A Pleasurable Deal || Series: Books Of Baldur's Gate III

I particularly love this book because it breaks the fourth wall as well as gives you pertinent in-game information. 

Kingsley Harp made his deal to become successful and famous with an "entirely lewd piece of drama." 

I can understand that. **cough cough** romance writer **cough cough**

But beyond the amusement and relatability factors, this text is yet another piece in the Baldur's Gate 3 world tapestry informing the player that making a deal with a cambion is not an uncommon thing in this universe. And making such a deal with a cambion -- or rather the pros and cons and complications of such a deal, are very relevant to you: 

A cambion is half-human half-demon. But it looks like a devil, and deals with the devil go back hundreds of years, at least as far as the late 16th century. Humans don't do well when they interact with the devil, unless you're a phenomenal fiddler:

or you have a phenomenal lawyer:

Daniel Webster was a real person, an American lawyer (1782 - 1852) who lived in, worked in, and represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts.  He was considered the best orator of his day.  His speeches were studied in schools - even during his lifetime. So it's a huge, and believable, compliment that he could out-talk the devil. 

I've never actually seen or read The Devil & Daniel Webster (it started out as a short story). But I've seen the animated Devil And Daniel Mouse. Anyone else seen that? 

Anyway, if we make a deal with a cambion in Baldur's Gate 3, will we permanently lose our soul or will we be able to smooth-talk our way out of it later? 

Or will we be able to find someone offering a better deal to save us?  Only time will tell.

Curse of the Vampyr || Series: Books Of Baldur's Gate III

This book, Curse of the Vampyr, can be found in the library right before the bridge to Minthara. Since Astarion is my game crush, I had to pick it up. 

Cold beauty? Check.

Pale noble? Check.

Charming, with a bite mark on his neck? Check. 

Yep, that's Astarion. 😊

Actually, that's Cazador. 

Cazador is Astarion's vampire sire. Astarion is only a vampire spawn, while Cazador is a cruel, evil vampire. Not sexy. Not sparkling. Cazador is a psychopathic serial murderer.  

And we Astarion-lovers can't wait to kill him, as he was not kind to his spawn.

Astarion's very real fear of returning to Cazador makes him the only companion who approves of continuing to use your special powers, even when negative side effects appear. 

One of those negative side effects is terrible nightmares. In Astarion's case, nightmares of Cazador:

If you've watched any of the many (many!) videos of Astarion out there, you will have noticed Astarion is a very unique sort of vampire.

"It doesn't look broken. Then again, none of us do."

Astarion is both giggly and sardonic, proud and self-effacing, insulting and sometimes kind, thoughtful and chaotic, brave and fearful, intent on saving himself and interested in the rest of his companions. He's multi-faceted and fascinating. 

And he's actually more of a vampire than Cazador. 

Or rather, Cazador is a modern literary vampire. He is a threat, as in Dracula (1897).

But Astarion is closer to the ORIGINAL literary vampire, seen in Lord Byron's Fragment of a Novel (1819) -- the Cool Best Friend. 

The Byronic vampire is the fascinating, talented guy everyone wants as a friend, and if you're lucky enough to become his best friend, you feel flattered and honored that he chose you. 

The bond this type of vampire shares with his (male in this case) best friend is the most important part of his life (un-life).  His human is sworn to keep the secret of his vampire-ness, but honor is all that binds them. 

You'll notice this is the opposite of a Dracula-type vampire. No hypnosis. No madness and eating bugs a la Renfield. (You'll also have noticed Cazador treats Astarion in precisely this Dracula-defined manner, controlling his body, forcing him to eat rats and insects.)

The Byronic vampire may eat blood, but we never see it. It's not particularly important to his story. They are buddies who travel around together. That's the story as Byron wrote it. 

And that's precisely what Astarion offers. 

So if Larian allows the player character to affect their companions' alignment in Baldur's Gate 3, this will fit in perfectly with vampire canon. 

Swaying Astarion to evil, like Cazador, would make him a Dracula-type vampire. Swaying him to good would make him more of a Byronic vampire. 

I look forward to having a Byronic vampire at my side.