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Anders and the Gray Wardens


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#101
TEWR

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Sons of Horus wrote...

So About Loghain ...... He he he.

Do you think Anders had huge ties to the Revolutionists via the mage underground ? Or that they may have pushed him to change his target (i.e. if he had original planed for Meredith, but was convinced to changed to Elthina ) ? possible reasons could have been unexpected target, easy access, try to kill all 3 leaders in the chantry itself. I wonder if what I’m speculating is true, would Anders sacrifice Hawk for his cause ?



No, I don't think Anders and the Resolutionists were working together.

...not much else I can really say. I just don't think he would've been working with them Image IPB

#102
Sons of Horus

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The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Sons of Horus wrote...

So About Loghain ...... He he he.

Do you think Anders had huge ties to the Revolutionists via the mage underground ? Or that they may have pushed him to change his target (i.e. if he had original planed for Meredith, but was convinced to changed to Elthina ) ? possible reasons could have been unexpected target, easy access, try to kill all 3 leaders in the chantry itself. I wonder if what I’m speculating is true, would Anders sacrifice Hawk for his cause ?



No, I don't think Anders and the Resolutionists were working together.

...not much else I can really say. I just don't think he would've been working with them Image IPB


Why not Ethereal Writer Redux ? Both have strong ties with the mage underground, it wouldn't be impossible for them to meet to at least talk about issues. And this Anders seems to love to talk a lot about the mage plight, its not hard to imagine someone who can manipulate that, if they pressed that issue with him.

Modifié par Sons of Horus, 21 septembre 2011 - 01:57 .


#103
Wulfram

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Anders really doesn't approve of blood magic, the Resolutionists use it.

This is probably how the Resolutionists see Anders
http://youtu.be/gb_qHP7VaZE?t=1m10s

#104
Skadi_the_Evil_Elf

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Wulfram wrote...

Anders really doesn't approve of blood magic, the Resolutionists use it.

This is probably how the Resolutionists see Anders
http://youtu.be/gb_qHP7VaZE?t=1m10s



LMAO and agreed. Anders probably had contact with the resolutionists as a matter of course in his dealings with the mage underground, but not worked for them or counted himself as amongst their number. He might share part of their beliefs, and they might have given him the recipe for his bomb, but Anders was very much a lone nut acting on his and Justice's own accord. The resolutionists were probably pleased, though. I think at that point Anders might be too mad to really see himself as anything but a catalyst/martyr.

#105
LobselVith8

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The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...

It clearly wasn't planned ahead. If it was, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to kill Leliana - which explains Hawke standing idly by with Sister Petrice, Grace, possessed Larius, Knight-Captain Cullen, and the other antagonists who are "plot protected."


Precisely. If it was planned ahead, they would've given the player the chance to fight her but also would've shown that she was still alive or could appear later on in either a cutscene or a codex entry. They did it for Flemeth, and they should've done it for Leliana.


Flemeth has an "out" because she's not human - Leliana doesn't have that. Leliana was human, not an abomination of legend, and she should have stayed dead after The Warden killed her. I found her character to be repellant after what she said in "Faith," so I have no desire to see her again. Making dead meaningless cheapens death, and it becomes as senseless as it does in comics and soaps where people always come back from the dead.

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

There's plenty to explain how she's back, but there isn't anything in Origins to say that she wasn't killed. And that's the problem.

The Warden doesn't have to kill Leliana for her to be out of his hair and not bugging him. Even if she did magically get healed, by the time she would leave the Temple the Warden would be so far gone that tracking him would be nigh impossible.


There's no reason to see Leliana return if she was killed. There are plenty of rectons to explain Leliana being brought back to life, but she should have stayed dead if she was killed. I don't see a reason to negate the choice that was made by the protagonist, and I hate that Hawke couldn't kill Leliana in "Faith." I saw her as a dangerous and incompetent antagonist in "Faith," and I thought she should be dealt with (which is the same problem I had with Hawke letting Sister Petrice go in "Shepherding Wolves" and Larius at the end of "Legacy").

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...

Fenris isn't exactly neutral when it comes to magic, mages, or even Tevinter. Fenris even blames Hawke if he betrays him in the Fade.

