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
Location	Redcliffe Village
Start	Bann Teagan, Village chantry
End	Murdock or Ser Perth
Previous	The Arl of Redcliffe
Next	The Attack at Nightfall
Appearances	Dragon Age: Origins

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

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 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 (+2)
• Leliana (+2)
• Wynne (+2)
• Oghren (+4)
• Morrigan (-5)
• Sten (-5) (although Sten can be persuaded that helping the village is a good idea, in which case Sten approves (+2)).

Bann Teagan sends the Warden to talk with the mayor, Murdock, and Ser Perth about the militia and the knights, respectively.

Note: If you refuse to help:

• Alistair disapproves (-5)
• Morrigan approves (+4)
• Oghren disapproves (-3)
• Sten approves (+4)
• Wynne disapproves (-3)
• Leliana does not want to leave the villagers to their fate
  • If you persuade her that you are doing all you can Leliana approves (+1)
  • If you tell her it is not open for discussion Leliana disapproves (-15)

Help the militia

Murdock is found right outside the chantry. He makes two requests, convince blacksmith Owen to make armor repairs and get veteran dwarf Dwyn to assist in the defense of the village.

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 (-3) from Sten.

Note: In addition to completing requested assistance (Owen and Dwyn), the Warden can raise the militia's morale by bolstering Murdock's confidence and/or providing ale to the militia. See notes below.

Convince Owen

Owen is located inside his Blacksmith's Store, but you will have to find a way past his locked door (coerce him to open, pick the lock, or break the door down). In order to convince him to help the cause, you can agree to help find his daughter, which annoys Morrigan and Sten ( (-5) each) but impresses Leliana (+1) and Wynne (+4). See Lost in the Castle for further details.

If you'd rather not help Owen, you can kill him. This loses (-5) from Alistair and Leliana and Wynne disapproves (-10) if performed through dialogue, or none if he is provoked by the Warden's inspection of his locked floor trapdoor under a crate. If he is killed, retrieve a key from his corpse. This will open a secret cache where you will find equipment for the militia. Killing him gains (+4) from Zevran.

Note: This quest cannot advance without accepting Owen's task or killing him.

Convince Dwyn

Note: Dwyn also is involved in the companion quest for Sten. See The Sword of the Beresaad for details.

Head to Dwyn's Home in the village. Gain entrance by picking the lock (having a companion with such skill in party doesn't help) or breaking the door down. You can do one of three things to convince Dwyn to defend the village: persuade, intimidate, or bribe him.

If you ask him why he shut himself in there and call him a coward this nets (+3) if Oghren is in the party. Asking him to join the militia because of Murdock asking nets (+2) for Oghren.

If Dwyn is not convinced to help before the battle starts, he will not participate. If the Warden kills Dwyn and then tells Murdock that they did so, the milita's attack score will suffer.

Note: During the battle Dwyn and his men will fight besides the knights and not the militia.

Additional militia assistance

Redcliffe militia

The bartender, Lloyd, has been charging the militia for ale. As they have very little coin remaining and are fighting just to survive, they believe they should drink for free.

Talk to the Redcliffe Militiaman seated on the far left at the table in the tavern (the redhead), and complete the conversation tree associated with him.

You can either:

• Pay Lloyd 100 to cover the militia's drinks.
• Persuade Lloyd to give the militia drinks for free (high Persuasion required).
• Intimidate Lloyd into giving you ownership of the tavern (medium Intimidation required) and then insist he give the militia drinks for free. You can then push him out to fight with the militia, but Bella won't have the option to give out your ale.
• Kill Lloyd, then take ownership of the tavern or give it to Bella. Afterward, have her serve free ale.
• Force Lloyd into fighting alongside the militia. Bella then takes charge of the tavern and can be asked to give out free drinks.

The optimal path is to sell to him what you want, then threaten to kill him, resulting in gaining partnership of the tavern ( Wynne disapproves (-3), Zevran approves (+2)), then ask to see what he has (which he will now give you for free, but you will not be able to sell him anything). Then, talk to Lloyd again and once again, you can choose "I hear you're charging the militia for ale," but this time follow up with, "Maybe not, but I would. And this is my tavern, remember?" After this point, you can demand more share of the profits ("So how's business in my tavern?) and then, force him to help defend the village (select "Answer a few questions").

Depending on how you succeed, the following may happen:

• The morale of the militia increases.
• Paying for the militia's drinks, or asking Bella to give them drinks for free, gives Oghren (+1).
• Persuading Lloyd to give the militia free drinks gives Oghren (+2).

Note: Murdock will remark favorably on this after it has been done, but will not bring up the possibility himself.

Help the knights

Ser Perth stands watch with his fellow knights by the windmill, guarding the approach from the castle's bridge.

Mother Hannah

If you ask him what you can do to help, he will ask the Warden if Mother Hannah will bless the knights for the attack.

Convince Mother Hannah

She will initially refuse, believing that Ser Perth wants mystical protection from the Maker - which 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 (-5) from Leliana (and (+2) from Morrigan, but only if she and Leliana are present). ps3,xbox360 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.

Bug! pc 1.04: due to a scripting error, the knights' morale never changes, so obtaining the amulets will make no difference other than the potential approval changes mentioned above.

