Merrill

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

Merrill is an elven mage and the First of the Sabrae clan. She is a temporary companion to the Dalish elf Warden during 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 the First to Keeper Marethari.

Merrill can recite all of known elven history and navigate the Fade, but 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.

Gifts
Gifts that can be given to Merrill to increase friendship or rivalry:

Dragon Age: Origins
Class: Mage

Specialization: None

Starting spells/skills: Herbalism, Combat Tactics

Mage: Arcane Bolt

Primal: Flame Blast, Flaming Weapons

Entropy: Weakness

Dragon Age II
Talent trees
 * Elemental
 * Primal
 * Spirit
 * Arcane
 * Entropy
 * Dalish Pariah (specialization)

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?"

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".
 * Merrill means shining sea in Gaelic (Irish).
 * 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.

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 Merill in Welcome Home.


 * In all the versions of Dragon Age II, at the beginning of Act 2, a bug can occur in which Merrill's companion quest "Mourning" appears in the journal as complete. This appears to be triggered by taking your sibling with you in The Deep Roads Expedition and having them contract the taint. However, this only affects the "Mourning" dialogue. All other quests in Act 2 appear to function as normal, and it has been confirmed that this does not affect the romance.


 * 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.