Astarion Refuses Cazador's Ritual - The Best Scene in the Whole Game [ Release BG3 ] #baldursgate3

here we go guys the most compelling moving best performance I've ever seen in a video game let's do it hey everyone so I realized I missed a couple of scenes that happened in between here and there but I'm too excited about covering this whole thing with Cazador so I'm just gonna go back and talk about those scenes later and I'll add them into the timeline and the right order on the playlist there was a scene about the ritual that I missed and then there's also another scene you can get with his siblings but like I said that can wait I am dying to talk about this particular scene with historian and Cazador and have been pretty much since I first saw it now there's a lot to go over in this area so I'm gonna have to summarize it in order to keep the video length down I might actually make a more in-depth video about all the things you can find in cazador's Palace and the NPCs you can talk to later so let me know in the comments if you're interested in that even though there's a decent amount of stuff to explore I was kind of hoping for a little more of a challenge in terms of actually getting to Cazador I thought it would be more of a Dungeon Crawl you know a little more difficult as it was I didn't have to do much but find goatee who seems to be a sort of Headmaster for all the spawns and just take his Signet ring to open the door goatee was a rotten little skeleton and from the things he said it sounded like he quite relished the idea of torturing his charges when they misbehaved even the very place you find him in is a hidden dungeon a Starion actually tells you before you enter that they called it the kennel as though he and his siblings were considered no better than dogs you can probably talk your way out of fighting goatee but I couldn't pass the rolls so I just ended up killing him for the ring it was then that I decided to try talking to Astorian and found he had some new dialogue now that he was back home the one thing that strikes me about this conversation that feels sort of out of place is the comment he makes about how sneaking in to kill Cazador isn't this strangest thing the two of you have done together but it's probably the most satisfying let me play the whole thing for you break into your own home especially if murders on your mind but then again this is hardly the strangest thing we've done together although it could be the most satisfying the second most satisfying so when he amends this and says well the second most satisfying thing this kind of confuses me a little I say this because it's sending mixed messages he hasn't been interested in honks since his confession in act two and I was trying to respect his space you know getting into the idea of just not doing the whole honks thing but it's very confusing when this kind of innuendo is thrown around and I most definitely think he's talking about hongs here it almost makes me wonder if the role was changed or what like was this a romance specific line or does he say this to sound hyper flirty again even if you're not Romancing him you could obviously write it off as not that important one way or the other but it doesn't help for the continuity of the character I certainly have no problems with him saying such kind things but it does confuse me a bit then again he could be talking about something else like drinking blood or something maybe it's just the way it's directed that makes me think he's talking about intimate relations with my tab instead he talks a bit more about his disdain for the other people in the home how they're all Fanatics and actually want to be there he also tells us that if there's a secret entrance to this underground area that it's probably in cazador's study a place they were never allowed to enter Astorian also touches on how you guys have to kill kazador because otherwise he'll spend the rest of his life running and never feeling safe so he is committed to getting this thing done just for the sake of his sanity and safety when you eventually find your way down to the underground ruins you'll come across some cells in those cells you'll find vampire spawns people who have literally been left to rot and it doesn't take long until one of the spawns recognizes historian as the man who lured him in by getting him drunk and flirting with him astarian is notably confused as he remembers so many of the faces in the cells he thought kazador had actually killed all of the victims he brought back but here they were changed into spawns instead some sitting in the cells for at least 170 years or more waiting to be sacrificed for kazador's ritual which is just well it's pretty messed up you can also find the gerd children down here in the cell across the way they are pretty nasty for the most part until you mention their parents and at that point they basically ask you to tell their families that you found them dead because they know they've changed and don't want their loved ones to see what they've become talking to a starian afterwards he's understandably upset so it's not just a matter of having lured these people to their Dooms but now it's guilt for the horrible conditions they've suffered in since he first brought them all back astorian's remorse is transparent and I couldn't help but want to reply with how it was kazador's cruelty and not his own like sure he took part in it but he didn't know they would suffer a fate worse than death he appreciates the sentiment but is still disturbed by seeing all of his old victims again and now it's time to actually confront Cazador let me play the scene for you who stands before us is this truly our Prodigal Son do not slouch before me boy have you no respect for yourself look at you crawling back after abandoning your family you should be begging our forgiveness forgiveness you've never forgiven anything every mistake every slip was punished I strove for perfection in all things even those as imperfect as you the pity you are mounted to so little fight my efforts no no [ __ ] you and [ __ ] everything you've ever done to me they told me you had changed I dared not believe it oh thankless child did I not bless