The Bloody Code

A book with a cover like that is definitely one I want to display face-out on the main shelf.

"Astarion Ancunin was supposed to be a magistrate, not a vampire spawn…” – a line from the book’s synopsis. The novel will explore Astarion’s past, the most difficult years of his life, when the elven nobleman and magistrate was enslaved by the sadistic bastard Cazador. It seems to me that the cover contains a certain reference to what he desired even back when he was a magistrate (“a taste for power and a hunger for eternal life” © artbook). I’m sure that if you send this artwork:

To anyone who isn't aware that the novel has been released or doesn't know what the cover looks like, they would be convinced that what they're looking at is artwork featuring the Ascended Astarion.

All in all, major props for the cover.

Book description:

“Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion

by T. Kingfisher, narrated by Neil Newbon

The roguish charlatan Astarion will free himself from a centuries-long fate of servitude or die (a second time) trying—in this decadently dark fantasy adventure by award-winning author T. Kingfisher.

You’re too pretty to die.

Astarion Ancunin was supposed to be a magistrate, not a vampire spawn. He was supposed to serve the law, not the vicious vampire lord Cazador Szarr. And he was supposed to drink fine wine, not rat blood. Alas—the city of Baldur’s Gate cares little for what’s supposed to happen.

Though he has been powerless to resist his master’s bidding, haunting the nighttime streets to fetch warm blood, Astarion has never surrendered his hope. One day, this nightmare must end. He just has to find out how.

When the vampire lord announces a twisted competition for his favor, an opportunity presents itself in the form of a rare prize . . . and an unlikely alliance. The blood of a dead god is buried deep beneath Baldur’s Gate, and, to get it, Astarion will need the help of a handsome Aasimar paladin named Hahn den Suriel.

There are just a few problems. Astarion is not supposed to trust his fellow spawn. He’s not supposed to go out into the city for his own ends rather than the vampire lord’s. And he’s certainly not supposed to strike a deal with a stranger whose golden eyes can snare even a blackened, undead heart.

But the city of Baldur’s Gate cares little for what’s supposed to happen.”

Yes, Neil will be narrating the audiobook! That’s also great news and a huge plus for the upcoming book.

And Stephen Rooney participated as a consultant, which gives reason to hope that the book will preserve Astarion’s character, his personality, and the game’s lore:

“Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion is aiming for authenticity. Stephen Rooney, one of the senior writers behind the game itself, consulted on the novel to ensure it aligns with established lore, and that the Astarion millions of players have fallen in love with continues to be the same lovable, silver-tongued rogue. The audiobook will also be narrated by Neil Newbon, the original acclaimed voice and performance capture actor for Astarion, bringing a level of continuity that fans are rarely awarded when it comes to video games.”

Quote from the article “Baldur's Gate 3's Best Character Is Officially Getting His Own Prequel”

“The story was developed in close collaboration with Stephen Rooney, senior writer at Larian Studios and the original creator of Astarion.”

Quote from the article: “Official Baldur’s Gate 3 prequel novel about Astarion announced”

Unfortunately, however, it’s worth noting that consultations aren’t the same as shaping the plot from the very beginning. Therefore, it would be somewhat naive to suggest that the Astarion in this book will be an exact replica of the Astarion we saw in the game.

The author of the novel about Astarion is T. Kingfisher (the pen name of Ursula Vernon)—an acclaimed author and winner of numerous Hugo and Nebula Awards who writes in the fantasy and horror genres. The novel “Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion” is scheduled for release on September 29. To be honest, I understand the concerns of many fans; I’ve read a lot of comments and opinions about the upcoming book. There are both opinions from people who are absolutely excited (especially fans of T. Kingfisher’s work) and opinions from people who fear that this will be yet another fanfic, only this time canonized. Personally, unfortunately, I've not yet had a look at T. Kingfisher's work, but I'll definitely try to do so as soon as possible so I have at least some idea of what to expect. Of course, the considerable number of enthusiastic comments online from people who love T. Kingfisher—many of whom call her their favorite author and the best fantasy writer possible—along with the general information about the author and the list of her literary awards, suggests that she is a talented writer.

“Her prose is compulsively readable and atmospheric and her characters feel grounded in their worlds. A lot of her works tie into different kinds of trauma and feeling trapped or chained to something/some place in some capacity or other, be it physically or just psychologically, and I think she's well equipped to tell Astarion's prequel story in a way that feels authentic & respectful to the character.” © comment from Reddit

Although not everyone shares this enthusiasm, there are those who have expressed concerns.

“I’m not really looking to read someone else’s fanfic either. And while I don’t want to jump to conclusions about something that isn’t even out yet, I’ve got my doubts, and my friends do too.”

“personally i feel bored with the idea of a astarion book because it sounds like ill just be abuse...i mean his past sucks, the only thing that could interest me to read it is his relationship w/ his siblings”

“Had Stephen Rooney actually written this book, I would have definitely welcomed it and wanted to read it. However, now it seems more like fan fiction based on the game.” - Examples of comments from other platforms.

