Failing Skill Checks When Meeting Astarion BETTER Than Succeeding

Sometimes better dialogue is revealed through failing the skill checks in Baldur's Gate 3, rather than passing them. I love this exchange when failing the Strength check while meeting Astarion. Good info for fanfic writers, too.

[@0agneska0]

When I saw him I didn't even struggle with him to get the knife from my neck. Man, SIMPing at first sight.

[@coffeeminx746]

HARD SAME. ❤️

[@MizuMing]

There is no problem with that! 💗

[@MKanakaredes]

I was a true simp on my first playthrough because he rejected me lol

[@coffeeminx746]

@@MKanakaredes OMG I feel you! He rejected me too so in all my other playthroughs I am SO FOCUSED on getting his approval. LOL

[@iceesky]

so me lmao

[@isbammoi3358]

One of my fave things about Astarion is that failing with him, or picking options you'd think would usually make someone upset, he likes and almost always turn out really fun haha

[@redbeanbun616]

2:15 the way y'all stood up and the music ascending felt like the 'love at first sight'

[@coffeeminx746]

I hadn’t noticed that!! lol VERY COOL 🤣❤️

[@cha0tic_ech0]

DUDEE WHAT RHE HECK

[@nukritus_]

Some of his haters might say that he is selfish asshole or something like that, but the way how gently he pulled away from Tav, as if he tried to do it as carefully as he could when he realized she was not his enemy, no bad person would do that. And those desperate puppy eyes at 2:20 with that beautiful melancholic soundtrack.. my heart just melted, soo beautiful :')

[@SweetNightmares_]

*Holds knife to throat* “Shhhhhh” “I’ll tell you and give you everything and anything you want”

[@kumonoameai]

Proof that sometimes failure can be just as fun as success in D&D games ^.^

[@VesperOfRoses]

Only sometimes. Rarely.

[@elderemodemon]

When i first played, i passed my perception check, my next playthrough i failed and i got this scene. Definitely a much better scene, the look they give one another before getting up off the ground, gah I'm in love

[@pinkfeiry]

It's just hotter when he's in control 😌

[@coffeeminx746]

SO TRUE!!! 🤣❤️

[@gtaylor1442]

YEEEEESESSSSSS

[@drdestrukt1367]

IKR

[@roguejester4986]

Strangely, yes... But not when it happens in real life.

[@e.f.c.2341]

WAS ABOUT TO SAY THE SAME THING AHHAHAH #AstarionFansThinkAlike

[@AnarielAnastil]

“A fine effort. But I’ve seen it all. I was walking this land while your ancestors were learning to crawl.” Reeeally makes you wonder how old he is. At least 200 to cover Cazador torturing him (death will be coming for old Caz soon), but Astarion’s obviously older than 200 since before Cazador turned him he says he was a magistrate, a semi-important person. Figuring that elves aren’t even considered adults until 100-ish, and then him working upward to get a semi-fancy job like magistrate, maybe 300+? But this line makes him seem even older than that. Dunno, but it’s interesting. Makes him slightly more intimidating when you consider how much life experience he must have. He’s smarter than people think he is. Why does that make him sexier? Haha. 😂🤔

[@feyefall4855]

Yet somehow he still manages to feel like the little brother of the group!

[@TF2CrunchyFrog]

Or he is just being Astarion and bragging to make himself look more imposing than he is... in the hopes people will not mug his a** while he's stranded in the wilderness with only a knife as weapon. ;-)

[@Froggywitchmama]

he was only 39 ; n ; or at least that was his grave says. 39 in elf years maybe

[@PanEtRosa]

@@Froggywitchmama yeah 39 seems a little..... young for an elf. he really didn't get to see much before he was turned.

[@AnarielAnastil]

@@TF2CrunchyFrog This is way more likely, lol.

