Unofficial Guide by Chris Boots-Faubert for
In an interview with polygamia.pl, Bioware online producer Fernando Melo provided some insight into the game and the comparisons that were being made online and in the gaming press with the company's other games: “Dragon Age was always thought of as a a successor to Baldur's Gate, there were many things that we wanted to transfer from there, and part of that is what we enjoy about that kind of game, the combat system, pause and play tactics, party members, these things are the core of the game, and it doesn't translate as well to an action game. But it depends on the kind of gamer that you are. You can totally play it without pausing as well, but on the PC you have a lot more advantage, a lot more incentive to use pause and play and more tactics than you would on the console.” You might expect that as an action game, being compared to the other smash-hit Bioware title, Mass Effect, is a given - and strictly from a technical viewpoint, that makes a lot of sense - but if you are expecting the play experience to be on-par with that title, you may be in for a surprise! There is a much greater depth to the experience in Dragon Age over Mass Effect, and it is evident that great care was taken to build upon the experiences that the company had with Mass Effect and improve upon it as the same dynamics were applied to Dragon Age, with great effectiveness. According to the manual that comes with the game: "Dragon Age: Origins is a modern re-imagination of an epic party-based fantasy role-playing game, dense with story and tactical combat." This is a pretty accurate assessment - though it does not quite do justice to the intensity and scope of the game. It is massive in its content and unique variations in story line, and immersion in the story is very easy to experience. There is a subtle flavor to your interaction with the characters you encounter in the game that encourages the development of a moral identity for your avatar that succeeds in making it a personal experience where other games fail. There are six unique story lines - called Origins - that you can experience, based upon the race and origin of your avatar. In most RPG games these different origins would be a simple rehashing of the same basic story - but that is not the case here. Each origin line is unique, contains original plot material, and quests that appear only in that origin story. This is in my opinion a brilliant approach and is the kernel through which your attachment and empathy for your avatar begins. If video games were listed in a restaurant menu format, a lot of games would fill the appetizer sections, and still more would populate the dessert section - Dragon Age: Origins however would have to be listed in the "All-You-Can-Eat don't plan on doing anything for a week" section. Borrowing from the stuffed shirts who write wine reviews, I might add: "This game displays an underlying characteristic of adventure with noticeable hints of blood, valor, and rage. It presents to the palate in a very entertaining manner, yet stays with you long after you turn off your console in exhaustion and often makes its way into your dreams at night. I give it a 10.0 out of 10.0!" If you have played RPG type games in the past than you already know how important the process of creating your character can be because the choices that you make in the process are not just cosmetic! You tweak the stats and skills in the creation process, settings that can determine whether or not you can create potions, poisons, or even when you can start wearing better armor and using better weapons. In short, this is a process that often has an immediate and meaningful impact on your gaming experience - and unfortunately only works best when you already understand what your immediate needs are going to be in the game! Because of that, this section is probably the most important for you to read if you have yet to play the game, because it will help you in making decisions that may well flavor your ultimate impressions of game play, the story, and your overall satisfaction with the experience. It is not rocket science, but making some decisions early on can have a measurable impact later in the game. Consider for a moment that your character represents you in the game - call it your Avatar - and to really enjoy the game you should have a connection to it, one that satisfies you, because you are going to be spending a big chunk of time with it. Ideally you should want to take your time, play around with the settings, and make a toon that appeals to you, but that will require you to actually play through - at a minimum - the origin story several times, using different settings. Since it takes anywhere from an hour to two to do that just once, that may not be the ideal solution for you. To help you make informed choices so that you can jump right into the game, this section covers the character creation process in some detail, and highlights a few of the choices that may be more helpful to you. While the origin stories are all different, there are several common points to creating characters for the game that are essentially the same: - Gender - Gender: Male or Female Having said that, you should be aware that there are Achievements/Trophies in the game that are dependent upon the sex of your character - because they involve romancing specific characters that you recruit into your party. If you want to obtain those Achievements / Trophies, you are going to have to play the opposite gender, so you may want to bare that in mind as you plan out your play or re-play strategies. - Race: Human, Elf, or Dwarf - Class: Warrior, Mage, or Rogue Warrior is going to be predominantly hack-and-slash, using a variety of weapons and weapon styles to do damage. Magic is not part of the Warrior's skills set, though some magic stats are important because they do effect how well potions and magic items will work on you. If you like wading in and getting a little blood on your armor, Warrior is a good choice for you. Mage is just what you are likely thinking it is - a Magic-centric class that is not going to have a wide selection of armor and weapons, but nonetheless is able to deliver serious hurt on the enemy! When you are playing a magical character, your tactics must be different - like a Ranger, you do your damage from distance rather than wading right into the fight - and like a Ranger, you are not as adept at soaking up damage as a Warrior or Rogue. No, there is no Ranger class in this game, but you get the idea. Rogue - the Thief Class. There is a lot of the Warrior in the Rogue, but there is a finesse and a set of opportunities to this class that Warrior does not possess. Considering that there are Achievements / Trophies in the game for persuading (Warrior will likely be who you use to get the intimidation ones) it makes sense that you will be earning those as a Rogue. You do not soak up as much damage as the Warrior Class, but you can handle more than the Mage can, because you can wear most of the same armor that the Warrior uses. Like the Mage there will be some weapons and armor in the game that only your class can wear as well. A more significant aspect of this class is its ability to open locks - and there are a surprising amount of locked chests and containers in the game! Being able to get into those will help you to quickly amass wealth, gear, armor, and weapons, which you can equip on your character and your party members or sell to merchants for more wealth. It is a decided advantage in the game, which is something for you to think about. - Background: Varies by the above choices. There are six Origin stories that are associated with the Background choice - and in the next section we will explore all of these, but for now, here is the basic rundown: Human Warrior = Human Noble Elven Warrior = Dalish Elf -OR- City Elf Dwarven Warrior = Dwarf Commoner -OR- Dwarf Noble - Appearance and Voice - Appearance: multiple selections for hair, features and skin tone. This is your chance to personalize your character - decide how he or she looks, their hairstyle, even their voice. As you are going to be spending a considerable amount of time playing this character and since in a way it represents you in the game, you may want to seriously consider spending a few minutes playing with these settings so that you end up with a character that you like. If you are a serious RPG fan - consider what that means: (R)ole (P)laying (G)ame. Creating a persona and personality for your character that you can play and remain true to is not just a good idea, it will actually make the game more interesting and fun. You will not have to be confused about the choices that you will be making in the game, because you already know based on your character persona what sort of choices they would make. I always try to play each character as true to form as I can - even when they make decisions that might make me uncomfortable or give me reason to pause - just remember it is not YOU making these choices, it is your character! You begin with a set number of attributes in each category and have a number of points to spend as you like in addition to those. Unlike the Skills and Specializations, your attributes have a much deeper impact on game play than you may realize, so we are going to go into some detail here so that you have a firm understanding of what they are and how they work. First though, let us look at the present levels and the choice of how to spread out the additional points. You are given 5 points to spend in addition to the base attributes already assigned to your character - for a Male Human Noble Warrior these are: Strength - 15 You can add all of the points to one or spread them among several of the attributes - how you do that should correspond to the how you plan to play the character. For instance it is possible to select any of the skills next that normally would apply to a different class - like trap-making or herbalism - and if you decide to go that route and create a hybrid-class, you may want to invest a few points in Cunning or Magic even though you are creating a Warrior. For a pure Warrior, the most important stats are going to be Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for now - but remember that every time you level up, you are given additional points that you can spend improving these attributes. Now let us examine what each of these attributes actually does in detail. STRENGTH: Measures a characters physical prowess and directly effects the damage that a character does in physical combat. Your strength stat contributes to the accuracy of melee attacks, and is an essential stat for warriors, especially if they intend to use two-handed weapons. The strength stat is almost as critical for Rogues as it is for the Warrior. - What Strength Does - Increases damage from all weapons except crossbows and staves. DEXTERITY: Is the measure of agility, reflexes, and balance. Higher dexterity improves a character's chances to hit, makes the character more likely to dodge incoming blows, and contributes to the damage dealt by piercing weapons such as daggers, arrows, and bolts. Archery and dual-weapon fighting styles require high dexterity to master, making this attribute of particular importance for the Rouge Class. - What Dexterity Does - Increases the attack score for melee combat by 0.50 for each point purchased. WILLPOWER: Represents a character's determination and mental fortitude. With high willpower, mages can cast more spells due to the larger mana pool this stat provides. For Warriors and Rogues, willpower gives a larger stamina pool for combat techniques, and for special attacks. - What Willpower Does - Increases Mana or Stamina by 5.0 for each point purchased. MAGIC: Is the measure for a character's natural affinity for the arcane arts. This is a crucial attribute for mages, as it directly increases their spell power score, and as a result of that, the potency of all of their spells. In addition to the above, the Magic score also has a significant impact upon the effectiveness of potions, poultices, and salves for all classes of character. - What Magic Does - Increases Spell Power by 1.0 for each point purchased. CUNNING: Determines how effectively a character learns and reasons. Most skills like Herbalism and Combat Tactics require a quick mind (and high Cunning) to master them. This stat also helps your character to find weaknesses in enemy armor and in attack and defense tactics. Rogue's in particular benefit from this stat, as many of their class talents and special attacks rely upon it. - What Cunning Does - Increases the effectiveness of Rogue Talents. CONSTITUTION: Represents health and resilience. A higher constitution stat directly increases the amount of damage a character can receive before falling on the battlefield. - What Constitution Does - Increases health by 5.0 for each point purchased. You are provided with a point to spend on a skill here. Coercion (Passive) There are three upgrades to this skill - Improved Coercion, Expert Coercion, and Master Coercion. Stealing (Activated) There are three upgrades to this skill - Improved Stealing, Expert Stealing, and Master Stealing. Trap-Making (Activated) There are three upgrades to this skill - Improved Trap-Making, Expert Trap-Making, and Master Trap-Making. Survival (Passive) There are three upgrades to this skill - Improved Survival, Expert Survival, and Master Survival. Herbalism (Activated) There are three upgrades to this skill - Improved Herbalism, Expert Herbalism, and Master Herbalism. Poison-Making (Activated) There are three upgrades to this skill - Improved Poison-Making, Expert Poison-Making, and Master Poison-Making. Combat Training (Passive) There are three upgrades to this skill - Improved Combat Training, Expert Combat Training, and Master Combat Training. Combat Tactics (Passive) There are three upgrades to this skill - Improved Combat Tactics, Expert Combat Tactics, and Master Combat Tactics. These skills are broken out by type, and by line - in a given line there may be four skills you can select, but in order to select the 4th skill in that line you must have already selected the first three skills. Some of the skills will already be selected for you as part of the basic skills set of the class you are playing. There are three types of skills - Passive, Sustained, and Activated. Passive skills are just what they sound like - skills that you learn like muscle memory that you perform without the need to do anything special or make them happen. Sustained skills use your stamina to maintain them, and you must turn them on in the trigger menus. When they are active, their icon in the trigger menus will have glowing stars on it. For this sort of skill there is an upkeep drain, and they add to your fatigue level as you use them. If you turn them off, there is a brief cooldown period before you can reactivate the skill. Activated skills are just what they sound like - you select them from the trigger menu, and they effect whatever you have currently targeted. There is an activation cost to your stamina, and each has a more lengthy cooldown period before it can be used again. Some of the skills in each line will not be available to you even if it is the next selection in that line, because of specific requirements you may not meet at the present moment in stats - like Strength or Dexterity, or your current level is too low. Some of the skills have multiple requirements like Strength and Level. It is best to review these - especially the ones you are likely to want as the game progresses - to give yourself an idea on how you should be spending your upgrade points later. For example, if you are playing Warrior and you know you are going to want the Death Blow skill (the 4th selection in Warrior, Line 1), you note that the requirements for that are Level 12, and a Strength of 25, so as you get closer to Level 12, you will want to be spending more points in Strength than you might otherwise do in dividing them between the attributes so that when you level up you can actually choose that skill. A description of each skill is provided in the menu when you can select them - and it would be a good idea to read these descriptions and become familiar with what each skill does, so that you can plan out how you will build your character as you level. Warrior - Line 2 Dual-Weapon - Line 2 - Line 3 Archery - Line 2 - Line 3 Weapon and Shield - Line 2 - Line 3 Two-Handed - Line 2 - Line 3 The Origin Stories There are a total of six unique Origin Stories that are based upon the Race and Background you selected when creating the character. As these are each different, we will cover them all as Part 1 of the walkthrough. There are minor variations based upon the gender of the character, and you will notice that at some points in the story lines, the developers missed some gender-specific settings and the characters you interact with may address you as the incorrect gender. Just ignore that - nothing is wrong with your character :) Default Male Name: Aedan Your first interaction is with Arl Howe, your father's advisor, and this is where you start deciding what the personality of your avatar will be! Sarcastic? Rude? Polite? The choice is yours, but be aware that while it may not be obvious, some of your choices in interacting in conversation can have an impact later in the game. NOTE - There are so many lines of influence in this game that no guide or walkthrough could easily cover them all. These Origin lines are based upon my choices - yours may vary - but the overall experience should be the same. I chose to be polite and Arl Howe mentions his daughter - and you are once again given a selection of choices on how to reply. Since I am a polite gentleman warrior, I say "I'd like that" to which he replies that he is pleased, mentioning that his daughter talks about me a lot. Now you learn that you are being left in charge of the castle while your father and older brother go off to war. I of course will do my best, and I tell pops that, and then we get a surprise - pop now introduces us to Duncan, a visiting Grey Warden! You can now learn a bit about the Grey Wardens as you progress through the dialogue, and you learn thay Duncan thinks you might make a good Grey Warden. How cool is that? Well, not so much according to your Pops, who has no desire for you to join. Well, we will see about that, right? Your next task issued by your father is to find your brother and tell him to lead the troops to Ostagar ahead of your father. You should ask where Fergus is so that you have an idea of where you are going I suppose, but after you agree to deliver that message, you should note that a white arrowhead has now appeared on your radar map. This will lead you to your brother - the goal in this quest - but before we do that, there are some other things we can do! - Learning about the backstory Each of the key characters in the game can be talked to - and presents a set of questions you can ask that will result in information being provided. Try that out on Arl Howe now. When you ask him how long he has been friends with your father, you learn that they really are old friends as well as past comrades in arms. While you are talking, why not find out how interested his daughter really is in you? There are some nuggets of information that you will obtain in this way that can provide foreshadowing and a deeper understanding of the story, so it would be an idea to indulge in this exploration as it really does add to the enjoyment of the game. Despite the fact that Duncan will try to dissuade you from talking to him, if you tell him you have just a few questions, he will indulge you. The information he gives is interesting, and again adds to the backstory so go ahead and insist! Now you have pretty much exhausted your conversations here, so hit the door behind you and start exploring the castle. Do not head directly for your brother, instead explore every room that you have access to now, because pretty soon entire sections of the castle will no longer be accessible to you, and there are things you can collect and learn now that are worth the effort. - The Codex Behind Mother Mallol in the chapel you will notice a glowing spot - that is a book on the lectern before the alter. Go ahead and examine the book to add it to your Codex now. Hit the BACK button and then LT to select the Quests menu, then use the right stick to change the sub-selection to Codex, and highlight Magic and Religion and hit A. Now look at the bookshelf to the right of the alter for another book. The book you just added to your Codex - Andraste: Bride of the Maker - is now here, and you can read its entry if you select it, Go ahead and do that now. There are two more selections under religion, and then you can read about Castle Highover under Culture and History, and biographical sketches of Duncan and Arl Howe under Characters. Finally there is a section called Controls that details how the different sections relate to your game pad.
As you move towards the section of the castle where you brother is, you will be stopped by a red-headed warrior named Ser Gilmore who has a message for you - your dog is raising hell in the kitchen pantry and the Major Domo wants you to do something! Go ahead and select the option to head to the kitchen and deal with the matter now, but do not stop exploring! The door nearby leads to a classroom in which some Squire's are being educated. Head on in with your new party member and talk to the teacher to learn about the story of your family. There is some foreshadowing to be found here with respect to Werewolves and volatile nature of politics in the Kingdom. This interaction may be a bit on the long side but it gains you several new Codex entries that are worth reading. In addition, in the rear of this chamber you will find two books (one to the left, one to the right) that detail the history of Ferelden (Chapters 1 & 2) and, in the room through the door to the right as you are leaving the chamber you will find another Codex entry - a book on the culture of Ferelden. Now go ahead and run to the Kitchens - and get a Cutscene (CS) that tells you what your dog has been up to - and gives you a chance to defuse the situation through conversation with Nan. Now head inside the pantry and either chastise or encourage your dog - I praised him myself, and lucky I did because it turns out he was not up to mischief after all! As giant rats stream out from hiding to attack, you are given the opportunity to name your dog - I called mine Calvin after my pittbull in a dachshund suit - and then killed some rats for our first combat XP. Seriously... Giant Rats... Why not a Giant Spider? Yes, I know, this is the stereotypical and traditional first combat of the Fantasy RPG, I am not complaining mind you. But still... Giant Rats? In a sack and a crate in the pantry is some Elfroot - go ahead and take that - it is used for making health potions, and even if you have not selected Herbalism as one of your skills, eventually you will have a party member who does have that skill, and once you acquire an inventory of empty bottles, you can make your own potions! Yay You! Now exit the pantry and talk to Nan, so she can change her mind about your pooch - and give him a treat as his reward. As you exit you can go to the feast hall down the way but there is nothing there for you - but if you look up the next path you will see a group of people standing there - run to them and you are introduced to your mother! Now you get to meet your fathers guests - Iona is quite the babe - but the conversation is rather abrupt, so no romancing for you, bud! Once the guests depart, take this moment to talk to your mother - you will be glad you did later... - Fergus Now head on up and enter your brother's chambers - and meet your nephew and sister-in-law, Pass on the message, and your brother makes a macho declaration - and then your mother and father arrive for a proper send-off. You are treated to an amusing CS, and then You get the quest completed notice after that. In the bookshelf nearby is another book - Politics of Ferelden - go ahead and grab that to add it to your Codex now, because once you leave the room, you are irrevocably set upon the beginning of the end of the Origin Story! - The Sneak Attack Your dog wakes you - and then there is pounding upon the door! You can hear noises - disturbing noises that make no sense to you... The door bursts open, a screamed warning from a servant, and then you must fight! Try to take out the archer first, and of course your dog will be a great help with this battle as you are outnumbered - until after the battle, when your mother arrives with her own bow and arrows, and you learn that she is a warrior in her own right. Howe has betrayed your family - this is a coup of sorts! Now before you head on to find your father, take a moment to loot and gather supplies here. The bodies of the enemies have items on them - so loot those - and then go back into your room and you will see a cabinet. Loot that to obtain a Lesser Health Poultice and a Small Grease Trap. Run across the hall and open the door only to discover - gasp! The bodies of your brother's wife and son! That bastard! He killed Kenny! In the adjacent chamber there are more enemy to kill - and another gruesome discovery - the body of your mother's friend. Before you take the door nearby to exit the living chambers, run back to your parents room and empty the crate there - it holds some weapons and you can sell those later for money. From here on out this is pretty much a rail - most of the other passages are blocked either by rubble or fiery debris, so work your way from chamber to chamber, taking out the enemy as you encounter them, and be sure to loot as you finish each battle. - The Family Treasury This is easy to miss if you are not going from chamber to chamber, so be sure that you do not miss it! When you reach the door to the treasury room, your mother will offer you her key, and tell you that Howe must not obtain the family sword! Enter the armory, and loot it to get some pretty good stuff that you will want to have. The Family Sword is better than the one you have now - 7.70 damage vs. the 7.0 damage of yours - but more important, it has 1 damage and 4 Attack modifiers on it! There is also the Cousland Guard Shield - but that requires 18 strength so you may not be able to use it - I could :) That was nice for a few seconds, until I looted the Shield of Highever - but that requires 20 Strength so YMMV. There is also a nice set of Scale Armor, so go ahead and upgrade your gear now. After you finish looting more enemy will attack, and after you take them out, continue along the path, checking each chamber. In a nearby chamber you can loot a leather helm off of a knight - go ahead and equip that, and then head to the chamber across the corridor to help rescue Ser Gilmore, and learn the location of your father. - Your Father in the Pantry As you fight your way to the larder and discover your father, it turns out he is hurt much worse than you had hoped. Your father is pissed - understandably - but knows that he is too badly hurt to go on - he is dying. Your mother is unwilling to leave him to a solitary death, and chooses to stay and accompany him in that last journey - and your father urges you to escape, to send word to the King of this betrayal, and to avenge the family., As this conversation concludes, Duncan the Grey Warden appears - remember Duncan? Duncan agrees to help, but only if you join him as his recruit - well, you wanted to be a Grey Warden anyway, right? A final farewell with your parents, and then into the tunnel with Duncan to escape! - To Ostagar A brief CS sees you arriving at Ostagar with Duncan and your dog. The King himself greets you, and you are introduced. When the King learns of what has happened, he is outraged and promises you justice - after the battle tomorrow of course. Your brother is out on patrol and will not return until after the battle, leaving you time to explore, complete a few quests, and officially join the Grey Wardens by passing their tests, as you have completed the Origin Story! Good on ya! ---=== Now jump ahead to Part 2 of the walkthrough, Ostagar! ===--- Default Male Name: Daylen As your story begins you learn that the life of the mage is one of suspicion and second-class status in the world. Oppressed by the Templar, restricted by your own class, and blamed for all of the bad in the world - including the destruction of heaven - it is a pretty grim picture painted for you. But hey, on the plus side - You are a MAGE! Woohoo! The Harrowing - the graduation test of a Mage - approaches - and it is time to enter the dream world and take on a demon - are you ready? Sure you are! Oh, one more thing - if you fail this test, the Templar will kill you. No pressure, right? - The Harrowing
You touch the glowing stuff in the basin and FLASH! You are in the otherworld! Now first thing you should do is go examine that scary-looking statue to pick up a Codex entry - and then grab the healing potions from the nearby pot. Around the bend and down from there is your first opponent - a white glowing wisp thingy. Depending on what magic you chose you either need to get close to cast, or you can cast from a distance - either way do what you need to do to be able to kill it - and kill it! Now continue on and kill a few more until you run into a talking rat who morphs into a human and tells you his name is... Mouse. Umkay... Mouse appears to be the spirit of a Magi who was killed by the Templar for taking too long in doing the Harrowing - might want to hurry this up a bit so we don't have to join him, right? As you drop down into the flaming area, you should see a green glowing stone on your right - go collect that to gain a Codex entry for Lyrium - the stuff that makes magic - and folding - happen. You'll want to be collecting a lot of that right? - The Spirit of Valor There is another vase of healing with healing potions just past this area after you fight two more wisps - and behind the vase is a Codex entry you can pick up by clicking on it. Turning around you should see a glowing gold figure in the distance - that is the Spirit of Valor - go say hello! There are several paths you can take with the Spirit - I chose not to fight him, rather I asked all of the questions that you can ask that do not provoke, and then asked about the weapons. His offer to give a weapon - if you duel him first - did not strike me as a good idea, so I chose instead the insolent reply - so you can kill me yourself. That really made him angry, but I followed it up with the - Prove you are a Warrior and help be kill the Demon answer, and that got me Valor's Staff - a two-handed staff that does 3 Damage, 20 Armor Penetration, and increases spellpower by 1 - not a bad reward for a conversation right? The staff has a range of 50 for the spell it cast - a glowing white energy ball - and the casting is automatic when you attack. As you continue along the path you will encounter a trio of wolf phantoms that you can test out the staff on - a combination of the staff and some fire spells should quickly settle their hides! - Sloth Demon Laying on the path ahead is a minor demon who, after an ominous CS, you have the option of conversing with. As you inquire you get a better idea of what he is, and after a few dialogue choices, you can ask him for help. Mouse suggests that you convince the demon to teach you how to be like him - to change your form - but you end up convincing Mouse to learn the Sloth form - and you convince the Sloth to help. The choice comes down to answering three riddles - answer correctly and you gain his help, fail and he will kill you! You can also provoke him into fighting you and, if you defeat him, he will then teach Mouse how to change forms, but hey, a riddle beats a fight any day! The first riddle is: I have seas with no water, coasts with no sand, towns without people, mountains without land. What am I? The obvious answer is: A Map! The second riddle is: I am rarely touched, but often held. If you have wit, you will use me well. What am I? The tricky answer is: My Tongue! The third and final riddle is: Often I will spin a tale, never will I charge a fee. I'll amuse you an entire eve, but, alas, you won't remember me. What am I? The simple answer is: A dream! Having answered the three riddles correctly you have won Sloth's challenge, and Mouse quickly learns the spell to change into a bear! Now that you have succeeded, head back along the path towards the fiery clearing, fighting a few more Spirit Wolves along the way, and you will encounter the Demon that you came to fight - if you are confused simply follow the arrow marker. Before you begin your epic battle, you get to have a little chat with the demon first - Joy! Ah but we learn that Mouse was not exactly what he said he was - but that is okay because he is still on our side! As the fight opens, the demon is joined by a pair of wisps - you can just ignore them, as taking out the demon ends the fight with the wisps. As the fight ends, you enter into another conversation with Mouse - and again, all may not be as you thought it was... Are you really surprised that Mouse was the true demon? Yes, me either - but I was surprised that we did not have to fight him to end the Harrowing. - The Dormitory You awake in bed, with your friend Jowan waking you up. Of course the first thing that he asks is what it was like - but you know you are not supposed to tell him, right? Not telling sort of irritates him but on the plus side, he starts telling you about himself, and the Tranquil. That is worth the effort - gives you a better idea of just how nasty those Templar fellas are! Eventually you learn that the reason that Jowan came to wake you was that he has a message for you - you have been summoned. Boy takes his time telling you that, doesn't he? Well we need to get on with it, but as we do not know what the future holds, take a moment to loot the two items that are in this area - one in a nearby chest, one in the bathroom. When you reach the library chambers - there are two - you can loot a book in each that adds new Codex entries - and once you are satisfied that you have looted everything there is, head to the exit marked on your map - not the Basement one, that just leads to a door you cannot open - and not the one with the two Templar guarding it - the Tower Entrance - which is also locked. No, the one you want is the door to the second floor - which is at the center of the Library chamber :) On your way why not stop to talk to Owain, the Tranquil who mans the stockroom? Interesting story he has - but now let us run through all the chambers on this level a-looting as we go, shall we? There is a good number of lootables here - supplies and books that add Codex entries. Do not ignore the books because each Codex entry you add also nets you 50 XP! Once you have looted all kit and books, head into the last room for your meeting and a CS that gives you some more of the Magi backstory. The Templar there has a serious attitude, yes? But it is Irvine you came to see, not that tin-suit. And who do you see standing there with Irvine? Why Duncan of the Grey Wardens of course! - Meeting Duncan After you get the congratulations speech from Irvine - and your new Mage Robes and Staff - he asks you to escort Duncan back to the guest quarters. Now is a good time - once you are in the hall - to have a chat with this Grey Warden. If you ask about the darkspawn and then about the Grey Wardens you will add a Codex entry on the Darkspawn as a result. As you move through the tower, there are a few more books to pick up, and some additional Codex entries to be had through conversation. Stop and chat with Senior Enchanter Torrin to learn about the Magi Fraternities, and be sure to check out the empty bookshelf that is missing its books - that could be an interesting gap... Once you get Duncan back to his room, you get yet another Codex entry for your troubles, and now it the time to have another chat with him, learn something about the outside, and this is also your chance to mention to Duncan that you believe that you could be of aid to the army too. As you exit the chamber, Jowan is waiting for you - and he wants to talk. - A Private Chat with Jowan Once you are in a secluded spot, Jowan introduces you to Lilly - an initiate - and you learn he is carrying on a proscribed relationship with her! And what is more, Jowan is convinced that the Circle intends to make him a Tranquil - and they want your help. Here is where you have to make a decision - I chose to help them. So the plan is to get Jowan's blood tag and destroy it - but to do that you have to get into the chamber where they are stored. You need a Fire Rod from the supply room - so that is the first step. Outside the storerooms you find Senior Enchanter Leorah, who as it turns out is the person in charge of the Circle's stores. She is acting rather suspiciously - so go ahead and have a chat with her - and be circumspect about her answers. Accusations will not go far wrong here, and eventually she should clue you in on her true problem - one you can help her with that will also get you access to the stores, which is what you want anyway! - Spiders in the Storerooms If it is not spiders it is giant rats - but that is how it goes when you are learning to fight or use magic, right? The caverns are basically a large loop - and your task is to run through that loop, killing the giant spiders you encounter there, and of course looting whatever there is to be looted! Once you have finished that - you will get the quest updated notice - go ahead and return to Leorah and let her know that you have taken care of the spiders. With that done, go ahead and see Owain at the stockroom in the center of the tower - and request the rod. He will not give it to you unless you get the request form counter-signed by a Senior Enchanter - and now you know why we stopped to kill a bunch of spiders, don't you? So a quick trip back to Leorah to get the form signed, and then right back to Owain, where you turn in the form and get your Rod of Fire! Some more running I am afraid as we head back to tell Jowan and Lily that you have what you need. Remember that door to the basement we did not want to go to earlier? Yup, that is where we are going now, so hit the door down to the first floor, and then make your way through the library chambers to the inner ring, and thus to the door leading down to the basement - and the door we are actually interested in torching. - The Repository Once you reach the door to the Repository Lily explains how you get in - and uses the password to prime the door so that your magic spell will open it. Once you are inside and at the right door, you are faced with a major impediment - magic does not work here! It looks like you will have to find another way - starting at the other nearby door! As you burn through the lock on that door, the suit of armor nearby that looked like, well, a suit of armor, magically comes alive - it is a sentinel guarding that door! Time to fight! Once you take him down and enter the new chamber there are a few more sentinels to be dealt with - and then loot your way through the long corridor as you take on another group of sentinels. Once you get past the next group there will be a group of Deep Stalkers to kill - and then you will work you way along through a few more groups of sentinels - just kill them, heal, rinse and repeat, and eventually you will arrive at the Repository's other entrance. Inside you will find some good loot items - and an artifact that is puuurrrfect for your problem! Using the cat statue and the rod you manage to break your way in. Inside there are a few more guardians to fight that seemed a bit tougher than the others, but you manage. There is a chest here with a better cowl - so grab that, and then up the stairs nearby to find Jowan's phylactery! In a brief CS Jowan breaks the vial and Lily tells you she does not want to stay a moment longer - and you make for the exit only to find... The man is waiting for you! - Is this the End? Irvine and Gregor knew all along, and were waiting for the proof - and you have pretty much handed them that. Clearly Lily and Jowan are sunk - but what about you? And yet - when push comes to shove, Jowan shows his true colors, casting a blood magic spell to make his escape! Fortunately for you, when it looks like things have gotten as bad as they can get, Duncan shows up and demands that you be allowed to join the Grey Wardens as a recruit! Gregor is not happy - but in the end, Duncan has his way, and you reach the end of the second Origin Story! Default Male Name: Duran You are the second child of Lord Aeducan, the ruler of the Dwarven holds, and today is the day that your father will present you to the Dwarven Nobility - call it your coming-out day. In your chambers your friend and companion, Gorim, is helping you to get ready for your big day. He suggests that as there is time, perhaps it would be an idea to visit the Provings - a tournament of combat held in your honor to put on display the best of the best and warrior prowess. Gorim thinks that you should make an appearance there and, if you like, fight as well. That sounds like an excellent idea! Before we leave there are a few lootable items we should grab, and then hit the door to the hall, where we can find another lootable item - a book that adds a Codex entry. Take a right turn and head along to the first door on the right, where we startle a mistress exiting your brothers room! Follow her in and loot the room, and then have a chat with her! As your brother's mistress she is clearly beneath your station - and Gorim's tone illustrates that. In one of the containers was a Dwarven Merchant's belt that adds to your money intake - go ahead and put that on now!
Once you have all there is to grab in your brother's room, head down the hall to the entrance to the Diamond Quarters. What we will be doing here is a few minor quests and some schmoozing before we go to fight in the Proving - and it begins as we enter the area and hear an argument nearby. Scholar Gertek is being accosted by Bruntin Vollney, a noble with a grudge. Talk to the Scholar to find out what this is about... How you interact depends upon your nature and your character - I chose to support the Scholar and the truth, but of course that did not make Bruntin my friend. Gorim suggests that you have the idiot killed, and the Scholar agrees with that - and hey, when in Rome, right? You do what you like, but I decided that he needed killing :) Move down the hall and do some shopping - stopping to talk to each of the merchants on the way. You can also sell off the extra and unneeded items that you have already looted - may as well do that now. As you move up the hall you will run into your brothers Trian and Bhelen. Trian is a jerk, and Bhelen is a suck-up - what a family! I did not take well to Trian's nasty attitude so I dished it back with as little respect as I could manage, and was happy to see them stalk off. The Armor Merchant is next - and then ahead on the right are a pair of Noble-hunters - Dwarven woman whose only interest is to carry the child of a high-born noble! Go ahead and chat them up why don't you? It will be a long day, and the night is cold, why not have a warm bed - or a very warm bed if you can handle both? What can I say, I guess my Prince is a horndog! There are three barrels nearby that you can loot - do that - and then hit the Weapon Merchant's booth - he has a proposition for you! He tells you about the dagger that he had made especially for your day, and how your brother Trian rejected it - and him - and asks that you accept it. Doing so will surely anger your brother - but so what? It is not like you are on good terms anyway, and I have a feeling that you are not going to remain brothers for long, so... Next on the list is the Magic Merchant - but you will not be doing any trade with him because he fainted at the sight of you! Just past this last merchant's booth is a guard who was dispatched to be your escort through the common areas - at your father's orders. Go ahead and let him do his job and take you to the Proving Arena now. Now this is a battle tournament that is put on to honor you - but it is your right and prerogative to participate in it if you desire - and you desire! So tell the Proving Master that you want to fight, and then get to it! The first match is with Aller Bemot, youngest son of Lord Bemot. He seems like a nice enough fellow, certainly polite, but you know you have to kick his butt right? That should have been a pretty easy fight for you - and an easy 84XP - and you get a quest update as well - so let us move on to the next fight! The second match is with Adal Helmi - a woman! Well, she is wearing armor and has a weapon - she knew what she was getting into when she entered the Proving, so you know what you have to do, right? Yes, kick her butt! Actually she fought better than the first guy, but you beat her anyway, so it is on to the next match! The third match is with Ser Blackstone, who is supposed to be one of the better warriors having achieved glory in combat in the deep road. The announcer is pretty enthusiastic about his job - and Blackstone thinks a lot of himself too! Try to learn, he says... Let's teach HIM a lesson, shall we? The fourth and final match it with Frandlin Ivo, who even Ser Gorim seems to respect. Will this be a challenge for you? Let's find out! And once again we kick Dwarven butt! Now the question is do we keep the reward for winning the Proving or not? It is a nice helm, sure - but would giving it to a loser be honorable? You decide for yourself on that one. After you decide, talk to the guard to head back to the Diamond Quarter - and then head back to the Orzammer Royal Palace. Straight ahead is the throne room - where you are to be officially presented to the nobility and receive your assignment as a commander! May as well head in there now. As you enter, Ser Gorim remarks on the presence of the Grey Wardens, and you will notice that there is a small crowd here. Before you talk to your father, stop and talk to Lord Ronus Dace - on the right as you move ahead. He has a matter he wishes to discuss with you - you have to love Dwarven politics! As you talk to Lord Dace, you learn about the fate of the Dwarfs who leave the kingdom to live on the surface, and how they are stripped of their associations and position when they do this. If you listen to Dace, you get the idea that while it is convenient to say that he is concerned about their welfare, but you soon learn that the real story involves his wife's cousin, who is trapped on the surface, unable to return to the fold as it were. That sounds like a pretty good reason to help him out - I know I decided to - but as you move towards your father, you hear Lady Helmi insult you! "You're a fool!" she declares. Well, you have to hear her out, right? According to Lady Helmi, Lord Dace is conning you! Last Spring she says, Dace backed the merchant guild on a trade expedition to the surface that ended in disaster - and according to her his losses were severe, and he hopes to recover them by helping exiled nobility regain their status. According to her, helping him will cost you severely when it comes to support of the other noble families, but hey, we don't plan on sticking around anyway - we are destined to join the Grey Wardens - and besides, she has a bad attitude! Now is the time to go over to dad - who is still discussing politics with the nobles - and you get an idea that your father is not as concerned with profit as many of the nobility. The conversation ends and your father greets you. He has heard about your winning the Proving, and asks if you are ready to be presented. Well yeah! Your father asks if any of the nobles have questions for you - and Dace asks his. This is one of the ways that the game can change - you decide what you want to do here, and it does influence the game, though the influence is subtle. Since I agreed to help him and I did not much care for Lady Helmi, I made good on my promise and supported the surface Dwarves. The people seem to be as happy as ever - maybe Lady Helmi is wrong about the general consensus. After the cheering abates, you learn that your mission tomorrow is related to the Grey Wardens - and Duncan makes a short statement before your father opens the feast and you are set to your own again. Now would be a good time to say hello to Duncan - maybe get to know him a little. Duncan has heard of you - mostly from your father - and he implies that you would be a welcome addition to the ranks of the Grey Wardens! Now would be a good time to look into that, yes? Chatting with Duncan gets you three new Codex entries - you may want to read those as they are interesting. On the way out say hello to Dace - he seems pleased doesn't he? After you depart the feast you will notice the white arrow on your radar map. Following that will take you to your brother Trian's chambers - where you will find him with your other brother, Bhelen. You know I don't think he likes you much :) You pass on the message that your father wants to see him, and off he goes, leaving you with Bhelen, who actually has something that he wants to tell you. According to Bhelen, Trian plans to kill you in the confusion of the battle tomorrow! Bhelen explains that Trian believes that you are a threat to his taking the throne when our father dies; Bhelen talks about the manner in which kings are chosen, and implies that you have a better than average chance of being declared king by the Assembly should you father die. Bhelen adds that as you are his favorite brother, he would hate to see you die - and Trian be made king. While he may not have any idea how you should proceed, Bhelen declares that he will follow your lead whatever your decision. Now is it just me, or does this seem too good to be true? Maybe I am naturally suspicious - Gorim seems to think that you should kill Trian, and Bhelen, well, like he said, he will follow your lead - but all that really means is he does not want to go on the record as having an opinion one way or the other! I don't trust him - I just don't trust him. That out of the way, Ser Gorim reminds you that you have a menage-a-trois awaiting you back in your quarters - and away you go! A cinematic CS ensues in which your father fires up the troops and Duncan puts in a word, before you discuss the plans for the day. Bhelen seems to have grown a backbone, but he still heads off on the mission your father assigned to him. You are briefed on your special mission - to reclaim the shield of your ancestor. There is glory to be had here - and if we have any luck, some fighting as well! Finish out the CS to learn what you are supposed to do, and then head on out to battle and glory! You gain the Codex entry for the Deep Roads, and then you begin at their entrance. moving to the right over the rubble you can enter the Roads proper, where you will soon find yourself facing - wait for it - a Giant Spider! Yeah, it is a cliche, but if it was not a Giant Spider, it would be a Giant Rat, right? That is how first combat in an RPG works :) Before you go on make sure you chat with Ser Gorim - he has some pointed observations to make about your activities last night. He is a little disappointed that you did not invite him to the um, festivities... Make sure you loot the corpse of the spider before you move on - he actually has a healing potion on him - what was he doing with that?! As you run ahead you should encounter a pair of darkspawn just after you trigger a trap that you did not see on the ground - and after you finish them off take a quick look at the body in the alcove to the right - he has a pair of Dwarven Armored Boots on him you can loot - and while they are no better than what you and Gorim are wearing, you can always sell them later... As you move along the tunnel you will enter a large chamber in which Frandlin Ivo is waiting for you - yes this us the same Frandlin Ivo you defeated and (hopefully) who you gave the prize to. Actually it will not matter that much if you did not give it to him, now that I think on it, but still... He joins your party, and you move on through the tunnel to the left. In the next chamber there are more darkspawn - I took out the archer first - but with all of the help you have it should not take long to win this battle. There are a few chests behind the rocks near the fire - the first contains a small darkspawn shield that is the same stat-wise as the one you are using. The second chest is locked, and since you are not a Rogue, unavailable to you. Continue on through the next tunnel and you will meet up with the first scout who was sent ahead to gather intelligence about the darkspawn presence. After you receive his report, you he joins your party - and now is a good time to take advantage of the shield and boots you looted - by allowing the Scout to equip them, along with a dagger. My you are thoughtful and nice! As you continue into the next large chamber you encounter a more powerful darkspawn raiding party - and take them out! There is another chest here you cannot loot near the wagon - just ignore that and head into the next tunnel, but be sure to loot the bodies before you go. When you reach the next chamber you get a CS in which you learn that someone has beaten you to the door to the sacred chamber! The darkspawn bodies are still fresh, so whoever it is, they are still in there. It is time to find out who that might be! Inside the chamber entrance (before the bridge) on the left is the body of a Dwarf with a war ax on it - go ahead and loot that and have the Scout equip it as it is a better weapon than the dagger he is presently using. With that minor task finished, head on over the bridge to discover that the party that arrived ahead of you is a mercenary band - and they have been waiting for you! In a brief CS you learn that the mercenary band was hired by someone - it is implied that it was Prince Trian, since one of his men brought them the signet ring that they used to gain access to the chamber itself - but that is all the information you are going to get for now, as it is time to kill! After the battle, make sure you loot the corpses - on the leader you find Trian's signet ring - as they contain some good stuff. There is a barrel that has ammo for the artillery piece - and if you time it well you could even use that as part of the fight - but I did not discover that until after the fact. You can use the armor to improve the Scout's stats if you like, and then it is time to find the Shield!
