26 réponses à ce sujet

[TheJediSaint]

With Dragon Age 2: Legacy, we learned a great deal about our PC's father.  In particular, we learn that he was forced by the Grey Wardens of the Free Marches to maintain the wards holding Corypheus, since they needed the services of an apostate mage that did not carry the taint. 

Now somthing that I was curious about, was Malcom exposed to the darkpawn taint while he was reinforcing the wards around Corypheus' prison?   Therefore leading to him dying before the events of DA 2?  I ask this because I recall exposure to the taint being the implied cause of Queen Rowan's death, years after venturing through the deep roads herself.

It does strike me as a plausible reason for Malcom's death, as well as a reason for why Caver or Bethany were suceptible to the taint while their older sibling was not, since they were conceved after Malcom could have been exposed. 

Granted this is just speculation and I welcome any devs to shoot it down, confirm it, or just give a clever non-answer that only raises more questions.  And of course, I do encourage other forumites to express their opinions.

Modifié par TheJediSaint, 29 juillet 2011 - 12:37 .

[dragonflight288]

If he had been exposed to the taint, he would have been a ghoul, since only Wardens are immune to it.

[WhiteKnyght]

I don't think that was what killed Queen Rowan personally. From what I've seen it works faster than the time it took for her to die. Not to mention the fact that if she were tainted, they'd know right away what with the pain, the veins in the skin becoming visible, and the blotchiness.

If anybody would have been tainted in The Stolen Throne it would be Katriel or Loghain. Since she got bit by a corrupted spider and he sucked out the poison.

But for Malcolm it depends on when he was exposed. I think I've heard it said that they lost Malcolm to the blight but didn't understand it because he was already dead when the Fifth Blight began.

Modifié par The Grey Nayr, 29 juillet 2011 - 02:06 .

[Will Shred]

Malcolm Hawke died in 9:27 (according to the Wikia), three years before the events of DA:O.

That doesn't mean it still couldn't have been Blight sickness or exposure to darkspawn taint though. We know at that time the family was living on the outskirts of Lothering, but we don't know where all Malcolm went in Ferelden. And it's certainly plausible that there was some amount of darkspawn activity in the southern part of the country well before it reached enough of a critical mass for the leaders to hear about it and speculate about a Blight.

Bethany in-game says their father died from the Blight, which could either be a reference to this type of "before it was officially a Blight" thing, or she could've simply given a blowoff answer that wasn't really accurate but was convenient when she didn't really want to talk about it -shrug-

[WhiteKnyght]

Will Shred wrote...

Malcolm Hawke died in 9:27 (according to the Wikia), three years before the events of DA:O.

That doesn't mean it still couldn't have been Blight sickness or exposure to darkspawn taint though. We know at that time the family was living on the outskirts of Lothering, but we don't know where all Malcolm went in Ferelden. And it's certainly plausible that there was some amount of darkspawn activity in the southern part of the country well before it reached enough of a critical mass for the leaders to hear about it and speculate about a Blight.

Bethany in-game says their father died from the Blight, which could either be a reference to this type of "before it was officially a Blight" thing, or she could've simply given a blowoff answer that wasn't really accurate but was convenient when she didn't really want to talk about it -shrug-

IIRC: according to what was said in Origins, the Darkspawn appeared in the Korcari wilds roughtly three weeks before the battle of Ostagar. Thats probably where the Archdemon's prison was located.

Like the Grey Wardens said, they keep watch and listen to the horde. And considering there are certain people in the order who know the locations of the ancient prisons they probably have people assigned to monitor the areas.

[Elessara]

I've always thought that Gamlen's and Bethany's comments were kind of leftovers from a storyline they didn't use.

When you meet Gamlen for the first time in the Gallows he said he wasn't expecting all this with the Blight, your husband dead ... I know he may not be speaking in chronological order but it just seemed out of place. And then I believe Bethany says that their father died *in* the Blight not from it. This always kind of leads me to believe that originally Malcolm Hawke was supposed to die during the flight from Lothering ... but that's all just speculation based on a couple of lines of dialogue.

[Torax]

Elessara wrote...

I've always thought that Gamlen's and Bethany's comments were kind of leftovers from a storyline they didn't use.

When you meet Gamlen for the first time in the Gallows he said he wasn't expecting all this with the Blight, your husband dead ... I know he may not be speaking in chronological order but it just seemed out of place. And then I believe Bethany says that their father died *in* the Blight not from it. This always kind of leads me to believe that originally Malcolm Hawke was supposed to die during the flight from Lothering ... but that's all just speculation based on a couple of lines of dialogue.

Keep in mind by the time you are first controlling Hawke, the Darkspawn have destroyed lothering. This means that the Hero of Fereldon had already completed one of their treaty missions which is at least a month or more after the battle of Ostagar. The dialogue has it set to months upon months of travel. For example according to dialogue in camp with a Mage & Wynne has her saying it had been over a year since the Hero had left the Circle. That means at the very least you could average a minimum of 9 months to a year that everyone knew there was a darkspawn horde building in the wilds. Some could have ventured further of the entire horde and ran into Malcolm.

[Sepewrath]

I don't think any non Warden could live for years infected with the taint and I don't think hereditary would factor in how susceptible someone is to the taint. If anything being born from someone with the taint should make them less susceptible if it had any effect.

[Torax]

Sepewrath wrote...

I don't think any non Warden could live for years infected with the taint and I don't think hereditary would factor in how susceptible someone is to the taint. If anything being born from someone with the taint should make them less susceptible if it had any effect.

