Dragon Age: Stories and Side Missions
Dragon Age: Stories and Side Missions
1. The Bell That Rings Underground
Premise
A dwarven mining thaig has been abandoned for generations, but recently travelers near the Deep Roads claim they hear a stone bell ringing beneath the earth. Dwarves say bells do not ring in abandoned thaigs unless someone alive is calling for help — or something ancient is waking up.
Main Setup
The Inquisition/Warden-style party is hired by a merchant caste family to investigate. They believe the bell belongs to their lost ancestral thaig. The Shaperate denies the thaig ever existed, which immediately makes the mission suspicious.
Key Locations
The Broken Descent — a collapsed Deep Roads entrance.
Thaig Veyr-Morak — a hidden dwarf settlement erased from official memory.
The Bell Chamber — a temple-like forge room built around a massive lyrium-infused bell.
Story Twist
The bell is being rung by a surviving group of dwarves who never returned to Orzammar. They have lived underground for centuries, changed by proximity to raw lyrium. They are not darkspawn, but they are no longer ordinary dwarves either.
They call themselves The Unrecorded.
Side Objectives
Find missing pages from the Shaperate record.
Decide whether to expose the Shaperate’s lie.
Rescue trapped miners from a collapsed bridge.
Recover a family hammer belonging to a noble house.
Destroy or preserve the lyrium bell.
Major Choice
You can reveal The Unrecorded to Orzammar, hide them, or let a surface merchant faction exploit them.
Consequences
If revealed, Orzammar sends soldiers and scholars, possibly turning the thaig into a political battleground.
If hidden, The Unrecorded become secret allies in future Deep Roads missions.
If exploited, they may later rebel and cut off underground trade routes.
2. A Saint With No Bones
Premise
A Chantry village claims a dead saint has returned. The problem is, the “saint” has no body. People hear her voice from the chapel walls, and the sick are being healed overnight.
Main Setup
The local Revered Mother begs for help because pilgrims are arriving by the hundreds. Some call it a miracle. Others believe it is possession, blood magic, or a spirit pretending to be holy.
Key Locations
Village of Marrowfen — a muddy Fereldan settlement.
The Sunken Chapel — built over an older Avvar burial site.
The Wall Reliquary — where the voice speaks.
Story Twist
The voice is not a demon. It is a spirit of Compassion trapped inside the chapel after being bound by an old Chantry exorcist. The “miracles” are real, but the spirit is weakening itself each time it heals someone.
Side Objectives
Interview healed villagers.
Investigate the old exorcist’s journal.
Find bones buried beneath the chapel.
Stop a group of templars from burning the village.
Convince the spirit to stop healing people before it dies.
Major Choice
Free the spirit, keep it bound as a miracle, or allow the templars to destroy it.
Consequences
Freeing it saves the spirit but removes the village’s “miracle.”
Keeping it bound strengthens the Chantry politically but is morally cruel.
Destroying it prevents possible possession but turns the village against you.
3. The Noble Who Bought a Demon
Premise
An Orlesian nobleman has purchased what he believes is a rare Tevinter artifact: a jeweled mirror that answers questions. In truth, the mirror houses a Pride demon that flatters him and gives him political advice.
Main Setup
You are invited to an Orlesian estate after guests begin disappearing during masquerade parties. No one wants a public scandal, so the mission begins as quiet investigation.
Key Locations
Château Valmontaine — a ridiculous, beautiful Orlesian estate.
The Masked Gallery — where guests vanish.
The Mirror Room — a sealed chamber filled with reflective glass.
Story Twist
The noble knows the mirror is dangerous but refuses to give it up because it has helped him defeat his political enemies. Worse, several guests willingly serve the demon because it promises them influence.
Side Objectives
Question masked nobles without exposing yourself.
Find servants who saw what happened.
Break enchanted mirrors around the estate.
Discover which courtier is secretly feeding victims to the demon.
Win or sabotage the masquerade’s political game.
Major Choice
Destroy the mirror, steal it for your faction, hand it to the Chantry, or let the noble keep it in exchange for favors.
Consequences
Destroying it earns moral approval but angers Orlesian power players.
Stealing it gives your faction dangerous intelligence options.
Handing it to the Chantry increases templar influence.
Leaving it creates a future demonic scandal.
4. The Ram of Red Crossing
Premise
A tiny farming village is being protected by an unusually intelligent ram. Locals swear the animal knows when bandits are coming, blocks roads before ambushes, and once dragged a child out of a burning barn.
Main Setup
At first, this seems like a lighthearted side quest. Then you learn several groups want the ram: a noble wants it as a trophy, a mage wants to study it, and a Dalish clan believes it may be touched by an old forest spirit.
Key Locations
Red Crossing Fields — farmland near contested territory.
Old Wolf Orchard — where the ram disappears at night.
The Stone Circle — ancient elven stones hidden in the hills.
Story Twist
The ram is not possessed. It is bonded to a wounded spirit of Vigilance that once guarded the region. The spirit uses the ram because people ignored it when it appeared in dreams.
Side Objectives
Protect sheep from wolves.
Catch bandits trying to steal the ram.
Track the ram at night.
Recover an old elven charm.
Choose who gets to interpret the spirit’s purpose.
Major Choice
Leave the ram with the villagers, give it to the Dalish, allow a Circle mage to study it, or separate the spirit from the animal.
Consequences
Leaving it protects the village.
Giving it to the Dalish strengthens elven lore recovery.
Letting mages study it may reveal new Fade knowledge.
Separating the spirit may kill the ram but restore the spirit’s true form.
5. The Templar Who Forgot How to Hate
Premise
A former templar is found protecting apostates from bounty hunters. He claims he does not remember why he once hated mages. His memories are damaged, possibly by lyrium withdrawal, magic, or guilt.
Main Setup
Both templars and rebel mages want him found. The templars call him a deserter. The mages distrust him. The refugees he protects call him “Shield-Father.”
Key Locations
The Burnt Mill Refuge — hidden mage camp.
A Ruined Templar Outpost — where his old unit vanished.
The Lyrium Cellar — where experiments may have happened.
Story Twist
He did not simply forget. A Tranquil mage restored his empathy through forbidden spirit contact, damaging his memories but freeing him from indoctrination.
