Prima Games eGuides Dragon Age: Origins eGuide

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Dragon Age: Origins eGuide Walkthrough Side Quests

Chanter's Board

Chanter's Board

Back Alley Justice

Type: Combat

Start: Chanter's Board in Denerim Market District

Destination: Dark Alley

Task: Defeat the gang of thugs in three Denerim areas: Dark Alley, Dirty Back Alley, and Run-Down Back Street

Quest Tips: When you arrive at each alley, a large band of thugs will block your way in the main part of the street. It would be a challenge if this was all of them, but there are smaller thug groups down the side alleys and up the stairs. The safest position is to retreat to the entrance location and battle there. Mages should heave long-range bombs on the larger groups, and your tank may want to employ Shield Cover to defend against the constant arrow volleys. If you get overwhelmed near the entrance, move to an alley, defeat the smaller thug group holed up there and form a new line of defense until all the thugs lie lifeless. Once all three areas are cleaned up, you can return to the Chanter's Board for your reward.

Brothers and Sons

Type: Combat

Start: Chanter's Board in Redcliffe Village

Destination: Battlefield location marked on world map

Task: Slay all the wolves and loot the soldier's diary from the bloody corpse

Quest Tips: Pick up the soldier's diary from the nearest corpse on the "deserted" battlefield and watch for a wolf ambush after you pass the first barricade. Stay near the entrance and defeat the first wolf pack. Proceed toward the exit only after the first wave is dead so you don't pull all groups to you at once. Go slowly; there are many, many wolves.

Caravan Down

Type: Combat

Start: Chanter's Board in Redcliffe Village

Destination: Caravan location marked on world map

Task: Kill all the darkspawn at the caravan

Quest Tips: You can set up a nice ambush point from the entrance hill that overlooks the destroyed caravan. Without attracting attention, slide along to the right and launch a long-range attack at the nearest genlock emissary (Fireball works wonders). Aim your archers or other ranged attacks on the second genlock emissary, who will cross the field to get into spell range. After the two emissaries are down, finish off the genlock alpha. Report back to the Chanter's Board that the caravan was wiped out and claim your reward.

Desperate Haven

Type: Combat

Start: Chanter's Board in Denerim and Redcliffe Village

Destination: Refugees location marked on world map

Task: Kill all the darkspawn around the refugees

Quest Tips: You can launch some long-ranged attacks before the fighting gets hot and heavy. Stay close to the remaining refugees and protect them if you can (they will help you for the rest of the battle if you keep them alive). Watch for the hurlock emissary in the rear. The emissary can seriously hurt you with AoE spells so the quicker you get to him, the better. Stun or root him and close with your tank to prevent the big AoEs from damaging you too much.

Fazzil's Request

Type: Collection

Start: Chanter's Board in Denerim

Destination: Apartments in Denerim's Elven Alienage

Task: Retrieve Fazzil's sextant

Quest Tips: The Landsmeet must have begun and you must complete the "Rescue the Queen" quest to enter the Elven Alienage and retrieve Fazzil's sextant. Enter the apartments in the Elven Alienage and pick up the sextant from a chest in the apartment building.

Jowan's Intentions

Type: Combat

Start: Chanter's Board

Destination: Random encounter

Task: After battling darkspawn, kill or release Jowan

Quest Tips: This quest is available only after the "Arl of Redcliffe" and "Urn of Sacred Ashes" quest lines are complete, and if Jowan is still alive. After you dispatch the darkspawn surrounding Jowan, you must make one last decision on Jowan: Does he deserve to live or pay for his crimes?

Loghain's Push

Type: Combat

Start: Chanter's Board in Denerim Market District

Destination: Civil War location marked on world map

Task: Defeat all of Loghain's men at the location

Quest Tips: Side with the soldiers fighting Loghain's men and lend some aid. Concentrate your party efforts on one of Loghain's men at a time. Slowly, your allies will gain numbers and the battle will go in your favor.

Missing in Action

Type: Exploration

Start: Chanter's Board after Landsmeet begins

Destination: Arl Howe's Estate in Denerim

Task: Rescue Rexel from the estate dungeon

Quest Tips: You cannot begin open this quest until after the Landsmeet begins. A missing veteran, Rexel, has been locked up in the dungeon of Arl Howe's Denerim estate. During the "Rescue the Queen" quest, you can free Rexel with the key to his cell door, found on the jailor in the same room. Kill the jailor, unlock the cell, and tell Rexel that he's free to go.

Skin Deep

Type: Collection

Start: Chanter's Board

Destination: Redcliffe Village and Redcliffe Castle

Task: Collect nine corpse galls to complete the quest

Quest Tips: Slay walking corpses and collect corpse gall drops as you defeat the undead. It doesn't matter where you get them from, though if you have this quest before you venture into Redcliffe for the first time, it won't be hard to accumulate the gruesome gall. When you have nine corpse gall drops, you can turn them in to complete the quest. If you collect 18 galls, you gain bonus gold.

Unintended Consequences

Type: Combat

Start: Chanter's Board

Destination: Random encounter along a roadside stop

Task: Slay Trickster Whim

Quest Tips: This quest opens up only after you complete the "Summoning Sciences Lesson 2" quest from the Circle Tower. When the random encounter occurs, defeat Trickster Whim and report back to the closest Chanter's Board.