Trespasser (quest)

Trespasser is the primary main quest from the Trespasser DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Two years after the fall of Corypheus, Divine Victoria has called an Exalted Council to determine the fate of the Inquisition. Orlais and Ferelden have strong opinions, and both of their representatives would have the Inquisitor's ear.

Acquisition[]

Complete the war table operation Attend the Exalted Council at a cost of 8 power.

Note: Activating the war table operation triggers a "point of no return"; you will no longer be able to travel to other areas via the World Map--including Skyhold--and you cannot do any quests from the main game or any other DLC, even after finishing the Trespasser content. However, all the items you've placed in your storage chest in Skyhold will be transported to a new storage chest.

Walkthrough[]

The Winter Palace[]

Upon arriving at the Winter Palace Josephine informs The Inquisitor of the current political state, with Orlais looking to control the Inquisition and Ferelden seeking for it to be dismantled altogether. After arriving and being greeted by Mother Giselle, the Inquisitor can explore the grounds of the palace.

Note: There are several unmarked side-quests that can be completed here. See Category: Trespasser quests for a complete list

The initial objectives are to speak with the Fereldan ambassador, Teagan Guerrin, and to speak with the Orlesian ambassador, Cyril de Montfort. Both can be found by following their respective quest markers on the map.

This time also provides an opportunity to reunite with the Inquisitor's companions and advisors.

Note: If their relationship was good enough, Sera offers the Inquisitor the chance to become a Red Jenny. Accepting or declining will have a small impact on the Epilogue (Trespasser).

Once the conversations are complete, the Inquisitor can walk through the main gates to begin the Exalted Council.

Note: Beginning the Exalted Council will lock off spending time with your companions

Proceedings in the council do not get far as it is interrupted by a messenger stating that Leliana needs to see the Inquisitor immediately. She has found a dead, fully armored Qunari in the palace.

Use the tracking ability to follow his blood trail up a nearby trellis and into an adjoining room with an active Eluvian. On the other side of the Eluvian, the Inquisitor will discover The Crossroads, a gateway to many other Eluvians. Immediately to the left, they will find a skeleton to start the quest Halla Treasure Hunt which does not show up in the Quest Log. Back to follow the blood trail to an inactive Eluvian. Follow the blood trail to the right that leads to an active mirror.

Entering this Eluvian leads to the Elven Mountain Ruins.

To the right of the Elven Mountain Ruins eluvian is another which leads to the Abandoned Chateau; here the Inquisitor can loot The Hand That Cuts, a unique ring, from a chest protected by several demons.

Elven Mountain Ruins[]

Behind the crates to the left of the dead Qunari on the staircase, there is an Eluvian which leads to a Superb Belt of the Inferno Pact behind a wall of purple flame. Back on the initial staircase, go behind the entrance to find a Superb Belt of Urgency behind more purple flames. Following the main path leads to more dead Qunari and another Eluvian. This mirror takes the party to a broken bridge with Qunari on the other side. In front of them is a broken statue on a pedestal. Go through the Eluvian to the left to find a Spirit Champion, two Spirit Archers and two Spirit Shadows. If the Inquisitor drank from the Well of Sorrows, use the special dialogue option to pass safely. Otherwise they will attack you after speaking some words in elven. Behind the entrance to the tower is a Superb Belt of the Storm Pact behind more purple flame.

Note: For all purple flames encountered during Trespasser, using the Anchor Discharge's invulnerability reduces damage received to zero for eight seconds. Casting Barrier and/or having Guard will help minimize damage while passing through the flames. Casting Barrier combined with Fade Step will allow the controlled character to pass through the flames undamaged, but be careful not to overshoot the mark. Additionally, the Necromancer ability Simulacrum or the Knight-Enchanter ability Fade Cloak can be used to cross the flames. For flames that are positioned in front of dead-end loot areas, the active character only needs to pass through once to obtain the loot. After obtaining what was on the other side, switching to another character and simply walking away will allow for the previously active character to rejoin the party, bypassing the flames altogether.

