The Monster Manual

Monsters most foul and fiendish inhabit the dark corners of Ferelden and swell the ranks of the Blight. In Dragon Age: Origins , statistics for monsters are dynamic; they scale to the player's level. This makes for a challenging experience, because you won't run into an area way too easy or way too difficult; you can enjoy the game play right along with the story.

The following Bestiary showcases the game's monsters, including its rank, class, primary stats, description, and play tips on how to avoid the monsters' attacks and how to defeat the diabolical denizens. Each creature falls in one of seven ranks. Normal is on par with the PC. Weak Normal, Critter, and One-Hit descend in power from a creature barely a challenge to the PC to a creature you can eliminate in a single stroke. On the other side, Lieutenant is a creature slightly above the PC's level, Boss is a creature meant to take on an entire party, and Elite Boss is the toughest of the tough and taking it down will require an expert party and all their skills.

Monster Rank

The creature's class fits in a general category and defines its key combat component, such as warrior, rogue, high damage, spellcaster, tank, agile, etc. The class, in turn, defines the general range of the creature's attributes, going from Very low up to superior rankings. By glancing at the creature's attributes you can see where their strengths and weaknesses lie. A creature with a high strength score, for example, will deal significant melee damage and take less in return. A creature with a high magic score will lean toward spells in combat. A creature with low willpower won't have much stamina or mana and will not be able to continuously hit you with abilities.

After each monster description, look for play tips on how to overcome the creature's abilities and how to defeat the beast. After you encounter a monster several times you'll probably know what to expect, but it's useful to study up on creatures for your first few encounters. When you want to know more about the creatures that inhabit Ferelden, check out your codex. Each time you encounter a monster for the first time, you gain a codex entry, and you can learn about the psychic abilities of revenants or how hurlock emissaries are the only darkspawn capable of human speech.

Abomination

Rank: Normal

Class: Spellcaster

Prime Location: Circle Tower

Special Abilities: Rage, Triple Strike

Description: An abomination is a mage possessed by a rage, hunger, sloth, or desire demon.

Play Tips: In the "Broken Circle" quest, the Litany of Andralla artifact destroys the demonic link between host and victim and prevents the creation of new abominations.

Attributes

Arcane Horror

Rank: Boss

Class: Spellcaster

Prime Location: The Fade

Special Abilities: Ranged spells

Description: An arcane horror is a skeleton possessed by a pride demon.

Play Tips: Interrupt an arcane horror's casting as much as possible. Up close, abilities such as Dirty Fighting and Mind Blast work great. At range, Paralyze, Pinning Shot, or Scattershot can break the thing's concentration.

Attributes

Archdemon

Rank: Elite Boss

Class: Tank

Prime Location: Denerim

Special Abilities: Enough to kill you quick (see "The Final Onslaught" walkthrough section)

Description: This is a corrupted version of the standard dragon, bred by the darkspawn. This tainted dragon is the big elite boss at the end of the game. His name is Urthemiel and was once known as the "Dragon of Beauty."

Play Tips: Arm yourself with the best gear possible. Select your most veteran party. Cross your fingers. (See "The Final Onslaught" walkthrough section for complete details on how to beat the archdemon.)

Attributes

Ash Wraith

Rank: Lieutenant

Class: Spirit

Prime Location: Circle Tower

Special Abilities: Life Drain

Description: A wraith is a powerful version of a shade, a spirit that has entered the physical world but does not possess a physical body. In the case of the ash wraith, the spirit has formed a quasi-material body for itself out of ashes (usually the ashes of burnt corpses, but not necessarily). This allows it to interact with and affect the physical world, but the wraith is not dependent on the ashes to survive. If wounded, it can disperse at will and reform later. Such wraiths occasionally use other materials to form their physical bodies such as bones, mold, and even blood.

Play Tips: Watch out for rear or flank attacks, as these creatures can materialize behind or on your side. High spirit resistance will reduce the damage taken from the wraith's main attacks.

Attributes

Bear

Rank: Critter

Class: Tank

Prime Location: Any outdoor location

Special Abilities: Overwhelm

Description: Bears live in forests, often near settlements. They are known for breaking into cabins and stealing food. They have a special fondness for honey. There is also a trained bear with a trainer at the Pearl brothel in Denerim.