The door to the Thaig Chamber is nearby and marked on the map - go ahead and move through it now and as you enter the chamber you get a brief CS after which you issue your orders - Look around, there must be a clue. There is a sarcophagus in the center of the chamber, and it contains a slot in which your signet ring can fit - but using that appears to do nothing. A closer examination of the floor however reveals that there are three oddly colored tiles. To trigger these, switch to each of your three party members and position one on each of the tiles, and then insert the signet ring again and voila! Access granted! Look the Aeducan Shield from the sarcophagus for a brief CS, you exit the chamber only to be confronted by more darkspawn forces, but they are more an irritation than any real threat. After you take them out, retrace your steps over the bridge and through the tunnels to the rendezvous point, where you are surprised to discover the bodies of your brother Trian and his men! Gorim thinks it was a darkspawn attack, but Ivo does not agree - pointing out that there are no bites, scratches, or mutilation. Suddenly you hear the noise of an approaching party - it is your father and he has Bhelen with him! What first seems like a good thing quickly turns sour, as Bhelen accuses you of the treacherous slaying of your brother Trian! Clearly you have been set up by Bhelen - as has Trian, but he is beyond caring about that now. Your father does not want to believe it, but Bhelen has constructed a very convincing plot, and the Scout and Ivo, it turns out, are part of the conspiracy, lying as they accuse you of killing Trian! There really is nothing you can do to make this better mate, it is part of the Origin Story and it is working as intended - after all you have to be put in a position wherein you are free to join the Grey Wardens, right? You are taken prisoner and thrown into a cell, awaiting the judgment of the Assembly - but you will not have to wait long. Ser Gorim arrives at your cell to give you the news: Bhelen moved to have you condemned without a trial and the Assembly approved, sentencing Gorim to exile on the surface, and you to death. You are to be sealed into the Deep Roads where you will fight the darkspawn until they kill you. Gorim actually came not just to say goodbye, but to let you know that Duncan and the Grey Warden party is in the Roads near where you will be sealed off, and suggests that you should seek them out and join them to escape the fate that Bhelen has arranged for you. That sounds like a good idea to me! Perhaps we will meet with Ser Gorim again some day? You get a brief CS in which you receive your sentence and are cast into the Deep Roads, given a sword and shield and sent to your fate. Once you are inside the tunnels you prepare to fight your way to Duncan. You are already wielding the shield but not the sword, so you might want to equip that in place of the dagger you are wielding - you have nothing else to equip at the moment - though interestingly they did not take away your money! There will be a checkpoint save as you enter the tunnel that leads into the Deep Roads - this is the same entrance we used before on the Shield mission by the way - and just inside the tunnel you will see the body of a human knight just as you are attacked by the same Giant Spider you killed here last time. After you dispatch the spider - again - loot the body, as it has some armor and a greatsword. Note that the greatsword is a two-handed weapon and not a bad one really - it has a Damage level of 10 and armor penetration of 3, with a strength modifier, but if you are like me and spent some points upgrading the sword and shield skills set, this may not be the best choice, as the shield gives added defense and is necessary for some of your special moves. Either way, once you have equipped what you want to, continue into the Deep Roads. Around the next bend in the tunnel is more darkspawn - so quickly take them out and then loot the bodies here - theirs and ones that were killed prior to your arrival. I only found money on the darkspawn, but the other body nearby had a pair of leather gloves on it, which adds a little to your armor and protection. Ahead around the next bend is a camp with a chest and a crate - I could not open the chest, but I did loot the crate, and then continued into the next set of tunnels. In an alcove on the right shortly after you enter there is a pair of Deep Stalkers to kill - one of them has a health potion on it to loot - and further into the alcove is a skeleton with a darkspawn dagger on it. In the alcove directly across from here there is a Giant Spider to be killed and the corpse of a darkspawn that has a Darkspawn Longsword on it. This sword has the same basic stats as yours but has a slight bonus to armor penetration - unfortunately it also has a negative dexterity stat, so while I looted it, I did not choose to equip it. Further into the tunnel we encounter more darkspawn, near the body of a dead Dwarf. Once the fight is over, loot the dwarf, as his body contains a set of Superior Dwarven Guard Armor - and this is a lot better than what we are presently wearing! A word about armor and this armor in particular - You will notice that the new armor is Tier 2 (our old armor is Tier 1) - which means even though you cannot see that now, it has specific requirements in order to be worn. In this case, strength and level. The armor has two basic stats: Armor and Fatigue. The Armor stat is a basic estimate of the amount of protection that it provides, with a higher number being better, while the Fatigue level indicates how much of a hit on your available endurance pool this piece of armor will take. Our old armor's stats were 3 and 2% respectively, while the new armor is 7.50 and 14.7% which means that it provides a lot more protection, but at the cost of a chunk of endurance. Endurance is a simple thing - the yellow bar on your character status indicator tells you how much of a load you can manage - and this armor is going to significantly dent that pool, but not enough to make it not worth wearing. Be aware though that the things you wear, equip - and carry - have an impact on your endurance pool - you will notice that some of the heavier items that you loot can visibly show the changes that they make simply by being in your bag. Finally, unlike our old armor, this new set has some special modifiers to it: a 1 to Armor and 10 to physical resistance, which is in part why the hit to our endurance pool is worth taking, because the protection level this armor offers is far greater than the penalties for wearing it. Around the next bend are four Deep Stalkers for you to fight - and just past them when you are done is a pair of dead Dwarves. This is a good loot opportunity because one of the bodies holds a battleaxe that has much better stats than our current sword that can be used with the shield - giving us a better attack rate. There is also a set of Dwarven Armored Boots - which you should equip immediately as we do not presently have any foot armor at all. The body also contains a few health poultices and an Injury Kit - if you do not know this already, the Injury Kit is what you use when a party member has fallen in combat. The description explains that it consists of bandages and other healing aids (potions) that will, when applied, cure a small amount of health and up to three injuries. The passage here is actually blocked-off by a rock fall, so even though it looks like this is the right way to go on the radar map, we are going to have to backtrack a bit to work our way around it. On your way back head into the tunnel with the red glowing light as that will lead to the next large open chamber of the Deep Roads, where you will encounter the Grey Warden party - including Duncan. Duncan is surprised to see you here - and alone - but you explain that you are no longer a Lord and he instantly understands your situation. Though curiosity is understandable, Duncan chides his fellow Grey Wardens not to pry, though I personally had no issue with that, and explained that I had been betrayed by my brother. Duncan instantly assumes that I mean Trian - but I set him straight on that account, and surprisingly he does not seem all that shocked by Bhelen being the betrayer. After a brief CS in which Duncan reprises the situation, you are formally invited to join the Grey Wardens - and while you really do not have a choice in the matter, it is an honor nonetheless, and as you make that choice, you complete the Dwarven Noble Origin Story! Good on ya mate! At this point you get the CS and travel to Ostagar - and as you have now completed the Origin Story, you should now skip ahead to Part 2 of the Walkthrough, where we begin the main storyline. Default Male Name: Faren As the story opens you are treated to a CS that tells you a little about where you are, and what your life is like in the Dwarven city. As a castless person, you are less than the lowest of the low, but hey look on the bright side, it can only get better from here, right? Being the victim is never a pleasant thing, but being forced to witness your sister filling that role? The task that he has for your sister is simple enough - she is supposed to hunt down a noble and get with child - that being the quickest way up the social ladder for those who have not got even a finger-hold to begin with. Not a very pleasant thought, eh? Your sister seems to have something going - but you have yet to learn what your days work is - so say goodbye to your sister and head on out to discover what it is that Beraht needs you to do today! Actually, before you go why not do a little looting here first - you never know what you will be facing out there and a few poultices and a dagger might just come in handy! After you exit the chamber you get a brief CS during which he demonstrates that he has a lot less respect for you and your sister than you think he should. As your conversation progresses you learn that Beraht wants you two to hunt down a smuggler named Oskias who has been making deals behind Beraht's back, and hiding the profits from those deals with the surface dwellers. You need to deliver an attitude adjustment to this non-to-reliable partner in crime, but first you have to locate him! As there is not much to do here in the slums, go ahead and head for the zone exit to the Commons - where you will enter the City of Orzammar. Now would be a good time to check out the Codex entries that you have gained so far - one on the City, and one on your class, the Castless. You can also re-read the conversation that you just had if you are unclear as to what you are doing - and who you are looking for. On the left as you enter the Commons is a merchant named Olinda - go ahead and have a chat with her and then take a look at her goods. You don't really need to buy anything now, but she is a good place to sell the loot you get, and the things you do not need, so remember her!
The first stop on our search for the smuggler, Tapster's Tavern is almost directly across from Olinda's stall. And look! There sitting at a table in the Tavern is Oskias! Let's have a seat and a chat with the little worm - who seems very surprised to be receiving a visit such as ours. Once we clue him in on the reason for our chat, he makes a not-too-subtle attempt at bribing us, but you can probably figure out why that would not be a good idea. The question is do we kill him now or later? For a cheating smuggler he is pretty responsive with information - so you may as well get as much of that out of him first before you decide how to deal with him - and if you are like me, how you deal with him is simple enough: you separate his head from his body! With Oskias dead, you can chat with your partner Leske, but he is just going to remind you that you need to get the Lurium, back to Beraht before he starts wondering what you have been doing, so it is off to Beraht we go! After you exit the Tavern turn right and head along the street to Beraht's shop, where you are treated to a brief CS in which some political intrigue is discussed, and then Beraht demands that you report on your mission. You have a choice here - you can turn over all of the lyrium you took off of Oskias and report his death, or you can try to keep some of it. It is your call, but in the interest of speeding things along I just gave him all of it and told him that Oskias is dead. His response was to tell us about the Proving and the Grey Wardens - and Beraht outlines his plans to take bets - and make bets - on the fights. Basically he wants you to help Everd, the fighter he has bet on, to win the Proving. You need to find Everd, learn who he is to fight against, and then use the drugs that Beraht gave you to modify the odds in his favor. Sounds simple enough, right? Make sure that you ask where the proving is so you get the pass from Beraht, then head north to the Proving grounds, and go to the Fighter's Quarters, under the stands. At the entrance there is a Proving Ground Guard you need to speak to and show your pass in order to enter - and once you manage that, you are on your own... Just kidding! As you are moving through the chamber Leske notices Duncan, the Grey Warden, and dares you to go over and say hello - so of course you do! Unlike the locals, Duncan is a lot friendlier, and seems almost happy to be chatting with us. Since he is here, and we are here, we may as well pump him for some information, right? That brief conversation nets us a chunk of new Codex entries, and lays the groundwork for what is to come, but I am sure you figured that out already :) Before you move on head back to the first pillar in the middle - there is a Dwarven carving there that you can examine for a Codex entry. Do that, and then head for the open passage - just follow the white arrow - where you find Everd. Oh man, this guy is blitzed! He will not be fighting anything by the porcelain throne! Leske was going to suggest that you go up into the stands and start a rock slide to cover up this mess, but he likes your idea better - you put on Everd's armor and fight in his place. You vow to win by skill alone, refusing to use the drug, and then open the armor chest and climb into the armor (equip it) and head for the fight! Your first fight is with Officer Mainar. That fight was pretty easy, but you are not done yet - now you get to fight Adalbo - and again the fight went a lot easier than I would have thought. Your next opponent is a woman! Lenba is her name, and I think she plans to kill you! Taking down an opponent who is fighting case - sword and dagger - is not an easy task, but you make it look really easy mate! Finally you are to fight the fourth and final bout - but then Everd shows up screaming that you are wearing his armor! After you remove your helmet, the feces implodes upon the rotary cooling device, and while Duncan protests, the Proving Master is convinced that you need to be made to pay for your insult to the honor of his Proving! The Master, it seems, wins out, because the next CS finds us in a cell, as prisoner and not as Champion. Leske is also locked up - and he fills you in on what has happened. A visit from Jarvia fills in the rest - you are not in the official jail, you are Beraht's prisoner, and he intends to kill you for the disgrace that you have caused for him - and the money you lost him. A guard approaches and I am starting to feel like I am in a spaghetti western - but what the heck - you should lure him near and then crush his skull, grab the cell door key and his battle ax and then free yourself and Leske. There is a chest nearby with our kit in it - go ahead and grab that now and equip your kit. Clearly it is time to have you an escape, so make for the door and into the Roads, where you find another door and beyond that a trap! After you take out the thugs there are three lootable containers so loot those and then continue on, taking out the next two groups of thugs. Remember to loot the bodies and containers before you go through the nearby door, but go through it you must! The groups of thugs are getting larger I noticed, but that is okay, it just gets us more XP! After you take them out, loot their bodies and the containers - one of which has a better pair of gloves than the ones you are presently wearing, so go ahead and equip them now. The open door to the tunnel on the right leads to a dead-end with a chest, and you can loot another ax from that chest, but then you need to backtrack and go through the next door. Beraht is standing in the next chamber giving your sister away to his cohorts - and the fight ensues! You knew that this was leading up to a boss fight, right? Beraht has a Dwarven Warrior Belt on him so loot that and equip it after your chat with Leske, and then loot the chests in the room nearby before you head into the next tunnel - the exit that opens onto Beraht's Shop. As soon as you exit the shop you are confronted by a unit of the guards, and ordered to surrender. Duncan is here, and your admission that you slain Beraht has impressed both the leader of the guards AND Duncan! As you stand stunned, Duncan makes you a formal offer to become a Grey Warden. The guardsman protests, but hey, we knew this had to happen, right? Leske is proud, You have now completed the Dwarven Commoner Origin Story. Go ahead and skip to Part 2 of the Walkthrough now, and pick up the story in Ostagar! Default Male Name: Theron You discover three humans lurking in the underbrush, and you and your companion confront them. The decision as to what to do with them appears to be up to you - I chose to act with mercy but YMMV! In sparing them the humans seem grateful, and tell you about a cave that they found nearby - a cave that has interesting drawings. You demand proof and the human turns over a stone with carved Elvish writing - an artifact that stuns you. The human tells you of a demon that chased them away from the cave and then gives you directions to it, and then you have to decide their fate. I let them go, but again, YMMV. After they run off, you decide to explore this cave, so head for the white arrow on the radar map now! Ahead up the path you encounter a pack of wolves - and kill them. At least they were not giant rats or giant spiders, right? Ahead of you is a chest that you cannot open, and behind it a stump that contains a Codex entry. Once you grab that, continue along the path to the cave - grab the two elfroot from the plants and the velum from the rubble on the way. You are supposed to be familiar with the area and yet you have never seen this cave before. As you enter, Tamlen comments that the ruins look more human than Elven, but then again if they are old enough they could date back to the era when Elves were the dominant social culture on the planet, right? There is a cocoon ahead on the right, and when you examine it Tamlen has another chat with you, in which you speculate on the nature of the cave itself. Okay, remember when we fought the wolves and I said - at least it wasn't giant spiders? Right, well, yeah it is. Explore the areas you move through carefully - in this chamber there is a body you can loot, and a chest you cannot open. The two spiders also have items worth looting, so do that before you move on through the nearby door, and encounter your next group of spiders. I took the right side hallway at the split - and mind you there are traps laid in these passages so mind them if you can. The hallways are not a big circle, and there are chambers off of them, so doing the loop in one direction to take out the threats and then the other so you eliminate them in one go is an idea. At the back of the right side hallway is a statue of a creator, and Ramlen speculates that these ruins date back to that ancient time. The left hand hall leads to a large chamber and eventually also reaches the statue mentioned earlier - if you can pick the lock on the door in the rear - which I could not. The metal doors on the sides link the two halls, so if you went left to clear out the spiders there, just cut through the middle to get back to the statue and continue past it through the door there.
Moving close to the door in the back triggers a poison trap and a pair of undead guards, and once you have dealt with them and opened the door you encounter the demon that the humans must have been referring to - a large monster called a Bereskarn - and while it is ferocious it cannot be a major demon, probably just a demon's pet demon :) In some rubble to the right past its body is a better helm, so loot and equip that, and then equip your old helm on Tamlen. In the center of the room is an alter-like structure with a mirror - and as you get close to it you think you see something moving inside of it. Tamlen examines it and gets a vision, and then you are knocked out. When you awaken you see the Grey Warden Duncan standing over you, apologizing. You awake to a brief CS that show you back at camp, and you learn that Duncan brought you back to the camp two days before, and you have been unconscious ever since. The Keeper comes to talk to you, and tells you that you nearly died. You learn that Tamlen is still missing, and the Keeper is worried about him. While Duncan has returned to the cave, the Keeper feels that it is necessary for a party of Elves to be sent to see if they can find Tamlen - and she wants you to lead them to the cave. With Merrill, you head off for the cave while the Keeper oversees the packing up of the camp, but before you go do a little camp looting and talk to the Elven folk that you can to get some background. There are some Codex entries to be had and some odds and ends of resources, but the conversations are more interesting, so taking the time to meet the City Elf, and the others is worth it. Over by the bonfire in the camp is an older elf named Paivel who is teaching the children. When you approach he upbraids you for the risks you took and for the loss of Tamlen - and you know you deserve his harsh words. You have the option of joining him to tell the story of the Dalish to the children - you really should do that because it fills in a lot of the backstory about your race and origins, and it is a good story. When you have finished helping him tell it, you can then ask him some more questions about the Grey Wardens and the Darkspawn - and your Dalish heritage. I thought that this was a very nice touch, and added to the story - and of course after that there are a bunch of lootables just over his shoulder :) The resident merchant and bowman, Ilen is standing with a hunter to whom he has just given a bow. If you talk to him you can hear the story of the bow and of his father, and get some background on the battle that the Dalen fought that established their reputation with the humans that made them the feared force that they remain today. You can also ask Ilen for a bow for yourself, and he is easy to persuade, and after all a free bow is a free bow! Take this opportunity to sell off all of the loot you have no use for now as well, to free up the space in your bags and the weight. The young woman standing near the fence is Maren, and she takes care of the beasts that carry your burdens. A chat with her teaches you a little about those animals, and how your people view them. While you can just tell her it is time to head out, there are some chat options with her, so go ahead and do them now! Merrill will direct you to Ilen if you need supplies, and she will admit that while she knows a little about the artifacts, she does not know as much as the Keeper - and then reminds you that artifacts are not why you are being sent back to the cave. If you have all that you need from Ilen and you have exhausted the chat options with her, it is time to head out - so let us do that. After the loading screen you find yourself back on the path near the cave with Merrill. This time you are not facing wolves, you face some darkspawn! After the fight you pass the bodies of the wolves you fought a few days ago and then discover a camp site that was not there last time you were here, and after a brief conversation another group of darkspawn attack. After that it is a clear run to the cave, and after you enter it, it is no different than the last time. In the first chamber there is a brief CS in which Merrill confirms your earlier speculation about the nature of the cave, and then you proceed along the right hallway again, this time to fight more darkspawn in place of the spiders. A second larger group is encountered near the statue, including a Genlock Emissary who is probably the strongest enemy you have faced so far. I ended up killing the first two without having to heal, but the Emissary took down Merrill and nearly killed me! I used all but one of my poultices defeating it. As you approach the mirror chamber you encounter Duncan, who is standing in front of the mirror apparently studying it. He expresses his surprise that you managed so quick a recovery, As you talk with Duncan you learn the origins of the mirror, and the reason that you became so ill. According to Duncan you have to destroy the mirror - and he does that - and then you must leave so that he can consult with the Keeper to devise a cure for you. Tamlen is beyond help according to Duncan, and though you do not want to believe that - you don't want to right? - he explains that the body would have been taken by the darkspawn, and urges you to leave the matter at that. Duncan may be sure, but you are still convinced that you owe it to your friend to at least look. The Grey Warden departs, and you and Merrill are once again on your own. Behind the broken mirror on the left is a sarcophagus with a pair of Heavy Chainmail Gloves and a Dalish Leather belt that you can loot. The belt gives you a stamina regeneration bonus in combat, so it is worth equipping, but the gloves may not be - it is a decision you have to make. On the one hand the gloves have better armor protection, but the Dalish Gloves you are now wearing give you a 1 point Dexterity bonus, so you have to weigh the additional half-point of armor protection against that. There is a ramp leading up to a tunnel here, and you will pass a chest you cannot open as you enter the tunnel mouth. There is another chest at the rear of this tunnel with a strange statue - and when you examine the statue all of the bodies that we passed on the way in re-animate and attack you. Roh Noh's! It is the undead! They actually do a fair bit of damage, but mostly because in addition to the warriors you are fighting as a group there are three or four archers taking shots at you. Try to remember to heal Merrill so she does not get incap'd as fighting the entire group solo will cost you most if not all of your potions. On the way back out of the cave you will find more darkspawn in the center chamber, but there is no evidence of what befell Tamlen anywhere in the cave as far as I could tell. The Keeper greets you, Merrill, and Duncan as you return to the camp, and asks you what you found in the cave? The Keeper is disturbed at the news of darkspawn, and seeks a private meeting with Duncan, leaving you to let the others know what has happened. You tell Paivel what happened - and he mourns the loss. In a touching CS you see him as he mourns, offering a poem slash prayer to the Maker, and then you pass on the message that the Keeper wants him to organize a service for Tamlen. He asks you about Duncan - clearly he is curious - and he suggests that you should ask the Keeper exactly what it is that she and Duncan are discussing about you. So now it is back to Duncan, who tells you that the Keeper and he have come to an agreement - the Keeper has decided that you can leave with him to become a Grey Warden! Evidently the Grey Wardens have a cure but to undertake it you must join them. Clearly this is our destiny! The Keeper gives you a ring, and Duncan asks if you are ready to depart. There is little left here for you, so you may as well leave - after the clan says goodbye of course. You get a nice CS of your departure, and you have completed the Dalish Elf Origin Story! Good on ya! Now go ahead and skip ahead to Part 2 of the Walkthrough and begin your journey at Ostagar! Default Male Name: Darrian As you begin the final Origin Story, you find that you are a City Elf living in Denerim, the largest city and the Capitol City. You live here ins a walled-off community, and your people work as either servants or laborers. As the CS ends you find yourself being awoken by your cousin, who remarks that she wonders why you are still in bed, it being your big day after all. It turns out that a marriage has been arranged for you - and your future husband has arrived. You are not all that happy with the idea or the event, but what can you do? Well, that remains to be seen - in the meantime, go ahead and loot and explore! Your father Cyrion is waiting for you around the corner, and you learn that you mother is dead, and your father does love you. The last thing he says to you is that it would be best if you did not mention to your betrothed that you are a trained warrior. Hmm, I wonder why? You have just received a handful of Codex entries - now would be a good time to review those - are you done? Interesting, eh? You exit your hut and enter the Elven Alienage - the warren that is the home to your people. Call it a slum, call it a ghetto, call it whatever you like, just know that Mr. Spock would be right at home here! As you can see, there is a quest pointer on the radar map, but before you follow that little white arrow, let us look around, explore, and see what there is to see. To the right is a Drunken Elf spouting a poem - actually it is sort of funny, so pause to hear him out :) After he concludes his fishy tale, go say hello - and hear him cheer on your wedding day! There is a sign at the open center area that gets you a Codex entry, and as you collect it you overhear a conversation that may well be about you that questions your breeding and social position. It is bad enough that the humans treat you like slaves, but to get that sort of thing from one of your own kind? Revolting! You can stop and chat with Tacodor, but that does not result in much of interest other than that he is looking for Soris. He asks that if you see him, you pass on the message that he should come say hello. Conveniently Soris is just down the way - and as he greets you with the suggestion that you two celebrate your last day of independence together. Evidently he does not think much of the bride that has been arranged for him! Soris joins your party at this point, and suggests that he go introduce you to your betrothed. As there really is nothing more for you to do otherwise, head back towards the tree - where you will encounter a CS with a bunch of humans looking for sexual thrills. This cannot be good.
It turns out that the jerk is actually the son of a very important human noble, and the undertones suggest that this may well be a pivot-point in the story. I don't know, he does not seem all that handsome to me, but then again I am not really an Elven female, so maybe he is the George Clooney of Elves, and then again maybe not. Your betrothed heads off to get ready for the ceremony, and as they walk away another human enters the area - a Grey Warden named Duncan! As you run around to the other side of the tree you get your first look at Duncan, and as you approach he offers his congratulations on your impending wedding. For a human he is pretty well informed on the plans and events of the City Elf community, isn't he? You try to politely send him on his way - or maybe you tried to rudely send him on his way - never mind, the point is that Duncan has no intentions of leaving. It turns out that Duncan was actually invited here, so your concerns were unfounded - this you learn from an elder elf who approaches during your conversation. Here is your chance to get some information about the Grey Wardens and learn about the darkspawn! You get a Codex entry for the Grey Wardens and the darkspawn - may as well read those now. Done? Good! Now you can continue on with the quest, or question Duncan - I say question the Grey Warden, I mean you are here, he is here, why not? You learn that some of the greatest Grey Warden heroes were Elven - though he could have given you more details. After all, considering your plight, a few hero stories would be a welcome thing. Duncan lets slip the fact that twenty years before he had tried to recruit your mother into the Grey Wardens, a fact that is a surprise to you! Duncan seems to know a lot about you - could it be that you are the reason that he has come to the Alienage in the first place? Now that you have all that there is to get from the Dunc for the moment, go ahead and change into your wedding clothes and head for the quest marker on platform on the other side of the tree. You get a brief CS in which you see the assembled wedding party, and then the ceremony begins. The village elder begins his address, providing some more background on your people - and the priestess starts the ceremony - when (big surprise) the Lords son returns, seeking sexual toys. This guy is a real jerk - I mean really! Clearly this is not going to end well.
You start with a CS in which you learn that you hfave all been kidnapped and made prisoner in the Palace, where you are being kept until the Lord's son is ready to umm, yeah, you get the idea. After checking the doors - you cannot open them - you talk to Shianni, who suggests that you just cooperate and get it over with. As the guardsmen enter, the matter is pretty much taken out of your hands and they kill one of you and grab the rest. Just as things look grim Soris arrives - and the guards think that he has come to fight them. They are shocked however when he slides the sword to YOU. I am not sure I have ever felt better about killing two humans than I did about this fight... The armor you looted from the body will be usable if you raised your strength to at least 14 - I did not so I could only use the weapons. Go ahead and loot each room as you pass through, and meet up with the elven kitchen helper - who helps you! In the next room there are some off-duty guards to take on - and taking them out gets you your next level-up, so if you did not have at least 14 Strength now you can. Make sure you equip that armor, right? There are some lootables in the adjacent rooms and after you get all that, continue on your way to the rescue. Through the next door there is another guard, and the door on the left down the hall appears to be an armory - so kill the guard there and loot loot loot! Equip most of this new armor on you, and the body armor on Soris - and you may want to change his weapons as well, since a crossbow is not what you might call a melee weapon! I gave him a mace and dagger, and I think that is a good combination for two-handed fighting - crushing and slicing, oh yeah! The trio of guards you kill next include a Guard Captain - and they kill your betrothed right in front of your eyes, so putting them to the blade is a pleasure. The Guard Captain has a Fencer's Cinch on him (a belt) that gives 4 Attack, so go ahead and equip that now. Basically you are going to fight your way along the corridors, taking out the guards as you go. There are useful loot items in the rooms off of the corridors - and additional enemy to kill - so take your time and work your way along. You can safely ignore the whole "we must hurry" thing, but you will know you are close when you come up against a bodyguard - and he is a lot tougher than the usual guards as well. Once you pass into the personal quarters where the "party" is being held, you will have the opportunity to give the three young Lord's the death they so richly deserve. I guess you could choose to follow the whole talking strategy as that is an option, but for myself, by the time I got to them I just wanted the satisfaction of ending them. Make sure you loot everything that you intend to before talking to the Elven girl on the floor, because once you do you get a series of CS and interaction that ends in a load screen. You and up back in the Alienage, where you report the events to the elder and Duncan. As this conversation is taking place, the guards show up, seeking the elder. The guard commander demands the names of the elves who committed the "murders" in the palace. The guard commander intends to take you to the dungeons - but Duncan steps forward and evokes the Grey Warden Right of Conscription, demanding that you be turned over to his custody. The guard commander agrees to do that under the condition that Duncan agree to get you out of the city immediately. He tells you to make your goodbye's - which should not take you long - so do that and then talk to Duncan again. Here ends the last Origin Story - congratulate yourself - and now skip ahead to Part 2 of the Walkthrough, for the Rest of the Story! Each Origin Story is unique, and each can add a different flavor to the way that you view the game. In many ways they each make this a different game, which is rather cool if you think about it. Before we begin there are some facets to the game that you should be aware of because knowing about them will save you some frustration and help your game play along. Relationships: As you add party members, you begin to develop relationships with each. Some of the characters you will identify with, like, and trust, while others you will not. Depending upon how you play the game, some will end up being part of your active party more often than others, but even if you only add one to your group and never actively use it in party play, you should make the effort to both develop your relationship with them, and maintain it. At various points in the game you are going to be asked to make decisions of a moral nature that not only impact the path you follow in the story, but also have a direct effect on some of your party members. If you have played RPG games in the past, you know about alignment - if you have not, alignment is a basic identification of the moral outlook for a character. They can be good, evil, or neutral, but their alignment directly effects what they think of you when you make these pivotal decisions. If certain characters are important to you, you will have to take that into consideration when you make decisions - for example you may want to kill someone in the game very badly, but if you do, it could force you to have to kill one of your party members! While you cannot always keep everyone happy all the time, there is usually a way to keep from having to kill them. Throughout the game you will have the opportunity to loot and purchase items that are tagged as "Gifts" that can be given to your party members to increase their positive feelings towards you. Some gifts are general and can be given to anyone, and result in a 1 or 2 point raise, while other gifts are exclusive to a specific party member. If you give that gift to the wrong person, you only get the usual 1 or 2 point raise, but if you give it to the correct person, the raise can be anywhere from 5 to 10 points! Consult the Gift List in the Appendixes to determine who to give what. In addition to showing approval for your moral decisions, the amount that a party member likes you is also important if you want to earn the Achievements / Trophies for romancing them. This does not apply to all of the party members, just to Alistair, Leliana, Morrigan, and Zeveran. The details and requirements for romancing each is noted in their dossier. Be aware that if you are romantically involved with one, the others will be aware of it, even if you never make them active as a party member! There are certain items in the game that are part of quests. These usually appear in the Plot Items heading in your inventory, but not always. Great care should be taken in disposing of items that are quest related, since losing or selling them can make it so that you can no longer complete a given quest. To learn what items you need to hold on to and in what quantities, see the Quest Items List in the Appendixes before you continue on to learn what you need to hold on to. Finally, there is the issue of inventory. At the start of the game you have a backpack that only holds a certain number of items. Items that stack only count as one item, but as you play and loot you will quickly discover how easy it is to end up full! Certain merchants that you meet in the game have backpacks that they can sell you that will add 10 slots to your inventory - always check a merchant to see if they sell this, and always buy it if they do. Now that you have completed your Origin Story, it is time to begin the story line of the game, so good on ya mate! Let's get adventuring! The main storyline begins with the King himself meeting and greeting your party as you enter the stronghold. While this is basically the same for each background, there will be minor variations depending upon which you are playing. For instance for the Human Noble Origin you will tell the King about the betrayal and he will vow to take revenge after the upcoming battle, whereas with the other Origins you will simply be greeted and then receive the same instructions from Duncan. Play through the dialogue in a manner which fits the personality and alignment of your character, and then after Duncan leaves you, continue on. There are a few small quests for you to undertake prior to beginning the path to the ritual that will make you a Grey Warden - so let us do those now! Note: You will have the opportunity to collect some resources and to sell off the loot you have collected up to this point - and it is a good idea to do that - but as for purchasing new gear from the Quartermaster, I would hold off on doing that for now. Money in your pouch is worth more than a few points or stats at this early stage - but I am getting ahead of the story now, so just bare that in mind and continue on with the story and the small quests to come! First head back through the arch towards where you entered and gather the Elfroot that is growing near the trees, and then head out on to the balcony and check out the view - stunning! Now back through the arch and over the bridge to the main camp area. If you bear right after crossing the bridge you will pass the mage encampment - you will not be permitted to enter there, as the mages are in training, but nearby you will find Wynne, a mage summoned by the King. A brief chat with her gives you some more backstory, and then you will learn about The Fade. Now continue past her and across the path to the Quartermaster - you can sell him the stuff you have that you do not need - though I would hold on to some of the better gear - the special shield and any choice pieces of armor and weapons you have - because you can use them to equip party members you will be obtaining later. If you chose Herbalism Skill now would be the time to purchase a supply of flasks - actually even if you did not choose it, now would be a good time to do that anyway, since you will eventually have a party member who can make you health potions, and let me tell you, being able to make them will come in handy later! As you exit the Quartermaster camp you will encounter Daveth, another of the Grey Warden Candidates. Go ahead and have a chat with him now - you can learn a bit about the ritual and what is coming from him. After you chat with him, he tells you he is heading back to Duncan - which is fine since you needed to tell the candidates to do that anyway. As you head up the nearby ramp and around the bend you will encounter a prisoner in a cage - this is your first quest. After you talk to the prisoner you learn that he has not received food or water since being put in the cage. You can talk to the guard and try to persuade him but if your coercion skills are not high that will fail. You should have the 10 silver it will take to bribe him, however, and that will get you the food for the prisoner. After you bribe the guard, talk to the prisoner again and give him the food. You will receive a blessing of sorts from him - nice touch but there is no real value to it, but nearby is a priestess who can give you The Maker's Blessing - I did that because I am a good Catholic boy and I know that it never hurts, especially when you are facing danger :) If you did not get the books in the Chapel back in the castle, one of them is on a bench here, so you can get it now. If you did, it will not be glowing because you already have it., Hear those dogs? Run past the nurse and the wounded soldiers, then down and around to the left and you will see some Ash Warriors - you can talk to their leader to learn about them - go ahead and do that now. Nearby the Ash Warrior is the Dog Kennels - look for the fence and gates - and at the kennels is the Kennel Master - go over and talk to him for your next quest - he will ask you to keep an eye out for a special flower when you go into the wilds. Once you return from the mission for Duncan - take that flower to the Kennel Master to complete this quest. It is now time to seek out Alistair - and when you find him by following the white arrow on the screen you will witness an amusing CS. You can ask him a few questions - and you probably should - and then you can agree that it is time to see Duncan - and get the Quest update. You should get your next level here - so go ahead and upgrade your attributes as you like, and pick two new skills. If you head to the right on your way back near the priestess you will find the Knight, Jory, who is the third recruit. Talk to him for a bit to get him headed back to Duncan, and then head back yourself. After a brief CS in which Alistair gets his peepee slapped by Duncan for being rude and causing trouble, Duncan outlines your tasks. It is pretty simple really... You need to go into the WIlds and kill darkspawn until you obtain three vials of their blood, and then you need to search for an abandoned Grey Warden archive and recover some scrolls that were left there. While Alistair is in charge of your group, you do most of the leading on this mission - so head for the gates now, and enter the Wilds! As you enter the wilds you will be attacked by a pack of wolves - after you kill them be sure to loot their pelts - you can sell those later. Nearby in the marsh you will find the body of Missionary Jogby, who is carrying a letter. Be sure to grab that to start the Quest Missionary Jogby. A bit further in you will find a wounded soldier - who you can patch up so that he can get back to the base to report. At this point Ser Jory starts freaking out - you can reassure him or mock him, it is your call. As you explore keep an eye out for plants - you will want to get any that you encounter including the special one that the Kennel Master needs. The next large group you encounter will get you the third bottle of blood - and you should see the body of Missionary Rigby nearby - loot him to get a quest of the same name as you take his Last Will from his very dead body. On the corpse of Missionary Jogby you found a letter that details a path through the Wilds that leads to the rendezvous location mentioned in the letter. Read the letter for the details of the path of the following landmarks: 1. Look for a tree leaning on a ruined building On your way to the Chasind camp you will pass an aqueduct that is largely intact that crosses over the water - and beside it is a path of stones and roots - cross that path and you will be attacked by a pack of wolves. After you kill them continue on and you will spot the two large statues on the right as you exit this path. There is a chest in between them - it contains a Chasind Flatblade, some Slintmail armor, and A Letter. The Letter is titled "Farewell Letter to Jogby" and it communicates a father's last thoughts to his son on his failure to bring the Word of the Maker to the Chasind. You should read this, and the other Codex notes that are quest-related mate, it really adds to the story! On a body you find in the central area of the Wilds is a last will and testament. Seek out the cache mentioned in the will and then take it to Jetta in the town of Redcliffe. When you reach the camp in the West by the ruins of an aqueduct and you discover the Chasind Codex Entry, you are in the right place. Examine the fire pit here to find the locked box that you need to take to Redcliffe. You will find targetable spots in the Wilds that are labeled "Chasind Trail Sign" that you should click on - and follow from sign to sign. When you reveal each area of map the signs will appear as small x's to make finding them easier for you to locate. Follow the signs from one to the next until you reveal the spot marked "Chasind Cache (Chasind Trail Sign)" on your map. Notes: You will be attacked by a group of warriors as you enter the camp. The cache is located in a fallen tree trunk. If you did not find the other flower that the Kennel Master is looking for, there is a second one here in the rear of the camp. You have now completed or updated all of the quest activity for this zone save for the main story line quest we are presently doing. It is time to head towards the arrow on the radar map! As you work your way through the Wilds you will have several fights before you end up arriving at the tower ruins, where you will fight a fairly large band of darkspawn. Be sure that you loot their bodies prior to entering the ruins, as once you enter you are on a rail-section of the quest and returning here is inconvenient to the story. Inside the tower ruins is a broken chest labeled "Warden's Cache" that you can click on - and doing so causes the CS with the illegal mage Morrigan, who accuses you of trespassing. This is a fairly lengthy CS that is followed by a conversation with Morrigan. You may want to be polite as she will eventually be joining your party :) though I do not know if being polite or rude here actually has any impact on her initial admiration of you... She reveals that she has been observing your progress through the Wilds - shiver - and makes a good job of posturing and playing on your party member's fears, but there really is no reason not to be polite to her - unless you are rude by nature of course. Once you ask that she take you to her mother the scene shifts, and you meet the legendary Witch of the Wilds - but you don't know that yet... As you listen you learn that stories are often exaggerated - or maybe not - who can say? Must be your lucky day though, because the Witch actually wants to help you! Maybe she fears the darkness more than she dislikes you - but either way she gives you the Treaties that you were looking for, and tells you that she has been protecting them since the seals wore off the chest that guarded them. Personally I prefer to be polite in situations like this - but you use your best judgment mate - it really will not matter because mom has her daughter escort you safely out of the woods - and after the load screen you are - tah dah! Back at the base!
First go see the Kennel Master and give him the flower - whether you take the reward or not is up to you (and the personality of your character) but you still get the XP for completing the quest, so it is all good! Now head on over to the fire and talk to Duncan - you might want to mention Morrigan and her mother as Duncan would be interested in them - and then on with the ceremony! I was not expecting the Knight to go all, well, weasel on us, but I did expect that someone had to die, and I was not disappointed! "At last we come to the Joining," Duncan says, and then explains what you have to do. Oh my! The thing is I rather liked Daveth, and while I will not miss Jay, I would have liked that Rogue to be a part of my party still. Interesting the way that Duncan executed the coward though, with an apology, but really he knew too much to let him live, right? Of course we do not die - we just have a really bad trip - and then tah dah! We are Grey Wardens! Woohoo! You are revived and Duncan instructs you on what is next - attending the meeting. At this point you should have hit your next level - so go ahead and apply the points and pick your skills - and be sure to check your dog too because he should have leveled and you will need to either click the auto-apply button or apply his points and choose his skill upgrade as well. Now that you have taken care of that minor chore, go ahead and make the meeting. You will watch as the King and his advisor Loghain argue - and if you are thinking that something is not right here, well... Pay attention because this is about to get very interesting. Loghain makes comments that clearly indicate that he has little but contempt for the King - not an attitude one would expect, even from a Noble secure in his position in the realm. As a minor diversion and to rebuff Loghain, the King addresses you, offering you his congratulations on your becoming a Grey Warden - which you politely thank him for. Mr. Sunshine Attitude once again runs his mouth, and then he and the King reveal the plan to you. The King explains what his men will be doing, Loghain points out what HIS man are supposed to do, and then the King selects you and Alistair to handle the whole lighting of the signal fire to signal Loghain's men chore - notice how Loghain does not like that? Hmm. Duncan cautions the King about the possible presence of the Arch Demon, Loghain's Mage objects to your assignment and finally, the confrontation ends with Duncan giving you your final instructions. Alistair is not happy - but I doubt that is a reflection on you, so much as his bruised ego at not being allowed to march into battle at Duncan's side. Duncan gives you detailed instructions - and away you go! Note: If you have not already done so, now is a good time to save. Go ahead and run for the tower - through the gateway you originally entered the base by - and pause for a cinematic CS in which you see Duncan and the King ready to fight. Here come the darkies and boy do they look fearsome! But hey, it is all good, because you have Loghain backing your play, right? Right? As the battle ensues you are back in control of yourself - now make your run for the tower - and if you did not make potions to replace the ones you used earlier, do that if you can! Woops! As you reach the ramp to the tower you meet with some guards who inform you that the tower has been taken by darkspawn, and pretty much everyone is dead! As you make your way up towards the tower there will be groups of darkspawn for you to battle - and after each battle you should be sure that you loot their corpses - and loot any plants or chests that you come across as well. If you find more Elfroot - and assuming that you stocked a supply of flasks and you have the Herbalism skill - you should always try to replace the health potions that you have used up. There will be a few minor fights on the way to the tower doors, and of course once you are inside there are some more frantic fights - just keep on eye on everyone's health and switch to them and apply a potion when you see them getting low. You will be working your way through three levels to the fourth - the Top Level - where you will confront a nasty Ogre (Boss Mob), and along the way there will be many opportunities to loot items and money. A lot of this stuff will be useful later, so you should try to remember to loot! That is the last time I will emphasize that strongly - if you have not figured out that you need to be looting at this point, well...
