43 réponses à ce sujet

[Monica21]

FiliusMartis wrote...

A Cousland warden would first have to wage a campaign to reclaim Highever and its titles; at the time of the Landsmeet, a Cousland is the last member of a noble yet deposed family. Furthermore, the Landsmeet doesn't seem ready to let anyone declare himself king. Eamon attempts to declare Alistair, and if he refuses then Anora attempts to declare herself. However, Eamon cuts her off saying she's too bias and hands the decision over to you. Should the warden do the same thing,Eamon would likely hand the choice off to someone else.

No one except Loghain recognizes the validity of Howe taking your ternyr. The castle itself may have fallen, but the nobles still recognize you as the child of a teryn, not as a deposed noble. Your only job is to take back the castle, not to try and re-establish yourself among the nobility.

[adneate]

TJPags wrote...

I agree for the most part.  But, the Cousland Warden, while a second son, is the last surviving - so far as we know then - Cousland.  If Fergus were dead, he or she would certainly inherit Highever.  So the second son argument doesn't work for me.

And while not all would agree, I'm just saying - it's a legitimate idea, which the game (unfortunately but understandably) doesn't allow you to float out there seriously.

You are still born second to Fergus making you the second son. So while you are the rightful Teryn of Highever you don't control your lands, you gain no money from your holding and cannot levy any soldiers into an army. You have no hard support to fall back on, only the supposed goodwill of other lesser nobles. Trying to place a Cousland on the throne sort of goes against the whole point of the Landsmeet in Origins which is to get a ruler, stop the civil war and focus on fighting the Darkspawn. While both Alistair and Anora aren't perfect candidates they are much easier to swallow than a Cousland King, since Anora is already Queen and her continuing to rule isn't something the nobles aren't used to. While Alistair is the last surving member of the Royal Blood line which regardless of how the nobels feel personally about him they still have to  follow him to war, since they couldn't reasonably advance their own interestests in a time of blight without looking very bad. With a Cousland however they could with a fair amount of justification rise in rebellion against the new King, particulairly if Alistair lives or if Anora is still around or even Loghain. Any of those individuals has just as much claim to the throne as a Cousland does and any band of nobles could use them to increase their own power and weaken the Crown. The end result is not the end of the civil war but it's escalation into a full blown war of succession, that would destroy the what is left of the country and leave it too weak to fight the blight.

[Monica21]

MKDAWUSS wrote...
True. People who see you don't quite recognize you right away (Loghain, Teagan), or they recognize you but barely know you. And at the same time, the Cousland Warden apparently didn't get around either, as Cailan's marriage was news to him 5 years after it happened, and he didn't know who Teyrn Loghain was.

Basically, to the nobility, you're still Bryce's little boy.

Interestingly enough, they still seem to recognize your political titles, even though you lost all that when Howe took over.

To the nobility, Alistair is a bastard son they know nothing about who can only be king if you support him. You can argue the varying degrees of which the nobles know you as a Cousland, but the nobles still know more about you than about Alistair.

And yes, they recognize your titles. I'd imagine that the only way the nobles would allow Howe the ternyr is if they believed you lost them fair and square. Clearly they don't.

[TJPags]

adneate wrote...

TJPags wrote...

I agree for the most part.  But, the Cousland Warden, while a second son, is the last surviving - so far as we know then - Cousland.  If Fergus were dead, he or she would certainly inherit Highever.  So the second son argument doesn't work for me.

And while not all would agree, I'm just saying - it's a legitimate idea, which the game (unfortunately but understandably) doesn't allow you to float out there seriously.

