Shale's DLC pack has a place in gaming history: priced at an outrageous $15 or your regional equivalent, you'd think EA was just using BioWare to gouge people, and, well, you'd be right -- that's been the case since they bought it, in fact -- but in this case, it's not for the reason one might think.

During the PS360 era, when console digital storefronts were still in their infancy and the vast majority of people still bought their games in physical media, stores like GameStop were thriving with their trade-ins and secondhand game sales. This situation led to publishers raising this huge panic around used games claiming that, since profit from the used copy went only to the store, they represented lost sales, were the same as piracy and thus, were killing the industry.

The problem, in their eyes, was the console license management model, or the lack thereof. On the PC, they could rely on serial codes and online activation (which god knows Microsoft tried to push with the XOne) to restrict the resale of games, but console users needed only to insert the disc and play. So how do you nudge users towards buying a new copy of your game instead of a used one? These publishers realized that, while you can't have a serial code for the game, what if you had to use a code for something else?

Enter the online pass, a single-use code included with new copies that enabled your account to use a title's online mode. Bought the game secondhand? Lent your copy to a friend? Lost the voucher, or didn't have one in the first place due to a packaging error? Tough luck, time to shell out for another pass. This anti-consumer practice was widely reviled, but had immense popularity for a time among publishers, who frantically searched for ways to contrive such a voucher so to drive the used copies' value down.

And contrive they did: they looked to purely single-player games, which didn't have an online mode to cut access to. In Dragon Age's case, in a display of total unscrupulousness, EA had BioWare slice away a piece of the game to sell as a $15 DLC, which you could get for free with a code included in new copies. That piece they cut out, as one might guess, is The Stone Prisoner, and that's why this DLC pack is so hard to fully enjoy. Even though I always had it for my playthroughs, it never felt like part of Origins, but instead, like a scam, a piece of the game cut out and generously returned to me.

One can even see the gashes from where they cut Shale off from the main game: the DLC begins with some random merchant showing up and conveniently giving the Grey Warden a golem control rod for no particular reason -- not even asking for a trade, or a quest, or any sort of fair exchange. What follows from there is mostly fine: The quest in Honnleath is, unusually for a DA:O DLC, interesting, and Shale is a fun character. It's true that, in an all-star cast like Origins's, I would probably rank her near the bottom, but she's nevertheless entertaining and an interesting insight into the golems and the history of the dwarves, with extra lines during the Orzammar main quest should you choose to bring her. But then again, wouldn't it have been better had she just been part of the main game, met as part of the Orzammar quest to begin with? The thought never leaves my mind.

So at first, I wasn't gonna bother writing this since it would more or less be how I outlined ME3's From Ashes last year, but since I developed more thoughts surrounding the DLC and Shale themself once finishing the questline, it's become a bit more justified. Off the bat though, this shouldn't have been a Day One DLC deal. It was during that era where EA (and/or maybe Bioware? I'm unsure who's at fault here) thought that the best way to secure finance was to bundle in a special pack-in with every new copy fresh on release a la download codes, which I never got the intention for reasons I don't think I'd have to elaborate on. This is made mostly moot now since Ultimate Edition, the version people are extremely likely to pick up nowadays, bundles everything together, but it sure was a sign of things to come, even if Shale isn't quite as integral and significant to the game's plot/worldbuilding as Javik later becomes...

Speaking of, Shale! I like them, maybe not quite to the level of "mainstay if not doing round robin swaps", but they're still a rather common pick for any situation and build archetype I put myself in. This is mainly from how they're augmented, which makes for one of the better parts of not only this add-on, but the entire game. See, Shale's kit is stylized after a Jack Of Trades approach, containing four branches which allows them to become either a rock-hurling archer, a hard-hitting DPSer, a stonewalling tank, or a beefy support unit, all of which have their own talents to pick up in each level ups. Set up the right tactics and/or controlled micromanagement, and they do most of these roles super well, even to the point of outpacing other companions vying for the same slots on occasion... when they work. Unfortunately, DAO's bug-riddled state has crept onto the mighty golem so some of their talents are majorly borked, making them less effective than they ought to be. I already have the essential PC mods detailed for the main game's review, but as a quick prelude to that you're gonna need Shale's Talents - Fixes Only and some files from Dain's Fixes mentioned in the other mod's page. Even without those they still function well, just ya know... a lot weaker.

As for their writing, they're more or less my main source of humor. The overall party comp makes Bioware's obvious and continuous inspirations of pop culture gags and Whedonism more tolerable (to a degree anyway), so that combined with David Gaider's rather humorous development backstory for their pigeon hate, mean you get a sassy ass partner in a game already containing a handful of them. I'm somewhat easy to please when it comes to this personality role to begin with, but there's something charming about always seeing the Honnleath exit cutscene, some of the dialog options you can pick when conversing, tagged along during the main story with their own unique interjections and (dis)approval flags, or the usual party banter out in the overworld, especially if they're pertaining to Sten (quick bonding due to similar philosophies), Wynne (somewhat gradual togetherness even if it can be quite besmirching), and Alistair (half and half). There was already a reason to pick them up as early as possible, due to the level area for Honnleath just low enough for newcomers to clear and being a quick enough detour, as well as having some really good gear to compliment any of the three classes - especially Helm Of Honnleath, which is hands down one of the best helmets in the game (EDIT: I forgot to mention Cadash Stompers as well, these are also really good equipment though not as much) - this is just adding more on top of an already delectable companion DLC.

My only (other) issue is that, for a character who's main arc is about their identity and blanked memories, to the point designer Rob Bartel stated the intention behind their voice delivery, containing an intrinsic tie to the Anvil Of The Void arc of Orzammar's questline regarding Caridin and her voluntary action amongst the Dwarven troops to becoming a golem, not to mention they can potentially die if brought along and choosing to oppose the old Smith Paragon... there's a lack of substantial material in this regard. It's hard to explain; they're not quite as "new buddy excuse" as Zaeed and Kasumi later became since Shale actually interacts with and plays a major role in the base game, but they don't have nearly the same substantial pull Javik has in regards to a beating presence and lore+worldbuilding additions aside from a couple of lines and a sliver of new codices. They're sorta like Kang The Mad from Jade Empire a game I should finally write about since it's been a week after beating it, they have meaningful contributions and I appreciate their roles outside of that, but the sudden wrap-up of their arc feels rather awkward. Honestly though, maybe it's for the best. Shale's pretty content with themselves and finally getting closure to something they pondered about since their introduction, and they didn't need some grand change to reflect their new state: they're now fully comfortable about who they were and what they are now, having grown appreciative to you for doing everything for them even if there wasn't a motive to do so, culminating in being referred to as "you" signifying an equal level. That's pretty dang satisfying for me.