There's no evidence the Resolutionsts are responsible for anything, and I don't trust Leliana. Her comments made her seem incompetent because it goes against everything that the narrative shows us.


Nor is Anders exactly neutral when it comes to the Chantry and Templars. That a person is biased doesn't mean that everything they say is a lie.


I don't need Anders to tell me that templars are abusing the situation in Kirkwall - it's pretty evident from Ser Kerras, Ser Alrik, the templar who tortured the da'len hunter, Meredith's death squad, and Cullen being made Knight-Captain when he thinks that mages shouldn't be treated as people and views them as weapons. Fenris is making judgements about the macinations of the Imperium that he knows nothing about. He seems to make broad assumptions - like he does about the Qunari being able to defeat the Imperium, despite having no actual proof to support his comments. In contrast, I don't need Anders to understand what's wrong about the Chantry, the Order of Templars, or the Chantry controlled Circles - I can see the problems from the narrative in Origins, Awakening, and Dragon Age 2.

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Like I said, they are supposedly working with the Imperium. And if they actually are, there's no denying that's a problem. Tarohne wanted a return to the Imperium. There's no denying that a return to Mages ruling over people and killing people for spells is a problem.


According to Leliana, who blames the unrest in Kirkwall entirely on the mages, which only tells me that she's inept if she doesn't realize that the Knight-Commander turned dictator is the one causing the unrest among the people, including her own templars. Given the inaccuracy of her assessment of Kirkwall, I think Leliana is grossly incompetent.

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Off topic: I think Tarohne's books and the Fell Grimoire should've been in Act 1 before the quest with Keran so that Tarohne's insanity made more sense, because she was at one point sane but then wanted the Imperium to return. I think Xebenkeck was controlling her.


Tarohne was another insane mage who wasn't needed - her purple lips and madness weren't necessary for the narrative any more than Decimus, Quentin, Grace, or Endgame Orsino were.

#106
TEWR

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Flemeth has an "out" because she's not human - Leliana doesn't have that. Leliana was human, not an abomination of legend, and she should have stayed dead after The Warden killed her. I found her character to be repellant after what she said in "Faith," so I have no desire to see her again. Making dead meaningless cheapens death, and it becomes as senseless as it does in comics and soaps where people always come back from the dead.


That wasn't my point. We were led to believe Flemeth was human enough to die. Even if she was an Abomination, they too die. The codex however, along with Morrigan's own words, showed us that she would never stay dead. That's what Leliana needed. Enough to show the player that despite fighting her, she may not die or may not even stay dead. There has to be that doubt.

There has to be that "Well... did I really kill her considering A, B, and C kinda say she might not be dead?"


There's no reason to see Leliana return if she was killed. There are plenty of rectons to explain Leliana being brought back to life, but she should have stayed dead if she was killed. I don't see a reason to negate the choice that was made by the protagonist, and I hate that Hawke couldn't kill Leliana in "Faith." I saw her as a dangerous and incompetent antagonist in "Faith," and I thought she should be dealt with (which is the same problem I had with Hawke letting Sister Petrice go in "Shepherding Wolves" and Larius at the end of "Legacy").


There's plenty of reason to see her return if she was killed, considering the spirit doesn't immediately leave the body upon death. That she was killed doesn't mean she could not reappear. There are plenty of divine things that could interfere. For all we know, the Maker does indeed exist and he does indeed watch over that Temple.

What Bioware needed to do was say "Just because you fought her and killed her doesn't mean she won't reappear later on, though she will have been killed. But that death will have a purpose in terms of her character."

I don't need Anders to tell me that templars are abusing the situation in Kirkwall - it's pretty evident from Ser Kerras, Ser Alrik, the templar who tortured the da'len hunter, Meredith's death squad, and Cullen being made Knight-Captain when he thinks that mages shouldn't be treated as people and views them as weapons. Fenris is making judgements about the macinations of the Imperium that he knows nothing about. He seems to make broad assumptions - like he does about the Qunari being able to defeat the Imperium, despite having no actual proof to support his comments. In contrast, I don't need Anders to understand what's wrong about the Chantry, the Order of Templars, or the Chantry controlled Circles - I can see the problems from the narrative in Origins, Awakening, and Dragon Age 2.


