King Alistair (quest)

King Alistair
Act	3
Start	Writing Desk (Hawke Estate)
End	Viscount's Keep
Previous	On the Loose
Appearances	Dragon Age II

King Alistair is an Act 3 side quest in Dragon Age II.

This quest is available if you select the Hero of Ferelden or Martyr pre-built histories within Dragon Age II. This quest also appears when starting a Dragon Age II game with an imported Dragon Age: Origins game in which Alistair was made king.

Acquisition

This quest is received after the completion of On the Loose via a letter to Hawke found on the Writing Desk at the estate.

Walkthrough

After receiving the quest, head to the Viscount's Keep. A cut scene plays with Knight Commander Meredith berating Alistair over three mages who escaped to Ferelden.

After Hawke is introduced to Alistair, if Aveline is in the party, she will kneel before Alistair, provoking a wry remark from him.

If Isabela and/or Anders are present, Alistair will note they're familiar.

If the imported save file is a Dalish Warden and if the boon given at the ending was land for the Dalish, Merrill will have some lines as well; if the imported save file isn't from the Dalish Warden, Merrill will still have a line concerning the Circle of Magi. Alistair admits his thoughts about mages are different than the templars. Hawke can ask about trying to take over the circle, on which he replies that's not that easy. Anders responds it's worth trying, when Fenris responds it's worth keeping unchanged.

Alistair will then discuss a threat to Ferelden from Orlais, and will tell Hawke to keep Kirkwall safe.

Result

• Finishing the dialogue completes the quest and a codex entry for Alistair is added.
• When Alistair asks you how to fix the city, replying "I could be viscount," results in Varric: friendship (+10).

Notes

• If the player completes the Mark of the Assassin DLC and speaks to Teagan there before this quest, he will not recognize the player. He will assume this is their first meeting. Similarly, neither will Leliana during her visit or Fifi de Launcet. If these quests are completed before Mark of the Assassin, however, they will recognize you during Duke Prosper's banquet. This is likely because the original vanilla game and day one DLC were not programmed to account for a later encounter (i.e. Mark of the Assassin), but the final DLC was programmed to account for a previous encounter.

Trivia

• Alistair says, "Swooping is bad," when he first meets Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins. This line reappears during the conversation with King Alistair if you choose to investigate and follow the dialogue path "What happened with Orlais?" -> "Why is that?"
• If you have Aveline in your party, she will bend the knee and ask "May I say what an honor it is to meet you?" Alistair responds, "You could, but you'd be the first today." She then mentions that she fought at Ostagar and what happened there was a great tragedy. If Loghain was executed, Alistair states, "Ah. Yes. Yes it was. Thankfully the man responsible has paid for that." If Loghain was spared (by marrying Alistair to Anora, the only way to keep him alive with Alistair as king), he states, "Ah. Yes, it was. Sadly Loghain still lives."
• If you import from a save where Alistair and the Warden had a threesome with Isabela, she will recognize him. Alistair will comment that she looks different, probably referring to her character design, to which she answers, "Don't we all?" Note that she recognizes Alistair even without him being included in the "encounter," whether the Warden was male, female but did not romance him, or female but simply did not include him.
• If you have Anders in your party, he will ask if Alistair was a Grey Warden, he'll reply, "That's the rumor," and then, recognizing Anders from his visit to Vigil's Keep, asks the same question of him, to which Anders replies, "That's the rumor." Alistair finishes with "Well, we certainly get around."
• Teagan will remark that the Hero of Ferelden has returned to Denerim. If you import a save in which Alistair is married to the female human noble, he will affectionately refer to her as "the old ball and chain." If he is married to Anora but still has the female Warden as a mistress, Alistair will reply that they'd best not let the Queen know. If Alistair is sole ruler and has the female Warden as a mistress, he will answer "Is she? Well, the day's looking up already." If the Warden was male or was not romancing Alistair, Alistair will remark "You don't need to be so formal. He/She has a name, you know." If Loghain and the Warden survived, he uses the same line with no hint of bitterness at the Warden's decision, either an oversight by developers or implying that he has forgiven the Warden for making their decision, despite being disappointed that Loghain still lives.