Cazador Szarr — Szarr Palace
Location: Szarr Palace, Lower City. Accessed via the guarded tower in the Lower City wall district.
Pre-Fight Checklist
- Bring Astarion — his personal quest. Even if he’s not in your main party, bring him for the ritual chamber moment.
- Long rest before entering the ritual chamber.
- Heroes’ Feast + Aid — HP buffs.
- Elixir of Vigilance — initiative matters for Phase 1.
- Bring Daylight spell (or scroll) — creates a sphere of sunlight. Vampires take Radiant damage in sunlight. Blood of Lathander also works (passive sunlight aura).
- Bring Radiant damage — Spirit Guardians (Radiant), Blood of Lathander, Divine Smite (radiant on fiends/undead), Sacred Flame, Guiding Bolt.
- Stake the ritual pods — you need ranged characters or high mobility. Astarion is captured on the ritual platform (if you bring him). Free him early.
Boss Mechanics
| Mechanic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cazador (Phase 1) | Vampire Ascendant, ~250 HP. Necrotic spells, Misty Escape (teleport), Blight, multi-attack with Rhapsody dagger. |
| 4 Vampire Spawn | Rotating adds around the arena. Each connects to a ritual pod. |
| 7 Ritual Pods | Red-glowing caskets on platforms around the room. Each pod shackles a vampire spawn sacrifice. Staking a pod (Interact, bonus action equivalent) removes one spawn from the fight and damages Cazador. |
| Vampire Lord (Phase 2) | At ~50% HP, Cazador enters Vampire Lord form: flight, massive necrotic AoE, life drain. |
Phase 1 — Ritual Disruption
Kill Order
- Free Astarion FIRST — if he’s in the party and got captured in the cutscene. Use the Interact action on his ritual shackles (bonus action from a nearby character). Otherwise he’s immobilized.
- Stake the pods. Each pod you stake removes one vampire spawn from the fight AND deals damage to Cazador. The spawns on the northwest and southeast platforms are most dangerous (they have line of sight to the center). Stake 3-4 pods to thin the adds significantly.
- Astarion can do this from range (Sneak Attack + stake Interaction on same turn).
- Karlach can Bonus Action Dash → stake a pod.
- Anyone with Misty Step → reach a pod and stake it.
- Kill adds — any remaining vampire spawn. They’re susceptible to Radiant damage (double), Turn Undead (Shadowheart Channel Divinity), and Daylight.
- Burst Cazador — once 3+ pods are staked and adds are down, focus him.
Tactics
| Build | Action |
|---|---|
| Shadowheart | ⭐ Daylight sphere on the arena center (3rd-level spell, lasts 100 turns). All vampires inside take 20 Radiant/turn. Also Spirit Guardians (Radiant) — walk through enemies. Turn Undead. |
| Bardadin | Divine Smite with 4th-level slots (radiant vs undead = bonus d8). Slashing Flourish to hit Cazador + nearest spawn. |
| Lae’zel | GWM nova on Cazador. Disarming Attack removes Rhapsody (his legendary dagger). Trip Attack → advantage chain. |
| Storm Sorc | Lightning Bolt through clusters. Create Water doesn’t help vs vampires (not vulnerable to lightning). Use Radiant damage scrolls (Guiding Bolt, Moonbeam). |
| Wild Magic Sorc | Fireball the spawn clusters. Sunbeam scroll if available (radiant nuke). |
| Astarion | Stake pods + Sneak Attack Cazador. Don’t let him get too close to Cazador (cutscene trigger). |
| Karlach | Enraged Throw Cazador → auto-prone. Throw from range to avoid necrotic aura. |
Phase 2 — Vampire Lord
Tactics
- Cazador gains flight + life drain + massive necrotic AoE. Spread out.
- Daylight still works — his Vampire Lord form is still Undead. Keep the Daylight sphere up.
- He’ll try to drain Astarion (if Astarion is on the platform near him). Astarion gets massive damage and Cazador heals. Keep Astarion AWAY from the ritual platform center.
- Necrotic resistance helps. Elixir of Necrotic Resistance, Warding Bond (Shadowheart or scroll), Death Ward.
- Finish him fast. At this point, all pods should be staked. Your entire party focuses Cazador. Action Surge, Divine Smites, Chain Lightning — dump everything.
Critical Decision: Astarion’s Ascension
After Cazador dies, Astarion has a choice:
| Choice | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Ascend (complete the ritual) | Astarion becomes Vampire Ascendant. Permanent +1d10 Necrotic on all weapon attacks. But he ascends at the cost of 7000 souls — morally evil. Loses companion approval across the party. |
| Don’t ascend (destroy the staff) | Good ending for Astarion. He remains a spawn. No mechanical bonus, but narrative closure. |
⚠️ Do NOT ascend Astarion in Honour Mode unless you’re committed to an evil run. The approval loss can cause party members to leave (especially Wyll, Karlach, Shadowheart on Selûne path).
If Astarion isn’t in your party, the decision still matters — the other spawn confront Cazador’s fate. Release them or leave them.
Honour Mode Specifics
- Daylight is your win button. Upcast it to 5th level (bigger radius) or use the Blood of Lathander mace (passive sunlight aura, blinds fiends/undead). The constant 20 Radiant damage/round to all vampires trivializes Phase 1.
- Don’t let Astarion get captured on the ritual platform. If you know the fight is coming, leave Astarion at the top of the stairs BEFORE the cutscene trigger. He can join the fight normally instead of being chained. He’ll still have the ascension choice post-fight.
- Cazador can one-shot squishies with Blight. 8d8 Necrotic (save for half). If Cazador casts it on a sorc at full health, they survive. If they’re already at 50%, they die. Keep sorcs topped up with Healing Word.
- Necrotic aura in Phase 2. Standing near Cazador in Vampire Lord form deals passive Necrotic damage each turn. Melee characters: hit and move away, don’t end turn adjacent.
Post-Fight
- Loot Cazador: Rhapsody (legendary dagger, +1 attack/damage/Spell DC per kill, max +3), Woe (quarterstaff, heal on enemy failed save).
- Loot the ritual chamber: Helmet of Grit (locked chest near Victoria’s cursed corpse — extra bonus action below 50% HP).
- Astarion’s story resolves — either Ascended or freed.