History Fridge / DragonAgeOrigins

* DLC FridgeHorror ''and'' Fridge Brilliance from ''Leliana's Song.'' Leliana lies crying in a dark dungeon after being betrayed by her lover Marjolaine to a cruel Fereldan officer. She never tells us what happened to her, and we assume it's run of the mill torture... until the officer makes a cruel remark to her later in the story about simply asking if she "wanted more men." Note, in the prison cutscene, [[FridgeHorror where the blood stains are.

** Alternatively, it could have been a Spirit of Wisdom assuming the form of a Pride Demon as a warning. What does it say? "Simple killing is a warrior's job. The real dangers of the Fade are preconceptions... careless trust... pride. Keep your wits about you, mage. True tests... never end." Awfully wise advice.

* More a Fridge for the series as a whole, but the Warden, from most of the trailers, is a warrior. In most of DAII's trailers, Hawke is a mage. And in DAI's trailers, the Inquisitor is a rogue. This makes sense for each of the characters and their respective games when you consider their overall goals. The first game is a Fantasy Epic where you gather an army to combat a dark evil. The Warrior Hero is best suited for it, given their quest to gather all the traditional allies of the Grey Wardens and unite Ferelden in order to combat the Blight. The Mage/Templar conflict is full force in the second game, making Hawke a mage only adds to the drama and tension. Mages are known by their intelligence and wisdom which they can establish and challenge the established tradition just like how they manifest their magic by making reality less real, fitting how the second game ends up with the status quo being broken thanks to Hawke's actions. Finally in the third game, the Inquisitor is a rogue, leading an organization that is not affiliated to any established nations and organizations. Their main goal is to solve the pressing issues from the Breach up to the longstanding issues prior to Corypheus' interference, sometimes even doing TakeAThirdOption to solve them. Despite leading an organization with religious origins, they have no qualms using resources that is beyond the Chantry doctrine in order to combat greater evil. Those tactics are similar to how rogues operate, who use stealth, cunning, and underhanded tactics to get ahead.

* More a Fridge for the series as a whole, but the Warden, from most of the trailers, is a warrior. In most of DAII's trailers, Hawke is a mage. And in DAI's trailers, the Inquisitor is a rogue. This makes sense for each of the characters and their respective games. DAO is a Fantasy Epic where you gather an army to combat a dark evil. The Warrior Hero is best suited for it, as with other fantasy stories. The Mage/Templar conflict is full force in DAII, and making Hawke a mage only adds to the drama and tension. Finally, the Inquisitor is a rogue, leading a Shadowy Organization with a penchant for Taking the Third Option, best suited for rogues, who use stealth and cunning.

* For all of what's made of the Tranquil not having feelings, it isn't actually the case: over the course of the series, we've seen plenty of examples of them exhibiting emotion, sometimes quite powerfully! The strongest case for this is the Tranquil, Owain, seen during "Broken Circle" (and the Mage origin): while he's not running around in a panic, it is very obvious (in fact, he literally says as much) that he's ''distressed'' by the situation. Not because because he's afraid, but because the demonic invasion is ''interrupting his work'', to which he's clearly eager (almost desperate) to return. It doesn't seem far fetched to assume that, if asked, the Tranquil would say that, at the very least, he'd ''rather'' not die, likely because that, too, would interrupt his work. In other cases, we see examples of Tranquil who are clearly ''proud'' of what they do and show ''excitement'' at the prospect of doing more (the creature researcher in Skyhold in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition''), are ''loyal'' to an individual or organization (Maddox was willing to ''die'' for Samson), or, arguably, even show affection. In fact, if you think about it, someone who really has no feelings at all would make a terrible worker: you could quite literally ''never motivate them to work''! There's nothing you could possibly offer or threaten them with because to someone without feelings all states are equally desirable. Arguably, they wouldn't even survive on their own because eating and drinking brings no joy and starvation or death are exactly as immaterial. Why would one bother to do so? It is plainly obvious that, while Thedas - being a pre-scientific world which hasn't yet developed a theory of psychology - considers the Tranquil "emotionless", they really are depicted as being more akin to people suffering from some kind of (albeit artificially induced at a late age, and thus quite unrealistic) [[NeurodiversityIsSupernatural autism spectrum disorder]]. They don't emote like neurotypical people and appear to have difficulty socializing or empathizing with others, but they do have preferences, wants, and desires (particularly a tendency to become completely absorbed in whatever it is they've fixated on doing) - which even tends to be fine craftsmanship or academic work which is methodical, orderly, and involves a lot of rote memorization and organizing facts.