Play Tips: Any bear form is vulnerable to magic, so mages deliver serious damage. The mage's shapeshifter specialization transforms the caster into a bear, so you can experience its abilities firsthand.

Bereskarn

The bereskarn variant, including the boss in the Dalish Elf origin, is a lieutenant with twice as much health as the average PC.

Black Bear

Most bears you meet will be of the more common black bear variety.

Giant Bear

The great bear variant is a more formidable adversary, with lots more health, deadlier claws, and an Overwhelm ability.

Bronto

Rank: Lieutenant

Class: Tank

Prime Location: Wyrmling Lair

Special Abilities: Charge

Description: A bronto is a huge rhino-like beast based on the real world brontothere (an animal that lived more than 10,000 years ago).

Play Tips: You don't want to be in its way when this creature charges. Attack from its flank or rear and with magic whenever possible.

Attributes

Broodmother

Rank: Boss

Class: Tank

Prime Location: Dead Trenches

Special Abilities: Burrowing Tentacles

Description: Tainted females of the surface species are affected differently from males, undergoing great pain and gross mutations, which cause most of them to perish. Those who survive, however, become the egg-laying broodmothers. These broodmothers spawn many infertile offspring at a time, over and over throughout their lifetime. One broodmother, in fact, can create thousands of darkspawn...and it is from these broodmothers that all darkspawn originate. Like bees, the broodmothers are the "queens" and nominal rulers of the darkspawn races during the periods when a Blight is not in progress. There is no evidence to suggest much in the way of actual organization, however. Elven broodmothers birth shrieks, qunari broodmothers birth ogres, dwarven broodmothers birth genlocks, and human broodmothers birth hurlocks.

Play Tips: Go for the tentacles first. Chop away one at a time, and when the tentacles dip beneath the ground, aim as much damage as you can directly on the broodmother.

Attributes

Corpse

Rank: Normal

Class: Tank

Prime Location: Redcliffe

Special Abilities: Rise from the dead

Description: Weaker demons crossing over from the Fade may be able to possess a living target. Unable to distinguish that which was once living from that which still is, they sometimes end up in a corpse instead.

Play Tips: Beware of dead bodies strewn upon the ground. Frequently, what appears as the grisly remnants of a massacre is actually an ambush by the various corpse forms.

Devouring Corpse

Devouring corpses are corpses possessed by a hunger demon. These attempt to feed on living victims as quickly as possible.

Enraged Corpse

Enraged corpses are corpses possessed by a rage demon. These go berserk and simply wade into opponents mindlessly.

Shambling Corpse

Shambling corpses are corpses possessed by a sloth demon. These cause enemies to become weak and fatigued.

Attributes

Deepstalker

Rank: Critter

Class: Agile

Prime Location: Deep Roads

Special Abilities: Camouflage

Description: This bizarre creature evolved in the deep caverns beneath the dwarven cities. When rolled up, the creature resembles a large rock; stalkers often look like boulders strewn through the dwarven tunnels. Once prey approaches, they unroll and leap at their victims.

Play Tips: Deepstalkers hunt in packs. If you see one, others are nearby ready to pounce. Try to spot the large group and raze them with AoE damage.

Deepstalker Leader

The leader ranks as normal with slightly higher attack and defense values.

Deepstalker Spitter

The spitter has a ranged poison attack. Where other deepstalkers charge into melee, this one will hang back and spit, then engage.

Attributes

Desire Demon

Rank: Lieutenant

Class: Balanced Mental

Prime Location: Circle Tower

Special Abilities: Enthrallment

Description: Of all the threats from beyond the Veil, few are more insidious and deceptively deadly than the desire demon. In popular folklore, such demons are characterized most commonly as peddlers of lust, luring their prey into a sexual encounter where they are slain at the culmination. While a desire demon can indeed deal in pleasure, in truth they deal with any manner of desire that humans can possess: wealth, power, and beauty to name a few. Far more intelligent than the bestial hunger and rage demons, and more ambitious than the demons of sloth, these dark spirits are among the greatest at tempting mages into possession. Many who serve the whims of a desire demon never realize it. They are manipulated by illusions and deceit if not outright mind control, though these demons are reluctant to resort to such crude measures. Instead, they seem to take great pleasure in corruption. The greater the deceit, the greater their victory.