As you light the signal fire you are treated to a CS in which Loghain retreats like a coward, refusing to send his troops in, and the darkspawn cut down the King and his forces like a scythe harvesting ripe barley. Duncan himself must take on the Ogre that slayed the King - and he does - but at what cost? The Ogre is dead - the King is dead - and now so is Duncan. Oh man! Just when you think things could not get any worse, darkspawn appear out of nowhere in the tower and you are taken down by a well-aimed shot. The world goes dark - is this death? Nope! You awaken in the Witch's hut to find Morrigan standing over you. She tells you that her mother rescued you from the top of the tower by turning into a giant bird and grabbing you and Alistair in her talons. Believe that or do not, but now is the time to talk to Morrigan and get as much information as you can from her. A note about the dialogue options - talking with the characters that you meet is one of the best ways to develop a basic relationship with them - and for characters like Morrigan, who will be joining your party, you should always take advantage of the opportunities to chat. You want them to like you, because it helps in certain parts of the game later - and of course if they happen to be either of the opposite sex or so inclined to the same sex, there are some Achievements / Trophies that you can earn for romancing them. Add to that the fact that often the information you obtain can grant new Codex entries or provide you with details that strengthen the story line for you, and it is easy to see why it is a good idea anyway. Once you have had your chat with Morrigan loot the gloves from the crate near the bed and then exit the hut to speak with Flemeth - who more or less admits that she is indeed the Witch of the Wilds from the old legend. Take this opportunity to chat with her - she has some useful background on the Arch Demon, and indirectly she helps Alistair figure out what you need to do next. Flemeth tells Morrigan that you will be leaving shortly - and that Morrigan would be leaving with you when you depart - and Morrigan is not happy to hear this. Clearly she sees it as something of a betrayal by her mother - but then again, she does not think much of her mother anyway from the things she has said in the past. Still, an ally is an ally, and we can use the help! Morrigan suggests that we visit the village North of the Wilds as our starting point - and that sounds like a good idea to me, but first we should give Morrigan a chance to speak her mind, right? Her sarcasm aside, I suspect that we will be glad that we accepted Morrigan into our party. As you leave Flemeth's hut you are once again in the Wilds - but this is the same area that we were in before when we were preparing for the Ritual, so there should be no confusion as to the lay of the land, right? Directly ahead (look for the torches) there is a zone point marked World Map - this is what we want - and as you approach it you are asked if you want to gather your party to leave, the answer to that being Yes! The village of Lothering is the only choice that we can make on the map right now, so go ahead and choose that, so that we can begin our journey through the Wilds to Lothering! Before we arrive at Lothering, we are treated to a CS of Loghain Mac Tir adressing a crowd - and a noble steps forward from the crowd and questions the events that the traitor is describing. Loghain has usurped power, declaring himself the guardian of the Queen, but clearly he has plans of his own on the question of who is actually in charge! It may help in understanding Loghain to read his Codex entry now - the man was not born a member of the nobility - in fact he was a commoner - and that explains the brash relations that he has with the nobility and his contempt for them. He is something of a self-made man, and certainly he has a very large ego. He is not a stupid man, but perhaps he is partly blinded by his ambition, and he has already demonstrated a willingness to betray even his closest associates to attain his own goals. After the CS with Loghain you are treated to a CS of a group of darkspawn who are blocking your path to Lothering - and a fight ensues! - OPTIONAL EVENT - If you are playing the Human Noble Warrior origin line, you already have your own pet Mabari warhound - but if you are playing one of the other origins, this is where you acquire your pet dog and where he joins your party! After assisting you in the fight with the darkspawn, the dog happily approaches you, and Alastair comments a little about the breed of dog and why he seems attached to you. You are given the chance to name him now - I called mine Clavin after my real life pet dog, who is a Pitbull in a Dachshund suit - but you can leave his name as just "Dog" if you like. If you check the Codex entry for your new pet, you will learn that he is the mabari that you helped the Kennel Master cure back in Ostagar! He has sought you out and clearly as far as he is concerned, you are now his new master! Check your pack - you should have some Double-Baked Mabari Crunch in the Useable Items section - that is a treat for your dog, and while you cannot give it to him now, remember it is there for later :) Turn around and move back to the boulders behind you and loot the deathroot before you continue on, and do you see that elfroot plant ahead on the left? Loot that too, and then continue to the end of the road where you are once again presented with the World Map selection. This time though, you simply continue your journey rather than select a destination.
When you arrive outside of Lothering you are confronted by a group of bandits who have set themselves up as unofficial toll collectors on the road leading into the village. As you approach, their leader makes it clear that they expect to either collect a toll or outright rob you - he does not care which. You have the option of trying to solve this via conversation, or a more direct approach - through killing them. You will probably end up killing them anyway, but go ahead and explore some of the chat options because some of the responses you get are rather funny - especially when his less than bright cohort provides the responses. Whether you decide to kill them outright or do the right thing and turn them over to the Templar Knights the confrontation still results in a battle to the death as far as I could tell, so you may as well enjoy it - and besides some of the items that you loot from their corpses trigger small quests - so make sure that you read the quest entries in the Codex once you are finished looting them. Head down the stairs nearby to get a CS in which Morrigan gives Alistair a hard time, and then he brings up the subject of what the plan is and where you intend to go. Clearly Alistair has some thoughts on the matter, so go ahead and hear him out. First he covers the treaties - the Elves, the Dwarves and the Arl Eamon - and suggests that Arl Eamon may be a good first destination. Getting in touch with the other Grey Wardens is not really an option, and Morrigan thinks you should ignore the rest of the options and go after Loghain straight away! Finally you conclude that you need to find these people from the treaties, and Alistair offers to give you directions - which you should go ahead and let him do because it adds markers to the map for you. Arl Eamon will be at Castle Redcliffe to the far West. For now though, let us head to the nearby village - but first have a look around outside the village for some lootable items including elfroot, deathroot, and items.
As you enter the main gates you will encounter a Templar who you can chat with. He suggests that you move on, but as you chat with him you learn that the reason he thinks you should move on has more to do with the overcrowding than anything else. You can learn who is in charge from him Ser Bryant who you can find in the Chantry. To the right are some wagons and a merchant who is having an argument with a priestess the merchant is being chastised for predatory pricing, and tries to pay you to deal with the matter. I don't know about you but the idea of profiteering under these circumstances strikes me as offensive. Morrigan on the other hand thinks he is doing nothing wrong go figure. This confrontation presents one of the rare intimidation opportunities there are two Achievements / Trophies connected to using that skill so if you have it, now would be a good time to use it! Either way once you resolve the matter go chat with the Chanter Devon nearby it soon becomes evident that he can only answer you in scripture from his holy book which makes for a rather odd conversation but the young boy next to him helps to fill in the details. I got him to say 'What?" by saying "A Chanter says what?" and you can too! Once you are dong with this bit of silliness, go check out the Chanter's Board and see if there are any missions on it that you want to do. You should see one called "Bandits, Bandits, Everywhere" that you can take that involves killing a certain number of bandits around the town. Head into the gates nearby and you will find a man scaring the people by foretelling doom and gloom, and who accuses you of being darkspawn minion. You have a few choices on how to deal with him violence or persuasion I chose to talk with him. After all it is not very polite to kill crazy people. If you show some sympathy as you question him, you learn that the real reason he is so distraught is because of his personal cowardliness when he failed to defend his family, and instead ran away to save himself. It turns out that he can be reasoned with and he finally stops screaming and leaves the area. You get the chance to use your persuasion skills on a member of the crowd, and then this interruption ends. After you enter the Chantry, you will hear a conversation taking place go over and talk to the speaker, who turns out to be Ser Bryant. Once you identify yourself as a Grey Warden, Ser Bryant informs you of the price that has been placed upon your head and admits that he has trouble believing the charges himself. While he has no plans to enforce the order, he would prefer it if you leave soon, but before you do leave, go ahead and get as much information as you can from him. One thing that you learn is that the Templar guarding the Circle of Mages tower have asked for authorization to kill all of the mages and destroy the tower so it might be a good idea to kick them a notch higher on your plans on who to visit first, yes? You learn from Ser Bryant that Arl Eamon has fallen ill, and has sent his knights out in search of a magical cure and one of the knights is there in the Chantry now. Remember the items we looted from the dead Templar? It would be an idea to have a talk with this knight but before you do that, there is a book by the far wall across from Ser Bryant that covers the blight go ahead and add that to the Codex now.
The knight from Redcliffe is Ser Donall, someone that Alistair knows well. He says that he is here searching for the Urn of the Sacred Ashes, and as you converse with him you get a better idea of why defeating Loghain may be a bigger task than you thought. Giving Donall Ser Henrick's locket and note let Donall know that he may as well leave now, as there is no longer a need to wait for a meeting that will never happen. You can ask for a reward if you like I chose not to. As your conversation ends, Donall departs and you get some Codex entries. There are some books to the left ahead that will add Codex entries and there is a gift item in a chest behind the shelves there as well that you may want to collect. Inside the study you will find the Revered Mother the first thing that she asks you is to make a donation to the Chantry and 30 silver does not sound like a lot to me under the circumstances, so why not? Telling her that you are a Grey Warden puts her in a difficult position, and though she wants to help you, the only thing she can do for you is to keep your presence a secret. You may as well ask for her blessing it couldn't hurt but now it is time to go, but before you do look to the pile of books to the left side of the room for another Codex entry you are reading these as we get them, right? Once you leave the Chantry, head back through its gates and around to the right you see the bridge here? There is a little boy standing at the base of the bridge who is looking for his mother. As you chat with him you realize that chances are really good that his mother is dead she certainly has not joined him as she said she would. There does not seem to be much that you can do for him except give him a silver piece so he can get some dinner, which is a nice thing to do. On the other side of the bridge is the village proper. To the left side is a woman named Allison who is looking for someone to make her some traps if you can make traps go have a chat with her, otherwise not. Across from her is Elder Miriam, who asks you if you have a bed for the night? She is coordinating aid for the refugees, and fills you in on what has been happening. Nearby is a group of Chasind fighters who a farmer is accusing of stealing food from his cart. They are part of a group of deserters from the army, and they are causing trouble all over the town. Nearby on the right side of the village is a tavern called Dane's Refuge. Outside is a Helpful Refugee who you can talk to and who will let you know that there is trouble in the tavern. He will tell you about the soldiers, and you get the idea that you should probably look into this. When he learns that you are the group that took out the bandits who were blocking the road into town he thanks you isn't that nice?
As you enter the tavern you are confronted by the soldiers that the refugee was talking about. It turns out that they are Loghain's men and they were sent here to look for YOU. A priestess named Leliana, a lay-sister of the Chantry, tries to intervene on your behalf but that does not work out. There is no avoiding this fight, so you may as well take them out as fast as you can once you exhaust the conversation options. Sadly you do not actually kill them they give up once you start putting the beat-down on them. You may feel like killing these soldiers heck I would not blame you if you did but consider a few things before you do that. You can use them to take a message to Loghain that will help to force him to grow more paranoid, and if you do that, you will not receive a negative downcheck from Leliana. Why is that important? Because she is one of the people you want to recruit into your party! As you chat with her she mentions that she wants to kill darkspawn, and tells you that she is coming with you note that I said tells, not asks. Nice. Go ahead and go through the chat options that she has available both to get information and because doing so helps to increase your relationship levels with her. A NOTE ABOUT GAINING PARTY MEMBERS Obviously you can only have three party members in addition to yourself in your party, but you can gather additional members and, at various points in the story, switch them in and out of your group as you like. Turn nobody away there are Achievements / Trophies connected to acquiring party members and besides, it gives you more options for creating a stronger party. Be aware though that you will need to level them up to maintain their usefulness to you... On the left side of the tavern room there is an armored fighter a Blackstone Liaison go over and have a chat with him now, and learn that he represents a mercenary company that is seeking your help. He explains that each of their posts stationed throughout the lands will be receiving letters for you from their leaders, offering missions to you. When you encounter a Blackstone outpost you can check it for letters (missions) and accept them. When you complete one of these missions, you can go to any of their outposts to collect your reward and to obtain a new mission. Simple enough, yes? Next to the Liaison is a metal chest that is sparkling access the chest to obtain your first Blackstone mission there are actually two available: Scraping the Barrel Dereliction in Duty Since you are not restricted to taking only one mission, you may as well take both, right? You are in Lothering now, so before you depart, be sure to deliver that conscription notice! Danal the Innkeeper You may have noticed that your inventory is just about full, so now would be a good time to have a chat with Danal, the owner of this Tavern so you can apologize for messing up the tavern and see what news and rumors he has to share. This is a very pragmatic individual though I have to wonder just how valuable the information he has to share really is. Barlin the Merchant Standing in the center of the tavern is Barlin, a merchant. Running across him is very fortuitous as our bags are now full of loot and there are a few supplies we could use. First though, have a chat with him and see what he has available. You should have already upgraded the gear for your party before selling anything if you have not done that, do it now. Selling off the items that you cannot use makes good sense as it gains you money, space, and of course the ability to buy the things you can use. Note: From a practical point of view you should be making the potions, poultices and salves that you need, not to mention the traps, poisons, and other craftables, because you can easily gather the ingredients as a by-product of adventuring, and it is a LOT cheaper to do it that way. You do not have to craft, but it is not that difficult, and as long as you keep your eyes out for plans and recipes on the merchants you encounter, you should quickly amass the ones you need to make what you need. If you are not a magic user as your main, that does NOT mean that having Lyrium related items is a waste remember you have a mage in your party and THEY can use that, so do not ignore things that are not particular to your specialization since they are still useful to the party. A short list of items you may want to stock up on here include: Distillation Agent Items you should not sell (in other words hold on to because you can use them later) include Runes, Gifts, and crafting agents that you can actually use. The later is relative to what skills you have for instance if you cannot make traps than holding on to trap components does not make sense... A Note on Gifts Giving a gift to them will increase their like for you and giving the right gift to the right party member can have an even greater increase on like. If you examine each gift that can give you an idea of who it would be most appropriate for. After you have bought and sold all that you need to, ask Barlin if he knows of any well-paying jobs in town. First he will loudly answer that you should check the Chanter's Board but we already know about that don't we? In a much more discrete voice he will then ask if you happen to know anything about poison? Well as a matter of fact I do! Barlin would like to purchase some poison from you nothing fancy, just something that he can use to and I quote "slow them beasties down." To complete this quest you need to make three flasks of venom which means you need some Toxin extract. You may need to purchase some ingredients from him to make the poison but you are better off gathering the ingredients yourself. Just keep in mind that you have a standing order from him and now exit the tavern.
In a cage further down the road from the tavern is a prisoner named Sten. When you go and chat with him, you learn that he has been imprisoned by the Chantry because he slaughtered an entire family including their children and he even admits that he did do this. He is Sten of the Beresaad, as he says, the vanguard of the Qunari Peoples. Would it surprise you to learn that this murderer is one of the people that you can add to your group? Well, he is but you have to figure out how to get him out of this cage and gain his willing cooperation without alienating the town, the Chantry AND your group! Introduce yourself and feel him out he can provide you with the information you need. As you chat with him you will notice that Alistair does not like him, and Morrigan likes him. Leliana does not think that even a murderer deserves the fate that is in store for Sten, and you have to decide what you are going to do but the task begins with revisiting the Revered Mother. If you have Leliana in your party, the Revered Mother will give you the keys because she trusts Leliana and because you want to put Sten under your control. If you do not have her in your party, your options are limited. Be aware though that if you choose to intimidate or threaten, you will have alienated the Revered Mother, the Chantry, and lost some of the respect that Alistair feels for you. Once you have the keys, return to the cage and free Sten, adding him to your party pool if not necessarily your party. Before you head on to complete your current missions, run back over and chat with Elder Miriam again, and she will offer you a mission to gather herbs and create some healing poultices for her. Accept that mission, as there are quite a few elfroot plants in the area that you will be covering to do the Chanter's Board mission! The requirements for the mission you accepted from the Chantry Board are to eliminate the bandits there are three groups of bandits on the North side of the village outside. The three groups of bandits are marked on your radar map with white arrows and labeled on the map itself as Chanter's Board targets. Leave town and seek out these bandits and slay them! As you move towards each group keep your eyes peeled for plants you can harvest and lootable containers there are a few in the area outside of town. The group of refugees that you encounter as you leave town are not part of the Chanter's Board quest, but you still need to take them out. That is a pity since they are not evil in their own right, but what can you do? The group of bandits with the Bandit Leader in it around the far hill were a lot tougher than I was expecting I had to burn through a large number of healing potions to defeat them and you likely will too so keep your eyes out for elfroot to replace what you use up! After you take out the third group of bandits you can loot the two containers in their camp for some money and items, and then instead of heading straight back to the Chanter's Board, follow the river here in the general direction of town and you will be set upon by a group if giant spiders. After you slay the spiders you will loot some toxin from each this is the ingredient that you need to make the poison that Barling wants. After you loot the toxin, open your commands menu and select poisoning, then the poison crafting icon, and create three Venom Potions. Now you are ready to return to the Chanter's Board, Elder Miriam, and to visit with Barlin. Do that now. Elder Miriam pays you a small amount of silver for helping her to restock her healing supplies. Barlin pays you 75 silver for supplying him with the three vials of venom that he needs to poison the traps that he wants to place on his farm. The Chanter's Board quest gives you a whopping 3 gold for completing it when you talk to Chanter Devons, who tells you that you have done the Maker's work this day! Three gold! I'd do that again ten times if it would let me :) In addition to the gold you are paid, you also unlock the Achievement / Trophy "Pilgrim" (10 GS) for completing a Chanter's Board quest. Good on ya! That is the first Achievement / Trophy we have unlocked since the Origin Stories! If you are in the mood to do a few more quests, the Chanter's Board now has two more: When Bears Attack, and A Last Keepsake. Doing these quests is an opportunity to gain some XP and money, and besides, they are quests! You gotta do quests! When Bears Attack A Last Keepsake Head outside of town to the north and you will be attacked by a pack of wolves a large pack of wolves and once you take them out, you will discover the body of the boys mother. Loot that to gather the items you need for the quest, and then continue towards the next quest marker. After you take out the three bears head back to Chanter Devons and get your 50 silver for completing the two quests. You also get some XP I got enough to put me up to the next level which is nice :) That wraps up almost everything you have left to do in Lothering save for delivering the conscription notice for the Blackstone. You are looking for Patter Gritch, in Lothering, but making this your active quest does not create a marker directing you to them. You will find Patter Gritch in the read of the Chantry just past the entrance to the Revered Mother's study and he does not seem happy to get your letter! At least he does not try to run... Once you deliver that message you have pretty much exhausted the quests in Lothering and you can now head towards the last marker on the radar map, which is the route out of the area. As you approach the exit to the zone you encounter a party of darkspawn attacking a Dwarvish trader and his son and you quickly take the darkspawn out! There is an item that gets you a Codex entry on the body of one of the darkspawn, and as you approach the Dwarves you get a CS in which they thank you for coming to their rescue. The Dwarves are Bodahn Feddic and his son Sandal, and they do not want to accompany you at the moment. They go about cleaning up the mess that the darkspawn made of their caravan and you head out via the nearby zone point. Do not worry, you will be seeing them again :) When you select the zone point you get a CS that shows the nightmare you are having, and then you wake up. Alistair tells you about your bad dream that it is actually rather real, as it is the Archdemon talking to the hordes. Alistair tells you that eventually you will be able to block out the bad dreams and then suggests that as you are awake, it is time to pull up camp and get moving. Before you do that, take a look around the area you are camping in and low! There is Bodahn and his son! They may not want to travel with you, but they are certainly willing to enjoy the protection that camping with you brings and to show their appreciation, Bodahn is willing to give you a discount on his wares! If you happen to have 131 gold and some change you can buy a wicked ax from him I couldn't afford it but I wish I could. He also has some really nice armor but again, it is a bit on the pricey side, discount or no, If you talk to Sandal you learn that while he is mentally simple, he also happens to be a savant at folding and since you have some runes that can be used to enchant your weapons, why not go ahead and have him apply one? Next to Bodahn is a bloke named Levi Dreyden, and if you chat with him he tells you that he has been looking for you that he knew Duncan and that he had an arrangement with the Grey Warden. He says that they were supposed to look into something important for the Grey Wardens and for himself and suggests that Duncan would want you to help him. He tells you the story about his family, saying that Duncan wanted to reclaim Soldier's Peak this is actually the in-game link to the first DLC for the game if you have already purchased that DLC than you can trigger it here. If not, it gives you the option of buying it. You do not have to do this DLC quest now and as I do not presently have it, I will not be covering it right now. When I do cover it I will update this WT with that part. When you are finished talking to Levi, head over to the World Map zone line and assemble your party, and then select your next destination! I chose Denerim you can choose any destination you like and simply jump to that section below. Note that the city is broken up into districts, and you move between them by using the World Map gates. The quests for Denerim are presented in Appendix B if you have trouble keeping them straight but they are introduced to you in the parts for each quarter/sector of the city as well. Be aware that quests obtained in one district may have parts that require you to travel to a different district in order to complete them. As you enter Denerim you may notice that unlike previous areas some of the people there do not highlight so you cannot talk to them. I do not know why this is, but then again if you cannot talk to them than it follows that they have nothing to do with any of the quests or interactions, right? This is the first area we visit when we enter the city. If you look to the left in the open area past the entrance you will spot the local Chanter's Board and the Chantry we may as well begin by checking that now, as there are a number of quests available on it. Back Alley Justice Missing in Action Fazzil's Request Loghain's Push Desperate Haven Skin Deep Just pick the quests you want from the list! Before you get too busy with quests, let's talk to the folks we can talk to, and explore the area for lootables, shall we? Standing near the gate to the Chantry is Sister Theohild and Mother Perpetua, two preistesses of the Chantry. Sister Theohild has a rather interesting take on the scripture that drives Perpetua to distraction, and the CS and dialogue sequence is both amusing and informative, so you should not miss it. Say hello to Sister Justine, a curator at the Chantry. In your chat with her you can learn what a curator does, perhaps more than you wanted to know in fact. There seems to be a problem with the unscrupulous selling false relics, though Justine has a theory about that as well. According to Justine her own research indicates that the ashes are real, that they were gathered and placed into an urn, and that the urn and ashes are likely hidden somewhere. If she is correct than this may be a relic we can actually find!
Outside a nearby building is Slim, who knows that you are a Warden and says that he is a friend. He does not seem to think much of Loghain, and he is willing to share information with you as long as you are willing to cut him in on the proceeds. If you are looking to make some money from your Rogue skills, it appears that Slim is the man to go to if you are willing to pay him 1 sovereign, he will let you know about a certain Lady who has gone to the country and left her valuable in her inn room. While there is a guard, he is not supposed to be much of a threat, and Slim thinks that you could make a good bit of profit by pilfering her valuables. A merchant in the market center, Liselle offers to sell you some bath oils or scent. You can ask her about herself, where she is from and why she left, and you can get quite a bit of detail about her past. She will direct you to the other merchants if you ask her the armorer in particular. She points the way to the Chanter's Board, and suggests the Tavern nearby if you are looking for muscle work. Nearby the open market is Wade's Emporium, an armor shop. Herren, the shop keeper, would give PT Barnum a run for his money as far as self-promotion goes, but the armorsmith Wade puts the mickey to his bragging. Judging by their back-and-forth patter, they are boyfriends. Wade's has a selection of general armor, but none of it is special. Before you leave, go try to talk to Wade he gets very pissy at you for doing that. There is a chest behind Wade that you should loot if you can there is a note inside that triggers a Codex entry, and there is a healing potion. That pretty much wraps things up at Wade's Emporium! The local law enforcement and is he in a bad mood. It turns out that the men he has been assigned are mostly the useless and witless bastard sons of the local nobility. They are not very effective do the chat options and you will see why. Kylon reveals that a wanted poster has been passed around with your picture on it, but tells you that he does not believe the charges that are laid against you and has no problem with your being there. If you ask if he needs any help, he eagerly agrees that he could indeed! There is a whorehouse called the Pearl nearby that he needs cleared out he does not want you to kill anyone, just rough them up a bit. You may as well accept that quest it should be good for some XP. Around the back of this block of block of buildings is the representative of the Mages Collective, and if you have a chat with him he will tell you about what they do and how you can help them. Beside him is a bag and as he explains, in every major settlement there is a similar outpost and sack and if you are interested you can do work for them and get paid for it. The sack has three jobs in it: Blood of Warning Have You Seen Me? The Scrolls of Banastor Gorim has a stall in the lane at which he is selling only the finest Dwarven steel. You can buy weapons or perhaps information and getting a little news from him would be an idea. He will tell you about the Landsmeet, and the local nobles. You might want to check out his wares to see if he has anything that you want to buy while you are here as well. The first time you talk to him there are no chat options. Behind him is a book you can read to gain a Codex entry. When you talk to him, he makes a comment about refugees and offers to show you his wares. He has a general selection of weapons, armor, and crafting goods including some recipes you may want to buy.
As you approach him he recognizes you accuses you of all of the ill that Loghain says you committed, and demands satisfaction from you. What he really means is that he wants to kill you. As far as I can tell he cannot be intimidated, and demands that you meet him behind the tavern for a duel. No matter what you say, this guy wants to fight, and the conversation ends with this new quest being flagged. You really have no choice here mate, you are going to have to kill him but that should not upset you too much, after all he is a rude and obnoxious git, right? When you are ready, head to the alley behind the tavern and duel him. The building near where you met Ser Landry is the Gnawed Noble Tavern and when you enter on the left there is a book you can read to add a Codex entry. The room on the left (through a door) is full of Crimson Oar Mercenaries. In this same room is the representative from Blackstone and his quest chest. When you talk to any of the mercenaries you will get abuse or bragging both are amusing. This is the inn that has Sophies room in it, but if your lockpicking skill is too low, you will have to come back after you have raised it. You do not have to loot that chest to complete the quest however so once you have broken in and looted the room return to Slim for another quest. Back in the main room you can chat with the Bartender, who will share the news with you, and will sell you crafting resources, and recipes including an injury kit recipe and a Greater Health Poultice Recipe that are worth the expense. He has ale (a gift) that you can buy as well. Finally he can offer you jobs of questionable legality and when you ask offers you three now: Correspondence Interruptous Solving Problems Negotiation Aids The chest has one quest available Restocking the Guild requesting that you bring 20 health poultices to the representative. There are books and scrolls inside that earn you Codex entries so be sure to collect all of those. Speak to the Tranquil behind the desk to view their wares this is a Mage's Circle shop, so there may well be items that you want to get for your character if it is a mage and for Morrigan if not. They sell some recipes here that you will likely want to buy, so if you do not have the money at the moment, make a mental note that they are here so you can return when you do.
You can speak to Weylon, the scholar's assistant inside. It seems that the brother has gone missing while on the trial of the Urn of Sacred Ashes, and Weylon believes that the reason he has disappeared is because he has gotten too close to the location of the Urn. It takes some arm-twisting, but eventually Weylon tells you where the scholar went so that you can add this as one more quest on your list of quests to do. Unfortunately when you try to go into the scholar's study to read his papers, Weylon resists and you are forced to kill him. Too bad, I rather liked him! Inside the room you find the scholar's notes and the body of the real Weylon! Well it turns out that we did not kill the scholar's assistant after all! I know I feel better. Genitivi's research suggests that the Village of Haven in the mountains to the west may have some clues to the location of the Urn so mark that in your memory. As you travel to the Pearl your journey will be interrupted by a combat confrontation, but when the screen loads you find yourself on the street in the Back Alley near some vials of glowing substance.
After you take one of the vials a very powerful mob called the Revenant spawns, and you have to fight it. From the strength of it, I would guess that this qualifies as a boss mob, but as there is nothing to explain what it is and is about, that is all I can tell you! When you loot it you gain a Codex entry on The Black Vials read that for some confusing hints as to the meaning of this encounter. Moving along through this area you pass through an open gate and are attacked by a band of Rogues if you get separated from your party by the portcullis dropping chances are you will fall in battle, but the gate will open again and your party can then defeat the Rogues and revive you. At the far end of this courtyard is the City Map gate that you can use to continue your journey to The Pearl. AT THE PEARL - There are books to add Codex entries here and some lootable containers so explore a bit before you get down to doing the quests. Collect the body and a letter In a room in the back of The Pearl you will find the third body that you need to collect and a container in that room with one of the letters you also need to collect. After you gather up these quest items, The door opposite the room with the body is the meeting place of the so-called Grey Warden resistance support group knock on it and use the first selection as the pass phrase. Once you are inside however you realize that the resistance is really a trap set up by the Arl's forces! They give you one chance to surrender like you are going to do that! It is time to fight! Once you have finished with the back rooms, head back to the inn proper and have a chat with Sanga, the madam that runs this fine... err... establishment. She will offer to show off the talent you can pick one to frolic with if you like. Make, female, both, she does not care as long as you have the 40 silver to pay for the services.
Remember the mercenaries that the Sgt. wants you to rough up? These are them. They do not intimidate but remember that you are not *supposed* to kill them! Once you get into the fight and do some damage, they fold like a wet paper bag, begging for mercy. Since you are not supposed to kill them, this is where you show mercy I guess, so tell them to empty their pockets and leave and you pick up a cool 2 gold pieces for your efforts! The first mate on Captain Isabela's ship, he is full of information about his captain, and you may as well get it from him, right? The ship's name is The Siren's Call, and according to Casivir, Isabela considers herself to be a duelist, and judging by his feelings she is a pretty good one.
Standing in the back of the tavern room, Isabela is willing to chat and seems to be somewhat impressed with you! There are several chat options you can pursue with her, and you may as well do that so you can learn what it is she thinks is a duelist. You can ask her to teach you the duelist skills and she will teach you the basics if you ask, but you have to have a drink and a game with her before she will teach you. You do not actually have to play the game with her you can continue as she talks up the game, or you can try to catch her hand with dexterity. When you catch her hand you discover that she is cheating but evidently that was the whole point as it was a test to see how quick and resourceful you were. She announces that she will be honored to teach you her skills, and does as it unlocks your first specialization, the Duelist. Unless you want to buy a prostitute, this wraps up what you have to do at The Pearl. Now would be a good time to head back to the Market Square and dump that last body down the well and turn in that quest. On the way back to the Market you run into the Sgt, who thanks you for a job well done but a group of White Falcon mercenaries interrupt the meeting, and you are forced to fight them. After the fight, the Sgt. pays you your reward, commenting that it surprises him that people actually choose to fight you! Yes, I am surprised as well :) Now continue on the the Market Square using the World Map and then dispose of the body, and then head to the tavern to talk to the Bartender. On your way out, go talk to Sgt. Kylon again, he has another mission for you this time he wants you to take out the mercenaries in the tavern nearby.
These are the loud mercenaries we noticed before in the room with the Blackstone Agent. You have a choice here you can either fight them or you can persuade them to leave the district and move to a tavern at the Docks. To persuade them to leave, a compelling argument is that there are no "willing" women at this fine establishment. That logic clicks in the leaders head, and he orders his men to leave with him for a tavern at the docks. Mischief managed! Return to Sgt. Kylon and collect your reward of 3 gold sovereigns. Done? Good! Now head back to the City Map and select the Dirty Back Alley. As you arrive here you will see through the gates a band of thugs go ahead and engage them now. Once they are defeated, run up the far stairs and mark the door to a Blood Mage's relative, and then return to the World Map gate and select Dark Alley from the menu. On the way you will get a confrontation stop in the Back Alley where you will make quick work of a group of Bandits! Once they are defeated, return to the World Map gate and continue on. Another band of bandit thugs awaits you here, angry over the killing of their friends. This can be a tough fight if you let them surround you, so try not to do that! The fourth and final door to be marked for the Blood Warning Quest is in this area so go ahead and mark it now. That is all that there is to do here for now, so head back to the City Map gate and select Rundown Back Street. As you should expect by now, another group of bandit thugs is waiting for you as you enter the area actually this is the third group and it should be the last for this quest! Taking them out may be a bit on the challenging side, but when you are done you will feel good about it I know I did :) Near by you find the body of a dead Templar named Ser Friden and on it is a document that initiates a quest called The Last Request. Friden was sent to deal with blood mages in the city, but it seems that the mages have dealt with him! There is a nearby door labeled "Dirty Hovel" that you can enter, and inside is Layson the Deserter, the subject of the quest Dereliction of Duty. You have to kill him he does not give you a choice and once he is dead you can loot the Guild Supplies from his body to return them to the Blackstone Agent. Now that you have dealt with the final group of bandits, return to the Market District and speak with Chanter Rosamund next to the Chanter's Board near the Chantry to receive your reward of 4 gold sovereigns. Next you need to see the Agent from the Mage's Circle, to collect the single gold sovereign for completing the quest Blood of Warning.
Go to the City Map gate and change it to World Map, then select the icon marked "Civil War" and activate it to travel there. You will encounter a group of Bannorn Knights who are resisting being conscripted by Loghain's men and a battle ensues. Jump into the battle and keep fighting until the enemy is defeated! On your way back to town you will encounter an Abomination which I think is a fairly strong demon or maybe minor demon is more accurate. You have to kill it to continue, so kill it! After you kill the Abomination move ahead and to the left to discover the body of Renold loot his journal and you will recall that he is part of another quest we are doing, called Have You Seen Me? This is for the Mages Collective. After the fight return to Denerim and seek out the Chanter's Board Mistress and the Mage's Collective Agent to receive your reward. Now it is back to the World Map and the Refugees location outside of town. On the way you are attacked by a pack of wolves and after you defeat them note the nearby sign posted to warn that wolves frequent the area very helpful to know :) Continue on at the World Map point to reach the field where the refugees are supposed to be and they are there but as you arrive a powerful group of darkspawn also arrive and attack. You need to help the refugees take out the darkspawn, which really means take them out yourself. After you finish off the darkspawn say hi to a refugee so they can properly thank you, then head back to town. To get the next break-in tip you will have to pay Slim 4 gold sovereigns but according to him the haul from this one silver bars will more than make up for the up-front cost. The Arl is storing the silver he has stolen from the city in his warehouse until he can have it smuggled out of the city and you are going to steal it! Be aware that there is a very strong and large force of high-end guards you will need to defeat, so go in prepared, with plenty of potions! On the way to the docks you have an encounter with a Drake and a bear-like demon after slaying both you will loot an item from the Drake a Drake Scale that triggers the quest Drake Scale Armor which appears in the quests list under Denerim. There is not a lot to do at the docks, though there are some lootables and there is a Mage's Collective Agent offing the following quests: Places of Power Careless Accusations Notice of Termination Thy Brother's Killer Herbal Magic There is also a tavern here The Spoiled Princess that has a few interesting points going for it. There is a chest inside that has one of the love letters you need to collect, there is a woman named Larana inside, who you need to tell about her husband's death for the quest Notices of Death for the Blackstone Irregulars.
First ask him about Brother Genitivi he claims he has never heard of him but clearly he is lying. If you ask about the impostor named Weylon, he tells you that the person you are looking for is not there and suggests that you should be on your way as soon as possible. If you tell him that you would like a drink that gives you access to his merchandise and he has some items you may want to buy. There are some trap plans, a gift item (wine), and a selection of crafting supplies. If you are low on health potions for the Supply quest you should be able to get a few from him as well. As you exit the tavern you are attacked by a group of cultists that could not have something to do with your search for the Brother, could it? The leader has a set of Ceremonial Armor on him that has some pretty high requirements and a negative armor effect probably not worth using in other words. That is all for now so head over and say hello to the Templar guarding the docks now! He actually intimidates pretty easily and willingly takes you over to the Tower despite his rough bluffing.
As you arrive you get a CS of the Templar in charge issuing orders, then Alistair asks if they are barring the doors to keep people out or in? When you ask what is going on the Templar orders you to leave for your own safety of course and when you refuse, stating that as a Grey Warden you have the right to request their assistance, he finally gives you the news. The tower is no longer under their control it has been overrun by darkspawn, and the mages are indisposed but that that means is not really clear. Clearly they need help but what kind of help is the question, since the leader is only trying to obtain permission to butcher the mages. Alistair insists that the mages are probably dead but that the darkspawn must be dealt with now. The Templar does not want to hear that and even if there are any survivors it is clear he has no intentions of going to their aid or trying to clear out the darkspawn. You insist that you will look into the survivor question, and are warned that there is more than one Abomination in the tower, and there will be no help from the Templars though if you succeed, he agrees to align his Templar's with you for the coming Blight Fight. That is progress anyway, right? The Templar warns you that once you enter, he is not going to reopen the door until he has proof that the darkspawn are no longer a threat proof in the form of the leader of the Mages himself. Before you go in have a chat with the Quartermaster and trade for anything that he has that you think you can use. One useful thing that he has is a backpack that expands your storage by 10, and he also has some elfroot and some recipes that may be useful if you can afford them. Once you have everything that you need, proceed through the door and the Templar will bar it behind you. You get a quest update at this point, and you are now inside the restricted area of the Tower. You will want to carefully search through each chamber as you progress, looting and taking out the enemy as you encounter them. This part is broken down by level of the tower... In the rooms to the right off the hall there are some containers one of them contains a Codex entry item that also triggers a new quest Watchguard of the Reaching. This quest requires you to find all of the notes of an apprentice that may reveal a hidden secret of the tower. In the next room along the hallway to the right is the first documents from this quest be sure you loot all of the containers that you encounter. There is a second set of the documents in this room in another chest. As you enter through the door at the end of the hall you get a brief CS of Wynne taking out a monster and then she orders you to come no closer! Clearly she is not happy with you and she tells you what happened once you start chatting, both what happened before and her fears of what is going to happen. She offers to have you join her and try to save the Circle of Mages and once you have asked all of the questions you want to ask, joining with her is the way to go, but Morrigan is not pleased with your decision at all. At this point Wynne joins your party but now you have to decide who you are going to take with you into this mess. The ideal party is a couple of tanks (Warriors), a Rogue (me in this case but maybe not you), and a Mage (Wynne). You can try it with a different combination if you like, perhaps Morrigan, Wynne, Alistair and yourself it really depends upon what class your main character is. When you are ready and happy with your party, get going! The first Abomination is through the next door this fight seems to work best if you allow the Abomination to come to you rather than going out to it but YMMV. There are two more Abominations in that room and after you kill them loot the books on the long table here one gives you a quest (Summoning Sciences) and both give Codex entries. In the next area are some lootables including more notes and the first summoning font. To do this first exercise, do these steps in order:
1. Examine the font to initiate the flame. For the second exercise:
1. Examine the font to initiate the flame, For the third exercise:
1. Examine the font to initiate the flame, Open the door to the next area and kill the beasties here first, and then: For the fourth and final exercise:
1. Repeat all of the steps above minus the Summoning Flames and initiating the font only once. Loot the bodies and read the books here, and then head up the stairs to the entrance to the Second Floor to continue on. As you enter this area you get a CS with a Tranquil who asks you not to enter the stock room because it is a mess. As you chat with him you get a sense of the subplot that is unfolding here, and who you need to be looking for now. The Litany will give you a fighting chance against the Blood Mages, so you need to find Niall, right? In the next area there are some Blood Mages but you are going to need to mind your party members because for some reason some of them will not attack when you do. Taking out the mages is easy if everyone is fighting not so much if they are not. Once you have them all fighting you should make short work of the few targets here, and then you get a brief CS of a woman on the floor, who is begging you not to kill her. The Blood Mage on the floor wants you to show her mercy that is your call but there is no reason I can think of not to pump her for information so do that. Did you let her live? Yeah, neither did I. Behind her body there is a container you can loot a gift from, and there are other lootables nearby as well, so see to that, and then look in the far corner of the room for one of the Scrolls of Banaster and grab it. In the next chamber up the hall are two Abominations to kill, and behind the wall in here is a chest with one of the Love Letters in it so be sure to grab that. The next chamber after that has a group of shambling corpses in it but you make short work of them! When you loot them you discover that they each have some money who knew that corpses needed money? There is a chest here to loot, an and an Armoire, and in the rear of this chamber are two more Abominations to kill and a vanity to loot that contains a gift item. May as well give some gifts now if you like to free up some bag space. Nearby is a closet that is trembling slightly there is either a Bogart inside, in which case you should point your wand firmly and cry: "Ridikulous!" or you could go open it and see if it is something else entirely. I vote for open it. Ah well, it is not a Bogart after all. The conversation goes pretty much where I thought it would this guy is something of a coward and really would you want him in your party anyway? Really?
Note on Saving... The next chamber contains some Blood Mages fighting an Abomination so go ahead and kill them all mwahahahaha! There is an Apprentice Note here, some lootables, and a chest with a Lyrium Potion and Injury Kit, so grab those, and then head out into the hall to the next chamber, where you will find three Abominations to kill. I hate the way these things blow up after you kill them gotta mind that. There are a few lootables in here and a pair of metal doors that you cannot open. These doors actually lead into the storage chambers for the Circle you would know that if you did the Mage Origin Story as it factors in the questline for that story but as we do not need to go there for our current quest we can just ignore it. The next chamber has some bodies to loot one has a gift item on it and the other has one of the letters we need for that quest. If you look against the back wall you will see a toppled statue that you can target.
