Kristoff was a Grey Warden who battled the darkspawn in the aftermath of Battle of Denerim and investigated curiously organized darkspawn raids that lead him into the underbelly of Amaranthine in Dragon Age: Warden's Fall.
Background
Before being recruited into the Grey Wardens, he was a bounty hunter who was familiar with the seedy underbelly of Amaranthine. He was stationed in a Grey Warden stronghold of Jader in Orlais, where his wife Aura is during his stay in Ferelden.
Involvement
Dragon Age: Warden's Fall
After the death of Urthemiel, Kristoff was one of the Orlesian Grey Wardens called to Ferelden to dispatch darkspawn that had failed to return underground. Due to Fereldans' history with Orlesians, the Grey Wardens were put under orders of a Fereldan soldier, Lieutenant Gable, operating out of Vigil's Keep. The Lieutenant assigned the Wardens army titles whilst they were under his command, and Kristoff's rank was that of a Sergeant. Sergeants are team leaders, and thus Kristoff led his own party of Wardens under his command.
Kristoff
Kristoff is first seen leading his fellow Grey Wardens as they chase darkspawn spotted in the area. His party consists of a human mage, human warrior wearing a shield, and an elven archer named Rhyn. They manage to track down the darkspawn to a nearby village, but by the time they arrive there, it is burned to the ground. He orders his men to leave the wounded behind so that they could catch up to the darkspawn responsible. When the mage objects and heals a dying man, Kristoff forces him to the ground. The mage dares not to oppose him then, and agrees to follow his lead.
The party manages to catch up to the darkspawn. The elf Rhyn is killed in the skirmish. Later, when the Orlesian Grey Wardens celebrate at The Crown and Lion, seeing the dead elven boy makes Kristoff reminiscent a memory of a burning village and a human woman holding dead body of a human boy.
He is called away from the party by Lieutenant Gable. Kristoff states to Gable that he wishes to be relieved of service in Ferelden so that he could return home to his wife Aura. Gable tells Kristoff that his last task for him will be to investigate a massacre outside of City of Amaranthine due to Kristoff knowing the territory quite well from his time as a bounty hunter.
He then speaks with an elven survivor, who was being healed in the Chantry of our Lady Redeemer. The elf tells him that a man called Cyril led a group of refugees to a safe place, but it was revealed that he lied to them and left them to die. Kristoff promises the elf to find his son, taken by the attackers.
Later Kristoff interrogates one of his old contacts in the city, a dwarven pimp by the name of Bartholomew. When asked about the smuggler and after having been paid, the dwarf describes Cyril to the Grey Warden, but demands more for his location. Kristoff loses his patience and becomes violent towards him. He threatens to kill the dwarf the same way he's been killing the darkspawn for the past three years. Scared, the pimp reveals Cyril would be found at The Full Moon for the Blood Duel, an underground fight club.
At The Full Moon, Kristoff is recognised by a couple of thugs who assumingly knew him from his past as a bounty hunter. One of the thugs approaches Kristoff from behind, intending to stab him, but Kristoff outsmarts him, quickly killing the thug with his sword. This made Cyril spot him, which in turn caused him to attempt an escape. Kristoff chases him, through the city, keeping up with the smuggler who knows all the secret passages. Finally, atop the Guard House, Cyril ends up in a dead end, stuck between Kristoff and a certain-death jump. Out of the two, he chooses the latter, despite Kristoff warning him not to.
However, the smuggler did not immediately die. Before he expired, Kristoff learned from him that Blackmarsh and "an unspeakable evil" located there are involved in the attacks he investigates. Kristoff is then seen walking away from Cyril's lifeless body.
Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Kristoff's corpse
Eventually Kristoff is found dead at hands of a sentient darkspawn known as First, his corpse serving as a lure designed by The Mother to trap the Commander into the Fade. After the encounter in the Fade, the spirit of Justice finds itself in Kristoff's body.
In several posibilities of the epilogue it states that Justice has left Kristoff's body, in case of which Kristoff's wife Aura claims it and gives it a proper burial. Justice may be decapitated during the battle to save Vigil's Keep, it may release the body upon request of Aura, or when its mortal body is killed by the Warden-Commander if failed to convince it to side with Architect. Alternatively, if Justice was never recruited, it remains in the body until it rots completely, with Aura never finding out the fate of her husband.
Trivia
- In Warden's Fall, Kristoff is a short-haired warrior wielding a two-handed weapon. In Awakening, he is a bald man with a mace and shield. In the webseries he also sports a big scar on his left eye extending across his cheek, which is missing in Awakening.
- Aura mentions Kristoff having a grandfather who was also named Kristoff. Considering that they may be from Orlais, it is very likely that the Warden-Commander Kristoff mentioned in Dragon Age: The Calling is said grandfather.
- An unknown period of time passes between the events of Dragon Age: Warden's Fall and Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening. During this time Kristoff continues his investigation, changes his armour and weapon, rents a room at the inn where he befriends Sorcha, and partially shaves his beard, as in the series he has a stubble whereas in the game he has a goatee.
- It is possible that Kristoff joined the Grey Wardens as his home village was attacked by darkspawn. The boy seen being held by the blond-haired woman in Kristoff's memories may have been their son. Kristoff acts kindly towards the elven father who lost his son to the darkspawn, which is unlike him as he is shown as a ruthless slayer of darkspawn in the rest of the series.
See also
Codex entry: Kristoff's Journal
