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[Costin_Razvan]

Templars.

[IanPolaris]

Costin_Razvan wrote...

Templars.

Sorry but I don't buy it.  The Templar abilities against mages seem to be highly overrated.  Sure they are far better at fighting mages than other warriors, but that's not saying all that much, but a solid battlemage (esp a bloodmage) will still wipe the floor with a solidly built templar.

-Polaris

[Pro_Consul]

IanPolaris wrote...

Actually it's the stated and official purpose of the circle to help TRAIN mages and to use their power responsibly.  So what we have to believe is that a self-taught swamp witch is supposed to be a far superior mage than a mage that has spend nearly his (or her) whole life doing nothing but studying magic.

Admittedly when the teacher is Flemeth it's a little easier to believe, but still, even compare the circle mages you are given (Ishal, Jowan, and Wynne) compared with what you make on your own, and it's no contest.  At least Morrigan while not in the PC mage's league is at least within shouting distance unlike those from the wretched circle.

-Polaris

It is also the Circle's purpose to train (and restrain) every single person found to have magic talent, regardless of how much raw ability or aptitude they may show. So logically one would conclude that a lot of less-than-stellar students do come out of their training program, considering how many must go in. But not all are as worthless as you imply when you consider Wynne, for example.

As for the point about Circle mages spending nearly their whole lives doing nothing but studying magic, what did you think Morrigan was doing? Flemeth raised her from earliest childhood to be a powerful mage, and without instilling in her all the inhibitions and prohibitions which bind Circle mages. And think of the teacher-to-student ratio. At the circle what do you imagine it was? 1:10? 1:5 at best perhaps? For Morrigan's education it was 1:1, and that one being the most experienced and powerful mage alive, so far as we know.To my thinking it is actually surprising that Morrigan is not even more powerful than she is, when compared to Circle mages.

IanPolaris wrote...

Sorry but I don't buy it.  The Templar abilities against mages seem to be highly overrated.  Sure they are far better at fighting mages than other warriors, but that's not saying all that much, but a solid battlemage (esp a bloodmage) will still wipe the floor with a solidly built templar.

-Polaris

If it were a one-on-one contest, very likely. But as I understand it anyone can be trained to be a templar, while only those born with magical aptitude can become mages. So presumably the templars can bring not only potent anti-magic skills, but also superior numbers to bear. Not to mention the templars are backed by the largest, most powerful religious organization known, i.e. the Chantry. That has to bring some heavy duty money along with it, which can provide for top quality equipment and support. Also don't forget that Tevinter is only a shadow of what it once was, so don't be misled into equating the "current day" Tevinter realm with the far more potent empire described in all the historical texts the Warden finds. We also know nothing about the internal politics of Tevinter. How much of their mages' efforts are aimed at backbiting, infighting and the like? Just how cohesive are they, really? We have no way of knowing. The Chantry, on the other hand, is fanatically cohesive when it comes to opposing blood magic and other "blasphemous" magical activities.

Modifié par Pro_Consul, 24 décembre 2010 - 11:47 .

[IanPolaris]

Pro_Consul wrote...

IanPolaris wrote...

Actually it's the stated and official purpose of the circle to help TRAIN mages and to use their power responsibly.  So what we have to believe is that a self-taught swamp witch is supposed to be a far superior mage than a mage that has spend nearly his (or her) whole life doing nothing but studying magic.

Admittedly when the teacher is Flemeth it's a little easier to believe, but still, even compare the circle mages you are given (Ishal, Jowan, and Wynne) compared with what you make on your own, and it's no contest.  At least Morrigan while not in the PC mage's league is at least within shouting distance unlike those from the wretched circle.

-Polaris

It is also the Circle's purpose to train (and restrain) every single person found to have magic talent, regardless of how much raw ability or aptitude they may show. So logically one would conclude that a lot of less-than-stellar students do come out of their training program, considering how many must go in. But not all are as worthless as you imply when you consider Wynne, for example.

Actually as a mage Wynne is pretty worthless when you consider her supposed experience and position in the circle and especially when you consider that her best spells/talents seem to be from a unique/innate gift and not from circle training.  Also those that don't cut it in their training are made tranquil which means that any circle mage outside the circle has to have at least met the minimum bar to be harrowed and so you'd think you'd be seeing the best.  If this is the best colour me highly unimpressed.

