BROKEN CIRCLE PART 2

Walkthrough

After returning from the Fade, the Warden will be returned to the fourth floor of the Tower. Lying nearby is the corpse of Niall, from whom you can loot the Litany of Adralla.

Spoiler below

The Change Party icon is enabled in this room only so you can swap out party members (including Wynne, who up until this point has been a mandatory member if you agreed to save the Mages). This can be helpful to distribute equipment and gifts to free up inventory slots from all of the items you've picked up in the Tower.

Note: If you plan to agree with Cullen that not a single Mage can be allowed to leave the Harrowing Chamber then you should remove Wynne now (otherwise she leaves the party and attacks you when you tell this to Cullen).

In the next room (The Circle Towers Upper Level M, 8) kill the Drake (consoles), loot Charred Corpse for The Libertarian's Cowl, then pick up the book Codex entry: The Legend of Calenhad: Chapter 2. As the party continues towards to top of the Tower to confront Uldred, they will be assaulted by Dragonlings and may encounter a drake. This fight is rather simple as long as you have some form of paralysis and avoid the flame breath.

One of the biggest rooms (The Circle Towers Upper Level M, 9) is being occupied by two mini-bosses (greater rage demon and greater shade) and they'll take you by surprise, so you'll have to act quickly. Try to eliminate weaker creatures first and prevent the monsters from surrounding you. of all but a chest until the Warden attempts to retrieve its contents. The resulting fight can be rather difficult as you may be low on supplies after the Fade. Luckily there is a multitude of potions around for you to loot. Going for the chest will trigger a trap and spawn several more demons to attack the party. One of the locked chests contains Beastman's Dagger.

When you get to the last room of this level (The Circle Towers Upper Level M, 10) you'll automatically trigger a conversation with Cullen. Who is trapped in a magical prison. If the Warden is a Mage, Cullen may react accordingly -- he will even reveal that he harbored feelings for a female mage Warden. Cullen initially believes the party members are illusions the demons sent to torment him.

Cullen

Once Cullen has been calmed down by the Warden, he will postulate a moral dilemma for the player. Cullen describes his torment as ghastly and explains to you that Uldred is upstairs in the Harrowing Chamber forcing the rest of the living mages to become Abominations. He is convinced that not a single mage can be allowed to make it out of that chamber alive, and everyone must be killed.

  • The Warden may agree with him, go upstairs, and slaughter everything in sight. Doing so will end all hope of getting the Circle of Magi to help with the Blight but will allow the templars to be recruited to the final army. Note that agreeing with this course of action causes Wynne to attack the party immediately, forcing the Warden to kill her before being able to proceed. Once you have agreed, you cannot change your mind!

    • If Leliana is in the group Leliana disapproves (-5)

    • If Sten is in the group Sten approves (+7)

    • If Zevran is in the group, he will object to this, wondering why you would show him mercy but not the mages. If you don't persuade him, Zevran disapproves (-5)will result.

  • The Warden can disagree with Cullen outright and try to save the mages. You can still side with the templars afterward when talking to Greagoir. This option is useful for keeping Wynne in your party and recruiting the templars into your army.

    • If Shale is in the party, the golem will advocate killing all the mages. You can persuade Shale that this is a bad idea, resulting in Shale approves (+2), or reject the suggestion for Shale disapproves (-5). If you agree to change your mind you get the Approval changes listed above, unless you tell Shale that you're not a monster, in which case Shale disapproves (-15)

    • If Sten is in the group, he says the Mages are out of control. If you can persuade him Sten disapproves (-5); if you tell Sten you won't do it Sten disapproves (-15). If you pick the dialogue choice "I have made my decision" when it is first presented, Sten neither interferes nor loses approval -- it seems he simply doesn't like you to change your mind or even debate the point after your initial pick. You may also avoid approval loss by choosing "We can't just kill them all." followed by "What do you propose we do?", "I do not fear maleficarum--they should fear me." and finally "Stay safe. It will be over soon." This way you avoid sounding like you are weighing the options and Sten will not chime in.

  • The Warden may choose to refrain from making a decision until he or she has gone upstairs and witnessed the situation firsthand. This will put off the decision until Cullen and Irving make their cases to Greagoir (with no Approval changes in your party).

