hartleysbaldursgateblog - Tumblr blog

[hartleysbaldursgateblog]

Astarion is a very conventionally attractive, gorgeous man… I very often think about how my dragonborn Tav, who is anything but the image of conventional beauty and turns more heads because he’s weird looking rather than gorgeous, compares himself to Astarion, and how he sometimes worries Astarion deserves a man as beautiful as he is, and he’s just not that.

Astarion does not agree.

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I have 11 followers who are all these boops coming from???

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Most games hype up some kind of enemy or group that’s like the most dangerous or well trained warriors ever but they’re about the same challenge as anyone else, or if they were a challenge they become laughable late game, so tbh shoutout to bg3 for hyping up how strong and ruthless the gith are and keeping them that way consistently, it’s really hard to have recurring enemies that make me ready to scream and run literally any time I see them

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One of my favorite bg3 VA behaviors is definitely the time kar’niss’s VA retweeted someone’s post about how the harpers killed kar’niss and took his moonlantern and now they don’t know where to find it as well as retweeting their resolution to the problem with just reloading and killing kar’niss with no comment, quote or reply, just inexplicably retweeting someone’s vent post about a game problem they had like wtf was he trying to tell them.. I would not know what to think if i posted about a problem in a game I ran into and the voice actor of one of the affected characters retweeted it without a blessed word of context

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I’ve always been fairly neutral on his character, but I’m so sorry to Dammon fans out there, completely the opposite against everything BG3 stands for. I don’t really involve myself in much fandom “drama” (if you can call it that?) but I know he is a very beloved character and a comfort character to many.

Anyway I think Hatsune Miku did a really good job voicing him

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hi guys meet my joint durge with @deanjeffforlife (who made this fancam) his name is krongus do you like him

krongus is:

• constantly mewing

• a special little princess

• just a girl

• his surname has “worm” in it in drow language so he thinks worms will be his guiding light and if he keeps eating the brain worms eventually they’ll give him his memory back

• someone who has never done anything wrong ever, never accidentally harmed lesbians even once I promise

• dumb and hot

• a lip gloss enjoyer

everyone say hi krongus i love you krongus

[hartleysbaldursgateblog]

please ask me about my tav i love to talk about him

[hartleysbaldursgateblog]

please ask me about my tav i love to talk about him

[hartleysbaldursgateblog]

Get to know my (first+main) Tav!

challenge here :)

Caspier Beludaire / white dragonborn / light domain cleric of Bahamut / he/him male

What is your Tav’s…

favorite weapon: Caspier is a mace wielder, but that usually is the last thing used in his arsenal. He prefers to talk his way out of conflict when possible, then fights with spells. His hand isn’t the most steady so he tries to avoid weapon-based combat, especially at close quarters. So the mace comes last. If we’re talking specifics, during the events of the game he wielded the Blood of Lathander, but after the Netherbrain fell he turned the Blood over to the Stormshore Tabernacle to hold until a Lathanderian clergy could reclaim the relic. He was comfortable using it for the adventure, but in times of peace he doesn’t feel right about taking away the holy artifact from actual Lathander worshippers.

style of combat: Caspier fights at what would be considered mid-range to maximize his support and offensive spells. He usually sticks to open or elevated areas with as much of the battle in his field of view as possible and usually won’t move until his spell range is disrupted.

most prized possession: A necklace with a pendant made of an ivory-white stone, carved into the vague shape of a flying dragon. It is his one remaining connection to his home and long-gone family, but he does not wear it. The necklace itself is too small for him, as it was a gift made for him when he was a hatchling, and he hasn’t bothered replacing the loop. He is more comfortable with it sat somewhere safe, which is currently on a small cushion on his dresser at the foot of an idol of Bahamut.

deepest desire: A home and a family. Caspier defines this however he wishes, and by the end of the game’s events I think he has one. He was separated from his birth family and clan, something of great importance to dragonborn, at a very young age and bears almost no memory of those things. As a young teen he was then taken in by a small village only to be exiled on suspicion of “corrupting” their children with his strange dragonborn faith and ways. Caspier is not desperate to reclaim what he has lost, he knows it’s already gone, but as someone who spent so much of his life wandering, a few years somewhere that could be considered a home, only to be sent to wander again, a place to anchor himself to sounds great. And as for a family, it doesn’t have to be blood, or marriage, or adoption, friends work too. He wants to have people in his life who aren’t a temporary fixture as he’s forced to move on again. So one could even say the only thing he wants is consistency—Caspier doesn’t define it as that, though.

guilty pleasure: Yes, he’s a kindly mediator who doesn’t like to take sides on much and does not at all relish conflict… but oh, he can’t resist some gossip and drama. He blames Astarion for it. Astarion blames it on him never having enough people to consistently talk to that now he wants to know all their business (but hey, he won’t judge~). Caspier is living proof that “can we all just stop and get along and communicate?” and “he said WHAT? oooh gurrrl tell ALL” can and do coexist.

