Talk:Nature of the Beast

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I have removed the instructions about the altar and fountain as these are covered in detail under the page The Mage's Treasure as this altar and fountain are part of this quest only, not the Nature of the Beast quest. --MiyuEmi 09:31, November 20, 2009 (UTC)

Wolf Shop Mod (Werewolf Merchant)

You can find the Wolf Shop mod at the link. It replaces Varathorn with a werewolf merchant that carries the same exact items, removing the merchant penalty you take when siding with the werewolves. However you will not be able to gift unlimited elfroot to the elves for free experience however. Mictlantecuhtli (talk) 18:57, June 3, 2010 (UTC)

Campsite Illusion?

Should mentions of the fake campsite be made? Especially as a warning, since it's very possible to get an instant game-over if the player isn't careful enough. I think having high willpower makes it possible to both resist the original "temptation" to just fall asleep, as well as to survive the attack should that actually happen. In my game, Morrigan was able to withstand the insta-death and managed to save everybody, while my rogue, alistair, and sten all died immediately. ... Unfortunately, I don't remember if the campsite is in the first or second area of the forest. I think it's near the Grand Oak. - Ancestralmask 19:02, November 20, 2009 (UTC)

It's an encounter at the West Brecilian Forest near the The Grand Oak, I think a mention of it would be best placed there, (It is at the Firepit and Bedroll objects).--Mytharox 19:04, November 20, 2009 (UTC)

I found that the same thing happened my dalish rogue, alistair and Leliana all fell but my group mage wynne beat the shade so maybe only mages can resist the shade --User

Well, I played it again yesterday, and the only way I managed to have anybody except my mage survive was if I didn't look at a single object, tried to leave, and then chose the correct dialogue option. Which might be the second one, or might be all of them, depending, because the stipulation was that I did NOT LOOK AT A SINGLE OBJECT. If I looked at even one, upon trying to leave and the whole dialogue branch showed up, my party would decide to have a quick nap anyway. - Ancestralmask 09:27, December 6, 2009 (UTC)

I found this as well. Don't look at anything and choose the second dialogue option. Thankfully I've only been stuck once fighting with one person. Probably learned then to just try and leave!! --MiyuEmi 10:22, December 7, 2009 (UTC)

Well i think it is save to assume that only mage would stay alive because of above comments and my own encounter (only morrigan was not dead)--Riv8 17:04, December 7, 2009 (UTC)

For me it was possible to have none of my members died, just go into the camp and leave, then choose "lets not fight it....lets turn around and see what happens". Your party would then turn around and see the bodies of past adventurers, then the Greater shade appears.

Yeah......Morrigan pulled through for me. I ALWAYS keep her with me. Payed off. This campsite perplexed me. I couldn't find anything here on it. And none of mine died. They were fine, just fine. I wonder if it has any significance later on. Coroxn 21:30, January 8, 2010 (UTC)

I don't think only mages can resist it. I just did this quest yesterday, I played a Dalish Elf Archer (dex/shortbow build), during the quest I examined ALL items and always selected the "we need to stay alert" option. Still, all my party (Alistar, Morrigan, Leliana) got insta death except for me. Who stays awake and fights could be randomly selected. -- Joe Dirt 17/01/2010

I confirm not only mages can resist. I usually don't take mages in the party and I always had one (and only one) character available to fight, not always the same, depending of the companions present at the moment. I don't think it is a bug because an instant game over just because one enter a zone without any clue it is dangerous would be pretty stupid in a video game. Croquignol 17:42, February 3, 2010 (UTC)

I was just testing some things out for the campsite. I was able to go in and look at the Bedroll. I chose the 'we need to stay aware' option then tried to leave. With that all of my companions and I stayed awake which made the battle very easy. So it seems that you can even inspect one item and still keep everyone awake. Bandit-Behind-Bars 18:14, February 28, 2010 (UTC)

It has to do with Willpower. Whoever's Willpower is the highest in the group, that's the one who stays awake.

