History VideoGame / DragonAgeOriginsAwakening

** The infamous "Animated Dead glitch" that occurs in the game's climax. [[spoiler: Should you decide to save Amaranthine rather than return to Vigil's Keep]], you'll come across a standard group of darkspawn including an Emissary and some shadow Genlocks. It's a pretty easy battle on its own... until the Emissary summons Animated Dead decoys, which draw your party's attention away from the actual darkspawn. The bug occurs when the decoys don't vanish after you kill the Emissary thus keeping your party stuck in combat mode and not allowing you to progress in the mission. [[HereWeGoAgain The only option now is to reload the game until you can kill the Emissary before he summons the Animated Dead]].

* BonusBoss: The Queen of Blackmarsh, is a [[spoiler: [[{{Dracolich}} ghostly dragon]] that can be found hidden in Blackmarsh if the player finds all the scattered dragon bones across the Marsh, opening the path towards her.]]

* InterfaceSpoiler: In Drake's Fall, the guide to a series of towers that you can activate (similar to the wheel that shows what allies the Warden could use in the base game's final battle) spoils the fact that [[spoiler:you can ally with the Architect.]]

* TooDumbToLive: Rylock, the [[InspectorJavert overzealous Templar]] pursuing Anders, who is determined to bring him in to face justice for the deaths of the Templars who were guarding him during the darkspawn attack on the Vigil. While she claims that Chantry law supersedes the Crown in matters regarding mages, she's conveniently forgotten that part where the Crown merely accepted that they '''cannot''' deny a Grey Warden who has invoked the Right of Conscription - and, as seen with Alistair's conscription in the first game, ''neither can the Chantry''. The Chantry certainly does not allow her to foolishly attempt to ''murder'' the Warden for refusing to hand Anders over, either. It's particularly egregious since if they're imported from ''Origins'', the Warden may actually be the chancellor, the king's mistress, or the sovereign's wedded consort, not to mention beloved by the people as the Hero of Ferelden. What did she expect to happen if she ''won''?

* BonusBoss: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVmEtbGuAgk Queen of the Blackmarsh]].

** To get Vigilance, you need a Grandmaster Flame Rune, which can't be found in ''Awakening'' unless they're crafted or imported. Now, if you have three levels in Crafting, no problem; but if you were more tempted by the skills that give you health and mana (and don't purchase a couple [[SkillPointReset Manuals of Focus]] from Herren), congratulations! You just locked yourself out of one of the most powerful swords in the game! Fortunately, Manuals of Focus are ridiculously cheap and besides that, since at the end you'll have 12 skillpoints towards the end of the game, you can pick up each of the four crafting skills as well as maxed health and mana slots anyway. It also requires a few unique pieces that you could easily sell off before getting the quest, as do Wade's other crafting recipes.

* OldHeroNewPals: Except for Oghren, your entire ''Origins'' party cannot join you in the ''Awakening'' time frame, with various justifications. Even your dog is absent - a codex entry states that he's being used as a stud to help repopulate the mabari kennels. You will at least see Wynne, if she wasn't killed in ''Origins'', who shows up to give you a sidequest. If the Warden ended ''Origins'' in a romance with either Leliana or Zevran, they will receive a letter from their absent beloved. Alistair has a brief cameo at the beginning of the game if [[spoiler:he is the king]].

** To get Vigilance, you need a Grandmaster Flame Rune, which can't be found in ''Awakening'' unless they're crafted or imported. Now, if you have three levels in Crafting, no problem; but if you were more tempted by the skills that give you health and mana (and don't purchase a couple [[SkillPointReset Manuals of Focus]] from Herren), congratulations! You just locked yourself out of one of the most powerful swords in the game! Fortunately, Manuals of Focus are ridiculously cheap and besides that, since at the end you'll have 12 skillpoints towards the end of the game, you can pick up each of the four crafting skills as well as maxed health and mana slots anyway. It also requires a few unique pieces of VendorTrash that you could easily sell off before getting the quest, as do Wade's other crafting recipes.

* UnwinnableByMistake:
** Both of Sigrun's companion quests can be this. If you did "Last of the Legion" last of the main story quests, you'll never be able to complete "Sigrun's Joining" because your normal dialogue tree with Varel will be replaced by discussion of the [[spoiler:impending darkspawn invasion of Amaranthine]]. This problem also afflicts "Velanna's Joining" if you do "The Righteous Path" last.[[note]]The only way to have both complete the Joining is to wrap up both Kal'Hirol and the Wending Wood, and make sure they've both done the ritual before venturing into the Blackmarsh.[[/note]]
** Making matters worse, a bug will cause the "Sigrun's Roguish Path" quest to never trigger at all if you did either the "Law & Order" or "Smuggler's Run" sidequests in Amaranthine before you recruited her (and those just happen to be two of the first sidequests you'll be given in the game). Even just ''starting'' them makes "Sigrun's Roguish Path" fail to trigger. However, there are fixes for this that can be found through the Dragon Age Wiki.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: Your position of Commander of the Grey gives you plenty of respect and influence. However, if you also happen to be [[spoiler:queen or prince consort of Ferelden]], it changes [[WhatsUpKingDude surprisingly little]] in the way you are treated.

