Astarion ended up being one of the most popular characters inBaldur’s Gate 3, and easily the companion with the most dedicated fanbase. But actor Neil Newbon didn’t realise he’d be such an integral part of the story when he first got the gig, since vampires are usually just there to be killed inDungeons & Dragons.
This tidbit comes from the Baldur’s Gate 3 cast panel atEGX, where the actors gave us more of an insight into their performances. Here, Newbon walked us through the early days of playing Astarion, and how he thought that most players would be driving a stake through his heart, rather than trying to win it over.
“I didn’t realise he was a companion initially, I thought was just a vampire that you killed, because that’s kind of what people do,” said Newbon, asked about how he felt about playing Astarion at the beginning. “Most people play a game, they kill them. I think most people in this room have killed me at least once, right?”
To perhaps no surprise, very few in the audience admitted to killing him. In fact, I think it would be fair to say that many more players have let him killus,since we can invite him to bite our necks at camp. If you don’t shove him off on the first night, he’ll take a little too much, and cost you a revive. But hey, worth it.
Newbon’s initial fears that most players would kill Astarion and not think much of it couldn’t be further from the truth. While he is killable incredibly early on, with the game giving you the option to stake him the second he tries to feed on you, you can otherwise keep him around to the very end. In fact, all companions can be bumped off early too, so Astarion is hardly the exception here.
However, Newbon wasn’t the only actor surprised with how their character turned out. At the same panel, Halsin’s actor, Dave Jones, revealed thathe didn’t think many fans would want to get down and dirty with his character in bear form. Well, we did. He just had far too much faith in us. It didn’t help that this was the romanceLarianchose to highlight at a showcase prior to the game’s release, making it a right of passage for many of us once we got our hands on the game ourselves. It sure is a unique fanbase that these actors have ended up with, huh?
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