Electronic Arts Dragon Age Origins User Manual

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EpilEpsy Warning

Please read before using this game or allowing your children to use it. Some people are susceptible to epileptic seizures or loss of consciousness when exposed to certain flashing

lights or light patterns in everyday life. Such people may have a seizure while watching television images or playing certain video games. This may happen even if the person has no medical history of epilepsy or has never had any epileptic seizures. If you or anyone in your family has ever had symptoms related to epilepsy (seizures or loss of consciousness) when exposed to flashing lights, consult your doctor prior to playing.

We advise that parents should monitor the use of video games by their children. If you or your child experience any of the following symptoms: dizziness, blurred vision, eye or muscle twitches, loss of consciousness, disorientation, any involuntary movement or convulsion, while playing a video game, discontinue use IMMEDIATELY and consult your doctor.

PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE DURING USE

Do not stand too close to the screen. Sit a good distance away from the screen, as far away as the

length of the cable allows. Preferably play the game on a small screen. Avoid playing if you are tired or have not had much sleep. Make sure that the room in which you are playing is well lit. Rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes per hour while playing a video game.

INSTALLING THE GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

STARTING THE GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

INTRODUCTION ..........................................6

COMPLETE CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

GENERAL CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

MOVEMENT/CAMERA ......................................7

COMBAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

GETTING STARTED .......................................7

MAIN MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

OTHER CAMPAIGNS .........................................7

DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT .................................7

PLAYER PROFILE .............................................8

CHARACTER GENERATION ...............................8

GENDER ....................................................8

RACE .......................................................8

HUMAN ......................................................8

ELF ...........................................................8

DWA RF .......................................................8

RACIAL BENEFITS ........................................8

CLASS ......................................................9

WARRIOR ....................................................9

MAGE ........................................................9

ROGUE .......................................................9

CLASS BENEFITS ..........................................9

BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

HUMA N NOBLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

MAGI .......................................................10

CITY ELF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

DALISH ELF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

DWARF COMMONER ........................................10

DWARF NOBLE ..............................................10

BACKGROUND BENEFIT .................................10

CUSTOMIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

APPEARANCE ...............................................11

PORTRAIT ..................................................11

VOICE .......................................................11

NAME .......................................................11

A DVA N C E D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

DIFFICULTY .................................................11

EASY .....................................................11

NORMAL .................................................11

HARD ....................................................12

NIGHTMARE .............................................12

CHARACTER PROGRESSION .............................12

ATT RI BUTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

STRENGTH ..................................................12

DEXTERIT Y .................................................12

WILLPOWER ................................................12

MAGIC ......................................................13

CUNNING ...................................................13

CONSTITUTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

QUICK-PLAY PICKS ......................................13

SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

COERCION ..................................................13

STEALING ..................................................13

TRAP-MAKING .............................................14

S UR V I VA L ..................................................14

HERBALISM .................................................14

POISON-MAKING ...........................................14

COMBAT TRAINING ........................................14

COMBAT TACTICS ..........................................14

TALENTS/SPELLS .......................................... 14

ACTIVATED ABILITIES ......................................15

PASSIVE ABILI TIES .........................................15

SUSTAINED ABILITIES ......................................15

EXPERIENCE AND LEVELS .................................15

PARTY MEMBERS ..........................................15

A P PR O VAL ..................................................16

SPECIALIZATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

WARRIOR ...................................................16

BERSERKER ..............................................16

CHAMPION ..............................................16

TEMPLAR ................................................16

R EAV ER ..................................................16

MAGE .......................................................16

ARCANE WARRIOR ......................................16

BLOOD MAGE ............................................17

SHAPESHIFTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

SPIRIT HEALER ..........................................17

ROGUE ......................................................17

ASSASSIN ................................................17

BARD ....................................................17

DUELIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

RANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

SPECIALIZATION BONUSES ..............................18

QUESTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

CONVERSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

PERSUASION ................................................18

INTIMIDATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

OTHER ATTRIBU TE CHECKS ................................18

JOB BOARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

JOURNAL ..................................................19

CODEX ......................................................19

CONVERSATION HISTORY ..................................19

DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT ................................19

MAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

COMBAT .................................................22

HEALTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

STAMINA/ MANA ..........................................23

FATI GUE ....................................................23

ATTACK ...................................................23

FLANKING ..................................................23

RANGE ......................................................23

COVER ......................................................23

DEFENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

MISSILE DEFENSE ...........................................24

DAM AGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

ARMOR AND ARMOR PENETRATION .......................24

DAMAGE TYPES AND COLORS ..............................24

ELEMENTAL RESISTANCES .................................25

CRITICAL HITS .............................................25

BACKSTABS .................................................25

STRENGTH MODIFIERS .....................................25

INJURIES ..................................................25

ENEMY RANKS ............................................25

WEAPON STYLES ..........................................26

SINGLE WEAPON ...........................................26

WEAPON AND SHIELD ......................................26

DUAL WEAPONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

TWO-HANDED WEAPON ....................................26

MAGE’S STAFF ..............................................27

BOW ........................................................27

MAGIC-SPECIFIC RULES ...................................27

SPELLPOWER ...............................................27

SPELL INTERRUP TION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

SPELL COMBINATIONS .....................................28

FRIENDLY FIRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

STATUS EFFECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

PHYSICAL RESISTANCE .....................................28

MENTAL RESISTANCE ......................................28

STUN/PARALYSIS/FEAR /IMMOBILITY/PETRIFACTION ......28

DISORIENTATION ..........................................29

SLEEP .......................................................29

CHARM .....................................................29

COMBAT TACTICS .........................................29

BASIC TACTICS .............................................30

BEHAVIOR ..................................................30

CUSTOM TACTICS ..........................................30

ITEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

INVENTORY ...............................................31

CONTAINERS/LOOT .......................................32

MATERIALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

ITEM SETS .................................................32

ITEM POWERS .............................................32

RUNES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

GIFTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

CURRENCY ................................................33

STORES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

CRAFTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

QUICK-USE ITEMS .........................................33

HEALTH POULTICES ........................................33

INJURY KITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

LYRIUM POTIONS ...........................................33

ELEMENTAL SALVES ........................................34

WEAPON COATINGS ........................................34

POISONS ....................................................34

GRENADES ..................................................3 4

TRAPS ......................................................34

LURES .......................................................34

MABARI CRUNCH ...........................................34

OTHER QUICK-USE ITEMS .................................34

CREDITS .................................................35

PERFORMANCE TIPS .....................................39

TECHNICAL SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

LIMITED 90 -DAY WARRANTY ............................41

installing thE gamE

NOTE: For system requirements, see the readme ﬁle.

To install (disc users):

Insert the disc into your disc drive and follow the on-screen instructions.

To install (EA Store users):

NOTE: If you’d like more information about purchasing direct downloads from EA, visit

www.eastore.ea.com and click MORE ABOUT DIRECT DOWNLOADS. Once the game has been downloaded by EA Download Manager, click the install icon that appears and

follow the on-screen instructions.

NOTE: If you’ve already purchased a title and would like to install it on another PC, ﬁrst download and

install the EA Download Manager on the other PC, then launch the application and log in with your EA account. Select the appropriate title from the list that appears and click the start button to download the game.

To install (third party online users):

Please contact the digital retailer through whom you purchased this game for instructions on how to install the game or how to download and reinstall another copy.

starting thE gamE

To start the game:

Games on Windows Vista™ are located in the Start > Games > Games Explorer menu and on earlier versions of Windows EA Download Manager running.)

NOTE: In Windows Vista Classic Start menu style, games are located in the Start > Programs >

Games > Games Explorer menu.

™

in the Start > Programs (or All Programs) menu. (EA Store users must have the

This product has been rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. For information about the ESRB rating, please visit www.esrb.org.

introduCtion

Dragon Age: Origins is a modern re-imagination of an epic party-based fantasy role-playing game, dense with story and tactical combat. Because Dragon Age: Origins doesn’t shy from that complex heritage, there’s a lot to know.

Since many of the game’s systems are deeply interrelated, keep a finger on the table of contents; you’ll need it to find your way around when an explanation of one feature refers to another. One last note: while there was no way to list the hundreds of spells and talents in here, you’ll find full explanations of them in the game.

ComplEtE Controls

Once you create a character using the Character Generation system described on p. 8, you will find yourself in control of the game’s camera, which can zoom in for a wide third-person view of your characters (over the shoulder) or zoom out and up for a nearly top-down view of a whole area.

To zoom the camera, scroll with your mouse-wheel. When the camera is fully zoomed out, you can pan across the battlefield using the arrow keys, by clicking the mouse wheel and dragging, or simply by nudging the edge of the screen. At any zoom level, clicking the right mouse button and dragging rotates the camera.

To execute most actions, right-click the mouse. Right-clicking on an object makes your currently selected character take appropriate action—attack an enemy, talk to a friendly character, loot a corpse, open a door, pull a lever, and so forth. You can also right-click on the ground to direct your character to move to that location if you don’t feel like using the keyboard to move.

However, once you have selected a spell or talent that requires a target—either by clicking on your quickbar or pressing the appropriate number key for that quickbar ability—you must left-click on the target. Right-clicking cancels the spell or talent. Left-click also selects a character in your party to control. Drag a box around multiple characters while left-clicking to select them all.

GENERAL CONTROLS

Quick save F5 Quick load F9 Highlight objects TAB Hide main interface V Take screenshot PRT SCN Character record C Journal J Inventory I Skills K Spells/Talents P Area map M World map N Tactics \ Main menu ESC

MOVEMENT/CAMERA

Run forward W Rotate camera left A Run backward S Rotate camera right D Run left Q Run right E Rotate camera up Home Rotate camera down End Zoom in Pg Dn Zoom out Pg Up Pan (zoomed out) Toggle run/walk

Arrow keys / (num pad)

COMBAT

Pause Spacebar Use quickbar ability 1-0 Swap weapon sets / Party move/hold H Select full party = Select one character F1-F4 Select many characters SHIFT + F1-F4

gEtting startEd

When you start Dragon Age: Origins, you are presented with the game’s launcher. The first time you click PLAY, a configuration utility suggests the appropriate settings based on the hardware it detects. After that, Dragon Age: Origins starts up.

