P.S.

 

If you want more Brandon Keener..... he's the voice of ISAC (the computer,) in The Division, out tomorrow. 

 

Was already getting it, but I knew it was him as soon as I played the beta! 

 

Brandon Keener's also the voice of the alien Speaker in XCOM 2.  Which I didn't recognize at first, because the Speaker is so damn sleazy

 

This thread was resurrected?  Yay!

 

I was super active on the forums after ME3, so I was sad when they locked the character forum and everyone sort of drifted out.  No announcement about re-opening it either  But I fell down a Garrus nostalgia trip earlier today, and I'm glad to see that the thread is back.

 

As much as I love the DA:I crew, for me Garrus is still best digital husbando 

I have yet to try the ladies, and I've heard great things about Dorian, but I will get to them eventually...

 

I thoroughly enjoyed Dorian's.  It gets feelsy too, though in a different way from Solas.  The feels in the Dorian romance are more understated; Dorian is the master of ninja feels.  

I... just don't see it that way. The whole magic vs. technology for me is a bogus concept. I mean, what is technology? Effectively, it is a thing that stems from our comprehensive and ever-growing knowledge of nature.... and it just happens that in magical worlds, most of the time magic IS part of that world's nature. Therefore "highly technological" civilization in a magical world is the one that is also highly magical.

 

Eberron  Lightning rails, airships sailed by dragonmarked sorcerers...*sigh*  I love that setting for precisely this reason.  Concepts like magic, religion, prophecy, and technology aren't separate or in opposition.  They're all intertwined.

I feel the need to break this out again:

 

So just created a new game with a human Mage who is extremely religious, full of herself, believes strongly in everything she's been taught about spirits and the fade being dangerous, and is very pro-circle. Solas hates her guts and it kinda makes me a little happy after how many times he's made me have the feels. Does this make me an awful person lol

 

 

I rather like Solas when you challenge him/disagree with him.  I wish Lavellan had more opportunities to do it; a lot of the already limited romance dialogue is mutually exclusive with the dialogue that confronts him.

You like Necromance dont  you?

And explain me how can they ad Krem as a companion if he is dead in my game?

They are going to invert hours in a companion just to the people who let him die don't have a companion more in DA:4

 

See also: Garrus, Tali, Kaidan, and Ashley in ME3.

There have been complaints in the past about certain romances being "forced" on the player.

It's hard to figure out what people want...

 

No one will ever be happy with how they implement dialogue, especially in the romances.  Personally, I think it was wise to err on the side of clarity and maybe lose a bit of spontaneity, but that's just me.

I don't mind the NPC initiating if it's a part of their personality, but I want the option to turn them down nicely, or to just ignore it. You don't have to outright reject someone, you can also just ignore a flirt -- "So, how about them Venatori?" But I also do NOT want the option to go anywhere. I want to be 100% sure of my intention when I click a line that is meant to be a flirt. I got ninjamanced by Leliana once in DAO simply because I was being all girly about certain things. It was quite a bummer. I don't really care if that's realistic and that you can't control how others react, it still sucked to unintentionally lead someone on.

 

Zevran.  Zevran was IMO a well-done example of an NPC initiating flirts.  I mean, it's Zev.  He flirts with the Warden after s/he has just royally kicked the tar out of him.  It's clearly part of his personality.  If you politely ask him to stop, he stops.  The only thing that I didn't like was the fact that you could net some disapproval for turning him down; I can see the justification for that with Anders, but not Zevran.  Guy hits on everything that moves, he should be able to take a simple "no."

 

Also, agreed on the heart option.  Unintentionally leading someone on is one of those IRL elements of romance that's uncomfortable for everyone.  I don't really want or need it in my escapist fantasy 

To be honest I do kinda feel like a bit of the magic has been lost with the romances in a way, because they can't be as spontaneous anymore. That is not to say that the romance arcs themselves aren't good. DAI has some of the best in the series. They have gotten better written, more nuanced, and varied. But, at the same time we have a lot of..."Warning! Clicking the heart will initiate romance with X character. Are you sure? Are you doubly sure??" I miss the days where you could unexpectedly stumble into a romance with Leliana or someone just by being nice. I think do some people have gotten offended a little too easily because some character tried flirting with them.

 

I'm of two minds on this.  On one hand, variety is the spice of life.  It would be nice for NPCs to have different approaches toward romance rather than all waiting for the PC to initiate.  On the other hand, implementation makes or breaks romance, and IMO having NPCs initiate romance was kind of a crapshoot.  For example, turning down Anders (even if you'd never shown any romantic interest) always netted rivalry points and came off a bit harsh.  Which is sort of...WTF?  Anders and Hawke are adults, not high schoolers.  Or Kaidan, claiming that you were sending him "mixed signals" when all you'd done was be polite.  Not even friendly, just basic professional courtesy.

 

I wouldn't mind NPCs initiating romance, I just think it has to make more sense than it has in the past.  And between doing it clumsily and not doing it at all, I'd rather not have it.  