* the "traps"for each of your followers in the Mage Circle quest are calibrated exactly for what it'd take to get them to stop. Allistar needs to convinced he has a happy familly and such, those are obvious, but the followers who see trough it? That's part of the trap! Sten doesn't need to be convinced these are his actual friends, just reminded of them. Morrigan needs to be annoyed by a fake-flemeth to break her concentration so she can't escape, Dog is fundamentally a dog, no master around? He will just take a nap.

* the "traps"for each of your followers are calibrated exactly for what it'd take to get them to stop, their sloth! Allistar needs to convinced he has a happy familly and such, but the followers who see trough it? That's part of the trap! Sten doesn't need to be told these are his actual friends, just reminded of them. Morrigan needs to be annoyed by a fake-flemeth to break her concentration so she can't escape, Dog is fundamentally a dog, no master around? He will just take a nap.

* DLC FridgeHorror ''and'' Fridge Brilliance from ''Leliana's Song.'' Leliana lies crying in a dark dungeon after being betrayed by her lover Marjolaine to a cruel Fereldan officer. She never tells us what happened to her, and we assume it's run of the mill torture... until the officer makes a cruel remark to her later in the story about simply asking if she "wanted more men."]] Note, in the prison cutscene, [[FridgeHorror where the blood stains are.

** The song is about fate, embracing death and being mortal. It intertwines perfectly, serving as the main theme of the game and becoming the central theme of the story. Notice that everyone in the camp reacts to it with pensiveness save Morrigan, who dismisses it. [[spoiler:Morrigan wants to cheat fate and prevent the Warden from sacrificing themselves for a noble cause, the exact opposite of what the song preaches. The question of mortality comes up again and again within the story, such as Zathrian's curse]].

* During the Dwarf Noble origin story, it seems odd that Trian just leaves his journal lying there for you to read. And then, it makes perfect sense. [[spoiler:His writings served as a warning all along]].
* The official cover art shows a blood motif of a dragon, obviously because it's in the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin name]], the BigBad is the Archdemon, and there are lots of gore. However, most importantly: [[spoiler:the blood represents [[TheVirus The Blight]] itself; the darkspawn blood, which taints everyone and binds the darkspawn demons (and also the Grey Wardens) to the Archdemon. Then of course there are ''blood'' mages, kept in line with phylacteries (vials of ''blood''), and you can taint Andraste's ashes with (and drink) dragon ''blood'']].

*** But notably, [[spoiler:Fiona, a former Grey Warden,]] was cured of the Taint, with others actively looking for a way to replicate her success. Added with the fact that Grey Wardens don't pass on the Taint, there could eventually be a way to neutralise its contagious nature if sufficient effort was dedicated to research a way to do so. Their gained sentience would make the researching easier too, as the Darkspawn would be disconnected from the hivemind and stop aiming to kill people on sight.

