A Paragon of Her Kind


 * You are about to enter the depths of the earth. You must somehow unite a broken empire and find a new king for the dwarven empire. Civil war is right around the corner, will you be able to find a king before Orzammar erupts in war?

A Paragon of Her Kind is a quest, forming part of 'The Blight' quest line.

Background
Having retrieved the ancient Warden Treaties prior to the Battle of Ostagar, The Warden heads to the Frostback Mountains to enter Orzammar and secure the assistance of the dwarves in the battle against the Blight.

Entering Orzammar
Entering the Frostback Mountains, The Warden will have to run for a distance before crossing a stone bridge and coming upon a large artificial circle with several stone pylons. Past this, farther to the north, is the entrance to Orzammar - upon approaching it, a cutscene will play wherein an emissary of Loghain Mac Tir is being refused entry to the Thaig. In the end, two options are available:
 * Fight the emissary and his lackeys, or
 * Intimidate him, at which point he and said lackeys will run away without any combat

Whichever choice is made results in the same: entrance to Orzammar, via the Orzammar Hall of Heroes.

The Hall of Heroes has several Codex entries to be found, from the obvious stone statues to the less obvious Council edict involved in The Key to the City quest, and also has some conversations to be overheard which provide some insight into the recent happenings of Orzammar. At the other end of the Hall is a door, which leads to the Orzammar Commons.

A cutscene will play after entering the Commons, showing that all is not well within the city - and, in particular, highlighting a dispute between Prince Bhelen Aeducan and Lord Pyral Harrowmont over who will be crowned the next King. When the cutscene is finished playing, the Captain of the Guard can be an initial source of extra information.

At this point, you should have a quest to find Steward Bandelor, who can be found the in the Assembly, which is located in Orzammar Diamond Quarter. After finding the Steward, another cutscene will play, further demonstrating the political fissure which exists in Orzammar.

Choosing Sides
The Warden will now have a choice of who to support as King: Lord Pyral Harrowmont or Prince Bhelen Aeducan. The decision will have the following influences:
 * It will determine how the first mission for the chosen candidate plays out,
 * It will determine the ultimate fate of Orzammar after the Blight has been defeated, i.e. when the game is over.

Initially, speaking directly with either candidate is not an option; before that can happen, an initial task must be performed which will earn trust and prove that The Warden is not operating as a shill for the opposing candidate unless you picked the dwarf noble origin, in which case you may speak with Bhelen immediately. To get an idea of what this initial task is all about, seek out a representative of either candidate, who can be found in the following locations: The first request asked of the Warden is different, depending on who is being supported. As each candidate's story is investigated, make use of the Shaperate, who can provide information on the validity of documents.
 * Vartag Gavorn - In the Assembly Chamber of the Diamond Quarter. He can be spoken to right after, or before, the earlier cutscene involving the Assembly.
 * Dulin Forender - Harrowmont's estate.

Note: If you choose Harrowmount and you have Zevran in your group, it will give you - 3 due to your choice.

Prince Bhelen


Vartag will ask The Warden to enlighten two individuals as to the true nature of a real estate deal with Harrowmont - and in return, they will vote with Bhelen in the Assembly:
 * Lord Helmi - Located in Tapster's in the Commons, he is the easier of the two. It seems having a pulse is enough to convince him of the truth.
 * Lady Dace - A bit trickier, she will want to help out; sadly, she can't. Instead, she will send you into Aeducan Thaig in the Deep Roads to find her father. This grants access to the Deep Roads from the Commons, which would have been previously blocked by guards.

Upon returning from the Thaig, the first task can be wrapped up by speaking with Vartag again, in the Assembly Chamber. At this point, the quest lines of the two candidates converge.

Lord Harrowmont


Dulin will ask The Warden to fight as Harrowmonts champion in The Proving, located in the Commons. There are two sidequests to accomplish while here:


 * Baizyl - A warrior being blackmailed into not fighting in the Proving, by way of some sensitive love letters. The love letters can be found in the east wing of the Proving.
 * Gwiddon - Unsure of supporting Harrowmont, he is located in the main room of the Proving. An intimidation dialogue option puts him in line.

To finish this off, The Warden has to defeat a string of opponents in the Proving, optionally fighting with a partner, and culminating in a full party battle consisting of whoever was present when The Warden began the final round.

Upon finishing the Proving, the first task can be wrapped up by speaking with Dulin again, in Tapster's. At this point, the quest lines of the two candidates converge.