I wasn't talking about Templars of Kirkwall. I was talking about the Templars in general. It was to prove a point that a biased source of information doesn't mean what they say is a lie.


According to Leliana, who blames the unrest in Kirkwall entirely on the mages, which only tells me that she's inept if she doesn't realize that the Knight-Commander turned dictator is the one causing the unrest among the people, including her own templars. Given the inaccuracy of her assessment of Kirkwall, I think Leliana is grossly incompetent.


NO. According to Fenris. If the Resolutionists want a return to the Imperium and are working with the Imperium, are you honestly going to say that's a good thing?

Resolutionists who advocate a return to the Imperium are just as much a problem as Meredith Stalin, Dictator of the Highest Douchery. Frankly, I wouldn't want Resolutionists like that in my pro-mage Kirkwall.

But that's if Fenris' rumor turns out to be true.


Tarohne was another insane mage who wasn't needed - her purple lips and madness weren't necessary for the narrative any more than Decimus, Quentin, Grace, or Endgame Orsino were.


I think she could've been a good antagonist had there been enough to show her downward spiral into "HEHEHEHE Imperium 2.0 baby!!". I mean, I don't want to be able to side with all of the mages. There have to be bad eggs as well as good eggs. Also, I disapprove of Tarohne's plan. Sure I could break the Templars from within, but I risk killing the few good Templars Kirkwall's Circle has along with various mages. It defeats the point when I can just as easily undermine their authority by constantly breaking mages out of the Gallows (in my fanfiction anyway).

Also, Quentin should've been shown to be a man who was already very unhinged, and his wife's death sent him over the edge. Because that's indeed what he was, but we're just plunged into this "Hi I made your mom a part of my body puzzle!" persona.

Decimus, Grace, and Endgame Orsino just shouldn't have acted like idiots, though I really don't want to repost my ideas on what they should've done.

In short, better characterization to make the antagonists actual antagonists goes a long way.

#107
EmperorSahlertz

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Ser Alrik didn't get any characterization at all either. He was basically just messing and raping the mages for the lulz. I don't see anyone complaining about him. You are both 100% sure you aren't complaining about the mage antagonists becausue they are mages, and not because they aren't characterized as a main antagonists?
Minor antagonists are never gonna be well developed characters with rich backgrounds and a clear path and reason for their insanity/agenda. Sometimes they are just bad apples, and needs to be killed. And that is the long and short of it.

Actually, compared to some of the Templar antagonists, both Tarohne and Quintin are rather well-developed, since we get a view into their motivations.

#108
TEWR

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EmperorSahlertz wrote...

Ser Alrik didn't get any characterization at all either. He was basically just messing and raping the mages for the lulz. I don't see anyone complaining about him. You are both 100% sure you aren't complaining about the mage antagonists becausue they are mages, and not because they aren't characterized as a main antagonists?
Minor antagonists are never gonna be well developed characters with rich backgrounds and a clear path and reason for their insanity/agenda. Sometimes they are just bad apples, and needs to be killed. And that is the long and short of it.

Actually, compared to some of the Templar antagonists, both Tarohne and Quintin are rather well-developed, since we get a view into their motivations.



To be honest, I would've preferred more characterization all around (especially for Meredith and Orsino, and for Orsino not to act like an idiot for pro-mage people). But that would require many of my ideas for the story being used, where Hawke can become involved in the Mage Underground succeeding or failing. Or even other peoples'. I'm sure Bioware originally had some ideas for how the story should've been for the players and dealing with the Mages and Templars, but faced time constraints.

So yes, I do think Alrik should've been better characterized, along with Kerras and other Templars.
 

#109
Naqey

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Sons of Horus wrote...

Do you think Anders had huge ties to the Revolutionists via the mage underground ? Or that they may have pushed him to change his target (i.e. if he had original planed for Meredith, but was convinced to changed to Elthina ) ? possible reasons could have been unexpected target, easy access, try to kill all 3 leaders in the chantry itself. I wonder if what I’m speculating is true, would Anders sacrifice Hawk for his cause ?