Side Objectives
Defend the refugee camp.
Find his old templar insignia.
Recover records of lyrium abuse.
Talk to mages who fear him.
Locate the Tranquil who changed him.
Major Choice
Restore his memories, leave him as he is, turn him over to templars, or recruit him.
Consequences
Restoring his memories may break him with guilt.
Leaving him as he is lets him continue protecting mages.
Turning him in strengthens templar order.
Recruiting him creates tension with both mages and templars.
6. The Cook Who Poisoned a Bann
Premise
A Fereldan bann is poisoned during a feast. Everyone blames the elven kitchen staff. The head cook begs you to investigate before the bann’s soldiers execute the servants.
Main Setup
The mission starts like a murder mystery inside a noble hall. The player must question servants, nobles, guards, and visiting merchants.
Key Locations
Bann Caedric’s Hall
The Servants’ Quarters
The Winter Pantry
The Kennel Yard
Story Twist
The cook did poison the bann — but not to kill him. She was trying to expose that he was secretly feeding prisoners to darkspawn-tainted war hounds in an attempt to breed “fearless” Mabari.
Side Objectives
Inspect food and wine.
Question the bann’s relatives.
Sneak into the kennels.
Find the missing prisoners.
Decide whether the cook’s crime was justified.
Major Choice
Expose the bann, condemn the cook, cover up the scandal, or free the prisoners and burn the kennels.
Consequences
Exposing him destabilizes local politics.
Condemning the cook maintains order but hides a horror.
Covering it up earns noble support.
Burning the kennels may save lives but starts a local rebellion.
7. The Apprentice Who Summoned Rain
Premise
A young mage in a drought-stricken village accidentally summons endless rain. Crops are saved at first, but now the fields are flooding, homes are sinking, and something in the clouds is answering her fear.
Main Setup
The village is split. Farmers praise her. The Chantry wants her taken away. A local hedge mage says the rain is not weather anymore — it is becoming a doorway.
Key Locations
Drownfield Village
The Flooded Orchard
The Hilltop Shrine
The Cloud-Rift
Story Twist
The apprentice did not summon rain. She contacted a spirit of Relief that became corrupted by desperation. The more the villagers demand miracles, the more unstable the spirit becomes.
Side Objectives
Rescue villagers from flooding homes.
Calm the apprentice.
Find the first place where the spell was cast.
Stop villagers from forcing her to continue.
Enter a Fade reflection of the storm.
Major Choice
Teach the apprentice control, send her to the Circle/College, let the villagers keep using her, or sever her connection to the spirit.
Consequences
Teaching control creates a powerful future ally.
Sending her away saves the village but may traumatize her.
Letting villagers use her risks possession.
Severing the connection ends the storm but weakens her magic permanently.
8. The Carta Saint
Premise
A Carta boss has become beloved in a poor district because he feeds families, protects casteless dwarves, and keeps violent nobles away. Unfortunately, he is also smuggling lyrium, blackmailing officials, and murdering rivals.
Main Setup
A city guard captain asks you to help take him down. The poor beg you not to. The mission becomes a question of law versus survival.
Key Locations
Dustmarket District
The Red Ledger Tavern
Carta Tunnels
The Hidden Soup Hall
Story Twist
The Carta boss started as a brutal criminal, but he now genuinely believes he is the only thing standing between the poor and starvation. His second-in-command, however, is planning to escalate into slave trafficking.
Side Objectives
Collect evidence.
Help poor families.
Find the hidden lyrium route.
Expose the second-in-command.
Decide whether the Carta network can be redirected.
Major Choice
Destroy the gang, replace the boss, make a deal with him, or hand the district to city guards.
Consequences
Destroying the gang creates a power vacuum.
Replacing him may improve the district but keeps crime alive.
Making a deal gives stability at a moral cost.
Handing it to guards may lead to abuse and neglect.
9. The Elven Door That Opens Only for Liars
Premise
A Dalish clan discovers an ancient elven ruin with a sealed door. The inscription says: “Only the false may enter.” Honest answers make the door remain shut. Lies make it open.
Main Setup
The clan Keeper believes the ruin contains lost elven history. A younger hunter thinks it is a trap designed by Fen’Harel worshippers or ancient elven rebels.
Key Locations
The Thornwake Forest
The Liar’s Door
The Hall of Untrue Names
The Memory Pool
Story Twist
The ruin was built by elves who resisted tyrannical Evanuris rule. They used lies as protection because truth had become a weapon in magical courts where names could bind souls.
Side Objectives
Solve lie-based riddles.
Protect the Dalish from spirits.
Recover name-stones.
Decide which memories should be restored.
Confront an ancient guardian who despises modern elves.
Major Choice
Give the recovered history to the Dalish, hide it, share it with human scholars, or destroy it because it may cause political chaos.
Consequences
Giving it to the Dalish strengthens their identity.
Hiding it prevents conflict but continues ignorance.
Sharing it causes exploitation by scholars and nobles.
Destroying it protects people but erases truth forever.
10. The Dead Man in the Stocks
Premise
A corpse appears in village stocks every morning, no matter how many times it is buried. Each day, the dead man points to a different villager.
Main Setup
The villagers think it is a curse. The accused villagers begin turning on one another. The local Chantry sister suspects a demon, but the Avvar nearby claim the dead are demanding justice.
Key Locations
Stagfen Village
The Old Stocks
The Marsh Graves
The Abandoned Watchtower
Story Twist
The corpse belonged to a wrongly executed man. The village elders framed him years ago to cover up a massacre of refugees during a famine.
Side Objectives
Examine each grave.
Interrogate elders.
Stop mob violence.
Find the dead man’s family token.
Appease or banish the restless spirit.
Major Choice
Expose the elders, quietly bury the truth, let the spirit punish them, or turn the matter over to the Chantry.
Consequences
Exposure causes social collapse but justice.
Burying the truth keeps peace but dishonors the dead.
Letting the spirit punish them risks more deaths.
The Chantry may sanitize the truth.
11. The Golem That Writes Poetry
Premise
A dwarf scholar claims to have found a golem that writes poems on stone walls. The Shaperate wants it studied. The Carta wants it sold. Some dwarves call it blasphemy.
