Baldur's Gate 3's cut content for Cazador was right to remain in the tomb

SPOILERS FOR BALDUR'S GATE 3 AHEAD

Baldur's Gate 3 is a huge game, but it was originally even bigger. Dataminers have found evidence of large amounts of clipped content, ranging from weapons and spells to companions, quests and areas to explore in Baldur's Gate 3.

One of the most infamous pieces of cut content is the Upper City area of the titular city, which reportedly would have had a more extensive arc — and potential redemption — for vampire antagonist Cazador Szarr. While fans would be happy to see most of the game's cut content restored, Cazador works better as a villain who truly deserves the undignified death he receives.

Cazador may once have played a role in a potential Upper City plan

In the final version of Baldur's Gate 3, The Upper City, where the wealthy patriarchs live, is only briefly visited. Players traverse a small portion of the area as they make their way to Netherbrain, the final boss of the game. However, data mined content suggests that the upper city once played a much larger role.

All Upper City content beyond the final battle seems to have been removed fairly early in development. In an August 2023 Community Update, Larian Studios stated, “It has always been our intention for Upper City to be an epic, cinematic epilogue that delivers the story of Baldur's Gate 3 to an end.” But Cazador Szarr, who lives in an elaborate mansion in the Upper City where he pretends to be an ordinary patriarch, would likely have been a big part of such a story. (In the final game, players must access his mansion through a side entrance in a guard tower. The front entrance may have been in the cliff area.)

There are hints of what a more fleshed out story for Cazador might have meant. The vampire lord threw a masquerade ball before his Rite of Profane Ascension. Players can only find the bloody aftermath, but perhaps they should have infiltrated his mansion as guests? Most notably, datamined content seems to indicate that Cazador was once a potential ally in the final battle against the Netherbrain.

Why it wouldn't feel right to help Cazador

Cazador's existence as a scrapped ally likely indicates that there was a version of the game where the player cooperated with the vampire lord, rather than killing him or simply ignoring him outright. Being able to ally with Cazador doesn't necessarily mean he would get some sort of redemption arc. In the final version of the game, the player can get help in the final battle from some pretty shady sources, including the demon Mizora, the crazy Aunt Ethel, and even Bhaal, the God of Murder himself.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

The potential cut content seems to indicate that Cazador was strongly anti-absolute and would oppose Orin the Red and the Cult of Bhaal. Working with a not necessarily heroic ally against Bhaal's forces is potentially interesting, but Cazador is a poor choice to play this role. First, it would probably mean losing access to Astarion, who would have to die for Cazador to ascend. If the two somehow coexisted, it would be a tough story to swallow. Forcing Astarion to work with the man who abused him for centuries is a choice not even the darkest of the Dark Urges would make.

Cazador isn't a complex character – and that's okay

Baldur's Gate 3 is filled to the brim with complex villains. The conflicted Ketheric Thorm was once a truly good man. Sharran Mother Superior Viconia deVir is a former ally from Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 who has followed a dark path since the second game. Minthara Baenre, depending on the player's choice, can be a dangerous antagonist or a loyal ally. Even Enver Gortash has a fascinating charisma to him, despite being far from the “handsome young man” the game promises.

Cazador Szarr is not one of these complex villains, and he doesn't have to be. He is the nightmare that plagued Astarion for two hundred years. He is a man who desires power, indifferent to the seven thousand souls who would have to die for it. In many ways, Cazador is the archetypal vampire who Dungeons and dragons describes them: soulless, selfish, always thirsty for power and blood both.

The Vampire Lord works well in the role he currently plays in the game's story, as one of the most despicable characters in Baldur's Gate 3. He is the obstacle that Astarion must overcome to regain his freedom and his identity. He is evil at its most banal: callous, cruel for cruelty's sake, never satisfied with what he has. Players can learn a little about him by exploring his manor and discovering that he began life as a vampire who was abused under his own master, Vellioth. But the fact that he perpetuates that addiction in his treatment of his own life makes ending his long life more satisfying, rather than sympathetic.

Ascended Astarion's story makes it better

Another reason, and possibly the reason why the option to ally with Cazador was ultimately scrapped, is a simple one: the story of “working with a cruel, powerful vampire lord” already exists in Baldur's Gate 3 in the form of Ascended Astarion. Players can choose to have Astarion complete the Rite of Profane Ascension, sacrificing seven thousand souls (including Cazador) for immense vampiric power. Ascended Astarion is available as a possible ally against the Absolute; his ability, “Retinue of the Vampire Lord,” is likely the same one Cazador would have used.

Choosing to climb Astarion is an intense and emotional experience. Baldur's Gate 3 players witness as all signs of kindness and genuine feelings Astarion had begun to show during the journey disappear, leaving a callous, calculating and cruel vampire in their place. He encourages the player to do evil deeds and enjoys violence and death. Any potential romance between Astarion and the player becomes twisted and devoid of emotion. He may even choose to turn the player into his own spawn and abuse them, continuing the cycle of abuse just as Cazador himself once did.

The story of working with a heartless Vampire Ascendant towards the common goal of ending the Absolute works so much better with Astarion, someone the player has traveled with for hours of gameplay. Cazador is not met until Act 3 of the game, and the players know little about him. Allying with him against the underbrain, presumably after helping him complete the rite, would feel redundant and far less satisfying than giving him an undignified death. (Sadly, the ability to push him into a pit was patched long ago, but he can still be fried by sunlight or subjected to the likes of Otto's Irresistible Dance). Larian Studios' decision to focus on Ascended Astarion while removing the potential alliance with Cazador was a good one, and Baldur's Gate 3 is a stronger game for it.