Astarion’s Worst Ending May Not Be Becoming The Vampire Ascendant In Baldur’s Gate 3

There are many different endings players can achieve in Baldur’s Gate 3. Though you may be inclined to only consider the two endgame choices as major endings, the way players choose to go about certain quests can completely change an individual character’s story. This is especially true for the companions, where most of them have a generally “good” and “bad” ending suited for evil or benevolent players.

However, not all of these endings are black and white – there are several ways companions can leave the party, leaving them to unseen fates. One character who is particularly interesting in this regard is Astarion. The ending where he takes Cazador’s place as the Vampire Ascendant is widely considered to be his “worst” ending, and for very good reason. Despite this, there is one ending that may be even crueler.

You Can Ignore Astarion’s Questline Without Major Changes To The Plot

Astarion’s Quest Isn’t Necessary For Defeating The Netherbrain

Out of all the companions, Astarion seems the least connected to the main plot. This may be due to the large amount of content that was cut from the game—it was originally planned for Cazador to be present in the upper city, which is only briefly present in the official release. Even characters with a large portion of their content in BG3 cut such as Wyll or Minthara are somewhat tied directly into the main plot, which actually makes Astarion rather unique.

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Whether it was intentional for Astarion’s story to be independent of the main plot, this means that the player is able to completely ignore Astarion’s questline, with little pushback or change. Assuming the player can prevent his siblings from kidnapping him, there is no “real” need to fight Cazador outside of having sympathy for Astarion. This differs from a character such as Shadowheart—players have to go through the Gauntlet of Shar and into the Shadowfell to progress the game. Though they don’t necessarily have to bring Shadowheart with them, she will leave the party if they don’t.

Dooming Astarion To An Eternity Of Hiding Is The Cruelest Ending

Ignoring Astarion’s Quest Will Force Him To Hide From Cazador For The Rest Of His Life

There are many different endings for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, the majority of which are very unfortunate. It’s no mistake to say that choosing to ascend Astarion gives an absolutely tragic end to his arc, allowing him to carry on the abusive cycle that he was stuck in with Cazador. Allowing Astarion to die at the hands of the Gur or handing him over to his siblings also leads to a particularly gruesome ending, with him becoming a zombie in Cazador’s Rite.

Ignoring Astarion’s quest leaves his problems with Cazador unresolved. He gets no closure, nor revenge—he’s completely left at Cazador’s mercy. He’s doomed to live his life in hiding, never seeing the sun, and being forced to feed off of rats and vermin once more—just like when he was directly under Cazador’s command. When telling the player about this in the epilogue, he will initially try to stay optimistic, but gradually realizes just how bleak the situation he’s describing is.

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It’s heavily implied that he could very easily fall back into Cazador’s clutches—Astarion states that “he only has to say the word, and I’m his puppet again.” It’s likely that Cazador is simply biding his time and toying with Astarion, waiting for him to eventually tire of hiding in the sewers and return to the palace. Whether you are a fan of Astarion or not, it’s undeniable that casting him into a life of solitude which will eventually lead to him falling back into a lifetime of abuse is an incredibly cruel fate.

Helping Astarion Is An Act Of Empathy

You Don’t Have To Help Astarion, But Most People Still Will

In the epilogue, Astarion will point out that the player is perfectly suited for killing Cazador – but alone, he doesn’t stand a chance. He’ll ask the player if they would be willing to kill Cazador for him—if they harshly turn him down, he will comment on how they probably can’t be bothered to save one more person. This highlights how Astarion’s story is dependent on the actions of the player, and that the decisions that they make are truly meaningful to the lives of their companions.

As Reddit user Fast_Ad6141 pointed out, his questline not being a major focus explains Astarion’s motivations in trying to manipulate the player. At the start of BG3, he is completely in survival mode, doing whatever he can to earn a chance of freedom. There was never any “big” reason for the player to help Astarion which would truly benefit them, which is why he was so desperate. Players help Shadowheart in Act Two in order to kill Ketheric Thorm, or Wyll in Act 3 to uncover the truth about the Emperor—helping Astarion is purely an act of empathy.

Although it may not have been what was intended, Astarion’s quest not being linked to the plot with the Netherbrain helps to humanize him and the rest of the companions. Before they got kidnapped and received illithid parasites, they still had problems and lives of their own – and the events of the game didn’t stop that. Other games should follow Baldur’s Gate 3‘s example and take care to flesh out their characters outside the main adventure.

Source: Fast_Ad6141/Reddit

Systems

Released

August 3, 2023

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Publisher(s)

Larian Studios