Merrill

"It's a Keeper's job to remember. Even the dangerous things."

Merrill is a Dalish elven mage and First to the Keeper of the Sabrae clan. She is a temporary companion in the Dalish Elf Origin in Dragon Age: Origins and a companion and romance option for a male or female Hawke in Dragon Age II.



Background
Merrill was born into the Alerion clan, which wandered the hills of Nevarra. She was the third child of the clan with magic born to her. Following the next Arlathvenn, the gathering of Dalish clans, she was given to the Sabrae clan to be First to Keeper Marethari.

Merrill can recite all of known elven history and navigate the Fade, but she has very little experience with the world or even her own people. Forced to flee north she must find help for her people, whatever the cost.

Friendship and Rivalry
Merrill's friendship can be gained by:
 * Helping the mages or the elves.
 * Choosing options that favor blood magic or demons.
 * By being agreeable to her in conversation.

Rivalry with Merrill can generally be earned by contradicting the "hows" of developing a friendship with her, as mentioned above.

Dragon Age II
Act 1

Act 2

(gift)

Act 3

(gift)

Mark of the Assassin
 * Merrill is the only companion who has no quest in this DLC.

Gifts

 * Halla Carving
 * Sylvanwood Ring

Dragon Age: Origins

 * Class: Mage
 * Specialization:  NA
 * Starting spells/skills: Herbalism, Combat Tactics
 * Skills: Combat Tactics
 * Mage: Arcane Bolt
 * Primal: Flame Blast, Flaming Weapons
 * Entropy: Weakness

Dragon Age II
Talent trees
 * Class: Mage
 * Specialization:  Dalish Pariah
 * Elemental
 * Primal
 * Spirit
 * Arcane
 * Entropy

Dragon Age II


Merrill's armor, Vestments of the First, can be upgraded four times:


 * Act 2: Samite Lining, purchased at Robes by Jean Luc in Hightown; adds an extra rune slot.
 * Act 2: Carved Ironwood Buttons, purchased at Master Ilen's Shop in Sundermount; increases health.
 * Act 2: Silver-Threaded Dalish Embroidery, found at the top of Sundermount's Mountain Graveyard; +20 health regeneration rate.
 * Act 3: Halla Horn Buckles, looted during A New Path; adds an extra rune slot.

Companion-Restricted Gear

(requires Mage Item Pack 1 DLC) (requires Mage Item Pack 2 DLC)

Quotes

 * (Long Way Home) "I'll try not to hit anyone. On our side, I mean. I'm babbling again. Let's go."
 * (Wayward Son) "It will be your humanity that marks you among the people, not your magic."
 * (Family Matter) "But that's awful! I had no idea priesthood was so dangerous!"
 * (Mirror Image) "She has a disappointed frown that turns your bones into jelly! Please help me! You will, won't you?"
 * (On The Loose) "Walking is not so bad. Even mages need exercise."
 * (A New Path) "Creators, please let this be a bad dream! I'll wake up and feel like an idiot, and she'll scold me for not listening..."
 * (Memento of the Dalish) "Guarding a clan from the Dread Wolf... is a Keeper's place."
 * (The Last Straw) "Magic can't be made safe and it can't be destroyed. Fear makes men more dangerous than magic ever could".
 * (The Last Straw) "(laughs) The Champion of Kirkwall going to battle naked. Why can't I ever have that dream?"
 * (Legacy (quest)) "This is good, right? We're making progress!"
 * (Mark of the Assassin (quest)) "I know I'm Dalish, but I'm not really the most qualified hunter."

Trivia

 * Mary Kirby wrote Merrill for Dragon Age II.
 * According to David Gaider, Eve Myles was last on the list of "actors I specifically asked for and got on the first try".
 * As a result, Merrill is the only character, to date, who had displayed a Welsh accent. The rest of the Dalish possess Irish accents.
 * Merrill means shining sea in Irish Gaelic.
 * If you give Merrill the Halla Carving bought from Master Ilen's Shop in Act 2, it will be on display on the table beside the door to her home in Act 3 and the rest of Act 2.
 * Although Marethari warns the members of the Sabrae clan that Merrill may bring back the taint, she remains uncorrupted in her handling of the shard for several years (after successfully cleansing it of the taint with a spell amplified by blood magic), while the elves in Witch Hunt who came in contact with the remaining shards in the Elven Ruins turned into ghouls.
 * Despite claiming that Audacity would escape through the restored Eluvian, Marethari never reveals how she came to this conclusion, especially when her argument in Act II against this course of action was entirely different. Morrigan's revelation in Witch Hunt about the Eluvians serving as a doorway to a place "beyond this world, and beyond the Fade" call into question the validity of Marethari's claim.
 * In spite of her blood magic, Merrill seems to have been taken under the wings of several of her new friends:
 * Varric calls her "Daisy" affectionately and is repeatedly referenced to have bribed any would-be attackers whenever she took any side alley routes around Kirkwall and he gave her a ball of twine when she first moved to the city so she could find her way around.
 * Isabela calls her "Kitten" and tells her several things about being "a lady" (seduction tips, how to strut, ect) as well as helping her with issues she isn't familiar with, because of her cultural differences with humans. Should a male Hawke enter into a relationship with Merrill, Isabela will threaten to "cut off [his] balls" if he hurts her.
 * In some of Carver/Merril and Carver/Isabela conversations, there is a hint that Carver may have a thing for Merril.
 * Mike Laidlaw said at PAX East 2013, that Merrill fixing the mirror was a 'bad call'.

Bugs

 * Upon returning to the alienage after completing Long Way Home, selecting the option "I don't think so." when asked if you wish to stop by later and flirting with her during Welcome Home may lead to a bug with her approval for Hawke, making it impossible to gain any friendship or rivalry points with Merrill henceforth. Note: It has also been noted that this bug randomly occurs even if you select the "I Will." option and later flirt with her. You'll know it's not working because you'll gain no friendship after all friendly and flirt dialogue options have been concluded in Welcome Home. If this does happen, simply reload and do not select the flirt option when chatting with Merrill in Welcome Home. This initial flirt is fortunately not required to begin a romance.
 * If the sibling either joined the Wardens or died during the expedition, the quest "Mourning" was supposed to take place. However, it has since been cut from the game, but may reappear if the game has not been patched.
 * There have been some cases where, during the sex scene between her and Hawke, some graphical issues occur. Such reports claim that the two characters abruptly show up standing idly at the entrance to the Hawke estate, both in their intimate attire. The dialogue wheel, however, is still present and choosing any option will promptly fix the bug, placing the characters in their proper place and the scene will proceed normally.
 * During Act 3, the Questioning Beliefs involving Merrill's reaction to the end of A New Path will occur, even before you completed the quest, where she is upset by the death of her clan's Keeper. It can be worked around, but is messing with the chronological order of the related quests. (2, 1, 3).
 * In Act 3, when initiating A New Path, it seems that if you are on a path of rivalry with Merrill, she will mention you keeping the arulin'holm from her, even if you gave it to her.
 * If her clan is wiped out after her personal quest A New Path, she is stuck to your party, being locked forever. This can be fixed by either taking another quest where a party member is locked in, such as Sebastian's Faith, or by returning home to the Hawke estate. Both methods will remove all current party members, restoring Merrill's unlocked status.
 * With patch 1.03, some of the Act 3 romance scenes may not trigger properly, but the flow will proceed as planned.