* [[spoiler:Note that Riordan's surprise attack successfully crippled the Archdemon's wing, which is why it hangs around the top of Fort Drakon in a last stand instead of just ''flying away'']].
* During the Mage origin story, Uldred is described as the leader of the Libertarians, a faction of the Circle that believes that mages should be free rather than submitting to the oversight of the Templars. He's one of the few mages who is genuinely ''proud'' of his abilities. [[spoiler:Which is perhaps what leaves him vulnerable to possession by a Pride Demon]].
* Want to know an argument for [[spoiler:sparing Loghain]]? You get this quote from Riordan: "We aren't judges. Kinslayers, blood mages, traitors, rebels, carta thugs, common bandits: Anyone with the skill and the mettle to take up the sword against the darkspawn is welcome among us." Those six examples represent each origin story, and how people react to you negatively. Kinslayers represent the Dwarf Noble because [[spoiler:you either killed your brother or were blamed for his death]]. Blood magic is the most common accusation against an apostate mage, even if they hate it. Traitors represent the Human Noble because of the slanders Teyrn Loghain and Arl Howe made regarding your family. Rebels would be best associated with a City Elf due to the stereotypes of elves being nothing but troublemakers. Carta thugs represent a Dwarf Commoner, who did work for the carta. As for the Dalish Elf origin, people who are completely ignorant about the Dalish (including other elves) would likely assume that they are just glorified bandits who kill humans. Then it becomes clear that you are judging Loghain as much as people judged you before you became a Grey Warden.

* For a while after the Joining, Grey Wardens apparently experience ravenous hunger when eating. [[spoiler:So do the Darkspawn]].

** [[spoiler:Flemeth deliberately raised Morrigan to be StupidEvil. She can't afford her daughter having an alternative world view as she's going to possess that body one day, and all the magic that comes with it]].
** On a related note, Morrigan has fairly underpowered starting spells, as well as the most underpowered mage specialization, shapeshifting. However, Flemeth [[spoiler:sustains her existence by taking over the body of her latest "daughter" once the girl is old enough, a process that requires overcoming whatever resistance she might be able to muster]]. Of ''course'' she wouldn't want Morrigan's power to be optimized! Along the same lines, Morrigan may have chosen the shapeshifting specialization because, as Flemeth says, she's quite fond of the legends concerning Witches of the Wild. Morrigan may like to pretend she's a {{Munchkin}}, but she's really [[TheRoleplayer a role-player]] at heart - a dynamic that fits nicely with her {{Tsundere}} nature. Fittingly, the first sign of that nature is that Morrigan derides the legends concerning the Witches, only for Flemeth to confirm (less than five minutes later) that her daughter ''enjoys'' those stories.

* If the Warden is a mage, then when you encounter Uldred in the Circle Tower, you can state that the two of you are not so different, with which he completely agrees. [[spoiler:The demon possessing Uldred is a Pride demon, the same demon the Warden overcame during their Harrowing. This is particularly FridgeBrilliance if your Warden is morally ambiguous or evil]].
* DLC FridgeHorror ''and'' Fridge Brilliance from ''Leliana's Song.'' Leliana lies crying in a dark dungeon [[spoiler:after being betrayed by her lover Marjolaine to a cruel Fereldan officer]]. She never tells us what happened to her, and we assume it's run of the mill torture... until the officer makes a cruel remark to her later in the story [[spoiler:about simply asking if she "wanted more men."]] Note, in the prison cutscene, [[FridgeHorror where the blood stains are]].

* In a playthrough where the Warden has romanced Alistair and befriended Morrigan, when trying to [[spoiler:persuade Alistair to do the ritual with her]], Morrigan acts very nonchalant about her request, even though she knew it must tear up the Warden to have to [[spoiler:convince the man she loves to sleep with another woman]]. She even offers some passive-aggressive guilt, claiming that if the Warden ''really'' loved Alistair, she would offer him the chance to save his own life. This seemed contrary to how Morrigan acts after you befriend her, where she warms up to you considerably and acts fairly sympathetic towards you. Yet here she seems to regress back to her old self, only to swing back again when bidding you farewell at the gates of Denerim. When offering the ritual, Morrigan is wearing a mask. It is ''killing'' her to ask her only friend to do this, but she doesn't have a choice if she wants to save her friend's life. She may have her own long-term plans concerning the [[spoiler:god child]], but saving the Warden is her motivation at this point. The official ''[[http://blog.bioware.com/2010/03/01/dragon-age-the-revelation-comic/ Dragon Age: The Revelation]]'' comic, which was cut content, shows ''exactly'' this.

