As Astarion’s questline, The Pale Elf, reaches its conclusion in the final act of BG3, you will meet his creator Cazador. This man is responsible for turning Astarion into a vampire and plans to sacrifice him and thousands of others in a ritual. He will be found in the aptly named Cazador Palace in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Soon after entering the third act, you will encounter a tribe of the Gur people. They will ask for your help saving their children from the vampire lord’s captivity. Astarion has pursued his creator for ages, so you can accomplish both goals together.
Investigate Cazador Palace Quest Location in BG3
As soon as you enter the Outer City and reach the Gur Camp, at (:95, Y:-17) coordinates, a couple of Gur people will welcome you beside their camp. The nearest waypoint happens to be the Rivington Waypoint.
The Gur leader Ulma will brief the party on how vampire spawns have been abducting their children. Having Astarion in your party will trigger some dialogue where they guilt-trip him. However, she recognizes that Astarion also freed himself of his connection to Cazador.
After a couple more dialogue options, the quest Investigate Cazador Palace will be triggered in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Investigate Cazador Palace Quest Guide
This quest is a long series of objectives and requires you to explore the treacherous depths of Cazador’s lair. You will encounter numerous creatures throughout the area, including bats, rats, and werewolves. After infiltrating through the initial parts of the palace, you will have to cover its dungeon, followed by a dramatic boss fight.
Ultimately, you will be left with some crucial yet morally challenging choices, all of which will decide the direction of your future story progression and your final battle.
Find the Szarr Palace
The Szarr Palace is situated in the Lower City, near the Lower City Central Wall Waypoint at (X: 70, Y: 55) coordinates. You can access it by going through the Ramparts Entrance on the left of the waypoint and then entering via Szarr Palace South Tower.
As you climb the Iron Ladder after entering through Ramparts Entrance, Merony, the guard, will attempt to warn you that palace entry is forbidden. A successful Intimidation check will convince her to let you in.
Investigate the Szarr Palace
In the starting area of the palace, the first big hurdle will be the Sinister Door, an enormous aura-emitting gate. The palace guards blocking your way before this point will be easy to deceive or fight and will not pose that much difficulty.
The Sinister Door is a magically sealed metal gate guarded by an arcane lock. Behind this door lies the ballroom, occupied by several animalistic creatures acting in the servitude of their vampire lord. You will require the Szarr Family Ring and Kozakuran Dictionary to open this door.
Break the Ballroom’s Magical Seal
A skeleton guard called Godey has the Szarr Family Ring. He resides on the lower floor of the palace. You will find him on the lower floor of the palace in the Kennels. After passing a couple of Charisma checks, Godey will hand over the Family Ring to you.
Alternatively, you may have to fight this undead creature. Then, you can loot the Szarr Family Ring off his body.
Now, exit the room and look back at the end of the hallway to see the light coming from an open door. Carefully enter the room while avoiding the energy source, as it inflicts necrotic damage to the ones coming in its range.
Approach the Mahogany Wardrobe on the other side of the room to receive Kozakuran Dictionary. Read it and your character will learn the incantation needed to break the seal.
Find the Szarr Palace Secrets
Upon entering the ballroom, you will find further secrets the Szarr Palace holds in its vastness. The first will be the nature of creatures inhabiting this place. You will see numerous rats, bats, and werewolves attempt to attack you in the ballroom. They are vulnerable to radiant and fire damage.
The Cleric class and Paladin class will be best here. If you do not have a character like that, use Shadowheart since she has an arsenal of holy spells that will make short work of these creatures.
Investigate Cazador’s Dungeon
After getting rid of the enemy lot, make your way to the Office Hall and the Dais in the right room. This Dais will act as an elevator and help the party reach Cazador’s Dungeon. After reaching the bottom floor, the Ancient Sigil Circle will be on your side.
Your party has reached the inner portion of Cazador’s Palace. Move ahead through a few of the Crypt Gates, and you will see the remaining part of the palace on your map. Opening these gates will not require any other item except the already-acquired Szarr Family Ring.
Keep descending the stairs to see the ritual site in the middle of the great hall.
Cazador Boss Fight Guide
Upon entering the ritual site, a brief cutscene will commence. Cazador will rebuke Astarion as to why he had left his master’s servitude and abandoned his true vampiric family. After a tense dialog scene, the fight begins.
The easiest way to defeat Cazador is by exploiting his weaknesses against him. As he is weak against daylight, you should cast the Daylight level 3 spell before commencing the fight. Its effect will last till the end of your combat, preventing Cazador from absorbing his spawns. As he draws power directly from them, this power blockage will significantly reduce the boss’ chances of victory.
Casting Daylight will also save Astarion from getting imprisoned at the hands of Cazador Szarr. Just keep spamming spells like Spike Growth from a distance, and you will face a certain victory.
After being defeated, Cazador will return to his coffin at the ritual site. Now, if you do not have Astarion in your party, the only thing to do is kill the boss or leave him be. But if Astarion is present as a companion to your party, some interesting things are yet to come.
Let Astarion continue or stop him
Having defeated the Vampire Lord, you have two morally challenging choices. (Assuming that Astarion is present in your party)
If you decide to let Astarion take the ultimate power of Vampire Ascendant, he will draw some symbols on Cazador’s back with blood and use him as a vessel to become powerful. He will be more resourceful in your final battle ahead and can utilize the extra powers. However, it will result in the demise of 7000 innocent spawns and pertain to a morally ill decision.
If you persuade him through some Persuasion checks after the first couple of dialogues, he will understand your point and abandon the thought of gaining unlimited power. Astarion will start stabbing Cazador to free all the spawns of their magical bonds. They will be free to make their own choices in life and will not be forced to loot villages like before.
This is the better decision morally, but Astarion does not gain any new powers.
If you interrupt Astaion while he is busy doing the ritual, it will make him extremely annoyed. He will become hostile to the party and start attacking you with all his might. In this case, the only way left for you will be to kill your companion.
Investigate Cazador Palace Rewards in Baldur’s Gate 3
The game will reward you with two valuable items for all your hard work through this long quest.
The first item is called Woe. A quarterstaff deals 1D6+2 (One-handed) Bludgeoning damage and (Two-handed) 1D8+2 Bludgeoning damage upon successful hit to a target. You also get Arcane Enchantment and Arcane Vampirism with this handy weapon. Arcane Vampirism heals you up to 4 hit points whenever your enemies fail their saving throws.
The second reward item is an extremely rare dagger, Rhapsody. It can be obtained from Cazador’s rotting body. This weapon deals 7-14 piercing damage to targets and gives a +1 bonus to your attack rolls. Moreover, it allows you to inflict bleeding if a creature takes a hit from you in your invisible state.