“Eu só não aguentaria ler um livro dele sofrendo do início ao fim mesmo... meu coração não aguentaria”

(Translation: “I just couldn’t bear to read a book where he suffers from beginning to end... my heart couldn’t take it.”) – and this comment… *sighs. It completely resonates with my own feelings on the matter. Same here… I’ll definitely read it, of course, but I hope you’ll understand why I’m not 100% “excited.” For me personally, it’ll be emotionally difficult, and I’m already preparing myself for that. Of course, any information about Astarion is very valuable to me, but it’s a complicated feeling—I want to read about him, I understand that his past was terribly painful. It’s just that I haven’t bought books before knowing that reading them would make me feel bad—this will be my first experience like this. I’ve never had a reading experience like this before. There’s a difference between reading a difficult book—even if it’s a heavy read—when you start “from scratch,” getting to know the characters as you go along; of course, you can grow attached to them, start worrying about them, and so on. But it’s a completely different matter – when your loved one, your sunshine, and… Well, you understand what happened to Astarion during those terrible years of slavery.

As for the “canonical status” of what will be described in the book—I don’t want to “look at things through rose-colored glasses” or get all melancholy and criticize a book that hasn’t even been published yet. When the book comes out, I’ll read it and form an honest opinion based on what I’ve read.

In magazine articles promoting the upcoming book, we are warned that the events described in the book will be heart-wrenching.

“Unfortunately, if you’ve spent a significant amount of time with Astarion in the game (which I know you have), this is a period in his life filled with trauma, so get your tissues ready—especially since a familiar voice will be returning.” – a quote from the article “Baldur’s Gate 3’s Best Character Is Officially Getting His Own Prequel,” which I mentioned above. Kingfisher also warned future readers that the story will be heavy and end on a very somber note.

“Over on Bluesky, Kingfisher writes, "FOR THE RECORD – this character has a super f***** up abusive backstory. We handle it well, I think, but CONTENT WARNINGS. The book is DARK. Also, it's a prequel, so it ends in a really dark place."

Source of the quote:

Another quote from Kingfisher:

"The problem here is that if you play BG3, this book is 'wow, it’s the tragic backstory!' If you don’t play it, the book is 'wtf, why did Kingfisher write a book about this vampire being tormented that has such a downer ending?!?'"

Source:

The same article also notes that Kingfisher herself has romanticized Astarion basically since the game's launch.

By the way, as I reread the blurb for the novel, I see what I think is a pretty strong connection to the art book:

“Astarion Ancunin was supposed to be a magistrate, not a vampire spawn. He was supposed to serve the law, not the vicious vampire lord Cazador Szarr. And he was supposed to drink fine wine, not rat blood. Alas—the city of Baldur’s Gate cares little for what’s supposed to happen.

Though he has been powerless to resist his master’s bidding, haunting the nighttime streets to fetch warm blood, Astarion has never surrendered his hope. One day, this nightmare must end. He just has to find out how.”

Artbook: “Two hundred years ago, Astarion was a corrupt elite of Baldur’s Gate with a taste for power and a hunger for eternal life. It wasn’t long before these desires became a nightmarish reality. Transformed into the vampire spawn of a sadistic master, Astarion was kept as a slave to lure fresh noble blood to the palace of Cazador – all while subsisting on the putrid blood of rats.”

The synopsis also mentions “a handsome Aasimar paladin named Hahn den Suriel,” with whom Astarion may have a tragic romance. “It’s definitely gonna end with that paladin dying 😭,” wrote one commenter, while others replied: “I understood that reference,” and “Of course it will.” T. Kingfisher has a fantasy romance saga about paladins (The Saint of Steel Series); I suppose that’s what readers were referring to. I don’t know, it’s just a guess, and besides—this story will be a prequel. Many people (there are a lot of comments on this) don’t want to see Astarion in a romance with any character, since his relationship with Tav was supposed to be his first serious and meaningful real relationship. “Love? I don’t remember love,” Astarion himself tells us in the game. And Tav was the first person to voluntarily share their blood with him ( “You were my first”). If the love between Astarion and Hahn den Suriel is shown, it will directly violate the BG3 lore. The ideal scenario, which would fit perfectly into the game’s lore, in my opinion, of course, would be one in which Hahn den Suriel turns out to be that very “darling boy” whom Astarion was unable to bring to Cazador.

“You don't know what it was like. There was no way out.

Once - in the first decade of my slavery - I found a darling boy who I couldn't bear to bring back to him. So I ran, instead of hurting that sweet man.

After Cazador caught me, the bastard sealed me, starving, inside a dusty tomb, all on my own, for an entire year.

A year of silence. Months of scratching my hands raw, trying to carve my way out. More months of not moving at all. Months wishing only for death.

So don't you ever judge me for doing what Cazador ordered.” © Astarion

“A darling boy,” whose name is not mentioned in the game, is the only character in the game whom Astarion recalls when talking about his past as a slave to Cazador. Astarion does not mention anyone else (he only remembers Sebastian when he sees him in the cells).

And the timeline aligns with the description we see in the book’s blurb—“in the first decade of my slavery.”

In my opinion, the synopsis of the novel alludes specifically to this period. This is, of course, just a guess; it remains to be seen how T. Kingfisher will choose to present this story about the paladin.

Personally, I think a serious, in-depth romance would disrupt the lore of the original game, although a scenario in which Hahn den Suriel turns out to be the “darling boy” would fit perfectly into the canon and could work well.

