The Hissing Wastes is a large stretch of desert in western Orlais.
Background[]
The sun burned above oceans of sand, but in the sand was Stone, strong and true. Fairel hewed the Stone, and built—as great as any thaig in the deep. And with his sons' help, he ensured the thaig prospered and grew. Fairel, Paragon, fled from the strife his brilliance created, the strife that destroyed thaigs, sundered houses, from weapons that clan used against clan. His own clan and his two sons followed Fairel to the pitiless surface, the surface where they would hide from the war that took their home.
After many years Fairel, greatest of Paragons, could not bear life's burden. And with the burden growing, he called his sons to his bedside. He bade each son swear he would take care of his brother, and the brothers swore, and mourned when their father returned to the Stone. Fairel's sons built monuments to their father, locking away his great works, and worked together, for a time, side by side. Each ruled half the thaig, but each ruled differently. They argued, and heated words made the brothers duel, and where one brother fell, the other raised bloodied axe in hand, alone.
This is the tale of Fairel, Paragon among Paragons, father of two sons, who, against their father's wishes, fought from foolish words and foolish pride. For pride these halls were made—to honor a father's deeds, and grieve his loss. And for loss these halls were made, to honor a brother mourned. A father taken by time, a brother dead by my own hand. With this work behold my grief, in Stone and shifting sand.[1]
The Hissing Wastes is a stretch of sandy desert north of the Western Approach, a lonely place where the wildlife is hungry and hostile. Among the hungriest and most hostile are the dragons that make their nests here. The rare person wandering into the wastes is either hunting prized beasts or hoping to uncover evidence of a long-vanished civilization in the dunes.
—Excerpt from the quest journal
Involvement[]
Dragon Age: Magekiller[]
Dragon Age: Inquisition[]
During the conflict between the Elder One and the re-established Inquisition, the Venatori establish a significant presence in the Hissing Wastes. Thousands of years ago, Paragon Fairel fled to the surface with his clan to escape a catastrophic civil war among the dwarves waged with his inventions and founded Kal Repartha, the only known thaig built on the surface. The Venatori are searching the ruins of the long-abandoned colony for the powerful runes that Fairel created by excavating his tomb.
According to Solas, the Hissing Wastes used to be a lush forest, before encroaching sands destroyed the trees' roots. Exploring the Hissing Wastes and establishing Inquisition presence will reduce that of the Venatori and the Red Templars. To unravel the reason for the Venatori's presence in the desert the Inquisitor can gain access to the Wastes by completing the Stop Venatori Activity in the West war table scouting operation in Skyhold.
Places[]
Regions[]
- Ancient Road
- Burial Grounds
- The Canyon
- The Colossus
- The Cove
- Golden Oasis
- The Rippling Dunes
- Rock Top Ridge
- The Sand Crags
- The Shallow Basin
- Sunstop Mountains
- Tomb of Fairel
Additional places[]
Inquisition camps[]
- The Canyon Camp
- The Cove Camp
- Logging Camp
- Mountain Fortress Camp
- Sunstop Mountain Camp
- Statue Camp
- Sand Crags Camp
Characters[]
- Betyar (a unique mabari)
- Hunter (encountered on the Ancient Road)
- ... (Inquisition) (also known as the Hissing Wastes Chanter)
Merchants[]
Quests[]
- Field of Bones
- Holding the Hissing Wastes
- Let's Slay the Beast
- Notes on the Wastes
- Sand and Ruin
- The Tomb of Fairel
Rifts[]
Requisitions[]
- Artifact Requisition in the Wastes
- Lazurite Survey in the Wastes
- Nevarrite Survey in the Wastes
- Relief Requisition in the Wastes
- Shelter Requisition in the Wastes
War table operations[]
Creatures[]
Hostile creatures[]
- Lurker
- Giant spider
- Poison spider
- Legendary varghest (a unique varghest)
- Wyvern
- Dragonling
- Sandy Howler
Enemies[]
- Red Templars
- Red Templar (Warrior - One-Handed Sword)
- Red Templar Guard (Warrior - Sword and Tower Shield)
- Red Templar Horror
- Red Templar Knight
- Red Templar Marksman (Rogue - Archer)
- Red Templar Shadow (Rogue - Double Daggers)
- Red Templar Behemoth
- Venatori
- Venatori Mage
- Venatori Spellbinder (Mage)
- Venatori Marksman (Rogue - Archer)
- Venatori Stalker (Rogue - Double Daggers)
- Venatori Brute (Warrior - Two-Handed Great Axe)
- Venatori Zealot (Warrior - One-Handed Sword)
- Venatori Gladiator (Warrior - Mace and Tower Shield)
Collections[]
Bottles on the Wall[]
- Aqua Magus - search outside the Burial Grounds Tomb, south of Logging Inquisition Camp.