The Carta


The second request from both candidates will be to deal with Jarvia and her Carta, and all roads lead to Dust Town

At this point. Gaining access to their hideout can be accomplished by two ways; a little sleuthing, or a little luck.

First, the luck: when traversing the Commons, several suspected Carta members may be witnessed accosting the owner of a local business, Figor. After a brief altercation, Figor and his friends will retreat inside the shop - at which point, they can be followed. A dialogue will ensue, where if the Warden is skilled enough, intimidation may be used to avoid a fight and gain information; alternatively, a fight will ensue and a "bone key" will be retrieved.

The second option is to ask around Dust Town itself. To gain access to the hideout this way, speak with Nadezda by the fire facing the 'Suspicious Door' in Dust Town. The "bone key" that is needed can then be found by traveling to the 'Slums House', where a carta member and his thugs will attack the Warden. After a thorough trouncing, the key will be received.

The hideout itself can be found at the northern end of Dust Town in the same area as the second option above - a door, labeled as 'Suspicious Door.'

Once inside, there is little choice except doing battle all the way to Jarvia. Along the way, several boxes will be encountered, of particular interest - see Jammer's Stash for more details.

Once Jarvia and company have been dealt with, return to the appropriate representative to progress the quest. If you are siding with Harrowmont, don't forget to pick up the 'Incriminating Evidence' from the chest before returning to Harrowmont.

Entering the Deep Roads
The third request from both candidates will be to sally forth into the Deep Roads, find a missing Paragon named Branka, and ultimately discover a lost relic of the dwarves used to create golems - the Anvil of the Void. The entrance to the Roads is in the Commons, past the entrance to the Diamond Quarter - after getting close enough to the entrance, dialogue will be initiated by a firehaired dwarf who will explain his involvement with the missing Paragon. Choosing to put him in your party at this point is entirely optional (result in fewer cutscenes?). Completing this quest involves battling through several locations in the Roads, in the following order: As the Roads are being explored, be wary after reaching the Dead Trenches location. Two "special" darkspawn are known to inhabit the area: the Ancient Darkspawn and the Genlock Master Forger. Details for each are as follows:
 * Aeducan Thaig (optional) - This area can be cleared regardless of who the Warden supports, supporting Bhelen just gives access to it earlier.
 * Caridin's Cross
 * Ortan Thaig
 * The Dead Trenches
 * Anvil of the Void
 * Ancient Darkspawn: Make sure you have enough health poultices and, if possible, Wynne in your group on this trip. She's an excellent healer, the best in the game, and the Ancient Darkspawn can flatten an unprepared group really quickly. As most special creatures, the Ancient Darkspawn will have a unique weapon and/or piece of armour on him. He will also have a portion of the Topsider's Blade on him, but only spawns if you have the An Admirable Topsider quest active in your Codex; i.e. you have to have clicked the Warrior's grave in Ortan Thaig or collected the Topsiders Pommel from the vase in Ruck's area.
 * Genlock Forge Master: This Genlock is a serious hazard if you run into him unprepared. He is surrounded by numerous darkspawn both melee and bow users. He himself can use a bow and has very heavy hitting attacks. The best strategy is to make sure you get rid of all of his lackey's first and then tackle him. He will use a bow until a character actually approaches him and you want to delay the use of his Maul as long as possible. The Forge Master will drop a unique weapon, his Maul when he is defeated.

Caridin's Cross
Upon entering, if Oghren is present in the party, he will give a commentary. It is advisable to clear the area completely, although it is not necessary. The southernmost exit leads to Ortan Thaig; it doesn't matter what path you take to get there. Note that the Darkspawn Emissaries use the spell Curse of Mortality, which can severely cripple your tanks

During your travels through this part of the Deep Roads if you explore the branches off the main road you will find the last two bloody sacks for the quest Asunder. The torso is in a bag in the southeast cavern. The head is in the deepstalker clearing. The first of the three is the bag of limbs and it is in the first darkspawn clearing in the Aeducan Thaig.

Once you have all three components, seek out the Altar of Sundering in the Ortan Thaig and place the body parts on the altar.

Ortan Thaig


Upon entering, Oghren will make a few more comments. It is advisable to clear the area completely, although it is not necessary. The important thing is Branka's Journal, found in the large open area to the north. It is surrounded by Spiders, including the Spider Queen, all of which need to be cleared first in order to access the diary safely. The Spider Queen will retreat to the ceiling after taking a certain amount of damage, and will summon more spiders throughout the fight. As with all Spiders, she has the ability to trap enemies in her web, so fighting from afar may be advisable. Exiting through the north after having read Branka's journal should take you to The Dead Trenches.

