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What Happens When You Drink Lyrium Potions in Dragon Age Origins?

Lyrium potions are the basic magic points restoration item in the "Dragon Age" video game series. Lyrium, the material that is used to make the potions, is deeply rooted in the game's story and lore which makes it more than just an item that performs some sort of game play function. It is typical in role-playing games (RPGs) to limit how many magic spells a spell-casting character can use in RPGs because it emphasizes the power of the magic without making the magic overpowering to the point where it becomes the only attack worth using in the game.

When Mages Use Lyrium
- Mages are the only characters in the game that benefit from Lyrium as an item. In "Dragon Age," mages use "Mana" to power many of their spells. Some spells lower the character's Mana maximum capacity when in use instead of draining Mana from the character's reserves. Mana is given a numerical value to define how much of it a particular character can use and how much a particular spell takes to cast. When a mage drinks a Lyrium potion, a portion of their used Mana is returned to them. Players often conserve Lyrium potions for their mages to restore Mana in long, difficult battles. Lyrium potions also let mages burn through spells very quickly and then restore their Mana, avoiding leaving them defenseless in combat.
When Rogues and Warriors Use Lyrium
- Rouges and Warriors in the "Dragon Age" series use "Stamina" to power their special moves. There is a different stamina-restoring potion that these characters can use to restore their special move energy. If you pull up a stamina-using character's quick menu, it will not display Lyrium potions or let you use them on characters that don't benefit from them. While Warriors do not benefit from Lyrium potions, they do play a role in the Templar character subclass in "Dragon Age: Origins" and Fenrir's unique character in "Dragon Age II."
Lyrium Lore
- The Lyrium material is central to magical aptitude and power in "Dragon Age: Origins." It is a type of rock typically mined out of caves -- although it can be found in rock formations elsewhere -- by dwarves. The dwarves themselves lack the ability to use the Lyrium for magic purposes and often trade it with the elves and humans on the surface. It's uncommon for humans and common for elves to have magical aptitude to benefit from the Lyrium. The church-like organization in the game, the Chantry, infuses their mage-fighting warriors, the Templar, with Lyrium to give them the ability to cancel out magic. However, the Templar become dependent on the material.
Lyrium Addiction
- It is possible for someone to get addicted to Lyrium and develop a Lyrium dependency in the "Dragon Age" series. While the game treats Lyrium like a drug, the Lyrium potions you use in the game do not have any sort of addiction-related effect on your characters. While you meet several Lyrium-addicted and dependent characters in the series, none of your characters can develop the condition in gameplay.

Xbox 360