But you do need that many for the dreams and the various conversations with the companions, including things like finding out that Astarion is a vampire and meeting Raphael, and the list goes on.
This could be also solved by having multiple hooks for triggering plotlines. For example, you don't need to have Astarion bite you to find out he's a vampire spawn. If he hasn't bitten you, the Gurr encounter could be changed so that the monster hunter recognizes Astarionas a vampire spawn, reveals his true nature, and then you have to decide which one, if any, you want to help in the ensuing fight.
