Bg3 Companions and how they parallel The Dead Three (both the gods and their chosen).
Part 1: Astarion
I am a sucker for parallels between villians and (anti-)heroes. It makes the dynamic between them and the progression of various story aspects so much more interesting.
Which is why I decided to take a closer look at the Dead Three and how they resemble the Bg3 Companions. Because yes, there are many similiarities.
1. Astarion, Gortash and Bane as slaves and emotionally insecure individuals:
Those that have read my previous analysis for Gortash/Bane and Durge/Bhaal will definetly know what I am talking about.
Those three have been slaves for years. Astarion to Cazador, Gortash to Raphael and Bane to Maram (an Ancient Evil of Abeir). They spent years trapped serving a being that they could not fight against. We definetly know that Astarion was unable to lift a single finger against Cazador, and the only reason he managed to challenge Cazador was because of the Tadpole. Gortash was sold to Raphael by his own parents. There are some implications that something similar to a warlock contract was involved and if it is so than Gortash would not have been able to do anything against Raphael as well. He only got out with the help of either Helsik (who is a favored warlock of Mammon and definetly could help find a loophole in the contract that may have existed) or with the help of Bane, who could very much fulfill the same function. Bane definetly was utterly defensless against Maram in the beginning. Being enslaved to a Primordial God is an absolutely horrific fate because said god can and will break your mind. Sure, Cazador can inflict the most vile torments upon Astarion but as powerful as he is, he is not comparable to Maram. He cannot really turn Astarion into a mindless puppet. Raphael? Also very powerful, more so than Cazador. He definetly can and will manipulate you and wreck your mind, although he needs magical components to be able to do so (Remember how Hope got tortured in her dreams through a dream-catcher?). Maram just has to look at you and can invade your thoughts and dig into the deepest parts of your psyche. That being said, we don't know how Bane got away. He freed himself (or had Bhaals/the Crown-Sorcerers of Rdiuz aid in doing so) some time after he first came to Toril. But the details are unknown.
Their past as slaves also nurtured very similar fears: Affection, kindness, honesty. All three of them are afraid of REAL intimacy. The kind that makes you break down crying infront of another person without feeling ashamed, the kind that allows you to answer kindness with kindness.
Astarion, after some time (I think in act 2?) openly admits that. He believes that to show what he truly feels will get him hurt through either direct punishment or subtle manipulations. Do you remember his dream scene in act 1 on a origin run? How he forces himself to smile? He struggles to express his emotions (which becomes obvious in act 2) because he has spent 200 years denying and hiding them. And it is only due to the player that he slowly understands that there are people out there who do care and don't seek to hurt him. But just because he started to learn this doesn't mean he is fine after the game (if you choose his spawn ending). He is not. In act 3 he still expresses how the player is unique, how other people don't have a heart like them. Which is not true. Karlach cares, Wyll cares and the others care as well. Even Minthara in her own way. And it is very important that we can tell him not only that, but also that there are many people in the world who will care about him if he only allows himself to be cared for. I don't think he could come to that exact realization on his own so soon. It is also worth mentioning that we, as the player, did not always just do what he demanded. During the mirror scene in act 2 he tells us to leave him be because he doesn't want us to know about the scars on his back (something that is a source of shame to him). Only by telling him that we know that it is technically not our problem but still want to help (and in so doing imply that we want the best for him) are we able to find out about this part of his story without having Rapahel humiliate him.
Gortash can't handle his own emotions in any way as well. He literally wears a coat that keeps him from being afraid. And did you see how he react when Karlach confronts him? When she tells him that evil doesn't even need to have a cause? He looks away, rolls his eyes, takes a step back. He behaves like a child confronted with something they know is true but are incapable of accepting, because that would mean they were wrong and that also means they would have to admit that they made a mistake. That they slipped. Gortash is not stupid. He sees what the Hells did to her and when Karlach first confronts him in the audience hall he dismisses her. But in his own chambers? He can't run away there, which is why he looks away. He still claims that he did it for the greater good because that is what he has to believe in order to keep control of himself. According to Fytz he did like her. And admitting that he hurt someone he cared for? That requires to be actually able to reflect yourself and handle your own emotions. Something he never learned to do. Also: The Dark Urge. Even with them they try to act confident and only through insight checks do we learn that he missed them. He admits something similar out loud, but there is a key difference: He wasn't the one to hurt them like he did Karlach. And there is also the fact that he views Durge, unlike Karlach, as ruthless as himself. And when the Durge tells them that they liked him? Openly display some kind of affection? He hesitates. He is taken aback. He doesn't know how to properly react. Even the question that follows ("Is that what you-") is expressed in a tone that too me sounds like he is trying to make sense of it.