Target the statue to initiate a brief CS that reveals the presence of another phylactery vial now take the vial to summon the Revanant and kill it! When you loot it you will get a paper and some money nice! Now back into the hall and to the next chamber, which turns out to be the Head Enchanter's Study. Go ahead and loot this place dry for some Codex entries, and some quest documents. In the far corner is a chest with a gift item a Black Grimoire that would be perfect for Morrigan don't you think? After this it is back into the hall and we finally reach the door to the Third Floor. Now would be a good time to save if you have not already thought to. As you enter the third floor there is a chest you can loot directly ahead on the other side of that wall, and then a door on the left to open. On the floor in this large chamber is the second set of the Scrolls of Banaster so grab those and then take out the reanimated corpses first one group and then a second. Be warned that there is an Arcane Horror here a sort of boss mob and he can easily wipe your party with his area-of-effect spells so you may want to concentrate upon him first? Once you have taken him and the other corpses out, finish looting the room before continuing on to the next chamber. Note that the corpses have Corpse Gall on them and that is a quest item so be sure to loot it. The last private document is in the next chamber in a chest you can loot so do that now. Once you have that document, open the door here and kill the Abominations and then a Lesser Demon, and loot the room. Now proceed into the next hallway and open the door to the chamber on the right. In this chamber you encounter your first possessed Templars and kill them. Now loot this room and continue to the next chamber off of the hall and loot the few items here. We are concentrating on the chambers on the outside side of the hall for now, so ignore the door on the left and keep working your way along the hall doing the right-side doors. In this next chamber are more possessed or charmed Templar you know what to do to them. There is a Desire Demon here that can wipe your party if you are not careful. Keep on eye on party health and try to take it out first if you can. Loot this last room, and then head back into the hall, and open the door to the center chamber that is the one we were ignoring. Draw the enemy out and kill them. There is a Lesser Shade, an Abomination and some minor skellies here to kill but once they are dead, loot the bodies and then enter the chamber. There is a Tranquil in here that I guess you just rescued? There is also a statue that you can examine here this is actually part of the quest Watchguard of the Reaching and since we can now complete that quest let's do that now.
Return to the second room on this level you see the three statues against the back wall? These are the trigger points for the ques the one for which we are collecting the Apprentices Notes. Examine the one on the left, then the one on the right, and finally the one in the middle, and you will notice that you get a sort of red explosion effect each time. Now return to the room in the very center that we just left, with the statue near the Tranquil, and examine that statue, and you will get a quest update. If you examine the quest description in our active quest list, you will notice that it has now changed to indicate that the barrier has dropped. Now we need to head for the first level of the tower.
When you are back on the first level, go to the metal door to the basement, save, and then try to open it this will release Shah Wyrd a fire demon. Kill it! Once the Shah is dead, examine the Pile of Rags that it leaves behind and you will find the following items: Yusario: A two-handed Greatsword with some epic properties. Obviously you want that sword for later in the game, because it is really good at slaying dragons. If you look on the other side of the room you will see that there are now more Circle Mages present. Talk to Kinnon and he will relate that he is aware of Loghain's treachery, and then talk to Keili and she will have a chat with you about her feelings about what is happening. She seems to have lost a few of her marbles but that is not our problem at the moment. We need to get back up to the Third Floor! But first be sure that you saved. Right, now that we are back where we were before, head over to the door and go through to the fourth floor, and you will find yourself in darkened area. To your immediate left in the corner is some rubble with a Codex entry so loot that, then move to the other side and loot some lyrium from the chest there. Move into the hall and open the door on the left to encounter a sexy blue demon that has a Templar enthralled under her spell so that he believes that she is his wife and his children. After a brief CS and some dialogue with the demon, she sets the Templar and her minions on you kill them all! This is a significant battle in that there are items in this room that we want to loot a gift and some other useful gear including a set of Templar Armor with an armor state of 12.60 and some very nice bonuses on it! You may not have your warrior's strength to 27 yet, but hold on to that armor for when you do which should be soon. Finish looting this room to get another Codex Entry, and then head back into the hall, and turn left, and go to the end of the hall and open the door on the left. Inside this room are some possessed Templar who will immediately attack let them! While your crew is taking them out, you run to the rear of the room and kill the Blood Mage there that is making things rough on your party thanks to her ranged magical attacks. Once you have taken them all out, begin looting this room the Blood Mage you killed has a set of Archon Robes on it that give a boost of 8 Armor! They also improve health regen in combat and add 2 to Spell Power. Wynne's robes are similar but the Archon Robes are slightly better, especially when Wynne is physically attacked so I recommend switching her to them. There is a note near the left wall that adds another Codex Entry, and some odds and ends to loot including an injury kit.
Once you are finished looting, return to the hall and open the final door in the opposite side for a CS with a major demon you get a chat choice and the demon tries to put you to sleep with his pacifistic charms. You have to resist you have to! And yet, well, you cannot. This now triggers a new quest Lost in Dreams and in case you have not figured it out, the demon has projected you into the Fade. The quest description reads: You are a Grey Warden in Weisshaupt, attending to your duties. The darkspawn are gone, defeated forever, and you and the other Grey Wardens are a relic of an era that is past. Now is the time for rest, and reflection.
Run forward to the center of the chamber to see Duncan! Talk with him, you don't get the answers you want, and then you must fight Duncan and two Wardens. After you defeat them you get a quest update you must escape the Fade, and rescue your party! There is a Fade Pedestal in the center where Duncan was standing use that and you are presented with a puzzle of sorts. Select the first glowing destination and you are transported to Niall, who can give you some clues about what you are trapped in. The pedestal symbolizes the domains controlled by the Sloth Demon. Your task is to work your way through them and overcome the obstacles in order to reach and kill the Sloth Demon. You have to move to each island and free your party members, and then together take on the demon and win! After you finish talking to Niall, take the Fade Portal behind him and kill the demon that is on the other side. The mouse will talk to you listen to him and he will tell you what to do. Before he dies he gives you his power to shapeshift. There is a mouse hole behind you shapeshift and go through it and then kill the demon on the other side. Grab the Lyrium and the Codex entry for the statue, and then go through the Portal here and kill the Lesser Shade on the other side. Kill the demon ahead and grab the Lyrium, then kill the next demon and then take the next portal. You are now back in the Raw Fade Zone near the Fade Pedestal and Niall is standing nearby. When you talk to him he will be pretty excited when he learns you were able to transform into a mouse and he has some suggestions for you as well. The Shade Zone we are presently in is the one at the top of the star when you use the Pedestal you get to choose which zone to do next.
As you materialize you are in a chamber with a door to the right, and a mouse hole to the left turn into a mouse and go through the hole first. Inside this chamber is a broken glowing chest with an Essence of Cunning in it this will permanently increase your Cunning Stat by 1 so take that and then return through the mouse hole. Turn back into human form and head through the door, moving along the hall to the first door you come to on the right, and open the door. Inside is a pair of Burning Templar either go in and kill them or let them come to you and kill them, so long as they end up dead! Inside the room that the Burning Templar were from is a mouse hole go ahead and go through that, then turn back into a human and move into the room, to the door on the door straight ahead (the door on the left just leads to the hallway we were in before) and kill two more Burning Templar. There are three more doors in this chamber one on the left that you discover has flames behind it, a Massive Door straight ahead that you cannot open just yet, and a door up a short flight of steps to the right. When you approach this door you get a checkpoint save, and once you pass through it you are in a hall with lots of flames and only one way to go. Around the corner you are attacked by a pair of Burning Hounds kill them and then take the next turn, where you will fight a Burning Templar and another pair of Burning Hounds. Now head around the next corner past the Lyrium and you will fight yet another pair of Burning Hounds just before the nearby mouse hole. After you defeat them, turn yourself into a mouse and go through, for another checkpoint save.
On the other side, immediately turn back into a human and engage the Templar Dreamer that is here. After you defeat him you will gain his power (The Burning Man Shapeshifting Ability) and urge to move on to victory! Walk over to the Shade Pedestal and use it, and select the next zone going clockwise The Mage Asunder. Take the first mouse hole closest to the Pedestal and you will be in a dead-end room that has a glowing weapon rack in it that contains the Font of Strength. This permanently adds 1 to your Strength Stat so take that now, and then go to the bookshelf behind the rack and get a new Codex Entry, the Hierarchy of the Circle. Now return through the mouse hole. For now, ignore the other mouse hole in the room it leads to a room with a pair of mages but you can get to them through the door nearby, which leads to a hallway, and that way you are already in human form and can fight. After you kill them both, move on to the next door on the left, and another pair of mages and after you kill them, look in the bookshelf on the right side of the room to gain the Codex Entry History of the Circle! The next door on the left at the end of the hall leads to a room with four Crazy Mages in it if you have the materials to make health potions, it would be an idea to have some handy for this fight, as they can do considerable damage to you! It would also be an idea to save before you get into this fight just in case you end up dead. The door at the end of the hall reveals a pair of Servants for you to kill, and then a third as you run towards the next door. As you open that door you will see that there are flames on the other side flames that in our human form would kill us! But we gained the Burning Man Form did we not? Go ahead and transform into that, and waltz through the flames unscathed. You want to remain in this form for now, because in it you are immune to the flame damage that the magic beasties will use next so go ahead and kill the four fire demons that spawn in this room, and then head to the next door. Before you open the door, you may want to consider that there are mages behind it and they are a handful if you take them on all at the same time... In my experience the best way to handle this part is to open the door while standing to the side, so you do not immediately aggro the mages, and then lure them out and take them on one at a time by letting only one see you at a time. At most you do not want to fight more than two at a time as the offside mages will simply cream you with their spells. Once you take them out, now would be a good time to save. Inside the next room are Mage Instructors and Pupils they use mostly fire area of effect spells, so taking them out should not be much of a challenge once you get back on your feet that is. There is a Codex Entry in the bookshelf here called The Tranquil, and another from a book on the floor past the stairs called The Cardinal Rules of Magic. The door in the end of the room is a Massive Door you cannot open that just now, so head to the door up the short flight of stairs first.
There are two Stone Golem and some possessed Chantry Clerics to fight, and after you defeat them, the Cursed Dreamer approaches you and grants you his power to shape change into a Golem, before begging you to "Free us all from this nightmare!" There is a Fade Pedestal here, but we are not ready to use that just yet. Instead go through the door to the left of the Pedestal, where you will face a pair of mages and a Golem. It is key to this fight that you take out both mages first and quickly. Once they are dead you can easily kill the Golem, and then check out this room. On a table at the far end is a note that gives you the Codex Entry The Harrowing, and a pile of books on the other side of the room called School of Spirit gets you the Codex Entry The Four Schools of Magic: Spirit.
At the opposite end of the room from where you entered is a Massive Door remember we could not open these before, right? Well, now we have the Golem form! Go ahead and switch to that, and then smash open the door! A pair of soft and squishy Priests are on the other side of the door smash them like the Thing, and then head on down this hall to the first door on the right to face a pair of Golems and a Priest. You can do this fight however you like, but I found that the easiest and fastest way to deal with the trio was to turn into the Burning Man and use his area-of-effect power on them. It was easy to slice and dice them after that! In the corner of this room is the Essence of Willpower for an instant 1 Willpower so grab that, and then look on the floor at the opposite end of the room for a stack of books labeled School of Primal, for the Codex Entry The Four Schools of Magic: Primal. Back in the hallway, continue on and you will encounter another Stone Golem kill it and then head past the next door on the right a Massive Door with a boss mob behind it called an Arcane Horror that we will be coming back to in a moment. First though, take out he next Golem along the hall and then enter the nearby door and fight three more Stone Golems. When you are facing a mixture of magic users and golems I can see how the Burning Man would be a good form to take but when you are facing THREE golem, the only answer to that challenge is to be a Golem yourself! You will find that this fight goes a LOT faster when you can take as well as dish it out! On the floor on the left side of the room is a pile of books labeled School of Entropy that will give you the Codex Entry The Four Schools of Magic: Entropy. The glowing Font of Strength is further into the room grab that now and then you may want to save, as this was a fight we do not want to have to repeat, right? Now back into the hall and to the right to the last room where we face some mages and a swordsman-priest. The problem with this fight is that the mages heal the priest and they try to stay as far away from you as they can. Obviously you have to take the mages out first and that is no easy task! Now I found that the easiest way to do this fight was as a Golem, luring the enemy into the hall, where they had less room to keep away from me, and quickly taking out the Mage and his Pupil, and then the Priest. YMMV but this worked well for me! Once they are defeated head into their room on the corner is a pile of books that is labeled School of Creation that gives the Codex Entry The Four Schools of Magic: Creation. Once you have that, head back to the Massive Door we ignored before, and change into the Golem form to smash it down.
Inside this room is a mini-boss-mob the Arcane Horror and it may seem like a tough mob, but by staying in Golem form and luring it out into the hall, where it had less room to run away, it was almost too easy to take down! Once it is dead, head into that room, to the back, and through the door there it might be an idea to save before you do that though. The best form to fight this in is the Burning Man I took hardly no damage from it in that form. Killing it gets you the quest update and there is a Fade Pedestal here as well, which is very convenient! Go ahead and hit the Pedestal now, and select The Darkspawn Invasion Zone. You arrive in an empty chamber with a door and a mouse hole leading out of it. Open the door and take out the trio of darkspawn that are in the hallway here first. Now, before we move along the rail here, we have some minor side-trips to make. First go to the door and exit the chamber, and smash open the Massive Door that is on the left as you exited the chamber into the hall. Inside is a weapon rack with a Strength upgrade grab that now. Exit back into the hall and return to the first chamber, turn into a mouse and go through the mouse hole here. Run straight ahead and take the mouse hole at the end of this hall, then run over to the broken chest in the middle of the room and grab the Essence of Cunning here. Exit through the mouse hole back into the hall, take the right turn and the mouse hole at the end of this short hall. Kill the pair of flaming darkspawn here, then take the north door and kill the trio of darkspawn in the hall outside two Hurlock and a Hurlock Emissary. With them dead, move over to the flaming door and trigger Burning Man, then move through it into a short hallway with another door at the end. Stay in Burning Man form, and pass through that door, where you will fight four burning darkspawn who really cannot do you much harm in this form!
Exit this chamber through the door and then pass through the door at the end of this hall to enter a large chamber with a bunch of darkspawn spirits and the Templar Spirit. Once you have taken out all of the darkspawn spirits the Templar Spirit will approach you and you get a brief CS, after which he grants you the Spirit Form! There is a Fade Pedestal in this chamber ignore it because we are nowhere near ready to use that yet! In the Northeast corner of the room is a glowing piece of rotating art statue? Whatever! Move over to it and change into your newest form Spirit Form! The glowing sparkling not-clickable thingy is now a clickable Essence of Willpower! GO ahead and grab that, and then move over to the Northwest corner of the room, where you will see a Massive Door! Drop the Spirit Form and switch to Golem Form now, and smash open the Massive Door, revealing a very large chamber. Kill the Genlock and the pair of Hurlocks that you encounter here, and then further inside the room is another Genlock, a Hurlock, and a Darkspawn Emissary for you to kill. Taking out the Darkspawn Emissary also got me the Achievement: Master Warden which is for killing 500 darkspawn, so you should be pretty close to that as well.
At the far end of this room is another Massive Door so go ahead and smash that open to reveal a real boss mob Uthkiel the Crusher! Intimidating, bigger than us, and just plain scary! Before we talk about this fight, I want to talk to you about something called "Grief Code." A lot of games these days are made by people who think that the only real standard that we, the consumer, use to judge their value and goodness is the length of time that it takes to beat them. Because there is only so much you can do to create challenge, what happens is that no matter how good a game is, somewhere in it is a section that uses Grief Code because it is the only way that they know of to get the job done. That is what has happened here the mob in question hits a lot harder than you do, can take a lot more damage than you can, and so is a lot harder to beat. That is not necessarily a bad thing after all without challenging you, this would be a boring game! Still, without dying a lot, you have to come up with a strategy to win... There are two ways you can approach the fight with Uthkiel either rely upon luck and hope for the best, and simply keep reloading until you manage to kill him OR you can use the only tactic that seems to work with him, despite how undignified it is. Once you have died a few times and are getting frustrated, try this: -Smash open the door, immediately run inside, use your special to stun him, then your other special to punch him, and then RUN AWAY. Basically you need to run around the room in circles until both of your specials have recharged. By doing this, he cannot trigger his charge attack or his haymaker. As soon as both special abilities have recharged, stun him then punch him, then rinse and repeat until he is dead and believe me, it will not take you long to kill him using this strategy. Yes, it is not very dignified. Yes, it is not from the Chuck Norris School of Fighting. Yes, your mates really will say you fight like a little girl. But hey, you beat the guy, that has to count for something, right? Once you have finished off Uthkiel, retrace your steps south, passing through the two large chambers and the longish hallway to the central chamber (you will have to use Burning Man to pass through the door to enter it). Us the mouse hole near the middle of the West wall of this chamber to enter the Western area of the zone and then switch back to your regular form to battle the darkspawn that will attack you here. After you kill them go back through the mouse hole we entered the area from and then head South. You will pass through another burning door into a short hallway, beyond which is a burning barrier you also pass through, and we are now back in the first set of hallways that branch off of the entrance to this zone! Run straight ahead and jog North to fight some Hurlock's in that dead-end path, then work your way South and East to fight another pair in another dead-end branch of the hallway. Continue in a Southerly direction and eventually we end up back at the chamber that we originally entered the zone in, and all the enemy in the zone are now dead! Head over to the Pedestal and activate it, and select The Burning Tower (upper right) as our next destination! Yes, this is a zone we have been to before but we did not finish the boss mob here because we did not have the ability to smash doors open, right? In the main room is a Massive Door in the Northwest corner go ahead and smash that puppy open! Now switch forms to the Burning Man and pass through the flames unharmed and we get a checkpoint save which should clue you in that a boss fight is coming. At the other end of this short hall is a room just full of shambling corpses and Burning Templar and while you could stay in the Burning Man form, it might be an idea to change back into the Golem, since he can pretty much wipe the floor with the entire group with barely a scratch in damage to you!
The boss mob inside is named Rhagos and he is a flame demon. You could switch to Burning Man if you like, but the Golem form will work too as long as you do not walk into any of the magical fires in here. Once he is dead, head over to the Font of Strength and grab it, then hit the Fade Pedestal. You should notice that a new area is now unlocked to the right and the zones in which we took out the boss mobs now show icons instead of the glowing star shape. Three down, five to go! We arrive in the Pedestal room, and on the left is a Fade Portal (glowing purple door). Before we take that portal, notice the nearby mouse hole? Beside the hole is a bookshelf with a new Codex Entry in it the Rite of Annulment. Grab that and then change into a mouse and head into the hole! As you arrive on the other side you trigger a trap! Quickly switch back to your human form and kill the Arcane Horror here, and then look around there is another glowing Fade Portal, and a regular door. Take the regular door into the hall and turn right the first door on the right has a fire trap inside and some enemy do not trip that trap! Draw the trio of Sloth Abominations out, and kill them but remember that after they die these things burst into flames, and while I am not sure that can hurt you, why take the chance? Now disarm the trap for 5 XP and then grab the book in the bookshelf inside this room for a new Codex Entry. There is a mouse hole here yes I know it can get confusing if you climb down every mouse hole so just bear in mind that it is here and exit the room. The door to the right as we exit leads to the room we first entered this area in so lets backtrack a bit to see what else there is on this level before we use any portal doors, shall we? There are three Fade Portals that lead out of this area lets go back into the room where we set off the trap earlier in mouse form, and take the portal there, and we find ourselves back in the room with the Pedestal! Okay, so we are back where we started. The other portal in the hall leads back to the same room! Hmm... It is time to try some mouse holes and what better one to try than the other one in the room where we set off the trap in mouse form? You might want to save now I would if I were you because now we come face to face with...
Okay, it is really an Ogre and a Hunger Abomination I call these two Mutt and Jeff and if you are not skilled at dealing with them this can be a very frustrating fight in which you die a lot. The trick here is simple enough hit the Ogre with everything you have special move-wise as quickly as you can to do as much damage as you can and then when the Abomination enters from the next room, begin circling the bookshelf that is in the center of the room. Do not allow the Ogre to get you pinned to any of the outer walls because then he will pick you up and start playing whack-a-mole with your head, and the fight is over. As quick as you can, concentrate on taking out the Abomination, because it is easier to kill and, really, is more of a distraction than a threat. Once it is dead, use your specials on the Ogre, and make him dead! Good on ya mate! Mutt and Jeff are history! Now when we exit by the door that the Abomination came through we find ourselves in a hall and the nearby door is blocked by fire but there is a second Abomination inside who we can lure outside by letting him see us. Do that and kill him! Feels good! Uhm Yeah! Right at the end of the hall is another glowing purple portal this area is filled with portals and mouse holes, and when you pass through most of them, you find yourself back at the other end of the same hallway or in a chamber we already cleared I hate it when that happens! Using the portals basically loops you between the other portals, and so do the mouse holes, so the trick here is to be systematic. Go to the burning door (the second room) and change to the Burning Man form and walk in. There is another mouse hole in this room go through it and quickly change back into the Burning Man. Kill the pair of Rage Demons here if you have not already done that this is the top (third) room in this part of the pie. Now you see that glowing almost-portal in the corner? Change to the Spirit form and it becomes a Spirit Portal use it and then quickly change back into the Burning Man form and take out the demons here by using his fire area-of-effect power. There is a Lyrium Vein here if you need a quick heal. We are now in the right-hand room of the bottom piece of the pie! In the next room is another Massive Door and a mouse hole and both lead to the same place, so you are better off simply smashing down the door as you will soon be doing battle with an Arcane Horror and a Shambling Corpse. Coming through the door sets you on fire, but as the Golem that does not really do all that much damage to you, so just go ahead and kill them now. At the back of this room is a Fade Portal and passing through it puts you in a room that is quickly engulfed in flames, so trigger the Burning Man form now. Pass through the flaming door on the other end of the room and kill the pair of Abominations there, then STOP. This is one of the sections of the game where the save feature is bugged so make a new save here BEFORE you go near the Massive Door ahead, because if you smash that door down and then end up getting dead, both the mouse hole AND the door will no longer work when you reload, effectively halting the game at this point. So make a save prior to entering that room. Now that you have a backup save, move across that room to the door, inside of which is an Arcane Horror and a pair of Shambling Corpses. Kill them, make a new save, and then proceed to the next room,
As you enter the final room you encounter Vereveel who turns into a mouse and dodges into the nearby mouse hole. You need to follow her, but when you get to the other side take care her magic includes a frost spell, which means Burning Man is not a great idea. I used the Golem to defeat her, relying on his special attacks which worked well, while her elemental damage was not so effective against him. Once she is dead you get the quest update, and then you can grab the Essence of Cunning from the broken chest in the room, and hit the Fade Pedestal. That is now four of the eight zones completed though the middle (8th) zone is still not unlocked. The very top zone now that we have the Spirit Form, head there and change to that form and ahead of you will now be revealed The Essence of Willpower (the glowing pedestal to the right of the ramp). Grab that now, then head up the ramp and take the Pedestal to the Raw Fade Zone.
Switch to Spirit Form and look to the right there is a Spirit Door here! Immediately after you pass through, change to Golem form and target the Yeuena she is the threat here, so ignore the other mobs and concentrate on killing her. You will be using all three of the Golem's specials, and in the process of taking her out, the other two will be killed by your AOE special anyway. Once she is dead, you get the Quest Updated, which is nice :) Now head over to the twisted statue and look at it to get a Codex Entry The Black City and then change to Spirit Form and move to the pedestal to the left of the Spirit Door to grab the Essence of Willpower. Now head back through the Spirit Door. Run past the Pedestal to the Fade Portal, and pass through it yes we have been here before, what we are doing is grabbing all of the stat boosts that we could not get before because we did not have the special powers. Take the mouse hole here, then the Fade Portal that is directly ahead, and you will see another Spirit Door ahead of you. On the other side you will be attacked by a pair of wisps you do not need to change forms, they are not that big a threat just kill them with the Spirit Form specials, and then check out that Viking Boat. Pretty cool, eh? Follow the direction of its bow and you will see the glowing charm of an Essence of Dexterity the reason we came here! Go ahead and grab that now. Now exit through the Spirit Door, but instead of heading back the way we came, turn right and go along the path to another Fade Portal that will take us back to the entrance for this zone. Excellent! Move over to the Fade Pedestal and click on it notice that this zone is now marked with a symbol because we have killed its boss mob Yeuena and that is one more down! Select the Burning Tower Zone now (Top Right). Head down to the door in the right corner and change to Burning Man, pass through the flames, and then take the first right, and you will see a Spirit Door ahead of you. Change to Spirit Form and enter it, and grab the Essence of Cunning and the Essence of Constitution that are here. Exit via the Spirit Door and then change to Burning Man and turn looking right. Run along the hall through two sets of flame to a door at the end. Open the door and enter this room, then change to Golem Form and smash the Massive Door to your right here, and grab the Essence of Magic inside. That is it for this zone! Retrace your steps to the room where we entered, and then use the Fade Pedestal to go to the Mage Asunder Zone (Bottom Right). Go up the stairs and through the door here, then follow this along to where the Massive Door was that we smashed earlier. Now move around into the hall and go to the third chamber (bottom right), kill the three Golem here and grab the Font of Strength from the weapon rack. Grab the Codex Entry on the floor here if you have not already, and then exit into the hall. Go north to the top right room and grab the Codex Entry here if you have not already done so, and then go all the way to the bottom of the zone and into the chamber there ()South chamber). Change to Spirit Form and enter the Spirit Door in the left back corner here, where you will find a Stone Golem to kill. Once it is dead, grab the Essence of Dexterity in the target dummy here. Change into Mouse Form and enter the mouse hole here, then immediately change to human and then Golem Form and take out the pair of Stone Golem that are here! After you have killed them, grab the Essence of Cunning in the broken chest here, and then smash open the Massive Door here. Inside this last room is an Essence of Dexterity and and Essence of Constitution. Grab them both and then retrace your steps out of here and back to the main hall. When you reach the main chamber (top left) take the door at the top of the stairs in the Northeast side, and then cross this chamber and take the other door up another set of stairs, which puts us back in the center of the tower-pie. To the East is a Massive Door smash that open and then go to the third room on this slice of the pie and turn into Spirit Form to grab the Essence of Magic here. Go back to the portal room (the first room in this pie slice) and use the mouse hole here to go to the section on the top right of the map and grab the Font of Strength here from the weapon rack if you have not already done this when we previously explored this zone. There is a Codex Entry in the bookshelf behind the weapon rack if you did not do this area before, so be sure to grab that. This wraps up the zone, so head back through the mouse hole and use the Fade Pedestal here as we have completed all of the main zones, it is now time to do the Nightmare Zones where the rest of our party are trapped! The three new zones that we unlocked by killing the boss mob for each of the other zones are actually the places in the Fade where our friends have been trapped. It really does not matter which one that you do first they are all pretty much the same you need to find your friend, and then convince them that they are in fact trapped in the Fade. Once they understand that, you get attacked by a demon, and once the demon is dead, you succeed in freeing that friend! This may be different for you but my group went like this:
Alistair standing around with a goofy grin on his face, happy as a lark when I ran up to him he was happy to see me and then introduced me to his family his sister who we know this is not... Whatever the conversation that you have, eventually he tells you to get stuffed more or less, at which point you ask the demon why don't you just fight it out and you do! Generally there is a group of underlings accompanying the demon just kill them all and Alistair's spellbound state drops. As you can see from the video this part of the quest can be rather amusing... Now you tell him he is in the Fade, he gives a bashful reply, and then disappears as you get the Quest Updated flag. Time to move to the next Nightmare! Sten my next friend, is a lot easier to convince than Alistair was, and with his help the demons were easy to kill! Poof! Sten disappeared and the Quest was updated! Wynne my final friend but I find her surrounded by bodies! Convincing her was a bit harder than Sten but not that much Alistair really is a git isn't he? With all three free there is but one task left to be completed the Inner Sanctum!
When I started this part of the game I did not know it was going to be such a huge quest so I felt considerable relief when I finally reached the boss fight at the end but it was an interesting set of sub-quests and zones, right? Ahead is our old friend the Sloth Demon you remember, the demon that sucked us into the Fade in the first place? After he gives his little speech, all of our friends are back! Not only are they back, but they are not precisely pleased with the situation either and they are ready to fight! The problem with the Sloth Demon is you do not have to kill him once you have to kill him five times, and doing that requires a little bit of planning and care... If you have healing potions left than you have a definite advantage here if you do not, the only healing options that you have are the two Lyrium Veins in the fight area and your healer's magic but of course the Veins take a long time to recharge, and your healer only has so much mana to cast from. You really have to micro-manage your team in this fight, there is no question about that. To begin with, the first and second forms he takes are particularly susceptible to being blocked by your tank, while the third form seems to be particularly vulnerable to Burning Man attacks. The fourth form you just want to kill as quickly as you can without it costing you too much, and the final form? That is the one that will frustrate you, because it has an AOE attack that is deadly, and can easily wipe your party. If you have potions now is the time to use them to top of your crew. If the Lyrium has recharged, use that as well you want to survive (obviously), so you need to take the final form out as fast as you can! If you find that you simply did not bring enough healing potions or the resources to make them with you and you cannot complete the fight with what you have and the Lyrium crystals here, you do have the option of lowering the difficulty to the lowest setting. That will allow you to complete the fight without having to heal at all. Once the Sloth Demon is dead and you will be happy that it is dead you get a CS with Niall in which he instructs you to take the Litany of Adralla from his body after you return yes, he is dead, but you sorta suspected that, right? It is rather sad that we could not save him, considering all of the help that he gave us but he seems to agree with the other spirits that we talked to, and just wants release from the Fade. We can do that! We don't even need a reason! Yes! We are back in the real world at last! I don't know about you but that was a very long and arduous adventure much more than I was expecting! That we gained some amazing stat boosts in the bargain is sweet in fact the treasure trove of stat-boosting items makes this one of my favorite sections of the game. You will now reappear in the Circle Tower, and at your feet is Niall's body go ahead and remove the Litany Adralla now and then look to the right and you will see a soldier's body near the door. Go loot him for a health potion and a dagger, and then move through the door and around the corner and battle the Drake there isn't he the cutest sort of baby dragon? Check the cabinet nearby and grab the Private Documents, and then move over to the Drake's body. If you have not already looted, than take the Drake Scale from the body you will need that later so hold on to it and then loot the Charred Corpse that in on the floor nearby. You should get a Lesser Injury Kit, and The Libertarian's Cowl you may want to equip that if you are a mage or equip it on your party mage now. On a nearby desk is a book that contains another Codex Entry The Legend of Calenhad: Chapter 2 which you should grab you know you get XP for every Codex Entry, right? Umkay now, grab the Note from the pile of books on the floor nearby, and then go through the nearby door and kill the 5 Dragonlings that attack you. Okay, seriously now, this is the Tower of the Circle of Mages, right? This is where magic happens, and where the people who can do magic are vetted, checked out, and approved. You would think that this would be the last place you would encounter Drakes and their babies, yes? Nearby next to some shelves is a chest you want to open that chest and loot it, trust me on that! Inside the chest is some health and Lyrium potions, a Mabari War Harness, the Kaddis of the Lady of the Skies, a Beef Bone that I am absolutely positive your war dog would simply LOVE to get as a gift, and another Drake Scale remember you need to hold on to those, there is a quest that uses them. Through the next door a Metal Door you encounter a trio of Abominations, but you make short work of them and you notice the corpse of a Soldier nearby. Go ahead and loot that if you have the space in your bag it is a Grey Iron Greatsword. Go through the open door nearby and grab the fire crystal out of the vase, and the supplies and weapons from the nearby chest. In that chest is a Beastmen's Dagger it is Red Steel and if you are playing a Rogue (I am) you probably have the Grey Iron Enchanted Dagger equipped as your off-hand weapon. This is a better blade, so equip it or, if you are not playing Rogue, have the Rogue in your party equip it. Now would be a good time to check to see if any of the armor and weapons as well as accessories like belts, necklaces and such can offer better stats or protection to your party members. Right, now that we have done all that, head back out into the hall and to the right, for another Metal Door! Head into the room and you will spawn a trio of Shades near the loot containers. Once they are dead, check the Soldier's Corpse to loot a Health Potion whether you want the small shield is your call, but if you have the space in your bag you can always sell it later. The chest contains money and as I am sure you know, money is always welcome!
Now head through the next Metal Door for a Checkpoint Save you know that THAT means, right? We get a brief CS in which you encounter a Templar Knight named Cullen who is clearly convinced that you are some sort of darkspawn plot against him. From him you learn that the surviving mages were taken to the Harrowing Chamber but he is convinced that they are beyond salvation. Wynne on the other hand is not convinced . Now we know that the Templar policy on cross-contamination with Blood Mages is to just kill them all and let God sort out the innocent and clearly this guy wants you to help him do just that so here is one of the occasions where you have to make a moral decision. What are you going to do? Like Wynne, I am just not willing to kill an innocent on the off-chance that they might have been corrupted which really gets the Templar angry at us but what can you do? You have to play your alignment unless you are Chaotic Neutral, in which case I would love to go to a hockey game with you... This is one of those spots where you are not going to keep everyone happy someone in your party will agree with Cullen, someone will disagree, and if you are lucky, the third person will be neutral in their feelings on the matter. Obviously this is something that you have to take into consideration as you make your choice but since I am a good guy, the choice was already made for me, and so I lost 20 points of Sten's approval towards me... I hope that does not come back to haunt me later. Note that if you choose to side with Cullen, you are going to have to kill Wynne to get past her to deal with Uldred. If that is what you want to do, okay, but she really would make a strong addition to your team. Actually she does make a strong addition if you keep her because there are going to be quests you will go on later that you will want a mage other than Morrigan for, including Morrigan's personal quest.
At the top if the stairs nearby is the door to the Harrowing Chamber, and inside all hell is breaking loose the Blood Mages are torturing the survivors, turning them into arcane beasties as soon as their will is broken. The Blood Mage in charge notices you after we get a gristly CS, asking you if you want to join in the fun? Well, no! My answer was: I think I will just kill you if that is alright with you? As the fight ensues you have a choice to make a long fight or a short one. I chose to concentrate on Uldred, who has now transformed into his Demon Self because taking him out takes out all of his minions. Keep an eye out for when he casts the spell to change the mages and use the Litany you got earlier to combat that. After the fight which was not as bad as I thought it was going to be there was loot to be had, including some gauntlets and plate armor off of Uldred's corpse. Now that you have looted all that you can, head over to talk to First Enchanter Irving the guy whose face and voice you need if you are going to convince the Templar who locked you into the tower to actually let you out! Before you agree to leave and tell the Templar the situation, tell Irvine that you want to take a look around first. Once you are certain you have looted all you want and are happy with your look around, either talk to Irvine again or try to take the stairs down and he'll ask you to confirm you are ready to go you are, so do that now. You get a brief CS in which Cullen encourages the head Templar Gregor to kill all the mages but we easily defuse that, and attain his thanks as a result. Thanks but no help like he promised! He tells you if you need help, talk to Irvine, because thanks to you he is back in charge of a secured tower, and the man has things to do, places to go, people to see. Great... Hard to build an army when nobody lives up to their promises! Irvine agrees to throw the support of The Circle to you and the Grey Wardens and then Wynne asks that she be released to join you. It is really a good idea that you encourage and accept this Wynne can be a powerful addition to your party. Irvine lives up to his promise, releasing Wynne to join our party, and you now pick up the Achievement: Magic Sympathizer for siding with the mages against the Templar. If you decide to side with the Templar and agree with Cullen, Gregor will honor the promise that he made, and the Templar will become your ally. At this point you should have leveled up so check each of your characters to add their stats and skills. If you are playing Rogue and you have not already done so, you will want to add the Stealing skill now, as we will need that when we return to the town. If you are not playing Rogue, make sure that the Rogue in your party gets that skill at skill-up time. The Quartermaster is still in the corner of this room and now would be a good time to get rid of the stuff you do not want or need, and see what he has that you can use so go ahead and do that now before you hit the World Map and head back to Denerim. On the way back to Denerim you get a combat stop and a CS in which you see your arch nemesis learning that all is not going well for him there is a call for him to step down, and there is news that Grey Wardens that would be you and Alistair survived the battle. Assassins are to be hired to go after you! After you receive a Codex Entry, you find yourself facing a small force ahead of you on the road well what are you waiting for?? After you take out Joam, his Thugs, and his Mage, make sure you search the area for loot before you continue on to town. There is a Deathroot plant on the hill where the Mage attacked from, and Joam has some nice loot items on him as well. Once you reach town depending on the loot you have picked up you may want to go to your camp and distribute the armor and weapons to your other party members. It is an idea, because it will reduce your item count and they are items you do not want to sell anyway. Back in town, the first thing we should do is turn in any completed quests! That should include a trip to the Mage's Collective Agent, the Chanter's Board, and Wade's Emporium. At the Emporium speak with Herren and choose the selection to make the Drake Scale Armor. Remember those scales we were collecting? Yes! As it will take some time, head on out to the Market Square now. Now chat with Sgt. Kylon for your reward, then back to Wade's and claim your armor! Wade doesn't think much of it, but this armor is a lot better than what we are presently wearing! Wade will make you additional sets of armor when you return with more scales bear that in mind.
Now that we have turned in our completed quests and obtained our rewards, let us head to the outstanding quest in the area A Fistful of Silver! Now that we have better kit and some level-ups, these guys will be cake! After you loot their corpses, head over to the three chests and loot the silver bars, and the return to Slim Couldry to turn it in. He does not have another mission for us just yet, but that's okay, we'll be back! Head over to the gate and select the Deserted Building as your destination, and when you arrive note the concealed door in the back of the room. Click it to reveal it, and then open the door and go carefully down the stairs, avoiding the trap below. Fight the Blood Mage and his crew, and once they are dead, disarm the trap for an easy 40 XP and then start looting corpses. The Blood Mage has the key to the Metal Door here so loot that and some potions from him next, and then hit the door! Wouldn't it have been cool to be able to retain the Fade Forms in the real world? Sigh. As you progress through the rooms you will see a barrel you can loot a piece of velum from before passing through another Metal Door and killing a trio of Merc's. Mind the tripwire that is stretched between this room and the next there should be enough time for you to disarm it for a quick 40XP before the Rogue's and Merc's descend on you. For an abandoned building this is a pretty nice layout and I would not mind having that painting in the left corner of the area up the stairs... So once you have the enemy dead here, hit the next door, and you will find yourself facing a mixed group from the room on the right of the hall you are now in a combination of mages and warriors. I went for the mages first, since they have a more practical ability to hurt you and your party and then took out the sword jockeys. The door to the left as you entered this hall has a chest and a create to loot the crate has one of the Private Letters that we are collecting. In the room that the enemy came from is a chest with Red Steel armor in it you might want to give that to one of your warrior class party members if they can wear it. Back in the hall, beware the pressure plate trap in the center of the floor that looks like an area rug disarm that for another easy 40XP, and then go through the door ahead and take out the Rogues there. Loot the bodies and chests here, and continue through the hall to the next pressure plate trap, and disarm it. As you step past it you get attacked by some war dogs. In the next room there are archers and a Blood Mage behind a barricade and you cannot quickly reach them, so your mage and your archer are going to keep them busy while you attack the barricade, and then your team can mop-up! You head into the room beyond the barricade, or go through the last door in this hallway and clear out the group of enemy in that room, loot what you can, and then head through the next door for another small fight. After this fight, head through the next door, and then open the Metal Door on the right to clear that room before you continue on. There is a chest here that contains a Magister's Shield, some money and a Silk Carpet that you should loot. Read the Codex Entry for the Shield now if you like interesting story.
In the next room you get a brief CS as you enter, and you find yourself facing the Blood Mage Leader and his minions. I love that word minions. Anyway, you kill him, and then loot the bodies of course. The Leader has a key on him, and there is a World Map door in this room to make leaving easier! If you were looting as we progressed through the building you picked up some half-decent mage gear and fighter kit and you should have some kit you have been saving from the earlier areas, so now would be an excellent time to visit our camp! The door in this room is an exit to the City/World Map, so head for the Camp now. While in camp remember to do the conversation options with each of the party members, especially the ones that you are not using regularly in the active party, as this is when you will be triggering the various conversations that lead to their personal quests as well. Remember that Sandal can do enchantments so you should check to see if you have better runes for your weapons ever time you hit the camp and if you do, have Sandal install them. Now that you have gained one of the four allies for your army the Mages you have a representative from the Circle in your camp behind the tents near the main fire. Next to the representative and as you gain more allies there will be a representative for each present there is a set of crates into which you can put supplies for your allies. You should be doing this because it strengthens the troops you will later use when fighting your way to the Arch Demon and in your fight WITH the Arch Demon. I am not sure precisely what the increases are for providing supplies here, but as every little bit of an advantage is good, you may as well do it too. When you click on the supply boxes it will prompt you for what you can deposit when you are depositing supplies for potions and such, be sure that you do not end up giving them all of what you have, since you may have need of some of it yourself! We are about to visit the Brecillian Forests, which is home to the Dalish Camp, and we can buy a nearly unlimited supply of Elfroot there so bear that in mind. Now that we have finished with this minor side-task, let us head to the Brecillian Outskirts! Travel in these lands is not without risk and on the way to the Outskirts we encounter a refugee girl asking for our help. As we approach we get a CS that suggests that all is not as it seems remember the Assassins that we learned about earlier? Yes, this is them. There are traps laid all over the place and assassins on the ledges above so take them out carefully and disarm the traps leading to the ledges before you send your party up there!