You are still born second to Fergus making you the second son. So while you are the rightful Teryn of Highever you don't control your lands, you gain no money from your holding and cannot levy any soldiers into an army. You have no hard support to fall back on, only the supposed goodwill of other lesser nobles. Trying to place a Cousland on the throne sort of goes against the whole point of the Landsmeet in Origins which is to get a ruler, stop the civil war and focus on fighting the Darkspawn. While both Alistair and Anora aren't perfect candidates they are much easier to swallow than a Cousland King, since Anora is already Queen and her continuing to rule isn't something the nobles aren't used to. While Alistair is the last surving member of the Royal Blood line which regardless of how the nobels feel personally about him they still have to  follow him to war, since they couldn't reasonably advance their own interestests in a time of blight without looking very bad. With a Cousland however they could with a fair amount of justification rise in rebellion against the new King, particulairly if Alistair lives or if Anora is still around or even Loghain. Any of those individuals has just as much claim to the throne as a Cousland does and any band of nobles could use them to increase their own power and weaken the Crown. The end result is not the end of the civil war but it's escalation into a full blown war of succession, that would destroy the what is left of the country and leave it too weak to fight the blight.

Your arguments actually support my position.

If I *AM* the rightful ruler of Highever, I *AM* the Teryn . . . thus holding noble title.

There's no civil war issue with Highever, since by then, the only other potential claimant - Howe - is dead.

Alsitair is a bastard, not recognized as in the line of succession, not even recognized as Maric's son-how many nobles actually know who he is?  And they know nothing about him, except that he takes a back seat to YOU as far as command of the wardens.  So for what reason do the HAVE to follow him?  And remember - some of them wanted Bryce on the throne rather then Caillan, the acknowledged son and heir - not a stretch that they'd prefer Bryce's son to a bastard of Marics they don't know, and didn't know existed.

Anora is not Queen in the eyes of many - as was discussed before, she was Queen Consort, with no Theirn blood, and no right to the throne other than she married Caillan.  That's why there IS a Landsmeet  - otherwise, they'd just leave her on the throne.  Plus, she's associated with Loghain, who most people don't seem to like, for some odd reason. 

Loghain has no claim to the throne at ALL.

Final point - when they vote in the Landsmeet, they don't vote for Alistair, or say they support Eamon's choice - they announce they "side with the Grey Warden!" - in other words, the Cousland heir.  Why would they necessarily be so opposed to that person choosing himself?

Note - I do agree you'd have had to broach this subject BEFORE walking into the Landsmeet, but had you - not very farfetched at ALL, IMO.

[adneate]

That's not really how a Feudal monarchy works, the one thing you can assume is that everyone is out for themselves and will do anything they can get away with while not looking too dishonorable. You are the rightful ruler of Highever but again you don't currently control the lands and wealth they represent you can't provide supporters with patronage or threaten hold outs with military force. The fact of the matter is the Landsmeet would probably prefer to stick someone on the Throne who is weak and easily lead around, so Alistair would work out pretty well for everyone involved. He's too weak to rule on his own so that appeases those who don't think much of the crown and centralized authority while the mere fact that he's of the Royal bloodline would appease the royalists. Anora is strong politically but has no real combat experience and has never lead an Army in a full scale battle, this weakness is also something the Nobles would exploit later since she would depend on someone else to lead armies or would try to do it herself and get most of her forces killed.



The nobles don't really say "I'm with THE Grey Warden" they say "I'm with the Grey Wardens" as in plural as in you and Alistair or just the Order in general. They are accepting The Grey Wardens as leaders of Ferelden's armed forces and refusing Loghain, that does not equate to support for a political take over.

[Monica21]

adneate wrote...

That's not really how a Feudal monarchy works, the one thing you can assume is that everyone is out for themselves and will do anything they can get away with while not looking too dishonorable. You are the rightful ruler of Highever but again you don't currently control the lands and wealth they represent you can't provide supporters with patronage or threaten hold outs with military force. The fact of the matter is the Landsmeet would probably prefer to stick someone on the Throne who is weak and easily lead around, so Alistair would work out pretty well for everyone involved. He's too weak to rule on his own so that appeases those who don't think much of the crown and centralized authority while the mere fact that he's of the Royal bloodline would appease the royalists. Anora is strong politically but has no real combat experience and has never lead an Army in a full scale battle, this weakness is also something the Nobles would exploit later since she would depend on someone else to lead armies or would try to do it herself and get most of her forces killed.

