Roisia in her original Divinity: Original Sin build was a witch and witchcraft spells are a combination of D&D's Necromancy + Enchantment schools. I replicated that in-game and had a think about the… complications that might arise when Astarion realises that this unassuming woman has also been a bit of a deft hand at persuading, deceiving, and manipulating her targets too.
idk if this is common knowledge or not, but I puzzled it together only yesterday because I always missed a crucial NPC to see the whole picture. So here it is:
From the architect of Moonrise towers - the Infernal Mason you encounter in the House of Hope - you learn that:
Ketheric at some point, after the death of his wife, forsook Selûne and became a Shar worshipper. He had an army that he sent to war, to spread the darkness.
The architect saw his master's evil and made a deal with Raphael: His soul, for the destruction of Ketheric's army.
Raphael kept his word, and Ketheric's forces were destroyed by fiends.
Now, from the Elder Rothé near the Grymforge waypoint you learn that:
Ketheric's army consisted of Dark Justiciars.
A "hellbeast came with the mask-men" and destroyed the army.
And of course we know that Yurgir is trapped in the temple of Shar because his contract forces him to kill all Dark Justiciars.
So now, you know why:
The Architect made a deal with Raphael to stop Ketheric's army of Dark Justiciars.
Raphael contracted Yurgir (who brought his Merigons) to fulfil his own side of the contract.
Yurgir destroyed the army, but because one Dark Justiciar escaped with Raphael's help, he got trapped.
Why trap Yurgir?
We don't really know - unless I've yet to find it. We do know Raphael considers Yurgir dangerous, so it could be simply security. Trapping a dangerous asset, until it's needed again. He clearly had plans, since he makes Yurgir commander for presumably the conquest of the hells.
Why help Lyrthindor hide?
To trap Yurgir, but also
Yurgir claims that Raphael mentioned an aasimar
Theory: Raphael might have known, that only a Sharran/Dark Justiciar can kill the Nightsong. So he kept one alive, in case he ever has to kill her.
Why though? He probably knew Ketheric was kept immortal by the Nightsong, so the question would be: Why did Raphael want to keep Ketheric alive? Did he see this entire dead three plot coming? I wouldn't put it past him.
I shall keep investigating, and update this post as I learn more. If anyone has more info, please lmk!
Astarion Kills Yurgir & All Merregons in Surprise Round on Tactician
Astarion didn't have to thank Durge/Tav for the help in this playthrough haha!
Have been playing with Astarion on a stealth archer build and holy hells it's so broken. But so so fun. 😈 Arrows of Many Targets, how I love you.
The Build: Astarion OP Stealth Archer Build (For Good Runs)
The build lists the end game items so refer to the vid for the act 2 items.
TBH I would recommend this build mostly for honour mode or duo and solo runs since your other companions won't really have a chance to do much in combat. Especially once you get into act 2. If you didn't notice, my durge was just chillin in the corner while Astarion was taking care of business haha!
Also! I can't take credit for the build! It's a popular build that I've seen around on YT and Reddit. I think Morgana Evelyn on YT has the best explanation and showcase :)
I might make a guide myself that takes into account romancing Astarion since many builds would have you do things that are either out of character for him (ex: partial illithid transformation) or will cause him to break up with you (ex: making him bite Araj in Moonrise). And I have a fun build for my Durge/Tav that synergizes well with this too that I can get into. We'll see! 😊
We don’t talk enough about how even Yurgir is afraid to be Raphael’s slave. A powerful Orthon fiend who sleeps on a bed of corpses is so horrified by the idea of returning to the House of Hope, he stays in a damp, putrid temple doing next to nothing but going mad and singing Raphael’s little song to his victims. There was so much more going on there than Larian showed us.