As for the point about Circle mages spending nearly their whole lives doing nothing but studying magic, what did you think Morrigan was doing? Flemeth raised her from earliest childhood to be a powerful mage, and without instilling in her all the inhibitions and prohibitions which bind Circle mages. And think of the teacher-to-student ratio. At the circle what do you imagine it was? 1:10? 1:5 at best perhaps? For Morrigan's education it was 1:1, and that one being the most experienced and powerful mage alive, so far as we know.To my thinking it is actually surprising that Morrigan is not even more powerful than she is, when compared to Circle mages.

Yes, but Morrigan doesn't have the circle libraries and resources either, and near as I could tell in the tower, the intructor to student ratio was darn close to 1:1 and certainly enchanters and senior enchanters were strongly implied to have an apprentice/master relationship with their students.  However, Morrigan is not only a better mage in terms of spells (which I can *barely* see given her teacher is Flemeth) but also has a much better magical/arcana education as well which says shameful things about how well the circle really educates their mages.

IanPolaris wrote...

Sorry but I don't buy it.  The Templar abilities against mages seem to be highly overrated.  Sure they are far better at fighting mages than other warriors, but that's not saying all that much, but a solid battlemage (esp a bloodmage) will still wipe the floor with a solidly built templar.

-Polaris

If it were a one-on-one contest, very likely. But as I understand it anyone can be trained to be a templar, while only those born with magical aptitude can become mages. So presumably the templars can bring not only potent anti-magic skills, but also superior numbers to bear. Not to mention the templars are backed by the largest, most powerful religious organization known, i.e. the Chantry. That has to bring some heavy duty money along with it, which can provide for top quality equipment and support. Also don't forget that Tevinter is only a shadow of what it once was, so don't be misled into equating the "current day" Tevinter realm with the far more potent empire described in all the historical texts the Warden finds. We also know nothing about the internal politics of Tevinter. How much of their mages' efforts are aimed at backbiting, infighting and the like? Just how cohesive are they, really? We have no way of knowing. The Chantry, on the other hand, is fanatically cohesive when it comes to opposing blood magic and other "blasphemous" magical activities.

Actually not everyone can become a Templar and Alistair makes that very clear.  You have to endure and pass what amounts to "basic training" first which means you have to be a skilled warrior.  Not only that, but it takes years of education and mental training as well.  Alistair strongly implies that this training takes years and requires intense displine.  Then there is the whole lyrium aspect and lyrium isn't exactly common.

Templars may be more common than mages, but not by the overwhelming numbers you seem to imply and the production of templars given these requirements seem to be low (i.e. it takes a long time to replace a templar).  Also the best Templar ability is easily Holy Smite but only the most powerful (read senior knights and knight commanders) would have it.  For most, Templars make it slightly more difficult on mages by draining mana, and a bloodmage laughs at that.

-Polaris

[Addai]

IanPolaris wrote...

Addai67 wrote...

Morrigan doesn't come with a heal spell, either, and she was trained by the most powerful mage in Ferelden without Circle restrictions.  They're trying to get you to work with tactics and not make the game too easy at the beginning.

Morrigan was not also expected to be in battle anytime soon either.  Even so, Morrigan has a slew of very potent and useful spells that make her an asset right away, and she levels up so you can quickly give her a heal spell (and I do).  Specifically she comes with Mind-Blast (very nice), Winter's Grasp (one of the best single-target damage spell at low levels), Icey Blades, and IIRC Horror. 

I would have liked that circle mage we got to be at least as competant as some apostate that learned their magic in a swamp.

-Polaris

Morrigan grew up in the Korcari Wilds- that's like being in battle every day, at least when she's outside Flemeth's wards, which she says she did often.  She was also hunted by templars.  Despite her bravado about it, the fact that templars got anywhere close to Flemeth speaks to what a danger they were to a normal mage like Morrigan.

[Addai]

IanPolaris wrote...

Costin_Razvan wrote...

Templars.

Sorry but I don't buy it.  The Templar abilities against mages seem to be highly overrated.  Sure they are far better at fighting mages than other warriors, but that's not saying all that much, but a solid battlemage (esp a bloodmage) will still wipe the floor with a solidly built templar.

-Polaris

Actually I think they are underrated in the game.  In an old thread I saw David Gaider addressing this point.  The templars in the game look sort of bumbling, but if there was someone who could instantly disarm you just with his mind, that would be dangerous to any fighter.  A whole army of those to police a few mages here and there is a potent threat.  Draining mana is not their only power, also "disrupting spells" (per Alistair) in addition to standard weapons training.  What you see in the game is not always reflective of lore reality.  Some things are modified for the sake of game balance or mechanics.

