Over the past few weeks, Iโve been talking a bit about morality and the choices you make in the game based on it. I now want to address a scene in the game that completely breaks my immersion every single time. Iโm talking about the scene before the Turning Night with Ascended Astarion.
Astarion and I could have betrayed, deceived, lied to, and killed anyone we encountered on our journey to Baldurโs Gate. I could have fully supported Astarion in all of his wishes and dreams, and yet the game and even Ascended Astarion himself suddenly starts judging me morally.
Evil characters are suddenly portrayed in a very one-dimensional way. You could already start by asking whether an evil character even knows that what they are doing is evil, or whether they believe they are acting correctly according to their own moral framework. A Dark Urge, whether redeemed or not, might view Astarionโs Ascension very differently because of their own backstory and past. A Dark Urge understands Astarionโs desire for freedom and autonomy. A Dark Urge is used to being incredibly powerful, being worshipped by others and revered almost like a god. A Dark Urge will always be a dangerous opponent, because you donโt become the first assassin of the God of Murder by having scruples.
They are a duo infernale: the Dark Urge as the one carrying out the deeds, and Astarion as the admiring observer. Power seems to be something they both genuinely want and value, but within their relationship with each other, it appears to play a secondary role. They protect each other. Even when Astarion doesnโt agree with every reckless thing the Dark Urge does, he remains loyal.
Now letโs return to the scene. I helped Astarion ascend. My Dark Urge supported him without the slightest hesitation or doubt in his words. Afterwards, he talks about his first impressions: the agonizing hunger is gone, his world has changed, and he is completely optimistic. He has a whole new world to discover. Everything is perfectly fine, even though I already find dialogue options such as โHas your body changed?โ rather strange. It might have been more fitting to ask him how he is feeling. Even evil characters can be concerned about someone they care about.
Then it is time for the night, and the scene in question begins...
Astarion suddenly says:
Wait a moment. What happened here? Where does this sudden moral judgment from Astarion come from? We have spent two entire acts having a great time together. I supported Astarion, and he cheered on every single cruel act, no matter how horrible it was, and now he is surprised that I support him? He canโt believe that I let him do this? Did he suddenly gain a sense of morality from the ritual?
But okay, my response options are rather... letโs call them โnaive.โ I choose 1) โI wanted what was best for you.โ
Still, there is no option to ask him how he is feeling. Apparently, that doesnโt seem particularly important here.
Options 2 and 3 seem very out of character for my Dark Urge. Why would I suddenly worry about the 7,000 vampire spawn, or suddenly feel guilty about it? Option 4 is possible, but given the relationship they have with each other, it feels rather inappropriate.
Astarionโs response to my statement is actually quite interesting. And once again I have to say, โWait a moment, please.โ โWicked???โ Once again, there is a judgment being placed on my actions or on our actions. This entire section feels completely out of place somehow.
Why โwickedโ? Why does Astarion think he needs to reward me for helping him? Why does he call me โPetโ?
Okay, I understand that from this point onward, the scene is supposed to escalate. Iโm supposed to feel maximally guilty over the 7,000 vampire spawn who were sacrificed, and yet the very person whose entire quest revolves around this ritual as the culmination of his entire story is suddenly the one judging me morally? If the intention is to create an abusive vampire, then this vampire is apparently so stupid that he calls my OC โPetโ before they have even agreed to follow him into eternity.
And on top of that, โPetโ is seriously supposed to be the best thing he can come up with to provoke a complete escalation and degradation, one that is supposed to surpass even Cazadorโs treatment?
Iโm pretty sure someone like the Dark Urge has heard worse things than โPetโ in their lifetime. Why would my Dark Urge be outraged by that?
But apparently the game wants it to go differently and gives me even more nonsensical response options...
Response 3) Double huh??? What exactly is Astarion supposed to have learned? Iโm confused. How and why is my OC supposed to say this to Astarion? What did he do? Call me โPetโ? What exactly is he supposed to learn from? What does โall of thisโ even refer to? Did something happen on the way to camp that my character somehow missed?
I choose response 4. Suddenly, my OC has become a moral beacon as well and is turning into a Karen. Where did my morally questionable Dark Urge go?
Okay, this is Astarionโs response...
What options do I even have for respondingโฆ
Okay, I have to choose response 1 because...
Response 2) I have to ask again: what exactly is he supposed to have learned, and from what? This response still makes absolutely no sense. We have been thick as thieves for over two acts. What exactly am I supposed to assume he was meant to learn?
Response 3) So Iโm reducing him to nothing more than being a vampire and demanding a reward in return. My OC is reduced to an equally one-dimensional character. See response 4. Lol.
Response 4) โฆ??? What? Of course, Iโm apparently someone with absolutely no self-control who is only interested in sex. (That was sarcasm, in case anyone didnโt catch it.) Seriously?
I have the choice between nonsense and even more nonsense.
But letโs keep going...
So he wants my OC to follow him into eternity and spend it with him. A legitimate desire for a vampire, and he now has the power to make it happen. What are my options?
Response 1) Not particularly poetic or romantic, but yes.
Response 2) Fair enough, thatโs something I could ask after everything Astarion has said about being a vampire and what it means to become one.
Response 3) Sure, if it has to be that way.
Response 4) Not an answer I would choose.
Response 5) Based on what exactly am I supposed to arrive at this response? What has Astarion said or done so far that would make me choose this? Am I still supposed to be upset about โPetโ?
Okay, I am not just some random spawn. Heโs trying to smooth things over somehow. What are my options?
Answer 1 is still not exactly a masterpiece of romance or poetry, but okay.
Answer 2 seems like a legitimate response considering what Astarion has told me about vampires.
Answer 3: I don't see why my player character would choose this response.
I choose answer 4 because I am suspicious after everything Astarion has told me about vampires.
Okay, so for some reason Astarion thinks he needs to tell my OC that he loves her in order to convince her to follow him into eternity. He seems to believe that my OC doesn't trust him, so he feels the need to say, "I love you", even though I know from act1 those words are complicated for him, as he used to use them whenever he felt he wasn't being trusted and that he had to convince someone.
Answers 1 and 3 are legitimate, but with answer 2 I have to ask again: how is my OC supposed to arrive at this response based on what Astarion just said? It has nothing to do with what he actually said moments before. I will choose answer 2. He reacts
An understandable desire for a vampire. He wants to share everything he experiences with someone who is just like him. He is being "selfish" in deciding for himself what he wants.
I can only accept or reject his offer nowโฆ I'll reject it for a moment just to see his reaction.
Astarion is visibly disappointed now about my OC's reactions. He asks again what's it to be, whether it is all ending now.
The possible responses my OC now has. There is no turning back.
Answer 1: What is meant by "I can't be like this"? Does it mean that my OC is giving up her mortality out of love and becoming a vampire herself? That she is becoming powerful and hungry for power? I don't understand the meaning of this statement in this context.
Answer 2: ??? What? โ This is exactly why I choose this answer. I am going to let this escalate completely now.
Answer 3: ....
His obviously annoyed and disappointed response โฆ
Yes, romance ended.
I can barely recognize my OC anywhere in this scene. All Iโm being presented with is an immature way of escalating a situation and a remarkably unimaginative portrayal of evil characters.
Evil characters are portrayed as either stupid fools or completely driven by lust. This scene strips an evil romance and its characters of any complexity whatsoever.
The playerโs roleplay is sacrificed for the sake of the gameโs moral framework. Even the Dark Urge and Ascended Astarion are sacrificed in the process, because suddenly, out of nowhere and without any apparent reason, they start questioning their own actions on moral grounds.
The Dark Urge is portrayed throughout the game as extremely cruel, with all of his own particular quirks and characteristics, and then in this scene he suddenly has a full-on Karen meltdown.
For some reason, answering โyesโ to this question (which is what I, TOO, wanted throughout the entire game) suddenly turns my character into aโflat cardboard villain who is either dumb or sexually obsessed; Karen, who was going to โteachโ but didnโt exactly succeed in that "learning"; a teenager who is incapable of meaningful dialogue and throws a tantrum because sheโs offended by the word โpet.โ
This scene is a prime example of the worst kind of dialogue writing in a role-playing game.
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Stephen Rooney Appeared on a YouTube Channel the Algorithm Didnโt Even Notice: A Review of a Bizarre Interview
Sometimes the gaming industry produces stories that are difficult to explain with logic alone.
One of them is an interview with the writer behind one ofย Baldurโs Gate 3โs most beloved characters, conducted on a YouTube channel whose blurry webcam quality and the interviewerโs command of English are enough to leave anyone accustomed to modern YouTube with secondhand embarrassment.
The channelโs motivation is easy enough to understand. It gained all of fourteen subscribers from the interview and, judging by its Tumblr activity, has since dedicated itself to stirring up discourse in the Ascended Astarion tag.
Stephen Rooneyโs motivation for spending his time onโฆย this? That remains a mystery.
Cases like this appear to be extremely rare. I couldnโt find any comparable examples of well-known writers behind iconic AAA game characters choosing to appear on YouTube channels of this size and quality. There are unspoken industry standards: major developers generally give interviews to established gaming outlets, podcasts with an audience, or professional industry events.
Yet here we are.
So letโs move on to the interview itself. Iโll leave a link to the original video at the end of this review.
Watching it, you canโt help but feel like Stephen Rooney is being interrogated rather than interviewed. The interviewerโs mannerisms, relentless leading questions, and repeated attempts to steer him toward answers she clearly wanted to hear make the whole conversation feel oddly uncomfortable.
The interview opens with:
โStephen, introduce yourself if you can, of course.โ
From the perspective of even basic interviewing etiquette, this is a remarkably strange way to greet a guest.
โIf you can, of courseโ implies that the guest may not even be capable of introducing himself. Was it supposed to be a joke? If so, itโs one that lands closer to mockery than humor.
Even inexperienced interviewers generally avoid opening with remarks that risk putting their guest in an awkward or demeaning position.
More than anything, itโs a sign of inexperienceโand perhaps of not fully understanding the boundaries of professional courtesy. It gives the impression that the interviewer either doesnโt recognize how disrespectful the phrasing sounds or has become accustomed to a style of content where this kind of tone is considered normal.
Other moments stand out as well.
Asking about Rooney leaving Larian almost immediately (0:55)
Instead of allowing the guest to settle into the conversation with an easy topic, the interviewer immediately pivots to a personal question about his departure from Larian.
Itโs an unusual choice that skips over the normal rapport-building stage most interviews begin with.
Turning the conversation back to herself instead of listening
Throughout the interview, she repeatedly redirects the focus to her own experiences:
โI feel you so muchโฆ I resonate with you.โย (4:41)
โI write the same way.โย (6:37)
Rather than encouraging Rooney to elaborate, these moments shift attention away from the guest and toward the interviewer herself. It often feels less like an interview and more like an attempt to relate every answer back to her own perspective.
The interview is also filled with awkward attempts at humor.
For example:
โAre you a vampire?โย (1:26)
This comes immediately after Rooney gives a sincere answer about leaving Larian.
Presumably itโs meant as a joke.
Instead, it lands as an abrupt tonal shift that undercuts the seriousness of what had just been discussed.
Another example comes atย 3:29.
After Rooney comments that undead characters are often โout of time and out of place,โ the interviewer suddenly quotes the Hall & Oates lyric:
โIโm out of touch, Iโm out of time, but Iโm out of my head.โ
She immediately follows it with:
โIโm sorry.โ
Itโs one of those moments thatโs so awkward it almost becomes fascinating in its own rightโespecially if youโre used to interviews with a more polished or professional style.
Perhaps the clearest example comes atย 21:47.
Rooney jokingly says:
โMaybe Iโm just a terrible person.โ
The irony is fairly obvious.
The interviewer immediately replies:
โNo, youโre not a terrible person. I understand youโฆ I like making my characters suffer.โ
Itโs an exchange that illustrates a recurring problem throughout the interview: instead of engaging with Rooneyโs obvious self-deprecating humor, she responds as though he were making a serious confession. The result feels awkward and gives the impression that she isnโt quite following the conversational tone established by her guest.
The overall tone of the interview feels less like a professional conversation and more like listening to two immature friends chatting during a smoke break.
The interviewers constantly interrupt Rooney, redirect the conversation back to themselves, and occasionally throw in awkward complimentsโsuch as calling himย โflawlessโย (25:34)โthat come across more as flattery than genuine appreciation.
For someone like Stephen Rooney, whoโs previously spoken with outlets likeย IGN,ย PC Gamer, andย Eurogamer, this must have felt awkward at bestโand, more likely, simply uncomfortable.
Throughout the interview, Rooney rarely comes across as someone whoโs actually at ease. If you pay attention to his body language and facial expressions, he often appears visibly uncomfortable.
The channel itself has virtually no interviewing experienceโthis is, after all, the only interview theyโve ever published. Unfortunately, that lack of preparation ends up overshadowing Rooneyโs own thoughtful answers and even affects the overall presentation of a major AAA title.
So letโs move on to the interviewโs main talking points.
The interviewer (the one in the beanie) (12:01):
โDo you think Ascended Astarion cannot continue the relationship with the player character without turning them into a spawn?โ
This question suggests a surprising unfamiliarity with the gameโs own story.
Inย Baldurโs Gate 3, Ascended Astarionย canย continue his romance with the player character without immediately turning them into a vampire spawn. If, after the Ascension, you avoid taking a Long Rest and instead head straight to the final battle, the transformation never occurs, yet the romance still remains intact.
Stephen Rooney has previously stated in another interview thatย he personally wrote the epilogues. Even so, his answer here includes several lines that have since become favorites among Tumblrโs anti-AA crowd.
(12:12)
โAscended Astarion is very difficult because he has fundamentally madeโฆ If Astarion chooses to ascend, he has made the selfish choice, he has made the very evil choice, and he has decided to continue a lot of the darker themes that are in his backstory and in his own story. And so I think it is difficult to imagine having still a very healthy and equal relationship on that path.
I do not love that path myself. If I was playing the game, I would not choose that. But when I was writing that, I was thinking a lot about partners in toxic relationships and in bad relationships, and how the power is very rarely balanced.
And I think that is why you end up with an imbalance in that relationship, where Astarion needs to be in charge and you need to be somewhere down here.โ
According to Rooney, Astarion makes aย fundamentallyย evil and selfish choice.
The wordย fundamentallyย is worth paying attention to, because Astarionโs desire for power long predates the ritual itself. Even back when he was a magistrateโwhat Rooney refers to asย โhis backstoryโโhe already longed for influence and control.
Likewise, throughoutย โhis own story,โย once he learns the ritual exists, virtually every line of dialogue points toward a genuine desire to complete it. Even before discovering the ritual, Astarion repeatedly expresses his longing for power.
But power isnโt the only thing he wants.
He also longs for everything that was taken from him: sunlight, a beating heart, the taste of food and wine, his reflection in a mirror, and freedom from endless hunger.
As a player, I genuinely enjoy making that selfish, morally questionable choice alongside him if it means giving him everything heโs been yearning for.
Which is why I find myself wondering why Rooney found it so difficult to imagine role-playing a character whose motivation is simply to love Astarion enough to want those things for him as well.
After all, Astarion himself says:
โBut if they die and I ascend, I wonโt have to rely on the parasite to walk in the sun. Iโll be freeโtruly, completely free. Isnโt that what you want?โ
Perhaps Rooney simply wasnโt interested in exploring a role-playing perspective on a route he personally dislikes.
And thatโs entirely his prerogative as a writer.
As he says himself:
โI do not love that path myself. If I was playing the game, I would not choose that.โ
A writer is absolutely entitled to their personal opinion.
However, a branching path in an RPG isnโt merely the expression of one writerโs personal preferences. Itโs the product of an entire teamโdesigners, animators, cinematic artists, voice actors, gameplay developers, and many others.
When the lead writer publicly says he dislikes one of the gameโs major endings, it inevitably diminishes, at least to some degree, the work of everyone who contributed to making that route a reality.
When a creator says,ย โI wouldnโt choose this path myself,โย it can easily come across as,ย โI created something I wouldnโt personally want to experience.โ
That inevitably raises questions about the work as a wholeโespecially in a genre built around player choice.
Personally, I value studios whose public-facing creators respect player agency and remain neutral toward the choices their games intentionally allow players to make.
That said, I also donโt believe a creatorโs personal opinion has the power to invalidate anyone elseโs experience.
Games are, above all, an invitation to step into another world. Theyโre meant to immerse us in characters and storiesโnot reduce them to an exercise in decipheringย what the author really meant.
When I playย Baldurโs Gate 3, I donโt experience Astarion as an abstract narrative concept.
I experience him as a person.
I respond to his emotions, his fears, his hopes, and his desires as though he were real.
And no interview, no matter who gives it, can take that experience away from me.
The fact that Rooney says heย โwas thinking a lot about partners in toxic relationships and in bad relationships, and how the power is very rarely balancedโย may also explain why the preferred route contains role-playing options for a partner who behaves in genuinely unhealthy ways.
After all, the supposed โpower imbalanceโ exists there as well.
Tav has everything: a full life, freedom, recognition as the celebrated hero.
Astarion, meanwhile, remains a vampire spawn. He still suffers from endless hunger. He will never see the sun again.
In that route, he also accepts a partner who neglects his needs. Depending on the playerโs dialogue choices, he can be treated in ways that many would describe as emotionally unhealthy or even toxic.
Ultimately, if Rooneyโs goal had truly been to portray a toxic relationship with Ascended Astarion, it would have been remarkably easy to do.
All it would have taken was expanding the Ascension scene.
Instead of ending everything with the gameโs single Wisdom checkโwhich, ultimately, doesnโt unlock any meaningful role-playing possibilitiesโhe could have allowed the player to open their mind to Astarion, just as we do back in Act 2, and choose between several thoughts expressing genuine love and trust.
Astarion could then have responded with something like:
โThen donโt mess it up. And obey me.โ
Or perhaps something more in keeping with his sense of humor:
โThat sounds very sincere. Are you sure the parasite hasnโt chewed through your brain?โ
Either version would have immediately established a much clearer dynamic if the intention truly had been to portray emotional manipulation or abuse.
Butโฆ he didnโt write that.
Instead, if you play the romance sincerely and with affection, there is very little in the relationship itself that actually reads as toxic.
The romance contains around eighteen separate expressions of love.
Thereโs the playful, affectionate:
โYes, my treasure?โ
And there are moments built entirely on trust.
โYou are so beautifulโฆ And you will be beautiful forever. Thank you for trusting me.โ
Whatever Rooneyโs personal interpretation may be, the text that ultimately made it into the game leaves plenty of room for players to experience this relationship very differently. In the end, itโs the game itselfโnot an interviewโthat players spend hundreds of hours with, and itโs those interactions that shape their experience.
