Summary

• Allowing Astarion to ascend makes him sinister and controlling post-ritual, altering the power dynamic.
• Players can now mod Tav's facial expressions post-ascension to look happy in all situations.
• Astarion's ascension is controversial, undoing much character development but offering benefits in fights.

The choice to help Astarion become the Vampire Ascendent in continue to romance him after he’s ascended, though Tav’s facial expressions will unveil the sudden shift in their power dynamic.

But for those who enjoy Astarion’s personality shift (or are playing a particularly evil Dark Urge character), there’s now a mod that will let you change Tav’s facial expression post-ascension. The mod, created by NexusMods FluffySpider, alters the facial expressions so Tav no longer looks scared while kissing Astarion after he ascends.

According to the mod’s description, FluffySpider swapped all “scared, sad, and pained” expressions with “happy” - which also means that Tav may look happy in other particularly stressful or disturbing situations. It makes the mod a particularly great addition to any Dark Urge playthrough, but may result in some odd cutscenes for those looking to only change the facial expressions in the Act 3 scene.

Ascended Astarion Is A Controversial Character

Letting Him Ascend Undoes Much Of His Character Development

Though the main objective for Tav and their companions is to safely remove the tadpole from their minds, Astarion quickly makes it clear that while he’d love to be rid of the tadpole, he’d love his freedom from Cazador more. The tadpole has already removed many of the restrictions being a vampire spawn places on him (like the sensitivity to sunlight), but seeking revenge on his former master clearly becomes Astarion’s priority.

Before confronting Cazador in Baldur’s Gate, the vampire makes it clear to the player he wants to take his master’s place in the Black Mass Ritual, sacrificing 7,000 vampires and six other spawns to become ascended himself. Though aiding Astarion in this quest is ultimately what he wants the player to do, the result is a particularly evil and terrifying companion - and stopping him could ultimately result in him leaving the party and turning against them, depending on certain rolls.

Once ascended, Astarion offers to turn Tav into a vampire as well (with more freedoms than he was awarded from Cazador), but he will end his romance with the player if rejected. He’s more forgiving if the player becomes a vampire and then breaks up with him, asking to be partners in crime if not romantically involved, but this shift ultimately undoes much of the growth he exhibits while learning to love Tav.

Preventing him from following through on his particularly evil desires while keeping him a companion is possible - and Astarion will ultimately thank Tav for stopping him. But Astarion’s Vampire Ascendent traits will also be incredibly useful in the final fights of Baldur’s Gate 3, making it a decision worth considering for those who haven’t spent a lot of time breaking down his egotistical walls.

Source: FluffySpider/NexusMods (via Megazupa/Reddit)