On the side of the tower examine a mosaic to dissolve the barrier and discover that the valley the party is in was created by Fen'Harel as a refuge for slaves. Enter the Eluvian inside to go to another tower. After climbing the stairs examine another mosaic. This one relays a message that Fen'Harel is not a god, but just a mortal. Descend the stairs left by bringing down the barrier. Inside the party will find another mosaic claiming that the Evanuris are not gods either. Behind this mosaic there is an elven device that causes the Inquisitor's anchor to react. This grants them the Anchor Discharge ability. Use this new ability to light the room and find a wolf statue that will fit into the broken bridge. It will also cause several Spirit Shadows to attack.

Note: Be sure to enter the room after the final mosaic with the Inquisitor as the controlled character. As any controlled character will gain the Anchor Discharge ability; however, only the Inquisitor can wield it.

After defeating them, return to the bridge to place the statue on the pedestal. After crossing the bridge the party will be assaulted by Qunari. After defeating them, and entering the Forgotten Sanctuary, they will witness a fight between elven spirits and some Qunari. After their defeat, the party will encounter a mural depicting the Dread Wolf removing a number of elves' vallaslin.

Note: Before entering the Forgotten Sanctuary, head around the northern side of the building and go west. Midway up the northern coast and downhill, there will be a tree stump near the water (if the Golden Halla is spotted, the party has come too far west). Head towards it and pick up the codex entry Note: Qunari Notes on the Qunari corpse nearby. This is the first of four codex entries required to unlock a hidden dialogue option with the DLC's antagonist.

The party must complete a veilfire puzzle, part of the "Lateral Thinker" achievement, to continue. The clue is "The Dread Wolf keeps its gaze on the one light that illuminates the way forward." Light veilfire from the alcove outside, then light the brazier that the wolf statue is looking at. It is the second from the staircase on the left. Press the button to reveal a hidden staircase. Be sure to loot the box in front of the statue containing the bow Arrowwood.

Under the stairs a mosaic stating how the vallaslin is removed a sign of freedom is found. In the Hidden armory, there are yet more Qunari. After killing them, loot the body of the Shock Trooper to find the greataxe Single Incarnation and some orders. These orders reveal that the Qunari are looking to infiltrate Halamshiral. Look around to find the note regarding the agent of Fen'Harel.

Note: The crates and treasury inside the Hidden Armory cannot be accessed until later in the game. Once the Inquisitor has the Anchor Blast upgrade, come back to the Forgotten Sanctuary and go all the way to the back of the structure (to the alcove with the veilfire brazier). If they are standing facing the lake behind the Sanctuary with the veilfire torch at their back, they will need to turn left (south-west coast of the island) and wind their way down the path to the water. Detonating the gaatlok bombs here will clear a path to the treasury which can be looted for over 200K in gold and valuables. On the left after entering the Hidden armory, go behind a group of crates and a wooden wall for some sigil loot.

Return to the Winter Palace to inform the Inquisition advisors. After they have been informed, return to the crossroads to continue the investigation. (Note: After the cutscene, the Inquisitor does not get teleported back to the Crossroads. The new Eluvian is in the room under the top right-hand stairs, which was previously barred.) On returning to the Crossroads, there will be a new path. Follow it to the Deep Roads.

Before entering the Deep Roads, if the Inquisitor has found all Halla statuettes for the side quest Halla Treasure Hunt, they can finish it by returning the Top Hat to the skeleton immediately to the left after entering the Crossroads. This provides a bonus of +6 Cunning.

Also, there are two new areas, the Hidden Hollow to the left of the Deep Roads Eluvian, and the Forgotten Tower to the right reachable by examining the Dragon eggs that create extensible bridges.

The Deep Roads[]

Upon arrival the party will be attacked by two Qunari Spearmen, a Ben-Hassrath Agent, and a Qunari Shock Trooper. In the room immediately after them, a dead Qunari can be looted to find 22 units of Veil Quartz and evidence that there has been a bad cave-in. Proceed down the staircase, using the Anchor Discharge to light the way as needed. Eventually, the party will be attacked by a group of deepstalkers. In this same room is a Codex entry: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 1 on a sleeping bag near the staircase.

