The Warden

The Warden is the player controlled protagonist of Dragon Age: Origins. The Warden can come from one of a wide spectrum of Ferelden's social strata, from the lowliest castes of dwarves and elves to the height of dwarven royalty and human nobility. After playing one of six unique origins, the Warden will join the Grey Wardens and deal with the deadly threats facing the land of Ferelden.

Character Creation
The player begins by selecting the Warden's gender, race (human, elf or dwarf), and class (warrior, rogue or mage), though the mage class is not available to dwarves. The player then picks an origin, from whatever origins are available, before choosing a first name, customizing the character's appearance, taking the character’s portrait and choosing a soundset. Next, attributes and skills are selected. If playing as a warrior or rogue talents are selected next, while mages select spells instead. Finally, the player selects their preferred difficulty level and the story begins.

First Name
A default name is offered according to the Warden's gender and origin, but this can changed to whatever the player chooses.


 * Male
 * Human Noble: Aedan
 * Human Mage: Daylen
 * Elf Mage: Alim
 * City Elf: Darrian
 * Dalish Elf: Theron
 * Dwarf Noble: Duran
 * Dwarf Commoner: Faren


 * Female
 * Human Noble: Elissa
 * Human Mage: Solona
 * Elf Mage: Neria
 * City Elf: Kallian
 * Dalish Elf: Lyna
 * Dwarf Noble: Sereda
 * Dwarf Commoner: Natia

Last Name
While the player can select the first name of the character freely, each origin has a set surname:


 * Human Noble: Cousland
 * Human Mage: Amell
 * Elf Mage: Surana
 * City Elf: Tabris
 * Dalish Elf: Mahariel
 * Dwarf Noble: Aeducan
 * Dwarf Commoner: Brosca

Starting Abilities
Each character begins the adventure with two specific skills and one talent or spell already known. Additionally, one skill and two talents or spells are chosen at character creation. The free starting abilities depend on class and origin. On the XBox 360, in addition to other skills, the Warden also gets one additional rank in Combat Training.

Story


After the origin story is played out, The Warden is sought out by Duncan, the leader of Ferelden's recently reformed Grey Wardens, to join them and aid King Cailan Theirin and his troops against an upcoming army of darkspawn in Ostagar. This is where the main plot of Dragon Age: Origins begins. The Warden's main task is to gather an army to defeat the Blight. However, they must also deal with political tensions threatening to distract the country from the impending Blight.

The actions of The Warden are entirely decided by the player. But unlike many other cRPGs, choices are not tracked by a single meter or bar, rather each of the companions have their own meter that reflects how they feel about The Warden's actions.

Level
As is typical for roleplaying games, a character's level will display the progress of the character's career and personal power. When the character levels up, certain things are automatically increased (health and stamina/mana), while other things (talents and attributes) must be manually increased, unless Autolevel is activated. There is currently a "hard" level cap of 25. However (since enemies do not re-spawn), there is only enough content in the game (including DLC) to reach between levels 17-24, depending on how many side quests and Codex entries are completed, while a well used rogue can gain the party significant experience over the course of their adventures by picking locks and disarming traps. Level 25 can only be reached by exploiting various experience bugs.

As new content is released (raising the soft cap) it is assumed that the hard cap will also be raised.

Equipment
Player characters have the following equipment slots: Additionally, there is a toggle to switch between two weapon sets.

