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Origins | Ostagar | Lothering | Circle Tower | Warden's Keep (DLC) | Return to Ostagar (DLC) | Stone Prisoner (DLC) | Brecilian Forest | Redcliffe | The Urn of Sacred Ashes | Orzammar | Deep Roads | Denerim | Final Onslaught |
Deep in the Wilds | Leliana and Sten | Lothering | Lothering Chantry | Chanter's Board | Leaving Lothering | Camp |
LOTHERING
Traps are a Girl's Best Friend
Here is where I take advantage of a certain exploit. Allison, who will be just a little west of the Dane's Refuge Inn, wants basic Spring Traps made for her. Any character who has at least one rank in the Trap-Making skill can simply make three Spring Traps out of three Trap Triggers (which I had obtained after I killed the Bandits on the Road). I can then speak to Allison, and get 100xp and 50 silver. But it doesn't stop there. This quest can be done infinitely by simply giving Allison three Spring Traps over and over and over again. Furthermore, a merchant in the Dane's Refuge Inn named Barlin sells unlimited Trap Triggers for dirt cheap. Being able to do this quest over and over again can conceivably allow the party to reach 25th level then and there, and at a considerable profit to boot (but at the expense of considerable tedium).
I would not recommend taking the exploit that far though. Remember that most monsters in Dragon Age: Origins scale up according the level of the party. Using the quest indefinitely to go into the high-levels is actually pretty risky. The result can be that you'll end up fighting very high-level monsters, but without the equipment to match. I do take advantage of this exploit, but only as far as to address certain priorities.
One, I want Morrigan to acquire the Expert Herbalism skill, which will be a stepping stone to the Master Herbalism skill. Master Herbalism is a prerequisite to a method of obtaining limitless gold by brewing Potent Lyrium Potions and then selling them at a profit.
Second, I want Morrigan to get the Sleep spell, which will make the next few battles decidedly easier.
Third, and this is the key priority, I want to be able to take advantage of another exploit involving the Camp fairly soon. There is the Camp that the party arrives at just after leaving Lothering, which I'll refer to as the "After Lothering Camp". The "After Lothering Camp" is a distinct area from the Camp the party usually returns to during its adventures, which I'll refer to as the "Usual Camp". So, the reality is that there is a Bodahn the merchant in the After Lothering Camp and there is a Bodahn the merchant in the Usual Camp. What that also means is there will be two different inventories available for sale, one in the After Lothering Camp and the other in the Usual Camp. This makes it entirely possible to buy duplicates of the same items from Bodahn the merchant in the After Lothering Camp and from Bodahn the merchant in the Usual Camp.
Keep in mind that the After Lothering Camp is available only once during the whole game, when the party leaves Lothering for the first time. Once the party leaves the After Lothering Camp, they can never return to the After Lothering Camp, as the party will always subsequently return to the Usual Camp instead when they select the Camp icon on the world map. This is true even if the party leaves the After Lothering Camp and then returns immediately to Lothering.
Therefore, the one time the party finds itself in the After Lothering Camp will also be the one and only time that the party can purchase items from Bodahn in the After Lothering Camp. Once the party leaves the After Lothering Camp, this opportunity will be gone for good. Thus my priority is to raise enough gold to be able to purchase the Tome of Arcane Technique, the Tome of Physical Technique, the Grandmaster Frost Rune, the Grandmaster Lightning Rune, and the Master Lightning Rune from Bodahn in the After Lothering Camp. This plan requires about 83+ gold. Once I have done this, I can again buy these same items over again from Bodahn in the Usual Camp.
More Than Just Plants
Elder Miriam will be just a little north of Allison. Her quest is pretty simple, just give her three Lesser Health Poultices.
Refugee Ambush
I get ambushed by a LOT of refugees looking to collect on a bounty when I head for the northwest. This fight can be difficult due to the sheer numbers arrayed against me.
Morrigan waits for them to close in, and then unleashes a Sleep spell. This puts most of them out of action. She then targets one who is at full health for the Horror spell. This is the Nightmare combo, which kills off the Refugee outright. Aldarion meanwhile uses Cone of Cold and then Shock on three of the Refugees. Another Refugee is going straight for Aldarion, but Aldarion stops him cold with a Crushing Prison spell. It's pretty much a mop up after that.
The Unscrupulous Merchant
Here of course is where you can make a choice about whether to help the merchant or the Chantry sister. Falling in with the merchant will of course earn favour with Morrigan, and lose favour with Leliana. If you want to successfully convince the Merchant to offer his goods to the villagers at a discount, you'll have to succeed at a Persuasion check. This of course earns favour with Leliana, but also loses influence with Morrigan.
The video concludes with Leliana pickpocketing the Imperium Crossbow (extra damage vs. demons) off of the merchant. Alistair equips it as an interim crossbow.
Jewelry for Morrigan
There's always an incentive to raise your approval with your comrades so that one of their abilities will go up. One of the easiest ways to do this is to give gifts to a companion that the companion will particularly appreciate. Morrigan is particularly appreciative of jewelry, and her Magic score will increase when my approval with her goes up past certain levels.
I also engage her in some conversation in order to increase approval even further, although I may as well come out and say that I much prefer Leliana as a romantic partner. I pursue most of the dialogue trees with Morrigan, but I deliberately avoid the one that involves Morrigan and Flemeth being hunted by the Chantry. The reason being that if I play that dialogue according to character, somebody who was raised in the beliefs of the Circle, I am likely to lose approval.
Now it's time to do a few quests involved with the Chantry in Lothering.