  • With the decision made, the Warden may go upstairs.

The Harrowing Chamber

In the Harrowing Chamber, the Warden will finally meet Uldred. Uldred was the mage who offered the services of the Circle of Magi to light the beacon during the Battle of Ostagar, before being overruled by the Revered Mother. Since then, he has been busy staging a coup in the Circle Tower, later becoming possessed by a Pride Demon.

A cutscene plays upon entering the Harrowing Chamber wherein Uldred forces a mage to become an Abomination. There is an extended dialogue the Warden may engage in in order to learn more of Uldred's goals and motivations. The Warden is free to choose any number of dialogue options, but ultimately Uldred must be killed.

Combat

Once the cutscene ends, Uldred shows his true form as a Pride Demon. He has a lot of health and some very strong abilities. His three lackey Abominations aren't the same as the previous ones the party fought earlier as they are a fair bit stronger.

Uldred himself is quite powerful. Wynne, Morrigan, and Alistair are the ideal companions, although Sten may substitute for Alistair in this mix. Wynne will be invaluable, as she heals the party frequently. Morrigan is likewise valuable, as her many offensive spells seem to have the desired effect when it comes to mass damage. As a spell caster, Mana Clash will do a large amount of damage to Uldred and prevent him from using his powerful spells, but it hits him less often than weaker enemies. Sten/Alistair could either be used to distract Uldred or, ideally, to slay the abominations first. Now, if the Warden usually flanks an opponent, he or she should do so more from the side in this battle as Uldred has a nasty habit of kicking those behind him without turning.

Every so often during the fight, Uldred will attempt to corrupt one of the other Mages who are bound up around the room. Using the Litany of Adralla every time a mage is surrounded by three rings of pulsing light will prevent Uldred from adding another Abomination to the battlefield. If Wynne is in the party, she will tell the Warden to "...use the Litany." In the PC version, the Litany will usually appear on the Warden's action bar when it is looted from Niall's dead body; if not, take the time to find it and place it on the action bar (if the Warden is a Mage Shapeshifter then you should place it on a companion's action bar since it will disappear from your action bar when you are shapeshifted). For console players, the Litany is accessed through the radial menu on the advanced tab. As long as Irving lives through the fight, the Warden can side with the Magi in the moral decision presented by Cullen.

Once Uldred finally goes down, loot Cinderfel Gauntlets from him, then speak with First Enchanter Irving (or Cullen, should you have killed all the mages). The Warden's dialogue with Irving/Cullen may have lasting effects on the game.

Results

When Uldred is killed, First Enchanter Irving or Cullen will take the Warden downstairs to Knight-Commander Greagoir where the matter of the treaty will be discussed. Should you have sided with the mages during the previous discussion with Cullen, he will try to convince Greagoir that all the mages need to be killed; the Warden may fan the flames or vouch for the mages through dialogue options.

Note: The decision you make here may have a direct effect on how you deal with Connor in Redcliffe, as well as the side quests An Unlikely Scholar and Precious Metals (which both get picked up in Orzammar).

To Gain Support of the Templars

Irving must have died during the fight with Uldred, in which case Greagoir will side with the Warden against the Blight;

If Irving survived, the Warden must mention to Greagoir that some blood mages may have survived. In that case, Irving will agree with this fact and willingly go into containment and put the mages' lives in the templars' hands. Wynne accepts this decision and stays with the party. Both versions of this ending result in +12 approval from Morrigan.

To Gain Support of the Mages

Irving must have survived the fight with Uldred. Then, the Warden just needs to ask Greagoir what he thinks or simply mention that order has been restored to the Circle. This ending results with +7 approval from Wynne.

It is not possible to gain support of both Templars and Mages. If the Warden asks Greagoir what he thinks and Greagoir had said before that he would accept no less than First Enchanter Irving saying it is safe, he will stick to his word and call off the Annulment. Irving will then confirm that the mages will aid you against the Blight. Later back at camp, the mages' envoy will state that the templars have sided with you as well but this appears to be merely dialogue, as only the mages appear as selectable allies during the Final Battle (though in the cutscene after the final fight, templars can be seen on battlefield).

Rewards

1250 XP - is suppose to be received upon completion of this quest talking to Greagoir after Uldred is defeated.