Further down the path is Jerran a former templar who had converted to the Qun. However, he has now grown disillusioned with them too. He reveals that the Qunari attacking the Inquisition are led by Viddasala. She has bought her troops here to the Deep Roads to mine for lyrium to strengthen the Saarebas as part of a plan called "Dragon's Breath". As he no longer wants to follow the Qunari, he states that the Inquisitor can obtain gaatlok primers to blow up the mine and hinder the operation. The Inquisitor can either spare or kill Jerran. If he is killed, Cole, Dorian, and Varric disapprove and a Superb Amulet of Second Wind can be looted from his body. If they choose not to kill him (Iron Bull slightly disapproves), the amulet can still be looted from his body on the way back out as he will be killed by Qunari. Speaking to him gains the Codex entry: Viddasala.

Continuing the descent to the Lower Walkways, there will be an attack by more deepstalkers. After being attacked by a second group there will be another section of purple flame. Behind this is a Sigil of the Highland Ravager. Before crossing the bridge to Mining and Processing, there is a Sigil of the Deepstalker in an unlocked chest.

Note: The second codex entry Note: Qunari Notes needed to unlock the secret dialogue option at the end of the DLC, is next to and just before the purple flames that are just south of the area marked with blue lines on the map. **Make sure to pick up this codex entry now because the Lower Walkways will become inaccessible once the Deep Roads are flooded.**

Continue down the path to be attacked by more Qunari. The barrels of gaatlok can be detonated with fire, electricity, or manually to make fights easier. There is the codex Codex entry: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 2 before crossing the Great Bridge of Stone.

Continue to Central Supply where there will be another fight with Qunari. Drawing them out of the Central Supply Room in ones and twos and ranged attacks from the bridge just outside the room work well as the Qunari in the room will not attack party members outside of it. Loot Heart of Rage from the Saarebas and the Armada Captain's Knife from a chest. There is a note on a desk nearby too. Then proceed to pick up the primers. Follow the quest markers to place the four primers and detonate the bombs in order to destroy the Qunari mining structures. As each structure is detonated, more Qunari will spawn and attack. It may be easier to fight them by retreating to better lit areas such as the bridge back to Central Supply than in the tight, dark, basalt caverns. Close to the most south-west structure, walking west around the ledge is the codex Codex entry: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 3. Working the way out through the lower walkways, a woman's voice will taunt the Inquisitor about things they cannot see and several groups of invisible Assassins will attack.

Note: The supposedly invisible assassins often show up as red dots on the compass scope and going into tactics mode will make them completely visible as red outlines. They can also be spotted as floating crosshairs in regular mode.

After this has been completed, the cavern begins to flood, and the party must make their way out.

Note: The Inquisitor can return to this location later. Once they have the Anchor Blast upgrade, they can clear a passage near the Grand Stairway. If they take the Eluvian there, they will be transported to an unknown ruin. There is a fresco about the Titans and find another veilfire puzzle here.

Once again, as the Inquisitor informs the advisors of the developments, they are interrupted by news that one of the Inquisition soldiers has been involved in a scuffle with an Orlesian servant. The Inquisitor can choose to resolve the situation by detaining either the guard or the servant. Whatever they choose (neither choice changes any future dialog or outcome), the Inquisition guard will hand over a note she found and Leliana will translate it. The note states that the Viddasala can be found through a mirror near a bookcase. You determine to follow this lead and return to the Crossroads once more.

Once there follow a new path to find the mirror described. Enter it to go to the Shattered Library.

The Shattered Library[]

Take a right at the previous mirror and examine the egg shaped object. Continue upwards to the first landing. Examine the same type of object there. This will cause a path to roll out before you, leading to another mirror. This mirror leads to the Ancient Jail, see that page for details.

Continue upwards to the bookshelves. Collect the three codex entries from the papers on the ground and proceed through the mirror.

In the initial room, there are the codices Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: Signs of Victory, Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: Exile of the Forbidden Ones, and Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: Homecoming lying on the tables. Walk behind this room to find Codex entry: The Very Private Diary of Sandal Feddic, DO NOT READ!!!!, a Superb Corrupting Rune, a Superb Frost Rune, and a Modify Weapons stand.