โฆand moments of heartfelt gratitude:
โYou have given me everything. Thank you.โ
There is also care. A desire to give. A desire to protect.
And if Astarionโs love comes through the screen so clearlyโthrough his expressions, his body language, the warmth in his voice, simply on an emotional and empathetic levelโthen itโs worth remembering that Stephen Rooney approved Neil Newbonโs performance. The recorded dialogue would almost certainly have gone through the writer before release, and evidently Rooney was satisfied with it.
Neil has spoken about usingย Method Acting, an approach that involves fully inhabiting the character. In those scenes, he wasnโt simply reading linesโheย becameย Astarion. He becameย Ascended Astarion, performing him the way he genuinely understood the character.
And what he portrayed wasnโt โtoxicity.โ
Rooney himself also wrote a remarkably strong epilogue for the Ascended route.
Itโs also worth remembering what happened when the infamous โtoxic kissesโ update dramatically changed the tone of the romance. Another writer,ย Baudelaire Welch, received heavy criticism from the community over those changes. Some fans even chased Stephen Rooney across X (formerly Twitter), demanding that he publicly confirm heโd worked on them as well.
He never did.
His silence was widely interpreted as the silence of a writer watching someone else alter work that had originally been his.
If Rooneyโs intention had truly been to portray this romance as fundamentally toxic from the beginning, remaining silent while the fandom largely continued to celebrate him would have beenโฆ an oddly self-serving decision.
Perhaps these kinds of relationships simply arenโt Rooneyโs cup of tea.
Thatโs perfectly fair.
But does that automatically make his personal preferenceย canon?
Canonโฆ in an RPG built around player choice?
At most, itโs canon thatย this is the type of romance Rooney personally prefers.
Just as some players may not enjoy the kind of romantic dynamic the writer favors, not everyone enjoys a story where theyโre expected to accept becoming the reason the person they love mostย โloses some of his freedomโย or shouldnโt be allowed to beย โtoo happyโย by the end of the game.
Personally, I donโt think concepts likeย power balanceย matter very much in the context of genuine love.
Unfortunately, this is also where I think Larianโs romances are often at their weakest: the role-playing they offer rarely allows players to express the kind of unconditional devotion many people are actually trying to role-play.
For a deeply loving partner, the relationship isnโt aboutย who has more power.
Itโs aboutย us.
Interestingly, thatโs exactly the language Ascended Astarion himself consistently uses throughout the romance. He speaks in terms ofย โweโย andย โus.โ
And allowing the person you love to finally experience what itโs feels like to standย on top, afterย โtwo hundred years of shit, pure shit,โย isnโt something I find threatening.
To me, thatโs beautiful romance.
It works especially well if youโre role-playing a strong, confident characterโbecause real strength in love isnโt about competing over who holds more power.
Itโs about protecting.
Giving.
Wanting your partner to experience joy.
Ironically, Rooney himself ultimately acknowledges that what isnโt his cup of tea may still be perfectly valid for someone else.
Atย 14:13, he says:
โIf people feel they are able to have a healthy relationship with Astarion, if he ascends, I am fine with that. That is okay.
Everyone can have their own ideas and their own takes on the game, their own interpretation. So, yeah, just because it is not what I choose means that it is ever going to be a bad idea for anyone else to choose that.โ
Before Rooney gives this answer, however, the interviewer asks what is essentially a classic leading question.
The question is structured in a way that attempts to trap the interviewee into confirming its underlying assumption.
Atย 13:28, she asks:
โSo their relationship with Ascended Astarion is pretty much inherently toxic? Or could he love the Tav? Or maybe he thinks that he loves them?โ
Notice how the very first clauseโ
โtheir relationship with Ascended Astarion is pretty much inherently toxic?โ
โalready contains the conclusion sheโs trying to elicit.
Itโs a textbook example of framing the discussion around an assumption rather than asking an open question.
The final partโ
โOr maybe he thinks that he loves them?โ
โpushes Rooney toward perhaps the least charitable interpretation possible: one that calls Astarionโs feelings themselves into question.
Rooney responds:
โI think he thinks that he loves them.โย (13:43)
Importantly, he doesย notย confirm that the relationship is objectively toxic.
Instead, he shifts the conversation toward interpretation.
And immediately afterward, he explicitly acknowledges that players are entitled to interpret the relationship differently.
Ironically, within the game itself, Astarion apparentlyย โthinks he lovesโย the player so sincerely that his own physiology changes.
If weโre taking the gameโs lore seriously, the strongest evidence of his love isnโt a line of dialogue at all.
Itโs biological.
An illithid Tav is able to perceive the presence of the hormone associated with love emanating from Ascended Astarion.
One has to wonder: can sheer wishful thinking really rewire someoneโs endocrine system?
This is not merely a matter of interpretation. It is, at least in part, a fragment of the gameโs own internal reality.
Ascended Astarion loves Tav. The interpretation held by players who genuinely love Astarion is not based solely on personal preference or emotional projectionโit is grounded in the gameโs own depiction of basic physiology and brain chemistry.
And thatโs without even getting into Astarionโs actual dialogue or Neil Newbonโs performance, both of which people will inevitably try to dismiss with some variation ofย โthatโs just how he thinksโย orย โthatโs just what the writer said.โ
Even Astarionโs own understanding of his freedom of choice has already been reduced toย โthatโs just what he thinksโย by the Persuasion option used to convince him to abandon the ritual:
โI know you think this will set you free, but it wonโtโฆโ
Apparently, whatย heย thinks doesnโt count.
Personally, I think Tav can be an absolutely insufferable bitch both on the route - the Spawn or Ascended. And yet, they may very well believe that they loves Astarion too.
An interpretation based purely on personal impressions can be anything you want it to be. But an interpretation grounded in physiologyโespecially when the game itself gives us that informationโcarries considerably more weight than someoneโs subjective assessment of what love isย supposedย to look like.
If Astarionโs hormone levels indicate that he is experiencing loveโeven toward a creature as physiologically unusual as an illithidโthen that biological fact exists independently of anyoneโs personal interpretation.
The laws of physiology are universal. In the context of the game, that applies to sentient beings with comparable biochemistry as well. Ideas about what constitutesย โproperโย orย โhealthyโย love, on the other hand, vary across cultures, historical periods, and individual people.
Science describesย how a system works. It does not prescribe how that systemย shouldย work according to someoneโs personal values.
โPower balanceโย and similar concepts are ultimately value judgments.
And then thereโs Stephen Rooney:
โYeah, so Astarionโs backstory is all about a relationship and power dynamics that are unequal, as I say. And I always see the path with spawn Astarion, the relationship path with spawn Astarion, as a choice that Astarion makes to break the cycle, to choose to have a better relationship with people, a healthier relationship, and to not continue what he has been doing. The path with Ascended Astarion is very much the opposite of that.
It is Astarion looking at the unhealthy relationships heโs had in the past and being like, I want to be the person on top. I want to be in charge, I want to have the power, and then that way I make sure that no one else can ever hurt me again. Which is a choice that a lot of people make in real life as well.
Itโs not an inherently bad or evil choice, but itโs not the one I would want for my relationships, I think.โ
And this is where the distinction betweenย what the game depictsย andย what the author personally prefersย becomes particularly important.
It would be genuinely interesting to ask the writer one very simple questionโespecially if heโs willing to talk to seemingly anyone without much regard for the context:ย where, exactly, in the story does Astarion himself make the choice to remain a spawn forever?
Because Rooney describes the Spawn route as:
โa choice that Astarion makes to break the cycle, to choose to have a better relationship with people, a healthier relationship, and to not continue what he has been doing.โ
So where is that choice actually made?
Is it inย Astarionโs Origin?
In an Astarion Origin solo run, Astarion actuallyย canย make this choice independently. During a Long Rest in Act 2, he can recall his scars through an Intelligence check, and during the ritual itself he has to pass another Intelligence check with a DC of 15 to remember them. He doesnโt need anyone elseโs help to do it.
But in a regular game with Tav/Durge, Astarion doesnโt have that choice.
The choice belongs entirely to the player.
Astarion cannot independently make the decision because, narratively, he is made dependent on the playerโs intervention. For whatever reason, when Astarion is a companion, the game never gives him the hidden checks similar to that exist in his Origin solo route. Those checks were written into his Origin solo run plot โthey simply arenโt available when heโs accompanying the player.
Instead, everything ultimately comes down to aย DC 18 Persuasion check.
Thatโs it.
If the player succeeds, Astarion stays with the group and the relationship continues. If they fail and refuse to help him, he leaves the party and tells his former partner toย โdie screaming.โ
One Persuasion roll. No meaningful connection to your previous dialogue choices, your relationship with him, or the way youโve actually treated him throughout the game.
The gameย pretendsย that Astarion is making a choice, when in practice the choice belongs almost entirely to the player.
The underlying logic of the choice is broken.
Inย Origin, Astarion is an autonomous character capable of making decisions for himself.
As aย companion, heโs reduced to an obstacle for the playerโs Persuasion checkโand his supposed โchoiceโ becomes the outcome of a dice roll.
Tav successfully manipulates him through that Persuasion check. Tav refuses to help him obtain what he wants: Ascension, freedom, the sun. Tav explicitly tells him that whatย heย thinks doesnโt matter, and that his desires areย โa trap.โ
Thatโs not a choice. Thatโs control.
So when the writer describes this asย โAstarionโs choice,โย either he has forgotten how this part of the game actually works, or he simply prefers not to acknowledge that the companion version of Astarion has that choice taken away from him.
And what is the actual logical reason that this character would suddenly choose aย โhealthy relationshipโย with the partner who, depending on one successful Persuasion roll, can go from being someone he loves to someone he tells toย die screaming?
Especially when that same character can supposedly choose anย โunhealthy relationshipโย with someone who loves him completely, supports hisย โselfish, evil choice,โย and wants nothing more for him than to be:
โfreeโtruly, completely free.โ
How exactly is Astarionโs relationship with the world supposed to dictate the nature of his relationship with theย one person he is actually intimate with and loves?
And this line:
โI want to be the person on top. I want to be in charge, I want to have the power, and then that way I make sure that no one else can ever hurt me again.โ
Honestly?ย Great.
If I were role-playing Tav, that is exactly what I would want for Astarion: for him to finally be on top, to achieve everything he has spent centuries wanting, and for me to make sure nobody ever gets the chance to hurt him again.
But why, exactly, should Astarion assume that his consort is one of the people capable of hurting him?
Is it because the role-playing possibilities in the post-Ascension dialogue were essentially cut down to the bare minimum?
As for theย cycle of violence: yes, it is a very real historical and social phenomenon.
Take the Spartacus revolt, for example. If I started describing in historically accurate detail what the Romans did to enslaved people, no amount of content warnings would probably be enough. The same would apply to describing what the rebelling slaves did to Romans in the cities they captured.
Conquerors brutally killed and enslaved the people they conquered. Revolutionaries executed tyrants. Revolutionaries sometimes became tyrants themselves and executed those who opposed their new regime.
Violence creates cycles of violence.
But none of that means that a personโs relationship with theirย loverย automatically becomes toxic because their relationship with the outside world has changed.
When enslaved people seized a Roman city, their relationships with their romantic partners did not suddenly becomeย โtoxicโย simply because they had gained power.
Throughout human history, one of the most fundamental distinctions has always been betweenย us and themโbetween oneโs own people and outsiders.
And the person you love was never supposed to beย the outsider.
Cazador kept Astarion enslaved for two hundred years. He tortured him, starved him, humiliated him, and treated him as property. That is abuse.
Astarion carving the scars into Cazador, using him as a sacrifice for his own ritual, and taking everything from him in return is violence against anย enemy.
So where, exactly, does theย loverย enter this supposed cycle?
Tav willingly agrees to become a vampire. Tav loves Astarion and actively wants to remain by his side. Tav supports his path and chooses to share his new existence with him.
So in what possible sense is Tav the victim of abuse in this scenario?
Tav is his companion, his ally, hisย right hand:
โMy dark consort. My right hand.โ
Is the mere fact that Astarion is the one standing at the top supposed to automatically turn Tav into a victim?
If Rooney genuinely believes that Spawn Astarion representsย โa choice that Astarion makes to break the cycle, to choose to have a better relationship with people, a healthier relationship, and to not continue what he has been doing,โย while the Ascended route isย โvery much the opposite of that,โย then why was Astarion denied the ability to make that choice consciously?
Why is the only way for him toย โbreak the cycleโย to submit to a manipulative Persuasion check?
Why can Astarion remember his scars whenย he is the protagonist, but not when he is the playerโs companion?
The way the game is structured, it almost looks as though the choice was never meant to belong to Astarion in the first place. The player is the one who is supposed to decide for him.
But if Astarion cannot independently choose toย โbreak the cycle,โย then he isnโt actually breaking it.
Heโsย submitting to someone elseโs decision.
And that submission isnโt necessarily aย โhealthy relationship.โย Itโs simply another form of control.
There is another rather inconvenient detail in the script as well: Unascended Astarion - theย leader of the spawns, supposedly the character who has chosenย โto break the cycle, to choose to have a better relationship with people, a healthier relationship, and to not continue what he has been doing.โ
Except the script itself gives us lines like:
โAnd if they do step out of line, it just takes one or two brutal examples to remind everyone else of their place.โ
โIโm not a tyrant, I do care for their well-being, I just canโt afford to show weakness.โ
โOh no, people can be quite meek after seeing you murder their former master.โ
โIf I get back and theyโve killed another gnome, I swearโsomeoneโs getting impaled.โ
Those are not interpretations. Theyโre simply lines from the script.
The one place where I think a more convincing explanation for the changed relationship dynamic can actually be found is in research and clinical discussions surroundingย sexual trauma, agency, power, and consensual relationship dynamics.
For example, this study is worth looking at:
PDF | While a plethora of scholarship on BDSM1 investigates its potential to do harm or manifest underlying problems (Gemberling et al., 201
For many survivors of sexual abuse, taking on a dominant role in intimate relationships can genuinely become a way of reclaiming a sense of control and safety. This is, of course, not a universal rule, and it does not work for everyone or in every situation.
For someone who has experienced sexual abuse, the trauma is fundamentally tied to the loss of control. Their body and boundaries were violated. Rebuilding a sense of safety can therefore involve rebuilding a sense of agency and power over oneโs own life. The same can apply to intimacy: taking on a dominant role can give a survivor the ability to establish the rules, the pace, and the boundaries. It is the direct opposite of the situation they experienced during the abuse, when they had no control at all. In a safe environment, this can allow someone to gradually relearn how to trust their body and their own desires.
Research suggests that one of the central traumatic factors in abuse is the experience of helplessness. When a person feels that they have a choice, that theirย yesย andย noย actually matter, it can help restore the sense of agency that was taken from them.
So, hypothetically, if I were in a relationship with someone who had experienced that kind of trauma, I could absolutely imagine choosing a dynamic that allowed them to feel safe and in control.
But hereโs the thingโฆ
We were supposed to be playing an RPG about a fictional vampire.
Nobody signed up for a lecture about how relationships are supposed to work in real life.
People play fantasy RPGs for escapism.ย โOur realityโย andย โrealismโย are two completely different things.
If you want to have a discussion about what constitutes aย healthy relationship in real life, then perhaps start with a game set in a world that actually resembles modern reality.
Realism in fantasy does not mean forcing real-world relationship norms onto a fictional setting. It means understanding the reality ofย that worldโits lore, its rules, its circumstances, and the way its characters experience them.
In ordinary real life, if someone offered me a blood ritual while insisting it would solve all my problems, Iโd be calling the police.
I donโt believe an authorโs personal opinions about relationships in the real world should automatically be projected onto a fantasy narrative.
Atย 16:28, the interviewer says:
โSo basically the continuation of the cycle of violence.โ
And Rooney responds:
โYes, exactly.โ
This is another textbook example of putting words in someoneโs mouth.
In rhetoric and communication, this kind of framing can be described as aย leading question with a substituted premise. If this were a courtroom examination, an attorney would probably object immediately.
Once the interviewer has already supplied the conclusion, sayingย โnoโย forces the guest to actively argue against the premise theyโve just been presented with. Sayingย โyesโ, meanwhile, confirms the simplified and negatively charged interpretation.
Itโs a binary trap.
The purpose isnโt really to understand what the speaker means. Itโs toย take control of the interpretationย and steer their words toward a predetermined narrative.
She presents her own conclusion as an established fact, then receives what amounts to a mechanical confirmation from the author.
And that confirmation can subsequently be presented as though it were his own independent, carefully considered statementโtheย โofficial positionโโrather than the result of a heavily leading line of questioning.
Now letโs look at another Spawn Astarion line:
โSomeone who could break the cycle of power and terrorโฆ that started centuries ago.โ
Thereโs an interesting detail here.
During the pause, Astarion makes a small gesture with his hand, almost as though heโs searching for the right wordsโtrying to figure out exactly how he wants to phrase what comes next.
That moment is worth paying attention to, because it doesnโt feel like a character simply repeating a predetermined ideological statement. It feels like someoneย thinking through what heโs saying in real time.
And that matters when weโre discussing whatย โbreaking the cycleโย actually means within Astarionโs own understanding of his story.
To avoid being accused of bias, letโs try to find some thoughtful discussions from people who arenโt fans of Ascension and see how other players view the writing of the AA path. These discussions are old, of course. For example:
The main post is, once again, a load of nonsense, but I highly recommend reading Separate-Cake-2584โs comments, as well as their discussion with Purplestarlight321 in the replies. Neither of them are AA fans, like me, and Iโll take the liberty of quoting their assessment of the UA pathโthe route they actually chose.
Separate-Cake-2584:
โI can speak better for the path in which he remains a spawn. The scene the morning after he kills Cazador is so different from the writing before then. Itโs pure exposition. The same thing happens in the graveyard scene. Nothing but a monologue from Astarion, which doesnโt sound like Astarion at all, but rather like he becomes the writerโs mouthpiece for those scenes. It struck me as the opposite to the realistic talks we had until then, where it felt like an organic conversation.โ
โFrom the way he talks (the words โbreak the cycle of terror and powerโ, in spawnโs โmorning after Cazadorโ talk comes to mind as a choice of words that is very unlike Astarionโs usual way of speaking, it almost sounds like pseudo-therapy lingo), to the dialogue options given to the player (restricted to positive on romance scene if Ascension is denied, or negative if Ascension is completed), you can see that it is not consistent with the previous writing (which is all the more strange when considering the Act 2 post-Yurgir romantic scene is spectacularly done both from a character dialogue perspective as from player choices perspective, and it was written by Welch too.)โ*
(This discussion took place two years ago, when nobody knew that Stephen Rooney had written the UA romance or personally preferred that route.)
