59 réponses à ce sujet

[Sattva]

Hi everyone,

I'm curious as to whether you have any real life experience that could apply to our dear game.

For example (my 2 cents)

1) Tents.  I've slept in the exactly same tent, and it's horrible: drafty, chilly, you cannot stand or sit up properly inside, and as pertains to more... active passtime, first thing you do is you kick the central pole and the whole damn thing just topples onto you. 
I.e. to sleep near campfire is warmer and safer by far.

The only suitable enough tent is Wynne's one, a "saxon" tent, it has two poles and thus possesses enough space for any "indoor" activity :DOut, out, old Wynne! 

2) Armor. *Groan* It's so heavy! I had the privilege to get clad in a 15th century full armor. The helmet alone weights about 6.6 lbs (3 kg), and it's a device for severe claustrophobia torture - you can't see even your enemies through the damn bucket! Even for the best athletes in the world, the combat would last 3 minutes tops (Edit: right, not my experience). Then you just can't lift your arms and stand there receiving blows until some smart soul pushes you out of balance and you drop with a sigh of relief like a sack of... goods :innocent:
So when I see characters parading in camp in that same iron skivvies, I can't help but shudder. For the desire to take the blasted thing off right after the battle is overwhelming.

3) Licking lampposts... Why do you think Roman armies brought along sheep? Other armies were not so polite and just let their soldiers have fun with conquered lasses. When adrenaline rushes, this can happen almost automatically, like brushing teeth. So not much romance is involved. At all. And all virgins very quickly say goodbye to their idle fantasies. The source: mountaineering xp, cannot be more precise, sorry.

4) A wool cape or shawl keeps you warm even if it is soaked wet in an icy rain. Anyway, it's better with than without it. A general observation at 1.3 miles high.

Please feel free to share your xp!

Modifié par Sattva, 01 septembre 2010 - 05:17 .

[Corker]

Sattva wrote...


2) Armor. *Groan* It's so heavy! I had the privilege to get clad in a 15th century full armor. The helmet alone weights about 6.6 lbs (3 kg), and it's a device for severe claustrophobia torture - you can't see even your enemies through the damn bucket! Even for the best athletes in the world, the combat would last 3 minutes tops. Then you just can't lift your arms and stand there receiving blows until some smart soul pushes you out of balance and you drop with a sigh of relief like a sack of... goods :innocent:

ROFL don't tell these guys.  Field Battle goes on for much longer than three minutes.  In August, in Pennsylvania.  It's 85 and sunny in a good year, and 98 and humid in a bad one.  Thunderstorms optional.

[ninja0809]

Tents are awful! Even now modern tents aren't very comfortable either, imagine what middle age tents must be like.



I never tried wearing armor, but i did try holding up a rifle. Man was that thing heavy, i couldn't even aim without stopping my hand from shaking. I assume it would be about the same weight as a sword.



I just don't know how those people manage to fight with TWO HAND swords,

[Heimdall]

ninja0809 wrote...

Tents are awful! Even now modern tents aren't very comfortable either, imagine what middle age tents must be like.

I never tried wearing armor, but i did try holding up a rifle. Man was that thing heavy, i couldn't even aim without stopping my hand from shaking. I assume it would be about the same weight as a sword.

I just don't know how those people manage to fight with TWO HAND swords,

To be fair, the DA two handed swords are unrealistically huge

[Zjarcal]

Which is why they look so funny on female elves.

[CalJones]

Even on humans, they slash the character's achilles tendons as they run along. Not terribly practical, that...

[BlueMew]

Sattva wrote...

Hi everyone,

I'm curious as to whether you have any real life experience that could apply to our dear game.

For example (my 2 cents)

1) Tents.  I've slept in the exactly same tent, and it's horrible: drafty, chilly, you cannot stand or sit up properly inside, and as pertains to more... active passtime, first thing you do is you kick the central pole and the whole damn thing just topples onto you. 
I.e. to sleep near campfire is warmer and safer by far.

Oh I don't know, I've been in tents while not having problems with wind, rain or um, other things. High dexterity is your friend
The only time I ever hated camping with a passion was not when I was ankle-deep in rain and mud, it was the time lightning struck only 10 metres away or so.

[Tirigon]

Sattva wrote...

3) Licking lampposts... Why do you think Roman armies brought along sheep? Other armies were not so polite and just let their soldiers have fun with conquered lasses. When adrenaline rushes, this can happen almost automatically, like brushing teeth. So not much romance is involved. At all. And all virgins very quickly say goodbye to their idle fantasies. The source: mountaineering xp, cannot be more precise, sorry.

