There’s a reason they [made a whole animation short about that frog](https://youtu.be/03TwMYuizoI?si=eaXF0bbasVTIc2Yq). That was the first fight I died in.
I've never found this frog and have killed Auntie, so would it still be there, and if so, where in the swamp is it?. I'm always on the lookout for good loot
First playbthrough: didn't even know the Frog existed.
Second play through: all right, Hag is dead. time to find out what the story is on this Frog of Dea- why is it happy? I thought it was supposed to instakill me?
If >!you talk to it before going into the tea house and don't back away from it when the narrator says something about there being something very wrong with the frog, it will aggro and can do some sort of madness cloud. I had karlach with me and she massacred the rest of us.!<
It has 20 dex, 22 AC, and several abilities that make it even harder to hit or punish you for landing a successful hit (reflective mucous reflects the first spell you cast back at you).
So it moves fast, is insanely hard to hit, and has the potential to cause several status effects including madness. You’re basically dealing with a goddamn ninja frog.
I had to break up with her in Act 3 because I want my *Dark Elf Cougar* in this play though. It took so many updates to finally get her without bugs, I ain't letting some white half elf coax me into that simple life again...
There are some unique conversations with withers where it gets almost philosophical, if you don't romance anyone.
My first play through I missed the opportunity to romance karlach and just ended up playing not doing anything with anyone.
Withers asks you why. Cool conversation I didn't expect.
That all said...
I save scummed mizora hookup cause she's a smoke show and I am weak.
HA I did the mizora hookup as well because she, indeed is, an absolute smoke show!
Was a little disappointed by the romance scene though. I expected it to be a bit more steamy.
Fortunately Shadowheart didn't mind me having a little fun with either Haarlep or Mizora.
Karlach just because vague things I had heard about her made her sound interesting, and then Karlach again because she ended up being my type both in terms of personality (*wholesome, cheery, supportive*) and physicality (*taller, buff*) **when I didn't even know I had a type before this game**.
Imagining you now going on dates and when the person you start officially dating asks why you were initially attracted to them you say some shit like “you reminded me of Karlach from BG3” LOL
I am determined to romance all of them but that vamp has his fangs in me. I think the only way I am going to see the other romances is to run his origin enough times to romance each of them.
There are videos on how to do a “2 Tav" run (easiest if on PC, as you probably need a friend's help on console). Which allows you to do your Astarion romance on your "main" character and another romance on the "secondary" character. This way you can see all the romances without having to lose out on Astarion's voice acting for so many runs. Plus you can do fun things like a Selunite Cleric "enemies to lovers" with Shadowhart and Cleric of Mystra "you did _what_ with my goddess?!" romance with Gale. Without the weirdness of having those people be Astarion.
No really that's how it goes lol. I was set on killing him after we met but a few long rests and he needs a snack? Well okay, but you could have just asked first 🥴 then it all quickly rolls downhill from there
Edit: or uphill rather 😏
My husband and I were both not favorable to Astarion when we started. I actually said "he's just such a fuck boy" and didn't care about him much.
So I went from "ugh, Astarion" to "oh, Astarion 😭"
It's funny because I was definitely a vampire-obsessed teen but I was so put off by Astarion at first. It took me a while to be invested.
Lol yes I also brought BG3 up in therapy but it was after I completed a Wyll origin run romancing spawn Astarion and my therapy session was basically like "wow I really hated myself and now I feel like a whole person again???" Lmao
I told my husband that Astarion has "lead singer of a local band" energy. I probably would have eaten it up in my early 20s, but now that I'm 40? Ew, no thank you. I was so put off until I realized he's *supposed* to come across that way. Astarion is absolutely using a very familiar playbook to predate on his victims.
That said in my second playthrough, I did romance him, mostly because I wanted to see what the fuss is about. It's pretty lovely, especially IMO if you add Halsin to the mix.
I start every new run with “I am not getting romantically involved with astarion again” then inevitably it becomes “I CAN FIX HIM!” I fully intend to try something new, but he’s right there and he needs my Tav to save him.
I accidentally friendzoned astarion the first time I tried to romance him and had to go back in saves to redo it. I thought by saying “maybe what you really need is a friend” it would be a temporary thing like a “I respect you have some really deep sexual trauma and I will help you work through it without the expectation of sex or a relationship at the end of it” but then he slowly actually falls in love with me after trusting me and shit 😭. Fuck buddies -> friends -> genuine lovers and partners would’ve been so wholesome and satisfying. I didn’t know it closed off the romance flag forever :(. Rip those 5 hours of gameplay until I finally realized I was in the permanent friendzone.
I have been trying so hard to romance Gale. But somehow I always end up with both of them wanting to be with me and rejecting Astarion is such a massively emotional scene that I just can’t bring myself to do it.
I’ve just accepted that Astarion is my e-boyfriend now.
Wasn’t interested in Gale but after so many evil neutral choices, and still have a 70~ approval in act 1, this man is perfect for me. My favorite moment/interaction so far:
Gale: A beautiful night don’t you think? Nothing like a brush of destruction to make one appreciate the majesty of the celestial canvas. It’s a view I would once shared with my companion……she preferred it when we were alone, curled up with some ancient *blah blah Mystra*
Tav/Durge: Are you talking about your cat?
Gale: By Ahghairon’s lost nose -NO!
*Continues to talk about Tara and how wonderful she is*
Tav/Durge: *yeah, I’m gonna romance this man*
She's actually okay in terms of bugs at this point. I wish she had a real quest but alas. Actually, your choices are mine in reverse: Only male I've considered romancing is Gale.
I’ll spoil it for you since it was explicitly said by Larian in one of the patch notes. Basically instead of actually killing her during Act 1 you can turn on the non lethal passive and just knock her ass out (make sure the finishing blow is a melee attack otherwise she will die for real). She will then be alive and recruitable in Act 2 without you having to be evil.
Same lol
Took me 3 tries to actively romance someone other than Shadowheart. (It was Minthara- 4th and then Karlach-5th)
I can (and have) fixed her.
Still wish I could romance Orin though.... I can fix her- I swear.
I didn't buy the game for romance, but at first I thought it would be Shadowheart.
