February 24, 2011

Hahaha…I’m seriously making a game log about Dragon Age: Origins?

BAHAHAHHAHAHA.

If you have NO clue as to why I’m cackling over here like a crazy woman, let me catch you up to speed. Dragon Age: Origins is in the top 5 list of my favorite games EVAR. I know Dragon Age: Origins like the back of my hand. I study the history of the Dragon Age universe. I collect everything and anything that has “Dragon Age” slapped on it. I mean, have you SEEN this video?

So yeah, it’s a little funny that I’m making a game log for a game I already know so well, but a lot of good can come out of this. I’ll be able to document things I hadn’t noticed during prior play-throughs (if you’re familiar with BioWare I don’t need to tell you how rich of a backstory each game possesses; it’s like no matter how many times you play the same game you always learn something new or catch something you had missed) and who knows? Maybe I’ll switch it up a little and make different key decisions this time around. You know, kill off some people and stuff. Mua..ha…ha…

Heh…also…I uh haven’t played all of the DLC yet. Like…Witch Hunt…? Undoubtedly the most important DLC pertaining to Dragon Age: Origins? Haven’t played that yet. Yeah, I suck at life.

I suppose I should mention why I’m playing DA:O again, huh? Well my friends, at the time of this post Dragon Age 2 hits shelves in less than three weeks. That is all the reason I need.

February 28, 2011

I said I’d make a log entry every time I played Dragon Age: Origins. But Britt, you say, this is the first entry! Where are the others? Surely you have been playing Dragon Age: Origins non-stop since you created this log over a week ago!

Heeeeeh ^_^;;(\

….I’ve only played for an hour. And that was on Sunday.

::cue the crickets::

I know, I know. It’s terrible. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish the game and all of its DLC by next Tuesday (::ahem:: EEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Dragon Age 2 comes out next Tuesday!) but I’m sure going to try my darndest, gee golly whiz and other old-fashioned sayings.

Let’s get onto it, then!

Naturally, seeing as I am female and am enamored by the idea of being God, creating my character took up half of the hour. …What? Don’t look at me like that—character creation is not to be taken lightly. Think about it; you’re stuck with your creation for the entirety of the game! And who knows, maybe this character will make an appearance in a sequel? If and when you see that character again you don’t want it to be awkward. Like…”Ooh, I created THAT?” ::shameshame::

When I was convinced my human warrior resembled yours truly as much as possible, I got rollin’. And for those of you that don’t know, rollin’= 20 minutes of solid gaming until I had to move things over to my Woman Cave.

Spoilers: Within those 20 minutes I met Arl Howe (BOO!), discovered that the blush I put on my character looked like a huge yellow bruise (damn you terrible lighting!), recruited my mabari hound (YAY!) and found my sister-in-law and my nephew dead in the room (SAD).

I’m reading every single Codex entry I come across, so that took up a few extra minutes as well. But other than that, I haven’t come across anything new yet. I don’t have too many things on my plate for tonight, so my goal is to make it to Lothering.

If I make it that far, I’m so buying myself a cookie.

March 3, 2011

My goal for Monday night was to reach Lothering. So, far how did I get?

Drumroll please…

…::head desk:: I DIDN’T EVEN PLAAAY.

To make the sting hurt even more, Monday also happened to be one of those nights when I had nothing to do. And in my life, those nights are rarer than metal slimes.

Unfortunately I didn’t make it to Lothering, but I finished up business in the Korcari Wilds and the pre-battle quests in Ostagar. Now I just need to drink the Darkspawn blood and *Spoilers* watch Daveth and Ser Jory die a miserable death. YIPEE!

Something that is delaying my progression in the game is the codex. Like I said before, I’m reading e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. I am fascinated with the back story of Dragon Age, so I spend several minutes picking apart each word and sentence, searching for something I might have missed in one of my past run-throughs. I’m also practically interrogating any NPC that will talk to me.