I believe you´re telling bullsh!t.

Anyways, my RL experiences... Yea, I slay Darkspawn every day, and occasionally I use fireballs if people ask me for fire to light their cigarettes.

[Giggles_Manically]

Tirigon wrote...

Sattva wrote...

3) Licking lampposts... Why do you think Roman armies brought along sheep? Other armies were not so polite and just let their soldiers have fun with conquered lasses. When adrenaline rushes, this can happen almost automatically, like brushing teeth. So not much romance is involved. At all. And all virgins very quickly say goodbye to their idle fantasies. The source: mountaineering xp, cannot be more precise, sorry.

I believe you´re telling bullsh!t.

Anyways, my RL experiences... Yea, I slay Darkspawn every day, and occasionally I use fireballs if people ask me for fire to light their cigarettes.

He is somewhat correct.
Romans did not allow homosexuality within the ranks at all, since that ran the risk of breaking unit cohesion in combat. They did bring along camp followers, or just let them in.

One story goes that Gaius Marius forgave a common soldier, who had killed Marius' nephew when his advances where turned down. Also fake cussin is borderline lame.

I have worn armour at a history museum, recreation roman stuff. The sheild was brutal to hold up.

Modifié par Giggles_Manically, 30 août 2010 - 09:57 .

[mousestalker]

For a really fun series of books about ancient Rome, try Colleen McCullough's Men in Rome series. Cracking good reads!

[Sattva]

Tirigon wrote...

I believe you´re telling bullsh!t.

Anyways, my RL experiences... Yea, I slay Darkspawn every day, and occasionally I use fireballs if people ask me for fire to light their cigarettes.

I believe you're in the wrong thread, darling.

I don't expect everyone to have the same xp (like the case with tents), but that doesn't mean mine is not valid.
I just speak of what I experienced, and I invited you to share yours, not to evaluate mine, because you are simply not capable of doing it right. You are not my age, my gender (50/50), my nationality, you know nothing of my health status, etc.

Be well.

[EccentricSage]

Hmmm... my real life experience would be that girls like Leliana, who play cutesy and self righteous but are not what they say they are, and make up stories that make them important, are not trust worthy. (Ex-best friends XP.) And this is why she is the one companion who I can not tolerate.



One might not have to fear STDs from Zevran after all, as the ancients used a sort of condom made from a goat's bladder.



Currently can not think of any others.

[Sattva]

EccentricSage wrote...

Hmmm... my real life experience would be that girls like Leliana, who play cutesy and self righteous but are not what they say they are, and make up stories that make them important, are not trust worthy. (Ex-best friends XP.) And this is why she is the one companion who I can not tolerate.

One might not have to fear STDs from Zevran after all, as the ancients used a sort of condom made from a goat's bladder.

Currently can not think of any others.

Well, it seems to me that most people are not who they pretend to be...
As to companions... (it's only the way I see them, no need to kick me) in the order of appearance:
-Alistair makes us believe he is a fragile romantic, then on a few occasions he acts like a narrow-minded bullhead;
-Morrigan - so cynical and egoistic nearly cries (see the comic) in the end for she cares for her friend;
-Leliana - "I believe that she believes in her vision";
-Sten - maybe the only no-nonsense character 

-Zevran -  A cool-blooded murderer and a buffoon on the outside, a probable sociopath, but with a few beautiful flecks of humanity on the inside;
etc (I'll add others later. maybe. if I'm not kicked to death)

Overall, the way you treat people mostly makes them show to you their good or bad sides. Basically, one defines his own perception of other people, and his perception has nothing to do with what people are in their essence.
IMHO. You are welcome to share your views, not comment on mine. Thank you.

Modifié par Sattva, 01 septembre 2010 - 06:06 .

[Fishy]

EccentricSage wrote...

Hmmm... my real life experience would be that girls like Leliana, who play cutesy and self righteous but are not what they say they are, and make up stories that make them important, are not trust worthy. (Ex-best friends XP.) And this is why she is the one companion who I can not tolerate.

One might not have to fear STDs from Zevran after all, as the ancients used a sort of condom made from a goat's bladder.

Currently can not think of any others.

More for attention than feeling important.Lot of people do it in real life.Gossip in family or between friend i try to ignore it.Some folk try to hard to be liked and it's sad .

Modifié par Suprez30, 01 septembre 2010 - 05:59 .

[Patriciachr34]

Back in the day, I had a waxed canvas tent with poles. It kept the moisture off unless you accidentally rubbed against the canvas inside. Then you you might as well have slept outside.