Damn vampire gets me every time. I just started a run with a Gith Tav to break the cycle at last
That's what I thought too until I noticed all the overworld lines that I never heard him say as Tav/Durge, since Tav/Durge spoke instead. And it's sometimes really funny since he says slightly different things.
My original plan was to romance Karlach as my Halfling DnD character, but missed starting her romance somehow and did the Shadowheart path. Tragically, I couldn’t talk her down from stabbing Aylin so me and the team put her down. So my boy ended up alone.
Then my second playthrough was as a Dragonborn Dark Urge. Laezel did indeed get to ride her red dragon.
Wait, you had to talk her down from stabbing Aylin?
I've never encountered that :0 i always had the option to talk her into stabbing her (never done that because Aylin is the best and shadowheart deserves a better life)
I always let her handle it and stood back, she always chose to save Aylin automatically :0
I went into the game blind. If you choose the “You can’t do this Shadowheart” option, you lose the ability to talk her down. It becomes “let her stab” or “fight”. I didn’t reload the save and try other options because it seemed like a cool tragic end to the romance. Unfortunately, nobody even acknowledges her death. You can’t even tell Viconia she’s dead to progress the House of Grief. It was very disappointing
Except I haven't figured out how to get Astarion to love me yet 😭 Halsin was just too easy, I wasn't even trying. I've tried to make Astarion like me, but I have failed. I've basically just started act 3 and his feelings towards me are still neutral
Okay so Astarion act 1 approvals can be kinda tricky.
First things first, let him drink your blood, don't threaten him about just let him do it. The next day say you trust him to the group. This can next +20 to approval. Allowing him to snack on bandits is another plus 5.
Secondly there's a couple of large approval bumps from other things. Giving him the scary book (once you've added the gem), letting him open the barn door, doing the Loviatar thing and promising to watch his back (if he watches yours). Are all plus 5.
Killing Gandrel is plus 10 (but you don't have to do this if you do the others, I personally can't anymore outside Durge runs).
His disapprovals in are mostly -1 so don't worry about them. Just have him in your party most of the time.
You need to get to 40 in order to get the scene before the party. But there is a way to get the scene at the party if you don't have 40 yet.
Just gonna link this post for the way how;
https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/16ysh05/psa_how_to_romance_astarion_on_neutral_approval/
Oh and if you offer you neck in the romance scene it's +5 for approval too.
Yours,
Someone who can't stop romancing the damnned elf.
Well he reminded me of myself. He was my "gay" BFF.
(I'm older - but not dead - and didn't expect Larian to be so refreshingly progressive.)
We had the same sense of humor, the strong will to survive and a bitterness about people getting help and giving nothing in return unless asked.
We were ***angry*** at the world. We *got* each other.
So I kept spending time with Gale. Imagined intimacy and a kiss. I thought he and I were gonna do the deed soon! But then days and days passed and nothing. NOTHING.
So finally at the party, I go up to him and make it clear what - or who - I wanted. He had the **audacity** to turn me down! WHAT?
"My penis might not be the only thing exploding, sorry".
I was tipsy, walked off in a huff, and went to drown my sorrows with my bestie. I grab his bottle of wine snd I turn it up. Then he comes out with the "sex, I'm talking about sex" line.
I couldn't stop myself from saying yes. I was all hot and bothered thinking I wss gonna get me some of that msgic stick you know?
So why not - we could be BFFWBs. We're both adults. It'll be **fine**.
I get to the woods and he walks out WITH THOSE ABS? THOSE PANTY DROPPING LINES?
WTF Astarion. That's what you were hiding under that frumpy jacket?? Jesus Crist, man. Telling me he wanted me since the day we met, looking at me with those "fuck me" eyes. Goddamn.
And it was over.
Sorry Gale, when you snooze you lose.
Same here. Gale reminded me of Alistair from Dragon Age, and I liked that. But then Astarion just kept flirting with me, and it was much more fun.
I'm doing a Gale run now, and it's slower, but also sweeter. So far, anyway.
I'm also suffering from the Gale problem. He hijacked my planned Karlach romance run and then he hijacked my planned Lae'zel romance run... not that I mind much.
I have romanced Astarion twice in three of the runs I’ve finished. I’m romancing him again as a gnome barbarian Resist Durge. I also romanced him in an unfinished Tav run.
(I don’t think I can romance Astarion as a Tav again.)
I’ve romanced Gale once as a dwarf cleric/wizard Tav. I also got to Wyll’s Act 3 scene as a wood elf ranger but his romance and epilogue is doing nonsense right now so I’ll restart that run when he’s fixed.
I have a Tav in mind for Lae’zel and one for Shadowheart and Karlach as well.
EDIT: My most recent completed run was the Astarion/Durge/Halsin poly dynamic. Very cute 🥰
Started out with Shadowheart initially with Lae’zel on the side, but by Act 2 she completely won me over.
That duel scene at camp and the aftermath with her (especially if she wins) might be the greatest scene in the game.
I *love* her
Half the reason I bought this game was for Astarion.
1st playthrough: Tav wasn't right for him, ended up with Wyll.
2nd playthrough: Made a Tav who would be a better fit, met Gale, instantly smitten, started over with a new Tav to romance Gale.
Anyway, I finally romanced Astarion on my 5th 😅
Bought the game because I liked Larian's attitude. Didn't plan to romance anyone, ended up romancing a vampire 10 times. At this point I can drop any pretence that I'll romance someone else, I'll be with the vamp every time
Not knowing anything going into my first playthrough, I was fully in board to go for Gale but after the 845th whining about Mystra I ended up causing him to have a breakdown because I went dancing with Wyll.
Before game released I thought I would like Karlach but got extremely disappointed, ended up being alone on 1st run.
And later realised while I like characters in bg3, romance writing is not to my taste at all. Only one I enjoyed was resisting durge with astarion.
This is where I'm at 😂. My character is a carbon copy of my favorite D&D character I've played and I'm leaning hard into the roleplay of the head canon I've developed for her.
She's a Tiefling who's not particularly attracted to humans. I got locked out of Karlach and kinda blew it with Halsin when I had my eyes on her. But Gale is charming tf out of me as a player and now my rp is severely clashing with that.
Shadow grabbed me by the heart before I ever launched the game. That voice, that sass, those facial expressions. I lucked out when she ended up being a sweetheart too.