Although I didn’t get far last night, I jotted down a few things down I found interesting:

The Dragon-Gods: Upon reading the codex entry “The Grey Wardens” I found the last snippet of text to be interesting. It reads as follows: “… [the Grey Wardens’] war continues until the last of the dragon-gods is gone.”. Since there are seven dragon-gods total, four of which have risen and been destroyed (as of the start of DA:O), we know there are three dragons that are still slumbering underground. According to Bioware forums, *Spoilers* Urthemiel is the archdemon we defeat at the end of Origins. So when we leave Dragon Age: Origins, we leave two slumbering dragon-gods, which you know are going to eventually rise up and wreak havoc.

Now, I will be honest and admit I know almost nothing about Dragon Age 2. I’m assuming the story will revolve around blight in one way or another. So, let’s assume we slay an archdemon in DA 2. That would leave another one chillin’ underground somewhere. Whiiiiich means more Dragon Age. HALLELUJAH!

The Fade: A lot about the Fade is unknown, unless one believes everything the Chantry says. But I found this theory of the Fade interesting: Mortals can’t affect the Fade, but the spirits can. The spirits themselves lack ambition and imagination, so they peer into mortal’s minds and build “elaborate” copies of the mortals thoughts, fears, ideas and people in order to get a taste of life for themselves. So, when a mortal dreamer is in the fade, everything they see around them is a rendition of some part of the mortal’s mind built by a spirit. Kinda obvious stuff, but I thought it was neat-o.

And here are a few random story tidbits:

*May contain spoilers*

• King Maric married Rowan, daughter of Arl Rendorn Guerrin of Redcliffe. Rowan was the sister of Arl Eamon (current Arl of Redcliffe in DA:O) and Ban Teagan. Maric was betrothed to Rowan at a young age.
• An abomination is a human or elf possessed by a demon. A maleficar is a mage who practices blood magic. An apostate is a mage that does not belong to the Circle of Magi. If you want to get specific, there are two types of apostates: hedgemages, who never belonged to the Circle, and a rougemages, who ran away. GOT IT?!

March 17, 2011

AHAHHAHAHAHAHA. ::shoots self::

Dragon Age, in general, is a particularly sore subject right now. It’s been over a week since Dragon Age 2’s release and I have yet to play it. In fact, I have yet to remove the shrink wrap from the case(s).

IN FACT, I’M NOT EVEN HALFWAY DONE WITH DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS.

The last time I played Dragon Age: Origins was over a week ago, and it was a helluva marathon; I sat my ass in a computer chair and went at it for 14 hours, but I didn’t progress as much as I had hoped. But, 14 hours is 14 hours, certain things did happen, and I’m going to try to remember what they were (even if it’s a week later). Unfortunately, I was a bad girl and ignored most of the codex entries. I felt rushed and compelled to finish Origins in one sitting, but uh yeah. That clearly wasn’t going to happen.

Alright!

When I booted up the game, I had just made it into Lothering, I just never made an entry about my progression to that point. Morrigan was finally in my group, and before I set off to do any of the Lothering quests, I spent a chunk of time getting her (and Alistair’s) approval rating up. On that note, I forgot how easy it was to get Morrigan’s rating to “warm” right off the bat. She must be SOOO easy to boink. Or maybe she isn’t. I’ve never played as a male warden. Whatevz.

Anyway, I ventured into Lothering, acquired my newest minions (Sten and the lovely Leliana) and completed all of the town’s quests. I forgot how much there was to do in Lothering. In the past, I had missed out on a few of the Lothering quests (seeing as it’s destroyed by Darkspawn later on) so I made sure I did everything, from finding the boy’s mother, collecting herbs, building a trap, making some poison, killing bears, murdering the bandits, blahblahblah. YAY FOR COIN!

Now, I’ve never had an issue with getting Leliana to bat her eyelashes a little harder at my warden, but I’ve never been able to get Sten to fully open up to me. During my first play through of Origins, he told me about his sword (which ultimately leads to his “personal quest”) but because I was literally at the end of the main story, I couldn’t retrieve his sword without being forced into the Landsmeet (or something like that). So Stenny-Poo and I were never BFFs. This time I will make amends. Before you know it we will be crimping our hair and painting our nails together.

