20 réponses à ce sujet

[Bobad]

Given the concept art for the look of female Qunari, are we likely to see a female Qunari fighter?, I use the word fighter rather than warrior as Sten stated there were no female Qunari warriors, perhaps this is a question of semantics in Qunari society and by warrior Sten means a sword wielding tank type, rather than an absence of any melee capable ladies?.

The Female Qunari in the concept art certainly looks capable of causing damage compared to the other races.

[David Gaider]

What Sten meant was that qunari females don't become soldiers-- they don't live by their blade or get trained in combat. This doesn't mean that they are incapable of fighting when the situation calls for it. That would be a very un-feminine thing to do. If a female qunari persisted down such a path, however, that would call into question their gender-- socially (not biologically, which is something that really only concerns the Tamassrans) qunari are identified by their role. A qunari that fights is a male, for all intents and purposes. Every other qunari would simply refuse to see it otherwise.

This doesn't mean that qunari females are free to be males, if they wish-- the Ben-Hassrath might have something to say about that, as chances are they'd be defying whatever role the Tamassrans had already assigned them.

There is some grey area, mind you. There are female Ben-Hassrath, and they do learn how to fight-- but in a different manner from a soldier. They don't live by their blade. And Tal'Vashoth, of course, break all rules of qunari culture by their very nature. A female qunari who had abandoned the Qun could do as she wished.

[David Gaider]

captain.subtle wrote...
Will all due respect, I think Sten's dialogue suggests otherwise. Females NEVER fight as soldiers, is what he indicated.

Correct. They are not soldiers, and no female qunari would have that role in their society. They have no place among the warriors, just as Sten said, and are not trained as such. That does not mean they would not defend themselves or their homes if attacked.

[David Gaider]

captain.subtle wrote...
Sure. I am not doubting servival instinct. Just the training in warfare you mentioned.

Right-- as I mentioned, a female qunari would not be trained in combat (unless they were Ben-Hassrath, I suppose, but that is a very separate role from a soldier and a qunari would not consider them the same thing -- a Ben-Hassrath does not fight, they enforce religious law). The qunari do not send women to fight, and would not even consider their presence as a consideration in their defense, but if pressed a female qunari will fight-- and be fairly good at it, considering the natural qunari build. Even so, it's a very male thing to do. Your average female qunari would find it distasteful, and if she didn't that would be very baffling to other qunari. "Why do you want to be male?"

Modifié par David Gaider, 09 août 2010 - 06:38 .

[David Gaider]

AntiChri5 wrote...
@David Gaider: Can you tell us what the Tal'Vashoth believe in?

Do they follow a different interpretation of the Qun, have their own system, or simply opose the Qun?

The "grey ones" have abandoned the Qun completely. Or, at least, that's how the qunari would view it. Just how much your average Tal'Vashoth has abandoned their upbringing in their heart depends on the individual. There is no organized Tal'Vashoth culture.

[David Gaider]

Dave of Canada wrote...
Yeah but Templars keep them on leashes as well, what's the difference between both?

The qunari mages are literally kept on leashes, held by an arvaarad (their "handler", if you will). The templars only keep mages on figurative leashes.

Do the Qunari allow the Mages to practice and hone their abilities and give them positions where their powers will be useful, or shun the use of magic and just give them simple menial tasks like chef / bard?

I think it would be better to think of qunari mages as trained attack dogs.

And if they DO use magic, do they allow it for fighting purposes and allow the Female Qunari to fight with their talents (If they can be mages)?

A female qunari who is a mage is no longer female. She is saarebas-- a "dangerous thing", not even a person really. So, yes, female qunari do fight with their magic, but they're considered part of the arvaarad the same way a sword would be part of the warrior.

[David Gaider]

AntiChri5 wrote...
The Qunari scare me sometimes

Only sometimes? That is insufficient. You will report to a re-education center immediately for questioning by the Ben-Hassrath.

[Mary Kirby]

Addai67 wrote...

I'm wondering why mages have their tongues cut out. DA mages don't seem to require incantations to work spells, so not being able to speak wouldn't seem to be a deterrent to rogue magic.

It doesn't stop them from doing magic. It stops a mage who has been possessed by a demon from communicating and possibly corrupting someone else, as Uldred did.

[Mary Kirby]

Anarya wrote...

Gonna go out on a limb and guess forbidden magic is anything you do without being commanded to by your handler.

This would be the correct answer. The Qunari view saarebas as if they were poisonous snakes. They keep them around: You need a snake's venom to make antivenom, and you need mages to fight magic. But they never believe for a second that the saarebas are anything but a threat to themselves and to innocent people.

[Mary Kirby]

The Woldan wrote...

Mr. Gaider, wouldn't a struggling military force use ALL available resources if a war proves very difficult to win? (Qunari lost at least one war.)
As example, Russia in WWII pressed female soldiers into service, they absolutely had to boost the total number of soldiers because of the massive losses early in the war.
The Qunari seem to be very determined if it comes to fight and win wars, wouldn't they use all available resources to be victorious? Wouldn't they recruit and train female Qunari to become warriors if the total number of male warriors isn't enough to ensure a victory? 
Sounds like a better option than losing a war, especially for such an extremely ambitious race like the Qunari.
Its just basic military tactics, if your army struggles to win just throw everything and everyone into combat!

The Qunari don't view their military this way. For them, this suggestion would be like saying, "You're not getting enough protein in your diet, eat your own arms."

[Mary Kirby]

Herr Uhl wrote...

Dave of Canada wrote...

thegreateski wrote...

Female Qunari warriors can either be female or warriors.

Not both.

I took it like the Qun never assigned the females as Warriors.

Isn't that the same thing?

It'd be more accurate to say that female Qunari warriors could be either Qunari or warriors. Not both.

