Hechicera wrote...
(Long story alert)
I think it is *easier* to kill him as a female Cousland. As another mentioned above, Cousland's are only royalists if the royalty is good for Ferelden. The Cousland line predates Ferelden and has thier own code of noblesse oblige (in the moral obligation sense). This is brought out in the Codex, the early Noble origin and in the Keep DLC. I really can't see any other origin caring as much about the "good of Ferelden". The origin aloso makes it clear you were bred and educated in using power, and not for evil.
One of my female Cousland did in one of the three endings I played for her. I liked it second best from an RP point of view. She did romance him. RP-wise this only works with Alistair unhardened. This is how it unfolds:
As a second child and a daughter with her older brother already having an heir (so her father had an heir and a spare) it was clear her likely future was an arranged marriage. Howe was clearly sniffing out his chances with his son. Since the honor of her family relied on her reputation, she was not sleeping around, at least not before an arranged marriage and her probably production of an indisputable heir and a spare in her future. This meant she was well versed in power, nobility, politics, obligations of nobility and took them all seriously, but wasn't much more romantically experienced than Alistair. She may not have like the constraints her future need to produce an undisputed heir for some politically convenient person made on her sexuality, but she would have understood her duty and lived up to it. But, her origin tale unfolds and she is a reluctant Grey Warden. She accepts out of duty not glory. Family ties are severed, this now means her marriage and love life are her own. Of course that is the last thing she is thinking about ... then.
Ironically as the early campaign unfolds she has to beat both a needy Alistair and Leliana off with a stick. It is really hard to beat a needy Alistiar off, esp. when everyone he just knew was betrayed and slaughtered. So, yes a romance starts. It is a real romance. When it starts she has no idea he is a king's bastard. The romance does start slowly though. As you would with anyone who had been through something traumatic, she continues to offer him reassurance. How was she to know that needy is his normal state? When he announces before Redcliffe she is rather annoyed really. Not about him trusting her, but the danger. That sort of a thing is important to know. Then his reason for not telling her, selfish. She never had the luxury of hiding her status and seeing if people "just liked her for herself". At the time she is the last Cousland (as far as she knows). But, still then, she can understand. This though is the first sign of trouble. In other respects Alistair does seem to have and be developing a sense of duty so initially this early selfishness stands out little. When he asks to find Goldanna immediately, she offers him more reassurance. His response is to fully declare love (it seems) even with a line that he hasn't paid as much attention to how hard it was for her. Considering her whole family was slaughtered, she agrees, but thinks things are turning around. And Alistair's has the "don't kick the puppy" thing going on for him.
It isn't until right at the Landsmeet that she realizes things are not turning around. But first, we must understand women who wield power in an era of male inheritance and political marriages. My character is capable of respect without full agreement, another trait needed in high politics. Anora understands power. The thing that really sets up Alistair for death is the female Cousland and Anora developing mutual respect. Trusts completely, no. But this is politics. Personal compromises and sacrifices made for political duty and the good of Ferelden are expected. The Cousland PC's mother was no wimp herself. Seeing eye to eye with other strong women should have been in character.
When you are working prior to the Landsmeet, Alistair continues to express anxiety and unwillingness to govern. This is bad. But, well, he has you, so it isn't fatal. The contrast with Anora is stark though. Anora insinuates that her father may also in some way be a victim of Howe, if a willing one. She does not excuse her father, and for political expediency is willing to allow her father to die and herself to be married to Alistair. She admits her first marriage was political with mistresses and she did her duty in public. She openly challenges, and will accept the Cousland female as a mistress behind the scenes. I repect her for wanting to know. Sure Anora is in it for herself. But she will also do the right thing by Ferelden at significant personal cost. Feeling that she is not short on ruling savvy and connections of her own, my character felt she would be equal to making Anora live up to her offers.
So into Landsmeet we go. Anora supports us and us usual the Cousland woman does all the talking. Loghain is forced into the duel which he loses. When the PC tries to accept Riordan's offer yes, you get Alistair's hissy fit. Anora is calm. So, lets get this straight - he is willing to go from 4 to 3 Grey Warden's just because he doesn't like *what type* of death sentence you are placing on Loghain. Without metagame, we don't know Loghain will survive joining. Survival rate of the warden's at Ostagar was abysmal. So, yes, a death sentence, just delayed, giving him a chance to die at joining or in battle. My Cousland PC would have allowed Howe to live, as long as he couldn't do more harm, if that was the trade off she needed to make to defeat the blight and fix Ferelden. Yet, Alistair is not capable of delaying personal gratification for the good of Ferelden or defeating the blight.
