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Metagaming Orzammar for fun and profit


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#1
DarthGizka

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My character is currently in Orzammar but it'll be a while before I have time for the long slog through the Deep Roads. So I'm poking around a bit here and there, using the opportunity to get to the bottom of a few things.

 

I've played most possible paths already - straight, cross-wise, double- and triple-cross. So I thought it would be a good opportunity to metagame to the max this time. There was a similar topic recently but I can't find it, so I'm making a new one.

 

Here's the plan so far:

 

o start working for Bhelen and go to Aeducan Thaig early, to reap the 21 bonus stalkers

o switch sides before delivering the second note, to get the XP/gold for persuading the fighters and to p*ss off Piotin and Myaja by doing the Provings in Harrowmont's name

o start a new career as double agent before heading to Jarvia's (750 XP for planting the evidence)

o crown Harrowmont, harvesting Bhelen, his two guards, and six deshyrs

o head to the Provings and 'talk' to Piotin and Myaja for still more XP

 

What do you think?

 

Figor's special friends probably have to be done before going into Jarvia's but it's on the way anyway. The royal dragon has to be done before heading into the Anvil area at the latest. Anything else I should be aware of?



#2
gottaloveme

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sounds fun :)



#3
dragonflight288

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Very nice! ^_^



#4
DarthGizka

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The plan didn't work quite as well as expected - I didn't get the first two groups of Harrowmont fanatics. After some experimentation to work out the details I'm not sure the plan can be improved, though. I'm posting the info here because you may see something I missed, and because it may be help others to navigate the treacherous waters of the Orzammar plotscape (on PC v1.05).

As you all know, the Bhelen and Harrowmont plotlines are largely symmetrical and to some extent you can cross from one strand to the other and back. However, they are asymmetrical in the following regards (with XP values for a level 16+ Warden):

o crowning Harrowmont makes Bhelen attack during the ceremony (120 + 8 x 31 XP)
o double-crossing Bhelen makes Vartag hostile after Harrowmont is crowned (60 + 4 x 30 XP)
o fighting in Harrowmont's name and crowning him makes Myaia hostile (2 x 30 XP)
o ditto for Piotin & friends (115 + 60 + 2 x 30 XP)

The fanatics appear after the Warden accepts a task from the opposing candidate or crowns him.

The initial tasks are not handed out by the candidates themselves and do not count. You can accept the respective first tasks from both camps but only one can be completed. The crucial steps are entering the Provings in Harrowmont's name and delivering the second of Vartag's forged notes. If you do the one then the other becomes impossible, and vice versa.

Completing the first task for a certain camp means that you cannot accept the second task (Carta cleanup, a.k.a. T2) from the opposing camp. You can only work for them in secret, a.k.a. play double agent (DA). It can net you 750 XP, which more than compensates for losing the reception committee at Caridin's Cross (3 mercenaries à 57 XP) which does not appear for double agents.

You can decline the Jarvia task and do the cleanup without a brief, but that way you lose a chance to harvest bonus fanatics and you may also lose the 1750 quest XP. The latter will also be lost if you absolve your double agent duty - planting evidence or discovering it - before handing in the Jarvia quest. It is best to do exactly what the wiki says: kill Jarvia, report to T2 quest giver, go back to plant/discover evidence, report to DA quest giver. Otherwise you can easily lose out on up to 2500 XP.

The third task (T3) can be accepted from both candidates, which will cause both groups of bonus fanatics to appear at the Provings entrance. That allows you to roast all of them at once, doubling the XP for the same amount of work. If Harrowmont is crowned then Bhelen's T3 will remain in the open quest list, with the quest giver dead and all. There seem to be no ill effects apart from that but there is no hurry to reap the Bhelen fanatics either - crowning Harrowmont will be enough to lure all of them out of the woodwork.

Crowning a candidate tends to appease his supporters; if Harrowmont is crowned then his supporters can only be harvested before the ceremony. That requires accepting T2 and T3 from Bhelen, but for T2 that's not possible if the Provings are fought in Harrowmont's name.

Hence it seems that you can get either the two groups of Harrowmont T2 fanatics (341 XP) or Myaja and Piotin (295 XP). The Piotin fight is more interesting though, and the loot is much fatter.

Here's a short summary:
BURNT BRIDGES
> delivering the second forged note or entering the Provings in Harrowmont's name
  o can no longer switch sides openly (but can become a double agent)
> becoming a double agent
  o the three mercenaries at Caridin's Cross won't appear (3 x 57 XP @ level 16)
> entering Jarvia's room (can't get out again before Jarvia is killed)
  o no longer possible to become a double agent*
  o Figor's friends vanish
> getting trapped in the Anvil area (can't get out before dealing with Branka and Caridin)
  o can no longer visit Orzammar without choosing a king first
  o can no longer fight in the regular Provings
  o the throne room dragon becomes inaccessible
  o the crowning of a king pacifies his supporters
> leaving Orzammar after crowning a king
  o can no longer speak to Orta in the Assembly chamber (5 gold)

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES
o Orta can donate 15 gold total, Bayzil 15 as well
o Jetrin gives 2 gold for the stolen book, Milldrate a wet handshake
o up to three Champion's Shields can be swiped from Vartag, up to two Thorns of the Dead Gods from Dace
o Deep Roads: Barkspawn can find Duty (massive helmet, part of the Effort armour set)
o Ortan Thaig: each companion and summons can extort money from the Fade Beast, and you still get to kill it in the end
o Ortan Thaig: you can get as many Topsider's Honour swords as you have companions and summons
o Anvil area: the gas room door unlocks when last golem is killed, so it needs to be picked before that
*) If you turned double agent earlier but haven't been to see your 'control' after receiving the Jarvia mission - it is not necessary. You will be able to plant or discover the evidence as if you'd been briefed normally. That can be useful if you are working for Harrowmont and want to avoid the bunch of Bhelen fanatics in front of the Assembly, whom you would have to remove in order to get to Vartag after receiving T2 from Harrowmont. The group blocking access to Dust Town cannot be avoided, however.

#5
DarthGizka

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*) If you turned double agent earlier but haven't been to see your 'control' after receiving the Jarvia mission - it is not necessary. You will be able to plant or discover the evidence as if you'd been briefed normally. That can be useful if you are working for Harrowmont and want to avoid the bunch of Bhelen fanatics in front of the Assembly, whom you would have to remove in order to get to Vartag after receiving T2 from Harrowmont.


Did it like that in a research fork and discovered an unexpected side effect: the three elite mercenaries at Caridin's Cross do appear normally (3 x 69 XP at level 11 or lower), probably because the double agent task briefing never happened.