CRIME WAVE

Crime Wave is a series of quests received from Slim Couldry in the Denerim Market District (Denerim Market Place Map, L2). One of his accomplices sees the Warden's potential for being sneaky, and asks for their help in robbing some of the nobles.

Walkthrough

He will offer the interested Warden two types of jobs: burglaries and pick-pocketing. The Warden may decline both or one of the proposed job types, or accept them. Once a job is done, Slim Couldry will have some dialogue about it and if the Warden is interested in more jobs, then Slim will offer the next job in line, provided that the conditions of acquiring the next quest are met. If they are not, then he will tell the Warden that he is still working on it and to "come back later".

Note: Ideally the Warden must have both the Stealth and Stealing skill in order to complete all eight quests. However, if only the stealing skill is present, both quest lines can become available by choosing the "I want to know it all" dialogue option, and the quests may be completed using companions.

Note: If Slim Couldry is not interacted with before the end of the Landsmeet, he will disappear and the quest will not be available.

Marks

Note: The appearance of NPCs for certain marks may interfere with other quests; for example, Master Tilver's guards will prevent access to the Mages' Collective representative, and Loghain's seneschal and his entourage will cause the Crimson Oars to vanish from the Gnawed Noble Tavern. If this happens, complete the job and hand it in to Slim to reset the area. All NPCs in question only appear during the mark and are removed from the game after handing in the mark (with the exception of leftover corpses and bones from killing anyone).

First Mark

The Warden is tasked to steal a purse full of gems from a lady's maid in the market (Denerim Market Place Map, L12).

The Warden needs to find the maid and with a stealing action to relieve her of her valuable possession.

A successful stealing action requires the Master Stealing skill or the equivalent in cunning and/or Stealth.

  • She is standing next to Cesar and the Warden cannot initiate a conversation with her, thus making the steal action the only available option.

  • Failing to steal her purse will generate a comment from her, however this won't fail the quest

The Warden is tasked to steal Ser Nancine's expensive sword in the Wonders of Thedas once you pay Slim Couldry 1 gold.

Second Mark

Ser Nancine

Walkthrough

Head over to the Wonders of Thedas (Denerim Market Place Map, L WT)

  • (Denerim Other Locations Map, L14) Without initiating a conversation, the player can simply steal the sword. This requires the Master Stealing skill or the equivalent in cunning and/or Stealth. If the stealing action fails Ser Nancine initiates the normal conversation with the Warden, which can easily be cancelled by replying "Farewell".

  • The Warden can initiate a conversation with the knight and has a number of available ways to obtain the sword. If the Warden or another party member is trained in Herbalism or Poison (one point suffices) then new dialogue options open up.

    • In the first dialogue path, the Warden can impersonate an employee of the Wonders of Thedas. This requires one point in Coercion. If successful, Ser Nancine expresses interest in a tome of Orlesian heraldry.

      • Then the Warden can compliment her and convince her to try out a sword. This requires 2 points in Coercion. If successful, Ser Nancine is impressed with the manners of the Warden and will be willing to try out a gown afterwards which will lead to the successful stealing of her sword.

      • Alternatively, the Warden can steal the sword by bumping into her while trying to grab the tome. A successful stealing action requires 2 points in the Stealing tree. In any case, Ser Nancine will be annoyed by this bumping and end the conversation.

      • The Warden can also lie that the tome costs 10 sovereigns and claim that it is indeed too much. Ser Nancine will be intrigued with the honesty of the "employee" and will ask the Warden to explain him/her self. Then the Warden can tell her to try out a dress or a sword. Trying out a dress will lead to a successful steal of her sword, however if the Warden insists on the sword, Ser Nancine won't be impressed by it and end the conversation.

    • In the second dialogue path, the Warden can lie that this cough of hers belongs to a much more serious sickness. It requires one point in Coercion. If successful, the Warden can try to steal the sword or continue frightening the knight. The first stealing option requires 3 points in the Stealing tree. If the Warden fails, the dialogue will continue normally as if the Stealing option wasn't chosen. Afterwards, a second stealing option, which requires 2 points in order to pass, shows up as well as other normal dialogue options. Like it happens in the first stealing option, if it fails, the conversation will continue and by this time the Warden can have her remove her armor - which will allow the Warden to successfully steal her sword - or set her down and make her breathe heavily and repeatedly which will cause her to faint from hyperventilation. Then the sword can be looted from her body.

    • If the Warden or another party member is trained in Herbalism, then they can claim that they are a herbalist of some skill. Ser Nancine expresses interest when she hears of this.