Quotes

 * "Do not look a gift Warden in the mouth."
 * (To greedy Lothering Merchant)"I hear you're making a killing. Me too!" (kills merchant)
 * "My Warden-sense is tingling." (when encountering Darkspawn with the "wise" or "experienced" voice)
 * "Darkspawn! Destroy the fiends!" (when encountering Darkspawn with the "mystical" voice)
 * "Oh, let's just deal with these ones and move on..." (when encountering Darkspawn with the "suave" voice)
 * "They're all so eager to die, aren't they?" (when encountering enemies with the "suave" voice)
 * "The unnatural are always so...bothersome." (when encountering undead with the "suave" voice)
 * "Ugh... I was hoping for a challenge" (when encountering Darkspawn with the "cocky" voice)
 * "You'd think we wouldn't be just standing around but nooo." (with "cocky" voice)
 * "Ha! Let's wipe 'em out quickly!" (when encountering enemies with the "cocky" voice)
 * "It seems I managed to best them even while unconcious. I am that amazing." (getting up after being knocked out with "cocky" voice)
 * "Are you daft?" (when failing to pick a lock with the "cocky" voice)
 * "Finally! Something that can swallow me whole!" (When encountering dragons with the "cocky" voice)
 * "Darkspawn. Kill them all!" (when encountering Darkspawn with the "violent" voice)
 * "A dragon, a worthy foe!" (when encountering a dragon with the "violent" voice)
 * "Lifeless Bastards!" (when encountering Undead with the "violent" voice')
 * "It's a massacre, and no one gets out alive!" (with the "violent" voice')
 * "Can I get you a ladder, so you can get off my back?" (with the "violent" voice)
 * "Just call me the reaper, hahaha!" (with the "violent" voice")
 * "You have no skill, only desperation!" (with the "violent" voice)
 * "Look how desperate you are, it's pathetic!" (with the 'violent voice')
 * "It's a trap!" (with the "experienced voice")
 * "Shouldn't we be doing something? Killing things, perhaps?" (with the 'violent voice')
 * "Looks like something wants to die again." (when encountering Undead with the 'violent' voice)

Dialogue

 * Alistair: "One good thing about the blight is how it brings people together."
 * Warden: "You are a very strange man/human."

--
 * Morrigan: "'Tis cold in my tent, all alone..."

-- --
 * Warden : "Then get a thicker blanket."
 * Morrigan: "I have a thought."
 * Warden: "Just the one?"


 * Leliana: "I think I'll retire to my tent."
 * Warden: "I think I'll stay up and write in my journal."

--


 * Janar: "You made a hole in my wall!"
 * Warden: "Yes. You should get it fixed."

--


 * Doorman: "Password?"
 * Warden: "The grey nug flies north for the winter?"
 * Doorman: (No response)

--

-- -- --- --- ---
 * Sten: "You are a Grey Warden. So it follows that you can't be a woman."
 * Warden: "Why not?"
 * Sten: "Women are priests, artisans, shopkeepers, or farmers. They don't fight."
 * Warden: "That's not a universal truth. Some women fight."
 * Sten: "Why would women ever wish to be men? That makes no sense."
 * Warden: "They don't wish to be men. They wish to be women who fight."
 * Sten: "Do they also wish to live on the moon? That's as attainable."
 * Warden: "I'm a woman, and I'm fighting."
 * Sten: "One of those things can't be true. A person is born: qunari, or human, or elven, or dwarf. He doesn't choose that. The size of his hands, whether he is clever or foolish, the land he comes from, the color of his hair. These are beyond his control. We do not choose, we simply are."
 * Warden: "But a person can choose what to do."
 * Sten: "Can they? We'll see."
 * [Dwarf Noble origin] Mercenary Captain: "Where is the shield?!".
 * Warden: "The shield is a metaphor. It is in all of us."
 * Child: "He's a Chanter. He can only sing the Chant of Light...
 * 'Lothering Chanter: "And so Rajmael in the heathen temple recanted. "Speak only the Word; Sing only the Chant. Then the Golden City in thine," spoke Andraste''
 * Warden: "The Chanter says, "What?""'
 * Lothering Chanter: "What?"
 * Child: "Oh, you got him to talk!"
 * Lothering Chanter: "Err...what hath man's sin wrought?"
 * Child: "Oh, he cheated!"
 * Dwarven Warden: "Aren't you a little short to be a guard?"
 * Queen Anora: "Is that supposed to be ironic?"
 * Doorman: "What's the password?"
 * Warden: "Errm....sausage?"
 * Doorman: "Sausage?! Bloody no! Go Away!"
 * Sten: "I like swords, and killing things."
 * Warden: "You like swords? I do too"
 * Sten: I knew there was a reason I am still following you."