Dragon Age II Worry

Lately, BioWare hasn't really revealed many specifics about Dragon Age II.  This is leading to all sorts of internet rumors on the subject, such as that the game is completely different, one went so far as to say that the new game will be a hack and slash type game, which is complete nonsense.  

However, a recent develop diary released clear up some of these worries.  A "Making of Dragon Age II" video was recently released on the internet.  It shows that the developers have the player's best interest at heart, showing similar gameplay to the first game.  

http://gamerant.com/dragon-age-2-bioware-making-of-video-part-1-trung-57087/

They go into detail explaining how the new story will work, how the combat differs and such.  They admit that changes make some older fans nervous, the they have high hopes for it.  And after watching that Developer Diary, I have no doubt that Dragon Age II will live up to its hype.

Dragon Age: Awakening

About a year after Dragon Age: Origins was released, an expansion, Dragon Age: Awakening hit stores.  Awakening takes place six months after the death of the Arch Demon and sees the Warden rebuild the Grey Wardens.

The expansion to Dragon Age: Origins

In Awakening, the Warden initiates several Grey Wardens through the joining.  The player is presented with several characters, some more righteous than others, and it is up to the player's judgement if they are going to be accepted into the Grey Wardens or not.

Dragon Age II Preview

Dragon Age II was recently announced for a release date of March 2011.  The game takes a large departure from what fans might have expected.  When BioWare developed Mass Effect 2, they reinserted the first protagonist, Commander Shepard into an all new story, all of your past decisions from Mass Effect 1 carrying over into the storyline of the second game.  While your decisions from Dragon Age and the ultimate outcome are imported into Dragon Age II, your designed character is not the protagonist.  Instead, you play as Hawk, a Lothering refugee who rises to power.  Several characters from the first game return such as Flemeth and Isabella, but for the most part, it seems Dragon Age II aims to tell its own unique story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xx0pU-B_yA

One of the main advantages to having a set protagonist rather than a customizable one is that now, the protagonist will have a voice actor behind them.  This was not the case in Dragon Age: Origins due to the level of customization available.

The combat will remain the same at its core, however, developers are saying they are revamping the entire skill system, along with making combat look a lot better.

Downloadable content

Since the release of Dragon Age, there has been a large amount of optional, downloadable content.  This ranges from anything from new equipment, new quests, areas, and even new playable characters.

The Stone Prisoner
The first released piece of downloadable content, and my personal favorite DLC, is The Stone Prisoner.  The content adds a new quest, a new town, and a new playable character, the golem, Shale.  It begins with the player's party finding a strange item called a control rod.  After asking a local merchant, the player learns that the rod can control a golem.

Shale in 'The Stone Prisoner'

After much investigating in the town of Honneleath, the player awakens Shale, the sleeping golem, and can ultimately convice him to join the party.  Shale can be used throughout the entire game, and has his own personal history and storyline to add.  In addition to this, Shale's presence can also affect what happens towards the end of the game concerning Wynne.

Leliana's Song

Another lengthy piece of downloadable content is Leliana's Song.  This campaign takes place years before the events of Dragon Age: Origins in Orlay, the continent across the ocean from Ferelden.  In Leliana's Song, the player plays as Leliana and her Orlesian companions and follows the events leading up to and following her betrayal.

Leliana's Song

She is living as an assassin/bard and gets caught up in a treasonous conspiracy and is ultimately left for dead by her mentor, Marjolaine.  In Dragon Age: Origins, the player along with Leliana can confront Marjolaine one last time.  Marjolaine can also be killed during this encounter.  The campaign lasts about 3 hours and adds a great amount of depth to the character of Leliana.

Witch Hunt
The final DLC for Dragon Age: Origins is a campaign called Witch Hunt.  The campaign takes place after the defeat of the Arch Demon, and can only be played in the Warden does not die at the end of the story.  It begins with the Warden feeling unsatisfied by Morrigan's disappearance at the end of the game.  It is important to note that if the Warden ever slept with Morrigan, that she will be pregnent by the end of the story, this happens even if the Warden declines Morrigan's offer.  After gathering a small party of random adventurers, the Warden sets out to find Morrigan, the reason for which, can be a variety of things.

Morrigan returns in 'Witch Hunt'

Depending of the events of the first game concerning Morrigan, the player can be pursuing Morrigan for a range of reasons.  If Morrigan was the Warden's lover in Dragon Age, and it ended well, the Warden pursues Morrigan because he loves her and wants to see his child.  If the player refuses Morrigan's deal, and never romanced her, the Warden can be pursuing Morrigan to either kill her or ask her questions about her disappearance.  