MAIN MENU

The main menu is mostly self-explanatory. To begin playing, click NEW GAME; to resume your game in the future, click LOAD GAME; or to load your most recent saved game, click RESUME.

These are the options that might not be as obvious:

Other Campaigns

Here you can begin playing a custom campaign for Dragon Age: Origins that you, your friends, or kind strangers on the Internet have built using the content-creator toolset that you can download from the Dragon Age website.

Downloadable Content

This displays new content made available after the release of Dragon Age: Origins—both free and for purchase—and also lets you manage the content you’ve already downloaded.

EA ACCOUNT, REGISTRATION WITH ENCLOSED SERIAL CODE, INTERNET CONNECTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY AND TO ACCESS ONLINE FEATURES AND/OR SERVICES. EA ONLINE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.EA.COM. YOU MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER FOR AN EA ACCOUNT. EA MAY PROVIDE CERTAIN INCREMENTAL CONTENT AND/OR UPDATES FOR NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE, IF AND WHEN AVAILABLE.

EA MAY RETIRE ONLINE FEATURES AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON WWW.EA.COM.

Player Profile

You can view your achievements and screenshots here, then upload them to your online profile if you’re logged in to your BioWare/EA account.

Log In

This lets you create a BioWare/EA account (or log in to an existing account) so that you can upload screenshots, track your achievements and profile on the web, and manage downloadable content.

CharaCtEr gEnEration

Before you begin playing Dragon Age: Origins, take a few minutes to build a unique character and learn the rudiments of the game’s rules system. When you click NEW GAME from the main menu, a short introductory movie plays. That brings you to the following options on the character generation screen.

GENDER

Your character’s gender does not affect stats or abilities, but does alter some

dialogue and plots—as well as facial options and body shape, of course.

RACE

Your character’s race determines physical size and natural capabilities as well as how he or she fits into the world of Dragon Age, where interracial tensions are a fact of life.

Human

Humans are a well-rounded people, which has made them the most

Elf

Thousands of years ago, elves ruled the surface of Thedas, but today they

Dwarf

The dwarves are a race in decline, as each new day of a centuries-old

RACIAL BENEFITS

Starting bonuses

numerous inhabitants of Thedas, and thus the most dominant.

live in mankind’s shadow, whether as an oppressed underclass confined to urban slums or, in the case of the Dalish tribes, forced to wander the ancient forests forever.

war against the darkspawn consumes both dwarven lives and the scant remaining territory of their underground kingdom. Dwarves have an innate resistance to magic, preventing them from becoming mages.

humans E lvE s dWarvEs

+1 strength +2 willpower +1 strength +1 dexterity +2 magic +1 dexterity +1 magic +2 constitution +1 cunning +10% chance to resist

hostile magic

CLASS

Class determines which abilities your character can learn during the course of the game. It has a profound impact on the way a character performs in battle. For mages, class also determines your background story.

Although there is some overlap between the classes, you can never make a character from one class play like a character from another—for example, warriors and rogues can never learn to cast spells, and a mage can never learn advanced weapon talents. Rogues can learn more skills than other classes, but cannot become proficient with two-handed weapons or shields.

Warrior

Warriors are front-line fighters, the backbone of any party under assault. They rely on

melee and ranged weapons, supplemented by powerful special abilities that draw from deep reserves of stamina.

Mage

Mages are the only characters who can cast spells, which they use both for offense and to

support themselves and their party. Although mages may wield physical weapons, they do so without any particular skill; instead, they prefer to carry staves that fire magic projectiles. Mages cannot stand toe-to-toe with enemies as well as other classes can, but they can deal immense amounts of damage and heal their allies when protected by the party.

Rogue

Rogues are crafty combatants who succeed in battle by combining speed, subterfuge, and a

wide range of abilities to bring their opponents down in unexpected ways, sometimes before the enemy even perceives danger. Rogues can pick locks with great skill, incapacitate enemies with ease, or sneak up on targets to deliver a devious and crippling backstab.

CLASS BENEFITS

Warriors magE s roguEs

Starting health Starting

stamina/mana Starting

attribute bonuses

Starting skill Starting talent/spell

Levels to gain one skill

Health per level Stamina/mana

per level Base attack score Base defense score

100 85 90 100 115 90

+4 strength +5 magic +4 dexterity +3 dexterity +4 willpower +2 willpower +3 constitution +1 cunning +4 cunning Combat Training Herbalism Poison-Making Shield Bash, Pinning Shot,

or Dual-Weapon Sweep 3 3 2

6 4 5 5 6 4

60 50 55 45 40 50

Arcane Bolt Dirty Fighting

+ 16 hidden pages