Main Setup
The golem is ancient, damaged, and peaceful. It does not speak, but it carves beautiful verses about memory, pain, and a woman named Nyth.
Key Locations
The Silent Forge
The Poem Walls
The Broken Anvil Chamber
The Memory Vault
Story Twist
The golem contains fragments of a once-living dwarf poet who volunteered for transformation, believing she could preserve forbidden history forever.
Side Objectives
Translate stone poems.
Protect the golem from thieves.
Find missing memory plates.
Learn who Nyth was.
Decide whether the golem is a person or artifact.
Major Choice
Free the soul within, preserve the golem, give it to Orzammar, or hide it with surface dwarves.
Consequences
Freeing the soul destroys priceless history.
Preserving it may trap a person forever.
Giving it to Orzammar risks political suppression.
Hiding it allows independent dwarves to preserve lost truth.
12. The Mage Who Could Not Be Possessed
Premise
A mage claims demons are afraid of him. Not resistant — afraid. When he enters the Fade, spirits flee. Demons refuse to approach. Even abominations become calm near him.
Main Setup
Every faction wants him. The Chantry sees a divine weapon. Tevinter wants to dissect his bloodline. Mages hope he can protect them. Demons want him dead from a distance.
Key Locations
The Circle Ruins
The Fade-Silent Camp
The Blackened Eluvian
The Empty Dream
Story Twist
He is not immune because he is holy. He was touched as a child by a forgotten spirit of Absence, leaving a void around his soul. Spirits cannot read him. Demons cannot tempt what they cannot understand.
Side Objectives
Test his ability against possessed enemies.
Protect him from assassins.
Enter the Fade with him.
Discover whether his condition is spreading.
Decide who should train or guard him.
Major Choice
Recruit him, hide him, hand him to the Chantry, or allow him to leave alone.
Consequences
Recruiting him gives powerful anti-demon utility.
Hiding him protects him but wastes his gift.
Giving him to the Chantry creates a dangerous anti-mage weapon.
Letting him leave may cause tragedy later.
13. The War Bear’s Oath
Premise
A mountain warrior and his massive war bear companion are accused of slaughtering a noble hunting party. The warrior says the bear only attacked because the nobles broke an ancient oath.
Main Setup
The noble family demands execution. The mountain clans demand trial by old law. The bear refuses to leave the warrior’s side and reacts violently to anyone carrying silver arrows.
Key Locations
Frostback Hunting Grounds
The Bear Shrine
The Noble Camp
The Oath Stone
Story Twist
The nobles were hunting sacred bears to make enchanted armor. The accused warrior killed some of them, but the bear killed the rest after they murdered its mate.
Side Objectives
Track the hunting party’s path.
Find silver arrows.
Speak with Avvar witnesses.
Calm the war bear.
Recover the slain bear’s hide.
Major Choice
Defend the warrior, punish him for murder, expose the nobles, or force a blood-price settlement.
Consequences
Defending him earns mountain clan loyalty.
Punishing him appeases nobles.
Exposing nobles may start a local feud.
Blood-price settlement prevents war but leaves everyone bitter.
14. The Market of Missing Names
Premise
In a strange night market, people are selling memories, titles, childhood names, and family histories. A noble buys courage. A beggar sells grief. A mage trades away guilt.
Main Setup
The party enters the market after a companion forgets something important. The vendors are not demons exactly, but spirits twisted by commerce and mortal desperation.
Key Locations
The Midnight Market
The Stall of Borrowed Names
The Coinless Bank
The Auction of Regrets
Story Twist
The market was created by refugees during a war who begged spirits to take away painful memories. Over time, the place became a spiritual black market.
Side Objectives
Recover the companion’s lost memory.
Decide whether to buy or steal memories.
Rescue a child who sold her name.
Expose a noble who purchased another man’s bravery.
Confront the spirit running the market.
Major Choice
Destroy the market, regulate it, leave it alone, or take control of it.
Consequences
Destroying it restores pain to many people.
Regulating it creates a strange but useful resource.
Leaving it allows exploitation.
Taking control gives dangerous narrative and political power.
15. The Darkspawn That Prayed
Premise
A wounded darkspawn is found kneeling before a broken statue of Andraste. It does not attack. It repeats a distorted prayer in a ruined voice.
Main Setup
Grey Wardens want it killed immediately. The Chantry wants it hidden. A scholar believes it may prove darkspawn have more awareness than anyone wants to admit.
Key Locations
The Blighted Chapel
The Warden Quarantine Camp
The Ash Pit
The Forgotten Confessional
Story Twist
The creature absorbed memories from a dead priest during a failed Joining experiment. It is not redeemed, but it is haunted by stolen faith.
Side Objectives
Contain the darkspawn.
Recover Warden experiment notes.
Question surviving priests.
Stop villagers from worshiping it.
Decide whether awareness changes anything.
Major Choice
Kill it, study it, give it to the Wardens, or attempt a ritual to separate the stolen memories.
Consequences
Killing it is safest.
Studying it may reveal horrifying truths.
Giving it to Wardens continues secret experiments.
Separating the memories could create a new kind of tragedy.
16. The Trial of the Talking Nug
Premise
A noble child claims her pet nug can speak and has accused a lord of treason. Everyone laughs until the nug begins revealing secrets no animal should know.
Main Setup
This begins as comic relief but becomes a serious court mission. The nug knows hidden passages, murder plots, and embarrassing secrets from half the court.
Key Locations
The Noble Court
The Children’s Wing
The Cheese Cellar
The Secret Passage Network
Story Twist
The nug is not talking. A trapped spirit of Curiosity is using it as a vessel, not maliciously, but recklessly. It reveals secrets without understanding consequences.
Side Objectives
Protect the child.
Follow the nug through vents.
Verify its accusations.
Prevent nobles from killing it.
Find the original object the spirit was bound to.
Major Choice
Let the nug testify, silence it, free the spirit, or use it as a spy.
Consequences
Letting it testify exposes corruption but humiliates powerful people.
Silencing it protects the court’s stability.
Freeing the spirit saves the nug.
Using it as a spy is effective but ethically ugly.
17. The Blacksmith Who Forged a Sin
Premise
A blacksmith creates weapons that seem to make their wielders stronger. Soon, every person who uses one becomes more violent, proud, and obsessed with victory.