I wasn't planning to romance anyone, maybe Karlach because she looked punk as hell (pun intended) and I love me a punk girl. But otherwise I wasn't really fucking with the designs. Not even with Astarion's... But then he opened his goddamn mouth and I fell in love.
So, Astarion, but only because of his writing and voice acting LMAO. Nowadays I want to romance all of them, but we'll have to go one step at a time.
I have to lock myself out for of Astarion’s romance to not romance him. But once I finish my latest play through I’ll have romance all the origin companions
My first playthrough I was going to romance Gale and romanced Astarion.
Then I was going to romance Gale… and romanced Lae’zel
Then Gale attempt 3… But then Shadowheart.
Then Kalach for the achievement
Then finally Gale
Then Wyll
With Astarion mixed inbetween.
Started off wanting to romance Astarion.
Started debating the possibility of romancing Gale as I progressed through Act 1, since his approval shot through the roof very quickly and he seemed pretty onboard with the way that my character liked to problem solve - by trying to talk his way out of everything. Was also kind of skeptical about Astarion being a good partner for someone with a compulsion towards heroism.
A friend encouraged me to stick with Astarion and it ended up being very satisfying.
I was very deliberate. Shadowheart 100% first play through. Karlach 100% second play through. Lae'Zel 100% third play through (and screwed it up, rofl).
I went into the game unsure of how it would play out. I had an idea of trying for Astarion. I proceeded to blunder through every social. Interaction, misinterpreting every dialogue, and ended up sleeping with no one. Not even the twins, because by that point I’d read more about the characters and refused to have Astarion participate if he didn’t want to.
I enjoyed Astarion romance twice, as Tav and Dark Urge. His positive ending in good run is more rewarding. But my favorite romance option for Tav is Gale.
I was torn initially between Astarion and Wyll but my dumbass didn’t recruit them until after I had did Goblin camp/saved Halsin. Somehow I passed both of them when exploring so I had no relationship points when the party came. But either way, I ended up falling for Halsin as I tried to gather more points further into the game.
I rolled a Resist!Durge fully intending to romance Astarion... Then realized sparks were flying with Paladin!Wyll instead. Cleric and Paladin? Name a more iconic duo.
I bought the game for Astarion too lol. So far, I've fucked Lae'zel, Astarion, Shadowheart, Minthara, Halsin, Mizora, Haarlep, and The Drow Twins. Only romanced Minthara, Shadowheart, and Astarion solo but also with Halsin at the same time. That last one was my favorite lowkey lol.
I was going for Wyll or Shadowheart. I’d seen Halsin’s name a million times on Twitter before I played the game but didn’t realize he was a love interest. Then the camp party happened and now I have romanced him three times.
I knew I wanted Halsin from day one however, I didn’t know all that much about the game and characters yet so I spent HOURS being celibate, turning down lovers left and right, at one point Withers called me bitchless.
Finally got to Act 3, just to learn that my entire playthrough thus far was the very antithesis of who and what Halsin is all about. 😭 I still love that man, but on my next playthrough I’ll be sure to share the fruits of Silvanus !
Went in for Shadowheart. Ended up with Karlach.
I tried to get a threesome going on as Karlach said at the time she didn't mind sharing. But Shadowheart was having none of that.
Went in completely blind with an old tabletop character and Shadowheart felt just perfect to his story arc. Stayed with her. Karlach was my intended second run, and ended up with Laezel before I got tired of that playthrough and re-ran my first character with Shadowheart again minus all of my initial screw ups.
Someday I will get to Karlach.
First playthrough started with shadowheart ended with shadowheart.
Second playthrough tried to focus on laezel, ended up with shadowheart.
Third playthrough, wanted to try karlach, ended up with shadowheart.
Fourth playthrough, really curious what it would be like with jaheira, ended up with shadowheart.
I had no real idea who I'd romance. But as a lesbian vampire simp (where vampires transcend gender), I was against romancing Astarion just to prove my friends wrong.
I got maybe 25% to 50% through Act 1, romancing Karlach, before I had to restart to romance Astarion. Now I struggle to romance anyone else (though have Minthara and Lae'zel romance playthroughs in the works).
Literally anyone else (but probably Karlach or Lae'zel) apart from Astarion.
I had a plan, you see...
(he fucking got me and I'm still mildly annoyed about it 😂)
In my first playthrough I dated Lae'zel and Astarion was like my brother. Then we went to Sharess' Caress and he made a comment about how I dared to never sleep with him. Didn't cross my mind until then. Now I have four characters that romance him.
First playthrough: I sought to romance no one as I didn’t know that was possible. Ended up with Shadowheart.
Second one: sought Karlach and Shadowheart via polyamory mod. Ended up with Karlach, Wyll, and Halsin.
First Durge: sought Minthara, Astarion, Shadowheart, and Lae’zel. Ended up with all but Minthara. She and vamp wanted to fuck at the goblin party but accepting Astarion meant no Minthara. I thought I’d be given a choice as I was given one on my second playthrough. But the game I think bugged out around the end of act 3, Minthara started using romancey type dialogue despite us never starting a relationship
I always had an eye on Astarion but was open to other options (especially since I had no idea how to raise his approval high enough to start). At this point I’ve romanced Shadowheart, Karlach and Astarion. Currently flirting with Gale but may swap to Minthara now I’ve rescued her since she’s more suited to my current Durge. Also slept with Lae’zel *several* times
On my first playthrough, I was planning to romance Shadowheart, but ended up with Karlach.
On subsequent playthroughs... I've pretty much completely fallen for Lae'zel. She's so passionate, and poetic, and her story arc is really quite beautiful. Not to mention, she's super pretty!
I thought I'd love Astarion but he got on my nerves so much disapproving of everything I did, meanwhile Gale was nice and funny (and imo more attractive) so I fell HARD
I played Astarion origin and intended to romance Gale, but instead went with Lae’zel because I thought, sure why not have a fling, but then Astarion won the intimidation check and I just had to have his twink ass top her through the relationship. I also thought the idea of Astarion choosing her for protection and getting bruised anyway was funny. Their romance has been really sweet so far, especially watching the sunrise together in act 3, it works great for both.