Proceed down the central path to talk with an Archivist. This spirit relays some of the history of the area confirms that the Qunari have come here to learn more about the Veil. She also mentions that the librarians were recently woken by an unknown force.

Venture down the path to left of the Archivist to find a "merchant" who sells the unique shield: The Best Defense and its schematic: The Best Defense Schematic.

On the main platform behind the Archivist, the party will notice more Qunari on an "inverted island". Activate the red device to raise a portion of the steps needed to get there. However, more portions need to be raised in order to reach them. Follow the path to find another mirror to enter the Courtyard.

In the Courtyard are Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: A Flowering Imago, Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: Duel of a Hundred Years, Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: Attentive Listeners, Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: Birds of Fancy, as well as two more Eluvians near the central courtyard and a third around at the eastern edge. This third one can be completely ignored and is only used at the end to make the return trip shorter.

Note: It is better to start with the lower Eluvian on the left up the small set of steps. Completing the Broken Tower veilfire puzzle will allow you to carry a veilfire torch which is used to unlock a hidden veilfire rune in the Lower Archives accessed by the Eluvian up the longer flight of stairs.

Go through the lower Eluvian on the left up the small set of steps to enter the Broken Tower. Go up the staircase to speak to another Archivist. Proceed through the mirror to get to Scholar's Retreat. Go up the stairs to find an elven fresco. Behind this, and protected by purple flames, is a Sigil of Lyrium and Note: The Treachery of the Wolf (This is the third codex entry required to unlock the secret dialogue option at the end of the DLC). Go down the stairs opposite from where you ascended to find a red device. Once activated, make your way back to the courtyard. In the Broken Tower Qunari Defenders will attack you.

Note: In the Broken Tower, the Inquisitor can complete a veilfire puzzle needed for the Lateral Thinker achievement. See here for details.

Once the party has returned to the Courtyard after using a second red device, the Inquisitor will gain the Anchor Blast upgrade.

Go through the Eluvian that is up the long flight of stairs to enter the Sundered Hall. Go left immediately after entering to find Fade-Touched Honeycomb on skeleton swarming with bees. Climb the remains of a staircase near the skeleton and a Qunari who looks like he's been "scared to death". There will also be another aspect of the Archivist.

Talk to it and go through the mirror behind the Archivist to get to the Lower Archives. If the party carried a veilfire torch here from the Broken Tower, go straight past the stairs leading down and turn right into the small cul-de-sac, where they will find a veilfire rune on the ground. Interacting with the rune will summon a Fear Demon and several poison spiders, who will promptly try to swarm the party. They can loot a Superb Amulet of Barrier after killing the Fear Demon.

Follow the stairs down to a more well preserved section of the library. It houses the codices Codex entry: Hard in Hightown: Chapter ??? (which Varric will react to, if he is in the active party), Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: The Deepest Fade, and Codex entry: Vir Dirthara: Raising the Sonallium. Across from this there is another red device. Activate it and go back to the Courtyard. On the way back, the party will be attacked by four Ben-Hassrath Assassins and two Qunari Spearmen.

At the Courtyard, four Librarian spirits and numerous Fearlings attack. Once they have been defeated, the island is finally reachable.

On arrival, the party comes face-to-face with the Viddasala. She states that the Qunari plan on assassinating the leaders of the South and converting those who remained. In addition, she mentions how an agent of Fen'Harel had disrupted their plans. She departs, but leaves behind a contingent of Qunari to attack.

Loot Stinking Cheater, and the Darvaarad Keystone from a defeated Qunari. Search the surrounding antechambers for the Codex entry: The Risk of Saarebas, a Superb Amulet of Evasion, a Superb Amulet of Critical Chain, and the Elgar'nan Enaste Schematic (behind a wall of purple flame). Then proceed to speak to the final aspect of the Archivist.

It tells the Inquisitor that the Viddasala went to The Darvaarad, and that entry requires the keystone, and the words "maraas nehraa". The spirit then raises a path expediting the return to the Winter Palace.