Main Setup
The blacksmith insists the weapons are not cursed. He claims he discovered a lost technique from ancient dwarven metallurgy.
Key Locations
The Ember Yard Forge
The Duelist Pit
The Ore Shrine
The Blood-Quenched Anvil
Story Twist
The ore comes from a battlefield where a Rage demon was bound into the ground. Every blade carries a sliver of its influence.
Side Objectives
Investigate violent incidents.
Test one of the weapons.
Question the blacksmith’s apprentices.
Find the source mine.
Cleanse or destroy the anvil.
Major Choice
Destroy the forge, purify the weapons, use them against enemies, or sell the technique to an army.
Consequences
Destroying it prevents corruption.
Purifying it creates rare heroic weapons.
Using them gives combat power with moral risk.
Selling it can change a war.
18. The Child of Two Prophecies
Premise
Two rival groups claim the same child fulfills their prophecy. A Dalish Keeper says the child is marked by ancient elven magic. A Chantry sect says the child is chosen by the Maker.
Main Setup
The child’s family wants neither prophecy. They want protection. Meanwhile, assassins, pilgrims, scholars, and zealots arrive.
Key Locations
Hearthvale Farm
The Dalish Camp
The Pilgrim Road
The Dreaming Tree
Story Twist
Both prophecies are wrong. The child is connected to a dormant eluvian network and accidentally appears in dreams across Thedas. People are building religious meaning around a magical accident.
Side Objectives
Protect the family.
Question both factions.
Enter the child’s dream.
Repair or destroy the dormant eluvian.
Decide who gets access to the truth.
Major Choice
Hide the child, train the child, expose the false prophecies, or let one faction claim them.
Consequences
Hiding protects the family.
Training creates future power.
Exposing prophecies may cause violence.
Letting a faction claim the child creates political leverage.
19. The Last Honest Judge
Premise
In a corrupt city, one judge has never accepted a bribe. Now someone wants him dead. The twist: nearly every faction benefits from his death, including some “good” groups who think his strictness hurts the poor.
Main Setup
The player must protect the judge while investigating assassination attempts. The mission forces the party to question whether justice without mercy can become cruelty.
Key Locations
The City Courthouse
The Debtor’s Prison
The Noble Archive
The Execution Yard
Story Twist
The judge is honest, but his rulings have indirectly destroyed innocent families. He refuses corruption, but he also refuses context.
Side Objectives
Stop assassins.
Review old court records.
Speak with prisoners.
Find who ordered the hit.
Convince the judge to change or resign.
Major Choice
Protect him fully, allow him to be removed politically, expose his failures, or let the assassination happen.
Consequences
Protecting him preserves law but not mercy.
Removing him may reform the courts.
Exposing him damages public trust.
Letting him die empowers criminals.
20. The Road That Eats Armies
Premise
A military road disappears every few years. Armies march onto it and never return. Merchants avoid it. Peasants say the road itself is hungry.
Main Setup
A commander wants the road secured for troop movement. Locals beg you not to wake whatever lies beneath it.
Key Locations
The Vanishing Road
The Soldier Stones
The Beneath-Road Cavern
The Old Tevinter Mile Marker
Story Twist
The road was built over a massive ancient binding circle. Every large organized army marching over it strengthens the binding and feeds the thing trapped below — a forgotten war-spirit corrupted into conquest.
Side Objectives
Track vanished soldiers.
Decode Tevinter mile markers.
Stop a reckless commander from marching through.
Enter the underground binding chamber.
Decide whether the road should exist.
Major Choice
Destroy the road, reinforce the binding, free the spirit, or weaponize it against enemy armies.
Consequences
Destroying it blocks trade and war.
Reinforcing it buys time.
Freeing the spirit may unleash devastation.
Weaponizing it is terrifyingly effective.
Companion-Driven Side Missions
21. Companion Mission: The Exorcist’s Failure
A companion known for fighting demons discovers that one person they “saved” years ago was not possessed at all. They were mentally broken by fear, grief, and Chantry pressure.
Conflict
The companion must face the damage caused by certainty.
Choices
Help them confess publicly.
Cover it up to preserve their reputation.
Find the victim’s family.
Encourage them to abandon exorcism or refine it.
22. Companion Mission: The Saarebas Without a Cage
A Qunari mage companion finds another Saarebas who escaped the Qun but still wears pieces of the old control gear. This escaped mage does not want freedom. They want revenge.
Conflict
Freedom without healing can become destruction.
Choices
Help the Saarebas escape peacefully.
Turn them over to Qunari agents.
Convince your companion to train them.
Kill them before they massacre civilians.
23. Companion Mission: The Assassin’s Mercy
A rogue companion is hired to kill a cruel noble. When they arrive, the noble is already dying slowly from illness. The family begs for mercy. The victims beg for justice.
Conflict
Is assassination still justice if death is already coming?
Choices
Kill the noble publicly.
Let the illness finish him.
Force a confession.
Spare him in exchange for reparations.
Regional Side Mission Chains
Ferelden Chain: Mud, Blood, and Old Oaths
These missions focus on villages, banns, Mabari, old grudges, and survival.
Missions
The Cook Who Poisoned a Bann
The Dead Man in the Stocks
The Ram of Red Crossing
The War Bear’s Oath
Final Regional Choice
Support the banns, empower village councils, strengthen Chantry influence, or back independent local militias.
Orzammar/Deep Roads Chain: The Unrecorded Stone
These missions focus on dwarven memory, erased history, golems, lyrium, and caste politics.
Missions
The Bell That Rings Underground
The Golem That Writes Poetry
The Carta Saint
The Blacksmith Who Forged a Sin
Final Regional Choice
Give power to the Shaperate, the Assembly, the casteless, surface dwarves, or an independent underground faction.
Orlais Chain: Masks That Bleed
These missions focus on politics, demons, artifice, blackmail, and reputation.
Missions
The Noble Who Bought a Demon
The Last Honest Judge
The Trial of the Talking Nug
The Market of Missing Names
Final Regional Choice
Expose the court, manipulate it, reform it, or let it remain corrupt but stable.
Mage/Chantry Chain: Miracles Are Dangerous
These missions focus on faith, spirits, possession, templars, apostates, and moral uncertainty.