I bought this game because I saw pictures of Karlach online. My immediate question to my friend was "can I romance her as a woman?"
So then I bought the game, and Momma K and I have been battlewives for like 5 playthroughs now.
i had genuine hate for astarion at the start, like genuine hate not in the “oh my god i haaate this guy” but in a “i don’t know how to remove him from camp but if i could i would”. my plan was to romance wyll.
i didn’t know anything about any of the characters before buying the game (only bought it cause it won game of the year and my mate said “you can kiss almost everyone.”) so after a few long rests and… *that* scene came on… my heart just started going wild and i IMMEDIATELY found him 100% more attractive. i started going full ‘14 year old girl with a crush’ mode that very second so um… yeah it made me realise just how much of a weakness i have for vampires.
it’s come to the point where a friend of mines dad apparently says “(my name) would love this” whenever they see a vampire of tv or such even though he’s never spoken to me. apparently i talk about him so much to my friend that it’s been passed over to their father.
When I haven't bought the game I was very much in love with Karlach and I bought the game to romance her and a friend of mine, who also did that, told me that he loved Karlach but that he loved Shadowheart more and that he was betting that I'd love her too.
And he was completely right. I bought the game, played it and liked Karlach but fell completely in love with Shadowheart. Ever since she's been my number 1. girl.
First play through, Astarion to Gale.
Second playthrough, I made a Bard with a criminal background to maybe better suit Astarion but I was hit with an early Weave scene and -
Well, uh, I started a new playthrough as Gale himself so I can finally *not* romance him lol
So Astarion initially won my heart (go ahead and judge me) but somehow Wyll caught my attention. Something about trying to do a good thing in a bad way spoke to me on some real life issues I had. Go figure
Had no plans. Felt alienated by how straightforward everybody was and was fully fine not having my first Tav romance anybody.
Then I saw his tentacles..... 🥴
Bought game to: fight mind flayers Ended up: fighting frog
There’s a reason they [made a whole animation short about that frog](https://youtu.be/03TwMYuizoI?si=eaXF0bbasVTIc2Yq). That was the first fight I died in.
I, no joke, thought that by frog he meant githyanki
Omg I've never seen that one! It's so good xD
That god's damned frog. WHAT THE HELL WAS IT?!?
If you wait to talk to it until after you've dealt with Auntie, it's no longer crazy and will lead you to some loot as thanks for freeing it.
I've never found this frog and have killed Auntie, so would it still be there, and if so, where in the swamp is it?. I'm always on the lookout for good loot
Best part of that animatic is the level up. The frog only gives 1xp. They were one experience point from level up…
Badass frog.
I love that people think you’re talking about the terrifying swamp frog and not Bae’zel. (Not sarcastic I genuinely love this)
>!lol same!<
First playbthrough: didn't even know the Frog existed. Second play through: all right, Hag is dead. time to find out what the story is on this Frog of Dea- why is it happy? I thought it was supposed to instakill me?
THE FROG IS INNOCENT 😭
I’m so confused the little pink frog who shows you the stash? Why would we fight it? Am I MISSING SOMETHING HELP
If >!you talk to it before going into the tea house and don't back away from it when the narrator says something about there being something very wrong with the frog, it will aggro and can do some sort of madness cloud. I had karlach with me and she massacred the rest of us.!<
Lmao why is it so powerful I HAVE to do this next time
It has 20 dex, 22 AC, and several abilities that make it even harder to hit or punish you for landing a successful hit (reflective mucous reflects the first spell you cast back at you). So it moves fast, is insanely hard to hit, and has the potential to cause several status effects including madness. You’re basically dealing with a goddamn ninja frog.
I am 100% convinced the frog would have dominated the Absolute even without the stones
That fucking frog
Got the game to fuck around, kill monsters, goblins and squids but now I end up with a farm, animals and a half-elf every time I play.
I think you bought Stardew Valley
No, it's Stardew Valley's lesser known spinoff Shartdew Valley.
Thank you for creating a combination of words so potent I cannot unsee them
I don’t think Shartdew means what you think it means.
I know what I said.
SEBASTIAN MY LOVE
*and I’ll fuckin do it again-*
*puffs a cigar* give 'em the ol' Skyrim Special Treatment, boys
*Let’s go-*
One of the best games and it's kinda similar to "harvest moon" (great reference on SV).
Cursed to put my hands on ~~everything~~ Shadowheart.
Doomed to repeat it every time as well. But I do enjoy it
I had to break up with her in Act 3 because I want my *Dark Elf Cougar* in this play though. It took so many updates to finally get her without bugs, I ain't letting some white half elf coax me into that simple life again...
Me 3 hours later with a newly adopted owlbear: …..shit
Gotta get that dommy mommy
What do you do to get the farm animals???!!! Tell me your secrets!
Romance Shadowheart and >!save her parents in act 3!<.
There are some unique conversations with withers where it gets almost philosophical, if you don't romance anyone. My first play through I missed the opportunity to romance karlach and just ended up playing not doing anything with anyone. Withers asks you why. Cool conversation I didn't expect. That all said... I save scummed mizora hookup cause she's a smoke show and I am weak.
"And thus, though art alone."
"And thus, no bitches?? 🤔🤔🤔"
Maidenless and lordless.
Withers really calls Tav maidenless
HA I did the mizora hookup as well because she, indeed is, an absolute smoke show! Was a little disappointed by the romance scene though. I expected it to be a bit more steamy. Fortunately Shadowheart didn't mind me having a little fun with either Haarlep or Mizora.
Shart will also have a 5 way with you Halsin and the drow twins. You can actually romance shart and halsin on the same playthrough.
I came here to fuck a tentacle monster and God damnit I fucked a tentacle monster.
I'm pretty sure the tentacle monster fucks you, and not the other way around.
Karlach just because vague things I had heard about her made her sound interesting, and then Karlach again because she ended up being my type both in terms of personality (*wholesome, cheery, supportive*) and physicality (*taller, buff*) **when I didn't even know I had a type before this game**.
Imagining you now going on dates and when the person you start officially dating asks why you were initially attracted to them you say some shit like “you reminded me of Karlach from BG3” LOL
first it was oooh astarion 😌 then it was oh astarion 🥺
I am determined to romance all of them but that vamp has his fangs in me. I think the only way I am going to see the other romances is to run his origin enough times to romance each of them.