      • The Warden may try to steal the sword by feeling the knight's throat. It requires two points in the Stealing tree. If the stealing is successful, Ser Nancine asks what the Warden found from the examination (see further below). If the stealing fails then the dialogue options of asking her to breathe deeply shows up instead (see below).

      • The Warden can ask her to breathe deeply. Then they can lie that the knight has a serious sickness or steal the sword (basic stealing is required) which both lead to a successful stealing of the sword. Alternatively, the Warden can ask Ser Nancine to remove her armor (see below).

      • The Warden may also request to remove her armor. She will ask if this is really necessary and the Warden can mock her which will finish the conversation swiftly, accept her objections and examine her with her armor while stealing her sword (basic stealing is required) which will end the conversation but will acquire the sword or persuade her that it is important (one point in Coercion is required). If the latter option is selected and is successful, she will ask the Warden to help her remove her armor and her sword will be stolen in the process (basic stealing is required) and then ask the Warden what they found from the examination. If the persuasion fails, the conversation will end.

        • If Ser Nancine asks the Warden what their examination revealed, the Warden can tell her that it was a common cold, give her some tea and tell her to brew it thrice daily, walk away or persuade her to sell her some medicine (one point in Coercion is required). If the persuasion is successful, she will give 2.

    • If the Warden or another party member is trained in Poison-Making, they can claim that they have a tonic that helped them. Ser Nancine will express interest then.

      • The Warden can approach her in order to steal her sword. The basic stealing skill is enough to be successful. Afterwards the knight is irritated and will end the conversation.

      • The Warden can claim that it has one tonic left but the knight will be curious as to why the Warden wants to give that away for free. The Warden can persuade that they want to gain her favor. This requires one point in Coercion. The second persuasion option will always fail as Ser Nancine cannot be convinced. The Warden can also claim that the bottle cost them 10 silvers and she will give 5 in order to get it.

      • The Warden can also mention that herbalists are just swindlers. Ser Nancine will agree and mention that if the Warden has one extra, she will take it.

        • If the Warden ends up giving her a tonic, they have the option of giving her a sleeping draught or a deadly poison. Ser Nancine will drink it and her sword can then be taken from her body or her corpse.

Third Mark

The Warden is tasked to steal Master Tilver's key which unlocks two chests containing valuable items in the central bazaar of the market.

Bann Darby's silversmith, Master Tilver, is in the Market District's (Denerim Market Place Map, L15) and he is carrying the key which grants access to all his valuable and expensive goods. Two expensive guards are also with him. In the third mark the Warden is tasked to obtain the key from Master Tilver and with it to unlock the two chests which can be found in the central bazaar of the Market District, in front of Gorim.

Master Tilver and his guards appear only if the Warden pays 3 to Slim Couldry. Their exact location is in the alley behind Goldanna's House and Wade's Emporium, in front of the Mages' Collective Liaison.

Master Tilver

Walkthrough

Head to the alley. Note that stealing from Master Tilver outside dialogue requires only one point in the stealing tree.

  • The Warden can pay 10 to the Messenger in order to distract the guards. Then the key can be obtained by performing a simple stealing action on the silversmith. The boy is standing on the eastern side of the alley.

  • A rogue trained in Combat Stealth can reach Master Tilver undetected and perform the stealing action.

  • There is also a small path between Goldanna's House and Wade's Emporium which leads to the Mages' Collective Liaison and Master Tilver without being seen from the guards.

  • The Warden can simply walk in the area where they will be questioned by the guard.

    • The Warden can mention that they want to talk to Master Tilver. This won't gain much and the Warden will have the same dialogue options as they had before, minus this one (see below for the other options).

    • The Warden can lie that they know Tilver from Bann Darby's party. This will surprise the silversmith and with two points in Coercion he will grudgingly agree that he knows the Warden. If the persuasion fails, the conversation ends.

      • The Warden can shake hands with Tilver. This requires two points in stealing. If it fails, the Warden will have the same dialogue options as they had before, minus this one (see below for the other options).

      • The Warden can lie that their name is Ser Kerrol, however since Master Tilver is eagerly waiting for the prostitute he tries to end the conversation quickly.

        • The Warden can then use Stealth in order to steal the key (this option exists even if the Warden is not trained in Stealth) and hug Master Tilver mentioning their intimate time in the cloakroom (this option is always successful). Afterwards, if the Warden is male, the Restless Guard will laugh and Master Tilver will end the conversation and ask him to never speak of it again.

        • The Warden can also put an arm around Tilver while mentioning the drinking which requires basic stealing.

        • Alternatively, the Warden can also brush against him as they leave which requires two points in stealing.