I'm a little at loss - what exactely do we know about the Resolutionists? I only recall the one codex entry that we got - dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Codex_entry:_The_Resolutionists

Telling from what is written there, Anders would pretty much be a Resolutionist himself. He is an open apostate, he obviously engages in acts of terror and sabotage, he is connected to the Kirkwall mage underground, he has effectivly shown how little protection the circles offer to mages(invocation of Right of Annullment in response to the doing on one circle-unrelated apostate)...

But maybe there are sources I lack? If so, please point me to them, I am higly interested!

I don't think that they might have pushed him to change his target from Meredith to Elthina; Elthina was probably his target all along. He hated Meredith from the beginning (because she is proven to be anti-mage), but he got increasingly disappointed in Elthina. In a way, she is "more guilty" than Meredith ever was. After all, what is to be expected of a templar but doing his job (that is, keeping the mages down)? But Elthina... she could have, should have spoken up for the mages.

Would Anders sacrafice Hawke for his cause...? You have given me some food for thought there... uh-oh... I think I won't get that out of my head for quite some time now...

#110
LobselVith8

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[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

That wasn't my point. We were led to believe Flemeth was human enough to die. Even if she was an Abomination, they too die. The codex however, along with Morrigan's own words, showed us that she would never stay dead. [/quote]

Morrigan made it clear that Flemeth would likely return - there was never any doubt about that. Morrigan simply wanted enough time with Flemeth gone to be safe, and she makes it clear she'll kill Flemeth again and again if necessary. It's never in question that Flemeth would return, because Morrigan makes it clear that she believes this is the case.

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

That's what Leliana needed. [/quote]

Leliana needed to stay dead if she was killed. I doubt that the people who killed Anders would be happy to see him return if their respective Hawke decided to kill him, and Leliana is no different for people who killed her.

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Enough to show the player that despite fighting her, she may not die or may not even stay dead. There has to be that doubt.

There has to be that "Well... did I really kill her considering A, B, and C kinda say she might not be dead?" [/quote]

If The Warden killed her, then The Warden killed her. This isn't a soap opera we're talking about here where everyone should come back from the dead simply because they are popular enough with some fans. There needs to be continuity; otherwise, choice doesn't matter if it's discarded.

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

There's plenty of reason to see her return if she was killed, considering the spirit doesn't immediately leave the body upon death. That she was killed doesn't mean she could not reappear. There are plenty of divine things that could interfere. For all we know, the Maker does indeed exist and he does indeed watch over that Temple. [/quote]

If death becomes meaningless and decisions are rectonned, then what's the point? What's the point in a game that's supposed to carry over personal choices if those particular choices are overwritten with Bioware's canon decisions?

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

What Bioware needed to do was say "Just because you fought her and killed her doesn't mean she won't reappear later on, though she will have been killed. But that death will have a purpose in terms of her character." [/quote]

Leliana should have stayed dead. Simply because she's popular with some fans isn't a sufficient reason for bringing a character back from the dead and ignoring the decision some fans made. I don't understand why Bioware keeps doing this in Dragon Age - overwritting personal choices with their own "canon outcome." Maybe you want to see Leliana come back in the future, but I don't. I had enough of Leliana's incompetence and idiocy in "Faith."

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

I wasn't talking about Templars of Kirkwall. I was talking about the Templars in general. It was to prove a point that a biased source of information doesn't mean what they say is a lie. [/quote]

Fenris has no basis for his accusations - that's the problem. Anders is actually from a Chantry controlled Circle, and knows what Circle mages face. Fenris was a slave who did horrible things because he was controlled by a monstrous person.

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

NO. According to Fenris. If the Resolutionists want a return to the Imperium and are working with the Imperium, are you honestly going to say that's a good thing? [/quote]

YES. Leliana has no basis for her claims. Simply because a particular group of mages attacked her doesn't mean anything. If the narrative is telling me that unrest is being caused by the Knight-Commander turned dictator - from the templars and mages who are working together to oust Meredith, to the commoners and nobles who fully support the Champion when he speaks out against her dictatorship - then having Leliana tell me something entirely different and making no mention of the dictatorship that is actually responsible for the unrest is clearly inaccurate.

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Resolutionists who advocate a return to the Imperium are just as much a problem as Meredith Stalin, Dictator of the Highest Douchery. Frankly, I wouldn't want Resolutionists like that in my pro-mage Kirkwall. [/quote]

Leliana gives me no reason to trust her. And I have no interest in seeing her again. I'd rather see Anders and the Grey Wardens in the future than Leliana and the Seekers, unless my protagonist has the option of killing her.