When the battle has finished, you get a brief CS, and the opportunity to interrogate the Elven Assassin. As you question him, he reveals some interesting information about his organization, and he even admits that Loghain is who hired him though we already knew that. As the Elf says Loyalty is an interesting concept. Once you have pumped him for all of the information you could get, he has an offer for you he does not want you to kill him, and he does not want to be killed by the Crows what he wants is clear enough: to join your group! I suppose it is no surprise that Alistair is not real happy with this decision but hey, a new party member! Cool! Now to the business of looting one of the travelers has a letter on them that gains us the Codex Entry "Friends of Red Jenny" and as this is also a side-quest be sure that you loot it. Once you have looted all that you want, head back to the World Map and continue our journey! As we arrive we get a brief CS and a challenge after a short if hostile chat in which we inform her that we are Grey Wardens, we are taken to The Keeper Zathrian. He sounds a lot like the guy who played the Vulcan on the Star Trek show with Captain Janeway... Not that this is relevant here! He gets right to the point a very direct fellow and explains that they may not be able to honor the treaty that they signed so long ago and he shows you why. Werewolves! As the story unfolds, it becomes obvious that we are going to have to help the Elves and take on the King of the Werewolves! The task is simple enough hunt him down, kill him, cut his heart out, and bring it back to the Keeper... No worries mate, we can have that done in two shakes of a Jiffy, right? Now before we get started, lets ask the Keeper a few questions to get as much of the 4-1-1 as we can, and then hit up his supply guy for whatever we can get, and have a chat with some of the other Elves. After we finish talking to the Keeper, the Dalish Camp is unlocked as an area we can access, and as Lanaya is standing next to us, she is our logical first chat and she has some questions for us... This is actually an interesting story and worth listening to, not that you have to or anything, but you might enjoy learning her story nonetheless so why not? You gain a Codex Entry for your patience as well I should add. There are some objects in the camp that will also give Codex Entries a statue of a wolf near the fire gives the entry Fen'Harel: the Dread Wolf, a headless statue near the pens gives the entry Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla, a small statue behind a half-wall gives the entry Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance, in the center hut is a small statue called God of the Craft, from which you obtain the Codex Entry June: God of the Craft. A statue near that called Sylaise (a woman holding a bowl) that gets you the entry Sylaise: the Hearthkeeper, and across from her is another statue called Andruil, that gives the entry Andruil: Goddess of the Hunt. There are some Colored Inks on a fur gives the entry Vallaslin: Blood Writing. There is a chest next to where Lanaya and Zathrian are standing, but you will have to be deceptive to get whatever is in it, and I chose not to do that. Sarel invites you to have a meal by the fire, and introduces himself as the Clan's Storyteller. He does not have much faith that your mission will succeed, thought he seems enthusiastic about you and your courage nonetheless. After dis'ing you and getting upbraided by a nearby Elf woman, he apologizes and offers to tell a story to the children. If you have not heard this story before you may want to listen to it, as it gives you the Elven take on the world. After you listen to the tale, Sarel tells you about the forest that you will be adventuring in the information is not really all that valuable, but he does give you some information about Witherfang, and the forest spirits, and at the end of this you receive the Codex Entry for The Dales. Cammen, a Hunter Apprentice sitting nearby, gives you an opportunity to persuade or intimidate to get his story, and in the process you learn about the girl he loves. You get another chance to persuade if you want to convince him to allow you to get the pelt for him which adds another quest to your outstanding list. Athras is near a wagon and in the conversation that you have with him, you are presented with another opportunity to persuade I took this, and if you have been following this guide, you should also have picked up the Achievement: Persuasive (10 GP) here as I did. I told him that I would look for his wife in the forest, and after the conversation ends you get a Quest Updated notice. Elora is by the pens she is the Master Herder who cares for the halla that are the Elven beasts of burden. You can have a quick chat with her to learn about her and the halla. You can try to use your Survival Skill (if you have it) to calm the halla that is ill, I was not able to help... There may be a quest attached to this I will look into that later. Either way, you also get another Codex Entry when you finish talking to her. There is a Deathroot plant behind the pen that you can harvest before you move on. Varathorn is standing nearby with his weapons arrayed on a table talk to him for a brief CS in which he yells at his apprentice, after which you can ask him for the gear he is supposed to have for you and then you can barter with him for other stuff. It would be an idea to do that, because this guy has an almost unlimited supply of some of the resources that you need like Elfroot, agents, as well as some good recipes. You need the Elfroot to make the healing potions that for one of the quests that we have, and the Toxin Extract can be bought here so that you do not have to try to collect it the hard way. When you are done with him, look around his area there is a crate with a helm in it, a pile of books behind him with two Codex Entries, a barrel with a weapon called Dar'Misu, and a chest with some supplies in it.
Now go back and chat with Varathorn again and ask him what he does. He will tell you about a special wood that he needs to make his finest crafts. Here is your chance to pick up another quest, and offer to get him some Ironbark. He will tell you how to recognize it, and offer to craft something for you if you bring him some. Excellent! Yet another quest! This camp is a fertile place for adventure! Mithra is standing by the entrance to the camp, and if you talk to her she will give you her blessing on your task or you can find some things to argue with her about, your call. There are some Elfroot plants you can harvest off to her right, and that pretty much wraps up the camp! Time to go kill werewolves! The entrance to the forest is at the opposite end of the camp from where you entered so if you see Mithra you are on the wrong end. Just follow the path through camp and you will see where you need to go! Note: as you progress through the woods there are going to be plants that you can harvest I am just going to assume that you are doing that and not mention them here.
Just past the log bridge you will be attacked by a group of werewolves and wolves after you kill them, if you face the bridge, you will notice that there is a path leading up to the left from here take that to fight another pair of wolves, and then take the left turn off of this path towards the waterfall. As you approach you get a checkpoint save, and a werewolf named Swiftrunner appears with two buddies and you get a CS. After the CS you can interact with Swiftrunner, who tells you to take his message to the Dalish. The conversation leads to a fight, but you do not end up killing them! After a brief exchange of blows, they retreat leaving you with a warning. The branch of the trail that heads left from here just loops back to the bridge and the other path but take it anyway, because halfway to the bridge on the left is a small opening with a Great Bear in it! After you kill it, loot the corpse here and then retrace your steps back to the waterfall where we had our encounter with Swiftrunner and continue on in the direction that he retreated in. As soon as you cross over you get attacked by a mixture of Rabid and regular Werewolves go ahead and kill them, right? If you explore in the direction that they came from you will find a body that has a Magister's Cinch for you to loot, and just past the body is a wounded Elf named Deygen one of the hunters from the missing party. I chose to take him back to the camp and was met by Kithra and her party, who took him off my hands. An easy jog back to where we were, and then cross over the next bridge to engage an Ogre and some Hurlocks. Once they are killed another Hurlock appears from the nearby path and after you kill that one, head up the path a bit and you will see some rubble on the ground. Search that to loot some gifts. There is a tombstone on the other side of the path across from the rubble but when you examine it you end up feeling uneasy... If you move a little to the right you will target a Mystical Site of Power marker behind the tombstone activate that as part of the quest we are already doing. If you return to the last bridge that we crossed you will see that there is a path ahead and one to the left of it. For now, run down the path ahead (ahead as if we were just crossing the bridge) and take the first cut to the right for a checkpoint save, and then a fight with a Wild Sylvan (tree creature). As you progress down this path there are more Wild Sylvan for you to fight and then you encounter a Grand Oak that you can talk to.
The Grand Oak or Elder Tree speaks in rhyme and he wants you to do him a favor! Finding an acorn sounds like a needle in a haystack sort of quest, but hey, a quest is a quest, right? He tells us that we need to go to the East to find this man... If we read the quest description and this is actually part of the main quest we are on for the Dalish we need to find the Mad Hermit. Following the white arrow on the radar map gets us to a large fallen tree and a Wild Sylvan to kill just next to it. After you kill the Sylvan you may or may not get attacked by a group of werewolves if so kill them, and then move closer to the center of the fallen tree to target it, and gather the Ironbark that it yields for a Quest Update. At the end of this path is the entrance to the Northeast Forest.
As you enter you are attacked by a group of werewolves after you kill them, continue on the path to encounter another werewolves that turns out to be Danyla, the woman we are looking for. As you talk to her you learn that she has two requests to make of you to tell her husband that she loves him and is dead and then to kill her to put her out of her misery and pain. You can get some helpful information from her, but eventually you have to decide what to do I considered it a mercy killing and did as she asked. Take the path to the left, and left again to fight a trio of bears and then a pair of Ogres. In the clearing there are some lootable spots, and you find another tombstone only this one you can disturb if you want to. Disturbing it gets you a new Codex Entry the Legend of the Juggernaut, and spawns a pretty tough Revenant for you to battle. The Juggernaut has some interesting armor on it be sure to loot that! Killing and looting it also updates one of our quests, the Mage's Treasure.
Continue along the path until you encounter the Hermit's camp and talk to the Hermit who is only willing to discourse with you in a question-and-answer trade. The questions you can ask are somewhat limited, and it looks like the only thing he wants that you have is the scarf you are supposed to take back to the Elf camp... You can try killing him, but as he is an illusionist that is not as easy a task as you might think! It gets a bit tedious talking to him, and trying to kill him only to have him disappear and then reappear a few feet away so when you get tired of doing that, go over to the stump and search it then try to steal the item (the acorn) which you do, and he goes all aggro on you and summons some demons kill them, and then kill him! Hopefully you got the information out of him that you wanted before you killed him and you looted him, right? He has some good stuff! Go ahead and explore around the areas ahead you will find off to the left of the path a large mist cloud blocking that path and when you enter it, it just puts you back to where you entered it you also get a Quest Update. Read the main quests entry in the list to learn that your next task is to find a way to get past this barrier! For now let's explore the rest of the zone.. You'll find exits to the Southwest and Northwest Forests, but for now let's return to the Northwest Forest and deliver the Acorn to the Grand Oak. The reward he gives is a branch that he says will permit you to freely pass through the forest give that some thought where might that help us?
Move past the Oak and you'll discover an abandoned campsite a sinister campsite that tries to get you to sleep... It's a trap! Once you resist a Greater Shade appears and the battle ensues! After you kill the Shade you discover the bones of its previous victims as the illusion of the camp is broken. There is some good loot here but if you are like me, the loot you get here puts you pretty close to having full packs, so it is time to pay a visit to the Dalish camp and sell-off some of this booty! As we are selling off some booty, we may as well turn in the quests here too. Give Varathorn the wood and he will fashion an item for you a bow or a breastplate, you decide but make sure you have an inventory slot to put it in or you will lose it! Now go to Athras and talk to him be kind and let him down gently, give him the scarf and tell him that the Keeper spoke true. That really is the kindest solution. Head over to talk to Cammen give him the Wolf Pelt that you have and enjoy the CS in which he finally secures his Honey. Isn't that sweet? Of course he has built his new relationship on a lie and you helped him... Shame on you! Now might be a good time to pay a visit to your camp and distribute armor and weapons to the other party members as that will help free up more slots in your inventory. You will also get an update from Morrigan in which she reveals what she has learned from her mother's book and it is not good news. I agreed to help her of course I did! After all she is part of my party now, right? This of course adds a new quest for us but not one that is time-dependent so we can do it when it is convenient to do it. On your way back to the Forest you will get a combat interruption it is the group of Travelers who are taking the false message about Blood Mages to the Chantry all you have to do is intimidate them to complete the requirements for this quest so intimidate them! Now that we have some breathing room in our packs and have completed those quests, we can head back into the Forest!
Remember the first tombstone that we found that made us feel odd but that we could not interact with? It is in the hill to the right from where we encountered Swiftrunner return there now and trigger it to fight another Revenant and this one drops the second treasure for the quest, a Juggernaut Helm! Now return to where the other tombstone is, and now there are now Malifcar casting spells at an old crypt (this is the area just past the Hermit's camp). Go ahead and kill them, as that completes the requirements for the Mage's Circle Quest Thy Brother's Killer. Now remember the branch that the Grand Oak gave us? When he said you would be able to pass through the forest, you likely thought that he meant the Sylvan would not attack you, right? Well that is not what he meant that branch is what you need to be able to pass through the mist that kept putting us back outside! Check the map to find your bearings and now head for the Forest Barrier. As you run through it this time, instead of being kicked back out, you pass right through, and you get the Quest Updated flag and a checkpoint save! Excellent!
Swiftrunner is waiting ahead and you get a brief CS in which he once again warns you. Odd that he is warning you instead of killing you, but still... A brief chat and then the fight begins and once again you do not get to kill Swiftrunner, as just before you can deliver the final blow he is saved by a white wolf, who gets in between you. What the deuce?! As we run ahead we spot another tombstone to the left and like any good button pusher we cannot resist it, and summon the third Revenant. Killing it gets us a Juggernaut Plate Gloves and a set of Red Steel Heavy Plate Armor. Nice! Don't forget to loot the two nearby chests, and then head up the path to encounter the Gatekeepers! Now is probably a good time to make a save... So, that done, let us head into the Ruins! To the right after we enter (before we go down the stairs) is a secret brick wall door open that and kill the two skeletons that pop out, and then kill the pair that pop out of the secret door on the other side. Loot their bodies and then run over to the other side and loot the chest there it has one of the letters we have been collecting. Now head down the stairs loot the armor from the pile of bones on the left, and continue down to fight the werewolves guarding that room. On the left side of the room there is another secret door with some lootables inside, while the right side leads down to a lower level. There is a door in the center that we want to take before we go down there, that leads to a hall with branching halls off it leading down. These are all blocked by rubble, but there are lootables in some. Kill the Giant Spiders, then go to the room at the end and loot the Private Documents from the cocoon and then loot the spots in the right branch before you take the left branch down. Did you hear that growl?
You get a checkpoint save here which should tell you something and then you enter a very large room at the bottom of the stairs that has traps on the floor and a Dragon! Kill the Dragon! Okay it is a small dragon but still, a dragon is a dragon! Mind the traps that this crafty dragon has laid out for you I took a moment to disarm them out of respect for my and my party's tootsies, but you can just try not stepping on them too. After it is dead, disarm the rest of the traps for some easy XP, and then head to the bottom of this area, where you can loot the Dragon's treasure pile and some chests. Once you have everything that you want, look to the back wall for the entrance to the lower level. As you reach the first chamber you will fight some skeletons, and then a wispy little ghost boy appears in the center of the chamber, calling for his mother. You try to talk to him, but he runs away and bunch of skeletons spawn and you kill them! In the chamber to the left is a Sarcophagus with a gift and a tablet in it loot those and note that the tablet gives you another quest called The Elven Ritual and then head back out and right, to a door that you will open and then fight more skeletons. Run down this hall to the next chamber with a round white dais similar to the one in the other room but this one has a fountain in the middle of it. The quest description describes the ritual you must perform in order to open the Metal Door in this chamber so take the following steps but be aware that if you make a mistake demons will appear and you will need to kill them:
(1) Click on the Fountain and select option 3 Take the earthen jug. Now that the jug has shattered, the Metal Door is unlocked and open, so go inside and loot. When you reach the rear section of this chamber skeletons will attack just kill them and keep looting until you have done all three sarcophagus. Now turn around and head up the stairs, where you will encounter a Shade she tries to talk to you but you cannot make any sense of what she is saying. After you tell her that, she summons some Greater Shades, and the fight is on. If you concentrate on killing her, the battle ends a bit faster, and once she is dead, look at the Burial Chamber in the center of this raised area the final piece of the Mage's Treasure for that quest is in it! Grab the Juggernaut Plate Armor from the Burial Chamber and pat yourself on the back for completing yet another quest! Exit this chamber and continue down the hall and turn right into a room with a broken crate and a Phylactery which you should click on, and then pick the option to touch it. Select option 3 I am sorry, and then continue twice, and then you can ask it a lot of questions. This fills in some of the details of the mystery of these Ruins I thought it was a nice touch myself, no pun intended. Once you get through the dialogue and agree to help it, select the option to place the gem on the stone alter, and then accept the memories. The gem is destroyed, you complete the quest and you unlock another specialization Arcane Warrior! Head back down the hall until you reach the room at the bottom where you find a pile of sacks with some money, and a Glass Phylactery. Taking the vial shatters it and a Revenant appears kill it! There are some lootables in the room to the right as you exit, then head to the closed door across from that room for a checkpoint save, and then open the door. Inside this large room are some traps you should disable, and some skeletons to kill. Loot the bodies and containers for a Codex Entry, then disarm the rest of the traps before heading to the door in the back of this chamber. Open the door to find yourself in a hallway. At the end of this hall is a Metal Door and another checkpoint save and once you open that door you are fighting more skeletons. At the bottom of this chamber is an Arcane Horror who summons minions until you kill him and find some decent loot on his body! The chamber on the left side of the room has lootables in it sarcophagus and a crate. The chamber on the other side of the main chamber has more skeletons for you to kill and more lootable containers and also holds the entrance to the Lair of the Werewolves! As you enter the Lair there are two corpses with Corpse Gall on them loot that as you need it for one of the quests we are doing and then head for the door ahead. Inside are some werewolves for us to kill I imagine we will be doing a lot of that! Mind the traps on the floor and take out the next group of werewolves. There are two halls with stairs leading down that are blocked by rubble but that have lootables, so loot those before you go down the third, which is not blocked. You get a checkpoint save here, and as you enter you encounter more Gatekeepers only they do not want to fight, they want to talk!
Agree to talk, and the Gatekeeper will take you to see The Lady. The brief CS you get has a bit of werewolf posturing, and then we meet The Lady of the Forest who could give Pamela Anderson some stiff competition on haute coture! As you hear her story, you come to understand that you have been misled by the Dalish Keeper. Still, you have a choice to make here you can either agree to help her convince the Dalish, or you can persuade her to kill the Dalish. Your call I played good though, so I chose to help. You need to be aware that Achievement-wise the choice you make here has consequences. You have three options: You either kill the Lady, persuade her to kill the Elves, or you help her convince him to end the curse. If you choose to persuade her to kill the Elves, you will get an Achievement for siding with the werewolves if you kill the Lady, you will get an Achievement for siding with the Elves and if you convince him to break the curse, you get no Achievements at all for this part of the game. If Achievements are important to you, well, you know what you have to do. If being good is important, than breaking the curse is the way to go! You have to persuade her to attack them and that is not going to happen if you do not have a high ability to persuade, which means a high Cunning stat and Expert Coercion. If you have that, than by all means this avenue is open to you! You will know it worked when Swiftrunner agrees with you rather than saying he does not trust you and after that you get a load screen and CS in which you invade the Dalish Camp with the werewolves and have a little chat with the Keeper. After the chat, the battle ensues, but with their forces weakened by the injuries and infection, it does not last all that long. Once it is over, you talk to the Lady and Swiftrunner, and they pledge their support to you in the upcoming battle with the Darkspawn. If you chose this ending to the confrontation, you will get the Achievement for siding with the werewolves, but as your transition to the Dalish Camp was a load, you are going to need to go all the way back to the Werewolf Lair to loot the last two areas, because one of the Scrolls Banister and one of the letters we are collecting for that quest are located there. Once you have obtained those, skip to the next section. This is the easiest and fastest solution. Just get her mad enough to attack you and then manage to kill her and all of her werewolf minions. That probably sounds a lot easier than it actually is. Once she is dead, take her heart, and then return to where you encountered and likely killed the Gatekeepers and loot the chambers off of that area for the fourth of the Banister Scrolls and some odds and ends. Now go back to the main room of the Lair and look to the left of where she was originally standing and you will see a door there that is closed. That is a shortcut out of the Lair and when you take it, you will end up back in the large chamber with the raised white dais in it. Just before you exit be sure that you grab the letter from the pile of goo on the ground. Standing there waiting for you is The Keeper do you think he just does not trust us or what? You ask what he is doing there, and he tells you why he followed you. He admits that the heart will not break the curse but we sort of knew that and explains that what it will do is allow him to cure his own clansmen. You ask if he will honor his bargain with you and he says that he will, and suggests that you return to the camp with him now. A short CS shows you that the heart actually helped them, and The Keeper gives you a reward for helping them. You also unlock the Achievement for siding with the Elves at this point, and you overhear some of the recovering Elves talking. I suppose that this is a feel-good moment, or as feel-good as the decision is likely to give you, but now it is time to move on so skip ahead to the next section, Return to Denerim. Note: Either way you need to be sure that you loot the rest of the chambers before you leave including the ones outside where you met the Gatekeepers who took you to see the Lady, because there are quest items in here.
Before you take the exit that she has opened, turn back and go to the room where you encountered the Gatekeepers a minute ago and loot the chambers to either side one of the Banister Scrolls is here, and there is some decent loot as well. Once you have looted what you want, head out the exit that she unlocked for you at the top before the door is one of the letters we are collecting be sure you grab that and then exit to the Ruins Top Level. As you enter you find Zathrian waiting for you and it takes a bit of convincing to get him to come with you and talk to the Lady, but once you agree to protect him from them he gives in. You get a load screen and a CS in which The Keeper has his say with The Lady, and we learn a little bit more about their history and how The Keeper views the situation. Swiftrunner is not about arriving at a peaceful solution have to admire his stick-to-it attitude, right? There is still some more arguing to get him to end the curse and you may have to tune up on him a little by way of convincing but eventually he does end it! The CS for this part is pretty cool, though I have to wonder at the change that took place in him that allowed him to end his life like that... I perceived his motives to at least in part be the long life that he gained from casting the curse in the first place. Once the curse ends, The Keeper falls to the ground dead, and The Lady gets a few moments to say goodbye to her minions before she, too, dies in a glorious flash as well. The werewolves all regain their human form once the curse is broken, and thank you for your help. If you want you can ask for a reward here, and the leader will offer you Swiftrunner's Shield (presumably that was Swiftrunner doing the offering), and you might want to take that as it is not a bad shield! Now we make our return run to the Dalish Camp (when you get the World Map prompt at the exit pick the Forest Outskirts to be warped to the Camp) where we get a CS with Lanaya for the end of this mission. This is one of the places where the game goes a little off-script, and with all the care that went into making this, that is a little surprising! Lanaya opens the CS by telling you that the essence of the heart helped to cure the Elves but we never actually got her the heart, because Zathrian died removing the curse. Still, she says that she is sad that Zathrian had to die, explaining that she felt it when he did, and observing that she thought he was ready to go. I don't know, maybe she knew a different Zathrian than we did? From where I stand, getting him to die took a lot of work on our part, and that is hardly being "ready" to go, right? Yes, he died a hero's death but as Lanaya is now The Keeper, she vows that the Elven people will honor the treaty, so you have just picked up your second ally! Way to go you! Now let us return to Denerim or make a pitstop at our camp to update our other party members and distribute kit and gifts first, it is all good.
On the way back to town we get a combat interrupt on our journey and find a group of mages fighting off darkspawn. After we help to kill the darkspawn the Mage in Charge tells us that the is taking these Apprentices to Redcliffe to join in the war effort. How cool is that? As we enter the town a young boy runs up to deliver a message he provides no information, and the message flags a new quest! You will just h ave to read the description The Trial of the Crows to learn what the details are. They want to meet with you in the back of the Tavern... And since we have to go there anyway to turn in a quest or two, that works out just fine! First let us head to the representative for the Mage's Collective and we get his thanks, blessing, and some hard cold gold! Now we head over to the Gnawed Noble Tavern and talk to the Bartender to get our reward. He now has two more quests for us Sign of Safe Passage and Untraceable so grab them both! Now head into the side room and chat with the Blackstone Representative to get your reward for his quests. Head to the other side of the Tavern and speak to the Representative from the Crows. Basically he wants to hire you and once you are handed the scroll you discover BONUS! The hit he wants you to contract is for someone you already killed! How sweet is that? Talk to him again to collect your reward! The chest behind him contains your next two contracts Mercenary Hunt and An Audience with the Ambassador. These quests are under The Trial of Crows Quest as parts of it so refer to that for the details. Fortunately these are in areas we will be going to anyway! If you have not done so already, pop in to the Wonders of Thedas Shop and give the Apprentice inside the note terminating his services. He is not happy, but hey, so what? Now let's take care of the Friends of Red Jenny Quest so head over to the mysterious door that is next door to the warehouse we did the silver quest in and deliver the box. The mystery remains unsolved, as the unseen person simply slips you your reward without ever revealing themselves to us! Now let us hit the World Map and select the Kaden-re Hideout! They fight well and they are strong but in the end we prevail and after we loot their corpses it is time to loot their camp! With this task done, head back to the World Map, and select Lake Calenhad. Go see Sammael the Deserter to deliver the message we have for him a message he does not want and so a battle ensues! That is all that we need to do here, so let's head for Sulcher's Pass now. When you arrive you encounter a bloke named Felix who tells you he is a merchant and he wants to do a deal with you. Actually what he wants is for you to take the Golem Control Rod off of his hands, but the thing is, it does not come with the Golem it controls! That you will have to go to a Darkspawn infested village to retrieve. NOTE: This is the second of the two DLC for the game released so far. I will be adding the details to this when I have the DLC. Before we head on to the next part of our adventure, let's make a quick trip to Brecillian Forest to fire off that Fire Arrow for the Tavern Quest. Everything goes according to plan as we reach the spot marked on the map, equip our bow and fire arrows, and pop off the shot but it seems that we were expected! As the battle ensues you have to wonder who it was that tipped them off that we were coming? I might just have a few harsh words for the Bartender when we get back to town! Fortunately these guys talk a better game than the fight, and the battle is brief. Now that we have taken care of that small chore, it is time to head for the World Map, and the Village of Haven! Dragon Hunting, anybody?
As you will no doubt recall, the quest line Urn of the Sacred Ashes is why we have come this way as Brother Genitivi's last known destination, this is the best place for us to try to pick up his trail. As you enter the Village you are stopped by a guard who blocks your entry. No matter what you say to him, he stonewalls you, and when the conversation ends you have permission to trade for supplies at the shop but that is all he wants you to do. After you walk past him, if Sten is present you get a CS in which he pretty much questions your leadership and courage. Go into the house to the left and loot the chests for a Codex Entry and some minor items. Outside you will encounter a rhyming child a very evasive rhyming child at that and his secret (if you can persuade him to tell you about it) gives me the heebie-jeebies about this town! Head up the hill to the Shop, and head inside there is a chest with some gifts in it you can loot, and of course there is the Shopkeeper to talk with. Buy what you want, sell what you want, because when you try to look into the back room he freaks, and if you want to look I did you are going to have to kill him! In the back room you find what is left of the corpse of one of Arl Eamon's Knights! And he looks like someone has butchered him for meat! As you exit the shop you are set upon by cultists take them out and then head up the hill to fight more of them, as you work your way to the Haven Chantry.
The Padre stops his service when you arrive, and tells his flock you have to die you know where this is going, right? There are some containers to loot in the room on the left that include a gift, and then you open the secret door on the right and enter what is clearly the private quarters of the Padre. Here we find the wounded form of Brother Genitivi! You learn from him that the Urn is close to you he has been listening to the villagers even as they were torturing him, and he discovered how to get into the Temple above the Village. I let the Brother know about the fate of his assistant, checked outside to make sure that the coast was clear, and then returned to get Genitivi and head for the Temple. When we arrive, Brother Genitivi takes the medallion and uses it to unlock the door and then open it. Inside is the main hall of the ruined temple and he tells you a little about the temple itself, and then decides to stay in the hall to study the statues while you go after the Urn. All things considered that is likely a good decision... As you progress through the area, loot what you can including books for Codex Entries, and as you approach the stairs you will find a group of cultists to kill. In the rooms to the side are more cultists and monsters and in the barracks room behind them is a container with the fourth Scroll of Banaster in it! The door in the back is locked and you need a key, so go ahead and clear out the side chambers up here, looting and killing, and then head back down the stairs and do the same for the side chambers down there. On the right side there is the 5th Scroll of Banister which means we now have them all! The room at the back of the chambers that are on the left side as you reach the top of the stairs has a chest in it with the door key for the Southeast Chamber grab that and head to the Southeast Chamber to open the door there that we could not open before. Inside that room in the Southeast Chambers is the Main Hall Key the one we need for the door all the way in the back so let us open that door! As we approach the door this time there is a checkpoint save, and as we enter, we encounter demons and a group of cultists and after a brisk fight we find the Holy Brazer at the top. Click it to light it, and then open the door behind it to find more cultists and traps to deal with. When we move through the next door we get another checkpoint save and some more demons to play with as well as cultists and there are several more groups to be killed as we clear the rooms ahead. Eventually we work our way up the tower to the door to the Wyrmling Lair an area with many diverging paths. You are basically going to work your way through systematically, killing the baby dragons, drakes, and cultists until you arrive at the upper chamber and the three Temple Leaders. It turns out that their entire religion is based around a dragon well that was not so hard to imagine, was it? After all the place is thick with them! The fact that they are sincere in their beliefs gives you options because like all religious zealots, they would really like it if you believed like they do...
There are several approaches that you can take with them appeasement obviously, and violence. If you appease him, he will control the dragon for you which will let you get up the mountain easier. If you kill him, you are going to have to deal with the Dragon. Clearly this is one evil outfit, so I chose to kill him and deal with the Dragon myself! Right killing the dragon was a monumental task I burned through a HUGE number of healing potions and still was not able to keep everyone alive because of the massive amount of damage that thing did. But eventually I did defeat it, picking up the Achievement: Dragonslayer (30 GP)! The door ahead leads into this area but fortunately it is only a short distance to the Guardian. To get to the Urn you have to prove yourself worthy and to do that, you have to pass a test. Before you can do that however, the Guardian asks you questions that lay bare your souls. Before you enter to take the test, grab the book on the right for a Codex Entry, and then go inside. There are a series of ghosts inside who will ask you to answer riddles for them. Get the answer wrong, and you have to deal with a strong demon! Here are the correct answers for each, going clockwise and starting with the closest. Brona: Option 4: Dreams Once you answer all of these questions, and hear the answers, the door at the end of the hall opens and you see Shianni standing there. You are confronted with your past again and pain. When you step through the archway you get a checkpoint save and end up fighting spectral versions of yourself! That was weird. The next puzzle requires some brain sweat and trial and error to get well it did for me, but not for you!
There are 6 tiles on each side, and the 4 in the middle that you need to be able to cross. By using your party individually, you can unlock the middle tiles. To make sense of this, look at the diagram below: L obviously is Left, R is Right, and M is Middle. The answer to the puzzle is as follows: Step 1 Move a character into L3, R1 and R2, and then on M1 Now you are on the other side approach the alter in the room and click it, and read the text, then select the option to remove your kit. Doing that allows you to walk through the flames unharmed. You get a brief CS, and then when you move to the stairs, another CS, and then you have the option to take a pinch of the ashes which you do, placing them in a leather bag. There are two chests one on either side of the stairs to loot, and the body of an Unfortunate Adventurer that has a gift and a decent belt on it. After you grab what you want, take either of the doors to the Mountain Top. Making your way back is a long run but if you plan your route so that you return on the opposite side that you came up when you are going back through the ruins at least you can pick up some more XP on the enemies you did not kill yet on that side. When you get to the Brother he is thrilled with what you have to tell him and show him and after a fairly long CS, he takes off for home and so do we! First though we should head to our camp so we can distribute gifts and kit to the other members of the party and once that is out of the way, we can head back to Denerim to turn in the quests that we have now completed! As we arrive back to town we get another CS with Loghain, in which we learn that the situation is looking rather grim for their side. Clearly he has lost the support of his daughter, and maybe he had lost touch with reality? Take the scrolls we found in the Ruins to Sister Justine at the Chantry for a nice reward and another completed quest! Now head over to the Tavern and turn in the hit contract to the Crow Representative for your reward. Now drop by Wade's to have him try to make another set of Drake Armor, and then visit the Mage's Collective to claim the reward for the scrolls quest! Finally drop by Genitivi's place for the reward that he promised you he gave us items but I have no idea what items :( Now hit the World Map and select Frostback Mountains! On your way to the Mountains you will get a combat interrupt and kill a group of darkspawn, before continuing on. You may or may not get a CS interaction with Wynne if you have her in your party and if you have been talking to your group mates as you should have and have developed a relationship with them. Wynne falls down after the fight, which clues you in that something may be wrong with her, but insists that she prefers to discuss it when you are back in camp. As you move forward after arriving in the Mountains note the rather cool Dwarf statue off to the right side of the road not what you would call lifelike or to scale I guess, but cool nonetheless. Ahead is your first encounter with Bounty Hunters and then you pass over the stone bridge and into the campsite that is outside of the entrance to the Dwarven Lands. Now before we do anything else, head along the left side of the camp until you encounter the Mage Apprentice and deliver his note to him that is the third and final notice, so that is another quest that can be turned into the the Mage's Collective. Keep making your way along the camp clockwise, talking to the folks you see and eventually you will come upon another deserter oh good! Another message delivered, and another deserter killed! That completes the recovery of the Guild Supplies, and another quest completed! Now follow the arrow on the map up the stairs in the back of this zone to overhear an argument with a guard near the door. After the argument you are given the opportunity to talk to the guard only to learn that there is no King for you to talk to! Once you show your authority as a Grey Warden, the guard has no choice but to allow you to enter. Loghain's messenger is being a major jerk you know you have to kill him, right? Once Imrek is dead and his bodyguards too head back to the guard, who thanks you for taking out the very annoying Imrek, and then he opens the doors and welcomes you! Once you are inside, go over to the statue of Paragon Ortan and click on it for a Codex Entry actually it does not matter which one of the Paragon statues you click on, they all give the same entry to the Codex and there is only one for these statues. On the left side is a Dwarven Scholar that you can speak to and learn about the Paragons.
As you head up the stairs in the back of the hall there is a book on the floor on the right called the Commission Report grab that for the Codex Entry The Key to the City, and then click on the door to the Commons. As you enter you get a nice CS that shows you entering and you get to see an argument between the Dwarves that ends in the death of one of what I think it is safe to say is a good guy. You can talk to the Captain of the Guard who evidently does not think much of the Grey Wardens but he does encourage you to visit the Shaper of Memories in the Diamond Quarter to at least learn what you can about their culture. After this conversation you pick up two more Codex Entries you have been reading these, right? After you finish talking to the Captain, walk around to the other side of the statue thing he is in front of and look at the Floor Tile to get a Codex Entry on Orzammer, and then look at your map to get an idea of the layout here. There is a gem merchant named Garin who has some nice items including three gifts that you will want to buy so that is as good a place to start as any. Near him is a Dwarf girl named Dagna interested in The Circle of Mages. After you talk to her, she asks you to pass on her request to the Circle, which flags the quest An Unlikely Scholar. Across the way from her is Nug Wrangler Boermor, who sells Nugs. Talk to him to flag the quest A Lost Nug, and then head back up the stairs and talk to Nerav, who will give you some information about the power struggle taking place now in Orzammer. Now before you run down the stairs on the other side, you see that bridge in the center? Run along it and on the right is a document on the ground pick that up for another Codex Entry with some useful information, and then grab the pink Nug that is crouching on the other side of the bridge. Now run back and down the stairs to the right and pass Dagna again you can talk to her again if you like, and learn just how fixated she is on the Circle. Just a ways down from her is Filda (marked by an exclamation point) who is a widow. From her you can learn about her missing son and offer to help her, picking up a new quest A Mother's Hope. Brother Burkel is a bit further down, a Dwarven Chanter from Redcliffe, who is seeking permission to open a Chantry here. Yes, you guessed it, another quest for us! The Chant in the Deeps is added to our quests list, and off we go! Just past the Brother in fact over his shoulder is another Nug that we may as well collect. See that wall carving leaning against the wall nearby? Click that for a Codex Entry on the Casts, and then go talk to Legnar at the nearby stand. Legnar is a fan of Bhelen, but in a pragmatic way, and admits that profit is what he is concerned with. Just as an observation, this guy would make an excellent Ferengi! He has four gifts in his shop, as well as a Tome of the Mortal Vessel (a book that instantly raises one or more stats) that you may want to buy. I would get the gifts in any case. Now let's head into Tapster's Tavern up the short stairs on the side here, and talk to Corra first. You can ask her about the city, learn what the Shapers are. To thank her for her friendly help I bought the house a round of ale, and then talked to Nevin, who can tell you about Branka and what Bhelen is up to. Talk to the Nervous Adventurer in back I swear I had this guy as a roommate in University back in the 80's. He gives us a Codex Entry, and then runs away. I wish my ex-roommate had done that. Next find Lord Helmi on the other side in the back who can tell you about the Cast System, and fills you in on how the Assembly elects a King. When you are done talking to him, head out the door to the Commons, and move back up the hall towards the stairs to the next door, Janar Armorers. There is a wall carving in the left alcove with a Codex Entry, and then there is Janar. This is Dagna's father who can give you his opinion of Branka. He has some trap plan in his shop that are priced low, so if you do not have them, now is a good time! When you exit, talk to Dagna to learn her true feelings about what her father wants that should make your decision a bit easier. As you come down the stairs on the other side you will hear another Nug it is on the right as you descend so grab it too, and then step through the door to Figar's Imports a few steps away only to discover that it is locked up tight and requires a key. Odd that. Talk to the Nug Wrangler next, which completes the quest he gave us and takes the rest of the Nug's we found off our hands. You get a cash reward and a standing order for any other Nug's you find. Something to bear in mind I guess. Head down to the unimproved area below to click on another carving, and capture another Nug. You can talk to the Mine Commander nearby and you get a little info on the Darkspawn in the Roads. You can ask him about Branka, and learn a little about the monsters in the Deep Roads. We do not need to go down there just yet, so when you have learned what you want, say good bye to him for now. As there is nothing like starting at the bottom, let us take a sojourn into Dust Town, shall we? Out first introduction and welcome is to be attacked by thugs nice. After you defeat them, loot, and be sure to get the Codex Entry in that pile of rubble nearby. Now talk to Rogeh, who gives you a chance to use persuasion, as he has a deal to offer you. An illegal deal! I chose not to mostly because I did not have the gold at the time. Further down the street on the side is an Assembly Directive grab that and then talk to the Idle Dwarf across the street, then Nadezda in the street, a beggar who you can help. Next talk to Zerlinda, another beggar to help, who you give money to and then agree to help, picking up the quest Zerlinda's Woe. The door to a Slums House is near the only one you can enter and inside are a pair of chests you can loot. Having done that, it is time to abandon Dust Town for now, and head back up to the Commons. We can go to Tapster's now and try to talk to Zerlinda's father Ordel, since it is the first door on the right as we exit Dust Town. You can use your powers of persuasion on him, which works out well as he asks you to tell her to come home with the cur. A quick trip back to Zerlinda to give her the good news, quest completed. You may notice that there is a suspicious door nearby you can take a look at it but at the moment that is all you can do we cannot open it. So let us head out of Dust Town again, and head for the door to the Diamond Quarter on the other side of the Commons. This is our next area of exploration and flagging home to the noble houses and the hoity-toity, yeah! Adal Helmi is just inside on the left, and gives you a grim greeting, but as you cannot talk with her that is all you get. On the left ahead is the door to Harrrowmont Estate but before we visit there, click on the Weapon Rack across the street for a Diamond Maul. As I understand it who you choose to do the initial task for really does not matter since this is not where you make the decision on who you will ally with, so Harrowmont is as good as Bhelen in that respect and I do not know about you, but I already do not like Bhelen anyway, so I will not be choosing him as King, so Harrowmont is doubly useful to me :) After you enter, say hi to the Butler, then go talk to Dulin, who will not trust you until you prove you can be trusted. How? Why, to fight in the Proving in Harrowmont's name of course! Well we have our orders and Dulin has left for the Tavern, so there is nothing for it but to head out and explore the rest of the Diamond Quarters before we continue with the quest, right? There is a wall carving on the left side of the street next to Nerav, who hopes you will support Harrowmont click on that for a Codex Entry, and then head up the stairs to listen to the Crier before you continue on to the last door on the left the Shaperate. Note that we intentionally passed the Royal Palace and the Assembly without going in for now. Talk to Milldrate to hear about a thief who stoled a book and flag the quest Thief in the House of Learning. Next talk to Orta to flag her quest Lost to the Memories, and then pick up the book next to her for another Codex Entry. Ahead on another table is yet another book with a Codex Entry on the Deep Roads, and nearby that is the Shaper. This is who you ask about opening a Chantry in Orzammer and use your persuasive powers to convince him to say yes! What an easy quest that was! Next you can have him give you a history lesson about Orzammer. When you finish there are five more Codex Entries to gain in the back room, and a chest to pick and loot that has a gift in it and some armor. This gift is meant for Wynne by the way, so try not to give it to someone else. Let's leave here and head into the Assembly now. Vartag is standing just inside on the left, Bhelen's advisor, who attempts to recruit you to Bhelen's side. I told him that I had to think about it which did not please him but you can side with him if you like. Once you enter the Assembly Chamber you get a CS that consists of an argument, and then they go into recess, and you are locked out. Bummer, but no great loss as we have other things to do! A quick visit to the Palace just to look around finds us going up against a band of tunneling thieves, and in the storeroom in the back we find another glass vial that summons a Revenant for us to kill, who holds a scrap of paper that gives a Codex Entry. Across the hall is more loot including one of the letters we are looking for, and then we exit out into the throne room. You get a Codex Entry from clicking on the throne itself, and that wraps up our tour of the Palace and the Diamond Quarter. Time to head for the Proving. When you reach the door to the Commons, do not go through immediately instead run up one of the stairs on either side and grab the document on the ground at the top for a Codex Entry and then head through the door to the Commons. When you arrive before you talk to the Proving Master and let him know that you will be competing as Harrowmont's Champion there are a few things we must do. Inside the main Proving Annex is a dwarf named Baizyl who was previously one of Harrowmont's Champions but why did he back out of the Proving? That is what we are here to find out! You have a chance to persuade here and when you do you learn that he was blackmailed into withdrawing and how. To solve this problem we need to get the love letters from Myaja. Now head through the North doors to the fighter's prep area on that side and talk to Gwiddon another one of Harrowmont's ex-Champions. It turns out that Gwiddon has been told that Lord Harrowmont has already given up his claim to the throne and decided that there was no point in fighting left. Another chance to persuade and Gwiddon is back in the fight! Now we head back through the tunnel to the South door and into the other fighter prep area, where we shall burgle Myaja's quarters there! The letters were in a chest we grab them and head back to Baizyl to give him the letters and the good news he can fight again! Now we talk to the Proving Master!
