✓

This Article Contains Spoilers - WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue.

"Mature Content Warning!" ‎The article contains some content involving a mature subject or situation and may not be suitable for younger viewers. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page.

Astarion Ancunín is one of the main protagonists in the 2023 fantasy video game Baldur's Gate III. He is the titular main protagonist of the Pale Elf.

Formerly a magistrate and secretly a vampire spawn, Astarion managed to break free from his master's clutches, only to be abducted by the illithids and put on the Nautiloid. Once freed, he desires to find a way to control the tadpole's powers and secure his own freedom through the obtaining of as much power as he can.

His Evil Ranking[]

What Makes Him Heinous?[]

• Of the companions, save for Minthara, Astarion is the one who most consistently approves of violent, cruel or otherwise just plain evil actions, and tends to disapprove of more altruistic ones. Whoever he kills at the player’s behest, it is not out of any sense of altruism or justice, but rather due to his bloodlust being pointed in the right direction. Notable instances of Astarion’s moral compass include:
  • Approving of helping the Goblin Camp and raiding the Emerald Grove, one of the most heinous actions the player can perform, while complaining if the player instead chooses to help the Grove.
  • Approving of selling out Dame Aylin to Lorroakan, despite knowing what it’s like to be a slave to a higher being.
  • Finding it humorous if Mayrina’s husband is revived as a zombie, leading to her being devastated.
• In the past, he used his skill at seduction to lure countless victims to his master Cazador’s palace, allowing him to feast on them.
  • He even kidnapped children to bring to Cazador, though he at least did not seduce them.
• When feeding on the player after revealing his vampiric nature to them, he can disregard their requests for him to stop, should they fail their Strength or Persuasion rolls. If enough rolls are failed, Astarion ends up killing the player.
• At the end of his questline, he has the option to sacrifice the souls of seven thousand vampire spawn so that he can use them in a ritual to become a vampire ascendant.
  • This is particularly noteworthy in that, unlike most “evil” options for characters in this game, Astarion will default to doing this, and if the player does not wish for this outcome, they will have to talk him out of it.
• If Astarion ascends, he ends up becoming a far crueller person than he ever was, to the point of being optionally considered by the player character to be “another Cazador”. He becomes even more arrogant, loses any and all morality he had beforehand, and if the player is romancing him, he becomes abusive and controlling, much like Cazador was. All this while beginning to make plans to raise an army of vampire spawn, take over the world and become the most powerful vampire to ever live.
• While the antagonists of the game are generally more heinous with regards to sheer personal cruelty and/or attempted body count, it should be noted that Astarion is largely acting on his own, with far less power and resources than the likes of the Cult of the Absolute and Raphael, which makes up for the fact that his plans have less scope than them. While Baldur's Gate has a high heinous standard, it is not so jacked up that nobody can stand out.
• While much less personally cruel than Cazador, Astarion makes up for it with his plan for world domination, which required killing countless people and siring them as vampire spawn to make an army. Given how he treats the player, should they become his spawn, it is likely that he would mistreat them as well, and they both attempted the ascension ritual, sacrificing seven thousand spawn to gain power for themselves. Thus, the two are roughly on par.

What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]

• He is far too tragic and sympathetic to be close to Pure Evil. Astarion was once a magistrate, only to have been attacked by Gur one night, almost dying if not for Cazador offering eternal life. He received it in the form of vampirism, as a spawn under Cazador’s control, where he would be put under no end of senseless torture, forced to sleep with countless victims and other spawn, forced to only feed off of decaying rats (with Cazador flaying him if he refused) and at one point, locked in a sarcophagus in total darkness, silence and starvation for an entire year. All of this is shown to have shaped Astarion into the person he is today, believing that the world is an unjust one where the strong will always seek to dominate the weak, and ultimately seeking power as a means of protecting himself.
• Depending on the player’s choice, he can become a better person over the course of the game, gradually approving of more altruistic options. If he is not allowed to ascend, he begins to embrace his heroic side somewhat, even taking up the mantle of an adventuring anti-hero.
  • Additionally, if convinced not to ascend, Astarion would rather free the seven thousand vampire spawn, wanting them to be able to experience free life, as opposed to mercy-killing them.
• Even before the choice of whether or not to let him ascend happens, Astarion approves of, and even takes, some good or caring actions, too, such as:
  • Helping Karlach escape from the fake Paladins of Tyr.
  • Taking in and caring for the Owlbear Cub.
  • Saving Lae’zel from the zaith’isk in the Githyanki Creche, even urging the player not to just stand there and let her die.
  • Generally being nice to any cats the player encounters.
  • Rescuing Yenna if she gets captured by Orin, despite his previous attitude towards her.
  • Standing in opposition to Gale sacrificing himself to destroy the Absolute.
  • Confessing to killing one of the Gur’s hunters, and volunteering to save their child from Cazador.
• In most playthroughs, he tends to genuinely grow fond of the player unless his approval is kept low. He shows concern for them on a couple of occasions, such as when the player is forcibly pleasured by Haarlep, and is the only one to be truly outraged by the implications of this.
  • This is particularly pronounced if the player is playing as the Dark Urge, as Astarion sees himself in them, not wanting them to become a slave to Bhaal’s desires and urging them to stand up to him.
  • Like with all companions, Astarion can genuinely fall in love with the player character. Even when ascended, he does feel some affection for them, but his warped personality turns those feelings corrupted and possessive, and even then those feelings are secondary to his power-hunger and selfishness.
• Generally speaking, Astarion is perfectly friendly and respectful with his fellow party members, with most insincerity reserved for his enemies and post-ascension.
• His hammy personality creates a few comedic moments that make it clear that he isn’t meant to be taken entirely seriously as a character, with scenes such as his outrage at the player for causing him to die after taking the Blood of Lathander or his reciting The Telltale Heart only to fumble it by mixing up his props.

Trivia[]

• Astarion is the only character from Baldur's Gate III to be Inconsistently Heinous.

External Links[]

• Astarion Ancunín on the Villains Wiki
• Astarion Ancnuín on the Hero Wiki
• Astarion on the Baldur's Gate 3 Wiki.
• Astarion on the Forgotten Realms Wiki.