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

I think she could've been a good antagonist had there been enough to show her downward spiral into "HEHEHEHE Imperium 2.0 baby!!". I mean, I don't want to be able to side with all of the mages. There have to be bad eggs as well as good eggs. Also, I disapprove of Tarohne's plan. Sure I could break the Templars from within, but I risk killing the few good Templars Kirkwall's Circle has along with various mages. It defeats the point when I can just as easily undermine their authority by constantly breaking mages out of the Gallows (in my fanfiction anyway). [/quote]

Having nothing but mostly insane mage antagonists made the entire mage and templar dichtotomy pointless. Tarohne was simply one of many insane antagonists who served no real purpose. I would have preferred to have Hawke have the option to become part of the mage underground than deal with a plethora of over-the-top imbeciles who didn't make any sense.

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Also, Quentin should've been shown to be a man who was already very unhinged, and his wife's death sent him over the edge. Because that's indeed what he was, but we're just plunged into this "Hi I made your mom a part of my body puzzle!" persona. [/quote]

"All That Remains" was ridiculous. Hawke's moment of "shock" was completely absurd.

[quote]The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Decimus, Grace, and Endgame Orsino just shouldn't have acted like idiots, though I really don't want to repost my ideas on what they should've done.

In short, better characterization to make the antagonists actual antagonists goes a long way.[/quote]

They should have given us the option to side with different factions throughout the narrative, i.e. mages or templars (in the same way New Vegas and Morrowind provide the option for the protagonist to side with different factions throughout the storyline), instead of forcing us to deal with a linear narrative where choices didn't feel like they mattered.

#111
WhiteKnyght

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Skadi_the_Evil_Elf wrote...

Did he kill a bunch of Wardens when he left the order? I don't remember the short story details, just that a templar joined, Anders got the ass, joined with Justice, flipped out, killed the templar, and left.

As far as why the Wardens aren't hunting him down, don't know. There does seem to be something really big going on that is of major concern. and the Wardens we meet seem to be preoccupied with it. And since the taint itself is a slow death sentance, perhaps they aren't bothered? Maybe they will wait until he comes crawling back. They aren't really that bothered by the murder of their fellows, given how Duncan was recruited, and possibly Loghain.

Jory never became a Warden, he never went through with the joining, so he wouldn't count. Jory tried to back out of the joining. Anders already went through it, so he's doomed regardless.


It started with just the one, Rolan. Because Justice took over and he said the Wardens couldn't harbor an abomination.

Justice/Vengeance ripped his head off and drank his blood.

Then before he knew it a lot of dead Templars and Wardens were around him.

Also I don't think the Wardens would really care. By their own standards and codes, all thats required to be a warden is to be good at fighting darkspawn and once you drink the blood, you're for life, whether you leave or not it catches up with you.

Modifié par The Grey Nayr, 22 septembre 2011 - 12:31 .


#112
TEWR

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[quote]LobselVith8 wrote...

Morrigan made it clear that Flemeth would likely return - there was never any doubt about that. Morrigan simply wanted enough time with Flemeth gone to be safe, and she makes it clear she'll kill Flemeth again and again if necessary. It's never in question that Flemeth would return, because Morrigan makes it clear that she believes this is the case.
[/quote]
Morrigan makes it clear after the Warden kills her. The player has no knowledge that Flemeth may return when he goes in to fight her, and because of that believes she will stay dead. Even when Morrigan says Flemeth may return, that's only a may. It's not definite, but it's enough to make the player doubt their actions.

[quote]Leliana needed to stay dead if she was killed. I doubt that the people who killed Anders would be happy to see him return if their respective Hawke decided to kill him, and Leliana is no different for people who killed her.[/quote]


Why should Leliana stay dead when somewhere in the games it was stated that the soul doesn't immediately leave the body upon death?

I know that was said somewhere, but for the life of me I can't recall where. Might've actually been a dev post on the forums.

The extent of choosing to fight her is that she died, which she has still done. She did die in Origins. That death however isn't permanent. What was lacking was something in that specific quest to imply that the very magical nature of the area may cause someone to not actually die permanently.