Moving on…

The first place I went to seek assistance from was the Circle of Magi, because A) It’s my least favorite and I wanted to get it out of the way and B) Wynne is crucial to my party. So off I went, across Lake Calenhad and to the Circle of Crud. Why did I just refer to it as crud? Because there is ONE part of “The Broken Circle” quest that I despise, which is when you face the…crap. Is it the sloth demon? Is that his name? Whatever, he’s the dude that casts you into the Fade. And in the Fade, you must assume the shape of four different things (a mouse, a man on fire, a golem and a spirit) and run around, solve all of these puzzles, and until you complete all that junk you can’t proceed within the main quest.

Okay, I get it, the purpose of it is probably to familiarize the player with the Fade, which I understand since it’s a big part of Dragon Age lore, but I wish I could omit it from the game. Simply put, I find it boring.

WELL FUNNY STORY. I was on my way to the sloth demon, dreading every step, when I decided to take a mini detour and search a room for loot. Inside there was a sparkling vanity mirror, and when I clicked on the mirror…BLAMMO!! Next thing I know, I’m in a room you can access only AFTER defeating the sloth demon.

What?

Just to make sure, I backtracked to where the sloth demon would be waiting for me, and sure as shit, there he was. Next to him was a dead mage. As much as I didn’t want to risk activating the Fade quest, I knew I needed the item on the mage. And OSNAP! I was able to recover the item. It would be crucial to my upcoming battle with Uldred.

Ladies and gentlemen, the game glitched and skipped the ENTIRE SLOTH DEMON/FADE INSTANCE.

Now, my initial reaction was to jump for joy. BUT…but. A few shitty things came from this:

• I missed out on stat increases that you can only acquire in the Fade.
• I missed out on experience points

Bummer, right?

I left and confronted Uldred. Now, the item I had looted from that mage was supposed to protect myself and others during the fight against him. Unfortunately, because I hadn’t actually killed the sloth demon, the game didn’t recognize the item I had looted and First Enchanter Irving died during the battle.

This in itself ultimately lead to another bout of suck: When I reached Redcliffe, I couldn’t save both Connor AND Isolde since there was no Circle to call on. I had to resort to blood magic and sacrifice Isolde. Alistair yelled at me because of it. WAAAH. Other than that, Irving’s death just means that the Templars will be fighting on my side when it comes time to face the Archdemon instead of the mages.

WOW. This is a lot of writing. I’m just going to stop for now. If you seriously read all of this, I’m sending you a cookie.

March 24, 2011

I have made progress. YIPEE!

After practically destroying the Circle of Magi (sorry, First Enchanter Irving) I headed back to camp to plot my next destination.

The first time I played DA:O I downloaded Soldier’s Peak, Return to Ostagar and The Stone Prisoner after completing the game. M-i-s-t-a-k-e. It’s clear that certain DLC is meant to be played during the main story, not afterwards, and Soldier’s Peak, Return to Ostagar and The Stone Prisoner are perfect examples. It felt weird to be traveling and adventuring with my old companions that had supposedly moved onto bigger and better things post-archdemon. But by the grace of DLC, they had…returned? It took away from the experience of the DLC because it felt so out of place. Nahm’sayin?

Because of that, I’m trying to mix it up this time around and complete all possible DLC <em>before</em> I say ohai to Mr. Archdemon. So I gathered my crew in camp (which has been Lelianna, Alistair, Wynne) and went to reclaim Soldier’s Peak so I could bask in my own glory and stuff. But honestly, one of the reasons Soldier’s Peak was one of the first DLC’s I tackled (I finished Return to Ostagar first) is because of the freakin’ storage chest you can store your shit in  afterwards.

And I need that storage chest so hard.

Maybe it’s just me, but I ALWAYS find myself running out of room in my backpack at one point or another, no matter how much my backpack can carry. I keep EVERYTHING. I try to make sure I always have a spare set of armor for an upcoming party member, a few weapon options, rings, belts, necklaces, the works. But what really kills me are the crafting items.

I don’t utilize traps, poisons or enhancing items at all in DA:O. Call me lazy. Perhaps if I were to play on a higher difficulty (right now I’m cruising the casual) I would need to strategize more and be all crafty ‘n stuff, but meh, fuck it. It’s more enjoyable to go balls-crazy and just charge everything.