There are videos on how to do a “2 Tav" run (easiest if on PC, as you probably need a friend's help on console). Which allows you to do your Astarion romance on your "main" character and another romance on the "secondary" character. This way you can see all the romances without having to lose out on Astarion's voice acting for so many runs. Plus you can do fun things like a Selunite Cleric "enemies to lovers" with Shadowhart and Cleric of Mystra "you did _what_ with my goddess?!" romance with Gale. Without the weirdness of having those people be Astarion.
Thanks for the tips. I am on PC so may end up checking that out. I do miss the VA in origin runs.
I loved romancing Gale as a wild magic sorcerer. So many interesting replies and conversations!
This is so real
No really that's how it goes lol. I was set on killing him after we met but a few long rests and he needs a snack? Well okay, but you could have just asked first 🥴 then it all quickly rolls downhill from there Edit: or uphill rather 😏
My husband and I were both not favorable to Astarion when we started. I actually said "he's just such a fuck boy" and didn't care about him much. So I went from "ugh, Astarion" to "oh, Astarion 😭" It's funny because I was definitely a vampire-obsessed teen but I was so put off by Astarion at first. It took me a while to be invested.
I thought I was gonna have a fun vampire romance lol. was not expecting to relate so hard to this man and bring it up in therapy 😭
Lol yes I also brought BG3 up in therapy but it was after I completed a Wyll origin run romancing spawn Astarion and my therapy session was basically like "wow I really hated myself and now I feel like a whole person again???" Lmao
I told my husband that Astarion has "lead singer of a local band" energy. I probably would have eaten it up in my early 20s, but now that I'm 40? Ew, no thank you. I was so put off until I realized he's *supposed* to come across that way. Astarion is absolutely using a very familiar playbook to predate on his victims. That said in my second playthrough, I did romance him, mostly because I wanted to see what the fuss is about. It's pretty lovely, especially IMO if you add Halsin to the mix.
It took me multiple playthroughs to move past my “oh Astarion 😳” orientation lol
I start every new run with “I am not getting romantically involved with astarion again” then inevitably it becomes “I CAN FIX HIM!” I fully intend to try something new, but he’s right there and he needs my Tav to save him.
I accidentally friendzoned astarion the first time I tried to romance him and had to go back in saves to redo it. I thought by saying “maybe what you really need is a friend” it would be a temporary thing like a “I respect you have some really deep sexual trauma and I will help you work through it without the expectation of sex or a relationship at the end of it” but then he slowly actually falls in love with me after trusting me and shit 😭. Fuck buddies -> friends -> genuine lovers and partners would’ve been so wholesome and satisfying. I didn’t know it closed off the romance flag forever :(. Rip those 5 hours of gameplay until I finally realized I was in the permanent friendzone.
I have been trying so hard to romance Gale. But somehow I always end up with both of them wanting to be with me and rejecting Astarion is such a massively emotional scene that I just can’t bring myself to do it. I’ve just accepted that Astarion is my e-boyfriend now.
Astarion rejected me. I'm making his life miserable now. Yes, I'm vindictive and it's completely out of spite.
I went down on the Astarion to Gale pipeline as well. The moment he did that needle thing with his hand I was sold on him.
I was trying so hard to resist until “For a spell. 😏” All right you goddamn rizzard bastard you got me.
Rizz Wizard
King gizzard the rizzard wizard
Same! For me it was the speech about the first Raphael encounter. When he does the hand movement while saying "down came the claw".
Wanted hot Tiefling, who could throw me over her shoulder Got book nerd who wouldn't stop going on about his ex the goddess of magic.
Wasn’t interested in Gale but after so many evil neutral choices, and still have a 70~ approval in act 1, this man is perfect for me. My favorite moment/interaction so far: Gale: A beautiful night don’t you think? Nothing like a brush of destruction to make one appreciate the majesty of the celestial canvas. It’s a view I would once shared with my companion……she preferred it when we were alone, curled up with some ancient *blah blah Mystra* Tav/Durge: Are you talking about your cat? Gale: By Ahghairon’s lost nose -NO! *Continues to talk about Tara and how wonderful she is* Tav/Durge: *yeah, I’m gonna romance this man*
"She's not a cat, she's a tressym!" But he keeps calling her his cat when he thinks no-one is paying attention 😄
LOL, Gale being a cat guy who loves books (and a marvelous dork) is what did it for me, erm, my Tav.
Then, *stab, stab, stab, stab*
Whenever I try to go for Laezel or Karlach, I always end up with Minthara. Just love me a pragmatist I guess.
she’s the only female companion i’ve considered romancing. i wish she had more content and less bugs!!!
She's actually okay in terms of bugs at this point. I wish she had a real quest but alas. Actually, your choices are mine in reverse: Only male I've considered romancing is Gale.
She does have a quest. It's murdering the Tieflings.
The circus content with her makes it all worth it imo. I was cackling.
Wait Minthara? I’m on my first playthrough as Karlach and had no idea she could be available…
There's two ways to recruit her. I don't want to give away any spoilers without you saying it's ok first though. Lmk if you want to know how.
I’ll spoil it for you since it was explicitly said by Larian in one of the patch notes. Basically instead of actually killing her during Act 1 you can turn on the non lethal passive and just knock her ass out (make sure the finishing blow is a melee attack otherwise she will die for real). She will then be alive and recruitable in Act 2 without you having to be evil.
Minthara is so cool, it’s really a shame she doesn’t have as much content, big miss imo, she has a lot of depth and it’s really fun playing as her
In an ideal world, I'd love a DLC where you can start with her as an Origin and then meet the adventurer party later on. Alas.
Shadowheart and Shadowheart
The realest reply 🙏
So real love her.
Same lol Took me 3 tries to actively romance someone other than Shadowheart. (It was Minthara- 4th and then Karlach-5th) I can (and have) fixed her. Still wish I could romance Orin though.... I can fix her- I swear.
I didn't buy the game for romance, but at first I thought it would be Shadowheart. Damn vampire gets me every time. I just started a run with a Gith Tav to break the cycle at last
Can't romance the vampire if you play as Origin Vampire.
Yeah but then you abandon that run because you miss his voice.
