History YMMV / DragonAgeOrigins

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: [[https://www.thegamer.com/dragon-age-origins-oral-history/ According to]] its lead writer David Gaider, ''Origins'' was written off by Creator/ElectronicArts even before it was released, who saw it as too old-fashioned and not "sleek and sexy" enough to succeed, especially compared to the concurrent ''Franchise/MassEffect'' releases. All they wanted was for ''DAO'' to break even, so they could [[StillbornFranchise shelve the series for good]] (which is why its ModularEpilogue cast so far into the future, it later had to be officially declared rumors and hearsay, so it wouldn't conflict with the later continuity). Then ''DAO'' came out and sold like hot pancakes, starting Creator/BioWare ''second'' FlagshipFranchise (after ''Mass Effect'') and forcing EA to eat crow and to demand that [=BioWare=] makes [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII a sequel]] immediately, which... [[ChristmasRushed backfired]].

* LawfulGood: No matter how much he personally disapproves of the The Warden's actions, he will follow them to the ends of the earth because they need to work together to save Fereldan from the Blight. The only thing that will make him desert you is sparing [[spoiler: Loghain at the Landsmeet]].

* LawfulGood: She's Circle Mage who strongly believes in both good and justice and also holds that the rules and laws of both the Circle Tower and the Chantry are necessary to control the dangerous power of mages.

* UncannyValley:
** When mages activate combat magic with a certain talent equipped (the top tier talent for arcane warriors, meaning one you ''will'' use later), the eyes and mouth are visible from the back of their head.
** The mouth movements, expressions and body language during ordinary conversation are, generally speaking, quite good, but during Leliana's song (her actual song, not the DLC of the same name), her mouth moves the same as when she talks normally. Hearing this rather ethereal voice (which, while beautiful, is quite unsettling in its own right) coming from mouth movements and body language which don't match it at all can kill the mood somewhat.
** Try talking to Wynne while carrying any weapon that glows. Her face turns white as the clouds and her eyes become a terrifying black.
** Cats are somewhat rare in the game, but on the occasions that the game shows you a cat up close, there's something a bit... off about their model. In one particularly nightmarish instance, Anders' adopted cat, [[SirVerbALot Ser Pounce-a-lot]], meows, and opens his mouth in [[BodyHorror a way that looks vaguely terrifying]].

** [[spoiler:The tidbits you find in the ''Return to Ostagar'' DLC reveal that Cailan was far more politically savvy than virtually anyone thought. His bravado and seemingly nonchalant attitude may well have been a front.]]

** What about ''literal'' demonic spiders? Corrupted variant (encountered mostly in the Deep Road) are like everything above, but {{Up To Eleven}}. They can use both Web and Overwhelm ability to stun your fighters, and use that time to tear your mage/rogue support a new one. Oh, but that's not all - they also have access to two sure-fire abilities, one of which (Potion Spit) deals a lot of damage, and other (Corruption Burst) lower your attack, so you have even less chance hitting them. [[OverlyLongGag Oh, and they hit like a truck in general, if you survive all the above]].

** It's possible for a PC player to double attribute point increases with the Fade Essence Fonts, and the desire to get these is one of the reasons the level drags on so much. One particular Essence of Cunning can yield a whopping 10 point increase with very rapid right-clicking. The fonts can all be abused in some manner, resulting in potentially twenty or more points... each. Allegedly, one player has gotten [[UpToEleven up to a hundred]] off a single font.

* FoeYay: A lot of people think that dialogue between Alistair and Morrigan is not hateful, but filled with UST. [[spoiler:This potentially makes the Dark Ritual ''very'' interesting.]]

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: [[spoiler:During the Human Noble origin, Fergus tells his eager son (your nephew) Oren that "[he'll] see a sword up close soon enough". Oren is one of the first people slaughtered by Howe's men when Howe betrays the Couslands.]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: If you compliment him as a Cousland heir during the prologue, he seems genuinely taken aback by it, as if implying that [[IgnoredEpiphany just for a moment]] he's having second thoughts about his plan to betray your family. He's gleefully unrepentant in your final encounter, but [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope it makes you wonder]].