Missions
A Saint With No Bones
The Apprentice Who Summoned Rain
The Templar Who Forgot How to Hate
The Mage Who Could Not Be Possessed
Final Regional Choice
Support mage autonomy, Chantry supervision, templar restoration, or a new spirit-mage order.
Big Story Arc: The Forgotten Mercy
Core Idea
Across Thedas, spirits connected to human suffering are acting strangely. Compassion heals until it dies. Relief floods villages. Vigilance hides in animals. Curiosity speaks through nugs. Absence terrifies demons.
At first, these seem like random side quests. Later, the player realizes something is disturbing the relationship between the waking world and the Fade.
Possible Villain
Not a standard demon lord, but an ancient magical philosophy made real: The Doctrine of Mercy Without Cost.
A forgotten group tried to create a world where pain, guilt, grief, fear, and regret could be removed. But in Dragon Age, removing pain does not always heal people. Sometimes it removes memory, responsibility, identity, and wisdom.
Final Question
Should suffering be erased if it also erases the lessons, bonds, and truths built from it?
That is a very Dragon Age question.
More Dragon Age Stories and Side Missions
24. The Village That Refused the Blight
Premise
A remote Fereldan village survived a darkspawn raid without a single death. No one can explain how. The villagers say Andraste protected them. The Wardens say that is impossible.
Setup
When the party arrives, the village seems peaceful, almost too peaceful. The fields are green, the wells are clean, and the villagers are strangely calm whenever darkspawn are mentioned.
Twist
The village made a bargain with a spirit of Preservation. It protected them from the Blight by freezing part of the village in a spiritual loop. Several villagers have been reliving the same week for years without knowing it.
Side Objectives
Investigate why no one has aged properly.
Find the darkspawn corpses buried outside the fields.
Speak to the one child who remembers every loop.
Enter the Fade version of the village.
Decide whether survival without time is still life.
Major Choice
Break the loop and return the village to normal.
Leave the bargain intact.
Transfer the protection to a Warden fortress.
Destroy the spirit out of fear.
Consequences
Breaking the loop causes years of grief to hit the villagers at once.
Leaving it saves them but traps them.
Using it for the Wardens creates a powerful anti-Blight defense.
Destroying it may expose the village to future darkspawn attacks.
25. The Bride of the Black Marsh
Premise
A noblewoman disappeared on her wedding night. Years later, travelers see her walking through the Black Marsh in her ruined wedding dress, followed by lights beneath the water.
Setup
Her family wants her body recovered. Her husband claims he mourned her. The marsh folk say she was not taken — she ran.
Twist
She fled an arranged marriage and tried to hide among apostates in the marsh. When her husband sent soldiers after her, the apostates were slaughtered. Her spirit now protects the marsh from anyone wearing her family’s crest.
Side Objectives
Recover torn wedding letters.
Find the drowned soldiers.
Speak with marsh apostate survivors.
Avoid will-o’-wisp traps.
Uncover the husband’s role in the massacre.
Major Choice
Put her spirit to rest.
Let her continue guarding the marsh.
Expose her husband.
Bind her spirit into a protective ward.
Consequences
Resting her spirit gives peace but leaves the marsh vulnerable.
Letting her remain protects apostates but keeps her trapped in rage.
Exposing the husband damages noble alliances.
Binding her is useful but deeply cruel.
26. The Dwarf Who Dreamed
Premise
A dwarf merchant claims he is having dreams. Not memories. Not lyrium visions. Actual dreams of the Fade.
Setup
Most dwarves call him mad. Mages call him impossible. The Carta wants to sell him to Tevinter. The Shaperate wants him erased from record before he causes panic.
Twist
He unknowingly carries a shard from an ancient titan that was touched by the Fade. His dreams are not his own — they are fragments of a sleeping stone consciousness trying to communicate.
Side Objectives
Protect him from Carta kidnappers.
Take him near raw lyrium to test the visions.
Find other dwarves with similar symptoms.
Enter a dream made of stone.
Decide who should hear the titan’s message.
Major Choice
Bring him to Orzammar.
Send him to the surface mages.
Hide him among the casteless.
Destroy the shard inside him.
Consequences
Orzammar suppresses or weaponizes the discovery.
Mages may help but also exploit him.
The casteless may build a new religious movement around him.
Destroying the shard saves his sanity but silences the titan.
27. The Hanged Templar’s Sword
Premise
A sword once carried by an executed templar has begun appearing at crime scenes. Whoever touches it hears confessions from the guilty.
Setup
The sword is passed from hand to hand through frightened villagers, guards, and criminals. Some use it to find murderers. Others use it to accuse enemies.
Twist
The templar was innocent. His rage at being falsely condemned attracted a spirit of Judgment, which now forces people near the sword to relive their hidden crimes.
Side Objectives
Track the sword’s last owners.
Investigate the templar’s execution.
Discover who framed him.
Stop a mob from using the sword on an entire alienage.
Decide whether forced truth is justice.
Major Choice
Destroy the sword.
Cleanse it.
Give it to the Chantry.
Use it against corrupt nobles.
Consequences
Destroying it prevents abuse.
Cleansing it frees the templar’s memory.
Giving it to the Chantry creates a dangerous interrogation relic.
Using it wins short-term justice but normalizes spiritual coercion.
28. The Ash Merchant
Premise
A traveling merchant sells small jars of ash that supposedly bring luck. People who buy them survive accidents, win duels, and recover from sickness — but someone near them always dies instead.
Setup
At first, the merchant seems charming and harmless. He insists he sells “second chances,” not curses.
Twist
The ash is made from burned contracts with a demon of Exchange. Every blessing takes its price from someone emotionally connected to the buyer.
Side Objectives
Track buyers and victims.
Find the merchant’s hidden wagon.
Discover where the ash is made.
Save a family from a purchased “miracle.”
Confront the demon’s contract ledger.
Major Choice
Kill the merchant.
Burn the ledger.
Use the ash for a desperate cause.
Force the merchant to take every debt himself.
Consequences
Killing him may not end the contracts.
Burning the ledger frees victims but unleashes the demon.
Using the ash saves one life at another’s cost.
Forcing him to pay may satisfy justice but creates a horrific death.