Wynne died, but she's still alive. She tells the Warden that her life left her body because she used up all of her strength and willpower fighting a demon, and it was only through the Spirit of Faith's intervention that she came back to life.

In Thedas, depending on the nature of the area, death may not be a permanent death, but it will indeed be a death.

[quote]If The Warden killed her, then The Warden killed her. This isn't a soap opera we're talking about here where everyone should come back from the dead simply because they are popular enough with some fans. There needs to be continuity; otherwise, choice doesn't matter if it's discarded.[/quote]

The thing I'm saying is that had it been established in Origins that killing Leliana doesn't kill her permanently because of the nature of the area she was killed in and the lore that says a person's spirit doesn't leave the body upon death, this wouldn't be an issue.

Had this stuff been mentioned in Origins after killing Leliana, it wouldn't be a matter of "bringing back a popular character". It would be a matter of "bringing back a character they wanted to use for the continuity and had a vague idea of possibly using her."

[quote]If death becomes meaningless and decisions are rectonned, then what's the point? What's the point in a game that's supposed to carry over personal choices if those particular choices are overwritten with Bioware's canon decisions?[/quote]


Leliana appearing doesn't mean death is meaningless. The devs have stated that she did die, but something brought her back. Death isn't meaningless. Perhaps her death will affect her persona in some way.

Again, the nature of the area could've brought her back. Had she died in say a castle and was brought back to life, then her death would be abnormal. Because there isn't sufficient anything to explain how she has returned. She just did.

[quote]Leliana should have stayed dead. Simply because she's popular with some fans isn't a sufficient reason for bringing a character back from the dead and ignoring the decision some fans made. I don't understand why Bioware keeps doing this in Dragon Age - overwritting personal choices with their own "canon outcome." Maybe you want to see Leliana come back in the future, but I don't. I had enough of Leliana's incompetence and idiocy in "Faith."[/quote]

That's not what I'm saying. You're acting like I'm saying them bringing her back was okay. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying Bioware should've given the player information in Origins to doubt whether her death was permanent or temporary given the fact that a person's soul doesn't leave the body immediately upon death.

It's the lack of information to establish doubt in Origins that I'm saying is the problem.

Had Bioware said she may come back in Origins, this wouldn't be because she was popular. It would be because they had a vague plan and carried forward with it. It would be that they wanted her to die, but they wanted her to live as well.

[quote]Fenris has no basis for his accusations - that's the problem. Anders is actually from a Chantry controlled Circle, and knows what Circle mages face. Fenris was a slave who did horrible things because he was controlled by a monstrous person.
[/quote]

And Fenris is from Tevinter and has dealt with the Magisters. He served two Magisters as a bodyguard slave and regularly was a servant to others, along with being Danarius' personal sex toy.

He has lived in Tevinter and thus has knowledge of the mindsets of the Magisters of the Imperium. That the Magisters covered their tracks and no proof of their involvement has been revealed doesn't mean it isn't true. Frequently there isn't in proof in cases, but that doesn't mean a certain party wasn't involved in that crime.

[quote]YES. Leliana has no basis for her claims. Simply because a particular group of mages attacked her doesn't mean anything. If the narrative is telling me that unrest is being caused by the Knight-Commander turned dictator - from the templars and mages who are working together to oust Meredith, to the commoners and nobles who fully support the Champion when he speaks out against her dictatorship - then having Leliana tell me something entirely different and making no mention of the dictatorship that is actually responsible for the unrest is clearly inaccurate.[/quote]

She acknowledges that there isn't any proof of the claims to Tevinter's involvement. But again, lack of proof does not mean lack of involvement. It just means lack of proof to say a party was definitely involved.

If someone killed a friend of yours and you knew who it was but had no evidence to back it up, does that mean the person didn't kill your friend? No. It just means you don't have any evidence to say they did kill your friend.


[quote]Having nothing but mostly insane mage antagonists made the entire mage and templar dichtotomy pointless. Tarohne was simply one of many insane antagonists who served no real purpose. I would have preferred to have Hawke have the option to become part of the mage underground than deal with a plethora of over-the-top imbeciles who didn't make any sense.
[/quote]

Indeed. Somewhere on some other thread I posted a way Hawke could undermine the Templars' authority on both sides of the spectrum. Pro-mage people show the people of Kirkwall that the Templars can't do their job and capture the Mage Underground, while pro-Templar people would show the people of Kirkwall that an outsider did more work that the Templars are supposed to do than the Templars themselves.

