LogFAQs > #951661371

For me it has to be quantity over quality. Like recently I replayed DA:O and Recliffe really stuck with me as a good town. It wasn't the biggest town. It didn't have the best loot, it didn't have the most NPCs, but what it did have was the most depth.

As soon as you get there one of the militia practically begs you to help stave off the undead attacking. And then you can engage in a bunch of simple side quests to make the battle easier and unite people into accomplishing a common goal, ranging from paying mercenaries to help defend the village, convincing the cowardly, skeezy barkeep to fight in the battle. Promising the blacksmith that you will search for his missing daughter. Paying for a valuable sword you took. Convincing a spy to help a defend a town he doesn't even live in..etc.

Even if you had to bribe, intimidate or even deceive some people into helping, some of them realize that they did good and will continue to help the village grow.You can do all this or just leave the village to its own devices.You don't owe these people a thing. Most of the civilians will be slaughtered and it will impact the story and how characters react to you. It's good not just because there's lots of stuff to do, but because the stuff you do has real impact on the overarching story instead of just being ultimately meaningless go to X location and kill Y enemies filler quests.