85 réponses à ce sujet

[jillabender]

I love all of the origin stories, but the City Elf origin is my favourite. It has such colourful dialogue and atmosphere, and characters with so much personality. And of course, Vaughan is such a deliciously despicable villain!

I wasn't enthralled by the Dalish origin at first, but it's really grown on me because of how tragic it is, to the point where I've probably played through it more than any other origin. Because the dialogue seems to suggest that the Dalish Elf is quite young and inexperienced, I tend to imagine him or her as feeling lost and alone in an alien culture, which makes the whole quest feel that much more poignant to me.

The Mage origin is probably my least favourite. I do enjoy it, but not quite as much as the others, mainly because the relationships between my character and the other characters in the Circle Tower weren't fleshed out as much as I would have liked. When I played as a City Elf, I really felt the family bond my character shared with Shianni, Soris and Cyrion; and even though the Dalish NPCs weren't quite as memorable, the sense of almost parental protectiveness that they felt toward my Warden still came through. By comparison, I find that the character interactions in the Mage origin aren't quite as involving or convincing. But maybe that's just me.

I agree with everything people have said in praise of the Dwarf origins – they feature some very smart writing, and they're loads of fun!

Modifié par jillabender, 24 mai 2012 - 03:51 .

[Karlone123]

Human Noble-My Warden acts like a hot-headed chivirous prince demanding blood rights against the Howes.

[Dabrikishaw]

Human Noble for plot relevance and how everyone from King Cailan to Teryn Loghain knows who you are.

Modifié par Dabrikishaw, 13 mai 2012 - 04:00 .

[vixvicco]

Dwarf noble
Human noble
Both amazing.

[Corker]

Bhryaen wrote...
The only things I really like are the raspy voice of the female mage companion who comes in later- though it would've been better in a human or dwarf- and the ruins scenery (done twice??) with the reference to architecture shared by both humans and elves, hinting at some earlier era of cooperation and harmony- a theme that then goes entirely undeveloped.

It's mentioned again the the ruins of 'Nature of the Beast," and the phylactery spirit who teaches the AW spec shows humans and elves together fighting/running from a darkness.

I'd say it's massively *under*developed, and I suspect it may one day play into the tale of Tevinter and Arlathan, but it does appear again.  ...Or it's just lampshading that the ancient elven ruins don't look much different from the human ruins, probably because they couldn't afford double the development for the Imperial Highway/Ostagar/ruins in the Wilds/Haven and the elves.

[ReallyRue]

Dalish Elf is the first one I played, and remains my favourite. I love playing a character that is at home in the wilderness, and has a strong connection to a clan they are forced to leave behind. Especially when that comes alongside being forced into a world full of people your character has negative preconceptions about (I roleplayed my Dalish racist to start, before she gets to know the society/people more and becomes more broad-minded) and is truly lost within it. Roleplaying her reactions to the Circle, Chantry and Alienage was also very interesting, as was her connection to the Nature of the Beast quest. I also liked how it affected her relationship with Zevran (in my head, anyway), what with him being half-Dalish and all, and there was Velanna too. It meant she had a connection to home. And there was that darkspawn attack in the party camp. DA2 just solidifies my interest in that origin, because of Merrill's involvement, and the consquences of her Act 3 quest. So much headcanon for what it would be like if my Mahariel met Merrill post-DA2.

Other than that I also loved Magi, City Elf and Dwarf Commoner. They all have that aspect of being an underdog that I enjoy. Giving a great big f-you to the people who think they're worthless, and saving all of Thedas. It also gives an insight into groups you wouldn't normally experience through the main quest (a lot of the story in Orzammar/Denerim involves nobles/politicking). City Elf/Dwarf Commoner also had that family connection that I enjoy (my favourite thing about DA2). The aspect of religion, demons/spirits and the Fade made the Magi origin even more interesting, especially with the connection to both the Broken Circle and Redcliffe quests. It also provided an interesting slant on relationships with Wynne and Morrigan.