*** There's also the times that it will stab the player in the back unless the player knows ahead of time or {{Save Scums}} their way through it, which ultimately defeats the purpose. One nasty example is if the player goes to investigate the happenings at the Circle Tower. A male non-mage player, and one who may even be attempting to romance her, may choose to have Morrigan tag along....only to wind up confronting Wynne once it's too late to go back and do anything else. What results next is Morrigan ranting about the Circle, its flaws, and effectively damning them to their deaths, forcing the player to either side with Morrigan if they want her approval and ultimately having to battle and kill Wynne....or shut her down and lose a significant amount of approval from her. In such a case, it may be better to just piss Morrigan off and shove gifts in her face later, else the player will lose Wynne permanently.

* WhatAnIdiot: His opinion on Loghain's decision to effectively declare himself king, saying it will cause nothing but trouble.

* WhatAnIdiot: [[spoiler:One stupid decision after another makes her half-responsible for the problems in Redcliffe.]]

* WhatAnIdiot: Was there a single decision Jowan made in this game that ''didn't'' end in an eternally escalating series of disasters? Of course, without well-meaning miscalculations, and unintended consequences spiraling spectacularly out of control, the game would have been ''much'' shorter. See also: Loghain Mac Tir.

** Website/SFDebris makes a fair compelling case that Duncan killing Jory was a lot more justified than it appears to some. The Warden recruits had all been warned they'd reached the point of no return, they had to go through the Joining. Jory refused, and drew his sword on Duncan. In that moment, he became a deserter, refusing to stay at or report to his assigned post (being a Grey Warden), and showed by drawing his sword that he was prepared to fight, and thus kill, to affect his desertion. Desertion is a pretty stiff crime, especially in medieval times (in fact, in Ostagar, you meet an accused deserter, and it's treated as a ForegoneConclusion he'll be hanged for it as soon as someone gets around to sentencing him). So Duncan wasn't [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade killing Jory to keep the Warden's secrets]], he was executing a man who'd proven he didn't have the courage to fight the fight he'd signed on for. A harsh punishment to be sure. . . but a soldier on the line turning tail compromises the entire army; running off while still in the relative safety of the camp is little different.

* MemeticMutation: His BadassBeard. Fights go on about whose is more badass: Male!Hawke's (the protagonist from the sequel) or Duncan's.
** In the sequel, if the imported save is one with a Dalish Warden, Merrill mentions Duncan and his beard. She'd never seen human facial hair before and at first was under the impression that [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} a squirrel was attacking his face]].

* PortingDisaster: ''Edge Magazine'''s view on the console versions. Most other publications were less dramatic about the console versions being easier for a more casual audience (IGN even listed it as a plus in its video review). Other specific changes include each difficulty mode in the console versions being "bumped down" (ex. Normal on the console versions is equivalent to Easy on the PC version) and battles where enemies spawn in waves, such as the defense of Redcliffe, will have smaller waves in the console version (though this could be justified with how consoles have significantly less powerful hardware than [=PCs=]). The real PortingDisaster comes from the game's bugginess and how consoles get crappy, delayed patches, while PC gamers get official patches soon enough and unofficial fixes almost the same day the bug is introduced. (Yes, Bioware's DAO patches often ''introduce'' bugs.)

* FirstInstallmentWins: ''Origins'' is usually considered the best game in the series in terms of story, gameplay, and overall world building, and is also seen as Bioware's farewell to their old style of RPG development before the EA buyout that resulted in their development of games being heavily shifted. By contrast, ''II'' is usually derided for its rushed nature and not really feeling like a unique game since it borrowed heavily from ''Franchise/MassEffect'' and ''Inquisition'', while initially seeing massive success, has had some feel as though the quality of the game declined with time, and is sometimes criticized for its less engaging sidequests, story, and more divisive moments.