While consulting with the Inquisition advisors back at the palace, Leliana explains that barrels of gaatlok have been found throughout places of power throughout Thedas. Further, someone in the Inquisition was responsible for transporting gaatlok to the Winter Palace. While Josephine laments the growing corruption of the Inquisition, the anchor flares up and the Inquisitor resolves to go the Darvaarad.

The Darvaarad[]

Note: This is point of no return, if the Inquisitor has not completed the Coroner achievement and the first three parts of the Lateral Thinker achievement, do it before entering The Darvaarad. They should also have three of the four codex entries required to unlock the secret dialogue option at the end of the DLC.

As the party proceeds down the initial path, they will be attacked by multiple Qunari. Eventually they will make their way to The Courtyard. Looting the body of one of the Qunari here will yield a Belt of Retaliation and a Gatehouse Key. Use the key to unlock the control room housing the controls for the locked door. In the control room is Codex entry: Logs of a Darvaarad Gatekeeper and the controls. To unlock the door to the next area, turn the right wheel until the right pole is fully retracted, then turn the left wheel until the left pole is retracted, then finally turn the center wheel until the top pole is fully retracted. Once this is done the door will open.

Before proceeding through the vault door, the party can explore the Research Tower to the left. It houses Codex entry: Saarath and a veilfire puzzle (see here for details). The fourth and final codex entry to unlock the secret dialogue option at the end of the DLC is found on the top floor of the Research Tower on a table next to the halla statue.

Note: Since Anchor Discharge now deals damage, the Inquisitor can use it to explode gaatlok barrels. The explosion deals massive damage to any melee enemies around the Inquisitor, and the invulnerability prevents the party from getting hurt.

When the party enters the barracks, the first door to the right will be locked, so continue down using one of the other doors. After defeating the first group of Qunari, there is the codex Codex entry: Written Instructions for New Workers on a table, and in an unlocked chest in the corner, a Superb Belt of the Winter Pact as well as the key to the locked room encountered earlier. Use it to enter the room and loot the Amulet of Physical Immunity. Proceed down to the study which has Codex entry: Letters and Replies as well as more information on the Qunari plans.

On reaching the gaatlok factory, the party will discover that the plan is named Dragon's Breath as they are using an actual dragon. Viddasala orders her men to attack. She also commands the Iron Bull to attack. If Bull's Chargers were sacrificed, or the Inquisitor did not complete Demands of the Qun, he will always turn on the Inquisitor even if romanced. He will show up here even if he is not in the active party. If this happens, the party must kill him. Otherwise he refuses to follow the order. Once these troops are defeated, search the room for the Codex entry: Orders Posted in the Factory.

On the path out is the Codex entry: Animal Handler's Logbook. This path leads to the Venom Extraction Chamber. Here the Inquisitor has the choice of killing or freeing the dragon Ataashi. To free her, use the Anchor Blast ability to blow up a wagon that is on one of the rings trapping her, then use the wheels on the upper walkway to move the flames and clear a path to the gates. One possible combination of wheel turns is to turn the left wheel 10 turns, the middle wheel 5 turns and the right wheel 9 turns. After clearing a path, pull both of the levers near the gate to open them. If Ataashi is killed, there is no loot on her.

After dealing with the dragon, again chase after Viddasala. Catching up to her this time, she reveals that Solas is a chief agent of Fen'Harel and states her intention to kill him. She then enters another Eluvian.

Elven Ruins[]

After speaking with Viddasala, the party is immediately transported to some Elven Ruins. As the party begins to chase the Qunari, the anchor creates an uncontrolled explosion and the Inquisitor gains the Anchor Meltdown ability. Be aware that now, if your focus builds up fully, an uncontrolled explosion will occur and damage your party.

Continue chasing Viddasala down, battling through multiple Qunari and going through multiple Eluvians until eventually she sends the Saarebas Saarath to attack the party. Before his health is fully depleted, Saarath will break his chains and flee. See Saarath (strategy) for tips on how to defeat him.

There are a number of Eluvians in the next courtyard. Only one leads to where the party needs to go, the rest lead back to the courtyard and turn red and inactive after being used. After leaving the courtyard, there is a single Eluvian being guarded by Saarath. Defeat him and the Inquisitor will go through the mirror alone.

