Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion was almost a very different race
Larian StudiosAstarion is one of the most popular companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, but the developers have confirmed he was initially planned as a different race. As it happens, players are happy that the developers decided to change their decisions on Astarion’s race.
The discussion surrounding the topic was initiated by a Reddit user who posted, “Astarion was originally a tiefling! (Larian at GDC 2024).” They also posted a screenshot from GDC where the developers showcased an image of Astarion as a tiefling.
Several players joined the conversation as they were happy that Astarion did not end up as a Tiefling. One such user commented, “I’m glad they made the change though, I wonder if any of the other companions were something/someone else during development?” Another user chimed in, “This is so weird…. interesting, but super glad they didn’t go this direction with Astarion.”
One player also claimed, “Tiefling Astarion reminds me a lot of Rolan. Love Rolan but having two catty tieflings would be too much so I’m glad we got our pale elf.” Finally, one of the players stated, “Was this before they cast Neil Newborn? I can’t imagine his voice coming out of a tiefling.”
Therefore, it’s fairly safe to say that players are happy Astarion is not a Tiefling in the game. If you are not aware, Astarion is a High Elf in the game and this race fits his character. Players feel that a Tiefling would not match his personality at all and Neil Newborn (the voice actor of Astarion) would feel out of place as well.