A Village Under Siege

"We aren't going to turn aside anyone who wants to help, though. Don't take me for being an ingrate or nothing."

- Murdock

A Village Under Siege is one of the main plotline (sub)quests in Dragon Age: Origins. It is activated upon arriving at Redcliffe Village (presumably when pursuing the Arl of Redcliffe quest) and speaking with the residents.

Background
Every night, undead corpses descend from Castle Redcliffe to attack the village. No one in the village knows where the creatures come from, and no one has been able to reach the castle. The attacks grow worse each night and Bann Teagan Guerrin predicts tonight will be the worst. He pleads for the Warden's assistance. The Warden may choose to help Redcliffe Village defend itself. The more help the village has, the easier it will be to defend. Alternatively, the Warden may abandon the village and let it fend for itself. When the Warden returns, Redcliffe Village will be a ghost town, all inhabitants presumed dead.

Walkthrough
Bann Teagan asks the Warden for assistance in fending off the undead. Agreeing to help fight off the undead without reservations will result in approval from Alistair, Leliana , Wynne , and Oghren as well as disapproval from Morrigan  and Sten  (although Sten can be persuaded that helping the village is a good idea, in which case ). Bann Teagan sends the Warden to talk with the mayor, Murdock, and Ser Perth about the militia and the knights, respectively.

Help the militia
Murdock is found right outside the chantry. He makes two requests.


 * 1) Convince Owen to make repairs for the militia. You must agree to help find his daughter, which annoys Morrigan and Sten ( each) but impresses Leliana and Wynne . See Lost in the Castle for further details. If you'd rather not help Owen, you can kill him (losing approval from Alistair  and Leliana  if performed through dialogue, or none if he is provoked by the player's inspection of his locked floor trap) and take a key from his corpse that will open a secret cache where you will find equipment for the militia. It is thus possible to kill Owen but still complete the quest. Killing him gains  from Zevran.
 * 2) Convince Dwyn to come out of his home and help defend the village.{unfinished}
 * If you continue to question Murdock, he explains that he is stationed outside the chantry in order to protect the women, children and elderly within. If Sten is present he will object to this, saying that no Qunari would act in this manner - that all would fight. (If Leliana is also in the group, she will interject that the comment is unworthy of him.) Murdock will point out that the villagers are not Qunari; the end result is from Sten.

Help the knights
Ser Perth stands watch with his fellow knights by the windmill, guarding the approach from the castle's bridge. He will ask the Warden if Mother Hannah will bless the knights for the attack. She will refuse, believing that Ser Perth wants mystical protection from the Maker - which it is not within her (or anyone's) power to give. Ser Perth's request can be resolved in one of two ways:


 * Coerce Mother Hannah. She will provide ordinary amulets for the knights, letting them believe in their "holy" protection to raise their morale. Informing Ser Perth that they may pick up the amulets will result in from Leliana (and ( from Morrigan, but only if she and Leliana are present). {{{PS3}}, This requires a skill total (Intimidate or Persuade) of 50.}
 * Tell Ser Perth he will have to do without the blessing. He will accept the decision, and the knights' morale will be unchanged.

Additional assistance
There are certain other things you can do to improve your odds against the night attack.
 * Visit the General Store and examine the oil barrels, then talk to Ser Perth about using them against the undead. (See The Attack at Nightfall regarding potential drawbacks to this strategy).


 * Boost the militia's morale by talking with them in the tavern and then persuading Lloyd (or Bella) to give them free ale. (Murdock will remark favorably on this after it has been done, but will not bring up the possibility himself.)


 * Persuade or intimidate Berwick to fight. This elf sits in the tavern, avoiding attempts at conversation. If you get him to assist in the defense,, while unless persuaded otherwise.  Instead of coercing Berwick, you may steal a letter from him and then interrogate him about it. This is apparently another small piece of Teyrn Loghain's scheme to neutralize Arl Eamon. You will have a choice of either killing Berwick, or convincing him (without coercion) to 'do the right thing'.


 * Intimidate Lloyd the tavernkeeper into joining the defense . Bella is left in charge and will give you Lloyd's stock for free. Note that you will also be unable to sell any items to Bella; however, if Owen is alive and cooperating this is not really a problem.

When you are done with preparations, you can end the quest and start The Attack at Nightfall by talking to either Ser Perth or Murdock and saying "I am ready."

Result
By completing the assistance quests, you will begin The Attack at Nightfall with better-equipped/stronger allies.

Refusing to help
The Warden can refuse to help the villagers defend Redcliffe Village or abandon Redcliffe before the battle starts. If the Warden decides to do so Redcliffe is a ghost town the next time s/he returns to it. Most buildings are empty and there is only one scavenger outside. The scavenger directs the Warden to the chantry, where he finds the only survivor, a wounded Bann Teagan. The Warden heals Bann Teagan's wounds and he hastily runs away. Things will then proceed as if the Warden had saved Redcliffe, except for minor dialogue changes.

Later, when infiltrating Castle Redcliffe, the Warden will find most of the named villagers from Redcliffe turned undead. They present no more of a threat than the normal corpses found there and none contain any special loot.

Refusing to help also removes the Chanter's Board, The Mages Collective and The Blackstone Irregulars from Redcliffe including their respective quests. There is no way to obtain these quests if this route has been chosen.

The following quests are unique to Redcliffe and will not be available when refusing to help:

The Blackstone Irregulars: Grease the Wheels.

Chanter's Board: Caravan Down; Brothers and Sons.

The Mages Collective: Justice Must Be Served (A Gift of Silence).

Stealing
Any person you recruit to fight can be stolen from AGAIN once they are outside. This includes: Dwyn and his two men, Lloyd, and Barwick.

Bonuses
A heavy helm (Helm of the Red) is given to the Warden by Bann Teagan in Redcliffe Village after the attack. However, it is only offered if none of the soldiers defending the town dies during The Attack at Nightfall.


 * Note: Dwyn's two guards you might have killed before are not counted amongst the deaths and will not affect the outcome.