Play Tips: Once a desire demon has someone in her thrall, you must treat them as an enemy and destroy them along with the desire demon.

Attributes

Dragon

Rank: Elite Boss

Class: Balanced Physical

Prime Location: Mountaintop outside the Gauntlet

Special Abilities: Fire Breathing

Description: At about 100 years of age, female dragonlings undergo a metamorphosis, darkening in color and growing wings. After their wings grow, these dragon females become very adventurous, traveling long distances from their original hatching grounds and feeding widely on wild beasts and livestock as they range out to find their own burrows. Human encounters happen most often with these nomadic adult females. Adult dragons are the most aggressive and commonly seen; however, while deadly, they are not regarded with the awe usually reserved for high dragons.

Play Tips: Everyone stand back except the tank. Send your tank in to pull as much threat as possible. When the dragon gets angry enough to unload its fire breath on the tank, have a mage cast Force Field to shield the tank for the duration of the attack. Everyone else unloads high-powered damage on the dragon while it concentrates on the invulnerable tank.

Dragonling

Baby dragons of both genders hatch from eggs into dragonlings, which are roughly the size of a deer. These dragonlings are wingless and slender and are born in vast numbers because they are still very vulnerable to predation. At this age, males and females are identical. The dragonlings stay for a short time in their mothers' lairs, then venture out into the world where they spend several decades in their small, vulnerable state.

High Dragon

Any dragon is a formidable adversary, but a high dragon is even more: an elite boss. High dragons are adult female dragons, the mountainous classic dragons into which the dragons mature. Relatively few dragons survive to this stage of adulthood. When they do, they take possession of a burrow (either an abandoned tunnel complex that they further hollow out, or the lair of another high dragon who they challenge and displace). The high dragons then spend most of their time sleeping and mating, living off the prey that their drakes hunt and bring back.

Attributes

Drake

Rank: Lieutenant

Class: Balanced Physical

Prime Location: Wyrmling Lair

Special Abilities: Fire Breathing

Description: At about 50 years of age, male dragonlings undergo a metamorphosis, as the skin of their forelimbs stretches and grows into wings, leaving them with no separate forelegs. These drakes immediately begin searching for mates, seeking out the lairs of adult female high dragons (which are many times larger). When they find high dragon mates, drakes move into the female's lair and spend the rest of their lives there, emerging only to hunt and bring food back for the female and dragonlings. For any given high dragon, usually a dozen or so drakes live in her lair and fight among themselves for the right to mate. If the high dragon or dragonlings are attacked, the drakes defend the lair. Drakes live only about 100 years, and often much less when the casualties of combat are considered.

Play Tips: Collect three drake scales and return to Wade's Emporium in the Denerim Market District. Master Wade will craft a special piece of armor for you, and you'll complete the "Drake Scale Armor" side quest.

Attributes

Genlock

Rank: Normal

Class: Default Warrior, Ranged Warrior (for archers), Spellcaster (for emissaries)

Prime Location: Anywhere

Special Abilities: Alpha (Dual Wield), Emissary (Spells)

Description: Genlocks originate from dwarven broodmothers and are the most numerous of all the darkspawn. They have stocky dwarven bodies and a robust appearance. Their skin is pale white or yellow, and their heads are large and bald, with sunken eyes and cheeks. Genlocks have both the strength and hardiness of their dwarven origins and are difficult to kill. They also commonly possess the dwarven resistance to magic, though this trait is strongest in alpha and emissary genlocks.

Play Tips: Load up on silverite runes if you know you're about to battle darkspawn. Even a novice silverite rune grants +2 damage against the fiends, and a grandmaster silverite rune gives +10!

Genlock Alpha

Alphas are more cunning versions of the base genlock and have higher magic resistance. They are ranked as lieutenants and can dual wield.

Genlock Emissary

Genlock emissaries are the most intelligent genlock and have the highest magic resistance. They are ranked as lieutenants.

Attributes

Ghoul

Class: High Damage

Prime Location: Brecilian Ruins

Special Abilities: Life Drain

Description: A ghoul is a man or woman twisted and corrupted by the darkspawn taint. This differs from regular darkspawn in that they are not born from broodmothers. The one you eventually meet in the party camp is Tamlen, the PC's friend from the Dalish origin story, corrupted by the magic mirror in the elven ruins.