** It may seem odd that Wynne turns on you if you destroy the Urn of Sacred Ashes, as she never seemed to be overly devout (or at least less so than Leliana). Then comes ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' and we see that joining with a Spirit of the Fade can have pronounced alterations on the mage's personality. So ''of course'' Wynne would try to kill/abandon you. You've just destroyed one of the most highly regarded holy relics in Thedas, and Wynne is joined with a spirit of ''Faith''. The brilliance on this point kicks in even before the second game: [[spoiler:Eamon's son, Connor]], who is [[DemonicPossession possessed by a desire demon]], becomes completely different from his usual self. Also, in a moment of FridgeBrilliance [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] WildMassGuessing, if you defile the ashes, the two party members who immediately attack you, regardless of approval ratings, are Wynne and Leliana. Maybe the Cult of Andraste was right about their prophet being reborn - they just had the wrong entity.

* On two occasions near the start of the game, you come across madmen ranting about the darkspawn. Only after you've finished the game do what they're saying start to make sense. The first is a soldier at Ostagar that was poisoned by darkspawn and is ranting about the horde that's bearing down on him and how everyone's going to die. [[spoiler:He has the Taint, just like the Wardens, and can actually ''sense'' the darkspawn!]] The second is a Chasind in Lothering ranting about how everyone's going to die, then points at you and announces that he can sense the darkness in you, and how you're only the first of many. [[spoiler:Wardens have the Taint, they carry darkspawn blood in their veins]]! Both sound crazy but are completely right.

* It seems reasonable that Mother Dorothea[[spoiler:, later Divine Justinia,]] would be named after Justinian and Theodora, the emperor and empress of Byzantine from 527-565, the former of whom is considered a saint by Orthodox Christians.
* It seemed odd that [[spoiler:Mouse]], a Pride demon who should be the embodiment of said sin, was making himself the lowest of the low. But he wasn't showing off his own pride, he was trying to lead the Warden to a position of pride. It is mentioned in the Codex that demons aren't named after their own personality, but after the emotion they manipulate and exploit in others (e.g. Sloth demons are not necessarily lazy, but are so named because they foster slumber and apathy in their victims). Just as the Sloth demon attacking the Circle seems to work quite hard to keep its victims complacent and asleep, a Pride demon need not actually have much of an ego, especially since it would probably be counter-productive; the easiest way to make someone feel pride is by making them feel superior, which would be difficult if you had your own massive ego chafing against any sign of humility.

* An early interaction between Alistair and Morrigan is confusing to a first-time player. Alistair asks, "What would you do if your mother died?" and Morrigan replies, "Before or after I stopped laughing?" He shrugs it off as her being creepy, but after completing Morrigan's quest, it makes sense that [[spoiler:she's referring to Flemeth's ability to extend her life by storing bits of herself in vials and the like]]. It becomes even more clear if you return to ''Origins'' after playing the sequel.
* If Zevran is with you when Master Ignacio offers you a quest, they will have a dialogue where Zevran will try to justify his failure to kill you, only for Ignacio to point out it was [[TooDumbToLive suicidal]] to even take the contract in the first place. [[spoiler:It eventually turns out that not only was Zevran indeed the only one willing to take the contract, but [[DeathSeeker he was indeed being suicidal]]]].

