A Mother's Hope

A Mother's Hope
Location	Orzammar Commons Ortan Thaig
Quest Giver	Filda, Orzammar Commons
End	Filda, Orzammar Commons
Other NPCs	Ruck
Appearances	Dragon Age: Origins

A Mother's Hope is a side quest that begins in Orzammar. Filda, in Orzammar Commons, has lost track of her son Ruck, a dwarven smith last seen in the Deep Roads. She asks The Warden to help find him.

Walkthrough

Filda

Filda can be found in Orzammar Commons near Tapster's Tavern. She is praying for her missing son, Ruck, who was lost in the Deep Roads 5 years ago and hasn’t been seen since. Tell her that you will look for him; if you ask for a reward she promises you a shield.

Ruck

En route to finding Branka during A Paragon of Her Kind, the party will pass through Ortan Thaig. Deep in the tunnels, Ruck will appear and scurry away leaving the party to deal with a surprise attack of some spiders. After, you can follow him to his cave. When you speak to the dwarf, you will learn he has become tainted from eating the flesh of darkspawn and his mind has deteriorated. You have various options at this point:

1. Kill him.
2. Intimidate or persuade him to talk with you, which offers an opportunity to trade with him and additional options:
   • Tell him you will let his mother know where he is.
   • Tell him you will tell his mother he is dead; this is his preference because he is ashamed of what he has become. If Wynne is in the party Wynne approves (+2).
   • If you persuaded him and then asked him about gems, he will attack.
3. If you cannot intimidate or persuade him then end the conversation. The next time you talk to him he will talk to you as if you had successfully intimidated or persuaded him.

If Zevran is in the party, if you choose the conversation option "I should go," he will advocate a mercy killing, saying it pains him to see Ruck like this. You will have no choice but to agree with him and attack Ruck. If you don't want to kill Ruck then either don't take Zevran along or ask Ruck to trade and exit the conversation with him by closing the trade window.

If Oghren is in the party he will also suggest you put Ruck out of his misery, but he'll leave the decision up to you (no Approval change).

Return to Filda

Return to Orzammar Commons and talk to Filda.

Killing Ruck

1. Lie to her and tell her Ruck is dead (this is an option even though it is not a lie) or that you found his remains and that he died heroically long ago. If Wynne is in the party Wynne approves (+1). You get a reward.
2. Tell her you put him out of his misery. She calls you a monster and refuses to talk to you. You don't get a reward.
3. Tell her that her son is a lunatic. You get a reward.
4. Lie to her and tell her you didn’t find him.
   • If Sten is in the party he insists on telling her the truth. You have to choose one of the other conversation choices.
   • Otherwise she thanks you for looking. You don't get a reward.

Not killing Ruck

1. Tell her Ruck went crazy. You get a reward.
2. Lie to her and say he’s dead (this is not an option unless you told Ruck you would tell his mother that he was dead). If Wynne is in the party Wynne approves (+1). You get a reward.
3. Tell her that her son is a lunatic. You get a reward.
4. Lie to her and tell her you didn’t find him.
   • If Sten is in the party he insists on telling her the truth.
     • If you tell her that Sten is talking rubbish then she chooses to believe Sten, who tells her Ruck is in the Deep Roads. She leaves to find him. You get a reward.
     • Otherwise tell her one of the other conversation choices.
   • Otherwise she thanks you for looking. You don't get a reward.

Rewards

If you get a reward then you get:

• 100 XP

Ruck's Shield

Money, Gold

Note: pc (v1.05) There is no gold given for any of the options above.

Bugs

• If you choose the alternate route of lying to Filda before you enter the tunnels, you will not be able to change your mind later. However, Filda will still appear with a marker over her head, as if the quest has not been resolved.
• If you talk to Ruck after completing the quest, Filda will appear with quest marker over her head, but will not speak with you.
• If you tell Filda that Ruck is alive, she will say that she plans to look for him. However, she seems to remain in her same spot.
• If you talk to Ruck before talking to Filda, then Filda is nowhere to be found, making the quest impossible to complete.