Modifié par Addai67, 25 décembre 2010 - 12:50 .

[IanPolaris]

Addai67 wrote...
Morrigan grew up in the Korcari Wilds- that's like being in battle every day, at least when she's outside Flemeth's wards, which she says she did often.  She was also hunted by templars.  Despite her bravado about it, the fact that templars got anywhere close to Flemeth speaks to what a danger they were to a normal mage like Morrigan.

That's pure horse-bolluxs.  Having been in a battlefield for real (and real war), being in the Kocari wilds is nothing like being in a battlefield every day.  Don't even think of comparing the two.

That's not to say that the Kocari Wilds aren't dangerous because they are, but Morrigan has the knowledge to make simple healing poltices and the like and has knowledge of the wildlife as well.

As for the Templars being a thread, I'm sorry but I'm just not sold.  The Templars seem to be greatly overrated, i.e. something the Chantry likes to trot out to make them feel better but aren't nearly as good against magic as advertised...and the game seems to bear me out on this.  To be sure there are more templars than mages and to be sure most mages are pretty ineffectual in combat ESPECIALLY circle mages, but the Dalish have kept the Templars out for centuries, and frankly a small group of bloodmages in the tower handled Gregoire's tempars with very little difficulty (and hid from them with very little difficulty as well lest you forget).

No.  Color me intensely unimpressed with the Templars.

-Polaris

Edit:  Sure both Cleansing Aura and Holy Smite disrupt spells and quite well. Unfortunately those are the best two abilities the templars get (and Holy Smite seems only available to high ranking templars) so again....not impressed...not when a bloodmage can hit the Templars with "bloodwound" or even take over their minds...and then it's all over.

Modifié par IanPolaris, 25 décembre 2010 - 01:08 .

[Costin_Razvan]

Sorry, but I wasn't referring to the Dalish situation ( which got annihilation through sheer numbers during their war ) but rather the Tevinter one.



In Tevinter the training of most mages would probably be better then in Chantry countries. However mage numbers would still be small ( and let's not forget Tevinter has been fighting constant wars since Andraste came along ) and there blood magic is not openly practiced.

[IanPolaris]

Costin_Razvan wrote...

In Tevinter the training of most mages would probably be better then in Chantry countries. However mage numbers would still be small ( and let's not forget Tevinter has been fighting constant wars since Andraste came along ) and there blood magic is not openly practiced.

I was also talking about Tevinter.  Remember that Tevinter has a chantry too and thus has Templars.  As for blood magic, blood magic is in fact openly practiced and the Imperial Chantry doesn't forbid it.  (per the codecies...Wynne is wrong)  The only magic that the Imperial Chantry forbids is explicit mind-control.

GIven that, the only reason I can think of for Tevinter not to be much stronger (vis a vis the rest of Thedas) than it is...even in decline...is because of Qunari pressure.

From what I gathered, it took basically a united effort of all Chantry nations to put down the Dales and even then it was a rough war.  It was also a shocking betrayal of what Andraste promised and what she ever stood for.  Small wonder the "politically inconvenient" verses of Shartan were removed by the Divine.

-Polaris

[Costin_Razvan]

Bear in mind however that when Imperial Chantry split...Tevinter faced an exalted march by all the Andrastian Nations. The Andrastians did not manage to conquer the Imperium but they did come close.



Then the Qunari came.

[Addai]

IanPolaris wrote...

That's pure horse-bolluxs.  Having been in a battlefield for real (and real war), being in the Kocari wilds is nothing like being in a battlefield every day.  Don't even think of comparing the two.

  You could do with dialing the rhetoric down a notch.

The Korcari Wilds is one of the most dangerous and harsh environments in Ferelden.  I have to ask, have you read the game novels?

No.  Color me intensely unimpressed with the Templars.

Well, whatever.... the game's lead writer said it, but you've got your opinions.

[IanPolaris]

Addai67 wrote...

IanPolaris wrote...

That's pure horse-bolluxs.  Having been in a battlefield for real (and real war), being in the Kocari wilds is nothing like being in a battlefield every day.  Don't even think of comparing the two.

  You could do with dialing the rhetoric down a notch.

The Korcari Wilds is one of the most dangerous and harsh environments in Ferelden.  I have to ask, have you read the game novels?