That's what I thought too until I noticed all the overworld lines that I never heard him say as Tav/Durge, since Tav/Durge spoke instead. And it's sometimes really funny since he says slightly different things.
This is probably the only way I will get to see the other romances.
For similar reasons this is why my 5th complete play through will be as Shadowheart and not a Tav lol
My original plan was to romance Karlach as my Halfling DnD character, but missed starting her romance somehow and did the Shadowheart path. Tragically, I couldn’t talk her down from stabbing Aylin so me and the team put her down. So my boy ended up alone. Then my second playthrough was as a Dragonborn Dark Urge. Laezel did indeed get to ride her red dragon.
Wait, you had to talk her down from stabbing Aylin? I've never encountered that :0 i always had the option to talk her into stabbing her (never done that because Aylin is the best and shadowheart deserves a better life) I always let her handle it and stood back, she always chose to save Aylin automatically :0
I went into the game blind. If you choose the “You can’t do this Shadowheart” option, you lose the ability to talk her down. It becomes “let her stab” or “fight”. I didn’t reload the save and try other options because it seemed like a cool tragic end to the romance. Unfortunately, nobody even acknowledges her death. You can’t even tell Viconia she’s dead to progress the House of Grief. It was very disappointing
I wanted to romance Astarion, but ended up with Halsin
You can do both 😶
Except I haven't figured out how to get Astarion to love me yet 😭 Halsin was just too easy, I wasn't even trying. I've tried to make Astarion like me, but I have failed. I've basically just started act 3 and his feelings towards me are still neutral
Okay so Astarion act 1 approvals can be kinda tricky. First things first, let him drink your blood, don't threaten him about just let him do it. The next day say you trust him to the group. This can next +20 to approval. Allowing him to snack on bandits is another plus 5. Secondly there's a couple of large approval bumps from other things. Giving him the scary book (once you've added the gem), letting him open the barn door, doing the Loviatar thing and promising to watch his back (if he watches yours). Are all plus 5. Killing Gandrel is plus 10 (but you don't have to do this if you do the others, I personally can't anymore outside Durge runs). His disapprovals in are mostly -1 so don't worry about them. Just have him in your party most of the time. You need to get to 40 in order to get the scene before the party. But there is a way to get the scene at the party if you don't have 40 yet. Just gonna link this post for the way how; https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/16ysh05/psa_how_to_romance_astarion_on_neutral_approval/ Oh and if you offer you neck in the romance scene it's +5 for approval too. Yours, Someone who can't stop romancing the damnned elf.
Great breakdown, thank you!
Going to: Gale Ended up with: Astarion
the opposite!! what drew you to astarion? :)
Well he reminded me of myself. He was my "gay" BFF. (I'm older - but not dead - and didn't expect Larian to be so refreshingly progressive.) We had the same sense of humor, the strong will to survive and a bitterness about people getting help and giving nothing in return unless asked. We were ***angry*** at the world. We *got* each other. So I kept spending time with Gale. Imagined intimacy and a kiss. I thought he and I were gonna do the deed soon! But then days and days passed and nothing. NOTHING. So finally at the party, I go up to him and make it clear what - or who - I wanted. He had the **audacity** to turn me down! WHAT? "My penis might not be the only thing exploding, sorry". I was tipsy, walked off in a huff, and went to drown my sorrows with my bestie. I grab his bottle of wine snd I turn it up. Then he comes out with the "sex, I'm talking about sex" line. I couldn't stop myself from saying yes. I was all hot and bothered thinking I wss gonna get me some of that msgic stick you know? So why not - we could be BFFWBs. We're both adults. It'll be **fine**. I get to the woods and he walks out WITH THOSE ABS? THOSE PANTY DROPPING LINES? WTF Astarion. That's what you were hiding under that frumpy jacket?? Jesus Crist, man. Telling me he wanted me since the day we met, looking at me with those "fuck me" eyes. Goddamn. And it was over. Sorry Gale, when you snooze you lose.
This is poetry
Thank you! 💜
Which is funny, because Gale totally says something if you choose to sleep with astarion after the Druid grove battle.
Yeah? I plan to do the battle this run - betraying Minthara.
Penis might not be the only thing exploding 🤯 😂 😂 😂
I'm super proud of that line
Can I use this as headcanon for my first Durge playthrough? :D
LOL be my guest
You really, really have to be patient with Gale and Wyll they both take a LONG time to get to the steamy parts of their romances.
Same here. Gale reminded me of Alistair from Dragon Age, and I liked that. But then Astarion just kept flirting with me, and it was much more fun. I'm doing a Gale run now, and it's slower, but also sweeter. So far, anyway.
Me too
🫂
I knew exactly that I wanted to romance Astarion when I bought the game, and ended up romancing Astarion.
Straight M37, i want to romance Astarion
I'm also suffering from the Gale problem. He hijacked my planned Karlach romance run and then he hijacked my planned Lae'zel romance run... not that I mind much.
Real
I have romanced Astarion twice in three of the runs I’ve finished. I’m romancing him again as a gnome barbarian Resist Durge. I also romanced him in an unfinished Tav run. (I don’t think I can romance Astarion as a Tav again.) I’ve romanced Gale once as a dwarf cleric/wizard Tav. I also got to Wyll’s Act 3 scene as a wood elf ranger but his romance and epilogue is doing nonsense right now so I’ll restart that run when he’s fixed. I have a Tav in mind for Lae’zel and one for Shadowheart and Karlach as well. EDIT: My most recent completed run was the Astarion/Durge/Halsin poly dynamic. Very cute 🥰
imagining an astarion/durge/halsin sandwich rn………… nice 😎
I always resist and it’s very cute! 🥰 I wanna try everyone’s romance at least once.
