66 réponses à ce sujet

[telephasic]

When I hit a brick wall in my first playthrough, I decided go to back and try every origin.  I dunno how many people have done this, but in ranked order, here is how I would rate each.

1.  Dwarf Noble:  Hands down the best of all origin stories.  First, you get to fight darkspawn - a lot - which helps tie it into the main campaign.  Secondly, it plays as the longest IMHO - you have the arena, and then two different areas of the deep roads.  Lastly, the betrayal by Bheran (sp?) was expertly written and acted - I really didn't see it coming.  The only negative is you're stripped of all your belongings when you are banished - including your DLC!

2.  Dwarf Commoner:  The writing here was excellent as well - I really felt immersed within the role.  I played expecting my rogue to be a more "evil" character, and found meeting my family I really couldn't RP the role, as you seem to be more a morally ambigious person driven to an extreme end.  If I have any real issue, it's that you face no enemies in combat aside from other dwarves during the origin story, although that's perhaps understandable given you've probably never left Orzammar. 

3.  Mage: As with the Dwarf Noble, you get a variety of opening dungeons.  First, the awesome introduction to the Fade, and then two sections of the Tower.  You get to battle a fairly wide variety of enemies early in the game.  And unlike the other origins, you can open every chest (no locked ones even after the rogue joins your party).  That said, the origin did have a major flaw IMHO - your helping Jowan just comes across as quite odd.  I realize you're RPing someone quite young and naive, and obviously your character doesn't know they are going to be recruited into the Wardens - but going into the basement of the Tower and killing Templars (or guardian spirit things - it's not clear to me what they're supposed to be) just seems weirdly out of character.  

4.  Human Noble:  Honestly, the setup story is quite blah and generic.  Besides the castle at night all you get is a very easy fight against some rats.  But this origin is impeccibly voice acted, which made the tragedy of losing your family much more real to me.  

5.  City Elf: Underwhelming.  Fairly similar to the Human Noble, in that the action is all one location, more or less, and all you fight is humans and some mabari.  Still, you don't even have to deal with one mage, which makes battle a bit more simplistic.  Mostly, this origin annoyed me because it didn't seem dark enough - probably because I didn't get across real depth of feeling from the voice actors.  Honestly, it reminded me of NWN. 

6.  Dalish Elf.  This origin had potential, but I left feeling like it was unfinished.  You go through one very small dungeon, get knocked unconscious by the mirror, and then get revived by Duncan.  You then get together one or two clan members and go back EXACTLY where you came from - only now there is darkspawn on your tail. The origin honestly seemed to me to last less than an hour.  Now, I think I might have missed something - Duncan was cagy when I wanted to look a bit more for my friend's body, and there was that unexplored path behind the mirror.  Either way, I felt cheated with this origin a bit - it had more potential because it was so different (for once you aren't a criminal or a fugitive), but it ended up falling flat for me. 

Thoughts?  

Modifié par telephasic, 17 novembre 2009 - 03:09 .

[David Falkayn]

Curious...haven't played the Dwarf origins yet, although I've started the Dwarf commoner, but I'd rate the origins almost the opposite of how you rated them. I found the City Elf origin the most riveting with the human noble a close second. Of course, I played the City Elf as a female--try playing it as a female, I think you might find it a bit more visceral. The Mage storyline I felt kind of like many other fantasy quests--it was ok, but not great. As for the Dalish storyline, I agree that it has potential, but something is missing...maybe it's supposed to turn up later though...we'll see.

[Endurium]

I'll comment on only the origins I've played, so I'll use your numbers even though I haven't decided what order I like them best yet.



1. Haven't played.

2. Haven't played.

3. As soon as Jowan spills his guts about Lily and his plan, you can go straight to Irving with it. Irving will then tell you to play along and he will meet them with Templars as they leave the basement. This takes the heat off you as Greagor gets on Irving's case instead. Duncan's arrival is then more of a celebratory thing (based on your dedication to the Circle) rather than a "get me outta here!" type of thing, as it is if you don't involve Irvine and become a rogue mage. I love this origin and so far it's my favorite, but I'm partial to mages and mage towers.



