Possible to justify sparing Loghain as a City Elf?

It's definitely the hardest origin for a Loghain run. Always worth it tho as he's awesome in DAI.

Think of it like this...he's a warrior who will accept death as a consequence of his actions. He even asks to be sacrificed to the arch demon and takes his death by Alistair in his stride (as much as anyone could).
Perhaps your warden knows that and will be damned if she's gonna give him an honourable death. Make the s.o.b. live with his actions, the hate of the people he was trying to save, and a life stuck in an order he despises. Loghain would rather die but there's no way he's going to get an easy way out, he has to live with what he's done within the very group he killed at Ostagar.

The worst fate when you really think about it.

I miss planning out my DA worlds, it was so much fun.   *sigh*

The irony is too sweet to resist.

Alistair may hate me, but at least I'll have my revenge lolol.

It might be moot anyway, because I just got my Tabris to Ostagar... and I already miss playing a dwarf...

But thank you all for your input. Maybe it will help someone else, or I'll decide to finish this playthrough after all.

Sorry, that's not how people work. Everyone comes with their own personal baggage, preconceptions, biases, prejudices, and experiences that inform the basis for their decision making. Some people can override some of that for "duty," but others cannot.

When it comes to being a Warden, some players have the roleplay that they are very resentful of being forced into the role. In the case of Cousland, Duncan gives the parents an ultimatum: I will save your child in exchange for their recruitment. That is probably the most egregious example out of all the origins, because all the rest have Duncan saving the PC from whatever fate (blight sickness, execution, Deep Roads exile). Even so, some PCs are resentful that they were forced into taking the Joining, leaving their home and family, being the de facto leader (because Alistair defers to you), and of being required to save the world. Some people don't want to be Wardens. Those people probably don't give a shit about what is expected of a Warden.

There is no way, my current Tabris, Raven, is going to let Loghain live. She is not one to forgive and she want to kill him herself.

But apart from that, people put up some really good arguments here

Truth. I remember the first few times I played this game - I was pissed at Duncan and thought he was a horrible person because he cited "Warden neutrality" as a reason for not trying to rescue Shianni and co. from being raped and murdered, for holding Cousland's life hostage in exchange for their recruitment. I was shocked and appalled when he killed Jory for no apparent reason. I was resentful that the Taint was something I couldn't escape, that I'd die young, and that no one told me about it before I drank from that damn cup. It didn't help that Alistair spent the whole game kissing Duncan's boots. I didn't care that he died and I didn't care about the Wardens.

I've also had Wardens who were eternally grateful to Duncan, who wore the Grey Warden mantle with pride and mourned his loss like an old friend. I've had Wardens who thought Jory was a coward and Duncan did what had to be done. As a player I understand Duncan as a character and can appreciate his flaws and virtues and the way he was written.

Roleplaying is great.


"Can't kill him; still need him." I can see this happening.  I definitely don't think she'd mind using him as a shield (or pimping him out to Morrigan). She really doesn't like Loghain (trying to sell one's father into slavery does that to a person!).


I know that feeling. When I first came up with this character I thought, "Of course she's going to cut off Loghain's head! She cut off Vaughan's head! They both hurt her family!" But I wanted to see if there was any justification out there for not putting his head on a pike.

There are not only dedicated Wardens exist. Our Warden is an accidental hero. S/He can take this as an honour, but as a burden too: no one of them got a real alternative.

All of them were in incredible trouble, to become a Grey Warden seemed the only way out of the trouble. The Warden is a ~ 18-20-year-old boy/girl, s/he can be grateful to Duncan, and can be angry at him. The ritual doesn't reversible, and the life as a Warden, not really that life from every young dream. In fact, we know some Wardens, who don't like that life: Bethany, for example, and Anders also similar, but Carver loves it.

I love the Warden as a dedicated hero. I have that type. And I like the Warden as a reluctant hero, who fulfils his duty because it's right (Bethany again) or for practical reasons: s/he cannot do anything else because s/he also can't live if the world is dead... Not everyone is an enthusiastic hero, there are many reasons to be one in this world... You cannot question that – or you can, but not in such a jerky way.

Ha, I know what you mean. It's actually really easy for me not to pick those investigative options ("so how'd you get to be casteless??" says the casteless to the casteless. derp) because I've heard the dialogue so many times that I'm just sick of it.  But like you I do find it harder with a voiceless character, because it's harder to separate my responses from theirs.

Still, it's fun to play Origins with fresh eyes and a new RP.


Warden Bethany is so underrated. A lot of people don't go that route because she's so bitter and "bitchy" and "ungrateful", but I was so glad to see my initial reaction to the Wardens reflected in Bethany. She never wanted to spend her whole life struggling endlessly in the dark, surrounded by darkspawn. She didn't even want the burden of being a mage. She only ever wanted to be a "normal" woman. I thought her reaction was 100% understandable and something the fandom at large needed to see to show that the Wardens weren't just a bunch of glamorous badasses.

I agree with ya there. I can never imagine my Tabris not taking Loghain out personally, especially because in all my other playthroughs, I tend to have very pragmatic Wardens, so I have to have Alistair do it, or it doesn't happen, so it's my one chance to have an Alistair/Anora joint rule world. That Tabris has such an easily justified reason eviscerate him on the spot is too good for me to pass up.

Nonetheless, reading about how other people roleplay and/or headcanon things sometimes gives me some really neat ideas, too.

Well,you could rp as a really merciful elf