      • The Warden can claim that they have seen some of the work of Tilver which they consider as divine. Tilver will express interest and ask which piece is the Warden talking about and then mention that he is working for commission from Bann Franderel.

        • The Warden can then put an arm around Tilver and steal the key while praising his talent or get close to Tilver while mentioning that Bann Franderel knows talent. Both dialogue options steal the key while require one point in that skill.

  • If the Warden overheard even a few words of the conversation between the two guards, they can lie that they are here about a lady. Apparently, Master Tilver is waiting for a young prostitute named Eloise from the Pearl and hearing this, they will tell his guard to let the Warden come closer.

    • The Warden can then intimidate Master Tilver (two points in Coercion are needed) to tell his guards to back off as the discussion is private.

      • A successful intimidation will force Tilver to order his guard to give them some space. Then the Warden can steal the key (basic stealing is enough) while saying that Eloise will be here at any moment or that she can't make it. The latter also causes Tilver to express his anger and leave for the country along with his guards.

      • An unsuccessful intimidation will make the Restless guard mention that he has never seen the Warden at the Pearl. Then the Warden can lie that it is their first day (one level in Coercion is needed), question the guard if he is the boss or pretend to start leaving while saying that they have better things to do.

        • A successful lie option or choosing the latter option will generate the same effects as to successfully passing the intimidation check (see above) while failing the lie option or choosing the second option will cause the guard to say that he does not trust this and persuade Master Tilver to end the conversation.

    • The Warden can shake hands with Master Tilver. As the guard is present during this action, it requires three points in Stealing. Failing it will end the conversation.

      • If the Warden successfully steals the key, Master Tilver will then ask about Eloise and they can tell him that she canceled, she will be here soon or mention that they got what they needed (i.e. the key) which will cause a surprise response by the guard. Regardless, the conversation will then end.

    • The Warden can also tell Master Tilver that Eloise is late because she is making herself pretty for him. This will cause Tilver to mention that he can't wait and ask the Warden if she's been with any other man.

      • The Warden then can tell him that she is pure as the driven snow, try to steal the key (two levels in Stealing are required) by leaning close to him and telling him that she is indeed untouched, or express their deep disapproval by asking him how old is Eloise.

        • If the Warden mentions the first option the guard will leave as he cannot stand hearing more about his boss' sexual preferences and the Warden can steal the key (both require basic stealing) by leaning close and telling Tilver that it'll be worth the wait or stroking his arm and telling him that he deserves the best. The latter response will also cause Tilver to express his interest for the Warden if they were a bit younger.

        • Failing to steal the key or insulting him via the latter option will cause the conversation to end.

After the key is acquired head over to the chests (Denerim Market Place Map, L16). Unlocking the right chest will mark the quest as completed. The chests contain the following items:

  • Diamond x2

  • Garnet x5

  • Emerald x2

  • Sapphirex2

  • Coarse Cut Gauntlets

  • Engraved Silver Bowl

  • Silver Chalice

  • 4 Gold 50 Silver

Fourth Mark

During the Landsmeet, the Warden is tasked to steal Loghain's crown from his seneschal in the Gnawed Noble Tavern (Denerim Market Place Map, L GT).

This quest can be acquired during the Landsmeet questline. According to Slim Couldry, Loghain Mac Tir is outside of Denerim and his seneschal is getting his crown polished for the Landsmeet. He can be found having some rest in the Gnawed Noble Tavern but he is under heavy guard. The Warden is tasked with stealing Loghain's crown. The seneschal and his guards appear only if the Warden pays 6 gold to Slim Couldry.

Walkthrough

Head over to the Gnawed Noble Tavern. There are a few options at the player's disposal:

  • Have the waitresses incapacitate the guards (Denerim Other Locations Map, L13) by paying 3 gold or convincing them that that you are sent on behalf of the owner (one point in Coercion is needed). Alternatively, pay 3 gold to get the guards another round of drinks or 5 gold for dwarven ale. With sufficient Poison skill, you can also spike the drinks. Convincing the waitresses that Loghain's men are dangerous will always fail.

  • A Warden with four points of Stealth can sneak in the room (Denerim Other Locations Map, L15) and steal from the seneschal with a single point of Stealing.

    • The stealth option only works using The Warden's stealth ability. Companions using stealth are always detected even with four points in the talent.

    • If the character is not detected and acquires the crown, the guards won't turn hostile afterwards. If the character is detected before the crown is stolen, combat will normally occur.

