Summary
Baldur’s Gate 3’svampiric 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 manyBaldur’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
Mods allowing characters to wield firearms inBaldur’s Gate 3have 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-wieldingDungeons and Dragonsclasses and sub-classesnot currently present inBaldur’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 ofvampiric rogue Astarionholding 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 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 inBaldur’s Gate 3’sepilogue, 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 ofIt’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
The Meme Led To Even More “Gunstarion” Mods
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 asHand CrossbowsunderBaldur’s Gate 3’sweapon 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 July 06, 2025, Palmaman33 uploaded another firearm mod, this one featuring an AKM assault rifle. Once again, the images showing off the mod featuredAstarion, 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 toBaldur’s Gate 3in a future update. However, fans can continue using mods to explore how their adventure might play out differently with a gun-wielding Astarion present.
