I have this exact problem, but I found a way to work around it. >_>
You turn on your internet connection, launch the game via origin, and then you turn off your modem/router and the game works normally. That's what I do, cause I don't like playing online as I see no purpose in doing so either. <.<
I'm only having a problem with game freezing 3 times and then it crashes to desktop saying it stopped working. I've already complained about it here and on nexusmod forum, but so far...nobody has offered a solution.
Trust me, someone offered the solution to patch the game. I did that and regretted it, cause 1.05 patch breaks the game and makes it unplayable, and I had to re-install the game twice because of that damn patch. -.- So I'm not patching the game again.
I can't have a normal gameplay when initiating conversation with NPC causes freezing as if the game is refreshing and then after 3 times of behaving like that, it crashes. I've managed to finish several walkthroughs (noble female, dalish elf, city elf, noble dwarf) and I have casteless dwarf, female mage, however, I have created male mage (for blood mage ability, since I forgot about it with female mage) and now in Brecillian Forest, the game keeps freezing and crashing. I don't know how to go around it. -_-;