* Alistair remarks that Duncan is coddling him, but in reality, Duncan is keeping him safe because of [[spoiler:his lineage.]] When you visit the Korcari Wilds, Alistair is in charge, which is a strange task to give to someone who is being coddled. In reality, Duncan was [[spoiler:trying to mold Alistair into a leader so that he could take the throne in the event of Cailan's death]]. Alistair himself seems to suspect as much later, when revealing his parentage to the Warden.
** Cailan is clearly in on the plan, too. After the Joining is complete and the war council is discussing lighting the beacon at the Tower of Ishal, he notes what an important task it is and says that "We should send our best - send Alistair and the new Grey Warden." Just why ''would'' Cailan entrust such an important task to the two newest members of the order? [[spoiler:Because one of them is ''his brother'' and the last living member of the royal family should Cailan fall, and the other is a completely green recruit who will need guidance from a slightly more seasoned Warden if something goes wrong. Cailan was not only trying to save his brother's life, but was also ''giving him a purpose'' - protecting his new friend.]] Not only that, the task is simple enough to keep Alistair out of danger (at least on the surface), but important enough that no one will question sending a Warden or two.
*** Sending Alistair to the Tower removes him from the main battle and puts him in a more defensible position. In the ''Return to Ostagar'' DLC, we find out that Cailan [[spoiler:knew that the battle ahead was going to be difficult and that it wasn't likely that Ferelden could survive without aid.]] The Tower is much easier to defend (the fact that it was already overrun notwithstanding), and being away from the main horde means that a rescue would be easier to mount if necessary. It makes even more sense if the Warden is a Human Noble: Cailan immediately recognises the Warden as a Cousland from their introduction, and thus sent a member of a high-ranking noble house from his kingdom to do a relatively safe task to protect them in case things turn wrong.
** In addition, as revealed in ''Literature/TheCalling'', [[spoiler:Duncan is close friends with Alistair's real mother]]. Could it be he is coddling Alistair because of that?
* Arl Eamon's treatment of Alistair when he lived in his castle (treating him like a stray, making him sleep in the stables and kennels like a dog, etc.) can take on a whole new light after the player learns that [[spoiler:Alistair's mother is an elf. If Eamon knew about Alistair's true parentage, then given the amount of FantasticRacism and UrbanSegregation against elves in the setting (even {{HalfHuman Hybrid}}s like Alistair]]), [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation it's possible]] that Eamon treated him the way he did at least partially/subconsciously because of this.
** This is unlikely though, since [[spoiler:that might lead them to the fact that she was a ''mage'' (which would have probably made it impossible to rally the people behind him, being that magic is generally hated and feared) as he is canonically Fiona's son.]] It's more likely that he was acting out on the fact that Maric, the widower of Eamon's older sister Rowan, expected him to raise and possibly support a bastard child who was not his beloved sister's (Rowan having passed away before Alistair was conceived) ''and'' also a possible threat to Cailan's ascent to the throne (Cailan being his nephew and kin).
** Alistair mentions that Duncan forcibly conscripted him against the Chantry's wishes, taking him away from the Templars. While in character for Duncan, it makes even more sense when you find out [[spoiler:he's close friends with Alistair's real mother and has been for years, and considered Maric something of a friend as well.]] ''Of course'' Duncan would want to get him out when he knew Alistair was miserable, even knowing it would earn him the disapproval of the Chantry. This also adds layers to Duncan recruiting a mage and/or elven Warden - [[spoiler:he knows from Fiona exactly how badly both can be treated]].

