YMMV / Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • The Architect brings the uncomfortable detail that Darkspawn are only Always Chaotic Evil because the taint doesn’t exactly give them a choice. Once awakened, they can be as morally varied as any other race (if with a somewhat higher predisposition towards insanity; being tainted and then awakened seems to be pretty hard on their mental stability). Following his argument, a good portion of the hordes slaughtered during every Blight could be perfectly decent people like the Messenger if they were just capable of choice, making them as much victims of the taint as anybody else. This is somewhat countered by the reminder of how the Darkspawn reproduce. Then again, we do not know how long do the Darkspawn live and whether the Architect would wish to create more. There's also the fact that despite the Messenger's attempts to help people post-story, he does spread the Blight sickness.
  • The Mother implies that the Architect may not wish to free his brethren out of empathy for their situation, but simply because he does not wish to be alone, as the only sentient Darkspawn This is somewhat undercut by the knowledge you gain in II and Inquisition, which makes it clear that there are other sentient Darkspawn, and that there's a reason that they're sentient.
• Angst? What Angst?: Sigrun is amazingly cheerful for someone from a caste called Legion of the Dead, and is promised to only pursue death for the rest of her life.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Oghren. Many people who disliked him in Origins warmed up to Oghren after Awakening, because he showed much more responsibility both for himself and others, and because of his new-found family. On the other hand, a lot of people who liked him in Origins found his portrayal in Awakening to be disappointing, feeling like he had significantly less depth and served little more purpose than occasional comic relief (the "shleets" conversation, for example). There's also a large segment who are just mad that the game retcons Oghren's potential death in Origins.
  • Velanna is an even bigger one. A large number of fans despise her for Jerkass tendencies, murdering a bunch of people with an incredibly flimsy motive, selfish reasons for wanting to become a Grey Warden, and overall shrill personality. Of course, a number of fans also love her for being one of the most developed characters in Awakening, along with her Hidden Depths and willingness to change her worldview if given sufficient reason. Some are even hoping that she will make a return appearance in future games due to growing intrigue surrounding both the Blight and the elves.
• Broken Base:
  • Awakening either ruined Dragon Age forever, was a decent game that didn't have enough content for its $40 price tag, or was a great addition/conclusion to the story of Dragon Age: Origins.
  • One change was that, unlike in Origins (and Bioware's earlier games), when you talked to your party members, they would only give a voice clip and you could only gain influence via conversation whenever you clicked on something. On one hand, some liked that you couldn't say, click on somebody who is standing in front of a door or a chest by mistake and they give a long conversation about their sidequest or a personal romance when you are in the middle of a dungeon. But on the other, some feel that the options to bring up these conversations are too hidden or unobvious or that it would make more sense for them to instead have these conversations inside Vigil's Keep.
• Complete Monster: The Baroness of the Blackmarsh was a Vain Sorceress who murdered her subjects’ children to use their blood in rituals to keep herself young. When her subjects rebelled and burned her home down, the Baroness responded by killing her subjects and imprisoning their spirits in the Fade. Denied their eternal rest, the people of the Blackmarsh have their souls feasted on by the Baroness, now a Pride Demon, and are tormented by the demons prowling the spirit world. Should any person "die" they will only be revived back in the Fade for more misery. When confronted with her crimes, the Baroness brushes them off, saying that her subjects’ lives belong to her and are hers to do with as she pleases.
• Cry for the Devil: Regarding the Mother, considering what we know about where Broodmothers come from.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Nathaniel is easily the most popular character in Awakening. Many love him for his personality, looks, combat skills, and just in general being a good example of how to invoke a Misaimed Fandom In-Universe. His appearance in Dragon Age II also won him more fans, and many were disappointed by his lack of inclusion in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
  • Sigrun is also very popular for being the only Dwarf female party member in the entire series, as well as being a Genki Girl. Her usefulness in combat also greatly helps.
  • Anders would also qualify, despite his Base-Breaking Character status in Dragon Age II, mainly for his humorous nature and serving as a Suspiciously Similar Substitute for Alistair
• Fan-Preferred Couple: Awakening has no romance options, even when playing as an Orlesian Warden. It didn't stop players from shipping their Warden (even an imported one) with companions who would theoretically qualify as one. ^note Anders, Nathaniel, Sigrun, and Velanna. Since Oghren is already married to Felsi and has a child regardless of whether they got together in Origins and Justice is a spirit possessing a dead body, who was also a married man. Popular choices were Anders and Nathaniel, the former eventually becoming a romance option in Dragon Age II.
• Fanon: It's often stated by fans that, if he was recruited, Nathaniel Howe is promoted to Warden-Constable under the Hero of Ferelden. His ties to politics, as well as reliability out of the six Awakening companions, makes him the preferred candidate for the position. This is all despite the Warden-Commander not being able to choose their Warden-Constable, nor ever making that choice.
• Game-Breaker: Has it's own page here.
• Good Bad Bugs:
  • One bug in Awakening will allow you to max out your level before you even leave Vigil's Keep for the first time.
  • Another good bug in Awakening: In the City of Amaranthine, the smuggler leader quest line can provide infinite gold. Perform the first two tasks, but refuse the third. Every time you go back, he'll repeat the conversation, Including the part where he gives you 15 gold.