There is an opening in the first round and what the heck, let's jump right in! There are five fights in the fourth you actually choose one of your party to fight as your second, and in the fifth fight your entire party battles. After you finish the fight you are ejected into the backstage area, and if you like you can do some unofficial match fights here if you like just talk to the Proving Armsman in the small room here to set it up. In another room is Hanashan, a member of the silent sisters, and Farinden, who give you an interesting conversation sort of. Now we head back to the Commons to the Tavern and have a chat with the man about how we proved we can be trusted, right? On the way, let us give the Chantry Brother the good news and wrap that quest up, since he is standing right outside of the Tavern. Dulin is standing in he back room, and is very pleased with what you have done. If you are ready you can meet with Lord Harrowmont now and as I am ready, to the meeting I went! Enter the Study and talk to Lord Harrowmont ask what you need to ask, and get some information from him. You want to further the quest line here, and Harrowmont has a plan, so bonus! He wants you to take out the Mob in Dust Town to help improve the lot of the poor who are their victims. That seems like a reasonable request to me so I decided to go right at it! As we exit Harrowmont's Estate the nearby Crier announces that the Grey Wardens have aligned themselves with Harrowmont which is only sort of true, right? Remember Figor's Import Shop the shop on the Diamond Quarter side of the Commons that was locked? That door is now open so head on in and whoa! It's the Mob trying to run a protection racket on the owner of the shop! After you enter, you become their new target for "protection" and before you react, this is one of the moments when what you decide to do effects the results.
If you attack and kill them, you freak the owner out and he runs away. If you pay them off, you are out 10 Gold and you failed to strike a blow against the mob. If you intimidate them on the other hand, you solve both problems without compromising your ethics. I chose intimidation as my solution the mob retreats, and Figor is grateful. Ask Figor about Jarvia he has some useful information and confirms that you are, indeed, on a righteous mission. He confirms that the Carta is indeed a mob, but Figor you discover that Figor does not care for the casteless at all. Before you leave his shop check out what he has for sale there is a nice selection if supplies here, and if you have been working your crafting skills you might want to take on whatever you are low on. Bear in mind that the allies that you gather you will find their representative in your camp have supply needs as well, like reagents, and such. Check their needs the next time you are in camp. On your way to Dust Town your party gets attacked by a band of Bhelen Fanatics if you followed this guide and aligned with Harrowmont that is. When you arrive in Dust Town, you will notice that one of the doors that was previously blank is now marked as Alimar's Emporium this is where you need to go to advance this quest line. Inside the Emporium you will meet Alimar you can ask him questions, and check out his wares but before you do any of that there is something you need to understand: in Dust Town you have to deal honestly with people, and follow through on any promises that you make. They do not have much here, and your honor is more valuable in the slums than any gold. If you show them that you cannot be trusted, they will refuse to talk to you or do business with you in the future, so consider this in your dealings here. Among the items that Alimar sells is a Bard Manual and if you plan to specialize in that direction, you may want to purchase it. He also has a number of recipes, and if your crafting extends in those directions you may want to check out what he has that you can use. Asking him about Jarvia causes him to be a little abrupt, but continued questioning and as long as you have been improving your skill in coercion and have a reasonably high strength, you should do the intimidation option here as well. Note: When you have the opportunities to use persuade or intimidate, you may want to choose intimidate because there are a lot fewer opportunities to intimidate than there are to persuade. If you have been following this guide, you should already have the first of the two Achievements for persuasion, and if you succeed in intimidating him, you should pick up the first of the two for that here as well. BUG NOTICE: If you want to skip having to watch out for Intimidation opportunities, there is a bug in the conversation with Jarvia that you can exploit to get the Intimidation Achievements easily though it will cost you 30 silver per intimidation score. If you do not want to pay him the silver, save before you do this. To use this bug do the following steps: (1) Talk to Jarvia Note that you must pay him each time not paying him can cause him to refuse to talk to you, making this bug un-doable. Now that you have the information on the secret entrance, and you have finished your shopping here, here, exit the shop and look across the street and a bit further along to see a dwarf named Shady Corebit he is the dwarf that stoled the book earlier. Tell him you are looking for the thief that stoled the book and he more or less confesses it was him and then attacks you. After you kill him, loot him to get the Proving Receipt, and then talk to Nadezda the beggar we helped earlier who is also a prostitute. Ask her about Jarvia, where you can find her, and where you can find a token. She asks for a reward pay her and then the quest updates.
If you are doing the romancing Achievements / Trophies you will want to obtain the Pet Nug from the Idle Dwarf here in Dust Town. Just follow the video have Leliana in your party, when you are near where the Idle Dwarf is, talk to her and she will mention that she likes those cute little pig bunnies. After the CS with her, talk to the Idle Dwarf and offer him 20 silver for a Nug. He agrees to get you one and disappears. Continue on with the quest below, and by the time we finish the next stage he will be back with the Nug! Now head to the back end of the street and talk to the beggar Nadezda, who is sitting by the fire in the center of the open area back here. You get some important information from her that you need to advance the quest this is not skipable. Now enter the nearby Slums House, where you encounter some of Jarvia's men and fight them! After you fight for a while they give up, with the Thug Leader begging that you spare them. If you already have the Intimidation Achievements do Persuade here, and he will give you directions to the entrance to Jarvia's lair and a finger token, explaining how it works. You can choose to kill them here, but that may get you negative points if Wynne is in your party, and there is no down-side to letting them go, so I guess use your best jedgement here. Either way the quest now advances. Excellent! Quest Updated! Now before we head into the mob's headquarters, let's go back and talk to the Idle Dwarf, who has returned now with a nice pink Nug! Pay him the 20 silver and the pet appears in your inventory with the gift flag but DO NOT give it to Leliana now! Chances are good that you failed to do all of the chat options with her before her approval of you got past 40, and you may even be in a relationship with her now that is bad because you will not be able to get her quest if you are. Hold onto the Nug for now, and when you are back in camp, you can break up with her which will earn you negative approval and then go through the conversations to get her quest. After you have her quest and have completed it, you can use the Nug to regain the approval points that you lost, and then initiate the romance with her. For more information on this read her dossier in the Appendixes. Now do you remember that Suspicious Door we found earlier? Head over to that now.
Now when you click on the Suspicious Door, you have the option of inserting the bone token into the hole do that and the door unlocks. Opening the door zones you into the Hideout, where you encounter some guards and kill them since you do not know the password. It certainly was not Jarvia Sucks Eggs! Further into the Hideout you come to a crossroads of a sort, and two more thugs and a trap. Disarm the trap, kill the thugs, and go through the door here to fight more thugs. Inside this room is a chest and a journal to loot, as well as a wooden crate. The room on the other side of the hall has more thugs, and two more chests for you to loot. Go back to the hall and continue on to the next split, and fight more Carta Thugs, then clear and loot the rooms on either side. The chamber on the left has Elven Mercenaries in it, and Kanky's Common Box and a chest to loot. The chamber on the right has thugs, two chests and a crate. There is a Metal Door at the end of the hall past a left branch, and inside are more Carta Thugs for you to kill. This chamber branches into a T-shape, and there are lootable containers at either end of the T for you to loot. Double back to the left branch we ignored a minute ago and head into that chamber, taking out the thugs here. There is nothing for us to loot, so continue on through the door in the rear of this chamber, disarm the trap a little ways down the tunnel, and loot the pair of barrels on the side of the tunnel. Continue through another door to where the tunnel T's again and turn left, and go through the door ahead. There is a trap just inside this room for you to disarm, and thugs to kill. This is a cell room, and there is a dwarf named Leske locked up here who begs you to help him. Unlock and open his cell door, and release him. Now exit the cells and continue along the tunnel to the next chamber and fight. There are five barrels to loot here and more enemy further in, as well as three traps for you to disarm. In the very back of this chamber are three more barrels, Jammer's Common Box, and a crate for you to loot, before taking the door here to the next tunnel along the way. At the end of this short tunnel is another chamber and fight, four barrels and Pique's Common Box for you to loot, and another door to go through but this door does not lead into yet another tunnel, it opens on a hall! We are getting closer to our destination, mate! The door on the left leads to the Carta Bestiary, where they breed and house the rhino-like creatures that they use as pets (?) and there are thugs for you to kill here and a half-dozen containers to loot. The door on the right leads to a tunnel with some giant spiders in it, and has a chest for you to loot. At the end of the hall is a Metal Door, and as you approach it, you get a checkpoint save.
Inside this chamber is Jarvia and some of her minions and as you approach, she gives you the 4-1-1 according to Jarvia! No matter what you say, there is going to be a fight, and while you are fighting do the best that you can to avoid the traps that are placed in the chamber, right? You may find that this fight goes better if you take out the archers before you take out the melee types, but YMMV on this. Once you have the minions pared down, take out Jarvia. Be sure that you loot here after you disarm the traps that you did not set off during the fight. Jarvia has some decent loot on her and the Carta Key, which you are going to need later. Now that all of the looting is done, use repair kits on any of your injuries (if you have any) and check your kit to see if any of the items you picked up are better than the ones you and your party are kitted out with if so, swap them in. When you have done all that, it is time to move on! The Metal Door on the right in the back of this chamber contains two chests to loot one of which has one of the Love Letters we are collecting. Once you have looted those, head to the other side of the chamber and unlock the other Metal Door with the key you now have, and head into this tunnel to the exit which leads into the Carta Shop. where you encounter a very freaked out Janar. Basically he says he did not know about the tunnel and has nothing to do with Jarvia I believe him! You may want to sell off a lot of the loot that you picked up in the Hideout here, to clear the slots in your bag by the time I got to this point I was full and there were items I had to leave rather than loot and that is never a good thing! With that done, we can now exit back into the Commons again! Now would be a good time to visit the Chantry that now exists thanks to us I am not sure if you need to visit here in order to get the 100% exploration Achievement but it will not hurt and if you do, why, so you did! Talk to Brother Burkel to receive his thanks again, and then exit the Chantry and head for the entrance to the Proving Grounds. Head through the connecting tunnel inside and talk to Fixer Gredin, who will attack you! Kill him and his minions, then loot the Fixer to recover the book that was stolen from the Shaperate. Now exit back into the Commons, along the other side, and take the door to the Diamond Quarter. As you head to the Shaperate you are set upon by another group of Bhelen Fanatics kill them and then enter the Shaperate and speak with Shaper Assistant Milldrate, who is happy to see the book you are returning. This completes that quest.
Exit the Shaperate and head towards the door to the Commons again, but on the left as you get closer there is a dwarven warrior named Loilinar, who you should stop and talk to. He will tell you about Oghren, and give you some further information about Bronka, who it turns out is his wife. Head back into Dust Town and battle the Jarvia Supporters at the other end of town, which wraps up that end of the quest. Now head back to the Diamond Quarter and speak with Harrowmont or Bhelen if that is who you aligned with and you will learn about the mission that they now have for you in the Deep Roads. When they finish speaking, you will get the quests An Anvil of the Void, and A Paragon of Her Kind which is the next phase of this quest line. Now exit the Estate/Palace and then exit back into the Commons, turn right and head to the entrance to the Mines. This is also the entrance for the Deep Roads, which is where you want to be!
As you approach the entrance to the Mines, you meet with the dwarf Oghern, who is looking for the Grey Warden. In the conversation that ensues, you learn what Branka was looking for the Anvil of the Void and Oghern is added to your party! Good on ya! That is one more of the party members required for the Achievement. Once you accept him, you get the party build menu I dropped Sten and added Oghern and now you are ready to enter the Deep Roads! As you move past the guards you will see a Rune Plate on the ground click that for a Codex Entry and then click on the door to enter the Underground Map. Our first destination is the Aeducan Thaig, which we will be running to pick up items and a little XP before beginning the quest proper. This is a linear path, and when you reach the first junction you will fight a group of Darkspawn. After you defeat them, loot the broken rock in the alcove and the bodies, and then continue on the path. At the next junction you fight another group, and there are two chests to loot, and another fractured stone. The West path here is actually blocked off, but you want to go into it because there is a Bloody Bag there that you will loot a Bag of Limbs from this is a Plot item and also has a Codex Entry. Once you have that, retrace your steps and continue on. In the next large chamber you will fight more Darkspawn, loot more containers, and then continue on through the tunnels, where you will get jumped by two different packs of Deep Stalkers. When you reach the very end of the tunnel a third pack of Deep Stalkers will attack, and then you can loot the items that are here. Now turn around and retrace your steps west to the last junction and take the west branch and follow that down and around to a large chamber and another pack of Deep Stalkers. Continue West and fight more Deep Stalkers, and then you will pass over a stone bridge into the ruins of an ancient Dwarven town. Loot this area and then continue into the tunnel on the other side, and fight yet another pack of Deep Stalkers! Head through the tunnel and around the bend to fight a small group of Darkspawn and you will have come full-circle through the tunnels and be back in the first chamber that we visited. After you clean this last area out, you have exhausted this zone, so head back to the Underground Map, and select Caridin's Cross. According to your new Dwarven companion, this used to be one of the biggest crossroads in the Deep Roads, and you used to be able to get almost anywhere from here. I don't know about that, but hey, as long as it takes us where we need to go, I say happy-happy-joy-joy! As you move forward into the Crossroads you encounter some of Bhelen's hired goons and kill them! Ahead in the roads there are two tunnels that branches off to the right and the left ignore the first one (on the right) and head to the end where the cave-in blocks the road and take the tunnel to the left. As you progress into this tunnel you will encounter a lone Deep Stalker who will lure you back into a larger chamber where there is a pack to fight. After you kill the pack you should spot a Small Bloody Sack you can loot to get a Head in a Bag (Plot Item) do that then continue along the south tunnel to fight more Deep Stalkers. There is a Rune Stone with a Codex Entry here, and a fractured rock to loot, and then we continue along the western tunnel to reach the continuation of the roads on the other side of the cave-in. You will encounter a group of darkspawn here including some of their rhino monster pets and after you defeat the group, you should loot their bodies and the lootables in this immediate area and then, for simplicity, backtrack to the original road and go down the tunnel that branched off to the left that we passed before. Both of these tunnel and chamber areas eventually lead to the same place, but for the purposes of organization it makes more sense to clear them in one direction. Once you are back to the main road, take that left tunnel and head in to find a large chamber with darkspawn in it. There are a lot of enemy here and it is a large chamber, but if you take your time and remember to heal, you will easily beat them. Once they are dead and you have looted the area, head over the large rock bridge and disarm the traps at the other end, and then take out the group of darkspawn ahead, including an Ogre! Loot the bodies and the containers in this area, then continue along the Southern tunnel, to a section of the roads a little further down but on the other side of the cave-in. To the right is a link to the Underground Map (Deep Roads) near here is a rubble pile with a Codex Entry so make sure you grab that, and on the other side of the road is a statue that has a Codex Entry. Click on that, and then turn left and head for the junction that we already cleared, take out the darkspawn and disarm the trap on the way. As you can see there is a tunnel splitting off to the right and at the junction as you continue heading east you will see that the road goes on and turns South. We will follow the road South here and at the bend you will spy a Glass Phylactery might as well pick it up and spawn the Revenant we did all the others right? Make sure you loot his scrap of paper (plot item), and then continue along the bend south, and you will see a tunnel splitting off to the left this layout is starting to make sense now, right? Ignore it for now and keep going South and you will see a tunnel split to the right as well, and at the very end of the road is the zone entrance to Ortan Thaig! Right, we know where it is now, so let us ignore it, turn around, and take the first tunnel split we come to, which will be on our left now. After a few twists and turns we are attacked by some demons who we kill and then we see that there is a junction ahead. As we take the small right path we encounter an Ogre Alpha! Let's kill it! At the end of this short branch is a fractured stone which we loot and now backtrack to the tunnel junction again and continue to the other side to loot another fractured stone before stepping back into the tunnel and continuing along it. In the chamber ahead we encounter more darkspawn and kill them and loot the bodies. The Emissary has a Codex Entry, and there are two containers to be looted, before we continue along the tunnel and exit back onto the Roads. Head back to the main junction until we reach the other tunnel splitting off of the Roads that we have yet to explore, and enter it. As you reach the chamber mind the traps and take out the darkspawn and then circle around the center column to find another Small Bloody Sack. This one has a Torso in a Bag in it which we grab. Grabbing this last bag triggers the quest Asunder read the quest description for a clue to this one now, and then finish looting this area. Continue along the tunnel to the next chamber to fight a pack of Deep Stalkers, until you find and defeat the Deepstalker Matriarch in the nesting area. Loot the area and then backtrack to the Road. Depending upon how full your bags are, you may want to backtrack to the Deep Roads (Underground Map) zone point and head back to Orzammer to sell off your loot I did that before continuing on. You can do that using the nearby zone point for Ortan Thaig, and note that you can visit your camp from here by hitting Y for the overland map. In fact visiting your camp may be a good idea if only to distribute the gifts and other items you want your non-active party members to have. This also allows the party member quests to update. As you arrive, Oghren observes that he never thought to see this place again and mentions some of the tactics used by his wife including the fact that she would have posted sentries which means she probably is not near here. If you ask him, he will tell you about these ruins and if you are completely tactless (like me) you will ask what if his wife is dead? Completing this conversation gets you a Codex Entry. Head along the Road and around the bend, and you will encounter a dead Ogre where a tunnel splits off to the right. As the road ahead is blocked by a cave-in, that tunnel is our only route and who killed that Ogre I wonder? Let us head into the tunnel now! As you move through the tunnel you encounter more darkspawn corpses and then some Giant Spiders that you get to kill. When you reach the large chamber ahead, a pack of Giant and Poisonous Spiders are attacking an Ogre we may as well let them take it out for us unless you really want the XP? After you take this group out, there is a second group fighting darkspawn to the west take them all out. Loot the area and the bodies, and then head East to the alcove here, where you will find a Warrior's Grave loot it for a Codex Entry, and then head back West to the alcove there and take out the darkspawn, and loot the chest here. Now we are ready to continue North along the next tunnel! As you follow this tunnel there is a branch to the right with some Giant Spiders take it and kill them note that this tunnel split will take us to the same main chamber that the one we just left would but we got to kill the spiders here so bonus! Note the multiple arrows on the radar map now? Isn't questing fun? In this main chamber there are ruins and some Indignant Spirits, along with a Stone Golem. Kill them all, and then begin looting the area. When you approach the nearby chest Giant Spiders attack so you have to kill them before you can loot it. As you move towards the arrow to the South a dwarven warrior will run past towards the North tunnel screaming. When you approach him he tells you that there is nothing here for you because he has claimed it!
According to your expert dwarf, this is a scavenger who has gone crazy because he survived by eating dead darkspawn. As the madman finishes his warning, more Spiders attack. After you take out the Spiders, turn back South and move towards the arrow marked there on your radar map to get to this you will go between the two buildings, and then fight more spirits and a Stone Golem. The arrow points to the Alter of Sundering and just in front of the alter is one of the Mystical Sites of Power. Activate the site, and then activate the alter and you are prompted to place one of the body parts on the alter! When you do this, a demon spawns and demands that you tell it whether you want vengeance or reward! I chose reward because let's face it, 25 gold is a lot better than a smidgen of XP and I don't plan on living in this hole in the ground, so what do I care of that demon is here? There is another arrow marker in this area on the map, but before we do that, grab the Journal on the stairs nearby us, and then let's go into the North tunnel and hit the arrow marker there. Inside the North tunnel we find the crazy dwarf whose name is Ruck in what is clearly his home. Before we talk to him again, loot the Topsider's Pommel from the nearby vase, which will flag a new quest An Admirable Topsider. Now we talk to Ruck again and if you are persuasive and nice, you may be able to get him to trade with you. He has a gift you may want to buy... And when you talk to him again, you can let him know that his mother misses him which really upsets him. Ruck, it seems, does not want his mother knowing what he has turned into. I agreed to tell her that her son died a brave death which made Ruck happy and, bonus, gained some approval from Wynne as well. Right, now that takes care of this area so head back to the main chamber and turn right (West) and go to the nearby arrow marker. Inside a ruined structure is an Ortan Thaig Chest loot that to obtain the Ortan Records a quest item then head across the bridge and into the Western tunnel. As you run along the tunnel the Spiders here retreat strange and as the tunnel opens up into a chamber there is a chest to loot on the left. As you approach the bridge ahead you get a checkpoint save usually not a good sign and as you reach the opposite side the Spiders spring their ambush! There is a darkspawn Emissary here as well.
As you approach the spot marked by the arrow you are again set upon by Spiders including their Queen, who is hard to kill because she retreats up her web after being hurt. Eventually you kill her though, and once she is dead, loot the area and then head for the marked spot to find some chests and Branka's Journal! In it she relates that they have determined that the Anvil does not rest here and that she is ordering her men to head South into the Dead Trenches. They are not happy about that however, and she almost but does not leave a message for her husband. He on the other hand wants to head for the Dead Trenches immediately! Well, we are now done searching this area, so he will not have to wait. Head a little more Northeast and here is the zone point and our next stop, The Dead Trenches!
Our arrival in the Trenches begins with a cinematic CS in which we see an army of creatures, and then a large dragon! Once the CS is over, move forward and to the right to encounter a group of dwarven Legionnaires fighting some darkspawn rush to their aid and help them to kill the darkspawn, and then we fight our way across the bridge facing waves of darkspawn. Once on the other side we take on a larger force with an Ogre, and after we defeat them, we head South to loot the two containers and then to the North, and into the tunnel there, for a checkpoint save. There are darkspawn for us to kill in the tunnel, before it opens on a large chamber and yet more darkspawn to be killed! Now head to the Metal Door on the North side of the chamber and clear out this smaller sub-chamber, and then loot it. Before you head out to the South side, and open the Metal Door there to do the same clear out the small chamber on the right as you approach the South door. Once this chamber is cleared and looted, return to the main chamber. Now head through the door to the South and clear the first few rooms than off of this chamber are some tunnels with an Ancient darkspawn in them that can be something of a challenge to kill but you have it in you, right? Make sure that you loot the Topsider's Blade from the Ancients body after you kill him. This tunnel leads to a very large chamber full of darkspawn including a Genlock Forge Master who can be a bit on the difficult side to kill. Once you have defeated them, carefully loot the area, and do not forget the smaller chamber on the East side. Once you have done all that, head through the hall to the North, and head across the bridge there killing the Shrieks that attack you. Keep heading North and go through the Metal Door at the end of this chamber. There is a Rune Stone on the right side of this small chamber, and then a checkpoint save as you move into the larger chamber beyond, where you battle undead skeletons. If you look at the map you will see that the path continues to the east but make sure you loot the bodies/room before you continue on.
Eventually you reach a chamber that has a dwarven woman named Hespith, who is infected with some sort of disease. As you talk to her, you learn that she was Branka's Captain and it seems that Branka did something bad became something bad! As you leave this smaller chamber and enter the really large one, curve around to the left and take out the Ogres there, and then run along the perimeter of the chamber, looting as you go. Once you finish that, check the center door on the east side the Ominous Door but it is locked, so now head for the next one to the South on the East side. While the door looks similar to the Ominous one, it is not locked, and inside are gold glowing statues of dwarven warriors. At the center of this chamber is a Legion of the Dead Relic click on it for a Codex Entry and then continue to the Legionnaire Alter further along. Loot that to get the key and the Helm, and then retrace your steps to the Ominous Door. Once you loot the alter and try to head out, the statues come to life and attack you! It turns out that they are Legionnaire Spirits, and they are not happy that you helped your self to their stuff! The key from the alter unlocks the door and as you move along these halls, be sure to loot as you go for Codex Entries. You get a checkpoint save and shortly thereafter a CS in which you see your group moving through the tunnel until you encounter a nasty looking monster called a Broodmother and it has tentacles! During this fight you need to keep an eye on your party health, because once your mage runs out of mana you will need to use healing potions to keep them alive. Towards the end of the fight with the Broodmother, some demons spawn and if you do not notice this, you could lose a party member. The next zone point is right off of this chamber, so when you are ready, hit it to go to the Anvil of the Void!
As you enter the zone your entrance is blocked off, and Branka confronts you. The happy reunion that you might have expected is not what you find here Branka is slightly unbalanced and in no way interested in your problems. According to Branka, the only way out of here is through Caridin's Maze a maze of traps that is what has kept her from obtaining that which she desires most. As you head into the chambers you will face several waves of darkspawn, and it is best off if you allow your mage to recover their mana prior to spawning the next wave. The third wave in the tunnel includes an Ogre.
When you reach the end of this tunnel you get another checkpoint save as you enter a large chamber with green wispy glowing mist. Your party is taking damage just by being in the room, so quickly close the four gas valves on either side of the room and then take out the Golems as quick as you can. As you move into the next chamber you get another checkpoint save, and you enter a chamber with Stone Golems and Blade Traps. You need to disarm those traps before passing over them! As you pass some of the Golems they come to life and attack you keep an eye on your party health, and once you have defeated the Golems, head through the next hall to the Metal Door that leads to the next chamber. As you pass through this door you get a checkpoint save, and you see a Spirit near the anvil on the dais. You need to kill that spirit and then touch the anvil to have it shoot flaming magma at the stone thing in the center that has many faces. Every few moments the stone faces will rotate, at which point you want to shoot more magma into them to damage it. To actually kill it, you want to take out the glowing eyes on each face, and then the bleeding eyes on each face.
Basically the eyes spawn a spirit, and once you kill the spirit, the anvil charges up for the side that that spirit was spawned on, then you can damage the face that spawned it. Keep doing this until you "kill" the faces on all sides twice. Note: There are two achievements associated with this part of the quest one for siding with Branka, the other for siding with Caridin. If you want them both without having to do another play-through, now is when you need to make a save. I suggest picking whoever it is you do not want to support first, getting that Achievement, then loading the save and going with the one you do want to support so you can continue on. As you head to the door out to the West there are three chests for you to loot that have supplies in them, and as you step through the door you get a checkpoint save, and then step into the chamber for a CS during which you meet Caridin the Golem?! As Caridin talks, you learn that the Anvil actually uses living souls in the process of creating the Golems and is clearly not the purely mechanical process that legend claimed! This is clearly evil it is almost as bad as the darkspawn and then Caridin admits that they did not just use volunteers! They forced unwilling dwarves onto the Anvil! When Caridin resisted the King, he was himself forced onto the Anvil and his reaction to this was to seal the Anvil away to keep it from being used again. As you learn this, Branka runs in, to claim the Anvil, while Caridin protests that it must not be used! Be aware that the "good" members of your party want that thing destroyed...
Supporting Caridin is the "Good" choice in this moral path, and it means that you agree with your party members while it would be nice to have an army of Golems, the moral cost is just too high! Once you pick the option: The Anvil must be destroyed, it enslaves living souls, Branka is pretty much pissed at you. Her husband wants you to give Branka the Anvil but you tell him you cannot, it is not a risk you are willing to take! That is the pivot-point, and Branka uses a Control Rod that she has found somewhere to take control of some of the Golems. Caridin appeals to you to assist him in defeating Branka and of course you do! Unfortunately defeating Branka means killing her and her husband is not going to like that very much... But you do what you have to do for the good of all, not for the good of one. After Branka is slain, talk to Caridin for a CS and he asked you if there is anything that he can do to help you and you tell him you need a Paragon's assistance and he offers to make you a Paragon's Crown that you can then use to select the new King! You get the CS of Caridin forging the crown, and then he hands it to you. Now is the time to destroy the Anvil and once it is destroyed you get a final CS with Caridin, and then he throws himself into the lava! You get the Liberator Achievement and now you should save the game here, and then skip to the Orzammer II Section! To support Branka which means preserving the Anvil will cost you the good faith of some of your party and this is clearly not the "Good" choice. Once you make that choice however, you will have to fight Caridin and his Golem minions! Some of the Golems fight with you, some against you, but eventually you will take Caridin down, and Branka will make her insane victory cackle. Now you need to go to Branka and talk to her you are treated to a CS of her and her husband talking and then Branka fabricates a crown for you using the Anvil. Choose the option for her to make a Paragon's Crown and then sit back for the CS of her creating the crown. After she finishes and gives you the crown, save your game and go to the Orzammer II Section. Before you zone to Orzammer, make sure you loot the chest nearby as it has a gift and some good items in it. To the right as you step off of the ramp is a rust-colored construct called the Golem Registry go over to it and use it to examine the list of names engraved on it. Oghren says that you should make a tracing of this memorial record to take back to the Shapers and doing so flags a new quest The Golem Registry. As you exit the chamber you get a CS and interaction with Oghren and then the Zone Map opens. Now before you choose to go directly to Orzammer remember that quest we are doing to collect the Topsider's Sword Parts? Well, we have them all, so now would be a good time to return them to his grave, right? That way we will not have to come back. On the map, select Ortan Thaig, and then follow the arrow to the grave and click on it to complete the quest. Now talk to Oghren to have him bring up the Underground Map and select Orzammar yeah, you do not have to run all the way to the Zone Point, is that cool or what? Okay you saved the game before zoning to Orzammer, right? I hope you did, because this is another point in the game where you make a moral decision that has two possible Achievements associated with it! As long as you saved, you have the option of picking up both Achievements so I hope you saved, as otherwise you will have to do a second long play-through! When you arrive at the Assembly you announced that Caridin has chosen the new King Bhelen gets real nasty after Oghren has his say, but his tune changes quickly when he hears you call his name! After accepting the crown and becoming King, the first thing that the little jerk does is order the execution of Harrowmont! Well, we never liked him anyway but if you did and you chose him all that is left is for you to remind him of the treaty so that he can get his troops ready to march to fight the Blight and then you leave for the topside.
This is the path that I personally chose because it is the right thing to do! As you enter the Assembly, Bhelen calls for a vote, and Harrowmont vows that he promised Bhelen's father not to allow Bhelen to take the throne! The Assembly Leader calls for you to speak to give them the news. Our answer? "I bear a crown from Paragon Caridin for his chosen king!" Oghren tells them what happened with Caridin and where the crown comes from, and Bhelen insults you both. The Assembly Leader however, believes, and asks who Caridin chose? Why he chose Harrowmont, of course! Lord Harrowmont err excuse me King Harrowmont thanks you, and you get a nice CS of his becoming King! Of course he has the popular support of the people, but not of Bhelen, and as you stand there in shock, Bhelen and his minions attempt a coup! I have to admit that I very much enjoyed killing Bhelen it was his just deserts after all. King Harrowmont has some final words for you, among them his vow that Orzammar will honor the Treaty. Most excellent! Harrowmont gives you his staff as your reward and of course you should be sure to do a little looting now :) Despite the fact that we told him that we needed to head to the surface and get on with our duties, there are some things we need to wrap up here in Orzammar first, so let us head for the Diamond Quarter. Take a left after we exit and visit the Shaperate, where we need to talk first to the Shaper, to deliver the Tracings, and then to Orta in the stacks nearby, to give her the evidence we recovered. A quick return to the Assembly to finish off this quest by talking to Orta again, and then back to the Diamond Quarter, and then to the Commons. Run over and talk to Filda on the other side of the Commons you can lie, but I cannot I told her the truth. You get a reward, and another quest completed! We now have one last monor task to complete, so head over to the Mines District Zone Point, and select the Ferelden Map, and then the Circle Tower.
Our journey is interrupted by a bad dream in camp yes this is a combat interrupt! Alistair talks about the Arch Demon having "seen us" and then demons attack. We get a closing CS from him, and since we are in camp anyway, we may as well apply the skill-ups that our non-active party members got for leveling. Check the kit we have in loot in case any of it is better than what they are presently wearing, and also distribute gifts before hitting the World Map! As we approach the Tower we are once again forced into combat as a Darkspawn ambush is sprung! We quickly take them out and resume our trip, arriving at the Tower! When we arrive at the Tower, go inside and talk to First Enchanter Irving and pass on the message from the little dwarven girl. He takes a little convincing, but he finally agrees to accept her if she chooses to try. Now we hit the World Map and return to Orzammer to deliver the good news! Dagna is very pleased indeed and the last quest we have for here is completed! Now that we have left Orzammer and returned, other items have opened up on our to-do list. Head over to the Diamond Quarter and enter the Assembly collect your reward from Orta and head over to the Royal Palace. then the the Royal Estate and find Vartag and talk to him. He will attack you kill him and his minions to clear out the Palace for Harrowmont. Enter the door nearby and then the first door on the left Bhelen's room and get the letter that is on the table in there for a Codex Entry. Go down the hall to the door on the right and go in to have another fight and kill Ambassador Gainley to complete the Crow's Assassination Order. On a desk in this room is a book pick that up for a Codex Entry. Leave the room and turn right, and then enter the next chamber on the right to talk to the Herbalist by the bed in the back he gives you a recipe for the cure and we likely have all the items we need to make it, but this requires the Master Herbalism skill so if you do not have that, you have to come back when you do, to make and deliver the cure. As I already had it, I completed the quest. Did you? We are finished in Ozammar now so it is time to leave and head back to Denerim to turn in the quests that we have for there! First we hit the Mage's Collecting to turn in the quest Notice of Termination, then we stop off at Wade's to pick up the second set of Drake Scale Armor the one we paid an extra 20 gold to get top quality in and switch out to that armor now :) Next we hit the Tavern, and visit the Blackstone Irregulars to turn in the quest Dereliction of Duty, then we visit with the Bartender to turn in the gems and collect our reward from him. Next we visit the very circumspect representative of The Crows to collect our reward and another Hit Contract from him! Back in the Market District, then the the City Map, and to the Dirty Back Alley. Head to the door marked "Quaint Hovel" and engage the dialogue until the door is unlocked, and then enter to find Vihl the man who has been spreading stories... Only he is not a man! He is a Demon! Time to kill! That was actually a pretty tough fight! In the back room is a chest, and in that chest is an Elementalist's Grasp, an Emerald, a piece of Quarts and almost 10 gold! A nice bit of loot to be sure! Make sure you loot the body of Gaxkang the Unbound it has the Keening Blade and 5 more gold on it and you have now completed the quest Unbound! Back into the Dirty Back Alley and the City Map and you will notice the new location marked on the map Ransom Drop Location. We head there now! Ransom Drop Location - As we arrive at the meeting spot, the battle commences! It turns out that there was no hostage to rescue and the Crow thugs have nothing for you we have to see our contact back at the Tavern to resolve the matter it seems. So it is back to the Market District and the Tavern, and our contact claims that the boy has already been rescued and the kidnapper Captain Chase is dead thanks to us. Well, that is it for the Crows, no more contracts for us! As we finish the conversation our contact heads off on "vacation" and we have completed yet another quest! How cool is that? It is now time to take care of Morrigan's personal quest and head for her mother's house, so hit the World Map now. Flemeth's Hut When we arrive in Redcliffe Village we learn from Tomas that demons have been attacking the Village every night from the Castle! Many of the villagers are dead, and those that are left alive need you help. After the CS, Tomas takes us to Bann Teagan, who not only recognizes Alistair but is happy to see him! More important than that, Bann does not believe the lies that Loghain has been spreading about the Grey Wardens. That is certainly a relief. Bann explains that his brother the Arl is very ill, and there has been no contact with the Castle since the attacks began days ago. After the conversation ends you get a quest update and the approval of your party. Now before we head out, let us do a bit of looting to pick up the three Codex Entries here from two books and a bookshelf, and then speak with Jetta and deliver the news that her family is dead, which completes the quest Last Will. On the way out of the Chantry stop and talk to Kaitlyn (she has a "!" over her head) to hear her story and then agree to help her thus flagging the quest A Missing Child. Outside talk to Murdoch he is a male chauvinist so if your character is female expect to be insulted. This updates the quest 'A Village Under Siege.' Now head up the hill towards the Windmill and talk to Ser Perth. Go inside the Windmill and loot the crate in there it has one of the letters we are collecting and then exit. Let's head out to do what Ser Perth asked of us speak to the Revered Mother to get God's help in the fight but before we do that, look to the left on the way down the hill for a white flower Andraste's Grace that is a gift item. Once you have collected that, head down the hill and over the stone bridge, and immediately turn left as you leave the bridge you see the wooden walkway leading to that house there? Right, go into the house, where you will find Dernal Garrison the last one on our list for the Blackstone Irregulars quest 'Scraping the Barrel.' That wraps up another quest but we still have one to complete for the Irregulars here in Redcilffe 'Notices of Death.' The bookshelf by the bed has a Codex Entry, and there is a chest in the back room that has supplies in it you can loot. Once you have done that, exit the house and head to the Southwest corner of the area where you will find a boat under construction. There is a Deathroot plant here you can loot, and if you head along the left side of the boat forms and up the path here, it loops around to the roof of this lean-to and two containers for you to loot. Retrace your steps and head down the hill to the village center, staying to the left. First we visit the Blacksmith Shop where we find that the Smith himself is very depressed and does not feel up to having visitors, even a Grey Warden! Ask if he is Owen the Blacksmith, and then persuade him to let you in. He says he does not want trouble, and then unlocks the door for you. Say, why is it that when people say that they do not want trouble, it usually means they are willing to give you trouble? Telling Owen that the militia needs his help prompts him to tell you the story of his daughter which gives you the opportunity for some quid-pro-quo, something that we are pretty good at! Offering to rescue his daughter is the ticket, and now that you have given him hope, he is willing to reopen the Smithy once you remind him about the militia and its needs. Once you make your promise, Owen gets to work, and we can check the crate in the corner to reveal a hidden trapdoor. Owen opens the trapdoor for you and now you can loot it but he was right, it is mostly old gear. Before you leave, talk to Owen again and tell him you want to do business which puts you in his shop mode. Sell off anything you do not need, and then exit the shop.
Grab the Deathroot and loot the chest that are behind the Blacksmith Shop, and then walk over to Murdoch (marked on the map) and talk to him. You get a CS of his assessment of the situation and he tells you that he will send one of his men with the news. You have a Persuasion opportunity here you may as well use it gets you closer to the Achievement and may make him feel a little better. Ask him if there is anything else that you can do, and Murdoch will tell you that they need more help, and then mentions Dwyn. Right, that is our next stop then! Take the wooden steps between the buildings just past Murdoch to get to Dwyn's Home. Knocking does not do any good he is ignoring the door it seems so picking the lock is probably the way to go, since breaking down the door would send the wrong message. Intimidation is the way to go here, and a blunt approach, but in the end you get Dwyn to join the militia, so it is all good, and now it is time to move on! Follow the walkway outside to the left and visit the General Store, and loot it. There is a book with a Codex Entry on the floor and a chest in the corner, as well as some barrels of lamp oil. When you are finished here, exit and head to the left along the next walkway to Kaitlyn's Home. After you enter loot the book that is on the chest ahead of you, then go into the small bedroom on this level, where you hear a noise. Someone is hiding in the clothes closet a young man with a secret! Use the persuasion option to learn about his father's sword which is in a chest in his father's room. Persuade him to give you the key to the chest, after which he heads back to the Chantry which is our next destination after we wrap things up here! Now that we have the key, head up the stairs to the Second Level, open the chest here and loot the Green Blade. This is actually not a bad blade at all, though it would help to have some runes added to it to give it more effectiveness, right? Loot the bookshelf in this room for a Codex Entry, and then head back downstairs and out to the Village. Around the back of the Chantry is a Deathroot Plant if you want to loot that, and inside you will find Kaitlyn who you should talk to. She is happy that you found her brother, and you let her know that you have her Grandfather's sword. Being the all-around nice person that I am, I had to pay her for the sword and 500 silver is the least I could do! Irenia is standing nearby on the right, and when you talk to her you deliver the last of the letters for the Death Notice Quest, which wraps up our obligation to the Blackstone Irregulars quite nicely! Now head further into the Chantry and to the left, where you will find Mother Hannah standing by some children.
