Dragon Age: Origins.

[Rath Darkblade]

Alistair is Warrior, with two Templar specialisations.

[snip]

Wynne is a Mage, with a Spirit Healer specialisation and... I guess the second one is also Spirit Healer. *shrug*

Okay, this doesn't make sense.

You can't take the SAME specialization twice. Even if you could (which you can't), it'd make no sense at all. Once a specialization is taken, you gain access to all of that specialization's abilities.

Do you mean two powers?

Sorry, I forgot to give Alistair and Wynne their second specialisations. Alistair is Templar and (just started on) Champion; Wynne is Spirit Healer and (just started on) Arcane Warrior.

Leliana is Rogue, with one Bard specialisation and one Duelist specialisation.

Question: is Leliana focusing in dual-wielding or archery? If it's the latter, duelist is useless.

Leliana has done nearly all of the archery (3 more to go), but I thought I'd give her a bit of dual-wielding talent as well, to make her more flexible.

That gives me two good tanks, a good healer and a rogue who can also cast buffer spells. Oh, and both Alistair and I took weapon-and-shield skills.

If I may make a suggestion, you might to try the following:

1 two-handed Warrior, 1 long-range Rogue and 1 Mage OR 1 long-range Rogue and 2 Mages OR 1 melee Rogue, 1 long-range Rogue and 1 Mage. I'm not counting you in the group because you obviously have to be there.

The reason I say that is because you're already a sword-and-shield Warrior. While there's nothing wrong with having two classes that are the same (I had both Leliana and Zevran with me), a different setup might be more beneficial.

Two-handed Warriors have some very different abilities and often hit much harder. Having two Mages mean one can concentrate on healing/buffs/debuffs and the other can deal damage.

Yes, I cleaned house on the Warden's Keep with Leliana, Wynne & Sten. However, the reason I took Alistair (and gave him sword-and-shield) is to keep him better protected. I noticed also that Sten deals masses of damage, but isn't as well-protected.

I'd take Morrigan along, but... well... she's such a pain. Also, she just wouldn't get along with Leliana & Wynne. For instance, I'm sure that she would suggest defiling the ashes of Andraste, and if I did that, L & W would instantly turn on me.

No matter what you have, ALWAYS have a Rogue with you. They're invaluable. In fact, in some cases they're better than Warriors since they're versatile and can deal an incredible amount of damage very quickly if they're dexterity is pumped up.

Yes, this is something that bugged me in the early stages of the game. I could not get a rogue from anywhere, and you can't bash chests/doors open in this game (like you can in NWN). I thought this was a pain in the neck. Grr...

[Tawmis]

No matter what you have, ALWAYS have a Rogue with you. They're invaluable. In fact, in some cases they're better than Warriors since they're versatile and can deal an incredible amount of damage very quickly if they're dexterity is pumped up.

Yes, this is something that bugged me in the early stages of the game. I could not get a rogue from anywhere, and you can't bash chests/doors open in this game (like you can in NWN). I thought this was a pain in the neck. Grr...

Early stages... dude, you get "L"... right after you meet "M" for the first time...
What do you mean you couldn't get a rogue from anywhere?!?

[DeadPoolX]

No matter what you have, ALWAYS have a Rogue with you. They're invaluable. In fact, in some cases they're better than Warriors since they're versatile and can deal an incredible amount of damage very quickly if they're dexterity is pumped up.

Yes, this is something that bugged me in the early stages of the game. I could not get a rogue from anywhere, and you can't bash chests/doors open in this game (like you can in NWN). I thought this was a pain in the neck. Grr...

Early stages... dude, you get "L"... right after you meet "M" for the first time...
What do you mean you couldn't get a rogue from anywhere?!?

Maybe he means the part before arriving at Lothering?

Oh and Rath, good call making Wynn an Arcane Warrior. I did the same. If she's mainly there for buffing and healing, she'll be far more vulnerable than a damage-dealing Mage. Wearing armor, despite the noticeable fatigue it adds, gives her a ton of protection.

One major drawback to Arcane Warriors is that they have to sheath any weapon EXCEPT a staff in order to cast SOME spells. This can be annoying, but there are three ways around this:

1. Only cast spells that let you keep your weapon drawn.
2. Switch between a staff and a sword.
3. Cast your spells as normal and if/when you run out of mana, switch to your sword and turn on Combat Magic. If you have Shimmering Shield, activate that as well. Now go fight!

Any three of those (separately or together) can work well. I usually employed #2 and #3.

There's also a workaround, but it requires you to use a sword all the time. Basically, you use your sword in weapon set 1 and keep weapon set 2 empty. Then pause the game and switch your weapon sets (you can do this by clicking on the icon or pressing the "/" key, unless you've remapped it). If you do this, your character will instantly sheath his sword without the character performing the animation of sheathing his sword.

You could also download a mod that let's you cast ANY spell with your sword out. This isn't entirely cheating. There's ONE sword in the game, specifically designed for Arcane Warriors, that's supposed to let you cast any spell without sheathing it. Unfortunately, the sword is glitched in that it doesn't work as it's supposed to. This is why there's a "keep-weapon-drawn-and-cast-any-spell" mod available.

If you're interested, here's a complete list of spells in DA:O (the Battlemage specialization is from DA:A, so don't worry about it yet) that'll tell you what spells can be cast with and without your weapon drawn.

[Rath Darkblade]

Agghh... damn damn damn Oghren.

