Dragon Age: Origins
=== Setting ===
The game is set in Ferelden, one of several countries in the fictional world of Thedas. Demonic creatures called the Darkspawn dwell within the Deep Roads, an underground highway system created by the dwarves long ago, deep beneath the surface of Thedas. Every few hundred years, the Darkspawn swarm the surface world in a movement known as a Blight. Ever since the first Blight, Thedas has relied on the legendary order of warriors known as the Grey Wardens to drive the Darkspawn back. Dragon Age: Origins begins on the eve of Thedas's fifth Blight.
Thedas is a world in which race and class combine to determine social class. Elves are often viewed as second-class citizens by humans, while human nobles are treated with respect. Mages, on the other hand, are cloistered by the Chantry: they have access to the Fade, the unconscious realm that is the home of spirits, and a single lapse in vigilance could cause them to be possessed by demons. Apostate mages, who live outside the Chantry's control, are considered extremely dangerous, and the Chantry has a militant wing, the Templars, to seek them out and subdue them by any means necessary. Dwarves live in the Deep Roads, their kingdom a shadow of what it once was before the first Blight. Their society is rooted in tradition and a rigid caste system
=== Characters ===
The chief protagonist of Dragon Age: Origins is the player-controlled character, whose biography and combat specialization are determined by the race and class chosen at the start of the game. While the player can choose his or her avatar's first name, the character is usually referred to as "The Warden" by other characters and the game's narration.
Many of the game's non-player characters (NPCs) are companion characters, who appear throughout the game and may volunteer their services. Companions include Alistair, a reluctantly heroic Grey Warden with a sarcastic wit; Morrigan, the sultry but cynical dark mage who has little regard for authority or social mores; Leliana, an ex-member of Ferelden's Chantry whose optimistic and virtuous demeanor belies an aptitude for espionage and combat; Sten, a proud but stoic warrior of the militaristic Qunari people who often questions human ways; Oghren, a brutal dwarven warrior whose love of alcohol is only matched by his penchant for violence and loyalty to his friends; Wynne, an Elder Mage of the Circle, a maternal figure to the party and a powerful healer; Zevran, a rakish elven assassin who is fond of treasures, sex and innuendo; and a loyal Mabari War Hound, which the player can name and use for scouting and combat. In the DLC, Shale, a sarcastic Golem with a mild ornithophobia (fear of birds phobia); who was a female dwarf in her prior life, is also available. There is also a so-called "secret companion" who can be recruited, but that will cause Alistair to leave the Warden. The secret companion is Loghain.
Outside of companion characters, NPCs significant to the Origins plot include Duncan, the Grey Warden who recruits the player; King Cailan, Ferelden's naive but courageous leader and son of the legendary King Maric; Queen Anora, Cailan's politically-savvy wife, whose youth and beauty are matched by a commanding personality but somewhat offset by her ambition and ruthlessness; and Flemeth, Morrigan's mother, who appears to be a harmless old woman in public, but in truth is an infamous dark witch of Ferelden legend.
The faceless Darkspawn horde is led by the archdemon Urthemiel, supposedly one of the Old Gods of the Tevinter Imperium, incarnated in the form of a powerful and corrupted dragon with total control over the darkspawn. The game's other main antagonists are Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir, father of Queen Anora, a once-respected war hero gone mad with ambition and paranoia; and Rendon Howe, the amoral and corrupt Arl of Amaranthine who allies with Loghain to further his own ambitions.
=== Plot ===
Depending on the player's chosen race and class, they will begin the game with one of six predetermined origin stories. In each origin story, the player is introduced to Duncan, the commander of Ferelden's Grey Wardens, who is trying to find recruits to join the order. At the end of the origin story, the player's character is selected as a potential Grey Warden, and leaves with Duncan.
The player and Duncan journey to a fortress in southern Ferelden called Ostagar. There, they join Cailan, the King of Ferelden, and his father-in-law Loghain, a legendary general. The three leaders plan to make a stand against the encroaching Darkspawn before a new Blight overwhelms Ferelden. Duncan senses the influence of an Archdemon, a god-like being hosted in the body of a powerful Dragon that commands the Darkspawn, which makes this the first true Blight in over 400 years. Duncan emphasizes the importance of defeating the Blight before it can gain enough momentum to threaten the rest of Thedas.