Purplestarlight321:
โMost importantly though, if all it takes is a writer (or an actor) to give their opinion in order to settle a debate or to really get the point across that look, this is bad/good/whatever then the writing isnโt that strong to begin with.โ
โYou correctly stated that Astarion becomes a mouthpiece for the writer. Why do you have Astarion outright telling Tav about โbreaking the cycle of power and terror that started centuries ago?โ thatโs so immersion breaking and in my opinion, it shows how the writer didnโt have any faith in the players since they tried to spoon-fed them with โyou did the right thing!โ.โ
โI brought this point up to highlight how these debates have one thing in common: bad writing that can truly have more than one valid interpretation, but because a writer/dev (un)officially stated โactually, this is the caseโ, every other interpretation gets dismissed or belittled. To me, itโs absolutely NOT a coincidence that most, if not all, popular topics of discourse are mostly caused by poor writing.โ
Separate-Cake-2584:
โThe fact that you have to preface your comment with โI am not an AA apologistโ says everything about the general experience of being in the Astarion fandom. โOh, no, even if I say this I still love and respect the regimen. I donโt have anything against the system and would never consider the government or its leaders to be wrong.โ โOf course the head of our religious organization know better, I would never presume to criticize them, I was just saying, you know.โ Smells like totalitarianism to me. Acknowledge the one truth, shame the heretics, spread the propaganda.โ
And this raises a rather important question:ย would a vampire from Faerรปn actually speak like this?
Would Astarion naturally sayย โbreak the cycle of power and terrorโ?
At that point, the character stops feeling like a character and starts functioning as aย mouthpiece for the writer. Itโs almost as though he is looking directly into the camera and saying:ย โThis was about the cycle of violence.โ
Itโs a very familiar kind of modern writing where a character suddenly starts using contemporary psychological terminology instead of language that feels natural to their setting, personality, and worldview.
The writer has a central theme they want the audience to understand, so instead of allowing that theme to emerge organically through the characterโs actions and dialogue, they simply have the characterย state the thesis out loud.
And thatโs exactly where the subtlety disappears.
The character is pulled out of his own context and turned into a vehicle for the authorโs ideas. Instead of allowing the player to interpret what happened, the script tells them what itย means. Instead of letting the audience arrive at the conclusion themselves, it spells out the moral.
The result is dialogue that feels less like Astarion speaking and more like the writer stepping through him to explain the intended message.
And ironically, that kind of writing is exactly what creates the endless fandom arguments weโre having now: when the text itself is strong enough, it doesnโt need the author to come out years later and tell everyone what they wereย supposedย to understand.
Neil essentially saves the line through his performance โ the way he delivers it, his facial expressions, the little hand gesture. Astarion almost seems toย put his mask back on, searching for the right words and, at the same time, seeming to recognize how unnatural his own phrasing sounds. During the actual game, theย millennial writingย doesnโt really jump out at you. Instead, it comes across as Astarion genuinely speaking in the moment: adapting to the person in front of him, saying what he thinks the โgood heroโ wants to hear, and almost making it up as he goes, pausing and correcting himself as he searches for the right words.
Stephen Rooney later confirmed that the Dark Kiss ritual was discussed during the writing process.
(16:57)
โThe Dark Kiss thing, it was something I think that was there in conversations around that we were having. It wasnโt something I was particularly thinking of at the time. There was another writer that did some writing on those scenes, and then I came in because I was away for a while.โ
So, it turns out many of us were simply working with incomplete information when we assumed thatย everything badย in Astarionโs writing came from Welch, whileย everything goodย was written by Stephen Rooney.
Of course, it would be difficult to dismiss the Dark Kiss parallels as merely a โfan theoryโ when they line up so closely with an established ritual from the D&D vampire lore. The ritual is described inย RR3 Ravenloft: Van Richtenโs Guide to Vampires (2e)ย for D&D by Wizards of the Coast, and the rules surrounding the creation of a vampire Bride have remained consistent since then.
Now that we know the Dark Kiss was actually discussed during development, this makes a lot more sense. Coincidences this specific are rare. It would be pretty strange if nobody at Larian knew the relevant vampire lore and they had simply managed to stumble into these details by accident. Otherwise, the gameโs vampire lore would be an absolute mess: youโd have spawn being able to drink their masterโs blood, while the actual process of creating a spawn could apparently work however the writer felt like โ completely according to established lore in Astarionโs case, but completely differently in the โTav-spawnโ version, with no burial and none of the agonizing transformation described in the source material.
As an Easter egg for players who know the vampire lore, it was honestly a great writing choice.
I can imagine Rooney simply didnโt dive quite as deeply into D&Dโs vampire lore while working on Astarion, because there are moments in interviews where he seems unsure about certain details regarding vampire souls. In an earlier interview, he said:
โIโm actually not sure whether or not DND vampires have souls or not.โ
But in 3.5e D&D, sentient undead do have souls, including vampires, and neither 4e nor 5e introduced anything that would contradict that.
โUndead creatures are powered by negative energy. Only sentient undead creatures have, or are, souls.โ
โย Playerโs Handbook v3.5
So yes:ย sentient undead have souls in D&D.ย Wizards of the Coast later reinforced the existence of vampire souls inย Astarionโs Book of Hungersย as well.
So, credit where itโs due โ thank you to Baudelaire Welch for actually digging into the lore.
Rooney also talked about an earlier idea he had for giving Astarion a happier ending without Ascension:
(18:16)
โOh, this was an idea very early on that I had for Astarion that I would have liked to maybe try and bring through the game, but it didnโt work out, and I think itโs better that itโs not there. But the idea was basically that the Necromancy of Thay, the book that you get, would maybe unlock a wish spell, and then Astarion could use that wish to become mortal or to not be a vampire spawn anymore anyway, to try and reclaim his soul a little bit more.โ
As forย โreclaim his soulโย โ yeah, that part would technically be a mistake, since there was never any soul to reclaim in the first place.
But theย โnot be a vampire spawn anymoreโย part? As a player, Iโm genuinely sorry we lost that possibility. It could have been such a beautiful way to give the โgoodโ path a genuinely happy ending for players who wanted that.
Astarion didnโt necessarily want to stop being a vampire. But becoming something other than a spawn โ finally getting thatย โchance to become more than some wretched spawnโย โ is something he very clearly wanted. And honestly, I can think of few characters who deserved a Wish spell more.
But Stephen Rooney also explicitly said that Astarion never actually wanted to give up immortality and become mortal again. And the game itself supports this: there isnโt a single line from Astarion suggesting that he ever wanted to get rid of vampirism altogether.
What he wanted was to get rid of theย downsidesย of vampirism โ the hunger, the inability to walk in the sun โ and, at the same time, become more powerful.
Rooney himself explains this:
(19:07)ย โI donโt think that is what he would want, having kind of gone the whole way through the game. This was in the very, very early days, where I didnโt understand the character myself very well.
I was still figuring him out, but I think I had the idea that it is kind of a trope with vampires that they want their mortality back, or they want their souls back. They donโt want to suffer from the hunger. They donโt want to suffer from being creatures of the night.
They want to be able to walk in the sun again. But I think if we had gone with that ending, it would have been too happy of an ending, kind of, in some ways. And like you say, I donโt think that is what Astarion is searching for the whole way through the game, so it doesnโt make sense for the story to build to that.
No, but I was very happy with the endings that we did get, that I did end up kind of writing.โ
And this is actually an important distinction.
Astarion absolutely wanted to stop suffering from the hunger and to walk in the sun again. Butย โhaving kind of gone the whole way through the game,โย he also consistently wants Ascension once he learns that it is possible.
The problem is that Rooney personally prefers an ending where Astarionย loses the ability to walk in the sun.
Atย 20:27, he says:
โI like the ending of him still being a vampire and losing his ability to walk in the sun and going back to the person that he was kind of physically, going back to the person that he was with the restraints that he has, all the normal vampire spawn stuff. But personally, he has developed so much, he has come so far. He is not the same person, even though it feels like he is going back a little bit.โ
The interviewer immediately interrupts:
โHe does not go back, I donโt think so.โ
Rooney continues:
โNo, no, no, yeah, but because he goes back in that he can no longer walk in the sun, for example, so he loses that freedom. But personally, he has developed kind of a lot more. So, I donโt know, I think there is something very bittersweet about that, about achieving so much, but also feeling like you lose a lot because you have won.
He wins the battle, but he loses some of his freedom. I like that.โ
And that first part is particularly telling:
โit feels like he is going back a little bit.โ
Because that is precisely what is happeningย physically. Rooney himself describes the ending as Astarionย going backย to the physical limitations he had before: the hunger, the inability to walk in sunlight, all the ordinary restrictions of being a spawn.
The difference, according to him, is that Astarion has supposedly changed internally.
And this is where the authorโs personal preference becomes very obvious. He doesnโt simply acknowledge that the Spawn ending is bittersweet โ he explicitly says that heย likesย the fact that Astarion wins the battle but loses part of his freedom.
Which is a rather strange preference when you consider thatย freedomย is one of the central things Astarion has been pursuing throughout the entire game.
Inย Astarion Origin, Spawn Astarion has a beautiful final scene where he dances, smiling predatorily as he approaches his prey.
โSo, I donโt know, I think there is something very bittersweet about that, about achieving so much, but also feeling like you lose a lot because you have won.โ
Perhaps that works well forย Astarion Origin. But based on what actually happens in the game when Astarion is a companionโฆ it simply doesnโt work. At all.
โLosing a lot because you have wonโ makes it sound as though that loss was a necessary condition of victory. As if there was no other way: you lost something, but you still managed to win. It brings to mind the image of a climber trapped in the mountains who has to cut off their own arm to escape. They survived because they were strong enough to make that sacrifice; otherwise, they would have died.
But after Ascension,ย Astarion wins.ย And he doesnโt lose anything. He gets everything he wanted.
Losing his freedom, losing sunlight and the pleasures of ordinary life โ none of that is a necessary condition for his victory. Those things arenโt the price he has to pay to defeat Cazador.
And when Spawn Astarion is a companion, the ending looks almost exclusively likeย Tav and their friends winning, rather than Astarion winning.
โI feltโฆ ashamed. Like Iโd lost everything, just as you claimed your victory.โ
Thatโs Spawn Astarion describing how he feels about it.
He feels like heย lost at the very moment of victory.
Because it wasnโt his victory.
There is no mechanic in the game that requires Astarion to sacrifice the sun in order to kill Cazador. Thatโs a decision Tav makes, not Astarion. And that decision doesnโt make the victory more โhonestโ or โmeaningful.โ It simply makes it less joyful for Astarion.
I think Rooney likes this ending conceptually, rather than from the characterโs perspective. Itโs almost impossible to imagine the Astarion we actually see throughout the game โ if we treat him as a living character with his own desires โ agreeing that this is what he would want for himself. That he would actually choose a โbittersweetโ ending.
And, most importantly,ย an RPG isnโt a book or a movie, where the audience is simply a passive observer of the authorโs vision.
We were never told that weโd be playing an RPG where weโre supposed to enjoy a โbittersweetโ ending by deliberately preventing the character we love most from getting everything he wanted โ taking away his sunlight and freedom โ just so he can fit someone elseโs idea of what a โhealthy relationshipโ should look like.
Honestly, if the choice were between giving up RPGs altogether and accepting that kind of romance, Iโd probably choose to give up games entirely.
Because the whole point of an RPG is the ability toย make choices and participate in the story. Thatโs what makes the genre so much more compelling than simply reading a book, watching a movie, or playing through a completely linear narrative. If those choices ultimately have to conform to the authorโs preferred interpretation, then that entire premise falls apart.
The idea ofย โcanonโย in its most rigid, authoritarian sense is fundamentally at odds with the nature of an RPG. It turns what should be a space for escapism, exploration, and personal enjoyment into something that feels completely pointless.
The interview itself is here:
Baldur's Herald presents an exclusive interview with Stephen Rooney, the writer behind Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3.In this video, we talke
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"Daughter of Darkness" - Shadowheart. It directly references her story. The most telling quest name.
"Our Fiery Friend" - Karlach. This refers not only to her problem with burning and she has bright, fiery emotions.
"The Githyanki Warrior" - for Laeโzel. Her quest is deeply connected with the githyanki people, their history, and their place in the world.
"The Wizard of Waterdeep" - for Gale. A simple name with no hidden meanings. He is definitely a Wizard. And he is definitely from Waterdeep. Perhaps the point here is to emphasize his origins - who he is now and who he once was.
That same Wizard of Waterdeep and his inner storm-power reaching toward the heavens. Or he will still be the Wizard of Waterdeep, glorified for his mortal deeds.
From this grows the beauty of his story: what a mortal wizard can achieve.
"The Blade of Frontiers" - for Wyll. His quest is named after his heroic moniker on the Sword Coast. It is connected to his path as a hero. This is also the theme of his personal struggles, whether he can truly be a real hero.
"The Pale Elf" - for Astarion.
Astarion is definitely pale. And he is definitely an elf.
The name is also very simple. Though perhaps only at first glance.
The title of his quest conceals his true nature, just as Astarion himself does when he presents himself as a mortal high elf magistrate from the Upper City, moving in high society. Itโs a tricksterโs move.
Pale skin was considered a mark of the aristocracy, because they didnโt have to work in the fields and therefore didnโt get tanned.
Only later do we learn the real reason for his excessive pallor - and it is far from ordinary paleness.
While I was looking through the times Astarion says the word "pale", hoping to find any mentions of it from him, for example, how he evaluates it, whether there are any comparisons, I actually found something.
There was once a vampire in the Forgotten Realms named Mordoc SeLanmere.
A character created by Black Isle Studios for the games Baldurโs Gate: Dark Alliance II January 20, 2004, and mentioned by Astarion in Baldurโs Gate 3.
Astarion mentions him only under the name Pale Knight.
Astarion:ย This is it. The hopeless dream dreamt by all of my kind.
Astarion:ย I am the greatest vampire to ever walk this land. Even the Pale Knight would have knelt before me.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_BlackMassFollowUp
Mordoc SeLanmere died in 1376 DR.
He was also known as the White Prince.
The self-proclaimed Vampire King in Toril.
There is a bust of the Pale Knight in Szarr Palace, from which one can conclude that the Szarr coven respected him and keeps his memory.
Or, I don't know, just don't forget the vampires who stood out in some way.
When ascending, Astarion starts talking about him very quickly. He knows full well who this is and what his achievements were.
The line is common to everyone, says the narrator.
Baldurโs Gate: Dark Alliance IIย Longplay Full Game Walkthrough [No Commentary] 4k
All scenes featuring Mordoc SeLanmere
Baldur's Gate is like the Crown of England - everyone wants it.
In the finale, we find out who was allied with the Pale Knight - someone in a sarcophagus named the Giver of Eternity from Mulhorand
- The vampire's gambit has failed, Giver-of-Eternity. Baldur's Gate still stands strong.
- And what of Mordoc, priest?
- Utterly destroyed, o mighty pharaoh, in an attempt to hold the tower.
- His failure cannot be allowed to hamper my sacred mission. We will leave Mulhorand and see to the matter ourselves. Raise the tomb soldiers and prepare my sun-barge.
- As my god-king demandsโฆ
You go to this beautiful desert with oases, cities and temples, and talk to this sarcophagus, where heย [Giver-of-Eternity]ย tries to persuade you that the world would be better if everyone wasย undead.
David Maldonado on the plot of the unreleased final act ofย BG:DA II
But he talked about zombies rather than vampires, although vampires clearly don't bother him, although what they would eat in that case.
The underground halls beneath Szarr Palace resemble ancient motifs, maybe Egyptian.
The palace also has a bust of a female vampire Shyressa.
Lords Of Darkness DnD 3.5 Released: October 2001
According to the Book of Hungers, Astarion was born in 1261 DR and was turned into a vampire in 1300 DR, at the age of 39.
About the age
Which should be corrected by WotC, because Astarion is a high elf who at 39 should look like that Korean mod. Or did the poor diet affect him that much? I donโt know. Shadowheart is a half-elf and in her ~40s looks about 25.Shadowheart: Forty years of my life, documented like I was some sort of specimen.
Mordoc SeLanmere is mentioned only in the games. But by two different studios in the Forgotten Realms setting. This makes him not merely the homebrew of a single studio, but already a distinct character of the gamesโ lore.
Astarion is officially written into D&D canon and is mentioned in the books. And are all his words also canonical? Who knows.
In any case, Astarion lived through Mordoc SeLanmereโs time during his unlife.
Astarion heard the news and rumours of how some vampire became the Vampire King, gathered an army and set out to conquer Baldurโs Gate.
The question is what this story looked like in the canon of BG3.
The Pale Knight even entrenched himself in the city and began turning the inhabitants into undead. In this way he continued to swell his ranks for the further conquest of the Coast and the entire world.
Baldurโs Gate would have become the capital of his Vampire kingdom.
It is unknown whether Astarion knew the Pale Knight personally or ever saw him. Theoretically he could have. Letโs assume that he did.
I imagine their meeting like this: the Szarr coven swore loyalty to the King, and Astarion among them - he bowed. And then he carried out orders.
Did Astarion admire him? Most likely yes.
The very fact that he recalls him during his own triumph, savouring the knowledge that he has surpassed the Vampire King, shows that remembering him does not spoil his mood or stir anything painful. So if Astarion did meet him, the encounter was not personally unpleasant for him.
Astarion, as a servant of the Szarr family, bowed before the White Prince who stood above his master. Perhaps this also showed him that there are vampires far more powerful than even those who have ruled a coven in Baldurโs Gate for years.
Now his status and power as an Ascended Vampire are so high that the Pale Knight himself would have bowed before him.
Itโs a very rich lore moment that Asatrion recalls this particular figure from vampire history.
It was Pale Knight whom Astarion considered such a great figure.
How interested is Astarion in figures such as the Pale Knight?
How interested is he specifically in the world of vampires?
First, quite a bit.
Second, as well.
This section focuses on these two aspects of his personality.
Astarion has the idea of shrouding the city in mist and ruling it. In part, the White Prince may have inspired this.
Astarion:ย Everything lies ahead. I can see my path to a waking dream.
Astarion:ย From the crimson palace, I will govern day and night. Create a city of spawn who bow before me, cast a fog over the world for my children.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_BlackMassFollowUp
When Astarion takes control of the Absolute, he chooses to become the Sun King regardless of the outcome of his personal quest, he offers the city up as a feast for vampires.
Synopsis: Asrarion's evil ending, in which he plunges the city into darkness and gives it over to his vampire spawn.
\END_BrainBattle_FinalDecision_Nested_EvilAstarion
It is important to remember that Astarion wanted to rule this city even when he was still a mortal elf, that is why he was a magistrate.
Astarion is clearly proud to call himself a magistrate of the Upper City. He tries to remain noble in many ways.