Either way, the Templars' authority and power is severely undermined.


[quote]"All That Remains" was ridiculous. Hawke's moment of "shock" was completely absurd.[/quote]

Eh I wouldn't have minded had Quentin been given sufficient character development to show how unhinged he was prior to his wife's death, his downward spiral into being insane because he became even more unhinged, and if Leandra wasn't flopping throughout the battle.

Quentin's necromancy served to show the darker side of magic, and specifically how far blood mages can go to be evil. It doesn't make magic, mages, or blood magic inherently evil. But it does show how dark they can all be.

Also, I think both siblings should've lived. That would've allowed me to feel more emotionally attached. 3-way dialogue between the siblings would've allowed me to feel connected to both (especially if one or both die in the Deep Roads). Hell 4-way dialogue between the siblings and Leandra would've been great.

[quote]They should have given us the option to side with different factions throughout the narrative, i.e. mages or templars (in the same way New Vegas and Morrowind provide the option for the protagonist to side with different factions throughout the storyline), instead of forcing us to deal with a linear narrative where choices didn't feel like they mattered. [/quote]

I agree. Here's what I wrote on another thread for how I would've handled Grace and Decimus for pro-mage people:

[quote] The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

I'd much rather prefer not to be railroaded into the same ending for a choice, though I do like your idea for Grace killing Thrask. Here's what I propose:

This really stems back to Act 1 and what I perceived as horrible storytelling for Decimus. I go in with a group of Mage Hawke, Anders, Merrill, and Carver. When I find Decimus, he immediately attacks three mages when Grace herself was smart enough to realize they weren't Templars. Decimus doesn't even bother to find out what Hawke's intentions were.

I would've had Decimus stand down at first and ask what side Hawke is with.

A) Hawke is assisting the Templars
B) Hawke is going to assist Decimus and company.


Option A would lead to Decimus beginning his assault again because he and his friends will not be taken back to the Circle. Some people stand with him, and Hawke and company kill them. Grace is saddened, but she tells everyone that didn't stand with Decimus to stand down. Grace and her friends are then handed over to the Templars.

6 years later, she's mad about what happened and does your scenario (the stabbing herself with a staff was one of the biggest Image IPB moments for me)


But Option B leads to Hawke being able to assist Decimus and company by helping them out. You are then able to either: bluff your way out of it with Witty Hawke or Varric or kill Kerras right there. Thrask assists you if you decide to kill him, and Decimus and company escape.

3 years later, Decimus and company are captured. Hawke can then talk to Decimus, and he says that two of his "friends" turned out to be Loyalists and betrayed them to the Templars. He then says that he holds no grudge or malice towards Hawke, because he has shown that he is on the side of the mages.

3 years later, if Hawke is pro-mage, he heads down to the Wounded Coast to meet with them (none of that "We know you're spying for Orsino!" crap happens). Hawke then agrees with their cause, but tells them to hurry and get out of there before Cullen arrives. They agree, but before doing so Hawke tells them to use their magic to fling him and his friends into the cliff. That way, they make it look convincing that the Champion was unable to stop them.

By the endgame, you explore much of the Gallows and find out that they are helping the mages escape.


This is a very simplistic idea that's only exploring whether Hawke is consistently pro-mage. [/quote]


For the life of me I can't remember what thread I posted my ideas about crushing or leading the Mage Underground in.

#113
TEWR

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The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Were it me, I would've made Act 1 show increasing tensions between the Mages and Templars. I would've had Hawke able to meet with Meredith and Orsino, and hear their take on the situation. Characterize them. Show Meredith's incredible fanaticism and zeal, and show Orsino's care for his charges. I would've changed up how some of the Mage-Templar quests in Act 1 were handled, so that they make sense later on in the game (Decimus and Grace, I'm looking at you! Should've done what I proposed in the cinematics thread in this here spoiler section)

In Act 2, I would've shown the Mages growing increasingly bolder, Meredith meeting with the Arishok and conversing about mages (they seem to share like-minded views on how to deal with mages) and connected the Saarebas to the Mage-Templar conflict. I would've had an entire quest line of about 14 side quests (at most) that dealt with either assisting the Mage Underground (by the time of the 14th, you're now its leader) or crushing it.