I finished Soldier’s Peak and got my storage chest. I was a happy camper. It’s kinda funny…I had like 10 bottles of different alcohol for Oghren  I’d been saving since I started DA:O, so it was nice to get those out of my backpack. Okay that wasn’t funny at all.

Let’s see…oh! I found Sten’s sword. His approval is at like…74 right now? So we’re not totally BFF’s right now. I’m still trying to convince him to let me braid his hair. &gt;). …I wish that was a dialogue choice.

AND, here’s the biggie, I recruited the dwarves. I was looking forward to visiting Orzammar again because I’ve only played that part of the game once, many moons ago. Also, I was under the *very wrong* impression that Orzammar, as a whole, was a quick quest and a drop in the bucket compared to the other recruiting missions.

WRONG-O.

I forgot that Orzammar was in a state of turmoil ‘cuz King Endrin had kicked the bucket. I also forgot I had to do the Grey Warden-y thing by choosing one of two political parties to side with (HARROWMONT FTW! I did my research—Bhelen is a very bad boy) and prove to the Assembly that that whoever I chose was in the Ancestor’s favor, for without a king, Orzammar wouldn’t help me. Lazy bastards.

But nooo. It’s not that easy. I had to fight in the Proving, settle the dust in Dust Town (see what I did there?) and venture into the Deep Roads in search of Paragon Branka, who is ultimately a psychotic bitch. By the time I left the Deep Roads, Ogrhen’s approval rating was like, -13. Thank God for all of that stored alcohol at Soldier’s Peak!

Long story short, I crowned Harrowmont as King, even though I’m not entirely sure I agree with how he wanted to run things in Orzammar…ANYWAY! I have to tell you guys something.

So, you remember that SNAFU with the sloth demon in the Circle of Magi? If not, I’ll give you the short version: During the quest Broken Circle, DA:O glitched on me and I was able to entirely skip the fight with the sloth demon as well as the Fade mini-quest. This made me happy in the pants because that’s my least favorite part of DA:O.

After I realized the game had glitched, I went to see if the sloth demon was still “waiting” for me in his chambers. Sure as shit, there he was. With his back to me, the sloth demon was facing the entrance I should have come through, where we would have came face to face.

I contemplated engaging him. But I promptly said “fuck that” to myself and left him alone.. Unfortunately, I suffered a few penalties from the glitch (I couldn’t save Isolde and her son in Redcliffe and First Enchanter Irving died), but I continued on my merry way.

So, that’s the SNAFU. I thought I was done with the Circle, but while I was in Dust Town a dwarf gave me a quest that took me back. The quest itself would be easy; I just needed to track down a Mage somewhere in the tower and give him Lyrium in exchange for gold. Unfortunately the bastard wasn’t on any of the lower floors, so I kept climbing up and up…

UNTIL BLAMMO!

Ohai Mr. Sloth Demon. You were still waiting for me. Lovely.

So, at this point a million things are racing through my head.

WTFWHYISHESTILLHERE. Do I fight him and enter the fade? If I do, I’ll get those attribute bonuses I missed out on. But, if I do fight him, will it screw the rest of the game up? Now that I’m engaged in conversation with him, I’ll be forced to enter the fade. Will I lose all progress I’ve made?

Then I remembered something. I remembered that I’m a save whore and have several different save files I could boot up. In fact, one of them would take me right back to Dust Town before I even accepted the quest.

So, I did the responsible thing. I forcibly shut down DA:O (eek!), booted up my save, and pick-pocketed the dwarf that would have given me the quest.

Stupid sloth demon. Always messing my shit up.

April 1st, 2011

Alright. I am sick and tired of that glitch in the Circle of Magi haunting my ass. I’ve talked about this several times, but if you’re a new reader and you have no effin’ idea what I’m talking about…

For Dragon Age junkies: During the Broken Circle quest, DA:O glitched on me and I was able to skip the fight with the sloth demon as well as the Fade mini-quest.

In English: While I was at this tower for mages called The Circle of Magi, the game glitched, and I skipped a boss fight and mini quest that I otherwise would have had to do. The mini quest would have taken place in this dream-realm called the Fade.

