Human Noble Origin

The Human Noble Origin is one of six origins available in Dragon Age: Origins for the Playable character. This character begins as the youngest child of the Teyrn of Highever, one of the most powerful nobles in Ferelden. Your father has tasked you to steward Highever while he and your elder brother leads your family's soldiers to join King Cailan Theirin's army at Ostagar.
The default name is "Aedan Cousland" if male, "Elissa Cousland" if female. The first name can be changed to whatever the player chooses. However, the surname is fixed. Rogue and Warrior humans start with this origin. For human mage characters, see Magi Origin.
== Introduction ==
== Plot ==
Teyrn Bryce Cousland and his oldest son Fergus are preparing to heed King Cailan's call to battle darkspawn at Ostagar. The Human Noble is charged with stewarding Highever with a token force in their absence. Arl Rendon Howe of Amaranthine waits for his forces to join the teyrn's at Highever. At Castle Cousland, the tardiness of Howe's men is being discussed in the main hall as Fergus' younger sibling (the Playable character) enters; they are greeted by Arl Howe and Teyrn Cousland, and introduced to Duncan, a senior Grey Warden. Duncan explains his mission to look for Grey Warden recruits and suggests that the Human Noble would be a promising recruit—already knowing this idea will be rejected by Teyrn Cousland and that Bryce would politically pressure him to not pursue it any longer. Even so, Duncan also has his eye on Ser Gilmore as a potential candidate. 
After being tasked with instructing Fergus to depart immediately with the bulk of the Cousland forces, the Human Noble is intercepted by Ser Gilmore, a knight in Highever's service; Teyrna Eleanor Cousland, the Human Noble's mother, wishes them to collect their dog from the kitchens. As it turns out, Dog chased a bunch of rats and cornered them in the larder. After the rats revealed themselves, the Human Noble and Ser Gilmore helped Dog kill the pests. 
If the Human Noble seeks out their mother Eleanor, they will find her entertaining guests—Lady Landra, accompanied by her son, Dairren, and her lady-in-waiting, Iona. Flirting with either Dairren or Iona could result in the Human Noble inviting either admirer to their bedroom for sex later that night.
The Human Noble finds Fergus telling his goodbyes to his wife, Oriana, and his son, Oren. Bryce and Eleanor join the rest of the family to complete their farewells. After finishing the tasks asked of them, the Human Noble heads for bed.
In the middle of the night, Arl Howe's "late" men unexpectedly turn on the Couslands, and seize the castle. The Human Noble wakes up when they hear the sounds of battle and Dog growling at their door. A servant opens the bedroom door to warn the Human Noble that the castle is under attack (or the Human Noble's lover is killed as they were investigating the commotion outside) before being slain by enemy soldiers. The Human Noble and Dog fights their way out of their bedroom and searches for the rest of their family. The Human Noble finds Eleanor, who explains that the teyrn is missing. A quick search of the other rooms will reveal Fergus' son and wife murdered. Teyrna Eleanor, saddened and outraged, suggests retrieving a family heirloom or two. She also suggests using the servants' exit at the larder to escape. In the main hall, Ser Gilmore, directing the few remaining defenders and holding off Howe's soldiers, tells the Human Noble and Eleanor that Teyrn Bryce was wounded but was last seen headed for the larder—ostensibly he was hoping his family would meet him there.
In the larder they find Bryce, gravely wounded and unable to move. Bryce states he was ambushed by Howe's men but Duncan rescued him and brought him there. Duncan fights his way to the larder and confirms Bryce's fear: Howe's men have surrounded the castle and with Bryce injured, he cannot make the escape. Duncan asks to recruit the Human Noble in exchange for helping them escape; since the Blight demands he leaves with a Grey Warden candidate. Bryce acquiesces, wanting his youngest child to tell Fergus what has happened. Duncan offers to save Eleanor too, but she refuses to leave her husband's side, and they are both killed as Duncan and the Human Noble escape.
== Quests ==
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== Characters ==
* Fergus Cousland
* Teyrn Bryce Cousland
* Teyrna Eleanor Cousland (temporary companion)
* Oriana Cousland
* Oren Cousland
* Dairren
* Dog (companion)
* Warden-Commander Duncan
* Iona
* Mother Mallol
* Lady Landra
* Nan
* Ser Gilmore (temporary companion)
* Aldous
* Arl Rendon Howe
== Statistics ==
In addition to those selected by the player at character creation, a Human Noble Warden automatically begins with the following:
=== Initial skills ===
: and either (Warrior) or (Rogue)
=== Initial talents ===
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Warrior	
Rogue 	
=== Initial equipment ===
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Armor	or
== Unique items ==
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: or (randomly looted from a Howe Knight)
== Results ==
The PC travels with Duncan to Ostagar, where they are greeted by King Cailan. The king mentions that Fergus is in the Korcari Wilds on patrol, but there is no opportunity for the PC to seek him out. (The fate of Fergus is not revealed until the Epilogue.) When the PC first arrives at Ostagar the achievement Last of Your Line will be awarded.
== Codex entries ==
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== Trivia ==
* Teyrna Cousland recognises Howe's men by their shields, but very few of those encountered bear shields, let alone this one.
* After killing the Giant Rats in the Pantry, Ser Gilmore mentions that it "sounds like the start to every bad adventure tale my grandfather used to tell me". This is a reference to "giant rats" being the first enemy fought in many fantasy RPGs.
* The majority of the Human Noble Origin was written by BioWare lead writer David Gaider.
* According to Dairren, "everyone" says that the Human Noble is more likely to succeed the teyrn of Highever over their brother Fergus.
== Bugs ==
* During Mischief in the Larder, the pantry door leading to the kitchen area may not open or unlock after defeating the rats preventing the opportunity to name Dog. To avoid this, refrain from spamming the Escape key to skip ahead, and let Ser Gilmore initiate the next conversation instead of interacting with him.
* The northern door of the main hall may become stuck and prevent you from completing the quest. To avoid this, save just after The Cousland Treasury is initiated; make opening that northern door your first priority (after surviving the fights along the way, and before retrieving gear from the treasury) and wait for Ser Gilmore to tell you about the teyrn (rather than attempting to initiate conversation yourself).
== See Also ==
* Cousland family
== Gallery ==
Human Noble.JPG|Human Noble concept art (with border)
Castle Cousland - Nobles talking.png|Teyrna Eleanor Cousland, Lady Landra, Dairren and Iona talking.
Castle Cousland - Highever forces.png|Cousland forces leaving the castle
Castle Cousland under attack.png|Castle Cousland under attack
Castle Cousland's chapel praying.png|Mother Mallol praying along with two soldiers
== References ==
Category:Origin stories
Category:Dragon Age: Origins quests
es:Noble humano (origen)
fr:Origine Noble humain
uk:Вельможна людина (передісторія)
it:Origine dell'Umano Nobile