29. The Silent Alienage
Premise
An entire alienage has stopped speaking. No screams, no songs, no arguments, no prayers. Everyone communicates through signs and written notes.
Setup
The city guards think the elves are plotting rebellion. The local Chantry thinks they are cursed. The alienage elders refuse outside help.
Twist
The elves made a pact with a spirit of Silence to hide from a noble who used blood magic to spy through spoken names. The pact worked, but now children born inside the alienage cannot speak at all.
Side Objectives
Find the noble’s blood magic tools.
Learn the alienage’s sign language.
Protect children from being taken by templars.
Enter a soundless Fade pocket.
Decide whether silence is protection or prison.
Major Choice
Break the pact.
Keep it until the noble is defeated.
Teach the silence pact to other oppressed communities.
Destroy the spirit.
Consequences
Breaking it restores voices but exposes them.
Keeping it protects them at a generational cost.
Spreading it creates a secret resistance tool.
Destroying the spirit may release every stolen voice at once, causing madness.
30. The Hunter Who Killed Winter
Premise
In the Frostbacks, an Avvar hunter claims he killed winter itself. Since then, the snow has stopped falling, animals are starving, and mountain spirits are enraged.
Setup
Lowland nobles celebrate the warm season because trade roads remain open. The Avvar fear the balance has been broken.
Twist
The hunter killed the physical vessel of an ancient seasonal spirit. He thought it was a monster eating his people, but it was actually maintaining the mountain’s cycle.
Side Objectives
Track unnatural animal migrations.
Speak with Avvar augurs.
Recover the hunter’s spear.
Find the corpse of the winter vessel.
Create a new body for the spirit.
Major Choice
Restore winter.
Leave the warmth for trade and settlement.
Bind the seasonal spirit to Avvar control.
Let another spirit replace it.
Consequences
Restoring winter saves the mountains but hurts trade.
Leaving warmth causes ecological collapse later.
Binding the spirit empowers the Avvar but risks abuse.
Replacing it may create a stranger, harsher season.
31. The Last Mabari of Ostagar
Premise
A legendary old Mabari is found near the ruins of Ostagar. It wears rusted armor and refuses to leave the battlefield.
Setup
Fereldan veterans believe the dog belonged to a soldier who died during the Fifth Blight. Treasure hunters want its armor. A noble claims the Mabari is a symbol and should be brought to court.
Twist
The Mabari is guarding a cache of letters from soldiers who died at Ostagar — letters that prove certain nobles abandoned their men before the battle.
Side Objectives
Earn the Mabari’s trust.
Defend it from hunters.
Recover battlefield memories.
Find the bones of its original master.
Decide what to do with the letters.
Major Choice
Reveal the betrayal.
Bury the letters.
Give them to the Crown.
Let the Mabari choose where to go.
Consequences
Revealing the letters reopens old Fereldan wounds.
Burying them preserves national unity at the cost of truth.
Giving them to the Crown allows controlled disclosure.
Letting the Mabari choose may unlock a hidden memorial mission.
32. The Tower That Grew Roots
Premise
An abandoned Circle tower is being swallowed by a massive tree. Its roots twist through cells, libraries, and old ritual chambers.
Setup
Mages want lost books recovered. Templars want the tower burned. Dalish scouts say the tree is not natural.
Twist
The tree grew from the staff of an imprisoned elven mage who died in the tower. His magic fused with grief, nature, and the Fade. The tower is now half-building, half-living memory.
Side Objectives
Navigate root-choked corridors.
Rescue trapped treasure seekers.
Recover Circle records.
Speak to memories preserved in bark.
Decide whether the tree is a monument or abomination.
Major Choice
Burn the tower.
Preserve it as a sanctuary.
Harvest its magical wood.
Give it to Dalish caretakers.
Consequences
Burning it prevents magical spread.
Preserving it creates a mage refuge.
Harvesting it makes powerful staves and bows but desecrates the dead.
Giving it to the Dalish may anger both Chantry and local rulers.
33. The Beggar King’s Crown
Premise
A beggar in Val Royeaux claims to be the rightful emperor of Orlais. Everyone laughs until assassins start trying to kill him.
Setup
The party is hired either to protect him, silence him, or prove him mad. He carries no documents, only a broken crown made of copper wire.
Twist
He is not the rightful emperor. But his mother was a servant who witnessed a secret succession fraud. The “mad beggar” knows enough to destroy several noble families.
Side Objectives
Protect him through the city.
Decode his rambling stories.
Find the servant records.
Survive assassins disguised as performers.
Decide whether truth matters if he is not the heir.
Major Choice
Expose the fraud.
Hide the beggar.
Sell the information.
Let Orlesian politics bury him.
Consequences
Exposure destabilizes the court.
Hiding him saves his life but changes nothing.
Selling the information makes your faction powerful.
Letting him vanish keeps Orlais stable but corrupt.
34. The Library of Unwritten Books
Premise
A mysterious library appears only during thunderstorms. Its shelves contain books about lives people almost lived.
Setup
A scholar wants proof it exists. A mage wants to study it. A grieving mother wants to find the book where her son survived.
Twist
The library is maintained by spirits of Possibility. Reading too much from it makes people abandon their real lives for impossible ones.
Side Objectives
Find the storm entrance.
Recover one book without reading it.
Stop a scholar from stealing entire shelves.
Help a companion confront a life they never chose.
Decide whether unreal lives have value.
Major Choice
Seal the library.
Allow limited access.
Destroy it.
Move it into your faction’s control.
Consequences
Sealing it protects people from obsession.
Limited access can heal grief or inspire madness.
Destroying it enrages spirits of possibility.
Controlling it creates dangerous strategic knowledge.
35. The Bloodless Duelist
Premise
A famous duelist wins every fight without drawing blood. Opponents drop their weapons, weep, and surrender before he strikes.
Setup
Nobles worship him as elegant. Warriors call him a coward. Templars suspect blood magic. He invites the player to investigate because he fears his own talent.
Twist
His sword does not wound bodies. It cuts through self-deception. Every opponent sees the truth about why they fight.
Side Objectives
Watch three duels.
Speak to ruined opponents.
Examine the sword’s origin.
Fight the duelist optionally.
Discover the spirit bound to the blade.
Major Choice
Let him keep the sword.