While I liked Dwarf/Human Noble too, I didn't feel as connected to them as the other origins. Probably because it was a single traumtic event for them that their stories revolve around, not a lifetime of (relative) hardship culminating in a traumatic event.

Modifié par ReallyRue, 13 mai 2012 - 07:58 .

[Ibn_Shisha]

I've (so far) done just Human Noble, Human Mage and City Elf.
Out of those, City Elf, which I ran as female, was my favorite (despite Mage being my profile pic). The story is so dark and gritty, and you either rise above it, or not. Ironically, my city elf ("full paragon"), I discovered looks almost exactly identical to the city elf someone posted on Youtube with a video description along the lines of "Psychotic city elf murders everyone. Duncan disapproves."

[Fidget6]

Female city elf orgin definitely.

[M-Taylor]

I don't know, they're all really good. I think I had the most emotional response from the Human Noble and City Elf origins, however I think the Dalish origin was my favourite.

I liked how it genuinally seemed like the Wardens home. And the scene were s/he departs the clan is very, very touching. Plus meeting Tamlen later (especially if you did the Urn quest before) is heartbreakingly sad.

I didn't really like the dwarf origins. I don't know, I think it's mostly psychological. I never really liked Dwarves in other settings, and it didn't overly change in the Thedas setting either. >.>..

[SiIencE]

I somehow never played Noble either dwarf nor human. I did play Elf/Human Mage, Dalish Elf and mixed male/female a bit.. I should try the Noble route sometime probably as archer and City Elf..
Somehow i don't like playing warrior since the computer is way better at that then me, when Alistair gets the good gear i can just sit back and relax..

I did take them all through Awakening and Witch Hunt.

[Riverdaleswhiteflash]

I think my favorite is the Human Noble: all of the stereotypical fantasy story cliches, done absolutely right. Also, it really does tie in best to the Landsmeet arc, which I personally think is the most fun part of the game. Other origins have their segments they tie in really well with, but those segments just aren't as fun.

[Yukki]

My favs are Dalish Elf and Elf Mage I think. Unlike most of you, I'm not really all that fond of the City Elf origins, and since I tend to play females except to get achievements at times, it probably hits too close to home for me, since my family had that type of abuse constantly going on.

I've never really been able to get into the Dwarf Commoner/Noble, tho I've played their origins, I've just never taken them further. Tho I have been intrigued about how the story plays out with Behlen when you're Dwarf Noble, so I may try it yet lol.

I think Dalish Elf tops my list tho, because growing up military, extended family became a rare thing for me, and one I value highly ever since. So to me, the idea of clan feels like one big extended, caring family, and I love that. =)

[frostajulie]

Female City Elf and Dwarf noble are my favorites in terms of story but now that I have played through these origins and the game countless times I keep returning to the human female mage origin because while the origin story is not as fleshed out as I would like it is the one with the most roleplayability. I can be a friend or a manipulator a suck up or a best pal I can be terrified all the time and make choices based on that fear or defiant and make choices based on those I can be a mage with a heart of gold and full of wonder at my new world or a ruthless manipulator with a callous disregard for anyone else. Of all the origins RPGing as a mage in this game has proven to be the most diversely satisfying of all the origins.

[LTD]

I too found all Origin stories pretty awesome. I always felt game's storyline as a whole is one where human noble feels most at home though.

[Arcane_Warrior_Revan]

I played all 6 Origins with both male and female Wardens, and I can say that the Origin that I liked the most was the Magi Origin, because I like mages so much! and it was so mysterious and I liked when you do the Harrowing and touch the lyrium, then the loading screen appears with the voice of a demon in the background. But I must admit, it was not perfect, that Origin could had more emotional moments like the other Origins. I think the Magi Origin had the most role playing potential though. I played a Human Male Mage (Arcane Warrior) btw.

The my 2nd favorite Origin is City Elf (both male and female characters) it was very interesting to see how the elves were abused by the nobility. And I think it's extra emotional when you play with a female character and you find out that you're going to be raped and possibly killed if you resist.

