R2s Muse wrote...
Totally agree that there are a million content-based reasons for including him in DA3. At the simplest level, it would be useful to have a companion who can represent the institutional perspective of the Chantry/Templars if DA3 focuses on the mage-templar war. Whether that person is pro-Divine or pro-"new kill-em-all Templar Order" it could help flesh out what the institutional issues are with protecting mages, and frankly, balance out the earful of pro-mage rhetoric we got from Anders.
IIRC, in one of those recent DG interviews, he mentioned that the reason there were so many crazy blood mages in DA2 is because (Western-based) people naturally take the side of the underdog - i.e. the mages - so they needed to balance it out. Personally, I don't think it was that effective though, in light of all the abuses we heard/saw happening at the Gallows. I think hearing a rational Templar talk about the reasons mages need to be protected ... whether that's locked in a Circle or schooled at some Thedas version of Hogwarts or something else... might succeed better in spotlighting the issues. And, the potential solutions. Hopefully DA3 will allow our PC to be part of re-imagining mage treatment in Thedas, and someone who was formerly part of the old institution could provide a lot of insight.
Of course, my worry is that a Seeker like Cassandra can fill this role as well, or better. But, hopefully completing Cullen's specific character arc will make him as attractive, or more so, as a companion (here's where I insert a citation to vieralynn's expansive description of Cullen's hero's journey!). Moreover, we already know where Cassandra stands in the war, but Cullen will likely have some hard choices to make as far as his duty is concerned. I think the PC could learn a lot as he figures out where his heart lies.
Cassandra worries me too, especially after I saw her concept Seeker armor from PAX. I'm hoping if David Gaider 'n' co are down to the choice of either her or Cullen, then Cullen's story arc and jaded past will help swing the vote in his favor... if thats the scenario then perhaps they'll lurk on the forums and make their decision based on who gets the most attention (as it stands, Cullen definitely appears to be winning in that sense.) Hell, I don't see any of the other NPC threads getting as much love... this thread has more pages than some of the companion/LI's from DA2 lol.
I definitely see her as the only obstacle standing in the way of Cullen being a companion/LI. From a storyline point of view (leaving my fangirlness out of the equation) I feel that Cassandra would be better suited as a major NPC with whom the new protagonist would work closely with (kinda like we did with Orsino/Meredith and Viscount Dumar.)
Retour en haut
This makes me wonder why no one's at least done a reskin mod of Kirkwall's repetitive caves so they look different.
Thanks for sharing!
I wish I wasn't so out of practice though. I've done a loooot of erasing and this one image has taken soo long! Still on line art and I don't have enough time in my days to really devote to it. I need to improve so I can make progress faster. <_<
Weird.
What? Was my internal monologue on again. Darn it. 
I'll try naked Cullen another time. 