Although it's not necessary to speak to him, Ruck can be found in the large open area with the two bridges. You will almost definitely run into him on the way to Branka's Journal. He will accuse The Warden of coming to steal his items, and soon scurries off. Follow him to learn a bit about Branka, and to complete the quest A Mother's Hope. If you are nice to him he will also become a vendor for you, an excellent opportunity to reduce a near-full iventory as you continue on further on.

Once you cross the bridge from the area with Ruck's cave you can continue to the spider lair or go to the left and cross the second bridge back to the other land mass. There you will find an altar on which you can use the body parts found in Caridin's Cross and Aeducan Thaig to summon Fade Beast with the appearance of a Pride Demon, he will ask you if you are there for revenge (to kill him) or for reward (to set him free). If The Warden chooses to fight, he may be rewarded with a breastplate or frost sword, or possibly nothing. If The Warden allows it to leave, the demon will reward him with 25G 50S, though others will ultimately suffer for the Warden's greed.

The Dead Trenches
When you arrive at the Dead Trenches, a cut scene will play. Following the only path leads to a bridge, where some dwarven warriors are fighting off Darkspawn. Assist them, and once the battle is over you can talk to the head of the Legionnaires Kardol, who will tell you about what he and his brothers in arms do. Fight your way through the area -- beware of traps in some of the small rooms if you choose to enter them, and an ambush from both sides on the large bridge in the middle of the area. Scattered throughout the area are pieces of Legion of the Dead armor; if you find the complete set, the quest The Dead Caste will trigger.

Past the long bridge with the ambush, after going through the caverns and stepping back into normal architecture, you will encounter Hespith. She will reveal a bit about Branka. After conversing with her, continue on to the next large open area, where two Ogres await. After taking care of the Ogres, enter the room furthest to the south, which is inhabited by Legionnaire Spirits. They will not attack until you have retrieved the Key found at the very end of the room, in a container with the final piece of Legion of the Dead armor.

Once done, head back out and use the key on the large door in the center of the area. Save now, because a boss battle is about to follow: The Broodmother. Although immobile, she is fairly strong, and is made more difficult by the Darkspawn she summons during the battle.

After felling the Broodmother, Hespith will make another appearance. Listen to what she has to say, then continue to the exit. You are now given the opportunity to switch your party members... and also travel back to camp. If your pack is getting full, it might be a good idea to head back and sell off some items, because this quest still has another dungeon section to go. Regardless, the Anvil of the Void area is now accessible through the Deep Roads map.

Anvil of the Void
The last stop on this journey, Branka can finally be found here - accordingly, Oghren is a forced party member. Branka, seemingly immune to reason, will trap the party inside the area, forcing a completion of the quest. She is kind enough to warn of many traps ahead, and motivates you with the reminder that she is your Paragon.

The first trap is a tunnel full of darkspawn. This is a very narrow tunnel, with a mix of darkspawn throughout. The exact strategy employed will most likely depend on the party composition.

The second trap is a gas filled room. This room is appears empty at first, but entering it will bring golems to life one by one. There are four gas valves, two by each closed doors on the left and the right as you enter. After killing the golems, the party may proceed through empty tunnels to another room filled with golems. There are a couple traps in this room and four golems come to life, two at a time as the room is traversed.

The third trap is a real challenge. A large chamber has a column reaching down from the middle of the cavern with four angry faces on it. Surrounding the column are four spirit anvils matching up with the four faces. When the battle begins shortly after entering the room, the faces will summon spirits which take the form of enemies. A few facts about this battle. Strategy
 * The anvils are activated by killing the mob that spawned at it
 * Anvils can only be used once before requiring reactivation.
 * The anvils, once activated do damage to the face that is facing it.
 * The first anvil hit makes the face spit damaging blood every 5 seconds.
 * Initially, the faces will spawn Forgotten Spirits, but once damaged, they will spawn tougher Enraged Spirits
 * The blood spit only affects those standing in front of the face.
 * The second anvil hit deactivates a face completely.
 * When all faces are deactivated the fight is over.
 * The spirits will only attack you once you attack them or get too close to them.
 * Neither the spirits, faces, nor completion of the trap/puzzle will give you Experience.

There is an easier but long way to defeat this puzzle.

Stand at the entrance door and ask your party to "hold the line". There will be a spirit and an anvil directly in front of you. From this distance the blood can't hit you either so its a good place. Get a mage or a character equipped with a bow to hit the spirit. I personally used cone of cold and then ran back to my party. This will draw it to your party after you. Because you haven't upset the other 2 they will stay where they are.