Your comment was a direct insult to those that have ever faced battle.  If anything my comment to you was mild.  As for the Kocari Wilds, I am well aware of how dangerous an evironment it is, but it's nothing like battle and Morrigan's training is more than appropriate for it (herbalism).   In short, it's silly for a mage that's training to go to war to not have a heal spell which is a quick and dirty way of keeping you and your allies up.  It's not so silly for an apostate mage that doesn't expect battle not to have a heal spell especially if the person she lives with is an expert healer (and we know Flemeth is an expert healer) and can use herbal crafting to make do.  That was my point.

No.  Color me intensely unimpressed with the Templars.

Well, whatever.... the game's lead writer said it, but you've got your opinions.

I know what DG said.  However, even if you take him at his word, the Templars look to me like a white elephant.  I mean they were barely able to conquer the Dales and failed to conquer Tevinter allied with every other chantry nation in Thedas.  The Dalish Hunter Gatherers and Chasind make the Templars look like fools, and they couldn't even detect let alone handle a tiny number of bloodmages when caught be suprise.

All of this is indisputed canon.  Please.  The best defense/offense against magic is magic.  Even the Qunari (who hate magic with a blinding passion) admit that.

-Polaris

[IanPolaris]

Costin_Razvan wrote...

Bear in mind however that when Imperial Chantry split...Tevinter faced an exalted march by all the Andrastian Nations. The Andrastians did not manage to conquer the Imperium but they did come close.

Then the Qunari came.

That is probably the best explaination yet for how weak Tevinter is.  Even so, if I were the rest of Thedas I'd be looking very nervously towards Tevinter (and I'd be making very subtle and covert reproachments towards the Collective of Mages and other magical practitioners in my land).  In fact (assuming the Mage's boon is requested), Ferelden may become the first ****** in the Chantry's control of magic. If *I* were a king in Thedas, I certainly wouldn't depend on the Chantry to control magic...not after their (sarc) spectacular (/sarc) run of recent success.

-Polaris

[Addai]

IanPolaris wrote...

Your comment was a direct insult to those that have ever faced battle.  If anything my comment to you was mild. 

And I suppose you've lived on your own for 30 years in a hostile wilderness while also being hunted?  Check back with me if you have, otherwise lose the attitude.

[IanPolaris]

Addai67 wrote...

IanPolaris wrote...

Your comment was a direct insult to those that have ever faced battle.  If anything my comment to you was mild. 

And I suppose you've lived on your own for 30 years in a hostile wilderness while also being hunted?  Check back with me if you have, otherwise lose the attitude.

No. You are getting the attitude you deserve.  When you've faced battle or even a life-threatening stressful situation (like a fire for example), you let me know.  Until then, can it.  You don't have the right to make the comparison (since I am sure you haven't spent thirty years in howling wilderness either).  Yes, this is rather personal to me.

-Polaris

[Costin_Razvan]

Civilians telling soldiers about life-threatening situations. I am rather surprised, I truly am.

Modifié par Costin_Razvan, 25 décembre 2010 - 04:07 .

[Addai]

IanPolaris wrote...

Addai67 wrote...

IanPolaris wrote...

Your comment was a direct insult to those that have ever faced battle.  If anything my comment to you was mild. 

And I suppose you've lived on your own for 30 years in a hostile wilderness while also being hunted?  Check back with me if you have, otherwise lose the attitude.

No. You are getting the attitude you deserve.  When you've faced battle or even a life-threatening stressful situation (like a fire for example), you let me know.  Until then, can it.  You don't have the right to make the comparison (since I am sure you haven't spent thirty years in howling wilderness either).  Yes, this is rather personal to me.

-Polaris

None of us have grown up in the kind of society and conditions in which the game takes place.  Morrigan was being hunted as a child and spent her whole life living rough.  If you haven't had that experience, you can't relate to it any more personally than anyone else.  We're talking about a game, in a fictional world.

It's all irrelevant anyway.  The Circle doesn't train mages for battle.  How would they control them otherwise?

[IanPolaris]

No but some of us know what real war and real battle is like and I for one don't appreciate belitting it which IMHO you did.



-Polaris

[IanPolaris]

Addai67 wrote...
It's all irrelevant anyway.  The Circle doesn't train mages for battle.  How would they control them otherwise?

Let's address this since that is a less painful topic IRL.  If what you say is true, that is really, really stupid.  Everyone knows that Tevinter trains it's mages for battle, and even the Qunari who hate magic have leased mages optimized just for battle.  This makes even less sense (and that's saying a lot) than the Chantry's stance on blood magic.  Besides if magi weren't trained for battle, then what are spells like stone-skin, arcane shield and fireball all doing on the curriculum?

