Vaughan Kendells (referred to as Vaughan Urien in the City Elf Origin) is the sadistic son of the Arl of Denerim. He is the primary antagonist in the City Elf Origin and also may appear during Rescue the Queen. In The Darkspawn Chronicles, he appears in the Denerim Market and counts toward the kill quota in the task to kill ten villagers.
Click here to reveal spoilers for Dragon Age: Origins.
City Elf Origin
Just before the main character's wedding, Vaughan appears looking for women to entertain him. Shianni takes offence at his behaviour and hits him with a bottle, knocking him out cold. He later reappears with armed guards during the ceremony and kidnaps the women of the wedding party including the main character, if female. Later, the hero fights through the Arl's estate to reach Vaughan. Here, Vaughan will attempt to make a deal with the City Elf, offering 40 if Soris and the hero leaves the women behind on the estate. If the deal is rejected, the City Elf will have to fight and kill Vaughan and his accomplices. No matter how quickly the City Elf finds Vaughan, they cannot prevent him from hurting Shianni.
Rescue the Queen
If Vaughan is alive, he will be met (for a second time if playing as a City Elf who took his deal) in Howe's dungeon in Denerim. At this point in the game, Vaughan is a prisoner of Arl Howe, who officially came to Denerim in the wake of the Battle of Ostagar, which claimed the life of Vaughan's father, Urien, to reinforce the garrison. Unofficially, Howe quickly locked Vaughan in the dungeons of his own palace and usurped his position as Arl of Denerim, planning on having Vaughan become "one more victim of the elven uprising." He begs for his life, offering in exchange his vote in the Landsmeetor the key to his locked chest, which contains 40. With enough persuasion, the Warden can get the key and leave Vaughan captive or kill him anyway. Zevran will lose (-5) for releasing Vaughan, while Morrigan will gain (+2) . There is no approval change from Zevran, Alistair, Sten, Leliana, or Morrigan for killing him.
Bug!xbox360 Clicking on Vaughan first before the cell door may make it impossible to free him, the door will begin giving the same brief comment as clicking on Vaughan directly (the door remains locked). Reloading before clicking on Vaughan first may be required, although you can sometimes switch to another party member and have them successfully open the door.
Landsmeet
Vaughan can be seen during the Landsmeet if The Warden trades Denerim's vote for Vaughan's life.
Vaughan makes a cameo in Leliana's Song, though he is only heard and not seen. A servant tries to warn Vaughan about a strange noise she heard in the hallway (likely Leliana and her party), but he only strikes her for speaking out of turn. Tug will comment that the boy "will grow up to be something special one day."
If the Warden is of the city elf origin and killed Vaughan, the young noble can still be seen during the Landsmeet when the Warden will select their champion.
Some players report being unable to speak to Vaughan who may just 'snore' when you click him. As with most NPCs in the dungeon, right-click on the cell bars (as if to open). This will begin the dialogue, where you can choose to release Vaughan or not. Players also report working around this issue by reloading a save-game or exiting/returning to the dungeon. If none of the above are working it is also possible to stand near Vaughan with the cell door targeted, then cast a Area effect spell on or near him. Once the spell has expired, it may be possible to interact with the cell door and start the dialogue.
Another trick that sometimes works to get Vaughan to talk is throwing Ice/Fire/Acid bombs at the NPC Templar in the cage next to Vaughan's.
Vaughan's lockbox will sometimes not be available to open even if you got the key from him, as of version 1.04. pc The cause appears to be leaving the dungeon before speaking to Vaughan, then going back and talk to him. The only known way to avoid this glitch is to remember not to leave the dungeon before getting the key.
If you experience the above bug when trying to speak with Vaughan, the cause may have something to do with the dialogue with Arl Howe. It may work if you select the following speech options:
"Loghain's plan, Start talking"
"Dress it up if you want, you still helped murder our king."
"Pfft! I always regret talking to knife-ears! Now I'll just gut your ignorant carcasses instead!"
"It's a party, isn't it? Grab a whore and have a good time!"
"Let's take those two, the one in the tight dress, and... where's the bitch that bottled me?"
"You know elves, every now and then they get this idea in their heads that they're people."
"Ha! If you want to dress up your pets and have tea parties, that's your business, but don't pretend this is a proper wedding. Now we're here for a good time, aren't we boys?" (at the City Elf's wedding)
(If the Warden refuses his bribe) "I'll gut you myself!"
Edit
if Soris and the hero leaves the women behind on the estate. If the deal is rejected, the City Elf will have to fight and kill Vaughan and his accomplices. No matter how quickly the City Elf finds Vaughan, they cannot prevent him from hurting Shianni.
(-5) for releasing Vaughan, while Morrigan will gain 
(+2) . There is no approval change from Zevran, Alistair, Sten, Leliana, or Morrigan for killing him.
Clicking on Vaughan first before the cell door may make it impossible to free him, the door will begin giving the same brief comment as clicking on Vaughan directly (the door remains locked). Reloading before clicking on Vaughan first may be required, although you can sometimes switch to another party member and have them successfully open the door.
The cause appears to be leaving the dungeon before speaking to Vaughan, then going back and talk to him. The only known way to avoid this glitch is to remember not to leave the dungeon before getting the key.
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