One of these side quests in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) is The Pale Elf which is available when you recruit Astarion, the quest itself can be obtained whilst on Act 1 / Chapter 1. This side quest is also a companion quest for the character Astarion. It will involve finding out about Astarion being a Vampire and his master Cazador.
NOTE: In order to progress with this quest you will need to bond with your companion. Making sure he is likely to approve with your decisions.
SEE ALSO
HOW TO UNLOCK THE PALE ELF COMPANION QUEST
This particular companion quest for Astarion can be unlocked during act 1 of Baldur’s Gate III (BG3). You unlock the quest by recruiting Astarion to the party. You’ll find him around the wreckage of the downed ship from the start. The Ravaged Beach. He may be hostile at first but you can talk him down and once he realises you are all in the same boat, he’ll join you. Astarion is also a survivor of the Nautiloid ship crash.
OUTTING HIMSELF
Continue on with the game as normal and to continue with The Pale Elf quest we need to head past the entrance to the Druid’s grove. You should encounter an animal or what is left of it anyway, on the road. Astarion will be a bit hesitant to talk about it. Quite a suspicious individual.
Anyway after this scene report back to camp and rest for the night. If you inspected the animal you should encounter a scene. A scene which involves Astarion. We will now realise that or, rather, what he is. A vampire.
You can choose to let him drink, tell him to never do it again or even kill him for it. If you choose to let him drink then you will need to do some rolls to push him off. He won’t be mad about it and he will generally be grateful that you trusted him enough to let him drink in the first place. He’ll even check on you in the morning to make sure you’re okay.
(Note: We can receive approval from Astarion if you accept and allow him to feed)
THE PALE ELF EXPLANATION
Assuming that you did not attempt to kill the brooding elf you can now talk to him. He will attempt to explain what happened. That he is essentially a vampire spawn. He will also continue to mention that due to the tadpole in his head he is no longer affected by sunlight.
The tadpole has changed much of how he adapts to life. That things that would normally be a danger is no longer an issue. However, he is not a fan of water. He will also eventually explain that he was enslaved to the Szarr family and couldn’t refuse their orders.
GANDREL
Eventually the story will take you to the Putrid Bog and coordinates x: -10 y: 254. Here we will meet with a man named Gandrel. Who is actually a vampire hunter. There are a few options here for us to choose from.
LET ASTARION GET CAPTURED
We can, of course, tell Gandrel everything. That Astarion is our companion. If he is part of your current party then you will witness a scene where the hunter will claim his prize. If not then the elf will have left your camp. He will bail before being captured.
LET ASTARION HAVE HIS FUN
We can also let Astarion have his fun by attempting to fight and kill the monster hunter. This will grant approval from Astarion. This will also allow us to unlock the first bit of dialogue regarding Cazador Szarr, who is a vampire lord that turned the elf into a vampire. Thus making him his master.
SIMPLY LEAVE
Alternatively we can also just simply leave the scene altogether after having spoken with Gandrel. Though this will result in disapproval from Astarion.
RAPHAEL
(Note: This is where the early access section of Baldur’s Gate III ended. Originally Raphael was nothing more than a brief character met in a dream)
You will meet a character called Rapheal in the Last Light Inn. Rapheal will offer you a deal, kill his old enemy for more information about Asterion’s predicament. This will cross over nicely with Shadowheart’s companion mission Chosen of Shar as the enemy and the individual he wants dead in exchange for the information is at the end of Shar’s gauntlets. Both can be found in Thorm Mausoleum.
Shar’s trials require you to collect Umbral Gems and Rapheal’s enemy has the last one. After doing the other trials you will need to fast travel back to the ‘Gauntlet of Shar’ waypoint and turn right. This will not be an easy fight.
If you don’t have anyone with high persuasion then make sure you take a long rest and prepare for a fight, not only is this enemy a large demon, but he also has back up and a displacer beast.
If you have a high enough persuasion, you can complete the quest without having to get into combat but the DCs are high so you may want to save beforehand. After this you will have to wait until your next encounter with Rapheal.
This concludes the first section of Astarion’s companion quest and The Pale Elf. Now we know why he is pale. The next section of the elf’s companion quest is over at Kill Raphael’s Old Enemy
JOURNAL NOTES
CONTINUE TRAVELLING WITH ASTARION
We fought a monster hunter who was looking for Astarion
Astarion told us that he suspects the monster hunter is serving his master Cazador.
We learned that Astarion was a slave to the Szarr family. He couldn’t refuse orders from them – and believes that might still be the case.
We learned that Astarion was murdered by a Gur nomad long ago. The vampire lord Cazador came to his aid and made him a vampire spawn
After spending the night with Astarion, we learned that he has some kind of poem carved into his back. Cazador did this to him – but why?
We met a strange elf who has also been infected with a parasite. He was hostile at first, but agreed to join us when he learned we were infected too
ASTARION’S SCARS
When you get higher approval with Astarion he will finally be comfortable in revealing his scars. He will admit that his master, Cazador, did this to him. We will then need to find Raphael. Who may hold the answers.
FINDING RAPHAEL
We can find Raphael at the Last Light Inn over in act 2. This will then begin the Kill Raphael’s Old Enemy quest
BALDUR’S GATE
Raphael will not give us the answers we are looking for despite his, apparent, interest in it. So head to the city of Baldur’s Gate.
Here Astarion will figure out that the only way he is going to get the answers regarding his scars is to find and face down his old master, Cazador. Our next task is to meet up with a tribe leader known as Ulma.
From there head to Fraygo’s Flophouse to meet with two other vampire spawn, Dalyria and Petras.
To eliminate the threat to Astarion you should remove Ulma and her clan of monster hunters. Before then making your way to the taverns of …
WYRM’S CROSSING
This will lead to the elf’s capture where he will be taken to Godey’s kennel
CAZADOR’S PALACE
After rescuing the pale elf we can then explore Cazador’s Palace. Use the elevator to meet up with Sebastian. Continue searching the palace until you come face to face with the master and vampire lord.
ASTARION COMPANION ENDING
There is a total of 11 different endings to Astarion and the Pale Elf companion. One of which relates to him being captured by Gandrel. Another is when he is banished from the party. With the ultimate ending perhaps being with him sacrificing his old master and becoming a Vampire Ascendant. This will grant him his ultimate revenge.
Alternatively he can remain a vampire spawn and decide to rescue the remaining prisoners or not.
RELATED GUIDES / LINKS:
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Guides Playlist (Written)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Guides Playlist (Videos)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Other/Various (Party Banter, Approval Sheets, Disapproval Sheets)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Our Game Review
Has been playing video games for her entire life so far. Grew up with the Sega Master System II. Her favourite games include both Resident Evil 2 (OG) and Final Fantasy VIII.
She now writes articles about video games.
- Lies Of P Wiki Contents - 18th September 2023
- All Chapter 2 Elysion Boulevard Collectibles – Lies Of P - 16th September 2023
- All Chapter 1 Collectibles – Lies Of P - 16th September 2023