I think the reason that the group is diverse is simply because it makes things more interesting: having a wide variety of backgrounds, races and ethnicities represented is better for world building than having everyone from a similar background/ethnicity. It may be exceptional in relation to the population make up of Orlais and Ferelden (mostly white human serfs), but then the Inquisition is an exceptional organisation that draws the best from across Thedas.

 

I think of it like building your team in the new XCOM games.  XCOM is an international organization, and your recruits and NPCs come from all over the world.  Diversity grows out of the organization's nature; it's not a politically correct "agenda" or anything.

Stop right there....keep playing!   If you've only played it for hours,then.....?

 

Then you're a normal human who hasn't lived, breathed, and dreamed Thedas for thousands of hours 

Gaider wrote about this, actually. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, because if you write a "straight-acting" gay man the question becomes... are gay dudes not allowed to do anything 'stereotypical'? Is there something wrong with caring about fashion? Alternatively, if you write a gay man who is in any way flamboyant everybody claims he's a walking stereotype. So he dispensed with all that and wrote a character instead, one who has his own personality and history and likes and dislikes.

 

Clearly not everyone viewed it this way, but I interpreted Dorian's personality to be a function of his upbringing and environment, not his sexuality.  He's not snarky because he's gay, he's snarky because it's a defense mechanism.  He has expensive taste because he was raised noble.  Same principle holds true for Bull, Josephine, or Sera.  Sexuality is part of their personalities, but not the sole informing characteristic.

 

IMO, what the player perceives as a "realistic" depiction of diversity is a function of where they live, and what they've experienced.  I've been in Los Angeles for a while, and whenever I go back to the Midwest to visit friends, I'm always a little weirded out by how everyone is white  So for me, a more homogenous cast would be just as jarring.  Since there's no way to make the cast "realistic" to everyone, why not err on the side of more inclusive?

Nope it isn't the topic is from october so is at best 2 months and a half old

 

That's a good idea, I will definitely consider that! I haven't got that much of a grasp on her personality yet, only that she is ambitious and often rather selfish (not the kind that will stab her friends in the back for her own gain, but she is certainly always looking out for her own interests). Hmm, being from Tevinter I think she is quite cunning, so I think she will be the kind to analyze the field of battle before doing anything hasty. She is going to be swearing a lot (thank you Fenris for teaching me Tevene swearwords!). I think she will also be condescending towards non-mages, so that will be everyone else in my party. Everyone is going to hate her! I need to name her, but can't decide if she should have an Elven name or a Tevene name. And what would her last name be, do freed slaves pick them themselves? 

 

I'd say Tevene if you want to emphasize her geographical origin, elven if you want to emphasize her race.  Which is more important for RPing the character?  Don't know about last name; if you don't need one, maybe you can get away without.  Not every DA character has a surname.

After a lot of thinking I think I may have an idea for a character for my character in the DA RPG, but I want to run it by you guys so you can help me improve upon it or tell me if something doesn't match up with the lore. 

 

Background:

My character (no name as of yet) was born an elven Tevinter slave and sold very young to a female magister with progressive views. At the age of 8 my PC is discovered to have magical talent. The magister sees potential in her, frees her and takes her as her apprentice. My PC is an ambitious woman who is not satisfied simply belonging to the Laethan class, and she is frustrated because she feels her race is holding her back. She becomes involved in different schemes, more and more dangerous as times go by. After a scheme directed at a high ranking magister is exposed she is caught and jailed. Her former mistress manages to get her out by using her connections to the Archon, but the magister realizes that my PC needs to leave Tevinter for some time. The magister therefore sends away my PC to gather newly rediscovered Elven lore and spells.

 

Goals:

Short-term - Finding newly rediscovered Elven lore and spells for the magister

Short term - Learning current and ancient Elven

More long-term - Returning to Tevinter

Lifelong goal - Becoming a magister and reforming Tevinter in accordance with her former mistress's views

 

 

This is my first tabletop RPG, do you think this will work?

 

I like the backstory  It's detailed without being convoluted.

 

IMO, tabletop roleplaying is as much about the moment-to-moment characterization as the big-picture stuff like backstory and ideals.  So it helps to also think of things like how your character immediately reacts to danger--because you'll be in a lot of it  Does she start slinging fire?  Hang back cautiously?  Any physical or verbal tics?  You wind up RPing details like these much more frequently, and they help make the character memorable.

 

For example, my 5th edition rogue has the phrase "impulsive, wiseass adrenaline junkie" written on her character sheet  That informs her immediate reaction to a lot of events.  So far she's stolen an obnoxious nobleman's doorknob, jumped into a gladiator pit with no backup, drunk from a well of pure arcane energy, and set a golem on a hapless garrison of guards.

Fanfiction chapter?  Fanfiction chapter!  It...actually has very little to do with Solas or Lavellan, but hey, shameless self-promotion for Bull and his Chargers on a Dorian rescue mission 

 

Vitae Benefaria: Krem

The sky is pretty.

