Ascension: Trauma and Healing in Baldur’s Gate III
Perhaps the real treasure was the trauma we dumped along the way.
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains heavy spoilers of the plot and storyline of Baldur’s Gate III.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or you’re really not into videogames, you’ve probably heard of Baldur’s Gate III. Developed by Belgian powerhouse Larian Studios, the game was highly appraised by critics and players alike, winning several Game of the Year Awards and being considered by many as one of the greatest games of all time (read in an epic voice). The game’s storyline is set within the Forgotten Realms setting of the popular Dungeon’s & Dragons tabletop RPG franchise, using many of the games mechanics adapted for digital play, including “rolling” a virtual twenty-sided die to see if the player succeeded in charming or deceiving another character, or even picking a lock, for example.
While the gameplay received a lot of attention, it was the story that received the most praise, specially among players. As in the tabletop RPG, you can create your own character, or Tav as commonly referred by the players, with different classes and races to chose from and customizing their appearance according to your own preferences. Each different race or class gives the characters unique dialogue options and skills to progress through the story. You may even create your own evil persona and become the story’s villain, free to commit all the war crimes and horrible deeds that your blackest of hearts desires. Your choices as a character completely influences the game’s outcome and different things may or may not come to happen depending on your choices. This allows for an infinite repeatability. Each time you complete the game you may have experienced a completely different story.
Throughout the game you encounter different characters that may join you in your quest. You can befriend them and even romance them, if you’re so inclined. These seemigly side characters are also playable and each one has their own unique storylines linked to the main story arc. Resolving these loose threads is one of the most fun parts of the game. From the stoic and stern drow paladin Minthara to the goofy and lovable tiefling barbarian Karlach, your very own disparate collection of vagabonds and strays is an integral part of the game.
Every player has their favorite companion, but one name out always stands out from the pack: Astarion, the Pale Elf.
Astarion is a vampire that suffered centuries of abuse in the hands of his master, Cazador Szarr. Forced to feed only on vermin and to seduce unsuspecting people to bring to his master to feed on, he is a cynical and traumatized person, suspicious of everything and everyone. Among all the possible companions his is one of the most engaging and unique backstories in the game and perhaps the most charming personality amongst the pack. Voice actor Neil Newbon even won several awards for his performance as the character. If you befriend Astarion he will open up to you and show that behind all the cynicism and selfishness there is a deeply traumatized person who is simply afraid of allowing anyone to hurt him further.
Trauma is a word that the realm of Psychology and Psychiatry borrowed from the medical study of Traumathology and is generally understood as injuries to the body — or mind — caused by an external event that happened unexpectedly. It became a buzzword of sorts these days and an infinite resource for memes in social media, however trauma is very real in the lives of those who live after suffering them, may they be physical or mental.
Every companion in Baldur’s Gate III has their own trauma to overcome through their storyline, but what makes Astarion’s truly unique is that it is not only a story of healing, but also a story of redemption. Karlach’s story, for instance, is also truly traumatic, but she’s obviously a good person thrown into a horrible situation and managed to continue good at heart even after passing through the most hellish conditions — literally. Shadowheart and Gale, two other fan favorites, can be released from abusive relationships she with literal goddess. With Astarion, on the other hand, players can help him overcome his trauma and break the cycle of abuse that he was thrown into. Players have the opportunity to influence him into a journey of self healing, confront his abuser and overcome his trauma instead of allowing himself to become the abuser.
It’s a cliché to say that "hurt people hurt people" but that doesn’t mean that this is not true and this is specially true with Astarion. We find out that his master, Cazador, himself was victim to the same abuse that he inflicted on him and his brothers and sisters by his own master. Even the rules that he forces on his spawn were taken from his former master.
The trauma healing is more obvious in specific scenes, in particular one where the player can chose to make him feed on a character who’s willing to have their blood sucked by him. To our surprise, he outright rejects her offer, even with the promise of a reward. Later, as you engage in conversation with him, he’ll say that he will not allow himself to be sold off in that manner anymore, because that’s what his master did to him and he is his own person now, not a propriety. His final confrontation with his master is truly heartbreaking. The player is thrown into one of the hardest and most epic battles of the game, but the emotional weight of the aftermath is what is really most memorable.
After finally standing up to Cazador, he has the option to release himself and the others under Cazador’s thumb, or to take his power and become himself a version of Cazador. In both scenarios, the confrontation ends in Cazador’s death, but the latter is an outcome that kills all what we loved about the character.
As the nietzschian maxim puts it, he himself may become the monster.
In the surface this might seem to be a simple power move, but it is born out of fear. By seizing Cazador’s power, he will become safe from abuse and exploitation, but he will cease to be himself. While his appearance and voice are the same, his demeanor is completely different — and this change is acted out brilliantly by Newborn. This change is even more obvious if you are romantically involved with the character.
On the other hand, Astarion may choose to liberate himself and all others who lived under Cazador’s thumb. By confronting him and ending the cycle of abuse, he is free to be his own person. He is still a vampire, and the game hilariously reminds us of that in the finale, but he is free to be himself.
Baldur’s Gate III is a monumental undertaking and a challenge to the current state of the videogame industry, giving the players a complete game with an engaging storyline, beautiful visuals and excellent gaming mechanics. But I feel that it will be remembered in the years to come specially by how well written it is and by its lovable ensembles of characters and their relationship with their trauma. Trauma that mimics our own.