The Ultimate Sacrifice, Morrigan's Offer, and The End of Dragon Age

In addition to who ends up ruling Ferelden, the final confrontation with the Arch Demon will result in either the player, Alistair, Loghain to make the ultimate sacrifice.  Immediately prior to the final battle, the player is informed that when an Arch Demon is killed, its soul will be transferred to another being with darkspawn blood, and thus it is reborn.  In order to prevent this, a Grey Warden must be the one to defeat the Arch Demon, and because Grey Wardens have darkspawn blood, the Arch Demon's soul will enter the Warden's body.  However, because the Warden is not a darkspawn, this process ends up just killing both the Arch Demon and the Warden.

Wynne battling the Arch Demon

The possible Grey Wardens that can be sacrificed are Loghain, Alistair, or the player's warden.  However, there is no way to have both of them be active members of the party during the final battle, it has be either one or the other.  However, despite all of this, there is a way to avoid making this sacrifice all together, through the means of a blood magic ritual performed by Morrigan.

While, yes this entire sacrifice can be avoided, it is not without a cost.  The method of Morrigan's ritual is that of blood magic, a forbidden school of magic that uses life force to accomplish goals.  Morrigan's offer is that she will have sex with either the Warden (which may or may not have happened already in the story, depending on what the player has chosen), Alistair, or Loghain.

Morrigan's offer

After this, a child is conceived and when the Arch Demon is slain, its soul inhabits the unborn child's body, instead of killing the Grey Warden who slays it. However, this child will ultimately grow up to become a god.  What this really means is hard to say, but it implies something bad could ultimately come of it.


This in combination with the events of the Landsmeet determine the player's ending.

Endings:

"Alistair's Champion"- Alistair becomes king, either with or without Anora, and remains a Grey Warden.  Morrigan's offer is refused.  The Warden stands by his king, and in a great moment of triumph defeats the Arch Demon and sacrifices himself to save Ferelden.  The game ends with The Warden's funeral, Alistair and company by his side.

"Loghain's Redemption"- Anora rules as queen, either with or without the Warden by her side as king.  Loghain is recruited into the Grey Wardens and in a moment of redemption, slays the Arch Demon and sacrifices himself to save the Kingdom.  The game ends with the Warden in the royal palace surrounded by friends and family.

"Loghain's Victory"- Anora rules as queen, Loghain doesn't die, and the player sacrifices his life to slay the Arch Demon.  The game ends with the Warden's funeral, Loghain claiming his victory with Anora over Ferelden.

"The Late King"- Loghain is executed shortly after the Landsmeet, and either The Warden or Alistair sacrifices themselves against the Arch Demon as king.

"The Warden's Champion"- The Warden becomes king, and Alistair makes the sacrifice.

"The Sinister Spawn of Morrigan"- Morrigan sleeps with one of the three Grey Wardens and conceives a child.  This negates the need for a sacrifice, but ends the game in an ominous and worrysome light.

The Warden Becomes King

One of the most satisfying conclusions to the Landsmeet is that the Warden becomes king.  However, this is not easy to arrange, and takes some careful planning to ensure that it happens.

The Warden as King (the warden appears differently to each player)

First of all, the Warden can only be considered for the throne if he is a human noble.  If he is not, there is no chance for him to become king.  In addition to this, the Warden needs to put the idea into Anora's mind for marriage the first time they meet through conversation.  If this is not achieved, the Warden will not become king.  If all of these are met, and the Warden chooses not to execute Loghain personally, the Warden will be able to assume the throne by marrying Anora.

Anora rules as Queen

Another possibility of the Landsmeet is that you strip all power from Loghain and allow his daughter to continue to serve as Queen.

Queen Anora

This may occur if Anora objects to marry either the player or Alistair for whatever reason.  The player also has a lengthy interaction with Anora before the landsmeet.  Interaction with her there will determine her willingness to accept a king.  This outcome puts the player at a great disadvantage, as the player will have little to no power over Ferelden in the days following the Landsmeet.

Also, having Anora be Queen will result in either one of two things for Alistair, his execution or the relinquishment of his birthright.  After Loghain's defeat, Anora still feels threatened by Alistair's right to the throne, so she will deal with it in one of those two ways, her decision of which can be influenced by the Warden's decisions.