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Dragon Age: Origins
Scout
Portland, Oregon
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December 2, 2009 - 12:19 am
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Got the game tonight. Installed it to see if it would run. Seems fine. First fight...rats. I liked the comment that my character that every adventure seems to start off with rat killing. Oh, I'm a male human noble with tattoo and a sort of hollowed eyed junkie chic look.

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Toger
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December 2, 2009 - 10:10 am
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It's the stink buff, Pokey. Keeps critters away by smell alone. [Image Can Not Be Found]

Interesting how both Scout and Steerpike chose male humans. No imagination. [Image Can Not Be Found]

Decided to postpone the Anvil of the Vail quest for the nonce and go after Shale. I probably won't use him in my party, but it's a walking, talking golem. What's not to like? Tried talking to Ohgren in camp and he was extremely rude, yet he took a gift of booze from me. Go figure.

Got to the village of Honnleath - which if you just glance at the name could be mistaken for Honnaleigh where little Jackie Paper and Puff the Magic Dragon lived... but I digress (now you all have that song running through your head) - as we arrived villagers were running in the opposite direction. Not a good sign. Another bad sign: bodies hanging from the arches that span the road. Ran into a mess of hurlocks and genlocks. Found Shale "frozen" in the middle of town and the control rod did nothing. Located a bunch of people huddled in the basement; seems I need to find a mage's daughter before he'll give me the correct phrase. (Don't these people know I could run them through?!) Found the daughter... talking to a Desire Demon. People, people, people, does the phrase "Be careful what you wish for" mean nothing? We need to figure out the best way to handle this...

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Pokey
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December 2, 2009 - 11:06 am
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Stink buff??  Seems a lot of things happening in this game that I am not aware of. We are moving along so I can't complain. I love having Wynn in my party. My character has entered the Fade. What a strange place—and I was lost for a while trying to get to the mouse. The next area should be easier, I hope.

I definitely want to get Shale soon, if only to watch his/her antics. I hear he/she is a pretty effective fighter as well.

Alistair has been disapproving lately. I guess I'll have to find some gifts for him.

Later--the next area was fun with my mouse. My warrior is becoming very effective with dual swords.

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Toger
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December 2, 2009 - 12:30 pm
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Pokey said:

Stink buff??  Seems a lot of things happening in this game that I am not aware of.


Bad joke. [Image Can Not Be Found]

Pokey, I think we're running the exact same character with the only exception yours is a Dalish Elf and mine's a plain-Jane City Elf. Ilonka is a dual-wielding machine and she gets just a tad blood-lusty during battle.

Alistair is pretty much a goody-two shoes. So is Wynne. They're both easy to get disapprovals. Last night, both options I considered with the mage's daughter had both both of them disapproving; albeit on different variations. One of the options Morrigan approved and she doesn't approve of much.

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Toger
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December 2, 2009 - 3:13 pm
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oh! oh! oh! Had the craziest thing happen last night: a random encounter between Orzammar and Honnleath has me watching a cut-scene. A man and a woman are standing over a hole in the ground looking at what's in the hole... a smouldering rock. The man says to the woman (paraphrased), "Where did it come from? It's a boy. Five fingers and toes. Let's raise him as our own, Marta." They walk away and my party is able to walk down into the hole and take some molten rock.

I didn't realize that Ma and Pa Kent had ancestors from another time! [Image Can Not Be Found]

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Steerpike
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December 3, 2009 - 1:20 am
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I had to go to Corpus Christi on a business trip and now I'm way behind in DA. Stupid Corpus Christi! Curse you and your barely letting me get started before summoning me away!

I will play for many hours tomorrow night. Right now, my plane just landed and I have to gozzzzz...

zzzz

zzzzz

zz

Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.

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Toger
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December 3, 2009 - 10:18 am
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Sleep-typing? [Image Can Not Be Found]

Word to the wise: Take Shale with you into the Deep Roads.

I don't think it's necessary to have Shale for the entire journey – although Shale is the DA equivalent of that snarky droid in KotOR… HK-something which means the random conversations between any other party member and Shale are very, very entertaining and Shale is practically indestructible – you'll definitely want Shale in your party for the Anvil of the Vail quest.

Not only to survive the double golem gauntlet, but some of Shale's backstory is revealed there. I'm not sure whether I would have gotten any of that storyline if Shale hadn't been in my party. I have a save just before entering that quest, so I could find out but I'm lazy. Let someone else be the guinea pig.

