Baldur's Gate 3 Originally Had You Recruit Astarion By Forcing Him Into The Sun
Over the months since release, Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has been very open and honest about what it left on the cutting room floor during development. We've seen all kinds of plot threads, unused locations, and gameplay mechanics that almost made it into the final version, and Larian recently revealed an alternate recruitment scene for Astarion.
If you've played Baldur's Gate 3, you'll know that you can just find Astarion calling for help, only to be ambushed by the sneaky devil and almost killed. However, this wasn't always the intended way that players were meant to find Astarion, as way back in 2019, Larian planned for players to recruit him by convincing him to leave his pod and step out into broad daylight.
According to a talk that Larian held at GDC 2024, players would have originally found Astarion in a pod, just like Shadowheart, and you'd need to convince Astarion that the sun wasn't out in order for him to leave. We don't know how you'd manage this feat, given that Astarion probably doesn't know he's immune to sunlight in this scenario, and it's very possible Larian could have had you force the poor guy into the sun against his will.
Obviously, that wouldn't have worked, as Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't have a traditional day/night cycle. While Astarion does have his himbo moments, you would have to be a special kind of thick to believe that the sun wasn't in the sky in the middle of the day. Larian goes on to admit that certain scenes back in 2019 weren't written with "visuals in mind", and had to scrap the idea due to it being too ridiculous.
It's also very possible that even if Larian did think of a way to make the scene work, it would almost definitely reveal Astarion as a vampire the second that players meet him, ruining any future planned surprises. I think most people clocked that he was a vampire in the scene we have anyway, what with the pale complexion and pointy teeth, but having him also be deathly scared of sunlight would
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