Visit the general store

Oil Barrels

• Go to the general store, select the oil barrels there, then talk to Ser Perth and he'll agree to set up a flame trap for the undead on the upper-level path.

This will add fire to the village defenses and increase the morale of the knights. (See The Attack at Nightfall regarding potential drawbacks to this strategy).

Bug! pc

1.04 If you discover the oil barrels, but choose not to tell Ser Perth of them, he can still have an active quest marker after you finish this quest.

Additional assistance

Berwick

An elf named Berwick sits in the tavern, avoiding attempts at conversation. There are several ways to recruit Berwick:

1. A Warden with enough cunning can point out Berwick's suspicious behavior and reveal him as a spy without outside help.
2. With Leliana or Zevran in the party:
   1. Talk to Berwick. Leliana will notice he's a spy. Zevran will simply point out that he's acting extremely suspiciously; Berwick's nervous reaction reveals that he has something to hide.
   2. Ask him about what he's been told to do.
   3. Ask him for proof, which can be done after using coercion to get him tell the Warden everything "because that will make things easier".
   4. If the Warden has enough coercion s/he can talk him into defending the village.
      
      

Berwick

1. Pickpocket Berwick for a letter.
   1. Call Berwick by his name.
   2. Ask about the letter.
   3. If the Warden has enough coercion s/he can talk him into defending the village.
      
      
2. Talk to Bella or Lloyd to learn Berwick's name.
   1. Call Berwick by his name.
   2. Ask him for proof, which can be done after using coercion to have him reveal everything "because that will make things easier".
   3. If the Warden has enough coercion s/he can talk him into defending the village.
      

Making Berwick defend the village will earn approval from Sten. Letting Oghren talk the Warden into killing Berwick also nets (+4) from him (only tested on pc).

Note: During the battle Berwick will fight besides the knights and not the militia.

Lloyd

• Intimidate Lloyd the tavernkeeper into joining the defense ( Sten approves (+4), Oghren approves (+2) if you let him give free ale to the militia instead). Bella is left in charge (unless you intimidated Lloyd into giving you the tavern) 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.

Bug! Even if Oghren is not in your active party, when you intimidate Lloyd, his approval goes up anyway

Note: If you told Bella you would help her and you intimidated Lloyd into giving you the tavern, when you talk to Bella after the battle you will have the option to give her the tavern. If you choose the "I didn't say for free..." response, she will give you 3

Owen's stash

• In the Blacksmith's Store his hiding place is found under a crate. If Owen is helping, then he will offer to unlock the hidden trapdoor, revealing a set of old Tier 1 weapons and armor. You can take it and immediately sell it to him, but it's not worth much.

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."

Note: The option to tell Ser Perth or Murdock that you are ready becomes available only after the Warden talks with Owen and either accepts his quest or kills him as well as completes the task given by Ser Perth. Subsequently the rest of the options to further improve Redcliffe's defences are optional.

Abandoning Redcliffe

The Warden can initially refuse to help the villagers defend Redcliffe Village. However, speaking with Bann Teagan allows a chance to offer aid. If the Warden leaves Redcliffe and moves to any location in the World Map, except the Party Camp, then Redcliffe will be marked as abandoned, even if the Warden offered aid. When the Warden returns, the village is a ghost town. Most buildings are empty and there is only one scavenger outside. The scavenger directs the Warden to the Chantry, where the only survivor is 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 Village, including their respective quests. There is no way to obtain these quests in-game if this route has been chosen.

The following quests are unique to Redcliffe and will not be available if Redcliffe is abandoned:

Blackstone Irregulars:

• Grease the Wheels

───────

Chanter's Board:

• Caravan Down
• Brothers and Sons

───────

The Mages' Collective:

• Justice Must Be Served

Result

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

Rewards

Help the militia

• 100 XP - for convincing Owen to fix the militia's armor
• 150 XP - for getting Dwyn to defend the village

Help the knights

• 100 XP - for convincing Mother Hannah to provide holy symbols
• 100 XP - for reporting to Ser Perth about oil barrels from the general store

Note: Be sure to report back to each quest giver, Murdock or Ser Perth, to complete each sub-quest and receive experience points.

Notes

• Any person you recruit to fight can be stolen from again once they are outside. This includes: Dwyn and his two men, Lloyd, and Berwick.
• Affecting morale of militia and knights:

Morale starts at 0.

• If Murdock is convinced that victory is possible (either after equipping the militia and telling him "We're not only ready, Murdock. We're going to win." (high Persuasion required) or saying, "Have faith, good man. We will defeat this evil together." (medium Persuasion required): +1
• Dwyn fighting: +1
• Owen working: +1
• Free drinks: +1

• If Murdock is convinced that they will be defeated (by replying "That sounds likely" to his line, "Name's Murdock, mayor of what's left of the village--providing we aren't all killed and hauled off to the castle tonight.": -1
• Dwyn dead: -1
• Owen dead: -1
• Owen's stash denied: -1

If the militia's morale is +2 or higher, it is considered to be High.

If it is -2 or lower, it is considered to be Low.

The knights' morale is supposed to increase by 1, if you give Ser Perth the holy amulets. However, their morale is fixed at 0 (due to scripting error), whether the amulets are given to him or not.