Either the circle doesn't train it's mages for battle which makes Andrasian Nations easy prey for any nation that does (such as the Dales 700 years ago, Tevinter, or even the Qun today that do), or they train at least a few of their mages for battle but the mages they do train are rather pathetic compared with non-circle mages with perhaps even less training.

Controlling mages is all well and good until you are on the wrong end of a magical power imbalance.  Just ask Cailan's army at Ostagar....wait, you can't.  They're all dead.

-Polaris

[Pro_Consul]

IanPolaris wrote...

No but some of us know what real war and real battle is like and I for one don't appreciate belitting it which IMHO you did.

-Polaris

Yes, and some of us who know real war and real battle also know the difference between reality and fantasy fiction. Your attitude got involved when you tried to construe a comment about a fictional character in a fictional environment in a fantasy story as somehow making light of your own past life experiences, because for some reason you could not seem to grasp that all the fiction and fantasy involved had nothing at all to do with real life. I have been under fire, returned fire, feared for my life and taken life in defense of myself and my mates. But I don't for one second take offense because a fictional situation fails to give 100% credence to my own past trials. If I did I would not be able to turn on a television, watch any DVD not made by Disney or sit through a broadcast of any sporting event whatsoever, because all of those things routinely make allusions to battlefield metaphors without coming anywhere near doing justice to battlefield realities.

The plain fact is that nobody was belittling you or any of the rest of us of who have been caught up in war. Read back through the messages, taking deep breaths the whole time, and try to read only what was written. And then, if you still find some reason to be upset about what was said, keep it to yourself. That is unless you can find some actual, direct insult being offered to someone, which you won't, since none was even remotely close to being made.

In the words of the great sage, Warren Oates, "Lighten up, Francis." I like to think that perhaps something just struck you wrong, at just the wrong moment, and this caused you to inadvertently snap at someone who never meant you any harm or insult. Lord knows that happens to everyone now and again.

[Pro_Consul]

IanPolaris wrote...

Controlling mages is all well and good until you are on the wrong end of a magical power imbalance.  Just ask Cailan's army at Ostagar....wait, you can't.  They're all dead.

-Polaris

It looks like you are arguing the opposing view there. If failure to train mages for real battle operations makes no sense because it leads to defeat, then the fact that defeat was the outcome seems to argue that this failure was indeed taking place. If the Circle was in fact training its mages to be magical masters of the battlefield, then perhaps you might actually be able to canvas Cailan's army for their views, once they were done celebrating their victory at Ostagar.

[IanPolaris]

Pro_Consul wrote...
It looks like you are arguing the opposing view there. If failure to train mages for real battle operations makes no sense because it leads to defeat, then the fact that defeat was the outcome seems to argue that this failure was indeed taking place. If the Circle was in fact training its mages to be magical masters of the battlefield, then perhaps you might actually be able to canvas Cailan's army for their views, once they were done celebrating their victory at Ostagar.

Two things:  If you will read back, you will find that Addai's comparison to life in the Kocari wilderness is like battle every day rubbed me wrong.  If should rub you wrong too.  Even then, if you read my resposne it was actually very mild....just a caution really NOT to compare them.  It was Addai that tried to call me out on my "attitutude" and that IMHO was not forgivable.  I think there is someone else you need to tell to lighten-up.  Enough said on that.
Edit:  It wasn't even that she said it was like battle.  That would have been fine.  She said it was the same as BEING in battle (and both of know that's bogus).  Really if you will get off your own high-horse and read my original response that's all I said...the comparison was horse-bolluxs.  That's all....as I said it was Addai that copped the attitude at that.


As for the rest, read the whole thread.  I was pointing out that the circle as a military asset was pathetic, and that it was also rather stupid.  That's all I was really getting at.  In truth Cailan's army would have lost anyways given the sheer force imbalance, but my point if sacastically made was this:  By hobbling magic they way they seem to do (and no one seems to be disagreeing that circle mages are by and large pathetic), they are opening up all the Andrastian nations to anyone that does not hobble battlemagic.  Even the Qun (who loath magic) are wiser than this.

-Polaris

Modifié par IanPolaris, 25 décembre 2010 - 06:01 .

[Pro_Consul]

IanPolaris wrote...