Seeing as I hate playing through Fade, this glitch originally made me happy in the pants. But let’s go over the immediate and long-term consequences of that glitch:

• I missed out on permanent stat boosts I would have received in the Fade.
• First Enchanter Irving died because I didn’t fight the sloth demon.
• Because First Enchanter Irving was killed, the Circle was annulled.
• I had to kill Isolde in Redcliffe Castle because there was no Circle to conduct the spell I needed to save her.
• Alistair yelled at me because Isolde was killed.
• Dagna from Orzammar was refused admission to the Circle because Knight-Commander Whats-His-Butt was a douche.

Now if I may continue my bitching…

Upon the completion of Origins, I had hoped that I’d seen the last remnants of the SNAFU. Surely, the DLC wouldn’t be so cruel as to again remind me that a simple glitch had altered my game in a minor, yet consequential manner.

So I began the DLC Witch Hunt. Now, out of ALL of the landmarks and locations in Ferelden, where do you think Witch Hunt had me visit?

…Take a guess. You might get lucky.

The Circle of Magi. The first place I needed to visit was the fucking Circle of Magi.

::Headdesk::

As soon as I entered the tower, I was greeted by Knight-Commander Hadley who didn’t let me so much breathe before he reminded me that the “Templars haven’t forgotten” what had happened the last time I visited the circle.

Thanks, brah. Believe it or not, I haven’t forgotten either. After all, killing an entire tower of mages isn’t something that one forgets so easily. As I walked about the circle, I heard conversations amongst the mages. You know, the typical stuff. Like, how my Grey Warden Elissa supposedly slept with three pirates and a Nug.

I see my reputation has held well within the good ol’ Circle. Not only that, but I’m sure I’ll catch some flak in Dragon Age 2. But I have to admit I think it’s super-duper cool that these…”decisions”…forever have a ripple effect in Ferelden’s history.

Too bad it was a glitch that screwed me over!

April 25, 2011

Newsflash: I completed Dragon Age: Origins weeks ago.

Newsflash: I’m just now wrapping the log up.

If I were to try to wrack my brain and recall everything that happened from Orzammar (where I left off) to the Archdemon…well, I couldn’t do it. Too much happened too long ago. I SUCK. But, what I did do after defeating the archdemon was take pictures. Lots of pictures.

That’s right kids, I took pictures of every epilogue paragraph and typed it out. Now, we can reflect on the decisions I made. Brilliant, right? RIGHT?

::Ahem::

“In the months that followed his coronation, Alistair proved to be a popular king…if largely unwilling to involve himself in matters of governing. He traveled often, making appearances in towns throughout Ferelden to the great delight of the commoners. They referred to him as a king with the “common touch,” even if a few knew it was a simple aversion to life at court. Elissa married King Alistair in a lavish ceremony six months after his coronation, becoming the princess-consort of Ferelden. The two toured the nation soon afterwards, and the people were ecstatic to see how the king adored his new bride.

Britt Note: Of course Alistair adored me. I had that boy wrapped around my finger. I could totally see Alistair being a giddy little boy, showing off his wife. Also, it doesn’t surprise me that he would do anything in his power to avoid court. Sometimes I wonder if he really was the best choice for king, because he was, you know, a little dumb. BUT. He makes a hot king, and that totally justifies everything.

Rumors that the Urn of Sacred Ashes had been found, and that it was used to heal Arm Eamon of his poisoning, circulated in Ferelden in the months following the Darkspawn defeat…slowly, at first, and then with growing frequency as the grand cleric failed to deny them. Once the Chantry made several attempts to verify the rumors, however, there came an official decree that no resting places for the Ashes had been found. If the Urn of Sacred Ashes was in those ruins once, it was no longer.

Britt Note: Now this…this is interesting. Where the heck would they have gone to? Perhaps the rumors of the location got a little out of hand, and the ashes needed to be relocated so that no one would find them and use them for malicious use? If I recall, wasn’t Leliana going to the ruins (with others) to protect the ashes? MAYBE THE MAKER RETURNED AND STOLE THEM. You bastard. Anyway, wonder if this is just a fun tidbit of information, or if it will come into play during DA2.