The Dwarves have a new King and they've promised to be there for the final battle. We've finished up Orzammar, but after talking to Shale in camp, looks like we're headed back to the Deep Roads for Shale's quest. Listening to Shale & Alistair compare their sounds of pain from battle wounds was hysterical. After one conversation with Wynne, Shale switched from a snarky age-related greeting to “wise one” when speaking to her. Shale's admission of the fear of birds almost made me wet my pants.

Talk to Ohgren about Branka, in camp, after Anvil of the Vail. I think I know why he's always drunk!

We did a little favor for Morrigan and all I will say is I was expecting something dangerous and formidable, but definitely not what we came up against. After doing that favor, suddenly Morrigan is my new BFF, right behind Alistair and Lelianna.

I discovered a new stat that I assume is based on your companions approval rating: your leadership skills directly affect how strong your companion's attacks can be. I altered Wynne's tactics to include flame blast & earthquake so I could leave Morrigan behind… woman damn near killed all of us! Flame blast was more like a freakin' fire storm that engulfed everything in its path, while earthquake was so effective everyone but Wynne was knocked on their butts for as long as the effect lasted. I think I'll remove earthquake for something a little less… awesome.

I picked up Warden's Keep DLC last night. I'm planning to try to do a number of companion quests and WK before moving on to the elves.

Note to self: It's not every day you find a cheese knife that's capable of cutting. any. thing.

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Toger
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December 4, 2009 - 10:12 am
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Finished up Shale's quest for self. Found Sten's sword. I'd have found it sooner if I'd been paying attention. Somehow I missed the person I needed to speak to (several times) as he was hidden in the bushes and it's always dark in that particular location.

Alistair and Ilonka had another one of those darkspawn dreams. They're a little creeped out right now.

Started and finished the Soldier's Peak (Warden's Keep) quest. Now wardens have a place to call home, once Levi brings in his nephews to clean it up. Why anyone would want to live there is beyond me, kinda spooky and crazy cold. I seem to remember that Warden's Keep is free for PC players? Or is that only the CE edition? If you have to buy, the entire quest is only about 2 hours from start to finish. It provided some nice warden backstory, but that's about it... well, I did get some nice kick-ass armour out of the deal. Of course, no one can currently wear it as we're all just under the strength requirement. But someone will wear it soon.

We're in the midst of doing Wynne's quest and since it coincides with our plan to head to the Dalish camp, that's where we left off last night. I think I only have three more companion quests to get/complete: Zevran, Leliana and Ohgren... I wonder if finding Branka was Ohgren's quest? I'd question him more, but he's drunk most of the time. Last night I tried talking to him and he collapsed into a fit of the giggles after muttering "ass-chaps"... or at least that's what I think he said!

Note to self: Never leave anyone unarmed or unclothed in camp. Bad things can happen.

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Pokey
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December 4, 2009 - 11:46 am
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Note to self: Never leave anyone unarmed or unclothed in camp. Bad things can happen.


I haven't done this, but now I am curious. [Image Can Not Be Found]

We finished up the Circle of Mages last night and will head back to the castle to see what we can do for Connor. I loved the Fade—very well done. I especially liked the Golem's hurl and the Burning Man's fireball. I found most of the attribute bonuses. Probably missed a few but wanted to get on with the action. We didn't have much problem with the Sloth demon or the last boss. I may head back to Denerim after the castle to see if anything has developed. Then maybe go get Shale

Wynne is so great. I don't care about the few chests we can't open. There is more stuff than we can carry anyway.

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Toger
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December 5, 2009 - 2:00 pm
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Pokey, if you really wish to know, I can “spoiler” it and tell you.

Why did no one tell me about the Oak Guardian or the Hermit? :glares at Pokey: They are two of my most favorite NPCs. Ever.

We finished up the Brecilian Forest last night. What a lovely respite after the caves of the Dwarven thaigs and the darkspawn-destroyed towns I've run across… well, except for the occasional werewolf, bear or ogre. We met up with the Forest Spirit – she of the silken tresses just long enough to cover her nipples and tree root bottoms – and helped resolve her differences with the Dalish.