The worst part of "roughing it" was trying to find a comfortable spot on rock hard ground. Even with a comfy sleeping bag, every rock was felt after a long day of wilderness hiking.



Also, wet clothes do not dry in the middle of winter. They freeze. Have you ever tried to put on a pair of frozen jeans?

[adneate]

ninja0809 wrote...

I just don't know how those people manage to fight with TWO HAND swords,

Well most of the stuff you see from the Middle Ages is French and English in origin, Germans however had a long history of Knights fighting on foot not on horseback and used a sword called a Zweihänder (Two Hander) that could in some cases be over 6 feet tall and weigh in excess of 7 pounds. A skilled user of a Zweihänder could behead multiple men in one strike or cut the legs off a horse with ease, the actual fighting style isn't too far from how it's shown in Dragon Age with it's slow heavy swings and powerful overhead attacks. People might wonder how they could of been effective with a fighting style like that but they were deadly against a tighly packed square of Pikemen, they'd cut the pike shafts off with their blades and push their way into the formation, then no matter where you swung you'd hit some unluckly SOB.

[EccentricSage]

Sattva wrote...

EccentricSage wrote...

Hmmm... my real life experience would be that girls like Leliana, who play cutesy and self righteous but are not what they say they are, and make up stories that make them important, are not trust worthy. (Ex-best friends XP.) And this is why she is the one companion who I can not tolerate.

One might not have to fear STDs from Zevran after all, as the ancients used a sort of condom made from a goat's bladder.

Currently can not think of any others.

Well, it seems to me that most people are not who they pretend to be...
As to companions... (it's only the way I see them, no need to kick me) in the order of appearance:
-Alistair makes us believe he is a fragile romantic, then on a few occasions he acts like a narrow-minded bullhead;
-Morrigan - so cynical and egoistic nearly cries (see the comic) in the end for she cares for her friend;
-Leliana - "I believe that she believes in her vision";
-Sten - maybe the only no-nonsense character 

-Zevran -  A cool-blooded murderer and a buffoon on the outside, a probable sociopath, but with a few beautiful flecks of humanity on the inside;
etc (I'll add others later. maybe. if I'm not kicked to death)

Overall, the way you treat people mostly makes them show to you their good or bad sides. Basically, one defines his own perception of other people, and his perception has nothing to do with what people are in their essence.
IMHO. You are welcome to share your views, not comment on mine. Thank you.

I understand the many masks we all wear.  No, I mean, to me, Lel is someone who is intentionaly fake.  I think she is the more likely sociopath than Zevran.  I seriously think there's something wrong in that head of hers, and it creeps me out, based on personal XP.

I agree with your points about the other characters except that Zevran is not a sociopath.  I sociopath would not have the compassion he shows in some instances in the game, nor can a sociopath become loyal and loving as he can become.  He was what he had to be as a Crow to survive.  The mask of calousness is something he learned to wear as a Crow to protect himself from his fellow Crows.

There is a lot of interesting psychology behind all the party members.  I love the fact that the psychology of each one is different, that they aren't all one cliche.  But yeah... really wouldn't trust Lel IRL, even if she were not a criminal IRL.

Modifié par EccentricSage, 02 septembre 2010 - 01:25 .

[Sattva]

To Patriciachr34 :
Very cool XP, thanks! :-)

To adneate :

I've heard practically the same things you said on German swordsmen, except in the version I was told, there were "kamikazies" who were placed between two armies at the beginning of a battle with the sole purpose of cutting pikes. Such job would beat bungee jumping any day :-)

To EccentricSage :

Interesting how our real life experience shapes our perception of in-game characters and events...

I have had no exposure to a RL person who would make me perceive Leliana similar to your way. To me she is just a bard that weaves a tale out of real events that surround her - to tell them later as a tale as is her job. Mind you, I do not try to defend her - I'm rather indifferent to her.

As to Zevran, I merely think that he is a good candidate for antisocial personality disorder given his background. I reckon most Crow assassins would be sociopaths. It's really a miracle (or rather the writer's whim) that he is not one.

Another RL bit: all caverns that I've encountered had no illumination :-) So Deep Roads must be very luxurious caves. Also, they seem pretty dry, which I have never experienced so far. They keep a steady temperature (cold) and a complete absence of day and night changes, which screws up one's biological clock in time.

So when Oghren says: "we are losing, what'd you call it... daylight" it actually rings true to me ;-)

Modifié par Sattva, 02 septembre 2010 - 12:48 .

[Dean_the_Young]

Tents are awesome when compared to going without at a time you need them. And you can usually make a good pillow out of a water canteen or similar. The worst part of camping outside is putting back your boots back on in the morning.