[@nidradhikya]

Your frozen Tav is hilarious

[@simonasimonah]

My reaction when i saw astarion for the first time

[@Kandosii]

I bought BG3 a few weeks ago, when I finally realized the gifs I was seeing of mindflayers and one fancy bastard were from this game. I've already spent 45 hours on my first character, steadfastly ignoring the plot and poking my nose into every corner I can find. It's probably going to be another 50 hours at this rate before I hit the end of EA and start in on a second character... But now I'm feeling REALLY TEMPTED because I didn't get this dialog. Gods, this IS better than "winning" that encounter, holy shit.

[@coffeeminx746]

I KNOW RIGHT? The dialogue in this game is BRILLIANT. I must admit I had several characters going at once, previous to this last update. :)

[@lumpyspacecadet]

The only thing that comes to mind after this entire exchange is, "This is going to be WILD."

[@FrenkTheJoy]

Boy, the WILD improvement between the early release and the most recent version is amazing.

[@hannahwho7349]

when he says nod 😌😌😌😌

[@mev9459]

I always load last save until my Tav fail that check. What can I say, she loves rolling with our vampire friend.

[@vtmorphine]

Looks like he's talking to a statue lol

[@coffeeminx746]

LOL Yeah, she had a bit of a problem there. No wait, she was STUNNED by Astarion's handsomeness! ;)

[@CrazyClara101]

When he put that knife to my neck i got the downstairs tingle

[@CrazyClara101]

AW HELL NO THIS GOT HEARTED

[@vazanere]

Kinda wishing he stabbed me sometimes....

[@gtaylor1442]

I know right???? After you say he can drink your blood again there’s still no option! And even after he compliments how much you bleed after Abdirak, there’s still no stab by option. This, along with no dateable Halsin is a large flaw of this game.

[@bluefireblood666]

With a knife or...?

[@user-sf9gs2pg1b]

@@gtaylor1442 No dateable Halsin. So truuue, I see so many people simping for him. I also personally want that follower of Loviatar to be romance able but that’s asking for too much, lmao

[@alecchristiaen4856]

Omg I just got a clapback of nostalgia seeing the original dice roll visuals.

[@SweetNightmares_]

Not him having his arm around you 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

[@moondaiandtrashpandadeluxe]

Hes a vamp, the strength check should be much higher. Even thralls are strong af

[@PanEtRosa]

he's a vampire who just survived a massive crash with a tadpole in his head. no one's at their best.

[@starechoes3058]

also a spawn who has been eating rats for the past 200 years. he's definitely not at his best@@PanEtRosa

[@Brand_Fish]

We tend to forget that this man was horribly malnourished for 200 years

[@Brand_Fish]

"Darling neck of yours," "The light, the fear." MAN I wonder why he's so pale... I may never know. /j

[@nathanieljefferies5491]

I kinda used a thunderwave on him off a cliff and killed him and had to use a revivify scroll…at least i reminded him i can kill and revive him at my whim…hahaha

[@dragongirl1139]

who gave cazador access to KZbin

[@bixusmaleficus]

I love that the first thing he does is get us on our back and flirt with the neck line, even if he's got a dagger to our throat😅

[@jamesbailey5350]

Leave Gretchen Whitmer alone, Astarion!

[@Arkylie]

A. Hero now has no fingers left. B. Hope they alter the animation a bit to make the struggle more interesting when you continue it instead of surrendering, because right now the dialogue clashes with the animation enough to break my immersion. C. Astarion, you're an *elf*, not a *prehistoric monster*, stop trying to pretend you predated the cavemen.

[@Cyrillius1]

i assume he meant ancestors as in like ... grandparents, but yeah it is pretty extra lmao

[@hails.bells99]

Well, he’s a 200+ year old vampire so.