Cazador believed he was meant to be a worm and his servant, Astarion knew who he really was and wouldn't let that go.
And, of course, he remembers quite a bit.
In his origin ending as the Sun King, he specifically recalls his past as a magistrate - not the figure of a Vampire King.
Narrator: It's been a long time since you stood in judgement over others, holding their lives in your hands. But after everything you've done, doesn't this feel right?
.
Player:ย Infuse yourself with the power of the Absolute - become the ruler you were destined to be. REALLY_ASTARION
(This line is also exclusive to Astarion Origin)
\END_BrainBattle_FinalDecision_Nested_EvilAvatar
There are two parts to his triumph.
The first is the restoration of his status, quality of life, wealth, and overall elevation, the return of the sensations and very feeling of being alive - the world of mortals
The second already belongs to the world he long inhabited - these are the powers of vampires, mists, wolves, bats, and his coven - the world of immortals.
The Pale Knight is mentioned as part of the world of the immortals, where he is now one of the most powerful beings.
Being the ruler of his own coven is a desire that Astarion has expressed.
I think this is a rather deep desire of his, one he is in no hurry to share in full detail with someone he has known for less than a month in Act 1. That is why it is only a brief explanation of what will happen if he drinks Cazadorโs blood.
Astarion:ย In theory, the next step is to drink their blood. Once you've done that, you're free and a true vampire.
Player:ย You'd have to drink Cazador's blood to be free?
Astarion:ย Free and a true vampire, capable of creating my own coven? Yes.
Astarion:ย Although I'd settle for just killing the bastard. I wouldn't be a 'true' vampire, but I'd be free of him.
\Astarion_InParty2
That hand gesture at the moment he says "my coven" - his body language shows that heโs excited by the idea.
An open, proud posture, with sweeping movements, reveals his most striking, free side.
And then he seems to snap himself back, clenching his fists. Although this also conveys confidence, by clenching his fists, heโs as if holding onto that idea - "yes".
Then Astarion shifts the topic to the victory over Cazador.
Even his voice shifts to "although", with a slight sigh-laugh, "well, that's already a lot". He obviously considers this a safer request to voice to his companions.
When Astarion learns of the tadpole's power (though he doesn't know the consequences of turning into a tentacled thing), he isn't just talking about his own personal freedom - he's talking about that he could be the most powerful vampire in the realm. Astarion says this as a statement of fact, and he's so proud of it.
It's clear what the focus of his thinking is here - the most powerful vampire. He's into this idea.
Player:ย It sounds like you're enjoying it.
Astarion:ย What's not to enjoy? I can walk in sunlight, trespass upon any home, manipulate minds - I'm the most powerful vampire in the Realms!
.
Astarion:ย Oh don't be so glum. Look at the power it's bringing us.
Astarion:ย I can walk in sunlight, trespass upon any home, manipulate minds - there isn't another vampire in the Realms like me!
\Astarion_InParty2
The way Astarion talks about the abilities of vampires clearly shows his admiration for these powers.
Astarion:ย Do you know the power a vampire lord possesses?
Astarion:ย He can change shape; turn into mist; call wolves to do his bidding; shrug off blows like they're nothing.
\Astarion_InParty2
He certainly makes it clear that the threat is significant. However, his tone, the way he describes it, and other aspects of how he speaks about vampire powers, his coven reveal his attitude toward vampire things as a whole.
Astarion is fascinated by the powers of true vampires.
Admiration he voices in the moments right after his ascension
...the crows in the night above!
Astarion:ย You probably expect me to turn into a sea of mist, run wrongside-up on roofs, and to call on legions of wolves in battle.
Astarion:ย That will all happen in due time. But for now, patience is required. I hear the whispers of the night, but I can't yet speak its language.
Astarion:ย It's going to take a while to become acquainted with my new self.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_BlackMassFollowUp
Mists and legions of wolves. I wonder how much he thought about it omg
Astarion really does start by learning to turn into mist rather than a bat. He really loves that mist thing.
By the final battle, heโs already able to summon his legions.
Minthara:ย Lord Astarion, unleash your nocturnal servants!
Jaheira:ย Come then, Astarion - introduce us to your new friends!
Gale:ย Lord Astarion, the armies of the undying must join this fight
Astarion: Come, my unholy minions - fight for your master!
Synopsis: PAD when you summon Vampire Lord Astarion's 'Army of the Dead', including Skeletons, Werewolves, and Shadow Creatures.
\END_GatherYourAllies_AD_PlayerSummonVampireAlly
Astarion:ย My children! What a beautiful sight.
\END_GatherYourAllies_AD_AstarionSummonResponse
What style of leadership does Astarion choose when he becomes a man of influence once again?
In Faerรปn, a vampire coven in a large city is a parasitic thing.
Telling mortals how Astarion would like to rule his own coven and, I donโt know, build secret passages and taverns for kidnapping people is not something you tell companions whose help you are counting on. He reveals this only after he has already become a Lord.
Astarion:ย Look at this place. From a symbol of the city's power and grandeur to a brain-infested husk.
Astarion:ย Maybe I should help fund the repairs when this is all over. It would be the civic-minded thing to do.
Astarion:ย And it means we could install secret tunnels, spy holes, maybe even a murder pit. Everything we'd need to rule from the shadows.
\Astarion_InPartyEND
Mortals without exception would all like to get rid of this cluster of leeches.
In her prime, Jaheira burned vampire spawn in the square.
Astarion:ย Cazador always warned us to stay clear of this neighbourhood. Never said why, though.
Jaheira:ย The last spawn who tried was sunk into the cobblestones and left for the sun to find. I had an unfortunate taste for theatrics, in my youth.
Astarion:ย Ah. Yes, that was probably it.
\PB_Astarion_Jaheira_OskarsBeloved
But vampires exist one way or another wherever there are people. Big cities will sooner or later acquire a new parasite. Cities are teeming with vampire clans with whom Cazador corresponded.
Mrel Alkam is the Master of the clan that now rules in Athkatla.
In Baldur's Gate 2 (Sep 21, 2000), the city was ruled by Bodhi's clan.
Mistress Bodhi - clan leader, an elven vampire, and sister of John Arenicus.
In the ending, the heroes destroy this vampire clan. It's unknown whether Mrel is from that same clan, but the fact remains - vampires once again lurk in the shadows of Athkatla.
It is only a matter of time before vampires learn about the unguarded blood. Thirty or fifty years will pass, and the vampires will wait for the right moment to claim their prey. Especially such a tasty morsel as Baldurโs Gate.
Therefore, Jaheira accepts Lord Astarion as a new, unavoidable neighbor, whose appetite she will keep an eye on.
If Astarion saw the story of the Pale Knight, it rather showed him what even more grandiose things a vampire is capable of.
Even if he had only read about him, it clearly made an impression on him. Although Astarionโs ambitions and desire for high status existed long before that.
The Pale Knight died trying to become a king with a crown and a throne. Grotash, too, he was very well known.
If Astarion possesses the power of the Absolute, he becomes the clear ruler, carrying out his plan to cover the city in fog. There is no reason to hold back.
Being a bright leader isn't something Astarion would avoid if he had the chance. However, as Lord he's choosing not to rush.
Astarion also prefers to rule from the shadows, as this is exactly what he talks about with Tav. In the romance, it also depends on the Tavs - how bloodthirsty they are. If so, then he's not really against it.
Narrator:ย *Power that is now fully unleashed and yours to command. All you have to do is decide what you're doing with it.*
Player:ย Well, obviously I'm going to rule Baldur's Gate. What else?
Narrator:ย *You picture the city, its politics and power structures, its beating heart. It would be so easy to bite into it and make it your own.*
Narrator:ย *Not to rule as a tyrant, of course. You don't need a throne - you can rule quietly from the shadows.*
Narrator:ย *Although... you wouldn't say 'no' to a throne. But not yet.*
Narrator:ย *There's no need to rush things after all - you have an eternity to play with. And you're going to have someย fun.*
\END_GameFinale_SoloFates_Astarion
Astarion Origin emphasizes that he knows this city, its politics, and its power structures very well - these are the things that interest him.
Having become a Lord, Astarion feels comfortable ruling from the shadows. The art he knew and had embraced - the art of the rogueโs invisibility.
Astarion:ย Oh I wouldn't say 'ruler', any old fool can sit on a throne. I would be more of a... puppet master?
Astarion:ย For all my freedom to walk in the sun, it's still much more fun to pull the strings of power from the shadows.
\EPI_Epilogue_Astarion_Lord
Astarionโs simping over the Pale Knight requires more exploration.
Ravenloft is a gothic horror setting in Dungeons & Dragons centered around the vampire Strahd von Zarovich and set in the land of Barovia. The setting takes its name from Castle Ravenloft, Strahd's castle overlooking the valley.
All of this exists within the Plane of Shadow, also known as the Shadowfell, created by the goddess Shar.
The Shadowfell contains its own demiplanes.
Barovia is one such demiplane - a Domain of Dread, created by the Dark Powers.
People from Faerรปn can be drawn into this place if the Mists will it.
The first mention of Barovia in BG3 is right in the character editor.
Piercing Style: Barovia Fangs
This article covers every reference to the Ravenloft setting in Baldur's Gate 3 that I could find.
Contents:
โ The Way to Barovia
โ Who Has Been to Barovia?
โ References in Baldur's Gate 3
- Character Dialogue
- Books
- Vistani ยท Gur people
- Weapons
The second part examines a likely Ravenloft Easter egg. Identifying it requires comparing the transformation of a mortal into a vampire in Forgotten Realms lore, Baldur's Gate 3, and Ravenloft.
This will be a detailed analysis, including an overview of how vampire lore has evolved throughout the history of Dungeons & Dragons.
The Way to Barovia
The Mists - and the few who know their hidden paths - are what connect the Forgotten Realms to Barovia. This passage can appear anywhere.
Once, the Mists revealed a way to Barovia near the Misty Forest, close to Daggerford.
Werewolves began appearing in the surrounding villages, leaving destruction in their wake.
This serves as one of the official adventure hooks in Curse of Strahd, released on March 15, 2016.
Following the werewolves' trail, the characters enter the Misty Forest, where the Mists envelop them and carry them into Barovia.
This location lies approximately 420 km (260 miles) from Baldurโs Gate.
For comparison, the distance from London to Edinburgh is about 530 km. A closer equivalent would be the distance from central London to Dublin - around 460 km.
Who Has Been to Barovia?
Once, some of the heroes we meet in BG3 have visited Barovia
The Heroes of Baldur's Gate - adventuring company, including Minsc, were trapped in the Demiplane of Dread.
Their adventure is told in Shadows of the Vampire a series of Dungeons & Dragons comic book.
MINSC AND BOO ARE BACK and things have never looked more dire, as mysterious forces draw the legendary ranger and his crew of adventurers to RAVENLOFT, the Realm of Terrorโฆ where they find themselves face to face with undead horrors in the land of eternal night!
Released: May 2016 - October 2016
Travel Talk: Ravenloft
A visit to Barovia by Volothamp Geddarm (as told to, and set down by, long-suffering scribe Ed Greenwood).
Elminster Aumar is also mentioned, having prepared Volo for the journeyand gave him a way back to Faerรปn.
Dragon+ย issue 6
Released: February 18, 2016
Review of Contents
Dragon+ - an official digital magazine featuring lore, interviews, and short articles. Was published from 2015 to 2022
References in Baldur's Gate 3
Astarion mentions Strahd von Zarovich
As far as we know, Astarion never visited Barovia, yet he certainly knows of Strahd von Zarovich.
He casually drops Strahd's name if the player clicks on his portrait too many times. Strahd would hardly tolerate such incessant poking, so be grateful for Astarion's patience.
The second mention of Strahd was probably in the book:
"The True and Impossible Adventures of Tenebrux Morrow, Vol. 3"
The adventures of Tenebrux Morrow, who visited Barovia and met a man, who appeared as a shadow, whose teeth did not prevent him from being an excellent storyteller.
The Vistani are the ones who know the paths leading to Barovia best.
The Gur people are considered the Faerรปnian equivalent of the Vistani.
DDAL4-01 Suits of the Mists (5e)
The Darklord D&D Adventurers League by Greg Marks, July 5 2016
There was some information like that in an earlier adventure:
DDAL04-04 The Marionette (5e)
The Marionette D&D Adventurers League by Robert Alaniz, April 5 2016
The Gur may consider themselves distinct from the Vistani.
But in the adventure "The Darklord", they are referred to as equivalents, and Sybil is already called Vistani.
There are differences between them. But apparently, they aren't that significant for the canon, considering that she's called by both names.
The Vistani have an innate, supernatural connection to the Mists. This manifests as their ability to travel freely between domains, as well as their affinity for prophecy and curse-based magic.
The Gur, as a people of Faerรปn, do not share this innate bond. Their mystical practices are cultural in nature, and the presence of magical ability depends entirely on the individual.
Sibyl possessed second sight, which became significantly stronger after she entered Barovia. Canonically, it is not definitively known whether this is connected to her being Gur.
She also has a tougher time finding her path through the mist.
Once, the Vistani were spotted near Daggerford, located close to the Misty Forest.
Curse Of Strahd, p. 19
Released: March 15, 2016
Mentions of Vistani in BG3
"A Modest Guide to Sword Coast Wine"
A sommelier's guide to wines found along the Sword Coast. It extols the virtues of Berduskan Dark and Arabellan Dry, the sinuous fruity flavours of ruby-red Elverquisst, the throat-slamming notes of Red Dragon Crush snatched from the hands of charming Vistani tradesfolk, Thayan vintages as richly hued as the robes of their Red Wizards, pale Saerloonian Glowfire, and it praises these with the same vigour that it declaims the inferior mulled wines such as Zzar and Daggerford Clarry, which the author claims are as suitably for consumption as 'bugbear taint.'
Red Dragon Crush is a wine from Barovia.
The wine was rated as superior and mentioned several times as a fine wine.
Curse Of Strahd p. 173
Notes on the Gur people in BG3
"The Approachable East, Vol. 3" and "Chronicles of the Gur People"
Ravenloft is referenced through weapons
Hellrider Longbow
This longbow was forged from the remnants of Stanislav the Silver's shield, found near the wreckage ofย โฏCastle Ravenloftย some years ago.
The Impaler
The Spear wasn't in the final release. It can only be added via a mod or Script Extender.
This impaling pole of enchanted steel was commissioned as part of a set by Strahd von Zarovich, who presented the weapons to his honour guard one cold morning.
A reference to vampire rituals
The player character's unique in-game vampiric transformation, rather than the standard creation of a vampire spawn, prompted a search for deeper vampire lore in D&D.
The most intriguing reference is the popular explanation of this transformation known as the Bride Theory.
The Astarion fandom recognized these parallels long ago. Here is one of the earliest shorts, posted in October 2023, if you'd like to take a quick look.
Identifying this reference requires a closer look at where the story deviates from DnD5 lore and where it instead mirrors older vampire lore.
Unlike the references above, this is not a direct mention of a name or place, but a difference in how events unfold, requiring a more detailed analysis.
I'll refer to the player character as PC and Tav, this also applies to Dark Urge.
The total length of the article, including numerous citations, is 35 pages. And that's the biggest part. This is a huge collection of vampire lore. You have been warned.
This theory rests on two main pillars.
First, the character's transformation differs markedly from both D&D 5e Forgotten Realms lore and the internal canon of BG3 - the lore of Vampires in Toril.
This will be analyzed in Part 1.
This part includes a section on Astarion, whose behavior and dialogue provide information about player's character vampirism.
Second, it shares notable similarities with the process of creating a vampire bride or groom in older FR and Ravenloft lore - the lore of vampires linked to Domain of Dread.
This will be analyzed in Part 2.
Part 1.
Forgotten Realms DnD5 and BG3: Turning a Mortal into a Vampire
The vampire is one of the earliest monsters in D&D. Its first mention dates back to 1974 in the Dungeons & Dragons "White Box" set.
The first in-depth vampire rules, including the process of transformation, debuted in the Monster Manual (1977, 1st edition, p. 99)
Any human or humanoid drained of all life energy by a vampire becomes on appropriately sirengthed vampire under control of its slayer. This transformation lakes place I day after the creature is buried, but if and only if the creature is buried.
Like the vampires themselves, the part about burial is a classic step in the transformation into a vampire, taken from real-world folklore.
The process of turning a mortal into a vampire spawn, and a spawn into a true vampire, is described in the D&D 5th Edition rules upon which Baldur's Gate 3 was built.
The official D&D Beyond article "Playing As a Vampire in D&D" describes this in great detail.
Monster Manual 5e, 2014
Sep 30, 2014
Vampires p. 295-298
Strahd von Zarovich and his backstory are referenced in the MM.
Monster Manual 5.5e
18 Feb, 2025
Vampires p.314-318
In this MM there is a quote from Astarion.
Several core elements of the transformation process remain consistent across the various editions.
Each step will be examined separately and compared with Baldur's Gate 3:
The vampire kills the mortal.
The body is buried in a grave or beneath the earth.
The newly created vampire spawn awakens at the following sunset.
The vampire spawn is completely under the control of its creator.
The creator's blood transforms the spawn into a true vampire.
Burying underground and remain in the grave until the following sunset
How buried do you have to be? Six feet deep? What about one foot deep? Does mud count? Do you need a coffin?
TL;DR,ย the next step to vamping out is getting buried under at least one foot of soil and left to marinate for 24 hours.
DnD Beyond article
This step has been consistently described in every new edition of the MM.
Astarion describes his own transformation into a vampire few times, mentioning being buried.
We'll find out where his grave is and go take a look, and then we have other important things to do with Astarion.
Astarion:ย Nearly two hundred years and I never came back. Not since the night I woke up down there.
Astarion:ย I had to punch a hole in the coffin and claw my way through six feet of dirt.
\CAMP_Astarion_SD_ROM_BlackMassAftermath
Romance scene Ascended Astarion
The Beginning of Tav's Transformation
Scene occurs entirely indoors. It concludes with Astarion drinking from Tav, followed by a fade to black. The next shot shows Tav waking up in camp during daylight.
Tavโs transformation began at night, but the game does not specify the exact time they woke up.
There is no mention of burial at all.
Tav never comments on having been buried.
The burial is absent.
The character does not rise from a grave or from the ground.
Under standard D&D rules, this step is required for a creature to become a vampire spawn.
What can be done about this inconsistency with the rules?
Here are three possible approaches:
1 - Future canon clarification - It will be stated that the burial did occur off-screen. In this version, Astarion dug them up shortly before they woke up. Tav has no memory of the burial process itself (or doesn't really care). Astarion carefully removed any traces of dirt, wiped Tav down with a damp cloth if needed, and placed them in a clean bed.