Personally, I’m bothered by the fact that, as I’ve been told, the author on Bluesky mentioned that the book contains “definitely some fuckin’,” because “He also says he has had sex any number of times while in Cazador’s service.” I understand that Larian included sexual abuse in Astarion's past in the canon, even though it's completely illogical and not in the spirit of D&D—a vampire doesn't need to sleep with their victims to drag them to their lair (okay, it can be explained by the depravity of that perverted bastard Cazador). But I really wouldn’t want this to be exploited.

The way it was presented in BG3 itself—through mentions and lines of dialogue—is more than enough for the player to grasp and understand everything. It’s really hard if you have to read in detail about the abuse of Astarion, especially in the form of “some fuckin’.”

After reading the comments from the fandom, I realized I’m not alone in my antipathy toward this future “fuckin” and want to quote those people whose words really hit the nail on the head for me and reflect the same feelings I have about this:

“I’d rather see a book about Astarion’s life before Cazador. The ‘fuckin’ in the upcoming book just makes it seem like (at least to me) it’s downplaying the trauma he went through with intimacy under Cazador.” – That’s exactly how I interpret that word, too. Maybe it’s a mistaken emotional personal perception, maybe it’s because I myself used the word “fuckin” in my own posts precisely to downplay things, even unconsciously… In my case, it expressed my own disgust toward “fuckin” with Halsin, Mizora, Haarlep, and in the brothel, when I had to do that shit for the sake of testing polyamory in the game, to analyze Astarion’s reactions to it. And I wanted to call it not “sex,” but specifically “fuckin”. I would never have wanted to call Tav’s intimate scene with Astarion himself that. And so, for me, there was a certain attitude behind that word. Of course, this may be subjective, and linguistic nuances for speakers of different languages may also play a role, but as I’ve seen, some other fans share the same opinion.

“His 'fucking' was not consensual so im not really sure why we'd wanna see that anyway.... pretty sure he also stated he doesn't even remember most of them. "Didn't even grant me a moment of temporary bliss".

“I mean, unless we're talking pre-turning, any spicy scenes are 100% non-con. I'm not sure if it would be worse for them to be titillating or horrifying, but I don't like the idea of reading either. Also, I have no idea how one could write anything approaching a satisfying story arc that ends pre-canon. I can't really imagine it being anything other than misery porn or wildly OOC.”

As for the fandom controversy over which gender Astarion’s partner is most often depicted as in official content, ladies and gentlemen, Astarion is pansexual, and all fans have a voice and can express their desire to be represented! This is no reason to be hostile toward one another. We’re all in this together, after all. For example, I’m a heterosexual woman, and just while browsing comments online, I immediately came across a comment from a gay man with whom we share a nearly identical experience of being part of the fandom:

“Most of those who dislike Astarion are either straight men who resent that he is more popular with women than they themselves are, or female Karen type of players who want to police the gaming style of others and force them to make the choices that the game developers labelled as "good", rather than the choices that a given player prefers.

Male players plainly expressing a preference for letting Astarion ascend (to let him have a better future, with more agency, more power and far more comfort, and a future not involving an angry Mephistopheles who had been screwed out of 7k easy souls), got every bit as much hostility as female  players. At least that's my experience as a male player. My haters were mostly of the Karen meddling type.”  – My haters too, bro, the same here. I’m giving you a mental high-five. So why the hell do we need to please these Karens? Who else but them would actually enjoy fandom controversies about Astarion’s sexual orientation?

But female players’ desire to see Astarion with a woman in official content isn’t homophobia. It’s simply a desire to see the other side represented as well. I’ve seen many comments from women who were mocked for their gender by haters who justified it by saying that “Astarion is gay,” even though Astarion is pansexual.

“Kingfisher’s “What Moves the Dead” was one of the worst books I’ve ever read, so I was extremely disappointed that she was the one, and not Stephen Rooney, to write Astarion’s story. And doubly so that it was a romance with a male character. It was already hard to defend Astarion’s pansexuality, and now the male fanbase will have more ammunition to mock the female fans with “See? He’s officially gay now. Why do you pair him with a woman?”

People have a right to their own opinions about content that affects them and their emotional state—and perhaps even contributes to the growing number of idiots we have to tell to get lost every time, wasting our own time and resources in the process. The BG3 fandom is toxic in and of itself; I don’t know, maybe there are worse ones—I personally haven’t seen any—but at the very least, the local “good” is definitely the shittiest “good” of all the existing representations of “good” in the RPGs I’m familiar with. Maybe we shouldn’t add another dose of “toxicity”?

“I was literally so devastated by it that I fell into a really sick, depressed state where I would vomit when I woke up and have been feeling very nauseous all week—all because I’m autistic, have a major anxiety and depression disorder, and love a fictional man to death 😭😭 And I would have cried if they’d said he never loved women…. 😭” – It’s so sad that the fandom always forgets about basic humanity and empathy, and that there are sensitive and vulnerable people out there. I dream that people, at least within one truly common fandom—the AA fandom—would interact with each other normally and humanely, regardless of what some specific author comes up with and whether Wizards of the Coast “canonizes” it.

Yes, of course, any information about Astarion is precious, the main thing is that this novel doesn't end up being someone else's OC. The story behind the writing of Astarion is quite complicated and controversial—it all started out wonderfully and magnificently in EA, then came Welch and screwed up his romance with their “vision,” then they made a total pile of crap in Patch 6, then at least the Tav"s faces were fixed and brought back to normal, but console players still couldn’t play the game without forced D/s, since Larian didn’t bother to properly optimize mod support… I hope that fans of T. Kingfisher, who are excited about the upcoming book, won’t be offended and will understand why many others are wary of anyone’s new take on the story of Astarion, and the fact that it might become canonized fanfiction. Once the book is out, we’ll be able to judge how it turned out; I hope everything will be fine.

