On Thursday, October 8th, author T. Kingfisher and Neil Newbon sat in on a panel called “Before Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion’s Untold Story” to discuss a brand-new novel that follows Astarion prior to the events of the massively popular RPG.
T. Kingfisher is a critically acclaimed author and illustrator, with several of her works dabbling in the fantasy genre, and Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion, is her first project that ties into existing media. The panel kicked off with the author explaining the massive undertaking with her research for this book. T. Kingfisher spent time brainstorming plot ideas with reps while staying within a pre-existing set of ground rules. T. Kingfisher joked that she was bummed she was not allowed to create new monsters or gods, but she acknowledged she had to work within the D&D universe. After the plot was established, T. Kingfisher dove right into the D&D lore and compilations of Astarion’s dialogue, the latter, she also joked, was extensive.
“I apologize for nothing!” exclaimed Newbon in Astarion’s voice.
For those who are unaware, Neil Newbon is a well-established voice actor who voiced Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. He was asked later on in the novel’s project to narrate the audio book. Newbon explained because it was rather last minute, he spent about five days recording in a booth. He reflected on how different it was to record an audio book versus character lines for a video game.
The host of the panel then asked Newbon how he approached this “version” of Astarion since, as T. Kingfisher reminded the audience, that this is a completely different Astarion. Newbon agreed, stating that this is Astarion before he met you, the main character in BG3, who helped him change. Newbon explained the process of adjusting his accent ever so slightly and also differentiating the voice for narration and Astarion’s dialogue. While Newbon was at liberty to work on delivery, he didn’t have as much flexibility to play around with lines since he was reading from a novel.
Newbon enthusiastically embraced this challenge, citing his recent experience voicing a character in an upcoming game, Until Dawn 2. Newbon mentioned that the character that he voices is not in his wheelhouse, so it is important for him never to train himself to favor a singular character (Astarion). “The craft takes care of you,” Newbon said.
T. Kingfisher also had her fair share of challenges. She stated she tended to write “nice” characters and enjoyed happy endings. Often, she’d get feedback that Astarion wasn’t a nice person and therefore had to dial it back a little. T. Kingfisher also had to be mindful about how Astarion speaks, and ensuring a cadence consistent with what we experience in Baldur’s Gate 3.
It was clear that T. Kingfisher did her research, and Neil Newbon’s performance is sure to impress in Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion. The book is available at NY Comic Con with author’s signings. It is also available to purchase online.
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