Willpower could be part of it, but I did have one encounter where everyone stayed awake. Sounds like it might be a combination of things.

Quest Available Times

I have put in the length of time certain quests are available based on my playthroughs. If anyone finds anything different, change and let me know if possible, but I've never had any other differences on mine (though admittedly I've never killed the elves which may have a bearing on being able to complete Cammen's Quest and Elora's Halla at least. --MiyuEmi 14:39, November 30, 2009 (UTC)

Arcane Horror - Lower Ruins

Very useful article, but the "let a couple of your party die" advice in this particular section is a bit odd. Seems to me you can split your party up, sending one to each corner platform. You should then see an electrical surge (can this damage / stun you? Seemed that way, but I'm not sure), and the Arcane Horror's ability to teleport will be gone. Quite possibly there is a gameplay mechanism in place to arbitrarily stop the teleporting if party deaths mean this "puzzle" cannot be solved. 129.177.44.84 00:36, April 13, 2010 (UTC)

Siding with the Werewolves

Just out of curiosity, what are the advantages/disadvantages to siding with the werewolves? Aside from losing ranged warriors. Is there any "good" to be had? Because I'll assume that killing the elves also means you lose access to the stores in the Dalish camp (along with the sidequests), which seems like a fairly big loss in terms of possible characters to interact with. Are there any extremely good material rewards? And is there a difference, when siding with the elves, if you choose to just kill Witherfang, as opposed to telling Zathran to end the damn curse already? Thank you! - Ancestralmask 21:45, December 1, 2009 (UTC)

I've actually found the best rewards exist only if you side with the elves and have Zathrian jointly end the curse with Witherfang so you don't actually kill anyone. You have all the Dalish shops available and you get Swiftrunner's Shield as a reward (if you request it) from the former werewolves for ending the curse. I've done it both ways and found no real benefit to killing the werewolves. I suppose this is a selection only if you're playing as an evil character as all the main individuals in the Dalish camp are killed making them unavailable to you. --MiyuEmi 10:21, December 7, 2009 (UTC)

Well, I just went through it and killed Zathrian after I was done dealing with Witherfang. Strangely enough, Zevran approved of my choice. I got a decent enough mage's staff out of it, and I guess the extra experience for killing Zathrian and his goonies on top of Witherfang and the werewolves. Although I don't recommend it if your characters haven't finished healing up from the previous battle. - Ancestralmask 18:24, December 7, 2009 (UTC)

I had Zathrian help me fight Witherfang and noticed that his health doesn't automatically replinish between fights. If you fight witherfang and make sure to finish the fight away from the center circle if Zathrian is still alive you can save and wait for your party to regen, then cast AoE spells on Zathrian before triggering the fight with him. Eventually, even though you cannot see his health bar, he will colapse (sometimes witherfang manages to take his health to 0 for you anyway) at which point you can trigger the conversation with Zathrian, then trigger the fight, and only be left with a couple HP of his to chip off. The rest of his minions aren't exactly pushovers, not on nightmare anyway, but it's a little easier of a battle without cone of cold and blizzard constantly being up. Is this friendly fire mechanic worth mentioning in the article anywhere? Tetracycloide 19:15, December 16, 2009 (UTC)

Elfroot?

In my first playthrough I sided with the elves, and during the second I just now decided to kill them. I've noticed htat so far the major disadvantage seems to be that I no longer have an unlimited source of elfroot for the making of pultices. Does anyone know of any other unlimited source of elfroot or anything that crops up after siding with the wearwolves?d e

You can buy unlimited elfroot at the dwarven traden in your campsite. Or if you are being a cheapskate and dont want to use the money cheat, then you can travel between 2 placed and get some in the various 'random' encounters. -abezap

Elfroot isn't available from my camp vendor, even after siding with the wolves. I always seem to need tremendous amounts of it, so relying on random drops and herb pickups doesn't seem like enough. -nil

IF you side with teh warewolves, but don't kill all the elves (just kill Zathrian), you can still go to the elvish camp for Elfroot. You have to go back to the forest, where you'll go through a cutscene with one of the elves. If you killed the warewolves-turned-humans, she will give you a bow. If have high enough persuade you can lie and she'll give you the bow. If she finds out you killed Zathrian, I have no idea what happens. ~black2thefuture

Bugginess?

