DA:O Redcliffe: Can I do this?

Dragon Age: Origins
RivianWitch

RivianWitch

Keeper of the Watch
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In order to circumvent the level scaling thing, I've been following the advice of people who suggested you could go to an area to unlock it, and then return later, and the monsters would have remained on the same level as when you first visited.

To this end, I went to the Brecilian forest, and spoke to the keeper there, then left again and on to Redcliffe. Spoke to the guy in the Chantry, but when I then tried to leave the area, to go the the Mage's Circle to get Wynne as someone on the forum suggested, the NPC guarding the path where you leave the village, said thet Redcliffe might not be there anymore if I left...

So can I leave and come back? Or not?
 
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Donna about that. I'm at level 7 or 8 when starting the Redcliffe Castle quest and beaten it. At the end you'll be given several options including go to Mage's Circle to conclude the Redcliffe quest.
 
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I opened that area up and went back later, so you should be fine. I haven't seen any notion of time in Dragon Age, there are no real-time day/night transitions that I have seen.
 
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Thanks. If the worst comes to the worst, I'll have to replay the mages circle tower, since I've now already moved on to there. Btw, I must say, I was very, very relieved not to have that day-night cycle, which I normally dtest. Sure, it makes games more realistic, but if I wanted the tedium of real life, I wouldn't be playing fantasy games, now would I? XD
 
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I just used it as an example in case I missed a clock somewhere, but yeah, the only notion of time is in the beginning of the game the major areas are timeless after that. Or rather, time is scripted to events in the game.
 
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Noooo! After going through the entire mages tower thing, and saving the circle, blah blah, I return to Redcliffe to find it a ghost village, after the attack took place in the night.... *hairpull*
 
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That's suck. I remember i done most minor-quests in Redcliffe, and just before enter the Arl's castle i went for Warden's Peak and Stone prisoner quests and when came back, i am still able to finish the castle quest. Before the quest concluded it gave me option to go Mage's Circle as one of the alternatives to solve the quest. It seems only then the game allow you to travel Mage's Circle without closing the Recliffe town later. In your case the game likely assumed you abandoned the quest to save Recliffe.
 
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RivianWitch said:
Noooo! After going through the entire mages tower thing, and saving the circle, blah blah, I return to Redcliffe to find it a ghost village, after the attack took place in the night…. *hairpull*
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No offense...but that's awesome! I know you're probably frustrated but it's excellent to see the game react to different choices.
 
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RivianWitch I feel your pain.

Hmmm.. I went off to the mages circle as a solution to the 'dilemma' of the castle. I got distracted and finished Brecilian, and now I'm off doing some side quests. I'm assuming RedCliffe is still OK to return to???
 
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In my case, I sadly had not done the town quests, I left immediately after speaking to the arl upon entering the town. Of course, I had to bear the brunt of being accused for everybody's deaths there. However, it seems that I can still enter the castle, and I'm currently fighting all the undead goodies in there, since I really did not feel like re-doing the Mage's circle, and decided to push on and see what can still be salvaged at Redcliffe. So since I had not previously played up to the point that you obviously had, Todd, the best you can do is to return and see.

Can anybody tell me what I am missing by not having done Redcliffe Town? Is it worth re-loading an earlier save for it, which would mean I basically wasted a whole days' worth of play that I had spent on the the mage's tower? I don't have 100's of hours available to spend on this game...
 
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RivianWitch said:
Can anybody tell me what I am missing by not having done Redcliffe Town? Is it worth re-loading an earlier save for it, which would mean I basically wasted a whole days' worth of play that I had spent on the the mage's tower? I don't have 100's of hours available to spend on this game…
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I don't recall any significant reward. The only thing you missed is a frustrating battle against a shit-load of undead.

Of course you'll probably be able to hear the cries of those poor townspeople in your sleep for weeks. ;)
 
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RivianWitch said:
In my case, I sadly had not done the town quests, I left immediately after speaking to the arl upon entering the town. Of course, I had to bear the brunt of being accused for everybody's deaths there. However, it seems that I can still enter the castle, and I'm currently fighting all the undead goodies in there, since I really did not feel like re-doing the Mage's circle, and decided to push on and see what can still be salvaged at Redcliffe. So since I had not previously played up to the point that you obviously had, Todd, the best you can do is to return and see.

Can anybody tell me what I am missing by not having done Redcliffe Town? Is it worth re-loading an earlier save for it, which would mean I basically wasted a whole days' worth of play that I had spent on the the mage's tower? I don't have 100's of hours available to spend on this game…
Click to expand...
Why not accept the consequences of your actions and go on? I think it's part of the game. It's not like you won't complete the game without it.
 
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Very cool thing indeed, that the game takes into account your actions.
Must be frustrating for the devs, since so many hours of work is not shown, but i think it's an excellent example of choice and their effects on the world.
 
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I'm curious though, at what point exactly is that trigger activated? Do you think it's time related, or does it happen when the plot is advanced to a certain point?
 
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I might be able to tell you soon, since I got curious as to what I was missing, and reloaded an earlier save after all, and am now busy fighting the good fight.

I don't think that you can leave Redcliffe without at least fighting in the attack of that night, without having the villagers killed, because I had simply arrived at Redcliffe, had the guard at the path take us to the Arl in the chantry, and immediately left after that. As we left, the guard said we might not find them alive upon returning, though I did choose the dialogue choice that said we would return.

As I proceeded to the mage's tower, I got a part of the vid that shows the approaching darkspawn above the village, so I almost considered turning back at that point, but thought that I might still be able to return in time…

So I would guess that it is scripted so that you must at least fight in that battle before leaving if you want to save the village.
 
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JDR13 said:
I'm curious though, at what point exactly is that trigger activated? Do you think it's time related, or does it happen when the plot is advanced to a certain point?
Click to expand...

To my knowledge, once you've spoken with Bann Teagan, if you leave the village you abandon it to its doom. And if you return later, the village is ruined, though the castle remains.
 
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BlackHarmo said:
To my knowledge, once you've spoken with Bann Teagan, if you leave the village you abandon it to its doom. And if you return later, the village is ruined, though the castle remains.
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Yes, that is what I said. So you cannot enter and leave Redcliffe without fighting that battle, if you want the villagers saved.

The buildings are not ruined, btw, the village is simply empty of people except for a single scavenger, and Bann Teagan himself, whom you manage to revive in the chantry. He then shows you a secret way into the castle, and you can take the fight from there.
 
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I thought it was the soldier that greets you on the bridge as soon as you enter the area. What that Bann? Can't recall. He is the one that pleads that you stay if you attempt to map out.
 
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ToddMcF2002 said:
I thought it was the soldier that greets you on the bridge as soon as you enter the area. What that Bann? Can't recall. He is the one that pleads that you stay if you attempt to map out.
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Yeah, well it might be, (no Bann is the guy you talk to in the chantry) but i hardly seemed to have a choice, since the soldier takes you to bann in a cutscene.

Hmm, now I'm curious once more... I can't remember if you start talking to Bann in that cutscene, I suppose you could simply refuse to speak to Bann, and simply just leave the area after cutting any dialogue short. I admit I had spoken to Bann Teamon before leaving.
 
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