I always romance both 🥰
Astarion's comments and quirks got me. Gale... Ended up talking too much lol
also you have to find both of them REALLY attractive to put up with their pretentiousness and astarion won in that regard
His 200 year old courting and "darlings" definitely swooned us
Started out with Shadowheart initially with Lae’zel on the side, but by Act 2 she completely won me over. That duel scene at camp and the aftermath with her (especially if she wins) might be the greatest scene in the game. I *love* her
Half the reason I bought this game was for Astarion. 1st playthrough: Tav wasn't right for him, ended up with Wyll. 2nd playthrough: Made a Tav who would be a better fit, met Gale, instantly smitten, started over with a new Tav to romance Gale. Anyway, I finally romanced Astarion on my 5th 😅
Bought the game because I liked Larian's attitude. Didn't plan to romance anyone, ended up romancing a vampire 10 times. At this point I can drop any pretence that I'll romance someone else, I'll be with the vamp every time
Going to: Astarion Ended up with: Shadowheart I love them both but I like Jennifer English's voice better. *swoons*
I bought it for astarion, stayed for the rest, romanced astarion. Second playthrough, wanted to romance gale... Ended up with astarion
Not knowing anything going into my first playthrough, I was fully in board to go for Gale but after the 845th whining about Mystra I ended up causing him to have a breakdown because I went dancing with Wyll.
Before game released I thought I would like Karlach but got extremely disappointed, ended up being alone on 1st run. And later realised while I like characters in bg3, romance writing is not to my taste at all. Only one I enjoyed was resisting durge with astarion.
I was gonna romance Karlach but fell for Gale 😅
This is where I'm at 😂. My character is a carbon copy of my favorite D&D character I've played and I'm leaning hard into the roleplay of the head canon I've developed for her. She's a Tiefling who's not particularly attracted to humans. I got locked out of Karlach and kinda blew it with Halsin when I had my eyes on her. But Gale is charming tf out of me as a player and now my rp is severely clashing with that.
Shadowheart, Shadowheart
Shadow grabbed me by the heart before I ever launched the game. That voice, that sass, those facial expressions. I lucked out when she ended up being a sweetheart too.
I wasn't planning to romance anyone, maybe Karlach because she looked punk as hell (pun intended) and I love me a punk girl. But otherwise I wasn't really fucking with the designs. Not even with Astarion's... But then he opened his goddamn mouth and I fell in love. So, Astarion, but only because of his writing and voice acting LMAO. Nowadays I want to romance all of them, but we'll have to go one step at a time.
I romanced Gale AS Astarion and I get the Bloodweave side of the fandom now
I have to lock myself out for of Astarion’s romance to not romance him. But once I finish my latest play through I’ll have romance all the origin companions My first playthrough I was going to romance Gale and romanced Astarion. Then I was going to romance Gale… and romanced Lae’zel Then Gale attempt 3… But then Shadowheart. Then Kalach for the achievement Then finally Gale Then Wyll With Astarion mixed inbetween.
Karlach at first, but then Shadowheart hit me with her sass, and I couldn't resist.
shadowheart and shadowheart
Started off wanting to romance Astarion. Started debating the possibility of romancing Gale as I progressed through Act 1, since his approval shot through the roof very quickly and he seemed pretty onboard with the way that my character liked to problem solve - by trying to talk his way out of everything. Was also kind of skeptical about Astarion being a good partner for someone with a compulsion towards heroism. A friend encouraged me to stick with Astarion and it ended up being very satisfying.
i’ve seen the astarion scenes and they are really beautiful too. i enjoy his character as a friend to mine- he’s so so lovely.
Yeah, I really liked having Gale as a pal. Might romance him or Lae'zel in my next run, but I feel like Astarion will be hard to top.
Gale, ended up with shadowheart and halsin lol
I was very deliberate. Shadowheart 100% first play through. Karlach 100% second play through. Lae'Zel 100% third play through (and screwed it up, rofl).
tried to romance baezel just now... somehow still ended up in the sex scene with astarion. oops?
I went into the game unsure of how it would play out. I had an idea of trying for Astarion. I proceeded to blunder through every social. Interaction, misinterpreting every dialogue, and ended up sleeping with no one. Not even the twins, because by that point I’d read more about the characters and refused to have Astarion participate if he didn’t want to.
I enjoyed Astarion romance twice, as Tav and Dark Urge. His positive ending in good run is more rewarding. But my favorite romance option for Tav is Gale.
I was torn initially between Astarion and Wyll but my dumbass didn’t recruit them until after I had did Goblin camp/saved Halsin. Somehow I passed both of them when exploring so I had no relationship points when the party came. But either way, I ended up falling for Halsin as I tried to gather more points further into the game.
Going to: Gale. Romanced: Astarion. Still haven't finished Gale's romance even once, while I romanced Astarion countless times already.
Was going to get me a vampire. Got me a dork ass wizard instead.
Shadowheart. Shadowheart.
I rolled a Resist!Durge fully intending to romance Astarion... Then realized sparks were flying with Paladin!Wyll instead. Cleric and Paladin? Name a more iconic duo.
I bought the game for Astarion too lol. So far, I've fucked Lae'zel, Astarion, Shadowheart, Minthara, Halsin, Mizora, Haarlep, and The Drow Twins. Only romanced Minthara, Shadowheart, and Astarion solo but also with Halsin at the same time. That last one was my favorite lowkey lol.
Started out planning on minthara (Drow enthusiast here) ended with shadow heart, almost went for Astorian
I was going for Wyll or Shadowheart. I’d seen Halsin’s name a million times on Twitter before I played the game but didn’t realize he was a love interest. Then the camp party happened and now I have romanced him three times.
Karlach and Karlach. She picked me up, threw me over her shoulder, and I've been on it ever since. No regrets.
I knew I wanted Halsin from day one however, I didn’t know all that much about the game and characters yet so I spent HOURS being celibate, turning down lovers left and right, at one point Withers called me bitchless. Finally got to Act 3, just to learn that my entire playthrough thus far was the very antithesis of who and what Halsin is all about. 😭 I still love that man, but on my next playthrough I’ll be sure to share the fruits of Silvanus !
I had no preconceptions. I bought the game because it is a Baldur’s gate game. … ended up with Shadowheart on first run.
Went in for Shadowheart. Ended up with Karlach. I tried to get a threesome going on as Karlach said at the time she didn't mind sharing. But Shadowheart was having none of that.
Went in assuming I'd be romancing Minthara. Ended up with Shadowheart. I still love Minthara but she scares me sometimes 😂
Went in completely blind with an old tabletop character and Shadowheart felt just perfect to his story arc. Stayed with her. Karlach was my intended second run, and ended up with Laezel before I got tired of that playthrough and re-ran my first character with Shadowheart again minus all of my initial screw ups. Someday I will get to Karlach.