The following dailog would have come back to my PC then. Loghain's own second in command standing down (the PC used persuasion) and allowing his defeat. Wynn's comments about Grey Wardens also being protectors of all and that resonating with her inbred noblesse oblige. Wynn's pointy questions about having to chose between the blight and Alistair, and her difficulty finding an acceptable answer. Alistair's banter dialog where he was asked the same question by Wynn but blew it off as "that's a stupid question". Alistair's comments about sleeping with the hounds when in noble houses, and his inability to fend off Morrigan when questioned about what he learned in the Chantry. Alistair (unhardened) had none of the training or values needed to rule, and was now displaying this, clearly (and viciously pointed out by Anora!). Not only that, but see how easily he had been led about by the PC. The choice was between not only Alistair and the blight, but Alistair and the blight and a stable Ferelden. A Cousland could (and did) chose defeating the blight and a secure Ferelden over Alistair. Not without anguish, but not with evil intent either. Alistair did have a claim to the throne, but he was self-centered, weak, vengeful, had no desire to rule and in the presence of a strong woman, malleable. Yes, he had to die.
The PC would feel horrible, yes, but would do it.
Afterwards, she would still be conflicted. She would still feel the decision was correct (and without metagaming it is - she doesn't know a hardened Alistair makes a good king). It was her lack of judgment and constantly thinking she could fix Alistair by constantly reassuring him and her own denial of his flaws that would get to her. She would be very relieved that her brother was alive to continue the Cousland line. She now questions her own ability to judge character when blinded by emotion. A common enough flaw, but she was taught to hold herself to high standards. Ironically, she judged Morrigan (declined ritual and left), Anora (made a competent queen except for no heir) and Loghain (he offered to die and atone) properly. But the fact she missed Alistair's fatal flaw will bother her forever. In a way, Wynn tried to warn her, so she will be be prickly around Wynn now too.
Her response would be to try and compensate by providing value, but not exposing her flaw. Since Grey Warden's can divorce themselves from politics, she would very much go into suicidal commando mode fighting darkspawn and ignoring political life. She would not take leadership of the Grey Warden's in Ferelden, nor of the army. She would be volunteering for all the hardest assignments until she had worked some of this out. Her own flaw, of being blinded by love to a persons flaw's, almost put an insecure, unfit and easily influenced king on the throne in a blight and of all people to have been a good judge of his fitness to rule, she should have been! She was a Cousland after all. Sure, the relationship started when she had renounced her name. She had no idea who Alistair was, and thought when it started that she could afford a romance for herself. However, Anora didn't accept excuses for Loghain. Loghain eventually did not accept excuses for himself. The PC will not excuse herself either and will become one tough woman.
So there it is, how a Cousland can really love Alistair and still kill him, without a second thought. I don't feel it is evil per se, of course the whole concept of valuing a nation over a person (esp one you love) is perhaps evil. But add in the threat of the blight and ... hmmm ... murky.
One thing that makes this particular Cousland twist so delicious from meta gaming is the story of King Maric and Katriona. Maric kills his true love and Maric's son is also killed by his true love, both because of suspicion that their first loyalty wasn't to Ferelden. I didn't even know about Maric & Katriona when I did the Cousland run. There certainly is precedent in the story already.
lol I bow down to you, Great One. And let's not forget...if you make him king and marry him yourself as a Human Noble he's just going to end up cheating on you in the future, too, the same way Cailan did Anora, because she won't be able to give him an heir. Still, I wonder if it was Anora or Cailan who was the real problem there. Puzzle.
I do like the Dark Ritual for one reason: that no Grey Wardens have to sacrifice themselves killing the Archdemon. I just wonder if Morrigan's child could be worse than all of the Archdemons combined in the future. The soul of an old God, which the Darkspawn are drawn to, but the seed of a Grey Warden that carries over their resistance to the call of the Old Gods. It's a question of whether she (and Flemeth, I assume) are looking to control both the Darkspawn and the Grey Wardens, forcing their allegiance to whatever dark plans they personally have. I don't know. I just hope that when Dragon Age 2 comes out that this is all explained finally. 
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