The nobles don't really say "I'm with THE Grey Warden" they say "I'm with the Grey Wardens" as in plural as in you and Alistair or just the Order in general. They are accepting The Grey Wardens as leaders of Ferelden's armed forces and refusing Loghain, that does not equate to support for a political take over.

You can't say that the Couslands are weak because they don't control Highever (at present) and then say that a weak king like Alistair would better serve the nobles. Which is it? If the Couslands are seen as so weak to have given up Highever then surely they could be weak enough to be pushed around on the throne. The Cousland heir is not weak if only because even Anora believes that marrying a male Cousland will strengthen her claim. Despite Loghain giving Highever to Howe, the nobles still believe it to be yours by right, giving you an idea of just what the nobles think of Loghain and of Howe.

As for the nobles backing "the Wardens" it's a bit naive to believe that the nobles don't also know they're essentially casting a vote for the crown.

[Kaiser Shepard]

The real question is "Who would be able to stop you?". At that point in the game you are not only the last known surviving member of a well-known and respected noble bloodline, but the de facto leader of the Wardens in Ferelden as well, which translates to you having at least three armies free of Fereldan political influence behind you. If you wanted to, you could take the entire kingdom by force... or just abandon it alltogether. The rest of the nobles need you to defeat the Blight and they damn well know it.

Add to that the fact that you have just defeated - if not outright slain - Loghain, then Regent of Ferelden, Leader of the Armies and Teyrn of Gwaren. Perhaps even more important than that: he has also given you his vote of confidence.

Alistair honestly doesn't want to be King and would most likely prefer his good friend and trusted companion to continue leading. At that point the only loose ends are Eamon and Anora. The former of those is pretty much forced to back the one who is not only supported by his chosen proxy, but saved him, (part of) his family and his entire village as well. Whereas the former Queen herself doesn't have that strong a claim with her husband and father gone, she might not like it but there is nothing she can do.

Whether in name of yourself or the Wardens, nobody is able to stop you from doing what Sophia Dryden could only dream about, albeit in a less violent way. Even if Riordan would not approve, he would be forced to abide in consideration of the coming Darkspawn horde.

All in all, the Warden has:
-A legitimate claim to the throne
-The military competence and might to back it
-Loghain's vote of confidence, which translates to the backing of whatever Loghain loyalists are left
-Alistair's vote of confidence, which translates to Eamon and his followers being forced to back you
-Everyone's knowledge that they need him or her, and would not in any way benefit from opposing said Cousland

Modifié par Kaiser Shepard, 15 août 2010 - 12:05 .

[TJPags]

Monica21 wrote...

adneate wrote...

That's not really how a Feudal monarchy works, the one thing you can assume is that everyone is out for themselves and will do anything they can get away with while not looking too dishonorable. You are the rightful ruler of Highever but again you don't currently control the lands and wealth they represent you can't provide supporters with patronage or threaten hold outs with military force. The fact of the matter is the Landsmeet would probably prefer to stick someone on the Throne who is weak and easily lead around, so Alistair would work out pretty well for everyone involved. He's too weak to rule on his own so that appeases those who don't think much of the crown and centralized authority while the mere fact that he's of the Royal bloodline would appease the royalists. Anora is strong politically but has no real combat experience and has never lead an Army in a full scale battle, this weakness is also something the Nobles would exploit later since she would depend on someone else to lead armies or would try to do it herself and get most of her forces killed.

The nobles don't really say "I'm with THE Grey Warden" they say "I'm with the Grey Wardens" as in plural as in you and Alistair or just the Order in general. They are accepting The Grey Wardens as leaders of Ferelden's armed forces and refusing Loghain, that does not equate to support for a political take over.

