Editing The Pale Elf

Astarion {{Coords|174|287}} can be recruited immediately after the [[Prologue]] by moving northwest of the [[Nautiloid]] wreckage to the [[Ravaged Beach]]. Astarion is by the cliffs and shouts to the party for help as they approach. He states that one of the "brain things" is nearby and he needs help killing it. The party can either agree to help him (they'll realize it was just a boar) or turn away and tell him he seems strong enough to handle himself. Either way - Astarion pulls a knife on the player. If a Perception check is failed, Astarion sneaks behind the player and pulls them to the ground, holding the knife to them. If the Perception check is passed, he simply holds the knife out in a defensive stance.  

He asks the player what they did to him and what they know, saying he saw them walking around freely on the Nautiloid. The player can attempt to deny they are a servant of the Mind Flayers, but ultimately the tadpole power connects the group and clears up the misunderstanding. Astarion puts his knife away and apologises for nearly gutting the player. The player can either leave Astarion on the beach or offer for him to join them, as they have a better chance of finding a cure for their tadpoles as a group. If offered, Astarion happily joins the party.

There are two ways the party can learn about Astarion's condition. The first is a scene at Long Rest where the player awakens to Astarion crouching over them. He admits he is a vampire spawn who is weak from hunger, and asks to drink some of the player’s blood. The player can either hear him out or drive a stake through his chest. If the player hears him out, they can either agree to let him drink their blood or tell him to go elsewhere. If they agree to it, Astarion must be Persuaded (DC 5) or shoved off with {{Ability Check|Strength|7}} to get him to stop. Letting him drink a little more instead requires a {{Ability Check|Persuasion|15}}. If this check is failed, the player dies and must be resurrected. Astarion pretends not to know what happened, but can be confronted by the player after the fact.

Once Astarion's secret has been revealed, he gains the {{SAI|Vampire Bite}} ability. The player can tell Astarion he can drink on their enemies or stick to only non-intelligent creatures. Through dialogue at camp or in the party, Astarion can reveal more about his past, such as information about his master, [[Cazador Szarr]], who tormented him for two hundred years. Astarion was one of seven spawn created by Cazador, and Cazador insisted on calling them a 'family.' Thanks to the mind flayers, he's been lost, granting him his freedom. Even better, the tadpole has stopped his vampire weaknesses, such as being unable to walk in the sun or enter homes uninvited.

* Meet with Gandrel after knowing Astarion is a vampire, and kill him. If Astarion is in the party, he can do the honours.

If Gandrel knows the camp's location, he unsurprisingly arrives to take Astarion away, losing him forever as a party member (unless you return to warn him beforehand). Otherwise, Astarion remains unscathed. Astarion greatly approves of being able to kill Gandrel, and expresses his concern about his former master sending hunters after him. If [[Speak with Dead]] is used on Gandrel's corpse, the party can learn he was sent by someone named [[Ulma]].

Players who romance Astarion can learn more about Astarion's scars by having a tryst with him in the forest. Astarion can propose this through speaking with him in the party/at camp after gaining high approval, or he can propose it during the Goblin/Tiefling party if [[Save the Refugees]] was completed. After a night of passion, the player wakes up to see Astarion bathing in the sun with his back to them, showing strange scars. Asking about them, Astarion explains they're supposedly a poem carved into his flesh by Cazador in a single night, with heavy revisions. He refuses to elaborate more.

If the player has high approval with Astarion, a scene occurs at camp during a Long Rest. Both romanced and unromanced players can witness this scene, although romanced players can see this as early as [[Act One]], while it triggers in [[Act Two]] for unromanced players. Astarion is shirtless and tracing his fingers against his back. The player can ask him what he's doing; he can be coaxed to explain that he's trying to determine what the words on his back mean. With a {{Ability Check|Arcana|10}}, the player can attempt to decipher the runes and ascertain that they are Infernal. Characters who can understand Infernal, such as tieflings, can read the sigils as a bunch of jumbled Infernal legalese that's part of a contract.

Players who do not have a high enough approval with Astarion cannot ask about his scars, but he can still have a scene in camp where he is eager to speak to [[Raphael]] again. He will not elaborate on why but asks the party to look out for him.

There are two places where Astarion can negotiate a deal with Raphael. The first is the [[Last Light Inn]], where Raphael is playing lanceboard with [[Mol]] near the staircase. Raphael only remains until the player triggers [[Resolve the Abduction]] by speaking to [[Isobel]] on the upper floor. After this, he leaves. If Raphael is spoken to with Astarion in the party, Astarion asks him about his scars and Raphael says he'll think up an agreement in time before disappearing.