The time of their awakening will also be clarified as sunset.
2 - Rewrite the scene - Tav remembers the entire process and can comment on it. The time will also be specified.
3 - Official explanation - It will be confirmed and explained why burial was not necessary for Tavโs specific transformation.
The exact time of their rising will also be treated as unimportant.
Transformation of body and mind - Dark Desires
The vampire completely takes the personโs life - both their body and their mind. Upon awakening as undead, the victimโs body and consciousness are transformed, along with their entire perception of the world.
A vampireโs consciousness is reborn with new Dark Desires. These Dark Desires are common to all vampires, as they are an inherent part of the vampiric curse.
The fact that vampirism may affect vampire spawn to a lesser degree is not specified in the lore.
This is described in the general "Vampires" chapter of the 5E Monster Manual, which covers the traits of both vampire spawn and true vampires together.
Dark Desires are not exclusive to true vampires.
Looking at past lore, vampire spawn have always embodied these Dark Desires - they are arrogant, power-hungry, and corrupt. Their evil alignment is intrinsic, unlike drow, whose alignment now depends entirely on the individual.
Evil is the very nature of anyone with vampirism.
Only Slight Pain Mentioned - Pleasure is Emphasized
The process of becoming a vampire is inherently painful, as it involves the vampire depriving the victim of their life force or draining their blood, and killing them with a fatal bite.
In BG3, Astarion describes his own as painful.
The player learns this if they talk to him about accepting an astral tadpole.
Astarion: I remember how it hurt when I turned to a vampire. My body writhed and warped while I was utterly helpless, the grip of death owned my heart as it beat its last.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_PartialCeremorph
The wording and context of the conversation make it clear that Astarion is referring to the transformation process itself. While being bitten and killed by Cazador was undoubtedly agonizing, the line - "My body writhed and warped" directly refers to the changes of becoming a vampire, not just the act of being murdered.
Astarion remembers the event clearly, and it was very painful.
In contrast, Astarion describes Tavโs transformation as a mix of pleasure and delirium. He states that it begins with a bit of pain, it is soon overtaken by pleasure far greater than the pain.
Astarion:ย Tonight, I shall drink every drop of your blood.
Own your body, kill your mind. It will only hurt a bit, the pleasure will be far greater than the pain.
\CAMP_Astarion_SD_ROM_BlackMassAftermath
Player:ย What exactlyย happened?
Astarion:ย You were drained dry, and at the height of your delirium, I granted youย one dropย of my own blood.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_BlackMassFollowUp
Astarion is in a particularly florid mood here, choosing an unusually elaborate word.
Delirium can be used as a medical term describing a specific state of acute confusion. The term was introduced into medical literature by the 1st-century Roman encyclopedist and today refers to an altered mental state associated with trauma, intoxication, withdrawal, or neurocognitive disorders.
Outside of its medical meaning, the word takes on more free meanings.
Delirium
Dictionaries define it as violent excitement, a state of wildly excited activity or emotion, aย stateย ofย extremeย excitementย orย happiness
"โฆ he would stride about his room in aย deliriumย of joy". - Thomas Wolfe
โThe thrill, the madย deliriumย of being free is beyond description.โ
In the case of Astarion, the general definition applies
Astarion previously described the process as a great pleasure.
Among the synonyms of delirium in its ordinary sense are passion, ecstasy, and euphoria.
Looking at Tavโs question, it can be assumed that they do not remember the pleasure - or the pain.
If the pain had been intense and clearly remembered, the question would likely not have carried such an uncertain tone.
The way the question is phrased also suggests that Tav doesnโt remember the event very well, which is why Astarion decides to describe the process.
However, Tav may remember, but they still want to know exact details of what happened while still retaining their memory of the event.
Astarionโs response appears to confirm that what he describes matches what Tav experienced, leaving no further questions.
This aspect of the pain and pleasure of the turning is not fully explored in D&D.
D&D rules do not specify whether the mortal experiences pain during the act of becoming a vampire spawn itself. Or while the person lies in the grave.
What is mentioned is the pain and agony of hunger that the newly risen immortal feels upon awakening.
While older vampire lore may provide some answers, D&D 5.5 has not explored these aspects in depth. In contrast to the clearly defined part of the burial.
The fact: in lore is no mention at all of pleasure in the ordinary process of transformation.
These unique aspects of Tavโs transformation are immediately noticeable. It is worth remembering, as these points will serve as an addition to a broader topic, further confirming how unusual the events in question are.
The more noteworthy element is blood, which holds huge significance for vampires - especially the blood of a creator in relation to their creation.
๐ฉธBlood and True vampirism
The rule allowing a vampire spawn to become a true vampire by drinking its creator's blood was first introduced in the 2014 Monster Manual (5e).
Ifย aย trueย vampireย allowsย aย spawnย toย drawย bloodย fromย itsย ownย body,ย theย spawnย transformsย intoย aย trueย vampireย noย longerย underย itsย master'sย control. Fewย vampiresย are willing to relinquish theirย controlย in this manner.
True vampires do not give their blood to vampire spawn. Astarion mentions this in Act 1.
Player:ย How does someone become a vampire, exactly?
Astarion:ย It's simple. Just find a vampire that will drink your blood and turn you into a vampire spawn: their obedient puppet.
Astarion:ย In theory, the next step is to drink their blood. Once you've done that, you're free and a true vampire.
.
Player:ย So they bite you, you bite them?
Astarion:ย Yes and no. The problem is once you're a vampire spawn, they completely control you. They have toย allowย you to bite them.
Astarion:ย And why would they do that? Vampires are power-hungry creatures. They won't lose a servant to create a competitor.
Astarion:ย Trust me. It doesn't happen.
.
Player:ย You'd have to drink Cazador's blood to be free?
Astarion:ย Free and a true vampire, capable of creating my own coven? Yes.
Astarion:ย Although I'd settle for just killing the bastard. I wouldn't be a 'true' vampire, but I'd be free of him.
\Astarion_InParty2
Notice the way he emphasizes it and clarification:
Will you be free? -> Free and a true vampire with his own coven.
The problem is that true vampires control their vampire spawn. Astarion was unable not only to harm Cazador, but also to drink the blood of thinking creatures. Only if Cazador had allowed it could Astarion have drunk his blood and become a true vampire.
With the tadpole, however, the master's control over his vampire spawn was broken - an unprecedented situation for vampires.
Astarion can now drink the blood of thinking creatures. He can harm Cazador. He can drink Cazador's blood.
He no longer needs his master's permission.
Drink Cazador's blood โ Become free and a true vampire.
What happens when Tav is turned into a vampire?
๐ฉธAstarion gives a drop of his blood
The developers use italics for emphasis - one drop. Italics serve multiple purposes: emotional focus, highlighting key words, drawing attention to narrative emphasis, and signaling elements the player is meant to notice.
In the PC's line, the word "happened" is also italicized. So there are two words in italics: happened โ one drop
In Patch 8, when the line "my own blood" is spoken, the camera zooms in for a close-up of the face, which also emphasizes the moment.
Player:ย What exactlyย happened?
Astarion:ย You were drained dry, and at the height of your delirium, I granted youย one dropย of my own blood.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_BlackMassFollowUp
Why did Astarion give Tav a drop of his own blood? It isnโt necessary to create a vampire spawn.
The following line offers explanation - that this was a way to pass on Mephistophelesโ blessing.
Astarion:ย Things will be a touch different for you than they were for me when I was a spawn.
Astarion:ย I'm imbibed with unfathomable new talents. I am fairly certain I can extend Mephistopheles' blessings unto you.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_BlackMassFollowUp
The effect of the blood on the character is unambiguous: there is no sun burning after the tadpole is removed.
Tav still eats normal food, does not recall sanguine hunger, and reflects in mirrors - things that Astarion, as a vampire spawn, still experiences despite the tadpole.
Among the manifestations of vampirism, the character gains a vampire bite. Companions note changes in appearance. Certain hazards that do not affect undead creatures have no effect on the Tav.
Another point regarding blood:
Player:ย Will you still drink my blood?
Astarion:ย Of course I will, and you'll drink mine. I can't wait to taste your lips after you've tasted me.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_PartneredWithAstarion
Astarion casually says that they will drink each otherโs blood.
There is an interpretation/homebrew reading of this rule.
A vampire spawn may drink the blood of the creator vampire while remaining a spawn. In this case, the vampire allows the vampire spawn to drink their blood, while their will prevents the vampire spawn from turning into a true vampire. This becomes an act of feeding and enjoyment.
There is no confirmation of this interpretation in canon.
There is no information that vampire spawn can drink offered blood from their creator while remaining spawn, either during the transformation or afterward.
In lore, drinking the vampire creatorโs blood by their creation is possible in limited cases.
First, in the Forgotten Realms DnD5e, is the transformation of a vampire spawn into a true vampire.
The amount of blood is not specified.
This is the only new confirmed lore DnD5 at the moment.
The Rule of Blood is explained in greater detail in this article.
Vampires have different reasons for refusing to grant true vampirism.
Likewise, lore offers various reasons for sharing their blood: as a reward or out of remembrance of a loved one from mortal life.
They are individuals with their own distinct personalities.
As the older lore put it, what is acceptable to one vampire may be completely unacceptable to another. That perspective remains true in D&D 5e as well.
All vampires begin their journey under the control of the vampire who sired them. However, if a vampire lets their progeny drink blood from their own body, their spawn will be given free will. Very few vampires choose to give up control of their spawn like this, and for good reason. Most vampires are control freaks, and see their spawn as mere extensions of their will. But other, more ethical vampires may exert this control to reign in their fledgling spawnโs blood lust, choosing to free their spawn once they understand the subtle and dangerous line they must walk between the living and the dead.
Note the wording here is very specific; the true vampire mustย allowย their spawn to draw and drink their blood in order toย relinquishย their control over them in that manner.
The only other way a vampire spawn can achieve free will is if their master dies. So if youโre playing a vampire spawn, and you want out from under the thumb of your master, you need to either find a way to kill them (good luck, considering they have total control over you) or somehow convince them to give up their control over you. This is no easy feat.
If you are playing a vampire that has agency, you and/or your DM should have a clear reason as to why you were granted such a gift by your creator. Maybe you reminded them of a loved one from their mortal life, or perhaps you carried out a deed for them and were granted this as a reward.
By agreeing to give their blood, the vampire is already agreeing to the transformation, blood is the key to becoming a true vampire.
To do that, he would have needed permission to approach and take the key. Astarion, with the tadpole, doesn't need that permission.
This is why he talks about becoming a true vampire in Act 1.
Later, his focus shifts.
There's also no mention that anything went wrong with true vampirism. Unfortunately, the topic is never brought up again.
Moreover, Astarion never talks about becoming human again at all.
It's a pity that the subject of true vampirism is never explored further game content.
It is possible that the true vampirism in Astarion's story will be explored in greater detail in future canon - whether in prequels, sequels, or other supplementary content.
If any future material provides information significant enough to warrant inclusion, a link to it will be added here.
Additionally, Ed Greenwood shared information about blood and how one can become a true vampire during one of his BG3 streams - 1:37:02
A vampire spawn can become a true vampire if their master dies. It is a difficult task that requires magic and luck, but it is possible.
They can only turn into true vampires if their master allows them to drink their blood - normally.
There are many other ways they can become a true vampire, particularly if the master dies. They'll have to use those other ways, but they're not easy. They have to go do stuff and find people and get magic. It's not easy.
This would be the kind of adventure that would be interesting to see with Astarion if he never became an ascended vampire.
To sum up:
Under the rules, only and specifically blood is already stated as the trigger for transformation.
Permission to drink the blood - not permission to become a true vampire.
And the blood that a vampire spawn normally cannot obtain without permission.
If the vampire-creatorโs intent regarding the outcome of blood drinking were required for turning a vampire spawn into a true vampire, it would have been explicitly stated in the rules as an important part of the lore.
With this clarification, the focus of the rule shifted from blood to intent regarding the outcome - so without intent, blood means nothing to true vampirism.
At present, no such clarification exists.
Even the smallest drop - from the little finger, taken with the finest needle in Baldurโs Gate, given by the creator to their vampire spawn - would turn them into a true vampire.
Astarion allows the player character to drink his blood.
According to these rules, the player character is a true vampire
As you can see, blood is quite a topic when it comes to vampires. The developers of Baldurโs Gate 3 further emphasize this.
So what is happening in the canon of Baldurโs Gate 3?
If this transformation was Larianโs homebrew, it should have been explained more clearly - through notes or in a conversation with Gale.
Since Astarion is now an official D&D Forgotten Realms character, the unusual way he turns Tav could be addressed in future canon. It may be explained, reworked, or expanded to better fit established D&D rules.
In the game Tav is repeatedly called vampire spawn by Astarion and other characters.
Astarionโs behavior in certain situations can serve as indirect hints about the true nature of Tavโs vampirism.
This section is intended to illustrate how strongly motivated Astarion may be to withhold true vampirism from Tav and to keep certain aspects of it hidden from them.
Astarion is a character who frequently lies and manipulates, his reactions and behavior can vary significantly depending on the circumstances. Tavโs own responses, questions, and the overall context of the conversation also have considerable variability.
This section is quite variable-dependent and contains many branching details, which does not perfectly align with the style of an article focused on core lore comparisons and references. Therefore, only the main conclusions will be presented here.
โ Astarion refers to Tavโs transformation as becoming his vampire spawn.
โ Astarion views Tavโs vampirism primarily as a way for them to be together forever. Tav was his forever, and with him, together.
Astarion:ย That's what you want, isn't it? To be mine? Forever?
.
Astarion:ย We could be together for eternity, ruling this world side by side. We could have it all.
.
Player:ย What if I don't want forever?
Astarion:ย What's not to want? We could be together for all time.
Player:ย I don't want this after all.
Astarion:ย It seems I misjudged you. I thought we might have a future together - even an eternity - but perhaps you're not worthy.
Astarion:ย So. What's it to be, darling? Is this it?
Player:ย I hope we can work things out and stay together.
Astarion:ย Of course we can. You're the one that I want - the one that I love.
Astarion:ย And you could be so much more, if you want it. One little bite and you could be mine forever.
\CAMP_Astarion_SD_ROM_BlackMassAftermath
Astarion:ย Aeterna amantes.ย Lovers forever, until the world falls down.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_PartneredWithAstarion
Astarion:ย You can't want to go already. Enjoy tonight, celebrate with our sweet friends.
Astarion:ย And when you're done, we can get back to enjoying forever together.
\EPI_Epilogue_Astarion_Lord
Astarion:ย Then we'll do it tonight. And come the morning, we will be together forever.
\END_GameFinale_ROM_RomanceFates_Astarion
โ Astarion consistently states that becoming a true vampire will only happen with time.
Player:ย Spawn? I want to be a true vampire.
Astarion:ย And you will! All in good time.
Astarion:ย But we mustn't rush these things. You may need time to adjust.
\CAMP_Astarion_SD_ROM_BlackMassAftermath
When the transformation scene is skipped, the final devnote indicates that Astarion has no plans to turn Tav into a true vampire in the near future.
Player:ย I want to live forever. Make me a vampire.
Astarion:ย My sweet, I thought you'd never ask.
Astarion:ย Of course, you will be a spawn before you can become a true vampire, but that's a small detail.
Player:ย And you promise you'll make me a full vampire soon?
Astarion:ย My darling, of course! I want nothing more. devnote [NodeContext: overly sincere - he doesn't really mean it]
\END_GameFinale_ROM_RomanceFates_Astarion
โ In-game tags
ORI_Astarion_Event_TurnIntoSpawn
The tag first appears during the transformation scene, right before the screen fades to black, on the narratorโs line:
"As he drinks more and more, you feel yourself fading from consciousness. When you wake again, you will be his forever more".
The tag later appears in the following situations:
During Karlach's conversation, when she bluntly suggests that Astarion might need to be killed. The tag is attached to a line where the player character responds protectively toward Astarion.
In the ending, where Astarion describes himself and his lover as the most powerful people in the world.
If the turning scene was skipped and the PC chooses to become a vampire in the ending.
Astarion_InParty_Asked_BecameConsort
Its description also states that the PC has become a vampire spawn
โ Astarion's vampiric control over Tav is never shown in the game.
Only his emotional influence and persuasion.
Even if Tav chooses to become an illithid, Astarion never attempts to control them. Astarion strongly asks them listen to him and abandon this decision. I have a separate analysis for this part, including his body language.
Cazador actively attempts to control Astarion despite the tadpole in his head. He stops Astarion's raised fist, reminding him that he is his creator. While there are reasons to believe this could simply be magic, the context of the conversation strongly suggests that it is vampiric control.
โ Devnote in Karlach Origin during the transformation scene:
Player:ย Be careful, Astarion. My engine is runningย soย hot. I won't be able to control it.
Astarion:ย Hush love, it's all right. You don't have to worry.
Astarion:ย Forget about your engine. Forget about control. I'll take care ofย everything. devnote [NodeContext: trying to reassure Karlach, while thinking of how he's going to have control of her soon]
This line appears only in Karlach's Origin.
When the transformation fails, it reminds Astarion that he is still powerless in this regard, even now. The failure triggers his anger in a way that close to his reaction to Karlach in Act 1, when he didn't know what to do with her and lashed out by blaming her instead.
If the this scene is skipped, Astarion goes to Avernus with Karlach in the ending to help her repair her engine.
This route also has its own unique epilogue while their romance remains intact.
This ending path is fairly difficult to access, I believe.
It was planned for Karlach's Origin from Realese and was fully implemented in Patch 5.
Astarion:ย And? Enjoying our little break from the Hells?
Player:ย Somewhat, but I'm itching to get back.
Astarion:ย An understandable urge. This place is dull by comparison, but...
Astarion:ย I admit, I do miss the luxuries of this plane. What I wouldn't give for a silk bed...
Astarion:ย But don't fear, we'll have that engine of yours fixed before you know it. And then we can return in all our glory.
\EPI_Epilogue_Astarion_Lord
The next point directly undermines the interpretation that Astarion performs the transformation in order to gain control over Karlach\Tav.
No one who is obsessed with controlling someone would actively help them obtain the most powerful weapon imaginable - and then celebrate when they succeed.
No one, and not Astarian either.
Given this, "have control of her" here likely leans closer to "I'll finally be able to hold her, touch her, without fear", help relieve the affliction she herself can't control - control in the sense of physically handling her body, not control in the sense of power over her decisions or personhood.
โ Vampiric control over Tav is not what Astarion is interested in
Any supposed desire for vampiric control over Tav would become irrelevant the moment Tav takes the power of the Absolute for themselves - something Astarion actively encourages.
He is confident that they are on the same side and that they will remain together. Control over Tav is not the primary cause why Astarion delays, or has no intention of granting Tav true vampirism.