You can't say that the Couslands are weak because they don't control Highever (at present) and then say that a weak king like Alistair would better serve the nobles. Which is it? If the Couslands are seen as so weak to have given up Highever then surely they could be weak enough to be pushed around on the throne. The Cousland heir is not weak if only because even Anora believes that marrying a male Cousland will strengthen her claim. Despite Loghain giving Highever to Howe, the nobles still believe it to be yours by right, giving you an idea of just what the nobles think of Loghain and of Howe.

As for the nobles backing "the Wardens" it's a bit naive to believe that the nobles don't also know they're essentially casting a vote for the crown.

This.  Either I'm too weak to be a threat, which plays to those who want a puppet - I'll owe them for their support for the throne and might give one of THEM Highever - or I'm well enough respected and powerful enough that they have to worry about my forcing my will on them and punishing those who don't fall in line.

Kaiser Shepard wrote...

The real question is "Who would be able to stop you?". At that point in the game you are not only the last known surviving member of a well-known and respected noble bloodline, but the de facto leader of the Wardens in Ferelden as well, which translates to you having at least three armies free of Fereldan political influence behind you. If you wanted to, you could take the entire kingdom by force... or just abandon it alltogether. The rest of the nobles need you to defeat the Blight and they damn well know it.

Add to that the fact that you have just defeated - if not outright slain - Loghain, then Regent of Ferelden, Leader of the Armies and Teyrn of Gwaren. Perhaps even more important than that: he has also given you his vote of confidence.

Alistair honestly doesn't want to be King and would most likely prefer his good friend and trusted companion to continue leading. At that point the only loose ends are Eamon and Anora. The former of those is pretty much forced to back the one who is not only supported by his chosen proxy, but saved him, (part of) his family and his entire village as well. Whereas the former Queen herself doesn't have that strong a claim with her husband and father gone, she might not like it but there is nothing she can do.

Whether in name of yourself or the Wardens, nobody is able to stop you from what Sophia Dryden could only dream about, albeit in a less violent way. Even if Riordan would not approve, he would be forced to abide in cosideration of the coming Darkspawn horde.

All in all, the Warden has:
-A legitimate claim to the throne
-The military competence and might to back it
-Loghain's vote of confidence, which translates to the backing of whatever Loghain loyalists are left
-Alistair's vote of confidence, which translates to Eamon and his followers being forced to back you
-Everyone's knowledge that they need him or her, and would not in any way benefit from opposing said Cousland

And this (although I'd say 2 armies backing me - Eamon could conceivably not lend me his men).

Remember, while people may be voting for the wardenS rather them me personally (don't remember exactly, so I'll accept they mean the Order), they're also voting for Loghain, not Anora.  Without his backing, her claim is weaker - AND he just endorsed me as the man to lead us.

So, yea, I really think if the Cousland character had had the option to put himself or herself up for the throne earlier in the game, or even at the Landsmeet, it would have been a legitimate option for a country which is, after all, withOUT a clear choice to put on the throne.

[MKDAWUSS]

Kaiser Shepard wrote...

The real question is "Who would be able to stop you?". At that point in the game you are not only the last known surviving member of a well-known and respected noble bloodline, but the de facto leader of the Wardens in Ferelden as well, which translates to you having at least three armies free of Fereldan political influence behind you. If you wanted to, you could take the entire kingdom by force... or just abandon it alltogether. The rest of the nobles need you to defeat the Blight and they damn well know it.

Add to that the fact that you have just defeated - if not outright slain - Loghain, then Regent of Ferelden, Leader of the Armies and Teyrn of Gwaren. Perhaps even more important than that: he has also given you his vote of confidence.

Alistair honestly doesn't want to be King and would most likely prefer his good friend and trusted companion to continue leading. At that point the only loose ends are Eamon and Anora. The former of those is pretty much forced to back the one who is not only supported by his chosen proxy, but saved him, (part of) his family and his entire village as well. Whereas the former Queen herself doesn't have that strong a claim with her husband and father gone, she might not like it but there is nothing she can do.