Two things:  If you will read back, you will find that Addai's comparison to life in the Kocari wilderness is like battle every day rubbed me wrong.  If should rub you wrong too.
-Polaris

Nah, I don't have the energy for it. If I let every unrealistic war simile rub me wrong, then I'd have to live in a tree stump like the Mad Hermit. Heck, I'd have to give up watching the news, football, basketball, movies....most of my favorite games would fall by the wayside...even social networking sites would be nearly constant sources of irritation. I'm too old to have the energy for all that.

IanPolaris wrote...

As for the rest, read the whole thread.  I was pointing out that the circle as a military asset was pathetic, and that it was also rather stupid.  That's all I was really getting at.  In truth Cailan's army would have lost anyways given the sheer force imbalance, but my point if sacastically made was this:  By hobbling magic they way they seem to do (and no one seems to be disagreeing that circle mages are by and large pathetic), they are opening up all the Andrastian nations to anyone that does not hobble battlemagic.  Even the Qun (who loath magic) are wiser than this.

-Polaris

My bad. I thought for a few posts there that the central thrust of your point on this was not that it was stupid, but that it was unrealistically stupid. But apparently we agree after all, that with the Circle completely under the Chantry's thumb, and with the Chantry so fanatically anti-mage, that the Circle would inevitably be badly hobbled. Heck, no mage is even allowed to leave the Tower except on official, sanctioned business. How is a mage supposed to get any real world, practical experience of life like that? Basically mages in Fereldan and Orlais are prisoners, albeit ones with a high mortality rate (the Harrowing), a high rate of forced lobotomy (Tranquil) but who sometimes get to go out on work gangs. Is it any wonder the arlessa Isolde went to such dangerous lengths to keep the Circle and the Chantry from finding out about Connor's budding magical talent? 

As for the Harrowing, that isn't really a magical graduation test at all. It is actually a maturity test. They are not interested in finding out how capable a mage is, but rather care only to determine if he or she is easy to tempt and trick into doing something inordinately stupid.  And apparently it is a lousy test of that, as well, when you consider how many in the Circle turned out to be secretly blood mages led by a senior enchanter who was consorting with a Pride Demon.

Bottom line: stupidity is a regrettable, unavoidable part of the human condition, and is therefore all too realistic.

Modifié par Pro_Consul, 25 décembre 2010 - 07:24 .

[IanPolaris]

On the first point, ok, yeah I guess I overreacted not with my initial comment (which merely said the comparison was bolluxs but on Addai being insulted by what to me was a perfectly reasonable thing to say). Enough. Continuing the line is pointless.

I guess things got muddled. My complaint such as it is is the difference between how the circle is presented to the outside world (in part by the chantry) and what it is. The chantry and circle like to claim things like harrowing is a magical graduation, and that mages are trained to help their fellow man (i.e. it's an academy) but we both know differently....and given that it's little suprise just how badly ineffective circle mages are in the war.

Leading way back to how this tangent got started, I have completed the game (using the bloodmage mod) without either the mages or templars. It made almost no difference. Didn't miss either. IMHO the Dwarves and Golems alone are probably enough to beat the archdemon.

-Polaris

Edit PS:  The part I found somewhat unrealistic was that countries under the Andrastian Chantry's thumb (Fereldan, Orlais, Free Marches, Antiva) do as well as they do in face of such places as Tevinter or even the Qun who aren't as stupid about battlemagic (even the fanatically anti-magic Qun are wiser than the Chantry when it comes to battlemagic).

Modifié par IanPolaris, 25 décembre 2010 - 07:33 .

[Addai]

IanPolaris wrote...

Addai67 wrote...
It's all irrelevant anyway.  The Circle doesn't train mages for battle.  How would they control them otherwise?

Let's address this since that is a less painful topic IRL.  If what you say is true, that is really, really stupid.  Everyone knows that Tevinter trains it's mages for battle, and even the Qunari who hate magic have leased mages optimized just for battle.  This makes even less sense (and that's saying a lot) than the Chantry's stance on blood magic.  Besides if magi weren't trained for battle, then what are spells like stone-skin, arcane shield and fireball all doing on the curriculum?

I would guess that it's for similar reasons as why they don't arm elves, or why many cultures don't allow or encourage women to become soldiers:  There is a trade-off of some kind, either in custom or survival priority.  Societies choose at some point to have childbearing females who could be fighting kept out of the battle.  Arming elves seems like a bad idea because they might revolt.  Likewise, mages are too dangerous to turn them into battle mages.  A few skills here and there, yes, but crippling them ensures you can also control them.  Most of Thedas is paranoid about another Tevineter mage-ocracy so they would rather take their chances.