But the book’s cover is optimistic, which really pleased me—it hints at a happy ending, when Astarion gets everything he wanted. And he’ll celebrate it.

Taking BG3 as an example, it’s interesting to note how the “good” goddess Mystra manipulates Gale in Act 2 by sending Elminster to convince him to blow himself up and, in the process, wipe us all out, yet the ambitions of this “good” deity, having attained “supreme power,” are in no way condemned; on the contrary, it is considered a “good” ending when Gale, despite all her actions, hands over that power—the Crown of Karsus—to her, remaining humility. If Gale takes the Crown for himself, we’ll see the consequences of this act—a cat scolds him at the party. Because taking power for oneself is a bad deed. Tara, of course, is very sweet, and it’s funny, but in Astarion’s case, seizing power triggers far more dramatic meltdowns. Nevertheless, the existing gods - whatever they do - are right, and encroaching on their power will “corrupt the soul.” And a pact with the devil must threaten hellish torments (which is not at all mandatory in D&D lore; you can negotiate with devils and benefit from it if you know how to read the contract). By the way, people sometimes compared the relationship between Astarion and his consort to that of Gale and Mystra, saying that the “imbalance of power” makes the relationship “so unhealthy.” Although that is simply Mystra’s personality – a personality does not change upon gaining power; rather, the individual simply has the freedom to express themselves fully, does as they please, and has no need to adapt to circumstances more powerful than themselves. Mystra left Kelemvor, with whom she had been in love even before they both attained divinity, and they continued their relationship after becoming gods. But when problems arose in their relationship (due to Kelemvor’s “work,” as he decided to live up to his new role as the impartial Judge of the Dead and refused Mystra a request that was very important to her), Mystra sent her “equal partner” packing. Cyric drinking down Mystra’s and Kelemvor’s tears at the end of the book Prince of Lies. And it’s no surprise that Mystra abandoned Gale when he disobeyed her. The only difference is that Kelemvor shed a tear once and remained seated on his throne as Judge of the Dead, while Gale found himself alone in a dire situation, with a bomb in his chest. Mystra is simply that kind of person—she abandons her lovers if they do something not the way she would like, that’s all. Divinity merely grants her status and greater freedom of choice, but it is unlikely that Mystra would have behaved any differently had she been mortal. Astarion is not that kind of person; he is capable of the deepest love and devotion to his one and only chosen one.

“I really hoped we could avoid being pawns for a dark god, but here we are, I suppose.

I'm with you, my dear. Wherever this leads.” - Astarion is loyal to DU, who accepted Bhaal. He will stand by his beloved, no matter where it leads.

It’s impossible to imagine Astarion abandoning his consort to their fate, just as Mystra abandoned Gale, if the consort had suddenly messed something up with some forbidden magic. Ascended Astarion would simply do everything in his power and use his abilities to protect them and rectify the situation. “My pretty consort, I don’t like to see doubt cast upon your face. Fear not: you are mine.” He would surely have said that if he were in Mystra’s place in such a situation.

From a religious perspective, earthly power is a cross to bear and a trial that God sends to the chosen ones. And if you try to seize power, you will commit the sins of pride and rebellion.

In art, the trope “power corrupts” has long been a tired, overused cliché (and has been used countless times). This trope ignores context, simplifies any realistic and complex psychological motivations, and reduces everything to a single primitive formula: “power = evil, and therefore, anyone who seeks it is either a scoundrel or will become one.” In popular culture, this trope is the cheapest way to portray a character’s “tragedy.” And the story of Ascended Astarion is often called a tragedy, even though there is nothing tragic in the plot itself, except for the necessity of making sacrifices in the ritual. A primitive analysis of the AA plot is a classic example of how the ideological cliché “power corrupts” is used in its quasi-religious version. Haters of this path do not analyze the character—they judge him (and the players) by a predetermined, simplified moral scale, where any power is evil, and any deviation from the “healthy” (read: their own) norm is a moral fall deserving of condemnation. And, what particularly strikes me, they sometimes claim that gaining power, opportunities, a living body, and a full life “harms Astarion,” as if they were “protecting” him from something bad. At the same time, for a person who is not an “adept” of any kind of “good,” it is obvious that Astarion needs to be protected from foreign power, from “divine power,” from the power of those who want him to “submit” and “accept his darkness.” To protect him by any means from THIS:

And the path of humility, humiliation, and suffering, in my view, may seem the only correct one only to those who think in a quasi-religious vein from the outset. That is, for those who are already, a priori, “adepts” of a certain “good,” the most important thing will be for Astarion to fit into their worldview, to align with their “teachings.” But when you have not sworn allegiance to any gods, yet stand before a choice—to serve those who demand suffering without giving anything in return, as if being “good” within their value system is in itself something of paramount importance. On the other hand—the sole bearer of “divine power” (yes, devils are also creations of Ao—the supreme deity, the creator of the world, who, unlike God in the religious concepts of our world, is True Neutral)—who can offer something truly valuable and strike a favorable deal. Mephistopheles is the sole bearer of supreme powers capable of bringing Astarion and me real benefit. And he offers a huge reward, without expecting that serving his goals should evoke religious ecstasy merely from the possibility itself, unlike the “good” gods. It makes sense to strike a deal with someone who offers what you need. Of course, “you can’t trust the devil.” Well, you shouldn’t trust them, you should double-check by reading the contract carefully.