Whether in name of yourself or the Wardens, nobody is able to stop you from what Sophia Dryden could only dream about, albeit in a less violent way. Even if Riordan would not approve, he would be forced to abide in cosideration of the coming Darkspawn horde.

All in all, the Warden has:
-A legitimate claim to the throne
-The military competence and might to back it
-Loghain's vote of confidence, which translates to the backing of whatever Loghain loyalists are left
-Alistair's vote of confidence, which translates to Eamon and his followers being forced to back you
-Everyone's knowledge that they need him or her, and would not in any way benefit from opposing said Cousland

But Anora wouldn't just give her title up so easily. She doesn't hand over the throne when Alistair is nominated. Loghain would throw his support to his daughter, carrying some of his loyalists with him. It might only be enough for a minor but substantial rebellion, but that's all you need to create a bit of trouble.

[TJPags]

MKDAWUSS wrote...

Kaiser Shepard wrote...

The real question is "Who would be able to stop you?". At that point in the game you are not only the last known surviving member of a well-known and respected noble bloodline, but the de facto leader of the Wardens in Ferelden as well, which translates to you having at least three armies free of Fereldan political influence behind you. If you wanted to, you could take the entire kingdom by force... or just abandon it alltogether. The rest of the nobles need you to defeat the Blight and they damn well know it.

Add to that the fact that you have just defeated - if not outright slain - Loghain, then Regent of Ferelden, Leader of the Armies and Teyrn of Gwaren. Perhaps even more important than that: he has also given you his vote of confidence.

Alistair honestly doesn't want to be King and would most likely prefer his good friend and trusted companion to continue leading. At that point the only loose ends are Eamon and Anora. The former of those is pretty much forced to back the one who is not only supported by his chosen proxy, but saved him, (part of) his family and his entire village as well. Whereas the former Queen herself doesn't have that strong a claim with her husband and father gone, she might not like it but there is nothing she can do.

Whether in name of yourself or the Wardens, nobody is able to stop you from what Sophia Dryden could only dream about, albeit in a less violent way. Even if Riordan would not approve, he would be forced to abide in cosideration of the coming Darkspawn horde.

All in all, the Warden has:
-A legitimate claim to the throne
-The military competence and might to back it
-Loghain's vote of confidence, which translates to the backing of whatever Loghain loyalists are left
-Alistair's vote of confidence, which translates to Eamon and his followers being forced to back you
-Everyone's knowledge that they need him or her, and would not in any way benefit from opposing said Cousland

But Anora wouldn't just give her title up so easily. She doesn't hand over the throne when Alistair is nominated. Loghain would throw his support to his daughter, carrying some of his loyalists with him. It might only be enough for a minor but substantial rebellion, but that's all you need to create a bit of trouble.

But Anora does give it over if you name Alistair.  And Loghain is dead, so his opinion makes no difference . . . and his LAST opinion was to state that he now believes YOU are a strong leader. 

So those arguments seem to go nowhere.

[DPSSOC]

Clearing up a few points.  When I say couldn't the Cousland go for the throne I'm not talking about making it a 3-way between Alistair, Cousland, and Anora I'm talking about Cousland taking Alistairs spot.  If the bloodline is important to Eamon than the Cousland, while not a perfect choice, does have a legitimate claim to the throne.  So since Alistair clearly doesn't want to be king, and his upbrining has been groomed to ensure he's not qualified for it, why not put forth someone who, while untested and unproven, has at least grown up in the environment and probably has a better understanding of the ins and outs of the system than Alistair.  So rather than put forth an unwilling, unprepared Alistair Eamon supports the next best choice of a Cousland.

Someone mentioned the risk of opening up the throne to lower houses and lines but this isn't like Howe's stepping up (who lords over only a small arling) it's the next step on the political heirarchy (King, Teryns, Arls and Banns).