Play Tips: Invest in cold iron runes to fight undead. A novice cold iron rune grants +2 damage against ghouls and other undead, and a grandmaster cold iron rune adds 10 more damage per hit!

Attributes

Golem

Class: Tank

Prime Location: Anvil of the Void

Special Abilities: Quake

Description: Dwarves built golems, creatures of hewn stone or sheets of metal animated with a spark of lyrium. They were once a crucial part of Orzammar's defenses, but the secret to their manufacture was lost over 1,000 ago. What few golems remain are guarded closely by the Shaperate of Golems, and only brought out when the battle with the darkspawn grows desperate enough to risk their loss. No one now would sell a golem for any price, but in ancient times, dwarves sold many golems to the magister lords of the Tevinter Imperium. A magical, not mechanical, process animates the golem, making it more of a living "iron/stone creature."

Play Tips: The warrior's Shattering Blows talent increases damage against golems and other constructs. A warrior heading into the Deep Roads might be wise to spend a few points in the Two-Handed school.

Attributes

Halla

Rank: Critter

Class: Warrior

Prime Location: Brecilian Forest

Special Abilities: Moving Dalish landships

Description: These Dalish white stags are much larger and swifter than the normal wild stags (having been bred for this purpose by the elves for several millennia). It is standard for a halla's keeper to carve its antlers as they grow, making them curve into unique and aesthetic shapes (the antlers fetch a high price in the Imperium). Since the fall of the Dales, the halla have been used less as mounts and more to pull the aravels (called "landships" by humans) of the Dalish.

Play Tips: They make good eating, but you don't have much reason to battle these creatures. In the Dalish camp, you can save one and complete the "Elora's Halla" side quest.

Attributes

Hurlock

Rank: Normal

Class: Warrior

Prime Location: Anywhere

Special Abilities: Alpha (Weapon and Shield, Two-Handed), Emissary (Spells)

Description: Hurlocks originate from human broodmothers. Muscular and tough, they are the most common foot soldiers of the darkspawn during a Blight. They are tanks, easily equaling a qunari's raw physical power. They are the shock troops of the darkspawn and often form the strongest part of their armies, wielding primitive swords and axes and wearing patchwork armor. Hurlock skin ranges from pale white to dark brown; there is generally a lot of variance, and most do not possess hair (it is always black in those who do). Hurlocks consider themselves superior to other darkspawn races, treating them roughly and adorning themselves in crudely carved tattoos to keep track of kills and deeds.

Play Tips: Identify hurlocks as soon as a fight ensues. Emissaries are your immediate priority. Alphas can be trouble, but you'll probably want to eliminate the regular hurlocks first and reduce the numbers against you.

Hurlock Alpha

Darkspawn childer hatched by a broodmother have to fight among themselves for food during the first month of life; usually, a tenth to a quarter of the litter will survive. Occasionally one childer will prove stronger than the rest of its siblings and be the only one remaining at the end of the month. This is indicative of a superior version of the race and it will be known as an "alpha." Alphas are generally taller, stronger, and much more intelligent than others of their kind. They will be the commanders and generals who direct the others in combat and are intelligent enough to direct the slavery of humanoid races in lands they conquer. As lieutenants, they act as warriors with the Weapon and Shield and Two-Handed talents.

Hurlock Emissary

A very few alphas have proven themselves to be not only incredibly intelligent, but also naturally gifted with magical abilities that seem similar to blood magic in their effects. These few are known as "emissaries." Emissary lieutenants tend to appear only during the Blights and are the most feared of the darkspawn, the ones who watch the commanders and generals to make sure that those cunning alphas serve the archdemon's interests and not their own. Darkspawn armies are fairly disorganized, but the different races usually group together (genlocks with genlocks, hurlocks with hurlocks, etc.).

Attributes

Mabari War Hound

Rank: Normal

Class: Default Dog

Prime Location: Ostagar

Special Abilities: Bite

Description: Dogs are an essential part of Fereldan culture, and no dog is more prized than the Mabari. The breed is as old as myth, said to have been bred from the wolves who served the legendary hero, Dane. Prized for their intelligence and loyalty, these dogs are more than mere weapons or status symbols: The hounds choose their masters, and pair with them for life. To be the master of a Mabari anywhere in Ferelden is to be recognized instantly as a person of worth. The Mabari are also an essential part of Ferelden military strategy. Trained hounds can easily pull knights from horseback or break lines of pike men, and the sight and sound of a wave of war dogs, howling and snarling, has been known to cause panic among even the most hardened infantry soldiers.