  • A bad bug as detailed on the main page: If you import to Dragon Age II, whether you save Vigil's Keep or not, anyone not with you to fight the final boss will be flagged as dead.
  • And then there's the bug where next to no DLC equipment will carry into this game - cue players having an Oh, Crap! reaction when the Warden charges into battle in naught but their underwear.
  • It has since been fixed (unless you're playing the Ultimate Edition), but until very recently, a bug existed on the "Legion of The Dead Heraldry," a mostly cosmetic, practically free bit of modification you can buy to put a different image on your shield. Instead of the normal +3 to all attributes given by other heraldic designs (which is a pretty hefty bonus for a cosmetic reward, all things considered), the bug caused the Legion of the Dead emblem to provide +20 to all attributes, easily making any shield to which it's applied by a far and wide margin the most obscenely powerful piece of gear in the game.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Anders telling Velanna that the chip on her shoulder has replaced her head is much less funny after what happens to him in Dragon Age II.
  • A female character billed as a permanent party member turns out to be a Guest-Star Party Member. The same thing happened with Alisha, five years later.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Asking Anders if mages and the Chantry are all he talks about; this ended up being a criticism of his DAII attitude.
  • Similarly, one of the banters between him and Oghren has Oghren making fun of Anders' "delicate" nature, and finishing with "Oh no, big templar man. What are you going to do with that sword?" Given Anders' status as Ambiguously Bi in the sequel (and in fact confirmed bisexual by Word of God), his "Ew" reaction is even funnier. It also makes a lot of his dialogue look like posturing. Simultaneously Harsher in Hindsight, as the next game touches on the issue of sexual assault in the Circle.
• I Knew It!: Word of God and World of Thedas Vol. II confirm fan speculation that the Architect is one of the seven Magisters who invaded the Golden City and became the first Darkspawn, and that he was once the High Priest of Urthemiel.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: Many fans weren't happy at Awakening being priced just as high as the main game, when it can be beaten in twelve hours or so.
• Jerkass Woobie: Velanna murders the humans who travel through the Wending Wood... because she believed humans were responsible for the death of many of her clan. The true murderers were the awakened darkspawn that serve the Architect - and Velanna's sister is now working with him. She had a big blowout with her Keeper about her methods, leading to her leaving the clan proper, and later learns that the Keeper has passed away without giving her a chance to make amends. She harbors resentment towards humans and lashes out at them... because of how she envies that the humans have their history and stories, while the Dalish have searched for the scraps of their tattered culture. When a pair of city elves approach her unbidden, she lashes out at them for treating her almost like a zoo specimen, then gives them a Dalish artifact (which, by nature, tend to be precious and hard to replace at best) to remind them of the culture they came from. Divisive she may be, Velanna is also in serious need of a hug. Just... mind your limbs if you try to offer her one.
• Narm: Nathaniel's bard cry is akin to him stubbing his toe.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Not a character, but a place; the Deep Roads are only rivaled by the Fade in terms of how hated and loathed they are in Origins. Awakening, however, tweaks this by making them far more visually interesting (exploring the ruined city of Kal'Hirol) and using them to expand on Dwarven lore in an interesting and compelling way.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Mhari, who was built up as a main character by early promotional materials, even gaining her own character trailer. Yet she is Killed Off for Real within the first hour of the game specifically to show off how dangerous the Joining was. We have a character who (like Oghren) wants to be a Warden, and surely the job of a Warden would lead to some interesting reactions. Yet she is killed off within the first hour of the game. Many people believe she should have been given more time or even branching choices that would affect her fate rather than be cruelly killed before any significant character can be set up, as even if she was going to die during the process, at least letting the player have some time to get to know her and possibly encourage or dissuade her from trying, would have been better then her actual fate.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Fans tend to acknowledge that, while Awakening has a great story and characters, it suffers from being so short. Right after you recruit your last companion, it's time for the final battle. Many fans also note that while DAA finally made the darkspawn interesting by introducing intelligent darkspawn free of the Hive Mind, which opens up ethical debates of free will and Nature vs. Nurture, the Grey Wardens and darkspawn were shoved in the backburner in the sequels.
• Underused Game Mechanic: The lack of romance in Awakening compared to the original game sticks out like a sore thumb. Especially if the player stayed single throughout Origins. Nathaniel, Anders, Velanna, and Sigrun all could have been potential options.
• The Woobie:
  • Sigrun. She was a Casteless in Orzammar and forced to betray the trust of one of the few Merchant Caste dwarves who felt sympathy for the casteless and got them exiled and then joined the Legion of the Dead to make up for it. If you meet the dwarf Sigrun betrayed, she has some pretty harsh words for Sigrun.
  • Nathaniel Howe, as he's completely looked down upon by all of Fereldan for the actions of his father Rendon and his entire family is worth less then dirt, which affects him pretty badly to the point that he has no idea what to do with himself until the Warden-Commander recruits him. Thankfully the Warden-Commander can help him and reassure him that he's not responsible for his father's actions (And if the Warden-Commander's a Human Noble, end the Cycle of Revenge between the Couslands and Howes). Or make things even worse.

---