Now it was mentioned, and it is true, the the Cousland Warden is a bit of an unknown so he/she would still need Eamon's support to push it through, but it just seems to me that it'd be better to have an untested ruler than an untested, unwilling one.

[Monica21]

DPSSOC wrote...

Clearing up a few points.  When I say couldn't the Cousland go for the throne I'm not talking about making it a 3-way between Alistair, Cousland, and Anora I'm talking about Cousland taking Alistairs spot.  If the bloodline is important to Eamon than the Cousland, while not a perfect choice, does have a legitimate claim to the throne.  So since Alistair clearly doesn't want to be king, and his upbrining has been groomed to ensure he's not qualified for it, why not put forth someone who, while untested and unproven, has at least grown up in the environment and probably has a better understanding of the ins and outs of the system than Alistair.  So rather than put forth an unwilling, unprepared Alistair Eamon supports the next best choice of a Cousland.

Someone mentioned the risk of opening up the throne to lower houses and lines but this isn't like Howe's stepping up (who lords over only a small arling) it's the next step on the political heirarchy (King, Teryns, Arls and Banns).

Now it was mentioned, and it is true, the the Cousland Warden is a bit of an unknown so he/she would still need Eamon's support to push it through, but it just seems to me that it'd be better to have an untested ruler than an untested, unwilling one.

Even easier if it's just between a Cousland and Anora. Eamon would come over to your side fairly easily, I think, considering that I believe his main reason for wanting Alistair on the throne wasn't to preserve the Theirin bloodline but rather to be the power behind the throne. Just give him some assurances and he'll fall in line.

[Kaiser Shepard]

TJPags wrote...

And this (although I'd say 2 armies backing me - Eamon could conceivably not lend me his men).

I already thought of that: An army of dwarves (and possibly Golems) from Orzammar, an army of either werewolves or elves from the Brecilian Forest and an army of either mages or Templars from the Circle Tower.

The latter factions would more likely than not mean that the Chantry is on your side as well, which I imagine should carry some weight with it.

Modifié par Kaiser Shepard, 14 août 2010 - 11:44 .

[MKDAWUSS]

TJPags wrote...

MKDAWUSS wrote...

Kaiser Shepard wrote...

The real question is "Who would be able to stop you?". At that point in the game you are not only the last known surviving member of a well-known and respected noble bloodline, but the de facto leader of the Wardens in Ferelden as well, which translates to you having at least three armies free of Fereldan political influence behind you. If you wanted to, you could take the entire kingdom by force... or just abandon it alltogether. The rest of the nobles need you to defeat the Blight and they damn well know it.

Add to that the fact that you have just defeated - if not outright slain - Loghain, then Regent of Ferelden, Leader of the Armies and Teyrn of Gwaren. Perhaps even more important than that: he has also given you his vote of confidence.

Alistair honestly doesn't want to be King and would most likely prefer his good friend and trusted companion to continue leading. At that point the only loose ends are Eamon and Anora. The former of those is pretty much forced to back the one who is not only supported by his chosen proxy, but saved him, (part of) his family and his entire village as well. Whereas the former Queen herself doesn't have that strong a claim with her husband and father gone, she might not like it but there is nothing she can do.

Whether in name of yourself or the Wardens, nobody is able to stop you from what Sophia Dryden could only dream about, albeit in a less violent way. Even if Riordan would not approve, he would be forced to abide in cosideration of the coming Darkspawn horde.

All in all, the Warden has:
-A legitimate claim to the throne
-The military competence and might to back it
-Loghain's vote of confidence, which translates to the backing of whatever Loghain loyalists are left
-Alistair's vote of confidence, which translates to Eamon and his followers being forced to back you
-Everyone's knowledge that they need him or her, and would not in any way benefit from opposing said Cousland

But Anora wouldn't just give her title up so easily. She doesn't hand over the throne when Alistair is nominated. Loghain would throw his support to his daughter, carrying some of his loyalists with him. It might only be enough for a minor but substantial rebellion, but that's all you need to create a bit of trouble.

