Finding Nathaniel

Finding Nathaniel is an Act 3 secondary quest in Dragon Age II. Hawke goes to The Deep Roads in search of Nathaniel Howe at the request of his sister, who fears for his life.

This quest is available if the pre-built "The Martyr" or "No Compromise" background was chosen, or if a Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening import is used in which Nathaniel survives.

Acquisition
In Act 3, go to the Chantry in Hightown to find Delilah Howe. She will plead with Hawke to find her brother Nathaniel Howe, who has been retracing the steps of Hawke's expedition into the Deep Roads with the Grey Wardens. If Anders is in the party, he will remember Nathaniel and jokingly say "I wonder if he ever found a sense of humor". Agreeing to help Delilah results in, refusing gets , but the quest is accepted anyway.

Walkthrough
Go to The Deep Roads using the map, which is unlocked when acquiring the quest. The third room has a chest containing Vestments of Sacrifice. You will find Nathaniel fighting darkspawn in the clearing just outside. After saving him, Nathaniel will accompany you as you search for his friends. Fight another group of darkspawn below the stairs, and continue to find Temmerin Glovonak. In the next battle, immediately use the nearby lever to kill the Ogre with explosives.

As you continue down into the lower level:
 * If Bethany or Carver was recruited into the Grey Wardens at the end of Act 1, you will encounter them here as the only other Grey Warden to survive. After a brief conversation with your sibling, he/she joins you in the final ensuing battle.


 * If your sibling did not join the Grey Wardens in Act 1, then Nathaniel laments that none of his other companions survived, and the final battle immediately begins.

During the final battle, waves of darkspawn will attack from the west, east, and north. Three levers control explosives in each of their respective directions. For the best effect, use the explosives only when an ogre is nearby the barrel in that direction. Be careful, for the explosives can also hurt teammates.

After the battle, Nathaniel will give you The Bringer of Silence. He (and your Grey Warden sibling, if present) will bid you and your party farewell. A Dwarven Battle Helmet can be looted from an Ogre, and Wardwall and Drakeskin Leg Straps from a chest to the north, and Aurvar's Prize can be found in a chest right before the exit. Exit the Deep Roads to the west.

Result
Nathaniel will assist in the fight against Meredith during The Last Straw. Note that there are specific conditions for his appearance; see the quest's walkthrough for details.

Rewards
(given by Nathaniel Howe, after the last fight) (unlocked chest to the north) (same chest) (unlocked chest to the west, before the exit)
 * 785 XP (for the fight)
 * 400 XP (quest completion)
 * Random loot from the various fights.

Bugs

 * If a saved game is imported from a play-through in which Awakening was completed, the decision about whether or not the Architect was spared might not be checked properly by the quest. Nathaniel may state that the Architect was spared, even if the player had killed him.


 * Workaround: You may use the developer console provided with Dragon Age II using to accept the quest if it didn't appear. The steps to take in the work around are: plot jump -> secondary plots -> one-offs -> work with plot -> set plot flag -> quest accepted, then go to the Deep Roads. Note that the cutscene with Delilah Howe will be skipped.


 * After killing the first darkspawn group, it's possible Nathaniel's dialogue won't trigger in the next room, which leaves the quest unable to be completed. It's possible this is bugged because Carver is kidnapped during Best Served Cold, thus preventing him from appearing in the Deep Roads. After completing Best Served Cold and then doing the Finding Nathaniel, Carver appeared.


 * Carver may call you "Brother", regardless of your gender.


 * When you meet Carver in the Deep Roads, he is wearing his Warden armor. If you reload the game from the auto-save that occurs shortly after meeting him, he will be wearing his Lothering clothes instead.


 * If you save Merin in Fool's Gold, he will appear next to the Dwarven sapper during Finding Nathaniel. His dialogue might cut the conversation short with the sapper, preventing you from using explosives in the coming battle.