Play Tips: You will battle Mabari war dogs in your travels; however, one of them becomes your friendliest ally either in the Human Noble origin or as a side quest beginning in Ostagar.

Attributes

Nug

Rank: Critter

Class: Warrior

Prime Location: Orzammar

Special Abilities: Nibble

Description: Sometimes called "mudsplashers" by the dwarves, these small, hairless creatures resemble small pigs, with pointed snouts for digging. Nearly blind, they populate the underground tunnels of the dwarves.

Play Tips: Collect these for Nug Wrangler Boermor in the Orzammar Commons area. Corral 11 of them for a prize.

Attributes

Ogre

Rank: Lieutenant or Normal

Class: High Damage

Prime Location: Brecilian Forest

Special Abilities: Grab and Throttle

Description: Ogres originate from qunari broodmothers; they are rare, but growing in number. They are massive: taller and broader than even hurlock alphas, with dark, rough-colored skin covered in patches of thick fur. They possess huge, curved horns and are said to charge their enemies like bulls, slamming into them with devastating effect: they can even barrel through thick stone walls. Tougher ogres are ranked as lieutenants, while the smaller grunts are normal difficulty.

Play Tips: Avoid the ogre's long reach: an ogre can grab and choke the life out of you. If the ogre grabs a companion, stun it immediately to cease the continuous damage.

Attributes

Pride Demon

Rank: Boss (lesser is ranked Lieutenant)

Class: High Damage

Prime Location: The Fade

Special Abilities: Possession

Description: Demons can exist in both the real world (through possession) and in the Fade. Demons spend their time searching out new territory and pushing their boundaries. For this reason, they are the Fade dwellers most commonly seen in the mortal realm. While in the Fade, demons rail at a sleeper, forcing him into dark realms of nightmare where the demons feed off the negative energy created by his fear. The demons are, in order of increasing power and intelligence: rage, hunger, sloth, desire, and pride. Greater pride demons are bosses, while lesser pride demons are ranked as lieutenants.

Play Tips: Damage-based spells will rip apart a pride demon if you can keep the pressure on. Cycle through a spell rotation so you aren't waiting on any cooldown effects.

Attributes

Rage Demon

Rank: Lieutenant (lesser is ranked Critter)

Class: Spirit

Prime Location: The Fade

Special Abilities: Flame Blast

Description: Demons can exist in both the real world (through possession) and in the Fade. Demons spend their time searching out new territory and pushing their boundaries. For this reason, they are the Fade dwellers most commonly seen in the mortal realm. While in the Fade, demons rail at a sleeper, forcing him into dark realms of nightmare where the demons feed off the negative energy created by his fear. The demons are, in order of increasing power and intelligence: rage, hunger, sloth, desire, and pride. Greater rage demons are lieutenants, while lesser rage demons are ranked as critters.

Play Tips: Stick to the cold-based spells to deal extra damage. Cone of Cold or Blizzard can freeze them solid and deal significant damage; even Winter's Grasp can be effective.

Attributes

Rat

Rank: Critter

Class: Warrior

Prime Location: Underground

Special Abilities: Gnaw

Description: Any of several long-tailed rodents of the family Muridae, of the genus Rattus; distinguished from the mouse by being larger. Only the giant ones fight.

Play Tips: It doesn't take much to squash them. Watch out for rats' swarm tactics; keep your flanks defended by companions or obstacles.

Attributes

Revenant

Rank: Lieutenant

Class: High Damage

Prime Location: Brecilian Forest

Special Abilities: Telekinetic Pull

Description: A revenant is a corpse possessed by a pride demon. Many possess spells, but most are armed and armored and prefer to use their martial talents.

Play Tips: A challenging foe, the revenant can pull you toward it with telekinesis; ranged DPS and healing won't be safe at the edge of the battlefield. Don't waste time on ranged positioning. If the revenant does pull, it sets aside its massive blade, which is prime time for melee combatants to get in some licks.