  • The Warden can initiate conversation with the guard captain. The latter will always recognize the Warden so choosing to fool him will never work. Intimidating him into leaving (requires two points in Coercion) is the only way to avoid combat.

    • If you successfully intimidate him, four dialog options will appear. Choosing any of them will make the guards flee except the (Attack) option which will initiate combat. Once the guards leave, the seneschal will speak and ask what is going on. He can be informed that he is being robbed or intimidated into giving the crown, both of which are always successful. The player can also attack him. If a non-violent method is chosen, the Warden still has the option to kill the seneschal after the latter hands over the crown.

  • Finally, open combat is an option. The guard captain will be assisted by four more soldiers and the door leading to the rest of the tavern will close during the fight, making it a fairly-claustrophobic fight in which AoE attacks are most effective. The seneschal will be marked as an enemy, but he will not actively take part in the fighting.

Results

Returning to Slim Couldry after completing this heist will inform the Warden that they are called the "Dark Wolf" and that the nobles are afraid to get out of their manors.

The third, and by extension fourth burglaries are not available until after this theft is completed. Even after completing the Landsmeet, Slim will continue to say he is "following up a lead in the Palace District," however stealing the crown makes the third break-in available even before the Alienage is open.

Burglaries

First Burglary

The Warden is tasked to break in Lady Sophie's room in the Gnawed Noble Tavern (Denerim Market Place Maps, L GT) and steal her valuable possessions.

Lady Sophie, Arl Rendon Howe's lover, is visiting the country and her room in the Gnawed Noble Tavern is empty. The first burglary requires the Warden to break into the room and retrieve the valuable items. For this information Slim Couldry requires 1 gold, however if the Warden had already broken into that room, then he will apologize, return the money and say that he will do better next time.

Walkthrough

Once you enter the tavern, Lady Sophie's room (Denerim Other Locations Map, L15) is the last one in the eastern corridor. She also has a guard posted at the beginning of the hallway to keep her room safe; however, the guard is eagerly waiting for her shift to end and is not paying attention. The staff of the tavern will also not intervene if the Warden attempts to break in. The door in Lady's Sophie's room requires Mechanical Expertise or the equivalent in cunning and the chest inside requires Device Mastery.

Inside the room, the Warden can find a book which gives Codex entry: Rivain. Looting from any containers will mark the quest as completed. The following items can be found in the chest with the quest marker (may vary a bit):

  • Silk Carpet

  • Diamond

  • Deep Mushroom

  • 2 Gold

Second Burglary

The Warden is tasked to enter the Market Warehouse (Denerim Market Place Map, L WH) and steal the silver that Rendon Howe is preparing to send to his estate in Highever.

Rendon Howe, as the new Arl of Denerim, is secretly moving silver bars from the city's treasury to his estate in Highever. At the time of the quest, a large portion of them is located in the Market Warehouse guarded by the hand-picked soldiers of Teyrn Howe right before they are moved out of Denerim. Howe's guards along with the chests appear only if the Warden pays 4 gold to Slim Couldry.

Walkthrough

Once you enter the Market Warehouse (Denerim Other Locations Map, L16), the guards of Rendon Howe will attack (unless you are using Master Stealth). There are three crossbowmen around the perimeter. Four more (normal ranked) will engage in melee and two guard leaders (lieutenant ranked) are far deeper into the warehouse. Stealth is not an option as you cannot leave the area while in combat mode.

Once the fight is over, the Warden can unlock the three chests (Device Mastery is required) and acquire a total of six Silver Bars which can be sold to any merchant for profit. The quest is completed after you steal from any silver chest.

Third Burglary

The Warden is tasked to enter Bann Franderel's Estate and steal some of his rare possessions.

  • One of the richest men in the kingdom, Bann Franderel of West Hill, is organizing a grand ball in his estate in Denerim in which he will display some of his treasures such as paintings of old masters, the arnaments of King Calenhad and much more. By paying 10 gold to Slim Couldry a new marker named Bann of West Hill's Estate will become available for you to travel to on the map of Denerim.

  • If Slim Couldry offers to the Warden the pick-pocketing quest line as well, then this quest can be obtained only after the side-quest Steal the teyrn's crown is completed. Otherwise it can be initiated after The Landsmeet has begun.

Walkthrough

During this visit only part of the estate can be explored. The Warden arrives from a trapdoor (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L1), and accesses the south wing. Along the way a room with a lever is encountered. Moving the lever does nothing during this visit.

  • Once the map marker (a white X) (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L2) is reached, the quest log is updated. The whole thing was a trap! The area is now filled with guards and a number of traps, not to mention a couple of apostates.