you with our Immortal gift did I not make you what you are son of a [ __ ] you truly forgot my power you truly thought our bond as Creator and creation was all that stopped you from killing me uh you are weak my child you are a small pathetic little boy who never amounted to anything but today you will finally do something worthwhile you will burn and I will ascend get me out of this witness the birth of the vampire ascendant okay Dominus now I tried playing the scene in a number of different ways but there doesn't seem to be a way to keep kazador from trapping Astorian it seemed like no matter what I said a Starion always rushed in and got thrown into the ritual by kazador so ultimately I decided to just keep quiet and let him do his own thing it's a little frustrating to watch Cazador play him like a fiddle literally saying everything possible to set him off and he walks right into it don't get me wrong I don't blame a Starion for falling for it people like Cazador are very good at pushing your buttons I do absolutely love this line here though when a Starion is just like you know F you and f everything you've ever done to me it's just brilliant in one of my attempts I did try to tell him to stay cool and not lose his head but it doesn't really impact anything so I figured I'd just stay quiet here again but ultimately as I said kazador goads Astorian into attacking him and that's when he strikes hearing cazador's words here though really pissed me off off I've actually known people like this people who would find whatever crack in your exterior that they could and would just pry and twist at you until they got through and caused damage you might think something as simple as saying you never amounted to anything isn't so bad but many many children of shitty parents have been made to feel this way that feeling can be so pervasive and it has a way of invading even your most successful moments it comes from never feeling truly loved or validated by your parents and it's pretty easy to exploit if you're a complete sociopathic jerk and in some situations especially those where you have manipulative people sometimes even your parents well they'll take that ammo and use it against you and it's kind of messed up that even though kazador is not technically a starian's parent it probably feels that way given he doesn't even remember much about his previous life and there's also the abuse of telling someone something over and over again until they finally start to believe it throw in the torture and other horrible mistreatments and the whole thing is just a huge mess some of the Expressions kazador makes here really goes a long way towards showing his cruelty I mean the way he smiles it's just I also wanted to talk about the changes made to cazador's model I don't know if he looks quite as villainous as I'd expected or even as I remember his old model being I mean he used to have that ridiculous mustache but they've changed him to look a little more underwhelming a little less intimidating and I don't know if that works here I also heard a lot of discussion about how kazador was going to have a bigger role in the game like be more involved with the overarching story which would have been pretty cool still I kind of think I like the old model better like he needed more of the mustache twirling bad guy feel or maybe even to just look more evil he just comes off looking kind of small in demure here what do you guys think but back to the scene when Cazador is done talking he'll throw a Starion into his spot in the circle a Starion will call out for you to stop him to get him out and we're definitely gonna do that and it's at this point that you have to beat kazador before he completes the ritual I think you have something like three rounds before he sacrifices all of the spawns in a sense so it's super important that you focus kazador down and either avoid or CC all the other mobs it took me quite a few tries but eventually I got the hang of it and rescued Astorian once the fight is over I was actually a little confused talking to Astoria netza fussy response that you should stop wasting time and get to kazdore I had no idea he had actually returned to a coffin that just rested in the middle of the room I hadn't even noticed it before like I saw the beam coming out of it but I didn't realize it was actually kazador's coffin so I I went over and actually tried to click on it but nothing happened I think the scene was just delayed which sometimes happens where you'll notice a little speech bubble over your avatar but anyway it was kind of cool because I just wasn't expecting this so let me play the scene for you no healing sleep for you wake up get your hands off me worm I'm not the one in the dirt one last thrust and I'll be free of you I'll never have to fear you again and then what will you be without me seed a specter in the shadow a void of all purpose oh cling to that if you must but no it is a lie he's mine he's not wrong there's always going to be a part of him in me grateful for one thing you showed me how to really save a moments like this so it was kind of cool because I just wasn't expecting this I've definitely heard Tales of vampires regenerating in their coffins or like in Dracula where he rested in dirt from his homeland still it was a nice touch when a Starion just grabbed him out of the coffin and threw him to the floor like he was some kind of rag doll I can just imagine how good that felt Cazador is still acting like he has some power over the situation I guess old habits die hard and he's not used to anyone actually fighting back against him but the choice of dialogue here is the best when Cazador actually calls him a worm and a starian just counters back instantly with how he's not the one in the dirt like ooh burn I love the well hidden but still very obvious look of pants [ __ ] Terror uncazidor's face here too but this is where it all starts to get very emotional as Astorian picks up a dagger and declares that with just one stab he'll be free of kazador forever that he'll never have to be afraid of him again there's this expression that I think represents centuries of Sorrow as he contemplates every shitty thing Cazador has