''Awakening'' is a 2010 ExpansionPack for the successful 2009 RPG ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' and thus part 1.5 of the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series. While continuing and expanding the ''Origins'' storyline, its plot is mostly independent of the original campaign. Although you can import your ''Origins'' PlayerCharacter to ''Awakening'', it stars [[OldHeroNewPals a mostly brand-new supporting cast]] and is set in a region of Ferelden that was never visited in the original campaign. If you don't [[OldSaveBonus import an old save]], you start with a brand-new main character, too--a seasoned Grey Warden from the neighboring Orlais.

Some of the expansion's original characters went on to play a crucial role in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''--most notably, Anders and Justice. It also picked up a couple of important plot threads from ''Literature/TheCalling'' that were never touched upon in ''Origins''.

* DayOldLegend: PlayedWith here, where you can have an InfinityPlusOneSword crafted by the UltimateBlacksmith from ancient dragonbone, which immediately gets a Codex entry and even a line in the epilogue--but not because of its ''past'' history, but because of its ''future'' history. In other words, you create a weapon so ridiculously overpowered that the game gives it its own legend as an advance payment.

* FantasticRacism: The Orlesian Warden is often on the receiving end of this, as many nobles don't trust that they're now swearing fealty of their lands to the Grey Warden order... and even worse, to an ''Orlesian''. Remember, Ferelden had overthrown the brutal Orlesian occupation less than 30 years before. Some of the nobles now having to swear fealty to an Orlesian Warden may very well have fought in that war--and given the way native Fereldans were treated during the occupation, they can be forgiven for being less than thrilled.

** Mosley the Snake, a bandit who kidnap some noble's daughter in a side mission. Even after knowning that the person who confront him is the same that killed an Archdemon, [[SmallNameBigEgo he still thinks that can win the fight]]. Fortunately for them, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere some of his men seem to have a brain and flee]] the second the Warden started to intimidate them.

* BrokenPedastal: Nathaniel will defend Rendon Howe until his own sister confirms, yes, the former Arl was a monster.

** To get Vigilance, you need a Grandmaster Flame Rune, which can't be found in ''Awakening'' unless they're crafted or imported. Now, if you have three levels in Crafting, no problem; but if you were more tempted by the skills that give you health and mana (and don't purchase a couple [[SkillPointReset Manuals of Focus]] from Herren), congratulations! You just locked yourself out of one of the most powerful swords in the game! Fortunately, Manuals of Focus are ridiculously cheap and besides that, since at the end you'll have 12 skillpoints towards the end of the game, you can pick up each of the four crafting skills as well as maxed health and mana slots anyway.

* MagikarpPower: In ''Awakening'', an archer with high dexterity and decent armor basically becomes a OneManArmy. A properly specced and equipped archer trounces even most of the game-breaking mage builds, capable of one-shotting any basic mook and massacring bosses faster than the rest of the party combined could've accomplished.

* GoldenEnding: The endings to the main game are fairly ambiguous, but ''Awakening'' makes it possible to save both Amaranthine and Vigil's Keep, provided you put enough effort in the Keep's... [[AccidentalPun upkeep]].
** Depending on who you pick as your companions for the last mission, you can also have your entire party survive (assuming you fully upgraded the keep and completed the respective party member's personal quest): If left to defend Vigil's keep, Sigrun and Justice die while Velanna [[NeverFoundTheBody disappears]], but Oghren, Nathaniel and Anders make it out alive. I.e. for everyone to live (or, in the case of Justice, "live"), you need to pick Justice, Sigrun and Velanna for the last quest.

*** Sigrun's quest is heavily speculated to not be a bug, however, as her not telling you about her past fits perfectly if you side with the city guard.

* Childer Larvae and Hatchlings seem to have a pretty big allowance for being a week old. They can drop over 2 sovereigns.

** To get Vigilance, you need a Grandmaster Flame Rune, which can't be found in ''Awakening'' unless they're crafted or imported. Now, if you have three levels in Crafting, no problem; but if you were more tempted by the skills that give you health and mana (and don't purchase a couple [[SkillPointReset Manuals of Focus]] from Herren), congratulations! You just locked yourself out of one of the most powerful swords in the game!