Return to Ostagar (quest)

Return to Ostagar
Location	Ostagar
Start	Elric Maraigne, in Bann Loren's Lands
Previous	A King's Confidant
Appearances	Dragon Age: Origins - Return to Ostagar DLC

This page is about the quest. For the downloadable content, see Return to Ostagar.

Return to Ostagar is the main quest unlocked by the Return to Ostagar DLC for Dragon Age: Origins.

Background

When the DLC is installed, the Warden will receive a quest called A King's Confidant, suggesting to seek out a survivor of the events at Ostagar who can be found in a new location, Bann Loren's Lands. After speaking with the confidant, Elric Maraigne, the Warden can travel back to Ostagar on the World Map.

Note: Companions who had some involvement with the Battle for Ostagar—Wynne, Alistair and the Secret Companion—will have additional dialogue during this quest so you may want to take some of them along. Dog also has some "lines", though obviously just barking and howling! Sten, Leliana and Zevran have a single line of dialogue when you find Maric's sword.

Walkthrough

Ostagar

When returning to Ostagar you start off at the upper west side of the ruins where the infirmary was once located, through the gate that previously led to the army camp and which a guard was barring. Whilst exploring Ostagar and making your way towards the Tower of Ishal on the east side of the map, you will run into several elite mobs who will drop pieces of Cailan's Armor Set.

• If you had not previously obtained it as part of The Hungry Deserter, loot the Mages' Chest Key from the corpse of the prisoner by the fallen cages near the starting postition. The key can be used to loot the Mages' Chest and obtain the Corrupted Magister's Staff as well as the loot that would have been in the chest had it been opened during the Battle for Ostagar. If you looted the chest when in Ostagar previously, you will not be able to open it now.
• Proceed towards the location of the war council and then towards the former magi encampment where you will find rubble marked Elric's Buried Key to loot Key to the Royal Arms Chest.
• Continue on towards King Cailan's Tent, here is where you find Cailan's Chest and loot Maric's Blade and the quest item 'Secret Correspondence', which unlocks Codex Entry: Cailan's Documents - Page 1 of 3, Codex Entry: Cailan's Documents - Page 2 of 3 and Codex Entry: Cailan's Documents - Page 3 of 3.
• Cross the bridge to the eastern side of the ruins where you will discover King Cailan's body afterwards clear the eastern side of the ruins and head for the Tower of Ishal.

Tower of Ishal

• Fight your way past the Genlock and Hurlock Grunts and an Ogre. The door leading to the stairs to the next level is blocked.
• In the final room, there's a hole in the floor leading to the lower tunnels.

Darkspawn Tunnels

• Follow the tunnels to the Battlefield, fighting more darkspawn and some Corrupted Spiders.
• Exit onto the Battlefiled.

Battlefield

• Defeat the boss level Risen Ogre and the Genlock Necromancer. Killing the Genlock Necromancer will immediately cause the Risen Ogre and all other spawns on the Battlefield to collapse—they will die, but you will not get XP for killing them.
• Exit back into the cave you emerged from—a cutscene will ensue.

Cailan's Body

At this point, there are three options presented as to what to do with Cailan's body: give him a funeral pyre, cut him down and leave him for the wolves or leave him for the Darkspawn. Depending on who is in the party at the time, each companion has differing approval reactions to what choice is made.

Approval Changes
Funeral Pyre	Wolves	Leave him
Alistair approves (+7) Leliana approves (+2) Morrigan disapproves (-3) Secret companion disapproves (-5) Sten approves (+2) Wynne approves (+4) Zevran disapproves (-3)	Alistair disapproves (-10) Leliana approves (+2) Secret companion approves (+4) Wynne disapproves (-3) Zevran disapproves (-3) Morrigan approves (+2)	Alistair disapproves (-10) Leliana disapproves (-3) Secret companion disapproves (-3) Sten disapproves (-3) Wynne disapproves (-10) Morrigan disapproves (-3) Zevran approves (+2)

Items

Cailan's Breastplate, source: Drop Hurlock General

Cailan's Gauntlets, source: Drop Hurlock Strategist

Cailan's Greaves, source: Drop Hurlock Strider

Cailan's Helm, source: Drop Hurlock Necromancer

Cailan's Shield, source: Drop Hurlock Vanguard

Corrupted Magister's Staff, source: Mages' Chest, if the Key to the Mages' Chest wasn't already used beforehand during The Hungry Deserter

Duncan's Dagger, source: Drop Risen Ogre

Duncan's Sword, source: Drop Risen Ogre

Firestone Harness, source: Dead Mabari

Joining Chalice, Gift, source: Found where the Joining Ritual took place

Key to Mages' Chest, source: Charred Corpse

Key to the Royal Arms Chest, source: Elric's Buried Key

Maric's Blade, source: Cailan's Chest

Nug Crusher, source: Weapon Stand, Tower of Ishal

Repeater Gloves, source: Wooden Crate

Secret Correspondence, source: Cailan's Chest

Swiftrunner Warpaint, source: Dead Mabari

Enemies

• Blight Wolf
• Genlock
• Genlock Necromancer, Elite
• Hurlock
• Hurlock Emissary, Elite
• Hurlock General, Elite
• Hurlock Strategist, Elite
• Hurlock Strider, Elite
• Hurlock Vanguard, Elite
• Risen Ogre, Boss
• Shambling Corpse
• Shambling Skeleton
• Shrieks

Bugs

• Sometimes the Genlock Necromancer appears standing amidst a horde of other darkspawn and cannot be targetted or killed. He only becomes active and killable when the Risen Ogre on the battlefield is finally dead, but will not be in his correct location on the battlefield and you will have to go and find him in the location where the bug occurred. After killing the Necromancer, you will have to return to the battlefield site where you encountered the Risen Ogre and then try to exit the area through the tunnels in order to trigger the cutscene and proceed with the quest correctly. If you do not do this, interacting with King Cailan's body afterwards will not give you options to 'deal' with his body as if the quest was still incomplete, despite the quest shown being complete.

• A number of items found (e.g., Cailan's Armor Set and Cailan's Arms) are scalable, i.e. they should be higher tier if the player character is higher level. However, some items may be found at Tier 5 even by higher level characters. These can be upgraded by placing them in the Warden's Keep party storage chest, leaving and returning, or by selling them to a merchant then repurchasing them later.

• If you steal from the elite darkspawn holding parts of Cailan's armor you may get the items and be unable to loot the corpse after it's dead, making the quest impossible to complete. (PC confirmed)
• Entering the Tower of Ishal will trigger a cinematic cutscene involving the Genlock Necromancer summoning a fireball and several Hurlock Grunts running up the to the PC. This cutscene triggers every time the PC enters the tower, not just the first time, but is not dangerous to the mission.
• Occasionally, approaching the Tower of Ishal without the Secret Companion in the party will still play one of his special lines of dialogue for the DLC. (Editor encountered this with a party of Shale, Leliana, and Morrigan after slaying the Hurlock Strategist.)