Free the spirit.
Destroy the blade.
Give it to someone who seeks peace.
Consequences
Keeping it makes him a political weapon.
Freeing the spirit ends his career but saves his soul.
Destroying it angers those who saw him as a miracle.
Giving it to a peacekeeper may prevent wars or create manipulation.
36. The Mine That Sang Back
Premise
Miners hear singing from deep inside a lyrium mine. The song improves their work, heals injuries, and guides them away from cave-ins.
Setup
The mine owner wants production increased. Workers are frightened but addicted to the song’s comfort. Templars want to seize the mine.
Twist
The song is from a wounded titan nerve exposed by mining. It is not singing to help them. It is crying in a language dwarves forgot.
Side Objectives
Protect miners from lyrium madness.
Map the singing tunnels.
Find dwarves who understand fragments of the song.
Stop the mine owner from drilling deeper.
Choose whether to seal the mine.
Major Choice
Seal the mine.
Continue mining carefully.
Turn it over to Orzammar.
Use the song to develop new anti-darkspawn defenses.
Consequences
Sealing it saves the titan nerve but ruins the local economy.
Careful mining may still cause harm.
Orzammar claims ancient rights.
Weaponizing the song may awaken something larger.
37. The Man Who Sold His Shadow
Premise
A man in a poor district has no shadow. Since selling it, he has become rich, confident, and terrifyingly lucky.
Setup
People around him are growing weaker. Children have nightmares of a tall black shape walking through walls.
Twist
His shadow was not symbolic. It was the spiritual impression of his conscience. Without it, he feels no guilt. The shadow now wanders independently, punishing those he wronged.
Side Objectives
Track the shadow’s attacks.
Question the man’s victims.
Find the bargain site.
Reattach or destroy the shadow.
Decide whether guilt is part of a soul.
Major Choice
Return the shadow to him.
Let the shadow kill him.
Bind the shadow separately.
Use it to expose his crimes.
Consequences
Returning it may drive him mad with guilt.
Letting it kill him satisfies revenge.
Binding it creates a strange ally.
Using it publicly terrifies the city.
38. The Queen of Rats
Premise
A young girl living beneath a city commands thousands of rats. They bring her food, coins, secrets, and sometimes severed fingers.
Setup
The city guard wants her removed. The poor protect her. Nobles fear she knows too much.
Twist
She is not a mage in the normal sense. Her family line was touched by an ancient plague spirit, but she has turned the bond toward survival rather than disease.
Side Objectives
Follow rat trails through sewers.
Recover stolen noble letters.
Stop a plague cult from recruiting her.
Protect her from templars.
Decide whether her power is dangerous or necessary.
Major Choice
Train her.
Exile her.
Hand her to the Circle/College.
Let her rule the undercity.
Consequences
Training her creates a powerful spy network.
Exiling her may unleash the rats in revenge.
Handing her over risks abuse.
Letting her rule improves the poor district but terrifies the upper city.
39. The Armor That Remembered War
Premise
A suit of ancient armor moves on its own at night, standing guard outside a ruined fortress. It attacks anyone carrying a banner.
Setup
A noble house wants the armor as a relic. A soldier’s widow says her husband’s soul is trapped inside. A spirit healer says the armor is haunted by thousands of battlefield memories.
Twist
The armor belonged to no single warrior. It absorbed the fear and duty of every soldier who died defending the fortress.
Side Objectives
Recover broken armor plates.
Speak with battlefield spirits.
Stop mercenaries from stealing it.
Recreate the final battle.
Decide whether collective memory can become a soul.
Major Choice
Lay the armor to rest.
Recruit it as a guardian.
Give it to the noble house.
Melt it down into memorial blades.
Consequences
Resting it brings peace.
Recruiting it gives a powerful defender but keeps war alive.
Giving it to nobles turns sacrifice into propaganda.
Memorial blades spread the memory across many warriors.
40. The Saint of Thieves
Premise
A shrine in a thieves’ district blesses criminals who steal only from the cruel. Those who steal from the poor suffer terrible luck.
Setup
The Chantry wants the shrine destroyed as heresy. The poor see it as justice. Thieves treat it as holy law.
Twist
The shrine is watched by a spirit of Fairness, not righteousness. It does not care about law. It only balances harm.
Side Objectives
Test the shrine’s blessing.
Investigate a thief who cheated the poor.
Defend the district from a noble purge.
Speak with the spirit through stolen objects.
Decide whether crime can have ethics.
Major Choice
Destroy the shrine.
Protect it.
Move it into Chantry supervision.
Use it to build a criminal code.
Consequences
Destroying it empowers cruel criminals again.
Protecting it strengthens outlaw justice.
Chantry control distorts the shrine’s purpose.
A criminal code stabilizes the district but legitimizes theft.
Bigger Mission Chains
Chain 1: The Roads Beneath the Roads
A Deep Roads expansion-style questline about lost dwarves, titan wounds, darkspawn changes, and forbidden Shaperate history.
Mission Flow
The Dwarf Who Dreamed introduces impossible Fade contact.
The Mine That Sang Back reveals titan pain.
The Village That Refused the Blight shows strange anti-Blight protection.
The Armor That Remembered War reveals memory can survive in objects.
Finale: The Stone That Woke Angry
Finale Premise
The party finds a titan fragment that has learned from dwarven suffering, Warden blood, lyrium mining, and darkspawn corruption. It does not want worship. It wants the cutting to stop.
Final Choices
Seal all nearby lyrium mines.
Negotiate with Orzammar.
Let the titan fragment destroy mining operations.
Help the Wardens study it against the Blight.
Chain 2: The Poor Saints of Thedas
A city-focused questline about common people creating their own morality when nobles, Chantry, and law fail them.
Mission Flow
The Silent Alienage
The Queen of Rats
The Saint of Thieves
The Carta Saint
The Ash Merchant
Finale Premise
The poor districts begin forming a shadow government made of thieves, apostates, casteless dwarves, servants, and spirit-touched outcasts.
Final Choices
Support the shadow government.
Expose and dismantle it.
Force it into legal politics.
Turn it into an intelligence network for your faction.
Chain 3: The Court of Broken Truths
An Orlesian-style political arc about secrets, lies, and whether truth helps or destroys society.