** 1) The Archdemons can not be killed, because when the body is destroyed, the spirit of the Old God will just jump into the next soulless darkspawn nearby. 2) The Grey Wardens infect themselves with the darkspawn taint so [[spoiler: when they destroy an archdemon, the Old God will try to possess them, and be destroyed when merging with the Grey Warden's soul]]. 3) Flemeth teaches Morrigan how to [[spoiler:become pregnant with the child of a Grey Warden, so the Old God will successfully possess the unborn child, that does not yet have a soul]]. 4) Flemeth became what she is when [[spoiler:she was possessed by a demon, but instead of destroying her mind, the demons powers became part of her]]. 5) Flemeth also extends her life by [[spoiler:possessing the bodies of her daughters]]. The logical conclusion: [[spoiler:Flemeth wants her granddaughter to be the body that holds the Old God. And since she absorbs demons that try to possess her, stealing the child's body would make her absorb the Old God spirit, [[AGodAmI turning herself into a god]]. And it would probably have worked if Morrigan hadn't found out that Flemeth steals the bodies of her daughters and ran away with the child. (One wonders if it would have worked regardless, however, given that Morrigan's child turned out to be a boy.)]]
** Which also leaves the question, what does Morrigan want to do with it? [[spoiler: Since she wouldn't have gotten herself pregnant by Alistair just to save Alistair's life, she specifically wanted a demon-god child instead of getting a normal one from another man]].
** Made even more terrifying given the realization that [[spoiler:this god-child can technically claim rights to the throne as Alistair did, if you had Alistair become King as well as perform the ritual with Morrigan. Not to mention, since Grey Wardens have pretty short lifespans as is, by the time the child becomes an adult, both Alistair and the Warden will be gone with Morrigan being the only person involved in the ritual left; it's most likely no one but she will know what this child actually is.]]
*** [[spoiler: The good news is, Kieran is mostly a normal kid (even if he does have the Archdemon's soul), and Morrigan genuinely loves him. The bad news is that Flemeth does want Urthemiel's soul for unclear reasons, though at least she spares Kieran when she takes it.]]
* This sets in when you realize that [[spoiler: becoming a Broodmother might very well have been the fate that awaited a female dwarven noble PC had Duncan not been around to rescue her]]. It gets even worse when you consider the fact this is a possible fate for ''any'' female PC you play, as in about thirty years she'll have to go on her Calling... When asked about this, the developers said that now that the Grey Wardens understand how Broodmothers are made, female Wardens are given the choice of ritual suicide at the end of their lives rather than risk being transformed in such a way. But some ''do'' still take the risk, believing they will kill enough darkspawn and die properly without being captured. We can only hope they are correct.
** The Mother in ''Awakening''. Since by that point we know how Broodmothers are made, [[spoiler:is it any wonder she went insane when she was separated from the Darkspawn hivemind?]]
* Caladrius, a late-game enemy blood mage, [[spoiler:can use a blood ritual that sacrifices a room full of slaves to give himself... 1 measly point of constitution (5 HP)]]. Then you think about how much HP he has compared to almost anyone else in the game...

** Granted, Caridin was a great inventor, even before he created the Anvil of the Void. Even so, after exhausting every other golem-making technique he could think of, sooner or later he decided to [[spoiler:stick one of his fellow dwarves in a ten-foot tall suit of armor and pour liquid lyrium into the joints until the subject stopped screaming]]. ''Who does that''? Who even thinks of ''trying'' it? Caridin seems like a really helpful and nice guy, but there's a reason why he's TheAtoner.

* The Archdemon can see into the minds of and to a degree influence the actions of creatures with [[TheVirus the taint]]. Grey Wardens drink darkspawn blood to give them their powers, and it's at least acknowledged that darkspawn can ''sense'' them. [[ParanoiaFuel Maybe there's a reason Wardens are discouraged from holding powerful titles or starting families]]. Perhaps there are some loopholes or dampers that come with the Joining, but what about the Dalish Warden, who is infected even before becoming a Warden? [[spoiler: The Archdemon had to know how to put together that ambush team somehow!]]
* While at Ostagar, if you talk with Ser Jory, he mentions his wife was left behind in Highever when he was accepted to join the Wardens. But as seen in the Human Noble origin, [[spoiler:Arl Howe takes over the entire region of Highever by massacring everyone inside Castle Cousland]]. It's not made clear where exactly in Highever Jory's wife is when this takes place, but the implication can be chilling.