I used to say it could be done secretly or blatantly and affect Anders staying in the party, but I don't think that would work out well.

the lyrium idol is a bit iffy for me. There are ways I feel it could've been implemented much better for Meredith, but I also feel that it should've stayed at Bartrand's. I could go in depth about what I'd do with the idol if I wanted to.

Anyway, in Act 3, choices in Act 1 could affect what happened in Act 3. I would've shown more of the almost destructive tensions the two factions are having. I would've explored other types of gray areas that could relate to the Mages and Templars (what those are I'm drawing a blank on at the moment, as I'm really tired).

There's just a lot that needs to be done to DAII to make it actually gray.

Lyrium idol I'm iffy on, but the Harvester makes sense for pro-templar characters. Pro-mage people could've seen a Pride Demon tear through the Veil (literally tearing open the boundaries between the two realms) and possessing a mage (NOT Orsino. Dead mage, live mage, so long as it's not Orsino) and casting the Harvester ritual. Since it's a form of blood magic and demons are experts in the arcane arts that are forgotten, it makes sense for a Demon to know what to do.


edit: for some reason, imagining a pride demon slowly tear the Veil apart in that moment makes me laugh


I'm currently digging through posts to try and find what I said.

#114
LobselVith8

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Ethereal, I made a new thread so we can discuss the issue of Leliana over there, so we don't end up derailing this Anders thread entirely.

I'll respond to you over there, if that isn't a problem.

#115
Sons of Horus

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Naqey wrote...


Sons of Horus wrote...

Do you think Anders had huge ties to the Revolutionists via the mage underground ? Or that they may have pushed him to change his target (i.e. if he had original planed for Meredith, but was convinced to changed to Elthina ) ? possible reasons could have been unexpected target, easy access, try to kill all 3 leaders in the chantry itself. I wonder if what I’m speculating is true, would Anders sacrifice Hawk for his cause ?


I'm a little at loss - what exactely do we know about the Resolutionists? I only recall the one codex entry that we got - dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Codex_entry:_The_Resolutionists

Telling from what is written there, Anders would pretty much be a Resolutionist himself. He is an open apostate, he obviously engages in acts of terror and sabotage, he is connected to the Kirkwall mage underground, he has effectivly shown how little protection the circles offer to mages(invocation of Right of Annullment in response to the doing on one circle-unrelated apostate)...

But maybe there are sources I lack? If so, please point me to them, I am higly interested!

I don't think that they might have pushed him to change his target from Meredith to Elthina; Elthina was probably his target all along. He hated Meredith from the beginning (because she is proven to be anti-mage), but he got increasingly disappointed in Elthina. In a way, she is "more guilty" than Meredith ever was. After all, what is to be expected of a templar but doing his job (that is, keeping the mages down)? But Elthina... she could have, should have spoken up for the mages.

Would Anders sacrafice Hawke for his cause...? You have given me some food for thought there... uh-oh... I think I won't get that out of my head for quite some time now...



Don't worrie Naqey. It was just some ideas I thought of, after reading about the Resolutionisists and Ander's codex and considering the mage underground codex as well. Fenris's and Anders comments when you meet leliana are also enlightening for their views on the mage underground as well as the chantry.

 As for Elthina speaking out publicly, I don't think she was going to spread out what she would have seen as an interinal matter. when I played an aggressive Hawk that used the aggressive responce after Orsino's speech, she heads off to the gallows to talk privately with them. For all the chantry's supposed controls on the templars (ie lyrium), I think they hold rather little influnce within the Templar command ranks.

I think that the Templars are more of a parallel millitary order even if the Divines used them as a internal force (sebastian comment to Aveline kind of confim's this by saying meredith has stoped taking Elthina's advice by the 3rd act).

Thanks for the comments though Image IPB. I hope when more DLC or Dragon Age 3 we will get a more fleshing out on what happend in act 3 from the view of other people rather than Varic or Hawk & co.