And Bane? Gods, that man has issues. But I already went through Bane and his emotional struggle on my previous post, so feel free to visit there.
Another factor that makes those three similar is their slaver and how they can confront them. Astarion does it with the help of the other bg3 companions. Bane faced Maram together with Bhaal and Myrkul as mortals. And Gortash, in a sense, also faced Raphael. We can find a letter between him and Helsik in which he requests to return to the House of Hope, tho for what purpose is unknown. And not only did he return there (most likely with the Dark Urge at his side) but also went into Cania and stole from Raphaels father.
There is also something to be said about the fact that all three of them got the chance to not continue the cycle. Astarion can walk away, he can be convinced to not go through with the ritual. But that requires the player to actually read between the lines and listen to what he says. Astarion doesn't want to end up like Cazador and both the Narrator and our player charactere can point this out to him.
Gortash? He could have stopped. Especially if you play Durge and appeal to him he seems to consider walking away from the whole Absolute plot for a mere moment. But he doesn't. Because the Durge that stands before them, the one that asks him to stop, is not the one they grew to like (and maybe even love). In that moment Gortash realizes that he has nothing left but his own ambitions. He doesn't have any siblings, he doesn't have parents that love him, his former friend Karlach hates him, his allies (Ketheric and Orin) betrayed him, his underlings are ultimately loyal to Bane, and Bane himself only cares for the Absolute. The Dark Urge was his only friend. The only one that liked him for the man he was and not the one he pretended and/or tried to be. And now they have changed beyond recognition. Perhaps Gortash could have changed as well if he had walked that path with Durge together. But that chance is gone. The Durge did, afterall, only changed for the better because their mind was completely destroyed and they had to start again.
And Bane travelled together with two other people who never really learned how to accept affection either. Both Bhaal and Myrkul are driven by their ambitions and fears as well. There is something incredibly tragic about the fact that Bane, most likely, was never told that he didn't need to pursue power in order to feel safe and to be loved: Because Bhaal and Myrkul believed the very same thing. That only power can save someone. Bhaal came to believe it because of Jergal, and Myrkul was raised a prince of a vassal state. His own home practiced slavery, which is probably why he clings to his royal status even in godhood: If he had not been born into power he would have ended up as a slave.
We can also consider physical intimacy.
Astarion was SA'd mutiple times. That is a huge part of his story. Because of that he struggles experiencing it and mostly views it as a tool to get what he wants, which is sad because the mere thought of being intimate seems to repulse him. Yet he still forces himself through it right up until the player charactere actually helps them stand up against Oblodora (or whatever she was called).
Gortash views physical intimacy in much the same way. We can find multiple letters throughout act 3 that prove this: He offers his body to get what he wants. Even Raphael interacts with the player, Mol and Hope in a way that has sexual undertones. And forcing Astarion out of his clothes in that one particular scene in the Last Light Inn? Raphael doesn't respect boundaries. At all. Hope outright confirms that when you speak with her infront of the Boudoir. Gortash definetly has some trauma in that direction.
Bane, especially in the Avatar Triology, views s*x as a tool of domination. Hells, even normal physical intimacy (like a hug or a comforting hand placed on a shoulder) is something that serves him only if he wants something. Do you guys remember how he interacts with Kelemvor? The flirting and face touching? How he humiliates Adon by kissing him? How he always touches the faces of the people he uses as avatars? How he uses an almost sotty voice? Yeah. That is not the action of a man who has a healthy relationship towards physical intimacy. What caused this? I don't know, but I wouldn't put it past Maram to use SA, or anything that comes close to it, as a punishment. Maram has zero morals.
2. Astarion, the Dark Urge (and Orin) and Bhaal as individuals who suffer from an unnatural hunger and were turned into a "monster" against their will:
Astarion, as a vampire, suffers from the hunger for blood. He needs it in order to survive. Minthara correctly points out that, despite many people in Faerun claiming that his hunger is unnatural, his need for blood is not so different from a wolves need for flesh. We do not judge a carnivore for following its instincts, yet we do say that a vampire is an abhorrent thing because they feed on other people. Don't get me wrong, I understand why, but I also appreciate Minthara for pointing out that it is stupid to call the hunger "unnatural". Is Astarions condition unnatural? Yes, because it violates the natural order of the world. Is the hunger itself unnatural? No. Unless we call a mosquite or even leech unnatural as well.