Attributes

Shade

Rank: Lieutenant (lesser version is ranked Normal)

Class: Spirit

Prime Location: The Fade

Special Abilities: Life Drain

Description: Shades are spirits of the dead that have come into the mortal world but have not possessed living beings. Over time, they become so jealous of the living that they begin to draw the energy of life itself into themselves through their touch. They become humanoid shadows, lingering in dead places and being devoid of any thought but draining life whenever it draws near. More powerful versions of these shades, those who have fed on a great deal of life energy, are known as "wraiths." Wraiths regain a bit of their intelligence and can use their power to affect the mortal world, usually through control over the elements and by affecting the minds of the living.

Play Tips: Mundane weapons may have a lesser effect, but spells can put a hurt on a shade. Keep your spellcasters protected and let them fire away while the tank and melee DPS hold them at bay.

Attributes

Shriek

Rank: Lieutenant (Normal shriek is ranked Normal)

Class: High Damage

Prime Location: Dead Trenches

Special Abilities: Stealth

Description: Thought of as horrors of the night more than as darkspawn, shrieks are tall, lean creatures renowned for their speed, incredible agility, and stealth. Indeed, shrieks have been known to run (with their strange, loping gait: their arms are as long as their legs) as fast as a horse and disappear just as quickly into the shadows. Shrieks' talons and teeth are incredibly sharp, as their favorite tactic is to leap on their prey and tear it to ribbons within seconds; in fact, they fight with long sharpened blades attached to their forearms. Shrieks originate from elven broodmothers, and retain both a natural elven agility and relative fragility. Only couple solid strikes are needed to kill the creature—getting that strike, however, tends to be the problem. Physically, shrieks stand between six and seven feet tall but weigh only perhaps 100 to 120 pounds. They are thin, with bark-like skin that ranges from light green to dark brown in color. Their faces are twisted, with long wild-looking hair and eyes that are sunken into their skull, appearing to be black holes with pricks of dim light shining from within.

Play Tips: Set up a defensive perimeter where each companion can watch the other's backs. Shrieks can materialize out of thin air, and you don't want them ripping and tearing at your exposed side.

Attributes

Skeleton

Rank: Normal

Class: Warrior

Prime Location: Redcliffe

Special Abilities: Archer (ranged), Fanged (Dual Weapon), Normal (Weapon and Shield), Shambling (Two-Handed)

Description: Demons that possess flesh form walking corpses; demons that possess bones form skeletons.

Play Tips: Employ standard party tactics as you would for any melee combatant or enemy archer. The shambling skeletons generally deal more damage and should be a priority.

Archer

Archer skeletons are bones possessed by a rage demon. They use ranged bows.

Fanged

Fanged skeletons are bones possessed by a hunger demon. They act as warriors with the Dual Weapon talents.

Normal

Normal skeletons are bones possessed by a rage demon. They act as warriors with the Weapon and Shield talents.

Shambling

Shambling skeletons are bones possessed by a sloth demon. They act as warriors with the Two-Handed talents.

Attributes

Sloth Demon

Rank: Boss or Normal

Class: Tank

Prime Location: The Fade

Special Abilities: Spells

Description: The sloth demon is a shapechanger with no true form (that is known, anyway). It takes existing forms, usually from dreams of the dreamer. In the Magi origin story, the sloth demon appears as a bereskarn.

Play Tips: Normal sloth demons adopt similar tactics as the arcane horror. Avoid its big spells with well-timed stuns or debilitating spells such as Crushing Prison.

Attributes

Spider

Rank: Normal

Class: Agile

Prime Location: Underground

Special Abilities: Poison, Web, Overwhelm

Description: These creatures (also called "deep crawlers" by the dwarves) grew in the depths of the dwarven Deep Roads, once having been encouraged to multiply to feed on the numerous species of large bats that the dwarves considered pests. Once the Deep Roads were lost to the darkspawn, these spiders began to feed on genlocks as well as bats, and their numbers were no longer controlled. Some moved up to make their lairs in the surface forests, but most have remained below ground.

Play Tips: Support each other whenever spiders arrive. If you end up apart, a spider's web or Overwhelm attack can incapacitate a lone companion. When webbed, the companions who aren't trapped should defend their comrade. Against an Overwhelm attack, everyone else should immediately focus on the charging spider to kill it before it kills your companion.