The Darwen Commoner was also very interesting to play, it showed us a different viewpoint about how your character was treated like trash.

The Darwen Noble felt like "Game of Thrones" and the Human Noble too, but I think it felt like a cliché, even Ser Gilmore admitted that it was like the start of a bad adventure! XD

But that's just my opinion.

Modifié par Arcane_Warrior_Revan, 18 juin 2012 - 09:43 .

[Fiacre]

But I must admit, it was not perfect, that Origin could had more emotional moments like the other Origins.

This! I love the Magi origin and it is indeed awesome, but one of the reasons I love the HN origin so much is because it's so emotional. The writers did a really good job there to endear the characters to me, so I actually care when they're killed (and have to pause the game every five minutes because I know what's coming and baww, screw you, Howe you're so dead).

While I liked Irwing from previous playthroughs as a non mage and didn't mind Jowan, the Magi origin just didn't get me to care about the characters as much. I thought it fittingly emotional when I reunited with Jowan (except for the part where he seems to have forgotten that I ratted him out) and when I killed him (except when he thought I stood by him til the end <.<) and my character was emotional over the situation in the tower... and then Irving barely acknowledges him. ("Look, look, I killed all the bad guys, daddy First Enchanter! No, wait, not Wynne! I did! She was useless! Why won't you acknowledge me D:")

On the other hand, the decision to either rat out Jowan or help him and later how you react to meeting him again does have some awesome RP potential, that's true. And a decision like that is something the HN origin misses a bit, imo, as much as I love it.

[unreadierLizard]

I've played the Elf Mage, City Elf and Dwarf Noble origins from start to finish so far. Love all of them.

My favourites have to be the Human Noble, due to the familiarity and power-struggle like nature of the whole Landsmeet thing(as a human it's perfect), the Mage origin(I just like being able to see things from a Circle mage and his/her point of view), and the City Elf(rags to riches with King Alistair? Yes please).

Am probably going to start up either a Dalish elf or Dwarf Commoner as my next playthrough - maybe human noble(Haven't finished that one either, come to think of it.)

Least favourite? I cant' say. All of them were awesome.

[jillabender]

Faerunner wrote…

Yeah, I think the Mage Origin has a lot of "hind sight" emotional moments that you discover as you go through the game (meet more mages, realize what Circle life was really like and how much you lost) or a lot of emotional moments that are left up to the imagination (such as when and how you were brought to the Circle, how many friends or siblings you lost in the past to the Harrowing, Tranquility, Mage Prison and so on.)

Since so little personal information is given, I agree that it has some of the best role-play potential, though I personally think it's doubly true for Surana. >> (Come on! Who doesn't like the double-prejudice from being a mage and an elf, the double-irony of being lectured on the corruption of power when your people never ruled over humans--subjected first by Magisters then by the Chantry--or having the most history to fill since the least information is given to Surana? I think it's a blast!)

Now that I think more about it, I think I was perhaps a bit too hard on the Mage origin earlier. It does have some cool things going for it, and it does a good job of creating an atmosphere of unease, where every interaction is tinged with suspicion, fear and mistrust.

My main problem with the Mage origin is that many of the NPCs react to the PC as if they've never met him or her, which doesn't make much sense given that he or she has spent most of his or her life in the tower. In an environment like the tower, I would imagine that the PC would have developed close friendships, strong rivalries, and mentoring relationships with many characters, not just Jowan and Irving, and I would have liked to see more hints of those relationships. Most of us have been students at one time or another, and I felt there was a missed opportunity to make our characters feel even more true to life by tapping into the universal experiences we've had as students. For me, it would have added a lot to have my character gossip with other mages about their instructors and fellow students, the way that most students do – maybe something along the lines of:

"Can you believe how brutal that exam on Chantry History was?"
"I know! Senior Enchanter Leorah barely gave us any idea of what would be covered!"

or

"Deirdre's a nice enough person, but she just never shuts up, does she?"
"Tell me about it! I wish she'd quit interrupting the senior mages in the middle of lessons."