Astarion brings up control of the Absolute during discussions about Tav's vampirism because that is what he envisions for their future. It reflects his intentions for the life he plans to share with Tav, one in which controlling them holds no significance for him.
Player:ย The tadpole complicates things.
Astarion:ย Exactly what symptoms of vampirism are going to manifest in you... well, we'll have to see what hand the tadpole has in suppressing them, when we wrangle it under our command.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_BlackMassFollowUp
This has been present since release. The Absolute ending was later expanded, and the script describing Lord Astarion's thoughts can also be found here.
"VOContext" [Vampire Lord Astarion]
"logicalname" "ASTARION EVIL ROMANCE"
[Vampire Lord Astarion] The avatar just kissed you. You're marvelling at the big, evil future you two have ahead of you.
โ Hierarchy
Another possible motivation is Astarion's desire to keep Tav/Durge as a vampire spawn in order to remain above them in the hierarchy.
Astarion clearly enjoys being the one in charge, and the Ascended ending makes that aspect of his personality especially apparent.
At the same time, the player's possession of the Absolute's power blurs any traditional vampire hierarchy to a significant degree. Not that Astarion seems particularly concerned about that.
โ A breakup is a painful for Astarion in every ending
Spawn Astarion, who has been waiting for confirmation of the relationship, breaks down, devaluing his path of redemption as a sacrifice made for Tav.
If seven thousand vampire spawns are free, he threatens Tav with their hungry mouths if Tav decides to approach him.
If the relationship is confirmed, Astarion admits that he does not want to let go of the love he has found. Tthis is clearly shown in another ending where he has the option to do so.
For Spawn Astarion, the ending's breakup branch is ignored despite the romance and the important graveyard scene with Tav.
Astarion in the Ascension path has already received consent for an eternal future together. There is no uncertainty for him about what they are to each other or their shared future, he thinks only about how they will spend their time.
If Tav, now a vampire, attempts to break up with him, they remain with Astarion. When that future falls apart, Astarion reacts with rage, clinging to Tav.
In a continuation of the branch where Tav wants to breakup, Astarion sulks in the epilogue.
Astarion's desire to avoid losing someone is understandable, as is his emotional breakdown. He only truly displays it during the breakup and in the ending, after Tav/Du has already agreed to spend eternity with him.
His breakdown in both endings has understandable motivations, but at the same time it reveals some of his most selfish and dangerous traits as a vampire.
In a playthrough where the goal of Tav not to breakup, but to remain together, the dynamic becomes much more beneficial for their vampire pair.
This applies to Tav's decision to break up in both endings. If it happens after the final romance scenes, it essentially breaks the narrative and becomes an "What ifโฆ?" scenario. Even so, Astarion's reaction is hardly surprising.
The central narrative of Astarion's romance, as written in its concluding scene, is consent and mutual vampire love.
The breakup, along with Astarion's perception of Tav's vampirism as a "forever together" bond and the painful way he reacts to its rejection, is the only truly significant point that can be used to infer what kind of vampirism Tav has.
There are several branches in which Tav - mortal or vampire - can still leave Astarion:
Breaking up before the ending at any point remains a breakup.
PC can leave for Avernus to help Karlach.
PC can join the githyanki war.
Player:ย I'm sorry I kind of disappeared. I didn't mean to leave you like that.
Astarion:ย Oh my dear, you didn't leave me - I let you go.
Astarion:ย If I'd wanted you to stay I only had to say the word and you would have been back by my side. But I'm not some controlling monster.
Astarion:ย I wanted to give you space to see what else is out there, make your own mistakes, and return to me ready to fully appreciate our life together.
Astarion:ย Anyway, I have had more than enough to keep me busy while you were off gallivanting in another plane.
\EPI_Epilogue_Astarion_Lord
Astarion does not show the same painful reaction in these branches.
In other words, Tav can still leave.
This changes only in the ending-breakup branch.
There are several reasons for this.
1. Astarion's character
Exercising control over Tav is the last thing Astarion wants.
His active encouragement for Tav to claim the Absolute's power, along with many other moments, demonstrates this.
Essentially giving up whatever influence he has over them.
He places complete trust in Tav, believing they will walk this path together.
For Astarion, this represents enormous character growth. For years, he trusted no one. "Trust no one" is a general Astarion line in the game.
His wound around trust is immense. Yet he entrusts Tav with unimaginable power and chooses to stand beside them.
Astarion wants Tav to choose him and come to him of their own free will. Tav already did so on the night of the turning, when they agreed to be together forever.
Astarion speaks of granting Tav true vampirism as something that will happen in the future. Likely once he is convinced that Tav genuinely intends to share eternity with him.
One possible reason for this decision is that they still know very little about each other. By that point, they have probably only been together for around three months.
I don't think we know Astarion, his personality. This is especially true now that he has gone from a life defined by constant limitations to one of complete freedom.
We have never really seen what Astarion is like without restrictions and vulnerabilities. The closest glimpse we have of that is his life as a magistrate - and o, my.
Astarion said that he expected Tav to leave him rather than burden themselves with his problems. He believed he had nothing to offer them.
Player:ย Whatever is between us, we need to end it.
Astarion:ย I - I can hardly blame you. I don't exactly have much to offer right now, beyond new burdens to carry.
Player:ย You aren't really ready to have a partner.
Astarion:ย Would I were. It's true, you don't deserve this facade any longer.
Player:ย This just isn't what I wanted, when we first slept together.
Astarion:ย I was beginning to believe someone truly wanted me. But I shouldn't have deluded myself.
Astarion:ย From the start, I was rather counting the hours until it was going to end. Midnight chimes, eh?
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_PartneredWithAstarion
Another reason for his anger during the breakup is that Tav is not only overturning a deeply important bond they had both willingly agreed to, but also returning him to the insecurity he lived with as a spawn - constantly counting the hours until the relationship would end and losing the comfort and love it had given him. It's something he never wants to experience again.
This dialogue shows why Astarion is so focused on being "together forever" - he wanted something deeply meaningful and truly special, something he had never even allowed himself to dream of before.
As a Lord he can offer them much more, and that gives him a measure of reassurance. Even so, his tendency to doubt himself may still play a role here.
Astarion may worry that Tav will leave him once they get to know him better.
However, Astarion is still confident that Tav will not leave.
Choosing to become a vampire he personally turned is such a life-defining decision.
In the ending where Tav claims the power of the Absolute, he assumes they will remain together and is shocked if they betray him.
Absolute ending is also possible if Tav is mortal and this confidence that they will be together remains.
It is also important, during the ending conversation, Tav refusing to become a vampire does not make Astarion want to end the relationship.
Player:ย I want to live forever. Make me a vampire.
Astarion:ย My sweet, I thought you'd never ask.
Astarion:ย Of course, you will be a spawn before you can become a true vampire, but that's a small detail.
Player:ย Actually, no. This isn't what I want.
Astarion:ย This isn't what you wantย yet. I'm sure you'll come around in your own good time.
Astarion:ย But until the moment's right, we can still be together. We can still taste all the delights of this world.
\END_GameFinale_ROM_RomanceFates_Astarion
If the subject of vampirism is never brought up, Astarion does not raise it himself, although it is clear that he intends to do so eventually.
In the Avenus or githyanki end, PC does not abruptly reject Astarion or imply that they no longer love him, that their "forever together" has been destroyed.
The six months that pass also give Astarion time to reflect on a long-distance relationship, even if he was unhappy with it at first.
A breakup before the ending gives him time to calm down. By then, he chooses not to cling to Tav anymore and is too proud to ask them to come back. As described in the release epilogues.
Only this breakup was fully developed into an epilogue. Every other ending portrayed Astarion and Tav continuing their mutual romance as an evil vampire couple - the direction that was ultimately preserved in the Patch 5 epilogue.
2 - This, however, does not change the first point: Astarion has no actual vampiric control over player character.
By pretending that he could control Tav but simply chooses not to, Astarion conceals the truth - that he cannot control them at all.
The PC has already become a true vampire under D&D 5e rules after drinking Astarion's blood.
If that is the case, then by sharing his blood so that Tav would receive Mephistopheles' blessing, Astarion turned them into a true vampire.
This would have been necessary to enjoy both pleasure and sunlight alongside him without ever suffering from blood hunger.
At the same time, true vampirism could become a threat if Tav rejected an eternity together and left him alone.
After centuries of loneliness, the prospect of losing the love he finally found is profoundly painful for Astarion. That is why he keeps the truth from Tav.
โ In every possible branch, Tav, believing themselves to be a vampire spawn, likely assumes that all of their powers, matching those of a true vampire, come from the blood of their creator - the Ascended Vampire.
In the epilogue, the Tav themselves believes they are a vampire spawn. God-Gale does not dispute this, though he might simply be staying neutral and waiting for the Tav to reach their own conclusions.
Gale:ย Proof their hopes are not barren wastes, but the loamy soil in which their future achievements will flourish. Proof that with ambition,ย anythingย is possible.
Player:ย And what might your story prove for a vampire spawn like me? That I too might be able to ascend...
\EPI_Epilogue_GodGale
Why can't Tav ask about blood and its connection to true vampirism, something they discussed back in Act 1? A conversation about it?
For the same reason Astarion never even mentions true vampirism before or after the battle with his creator.
Many of the unusual aspects of Tav's vampirism remain unexplained:
The absence of being buried in the ground
Mild pain, in contrast to Astarion's intense pain
Pleasure mentioned
Voluntary blood transfer
The ability to continue drinking their creator's blood
Is it possible that the player character is not a true vampire despite undergoing a voluntary blood transfer?
And despite bypassing the mandatory stages of a vampire spawn's transformation?
Part 2. The Old lore
The early vampire lore and its evolution are important for context.
In Ravenloft lore, as well as in Forgotten Realms lore throughout the 1990s and earlier, the term "vampire spawn" did not exist.
There was only the inexperienced controlled young vampire
The term was used for this: Fledgling
It was not until around 2002โ2003 that the term "vampire spawn" began to replace the earlier descriptions of a young vampire (fledgling) in both the Monster Manual and Ravenloft books.
In the 2000s, after the terms "vampire spawn" and "fledgling" began to appear alongside one another, a clear distinction between them started to emerge.
From that point on, fledglings were redefined closer to true vampires, while vampire spawn became the most dependent form of vampiric servant, completely bound to their creator.
This analysis focuses on the sourcebooks of the 1990s, which contain the most comprehensive descriptions of the transformation process, as well as vampire culture and interpersonal relationships among vampires.
In the book, there is a gradation of vampires by age:
Fledgling: 0-99 years
Mature: 100-199 years
Old: 200-299 years
Very Old: 300-399 years
Ancient: 400-499 years
Eminent: 500-999 years
Patriarch: 1000+ years
Van Richten's Guide to Vampires, p. 13 (1992)
Astarion uses this in relation to Cazador.
Astarion: Cazador Szarrโฆ ancient vampireโฆ bastardโฆ
\Astarion_Dead
Van Richten describes several possible methods of becoming a vampire:
Traditional method, saliva, and the Dark Kiss, to which he devotes a separate chapter.
The traditional method more closely resembles Forgotten Realms vampire spawn. The other methods are more similar to what we see in BG3 with Tav.
Let us take a look at the traditional method in older lore.
The victim is killed by draining either their life force or all of their blood, followed by burial.
According to most related tales, a vampire can create another simply by killing a mortal either with its life-energy draining power (draining all the character's experience leveIs) or by exhausting the mortal of his or her blood supply. If the vietรฏm's body is not proper ly destroyed, it arises as a va m pi re, under the control of the creature who killed it, on the second night following the burial.
As an aside, I pose the question: What exactly does รฏt mean when the victim "arises" as a vampire'? When the sun sinks fully beiow the horizon on the second night after the burial, the victim in the grave "awakens." The occupant of the grave is now a Fledgling vampire with al) the characteristรฏes, powers, and weaknesses which accompany that condition. Most vampires remember the instant of their death and the nature of their killer, and understand immediately their new nature. Certainly their new hunger gives them a good idea of what they have become.
Van Richten's Guide to Vampires, p. 32 (1992)
Fledgling vampires have an inborn propensity to obey their creator.
This make fledglings resemble vampire spawn (DnD5).
The following is the main difference between the concept of a vampire under a master's control in the old and new lore:
Over time, the creatorโs influence weakens. Their strength and independence depend solely on the length of their unlife and their will. The older they become, the more independent and powerful they are. They are usually killed before this can happen.
The "blood rule" is part of the DnD5-2014-lore for vampire spawn.
How, then, do vampires keep their slaves under their control beyond this period? They do so in much the same way that mortals dominate others: through intimidation. The fledgling is new to the vampiric world, and at least partially ignorant of its own abilities. Its creator can, if it is careful, create the perception in its offspring that the master is immensely more powerful and knowledgeable than the newly-created vampire, which it may in fact be. Through simple intimidation and by playing on the offspring's natural doubts and fears, the master can create a situation enabling it to "rule" for decades.
The reader may realize that this situation is totally different and much more unstable than the "traditional" picture of the master and its unquestioning slaves. Offspring vampires may have considerable free will from the moment of their creation, although they do have an "inborn" propensity to bow to the will of their creator. After several years have passed, however, this propensity wears off.
Van Richten describes the relationship between fledglings and their creators.
Creators who care for their "children" are ultimately destroyed by them.
However, he recalls hearing of a fledgling who avenged the destruction of their master. Something Van Richten finds difficult to believe, as a vampire hunter who does not believe they are capable of emotions akin to human ones, such as love and loyalty.
Van Richten's Guide to Vampires, p. 69-70 (1992)
In a later Ravenloft book, the concept of "siblings" is recorded.
Both terms are also present: "vampire spawn" and "fledgling".
Vampire spawn are subject to the same rules on feeding and sleeping as vampires, but they do not gain any enhanced abilities or salient powers as they age.
When a vampire spawn's creator is destroyed, one of several things happen to the spawn. Which event takes place is not predictable; as with many facets of vampirism, consequences vary from vampire to vampire.
In most cases, the vampire spawn are unchanged except for their newfound freedom of will. The spawn usually begin a solitary, predatory existence, although some may seek out social interaction with the living or with others of their kind. Newly freed vampire spawn have even been known to form hunting packs with their "siblings," though such packs usually fall apart due to competition and infighting.
(...)
The worst ofthe known possibilities is that the vampire spawn may suddenly mature into vampires themselves. The vampire spawn, in effect, start over as Fledgling vampires, with the vampire template being applied to the statistics the creatures had in life.
Ravenloft Players Handbook, 3e, 2003, p.200
Both the early lore (90s) and the newer lore (2000s), despite using terms such as vampire spawn and fledgling, also mention another type of vampire: the vampire bride.
Vampire Companions
A unique aspect of vampire culture, involving a ritual through which a mortal is transformed into a vampire's eternal companion.
They are called a "vampire bride" or "vampire groom".
Van Richten uses the term "bride", so let's follow his terminology.
The vampire bride has been part of the D&D vampire canon for many years.
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror
AD&D 2e
Jun, 1990
p. 28
Van Richten's Guide to Vampires
AD&D 2e
Jan 1, 1992
p. 70-75
Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix III: Creatures of Darkness
AD&D 2e
1994
p. 116-117
Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium. Volume 1
AD&D 2e
Feb 1999
p. 75-80
(same text as 1992, re-release for the 25th anniversary of D&D)
Denizens of Darkness
DnD 3e
Apr 2002
p. 169
Denizens Of Dread
DnD 3.5eย
Jan 2004
p. 220
Novels:
"Vampire of the Mists"
Author: Christie Golden
First published: 1991
"I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire"
Author: P. N. Elrod (Patricia Nead Elrod)
First published: 1993
In the first book, the description states that, in essence, the vampire creator and their vampire mate exist in a form of mutual enslavement.
The vampire places themselves in a state of danger and vulnerability - if the bride chooses to harm them, she is capable of doing so. The vampire senses her pain even involuntarily.
The bride, in turn, due to her inexperience as a young vampire. This emotion bond between them, is also placed both in a vulnerable position.
In the first book mentioning this concept of a vampire couple the entire process was still presented without a detailed description of the relationship itself or a specific name for this process.
A slave vampire is not a mate, however.
Love, lust, or obsession may drive a master vampire to create a special bond with a particular victim - a bond that surpasses ordinary enslavement. To create this union, the master samples his victim's blood-once, twice, or several times.
Just before the victim has been drained to death, the master replenishes her with blood of his own. Only a few master vampires are capable of this act. The victim is still the master's slave, but in a way, the master becomes her slave, too (assuming the victim is female). She often can sense his thoughts. In this way, she has the power to protect him in times of need, but could also harm him. Despite the pronouns used here, gender is not a limiting factor. Master vampires may be male or female, and so may their mates.
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror, p. 28
This is reminiscent of Astarion's view of relationships.
Astarion sees deep emotional attachment and lifelong bonds as a state of being mutually beholden to one another, enslavement. On the Ascended path, he builds a relationship in the only way he knows - through the eternal bond, the way vampires express love.
Astarion sometimes expresses or hints at this.
After Tav refuses to spend eternity with him or in a banter with Wyll
Astarion:ย You are a person of rare talent. You aided greatly in my conquest, even if you did not end up a part of it.
Astarion:ย And if we were beholden to one another? Well, how is that too different to being enslaved? It is for the best.
Player:ย Say nothing.
Astarion:ย Iย wasย trying, with you, you know. In the only way Iย canย try.
Astarion:ย The gravest crimes committed in this world are committed for love. A hunger crueller than bloodlust.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_BlackMassFollowUp
Astarion:ย Marriage, Wyll? I thought you'd have learned not to get trapped by devious contracts.
Wyll:ย I was planning to invite you to the ceremony, but I'm having second thoughts.
Astarion:ย I'd love to come! As long as I can sit with someone fun. Mizora, perhaps?
\PB_Astarion_Wyll_ROM_Act3
In Astarion's own romance story his perspective changes in the sense that he's willing to accept the bonds of love.
Astarion begins to understand the value of love so deeply that he clings to it, comparing it to a thirst for blood. It is a new kind of hunger that he has come to feel.
In the 1992 Van Richten's Guide to Vampires, a full and detailed description of the entire process is recorded.
The book does not use the term "vampire spawn".
As mentioned above, it did not exist in the canon at that time.
A bride, as a young vampire, is considered a "fledgling".
(...) she arises as a Fledgling vampire - and her creator's bride.
By the 3e-3.5e, the vampire bride had become a distinct category in the lore, separate from both fledglings and vampire spawn.
Denizens of Darkness. DnD 3e p. 169
Denizens Of Dread. DnD 3.5eย p. 220
The distinction begins at the transformation stage itself, a process that was given the name the Dark Kiss in Van Richten's guides.