Upon entering, they find themselves face-to-face with a number of Qunari turned to stone. Solas can be heard in the distance, speaking Qunlat. The Inquisitor makes their way through the Qunari statues to find Solas and Viddasala alone. Switching back to the Common Tongue, Solas asks her to tell the Qunari to trouble him no further, then turns his back on her. Unwilling to comply with his demands, Viddasala readies herself to throw a spear at him. Before she can finish, Solas' eyes flash blue and she is turned to stone, as were the other Qunari. The Inquisitor approaches Solas, but another flare from the Anchor makes them fall to their knees before him. Once Solas makes the Anchor stop acting up, they proceed to have a conversation.

If you found the Qunari notes while travelling, a special dialogue option becomes available: the Inquisitor has figured out on their own that Solas is not an agent of Fen'Harel, but Fen'Harel himself, and confronts him about it.

During the conversation, Solas reveals that he was Solas first, and that Fen'Harel came later. It was a title given to him as an insult, though he himself wore it as a badge of honor. After the Evanuris murdered Mythal and threatened to destroy the entire world, he resolved to banish them permanently by creating the Veil. This caused the downfall of the elven people, destroying countless marvels dependent on the Fade like the Vir'Dirthara and taking away the elves' immortality. When Solas woke up from his slumber, only a year before joining the Inquisition, he was horrified by the consequences of his actions, feeling like he was walking through a world full of Tranquil. Solas had hopes for restoration, however. His plan was to use the Anchor to enter the Fade and tear down the Veil. It went awry because he need someone to bear the damage of the first unlocking of the anchor and had not foreseen a Tevinter magister having unlocked the secret of effective immortality. He joined the Inquisition because he thought it was the best chance for the people of Thedas. He will also reveal that he has spies of his own in the Inquisition, like the guard who first led the Inquisitor to the dead Qunari in the Winter Palace, and found the Qunari spy with the gaatlok barrel. Though his plan to restore his people will cause the destruction of the current world, Solas would not see them fall under the Qun, as he would rather see them die in comfort.

Once the conversation is exhausted, the Anchor will flare up again. To save the Inquisitor's life, Solas takes the Anchor, along with their left forearm, and leaves through the eluvian (which are now back in his control.)

There is another special dialogue option available to those who never exhausted one of Solas' dialogue trees in the main game. The Inquisitor will declare themselves uninterested in what Solas has to say, leading him to very briefly summarize the situation before taking the Anchor and leaving through the eluvian.

The Inquisitor then returns to the Exalted Council to decide the fate of the Inquisition: serve under Divine Victoria, or disband entirely.

Rewards[]

There are no items granted for completing the quest. See Items (Trespasser) for a complete list of items that can be found throughout the quest.

Results[]

The fate of the Inquisition is decided. See Epilogue (Trespasser) for all the possible fates of the Inquisition and your companions.

Codex entries[]

For a complete list, see Category:Trespasser codex entries.

Note texts[]

For a complete list, see Category:Trespasser texts.

Approval[]

This section is incomplete and requires expansion.

Kill Jerran
- Cole Disapproves - doesn't have to be in the active party
- Dorian Disapproves
Allow Jerran to leave
- Dorian Slightly Approves
- Varric Slightly Approves
- Iron Bull Slightly Disapproves
Picking the "I have to save him" romance option when going after Solas

Cassandra Disapproves
Varric Disapproves
Vivienne Disapproves
Sera Disapproves
Dorian Disapproves
Iron Bull Disapproves
Blackwall Disapproves
Cole Greatly Approves

Picking the "I'm killing him myself" when going after Solas

Vivienne Greatly Approves
Cassandra Slightly Approves

Bugs[]

In some cases a primer is missing on one or more bombs. In particular, players (all platforms) have reported an isue with a missing primer in the chamber where you need to detonate a bomb to escape. A few players have managed to detonate the bomb to clear the passage by using fire magic next to the bomb, but the only reliable solution is to replay the sequence by loading an earlier savegame (lowering the difficulty while replaying the quest to speed up things is recommended) and save your game in new savegame slots frequently until you get past this point.