But Anora does give it over if you name Alistair.  And Loghain is dead, so his opinion makes no difference . . . and his LAST opinion was to state that he now believes YOU are a strong leader. 

So those arguments seem to go nowhere.

But if you keep Loghain alive long enough, Alistair claims he'll take the throne right then and there, Anora basically points out that he wants the crown out of selfish impulses, and then the Warden makes a choice with Eamon being silent the whole time.

[MKDAWUSS]

Monica21 wrote...

DPSSOC wrote...

Clearing up a few points.  When I say couldn't the Cousland go for the throne I'm not talking about making it a 3-way between Alistair, Cousland, and Anora I'm talking about Cousland taking Alistairs spot.  If the bloodline is important to Eamon than the Cousland, while not a perfect choice, does have a legitimate claim to the throne.  So since Alistair clearly doesn't want to be king, and his upbrining has been groomed to ensure he's not qualified for it, why not put forth someone who, while untested and unproven, has at least grown up in the environment and probably has a better understanding of the ins and outs of the system than Alistair.  So rather than put forth an unwilling, unprepared Alistair Eamon supports the next best choice of a Cousland.

Someone mentioned the risk of opening up the throne to lower houses and lines but this isn't like Howe's stepping up (who lords over only a small arling) it's the next step on the political heirarchy (King, Teryns, Arls and Banns).

Now it was mentioned, and it is true, the the Cousland Warden is a bit of an unknown so he/she would still need Eamon's support to push it through, but it just seems to me that it'd be better to have an untested ruler than an untested, unwilling one.

Even easier if it's just between a Cousland and Anora. Eamon would come over to your side fairly easily, I think, considering that I believe his main reason for wanting Alistair on the throne wasn't to preserve the Theirin bloodline but rather to be the power behind the throne. Just give him some assurances and he'll fall in line.

It might take for some convincing, considering that his view of Anora as another Loghain would probably be the only thing working in your favor.


I find it interesting that Anora thinks Alistair's a bad choice because of his Grey Warden status (COI), but then that gets set aside when she decides to get hitched to one.

[FiliusMartis]

That's because Anora is going to be ruling, not the warden. When the warden kicks the bucket via darkspawn down the line, Ferelden will still have her. That's all she cares about.

[Sarah1281]

The real question is "Who would be able to stop you?". At that point in the game you are not only the last known surviving member of a well-known and respected noble bloodline, but the de facto leader of the Wardens in Ferelden as well, which translates to you having at least three armies free of Fereldan political influence behind you. If you wanted to, you could take the entire kingdom by force... or just abandon it alltogether. The rest of the nobles need you to defeat the Blight and they damn well know it.

No, no you don't have three armies. Not only would Eamon not back you when he wants Alistair but the Dalish, dwarves, and mages/templars are following you against the darkspawn. They are not your personal army to do with as you please. They agree to fight the DARKSPAWN. If you threaten to leave or try to make them partake in your civil war because you're irresponsible enough to try for a power grab when you already have two candidates you were supposed to choose between then they have NO reason to follow you.

[DreGregoire]

tuppence95 wrote...

And for some unspecified reason, it was rumored that Bryce saw his second child as the person more qualified to inherit the teynir. 

I don't remember hearing that Bryce saw his second child that way, but I do know that Dairren says something like 'people say your as likely to succeed the Teryn as your brother.' I can't remember if anybody else says something like that though. Of course, like many of the things we hear in dragon age, it's an opinion not based on fact. And if you ask Bryce he will tell you to tell Fergus he is the next Teyrn.

[DreGregoire]

Back to the original posters question. I still say putting the second born Cousland forward as a King would not be smart of Eamon. I mean what happens if you are appointed King and then your brother comes along and says, "WTH?! Give me the throne. Let's have a duel for it." *raises eyebrows* Just playing at this point but the backlash wouldn't be good.