She is observant and thankful, and gives you a quick summary of the situation. When you tell her what Ser Perth wants, she explains that she does not have anything that she can give him even remotely equal to what he wants, and you have another opportunity to use the persuade skill. She gives you the Holy Symbols that she has and asks that you give them to Ser Perth with her message and another leg of the quest is done! Bann Teagan is standing in the Chantry so we may as well say hello asking him about himself gets you another opportunity to persuade, and the chance to learn what he has been doing and what he plans to do. That wraps up what we have to do in the Chantry now we should pay a visit to the Tavern nearby, as there is more work for us to do there! Head up the hill to the door to the Tavern and go in. The first thing we want to do is talk to the militiamen sitting at the table in the corner, to learn that they are very upset with the Tavern Keeper. What they want is some free ale and you can help them! Read the graffiti on the bar for a Codex Entry, and then talk to Lloyd, who is not happy with the fact that business is down. It seems to me that some of these people are just not in touch with the level of peril they are facing... You can easily intimidate him into him into joining the militia, but before you do that, talk to him about the militiamen and he replies with a garrulous refusal giving you the opportunity to use your power of persuasion to change his mind! Now that you have that quest updated, go ahead and intimidate him into helping to defend the village. Now talk to Bella, who is now in charge of the Tavern. If you ask for supplies she goes into shop mode, but the stuff she is selling is free. Grab the gift she has Wine which you can give to Oghern who does like his booze. You may as well take all that she has, since it is free, right? The elf in the corner that we asked Owen about Berwick is our next task, but when we say hello he gets all shifty on us. This is starting to feel like an episode of Cops to me. As you interrogate him, his responses clearly indicate that something is not right here... As the dialogue progresses you have the opportunity to either intimidate or persuade and speaking of that... The Achievements for intimidating and persuading are based upon the number of successes that you have at either five each for the first Achievement, and then 10 for the second intimidation one, but 25 for the second persuasion Achievement. That makes sense considering that there are a lot more persuasion opportunities than there are intimidation ones but if you read the section on Orzammer you know that there is a bugged interaction in Dust Town that will let you get the intimidate Achievements all in one go. That being the case, you should probably be concentrating on persuading successes. As the discussion progresses we learn that Berwick was hired by Loghain's advisor he is not here waiting for his brother, and other than his initial report of the Arl's illness, Berwick has been unable to file any further reports. According to the Elf, he knows nothing about the creatures, but he wonders if the people who hired him knew that the Arl would get sick. He has a letter with instructions for you to read, and then you have to make a decision kill the spy, make him leave the village, or force him to help defend it. Depending upon who is in your party, there is a good chance that one of your warrior types is going to want to kill Berwick but you will have the option of persuading them to accept your decision if you like. As I am mostly good, I want Berwick to help defend the village after all he is an Elf and an archer, he could make a contribution. Berwick says he will help and by my count that makes three warm bodies we have contributed to the defense of the Village! Now that we have done all that there is to do in the Tavern, it is time to return to Murdoch and give him the good news. Murdoch seems a little happier than he was or maybe just not as annoyed as he was earlier, I cannot tell. You can tell him you are ready to wait for the attack now but before you do that, there are a few small chores we want to take care of. First, head up the hill to the windmill and talk to Ser Perth, who is relieved that you were able to get him some additional protection. Be sure that you mention the barrels of oil that you found in the Village Store to Ser Perth, as he was unaware of that resource. Finishing the conversation with him updates the quest, and at this point we are in theory ready to take on the monsters from the castle, sort of. I say sort of because while we could jump right in, it might be a good idea to head back to the World Map and visit your camp. While you are in camp you can pass out any armor and weapons you are holding for inactive party members, give whatever gifts you have to give, and deposit the extra supplies that you have been collecting for the coalition troops in the crate by the coalition representatives. Don't forget to upgrade the stats for any who have leveled, and have your social conversations with all of them to make sure that all are up-to-date. Note: the conversations that you have with your party members in camp and in the field are what trigger the availability of some skill and ability upgrades, and both trigger and in some cases progress their personal quests, so this is something that you should be doing on a routine basis. Oh and do not forget to play with your dog! He needs love too! If you have not asked Leliana to tell you her Bard Stories you should they fill in a lot of backstory on some of what we have been doing. Sten does not have much to day ever so if you have asked the basic questions that you can ask, his menu will be empty. Finally we want to go and see Sandal to swap in new or better Runes for our weapons. With that done, it is time to return to Redcliffe Village and see Ser Perth, and tell him that we are ready to make our stand here! At nightfall a fog descends and the undead surge down open valley that leads to the castle. Wave after wave of the walking dead attack from the valley, and after you kill quite a few a runner from the town comes to alert you that the monsters are now attacking from the lake! Your help is needed in town so you leave the knights to hold the pass while you rush down to help defend against the attack from the lake! Once you reach the center of town you face more waves of undead, and while it seems like they will never end, eventually they do! Now talk to Murdoch and you get a CS in which dawn has come, the town is defended, and you are honored. Bann Teagan offers you the Helm of Ser Ferris as your reward for standing to fight with them and of course you thank him and accept it, because hey, we deserve a reward! The Revered Mother offers a prayer and a blessing, and then Bann Teagan announces that it is time to attack the castle, now that the undead forces have been thinned out. He orders you to meet him at the Windmill, where you can talk further but before we head up there, drop by the Blacksmith and sell off the stuff we looted from the undead. Now before we continue on with this quest line, there are some minor tasks we can finish up! If you look to the left of the Chantry entrance you will see that the Blackstone Irregulars have sent a representative to Redcliffe. Excellent! Talk to him to turn in the quest 'Notices of Death' and collect your reward, leaving 'Scraping the Barrel' as our only quest for them at the moment, and that one we cannot finish until we gain access to the Alienage in Denerim. If you target the chest next to him, there is a new quest available called 'Grease the Wheels' that we can claim might as well! This quest is to deliver notes to the five hooded couriers in Denerim I knew that they were there for a reason! Since Alistair has asked us to help him look up the sister he did not know he had and since she lives in Denerim we will head there in a moment. Now let's talk to Tomas to hear of his plans, and after he takes off head over to the nearby Doomsayer, who we need to calm down because he is freaking out the locals. You get a chance to use persuade with him so do that. Say, wasn't he in Lothering earlier? Go to Dwyn's and say hello and learn a little more about how he ended up in Redcliffe, and then head over to the Chantry. There is a Chanter standing by the Chantry Board so let's say hello to her and then check the Board and yes! There are more quests! Grab them all they are: (1) Caravan Down (2) Brothers and Sons (3) Unintended Consequences Enter the Chantry and say hello to the Revered Mother, and then Murdoch, who is still seriously in need of some anti-depressants! Kaitlyn is by the door say hello to her and get thanked once again. You learn that she is going to use the money you gave her for her Grandfather's sword to pay to travel to Denerim well good for her! Next stop is the Tavern on the hill, where we say hello to Lloyd, the militiamen, and overhear some gossip about us from the gossips. Last we say hello to Bella again, and then exit the Tavern and head up the hill to the World Map. Our first destination is the one marked "Battlefield." On the way to the Battlefield we will get a combat interruption a caravan that has been ambushed, and a group of Tricksters for us to kill! Loverly! A bit of XP, some loot, some supplies not bad for a few minutes work and now we hit the World Map to continue our journey! Ahead of us is a soldier's body that has a diary on it that gives us a quest update, and then we loot the battlefield until we are set upon by a wolf pack. Resume looting until another wolf pack attacks and kill them, and then loot some more until a Bear attacks a Bear?! Once you have finished looting, hit the World Map and select Caravan as our next destination. We arrive there with no trouble and are immediately attacked by Darkspawn! Looks like the Caravan has been knackered! Well, start looting after you kill the wave of Darkspawn, and when you have all you can get, head for the World Map. By the way, we have now completed all three of the quests, because we determined that the thing killing the merchants was something that got loose when we cleared the Circle of Mages Tower... At the World Map, select Denerim as our next destination. You know, we have been here so much that this is starting to feel like coming home every time we visit! First let's stop by the Chantry Board and turn in our quests then head in the direction of the Alienage and find the Hooded Courier standing on the side of the square. His client appreciates our generosity cool! If you have not already had the two suits of Drake Scale Armor made for you at Wade's Emporium, go ahead and drop in to order them. If he has already made you the second set, his counterman will tell you to get lost and stick the drake scales up your... Eh hem... Which means you have completed that side-quest and are not going to be getting any more armor made. Hit the World Map and visit The Pearl, where you will find the next Hooded Messenger in the lobby. Talk to him and then hit the map again and go to Dark Alley, talk to the Hooded Messenger there, and finally use the map to visit Rundown Back Street and see the Hooded Messenger there. The final Hooded Messenger is in the Alienage which we do not have access to yet so we are done with quests in Denerim for now. Hit the World Map and return to Redcliffe Village. Knight-Commander Harrith is standing next to the door to the Windmill go up and talk to him, to deliver the 10 Lyrium Potions for the Mage's Collective this updates the quest 'A Gift of Silence' which we can then turn in next time we are in Denerim. With that outstanding chore now complete, head over and talk to Bann Teagan, who is nearby. He relates that there is a secret passage in the mill that only his family knows about, and using that you can get into the castle. Nice! Your conversation is interrupted when a woman runs out from the castle and urges Teagan to come back into the castle with her alone with her! Lady Isolde describes what has happened that the man responsible for the raising of the undead was caught and punished, but that the attacks still take place. From what she says though, Teagan's nephew her son Connor may be part of this! Isolde explains that the Arl yet lives, and she then begs Teagan to come back to the castle with her, giving a disjointed story with few details to convince by. After she fails to give you useful information, you are certain that it is a trap, but Teagan vows to go anyway, saying that they are still his family and that he must help them if he can. While Isolde waits for him at the bridge, he tells you to use the secret passage and enter the castle while he accompanies his sister-in-law into the castle. The plan is for him to try to distract whatever it is in the castle while your party slips in unnoticed, and do whatever it is you can do to defeat it. Basically you are going to be winging it but hey, we have been winging it all along, right? Teagan gives you his signet ring which apparently will open doors in the castle. The last order he gives you is to concentrate on the Arl he is to be rescued at all costs, even if the rest of them must die. Yeah, doesn't sit well with me either but we are simply an arrow shot into the air, right? The quest is updated, we are given the ring, and we have already sold off our loot and checked our kit, all of our chores are done, so it is time we got on with this adventurer thing, right? The secret passage entrance is behind the main shaft, and not very well hidden by the straw scattered on the floor. I cannot believe we did not notice this last time we were here! I mean hey, we are Grey Wardens, it is not like this is the first secret passage entrance we have ever seen, right? Well, we see it now, so let's open that puppy up and claw our way through the narrow, rat-infested tunnel, open the door at the other end, and climb down into the guts of Castle Redcliffe, shall we? We end up in a hallway with a door at the other end, behind which the sounds of beasts are clearly heard. Wynne comments that at least the place does not seem to be much used whatever that means. There is only one direction to head in that does not involve a strategic retreat, so I guess we have to open that door, eh?
I knew it! Undead! After we kill them we hear a human talking it turns out we are in the dungeons! A quick inquiry reveals that the man is the mage who poisoned the Arl and he freely admits that but claims that he has had nothing to do with what came after that, and he does not know anything useful about it either. The mage admits that Loghain hired him to poison the Arl and then he admits that he is a Blood Mage! Wynne recognizes him apparently he was a mage in the Circle before he escaped to do his Blood Mage thing. As you question him further you learn that Connor is also a mage, and that Isolde is supporting her son's illegal magic studies. The plot thickens! If Connor is responsible chances are he did not cause this on purpose, but it does not help that Isolde has been covering his magic abilities up. The mage does not think that Connor knows enough to summon Fade creatures intentionally but admits that the boy is strong enough so that he could have done it accidentally. He wants to help us but accepting his help could cause you problems remember that Alistair is an ex-mage hunter, and Wynne is a member of the Circle. I offered to let him out if he would accompany us into the fray, and he declined, preferring to stay in his cell and wait so much for his wanting to atone for his misdeeds. Huh. Atone as long as he does not have to risk his skin! At the end of the conversation you pick up two more Codex Entries. In the next area there are lootable items a pile of filth, and a book on the floor that gives a Codex Entry. Once you reach the end of this section you trigger an undead spawn, so fight them off and then take the stairs to the Main Floor of the castle. You enter the area in an empty room, but when you step through the next door into the hall you face more undead. The large room across the hall has three demons and a book on a lectern that gives you another Codex Entry. Basically what you want to do here is go room-to-room, clearing the enemies and looting the lootables. Enter the armory and strip it bare, When you enter the kennel you will have to take out the three war dogs there. Loot the chest to get a gift for your dog as well as some dog-specific items, and then head back into the hall. There is a trap just inside the next area for you to disarm, and some more undead to kill in the next room. There is a quest we are doing that requires us to collect Corpse Gall which I must admit was pretty rare until now but everything here seems to be dropping it as loot! In a room at the end of the hall you will encounter Valena, the Arlessa's maid. She is also the Smith's daughter who we promised to look for. You tell her about the tunnel out through the dungeon, and she takes off. One more quest updated! We cannot head South through the door in the room across the hall because it is locked and we do not have a key, so enter that room and head east to the Basement entrance. The Basement has a lot of lootable containers in it including one with a gift and a love letter in it. There is an exit to the Courtyard here take that when you are finished looting the Basement. There is a barrel to loot to your right as you enter the Courtyard, and some undead will charge out from the far side meet them by the stairs and kill them. A quick check of the Gate determines that it is locked and we cannot raise it though I do recall raising the gate to be something that was discussed as part of the plan prior to our setting off on this adventure. Loot another barrel on the other side of the stairs and then head up the stairs and back into the Main Hall.
As we enter the next chamber we get a very strange CS and it turns out that Connor really is at the root of the problems here. The question in my mind is to wonder if Connor is possessed by a demon or is he really bent? Connor sets his guards onto us after he gives his long position statement, and the fight restores Teagen to his right mind. I know that there was something fishy about Isolde's story earlier and now Teagen is ripping her a new one for the deception! In an act of desperation Islode sends Teagen for the mage so that we can interrogate him. He explains our options kill him, or deal with the demon in the Fade. Ah, back to the Fade it seems assuming that we can find a human to sacrifice to make the spell work. Isolde volunteers to be the sacrificial lamb and personally I think she deserves that fate for what she has done but the decision as to whether to do it is left up to us. So how do you decide? Someone has to die either way the mother or the son? Technically the son is an innocent victim of the mother's illegal scheme on the other hand he is rather annoying... Ah but the thing is, I am good, so nobody must die. I decide to head to the Mage Tower to see if the Circle has the Lyrium that we need, despite the fact that the trip will just give that little bugger more time to play King with his undead army. Since we are here now and there are areas of the castle we can reach, we may as well clear them and loot what there is to loot before we depart of the Tower! In the next room are some suits of armor to fight, as well as some undead in the small room off of it. This room has some lootable containers one of which has a gift in it, and there is a book with a Codex Entry as well. The room at the end of the hall has a desk you can loot with another gift that is clearly Alistair's, and a book for another Codex Entry. Back in the other room are the stairs to the Second Floor let's head up there for some more looting fun! The first room on the right has a bookshelf with another gift and some vellum, and a vanity with a healing potion. As you near the door on the left in the hall the bodies that littered the floor come to life more undead for us to kill! As we enter the adjacent chamber more undead attack, The door in this chamber is for the Vault and hey, we have the key we looted earlier! Go us! The vault is just full of good stuff though if you are like me, you are quickly running out of space in your bag! Make sure you grab the gift in here and since we will be back, if you run out of room, leave the stuff for grabbing after we return from the Mage Tower, where we can sell off the loot we do not want, right? Now let's clear the rooms to the South take out the undead there and loot there is another gift in here, a Stone Dragon Statue and a book with a Codex Entry in the room across the hall. Right then, we've cleared most of the Second Floor, so now we should head downstairs past Ser Perth and his knights who are in the hall with Isolde and Teagen and use the door to the Courtyard. With the castle gates now open we can head straight out to the World Map. The first choice I made was to head to my camp so I can distribute kit, gifts, upgrade my party members who have leveled, and sell off my loot to Bodahn. Once that is done, head for the World Map, and select Lake Calenhad.
Head down to the Tavern and talk to the Mage's Collective Representative outside to turn in the quest 'Greasing the Wheels' for our reward. Now enter the Spoiled Princess. Oghren spots his ex-girlfriend in the Tavern and insists that you have to back him up my response was 'She's not a Genlock, you can handle her yourself!' It turns out that the last time he had seen her was when she threw him out of their house, and tossed all his clothing down a lava vent! I decided that it might be wiser if I talked to her first, and told him that. She seems nice enough a dwarf and once I got her talking I realized she has some pretty good reasons for feeling the way she does about him for instance he got drunk and wrestled a Nug naked at her father's funeral the story might have been even better but her boss yelled at her to get back to work before she could dish any more details. He is determined to give it a try so I was as supportive as I could be, and it all turned out okay. As much as she talks the game, it is clear that she actually likes that smelly drunken midget! Exit the Tavern and head over to the docks to catch the ferry over to the Tower since it is much more impressive to journey to it this way. When you get to the tower, talk to Irving and tell him about the problem. He does not even make us beg or call in a favor, he just concludes that it can be done, figures out what he needs to do it, and heads out! Irving is one righteous dude! Hit the World Map and head for Redcliffe Village now. Run down to the Chantry and turn in the quest 'Skin Deep' for 5 gold and some XP glad that one is done! With that done, head over to the Blacksmith Shop and go in. Owen is here waiting for you and he is ecstatic! He offers you a reward a dwarven-made set of armor that Oghern likes, though it is not exactly the equal to what we are already wearing... But that wraps up our business here, so head back up the hill for the gates to the castle now. As you enter the castle you find that Irving and his crew have already arrived. Talk to him to trigger the CS. You can talk with him about the procedure if you need to, and asking his advice can help prepare you as to what to expect. When you are ready, tell Irvine and the ritual will commence. As they get ready, Alistair says he is relieved that this was the route we decided to take, and then Irvine asks who will go? Whoever it is needs to be in your active party if they are back at camp you have to go there and add them to your party so when you have them, they will appear alone in the Fade. Of the four choices that we have, I think that either Wynne or Morrigan are the way to go Jowen is too weak, and Irvine too old.
As you move along you hear the Fade images of Connor talking to his father the Arl, and the Arl talking back. You will actually encounter the Arl ahead as you move towards the first portal you can try to explain what is happening to him, letting him know that he is in the Fade. He wants you to help Connor but hey, that is why we are here, right? Head over to the portal nearby and use it, and then run ahead to find Connor. You talk to him to call out the demon and fight it. Just before you do enough damage to kill it, the demon retreats, disappearing before your eyes in a puff of flames. You are not done yet head back to the portal and use it. Find Connor again and talk to him drawing out the demon again but this time it summons a minion. Take out the demon first, then the minion and again just before you would have killed the demon it retreats. Head to the portal and use it. Find Connor again and talk to him again. You try to reason with it, but that does not work and it appears with another minion take them both out, and use the portal again. This time you find the demon in its real form waiting for you it tries to convince you to leave it alone, but I chose not to talk to it and the battle begins! It is tough but not as tough as you and slowly you weaken it and then defeat it, and you are pulled back out of the Fade. You get a CS upon your return that shows the castle guards holding Viking funerals and then you are back in the castle. Connor is better now he does not remember what happened to him and they are deciding upon what to do with him and Jowen. You are asked for your opinion on this specifically on what should happen to Jowen there really is no right answer to this, so say what you feel. It did not give me the option of saying that Jowen AND Isolde should be imprisoned together which is what I would have preferred for say... The Arl's condition is now discussed, and Isolde declares that the Urn of the Sacred Ashes is what is needed to save him! Well, here is where we get to surprise everyone and tell them we already found that! The Urn lives up to its reputation and the Arl is cured! We get the Achievement/Trophy 'Hero of Redcliffe' and the Arl wants to reward us. We mention the treaty of course, but he insists that he must make a gesture, and declares your party Champions of Redcliffe, and awards you a shield. The Arl proposes a compromise that includes putting Alistair on the throne and asks for your blessing on the entire affair. The Arl wants you to approve of his plan he says that he needs you to make it work and he is probably right. If you agree, the Arl will spread the word and call for a Landsmeet a meeting of the Nobility, in order to declare a new King. The Arl calls for Jowen and sentences him to death. After that, the Arl asks if you are ready to go to Denerim and hold the Landsmeet. As this is not the end-game yet, we will still have time to finish the quests that we have not yet completed, so there is no reason not to head off to Denerim now and have the Landsmeet! To Denerim! Your arrival in Denerim begins with a cinematic CS that is impressive and as the Arl assesses the situation, we see the army marching into the city. Next we see Loghain in an audience with the Arl and Loghain is not happy! Here is where we inform Loghain that there is a better hier to the throne already, but Loghain is not backing down. The Arl lays the cards on the table, and Loghain takes his leave, declaring that he will not go down without a fight! At this point you earn the Achievement / Trophy 'Standard-Bearer' for using the treaties to recruit all possible allies. The Arl gives you instructions and advice, and you are now once again free to adventure. One important difference is that now that you have completed the Arl quest line, the Alienage is reopened. It is time to venture forth into the city, mate but first let's explore the estate and loot what there is to loot! Your party is here instead of in camp this is now your base of operations but that only makes sense. Leliana is in the next room go have a chat with her to learn what she knows about the city and estate. Now would be the time to do the leveling stats and skills stuff for any of the party that has leveled as well. You will find an Elf named Nigella you can chat with briefly she is from the Alienage in Redcliffe! There are a bunch of Codex Entries to be had here, a Love Letter, and some odd kit to be looted, and when you get to the Arl's personal chambers you get a CS with him, and are introduced to Anora's handmaiden, who has been sent to request your help. It seems that Loghain may be considering killing his daughter to remove the impediment that she represents to his claim on the throne. Anora wants your help to keep that from happening. This flags the quest 'Rescuing the Queen' and then the handmaiden departs. Talk to the Arl again and he will give you his opinion on the nature of this quest and it is clear that he is hoping for the best here. Head to the Estate Exterior to get the party formation screen and select your party, then we have some minor chores to attend to. First we visit the Tavern, and talk to the Bartender to turn in our outstanding quest 'Correspondence Interruptus' for our reward. He now has two new quests for us False Witnes, and Dead Drops. Take them both. Step outside and look at the cages by the Square for the first Dead Drop location and click it. Next step over and chat with Slim Couldry to get the final break-in assignment, called 'The Private Collection.' Head over to the City Map and you will see that the Arl of Denerim's Estate is now selectable so go ahead and select it!
On the way to the Estate we get a combat interruption it is the Crows! And they want Zeveran back or dead it is all the same to them. I guess their appreciation and fear of us only extends so far. If Zeveran is not in your party, the game forces him into it, and you have to select the other two members who will be assisting you. It is situations like this that are why you should always be upgrading skills, stats, and kit on all of your party members! Soon enough the Assassins are dead Taliesen is dead, and Zev feels that he is now free of the Crows. He wants to leave your party now but leaves it up to you. We have another Rogue to use if you are not that class, so there is no real reason why we have to keep him. I elected to persuade him to stay just because I think he is funny, but you can safely let him go if you like. When you have looted all of the bodies and containers, head to the City Map to continue your journey. If you kept Zev but do not want to have him in your active party for the next mission you will need to visit your camp and change him out. Erlina is on the left as you approach the barricade waiting for you. After you talk to her, head to the left and sneak through the side of the Estate, and when you get to the back section Erlina will distract the guards to that you can slip inside. Put your disguises on, and tell her to distract them. Once you are inside, walk forward for a CS in which Erlina gives you more instructions. You get a quest update and she tells you where the Queen is. Basically you just run North towards the icon on the map following the quest arrow. When you arrive it appears that some sort of magical seal has been placed on the door to her chamber! We have to find the mage who cast this which means seeking out Howe hey maybe we will get to kill him after all! On your way into Howe's chamber there is a chest with some Grey Warden Documents be sure to grab those! When you pass through the door you get a CS, and then the stranger recognizes Alistair he is a Grey Warden from Orlai! We talk with him and learn his story and then we give him the papers we just looted as they are his. Warden Riordan is not destined to join us now he is going to escape and heal up, and then perhaps join us later? There is a treasure room on the other side of the hall from where we entered Howe's chambers that has a lot of loot in it including a gift so we should empty it out as a favor to Howe, yes? Now back to the Dungeon door and down, and we see quest markers on the radar plus enemy markers oh joy! A fight! Take out the guards and mind the traps so you do not set them off. Basically what you are going to do is clear each room and then loot them. When you reach the torture chamber you release the son of a Noble and Clan Leader named Bann Sighard who provides you with some more intel and his rescue and release can only help our cause so good on ya mate! Deeper in the Dungeons are some cells one of them has a prisoner from the Battle at Ostagar who has gone quite mad. This tuns out to be Rexel, the missing soldier that the Chantery is seeking! You have a choice kill him to put him out of his misery, or free him. Now head into the room with Howe and it is evident that he was expecting us... So yes, we do get to kill him! Sweet! We get a nice CS of Howe bleeding out and then we loot his body for his key and some valuables. Now head to the cells in the very back and release another prisoner a Templar named Irminric who was captured during the search for Jowan. He wants you to deliver his signet ring to his sister, Bann Alfstana. Now we retrace our path back upstairs and release the Queen. Observation: When the Queen exits her chambers you may notice that one of the dialogue options you have is "Aren't you a little short for a guard?" That is a line from the all-time epic blockbuster film Star Wars! When Han and Luke release Princess Leia from the cell on the Deathstar, that is what she says to Luke...
As you try to leave, you are stopped by that female warrior that was at the audience earlier and told to surrender or die! I choose Die! And I did... Yeah this is a tough fight. My party wiped and we all got captured... And I got a CS in which Wynne reports our capture to the Arl the thing is, Wynne was WITH me when I got captured so... I know that this is part of the story line, but it sorta sucks to get P0wn3d like this. Now the thing is, this is one of those spots where you have two possible outcomes, and since I am carrying enough Elfroot and bottles to make 200 healing potions, there is no reason why we cannot experience both outcomes! And so here they are: As you step out of the hall into the chamber you are cornered by Ser Cauthrien, Loghain's General Commander of the Royal Guard and a dozen of her knights, with a few mages to boot! She demands your surrender, but you try to talk to her to help her see the truth. You tell her that the Queen was being held captive here and of course she says that is a lie, because Loghain would never tolerate that. You are to be charged with Howe's murder, she declares. So you point to the Queen and say she is right here, ask her yourself! Anora steps forward and cries that you tried to kidnap her oh that double-crossing bitch! Once she says that, the fight is on! You are heavily outnumbered, they are really good at fighting, so you must stay on top of your party health. As soon as one takes damage, hit them with a healing potion in fact you should have the healing potions on your first page macro button so that you just have to hit it without having to think about it! You are about to burn through a huge number of potions but that should not be an issue for you... By now you should have healing capped at Master, and you know that you can buy an unlimited supply of Elfroot as bottles from the shop in the Dalish Camp, right? If you run low during the fight, you can use the menu to make more during the fight. I started with 95 potions made 55 more in the middle of the fight, and ended with 41, so that should give you an idea of how hard this fight was! Right so we have won the battle, but the Queen has escaped! Well, at least you had the satisfaction of killing Ser Cauthrien, right? Her body has a sword on it called The Summer Sword and it has pretty good stat's on it! It is a two-handed sword, with two available Rune slots so if one of your warriors is using two-handed style, you may want to grab this. Looting it gets you a new Codex Entry called The Summer Sword. Read the Codex Entry on it, it is pretty cool. Since we are already here, and Howe is dead, we may as well loot the rest of the Estate, right? I mean why not? Don't forget to look around the grounds on our way back to consult the Arl too...
When you arrive at the Arl's Estate he greets you happily, relieved that you are not dead. Well, me too, really, but anyway, the Queen is standing here, unapologetic, and actually knocks on you for outing her to the guards. Despite the acidic feelings in the room, she asks you to hear her out while she explains what her plan is... She begins to talk about the situation in the Alienage she is not sure what exactly has been happening in the Alienage, but she believes that it is the key to this mess. The Arl points out that the Queen could have simply communicated this through a message from her handmaiden, but the Queen insists that to attain victory over her father, we need a stronger candidate for the throne her in just those words. She has a point about the matter of neutrality or lack thereof putting a Grey Warden on the Throne would not be well received by all. With that she takes her leave, and we are left with the Arl, who it seems may admire Anora more than he should. Still, the Arl warns us not to trust her too much, and that sounds like sound advice to me! During the conversation we suggest that perhaps Anora and Alistair should get married but Alistair really does not like that idea at all. The Arl tells us why we should keep pushing for Alistair to be king it is the Royal Bloodline don't cha know? The conversation ends on the Alienage just to remind us that we have some things to do there... And then the Arl tells us to go have a chat with Anora which we planned to do anyway, right? The two story divergences converge here please jump to "Deneim Part 4" now. As we step out of the hall to escape we are confronted by Loghain's Commanding General, Ser Cauthrien, and told to surrender or die! She orders her troops to attack, saying "Loghain wants the Warden Dead or Alive!" We get a CS in which the Queen reports that we have been captured. The Queen tells the Arl that they must rescue you err you and Alistair! Next CS is a cinematic tour of the dungeon, and we wake up wet, sticky, confused, and nearly naked in a cell. Alistair has been worrying about us, but he is happy that we are now awake and of course we ask where are we? Alistair deduces that we are not in the Royal Palace and speculates that we are in Fort Drakon. We tell him not to worry, that the others will come for us, and Alistair wonders out loud just who is it that we think will come? The thing is, whoever we pick and it lets us pick two will be who actually shows up to rescue us! So pick with care... I picked Leliana and Calvin (Calvin is my dog) and she ends up doing this cute little bluffing routine where she tries to convince the guards that she is delivering Calvin to the garrison. The guard ends up going for his Captain because hey, low-level non-com's do not make that sort of decision, right? When the Captain shows up, Leliana bluffs her way past the guards and she is in! When we reach the door that leads to the rear section and presumably the dungeons, Leliana stops and observes the guards, thinking it might be a bit tricky getting past them, and then she notices a scaffolding nearby with a Ballista on it. I know what she is thinking and it is wicked! We turn the nearby Ballista towards the far wall and fire it and the guards all run in the direction of the noise made by the bolt hitting the wall, leaving the door unguarded. How cool is that? Through the door we go, and up a short hall to another door, but when we enter the next chamber the guards here immediately attack us! Well, there are only four of them, so with Calvin's help we take care of the situation. It is still a long way to go to get to where we are being held captive through the next door and then turn right, and head along the hallway here, and according to the radar map there is a group of guards on the other side of the Metal Door at the end of the hall... There is nothing for it we have to go in so fight we do! But it is not guards, it is guards AND war dogs! Well, we kill them anyway, and proceed down the stairs you have been saving after each fight, right? When Leliana reached the cells where we are being detained, she picked the lock on the door and opened it causing the game to bug so that we could not speak to our main character only to Alistair, and that did not progress the mission! I had to re-load from a save, re-fight the guards, and then loot the key to the cell and use it to open the door to the cell in order to get the mission to progress... We will need to clear each room systematically and loot to find the Colonel or the Captain we need to kill to get one of the keys to the front hall door in order to escape but hey we are here anyway, right? And it would be good to know if there are any Codex Entries or quest items here too. When we reach the front door with the key we get the City Map, and select the Arl's Estate in Denerim. We arrive there and run straight to the Arl's quarters, where he and the Queen are waiting for us. The Queen is happy to see us and we are happy to see her! Our relationship is cordial, and Anora provides a tactical assessment of the situation with her father, and tells us that we need her as she is a stronger candidate for the throne.. She has made her case, and now she retires to her quarters, and the Arl gives us his assessment of our situation. The difference between this line and not being captured appears to be the quest "Captured!" and the fact that there were Codex Entries in the other line and not in this one, so you have to decide which you want to do... The two story divergences converge here please jump to "Denerim Part 4" now. Note: I chose to go with the line that did not include me being captured because there were Codex Entires in it, and not in the Fort Drakon one. I suspect that it will not really make that much of a difference in the end because I am reasonably certain you end up killing Ser Cauthrien anyway, but just to be on the safe side I stuck with that one... The Queen tries to convince you to support her seeking the throne. Clearly she thinks that your support of her would be important and she makes some good points in her very persuasive argument but the bottom line here is that we do not need or want to create an alliance with her right now. It turns out that she is willing to marry Alistair under certain terms which was a surprise to me! On the other hand following that topic line allowed us to end the conversation without making a direct refusal or an agreement, which is what we wanted anyway. Ah diplomacy! Leave Anora's chambers and the Estate, and once you are outside head for the World Map, because we are now closing in on a pivotal point in the game, and we should try to get the side-quests out of the way that do not involve the areas of the game that we will be going to for the rest of the story line. Our first destination is Orzammer. We are looking for Brian for the quest "False Witness" and for a Dead Drop for the quest of that name. First exit Orzammar via the Hall of Heroes to the area outside where the merchants are set up, and you will find the Dead Drop on the right side of the area, near the merchant Ahren. Brian can be found in the same general area just turn away from the Dead Drop and look at the nearby rock pillar he is standing next to it and is marked by a heart. When you confront him, he immediately attacks you and you kill him quickly as he is unarmed and not wearing armor. Now head for the nearby World Map and select Redcliffe Village. The Dead Drop here is near Dwyn's House just follow the arrow marked on the map. Stop by the Chantry and speak to Chanter Farrah to turn in a quest and collect our reward, and then head back to the World Map and select Lake Calenhad Docks. Skinny Frank is down near the docks where you catch the ferry to the Circle Tower go and talk to him and he attacks with the aid of his two guards. Now return to the World Map and select Denerim. Cam is found inside the Wonders of Thedas Shop go inside and up onto the balcony in the back and talk to him and he will attack. That completes this quest. Exit the shop and go to the City Map, and select Bann of West Hills Estate. When you arrive you will notice that a large number of guards spawn, and you have to battle them in the wine cellar. This is working as intended though not what you expected. You will need to fight your way back out of the zone disarming traps as needed. If you check the map you can see where the treasure vaults are, but the path to them is blocked by barricades, and it is clear you will not be making this heist, and you were given bad information! When you exit the cellars there are yet more guards waiting for you defeat them and make your way to the City Map. Select the Market District and return to talk to Slim about what has happened. Slim refunds the finder fee that you paid him and asks you to check back with him later and he will help you get revenge for the bad information then. Later is actually after you complete the Landsmeet Mission, just so you know. It is now time to head over to the Alienage both to investigate it and because most of the quests that we still have flagged resolve there. When you arrive at the gate to the Alienage, the gate is now up and the guard does not try to stop you from entering. When you do try to enter, you get the City Map select the Alienage on it and you will travel there. If you are playing a City Elf, than you already know that the Alienage is the slums that the Elves are forced to live in it is really a big cage where they can be locked away, controlled, and exploited. Despite that reality, the Elven folk that live there have made it their home you have to respect that. As you cross over the stone bridge the first person you see, on the left, is the final Hooded Courier for that quest stop and talk to her, and that completes 'Greasing the Wheels.' Across the road is Varel go and talk to him, and give him the letter from the Irregulars, and that completes 'Scraping the Barrel.' There is a Starved Veteran in the street ahead stop and talk to him and he asks for a silver piece I gave him a gold piece, but he is just as happy with silver. There is a Haggered Human nearby him when you talk to him he tells you to just stay away from him, and then runs off. Continue along the street and you will encounter a group of Elves being addressed by a group of humans the crowd is upset the humans are keeping them in quarantine and something is clearly not right here! You are a Grey Warden so go ahead and stick your nose into the mix. Talk to Shianni and she will fill you in on what has been going on in the Alienage and according to her these humans are removing Elves from the Alienage under the guise of public health, claiming that those that are removed have the plague. You vow to have a look inside this "Hospice" place, and your cousin gives you her thanks and her blessing.
Before we do this new quest, step to the other side of the large tree here and activate the final Mystical Site of Power to complete the quest 'Places of Power' and then move back to the so-called Healers and have a chat with them. The Healer declares that you are ill when you try to talk to him clearly they plan to take you into the Hospice, but you tell them that you are a Grey Warden, and so are immune to Blight Disease, at which point the Healer announces that there is a hefty reward on your head and orders his minions to attack! Well that suits me just fine! One of the bodies has the key to the Hospice on it so loot that and then head over to the door and unlock it and enter the Hospice. When you get inside you are attacked and from the looks of the inside of this place, whatever it is, it is not a Hospice! There is a note on the table go pick it up and read the Codex Entry for it these people are Slavers! Take the side exit and head left up the alley to the Slum Apartments at the end and use the key that was wrapped in the note. Deeper inside the building is a chest marked by a quest flag when you open it you find the missing Sextant from the Chanter's Board quest Fazzil's Request! Good on ya! Unlock the next door down with the slaver key and you will be attacked kill the soldiers here and then loot the containers and bodies. Exit back into the hall and head to the Metal Door at the end which also can be unlocked with the slaver key inside is the exit to the Alienage. Once you are outside, you are confronted by one of the slavers and they immediately attack when they realize you are not supposed to be there! They have a camp set up out here, and there is a door nearby to a warehouse that is our next step. Inside you encounter Elves who are clearly a slaving group, buying and selling fellow Elves for profit. The woman in charge implies that they have the protection of the authorities if not the tacit approval, and tells you that you are in a lot of trouble! She bails to call for the Regents Guards, and we start disarming traps there are more soldiers further inside the warehouse that we kill, and another trap in the next hall to be disarmed before we take out a trio of archers.
Once they are good and dead, we head through another Metal Door and get a CS in which we meet the ringleader of this little flesh market, Caladrius. You would think that the fact that you are a Grey Warden would mean something to these people but it never does. Caladrius wants to deal with you pay him 100 gold and he gives you evidence that will incriminate Loghain but he also wants to keep the slaves and their booty. If you do this deal, you will lose the respect of your party members and be sentencing Elves to slavery. If you refuse the deal, you must fight but hey, we know how to fight, right? After you beat him into submission, Caladrius makes several absolutely unacceptable offers to you that clearly show he has no idea what a Grey Warden believe in and so you kill him. Your father is in one of the cages and you have a brief reunion with him before you urge him to get out of the area and he asks that you visit him at home because he has something that he wants to give you. From Caladius' body you loot the evidence you need and some stuff you can sell, and after you loot the containers and bodies here, hit the nearby exit door to find yourself at the World Map entrance to the Alienage. Ahead of you up the road is Ser Otto a mostly blind Templar. You can learn his story by talking to him his mission to hunt down Blood Mages is a failure according to him, but there is something else that he has detected in the area, a wrongness that he cannot name, but is trying to figure out. He asks for our help and we give it! This flags the quest 'Something Wicked' so remember, watch out for something wrong, right? Ahead of us is Alarith's Store let's visit that now. Alarith is pleased to see you and gives you a hearty welcome home though there are no options to talk to him other than to shop. Still we can get rid of some of the loot we do not want, and he has a few items that we do want, like a Tome of Skill and Sundry, some plans, and a gift. Once we have what we want it is time to head back into the Alienage. There is a pool of blood that you should examine on the ground near Cyrion's House after which the beggar we helped earlier comes back with a friend and tries to put the touch on us again. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me! I told him I was out of coins... Your father is waiting for you inside and like father's everywhere he complains that you are too thin! The item he wanted to give you is your mother's dagger called "Fang" that has good stats and three Rune mounts on it! As this is better than the dagger I am presently using as my off-hand weapon, I went ahead and equipped it. That wraps up the dialogue with your father so go over and chat with Soris you get the dialogue as if you have not already solved the slavery trade, including asking where you father is when he is right there in the room with you! Poor coding I am guessing, but what the heck, it is a small flaw in an otherwise amazing game! Back to the Alienage, and now we are headed for Valendrian's House. You enter the house and it is clear that nobody lives here anymore. You loot the three containers here, and then head back out to the Alienage. Outside near where the blood was is a feral dog and when you click on it, it updates the quest 'Something Wicked' so it is now time to return to Ser Otto and tell him what you have found. He listens to your clues and then decides that you should follow him to the old Orphanage. For an old and mostly blind guy he runs pretty good!
