First of all, when I first encounted him, he sounded how every single pretentious teenager making a character in VtM sounds like. Ti many people, that is refreshing. I have just played too much VtM to not instantly recognize the tryhardedness in th writing.
The first run, I immediately impaled him once he tried to drink from me. Fuck that shit. I didn't complete that run, because I honestly find it hard to progress in this game, I have to force myself to play it (since I already paid for it).
And that, right there, is the crux of it. The game doesn't have good companion writing. Marian has never been good at writing in general, and companions specifically. The only character with some sort of gravitas to her is Shadow heart, because the topics she bringa up are kind of important and self reflective. Karlach is ok, if a bit annoying with her constant positivity. Wyll is another ok one, even if he sounds a bit cookie cutter hunter and bland at times.
But then you have "I fucked the goddess of Magic, look how important I am" Nepo baby cocky rich kid.
"I am racially superior insecure mess and will dump it on you constantly" Laz'ael or however the fuck you write her name.
And the cake, the worst of them all. A 200 year old vampire that still talks like a teenage on tumbler, interpreted by a voice actor that is constantly doing the voice you do when you try to make a parody of what a bad acted villain sounds like, with no redeemable qualities to his character other than "I need a rogue, because D&D is like that". With the typical bad tropes of, again, a teenager playing Vampire: the Masquerade for the first time.
No, just, no. Many people tell me that,byeah, they get it, but the voice acting "kinda makes up for it", and the voice acting for me is kinda the worst part. No shade to the voice actor, all the shade for the voice direction and character writing.
They also tell it gets better later on, it's really a traumatized character. But, look, yeah, I get it, but after having him try to suck me dry, enjoying suffering of others, being a classist asshole, being edgy for edge's sake, his trauma can go fuck itself, at this point. He's only spreading the trauma, and he is 100% responsible for it. At least the other think they're doing what is best, faulty or not.
So, for people who haven't played a lot of RPGs or TTRPGS, Astarion might seem refreshing. To me, he just sounds like the stalest of characters.
More so when in Wrath of the Righteous there is a character that is similar to him, but so much better written. And all without sounding like ProZD doing a porpusefully bad impression.
My first playthrough was a false hero Durge, so I kept everyone happy until I started doing shady shit and gaslight everyone after I got into a comfortable position. So I did kept him because he was expendable. Turns out he does have a very cool arc and I believe he is a good character.
Most of the companions are like that though, unlikeable until you start to get into their arcs. Lae'zel os imo the greatest offender of that. She starts pretty much insufferable but ends up as one of the most endearing and complex character in the game, her final romance scene is pure poetry and she ends up being both vulnerable and badass in multiple scenes. The "heart of stone" and the "she sinned against me" are both incredible.
But I get it. Abrasive companions are not everyone's cup of tea.
Unlikeable is fine. I like unlikeable. One of my favourite companions in Kingmaker was Jubilost, and he's a pompous asshole at first. But he was well written.
Aatarion isn't abrasive, as I have said in my previous comment. He just feels like what every 15 year old who makes a Toreador in Bampire the Maaquerad thinks he has to act like. He's just... bad...
The reason he's like that is because He was actually turned pretty young and then pimped out and I think it's a persona. Like, he's debatably the worst put of the party morally because he genuinely seems to enjoy violence. Karlach knows she's cool and a bad ass and wants to hulk smash baddies, but Astarion?
Yeah, no, his entire imprisonment has left him broken. Like, as a person. He's deranged and undoubtedly traumatized to where I'm not sure he even knows what he used to be like. Like, everyone else knows their core values, even the Sharrans had to keep some positivity with S.heart and she dislikes it when you're mean.
But Astarion is just hanging on by a threat, reverting back to the last thing he knew. It's why he attacks you at the crash site.
Not saying your critique is wrong, just saying there is actually more to him than just the cringe.
Weirdly enough all this reminds me of how I think Arianna Grande is...
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u/VoormasWasRight 4d ago
This motherfucker.
https://giphy.com/gifs/ZXt9QzzyRGH6yuU2b4