And if we set aside religious arguments, the world simply cannot exist without power. Without power, only active anarchy is possible, and even then, people will band together into gangs, leaders will emerge within those gangs, and active anarchy inevitably gives way to passive anarchy, as large communities form, within which their own power hierarchies take shape. And, of course, in reality, all those in power are corrupt. Corruption has always been an integral part of society; the only question is whether it remains within reasonable limits or goes beyond them. Someone will always be in power; there’s no other way—no other mechanisms for society’s existence have been invented, not even in magical worlds. So why the hell does power “not corrupt” Mystra, but it’s forbidden for Astarion? Why must he be the humble victim of the authorities? After the Ascension, Astarion gains power (freedom, strength, opportunities), but first and foremost he gains opportunities, and in the “good” ending for the leader of the spawns, he gains power (over the fates of the other spawns). As the leader of the spawns, Astarion is forced to impale the disobedient ( “If I get back and they’ve killed another gnome, I swear—someone’s getting impaled.”); he must become a cruel leader and keep them in fear, or else they will tear him apart. “And if they do step out of line, it just takes one or two brutal examples to remind everyone else of their place.” “I'm not a tyrant, I do care for their well-being, I just can't afford to show weakness.” – why not tie in a “cycle of abuse” style primitive here as well? UA – the leader of the spawns does things reminiscent of Vellioth – impaling the disobedient, but, truth be told, many have done that; clearly, Vellioth didn’t originate the idea. And the Lord has a real palace – his victor’s trophy – while the leader of the spawns has ruins upon which he can build it.

The desire for power—and for the opportunities it brings—is simply part of human nature; it’s evolutionary, and it’s true in the animal world as well. Power offers, first and foremost, opportunities and freedom from consequences. In the case of a sudden social upheaval and the outbreak of violent anarchy in the streets, the carnage would be too horrific to imagine. Afterwards, the survivors will organize into armed groups, and local authorities will emerge. “Power is evil” is, first and foremost, a defensive cliché that benefits those already in power by preventing the rise of competitors, and there are countless similar “moral tales” on this subject throughout history.

Many individuals in Faerûn hold power, and all these sayings about “power corrupts” apply perfectly to them as well. And they have no intention of showing empathy toward Astarion, who is a vampire. It is better to hold power yourself than to become a victim of those in power (even the city authorities can harm a vampire). There are no laws that could protect him. Therefore, protecting a loved one means helping them gain the means to defend themselves, so they have decent weapons and protection against those who already hold power.

Ascended Astarion answers the question: "What are you going to do now? Rule the whole world?" - "Any fool can take the throne. I don't need it."

“Power is just a tool, it's people that are good or evil.” – with this brilliant line, Astarion himself debunks the simplistic cliché that “power corrupts.”

After the Ascension, Astarion remains himself. His approvals do not become more “evil,” his in-game actions do not change, and there are no scenes in which he does anything that would contradict his core self. But if we look at this through the lens of religious thinking, imagining “good” in the game as a kind of religion, then the mindset of its “followers” shifts toward the dogmatic, and they truly need this mantra: “Power Corrupts.”

Just for fun, let’s imagine “good” not as part of the existing balance of power in Faerûn, but as a kind of general quasi-religion—just as a thought experiment. I wonder how this would manifest itself and how it would differ from a secular, rational approach.

In religious thought, “good” is understood as a dogma, as adherence to certain rules. The secular approach holds that “good” is different for everyone; “good” is whatever makes your life better. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven” vs. “It is better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick.”

For a believer, adherence to doctrine is paramount; indeed, a believer cannot romanticize someone whom their faith declares to be “evil.” For them, the most important thing is to “show the light” to sinners and convert them to their faith. For a non-believer, the well-being of those they love is the most important thing. If there is a need to “choose a side,” a free-thinking person will choose the side that offers more advantages or saves them from misfortune, basing their choice on the well-being of their own loved ones. For a believer, the “right” choice is more important; for an atheist—the real result.

Attitude toward facts: In any religion, facts are made to fit the dogma. They are either distorted, or certain images and symbols are invented to replace those facts. For an atheist, facts are the only thing that has real significance. For a religious person, the words of the “canonical priests” are paramount; for an atheist, it is empirical experience (observing consequences and analyzing context). For a believer, the greatest sin is apostasy. For an atheist, “sin” is simply a verbal construct invented by believers. For a dogmatist, moral judgment is made a priori, based on belonging to the “camp of good.” A rationalist always evaluates a specific situation with all its nuances.

Ignoring reality in the name of faith. A dogmatist will insist that Astarion is “unhappy” in Ascension, that it is a “tragic ending” for him, even if Astarion himself said the opposite a hundred times in the game. Facts from the game (dialogues, descriptions, character behavior) are dismissed if they contradict the dogma that “power corrupts.” Even the most fundamental things—real things that are a priori more important than any pompous “blah-blah-blah,” such as hunger, the sun, the chance to feel alive again, a beating heart, the ability to savor the taste of food and wine, seeing his own reflection in a mirror—will be devalued in the name of dogma.

