Sacred Haven of Debauchery

In the second DA, all quests either arrive via mail or an NPC runs up and tells you where to go. In many cases, a marker also appears on the map.

During my first playthrough, I didn't get Fenris because I refused to do the gnome's quest.
Or are you talking about how in old RPGs you had to talk to every NPC to find a quest? I'm not arguing, it was good, even interesting, but not very convenient for those who want maximum action, including plot-related action (which is hardly found in dialogues). Time imposes the laws of rhythm on us, and there's no escaping that.