put him through as well as how close he is to being done with it all Cazador throws in a last-ditched effort at intimidation and relevance like what will you be without me I meet you you won't be anything he even says he'll be devoid of all purpose which is just so I mean how can he possibly be so narcissistic to think there could never be another purpose in his life besides you hell he could take up whittling with halson and that would still be something and a lot better than being a slave to this psycho and as a Starion is looking just kind of wrecked by his Old Masters attempts at messing with his head you get the option to say something and I didn't think historian would care much about being a hero but I was curious about two lines in particular obviously saying he'll be free makes sense but I also wondered if cementing your bonds a bit would matter or if it would come off like a negative thing I mean if you say he's yours you don't sound much better than Cazador but by following it up by saying that you belong to a Starion as well that doesn't feel too bad right but then again I've been tricked by dialogue choices before so you know I'm always making a save to roll back if I need to so giving into my romantic nature I decided to go with the he's mine and I'm his response Cazador basically turns and it's like you can cling to that lie all you want but he's mine the way the line is delivered is freaking eerie and weird though and it kind of sends a chill at my spine imagine dealing with this creep for all of that time but it is interesting how Astorian responds that kazador isn't wrong that there will always be a part of Cazador in him if you choose to say he'll be free instead Cazador does not like it he was all Mega possessive referring to a story and not by name but by calling him the spawn and saying he will never be free that he basically made him and belongs to Cazador for eternity Astorian follows up by saying you might have made me but I'm more than just some pretty lure to bring you your next damn snack I think we all know what's coming next when astarian says he is grateful for the torturous methods kazador taught him over over the years though yeah if you're a faint of heart you might want to look away for this next part you showed me how to really save a moment's like this stop [Music] thank you is is it over is he foreign what does that mean for us I I don't know your choice is a simple really you can hide here living in the shadows like parasites or you could be more than what he made us to be you can choose differently of course but the consequences are on your head but I bet by now you guys are noticing that something is very different here there's absolutely no choice whatsoever about the ritual a Starion just kills kazador no matter what I didn't have a say in it at all I didn't have to persuade him not to ascend nothing this is the outcome I've been trying to tell people about for a while now I was actually very confused because after seeing this scene through for the first time I actually tried to find out why I never got the option to ascend I didn't really want him to ascend in this game but I did want you know the ability to be able to see that outcome I found people had to persuade him not to do it but somehow in my game he doesn't even want to it's completely skipped over as though it weren't even a possibility which I have to say is pretty amazing I didn't want to look at the end but I did check a lot of other people's playthroughs and I found that there was a whole other set of dialogue trees you know where you would have to ask him what he needs or try and talk him out of it and that just was not there for me in fact most of the dialogue was completely different but that aside what happens next is a cacophony of pain mixed emotions of Rage sadness fear and relief unfold as Astorian tears into kazador with the knife I found myself watching this scene like oh [ __ ] almost a little Disturbed but also like holy crap especially at that one point where he just starts jabbing the dagger in quick Motions like Sharon Stone with an ice pick from Basic Instinct and as kazador's body falls to the floor a Starion just keeps stabbing and yelling and holy [ __ ] when we get to the point where he finally disengages he lets out a yell that is desperate and horrible as he falls to his knees I'm still sitting here with Goosebumps at this point wishing to have could go and give him a hug or do something to help help you know it really sucks to feel so powerless to do anything useful but just sit here and watch but it's not over yet no no no and I am taken completely by surprise when a starian quiets down and just watches as kazador bleeds out this face of complete and utter despair takes him over and sorry just starts crying at first I wasn't expecting this transition to tears and I couldn't tell what he was feeling or why he was crying as though he was in so much pain like was it remorse for killing kazador had he cared about him or was it remorse for what he lost during all those years with kazdor or perhaps the feeling that he might never Escape it and finally had letting go of all of that fear and actually allowing himself to feel the full breadth of the trauma that was inflicted upon him probably for the first time it's crazy how it felt to watch the scene you know first your brain is working in overdrive to understand and then he lets out those pained cries of Anguish and my heart was just breaking it actually moved me to tears and I can't think of many times that's actually happened to me when playing a game I remember crying when sephiroth killed aerys because that whole scene where Cloud puts her to rest in the lake was brutal but it wasn't anything like this I have never seen a performance like this in a game period I I can't think of anything that even comes close not even from some of my favorite games too and Neil put his soul into a story in here and you can tell it's just so powerful it's impossible not to be affected by it I'm shaken up just talking about it again but mostly I'm just happy that he finally got that out that kazador's finally dead and that he is free of him as Astorian gets his breath back the