Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening



"'For centuries, the Grey Wardens—the ancient order of guardians, sworn to unite and defend the lands—have been battling the darkspawn forces. Legend spoke that slaying the Archdemon would have put an end to the darkspawn threat for centuries to come, but somehow they remain.'"

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening is the only expansion for Dragon Age: Origins. It was released for Windows, PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 16, 2010 in the US, March 18, 2010 in Europe, and March 19, 2010 in the UK. There are both retail disc and downloadable editions available. However, the PS3 version will not be available at retail in Europe and can only be acquired via the PlayStation network (unless, of course, you buy the Ultimate Edition). Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening has been released on August 31, 2010 for Mac OS X.

The writing team on Awakening consists of David Gaider, Sheryl Chee, and Ferret A. Baudoin.

Plot


The events of Awakening begin six months after the conclusion of Dragon Age: Origins. The player takes on the role of a Grey Warden commander, who is either an imported character from Origins or a new Warden from Orlais. The Orlesian Warden is treated differently because of the history between Orlais and Ferelden—and because an imported Warden will be renowned to begin with, having killed an archdemon almost single-handedly in Origins.

While rebuilding the Grey Wardens and establishing Vigil's Keep, a fortress given to the Grey Wardens at the end of Origins, as a new base of operations, the Warden is faced with a new challenge. It is revealed that despite the defeat of the archdemon, the darkspawn have not returned underground and a new variety of sapient, speaking darkspawn have been discovered. Two entities, named The Architect and The Mother, appear to be involved and the Warden may have to deal with them. Once this mission is complete, the world will have changed dramatically.

Characters

 * Herren and Wade will return to sell new goods. Wade will craft special items for the Warden if provided with new "fantastical" materials: eldest dragonbone, heartwood, and golem shell. After finding such materials, Wade will announce a list of further materials he needs to construct the special items.
 * Alistair, Wynne, Loghain, and Anora can make an appearance depending on the Warden's choices in Origins. Wynne is a side quest giver found in Amaranthine near the local chantry.

Companions

 * Anders is a human mage who has escaped the Circle of Magi seven times, but always seems to get caught. A templar woman claims that Anders is a murderer and is not to be trusted, blaming him for the death of the templars that were guarding him at Vigil's Keep when the darkspawn attacked.
 * Oghren is involved regardless of the Warden's choices. He will start at 0 approval regardless of his interactions with the Warden in Origins, and gifts given to him in Awakening continue to receive diminishing returns if the Warden has given him gifts in Origins.
 * Velanna is a Dalish elf who was exiled from her clan. When The Warden meets her, she is hunting the human merchants whom she thinks took her sister, and attacks the Warden as a result. Her sister was kidnapped by the darkspawn. She is found in the Wending Woods.
 * Sigrun is a dwarven rogue who is a member of the Legion of the Dead. She fought the darkspawn with her group in the Deep Roads and is the last survivor. Also, she thinks that something odd is happening in the fortress of Kal'Hirol.
 * Mhairi is a female human warrior who admires the two Wardens who defeated the archdemon "single-handedly" and jumps at the opportunity to help rebuild the order. Mhairi is a Grey Warden prospect.
 * Nathaniel Howe is a rogue and the son of Arl Rendon Howe. He is found in Vigil's Keep dungeon.
 * Justice is a warrior and a noble spirit from the Fade, bound to the body of a dead Grey Warden. He is found in the Blackmarsh undying.

Locations

 * Amaranthine: Rendon Howe's previous property estate, with lots of fishing going on.
 * Blackmarsh: Former bustling village abandoned into a gloomy, desolate marsh. The Veil is thin and torn here.
 * Kal'Hirol: The dwarven fortress long known as a center of learning for the smith caste.
 * Knotwood Hills: An area of inhospitable and barren hills to the west of Amaranthine.
 * Vigil's Keep: An ancient fortress in Amaranthine. Base of operations for the Grey Wardens.
 * Wending Woods: Forest area divided by Pilgrim's Path, leading to Amaranthine.
 * Dragon Bone Wastes: Wasteland where dragons go to die and the Tevinter Imperium attempts to harvest greater power from their remains. The area of Drake's Fall lies here.