For a quasi-religious approach, maintaining “purity” is always more important than achieving well-being. And… this logic—to remain a spawn and give in—does not correlate at all with healing trauma. However, it correlates perfectly with the religious concept of humility. Healing occurs when a person fulfills and resolves a need, and Astarion has a need for safety, a need to regain a full life, and a need for power as well.

Astarion's Dialogues About Power and Possibilities | Baldur's Gate 3

A quote directly from the Introduction:

“One of the suggestions is that individuals high in the Dark Triad may understand the feelings that other individuals have (i.e., have cognitive empathy), but they don't show an appropriate emotional response to emotion-evoking stimulus (i.e., lack affective empathy; e.g., Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012).”

Affective empathy is emotional resonance; it is the ability to physically and emotionally sense the feelings of a loved one, to be “infected” by their state, and to experience their pain as one’s own. It is based on the activity of mirror neurons, which activate the same brain regions (the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex) as when one experiences pain oneself. In short, this is the thing that prevents one from “enjoying” the UA path, and a player with developed affective empathy will feel bad while playing through this game variant (I’m not referring to myself here, though I also felt particularly bad about it; there are a certain number of people who feel the same way, and I’ve spoken with them).

“In the current research, we were interested in the Dark Triad with respect to appropriateness of emotional response to sad, fearful, or happy stimulus. Previous studies have found that especially Machiavellianism and psychopathy have an association with schadenfreude, feeling happy about other's misfortune (Porter, Bhanwer, Woodworth, & Black, 2014). Further, narcissism relates to feeling positive when viewing sad faces, and psychopathy to feeling positive when viewing fearful faces (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012).”

But according to this study, the narcissists understand perfectly well just how sweet it can be when Astarion is feeling bitterness.

And the psychopaths felt positive about it:

(Photo of Tav from the petition against the prelude to the sadistic porn from patch 6)

Feeling positive? Oh, right—it’s just a game; the character isn’t real, and blah, blah, blah. Of course. But academic journals are publishing articles about this. So, are we going to apply psychology to games or not?

Of course, “I don’t understand drama.” Not entirely—I do understand it when it’s a passive medium, like a movie or a book, that doesn’t require any active participation on my part in creating that “drama” in the life of the character I care about most. And, most importantly, how do we distinguish a lover of tragedy from a narcissist or a psychopath if they enjoy the same things? If we have studies showing that an abuser might believe they love you, and this allows us to label a fictional character an “abuser” (actually, the video isn’t about Astarion, but there’s a lot of interesting stuff in it—we’ll look at that later), then there are also specific scientific psychiatric studies showing that narcissists should like the UA path, and psychopaths—the 6 patch. Let’s be consistent in all cases, then.

Yes, of course, as I was advised, I watched this video:

That's an interesting video, thanks. I found a few really interesting points in it. Let's look at how they apply to game characters (including Tav and possible dialogue options and actions—or inactions that could be interpreted as neglect).

“People in loveless relationships are indeed at the highest risk of intimate partner violence (*some abusers ascend Astarion just to ‘kick him in the balls’). So when there is this uh stereotype of the abusive relationship as cold and detached, without care or empathy (*Tav’s behavior in the dock scene and, in general, their absolute calm and indifference to the fact that Astarion will never see the sun again and will suffer from hunger), there is some truth to that.” (time: 4.26)

So, in the game, Astarion may fall victim to a new abuser who will act violently toward him, and he may also find himself in a “relationship that is cold and detached, lacking care or empathy.”

“But the surprising thing is that people in high passion relationships who lack the other two components of love, intimacy and commitment, are also at risk. So a huge red flag is any sort of relationship where you have very high passion, low commitment and low intimacy because those types of relationships are ultimately just I want you (*I want your body) without the other two components of loving someone.”(4.43)

And it’s very interesting that in the video, the author talks specifically about this creature from a fanfic by an additional writer, which they tried to force upon us instead of our roleplay. Earlier in the video, Dr. Ana discussed the three key components of love: intimacy, commitment, and passion (which includes sexual attraction, and it is precisely this notion of “you’re ascend him for the sake of sex” that could only have been born in the imagination of someone creating a self-insert/perceiving the audience as a character capable only of this type of attachment, without the capacity for intimacy and commitment).

(The Triangular Theory of Love by American psychologist Robert J. Sternberg)

“Cuz if you don’t want to commit to someone, you don’t really care about keeping them around long-term (*“Your Tav wants to break up,” “You won’t be able to break up with him”—doesn’t that ring a bell?) and you also don’t care about connecting with them. You just want them. Do you actually really love them? The researcher said, “Contrary to popular belief, love does not serve as an inherent buffer against psychological violence.” But I would argue that this type of love isn’t really love. It doesn’t have the three components of love.” (5.18)

Yes. Exactly. That’s why the roleplay options available to players in romantic relationships with Astarion in BG3 are so poor. Despite players’ requests, we don’t have any lines that could express intimacy and commitment. Moreover, anti-AA's have constantly tried to impose as “canon” for Tav precisely a psychopathic narcissist incapable of such things, but capable of killing Astarion (the most terrifying outcome of a relationship with an abuser, and it's no surprise that a relationship with their Tav could end this way). A character who possesses intimacy and commitment, and who will have all the corresponding lines after the epilogue—when “authorial control” over them is impossible—must not exist in their fanfic. Maybe we’re just unlucky that hookup culture propaganda runs through all the romance in BG3? This topic is covered quite well later in the video:

