Highlights

  • Astarion's character development is lost if he becomes the Vampire Ascendant, reverting back to his manipulative and power-hungry self.
  • Ascended Astarion becomes power-hungry and strives for dominance, resembling the vampire lord who controlled him for centuries.
  • Astarion's romance takes a drastic turn if he ascends, as he becomes controlling and possessive, breaking up with the player if they refuse his offer to become a vampire.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has many different endings, and that also extends to the companions of the game. Shadowheart will embrace Shar and become a Dark Justiciar or return to her origins and serve Selune, for instance, and Baldur's Gate 3's Gale wants control of the Crown of Karsus so he can surpass Mystra's power, or he will sacrifice himself to stop the Absolute. All companions have their own endings, and they usually range from good, bad, or tragic.

That said, there is one companion whose endings are both tragic. This companion is none other than Astarion, a fan favorite in Baldur’s Gate 3. If his personal quest is completed, he will either become a Vampire Ascendant or remain a Vampire Spawn. Both endings are tragic in their own way. However, there is one ending that is more tragic than the other, and that would be Astarion becoming the Vampire Ascendant.

RELATED: Baldur's Gate 3: The Best Ending is a Double-Edged Sword for Astarion

Why Ascended Astarion is More Tragic than Spawn Astarion

Astarion pouting

Astarion's Loss of Character Development

Astarion has one of Baldur's Gate 3's best companion character developments. He goes from a man who doesn’t care about anyone other than himself and trying to manipulate the player, to having a bit of sympathy for others and generally caring for the player. If Astarion ascends, he loses all that character development and goes back to how he was when players first met him after the Nautiloid crash, but with the added evilness, hunger for power, and controlling demeanor. If the player chooses to prevent him from ascending, he later thanks them for saving him from himself.

Astarion Becomes Power-Hungry

Much like how Cazador was, Astarion grows a lust and hunger for power after he ascends, unlike his Spawn self. Ascended Astarion believes that freedom can only be obtained with power and domination over everything else. He essentially becomes Cazador, the person he hated the most. Baldur's Gate 3's Cazador is the Vampire lord who turned Astarion into a Spawn and controlled him for almost 200 years. It is tragic that he becomes power-hungry, and if players are in a romance with him, they will see a new controlling attitude towards them. If the player is playing the dark urge origin, he sees them as an opportunity to gain an army and to take over Faerun with them at his side.

Astarion's Romance Takes a Drastic Turn

Unlike his Spawn self, who is caring and treats the player as his equal, Ascended Astarion will become controlling over them. There is still affection and deep down he loves them, but his desire for power and control turns those feelings into a hungry obsession. After Astarion's ascension ritual, he gives the player the option to become a vampire like him, with all the benefits and still able to walk in the sun, but if they refuse his offer, he breaks up with them.

The player is no longer his equal, and he now sees them as his possession. However, if players do decide to break up with him after turning into a vampire, he will initially be angry, but will later mellow down and want to become partners in crime if they cannot be lovers.

Astarion Would Choose to Remain a Spawn

Some players have discovered that if they leave their character outside the chamber that Cazador is waiting in, then Astarion will take matters into his own hands and choose to remain a spawn. Ever since he found out what the scars on his back mean, he has been determined to take Cazadors' place as the Vampire Ascendant, but when it comes down to it, he actually doesn’t want it. Astarion as a Spawn is much more caring and values the player as well as himself. He may not be a goodhearted person, but he’s certainly not an evil power-hungry vampire like Cazador.

Astarion's Baldur's Gate 3 romance is very wholesome when he remains a Spawn and he becomes a happier person. In his romance, he confesses his love to the player and decides to start living his life with them as his equal. If the player is the dark urge, he encourages them to resist and vows to find a cure for them. In Baldur's Gate 3, it certainly seems far more tragic for Astarion to essentially become a new Cazador rather than lose the ability to walk in the sun.