, and Astarion is no exception. You can drastically change his outlook on the world through your actions during your travels, and your interactions with him.
Note that there are story spoilers ahead.
Baldur’s Gate 3 player left heartbroken after trying too hard to please Astarion
A Baldur’s Gate 3 player named RunningBlade2184 recently posted on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit about an interesting experience his wife had with the game.
She’s “a huge fan of vampires,” and got excited to try the game when he mentioned Astarion. She then created “a big, oafish Barbarian Tiefling named Grak, and started her journey to romance Astarion.”
There’s a quest in Act 3 where you eventually reach Cazador’s lair and decide Astarion’s fate. This is the decision that she ended up regretting, as the OP (original poster) explains. She assisted Astarion in becoming a Vampire Ascendant in the hopes of strengthening her character’s bonds with him, but it eventually backfired.
If Astarion becomes a Vampire Ascendant in Baldur’s Gate 3, he turns out to be just like Cazador — a power-hungry creature who sees everyone else as mere puppets to control. The OP’s wife read Astarion’s thoughts while in camp and it revealed how he viewed her character as a pawn. This made her dump him, “and it stung even more when Astarion acted like he couldn’t give less of a s**t.”
The OP then goes on to praise how Baldur’s Gate 3 approaches the personalities of characters. He explained that “blind agreement and yes manning rarely benefits either party.” Further stating that “this is one of the few games with romance options that feel genuinely authentic and real.”
Another Redditor explained in a comment that the game keeps foreshadowing this outcome right from the start. They said that “the game has been giving so many red flags until that moment regarding what he would be like if given a lot of power. Plus dooming 7k souls is also kind of a red flag, such deal never comes without consequences.”
As one comment noted, there’s a similar moment with Shadowheart as well, but it comes a bit earlier. The pivotal moment in her story comes when you decide to either kill or spare the Nightsong.
Choosing the first option propels her down a dark path, transforming her into a true Sharran. This also ends any romantic relationship your character might have had with her.
Lae’zel isn’t exempt from this character development either. She can eventually be persuaded to turn against Vlaakith and be less edgy. There are many such moments from Baldur’s Gate 3 where you make a major decision regarding the characters, including Tav.
For instance, near the end of Act 1, you can decide whether to let Lae’zel use the Zaith’isk or not. Then there are other moments which doesn’t affect the main quest at all, like deciding to give away the Artefact to Kith’rak Voss.