Mission Flow
The Beggar King’s Crown
The Bloodless Duelist
The Hanged Templar’s Sword
The Library of Unwritten Books
The Noble Who Bought a Demon
Finale Premise
A grand court gathering becomes a battlefield of truth magic, blackmail, assassins, masks, and spirits. Every noble secret begins surfacing at once.
Final Choices
Reveal everything publicly.
Reveal only useful truths.
Suppress all magical truth effects.
Use the chaos to reshape Orlais.
Stronger Companion Side Missions
41. Companion Mission: The Golem Mage’s Memory
A golem-mage companion begins hearing the voice of the person whose memories were used to create them.
Story Conflict
Are they their own being, or a continuation of the person sacrificed to make them?
Mission Steps
Find the original thaig.
Recover memory plates.
Meet descendants of the sacrificed dwarf.
Decide whether to restore the full memory.
Major Choice
Restore the original personality.
Preserve the companion as they are.
Merge both identities.
Erase the old memories forever.
42. Companion Mission: The Wayfarer’s Toll
A companion who can travel through planes discovers every crossing has been charging a hidden price. Places they visited are becoming thin, haunted, or unstable.
Story Conflict
Freedom of movement may damage the world.
Mission Steps
Return to old crossing points.
Fight creatures slipping through weakened barriers.
Find the first place they crossed.
Learn who gave them the ability.
Major Choice
Limit their power.
Keep using it carefully.
Seal the crossings permanently.
Let them become a living gatekeeper.
43. Companion Mission: The Unharmed One
A companion who nothing will attack discovers the reason: creatures instinctively recognize them as already claimed by something ancient.
Story Conflict
Peace may not be protection. It may be ownership.
Mission Steps
Test reactions from beasts, darkspawn, demons, and spirits.
Find ancient markings on their body or soul.
Enter the Fade to confront the claimant.
Decide whether to break the protection.
Major Choice
Keep the protection.
Break it and become vulnerable.
Transfer it to protect someone else.
Turn it into an aura that protects the whole party.
44. Companion Mission: The Assassin Who Stole Life
A rogue companion who can steal vitality from enemies realizes the stolen life does not vanish. It clings to them as memories, habits, and emotions.
Story Conflict
Power gained from others changes who you are.
Mission Steps
Track victims whose life-force was stolen.
Experience memory flashes.
Meet a healer who can separate the stolen fragments.
Face a victim’s family.
Major Choice
Give the stolen life back.
Keep it and risk identity corruption.
Convert it into healing magic.
Seal the ability forever.
45. Companion Mission: The Saarebas Crown
A powerful Saarebas companion is offered leadership by escaped Qunari mages who want to build their own militant nation.
Story Conflict
Oppressed people gaining power can still become oppressors.
Mission Steps
Visit the escaped Saarebas camp.
Witness their training methods.
Stop Qunari hunters.
Discover they are caging weaker mages “for safety.”
Major Choice
Support their independence.
Force reform.
Dismantle the movement.
Convince the companion to lead them differently.
Darker Side Missions
46. The Well That Gives Back the Dead
Premise
A village well returns drowned loved ones. They climb out soaked, pale, and gentle. Families celebrate — until the returned begin asking others to join them.
Twist
The well is connected to a despair spirit trapped beneath the water. It gives people back what they lost so it can teach them to lose it again.
Choice
Seal the well, let families say goodbye, study it, or use it to question the dead.
47. The Children of the Ash Field
Premise
Children play in a battlefield where no adults can enter without reliving the war. The children claim the dead soldiers are their friends.
Twist
The battlefield spirits are using the children to remember the names they lost.
Choice
Free the spirits, evacuate the children, consecrate the field, or allow the children to become caretakers of the dead.
48. The Mask That Cannot Lie
Premise
An Orlesian mask forces its wearer to speak only truth. At first, it seems useful. Then the wearer cannot stop confessing every private thought, fear, and cruelty.
Twist
The mask was created by a courtier who believed truth would purify Orlais. It drove the court mad instead.
Choice
Destroy it, use it in court, hide it, or give it to a companion who seeks redemption.
49. The Butcher of Mercy Row
Premise
A healer is accused of murder because his patients die peacefully in their sleep. Their families insist he saved them from pain.
Twist
He is possessed by a spirit of Mercy that has lost the ability to tell comfort from death.
Choice
Separate the spirit, execute the healer, defend him, or teach the spirit restraint.
50. The Soldier Who Came Home Twice
Premise
A soldier returns from war. A week later, another version of him returns too. Both have the same memories. Both claim to be real.
Twist
One is the original body. The other is a Fade echo made from the family’s grief and the soldier’s desperate wish to come home.
Choice
Let both live, banish the echo, merge them, or allow the family to choose.
Large Story Arc: The Age of Unclaimed Spirits
Core Problem
After years of wars, Blights, mage rebellions, Qunari invasions, and political collapse, the Fade is crowded with spirits shaped by ordinary people’s suffering. These are not simple demons. They are spirits of:
Mercy
Fairness
Silence
Judgment
Preservation
Possibility
Relief
Absence
Vigilance
Exchange
They are reacting to a broken world where mortal institutions failed.
Main Conflict
The Chantry wants to classify them as demons.
Mages want to study them.
Templars want to contain them.
Tevinter wants to weaponize them.
The poor want to bargain with them.
The Dalish want to understand whether some are tied to older elven magic.
The dwarves discover even stone may have its own version of spirit-memory.
Central Question
When the world fails people, is it wrong for spirits to answer?
Possible Final Villain
Not a demon king. Not an archdemon. Not another ancient magister.
The antagonist is The Advocate, a spirit that believes mortals should no longer govern themselves. It sees every corrupt noble, every abusive templar, every starving alienage, every abandoned soldier, and every sacrificed dwarf as proof that mortal choice is a failed experiment.
It does not want chaos.
It wants a world where spirits manage justice, mercy, memory, grief, punishment, truth, and protection.
Why This Works for Dragon Age
It is not simply good versus evil. The Advocate is often right about mortal cruelty. The danger is that it would remove free will in the name of protection.
That is the kind of conflict Dragon Age should live in: uncomfortable, political, spiritual, personal, and impossible to solve cleanly.
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Comments
Post a Comment