Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Help Tips & Tricks Astarion's insanely complex "scar scenes" triggers. Help? *Spoilers*

I've hit a frustrating point in my *second* Astarion-romance playthrough. It is past the camp party, and I had the scar and sex scene... but not the follow-up scenes that have him explain the scars more.

After getting stuck at that same point in an earlier playthrough, I had it explained to me that Tav needs to be True Soul to advance that post camp romance storyline... and I would do camp dialogue with him asap.

..but apparently, I must be missing *more* triggers. I am unsure only about whether I had his "starlight scene" early on.

It is frustrating how unfree and inflexible the pathway to those scenes are, and how many impossible to know triggers you have to hit (and often can't because of Shadowheart's camp dialogue taking precedent.

*sigh* So... anyone have a long and EXCAT list of ALL triggers, dialogues, when to kill bloody Shadowheart to finally get ALL of Astarion's possible scar scenes, and excat order....?

And also, just to keep my sane... has there been word from Larian that they know, care and will do something about those silly dialogue triggers at launch?

I think dialogue triggers and routing have bedeviled people on the forum since the beginning. I'm not sure how much help we can be. For instance I thought you had to be a Tiefling at one point to get that scene, but I think it just might be a matter of approval; and not jumping over it by progressing the story to quickly.

The scar scene, where Astarion tries to figur out what they mean, triggered for me relatively late, when we were already in the underdark. I went to camp much more often than it would normally make sense (fortunately, a long rest is not necessarily needed for most of the dialogue scenes).

I had not used the tadpole and I had sided with the Tieflings, spend the night with Astarion and let him bite my character, and after the party, the dialogues had triggered for Astarion first.
I had Shadowheart in my party as well, but I didn't have the problem that her scenes overwrote his, although Shadowheart's approval was slightly higher than Astarion's (both had high approval, although I played a kind and helpful character, and I did not let Astarion kill Gandrel, of course).


The dialogue scenes I had with Astarion so far were:

• first night at camp
• discussing our preferred methods to be killed (this scene sometimes triggered only for Shadowheart, but in some games, I had this dialogue with Astarion. It seems to trigger for the companion with the highest approval)
• the stargazing scene (it seems to be triggered after you have talked to Zorru about the Githyanki patrol, but before you talk to Nettie. Sometimes, this scene triggered for Shadowheart, when her approval was higher at this point)
• finding the dead boar, which triggers the bite scene the next long rest. (I let Astarion bite my character, defended him when the other companions were sceptical to have him in our party, and told him he could bite our opponents in a battle)
• spending the night with Astarion after the party (first time we notice the scars)
• wondering how the blood of the other companions taste (a mere thought experiment, of course)
• Astarion had a little too much bear blood
• the mirror scene (it would be nice if we could commission a portrait of Astarion when we meet Oscar Fevras again)
• the scene where Astarion tries to figur out the meaning of the scars and reluctantly accepts some help. My character was not a Tiefling, so she couldn't read infernal, but at least she could draw the glyphs.

I am sorry I cannot be of more help. The one thing I noticed is that after the party, and after starting the romance, it seems to be less important who has the highest approval.
I had the same issues with Gale's romance, some scenes did not trigger for me, either, but it was much better since the last patch.

But I hope the companion dialogues will be more easily accessible on full release, too.