Shifting Allegiances is an optional sub-quest of A Paragon of Her Kind, and will be recorded in the journal if The Warden double-crosses Prince Bhelen Aeducan after completing A Prince's Favor: The First Task.
Background
In order to obtain the dwarves aid against The Blight, The Warden must help put a new king on the throne. The aides of both candidates, Prince Bhelen Aeducan and Lord Pyral Harrowmont will insist that The Warden performs a task - A Prince's Favor: The First Task and A Lord's Trust: The First Task respectively - before meeting their employer. It is necessary to perform one or other of these tasks (performing both will result in a stalemate). However, after completing A Prince's Favor: The First Task and meeting Prince Bhelen, it is possible to shift allegiances to Harrowmont.
Walkthrough
- After A Prince's Favor: The First Task is completed, Bhelen will ask The Warden to wipe out Jarvia's cartel by Entering Jarvia's Hideout.
- Once this task has been obtained, go to Harrowmont's Estate and speak with Dulin Forender. It is necessary to pass a Persude check to convince him that The Warden's intention was to undermine Bhelen from within all along.
- If Dulin is convinced, he will encourage The Warden to do as Bhelen has asked and wipe out the cartel, but whilst in the hideout to look for documents proving that Bhelen hired Dust Town thugs to ambush his brother and return them to him, so Bhelen's crimes can be revealed to the Assembly.
- Proceed with the Entering Jarvia's Hideout quest. The incriminating documents can be found in a chest at the back of the room in which Jarvia is encountered.
- Return the incriminating documents to Dulin in the Tapster's Tavern and he will grant an audience with Lord Harrowmont.
- Remember to return to Prince Bhelen and receive the reward for completing the Carta Hideout quest.
Result
- Both Harrowmont and Bhelen will request that The Warden enters the Deep Roads to seek out Branka. It is possible to tell the second one spoken to that the first has asked the same thing, and to lie about who The Warden will eventually support.
- Proceed with A Paragon of Her Kind as normal.
Bugs/glitches
- Because both Bhelen and Harrowmont request that The Warden finds Branka, some of the dialogue with, for example, Oghren gets a little bit mixed up.
- Each time a potential king requests that The Warden finds Branka, an "A Paragon of Her Kind" entry will be created in the Orzammar section of the journal (each of the two entries will refer to a different king). This is in addition to the "A Paragon of Her Kind" quest in "The Blight" section of the journal. Only one of the two Orzammar quests seems to be closed off correctly at the end of the quest, though the quest in "The Blight" section is marked as complete.
- Once a side has been picked, The Warden will be ambushed by supporters of the other side at various locations in Orzammar. If The Warden switches sides part way, then they may end up fighting supporters of both candidates at once.
- If the Warden should first talk to Vartag, and accept agree to help him, then talk with Dulin after leaving the Assembly, the can be given both Harrowmont's and Bhelen's first task. Should the Warden then enter the Proving, but not finish it, then finish Bhelen's quest, then talk to Vartag and convince him they will spy for him; and finally return and finish the Proving, then speak with Dulin, you will be given the chance to make the same deal with Dulin. This creates an infinite, and most probably unbreakable loop of each asking for information. This can easily break a game, as quicksaves cannot back up to prior establishing this loop upon its occurence.