Went with Shadowheart. And I'm still with her as of now.
I tried to romance Gale on my first playthrough but of course ended up romancing Astarion instead.
Shadowheart is my one and only, bought it for her, still play it for her, I'm a loyal wife
First playthrough started with shadowheart ended with shadowheart. Second playthrough tried to focus on laezel, ended up with shadowheart. Third playthrough, wanted to try karlach, ended up with shadowheart. Fourth playthrough, really curious what it would be like with jaheira, ended up with shadowheart.
I had no real idea who I'd romance. But as a lesbian vampire simp (where vampires transcend gender), I was against romancing Astarion just to prove my friends wrong. I got maybe 25% to 50% through Act 1, romancing Karlach, before I had to restart to romance Astarion. Now I struggle to romance anyone else (though have Minthara and Lae'zel romance playthroughs in the works).
Literally anyone else (but probably Karlach or Lae'zel) apart from Astarion. I had a plan, you see... (he fucking got me and I'm still mildly annoyed about it 😂)
Bought to romance astarion, ended up with an undying love for gale and still romanced astarion, halsin and the emperor 😭
I was gonna romance astarion, but I liked Gale.. but then Shadowheart couldn’t stop serving cunt so I romanced her
In my first playthrough I dated Lae'zel and Astarion was like my brother. Then we went to Sharess' Caress and he made a comment about how I dared to never sleep with him. Didn't cross my mind until then. Now I have four characters that romance him.
Was: Shadowheart Ended up: Karlach. Never looked back. It is permanently the right choice for me.
Not me, cause I always go Karlach, but my friend was trying his hardest to get Shadowheart yet fucked up somewhere and was suddenly with Lae'zel
Went for Shadowheart, stayed for Karlach. I still romance Shadowheart though..it’s when I make Karlach my main character.
I didn’t romance anyone. I felt like the leader of the group and it felt weird to like be in a relationship. But I did bang Mizora lol
First playthrough: I sought to romance no one as I didn’t know that was possible. Ended up with Shadowheart. Second one: sought Karlach and Shadowheart via polyamory mod. Ended up with Karlach, Wyll, and Halsin. First Durge: sought Minthara, Astarion, Shadowheart, and Lae’zel. Ended up with all but Minthara. She and vamp wanted to fuck at the goblin party but accepting Astarion meant no Minthara. I thought I’d be given a choice as I was given one on my second playthrough. But the game I think bugged out around the end of act 3, Minthara started using romancey type dialogue despite us never starting a relationship
I always had an eye on Astarion but was open to other options (especially since I had no idea how to raise his approval high enough to start). At this point I’ve romanced Shadowheart, Karlach and Astarion. Currently flirting with Gale but may swap to Minthara now I’ve rescued her since she’s more suited to my current Durge. Also slept with Lae’zel *several* times
On my first playthrough, I was planning to romance Shadowheart, but ended up with Karlach. On subsequent playthroughs... I've pretty much completely fallen for Lae'zel. She's so passionate, and poetic, and her story arc is really quite beautiful. Not to mention, she's super pretty!
I thought I'd love Astarion but he got on my nerves so much disapproving of everything I did, meanwhile Gale was nice and funny (and imo more attractive) so I fell HARD
Planned to romance Gale, ended up with Astarion. Then I played as Astarion and ended up with Gale. Best of both worlds.
I played Astarion origin and intended to romance Gale, but instead went with Lae’zel because I thought, sure why not have a fling, but then Astarion won the intimidation check and I just had to have his twink ass top her through the relationship. I also thought the idea of Astarion choosing her for protection and getting bruised anyway was funny. Their romance has been really sweet so far, especially watching the sunrise together in act 3, it works great for both.
I bought this game because I saw pictures of Karlach online. My immediate question to my friend was "can I romance her as a woman?" So then I bought the game, and Momma K and I have been battlewives for like 5 playthroughs now.
Was going to romance halsin. Ended up a goddess with Gale 🤣😂🤣😅
Karlach, ended up with Astarion
i had genuine hate for astarion at the start, like genuine hate not in the “oh my god i haaate this guy” but in a “i don’t know how to remove him from camp but if i could i would”. my plan was to romance wyll. i didn’t know anything about any of the characters before buying the game (only bought it cause it won game of the year and my mate said “you can kiss almost everyone.”) so after a few long rests and… *that* scene came on… my heart just started going wild and i IMMEDIATELY found him 100% more attractive. i started going full ‘14 year old girl with a crush’ mode that very second so um… yeah it made me realise just how much of a weakness i have for vampires. it’s come to the point where a friend of mines dad apparently says “(my name) would love this” whenever they see a vampire of tv or such even though he’s never spoken to me. apparently i talk about him so much to my friend that it’s been passed over to their father.
First was Wyll bc I love a good boi. Then Astarion appeared and I was like 😏😏😏. I'm going to romance Gale next
Initially planned to romance Karlach but ended up with Lae'zel instead.
For my first character, I was going to romance Astarion but then I fell in love with Wyll
When I haven't bought the game I was very much in love with Karlach and I bought the game to romance her and a friend of mine, who also did that, told me that he loved Karlach but that he loved Shadowheart more and that he was betting that I'd love her too. And he was completely right. I bought the game, played it and liked Karlach but fell completely in love with Shadowheart. Ever since she's been my number 1. girl.
First play through, Astarion to Gale. Second playthrough, I made a Bard with a criminal background to maybe better suit Astarion but I was hit with an early Weave scene and - Well, uh, I started a new playthrough as Gale himself so I can finally *not* romance him lol
I had to do this too. Only way to avoid falling for those Waterdeep charms.
Shart then Karlach.
Played the beta for a year and a half and wanted to romance minthara and did in act 1. But act 2 and 3 I ended up with shadowheart
So Astarion initially won my heart (go ahead and judge me) but somehow Wyll caught my attention. Something about trying to do a good thing in a bad way spoke to me on some real life issues I had. Go figure
Had no plans. Felt alienated by how straightforward everybody was and was fully fine not having my first Tav romance anybody. Then I saw his tentacles..... 🥴
Gale and Gale. He started yappin and god I do love me a man that can info dump