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'''Class benefits for Mage:''' {{ColorPositiveStat|+5 magic}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+4 willpower}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+1 cunning}}
 
'''Class benefits for Mage:''' {{ColorPositiveStat|+5 magic}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+4 willpower}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+1 cunning}}
   
'''Level up benefits for Mage: '''{{ColorPositiveStat|+4 health}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+6 mana}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+1 skill}} every 3 levels
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'''Level up benefits for Mage: '''{{ColorPositiveStat|+4 health}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+6 mana}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+0.1 damage}}, {{ColorPositiveStat|+1 skill}} every 3 levels
   
 
== Class description==
 
== Class description==
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All mages undergo a process of having their blood taken while apprentices and placed in a [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Phylactery Phylactery]. This ensures the mages' compliance as well as the ability to track down any mage who decides to run away, since a [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Templar Templar] can track anyone through their blood.
 
All mages undergo a process of having their blood taken while apprentices and placed in a [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Phylactery Phylactery]. This ensures the mages' compliance as well as the ability to track down any mage who decides to run away, since a [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Templar Templar] can track anyone through their blood.
   
[http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Phylactery So][http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Phylactery me mages manage to escape the notice of the ][[Chantry]] and the Circle, and grow up without the training that those who are taken from their families will have. Any mage not a part of the Circle is considered to be an [[Apostate |apostate]], and will be hunted by [[Templars |templars]] if discovered.
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[http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Phylactery So][http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Phylactery me mages manage to escape the notice of the ][[Chantry]] and the Circle, and grow up without the training that those who are taken from their families will have. Any mage not a part of the Circle is considered to be an [[Apostate |apostate]], and will be hunted by [[Templars |templars]] if discovered.
   
 
Some groups, such as the Dalish, are, for all intents and purposes, outside of the jurisdiction of the Chantry and the Circle, and will carry on their own magical traditions. A Dalish Keeper has considerably different training than a Circle Mage, as their tradition is supposedly based on the old elven magics. A Keeper typically has a First, the Dalish term for an apprentice.
 
Some groups, such as the Dalish, are, for all intents and purposes, outside of the jurisdiction of the Chantry and the Circle, and will carry on their own magical traditions. A Dalish Keeper has considerably different training than a Circle Mage, as their tradition is supposedly based on the old elven magics. A Keeper typically has a First, the Dalish term for an apprentice.

Revision as of 10:21, 14 March 2010

Name
Specializations
Abilities
Starting stats
Base Bonus
Health
Power
Strength
Dexterity
Willpower
Magic
Cunning
Constitution
Starting secondary stats
Base attack
Base defense
Increasing stats
Health per level
Power per level
Damage per level


Mage

A Mage is one of the three playable classes in Dragon Age: Origins. A mage is able to interact with the forces of magic, using different elemental powers. In order to qualify to be a mage, one must be either an elf or a human, and one will have to choose the Mage Origin. Dwarves cannot play as a mage, since they are unable to connect with The Fade and therefore are unable to control the forces of magic. While Dalish elves do have magic users in their tribes, all elf mages in DA:O are assumed to have come from an Alienage.

Class benefits for Mage: +5 magic, +4 willpower, +1 cunning

Level up benefits for Mage: +4 health, +6 mana, +0.1 damage, +1 skill every 3 levels

Class description

As a class, mages focus on spells in order to deliver damage and debilitate their enemies, as well as support and heal their allies. In addition to individual spells, in Dragon Age: Origins mages have the ability to cast multiple spells in a row resulting a "spell combo". For example, casting Grease, a spell which will cover the ground in a layer of slippery grease, and then casting Fireball onto the greased floor will result in the grease catching on fire, burning anybody caught in the area in a giant inferno. To put out the fire, Blizzard may be used.

The default weapon of mages is the staff, which deals ranged damage and never misses the target but cannot deal critical damage. Mages may also use any armor or weapon, provided they meet the minimum strength or dexterity requirements. However, wearing armor makes spells cost more mana, and boosting strength or dexterity to use other weapons weakens the mage's spellcasting power.

For a list of spells Mages can use, see spells.

Specializations

Arcane Warrior Arcane Warrior

  • Arcane Warriors are mages who have channeled magic into their bodies, making them more effective fighters.
  • This can be taught by cooperating with a spirit trapped in a phylactery in the Lower Ruins section of the Brecilian Ruins.

Blood Mage Blood Mage

  • Blood Mages pursue a darker path of magic that is fueled by blood.
  • This specialization can only be learned by making a deal with the Desire Demon in Redcliffe Castle.

Shapeshifter Shapeshifter

  • Shapeshifters are mages who have learned to alter the form of their bodies.
  • This can be taught by Morrigan, if her approval towards the Warden is low enough. It can also be learned by a manual sold by Varathorn in the Dalish Camp in the Brecilian Forest.

For the specialization, see Spirit Healer (Origins) and Spirit Healer (Dragon Age II).
Spirit Healer 001

Spirit healer in action

Spirit healers are mages who focus on restoration spells and use the life energy acquired from the benevolent spirits which reside in the Fade. This mage specialization is available in Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II.