Every aspect of this union is both significant and unique to the two involved:
- method of transformation
- bride's unique form of vampirism
- magical as well as emotional bond they share
Each of these aspects will be examined below and compared with their portrayal in BG3.
The Dark Kiss
To actually create the bride, the vampire bestows what is known as the "Dark Kiss"
For your convenience, I suggest comparing this to the stages of a mortalโs transformation from Part 1.
โ The vampire creator must drain a mortal almost to death, sampling their blood in three separate feedings.
It samples the blood of its mortal paramour - once, twice, thrice -draining her almost to the point of death.
In the traditional transformation, the process may begin with draining life force (health), followed by a final lethal bite.
In Dark Kiss, however, only blood-drinking is present.
Astarion bites Tav in the neck at the end of the scene.
I tend to think the other two bites may happen off-screen.
There is also the possibility of interpreting these moments as three bites: one to the neck at the beginning of the intimate scene - which may be kissing, but could also be interpreted as a bite, a bite to the arm (the gentle option), a bite to the neck
In the 1990 novel, the ritual is described as the vampire taking its mortal's blood "once, twice, or several times"
In the 1992, as "once, twice, three".
Neither book states that these must occur on separate nights, nor do they specify how much time must pass for them to count as separate feedings.
In the novel I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire (1993), the "once, twice, thrice" is interpreted as taking place over multiple nights. The vampire gradually transforms person by visiting them repeatedly. During the middle of the process, the young woman becomes ill in the presence of holy symbols and incense.
In the novel Vampire of the Mists (1991), the process does not require multiple nights to begin.
These novels will be analyzed later, after examining the vampiric transformation process in its entirety.
This is a major homage to Dracula.
There are quite a few elements inspired by it, including drinking a vampire creator's blood during the transformation. In essence, the whole thing.
The vampire genre experienced a major boom in 1992.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend watching Dracula (1992), starring Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, and Winona Ryder.
โ No Burial
A bride awakens from her death-like coma after a few minutes or hours.
Fledglings\vampire spawn typically rise the following night.
Once the subject has stopped feeding, she falls into a coma that lasts minutes or hours (2d12 turns), at the end of which time she dies. Several (1d3) hours later, she arises as a Fledgling vampireโand her creator's bride.
Given that the text mentions minutes, no grave is actually required. The process is not described as requiring "quick burial underground" as an essential part of the transformation.
This remains important for fledglings and vampire spawn only.
โ The blood of the vampire creator ๐ฉธ
This is a mandatory step.
The amount of blood in this case is more than a drop, as the vampire cuts themselves and lets the bride drink.
However, this is not a complete draining of blood as described in the 5e rules.
Just as the subject is about to slip into the terminal coma from which there is no awakening, the vampire opens a gash in its own flesh-often in its throat-and holds the subject's mouth to the wound. As the burning draught that is the vampire's blood gushes into the subject's mouth, the primitive feeding instinct is triggered, and she sucks hungrily at the wound, enraptured.
The amount of blood consumed by the bride is described as small.
The actual process of creating a bride inflicts some limited damage on the vampire. Even the small amount of blood the bride drinks weakens it for some time.
It also doesn't say how much blood is required for the process to be successful.
A vampire bride is the only type of vampire, besides a true vampire, that can drink the creatorโs blood.
This is the second instance in D&D lore.
If Tav is not a true vampire after drinking the creatorโs blood, then Tav is a vampire bride, which in older lore is referred to as a "fledgling".
There are no other rules or exceptions to the lore in 2026.
โ The process is not painful. On the contrary, it brings euphoria
This process causes the subject no pain; in fact, it has been described as the most euphoric, ecstatic experience, in comparison to which all other pleasures fade into insignificance.
Also, the mention of pain can be interpreted to mean that the usual process of becoming a vampire as a transformation is painful in itself.
For the vampire creator, it is also experienced as pleasure.
The vampire must interrupt the blood-drinking, otherwise the transformation process is disrupted. Too much blood will drive the bride into madness and lead to death within 24 hours.
It is at this point that the creator-vampire's strength is most sorely tested. He is weakenedย byย hisย ownย blood andย alsoย byย hisย ownย raptureย asย the "victim" of a dark kiss. Overcoming the sudden loss of strength and the inclinations of lust, the vampire must pull her away from its own throat.
โ A vampire is expected to be powerfuli
Its strength in Ravenloft depends on age.
(...) she is a Fledgling and her creator is at least an Ancient.
Astarion became one of the most powerful vampires ever seen in the Realms as a result of the ritual.
All of his vampiric abilities were significantly enhanced.
Raphael:ย The Rite of Profane Ascension.
Raphael:ย It promises to be a marvellous ceremony. Very elaborate, incredibly ancient, and entirely diabolical.
Raphael:ย If he completes the rite, he will become a new kind of being - the Vampire Ascendant.
Raphael:ย All the strengths of his vampiric form will be amplified, and alongside them he will enjoy the luxuries of the living.
Raphael:ย The arousals and appetites of man will return to him, and unlike Astarion, he will have no need of a parasite to protect him from the sun.
\CAMP_Astarion_RaphaelsRevelation_CFM
Although Astarion is still learning to control his new abilities and notes that his power grows gradually, he is technically already infused with power exceeding that of an ancient vampire.
The Failed Dark Kiss
If the vampire who was creating a potential bride was destroyed during the transformation, she could instead become a Vorlog.
Tormented by their loss, they find no peace; their lives are filled with grief over their lost love.
One of a vampireโs most vulnerable moments is when the evil creature is attempting to complete its dark kiss, its bonding with a new vampire companion, creating a vampiric "bride" or "groom". As elaborated upon by Doctor Rudolph van Richten in his great treatise on vampires, the process of creating a vampire bride or groom is quite elaborate, involving a great expenditure of both passion and blood on the part of the monster. For approximately one hour after the monster has poured all of its energy into the erstwhile companion, the vampire lies helpless beside the brideโs or groomโs transforming body. If the vampire is slain during this time period, its victim does not complete the transformation, but becomes a creature caught between the world of the living and that of the dead - a sorry being known as a vorlog.
(...)
The focus of the vorlogโs entire existence centers on its utter anguish and bereavement at the death of its vampire lover. The creature had already given itself over to the vampire, body and mind, when the newly wrought bonds were ripped away by the creatureโs sudden demise. The shattering combination of psychic and physical blows is so devastating that the creature can never truly recover. Instead, it spends its eternal existence attempting to recreate its lost companion.
Monstrous Compendium III Creatures Of Darkness p. 116-117
As you can see, the process is described exactly like this: to give yourself - body and mind.
Astarion describes the transformation in the same words.
When a vampire chooses a new companion, it must pour its blood and passion into its beloved's transformation, then lie helpless beside its transforming chosen (see sidebar below). If the vampire is slain during this period, the companion instead becomes a pitiable thing trapped between the worlds of the living and undead. The vorlog looks like a normal humanoid to most observers, with only its budding fangs and pale and doleful expression indicating any change. A vorlog does cast a shadow, but it throws an eerily translucent reflection in mirrors.
Many adventurers have killed a vampire in the midst of the Dark Kiss and congratulated themselves on "saving" its victim, thereby damning the vorlog to a tortuous existence, yearning constantly for his lost love.
Denizens Of Dread p. 219
The nature of a vampire bride
After transformation, the vampire brideโs nature and the relationship within a vampire pair are also unique.
โ A vampire can only have one Bride at a time. It takes a ritual to break the bond.
Any vampire can have only one bride or groom at a time. A vampire is physically incapable of creating another bride or groom while it has a companion already bound to it in this relationship. If the vampire wishes to create another bride or groom, it must either destroy its current bride or groom or follow the ritual described later to dissolve the bond between them.
โ The bond between a vampire and their bride is eternal.
Unlike ordinary fledglings, who gradually lose their connection to their creator over time.
This continuous bond makes the bride more similar to the vampire spawn from DnD5e, where the bond between spawn and creator remains until death.
โ The magical aspects of this bond are extensive, including mutual telepathy and a metaphysical sense of each other.
One vampire cannot read another's thoughts against their will. With one exception, strong emotions - such as pain, fear, or intense surprise - are shared between them.
One of the reasons "married vampires" are so difficult to defeat is that a vampire and its bride share a telepathic communication that has a range measured in miles.
One vampire cannot read the other's mind against the subject's will, so the bride cannot pilfer secrets from the mind of her creator. As the sole exception to this statement, one member of the pair can sense incredibly strong emotion in the other's mind. (This could be equated to hearing a vocalized gasp of surprise or fear.) Only extreme fear, pain, surprise, sadness or exaltation can be sensed in this manner.
โ Destroying one inflicts massive damage on the other
While the bond is in existence, there is a strong metaphysical link between the two vampiresโ unlife forces. (No doubt this link explains the telepathic communication the creatures share.) So close is this link that the destruction of one member of the bond inflicts grave damage to the other member.
โ From the moment of creation, the bride possesses free will.
Any control exerted by the creator is entirely non-magical.
Although there are some folk tales that describe the bride of a vampire as its slave, in much the same way that offspring are slaves, a bride is free-willed from the moment of her creation. The creator vampire does have great influence over the bride, however, although this control is totally nonmagical.
(...)
By lying to her or bending the truth, he can convince her that she must obey his every order or suffer horrible consequences. With time, and through experimentation, the bride might find out the true level of control her creator has over her - that is, none. She is still in a very inferior position, of course, because she is a Fledgling and her creator is at least an Ancient.
All this made the vampire bride look like the true vampire we know from DnD5 - it was the bride who drank blood and gained independence - not from time, but from certain actions.
In the most escalated breakup branch, Astarion insists that Tav cannot leave him.
It may suggest that, under Astarion's non-magical influence, Tav doesn't even attempt to leave.
In the less confrontational breakup branches, however, Tav simply walks away without any discussion. This could depend on how Tav chooses to end the relationship.
โ Unlike traditional fledglings, the bride has a poor understanding of her own condition, remaining unaware of her abilities and weaknesses.
When a vampire is created in the traditional manner - that is, when a victim's life energy is completely drained away - the new fledgling instinctively understands much about the vampiric way of unlife, and about its own strengths, weaknesses, and needs. Not so the bride.
โ Control is instead based on emotional attachment and the brideโs inexperience with her new nature.
Newly-created brides are generally ignorant of their own capabilities. If in life they heard folk tales and myths about vampires, they might have some vague conception, but often these tales are totally wrong. The bride is effectively dependent - totally dependent - on her creator, to learn how to survive as a vampire. This obviously gives the creator great power over the bride.
โ The bond between a vampire and their bride is unique to vampire culture.
The book is written from the perspective of a vampire hunter who questions whether vampires are capable of experiencing the same range of emotions as mortals.
The passage compares this to what Strahd von Zarovich feels - his obsession with a woman who rejected him. In such cases, vampires are portrayed as pursuing the fulfillment of their own desires.
Whether vampires are capable of love - or of genuine emotion in general - is a question that mortals repeatedly raise. Vampires, by their very nature, inspire disgust and a desire to destroy them.
To the mortal world, they are monsters.
For example, in BG3, Karlach voices similar doubts, to which Astarion responds while speaking as a vampire himself, fully subject to the effects of the vampiric curse.
Karlach:ย Sorry if this is rude, but... can vampires fall in love?
Astarion:ย What a preposterous question. Vampires can do anything you can do, and a damn sight better.
Karlach:ย Sunbathe? Swim?
Astarion:ย All right, there are a few limited exceptions.
Karlach:ย Good to know love is on the table though.
Astarion:ย It is. Though if the table is laden with good wine and meat, love is often left to rot with the salad leaves.
\PB_Karlach_Astarion_ROM_Act2_001
At the same time, in other instances, even the vampire hunter describes the relationship between a vampire and their bride as something closely resembling the love experienced by mortals.
Sometimes, however, the emotion may be close to what mortals classify as love.
The happiness of the vampire becomes tied up with the prospective bride, and its well-being depends on hers. In these cases, the vampire might actually believe it is bestowing a gift when it turns the mortal into its bride - the gift of freedom from aging and death.
Minthara refers to their immortality as a gift.
Minthara notes that their bond is truly unique and belongs to them alone.
Nightwarden Minthara:ย Would you ever consider sharing the gift of immortality with me, Astarion?
Astarion:ย I think not. That is for me and my darling to share.
Nightwarden Minthara:ย If they have prevented your eyes and fangs from wandering to other necks, it must be a special bond indeed.
\PB_Minthara_Astarion_ROM_Act3_001
The ritual itself is extremely complex and physically draining for the vampire.
By creating a bride, a vampire places themselves at risk, as the two become capable of feeling each other's pain. The death of either partner is experienced by the survivor as profound agony on every level - a vulnerability that vampire hunters can exploit.
This is something unique to vampires. They willingly accept this vulnerability, knowing the risks, because they long to find someone with whom they can share eternity.
For a more visual comparison with the Dark Kiss in BG3, I recommend the following videos on the vampire bride, available here, here and here
Kin-Nectar ยท A Vampire Drinking Another Vampire
As far as I have been able to find, the term kin-nectar appears exclusively in Van Richten's books - 1992 and its 1999 edition. It belongs to the early vampire lore that predates the introduction of the Rule of Blood in later editions of D&D.
1992 - Chapter 11, Relationships Between Vampires, p. 68
1999 - Chapter 10, Relationships Between Vampires, p. 74
Here are a few key takeaways from the book:
Kin-nectar is more nourishing than mortal blood.
Most vampires still prefer the taste of living blood.
Feeding creates a telepathic link lasting several hours.
<<If one vampire drinks the blood of another, the creatures enter into a close relationship: for several (1d3) hours following the feeding, the two creaturesโ minds are so intimately linked that they can communicate telepathically as easily as by speaking. This telepathy persists regardless of distance or intervening matter as long as both vampires are on the same plane. One vampire cannot โoverhearโ thoughts not intended as communication, however>>
The vampire who drinks the blood gains limited control over the donor.
<<In addition, the vampire who drank the blood has a significant level of control over the vampire who provided the blood for as long as the telepathic link exists. The creature who fed can issue orders telepathically and the second creature must obey them, within reason>>
Because of the vulnerability created by this link, vampires rarely share their blood.
Vampires share their blood only if they totally trust each other or have no other choice.
<<Most vampires will find this interconnection distasteful and, in the case of the creature who was fed upon, downright dangerous, so the monsters usually shun kin-nectar. Most will only participate in this kind of feeding on either side if they totally trust the other participant (which is very rare) or if they simply have no choice in the matter>>
As of 2026, I haven't found this lore to have been updated or directly rewritten in D&D 5e/5.5e, with the exception of Baldur's Gate 3.
Astarion:ย Of course I will, and you'll drink mine. I can't wait to taste your lips after you've tasted me.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_PartneredWithAstarion
Old and New Vampire Lore
Novels
In addition to rule books, there are also the Novels.
"Vampire of the Mists"
Author: Christie Golden
First published: 1991
"One Last Drink"ย
is a short story prequel to the novel Vampire of the Mists.
Author:ย Christie Goldenย
First published: 1993 anthologyย Realms of Valor.
"I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire"
Author: P. N. Elrod (Patricia Nead Elrod)
First published: 1993
Vampire of the Mists and One Last Drinkย
The novel was written at a time when the earliest depiction of a vampire mate's transformation already existed, though such a vampire was not yet referred to as a "vampire bride."
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror AD&D 2e Jun, 1990 p. 28
Vampire of the Mists is the first big novel in Ravenloft setting, making it unique for several reasons.
Jander Sunstar is a vampire from Toril who travels across Faerรปn.
Thus, it is also set in the Forgotten Realms.
Jander is the first elven vampire in Dungeons & Dragons.
Jander is a vampire who resists his own dark nature.
Jander despises his own kind and dedicates himself to hunting and killing them
Jander Sunstar was the first elven vampire ever described in Forgotten Realms lore. Astarion is an elven vampire who calls himself Princess of House Nightstar. Just a funny coincidence (?)
Player:ย Don't keep anything like this from me again.
Astarion:ย Well - if you must know...
Astarion:ย I'm actually a princess of House Nightstar.
Astarion:ย And I'm married to a tarrasque named Johnathan. Anything else you'd like to know?
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_RaphaelRevealedScars
This brief summary of the story provides an example of a vampire coven, demonstrates how mental control functioned over a fledgling, and illustrates different types of vampiric transformation.
One Last Drink, prequel
Jander was turned into a vampire by his master, Cassiar, a young man with red hair.
Cassiar was a master who allowed his vampires to drink human blood immediately after they awoke. His coven obeyed him and his commands: they searched for settlements, cleaned up the aftermath of massacres, and hunted and reveled as vampires alongside him.
Jander hated all of it. Life as a vampire was unbearable to him.
Jander persuaded Cassiar to give him one of the intended victims, Rhynn, whom he wanted to save from the other vampires' fangs. He then ruined Cassiar's hunt by releasing all of the captives from their trap. Jander directly threatens to kill him.
Cassiar merely remarked that it was a mistake and that Jander would be punished for it. Cassiar punished Jander by drinking his blood, which greatly weakens vampires.
Cassiar likely used kin-nectar to dominate Jander even better. Although the telepathic bond lasts only a few hours, it likely still affected Jander's spirit and, of course, his strength.
What Astarion endured after similar confrontations and acts of defiance would hardly compare to this. Furthermore, a coven like Cassiar's would likely have been Astarion's decent life. His objection to serving Cassiar would most likely have stemmed from his desire to be the one in charge and to enjoy complete freedom, rather than from any moral objection to the coven's brutality or the fact that they hunted and killed humans.
Cassiar' only flew into a rage after discovering that several vampires from his own coven had been killed.
Cassiar has now decided to kill his vampire elf.
A fight broke out between them.
The novel describes how Cassiar's mental control affects Jander.
This is early D&D lore - before the concept of vampire spawn existed, when vampires instead created young vampires under their control, which fades with time - Jander, who had already been a vampire for about a century, was able to resist that control.
Jander ultimately killed Cassiar, gaining his freedom.
This is where the prequel ends.
Vampire of the Mists
The novel begins with a quote from Bram Stoker's "Dracula".
Jander's wanderings in search of a cure for vampirism eventually brought him to Waterdeep, where he met a woman confined to an asylum. She called herself Anna.
Jander sincerely fell in love with a quiet, kind-hearted young woman who, for magical reasons, neither aged nor remembered what had happened to her. She was haunted by terrifying nightmares that would send her fleeing in panic, screaming.
When Jander asked what had happened to her - who had done this to her - she answered with a single word: "Barovia."
This continued for thirty years. Then the Spellplague swept across Faerรปn, and the young woman began to die.
