Meeting Ser Cauthrien--SPOILER!!

[ElfBane]

Is the Ser Cauthrien fight winnable? The fight where Anora throws you under the bus. It seems you are supposed to be captured, so I'm assuming this fight can't be won.

[Luvian]

Yes it can be won and she gives a good weapon if you do win, but you'll miss out on the part of the game you get to do if you lose. Officially you are supposed to lose. :p

[Aelia Jusa]

It is very hard with the archers constantly stunning you but you can win. If you want the weapon but also want to do the extra quest if you're captured, you get the chance to fight her again later.

[CerebroDragon]

That optional fight was easily the most hard for me in the entire vanilla game.
I tried many variations of tactics with Wynne, Alistair, my trusty mabari and dwarven fighter PC. Eventually after many reloads, I discovered a very cheesy strategy that worked: Kiting. Retreating down the corridor and into the library, you can isolate Ser Cauthrien and one or two of the troops. Then you can use a retreating strategy to gradually whittle her down. She'll usually chase whoever is dealing out the most damage, but she is such a brutal fighter, with abilities that could almost kill in one hit.
I used Wynne's stonefist to great effect here. It took alot of time and micromanaging, but she did fall! You can then pick off the rest of the troops in the room at your leisure. It's a kind of stupid division of content though, really.

Spoilerish:
The lack of consequences for Anora's seeming betrayal was another irritating factor - I so wanted to strangle her for her little two faced performance in that cut-scene!

[robertthebard]

More spoilerish, sort of:

In her eyes, you betrayed her first. If you read the dialog prior to going into the hall, you'll see that she specifically asks to not be outted, hence the disquise. If you then out her in the dialog, she's not stabbing you in the back, she's counter punching.

[CerebroDragon]

I don't think I quite follow you Rob - from memory the game gives you no other option. I'll have to read that dialogue again to be certain, but it does seem to me its be captured (and go against the reason principally that you're there) or fight. I'm talking about Anora's reaction in the initial Ser Cauthrien
meeting, not SC herself.

She's still an untrustworthy, smooth crooning manipulator regardless of who betrayed who.

[robertthebard]

When you get the door open, she tells you that she's afraid for her life, and that she fears her father is in on it. In Dwarven society, Ser Cauthrien would be considered Loghain's Second. Telling her that Anora is with you is tantamount to telling Loghain, somebody she doesn't want to happen.

Regarding Anora, I don't like her much, nor have I trusted her much in any of my games. However, at this particular junction, telling Cauthrien that you have Anora with you is betraying Anora's wishes to remain anonymous. This encounter is unique in game: Spoiler follows:







If you lose, you don't get the game over screen anyway, you get captured.

[Felix The Assassin]

Originally Posted by CerebroDragon That optional fight was easily the most hard for me in the entire vanilla game. I tried many variations of tactics with Wynne, Alistair, my trusty mabari and dwarven fighter PC. Eventually after many reloads, I discovered a very cheesy strategy that worked: Kiting. Retreating down the corridor and into the library, you can isolate Ser Cauthrien and one or two of the troops. Then you can use a retreating strategy to gradually whittle her down. She'll usually chase whoever is dealing out the most damage, but she is such a brutal fighter, with abilities that could almost kill in one hit. I used Wynne's stonefist to great effect here. It took alot of time and micromanaging, but she did fall! You can then pick off the rest of the troops in the room at your leisure. It's a kind of stupid division of content though, really. Spoilerish: The lack of consequences for Anora's seeming betrayal was another irritating factor - I so wanted to strangle her for her little two faced performance in that cut-scene!

*SPOILER* Option two: You have made the best of the battle, and received the sword. Allow yourself to be captured *AFTER* the sword is in inventory.

*SPOILER* SC take down. Cone-of-cold works well, as does grease and fireball on the few archers that have followed SC to the doorway.

[Hayashi]

Heh. The quest that follows the PC's capture after this encounter is quite amusing. Especially one of the options you can pick to escape the cell you find yourswelf in.

[CerebroDragon]

What kind of self-respecting hero (or anti-hero for that matter) would allow themselves to get captured in such a pathetic way? I seriously think this way of dividing content by Bioware is faulty.

Besides, smashing Ser Cauthrien with the hint of the feeling that you're not really supposed to, is so much more fun.