Background

Many people of Thedas think of all spirits as malevolent entities on account of maleficarum summoning and controlling demons from the Fade.

Yet some mages within the Circle of Magi seek the aid of spirits that do not feed on the darker side of the psyche: those of fortitude, compassion, hope and the like. Not all things to come from the Fade are harmful: there is much good to be done alongside the Maker's first children, although they rarely seek to cross the Veil. Sometimes they can be persuaded to protect and restore life, rather than corrupt or destroy it as demons would.

While healing spells do exist, spirit healers are well known for taking healing and restoration far beyond a standard mage’s capabilities. In effect, the spirit healer summons a benevolent spirit through the veil and that spirit uses its abilities on the mage’s behalf. Thus, spirit healers are highly desired in the ranks of the Circle, albeit distrusted by the templars.


This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Asunder.


The templars frowned on the use of even such benign spirits, although it was not strictly forbidden. The best healers, after all, summoned spirits of compassion to assist them. Such spirits did not linger and immediately returned whence they came, but the Chantry looked upon any who had the talent to contact them with suspicion— such as [Rhys] himself. Still, it had its uses.
―Asunder, chapter 3


Becoming a spirit healer, however, is no simple matter. To gain the services of such benevolent and righteous beings requires that the mage earn their trust. Often this requires a series of trials to prove that the mage's goals are as noble as the spirit demands, though some mages have claimed to command the compliance of such spirits through sheer force of charisma. Some even claim they did not choose their calling; instead, a powerful spirit chose them and led them into lives of service, ordeal, and succor.

It should also be noted that the calling of a spirit healer is a dangerous one. Contacting anything beyond the Veil inevitably draws the notice of demons, sometimes very powerful ones. More than one tale exists of a spirit healer being fooled by a demon masquerading as a benevolent spirit, and inadvertently bringing them across the Veil... or being tricked into letting down their guard, and possessed. As such, once a mage becomes a Spirit Healer they must especially heighten their vigilance for the remainder of their lives. It is a calling that not all will gladly suffer.[1]

Known spirit healers

See also

Manual: Spirit Healer Manual: Spirit Healer

References

  1. "Spirit Healer" on the BioWare wiki.
  • Spirit Healers draw on the help of the benevolent spirits of the fade to focus on healing their allies.
  • This can be learned by buying a manual from the Wonders of Thedas shop in Denerim, from Levi Dryden in Soldier's Peak, from the Quarter Master in the Circle Tower, or by gaining enough approval with Wynne where she will teach you the specialization.

Notable Mages

Images

Mages in Thedas

Most mages in Thedas belong to the Circle of Magi. As such, they are taken from their families while still children, and highborn children who are able to use magic will lose all claims to their family's estates and titles when they are taken to the Circle. This helps to create a bond stronger than social class or race, since everybody in the Circle is raised and taught the same way.

All mages undergo a process of having their blood taken while apprentices and placed in a Phylactery. This ensures the mages' compliance as well as the ability to track down any mage who decides to run away, since a Templar can track anyone through their blood.

Some mages manage to escape the notice of the Chantry and the Circle, and grow up without the training that those who are taken from their families will have. Any mage not a part of the Circle is considered to be an apostate, and will be hunted by templars if discovered.

Some groups, such as the Dalish, are, for all intents and purposes, outside of the jurisdiction of the Chantry and the Circle, and will carry on their own magical traditions. A Dalish Keeper has considerably different training than a Circle Mage, as their tradition is supposedly based on the old elven magics. A Keeper typically has a First, the Dalish term for an apprentice.

Another example of an extra-traditional mage organization are the Witches of the Wilds, to which Flemeth and Morrigan belong.

In Thedas, magic is a natural phenomenon like air pressure, gravity, inertia, or anything else. Some people are born with the ability to interact, control, and shape it.

Magic originates from the Fade, the realm where Spirits dwell and humans and elves visit when they dream. As such, using it can draw the attention of the beings on the other side of the Veil, leading to an increased risk of demonic possession. A possessed mage becomes a distortion of their former self, a twisted monster known as an Abomination.

What a mage is able to do with magic in Thedas is somewhat limited when compared to other fantasy worlds, namely those used by Dungeons and Dragons. Interdimensional travel (discounting interaction with the Fade) and teleportation are non-existent although occasionally attempted, and the average person will rarely ever see any true example of magical power.

Mages are, however, capable of manipulating the basic elements, such as conjuring gouts of flame and small localized ice and electrical storms. There are also spells that allow for the temporary reanimation of corpses and the draining of an opponent's life-force.

Forbidden Magic

Some uses of magic are strictly forbidden by the Chantry, and, by extension, the Circle. Blood Magic, an offshoot of magical abilities that allow for things like using life-energy to power one's spells and the ability to penetrate the very mind of an enemy, is one example. The Circle has judged these abilities as evil (and certainly, they tend to be abused by practitioners) and has adopted a strict no-tolerance policy on the use of these abilities, to protect non-mages from their abuse, and mages from the fear generated by the common use of such powers. Most blood magic stems from demonic influence, according to blood mages such as Avernus.