“I simply cannot help but wonder about the implications regarding hookup culture. So often casual relationships follow the formula. High passion, low commitment, low intimacy. In fact, there are even therapists out there who encourage people to emotionally disconnect from their casual partners, to not share their inner worlds with each other at all, to treat the other person as nothing but a sex object.”(6.15)

High passion, low commitment, low intimacy—that’s exactly that attitude expected from BG3 players toward their LI, and the game has everything you need for that kind of roleplay. You can force a person with sexual trauma to participate in an orgy, you can have sex with Halsin and get forced “consent” from Astarion. And then there’s the Illithid, Mizora, and so on. And the bear that everyone remembers. Fanfiction and comics featuring Tav-whores who fuck Halsin right in front of AA and end up choosing Halsin fit perfectly into this storyline. In the game, there’s no way to hug and gently kiss your loved one without mods; there isn’t even a simple line like “I love you.” On the other hand, it’s practically impossible to escape the imposition that you “treat the other person as nothing but a sex object.”

“No. Nothing like no like being like, "Oh, tell me how you feel so I can give you some support." Literally no feelings. Literally no feelings. Yeah. There's no caretaking happening. You don't give a how they feel. They have other people for that. Exactly. Exactly. You're just there for that dick. Okay. Wait, I've got a good one. Okay. Have a few. Have a few. Don't just have one. Exactly. Be safe. Be smart.”(7.15) – Thank you, Dr. Ana; I really enjoyed your video. This quote perfectly captures why I’ve always wanted to “pull” Astarion out of BG3 and play with him—and his personality—in another game where I don’t feel sickened by the way romantic relationships are portrayed and the dialogue and action options available to the PC.

“If you cut out the intimacy component, too, and treat that person worse than you would treat any friend (*that’s exactly how they treat Astarion—worse than all those “good companions”—worrying about how he perceives these pseudo-“friends” and what they say about him; these strangers must be more important than he is), just acting like you completely don’t care what’s going on in their inner world, in their life—you just completely disregard all of that. You’re putting people at risk of the second most common type of abuse, the type where the abuser wants you, but doesn’t actually care about you beyond that. (*a creature from the author’s fanfiction). And now we have empirical evidence of how dangerous this type of recommendation actually is.” (8.08)

“I just keep wondering if there’s ever going to be any accountability for the mental health professionals who keep pushing hookup culture on us, even though research consistently shows its risks.” (8.32) – It would be good to say this about those who are allowed to write game scenarios; after all, we’re adults, so we can kind of ignore all those “mental health professionals who keep pushing hookup culture,” but we just can’t seem to get rid of the “Discord shitposting hall.”

So, what was our poor Astarion dealing with, given his trauma? – “The type where the abuser wants you, but doesn't actually care about you beyond that.” Is that Tav from their fanfic?

“Or another way of looking at it is: no, abusers don’t love their victims. They just want them.” – This isn’t about Astarion (Astarion loves Tav, as even his hormones—which Tav-Illithid can sense—prove). Is this their Tav again?

Why did they keep trying to apply this “sexualization” to us (“Say it’s hot. Say it’s attractive…”) And all that other bullshit about “power dynamics” (in Welch’s fantasies, and in the fact that Tav is submissive by script, with no other lines, and a degradation check that even breaks the game’s check mechanics) and “control.” Why did they turn this nonsense into “canon,” where the player (!) is portrayed as sexually obsessed, and present this as “the truth”? Let’s watch another video from an expert; maybe it will shed some additional light on the situation:

Yes, narcissists always make YOU out to be the source of the problem.

“Why is it that victims of narcissistic abuse either end up thinking they’re the abuser or that no one will believe them?” (beginning of the video) – Astarion is, of course, a fictional character, but they managed to portray him as an “abuser,” and his lines in the game and the many proofs of his love are not to be believed; instead, players are supposed to believe their “vision” of his storyline.

“So, let's look at what a narcissist really is. A narcissist is someone who believes that they're special. They think they're better than everyone, even if they don't actually come out and say it. You'll see it in their actions and how they treat people and they really don't care about other people's feelings, especially when those feelings are inconvenient for them.”(0.16) – Yeah, they’re special. Their Tav, who insults Astarion by comparing him to Cazador, is special—because whatever they blurt out is the truth. If someone gets angry at their stupidity and malice, if Astarion reacts with rage to a trigger insult, that means they’re right. If they believe that “This power will trap you, just like it trapped Cazador,” then who cares what you think or what you actually want—they’re special, after all. They can abuse the victim. They’re special. Just don’t spoil the fun and highlight how bad Astarion has it next to such a “special” person on the UA path, because “those feelings are inconvenient for them.”

“So, how do narcissists make you look like the bad guy or feel like the bad guy? Well, the reason why you might feel like the bad guy is because narcissists don't always show their true colors.”(1.35) Masters of virtue signaling in the purity culture. They love seeing Astarion endeavor to please them. If Astarion won’t let them make him into a victim, then that’s it—he’s “Cazador 2.0,” the “bad guy.”