[Mary Kirby]

Brockololly wrote...

I'm sure its been brought up before but what exactly does the name Qunari actually denote? Are you considered a Qunari if you are simply a follower of the Qun? So would a human in Rivain that follows the Qun be technically considered a Qunari?
Or are you only a Qunari if you have the whole 8 foot tall, horned giant thing going on?

I guess what I'm saying is, if the Qunari name is simply affixed to anyone who follows the Qun, what were the race of really tall, horny beings called before the Qun?

"Qunari" literally translates to, "People of the Qun." To the Qunari, a human or an elf who follows the Qun is a Qunari. It's only the people outside the Qun who think "Qunari" means "8 foot tall, horned giant."

[Mary Kirby]

Dave of Canada wrote...

But when a human or elf is involved in the Qun, do the leaders (I forget the term) also decide who mates with who? Would the Qunari involve cross-breeding between the elven / human / dwarven / qunari (if possible) followers?

If they belong to the Qun, then absolutely, the Tamassrans handle who mates with whom and raise their children. They don't cross-breed races with other races.

[David Gaider]

Brockololly wrote...
So did the "8 foot tall, horned giant" race have a history or culture of their own before the Qun? How long has the Qun been around- before Andraste and the Old Gods or what?

Or is that all a big secret?

The qunari were indeed something else before the Qun, and even called themselves something else.

What that was, however, is something we've not discussed yet.

[Mary Kirby]

Drasanil wrote...

Also given that Sten's comments in game about "Elf Magic" do the Qunari differentiate between Bas mages? Do they see the difference between a Tevinter Magister, a Dalish Keeper, and "regular" Circle Mages, do they know about the Rite of Tranquility? I ask because Sten seems to hate mages but then when you confront him about being a mage he simply says it's "different" because you kept your honor. 


PS: Sorry for being a bit rambly. 

Sten views the Warden as if he or she were some sort of  mythical creature, possibly a unicorn. The Warden is a complete and utter fluke -- a competent, honorable person (when Qunari generally consider unenlightened foreigners as things), produced by one-in-a-million chance in a miserable, degenerate, corrupt, self-destructive, chaotic cesspool. Whatever the Warden happens to be --female, male, human, elf, dwarf, mage, etc. -- is sort of irrelevant because the Warden is already being considered by Sten as some sort of ambulatory pair of pants or talking horse.

[Mary Kirby]

Saibh wrote...

You shall be my quote.

That's what I'm here for: Dispensing Words Of Wisdom.

Edit: It happens, once in a great while, that a Qunari meets an unenlightented foreigner and thinks "That guy/gal/whatever doesn't suck as much as the rest of these bas." Mostly, this makes the Qunari feel sorry for the foreigner. It's got to be lonely being the only one of your kind in the universe.

Modifié par Mary Kirby, 10 août 2010 - 01:00 .

[Mary Kirby]

The Woldan wrote...

If the Qunari think of other races as unenlightened foreigners and ''things'', why did Sten show some kind of guilt/remorse after killing those things eeeerrmmm.......humans?

They were things, but they were alive, and while they were alive, they had the potential to grow beyond mere bas. Qunari don't waste people unnecessarily, remember. And considering his job is protecting non-combatants (as he tells you, when he talks about the Tal-vashoth attacks in Seheron) he personally considers it a particularly heinous crime to harm unarmed civilians. It is safe to say that he never forgives himself for killing the farmers.

[Mary Kirby]

AntiChri5 wrote...

Not to detract from the eye-searing awesomeness of the Alicorn, but is anyone else really curious about the origins of Stens people?

Did they invent the Qun? Or did they come to it the same way the elves of Rivain did? And, once Thedas has been converted, the elves sail off to convert whatever continent they find, and then they send that continents natives......

No power in Thedas or in the Fade can detract from the awesomeness of Alicorn.

It is written in the Qun that the path to wisdom was discovered by the great Ashkaari, Koslun.

He is generally believed to be one of those tall guys with horns, but it's been a really, really long time. For all we know, he was an extremely chatty, argumentative, elderberry bush. The Qun does not waste a lot of time describing his appearance. 

[Mary Kirby]

tmp7704 wrote...

Mary Kirby wrote...

For all we know, he was an extremely chatty, argumentative, elderberry bush.

Was the bush on fire?

There's been precedents...

Again, highly non-specific language. The Qun usually calls him "The Ashkaari." Or maybe, when it's feeling fancy, "A great Ashkaari." Doesn't specify whether he was tall, short, horned, vermillion, pointy-eared, leafy, on fire, or fighting off a bad case of aphids. Really, it's like the Qunari didn't think this was important, or something.

[Mary Kirby]

Dave of Canada wrote...

Is it possible that he's the Alicorn that time traveled in the past, fused with Duncan and Hawke's beards and founded a faith for it's awesomeness?

Possible? No. Not remotely. However: I would not rule that hypothesis out entirely.

[Mary Kirby]

silentassassin264 wrote...

So was I right when I said female qunari would not be considered a soldier but if someone attacked a Tamassran, she would be quite capable of defending herself. Sorry to change from the flaming bushes and unicorn speak.

She would defend herself. Capably? Depends. Compared to whom? A smith or a farmer would probably have more physical strength and might have tools around that would be handier in a fight. None of them would have any real combat training, but they're still large, sort of ornery, women with horns growing out of their heads. Might not be a match for a well-trained warrior, but they do tend to intimidate attackers who aren't Tal-vashoth, anyway.

The role of the antaam is to defend them against attack, but in the event of an emergency, they don't cower and wait to be killed. If nothing else, they do typically possess the necessary skills to build fortifications and otherwise help protect their homes, and would be usefully occupied trying to do so, rather than huddling in fear somewhere, praying for deliverance.