- Flames of Our Lady - search northwest of the Sunstop Mountain Inquisition Camp in the quarry structures.
- Silent Plains Piquette - search the primary Venatori Camp located southeast of the Sunstop Mountain Inquisition Camp.
Dragon Hunter[]
Landmarks[]
Mosaics[]
Shards[]
Skyhold Customizations[]
- Dwarven Banner - in the tomb located in The Canyon, or obtained from The Vaults of Valammar in the Hinterlands.
- Dwarven Banner Crown - in the tomb located at the Burial Grounds, or obtained in Daerwin's Mouth on the Storm Coast.
- Tevinter Banner Crown - in a chest in a small camp beside a large rock, close to the Golden Oasis, north east of the Canyon Inquisition Camp.
Resources[]
Herbs[]
Leather[]
- August Ram Leather
- Dragonling Scales
- Fennec Fur
- Hardened Gurn Hide
- Lurker Scales
- Rough Hide
- Varghest Scales
- Wyvern Scales
Metals[]
Notable items[]
Elven artifacts[]
- Northwest of Sunstop Mountain Inquisition Camp, at the bottom of the ladders leading down from Rock Top Ridge.
- Inside the tomb located at Sunstop Mountains, at the utmost bottom of the scaffolding.
Logging stands[]
- A few paces north of the Logging Inquisition Camp.
- North of Sand Crags Inquisition Camp, west of the Mountain Fortress Inquisition Camp near a blue tent.
Quarries[]
- Halfway between the Sand Crags and The Cove Inquisition Camps, directly south of one of the Rifts near the Sand Crags underneath two giant overlapping rocks (far east of the Logging Inquisition Camp).
- In the Shallow Basin just north of the Burial Grounds, directly north of The Empty Square landmark.
Veilfire glyphs[]
- Fire Rune Schematic - found in a tomb east of the Mountain Fortress Inquisition Camp; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel.
Loot[]
- Armor of the Knights-Divine - looted from the Sandy Howler high dragon.
- Bloodwake - dropped by a Venatori Overseer at the Venatori Camp located in the Sunstop Mountains; see side quest Sand and Ruin.
- Helm of the Drasca - available at the Canyon Merchant for 6103 .
- Masterwork Battlemage Coat - randomly available at the Canyon Merchant for 8121 .Note: Requires The Short List Inquisition perk.
- Masterwork Battlemaster Coat - randomly available at the Canyon Merchant for 14212 .Note: Requires The Short List Inquisition perk.
- Masterwork Prowler Coat - randomly available at the Canyon Merchant for 8121 .Note: Requires The Short List Inquisition perk.
- Perseverance - see ... (Inquisition)
- Promise of the Storm - looted from a chest within the Tomb of Fairel; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel.
- Robes of the High Keeper - looted from the Sandy Howler high dragon.
- Superb Belt of Melee Defense - looted from a chest within the Sunstop Mountain Tomb; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel.
- Superb Demon-Slaying Rune Schematic - available at the Canyon Merchant for 7294 or looted from a chest within the Tomb of Fairel; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel.
- Superb Ring of Attack - looted from a chest within the dwarven tomb located near the Sand Crags Inquisition Camp; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel.
- Superb Ring of Barrier Penetration - looted from a chest within the Tomb of Fairel; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel.
- Superb Ring of Critical Damage - looted from a chest within the Burial Ground Tomb; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel
- Superb Ring of Guard Penetration - looted from a chest within the Canyon Dwarven Tomb; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel.
- Superb Ring of Sundering - looted from a chest within the Colossus Tomb; see side quest The Tomb of Fairel.
- Superb Stamina Amulet - looted from the Sandy Howler high dragon.
Strange Orb[]
- East of the Statue Inquisition Camp is a set of boxes with an orb on top that can be taken but does not appear to do anything, nor will it appear in any quest.
Codex entries[]
- Codex entry: A Worn Diary
- Codex entry: Blood-Spotted Venatori Diary
- Codex entry: The Colossus of Orlais
- Codex entry: Demons of the Stone
- Codex entry: Draft of Letter to Venatori Magisters
- Codex entry: Dwarven Inscriptions: Hissing Wastes
- Codex entry: The First Blight: Chapter 3
- Codex entry: Folded Letter
- Codex entry: The Hissing Wastes
- Codex entry: A Journal on Dwarven Ruins
- Codex entry: Map of Tomb of Fairel
- Codex entry: Note From the Silent Quarter
- Codex entry: A Sand-Covered Note
- Codex entry: Sketch of Burial Grounds Tomb
- Codex entry: Sketch of Canyon Tomb
- Codex entry: Sketch of Colossus Tomb
- Codex entry: Sketch of Four Pillar Tomb
- Codex entry: Sketch of Sunstop Mountain Tomb