4. I agree about the voice acting, and it hurts to leave my character's parents behind. I get to bed sweet Iona but alas that's short lived, and as far as I know we never get to find/adopt her daughter in Denarim's alienage. The rest of it seems rather short and plain unless you're a rogue, which nearly doubles your explorable area. The staff your dog can find at random is probably the only mage staff a non-mage can wield. Diligent searching of this place with the dog has netted me every random item/gift except the book for Wynne. This would be my #2 origin with mage at #1, so far.



5. Didn't turn out as dark as I expected, but it was bad enough; my cousin was raped. Oddly enough most NPCs referred to her as my friend rather than my cousin. My bride-to-be was physically unscathed (she uses exact same model/appearance as Iona in human noble origin) but I had to leave her behind because (and this was quite fun) I killed every living creature in the Arl's home, including his son. Mwahahah. I got a lot of satisfaction out of that. However, this origin lacked depth and I was done with it before I knew what happened. Wedding bashed, raid Arl's home, conscripted by Duncan, end of origin. The storekeeper wouldn't even let me buy/sell stuff.



6. I just started playing this and got as far as the mirror and rescue before I stopped. Seemed a bit of a recycle job to send me right back to the same place, but there was at least one other quest I could do if I remember right. One of these days I'll complete this origin, but it's not leaving me with good feelings.



Hope to do the dwarf origins soon, but not in a hurry to be stuck underground for an extended length of time. The caste system is straight out of India.

[The Angry One]

My problem with the dwarf noble origin is perhaps that I like it too much - I wish it went on longer.

I was rather sad when it all came to an abrupt halt and you're banished.

[Malkut]

I wish the Dalish origin was better. I like the Dalish. The only good part was the ending, where your character takes a long, last, soulful look at his clan before leaving.

[Forumtroll]

**** I'd pay for a DLC based entirely in Orzammar and the Deep Roads.

[Nhani]

I haven't played through all of them yet, so there's still space for me to be pleasantly surprised, but the ones that really struck me the most captivating so far was Dwarf Noble and City Elf. The former really set a stage where I felt like I fit into the world, and I loved their decision of handing you Gorim to follow you around to really help you settle in, and then how it doesn't really end until you get to Denerim, see Gorim again and get the last bit of ending from the beginning there.

City Elf just really kicked off a character for me too. It really helped define my character, and I had much fun time going from "Arranged marriages? I dun wanna.. ;(" to "..heey.. this guy is really handsome /squee" to "You killed him! I LIKED THAT GUY AND YOU KILLED HIM!! >;O".

Mage.. I'd rate lowest, actually. I mean really.. mage? Come on.. mage? Okay, so I can either be a dwarven princess who elbows around nobility and have my own manservant following me around.. or I can be the elven equivalent of Mel Gibson as William Wallace, just without the yelling "FREEEDOOM!" part.. or I can be.. just a mage. Yeah. Right. Uhm.. I'll pass, thanks.

I don't know, the mage origin just seemed so very bland and uninteresting to me. Then again.. I suppose there wasn't that much to do, I mean.. you're a mage? What else is there to tell..

[Forumtroll]

I agree the mage origin is underwhelming but it balances out in Connor questline if you send yourself into the Fade. Demon lesbian sex or Blood Magic. HARDEST CHOICE IN THE GAME IMO.

[Zilod]

telephasic wrote...

3.  Mage: As with the Dwarf Noble, you get a variety of opening dungeons.  First, the awesome introduction to the Fade, and then two sections of the Tower.  You get to battle a fairly wide variety of enemies early in the game.  And unlike the other origins, you can open every chest (no locked ones even after the rogue joins your party).  That said, the origin did have a major flaw IMHO - your helping Jowan just comes across as quite odd.  I realize you're RPing someone quite young and naive, and obviously your character doesn't know they are going to be recruited into the Wardens - but going into the basement of the Tower and killing Templars (or guardian spirit things - it's not clear to me what they're supposed to be) just seems weirdly out of character.  