Creatures

 * Charred sylvan
 * Blighted werewolf
 * Armored ogre
 * Inferno golem
 * Children
 * The Disciples
 * The Mother
 * The Architect
 * Queen of the Blackmarsh
 * Baroness

Specializations

 * mage specializationn
 * mage specialization
 * rogue specialization
 * rogue specialization
 * warrior specialization
 * warrior specialization

Skills

 * Runecrafting
 * Vitality
 * Clarity

Main plot quests

 * The Assault on Vigil's Keep
 * The Awakening (quest)
 * The Righteous Path
 * Last of the Legion
 * Shadows of the Blackmarsh
 * The Assault on Amaranthine
 * The Siege of Vigil's Keep
 * Depths of Depravity

Differences between Origins and Awakening

 * There are no romance options in Awakening.
 * There are 2 new tiers of material. Heavy Armor gains White Steel (Tier 8) and Volcanic Aurum (Tier 9), Light Armor gains Dragonwing (Tier 8) and High Dragon Hide (Tier 9), and Wood gains Vhenadahl (Tier 8) and Ancestral Heartwood (Tier 9).
 * Merchants are not likely to have high-end Runes (like Masterpiece or Grandmaster) in stock, most sell the low to medium-end Runes and the crafting materials. This way you will be able to craft your own runes and use them on armor or weapons. Runes that are in stock cost significantly less than in Origins.
 * You have the ability to re-spec your character without losing plot decisions made in Origins through an unlimited number of Manual of Focus tomes, sold for 6 each.
 * Most promotional and DLC items cannot be transferred into Awakening. However, items received during Return to Ostagar and the Memory Band will transfer. If you had any other promotional items equipped on your last savegame in Origins and you import that savegame into Awakening then you will start off in your undergarments. There is a fix for this for PC users, it can be found here.
 * Some Power of Blood abilities from the Warden's Keep DLC can no longer be used in Awakening, although the icon still shows. This is bugged in the 1.03 patch, but was fixed in the 1.04 patch.
 * Characters approvals from Origins will not be translated into The Awakening. Everyone (including Oghren) will start at 0 approval. The only exception to this is if you married Alistair as a Female Warden in Origins, and even then you will never see his approval rating.
 * The Origins characters who used Character Respecialization Mod can be imported to The Awakening without any issues.
 * Oghren will meet you with his new Legion of the Dead gear set with a magical weapon.
 * Inside the Throne Room in Vigil's Keep (to the right after entering the room) there is a personal chest where you can store all of your items.
 * You level up and gain money at a much faster rate in Awakening compared to Origins.
 * A higher level cap of 35
 * All characters (with the exception of Justice) can be recruited and put through the Joining to be made a Warden. (Only possible if the Blackmarsh is the last main quest completed or "you partially complete quests for other areas (PC)")
 * Crafting cannot be exploited nearly as easily to make money, due to the increased prices of crafting materials. This is offset by the large amounts of money received during normal gameplay, however.

Importing an Origins Warden versus creating an Orlesian Warden

 * People of Amaranthine will treat a Ferelden Warden with respect, as opposed to suspicion towards an Orlesian Warden.
 * An imported Warden starts at the level imported or level 18, whichever is higher. Orlesian Wardens start at level 18. All companions tier to an imported Warden's level.
 * An imported Warden will retain the weapons, armor and accessories that the Warden had equipped when imported, as well as any unassigned weapons, armor, accessories and all basic items in the inventory. Your companions' equipment will be lost unless you unequip it and keep it in your inventory. (360 and PS3) - It is possible to load the "Epilogue"-autosave after end credits. Then you can access party camp and remove gear from party members that will be carried over to Awakenings.
 * Imported Wardens retain the stat, talent, and skill gains garnered from Lost in Dreams and tomes.
 * Imported Wardens equipped with any of the gear from DLCs other than Return to Ostagar and Leliana's Song will appear "naked" with all of those items removed from the game. However the stats of those items, like fatigue or health, are still present on your character. (confirmed to be fixed for the PC as of patch 1.04. Imported Warden will be equipped with the Grey Warden Armor set)
 * Importing a Warden while having mods installed that no longer work properly in Awakening will result in some enemies not spawning. This will cause the first level not being able to complete since not all of the enemies had been killed. A list of mods that do work in Awakening can be found here: Bioware Social Network - Post Your Mods That Work with Awakening