** "Arl of Redcliffe" takes up the other third of the game not occupied by "Paragon of Her Kind" and the rest of the game (i.e. "Broken Circle", "Nature of the Beast", the Landsmeet, and the Final Battle). The real killer (particularly for completionists) is that it’s a three-parter, and they’re all potentially challenging. First you have to defend Redcliffe from an undead assault at night, meaning that if you miss the quests to make it easier on you, go to Redcliffe first, ''or both'', you have a long slog of a siege on your hands. After that, you have to reach Connor and fight a [[BrainwashedAndCrazy mind-controlled Teagan]]. Then you’re routed halfway across the world to Denerim and then all the way back to Haven, where you have to deal with the cultists living there, all of which are either Blood Mages or Reavers. Then you get saddled with a [[SadisticChoice choice of when you fight the area boss]]- near immediately, or right after you get a pinch of the Ashes. [[ThatOneBoss Both are equally bad, but for different reasons.]] Not to mention Leliana possibly leaving. Only then does it end (the game leaves it as incomplete until you agree to call the Landsmeet and move on to the final third of the game). Even worse, unless you want an approval hit from Alistair, you are practically ''forced'' to do "Broken Circle" ''in the middle of the quest'', only extending the arduous mess further.

** Female Human Noble/Alistair is generally agreed to be the optimal way to Romance Alistair, if not play ''Origins'' as a Female PlayerCharacter, since the player can [[spoiler:make Alistair king, marry him, and become queen ''without'' getting dumped or having to harden him to become his mistress]] after the Landsmeet. (Though a VocalMinority of the fandom are ''offended'' by this view since it implies that [[spoiler:keeping Alistair a Grey Warden or becoming his Mistress]] is not legitimate roleplay choice... not to mention implies that only ''one'' of ''seven'' female player characters[[note]]Female Human Noble, Human Mage, Elven Mage, City Elf, Dalish Elf, Dwarf Noble, and Dwarf Commoner[[/note]] is the "correct" way to play.

** Even among Alistair's fangirls, his [[spoiler:breakup]] after the Landsmeet is very divisive. Some grew to hate him afterwards and saw it as an example of FantasticRacism against mages and non-humans [[spoiler:since he only does this to non-Female Human Nobles unless you can Harden him and pass a high Pesuasion check to get him to agree to make you his Mistress]], if not being a philandering heart-breaker [[LikeFatherLikeSon like his father Maric]]. Others feel that convincing an Unhardened Alistair to accept [[spoiler:being made king]] against his will involves convincing him to put his duty over his feelings, so the player shouldn't be surprised when he [[HoistByHisOwnPetard applies that same logic]] to [[LovedINotHonorMore his relationship to their character]]. Still a third faction aren't plussed since they feel they can TakeAThirdOption and just Romance him as a Female Human Noble, [[spoiler:keep him a Grey Warden, or Harden him and become his Mistress]] without any fuss or drama.

* FanPreferredCouple: Female Mage Warden/Cullen has a decent following. Mainly because of how {{Adorkable}} he is about his crush on her. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Even the NPCs pick up on it.]] The Mage Warden [[ShipTease can actually flirt with him]], but it never takes off ([[ScrewThisImOuttaHere although, Cullen himself sure did]]). [[PromotedToLoveInterest Him being a romance option]] in ''Inquisition'' is seen as consolation for those that like this pairing. Yet, Cullen/Amell and Cullen/Surana actually seemed to get ''more'' popular because of this.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Alistair has a small but notable hatedom which is divided in its motivation; part of it comes from backdraft from his MrFanservice status from people who aren't ardent shippers. Most of it comes from perceived {{Wangst}} about Duncan and the other Grey Wardens dying, but the rest is generally due to his insistence on leaving the Grey Wardens if you recruit Loghain. Immature tantrum-thrower who deserts while the country is on the brink of destruction because he refuses to set aside personal and irrational hatreds for the greater good, or rightfully angry and heretofore-stalwart companion who has reasonable objections to working with a slaver and torturer who framed him for regicide and tried to kill two father-figures in a row?