The Dark Urge does not hunger for blood in the literal sense, like Astarion does, but more in the meraphorical: They desire its spillage, something that drives them into madness because Bhaal specifically designed them to be this way. The Dark Urge does display unhealthy cannibalistic tendecies, but those seem to be a personal preference and not on born from a hunger they cannot control.
Orin, as a Bhaalspawn, suffers from being drawn to death as well, although in different ways. Yet she, unlike Durge, was not actually forcefully compelled to slaughter. She was groomed into it. Which is somehow even worse.
Bhaal suffers from both the literal and metaphorical kind: In the Moonshae Triology he is shown as someone who, like a vampire (aside from the fact that he doesn't need it to survive), is attracted by the scent of blood. He leers over the Earthmothers corpse because he killed her and the sight and scent of her blood sets him off. He drinks it and his followers often smeer the blood of their victims on his altars so that he can taste it. And the metaphorical hunger refers to the hunger for death: He hates life and being in the presence of something that is alive makes him ravenous. Despite people portraying Bhaal like someone who exults in hapless slaughter he is actually the opposite (Bg3 is the only source we have that displays him as a maniac without impulse-control): He craves control, over himself and others. In the Moonshae Triology he puts his own plans on hold if he feels himself slipping. So yeah. An unnatural hunger, or at least something that can be considered as such, is present in all three of them. Astarion suffers from it because it is his nature. Durge because they were designed to be that way, and Bhaal because he has long since lost whatever sanity he was able to call his own as a mortal.
On to the matter of the whole "they were turned into a monster against their will". I don't think I have to explain much about Astarion. Cazador turned him without even explaining what being a vampire entailed. Sure, he saud that Astarion would live forever, but he made absolutely no mention about the slavery, the powerlessness and the multiple weaknesses a spawn has. Astarion was forced to make desicion without being fully aware of the consequences. Which means he didn't really wanted to be a vampire. It was just the only out he had in that moment, because he was bleeding to death.
I don't need to elaborate that much on the Dark Urge either. They never had a real choice, less so than Astarion, because they were Bhaals child from the very first breath. Every Bhaalspawn is born unclean, their blood thick with the sins of their own father. They are not necessarily evil people, but spells that detect an alignment will always categorize them as such. Others will always be unnerved by their presence. They have little choice in who or what they want to be. And the ending you get in which you loose to Orin? A perfect representation of the theme of having no autonomy and control.
Orin is much the same. She was raised in a murder cult and the moment she doubts Bhaal turns her into the Slayer by force. That woman never had an ounce of control over her life. Even her mind is ruined.
And Bhaal? For him I will have to explain one of the two backstories he has been given: In this backstory he was, as a mortal, Tharlagaunt Bale. A powerful netherese Archwizard who worked alongside Karsus for years. Tharlagaunt Bale was one of twelve chosen, picked by Jergal, to inherit some of his divinity. All of them were, however, betrayed by Jergal and only three survived: Alithar Chonis, Elah Nydra and Bale. But the part of this backstory I wanted to actually talk about is this one:
"He is most often depicted as a hulking brute covered in bleeding wounds, and armed with a wicked, curving dagger. His head is flayed of flesh, taking on the visage of a bone white skull surrounded by a halo of blood. In this form Bhaal is supposed to be an unthinking brute that slays without thought or question. It is believed this depiction derives from the last days of Bhaal’s life where he was half mad from poison and torture and rampaged across Calimshan and Tethyr before being slain."
This is the description of one of the two Avatars he has been given. Also:
"Ultimately Bhaal was betrayed by his former companions, poisoned and mutilated by magic until he resembled a hulking behemoth consumed by bloodlust."
These two passages seem to imply that while Bhaal certainly liked blood as a mortal, as described here:
"Bhaal's Rest: Bhaal's Rest is a ritual obeyed every month whereby the Bhaalyn with the greatest kill count or most prestigious kill is rewarded by filling the temple's sarcophagus with the blood of sentient beings and the winner then lays down in the sarcophagus and is shut in for the night (a practice Bhaal was said to enjoy on occasion)."
You may also want to know about this one:
"He was ultimately slain and was secretly buried in an underground vault known as Bhaal’s Rest (the name given to the secret crypt hidden in every temple of Bhaal)."