** Another specialization, the Spirit Healer one, says in its description that it is the result of the mage making a covenant with a benevolent spirit, making it the flipside of blood magic and being regarded with wariness. Said covenant, at the very least in Wynne's case but also possibly in the cases of others, involves the spirit entering their body. All well and good, you think? [[spoiler: Wait for ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''...]]
* There's an understated and genuinely awful one that you only understand if you've played through the Human Noble origin. [[spoiler:If the Warden is taken captive during the "Rescue the Queen" quest, they wake up in a cell in Fort Drakon. Just before they wake, however, the 'camera' pans over the torture devices which have been used in the prison near the Warden's cell. Some dead bodies have been left, bloody and broken, on one of these; and if you've played the Human Noble origin, you might recognize them as Ser Gilmore (Teyrn Cousland's man-at-arms) and Mother Mallol (Castle Cousland's resident Chantry priestess). Imagine how the Human Noble feels at making that discovery - that these two people, whom they have known and loved all of their life, survived the castle sacking only to be dragged to Denerim and tortured to death.]]
** On top of that, ''why'' were they tortured? [[spoiler:In the case of Ser Gilmore, it somewhat makes sense; he probably did have some inside knowledge which might have been useful to Howe and friends. But Mother Mallol is just a priestess and likely knew nothing of anything they would be able to use. So why the torture? Well, in general, Howe's just that horrible; but if the Warden is the Human Noble, Howe was probably hoping to make sure they got to see these two beloved figures dead and bloodied on the rack - just to amp up the suffering for "Pup."]]

** The soon-to-be Warden meets a [[spoiler: Pride Demon, but doesn't actually have to fight it. As we learn in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', though, that's for the very best; you encounter a Pride Demon and have to fight them in both, with your party at your disposal at both times, and it's still a tough boss-fight. Which begs for the question... what would have happened if the demon in the Harrowing hadn't just decided to settle for the young apprentice seeing through its cover? What are the chances that young mage, about to be out of apprenticeship and armed with nothing more than a weaker staff acquired from a Spirit of Valor, could have won an actual fight like that?]] True, the First Enchanter does say you have to use your wits, but think about it, this ''is'' exactly what Mouse describes it to be: throwing hapless and helpless young mages to the demons with barely any means of protecting themselves. And this is what the Chantry has been doing. For centuries. '''''In every single Circle'''''.

** Alternatively, [[spoiler:the Pride Demon knows that if he possesses the Mage, he'll just be cut down by the Templars that must be prepared for that possibility. So he's probably just messing with them.]]

** Also, as mentioned above, part of the Qun is that its followers are expected to follow their assigned role. A Warden is a warrior whose role is to fight the Blight; their role is ''not'' to seek out something that doesn't directly contribute or lead to that fight, so trying to find the Urn of Sacred Ashes is not what a Warden's "job" is. Unless you've also found Sten's sword for him, at which point he seems to decide that the Warden is an Ashkaari, "One Who Seeks", of the Grey Wardens, in which case it ''is'' their job to seek the Urn.

** Upon retrieving his sword, Sten's comments if the Warden isn't sure they aren't ''Ashkaari'', which is a Qunari title meaning "One Who Seeks". While his tone indicates he's joking (and making a StealthPun that the Warden does a lot of seeking), it's also possible he's expressing his newfound respect for the Warden. Being ''Ashkaari'' means having complete and utter understanding of one's role and purpose in life, thus having reached enlightenment (the goal of the Qun). While the Warden initially confused Sten with their seemingly erratic decisions, Sten now recognises the Warden's role as an ''Ashkaari of the Grey Wardens''. This would also explain why after finding Asala, he voices his opinion but does not question the Warden's decision to go to Haven, since the Warden is ''following the demands of their role''.

** There's also how, when going around in the Deep Roads, you may come across a hurlock who, once killed, gives you a Grey Warden helmet when you loot. You could assume he just took it from a Grey Warden he killed once... [[AndIMustScream or maybe it was his all along]].

* Why is Branka a ''Paragon of her Kind?'' Dwarves, apparently an honourable and noble race, have a dark side to them, one that can look nasty to an outsider. Dwarves also greatly admire {{determinator}}s, and Branka is one taken UpToEleven.