Fans of Baldur’s Gate 3 have long suspected that Astarion’s story couldn’t fit into one game—there were too many scars, too much silence between his snide remarks. And finally, there was a reason to exhale and get nervous at the same time: Random House Worlds, together with Wizards of the Coast, announced a separate prequel novel entirely dedicated to the high elf vampire.
The book is laconically titled “Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion” and tells about that period of the character’s life, which in the game itself is served by scant hints — about two centuries of slavery to the vampire lord Kazador Zarr. The release is scheduled for September 29, 2026.
The text is written by T. Kingfisher, Hugo award—winning author of bestsellers like “Nettle & Bone” and “Thornhedge”. The choice is not accidental: the writer has long been working in the genre of dark fantasy with a touch of Gothic, and it is precisely this aesthetic that is needed to reliably convey what was happening in the Casador mansion. On her Bluesky page, Kingfisher has already warned readers: the hero’s background is tough, and since this is a prequel, then the finale, to put it mildly, is not for the faint of heart.
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Prequel novel BG3: what will be included in the plot about Astarion
The players only remember fragments of this story. Before his conversion, Astarion was a magistrate at Baldur’s Gate and in 1268 almost died at the hands of a group of Gurus, a people known for cruelty to officials who passed objectionable verdicts. The half-dead magistrate was picked up by a Cadador and forced to join his “coven”. Then there’s the coffin, rats from the sewers instead of food, torture, and a contract with the archdevil Mephistopheles, which the Casador carved right on Astarion’s back, preparing him for the Rite of Desecrated ascension.
In other words, two centuries of hell. And it is into this abyss that the prequel is going to look in detail. The author does not specify exactly where the narrative will stop, but the logic is obvious: the book should bring the hero to the moment from which Baldur’s Gate 3 begins — that is, to the abduction by the illithids.
What do we know about the book today:
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Title: Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion
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Author: T. Kingfisher (Hugo winner, “Nettle & Bone”)
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Publisher: Random House Worlds in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast
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Release date: September 29, 2026
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Audio Version: Penguin Random House Audio, read by Neil Newbon
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ENT Consultant: Stephen Rooney, Senior Writer at Larian Studios
Kazador Zarr and the BG3 canon: how the novel was connected to the game
The main question of all thematic novels is how canonical they are. Here, the authors hedged their bets: Stephen Rooney, senior screenwriter at Larian Studios, who was responsible for the Astarion line in the game, advised on the text. That is, the details of the character, the manner of speech, relationships with other members of the coven — all this was checked against the original source.
At the same time, Larian itself is not formally related to the project — the studio is currently busy with the new Divinity and has officially left the Baldur’s Gate franchise. The book is being produced by Wizards of the Coast and Random House Worlds, and this is the first installment of four editions scheduled for 2026.
Neil Newbon’s Audiobook and other books on Baldur’s Gate 3
The main gift for those who passed BG3 is not for the sake of gameplay, but for the sake of campfire scenes: the audio version will be recorded by Neil Newbon, the same actor whose performance of Astarion won him Best Performance at The Game Awards 2023. Penguin Random House Audio Publishing house will release the audiobook simultaneously with the printed version.
In addition to the prequel itself, three more thematic books will be released as part of the deal — a notebook in the style of the game artifact “Necromancy of Thay”, an official coloring book and a cookbook “A Feast for a Tenday” with 65 recipes from the world of Faerun. No other solo prequels about the party members have been promised yet, so fans of Will, Gail or Carlah will have to wait. Or maybe you can’t wait — here the editors have clearly placed a bet on the most popular hero of the game, and this bet is quite readable.
Considering that the years 2026-2027 were completely devoted by Random House Worlds to the expansion of the Baldur’s Gate 3 universe in books, there is still a chance for new stories. But Astarion will be the first swallow — and judging by the tone of the announcement, its own author has already apologized for how gloomy the result turned out to be.