Duncan initiates the player into the Grey Wardens through a dangerous ritual called the Joining. The Joining involves imbibing Darkspawn blood, which will either kill a person or imbue them with the powerful darkspawn essence known as the Taint, granting them the ability to sense Darkspawn and a rudimentary connection into their hive mind. After surviving the Joining, the player and another Grey Warden, Alistair, are given the task of lighting a beacon at the top of the fortress which will signal Loghain's men to charge the horde's flank. However, upon seeing the signal, Loghain abandons the battlefield with his army. Without Loghain's reinforcements, King Cailan and Duncan are overwhelmed and slain by the Darkspawn, who massacre Cailan's army, seize control of Ostagar and begin advancing into southern Ferelden.
The player's Warden and Alistair are saved by Flemeth, a powerful witch who lives in a secluded hermitage with her daughter and apprentice, Morrigan. The player, Alistair, and Morrigan decide that in order to stop the Blight from destroying Ferelden, and possibly all of Thedas, they will need to gather a new army and slay the Archdemon. Using ancient Grey Warden treaties, the player's Warden must travel across Ferelden to enlist the aid of the Dalish Elves, the Dwarves of Orzammar, the Circle of Magi, and the soldiers of Redcliffe, loyal to Arl Eamon. In addition, Alistair reveals that he is a bastard son of King Maric Theirin, Cailin's father, putting him in contention for the recently vacated throne.
Meanwhile, Loghain returns to Ferelden's capital city, Denerim, to inform his daughter Queen Anora of King Cailan's death. Loghain scapegoats the Grey Wardens for the defeat at Ostagar; accusing them of betraying Ferelden, Loghain outlaws the order and demands the deaths of any surviving Wardens. While Anora inherits her husband's authority, Loghain quickly declares himself her regent and effectively seizes control of the kingdom. Loghain swiftly becomes a brutal and tyrannical ruler willing to do anything to retain power, igniting a civil war between himself and Ferelden's nobility, who refuse to acknowledge his authority. Both sides battle to an inconclusive stalemate, and the darkspawn take advantage of the chaos to advance further into Ferelden unopposed.
After the player successfully obtains the assistance of each of the primary factions, a Landsmeet is called among the nobles of Ferelden. There, the player confronts Loghain, ultimately either executing him or making him a Grey Warden (in which case he joins the party, replacing Alistair). The player also settles who will lead Ferelden against the Blight (Alistair, Anora, or both) and rallies support from the rest of the kingdom to face the Darkspawn. At this point, the player learns that only a Grey Warden can slay the Archdemon because of the Taint present in a Grey Warden's body. Killing the Archdemon releases the demonic essence within it, which is drawn to the Taint in the Grey Warden and effectively kills them as well; if anyone other than a Warden slays it, the Archdemon's essence survives and finds a new host in the nearest Darkspawn, making the monster effectively immortal.
On the night before the final battle, Morrigan offers the player's Warden a way to slay the Archdemon without sacrificing anyone: Morrigan believes that if the player succeeds in conceiving a child with her, the child would also carry the Taint. Once the Archdemon dies, its demonic essence would be drawn away from any Grey Warden to safely merge with the unborn child instead. The resulting child would be born a demigod, which she plans to raise on her own. The player can accept Morrigan's offer, convince Alistair or Loghain to take part instead, or refuse the witch's proposal, which will cause her to leave the party.
The next day, the player and the newly assembled army of Ferelden fight their way through the city of Denerim, which has been overrun by the Darkspawn. After fighting their way through the Darkspawn horde, and a final battle against the Archdemon atop Denerim's highest tower, the player is given the chance to deliver the killing blow or to let Alistair or Loghain do it. With each choice, the Archdemon is killed and the leaderless Darkspawn army retreats from Denerim, marking the end of the Fifth Blight. Unless the ritual with Morrigan was performed, whoever slew the Archdemon also perishes. The story ends with a ceremony attended by the people of Ferelden during which the player and their companions are honored for saving the kingdom. The game then presents an epilogue in text and pictures which details the ramifications of the player's in-game choices on the future of Ferelden and the lives of his or her companions.
revenge, romantic