best-kept secret: His second ever “friend”. As a traveling cleric, he rendered aid to many people and helped support plenty of strangers. He never had time to actually make friends because he was constantly on the move and keeping in contact with anyone was an awfully difficult task, but having not had consistent friends since he was a child and having rather recently been exiled from the village he called his home for most of his teen years and early adulthood, when a grateful patient he had done healing work for came to him claiming to admire him and his patience and faith greatly, and considered him an inspiration, he all too happily took the man’s offer to try and keep in touch no matter how hard. I’ll limit the details here, but let’s just say that when he thought he acquired a friend he could write to and visit on his travels should they have the good fortune to meet again, he really acquired someone who rapidly turned from friend to obsessive stalker. The story is long and complicated but Caspier had managed to shake the man some years back, but doesn’t like talking about it—he ignored many of the warning signs others cautioned him about the man early on, too blinded by his desire to have a friend and the flattery the man laid on him, so he felt as if he couldn’t say anything about it or didn’t have the right to, and in other cases he feared talking about it would somehow give the man an avenue to track him down again. It’s in the past, so he says. Tied to that, though, is that Caspier Beludaire is not his real name. Well, it is to him now, but the attack on his family's caravan and the head trauma that came to him because of it meant his birth name is all but lost to him. He's usually unbothered by it, unless around other dragonborn. Clan is everything to dragonborn, after all, and while they question his bizarre name, to him it's better that he insists his clan was just as strange as the name they gave him rather than admitting he is a dragonborn without a clan.

greatest strength: Compassion. Being a cleric of light and of a good-aligned god, this is part of his belief. He is patient, communicative, and always willing to afford people a chance. Even people he does not necessarily like or trust. In the village he once lived in, as the only dragonborn, he was treated with barely concealed disgust and suspicion, yet he was still a bit of a hometown hero, especially to the children. And as Bahamut’s will would be done, he will jump into combat only to protect the innocent. He is personable and kind.

fatal flaw: Naïveté. His compassion is a double-edged sword, and while Bahamut’s paladins may be unwavering hands of justice, Caspier as a cleric is bound to no oath and may jeopardize his morals to help someone who may not need it. Caspier’s philosophy is to always see the good in others or expect that good may be there, hidden away, and he often gives chances that are not due. This can cause trouble more often than not, considering he strives to always assume the best in people. That attitude—combined with a craving for companionship and approval, which is probably his second strongest flaw—was largely what let him enable the toxic friendship he was in for so long. He never learns, either. Caspier thinks he is just doing the duty of his god—a transgression will have to happen right before his eyes for him to act on it. This is not to say he doesn’t care for justice, but he believes too strongly in the idea that everyone is well-intentioned and honest, and every time that philosophy is proven to not be the most accurate he can take it quite personally. He fell hook, line and sinker for Astarion’s manipulation at the start of their romance, for example. Sometimes it can transcend being simply naive and turn to more of him being an oblivious blockhead.

favorite smell: Morningglory. They’re a flower so plentiful that to many they might as well be a weed, but there’s something that’s always appealed to him about them in every aspect—appearance and smell. They aren’t even that fragrant like some other flowers but the smell brings back good memories of picking them in the wilds as he wandered through with his childhood best friend.

favorite spell or cantrip: Radiance of the Dawn. He feels like a true agent of Bahamut’s will and righteous justice when he wills His divine light to cleanse the area around him!

pet peeve: Being ignored/needing to repeat himself to make a point. Caspier considers himself a very patient man, but his companions test that patience sometimes when they (cough cough Astarion and Gale) become fixated on something and won’t listen to reason. Caspier is absolutely the sort to yell “that’s what I’ve been trying to say all this time!” when an unnecessary conflict finally resolves. Oh, and post-canon when he’s finally living a domestic life—dirty kitchens. Even the tiniest bit of grime makes his skin crawl.

bad habit: He picks his scales. He’s got some bad patches every now and then, some not growing back in just right after he sheds, because he just idly picks at his scales and oftentimes pulls them off before they’re ready to be shed. It’s not all that rare to see his fingers bandaged or bleeding.

hidden talent: Animal handling! It’s not something that would really ever come up, especially for a cleric, but with all the time he’s spent wandering the wilds and not to mention all the times he tended to the village livestock trying to win the villager’s trust and approval, he’s seen his fair share of creatures of all stripes and can interact with them quite well. He has a secret love for spiders, actually, and can handle them especially well. The bigger the better. (Folk Hero background proficiency bonus lol)

leisure activity: Now that the Absolute business has concluded, when he isn’t in prayer or meditation or otherwise serving his god, he also finds peace in crafting models. Halsin taught him the fundamentals of wood carving and Caspier is trying to learn more of the craft. He likes to create little models of animals and monsters he knows.

favorite drink: Fruit juices, mixed fruit drinks. Probably what we might consider “fruit punch”. He’s never been a fan of liquor, and that’s not even a restriction that comes with being a cleric—just a preference. He likes his drinks sweet and indulgent.

comfort food: Highly specific, but he loves a good plate of potato wedges and cheese fondue. Yum. He could indulge in carbs and cheese all day. !

favorite person: His dear beloved Astarion of course! Every day he spends with his favorite vampire is a treat. He's so proud of Astarion and how he's grown. Caspier couldn't imagine a relationship more fulfilling.