  • Even though the quest update states that "You'll have to fight or sneak your way out now", the only option is to fight, unless at least one party member was stationed at the entrance to the area (to activate the City Map); and combat mode is not triggered (which happens when enemies come into direct line-of-sight). Otherwise, if only a rogue was used to explore the area, sneak back to the entrance. Then kill the guards closest to the area transition icon in order for the game to drop out of combat mode. The whole party may need to move into the "lever room" for this to happen.

  • Either way, once back at the entrance, interact with the city map door to leave. Then return to Slim and he'll apologize most profusely and return the 10 gold back to you.

Fourth Burglary

After the Landsmeet is concluded, the Warden is tasked to steal the Tears of Andraste from Bann Franderel's Estate.

  • This quest is available only after the Landsmeet when Slim Couldry re-appears in the Denerim Market District to make up for the previous near-disastrous burglary mission when Bann Franderel's master spy learned of Slim's plans and laid a trap for the thief.

  • In this quest the Warden is tasked to steal the Tears of Andraste, a vial containing the (allegedly) actual tears shed by Andraste herself before her first vision of the Maker. Slim Couldry does not request payment and informs the Warden that he may not make much money either and proposes that this particular burglary is made simply to embarrass the nobles. He says that he will make sure that the Tears are returned to the Chantry with no way to trace their theft back to himself or the Warden. The object is to go back into the South Wing of Bann Franderel's Estate (an area which was first visited during The Private Collection) by an alternate route this time.

Walkthrough

On your second visit, you're placed at the far eastern end of the map (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L3) and must make your way to the north-west corner. During your time spent in the estate you'll have to watch out for soldiers, archers, mages and for powerful traps. I would strongly recommend moving slowly to prevent more than one group from attacking your team and to find all the traps before someone steps one on them. The first serious battle will take place when you reach the crossroads (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L4). Don't get too comfortable, because you'll be dealing with elite units and their attacks will take a lot of damage. Explore rooms found along the way, including a southern chamber (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L5) filled with a lot of valuable treasures.

The northern room (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L6) is being guarded by a very large group of enemies, so it would be a good idea to choose the southern corridor if you don't want to fight them. Thankfully you can't get lost as long as you remember that you must be moving west. Watch out for an enemy mage in the next corridor (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L7). It would be a good idea to choose the southern corridor once he's gone. Proceed to a smaller room found to the south (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L8) where you'll have to defeat a mini-boss - captain of the mercenaries. Make sure to check his body after the battle to collect captain's key.

The newly acquired key can be used to open a nearby door (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L9), however watch out for a trap in the next hallway. Move back after opening the door and wait for enemy units to come to you. Start off by attacking soldiers, but don't forget to deal with the mages as soon as they've showed up. You'll be moving north from now on and you'll encounter at least one more group along the way. Notice that you can also break into a nearby armory (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L10). It's optional and the cost of collecting new treasures would be having to defeat a large group of enemies (including a new mini-boss).

You may now choose the western corridor which leads to the exact same area you've had to explore the last time you were here (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L2). Attack a small group of enemies along the way and head forward until you find yourself standing in a wine cellar. You may now click on a cabinet found in the northern section of the cellar (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L11). Doing this will unlock access to a new room and naturally you should head inside (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L12). You must be extremely careful here, because there are five traps in the room and triggering either one of them will activate the golems. Use your rogue to disable all traps before allowing the rest of your team to get here.

After you've secured this room you'll be allowed to move to a northern storage area (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate Map, L13). Aside from collecting tears of Andraste you can also find a blessed hammer and a lot of gold. You may now return to the same exit you've used before (Denerim Western Hill Bann’s Estate, L1). Return to Slim Colby (Denerim Market Place Map, L2) to receive your reward.

Results

After the mission is completed, the Warden can choose to give the Tears of Andraste to Slim Couldry in order to anonymously donate them to the Chantry, tell Slim that they will drop them off personally, or keep them.

If you give the Tears to Slim or tell him that you will drop them off personally, you are rewarded with 10 gold and 250 XP; additional 150 XP if no alarm sounded by sneaking through the whole estate.

Results for the Whole Quest Line

The total expenditure is 15 gold 50 silver and the total profit can be over 35 gold. However, the quest does not seem to have any major impact on the story line. Note, after completing at least three marks and one burglary, there is a chance for an encounter where the City Guards confront your thievery mentioning they cannot believe a Grey Warden would be such a thief. You/your party is/are then attacked by at least a dozen guards (tough fight at level 12).

After completing the fourth mark, Slim will mention that some people have begun to refer to the Warden as the "Dark Wolf".