other spawns come down from the ritual and ask if it's over it's funny because there was a bit of an error in my original game where the sensor wasn't working and so Dahl just came over with her homes hanging out it was kind of off-putting because it just didn't feel appropriately placed given the severity of the previous encounter I did go back after patch 2 to see if they changed it and now it seems that all the spawns have some kind of blood cover on their chests I think it almost would have made more sense to just put some kind of an open back shirt on them and avoid any problems with censorship but hopefully they'll get to that eventually and it won't give me too much trouble when it comes time to upload this video but if you guys are interested I'll put the original version up on my patreon but it certainly won't fly here on YouTube you get another Choice here but in most cases they all lead to the same sort of outcome where astarian wants to let his siblings Go free in this case though I just didn't say anything and let a Starion make the choice for himself and he encourages them to become something more than a blood sucking parasite to deal with the consequences of their own actions but then there's the question of what should happen to the 7000 and spawns that kazador created for his dreaded ritual spawns that have been held in cages for time immemorial that have no sense of how to even be a vampire let alone control their urges it's now that you have to choose to save them or kill them and I'll tell you what no matter what you think the right answer is there really is no right answer here if you kill them Astorian feels remorse because how could you not feel remorseful of those victims many of which he lured in himself sem that are even children and yet if we release them on Baldur's Gate can you even imagine the death they would unleash on the population there would be no easy way to even feed them all so I'll show you the outcome if you kill them which is ultimately what I decided would be best for my game when they're dead will you kill us too I don't like those riches brother we've spent lifetimes controlling our hunger they're all but ferals I don't relish it any more than you do but putting them to rest may be the kindest thing we can do foreign [Music] what's safe there but in this peril bye I think we're done here let's go deliria acts shocked that historian would choose such an awful outcome but he defends it saying that they're basically feral that the normal spawns know how to control their hunger but the others wouldn't be able to he doesn't like the idea of it but it could be the kindest thing he can do for them as he holds up cazador's staff the bodies of the spawns and the nearby cells literally explode which is pretty gross and maybe a little over the top but that is how they meet their end astarian will then tell his siblings to head to the underdark and finally declares I think we're done here as he looks off just trying to pull himself together afterwards there is a dialogue you can have with him I'll just play it for you that's it he hears this centuries it's really over well maybe a little but I'm not sure but I've lost what I've gained so so much gods always spawn dead in their cells I need some time I think I just to let it all sink in let's just go this place reeks of death and I want to feel alive again you can say a few different things here one of the main responses I was curious about was asking if he regretted giving up all that power and he just comes out and says no which actually does make me really proud of him he still kind of regrets it but I think he mostly feels good about the choice he admits that everything he's lost and gained at the same time is too much to bear at the moment he comments on all of the Dead spawns too and how he needs some time to let it all sink in now you'd think if you freed the spawns that he would be a lot happier with the situation but it doesn't quite work out that way let's take a look at the alternate of letting the spawns all live two you could decide their fate I heard a vampire spawn Unleashed on the sword Coast what could go wrong no she's right the poor wretches and the cells are innocent they shouldn't have to suffer just because I lured them here they'll need someone to lead them take the tunnels into the underdog find somewhere well not safe but less perilous what no we can't just try to keep them out of trouble bye I think we're done here let's go so while it does seem like the right choice to pick they deserve the same chance you got you can see instantly from lazelle's response when she says a herd of vampire spawns Unleashed on the sword Coast what could go wrong and you realize well 7 000 vampire spawns is a lot but astarian does agree with you saying that you're right and that the spawns are innocent and shouldn't suffer just because he lured them there at that point he frees them from their cells and asks his siblings to lead them into the underdark now let's take a look at his response after the fact to freeing the spawns that's it he's gone after all his years this centuries it's really over I'm glad you think so because I'm not so sure I just feel numb must have lost what I've gained so so much and God although spawn three in the underdog I need some time I think I was to let it all sink in this time I chose to tell him I was proud and he said he wasn't so sure that he felt kind of numb which is likely to happen considering the huge range of emotions he just felt all at once it's almost like a kind of emotional shock he says the same thing as he did previously about how everything was too much but then he comments negatively about all those spawns free in the underdark which leads me to believe that there really is no good outcome for a Starion in terms of the spawns in both cases there is some form of regret and guilt if you free them it soothes some of his guilt for bringing them there but he also creates more guilt and responsibility for all the lives they may take in the future but if you choose to end their lives it's almost like putting them out of their misery and then there is no concern of how many more lives they might take I think