So Mage is my favourite class but I was a bit disappointed by the lack of background options for it. And since I love the Human Noble Origin I decided to try and make mage available for it.  I was a bit surprised there weren't any other mods available for this option except for the fantastic Dalish Mage- Origin mod. This is my first mod so I'm pretty happy with it so far.

It sort of snowballed from there, because I decided to do City Elf as well and thought I might as well include Dalish Elf as well. The Dwarf Noble Mage was a bit of a surprise extra, because the way it's set up in the toolset means the Dwarf and Human Noble backgrounds share the same strings. I originally didn't have a default character for it so it just turned up blank, but I decided to do one up anyway just in case someone wanted it. I didn't include Dwarf Commoner as a mage, because like I said it was a surprise bonus, but if anyone wants it just ask and I'll make that up and upload a new version with it included. 

I haven't tested it all the way through with each background (yet) but I have tested the city elf through to Ostagar. Wynne definitely didn't recognize the Warden and neither did the Tranquil.  

I'm considering making a mod where all combinations and romance options (ie. male mage elf with human noble background marrying Alistair) are available. If anyone has any interest let me know in the posts.

EDIT: Now includes an Optional download for those that want Dwarf Commoner to be available as well. Found in the Optional Files section of the Files page. This is the full Manual installation. If you already add the original, just delete and replace with this one. 


INSTALLATION:
Remember to back up your saves.
Simply unzip the folder and place it in your override folder. Usually found in Documents/Bioware/Dragon Age/packages/core. Some good instructions are found here if you need help: Using Dragon Age Mods for Dummies. 

If you have multiple mods installed add "zzz_" (without quotation marks) in front of the folder name. ie zzz_Non-Circle Mage. This will mean it gets "read" last and override any other files.  

I've also included a .dazip version but I had trouble installing that with DAModder. It worked fine with DAO Mod Manager though. That might just be on my end though.


TO UNINSTALL:
Simply delete the folder from your override folder or use the Mod Managers to uninstall. 


WARNING:
This mod affects the character creation screen in Awakening as well if you create a new character. It gives you all the usual options of the six backgrounds, but the game still seems to recognize you as an Orlesian Warden. I've only played the first few minutes just to test it out though so I'm not entirely sure.


MISC INFO.

Testing
Like I said, I haven't completely played all the way through on all backgrounds so let me know if you find any dialogue missing/not working. I have quite a few mods installed and haven't run into any problems yet (that's only limited playtime though). 
EDIT 28/5/202: I've tested the new dialogue (version 1.01) through to the end of the Broken Circle quest. Did a pro-Templar run (which I'd never done before) and would definitely not do it again. Getting that "Annullment Invoker" achievement was something I never wanted.

Dialogue 
I'm pretty sure I got everything but I was up all night going through pretty much every dialogue so if I might have missed something in my sleep deprived state. I learnt BioWare's plot flags are seemingly random. Some dialogues are marked to check background, some by class. It was fun reading through all the dialog options though. "If Ulred is doing his thing." And Duncan telling you off for stealing! 

These dialogues will probably conflict if you have mods affecting dialogue. The big ones are Alistair, Wynne and Morrigan. If you have mods that alter their dialogues use the override version of the mod and delete their dialogue files. In regards to Alistair I do eventually plan on doing a less gendered version of his dialogue (ie. get rid of all the gender plot flags) so it should hopefully be compatible with the Bi Overhaul mod. 

The only one that I didn't edit was Kester manning the boat. For some reason he has no editable dialogue in his file. 

Gregoir's dialogue should also restore the option to turn Godwin in for lyrium smuggling and give Alistair a small approval increase if you turn in Godwin. It also restores the ability to turn Morrigan in as an apostate. There's no cutscene as such, but it's implied she shapeshifted offscreen (since that's what was actually supposed to happen).I also learnt at some point this quest was apparently able to be done after the Landsmeet, because there are dialogue options for before and after. Since I found them interesting I've restored some of them. Depending on whether you did the Circle first or not will now change some dialogue.

I've now included the dialogue files to have the ability to marry Alistair or Anora regardless of race/class. I also removed gender checks, but haven't changed the dialogue so your Warden will get misgendered. There are a few mods like the two mentioned below that do a better job of this. If you have a female Warden romancing Alistair or male Warden romancing Anora you should have no problems. There are two versions. The "Normal" is the same as the vanilla game. The "High Persuade" version requires you to have the "Very High Persuade" skill. Alistair or Anora will reject you at first and then you can either persude them or carry on as normal. 

Compatibility
Qwinn's Fixpack- The new dialogue is all compatible with Qwinn's Fixpack. Just make sure you use the manual version of the mod and delete the alistair_main and morrigan_main files. Unfortunately one of their bug fixes changes one of Leliana's conversations, so City Elf Mages will get Circle dialogue. I eventually want to make a version for all the main followers that also has bug fixes but it will take some time as there's quite a lot of dialogue and bug fixes to get through. They should be easily avoidable conversations so I'd suggest just avoiding them. Wynne is the one with the most amount of references and her dialogue is included and bug free (compatible with Qwinn's Fixpack).

Alistair Male Romance and Marriage is a good alternative if you want to make your Warden marry Alistair regardless of being mage, elf, dwarf. I've now included dialogue files for the Landsmeet and Anora so you can marry them. I also removed the gender checks but I haven't changed the dialogue (my Toolset is not cooperating with that) so your Warden will get misgendered.

Starting Inventory
I chose a few different items based on how I usually RP the character. Noble Human has high-end Tevinter robes, Dalish Elf has a modified "lesser" Tevinter robe (which was inspired by the one in the Dalish Mage- Origin). The City Elf has weapons in their inventory, but they aren't equipped because elves aren't allowed to carry weapons. Note that the weapons Duncan provides a male elf are class-restricted so you won't be able to use them. I haven't played the Dwarf Noble Origin yet, so I wasn't entirely sure what to include with them so I mostly left it as the default. I had read somewhere that you lose all your inventory, so I added more coin and some gems to sell for Ostagar.

If anyone has suggestions about what to include in the starting inventories just post it here. I only did a quick job of them so I intend to do a more thorough job later. 

Thanks
A big thank you to KyoParadox for their Dalish Mage- Origin mod. You inspired me to try modding a similar mod myself and I quite enjoyed using your mod. 
BioWare for both Dragon Age and the toolset.

Another big thank you to Qwinn for their developer's notes regarding their fix packs.

I think my next project will be tackling all the gendered dialogue and then I want to recreate the human commoner origin. Suggestions are welcome!

I hope you all enjoy using this mod and being mages outside of the Circle of Magi!