The “parents” of the popular vampire companion have met in real life for the first time, touching many fans in the process.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a phenomenon that goes far beyond “is just a good game”. In the social media, there are regular fan clubs for the companions in the role-playing game, many players identify with the characters – and even the voice actors still regularly put in the work on Twitter, Twitch and Co.
The vampire villain Astarion in particular has enraptured many fans and deeply touched them with his personal story. Actor Neil Newbon, who lends him his distinctive voice, has now met Stephen Rooney (the writer behind Astarion) in real life, after they had previously maintained an online-only friendship.
And their emotional first meeting is getting rave reviews from the community. Someone captured the moment as a short video clip (including a cry of joy), which Newbon then shared on his X account.
It happened. Stephen Rooney, the main writer of Astarion, and I finally hugged at Pitstop’s party. A long overdue hug. The man is a diamond x Thank you Larian for giving me this gift.
Neil Newbon on Instagram
The moment @nuckpang the incredibly talented main writer for astarion & I finally got to hug after our online bromance – thank you @larianstudios , @Wizards_DnD and @PitStopTweets for allowing me to step into our world & play for four glorious years x what a gift it has been x pic. twitter.com/5PZtP1TPjv
– Neil Newbon – gathering party for BG3 (@NeilNewbon) October 21, 2023
The friendship of the Astarion creators
Both men have been extremely instrumental in making Astarion the iconic character we know him as. Rooney is a senior writer at Larian and wrote the vampire’s personal story (which we won’t spoil here, of course).
Newbon then breathed life into him through his voicing, giving him his unmistakably arrogant, yet incredibly charming character. It’s no wonder, then, that the two have worked closely together, and not just in the game itself: They also played Baldur’s Gate 3 in co-op and streamed (via Twitch).
However, they maintained this friendship exclusively online, only now have they met in real life at an event. Which, of course, thrilled the fans who had been following their “bromance” in streams. At (Twitter) and (Instagram) many thank them for their work.
Do you follow the voices and writers behind the characters of Baldur’s Gate 3 on social media? Do you maybe hang out in the subreddits or other fan forums? The author of this news still can’t get enough of fan artwork and the voice actor team’s streams – but is more faction Halsin than Astarion.