it's meant to be one of those morally gray choices where nothing is really the right answer it's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place and you just try to do the best that you can I actually freed them in my first game but then when I got that dialogue with him where he seemed pretty upset by the thought of all those free spawns and then when I thought of the actual amount of them like 7 000 is so many it really seems like having too much blood on your hands on his hands too he's already responsible for what happened but he doesn't have to be responsible for what happens in the future too so I went back and chose to end their lives even though it felt kind of crappy it just seemed like the better choice even if both choices just don't feel that great I don't think it was supposed to like I said you'll run into Oma on the way out and she'll congratulate you on killing Cazador in his wretched Creations I'm not sure how she responds if you free the spawns though I'll have to save that for another game she then asks what happened to the children and at this point I decided to go along with what the children themselves had asked me to do to tell their parents that they were already dead when you found them which you can do with a deception check she's understand upset but thanks you again for killing kazador she then looks to a Starion and says this you are free never again will you be hunted by my people thank you and for what it's worth I'm sorry I wish I could return the ones taken from you you gave them peace there was nothing more we could ask of you I'll say I really love seeing this side of historian I do believe he means that apology wholeheartedly feeling real remorse for everything that's happened and it feels so good to have come this far with him not just as a companion but also as a romance there aren't many times in real life where you can get this kind of satisfaction with a partner most of the boyfriends I've had over the years were simply too closed off and unwilling to talk with me about any of their problems even if it impacted the relationship heavily people are all too comfortable reflecting any criticisms back at you whether you deserve it or not but in a starian's case we not only broke through his facade but brought him to a better outcome he's changed a lot by now and it's just really satisfying because he did it all on his own with just some support and advice from my Tav in fact I was really happy to feel so Vindicated in terms of a star choices and even his character here especially considering I hear so much crap about assarian in general about how he's chaotic evil and such an awful person how he doesn't care about you and he'll only betray you for more power for one I've gotta say Astorian is not chaotic evil he's chaotic neutral people just can't seem to wrap their heads around it but chaotic evil characters they do bad things because it's a part of who they are think someone like the Joker who literally just wants to see the world burn then consider chaotic neutral these types of people will blow whichever way the wind takes them so long as it leads them to money power and self-satisfaction or even sheer Amusement imagine it this way you give a chaotic neutral character a quest to burn down a church offering them a high-ranking position that will give them power as well as lots of gold they won't care about what they're burning down they'll only care about what they get in return so let's say in turn they get to the church torch in hand and ready to go but the priest counters the original offer they offer even more money and more power to not burn the church down the chaotic neutral will just as easily take that deal and not burn the church down because the only thing that matters to them is what they want whereas an evil or good aligned character might actually consider that it's a church it's been very apparent to me that historian is neutral and he can kind of lean a little each way and my game he's leaned more towards connection with my tab and so I think he sees following that lead as satisfying his own urges Because he believes in her and trusts her or at least that's how the game goes about it or seems to I noticed after a while that he stopped disapproving of choices that he might have complained about before like helping people for instance so I definitely believe that how you enter interact with these characters how you respond to their problems really changes their outcome in the game and the fact that astarian didn't even try to ascend speaks huge volumes to that I'd love to know how many people actually managed to get this outcome in their game because I haven't seen many people even talking about it many have said that they had to talk him out of the ritual and that he was kind of mad about it but eventually forgave them afterwards in my case I didn't even have to ask him not to do it which you think is pretty powerful in terms of showing how far his character has grown so there you go guys the long-awaited death of Cazador and proof that histarian is a sweetie pie who doesn't deserve all the hate he gets we've still got a final romance scene to go over that I'm dying to talk about so don't forget to keep checking back because that will be coming soon if you enjoyed the video consider subscribing as there is going to be a huge slew of new bg3 content coming over the next few months possibly years I mean there's a lot thanks to my patreons for the support and if you'd like to help support the channel too and get access to the private Discord and a whole other chunk of content on patreon then head over and make a pledge I'll see you guys later

Channel: Mmogurl

Views: 56,062

Keywords: mmogurl, astarion romance, launch, commentary, all the outcomes, astarion, #bg3, #baldursgate3, #astarion, bg3, cazador's palace, let the spawns go free, different outcomes for cazador quest, the fight with cazador, don't have to convince astarion not to ascend, astarion doesn't want to ascend, astarion declines the ritual and kills cazador, exceptional approval, good astarion, chaotic neutral

Id: lCok8IQHsiw

Length: 38min 27sec (2307 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 08 2023