Following months of grim effort, the templars cleared the last remaining spirits from the Circle Tower, making it safe to rebuild a home for Ferelden’s Circle of Magi. Rumors of what happened increased the common folk’s distrust of mages, and more than one young apprentice claimed to encounter mages thought long dead still wandering in the Fade. Once the tower was rebuilt, Knight-Commander Greagoir stepped down from his post and retired to a life of private contemplation as a brother in the Chantry. His health failed over time, and after refusing treatment, he perished in his sleep. Knight-Commander Cullen was said to be more strict and less trusting of the mages even than Greagoir was. He ruled the Circle with fear.

Britt Note: Greagoir, you were a bastard. You denied that Dwarven girl admittance to the tower, and for that you will forever suck. But…yes. The tower. Good. Old. Tower. So many things went wrong there. I’ve ranted enough about that, however. Moving on.

With the slavers shut down in the Alienage, the lot of the city-born elves improved for a time. The new king even named the local elder to his personal court—a scandal amongst the humans, but a sign of new hope to the elves. Shianna continued to be an outspoken member of the Alienage community, and in time became the new elder. That outspokenness earned her frequent trouble, but served her people well.

Britt Note: Oh, Alistair. You would appoint the elder to your court—and for that, I <3 you. . I was a bad girl and didn’t read the codex entries re: the Alienage, but it would have been neat to spend more time in that run-down place, as it represents and speaks loads about Ferelden culture.

Arl Eamon remained in Denerim for some time, acting as the chancellor and chief advisor to King Alistair. Teagan ruled over Redcliffe in his stead, and was surprised to find himself well-loved by the villagers, who were still grateful for the nights he spent defending their lives. In time, Eamon abdicated in favor of his brother…an event the locals greeted with approval and enthusiasm.

Britt Note: I always liked Teagan, and plus he flirted with my Grey Warden, so there you go. C’mon Bioware, why wasn’t an option presented to boink and stay with Teagan after all of this was over? It could have made for awesome DLC. Anyway, I personally find the Guerrin brothers (Eamon and Teagan) interesting folk, as I’ve read the novels and in those we discover some of their history. Liiike…did you know that Eamon and Teagan are the brothers of the deceased Rowan, who was betrothed to Maric? Did you know that Rowan and Loghain had a thing? Mhmmm.

The Dalish elves prospered after the siege at Denerim, having earned much respect for their part in the battle. For once, human lands welcomed the wandering folk. The new keeper, Lanaya, was respected both amongst the Dalish as well in the Ferelden court. She was a voice of reason, and other Dalish clans would turn to her to help resolve disputes with human folk. In time, many of the Dalish clans moved to the new land provided for them in the south near Ostagar. Wary of their human neighbors, however, tensions soon rose again…and only Keeper Lanaya’s leadership kept peace alive.

Britt Note: Not surprising that tensions would rise again. After all, in dire times people bind together, but as soon as things start going swell again (yes, I said swell) all of that goes out that window and we proceed to rip out each others throats. It doesn’t mention it here, but Lanaya replaced Zathrian after he and Witherfang committed Hari Kari together. Zathrian was a grudge-holding unforgivable bastard until the very end, when he finally realized that he may have been wrong. Douche. For the record, I liked Lanaya more anyway.

In Orzammar, King Harrowmont found himself in a protracted battle against Bhelen’s rebellion that left him unable to gain the stability he needed. The clan lords objected to many of his measures in the Assembly, and only his efforts to increase the dwarve’s isolation from the surface met with any success. In time, Harrowmont’s health began to fail. Some claimed it was poison, while others said it was a flagging spirit. Either way, after a protracted illness, the king finally passed away. The wrangling in the Assembly for a successor began almost immediately. Brother Burkel’s new chantry in Orzammar drew a surprising number of converts among the dwarves. They quickly attracted a great deal of anger from more conservative quarters, and before long the Assembly severely restricted the Andrastrians’ rights. Brother Burkel resisted, and was slain while being arrested during a peaceful demonstration in the Commons. The Assembly claimed this was an accident, but news of the resulting riots reached the Chantry on the surface, where the Divine even contemplated a new Exalted March. The Dwarven mage, Dagna, ultimately completed her studies at the rebuilt Circle Tower. Eventually, she published a comprehensive theory of how lyrium vapors relate to the supply of magic. It gained a great deal of attention.