Steerpike, from one arachnophobe to another: beware the ruins in the forest. I'm pretty sure my previous encounters with those creatures never resulted in my being knocked down and eaten! before, but those beasties in the ruins… I wasn't even aware what had happened (the camera had changed direction and I thought I was stuck behind it as sometimes happens) until I noticed Alistair whacking the stuffing out of one and then my girl gets up from under the damned thing! :shudder:

Last night in camp, Leliana sang a most haunting song to us all (the tune is the music heard during the load screens). Everyone was deeply affected, even Morrigan; though she tried to pretend otherwise. Okay, everyone might be an exaggeration as I didn't see Ohgren or Zehvran in the cutscene. Or Shale for that matter, but Shale's a golem so music might not affect Shale like it does everyone else. On the other hand, Shale is all about the pretty crystals.

Went back to Soldier's Peak and dropped off a mess o' stuff from my backpack in our own personal storage trunk. Ahhh, feels just like home.

Note to self: clean, inviting, abandoned camp sites are to be avoided at all costs.

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Pokey
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December 6, 2009 - 12:06 pm
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Sure, spoiler it. I liked the Oak Guardian but the Hermit was very annoying and I didn't hesitate to kill him. How did you do against the Revenant? I'm going back and get him later. I remember that camp site. Leliana sang the song for us too. I guess it happens after the Forest.

Connor has been rescued. Wynne was assigned the chore of entering the Fade. I checked with the Circle mage and he refused. Afterward, we were directed to Denerim, where I was intending to go anyway. After a visit to the camp, we checked out Alistair's sister to everyone's regret. Poor Alistair. Also returned a box we found long ago and forgot about.

I handed out lots of gifts at the camp. Leliana's approval is very high and the rest are getting there, except Sten. Did you ever get his story?

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Toger
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December 6, 2009 - 3:01 pm
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The Hermit and his guessing game was fun and I was able to trade him for everything he had on him, except whatever he was hiding in the tree stump. I'm a curious girl, so I saved, then stuck my hand in the stump only to be poisoned? or trigger some greenish effect and then he attacked. We killed him, but I felt bad and it wasn't my intention to off him – he's just a tad crazy – so I reloaded and went my merry way.

The Revenants at the grave sites? I left them alone. Whenever I see the words “cold emanates from this spot” I have a tendency to just back away.  [Image Can Not Be Found]  I've learned the hard way to just leave glass vials and cold spots alone and usually the XP or goods aren't worth it. I could probably go back and finish that quest as we're pretty beefy at this point (lvl 18-19).

Yes, I did get Sten's story. It was slow going at first, but after gifting him several times (he's partial to paintings) he seemed to warm up to me and spilled his guts. He actually likes me!

Regarding the unarmed/unclothed in camp:

After one of the shared darkspawn dreams – they see the archdemon and it seems to be looking right at them – the camp is immediately attacked by darkspawn. Everyone joins in. It wasn't a huge battle, but we'd all thought the camp was a safe haven. It definitely shook everyone up.

My “note to self” comment was triggered by someone earlier in the thread saying they'd stripped one of the companions to outfit another.

Denerim's Alienage was finally opened up and I got to visit home. Bad things had happened and my father was missing. I giggled when Alistair discovered that Ilonka had been betrothed:

Alistair: You're married?! You never told me you were married!

Ilonka: The wedding didn't happen.

Alistair: But you were betrothed! Why didn't you say something?

Ilonka: It ended badly.

Alistair: How bad could it have been?

Ilonka: There were rapists. And the wrong cake was delivered.

Alistair: Oh. Well. I see what you mean.

Ohgren has finally spilled his guts and we're off to Lake Calenhad to seek out some woman he used to know. He spins a fine drunken tale, but Ilonka wants to hear her side of it. People are disappearing from the Alienage, Tevinter mages claim there's some sort of darkspawn plague and a semi-blind Templar thinks there's some “bad juju” happening. (no shit!) We were attacked by the Crows looking for Zevran. They won't be looking for him anymore. Afterwards, Zevran wanted to leave, but I convinced to stay since we're friends. No, not those kind of friends! Ilonka doesn't play those kind of games! We need him in the final battle.

I've discovered something about this game that I'm fairly sure hasn't ever happened before: I'm emtionally invested in what happens to my character and her friends. I didn't consciously realize that had happened until the Landsmeet quest. One of my dialogue choices was heart-wrenching to even bring up knowing the pain it would cause. I truly didn't want to mention it, but I knew that I needed to do so. When that topic was broached in a prior camp conversation it caused pain then. At least it didn't make me cry! We've finished that quest and I think we've made the right choice as to who sits on the throne. Only time will tell.