The second place Astarion can trigger a deal is the entrance to the [[Grand Mausoleum]] {{Coords|-191|112}}. Raphael appears to warn the party of a threat within the depths of the Mausoleum, an old enemy of his, as part of [[Kill Raphael's Old Enemy]]. Whether or not Astarion has told the party about his scars, he asks Raphael to decipher them. Raphael agrees, but only if the party slays the beast he was speaking about. If the party calls him out about keeping secrets, Raphael reveals his own surprise at Astarion "keeping his clothes on" for so long and magically takes them off so the party can see the scars.

The enemy in question is an orthon named [[Yurgir]], who is trapped deep within the [[Gauntlet of Shar]] located under the Mausoleum. If Astarion is in the party, he disapproves of anything other than immediately killing Yurgir, even if the player plans to trick Yurgir into killing himself. Additionally, if the party attempts to help Yurgir as part of [[Break Yurgir's Contract]], Astarion becomes upset that they haven't killed him and questions the player. If the player breaks Yurgir's contract instead of killing him, Astarion is furious and asks why he should remain in the party at all. He requires either a {{Ability Check|Persuasion, Deception|14}} to remain in the party.

Later at camp, if the player stood up for Astarion, he thanks them and explains that he didn't know how to say no. If Astarion was pushed to drink Araj's blood, then he tells the player how disgusted he feels and that he can't use his body as a tool anymore. The player can remain in good standing by apologizing to Astarion for pushing him to drink Araj's blood and saying he doesn't have to do that again. If the player is romancing Astarion, pushing him to drink Araj's blood leads him to saying he'll sleep alone from now on, unless the player chooses the right dialogue options (which means avoiding the subject and saying you actually care about him and to continue dating him).

Several of Astarion's fellow vampire spawn attempt to kidnap him after the party has entered the Lower City and long rested. Failing to stop them before they drop Astarion to 1hp results in Astarion being kidnapped and sent to Cazador's palace. Once there, he is tortured by [[Godey]], who uses magic in an attempt to force Astarion to obey Cazador. This starts a saving throw, but even if it's failed, the tadpole within Astarion sends out a psionic wave that disrupts the spell. Godey becomes hostile after failing to collar Astarion and must be defeated. The party can regroup with Astarion in the kennels.

The [[Szarr Palace]] can be accessed via the Central Watch Tower {{coords|-53|-64}}, near the [[Lower City]] Central Wall [[Ancient Sigil Circle|Waypoint]], by climbing up the stairs. There are a number of charmed guards who try to stop the party, but who can be persuaded or intimidated into standing down. Follow the way north to get to the door to Cazador's Palace. Once inside, the palace will be surprisingly empty of vampires, but holds a conspicuously large ballroom door that is locked.  

After descending the elevator, a hallway to the west that connects to Cazador's chambers. It contains the skull of Cazador's former master, Vellioth, and more information about him and the [[Black Mass Scroll]].

To the north are several people in cages who call out to the party. If Astarion is in the party, one of the men recognizes him. It turns out that this is Sebastian, the first victim Astarion brought to Cazador. Sebastian can be persuaded or deceived into revealing how to unlock the cages - Cazador's staff. The cell across the way can also be interacted with - it contains several Gur children who were captured and turned into vampire spawn. If they are told that Ulma sent the party, they also share that the staff is the key to opening the cells.

If Astarion is not in the party, Cazador can be persuaded to allow the party leave so they can bring Astarion back, or they can simply fight him without Astarion. If Astarion was never recruited, or if he was killed (such as staking him in camp), he will be at the ritual as a zombie.

This fight can be very challenging. Cazador is a high-level spellcaster and gains power from the ritual victims, inflicting high necrotic damage to nearby party members. However, his profound weakness is [[Sunlight Hypersensitivity]], which can easily be caused by casting by [[Daylight]] before the battle. After being defeated, he will return to his coffin, where he can be looted.

Once Cazador is defeated, he returns to his coffin to attempt to enter a healing sleep. Interacting with the coffin has Astarion pry Cazador out of it. Astarion will attempt to use the ritual for himself, and requests the player for assistance. The player can agree, attempt to persuade Astarion against using the ritual, or simply refuse to help. If Astarion was not recruited or died, then the only option is whether to kill or release the prisoners.