Thoughts?  

actually you get the option to tell everything to the prime enchanter and, if you are reluctant (basically you tell Jowan you are not going to help him but will not say anything), you end up knowing that the prime enchanter alredy know about the plan of jowan and tells you all the story asking you to accompany him and basically "set up the trap"
so there are actually 3 different motivations to do that.... to help Jowan, to backstab him by your own, and to get (kinda) blackmailed by the prime enchanter
the game forces you to do that (and i had liked to an option to stay out of it) but indeed there are different reasons to get involved in it and that could apply for quite different characters... from the idealistic young mage to the opportunist guy

[Saurel]

I'll rank them ..I did play them all



1.) Dwarf Noble....the best hands down. Intrigue wise and also that it introduced the Darkspawn early on. It helps that you don't have a home to return to and you can actually appreciate Duncan taking you in.



2.) Human Noble.. great in the respect of how much hatred for Arl Howe it can illicit from you. Seeing your little nephew get slain after interacting with him is pretty horrible. I think the Human Noble has one of the worst transitions to Grey Warden (because tbh I would be consumed with getting Howe and not the Darkspawn). Howe betraying is predictable, but it made me feel more invested than the other origins



The rest are a bit tough to pick



3.) Mage- Not as exciting or morally ambiguous as I hoped, the interactions in the Fade are the high point.



4.) Dwarf Commoner- its a bit underwhelming after playing the Dwarf Noble...I'd say this is on equal grounds with the City Elf... There are people to hate and despise...but it didn't feel as personal as the Human Noble. And the side-guy paled in comparison to Gorim; who was a beacon of honor in a very cut-throat society .



5.) City Elf- It honestly didn't do much for me...partially because of how cartoon-ishly villainy the Villains are. Howe is villainous also, but you really don't see much of him. These guys are like the rapist variation of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. There are a lot of sad moments (the gang rape and the would be mate getting slaughtered) but the cut scenes and the build up just aren't there.... especially with the rape scene...even though I don't know if I would want to see it. But if you play the game you can't even really tell that happened (it just three dudes standing around a clothed woman). You can infer it... like I said it would be rough to handle.



6.) The Dalish Elf. Now this one is the least intriguing, but I think has the best transition into becoming a Grey Warden. You fight the darkspawn early, you don't have much of a home, and you are dying anyway and there is something in it for you (supposedly a cure) if you Help Duncan.

Along with the Dwarf Noble, this one has the best switch from one life to another.



Whereas the Human Noble is the worst in this regard. City Elf ,Dwarf Commoner, and Mage don't hold the same great transition- since its basically "get out of jail free card" joining up.

[Fudzie]

I feel like I got gypped on the Dalish elf origin. Every other origin, doing everything I could, I hit maybe level 2 or 3 by the time I was done.



I didn't level up once in the Dalish Elf origin, and I scoured that place.

[FRZN]

I think I liked the mage origin the most because I played it first. It really set of the theme of betrayal in motion and I've been a suspicious **** ever since then.

Consequentially when I played the dwarf noble origin I did suspect the betrayal and felt gratified when I was right (also, I loved saying "Gorim, why is this person speaking to me?").

I thought the city elf origin was good, but it was actually the only place in the game where I've felt that not having a voiced main character was a significant weakness and made my character's response seem kind of absent in how quickly she moved on to fighting darkspawn. Then again I haven't played this character through the campaign yet.

Dwarf commoner and human noble were both well done too. The only one I didn't actually like was the dalish origin. It felt less character driven (or maybe I just find the dalish characters to have boring personalities) and the plot itself was just too familiar to draw me in.

[The Angry One]

The lines in the dwarf noble origin are such a high point. Asking Gorim why the filthy peasant is speaking to me to be followed by "You will not address the Lady Aeducan unless spoken to!" or with some the "I'm sorry he bothered you my lady, shall I have him killed?".