** Loghain [[spoiler:selling elves into slavery]] is also a bit of a hot-button issue among fans. Some fans feel it was a horrific act of {{fantastic racism}} and [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocricy]] that crosses the MoralEventHorizon. Others feel it was a tragic {{necessary evil}} born from desperate circumstances that doesn't negate his otherwise [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]] and deserved shot at redemption. Others still (Loghain's more [[DracoInLeatherPants ardant supporters]]) feel his actions were ''completely'' justified. Still a fourth group feel the act was so ''wildly'' OutOfCharacter for an otherwise staunch supporter freedom (not to mention his [[AllThereInTheManual stated backstory]] of [[Literature/TheStolenThrone recruiting Night Elves]]) and otherwise [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment inconsequential to the main story]] (since it doesn't earn you much support in the Landsmeet and most characters never speak of again after said Landsmeet), that they [[FanonDiscontinuity choose to believe Howe arranged it without telling him and he was too proud to admit it, or it just didn't happen]].

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Let's just say a number of problems with later games found their origin in the ''Witch Hunt'' DLC.

** For elf fans sick of human characters being portrayed as greater experts on and more qualified to recover elvhen knowledge than the elves themselves (especially given the elves' {{Applicability}} and [[https://web.archive.org/web/20151218090209/http://the-gaider-archives.tumblr.com/post/109509566283/i-was-wondering-if-the-elves-in-dragon-age-were-at Word Of Gaider Allegory]] to real historically oppressed minorities), the seeds were planted as early as the ''Witch Hunt'' DLC. [[spoiler:Morrigan]], a human hedge mage, steals a book from the Dalish to construct an Eluvian; then human Circle mage companion Finn effortlessly deduces that the word ''Eluvian'' means "mirror," anticipates where [[spoiler:Morrigan]] took it, and [[spoiler:utilizes ancient elvhen rituals to find it]], all while Dalish companion Ariane stands there shocked and embarrassed that a human deciphered more ancient elvhen knowledge ''as a side hobby'' than the Dalish managed after ''centuries'' of dedicated study. On it's own its not so bad, but future games increasingly portraying elves as painfully inept at recovering or utilizing their own ancient knowledge (from [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII the next game]]'s Merrill being portrayed as a naive idiot for trying to construct an Eluvian from scratch even though [[spoiler:Morrigan]] successfully did the same the previous game, to [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition DAI]] Solas and Sera endlessly ragging on modern elves for not knowing anything), and human characters being increasingly portrayed as more qualified to recover and wield Elvhen knowledge than the elves themselves (again, [[spoiler:Morrigan]] successfully constructing an Eluvian from scratch but Merrill being portrayed as an idiot for even trying, Hawke the human-only protagonist being portrayed as a better authority over whether Merrill could or even ''should'' try to recover a piece of her own heritage, and [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition DAI]]'s ''entire'' second half portraying [[spoiler:Morrigan]] as a greater Elvhen expert than actual elvhen characters, as well as [[spoiler:more qualified to drink from the Well of Sorrows than the Dalish Inquisitior, and more worthy to inherit Mythal's Elvhen godhood (with Mythal herself choosing human women like Flemeth and Morrigan to house her soul over her own elven people)]] over the elves themselves left a bad taste in many fans' mouths), can all be traced back to a minor plot of the easily overlooked DLC ''Witch Hunt''.

* SerialNumbersFiledOff: The Gauntlet in Andraste's ruined temple is amazingly similar to the tests required to reach the Holy Grail in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''.