The only thing that Duncan sort of implies is that the willpower of a person could maybe assist in helping to stave the effects. But even in the case of the Dalish Origin. It required the player character's own willpower along with the healing magic of the Keeper to help weaken the sickness but it would eventually kill them. Unless Duncan was a liar of course. Granted he didn't seem the type.

[TEWR]

How would Malcolm have been exposed to the taint? The wards aren't anywhere near Corypheus himself. The wards are actually a good distance away from where he rises. He was brought in to strengthen the wards, which means they were still active, but very weak. The wards could've served another purpose by keeping the taint from spreading.

And Wardens don't spread the taint to other people.

[Elessara]

But Torax ... Malcolm dies 3 years prior to the destruction of Lothering. I don't think the darkspawn were building up that long nor were they near Lothering.

[bleetman]

I can't see him surviving for nearly twenty years whilst tainted, myself.

(Unless it wasn't that long ago. Was it that long ago? I got the impression he was coerced into helping the Wardens before Hawke was born)

Modifié par bleetman, 31 juillet 2011 - 01:38 .

[Elessara]

@bleetman ... It had to have been more than 18 years. Carver and Bethany were 18 when they left Lothering and Leandra was either pregnant with Hawke or Hawke was recently born.

[WhiteKnyght]

Elessara wrote...

@bleetman ... It had to have been more than 18 years. Carver and Bethany were 18 when they left Lothering and Leandra was either pregnant with Hawke or Hawke was recently born.

The taint works a lot faster than 18 years. In most people it doesn't even take 18 days. Look at Wesley and Bethany/Carver. The corruption may be a slow death but it's not that slow.

[jlb524]

I imagine that Malcolm never got that close to Corypheus and the GWs protected him from Darkspawn attacks. Plus, as mentioned...he survived for almost 20 years.

[Elessara]

Yeah I know. I was just replying to someone who said they weren't sure if it was 20 years or not. So I said it had to be at least 18.

[Melca36]

Malcolm could have had the Blight sickness before the Blight was even realized. Perhaps his body was already weakened or something.

What I want to know is Malcolm supposed to be older than Leandra?

How old was Leandra when she had Hawke?

[Teddie Sage]

Well, assuming Hawke is 24-25 at the start or act 1, the twins are 19, Leandra was already past her 20s if she looks this old at the start of the game. So we see her in her 50s or so in while playing Dragon Age 2.

[WhiteKnyght]

Elessara wrote...

Yeah I know. I was just replying to someone who said they weren't sure if it was 20 years or not. So I said it had to be at least 18.

Larius threatened to kill Malcolm's fiancee Leandra if he did not reinforce the seals on Corypheus.

Thats a pretty good indication of the time frame.

[jlb524]

Melca36 wrote...

Malcolm could have had the Blight sickness before the Blight was even realized. Perhaps his body was already weakened or something.

I think his family would have noticed though...especially Leandra.

I just wonder where she was during all of this...she had to be close by with the baby.  It would be interesting to construct a timeline for this.

We know she fled 25 years prior to the blight...but I don't imagine they had the child right away (in my headcanon, Hawke was only about 21 at the start of DA2).  Which would mean that the couple traveled around for a few years before Leandra became pregnant, and then at some point Malcolm was approached my the Grey Wardens and given an ultimatum....help us seal this prison or else we go after your family.  

Then I wonder why they would have approached him and how they would have known he was an apostate.

[WhiteKnyght]

Teddie Sage wrote...

Well, assuming Hawke is 24-25 at the start or act 1, the twins are 19, Leandra was already past her 20s if she looks this old at the start of the game. So we see her in her 50s or so in while playing Dragon Age 2.

Well people tend to look older than what they are in the DA games.

Arl Eamon is 45 now if The Stolen Throne is to be believed.

And Duncan was around 18 during The Calling which. So that makes him in his late thirties during DA:O. And makes Alistair only 20 years old if Fiona really is his mother.(Which is very heavily implied in the Epilogue of The Calling.)

[Mr.House]

jlb524 wrote...

Melca36 wrote...

Malcolm could have had the Blight sickness before the Blight was even realized. Perhaps his body was already weakened or something.

I think his family would have noticed though...especially Leandra.

I just wonder where she was during all of this...she had to be close by with the baby.  It would be interesting to construct a timeline for this.

We know she fled 25 years prior to the blight...but I don't imagine they had the child right away (in my headcanon, Hawke was only about 21 at the start of DA2).  Which would mean that the couple traveled around for a few years before Leandra became pregnant, and then at some point Malcolm was approached my the Grey Wardens and given an ultimatum....help us seal this prison or else we go after your family.  

Then I wonder why they would have approached him and how they would have known he was an apostate.

When Malcom and Leandra leave for Ferelden, she is already with child(Hawke is in her belly) Malcom says that in Legacy. So it really comes down to, when did they leave the Free Marches,. not just Kirkwall or the circle.

[ipgd]

TheJediSaint wrote...

Now somthing that I was curious about, was Malcom exposed to the darkpawn taint while he was reinforcing the wards around Corypheus' prison?

Unlikely. The Wardens would probably have given him the potion that wards against the blight sickness before bringing him into the Deep Roads.

I ask this because I recall exposure to the taint being the implied cause of Queen Rowan's death, years after venturing through the deep roads herself.

This was never really implied. Maric wondered if it could have been the taint that caused her death, but that was before he really had any idea how exactly the taint affected people.

[leggywillow]

ipgd wrote...

I ask this because I recall exposure to the taint being the implied cause of Queen Rowan's death, years after venturing through the deep roads herself.

This was never really implied. Maric wondered if it could have been the taint that caused her death, but that was before he really had any idea how exactly the taint affected people.

I know how your taint affects me bb.