 

 

*cue love triangle*

 

Liara has the excuse of being a sweet, shy dork who's "only" 106     Kaidan, you're in your 30s.  Grow some social skills

I stopped talking to Jacob after doing his loyalty mission because of that voice acting. Especially awkward when your Shepard is a lesbian.

 

I managed, via a combination of reloading and using the mute button, to find the most neutral dialogue options with Jacob.  But seriously, that is way too much f***ing effort on my part.  I liked Jacob a lot better playing as ManShep, where I didn't have to tiptoe through a minefield of awkward.

Aie, Carth. I liked him okay enough, but telling his crush that she reminds him of his dead wife was like nooo thanks. Still did the romance, but seriously? 
 
They have gotten better though, and I'll be the first to say so. Turns out it IS possible to give characters backstories and reasons for angst and feelings that are not some new flavor of "my whole family was killed" or "my true love died."

Yeah, I...urgh.  No.  Icky.  It probably didn't help that KOTOR was my first CRPG and I was 16.  Carth's son was closer to my age than Carth himself    I couldn't go through with that romance.

My Shepard and Thane had a definite attraction-but-unrequited-love thing going on. I really liked his character, but it would have destroyed the narrative I had going in my head about their interactions and feelings. Also I am so over dead wives.

Yeah, me too   

 

Though to be fair, I also think BioWare's gotten better at writing the dead ex thing.  I definitely got the creepy replacement goldfish impression with earlier LIs (Carth), but not with more recent ones (Steve Cortez, Cassandra).

Waking Sea Raider

I think you should be a pirate elf. Because pirates

--SPEAKING OF WHICH. Hello Sable, you beautiful creature! Unless I'm horribly mistaken, you're the one who initially recommended the Garrusmance to me, right? Thank you.  It's lovely. It's improved my life. At first I was like, but wait, he's an alien and also doesn't have any lips, how can this be a thing. And then I was like, **** lips.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 
Always happy to spread the turian love  I'm glad he's helped you out of the hellspiral.  Who needs lips when you have a dude with a carapace, wicked scars, and teeth like a steak knife?
 
More seriously, I just appreciate how dependable and loyal Garrus is.  He benefits from a three-game saga, but anyone who faces galactic apocalypse with you--three times over--is definitely Best Husbando 

(also thank you for giving me yet another opportunity to gush about Garrus)
 
 

I feel like your boyfriend and I should pair up and just be the nicest adventuring team ever.
 
Mine: You're playing a bounty hunter....and you let someone go? (SWTOR)
Me: Well, the husband lied, and I felt bad for his wife. So I told her to run and never come back. Oops, couldn't find her, sorry.
 
I probably need someone like him.

On balance, both my boyfriend and I play mostly good guys.  He plays good-er guys than I do, but it varies between game genres.  Let's just say that if anyone ever witnessed us playing CK2, they'd probably beat a hasty retreat 

I know this question is not too important but I think that having all of your input will help me.

When Solas leaves for good (whether it's after DLC and endgame or just endgame), how do you decide who to replace him with? Does it bother you?

When I did the Solas romance last year, I didn't care who was in the party as much and replaced him with Dorian since he shared my views.

Now that I am doing a male elf, I don't have the need for Solas but I want him in the party but the problem is that I could go for another companion who will stick with me to the end rather than doing a 2nd draft pick with 3/4th of the game finished.

In the Solas romance playthrough, my goal was just to experience it so everything else was just lighthearted decisions. Now, it's rough because I am already having trouble finding a romance for my male elf. A party configuration that shares my character's belief or at least agrees with my important decisions to feel like a cohesive unit.

Solas..you were my perfect elf mage comrade. Now, to figure out whether to invest that time or with someone else to the end.

All opinions welcome.. please help!

 

The companions all level up at the same rate whether you use them or not.  So there's no reason not to swap them freely.  You can even strip Solas of his gear before he leaves, and give it to Dorian or Viv.

 

If you're worried about the companions agreeing/disagreeing with your decisions while exploring, take Viv.  It's just my impression, but she doesn't seem to net much approval/disapproval for the stuff you do out in the world.  It's quizzy's judgements and political plays and major decisions that really swing her approval one way or another.

So random thought that might or might not have been brought up before.  If they do continue with the Inquisitor instead of starting a whole new story how are they going to address the issue of her missing an arm?  Didn't they kind of write themselves into a corner with that?  A mage wouldn't be as big an issue but mine was a rogue, you can't really do a one armed rogue.

 

There IS the crossbow arm from Sera's Trespasser epilogue slide  Mine was a rogue too, but she was an artificer.  By the endgame, most of her damage came from traps and grenades, which are perfectly viable one-handed.

 

Either the devs intended to remove quizzy as an active adventurer, in which case missing an arm isn't that big of a deal.  S/he won't be doing any fighting.  Or they intend to bring him/her back actively, which means they've already got plans for how they're going to address the missing arm.  Prosthetics, magic, whatever.  Personally I would prefer the latter; I love quizzy, and I think it would be really interesting to have a canon disabled protagonist.