Corrupted Spider

Corrupted Spiders are giant spiders that have fed on the flesh of darkspawn. Unlike other animals so tainted, giant spiders don't become darkspawn ghouls. But they are forever changed after having feasted on darkspawn gore: they are more aggressive and stronger than standard spider kin.

Giant Spider

These are the most common variety of dungeon spider and will threaten you with an Overwhelm ability.

Poisonous Spider

These spiders can shoot poison at medium range and deal damage over time.

Attributes

Werewolf

Rank: Normal

Class: High Damage

Prime Location: Brecilian Forest

Special Abilities: Claws, Stealth

Description: Ferelden lore is full of instances where these creatures have plagued the countryside: wolves possessed by rage demons and transformed into humanoid monsters with incredible speed and strength, able to spread a curse to those they bit that would drive them mad with rage. Indeed, the ability of normal dogs to detect a werewolf even when it is in a human guise is what first led Fereldans to adopt dogs as an indispensable companion in every farmhold. The hero Dane led a crusade to eliminate this threat once and for all, and while werewolves have never assumed the same prominence since, there have still been reports of individual packs lurking in remote forests. In recent years, some have even been reported to have developed an uncanny willpower and intelligence.

Play Tips: Werewolves are very fast, and some use stealth. At least one point in Survival will help drastically in detecting werewolves on your mini-map before they are on you.

Werewolf Leader

Werewolf leaders are lieutenants and stronger, more resilient versions of the core werewolves. Swiftrunner, leader of the werewolves in the "Nature of the Beast" quest, is more intelligent than the others. He is still little more than a vicious beast, however, and very easily gives in to his bestial temper. If the player frees the werewolves, he is restored to his former human self.

Rabid Werewolf

An extremely nasty, savage variant of the regular werewolf

Shadow Werewolf

These werewolves use stealth to go invisible and sneak up on the unsuspecting.

Attributes

Wild Sylvan

Rank: Lieutenant

Class: Tank

Prime Location: Brecilian Forest

Special Abilities: Camouflage

Description: In forests where the Veil between this plane and the Fade has become thin, the forest is "alive" with vengeful spirits who have possessed trees. These creatures are called "wild sylvans." Sylvans can retain some of the intelligence and even memories of the possessing spirit, which sometimes grow over time. More often, sylvans retain only a smattering of intelligence and are filled with an extreme jealousy of other living things. They kill any who enter their domain, animating branches to swing as fists, enveloping the living in their roots, or uprooting themselves briefly to walk (slowly). Sylvans are heavily resistant to physical damage.

Play Tips: Tread slowly when in a forest around sylvans. The tree creatures blend in with the non-hostile forest and suddenly spring to life as you near. Fire-based attacks do extra damage.

Grand Oak

The rhyming spirit of a great oak tree, this sylvan boss helps the player after the player recovers his stolen acorn.

Attributes

Wisp

Rank: Critter

Class: Spirit

Prime Location: The Fade

Special Abilities: Lightning

Description: Wisps are small glowing balls of electrical energy. It is not certain whether they are demon, spirit, or just a Fade disturbance of some kind.

Play Tips: When a wisp detects you, it will begin firing lightning at you. Close quickly if you rely on melee; otherwise, it will sizzle you from long range. If you attack at range, out-damage wisps with a barrage of spells or arrows.

Attributes

Wolf

Rank: Critter

Class: Agile

Prime Location: Outdoors

Special Abilities: Bite, Overwhelm

Description: These wolves are large and imposing. They hunt in packs and take advantage of large numbers to take down tougher targets.

Play Tips: Wolves hunt in packs and will attempt to swarm you. Try not to get flanked and have the party concentrate firepower on one at a time as you trim down the numbers against you. Also watch out for their Overwhelm ability, which can take a party member down quickly if you're not prepared.

Alpha Wolf

A stronger variant of the wolf, this lieutenant will lead the wolf charge as a dangerous pack closes in.

Witherfang

The fighting form of the Lady of the Forest (the spirit of a dryad that Zathrian captured and trapped in the body of a wolf). She is the originator of the werewolf curse in the Brecilian Forest. She is a massive, white dire wolf boss.

Attributes