As she lay on the verge of death, Jander drank her blood. When he pulled away, he opened a wound on himself. Had she drunk his blood, she would have lived, and they could have remained together forever.
Jander drank eagerly, the warm, coppery-tasting fluid flowing easily down his throat. The life force it carried began to seep through him, renewing his power and rekindling his senses. It had been a long time since he had permitted himself such a banquet; he had almost forgotten the elation and heat a true feeding engendered. He felt himself surrendering to the pleasure. Dimly he noticed the change as the flavor began to turn ashy and empty.
Abruptly he stopped. He had almost gone too far; he had almost drained her dry in his hunger.
Quickly, still cradling her limp form in one powerful arm, he slashed a deep gash in his own throat with a clawlike nail. New blood - Anna's blood - pumped from the incision. Jander moved her like a doll, placing her mouth to his throat. "Drink, my love," he said hoarsely, "drink, and be one with me!"
There was no movement. Suddenly afraid, he shoved her face into the wound. "Anna, drink." She tried feebly to push him away, and he cast a frantic glance down at her
Anna refused. Her consciousness began to fade.
p. 19-22
The moment he regained his senses, he found himself surrounded by the aftermath of a massacre. Enraged by her loss, Jander slaughtered everyone around him without even realizing it.
Jander approached Anna's cold body. Since he drank her blood, it hastened her inevitable death. It seems Jander still had a chance to bring her back by burying her, butโฆ
Having refused his blood, she could not become a vampire mate and was doomed to become a servile vampire.
Anna's true individuality would remain locked away as long as he exists.
Jander had tried to make Anna his mate, but she would not drink his blood. When she rose a few nights from now as an undead, she would be only a weak, servile vampire: his slave. That was all she would ever be, for all eternity, for slaves could never become true individuals while their maker existed. "Oh, Anna, I never wanted that for you," he said brokenly. "Death would have been better."
After driving out the remaining people, he burned everything behind him. And in this way, he gave Anna the eternal peace she had wanted.
The Mists came for Jander, carrying him to the very place she had named - to Barovia. In the hope of learning about Anna's past and avenging her.
The lore surrounding the vampire bride - or, in this case (1991), the vampire mate - is not exclusive to Ravenloft or to Strahd specifically.
This method of vampiric transformation is also used by a vampire from Toril, from Faerรปn, the setting of the Forgotten Realms.
In Toril, Jander Sunstar is the only vampire ever described in the lore as beginning the Dark Kiss with his beloved.
Astarion may be the second - and, in his case, the first to successfully complete it.
(so I had to change the wording a bit, it's not just the Revenloft setting as it was discovered)
In the transformation method Jander begins with Anna, everything takes place over the course of a single night. Here, the phrase "once, twice, or several times" is likely interpreted as referring to separate bites rather than separate nights. Jander had never drunk Anna's blood prior to that night.
The book then goes on to describe Jander's own transformation into a vampire.
Jander encountered an old companion with whom he had once hunted monsters. But his former friend had become a monster himself. He seized Jander by the throat and bit into his neck.
When Jander awoke, buried beneath the earth, he learned that his former companion was a servile vampire serving Cassiar. He also realized that he himself was dead, and that Cassiar had become his master as well.
Awareness returned some time later. Something cool and moist and filled with the rich loam fragrance of earth covered the elf, pressing damply against his face. He shifted and tried to wipe the dirt away, but found that soil covered the rest of his body, as well. Panic gripped him, and he flailed frantically, scraping at the dirt on his face and clawing his way out of what he now realized was a shallow grave.
Pleased with his new servant, Cassiar immediately forced Jander to feed on a defenseless, most innocent person.
"No!" he cried, covering his face with his arms. "You can't make me do that to a child!"
Cassiar frowned, his boyish mouth puckering in annoyance. "You have no say in the matter. You will obey me, and I say drink!"
Jander was too young, too weak a vampire then to resist the command his master had given.
(...)
Afterward he looked up at Cassiar, and his silver eyes were filled with hatred. Though it would take him nearly a century, he eventually slew his evil master. That act of rebellion allowed him to forge his own future, but it did little to free his soul from the curse his traitorous friend had inflicted upon him.
p. 232-234
It would take Jander a hundred years before he finally managed to break free from his master's control.
---
In D&D 5e, Jander Sunstar's backstory was rewritten. His beloved was turned into an adventurer who fled after learning he was a vampire, with the help of her companions. Jander then slaughtered everyone he held responsible for taking her away from him.
In other words, his mutual love, his main motivation were completely twisted.
She died tragically in his arms, never having recovered from her curse and pain.
How on earth did you rewrite this?
I understand that this was probably done because the "tragic vampire in love" has become a clichรฉ - characters like Louis or Edward come to mind, so perhaps that's why they chose to rewrite his love story.
However, Jander is already a legacy of the '90s, and in many ways D&D's own equivalent of Louis.
Just leave the guy as he is and his love, goddammit.
I'm not even talking about how they portrayed his fate. Not many people liked it, including the author of the novel.
But I'm more upset about the storyline involving the girl.
It literally goes, "Girl can't dream, and a girl can't have mutual love with a vampire" (even with a weirdo vegetarian vampire like Jander)
Bad, Wizards of the Coast, not good. Rewrite it back.
I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire (1993)
This novel already follows the more detailed vampire lore established in Van Richten's Guide. Here, the vampire mate is referred to as a vampire bride.
The novel describes the process by which Strahd turns Marina, one of Tatyana's reincarnations. The entire process clearly follows the rules of the Dark Kiss. Apart from the fact that the rules do not specify how long the interval between the three bites should be.
Marina drinks Strahd's blood, he calls her his bride, and throughout the turning Strahd experiences overwhelming ecstasy (the novel is written from his perspective).
When Marina is killed, he hears her calling to him and feels her pain as though it were happening to himself.
Her eyelids fluttered as she fought to stay conscious. I hurriedly tore open the front of my shirt and, with a diamond-hard talon, dug into the flesh over my heart. Our mingled blood slowly welled from the wound. When I pulled her up and pressed her lips to it, she began to drink.
(...)
I know not what pleasure she may have taken; my own was beyond any that I'd ever experienced before.
(...)
Here and now, I had nothing left to give but my own life's blood, but it was hers to take, and I murmured to myself, pleading to the dark magics that had made me to grant me this one boon - that she would at last be my bride.
(...)
Finally, I had to place the palm of my hand against her forehead and push with all my might, lest we both die.
(...)
Overcome by the same weariness, I dropped to the floor, shaking from fatigue and sudden hunger.
(...)
I sensed her strongly on the other side. She was only just now stirring.
Waking late and languorousโฆ
(...)
The sudden rush of terror and agony crashed upon me like a physical blow. I thought it must be a blow, for I staggered and fell like a tree into the mud of the yard, helpless. My chest, my heartโฆ Fireโฆ Worse than fireโฆ my hands scrabbled and encountered nothing, yet the pain was paralyzingly real. I was no stranger to a sword thrust, and that was what it felt like, only a thousand times worse.
Tatyana was screaming.
Shrieking.
And desperately calling on that silent link between us.
Calling on me.
Thenโฆ
Nothing.
The similarities between Baldur's Gate 3 and the Dark Kiss ritual, as well as the overall tone of vampire romance, are clear. Beyond that, another recurring element can also be observed.
We ยท Ours
Vampires appear to regard the act of sharing blood with one another and transforming the one they love into a being like themselves as the ultimate expression of union. Jander, Strahd, and Astarion all speak about transforming their beloved using language - "we," "us," and "our." This is a classic vampire romance trope - unity in eternity.
โ Jander offering to turn Anna:
"Drink, my love," he said hoarsely, "drink, and be one with me!"
โ Strahd on the blood of the murdered newly turned Marina:
"Her blood - our blood - had splashed all down the front of his clothes".
โ Astarion does this nonstop.
This is also incredibly important to him because he never had anyone he could trust or consider close to him.
Astarion:ย I'm free. I'm finally free! Oh it feelsย delicious.
Player:ย You did it! I can't believe you did it!
Astarion:ย I did.ย Weย did.
\LOW_CazadorsPalace_RitualRoom_PostCombat_OM_Astarion_AOM_COM_OOM
Right after the ritual is completed, Tav can says: you did it. Astarion echoes them, then says: "We did." The word "we" is italicized.
This dialogue works on friendship path too.
On both paths, Astarion tends to use this "we" language, because he values this relationship being unique for him - someone caring for him and supporting him.
Astarion also has this as a personal trait. But it could also be connected to vampirism in the story, in line with the tropes
I like you, you mean a lot to me - and now it's not just "you and me" - it's "us".
On the mortal Tav path in the romance, Astarion also continues to see them as very close, together. Astarion also suggests - if the romance ends - that Tav become his partner in crime.
In other words, no matter what, Astarion is eager to keep it "us".
In the romance on the Ascended path, vampire theme is revealed, when Tav becomes like him and shares many things and eternity with him.
This further highlights the "We" part.
I covered Astarion's vampirism and vampirism in his romance in a separate big post here.
Astarion:ย Aeterna amantes.ย Lovers forever, until the world falls down.
\Astarion_InParty2_Nested_PartneredWithAstarion
Astarion:ย You know, now that our enemies have fallen, I might be the most powerful person in the world.
Astarion:ย And as you're my consort, that makes us the most powerful people in the world
Player:ย I wouldn't want it any other way.
Astarion:ย And neither would I. Together, we can do anything.
Astarion:ย The world is ours for the taking. So, what would you like?
\END_GameFinale_ROM_RomanceFates_Astarion
Astarion:ย Still, it is good to see them. And good for them to see us, side by side,ย flourishing.
Player:ย It is wonderful. I'm glad I get to share this with you.
Astarion:ย And I am blessed to share it with you, my love.
Astarion:ย I may have power, but it would be nothing without you. You complete me.
Astarion:ย And together, we are unstoppable. So Heavens help the fool that tries to get in our way.
\EPI_Epilogue_Astarion_Lord
Astarion:ย Well, my love, we did it. This world is ours, as it should be.
Astarion:ย I always knew you could do it. I always knew that together, we could do anything.
\Absolute End
\END_BrainBattle_FinalDecision_Nested_EvilAvatar
Curse of Strahd (2016)
In this book Strahd von Zarovich having multiple brides simultaneously first appears in 5th Edition.
Since becoming a vampire, he has taken several consorts - none as beloved as Tatyana, but each a person of beauty. All of them he turned into vampire spawn.
p.10
In the description of Strahd's Tomb, his three consorts are explicitly described as vampire spawn brides.
Lying under the earth near the east wall of theย tomb are three vampire spawn brides dressed in soiled gowns and wearing dirt-encrusted jewelry (see "Treasure" below). They rise to attack anyone who approaches Strahd's coffin.
p.93-94
Rahadin's description also states that Strahd found brides and turned them into vampire spawn.
Rahadin's loyalty didn't waver after Tatyana died and Strahd became a vampire. Rahadin continued to do his master's bidding. Eager to put Tatyana out of his mind, Strahd lured more women to the castle, taking several of them as brides before draining their lives and turning them into vampire spawn. Rahadin would see to it that these women were lavished with jewels and fine clothes, and made comfortable during their stay in Ravenloft.
p.237
Like Dracula, Strahd now has three brides: Ludmilla Vilisevic, Anastrasya Karelova, Volenta Popofsky.
All three are officially referred to as vampire spawn, consorts, and brides.
At the beginning of the adventure (page 10), another reincarnation of Tatyana - Ireena Kolyana - is introduced. Strahd intends to turn her into his vampire spawn consort.
Ireena looked exactly like Tatyana! Strahd now believes that Ireena is the latest reincarnation of Tatyana, and thus he seeks to claim her.
Strahd's evil courtship has led him to visit Ireena twice. On both occasions, he charmed his way into her home - the house of her adopted father, the burgomaster of the village of Barovia - and drank her blood. He intends to kill Ireena during their next meeting and turn her into his vampire spawn consort.
p.10
The text also states that Strahd has already visited Ireena twice, which is presented as two bites.
Following the Dark Kiss, only the third remains.
Ireena, a striking young woman with auburn hair, has been bitten twice by Strahd.
On page 161, the adventure also mentions Marina, Tatyana's previous reincarnation, who was turned into a vampire according to the Dark Kiss.
In his rage after her death, Strahd flooded the entire village, transforming it into a swamp from which its inhabitants never returned.
He seduced her in the dead of night and feasted on her blood, but before she could be turned into a vampire, the burgomaster of Berez, Lazlo Ulrich, with the aid of a local priest named Brother Grigor, killed Marina to save her soul from damnation.
p.161
Thus, the canon does not discard the events of the novel by explicitly referencing Marina and, by extension, her turning. Likewise, Ireena's transformation is portrayed as a gradual process that occurs without being buried in the ground.
Ireena and Marina - both reincarnations of Tatyana - are turned by Strahd through the Dark Kiss, a ritual that traditionally implies the unique nature of this form of vampirism.
Because Curse of Strahd directly references Marina - and therefore the events of I, Strahd - the older Ravenloft lore surrounding the Dark Kiss can reasonably still be considered applicable.
As the meaning of the term fledgling evolved, so did the concept of the vampire bride.
In the 1990s, a Fledgling was a young, controlled vampire, naturally inclined to obey its creator.
A vampire bride was always an unique kind of Fledgling.
Bride possessed free will from the moment of her creation and was not subject to innate control. Instead, she shared a unique bond with her creator. Only a vampire bride drank her creator's blood.
The lore of vampires and Dark Kiss is related to Forgotten Realms through the novel Vampire of the Mists (1991). This is not exclusive to Revenloft. This is a thing of all vampires.
By the 2000s, the term Fledgling had come to refer to young, inexperienced vampires much closer to true vampires. The place of the most subordinate vampire in the hierarchy was taken by the vampire spawn.
Although the concept of the vampire bride remained part of the lore, it continued to be distinct from both Fledglings and vampire spawn.
In 2014 ๐ฉธ the "blood rule" in MM DnD5e was reassigned to vampire spawn, becoming the method by which a spawn could be become a true vampire. The terms fledgling and vampire bride have not yet been revisited.
In 2016, Curse of Strahd was released with numerous references to old Ravenloft lore.
It also places the term consort alongside vampire spawn and bride.
Since Strahd is the lord and ruler of Barovia, the title consort naturally fits his spouses. The term itself is not unique to Ravenloft - in Baldur's Gate 3, for example, both Wyll and Minthara also use the word consort in the sense of a ruler's spouse.
Wyll:ย And one day, I might even call you consort to Grand Duke Wyll Ravengard of Baldur's Gate. My pride, my joy.
\Wyll_InParty2_Nested_KissBranch
___
Nightwarden Minthara:ย I take no pleasure in what I must do. In another life, I would have taken you as my consort in Menzoberranzan.
\CAMP_GoblinHuntCelebration_SCO_DrowBetrayal
The word bride, however, is a much more direct reference to the older Dark Kiss and demonstrates continuity with earlier lore.
This partial revision of the lore raises important questions about which aspects have actually changed and which have remained the same.
If Strahd's three brides are simply vampire spawn created through the ordinary method of vampiric turning, then the fact that there are three of them presents no contradiction. Or their bonds have been severed.
If that is not the case, then it is likely that only the old restriction allowing a vampire to have only one bride at a time has been rewritten.
Unlike the Ravenloft books of early 2000s, the vampire bride is now explicitly identified as a vampire spawn in D&D5e.
The concept of the vampire bride likely returned to something closer to the Fledgling of the 1990s lore, which itself was the early concept that would later become the vampire spawn.
Thus, Baldur's Gate 3 does not contradict the vampire bride theory by referring to the bride as a vampire spawn.
The remaining question is whether the other distinctive aspects of a vampire bride's unique form of vampirism have also been rewritten.
Based on the reference to Marina in Curse of Strahd and the beginning of Ireena's transformation, it appears that the process of turning itself has not changed and remains distinct from the ordinary method of creating a fledgling\vampire spawn.
When Astarion turns the PC into a vampire, the transformation itself differs from the traditional process: several elements are unique, while others are either absent or never mentioned. At the same time, the blood he gives them allows the resulting vampire to be interpreted as either a true vampire or a vampire bride.
Unless future material explicitly states otherwise.
In the 2016 DnD5 book - Curse of Strahd, the vampire bride is identified as a vampire spawn, yet the references to the 1992 Ravenloft rules and the 1993 novel preserve all of the unique characteristics established there.
Unless future material explicitly states otherwise.
Relationships Within a Vampire Pair
Astarion's romance and relationship with Tav can also be seen as drawing inspiration from older vampire lore, where relationships are explored in considerable detail.
Life within a vampire pair depends on the personalities of both vampires and on how they approach their bond.
Romance ending - game release:
It all depends on how bloodstained your consort's path has been - you choose to travel, take up the sword, or weave your web of power within the palace walls.
Withers:ย The Vampire Ascendant. He chose to leave Baldur's Gate with his consort and travel the world, indulging in every delight it offered.
Withers:ย Rumours of their debauchery abound, but all agree - a night revelling with them will be the greatest or most horrifying night of your life.
/END_GodsAndMonsters_WithersChronicles
Withers:ย His former master destroyed, thousands of souls sacrificed, and his place as the Vampire Ascendant secured. His parties alone are worthy of ballads and legends.
Withers:ย Though no ballads are ever writ, such is the fear that doth swirl about Astarion and his bloody consort.
Withers:ย Though no ballads are ever writ. His guests he welcometh to his home, his consort locketh the door.
/END_GodsAndMonsters_WithersChronicles
Romance ending - patch 8:
A vampire and bride who truly love and trust each other make a team that is exceptionally difficult to defeat!
Van Richten's Guide to Vampires
Given the differences between D&D 5e vampire rules in the Forgotten Realms setting and the similarities to Ravenloft and older FR, what happens to the player character - the nature of their vampirism and the bond they share with Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3 - can be interpreted as an Easter egg, inspiration drawn from the Dark Kiss, the ritual that binds two vampires to one another for eternity.
The richness and legacy of Dungeons & Dragons' vampire lore is truly fascinating. There is an entire fantasy world surrounding Astarion, and through him, exploring the Realms, Barovia, and vampire lore becomes an incredibly engaging experience.
This is only the beginning. Across Toril, vampires have shaped history for centuries. From ancient covens hidden within great cities like Baldur's Gate to infernalist vampires, forgotten relics, secret traditions, and powerful bloodlines, there is an entire world still waiting to be explored. The history of vampires stretches across the Sword Coast and far beyond, with countless stories yet to be uncovered.
Thank you so much for this amazing, in-depth research! Itโs a magnificent work that traces the evolution of vampire lore from AD&D to D&D 5e, comparing it to what happens in Baldurโs Gate 3. Itโs an academic approachโa truly comprehensive study. ๐ฏ
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