As you enter the Orphanage you can hear the ghostly voices of children and then a child-sized ghost runs down the hall. As you pursue the sound, things pop and crackle in the rooms you pass through, and finally when you reach the hall in the back you are jumped by war dogs! After you fight off the dogs and open the next door you are attacked by the spirit of a Tormented Woman, and then in the next room an entire group of Rampaging Spirits! This place is seriously haunted! The next room over is where you find the source of the evil a demon and after a brief CS you end up fighting it! At first you are only fighting the one demon, but then a group spawns. After you put them down, you discover the the door is locked, so you cannot continue along this route. The Templar feels that the battle is not yet finished that there is evil still but in the building next door. The door that was previously locked is now unlocked, and you can enter. As you progress to the other side of the room and the next door, the tension in the ghostly voices grows, and as you open the door another wave of demaons and ghosts attack. When you open the door to the West two more demons attack. When you move to the next room another wave attacks, and then the ghostly little boy leads you into an ambush. As you approach the next door you get a checkpoint save never a good sign and as you pass through it, you encounter the real demon! The fight with the demon seems to go well, and just when you think you have won and the Templar is speaking the demon reappears and kills the Templar! As far as I can tell there is no way to save the Templar he is meant to die in this encounter. The door to the Alienage is nearby, the quest has ended with the destruction of the demon, and that is all she wrote for the Alienage! Head to the City Map and select the Market District as our destination. Head over to the Chantry Board and turn in the quests there, and then to the Mage's Collective Representative to turn in their quests and pick up your reward. Next we head over to the Tavern, and talk to teh Bartender to turn in his last quests. Head in to the next room and turn in your Blackstone Irregulars quests, then head back into the main room and talk to Sighard, who thanks you for saving his son. He asks you what reward if any you would have I chose to ask for his support and vote against Loghrain. That closes out yet another quest! In the corner next to the bar is Bann Alfstanna the sister that you are to deliver the signet ring to. She thanks you, gives you a reward, and that is one more quest in the completed list! To cap this off there are two quests left in Denerim Crime Wave and Unrest in the Alienage. We cannot complete Crime Wave until after the Landsmeet, and we complete the Unrest quest as part of the Landsmeet quest. By my figuring the only thing that we have left to finish up is the Dead Drop quest and to do that, we just have to hit the last Dead Drop, at the Spoiled Princess Inn in Lake Calenhad so let's head there now! The Drop is inside the bar on the left side of the room and once you have made it, head back to Denerim, and visit with the Bartender at the Tavern, and that is it for the side-quests! It is now time to head back to the Arl and report in. Once you arrive back at the Estate, go to the Arl's chambers and report to him of your progress. The Arl tells you that it is time he will convene the Landsmeet and you are to bring Alistair and come to the Palace as soon as you are ready. You are likely aware that there are four possible endings to this game and if you want to get all four in a single play-through, you will have to be very careful in making your saves. If you want to get all four, do the following otherwise skip to the sample ending below. (1) Create a save outside of the Landsmeet Chamber. That is all four endings you will get the Achievement / Trophy As you enter the Landsmeet Chamber, the Loghain protests the accusations made against him accusing you, the Arl, practically everyone present, of selling out the Kingdom. Loghain repeats the scheme that he cooked up so long ago that it was the Grey Warden's that caused the death of the King. Loghain has no intention of being convinced of anything he is on the offensive and he clearly believes that he can win. Anora makes her appearance and betrays you and Loghain changes his strategy, pushing for his daughter's position as Queen to be ratified. Loghain orders that you be taken outside to be executed and the battle begins! Just as the battle hits its peak, the Chantry's Revered Mother appears and stops the battle! The Landsmeet agrees to a duel to settle the argument and we are asked if we accept. We do for Alistair and we are his champion! The fight with Loghain is not to the death as soon as you wear his health down to a sliver, he yields. * To have Loghain become a Grey Warden you must choose to give his daughter the crown. * If you give the crown to Alistar, he will kill Loghain. If you chose to make Loghain a Grey Warden, Alistair will leave your party, you will view that ceremony, and then his daughter Anora comes in to address you as a group. I get the definite feeling that being rid of him was what she wanted, any way that she could get it, as long as it did not look like it was her doing it! Before you head off to Redcliffe for the beginning of the end, you may want to wrap up any outstanding quests that you have including the final quest in Slim's Crime Wave series, as once you begin the end game there is no turning back and once you slay the Arch Demon, the game is essentially over. While you can do the DLC content after the game ends, you cannot do any of the main story quests and side-quests that you failed to finish. Talk to Slim in Denerim Markets to learn that he now has more accurate information for you about the items we are supposed to steal, including the actual location of the vault. He does not want a finder's fee from you he just wants to make this right. After you agree to complete the job, head to the City Map and select Bann of West Hill's Estate. You enter the Estate through a fireplace, and the room you arrive in is empty. Go through the door ahead and as you round the corner, beware the pressure plate trap on the floor disarm that now so you do not have any accidents. Disarm the second trap on the floor ahead, and then take out the House Soldiers that you encounter next. Continue along the hall, disarming traps and taking out soldiers you can loot side-rooms if you like, though at this stage in the game you should have more than enough gold for what is to come. Make your way through the hall with red rugs, then the hall with blue rugs, and you will arrive at the door which you will need to unlock to get in. This takes you outside, through a series of narrow high-walled passages, and you will see one that branches to the left and goes down take that and unlock the Metal Door, then kill the soldiers inside, and head to the back of this chamber. In the next chamber is a concealed door reveal that and pass through, and then through the next door and you will find another floor trap to disarm. There are five more traps here to disarm you may as well get the XP for doing that and then you are good to unlock the door to the vault. Inside there are containers to loot, one of which contains what you came for: the Tears of Andraste. As you work your way towards the exit marked on the map, you will notice that a force has gathered to block your path you know what you have to do to them, right? Of course you do! After you take them out, exit the cellars, turn left, and take the exit (City Map) ahead. Upon your return to the Market District, have a chat with Slim he is thrilled! If you give the Tears to him, he will have them delivered to the Chantry by anonymous courier, and that pretty much wraps up the quest. Congratulations! You have completed the final quest in the side=quest series! All that is left after this is to complete the story line, so on to the end! Note: Before you head to Redcliffe, check your supplies, because once the final battle is started you will not be able to re-supply! If you look under Crafting in the character menu, you should have at a minimum, two or three full stacks of Flasks (99 to a stack), and two or three full stacks of Elf Root. Depending on your class, you may want more reagents if you are a Mage or like to use certain potions / bombs, but you know what you need. Having the Elfroot and Flasks means that after each battle you will be able to replenish your supply of healing potions and believe me, you are going to use a LOT of those in the battles to come. If you are worried about spending all of your money don't worry about that! It is not like you have anything esle you can spend it on you are headed to the end of the game, and when it ends, it really ends, so there is no point in saving money. If you need to buy more supplies here are some helpful pointers: Deathroot: The Dalish Camp Armorer has an unlimited supply. You can also add supplies to the crates in your camp that will strengthen your allies though I am not really certain what effect this actually has on their participation in the fights. I did not use the troops until the boss fight with the Arch Demon, which is probably a good idea, because that is a fairly tough fight... Once you have completed your preparations, head over to Redcliffe Village. Choose your party and depart for Redcliffe. When you arrive in Redcliffe Village, before you go to the Castle you should clear out the darkspawn infestation in the Village itself. As you cross the village bridge you will encounter a villager hiding from the darkspawn who will fill you in on the most recent events. After you encourage him to head to safety, move along the path and fight your way to the Village center, where you will find a nice Ogre to kill, along with the standard darkspawn troops. Once you have cleared these out, head to the Zone Point for the Castle and go in when you enter the courtyard outside of the castle there is another three waves of darkspawn to fight, with some fairly tough not-boss mobs in each wave. Once you have succeeded in freeing the world of this particular bunch of Darkspawn, head over to the stairs and you will trigger a CS in which the guard explains that Riordan arrived earlier and set guards out to find you because he has something important to tell you. There is a long CS, and conversation, and then you are directed to go to your room and sleep. Go in to the room with your party and head upstairs to the second floor follow the marker to Riordan and talk to him. When that conversation is over, make your second save (if you are doing the multiple endings). Now exit Riordan's room and enter the first door on the right going back up the hall this is your room and Morrigan is waiting in it for you. She will make an offer to you if you are doing the multiple-endings in one play-through, turn her down and make your third save here. Morrigan wants you to convince Loghain to sleep with her, in order to get her pregnant. The baby would then absorb the stain, and would be able to absorb the Arch Demon without dying, and so no Grey Warden would have to die. If you turn her down, she leaves the party, and you get a load screen and CS, and you are now at the battle site. The Queen makes a rousing speech, and fires up the troops, and you are ready to go into battle! There is a series of CS's involved here, and then you get another load screen, and you are finally in battle with the Darkspawn. A lot of Darkspawn. Eventually you kill all of them off in this area and get the quest updated notice, now run to the marker on the screen and speak with Riordan. He tells you of his plan you should pick a few of your party and head into the city! He tells you to climb to the top of Fort Drakon. At this point Riordan asks you to pick a party member to lead one of his units into battle, and then you say goodbye to the rest of you party members. The worst part is when you have to say goodbye to your dog sniff. Head to the gate marked on the map, and then travel to the Market District. Kill all of the Darkspawn here until you find the Hurlock General then kill HIM! Once you have killed the remaining Darkspawn after the General, head back to the gates and to to the Alienage, and do the same thing here. This is a tougher fight or at least it seemed like that to me and I was not able to pull it off without one call for troops. Find your cousin and speak to her to end this mission. Run over the bridge to the zone point and as you reach it the Arch Demon will destroy the bridge behind you. Select the City Map, and choose the Palace District as your next destination. As you progress towards the Palace you will get a combat interrupt to your trip and when you zone in you are now in control of Sten (or whoever you chose to lead the other brigade of troops that is defending the City Gates and the Darkspawn are attacking! There is an officer flagged nearby talk to him, then go kill all the Darkspawn. When they are dead, talk to the officer again to end this mission. You are not back in control of your party and there is a nice CS for you to watch. When it ends fight your way up to the top level, fighting your way up each set of stairs until you get to the top where you will find a trap to disarm and another wave of Darkspawn to kill. Ahead of you here is the gate to Fort Drakon so once you have killed them all and looted what you want, hit that gate to get to the Fort. You are getting really close to the end now. You will have to fight your way up the stairs here, and this is a really tough fight, so try to think strategically and use your AOE's to good effect. You will not be sticking with one party member throughout this fight you will need to be proactive about using their special skills! Try to focus on the conjurers in here as that brings the fights to a close quicker. When you reach the room with the door to the Second Floor you will encounter Sandal, the simple-minded enchanter from your camp surrounded by a huge pile of dead Darkspawn. Man we should have recruited him into our party! He has some supplies to sell, so you may as well take advantage of that and having any better runes added to your weapons. When you are ready, use the door to go to the Second Level.
Well, here we are within a stone's throw of the final battle with the Arch Demon! Basically all that you need to do is work your way through this level, killing everything that you see. When you reach the door to the roof, you have pretty much fought your way to the almost-end-of-game! Once you reach the Roof you will get a CS of the Arch Demon snacking on soldiers, and then your party can engage it. What you are going to do here is fight it as a party to wear it down, and then once it is near death, you have to decide who gets sacrificed. If you are only going for one of the endings, it really does not matter who you sacrifice to take it out. If on the other hand you are trying to get all of the endings in one play-through, than matter it does! The Arch Demon defends in four phases the first two and the fourth you can use the usual tactics you have learned for fighting dragons but for the third phase it is in the air, and you need to use the Ballistas and ranged attacks so be prepared for that. It might be an idea to hold some archers in reserve to call up for the third defense phase, right? (1) Sacrifice Yourself Notice that Loghain tries really hard to have you let him be the one to be sacrificed? What a piece of work he turned out to be! The ending CS is pretty cool and it was nice to find out what happened to each of the people in your party... It turned out that the Queen was not as bad a person as I thought she was. And that is pretty much it! Once you reach this point, you cannot really do anything else, because the game ends hopefully you have earlier saves if you plan to work on Achievements / Trophies that you have yet to get. So hey, pat yourself on the back, mate! You have just completed what is likely to be the Game of the Year! Way to go! Alistair's Family When you first enter the Village of Redcliffe, if your standing with Alistair is high enough, he will mention to you that he is the bastard son of royalty, and that he has a sister. He would like to visit his sister who lives in Denerim and he would like you to go with him. His sister lives in the house next door to Wade's Emporium in the Market Square. When you get close to the house you will get a brief CS in which Alistair points out the house. When you enter Goldanna's house, she asks if you have linens to be washed and Alistair introduces himself to her. She relates her story that the folks at the castle in Redcliffe had told her that the baby Alistair was dead. It turns out that Goldanna is not pleased to see her long-lost brother. This quest can have an impact on Alistair's character the disappointment that he feels can effect his emotional state. You can use your persuasion skill on his sister to try to soften that blow, but this is one hardened chick! There is no side-quest for this companion. Leliana is one of the party members that gives an Achievement/Trophy for "romancing." She is also the most difficult one to successfully romance, mostly due to her alignment and personality. To succeed in romancing Leliana, she must be in love with you (friend meter at 90%) and you must have triggered the romance process. It has been reported that you cannot succeed in romancing her until after you complete her quest and you cannot do her quest if you are already in a relationship with her. When I did this I had already completed the quest so I do not know if it can be done without completing it. The following dialogue selections will give the most favorable response. Conversation 1 (M or F) Conversation 2 (F only) Conversation 3 (M or F) Leliana's Past A lot of people seem to have trouble flagging the quest if you are having trouble bear the following in mind: It will help if you make sure that you ask her about being in the Chantry before her approval of you is higher than 30. You cannot flag her quest if you are already in a relationship with her! If you are, you need to break it off first. Yes you will lose some approval, but you will be able to gain that back easily, and you cannot flag this quest otherwise. You cannot flag the quest unless she is in your party while traveling and you get the Assassin Attack. Giving her the Nug gift may be required in order to romance her this is not verified but a lot of people say it is. To have this happen you need to have Leliana in your party when you vist Dust Town in Orzammer. You will get a brief CS with her in which she talks about wanting a Nug as a pet. After this CS you can purchase a Nug from the Idle Beggar in Dust Town do that and give the Nug to Leliana. When you talk to Leliana and the dialogue option "Minstrels and Spies in Orlais" comes up, select it and run through the dialogue that follows so that she tells you about her past. Once she has done this, with her in your part, travel to another location Frostback or the Dalish Camp it doesn't matter which. Then head back to your camp, and you will get a CS immediately after entering camp with Leliana in which she confesses that she lied to you in her earlier explanation. Now with her in your party, travel somewhere anywhere and you will get a combat interrupt in which you fight a pretty tough group of assassins. Once you defeat them, Leliana will interrogate their leader, and from what she learns, deduce that the person behind the attacks is her old associate and paramour, Marjolaine. Now head to Denerim and go into the street that dead-ends, and Leliana will point out the correct house to you. You will confront Marjolaine and either talk your way through the encounter or have epic battle either way that progresses Leliana's quest to its end. One result from this encounter can be that Leliana ends up "hardened" by her disappointment and grief, and becomes less good than she was before. A side-effect of this is that she no longer gives negative standing to you when you do things that are not good, but it alters her personality significantly. * Companion Side Quest There is no side-quest for this companion. Flemeth's Real Grimoire In the process of completing the quests associated with the Mage's Circle Tower, you will loot the Grimoire that Morrigan tells you about in one of your conversations after you meet her. The book belonged to her mother Flemeth, and she very much wants to read it. After you loot it, and give it to Morrigan, she spends some time reading it. On one of your return visits to camp she comes to you to ask you for a favor and tell you about what she has learned. Her favor is to kill her mother and what she has learned is stunning! As any more information would be a major spoiler, you will just have to wait until you flag the quest to learn about it. When you go to do this quest, be sure that Morrigan is not in your party and visit her mother's shack in the swamps. Be prepared for a major fight Flemeth will shape change into a dragon! Once you have killed her, loot her hut and return to camp to talk to Morrigan. After you finish the first conversation, give her the items that you looted from her mother's house, and then talk to her again. * Companion Side Quest Oghren's Old Flame When talking to Oghren and a dialogue option about Felsi appears, select it to flag this quest. The quest destination is the Spoiled Princess Tavern at Lake Clanhad. When you arrive, you have the option of encouraging Oghren who will then engage in dialogue with Felsi. The results of this encounter will have significant effect upon Oghren's life something you may want to consider when deciding your part in it. If Oghren succeeds, he will later end up married to Felsi and will create a new family and career. If he fails and you were supportive, there is still a chance for a happy ending, but if he fails and you were not supportive, his life will end very badly. The Sword of the Beresaad Once you build a high enough relationship with Sten, he will finally be willing to truthfully answer the question as to why he was in the cage when you met him. This flags the quest, whose destination is Lake Calenhad. Talk to the scrounger here, who will reveal that he "bought" this scrounging spot from another, and you will be directed to Orzammer to speak with former "owner" of the spot. In Orzammer you will learn that the scrounger sold the sword to Dwyn, in Redcliffe. Head to Redcliffe to resolve the quest. Note that having Sten in your party can add interesting elements to this quest. * Companion Side Quest Wynne's Regret This is a complicated quest because it does not follow the usual quest-format. Instead it is an encounter based series of events. Once Wynne has warmed up to you, you will have a combat interrupt on one of your travels and at the end of it, Wynne will partially collapse. Back in camp, when you talk to her, you will learn the story behind why that happened, and other plot-related information. To progress this quest, dialogue with Wynne, and be sure to ask her any questions relating to her time with the Circle. She will tell you about an old apprentice named Aneirin. In another encounter, she will release the spirit, growing much weaker. After this happens, travel to the Dalish Camp near the Brecilian Forest and seek out an Elf named Sarel there. He will tell you of Aneirin as well. With Wynne in your party, travel between points that are relatively far apart to trigger a confrontation (combat interrupts) in which Wynne casts a large fireball spell that injures you, which causes Wynne to unlock a new ability called the Vessel of Spirit. With Wynne in your party, travel to the Eastern Forest, to the area above the Mad Hermit's camp, and you will encounter Aneirin. He will give you an amulet to give to Wynne that will strengthen her and, it is implied, help her manage the spirit inside her and hopefully live a longer life! There is no side-quest for this companion. Sergeant Kylon wants you to eliminate the criminals preying upon the innocent citizens of Denerim's back alleys. There is one group of bandits in each of the alley districts, and you will take them each out as you progress through the city districts. When you have finished them, see the Chantry Board agent for your reward of 4 gold sovereigns. As you move through the town you will notice marked doors there are two of them in the Market District, so just go up to each and spread the blood on them to update the quest. The third door is located in the Dirty Back Alley district which you will visit following your visit to The Pearl. The fourth and final door is located in the Dark Alley. When you have marked all four, return to the Collective Agent for your reward of 1 gold sovereign. Obtain 12 Love letters and give them to the Bartender. These can be looted from inside the homes of the wealthy in town and are useful as blackmail material. Slim has some leads for you on lucrative cat burglaries you can pull. The Absent Mistress: Rob Sophie's room at the Inn. A Fistful of Silver: Rob Arl Howe's warehouse of the silver bars he has stolen from the town. Note that this is a very tough fight with a large number of opponents. Save BEFORE you try this, as if you are not strong enough or well equipped, chances are very good that you will die and have to reload your last save! Deal with the deserter Layson in Denerim. You will find him in a Dirty Hovel in the Rundown Back Street District. You will have to kill him, because he refuses to return with you and once he is dead be sure that you loot the Guild Supplies from his body. Go to the area marked on the map and see if there are any refugees left to rescue and rescue them. Frazzil, a member of the Guild of Free Sailors, was accosted by bandits and his rare Sextant was stolen. Recover this for him. Locate Renold and return to the Collective with the news. When you are doing the Chanter's Board quest Loghain's Push you will encounter Renold's body simply loot his journal and return it to the Collective. Duel Ser Landry in the back alley behind the tavern. This was actually a pretty fair challenge but you as long as you have some healing potions you should be able to take him out easily. Intercept Loghain's forces and assist the resistance forces until Loghain's men are defeated. To access this quest go to the City Map gate and change it to World Map, and then select the icon marked Civil War. Locate the missing Ostagar veteran called Rexel. Deliver a stack of 15 toxin extract samples to the Bartender. You are to deliver notices to a list of women whose husbands have died in service to the Irregulars. Irenia in the Redclife Chantry Take care of the mercenaries in the Pearl for Sgt. Kylon but do not kill them. You will find them in the tavern room of The Pearl, and they will not listen to reason so you will have to fight them. Remember you are not supposed to kill them, just rough them up and teach them a lesson. As the fight starts and you do a little damage, they surrender and beg for mercy. Make them empty their pockets and leave to pick up 2 gold and, when you turn the quest in, some XP. Bring 20 Health Poultices to the Blackstone Irregulars in the Tavern in Market Square. The conscription letter for Denerim goes to Varel Baern, in the Denerim Alienage. Deliver it to him there. Go to the location marked on the map in the Brecellian Forest and fire off a fire arrow over the trees. Obtain 9 samples of corpse gall from darkspawn and return them the the Chanter's Board Agent. You have some bodies to get rid of the first is in the warehouse near where you dueled Ser Landry. Go inside and collect the body bag. The second body bag is in the alley between two buildings on the other side of town just look for the marker near the Chantry. The third body is in a room in the back of The Pearl. You can dump the bodies down the well near the Chantry in Market Square to complete the disposal. When you turn this quest in you earn 2 gold sovereigns and some XP. Find the 5 scrolls and return them to the Collective. The first is on the Second Floor of the Tower of the Circle on the Senior Mage Quarters. The second is on the floor in the first large chamber in the Great Hall of the Tower. Bring the Bartender ten pieces of Garnet. As you play the game you will find by looting containers and shopping with merchants various items that are flagged with the tag "Gift." This identifies these items as special in the sense that they can be given as gifts to your party members to increase their like for you. Some gifts are specific to a particular party member, while others you can give to any party member. Gifts that are specific to a party member can reward you with 7 to 10 points on the friendship meter for a given party member, as long as you gave the item to the correct party member. Most of these items can actually be given to the wrong party member which will only give a 1 in place of the higher value, so you want to avoid that. Some gifts will be refused by certain party members and accepted by others, and some gifts not only gain you points but are also initiate small CS's for the plot line or even trigger quests. As a general rule when you see a gift on a merchant you should always buy it and when you encounter a gift in a container you should always loot it. Some gifts, like the pet Nug for Leliana, require you to do specific things in order to be able to acquire them. In cases such as that, the required steps are spelled out in the footnotes below this list. The list below specifies the gifts, and who should receive them. It is complete to the best of my knowledge. For certain gifts there are actually more than one available in the game so it is possible to obtain duplicates but you can still gift them to the proper party member without it being a problem. Listing Key: Gift Name (Proper Recipient) Zone(s) where gift is acquired ---=== Gift Items ===--- Ale (Oghren) Once you get the CS, you can talk to the dwarf in Dust Town, and ask him to capture a Nug for you. You will need to pay him 20 silver once he has captured it. You can give Leliana the gift at any time she will happily accept it, and thereafter when you visit with her in Camp, the pet Nug will be nearby her on the ground. 
Character Generation
- Race
- Class
- Background
Sex does not appear to play any particular role in the game as far as character effectiveness is concerned - I tried both male and female and did not see a difference in combat, stat performance, or skills.
What you choose will have a decided impact upon how you play the game and your game experience and you will certainly re-play the game as a different race later, so if you are making your first character on your first play-through, just pick what you like best for now.
While the first two selections have some impact, the third, Class, has a very obvious impact on how you play the game and what your experience will be. Give each class some thought before you make your decision and jump into the game!
Human Mage = Magi
Human Rogue = Human Noble
Elven Mage = Magi
Elven Rogue = Dalish Elf -OR- City Elf
Dwarven Rogue = Dwarf Commoner -OR- Dwarf Noble
After you select the first three main traits, you are given the chance to name your character and then to adjust its appearance and voice. You do that by using the sliding menus for each option as follows:
Attributes
Dexterity - 14
Willpower - 10
Magic - 11
Cunning - 11
Constitution - 13
Increases attack score in melee combat by 0.50 for each point purchased.
Is a prerequisite for most weapon talents and higher-level armor and weapons.
Contributes to physical resistance and intimidation.
Increases the attack score for ranged combat by 1.0 for each point purchased.
Increases defense by 1.0 for each point purchased.
Increases damage from piercing weapons.
Is a prerequisite for some weapon talents.
Contributes to physical resistance.
Contributes to mental resistance.
Increases the effectiveness of potions, poultices, and salves.
Is a prerequisite for higher-level spells.
Is a prerequisite for higher-tier staves.
Contributes to mental resistance.
Is a prerequisite for many skills.
Contributes to armor penetration, persuasion, and mental resistance.
Contributes to physical resistance,
Skills
With this skill your character becomes influential and is able to convince others to change their views or decisions. Depending upon whether you have a higher strength or cunning stat, you will be better at either intimidating or persuading respectively.
This stat permits you to steal small items from others - whether enemy or friend - as long as you do not alert them to what you are doing.
With this skill you can construct traps and lures from basic components.
This skill gives you improved situational awareness and the ability to detect lower level creatures nearby you, as well as a small increase to nature resistance.
This skill permits you to create potions, poultices, and salves from herbs.
This skill permits you to make poisons and grenades.
This skill permits Warriors and Rogues to access higher tier weapon skills, and allows Mages to take more damage without their spells being interrupted.
This skill adds a combat tactics slot and helps you to formulate battle strategy in combat.
Next you can choose specialization skills that are based upon your class.
- Line 1
Powerful (Passive)
Threaten (Sustained)
Bravery (Passive)
Death Blow (Passive)
Precise Striking (Sustained)
Taunt (Activated)
Disengage (Activated)
Perfect Striking (Activated)
- Line 1
Dual-Weapon Training (Passive)
Dual-Weapon Finesse (Passive)
Dual-Weapon Expert (Passive)
Dual-Weapon Mastery (Passive)
Dual Striking (Sustained)
Riposte (Activated)
Cripple (Activated)
Punisher (Activated)
Dual-Weapon Sweep (Activated)
Flurry (Activated)
Momentum (Sustained)
Whirlwind (Activated)
- Line 1
Melee Archer (Passive)
Aim (Sustained)
Defensive Fire (Sustained)
Master Archer (Passive)
Pinning Shot (Activated)
Crippling Shot (Activated)
Critical Shot (Activated)
Arrow of Slaying (Activated)
Rapid Shot (Sustained)
Shattering Shot (Sustained)
Supressing Fire (Sustained)
Scattershot (Activated)
- Line 1
Shield Bash (Activated)
Shield Pummel (Activated)
Overpower (Activated)
Assault (Activated)
Shield Defense (Sustained)
Shield Balance (Passive)
Shield Wall (Sustained)
Shield Expertise (Passive)
Shield Block (Passive)
Shield Cover (Sustained)
Shield Tactics (Passive)
Shield Mastery (Passive)
- Line 1
Pommel Strike (Activated)
Indomitable (Sustained)
Stunning Blows (Passive)
Critical Strike (Activated)
Sunder Arms (Activated)
Shattering Blows (Passive)
Sunder Armor (Activated)
Destroyer (Passive)
Mighty Blow (Activated)
Powerful Swings (Sustained)
Two-handed Strength (Passive)
Two-handed Sweep (Activated)
Origin Story 1: Human Warrior (Human Noble)
Default Female Name: Elissa
As the story opens you learn that you are part of a long hereditary line of the aristocracy for your lands, and that your elder brother (and heir to the title) will be taking command of part of your father's forces. You are introduced to your father and his advisor, and learn through their conversation you get a bit of the background for current events.First Origin Quest
Origin Story 2: Human Mage (Magi)
Default Female Name: Solona
Origin Story 3: Dwarf Warrior (Dwarf Noble)
Default Female Name: SeredaThe Diamond Quarter
The Proving Arena
Be presented to the Nobility
Another Meeting with Prince Trian
The Battle Arrives
Meet with Frandlin Ivo
The Shield Chamber
Finding the Shield
The Betrayal
The Beginning of the End?
The Deep Road to Duncan
Four Deep Stalkers!
The Grey Warden Reunion
Origin Story 4: Dwarf Rogue (Dwarf Commoner)
Default Female Name: NatiaAttitude Ajustment
Tapster's Tavern
Beraht's Shop
The Proving Grounds
Beraht's Hideout
The Commons
Origin Story 5: Elf Warrior (Dalish Elf)
Default Female Name: LynaThe Cave
The Elven Camp
A Chat with Paivel
A Chat with Ilen
A Chat with Maren
A Chat with Merrill
Back to the Cave
The Mirror Chamber
Back at the Camp
Origin Story 6: Elf Rogue (City Elf)
Default Female Name: KallianElven Alienage
Meet the Grey Warden
In the Clutches of the Pig
The Rescue
Walkthrough
Ostagar
The Ostagar Quests
Prisoner Quest
The Kennel Quest
Seek out Alistair
The Ritual
The Missionary Quest
2. Pass under the fallen tree "bridge"
3. Pass a submerged tower on the right
4. Look between a high, ruined arch and a mossy standing stone.
5. Walk along a path of roots and stones
6. Look for two large statues with a chest between them.
Last Will and Testament QuestChasind Trail Sign Quest
Back on the Trail
The Witch of the Wilds
The Ritual Ceremony
The Meeting
The Tower Quest
Rescued by the Witch of the WildsInto The Wilds
Interrupted JourneyEntering Lothering
The Dalish Elves will be to the East towards the Brecillian Forest.
The Dwarves to the West in Orzammer near the Frostback Mountains.
The Circle of Magi will be in their tower in Lake Calenhad to the North.
Loghain will be at the Palace in Denerim.
Lothering Village
The Lothering Chantry
Ser Donall
The Revered Mother
The Bridge
Dane's Refuge Tavern
Blackstone Liaison
A delivery job take these letters of conscription and deliver them to Dernal Garrison in Redcliffe, Patter Gritch in Lothering, and Vatel Baern in Denerim. Sounds simple enough!
Track down and deal with deserters, Punish the deserters and recover the supplies that they have stolen.
Elfroot
Flasks (empty)
Gifts
Plans
Recipes
Gifts will increase the amount of affection/like that your party members have for you. To ascertain what that level presently is, open the Equipment menu and select each party member below their doll and load-out window is a sliding guage with dislike on the left, and like (a heart) on the right. Their present level of affection is indicated by the arrows marking the bar obviously you want this to be as high as you can get it!Back to Barlin
Sten of the Beresaad
Wrapping up the Lothering Missions
A family of bears in the North woods of Lothering have killed a boy named Eneth. The Chanters are offering a reward for any warrior who kills the bears.
The young boy we gave a silver piece to earlier is the subject of this Chanter's Board mission. The Chanters would like someone to locate the mother's body and bring her effects back to give to the boy.Leaving Lothering-Vegas
Denerim
The Market District
Chanter's Board Quests
Take out the bandits that are preying on the good people in the back alleys of the town.
A veteran of the battle at Ostagar named Rexel has gone missing see if you can find him.
Master Fazzil has lost his sextant when he was set upon by bandits and would like it recovered for him.
Provide support to Loghain's troops at least that is what they want you to do but you may just have other ideas in that regard.
Rescue the group of refugees that is cornered by darkspawn.
Obtain samples of darkspawn skin for Knight-Commander Thames.Theohild and Perpetua
Sister Justine
Slim Couldry
Liselle
Wade's Emporium
Sergeant Kylon
Mages Collective Liaison
Mark the doors of certain houses to warn them that the Templars are going to raid them.
Locate the missing mage Renold.
Find the five scrolls of Banastor and return them to the Collective.Gorim the Dwarf
Fayd the Apprentice
Cesar
Ser Landry
Gnawed Noble Tavern
Bring him 12 love letters you loot from the homes of the wealthy.
Dump some bodies for him in the Marketplace.
Deliver a stack of 15 toxin extract samples to the Bartender.Blackstone Quests
Wonders of Thedas Shop
Genitivi's Home
The Pearl
The Resistance Meeting
Sanga the Proprietor
The White Falcons
Casivir
Isabela
Back in Market Square
The Crimson Oars Mercenaries
The Dirty Back Alley
The Dark Alley
Rundown Back Street
Back to the Market Street
Loghain's Push Quest
Talk to Slim
The Calenhad Docks
Find and activate four mystical sites of power, located in the Brecillian Forest, the Deep Roads, Denerim, and the Circle Tower.
Track down and stop a small group of adventurers from giving false testimony of alleged blood magic.
Find the three apprentices and give each their notice of termination. Two are in Denerim and the third is in Orzammer.
Travel to the Brecillian Forest and slay the cabal of maleficarum.
Bring ten bundles of Deep Mushrooms to the mage's collective.Speak to the Bartender
The Circle Tower
Apprentice Quarters
2. Return to the previous room and examine the Tome of Spirit Personages on the bookshelf.
3. Examine the Summoning the First flame on the floor near the table.
2. Examine the Redercoms Uncommon Calling book on the shelf in the next room near the third flame.
3. Examine the statue of Magus Gorvish in the first room.
4. Examine the Summoning the Second Flame in the middle room.
2. Examine Elvorn's Grande Bestiary in the third room.
3. Examine the Common Table Carving Spot in the first room.
4. Examine the Spiritorum Etherialis book on the floor in the third room.
5. Examine the statue of Magus Gorvish back in the first room.
6. Examine the Novice Phylactery book on the shelf in the first room.
7. Examine the Summoning the Third Flame in the third room to summon the beast and then kill it.
2. After examining the Novice Phylactery book, find the Fourth Flame and examine it.
3. Pick Arl Foreshadow's pocket for a unique Codex entry.Senior Mage Quarters
If you have not been regularly making saves you should consider doing so it would really suck to get this far into the Tower, die, and have to repeat an hour or more of work, right?The Great Hall 3rd Floor
Watchguard of the Reaching Quest
Three minor gems.The Fourth Floor
Into the Fade
The Raw Fade
The Burning Tower (Upper Right)
The Mage Asunder (Lower Right)
The Slavren
The Darkspawn Invasion (Upper Left)
Uthkiel the Crusher
The Rest of the Zone
The Burning Tower
The Templar's Nightmare (Lower Left)
An Ogre!
A Sort of Maze
Vereveel
Weisshaupt Fortress
The Raw Fade
The Burning Tower
Mage Asunder
The Nightmares
The Inner Sanctum
The Mage Tower
Meeting Cullen
The Harrowing Chamber
Denerim Part 2
A Fistful of Silver
Deserted Building
The Blood Mage Leader
Brecillian Outskirts
Dalish Camp
Brecillian Forest
The Northeast Forest
Back to the Dalish Camp
Back to the Forest
The Ruins
Ruins Lower Level
(2) Select option 4 Fill the earthen jug with water.
(3) Now select option 4 Leave the pool alone.
(4) Move to the alter and select it, then select option 2 Place the earthen jug on the alter.
(5) Now select option 4 Kneel before the alter and pray.
(6) Select option 2 Examine the earthen jug on the alter.
(7) Next select option 1 Take a single sip from the water in the jug.
(8) Select option 3 Take the earthen jug.
(9) Select option 6 Leave the alter alone.
(10) Now return to the fountain and select it, then select option 3 Dump the water back into the pool.The Lair of the Werewolves
Side with the Werewolves
Side with the Elves
Breaking the Curse
Return to Denerim
Sulcher's Pass
Village of Haven
The Ruined Temple
The Gauntlet
Thane Shartan: Option 3: Home
General Maferath: Option 3: Jealousy
Archon Hessarian: Option 5: Mercy
Disciple Cathaire: Option 5: Hunger
Disciple Havard: Option 3: The Mountains
Lady Vasilia: Option 4: Vengeance
Ealisay: Option 3: A Tune
L6 R6
L5 M4 R5
L4 M3 R4
L3 M2 R3
L2 M1 R2
L1 R1
Step 2 Move the character on R1 to L6.
Step 3 Move the character on M1 to M2.
Step 4 Move the character on L3 to R4, then the character on R2 to L1.
Step 5 Move the character on M2 to M3.
Step 6 Move the character on L6 to R5, and the character on R4 to L5.
Step 7 Move the character on M3 to M4.Back in Denerim
Frostback Mountains
Orzammer Hall of Heroes
Dust Town
The Diamond Quarter
The Shaperate
The Proving
Back to Dust Town
(2) Select option 3: What do you know about Jarvia?
(3) Select option 3: Why is everyone so scared of Jarvia?
(4) Select option 2: Would you know more if the question came with silver?
(5) Select option 2: (Intimidate) Here's twenty. If I like your information, you may get more.
(6) Select option 1: Right. Here you are.
(7) Select option 3: Never mind. I was just leaving.
(8) Rinse and repeat until you get the Achievement.Leliana's Pet
Carta Hideout
Jarvia Fight
The Orzammar Commons
The Deep Roads
Caridin's Cross
Ortan Thaig
Alter of Sundering
The Western Tunnel
The Dead Trenches
The Ominous Door
The Anvil of the Void
Picking Sides: Caridin
Picking Sides: Branka
Orzammer II
Picking Bhelen
Picking Harrowmont
The Commons
Denerim Again
Redcliffe
Blacksmith Shop
Dwyn's Home
Kaitlyn's Home
The Chantry
The Tavern
The Undead of Redcliffe Castle
Travel to the trade route marked on your map to determine the fate of the border caravan.
Go to the spot marked on the map to see what has happened to the conscripts of Company Easthill.
Be on the lookout for a strange creature that is killing merchants. We will encounter this while traveling.Battlefield
Caravan
Back in Denerim
The Windmill
Castle Redcliffe
Main Floor
The Courtyard
The Main Hall
Second Floor
Lake Calenhad
Redcliffe Village
In the Fade
Denerim Part 3
The Arl's Estate
Arl of Denerim's Estate
Inside the Estate
Escape!
Confrontation: Victory!
Confrontation: Captured!
Denerim Part 4
Anora's Chambers
Orzammer
Redcliffe Village
Lake Calenhad Docks
Back in Denerim
Bann of West Hills Estate
The Denerim Alienage
Unrest in the Alienage
Back in the Alienage
Cyrion's House
Valendrian's House
The Orphanage
The Market District
The Arl's Estate
The Landsmeet
To Get All Four Endings
(2) Decide to make Loghrain a Grey Warden (Alistair will quit the party)
(3) Meet with Riordan and than make another save.
(4) Turn down Morrigan's offer to you and make another save prior to accessing the roof. When you turn down her offer, Morrigan quits the party.
(5) Kill the Arch Demon by sacrificing yourself.
(6) Load your third save.
(7) Kill the Arch Demon by sacrificing Loghain.
(8) Load the second save.
(9) Kill the Arch Demon by accepting Morrigan's offer.
(10) Load the first save.
(11) Instead of accepting Loghain, kill him. Alistair will stay in the party.
(12) Turn down Morrigan's offer and she will leave the party.
(13) Sacrifice Alistair to kill the Arch Demon.Sample Ending
The Last Crime Wave Quest
Elfroot: The Dalish Camp Armorer has an unlimited supply.
Flasks: Bodahn in your Party Camp has an unlimited supply.
Redcliffe Village
Sten's Brigade
The Palace
Fort Drakon
Fort Drakon Final Level - Archdemon
Archdemon Battle Part 1
Archdemon Battle Part 2
Archdemon Battle Part 3
For all four endings you should proceed in the following order:
(2) Sacrifice Loghain
(3) Go with Morrigan's Plan
(4) Sacrifice Alistair
Character Dossiers
Alistair
* Companion Side Quest
Dog
* Companion Side Quest
Leliana
* Romancing Tips
I'd like to talk
What was someone like you doing in the Lothering Chantry?
You know, a beautiful and charming young woman like yourself.
Those other initiates cannot have been more lovely than you.
My hair? Thank you!
Dear Maker!
And do you enjoy the company of other women?
I think that I might giggle and maybe look coy?
We need to talk
Are you feeling better?
Er, I think I see what you mean.
She was special to you, wasn't she?
I am sorry it ended so badly
Everyone changes unfortunately
I can only hope to one day be as special as she was to you.
* Companion Side QuestLoghain
Morrigan
* Companion Side QuestOghren
Sten
* Companion Side Quest
Wynne
Zevran
* Companion Side Quest
Quests of Denerim
Back Alley Justice (Market Square Chanter's Board)
Blood Warning (Market Square Mages Collective)
Correspondence Interruptus (Market Square Tavern)
Crime Wave (Market Square)
Dereliction of Duty (Blackstone Agent)
Desperate Haven (Market Square Chanter's Board)
Fazzil's Request (Market Square Chanter's Board)
Have You Seen Me? (Market Square Mages Collective)
Honor Bound (Market Square)
Loghain's Push (Market Square Chanter's Board)
Missing in Action (Market Square Chanter's Board)
Negotiating Aids (Market Square Tavern)
Notice of Death (Blackstone Irregulars)
Larana in The Spoiled Princess Tavern in Lake Calenhad Docks
Sara at the Denerim Market District
Tania in the Dirty Back Alley in DenerimPearls Before Swine (Market Square)
Restocking the Guild (Blackstone Agent)
Scraping the Barrel (Blackstone Agent)
Sign of Safe Passage
Skin Deep (Market Square Chanter's Board)
Solving Problems (Market Square Tavern)
The Scrolls of Banaster (Market Square Mages Collective)
Untraceable
Gift Items
Alistair's Mother's Amulet (Alistair)
Alley Kings Flagon (Oghren)
Ancient Map of the Imperium (Loghain)
Ancient Map of Orlais (Loghain)
Andraste's Grace (Leliana)
Antivan Leather Boots (Zevran)
Beef Bone (Dog)
Black Grimoire (Morrigan)
Black Runestone (Alistair)
Blue Satin Shoes (Leliana)
Botanists Map of Thedas (Loghain)
Bronze Symbol of Andraste (Leliana)
Chantry Amulet (Leliana)
Chasined Sack Mead (Oghren)
Current Map of Ferelden (Loghain)
Cute Nug * (Leliana) Dust Town
Discovering Dragon's Blood (Wynne)
Dalish Deerhide Gloves (Zevran)
Dalish Gloves (Zevran)
Duncan's Shield (Alistair)
Etched Silver Symbol (Leliana)
Fancy Scroll (Wynne)
Flemith's Gromoire (Morrigan)
??Found Cake (Dog)
Gemmed Bracelet (Any)
Garblogs Back Country Reserve (Oghren)
Gold Amulet (Morrigan)
Gold Earrins (Any)
Golden Demon Pendant (Morrigan)
Golden Mirror (Morrigan)
Golden Rope Necklace (Morrigan)
Gold Scythe 4:90 Black (Oghren)
Golden Symbol of Andraste (Leliana)
Headband (Any)
Lamb Bone (Dog)
Large Bone (Dog)
Legacy White Shear (Oghren)
Locket (Morrigan)
Map of the Anderfels (Loghain)
Medium Gold Bar (Zevran)
Medium Silver Bar (Zevran)
Onyx Demon Statue (Alistair)
Ox Bone (Dog)
Painted Skyball (Any)
Painting of the Rebel Queen (Sten)
Portrait of a Goosegirl (Sten)
Remarkable Amethyst (Shale)
Remarkable Diamond (Shale)
Remarkable Emerald (Shale)
Remarkable Garnet (Shale)
Remarkable Greenstone (Shale)
Remarkable Malachite (Shale)
Remarkable Ruby (Shale)
Remarkable Sapphire (Shale)
Remarkable Topaz (Shale)
Shiny Gold Ring (Any)
Silver Bracelet (Any)
Silver Brooch (Morrigan)
Silver Chain (Morrigan)
Silver Demon Head Ring (Any)
Silver-framed Still Life (Sten)
Silver Medallion (Morrigan)
Silver Sword of Mercy (Leliana)
Small Carved Statuette (Alistair)
Small Gold Bar (Zevran)
Small Silver Bar (Zevran)
Small Silver Ring (Any)
Steel Bracers (Any)
Steel Symbol of Andraste (Leliana)
Sten's Lost Sword (Sten)
Stone Dragon Statuette (Alistair)
Stone Warrior Statuette (Alistair)
Sun Blonde Vint-1 (Oghren)
Tangled Ball of Yarn (Any)
The Guerrins of Ferelden (Wynne)
The Rose of Orlais (Wynne)
The Search for the True Prophet (Wynne)
Tiara (Any)
Tribal Necklace (Any)
Totem (Sten)
Water-Stained Portrait (Sten)
White Runestone (Alistair)
Wilhelm's Special Brew (Oghren)
Wine (Wynne)
* The Cute Nug is obtained from the XXX Dwarf in Dust Town, Orzammer. In order to obtain this, you must have Leliana in your party when you enter Dust Town in order for her to give you the CS in which she says that she loves the cute little pig bunnies that are Nugs. You may or may not need to have completed the Nug Wrangler Quest in the Commons first...
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