Once the spirit hits your line it will go down. You can run up to the anvil and hit it damaging the face. You will see one of the faces spewing blood and it can do a pretty nasty attack but staying at the entrance means you won't get hit by it. Keep repeating this and you will hit the faces twice eacrh blowing the faces to smithereens.

This should save a lot of health poultices because you will need them in next battle!

Following the successful completion of the previous trial, the anvil will be in sight.

Outcomes
Depending on who was supported during the conflict involving the Anvil (Caridin or Branka), the Warden Treaty will be fulfilled in varying ways:
 * Caridin - Caridin will commit suicide, Branka will die, a King will be crowned, and dwarven warriors will join the fight against the Blight. You will get Liberator achievement.
 * Branka - Caridin will be killed, Branka will live, a King will be crowned, dwarven warriors and golems will join the fight against the Blight. You will get Pragmatist achievement.
 * If you have sided with Branka, after the battle it is also possible to 'persuade' or 'intimidate' her into destroying the Anvil (if you used your skill points to unlock a high enough 'Coercion' skill level). If you convince her that she is wrong she will destroy the Anvil and then commit suicide. But in this case no golems ally against the Blight. Oghren will still approve of your efforts, despite her decision to commit suicide.

An additional quasi-ally is available as well: the opportunity to recruit the Legion of the Dead will arise after crowning a new King. If persuaded to join, they will integrate into the regular dwarven units, becoming half of the unit.

A special item (weapon or armor) will also be granted upon completion, Oghren will join the party for good if the Warden so desires.

Upon returning to Orzammar, proceed to the assembly area and speak with the steward. This will begin a cut-scene to crown the new king.

Approval Notes
If Branka was supported, Oghren, Zevran (+4), and Morrigan will approve, but Alistair, Leliana (-10 rating) and Wynne (-15 rating) will disapprove. If you support Caridin, Alistair and Leliana will approve, while receiving a small rating of disapproval from Zevran, Morrigan and a -10 approval from Oghren. However, if Oghren was allowed to decide what the reward from Caridin should be, then a +7 approval will help offset this. On the other hand, if you decide to support Branka and keep the anvil, Oghren will attempt to persuade her to return to him. He will be coldly turned down by Branka, resulting into -14 approval rating and producing a comment from him, that he hopes both Branka and the Warden got what they wanted. Finally, this is Shale's crisis moment - she will leave the group if Branka is sided with.

Sidequests

 * A Mother's Hope
 * The Key to the City
 * Asunder
 * An Admirable Topsider
 * Lost to the Memories - A woman at the Shaper's, Orta, wants to prove she's in the nobility. A chest in Ortan Thaig contains the proof she desires. After you have given her the papers, meet her at the Assembly and she will give you a reward of 5 gold. When you come back later, she will give you another 10 gold.
 * Of Noble Blood - Only available if you completed the Dwarven Noble origin as a male. You have to secure a birthright for your illegitimate child.
 * The Dead Caste - You will encounter the Legion of the Dead here as well for the first time, just across from the Bridge. Later, when you are rifling through sarcophaguses you will locate several 'Dead Legion' armour parts; a Strength of 42 is required to wear them. The final armour piece is in the locked metal door. Once you take it you will be attacked by all the dead legion spirits there. Once you have every piece of armour, a sarcophagus in the pathway leading to Broodmother will be begging you to activate it. Do so and take the Insignia from within. To fully complete this quest you will need someone who is actually capable of wearing the armour. Have any player capable equip a complete set of Dead Legion armour, enter the Dead Legion Shrine and interact with the small statute in the middle of the room. This will spawn the Gangue Shade that you have to defeat. His rewards may be various, but on my playthrough I received a single piece of Chainmail Armour (Dragonbone). Take the insignia you found back to the Shaperate and it can be entered into the Book of Memories, now highlighted in the alcove to the right of the Shaperate.


 * The Drifter's Cache - As you activate various piles of rubble you will gain Codex on the 'Crosscut Drifters'. Once you have gathered all of them, you will receive a new quest and will see a new point of interest on your map. Leave the side tunnel and go out into the main tunnel, check your map. The western tunnel will now have a point of interest marked "The Drifter's Cache." The cache contains Thorn of the Dead Gods (Silverite) dagger which has a +3 to damage and armor penetration along with 2 enchantment slots, a Ring of the Warrior (+2 str, +2 dex) and an Effort's Gloves which just have a +1 str to them but require a 38 strength to equip and also have a pretty hefty stamina penalty.