Merrill

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

Merrill is an elven mage and a temporary companion to the Dalish elf Warden during the Dalish Elf Origin in Dragon Age: Origins. She is a companion and romance option for a male or female Hawke in Dragon Age II.

Merrill is described as a respected member of her clan, but her position as Marethari's heir has kept her slightly apart from the others. If the Warden was Dalish, she displays her awkwardness around humans, stemming from Duncan taking away her friend during her life in Ferelden.

Background


Merrill was born to 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. She is interested in recovering the elves' lost lore and possesses some knowledge of the elves' old magic. 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.

Friendship and Rivalry
Merrill's friendship can be gained by:
 * Siding with the mages or the elves in quests.
 * 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, at Robes by Jean Luc in Hightown, for an extra rune slot
 * Act 2: Carved Ironwood Buttons, at Master Ilen's Shop in Sundermount, increases health
 * Act 2: Silver-Threaded Dalish Embroidery, at the top of Sundermount's Graveyard Path, +20 health regeneration rate
 * Act 3: Halla Horn Buckles, during her quest A New Path, for an extra rune slot

If she is romanced during Act 2, she will equip Raiments of the Dalish Pariah. It is a white/silver-colored set composed of chain-mail with torso and shoulder plates, elbow pads, arm guards and linens with a light blue sash around her waist. Additionally, this outfit is devoid of her distinctive scarf and nail polish. The change is only aesthetic; there are no bonuses given by this armor except the runes and upgrades that have already been fitted onto it.

Quotes

 * (During Night Terrors) "More demons. Feynriel's dreams draw them like pastries draw Varric."
 * (To Hawke on the quest, Mirror Image) "It’s a Keeper’s job to remember, even the dangerous things."
 * (Imploring for help on Mirror Image) "She has a disappointed frown that turns your bones into jelly! Please help me! You will, won't you?"
 * (To Hawke, when she visits the estate) "If you were Dalish, our people would have a kingdom by now. And half of Thedas would be attacking us. So maybe things worked out for the best."
 * (During All That Remains, if Merrill is Hawke's romance partner) "Ir abelas, ma vhenan." (Translation: Condolences, my love)
 * (Merrill's codex entry) "If you hadn't come to Sundermount that day... I can't imagine where I'd be now."
 * (During Memento of the Dalish) "Guarding a clan from the Dread Wolf... is a Keeper's place."
 * (If Hawke attacks the clan and is in a romance with her) "No Keeper, no clan, no people... I have nobody but you."
 * (To Hawke, if she was kidnapped and in a romance with Hawke) "When I thought they were going to lock me up, the one thing I knew I couldn't live without... was you."

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).
 * Dialogue between Carver and Merrill suggests that Carved is slightly infatuated with her, however, it is unlikely that they ever develop them (given that Carver either becomes a Templar and cannot associate with Merrill or leaves Kirkwall as Grey Warden).
 * 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 b/c you 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 into the Deep Roads 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. Hawke merely needs 50% friendship/rivalry in Act 2, and to flirt whenever possible.


 * 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.


 * On Xbox360 during Act 3, the Questioning Beliefes 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 chronology of the 3 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.


 * After consoling Merrill about the death of the clan, the Eluvian disappears from her home in Lowtown. This was fixed on patch 1.03.


 * During the epilogue cutscene, if Hawke had sex with Isabela but completed the romance with Merill, Varric will say "... all except Isabela" (or both names simultaneously). This has also been fixed in patch v1.02.


 * With patch 1.03, her Act 3 romance scenes (for Merrill, Friend or Foe? and The Last Straw) may not trigger properly, but the epilogue will still state that she was the only one who didn't leave the Champion's side.