“Once you take in the darkness, you not miss the light so much. You know, do you not? Ruck sees you, he sees the darkness inside you.”
Ruck is a dwarf of the smith caste who has become deformed by the darkspawn taint. He can be found in the ancient ruins of Ortan Thaig, which is accessed via the Deep Roads.
Background
According to his mother, Filda, Ruck left Orzammar as the only smith of an expeditionary force into the Deep Roads five years before the Fifth Blight. While in the expedition, he accidentally killed a fellow dwarf in a quarrel. Rather than stay and endure the punishment of being exiled to the mines, where he would have found certain death, Ruck ran away. In order to survive in the Deep Roads, Ruck fed on the corpses of darkspawn which made him severely tainted. He is also a scavenger, and will attack the Warden if he fears having his "treasures" stolen. Ruck seems to remember his previous life in Orzammar, or at least his mother, and it pains him greatly to even think of those good times.
Involvement
Ruck's fate in Dragon Age Keep
In the quest A Mother's Hope, the Warden can agree to help Filda, who is found in the Orzammar Commons, by promising to track down her son who was lost at the Deep Roads. The Warden can discover Ruck in Ortan Thaig. Initially, he is quite frightened and will run when several spiders move to attack the Warden. Afterwards, Ruck will retreat into his cave, where he can be coerced into engaging in commerce with the Warden, interrogated, or killed.
Mentioning his mother causes Ruck great distress; if he is told that she should know he is alive, he will beg the Warden not to tell her. The Warden can agree to tell his mother that he is dead, as he does not want his mother to see him like this; Filda remembers a completely different Ruck. If Wynne is in the party, agreeing to lie to Ruck's mother about his death gives you Wynne approves (+2) immediately and Wynne approves (+1) when you say to Filda that her son is dead. If Zevran is present, he might force the Warden to kill Ruck, saying that it is the most humane thing to do. This can be avoided, as he will only press if the Warden decides to leave instead. Oghren will also suggest that he should be killed.
Quests
Inventory
For Ruck to establish trade, he must either be persuaded or intimidated by the Warden; otherwise, he will attack.
Name Price 
Lifestone (x99)
30 0
Frostrock (x5)
30 0
Frozen Lightning (x6)
30 0
Fire Crystal (x3)
30 0
Deep Mushroom (x99)
1 50
Dwarven Waraxe
18 99
Dwarven Longsword
60 0
Dwarven Mace
27 0
Heavy Dwarven Helmet
90 0
Dwarven Heavy Boots
81 0
Armor of the Divine Will
57 0 0
Shield of the Legion
5 10 0
Dwarven Large Round Shield
22 50
Destructionist's Belt
5 10 0
Grandmaster Cold Iron Rune
27 0 0
Etched Silver Symbol
39 0
0
0
Quotes
- (About the spiders) "They takes things of steel and paperl! They takes the shinies and the words!"
- "The dark master calls them with his beautiful voice!"
- (About the Grey Wardens) "Grey like the stone. Guardians against the darkness."
Trivia
- In Mass Effect 3, an asari is trying to guide a friend called Ruck to a secure bunker. She does not recognize the name of the place Ruck gives her over the comms.
- If the Warden is female and is able to persuade Ruck, he calls her "pretty lady" frequently throughout the conversation.
- In Mass Effect 2, there is a quarian named Veetor whose speech pattern is extremely similar to Ruck's, including denying his own existence.