I'm in the werewolve's lair, and there's a chest at the beginning that I can't open. This is a rogue with maxed-out lock-picking and 30+ cunning. Also, does cooperating with the werewolves prevent finding the ancient elven armour?

I know this question is 3 years old but people are reading the wiki so;

• No, whether you side with whoever has no effect on loot you find, other than on the corpses of those you killed of course.
• My Leliana opened this specific sarcophagus that holds the armor, with 3 ranks in Deft Hands and 30 total cunning (original game version). 217.121.86.187 (talk) 21:09, August 29, 2012 (UTC)

Herwin 18:27, December 15, 2009 (UTC)

It depends on which piece you're talking about. If you need the piece from the mad hermit you have to trade for it before going through the barrier in the forest. If you just need the piece from inside the ruins you should be able to pick it up afterwards if the area is still accessable. i don't know if it is or not i haven't tried but i would assume it is. Tetracycloide 19:08, December 16, 2009 (UTC)

Bug

When the gatekeeper presented me with the option to parlay with the weres i agreed. I eventually resolved the quest by pretending to side with the elf keeper only to betray him after witherfang was dead. Afterward I rexplored the areas around the gatekeeper and found more werewolves to fight, including the gatekeeper himself, but the three wolves standing with the keeper just stand there. Tetracycloide 19:11, December 16, 2009 (UTC)

Dalish Betrayel?

I've a question. If your a Dalish elf, what happens in this Quest? Can you side with the werewolves? And is there any people you can recuit in the Alienage? I'm a city elf, and I wondered if there is..... Coroxn 21:37, January 8, 2010 (UTC)

Plot Hole

While talking to Zathrian, he claimed I claimed the werewolves had regained their minds, but I didn't choose that dialogue option. Plothole! Coroxn 21:54, January 8, 2010 (UTC)

Wynne Side Quest

If I'd be sided with Werewolf and kill the elves, will Wynne quest be completed ?? (The Aneirin Quest)...114.120.170.77 01:30, January 12, 2010 (UTC)ognised

Wynne's quest is totally unrelated to 'the nature of the beast' Her student is somewhere in the forest before you complete this quest. --141.241.14.189 (talk) 14:02, March 9, 2011 (UTC)

Anomaly?

Why is the Hermit's reaction to you stealing from his stump listed as an anomaly? This happens every single time I do so and results in him turning hostile. I don't think this is an anomaly but should be listed instead as a warning. If you steal from the stump the Hermit will without fail turn hostile and force you to kill him so if you wish to trade with him, do so before you loot the stump for the acorn (if you do not wish to give up Danyla's scarf or other valuable quest loot to him. --MiyuEmi 09:08, January 26, 2010 (UTC)

Anomalies can refer to repeatable game behavior that seems inconsistent with the rules of the fantasy world. In most of the game, successful container looting or stealing does not cause NPCs to turn hostile, so the Hermit's overreaction to the theft is unusual. Warning is a more generic description.   — Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 22:52, January 26, 2010 (UTC)

Reward

I'm wondering what reward Zathrian will give if side with the elves and actually kill the werewolves instead of lifting the curse? I asked for a reward in the first dialogue with him and he said he'd give me an item that I could sell for a good deal of coin, but I am just wondering what that is. Bandit-Behind-Bars 03:59, February 28, 2010 (UTC)

Nevermind I found out. You get the Griffon's Beak from him if you kill the werewolves and ask for the reward before you enter the forest. I also updated the main page to reflect this. Bandit-Behind-Bars 23:52, February 28, 2010 (UTC)

Killing Former Werewolves

Does anyone know the party approval/disapproval resulting from killing the newly human werewolves after having let Zathrien and the Lady of the Forest jointly lift the curse? --rival_grace

I take it's a no-go, but it doesn't hurt asking...