You know Gorim just rocks.

[Saurel]

Gorim is hands down the best NPC in any of the Origins. To think I was really skeptical of Steve Blum and his signature voice

[Nhani]

The Angry One wrote...
You know Gorim just rocks.

All that and an utterly awesome voice to boot. Given the choice, I'd swap out Oghren for Gorim in a heartbeat. I just wish I could take him up on that offer to introduce me to that surfacer wife he said he married - I wanted to congratulate the lucky woman on her excellent taste!

[Fudzie]

I am glad I went Human Noble first, because that just allowed me to appreciate Gorim better after, first, seeing him as a topside vendor.



I could easily imagine him and Kylan getting into awesome adventures in the past.

[minamber]

I've just finished playing through all the origins after my first playthrough as a mage. In order for me:

1. Dwarven Noble: it had good choices, great dialogue options (I especially loved the option to speak only through Gorim to lower-ranked people), and a good story. The combat is also challenging. Kudos to Bioware for making me love dwarves for the first time in an RPG.

2. Mage: I'm biased there, since I'll admit I prefer playing mages, but I thought the whole experience in the Fade, and the introduction to demons were very interesting. The tension between templars and mages were well-done, though the part with Jowan felt a bit forced. It was also, I think, a bit longer than the others.

3. City Elf: I played this one with a female PC, and I liked it a lot. Good dialogue options, plus a whole Kill Bill feel which just felt great. It really brought home how bad the elves' lives are. With a male PC, it might be more bland I guess.

4. Dwarven Commoner: The story was good, I liked the way the PC was treated like dirt. I rather disliked the lack of choice though, and it was rather unrealistic as well. I mean, a lvl 1 untrained fighter winning a major competition against hardened warriors? Come on... I also felt that it was a bit short.

5. Human Noble: I felt this one was a bit bland, PC losing his whole family, no home to go back to, so forced to go on a life of adventure; feels a bit cliche, don't you think? Plus, it's really combat-heavy. Its only saving grace, imho, is that the characters are very well-done, from the dog, to your parents.

6: Dalish Elf: This is the only one that was a real disapppointment to me. I felt Dalish elves had a good potential for being very interesting, but they're a bit too close to traditional elves in RPGs imho. Plus reusing the same dungeon felt a bit cheap, thoug it made sense story-wise. It was a bit short too. Missed opportunity there...

[Forumtroll]

That was the lowest point of the game when I couldn't get Gorim back. Gorim+Oghren might have been awesome dialogue.

[The Angry One]

Let's petition BioWare for a Gorim companion DLC!

[Forumtroll]

I believe if you play Dwarven Commoner as a female you can take up a life of prostitution.

[Forumtroll]

Oh I forgot entering the Proving held in your own honor and winning it was epicly and royally bastardly.

[Nhani]

The Angry One wrote...
Let's petition BioWare for a Gorim companion DLC!

I wholeheartedly approve of this prospect and would like to voice my full endorsement. More Gorim! \\o/

Modifié par Nhani, 17 novembre 2009 - 04:04 .

[Reiella]

Dwarf Noble just feels epic, most real tie to the story too.  Human Noble has some tie, but their presence is still really trumped by Alistair.  And the human noble origin just felt like a random pug invite in wow.

"Hai guyz!  U join blight raid nao!  kthx!"

[Pyro_Monkey]

I've done the human noble and mage, i must say I preferred the noble. there just seems like there's so much more going on, there are all kinds of things to see and do, and plenty of people to talk to. What i liked most about the human noble is the vareity, in the mage origin you go through the harrowing, then you help Jowan break out, then duncan shows up and saves you. it's really rather linear. The human noble origin isn't so focused, everyone you meet doesn't talk about the same thing, the characters seem more real, you actually have a side quest, and you get a companion, then you get blindsided by betrayal, and your family is murdered, it's just so much more engaging. I mean, in the mage origin, nobody even dies!