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): Physical touch is very sacred to him but used very sparingly. He's a bit shy about presenting physical affection for fear he might scare someone off. That kind of affection is used for people who he is exceptionally comfortable with, like Astarion. What he uses much more readily is words of affirmation. It's another thing about fearing losing people, Caspier constantly wants to affirm his bonds and remind his loved ones how much they mean to him. He never wants them to feel like he's taking them for granted, but even though he uses words of affirmation often, they don't lose any meaning to him, at least, no matter how often they're said. He's especially fond of the platonic "I love you" a sincere "thank you".

fondest childhood memory: His earliest childhood memories are highly fragmented. One sticks out to him, though, being a few days after he was separated from his family. He met his one and only childhood best friend rather shortly after the separation, but only after a few days did the shock finally settle and he was able to appreciate his friend's presence for the blessing it was. Caspier recalls that first day it felt like his life started moving again, remembering when he and his friend, Jalis, came across a clear, rocky stream in their wandering through the wilds. Caspier had been in such a haze for so long, feeling the bite of the cold water when he stood in it did wonders to clear his head. He remembers sitting on a particularly large rock, mindful of how slick and wet it was, and dipping his hands in the brook to feel the current brush against his palms. It felt like the first time he was truly present again after the attack on his family's caravan that separated them. Then Jalis came running by, chasing a frog, yelling about how he'd never seen the creature before. Caspier remembers laughing and joining him, having never seen a frog himself in his cold, snowy birthplace, but he was at least aware of what the creatures were. They chased the frog until sundown and were both soaking wet. He remembers laughing as Jalis finally caught the frog, only to hold it at arms' length with a disturbed look on his face as it began screaming.

Is there anything else you'd like to share? (feel free to include art or a screenshot of your Tav if available!)

Nothing atm but if you ask me anything about him I’ll cry my ass will be so happy

[hartleysbaldursgateblog]

I will take BG3 mlm requests btw if you want to give them to me *motions vaguely at you with my sweaty lizard palms*

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can we stop calling spawn astarion lovers “fixers” i’m gonna smack you upside the head

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AAAAA MY BIRTHDAY CAMEO FROM NEIL NEWBON CAME IN AND HEARING ASTARION’S VOICE SAYING CASPIER’S NAME IS 😭😭 HE PRONOUNCED IT PERFECTLY

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yknow thinking about it. In the intro cinematic for bg3 it was clearly daytime when the nautoloid came to baldur’s gate, which makes me wonder—how exactly did they get Astarion? the szarr palace is pretty heavily fortified and the spawn rooms or kennels where he would be have a lot of building between them and the outer walls, and astarion would have had to be inside right? Cazador notes Astarion never returned from his hunt, implying he disappeared at night, but the nautoloid struck during the day so like. Did the nautoloid just randomly punch a tentacle straight through the palace wall and happened to get Astarion completely by chance and Cazador just. didn’t believe the spawn when they told him about it. were they like “master a giant tentacle shot through the wall and teleported astarion away somewhere” and he went “oh yeah yeah we had ‘giant tentacles shooting through the wall and teleporting us away somewhere’ when I was a spawn too. lying ass.”

edit: I understand now that this was yartar, a different city, but I love how in the tags all of yall collectively decided that this is the funnier interpretation

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Something I love about confronting Cazador is how he obviously never processes that Astarion has friends until it's too late.

Petras and Dalyria must have mentioned that Astarion wasn't alone when they met him, but when you read Cazador's journal? He's 100% fixated on Astarion. How Astarion stood in the sun, how Astarion was willing and able to disobey him. And when Astarion shows up, Cazador barely acknowledges the party at all - and sure, that's partly because this is Astarion's moment in the narrative, but Cazador doesn't so much as ask why these random strangers are there! They're not part of his plans, so they don't exist.

And then they immediately save his errant spawn from the ritual and start beating his ass.

Just. What must have been going through Cazador's head when that fight starting turning against him? 'Is that... the Blade of Frontiers? Why is a monster hunter - and is that a cleric? - helping a vampire spawn? An undead? Ah, but they must be treating it as a necessary evil to have a chance to slay me, of course - hold on, why is the cleric healing Astarion? Why does that wizard keep Counterspelling everything I'm casting at Astarion, why waste the spells when I'm not even targeting him? Did... did that druid just cast Daylight on Astarion's weapons? And that brute of a tiefling - that's not just disgust in her eye when she looks at me, it's fury - and she keeps putting herself in front of Astarion, why in the hells would she - she's running right at me- '

I hope that one of the last things Cazador ever knew was the choking realisation that Astarion didn't just come back strong, or free. Astarion came back loved.

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oh so THAT’S why I like zevlor and omeluum both so much, they’re voiced by the same guy

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ask me about my tavs pretty pretty pleaaaaase

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Today on comparing astarion to a cat: 200 years of eating rats and bugs means he needs to take a nutritional supplement. he is not a fan