Britt Note: The reason I picked Harrowmont to be king is because, apparently, during the Dwarf Origin, Bhelen frames your character for the murder of your brother (or something like that) and that is bad news bears. I didn’t like that Harrowmont wanted to keep the “way of the Dwarf” the same. But at least he didn’t kill his freakin’ brother or some shit. So, all of that work for nothing. He ended up croaking for some stupid reason. Way to go, Harrowmont. Now, Burkel was slain. Poor dude, but not surprising. All he wanted was to preach a religion not only in a culture that didn’t believe in religion, but in a culture that is seriously fucked up and has more drama than an episode of Jersey Shore. And despite Greagoir’s douchery, Dagna did her thang at the circle tower. That makes me happy. TEAM DAGNA!

Although the Anvil of the Void was destroyed, rumors about its location crept into Orzammar. Years later, thanks to the defeat of the darskpawn on the surface, a few determined smiths managed to locate the Anvil’s remains. They examined the ruins of the Anvil, and, upon returning to Orzammar with their findings, convinced the Shaperate to attempt to recreate Caridin’s research. A new golem was created, bound with a spirit taken from the fade. The golem immediately went insane, killing several shapers before it was destroyed. The research was branded excessively dangerous and sealed away. Whispers of its existence circulated throughout Orzammar, however, and demand among the smith caste to repopen Caridin’s research refused to abate.

Britt Note: HAHAHAHAHA. This makes me laugh. Stupid Orzammar dwarves. But seriously, couldn’t you just picture that happening? It makes me lol. It’ll be interesting to see if the Anvil plays a role in Dragon Age 2. It’s a pretty significant thing after all, but I don’t know jack shit about the story of DA2, so I’m blindly guessing. Of course, it was my decision to destroy the Anvil, and I stand by that, dammit. What if the Anvil falls into the wrong hands? I don’t want to face an army of evil golems with my “squishy” characters, as Shale would say.

As good as her word, Morrigan disappeared once the archdemon was slain. Someone of Morrigan’s description was seen traveling alone months later, heading west through the Frostback Mountains…and she may even have been with a child.

Britt Note: I’ve already completed Witch Hunt, so I kinda know what’s going on. I’m more interested into how this will play out in DA2. Will I see the child? Is he good? Evil? Will he be a firecrotch like his father? I’ll find out. Oh, and could you imagine Morrigan giving brith? What a sight that would be. There would probably be a mile radius around her of nothing but destruction.

As for Elissa’s companions, they went their separate ways. Alistair remained in Denerim with his love for a time, much to Queen Anora’s discomfort. He was eventually called to the far-off fortress of Weisshaupt, the home of the Grey Wardens, and swore he would return to his lover’s side soon. As the blighted lands began to heal and the Grey Wardens slowly rebuilt the order in Amaranthine, they discovered that the fight against the Darkspawn was not yet complete. Although the horde was routed and had dissolved upon the archdemon’s death, many of the more powerful darskpawn survived to organize roving war bands that preyed both upon the land and upon each other. These war bands spread havoc, and some even journeyed west into Orlais or crossed the Shining Sea by the Deep Roads. They proved incredibly difficult to wipe out.

Britt Note: More Darkspawn?! WHO SAW THAT COMING?! So, you’re telling me that these asshats are crossing bodies of water now? Greeeaaaat. Also, I know a few characters make cameos in Dragon Age 2 (thanks to people spoiling it for me =_=) and that makes me happy in the pants. Hopefully some of them will be playable again, but I doubt it. Sigh.

But these tales are yet to be told. This tale ended when Elissa sank her blade in the archdemon’s head and destroyed it forever. It was not the last that Ferelden would hear of her, however….”

Britt Note: DRAGON AGE 2!!!!!!!1111