Coercion provides Intimidation and Persuasion options during dialogue. It will help make the Warden's life significantly easier on many occasions. It will enable the Warden to obtain information, gain items, seduce other characters, avert combat, and collect greater quest rewards. If the player chooses the City Elf Origin, they will automatically start with one rank in this skill. This skill is only available to the Warden.
Intimidation and Persuasion checks are governed by two factors: the skill check's difficulty score and the Warden's appropriate skill score.
Difficulty score[]
Persuasion & Intimidation Difficulties in Dragon Age:Origins are assigned to one of four difficulty ranks:
Difficulty Score Needed Low 25 Medium 50 Hard 75 Very Hard 100
Persuasion & Intimidation skill scores[]
Each tier in Coercion adds 25 points to the Warden's total Persuasion & Intimidation skill scores. Persuasion and Intimidation are also influenced by the Warden's cunning or strength attribute scores, respectively. Each point over ten in these attributes will add one point to the appropriate skill score. The following formulas may thus be used to calculate a desired score:
- Persuasion = (25 * Coercion_Tier) + (Cunning - 10)
- Intimidation = (25 * Coercion_Tier) + (Strength - 10)
Results[]
If the required skill score is at least equal to the difficulty score needed, then the Warden is successful. There is no randomness involved. A skill score that is at least equal to the difficulty will always succeed while a skill score that is lower than the difficulty will always fail.
Notes[]
It may not be necessary to spend a skill point on Master Coercion depending on your Warden build. A warrior by the later game will probably have STR of at least 35, and a Rogue may well have 35+ CUN; those are sufficient to bring Intimidate and Persuade, respectively, to over 100 with three skill levels.
Tiers[]
Coercion - Passive
- Requires: 10 Cunning
The character is influential enough to convince others to change their views. Strength contributes to a more intimidating character, whereas cunning contributes to a more persuasive character. Improved Coercion - Upgrade
- Requires: 12 Cunning
The character's ability to read and influence others has improved. Expert Coercion - Upgrade
- Requires: 14 Cunning
The character is exceptionally influential and can compel all but the most strong-willed individuals. Master Coercion - Upgrade
- Requires: 16 Cunning
The character is a silver-tongued master of coercion, able to sway just about anyone.
Notable Intimidations and/or Persuasions[]
- Dalish Elf Origin - Ashalle: Speak about your parents and she'll give you the key to a locked white chest that contains an Heirloom Necklace.
- Magi Origin - Bound in Blood and Magic: If you have the Blackened Heartwood Staff, Irving will ask whether you took anything from the repository. You can lie, and keep the staff.
- Ostagar - The Hungry Deserter: Speak to the guard to persuade him to give you the food and water for the prisoner.
- Ostagar - Pick: 1 point in coercion can get Pick to give the player Ser Garlen's Sword.
- Redcliffe Village - Lloyd: If you choose some threatening dialogue choices, you can intimidate him into giving you ownership of his tavern.
- Redcliffe Castle - Desire Demon: As a mage, when confronting the Desire Demon, with a high enough Intimidation total you can bully it into relinquishing Connor and giving you an offer. This is one of the most difficult intimidation checks in the game and will likely require 4 ranks in coercion unless your strength is very high, but note that giving up Connor has no effect at all in the game.
- The Gauntlet - Defiling the Urn: If a hardened Leliana is present when the Warden defiles the Ashes, she can be intimidated into backing down instead of attacking you.
- Nature of the Beast: The Lady of the Forest can be persuaded to attack the Dalish.
- Orzammar Diamond Quarter - Kardol: After completing A Paragon of Her Kind, it is possible to persuade Kardol to bring the Legion of the Dead to the surface to fight the Blight. (A dwarf Noble Warden will not need Coercion for this.)
- Denerim Market District - Ser Landry: can be talked out of dueling the Warden.
- The Landsmeet - Possible Landsmeet Outcomes: With a high persuasion score and the correct dialog options, the Warden can arrange a political marriage between Alistair and Anora. A Human Noble Warden may similarly be able to marry Alistair (if female) or Anora (if male).
- Before entering the Landsmeet, the Warden can intimidate Ser Cauthrien to avoid fighting her. However, this bypasses the last opportunity to acquire the Summer Sword.
- Rescue the Queen: The Warden can persuade or intimidate Vaughan Kendells into giving up the key to his lockbox, which contains 40 , before either freeing or killing him.