I did the first quest for Bhelen, then watched Oghren throw a hissy fit and stomp off to the tavern. I talked to the guard that Oghren was throwing a tantrum at, then followed Oghren to the tavern and tried to get him to join me. I said all the right things - that I sympathised, that I wanted to help him find Branka etc. - but he just didn't listen and told me to come back when the "higher-ups" decide that finding Branka was worthwhile. He also told me to "sod off" and called me a "duster". OK, bit strange, but ok.

I finish mopping up the Breccia... er, mafia... er, Carta ( ) and head back to Bhelen. He gives the whole spiel about finding Branka, and I figure - yes! This is what I'm waiting for! So I go back to Tapsters to find Oghren, but he's no longer there... ugh!!!

I'm getting the feeling that getting that little jerk to join my party just isn't worth it. I run around and arrange things on his behalf, just to make him feel better, and he just ups sticks and disappears. Last time I do a dwarf any favours. UGH.

So where did he go this time?

[DeadPoolX]

I'm not sure what the problem is since I easily got Oghren. I'd suggest checking the DA Wiki and/or the BioWare forums. If there aren't any threads about this issue, post about it yourself. I have a feeling they might be able to solve this quicker than we can.

Having said that, the only reason to acquire Oghren is to gain his personal story, have access to the berserker specialization and gather another two-handed Warrior party member. Oghren is pretty damn funny after he joins you, so his sense of humor trumps Sten, who's the only other two-handed Warrior available.

Oghren isn't necessary since you've got three Warriors (Alistair, Sten and your Mabari Warhound) right now; four if you include yourself. If you do the "Stone Prisoner" DLC quest, you'll also get Shale, who can easily take on the role of Warrior, so you could end up with five Warriors (if you once again count yourself). Maybe even six Warriors if you level Wynn right to take advantage of her Arcane Warrior specialization, but her pure Mage powers should take priority over her Arcane Warrior abilities.

Your dog and Shale can't acquire any specializations. Neither one of them can use weapons beyond special items, such as warpaint or collars for the dog and crystals for Shale.

Oghren reappears as a possible party member in Dragon Age: Awakening (the official expansion to Origins, which you should already have with the Ultimate Edition). If you import your character from Origins into Awakening, he'll recognize you if you got him. Aside from that, it won't make a difference.

To sum up this long post, you don't NEED to get Oghren. If you're a completionist or feel you can use another Warrior (which MIGHT come in handy later in the game, but certainly won't mean the difference between winning and losing), then you should do whatever you can to get Oghren. Otherwise, he's probably not worth the effort.

[AndreaDraco]

It's fine Rath.

You'll meet Oghren as soon as you're finally heading toward the Deep Roads

[Rath Darkblade]

Ah, ok. The only reason I want to get Oghren is because I've read he's pretty funny and I'd like to get as much of the story of Dragon Age as I can, particularly as it's *still* my first time around.

[Rath Darkblade]

Well, fart me a lullaby, because I've just gone through the Deep Roads with Oghren and found the Anvil of the Void.

Just a question... just what is Bioware's fascination in this game, with the Big Bads being *ahem* ladies with their vests off...? That's the most polite way I can put this.

Think about it: the ultimate Big Bad in the Redcliffe Castle? A succubi who enslaved Connor.

One of the Big Bads in the Circle of Magi? A Desire Demon (though Uldred is the ultimate one, of course).

The (or one of the) ultimate Big Bad in the Dalish clan quest? The Lady of the Forest (aka Witherfang).

The ultimate Big Bad in the Dwarf quest? The Broodmother - everything after that seems like a holiday!

I'm not some kind of prude or anything, but after a while you seem to think "Here comes a bare-breasted lady - get ready for a major encounter!" I mean, it's not exactly unexpected or anything.

Comments?

[AndreaDraco]

Well, to be honest I've never given it much thought.

I mean the Desire Demon in Redcliffe is hardly a Big Bad, and you encounter them a plenty in the Fade. And I always thought that the true Big Bad of the Dalish Quest was the Clan's Keeper.

On the other hand, of course, the Broodmother takes the prizes. She is gross. But if you plan to play Awakening, then you've seen nothing yet

[Tawmis]

I have no problem with the Desire Demons. No problem at all. I mean. None. None what so ever.

TheBroodmother however... She's... she's a whole lot of lovin'.

[DeadPoolX]

Thanks a lot! Now I have the image of "Darkspawn p0rn" stuck in my head. Add in the Broodmother and it gets very ugly.

The scary part is I bet there are people who'd not only want to see that, but buy it as well (or at least illegally download it).

[Tawmis]

Thanks a lot! Now I have the image of "Darkspawn p0rn" stuck in my head. Add in the Broodmother and it gets very ugly.

The scary part is I bet there are people who'd not only want to see that, but buy it as well (or at least illegally download it).

Not that I ... uh checked...

[Rath Darkblade]

I don't even want to know. Ugh - now I feel bad for having started this whole thing! I think I'm going to be sick.

[Rath Darkblade]

Heh. I've now finished DA:O with the human noble, and here's my opinion:

Overall, the game is very very good. Good long mod. One tiny niggle: The battle with the Archdemon was fairly easy, compared with the battle with his two lieutenants. The two lieutenant-fights brought down two of my companions (Leliana and Wynne) before I finally killed off all the darkspawn. In the Archdemon battle, no-one died - ever.

Now this may be because I was playing on the easy setting, I don't know. Anyway, is it worth re-playing through the whole thing with other character types (e.g. dwarf noble, dwarf commoner, elf commoner, Dalish elf etc.) just to see what happens? I already started with dwarf commoner and elf commoner, just to see where they come from.

Comments?

[AndreaDraco]

I merged the threads, Rath! It's tidier this way!