** A City Elf is living in a downtrodden ghetto when they or their bride is kidnapped for a Bann's rape party ''on their wedding day'' and in fighting to save themself/the bride have spurred the nobles to order a "purge" on their neighborhood. Their home gets locked for the majority of the game, and when they ''do'' get to return, [[spoiler:several elves, including their father, have been kidnapped and are about to be sold into slavery. Or in some cases, like the elder, already have been.]]

** Arcane Warrior can be one of the tankiest builds in the game, achieving this through stacking multiple sustained effects - Arcane Shield, Rock Armour, Combat Magic, Shimmering Shield, etc. They can tank more than even a lot of warrior builds, and often end up the only member of their party on their feet during particularly tough encounters... unless you're facing a mage with Dispel Magic, that is, or a Templar with Cleanse Area, in which case they're an out-of-position SquishyWizard who's drawn most of the aggro to them.

* SparedByTheCut: There was originally a scene where the player could be outed as a [[TheDarkArts blood mage]] in front of the leaders of the mages and templars, which was removed for the final game but can be enabled through mods. The scene, if the player failed to lie their way out, would end with ''everyone'' in the tower -- mages and templars alike -- going hostile, forcing the player to kill them. This included Greagoir and Cullen, who are otherwise unkillable in the game.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: [[https://www.thegamer.com/dragon-age-origins-oral-history/ According to]] its lead writer David Gaider, ''Origins'' was written off by Creator/ElectronicArts even before it was released, who saw it as too old-fashioned and not "sleek and sexy" enough to succeed, especially compared to the concurrent ''Franchise/MassEffect'' releases. All they wanted is for ''DAO'' to break even, so they could [[StillbornFranchise shelve the series for good]] (which is why its ModularEpilogue cast so far into the future, it later had to be officially declared rumors and hearsay, so it wouldn't conflict with the later continuity). Then ''DAO'' came out and sold like hot pancakes, starting Creator/BioWare ''second'' FlagshipFranchise (after ''Mass Effect'') and forcing EA to eat crow and to demand that [=BioWare=] makes [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII a sequel]] immediately, which... [[ChristmasRushed backfired]].

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: [[https://www.thegamer.com/dragon-age-origins-oral-history/ According to]] its lead writer David Gaider, ''Origins'' was written off by Creator/ElectronicArts even before it was released, who saw it as too old-fashioned and not "sleek and sexy" enough to succeed, especially compared to the concurrent ''Franchise/MassEffect'' releases. Then ''DAO'' came out and sold like hot pancakes, starting Creator/BioWare ''second'' FlagshipFranchise (after ''Mass Effect'') and forcing EA to eat crow and to demand that [=BioWare=] makes [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII a sequel]] [[ChristmasRushed immediately]], which... [[ObviousBeta backfired]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Some resent her for any or all of the following: trying to tell you how to do your job, despite not being entirely aware of [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans what it entails]] and going off the KnightInShiningArmor versions in the stories; her lecture about the Warden's LoveInterest, where she either accuses them of being a HormoneAddledTeenager (Morrigan or Zevran) or being foolish and selfish (Alistair or Leliana) without fully knowing the details of the relationship (though to Wynne's credit, she ''does'' apologize and admit she was completely wrong, and even takes some ShipperOnDeck tendencies toward it afterward); her tendency to try and be everyone's therapist whether they want it or not; her taking credit for getting the party out of [[ThatOneLevel the Fade]] even though she ''succumbed'' to it when at least one other, potentially untrained, person didn't; and her hypocrisy in trying to get every mage she meets (including the Mage Warden) to go back to the Circle yet refusing to do so herself. On the flip side, quite a few fans love her for being a CoolOldLady who is thoughtful, kind, and compassionate, if stern. The fact that she's one of the most unambiguously good (along with Alistair) party members also helps, as does the mother-son sort of bond she and Alistair can develop if they're frequently in the active party together. Many also enjoy how different Wynne is from the other companions, even in the sequels, and believe that she provided an interesting perspective on the Warden's journey.