Summary

  • Astarion, the vampiric companion in Baldur's Gate 3, has become a popular figure in the game's memes, especially after a mod showed him wielding a firearm. Fans theorize how the game would be affected if Astarion actually had a gun.
  • The concept of "Gunstarion" emerged as fans gave a name to the gun-wielding Astarion meme. Fanart and edits featuring Astarion with various firearms spread on social media, further fueling the meme.
  • The popularity of the "Gunstarion" meme led to the creation of more firearm mods for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3, despite the fact that his class lacks proficiency in heavy crossbows or assault rifles. It is unlikely that the meme will become a reality in the game, unless a future update adds the Artificer class.

Baldur's Gate 3's vampiric companion Astarion has become the source of nearly endless memes. Due to the character's popularity, his memorable dialogue, and actor Neil Newbon's regular engagement with fans, Astarion has become the central figure in many Baldur's Gate 3- related memes shared on social media. The latest, inspired by a recent mod and fans' reaction to it, sees Astarion wielding a firearm and fans theorizing about how the game would be affected if he indeed had one.

Various Mods Let Baldur's Gate 3's Characters Wield Firearms

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Mods allowing characters to wield firearms in Baldur's Gate 3 have been popular since the game's release. This is due to both the humor of such weapons feeling out of place in the game's fantasy setting and the connection to gun-wielding Dungeons and Dragons classes and sub-classes not currently present in Baldur's Gate 3, such as the Artillerist Artificer or the Gunslinger Fighter archetype created by Matthew Mercer. One such mod is "Firearms" by NexusMods user AnxietyTheOrk, which adds a variety of guns including pistols, muskets, and blunderbusses.

Fans Are Theorizing How Astarion Would React To A Gun

On December 31, an X user going by @choidaehoons posted an image of vampiric rogue Astarion holding a modded pistol with the caption "Who gave this guy a fucking gun I can't breathe." The post soon gained over a million views, with many fans commenting to share theories on how Astarion would react should he gain access to a modern firearm. Responses were divided, including:

  • The game's story would be much shorter, because Astarion would immediately eliminate the Chosen Three and Absolute.
  • The game's story would be much longer, as the rest of the party would need to dedicate time to getting the gun away from Astarion.
  • Astarion would load the gun with silver bullets and/or holy water to take down his vampiric master, Cazador Szarr.
  • Astarion would wield the gun indiscriminately, requiring a character - usually Shadowheart - to heal the party.

The concept of a gun-wielding Astarion was immediately dubbed "Gunstarion." This follows the naming scheme of previous Astarion memes such as "Batstarion," spawned from the character's bat form in Baldur's Gate 3's epilogue, and "Goostarion," the result of Neil Newbon comparing the character to a "horrible goose." Fan art was drawn of Astarion wielding various firearms, and edits were created placing Astarion in other memetic gun-focused scenes such as Danny DeVito's character Frank Reynolds saying "So anyway, I started blasting" in an episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

The Meme Led To Even More "Gunstarion" Mods

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The original photo which sparked the "Gunstarion" meme came from a mod called "Colt python" by NexusMods user Palmaman33. This mod spawns two variants on the Colt Python revolver, a "Rare" version and an even more powerful "Legendary" one. The revolvers are classified as Hand Crossbows under Baldur's Gate 3's weapon system. Although the weapons can be wielded by any playable character, the images used to promote the mod all prominently feature Astarion.

Possibly inspired by the "Astarion with a gun" meme, on January 3, 2024, Palmaman33 uploaded another firearm mod, this one featuring an AKM assault rifle. Once again, the images showing off the mod featured Astarion, despite the fact that the assault rifle is classified as a Heavy Crossbow, which Astarion in his natural Rogue class lacks proficiency in. X user @aceforspinaltap commented on the new mod with "STOP GIVING ASTARION GUNS SKFJSKKD," which also received several engagements on the social media site.

It is unlikely that developer Larian Studios will make the "Gunstarion" meme a reality - although a slim chance does exist should the Artificer class with its Artillerist subclass be added to Baldur's Gate 3 in a future update. However, fans can continue using mods to explore how their adventure might play out differently with a gun-wielding Astarion present.

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Baldur's Gate 3 Tag Page Cover Art
9 /10

Baldur's Gate 3
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RPG
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 96 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
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Released
August 3, 2023
ESRB
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Larian Studios
Publisher(s)
Larian Studios
Engine
Divinity 4.0
Multiplayer
Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play
Full cross-platform play.
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Franchise
Baldur's Gate
Number of Players
1-4
Split Screen Orientation
Vertical Only
Genre(s)
RPG
How Long To Beat
100+ Hours
Metascore
96
PS Plus Availability
N/A
Local Co-Op Support
1-2 Players