[@pattychan3941]

God, I absolutely adore how thematic this moment is to his character arc- (Spoilers on Asterion's backstory for anyone who _hasn't_ seen the ten thousand clips of this man floating around the internet.) Like think about it. As far as he can remember, life has always been about the strong preying on and exploiting the weak. It's a vampire eats dog world in his mind; and Asterion's just been kidnapped, he's all alone, somehow in the sunlight(???) and everything's _so confusing._ And so of course he sees you on the ship and thinks you're a threat; _of course_ he's going to try and protect himself the only way he knows how. And as he has you at his mercy, his dagger pointed at your throat, you tell him how they've used you. Used you both, really. And Asterion processes this on his own: no one's telling him what to do, how to feel. For the first time in his (un)life, he has a choice. In the grand scheme of things, this is the first choice he's ever made that ever mattered: that wasn't just an act of self-preservation under extreme duress. And his first true act as an individual-when his master's far away and the only other person who can harm him is at his mercy? To let them go. To slowly, _gently,_ pull the dagger away from our throats, from our hands, and stand up with us. Truly look at us, _study us,_ for the very first time. Because like he says: "They took you, same as they took me." And you can bet your goddang biscuits he wasn't just thinking about the mind flayer worms when he said that. The man has walked through hell for two hundred years, and just as he finally gains his own agency. His time out in the light of the sun- he finds you. A companion. A friend. Perhaps even a lover. Someone who _understands._ His life begins anew, and you are the first one to greet him to it. ...And not to break the poeticism, but oh my god when he speaks to us, I'm absolutely screaming. He puts up that cheeky bravado as he apologizes. Tries to puff himself up and seem like he's dangerous, when only a couple lines later he's including you in his plans. He could have said "I" or not used any pronouns at all, but what does he say? If _we_ can find an expert to control the worms. *_We._* And in the _Literal_ Next Line of Dialogue? When you say 'we need to get rid of them instead of control them?' Does he correct you for saying we? *_Nooo-_* Instead he just says 'well first thing's first' and waits for you to talk again; where your only options are to _invite him to journey/camp with you,_ or _completely _*_ditch him._* The man sees a kindred soul and doesn't want to leave you despite all his (frightened) posturing, I don't know what to tell you otherwise 😭 I just- This man elicits so many ✨Feelings✨ in me, I can't even

[@coffeeminx746]

THIS THIS THIS!!! OMG You said this SO WELL. Some of it I hadn’t even THOUGHT of!! It’s all so true. ❤️❤️ I think the music is absent in the final version, and it’s a shame because I think the music underscores how important the moment is in your beginning relationship/friendship. Or maybe the missing music was just a glitch in my playthrough. :)

[@pattychan3941]

@@coffeeminx746 As someone who hasn't played the game yet, _god_ I hope that was a glitch. I absolutely adore this version. 😭

[@Callidus7SSM]

Excellent summary! This is why it annoys me when I encounter people who are completely dismissive of him and argue that he doesn’t deserve redemption. The fact that this man still has it in him to have any degree of kindness, or compassion (even if he does struggle with it at first) after the horrors he suffered for two centuries is a freaking miracle. And left to his own devices, he does the right thing. First in this scene, and then with Cazador later. Just a little nudge is all he needs to decide not to ascend and then he *thanks you for it* because he realizes what it would have done to him. He deserves all the happy endings.

[@adroit.a]

i play with rly low graphics SO THE DIFFERENCE IS CRAZY

[@MoonsongReverb]

This time i won the checks. So he couldn’t even assault me. But i went with it, just to see what happens :D

[@Aurilion44]

Or you can just headbut him :D Bonus points if you are playing as a dwarf

[@NatureFreak1127]

His clothes and armor look very reminiscent of some outfits of Geralt of Rivia... Don't they?

[@dragonwithamonocle]

Like Nilfgardian nobility.

[@rgskyrimminecraft123]

I wonder, if there's different type of transformation based on your race. Does being a vampire change something ?

[@coffeeminx746]

So far we can't play as a vampire, so I don't know. Sorry.

[@GabrielleduVent]

Sort of. If you're a gnome you become a really short mind flayer. If you're a beholder you won't turn into the bipedal mind flayer we saw in the intro. But if you're a humanoid, you basically turn into the mind flayer that we saw.

[@Darthnux4650]

Why i never heard of this game ? Wtf is it in steam ?

[@coffeeminx746]

Yes, it is available on Steam. It’s called Baldur’s Gate 3. And it’s brilliant!!! Enjoy!!!

[@Darthnux4650]

@@coffeeminx746 thanks . Thats really good graphics . I like anime styles