The Howe name was once great, known across Ferelden as honorable stewards of their lands and protectors of their people's freedom. But then Arl Rendon Howe betrayed the teyrn of Highever, assumed a title that did not belong to him, threw his lot in with a regicide, and was slain for his deeds. And yet he was the lucky one. He did not live to see his surname dragged through the mud, his family stripped of titles and lands. It is Rendon's son Nathaniel who has suffered for the sins of his father. He has been left with nothing, a pariah forced to live by wits alone. All he knows is that the father he loved is dead by a Grey Warden's hand and that those murderers have now installed themselves in his childhood home.

Although spirit warriors employ magical abilities, they are not mages; instead, they flirt with inhabitants of the Fade who agree to augment mortal abilities in exchange for a glimpse of the physical world. Naturally, the Chantry's templars rarely acknowledge that distinction.

Page 4 of the Penny Arcade Awakening comic is up. The Stranger is discovered by guards! Holy Buckets, what'll happen? http://bit.ly/bJha8U

BioWare and Sony have now published a patch for the PS3. Please check your Playstation Home network or Dragon Age: Origins launcher for details.

Patch notes:
- Various changes have been made to code and resources to support the Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening expansion pack.

- At higher levels, non-player characters now receive a bonus to armor penetration. This mitigates an unintentional imbalance with well-armored high-level characters, since armor penetration previously did not scale as aggressively as armor itself did.

- Elite-rank enemies (lieutenants) can no longer be shattered. This preserves the intended tactical design of many combat encounters.

- Portraits for summoned creatures were displaying improperly while in the party camp. This no longer occurs.

- All book-based specializations will now automatically unlock once the Warden reaches level 14. Books will still be available from vendors so you can unlock these specializations before level 14.


- Modified game-side achievement system to allow adding new ones.

- Fixed a streaming problem that made props disappear. This no longer occurs.

The Blight has been defeated, or so everyone has heard. And yet the darkspawn still range across the north of Ferelden. By all accounts, these darkspawn are organized despite the death of the archdemon, following the lead of unknown commanders. No civilized person can say where these darkspawn commanders come from, but they think, speak, and act with purpose, which makes them dangerous indeed.