“So, another reason narcissists make you feel like you're the problem is because they're very quick to shame you. Narcissists have a hard time dealing with their own shame, and they have a lot of it. And so whenever someone struggles to deal with parts of themselves—with aspects of themselves—they're almost always going to judge other people for those same things. So if they have trouble facing shame, they’re going to put it on you and make sure that you face your own shame. It’s a form of projection that narcissists are really good at.” (2.41)—don’t you think this sounds a lot like the answer to why: “it’s very much admitting that you failed to think of him beyond a sex object, and care about more than that”?

“A narcissist will see you as all good or all bad. They have a very black and white way of viewing the world and the people in their lives.”(3.40) – Black-and-white thinking, the dichotomy of Astarion. Either he’s the “good” UA, the “better version,” “ready to fix himself,” or the “villain” AA, whom they hate. To be honest, after watching this video, it became much clearer to me how this nonsense about AA and UA being two different people could have even come about. After all, from a logical standpoint, it’s idiotic—it doesn’t happen that way. It’s not just unrealistic; it’s, well… stupid. People don’t split into “good” and “evil” twins; people can behave differently in different circumstances. But it seems that, for a “very black-and-white way of viewing,” a person really can be either “evil” or “good,” and Astarion must split into two different people.

“So, if you do something that they do not approve of, or maybe it's something that's objectively not great and you don't even approve of it, but they're going to make sure that you feel as bad as you possibly can about it because in that moment, you are all bad. They're not really capable of seeing you as a person who made a little mistake. In that moment, your mistake defines you and they're going to make sure that you feel that.”(3.50) – Astarion raised his voice in response to the insult—he’s “evil,” he’s “all bad,” he’s “toxic,” and right now he’s not feeding the narcissist’s ego with approval.

“And if you're somebody who's insecure and if you're somebody who does carry around some shame, this is going to hit pretty deep and you're going to really internalize that external shaming of you and take on that shame. So regardless of what the other person does or their role in anything that happened, the shame makes you want to retreat and makes you beat yourself up. And that's exactly what it's designed to do.”(4.17) - Ascended Astarion, without the romance, shows significant progress in healing his trauma; he doesn’t react to the narcissist’s attempts to hurt him by comparing him to his tormentor, and confidently replies: “No, I’m better than he ever was.” “I’ve marched forward into my beautiful new future. It’s a pity you couldn’t keep up.” Unfortunately, a romantic relationship with a narcissist is truly a tragedy for someone with PTSD and trauma-related self-doubt like Astarion’s. Because of his insecurity and idealization of his partner, Astarion will be unable to recognize “what the other person does or their role in anything that happened,” and will try to keep that partner close to him. Toxic relationships with AA are, of course, possible when Tav behaves like a narcissist/abuser. And if Astarion’s relationship with them is toxic, that does not at all mean that a loving and understanding partner will have the same relationship with Astarion as a narcissist does.

But I think this clip from the video (11:30) is worth printing out and framing. Please just read or listen to the psychotherapist in the video. It explains everything—how they portray Astarion as an abuser, and even how it’s done in terms of the script. We’ve probably all noticed how many disgusting lines there are for Tav in AA’s romance. It’s not only the comparison with Cazador. While there are few lines in the game that are even remotely suitable for roleplay, there are plenty of options for insulting him and causing him pain:

“Now we're going to talk about reactive abuse. And this happens very often with narcissists. So what they'll do to paint the picture that you are the problem is that they will pull the strings behind the scenes and maybe get you to explode in anger or to act in a way that you're not proud of in front of other people. And this paints the picture that you are the abusive person when really the other person is behind the scenes pulling the strings and they know exactly what they're doing and they are purposely getting you to react in a certain way in front of other people. So they will bait you into arguments or they'll bait you into a reaction. They'll talk about something that they know is triggering to you or they'll act in a way that they know is triggering to you. Maybe they'll act in a way that's exceptionally insensitive. And that's been a hot button issue in your relationship.”

And if we apply a psychiatric lens to gaming, this is a true red flag. Those who have tried to frame Astarion’s romance as a story of “abuse”—the same people, incidentally, who use these same tactics in fandom debates to push this narrative. “And this paints the picture that you are the abusive person when really the other person is behind the scenes pulling the strings and they know exactly what they're doing and they are purposely getting you to react in a certain way in front of other people.” – that’s what the additional author did to Astarion, which is why there’s this sense of the script being on rails, since they wrote the lines for Tav. And this is what the anti-AA crowd does to Astarion in this fandom.

“A narcissist, especially a covert narcissist, is pretty good at playing the perpetual victim when it's convenient for them.” <…> “So if a narcissist can get a group of people to feel sorry for them and to feel like they are being abused by you and then that pity turns into abuse, right?”(14.09)

Right. First—oh, my poor Tav, how Astarion yelled at Tav when she told him he was like a Cazador. Oh, just look at my poor Tav’s face. Then—I’d been waiting so long to kill him, to seize the Brain, and to bring the former slave to his knees. Some people wrote that they’d been waiting six months to do that.

“So the other people start acting in ways that is abusive to you because they think you deserve it. That is fuel for a narcissist. So they will play the perpetual victim as long as it's benefiting them and fueling their need for supply. So this is when you'll see the smear campaign come in. And those people who end up acting in ways that are abusive to you, those people who absolutely will not even try to understand your perspective. That's what we call the narcissist's flying monkeys.” (14.38)