I suppose there's no way to obtain Griffon's Beak AND lift the curse, right?

Not that I know of I'm afraid. Loleil ^Talk 07:00, June 5, 2010 (UTC)

Use the toolset to place Griffon's Beak in one of the chests in the town, you will have the item and then be able to complete the quest however you wish. Mictlantecuhtli (talk) 11:10, June 5, 2010 (UTC)

It is a possibility, I'll give it that. However, if it's not too much to ask, I'm gonna need some tips. Would anyone be so kind as to provide some, please?

Siding with werewolves

i sided with the wolves by making the elf lift the curse but it says i sided with the elfs, how do i side with the were wolves?

To side with the werewolves (i.e. get the Slayer achievement) you need to kill the elves. See here for more information. Loleil ^Talk 07:00, June 5, 2010 (UTC)

Darkspawn at Ancient Tombstone

I didn't kill the hermit or the Grand Oak, and the Darkspawn (Hurlocks and Genlock Alphas) still spawned at the Ancient Tombstone in the forest that's past the Magic Barrier. I disturbed the runes, killed the Revenant and skeletons, continued on past Swiftrunner and the other werewolves to the entrance of the ruins, then bactracked to the Dalish Camp and my Camp to unload some of my inventory and buy some things. When I returned to the clearing with the tombstone, the Darkspawn were there.

Bug on XBox 360

It was mentioned that there was a bug previously on just PS3, involving the repition of the dialogue.that happened to me on Xbox. This wouldnt bother me at all, unless this happened: When offered to leave with the Keeper, I opted to explore a little longer first, due to not having the chance to loot Witherfang yet. So he vanished, and i did my looting. Items obtained, i went to the door to exit and it was locked. Both doors were locked. I'm trapped in that final room, the autosave occuring after he leaves, and my last REAL save occuring WAY back at the 4 hour mark. the doors wont unlock. Any advice? (besides saving more often) :[

Propose Clarification of Warden's Choices and Results

As a first time player on PC1.05, I found the information I wanted on this page very hard to find. Am I missing something?

What I would like is to clearly mark the choices made by the warden that lead to "side with both (werewolves and elves) and convinced Zathrian to kill himself and lift the curse."

In a sense the "Warden's Choices" and "Results" need to be cleaned up. Thoughts?

Taosin (talk) 03:01, July 9, 2013 (UTC)

Made some quick additions to (hopefully) highlight and identify the gist of this for readers. Taosin (talk) 05:02, July 9, 2013 (UTC)

Moved from main page

Comment PC version 1.04: The mentioned approval ratings varies depending on a lot of choices it seems. In one case where I tricked Zathrian by telling I would kill Witherfang and then later told him it was just to get him down there I got:

• Morrigan approves (+2)
• Leliana approves (+2)
• Sten approves (+3)

during the fight, and then

• Leliana approves (+7)

on top of that when the curse was lifted. In a second run where I instead convinced Zathrian to talk to the Lady there was no approval changes during the combat. But I got

• Leliana approves (+7)

when the curse was lifted.

Comment [PS3] As above (PC version). Except that after demanding a reward and receiving Swiftrunner's Shield, I then double-crossed them, killing Swiftrunner and the rest of the humans. Later, going back into the Brecilian Forest to test what happened, Panowen challenged me. Despite my having killed the humans, I had no option to admit that. My only option was the standard [Persuade(Lie)]. Since I had low Coercion, she attacked me as if I had still allowed the werewolves to escape. Killing the humans had no apparent effect on party approval, either.