Real life XP...



I've jumped off a plane before, which is sorta-kinda like falling off an Archdemon? Minus the parachutes, of course, but fun stuff.



Nerve gas, not so much. CX isn't lethal, but everyone laughs at the people having their first time. I guess that could count for being hit with an acid flask?



I've ridden horses to the point of saddlesore. More importantly, I've fallen off horses before.



I've drunken natural water in a forest without boiling it. Natural consequences followed.



Leather isn't worth it. The stuff don't breath, and it's hardly the fetish outfit some of the DA armors portray it as.

[Sattva]

Oh, the water issue lol Good stuff.
I've been very careless about what water I drink (forest, mountain, middle of nowhere), but seems I had the lucky bastard Zev's luck so far...

Never fell off a horse but was very close to. Remember the cinematic when finishing off a dragon? That was it.
My companion's horse got scared of Maker knows what and shrugged him off the saddle. Mine decided it had to be scared too and I got the funniest five minutes trying not to fall off the crazy animal.

Well, leather is tricky. Very many variables.

Boots in the morning. Yeah 100%

One's own clothes stuffed in a bag make an excellent pillow. Provided they aren't too smelly.

Modifié par Sattva, 02 septembre 2010 - 01:46 .

[Dean_the_Young]

Sattva wrote...

Oh, the water issue lol Good stuff.
I've been very careless about what water I drink (forest, mountain, middle of nowhere), but seems I had the lucky bastard Zev's luck so far...

Never fell off a horse but was very close to. Remember the cinematic when finishing off a dragon? That was it.
My companion's horse got scared of Maker knows what and shrugged him off the saddle. Mine decided it had to be scared too and I got the funniest five minutes trying not to fall off the crazy animal.

Last time I fell off a horse was also last time I was on a horse: I almost fell down the wrong side, into a steep and rocky ravine. Throwing myself over and off and into the upside was much better, but still hurt like the dickens. Could turn over in bed easily for monthes.

Well, leather is tricky. Very many variables.

Boots in the morning. Yeah 100%

One's own clothes stuffed in a bag make an excellent pillow. Provided they aren't too smelly.

In my experience it isn't worth it if you are in a damp environment. Putting out the clothes overnight lets dew get on them and in some places, dew alone will soak anything exposed. Then you have a largely wet pillow with a good start towards being mildew-y being put back into a bag with all your clean(er) stuff.

I'll take dry dirty clothes over wet anything anyday. Most annoying part of being out on the ground in the mornings, for me, is the way the clothes pick up all the dew. They dry out eventually, true, but still...

Speaking of weapons, difficulty really depends on how you hold them. For moderate durations, it isn't so bad if you brace them, and otherwise you usually have them in a carrying position. It's the armor that's the killer, both for the weight and for how it restricts your breathing (skin and lung).

[CalJones]

I rode a lot in my teens and suffice to say I have both fallen off and been thrown. I was once thrown into a fence by a horse that decided he didn't want to jump it, then stepped back and (accidentally) kicked me in the nose for good measure. I got back on and finished but suffice to say, I was a little dazed.

I've also camped, hiked, walked through a deserted mine (and yes indeed, cold, damp and pitch black), had a go at archery (wasn't great at it, but it was only the once) and did Thai boxing long enough to know I could do some damage in a fist fight. I'm also old enough that I know that someone in middle age can kick ass as effectively as someone younger - it just takes twice as long for the aches and fatigue to go away.

[Sattva]

To CalJones: Wow. Respec! :-)



BTW (maybe this isn't the right thread but WTH)



Your estimation of companions' age



Mine as follows (approx.):



Alistair - 18

Morrigan - 27-38

Leliana - 22-25

Sten - (if we assume in human years) 23-40

Zevran - (human years assumption) 29-34

Wynne - 65-72

Oghren - HYA 42-52

[CalJones]

Probably not the right thread for it, but Alistair is a little older than that (the Fiona's child theory puts him at around 21 though I initially estimated him around 25 based on how he looks). Morrigan looks to be in her 20s, probably early 20s although she is already cynical. Leliana mid to late 20s (she tells Wynne she looks younger than she is). I'd guess Sten at around the 38-45 mark based on his facial ageing. Oghren is probably also around that age range. Loghain is 52-53 going by the Stolen Throne. Wynne I think is a little older than that but I wouldn't think she's over 60. She talks as though she is terribly old but her face is in good nick and she reveals she has a son around Alistair's age. To me that suggests she's somewhere in her fifties (probably late 50s going by how others refer to her and how she refers to herself).