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lokimotive
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December 7, 2009 - 10:17 am
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Toger said:

Interesting how both Scout and Steerpike chose male humans. No imagination. [Image Can Not Be Found]


Hey, I chose a female noble and I'm a male destitute. Man, I feel left behind. I was on vacation for a week, after spending time with Batman for a week, and haven't had a chance to get back to this. RPGs need your every attention.

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Toger
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December 7, 2009 - 11:22 am
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Guess I should have said: All the guys chose humans. No imagination [Image Can Not Be Found] [Image Can Not Be Found]

I didn't play at all yesterday - I needed some down time after staying up past 1am both Friday & Saturday nights to play. I hadn't intended to play that long, but DA:O seems to fold time... an hour suddenly becomes 4 or 5.

Has anyone come across Duncan's shield? I know where it's supposed to be (according to the strat guide), but it doesn't appear to be there. I don't think I've happened upon it & sold it since gifts go into a completely different inventory category. On the other hand, some of the guide's locations could be PC specific as I've found other gift-type items in places different than what the guide lists. I'm thinking the game compensates for the fact that not everyone runs a rogue in their party. Yes, I sometimes used the guide to figure out who liked what gifts, especially with hard-case Morrigan.

Has anyone gotten Leliana's story or personal quest? I've gotten quite a bit of her story, but no personal quest as yet. What about Zevran? I've a fairly high approval rating for both.

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Pokey
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December 7, 2009 - 12:55 pm
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Toger, do you have the combination to get Duncan's shield?

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Toger
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December 7, 2009 - 1:19 pm
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Why no, I don't. Maybe I don't know where it is after all? Did I miss a sub-plot to get it? I'm assuming you found the shield, Pokey?

According to the guide, it's in the market warehouse. The only warehouse I've come across is the one in Denerim's market, around the corner from the Noble Tavern… wait, there was another warehouse (2 actually) in Denerim's Alienage one of which included a locked door.

hmm, now I'm really curious. Perhaps the guide lied to me? [Image Can Not Be Found]

New patch 1.02 available for PC players: http://social.bioware.com/page/da-patches

*edit: I know exactly how to get it now and from whom. I didn't re-ask the pertinent question when it was originally posed. I wonder if I'm up to going back to an earlier save to get it? Although, I could run into that NPC again as we're supposed to talk more after Landsmeet was settled. I think I'll just continue on and see what happens.

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Pokey
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December 7, 2009 - 1:40 pm
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No, I don't have it, but since it was just a gift, I didn't mind Googling it. Now I won't miss out on it. I have been in that warehouse. It was the only place in the game that I had a crash.

I checked out the patch and don't see anything of importance. I'm not going to use it unless I have a problem addressed by it.

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Toger
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December 7, 2009 - 1:43 pm
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I've been in that warehouse numerous times and didn't consider I needed more info to get it. The guide didn't lie, it just didn't spell it out. Which is good. Unless you really want to find it. [Image Can Not Be Found]

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Toger
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December 8, 2009 - 10:21 am
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Damn you BioWare for forcing me to decide between two equally difficult choices! I don't want to choose the needs of the many over the needs of the one. Stupid Star Trek philosophy.[Image Can Not Be Found]

We finished up some stray quests: hooking Oghren up with his lady love (that entire exchange was very bizarre & funny); braved the Revenants to get the pieces of Juggernaut armor; convinced a Dalish elf that revenge was not the path she wanted to take; found a weird guy in a quaint hovel and duked it out with him; and finally located the malificarum in the Brecilian Forest.

Went to Redcliffe to turn in my last couple of Blackstone quests only to have things turn to shit. Darkspawn. Waves and waves of darkspawn. We fought our way into the castle. Riordan (Orlesian Grey Warden) let us in on a little secret. My girl has this habit of speaking her mind and asked "why wasn't that secret mentioned before?" Riordan's answer: "No one would want to become a Grey Warden if they knew." Well, duh!

The final battle has begun and we headed back to Denerim...

(the companions and I said our good-byes to each other just before the final onslaught. It was so bittersweet. The dog damn near made me cry) ….

When given that choice, did I choose wisely? Magic 8 ball says: Ask again later.

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Pokey
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December 8, 2009 - 4:15 pm
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The dragon is dead.[Image Can Not Be Found] That was a tough fight with only Morrigan and the dragon left battling it out at the end, each with a sliver of health. We have the ashes and will return to Redcliff, but I think a side trip to pick up Shale would be fun. 

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