Where was I? Right. While Bhaal seemingly enjoyed blood even as a mortal he was not yet at the point where he went completely off the rails when faced with the mere scent or sight of it. That particular mental problem seems to be a direct result of the torture he suffered. Bhaal was quite literally mutilated into a monster, and whatever agonies he endured drove him completely mad. So yeah. While he wasn't a good person as a mortal he certainly was not as deranged as he is now. Also puts the importance of self-control within his doctrine into perspective.
3. Astarion, Ketheric and Myrkul as wealthy individuals who are connected to undead forces and also display a haughty mindset:
Astarion was, before being turned into a vampire, a magistrate in Baldurs Gate. He had influence and power. And magistrates are not poor. That man had a good life before his racism (and yes, he definetly displays racist tendecies) got him into the whole situation with Cazador.
We don't know much about the Thorm family that predates Ketheric, but given that he was the lord of Moonrise Towers before ever even considering worshipping Shar (and later Myrkul) it is safe to assume that he had been either born into wealth or managed to earn it. As a lord he also wielded power and prestige.
Myrkul was the Crownprince and heir to the throne of Murghom, a vassal-state to Mulhorand. I don't need to explain what kind of power and wealth you get from that. Myrkuls surname is Bey al-Kursi, while Bey is actually a title of power:
"In the Hordelands, prior to the 15th century DR, the title "bey" could be found in use in the nation of Murghôm. This went as far back as the days of ancient Netheril, when mortal Myrkul was known as Myrkul Bey al-Kursi. The title was a singular position within the nation, known fully as the "Bey of Murghôm". Those who held the title had the power to appoint emirs to rule over a location the bey specified. Furthermore, the bey could rule and enact laws in a city, such as Zindalankh, offering protection in return. To attack a city that was under the Bey's protection would be considered a declaration of war against Murghôm as a whole."
Those three were influential. Now to their connection towards undead forces.
Astarion, most obviously, is a vampire. He is classified as undead was surrounded by other vampires for 200 years.
Ketheric began to practice the necromantic arts in order to bring back his daughter Isobel under the guidance of Balthazar. He later became the chosen of the god of necromancy and continued to employ the service of undead creatures: Ghouls most notably among them. There is also the whole Shadowcurse thing.
And Myrkul was a wizard, a necromancer. And a powerful one at that. We don't know if the practice of necromancy was a common thing in Murghom during his time or not, or if that was just an interest he developed on his own. There is also the whole thing about being the god associated with necromancy.
As for the three of them being haughty and arrogant:
Astarion displays racist tendecies and clearly believes that his life, as an elf, is worth more than that of a gnome or goblin. I mean, really. The comments he makes in the Grymforge, the whole situation with the Gur, the talk you can have with him after he bites you for the first time... Astarion is a flawed man.
In Moonrise Towers we can find multiple letters in which Ketheric hints at the fact that he views others as disposable and less important compared to him. He recruits goblins because they are disposable fodder in the war he seeks to wage, he recruits drow because they are blindly hubristic, gnolls because they are unthinking savages and so on.
And Myrkul is just the worst. In the Avatar Triology his superior-complex becomes quite obvious when we look at his inner monologues about Bane. He also just throws his own followers, who he views as mere cattle, away because their lifes are worthless, and even considers other gods beneath him (Bhaal is the only exception because they are besties and have an unbreakable, symbiotic friendship. That for once seems to be genuine). He is arrogant incarnate, although we have to put some respect on his name because he is the actual brains of the Dead Three.
Another parallel Astarion, Ketheric and Myrkul share is that they are the oldest and most tired of their respective party.
Astarion, too me, reads like someone that has lost whatever joy he once held for Toril and only begins to rediscover it during his travels. I am also pretty sure that he is older than Minthara (I will not count Halsin because that man can barely be considered a companion).
Ketheric is definetly done with the mortal world and only clings to life because he hopes too "reclaim" Isobel. Yeah, have I ever mentioned that some of the things he says are kinda creepy? He is also older than both Gortash and Orin.
Myrkul was also older than Bane and Bhaal when they were still mortals, and given that Myrkul is exhausted the moment Bane opens his mouth we can also deduce that he is absolutely done with not only him, but also godhood in general (He did enjoy being a mortal during the Time of Troubles). Bhaal is most likely the only reason he still sticks around.
I think that's it. I have covered whatever I could think of. Although I will probably add some things later.
Feel free to offer your own ideas in the comments!
I think I will go to sleep now. Writing for three hours has given me a headache.😀