The Pale Elf: Difference between revisions

He asks the player character what they did to him and what they know, saying he saw them walking around freely on the Nautiloid. The player character 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 character. The player character 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.

During a Long Rest at camp, the player character can notice Astarion can slinking off somewhere in the night, though is unable to question him on this. After this event occurs, a boar drained of blood appears before the bridge to the [[Blighted Village]]. With {{Ability Check|Medicine|10}}, the party can learn it has two puncture wounds in its neck. If Astarion is in the party, he can be Persuaded or Intimidated (DC 10) into revealing that it seems to have been drained of blood by a vampire. Astarion apparently didn't want to say anything as he didn't want to frighten the party.

Once Astarion's secret has been revealed, he gains the {{SAI|Vampire Bite}} ability. The player character 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.

 

[[File:Gandrel Astarion Quest.jpg|thumb|Gandrel was tasked with bringing Astarion back to Baldur's Gate.]]

A Gur monster hunter named [[Gandrel]] is in the [[Sunlit Wetlands]]/[[Putrid Bog]]. If he's spoken to, he reveals that he's looking for a vampire spawn in the area and he may have to make a deal with the local [[Auntie Ethel|hag]] to find him. There are several possibilities for how the conversation can pan out:

If Gandrel knows the camp's location, he unsurprisingly arrives to take Astarion away, losing him forever as a party member (unless returning 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]].

[[File:Astarion Back Scars Quest.jpg|thumb|Astarion's back scars.]]

Player characters 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 character 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.

Player characters 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 [[Resolve the Abduction]] is triggered 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.

There is a [[Gur Camp]] in [[Rivington]] {{Coords|102|-12}}, lead by [[Ulma]]. Ulma tells the party that Cazador has done immense damage to her tribe and even stolen their children. She wishes to have them back, or at least revenge taken if the children are already dead. If Astarion is in the party, he can be told that it's the least he can do to get vengeance for the Gur, which he will agree to. Ulma states that the Gur have tried and failed to infiltrate [[Szarr Palace|Cazador's Palace]], but that a spawn could do it.

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.  

The way forward is through the ballroom. Two things are needed to enter and proceed: a [[Szarr Family Ring]] and a passphrase in the Kozakuran language.

Speaking to [[Vilhelm]], he can be persuaded or deceived into revealing that Godey has the signet ring that can unlock the door. Godey is in the kennels in the lower floor. Godey is waiting in ambush {{Coords|-1289|982}}, but a perception check reveals him and he can be called out. If Astarion is in the party, Godey asks what he has brought him:

Succeeding the checks makes Godey relinquish the ring. Otherwise, he becomes hostile and the key has to be looted from his body.

[[File:Cazador Passphrase Book Location.jpg|thumb|Location of the Kozakuran dictionary.]]

A note upstairs on the Chamberlain's desk {{Coords|-1243|976}} suggests that one of the spawn has misplaced the dictionary used to decipher the passphrases.  

* {{MdRarityItem|Rhapsody}} as loot from Cazador

''If Cazador is defeated and Astarion does not complete the Rite of Profane Ascension:''

*Aid of Astarion's servants of the night for [[Gather Your Allies]]

*Astarion gains the passive feature [[Vampire Ascendant]] which grants the actions [[Ascendant Bite]] and [[Misty Escape (Vampire Ascendant)|Misty Escape]], and an additional {{DamageText|1d10|Necrotic}} damage to weapon and unarmed attacks

== Achievements ==