Maybe not the best examples, but something along those lines would have made the origin feel more personal to me, in the way that joking around with Leske, Soris or Shianni does in the other origin stories. That being said, there's still a lot to enjoy about the Mage origin, as there is with all of the origin stories. The City Elf origin, though, is still my personal favourite.

Modifié par jillabender, 24 juin 2012 - 04:24 .

[jillabender]

Faerunner wrote…

I firmly believe that a strong origin needs strong personalities for your character to bounce off, the way the City Elf has Shianni and Soris or the Dwarf Commoner has Leske and even Berhat. The Magi Origin, as you said, has a whole tower full of people that treat your character like a complete stranger that they've never met or spoken to before despite living in one of two floors together for a decade or two, and the only characters you are treated to know anything about are... Jowan and Irving, who, while awesome, aren't exactly the strongest personalities.

Very well said!

Faerunner wrote…

Personally, it wasn't until I met Anders in Awakening and Finn in Witch Hunt that the Magi Origin really opened up for me and I could picture my character talking, interacting, studying, joking, teasing, playing, arguing, practicing, sparing, and so forth with them in the tower. My character had a personal history, a past social life, and other strong personalities to help shape who she eventually became, not JUST her childhood friend Jowan, her master First Enchanter Irving, and hopeless suitor Cullen. (Still, Awakening and WH feels a little late to get a good feel for the Magi Origin, hence my "hindsight emotional moments" comment.)

I haven't got around to playing Awakening or Witch Hunt yet, but now I have another reason to look forward to it! Maybe I'll even play through Witch Hunt as a Circle Mage.

Modifié par jillabender, 24 juin 2012 - 04:23 .

[Caiden012]

I enjoy all the Origins but Dalish Elf is my number one. The origin itself is not horribly exciting but the lore that you can learn about the elves during the origin is very interesting to me. I think the the history of the elves and their current culture (both Dalish and City) are very well done in the game. Also as a Dalish it is fun to remark on some of the human npcs prejudice comments during the game. Right now I am doing the mage origin (Second favorite) and then I am going to do a city elf (first origin I chose when the game first came out).

[TEWR]

I'd say the Dwarven origins easily outclass the rest. The DN isn't perfect since you can't call Bhelen out on his schemes when he's the obvious benefactor -- the Dwarven Noble Origin personally gets worse when you return to Orzammar -- but they are easily the best in the game for me. And if you play your cards right, Orzammar can prosper and beat back the Darkspawn

I can give the Dwarves an army of Golems, bring an independent Mage Circle to Orzammar, enlist the aid of a foreign country, and give the casteless greater rights in exchange for fighting the Darkspawn. And become a Paragon to boot, boosting morale a great deal. Assuming I'm alive of course. If I'm dead, while morale might be boosted it won't be nearly as much if I'm actually there fighting with the troops.

Ideally -- and more importantly, as should've been done in the first place because the lore/history/culture/politics of the Dwarves supports it -- a Dwarf Noble should've been able to use Orzammar's political maelstrom to his advantage. He/She would be able to regain their place in the Memories and ascend to the throne.

Whoever wrote the Dwarven lore on their society, history, culture, and politics really did a great job of it. They just.... failed to see that a Dwarf Noble might realize Harrowmont is too weak for the throne but also not want Bhelen to take the throne.

And they also failed to see that the very society they fleshed out supported the one course of action that the game did not have nor did it give you a good reason why it wasn't there.

They even have Branka flat out stating that you might want to become King yourself and when she gets the Anvil she gives you the crown, telling you to give the throne to "whomever you want". And that just adds insult to injury when you find out the option isn't present, at all.

It's sad, and it hurts the overall quest arc itself.

That said, DN is always my favorite origin story. DC comes in second I think, simply because I loved the scene where the Guardsmen are surrounding you and you remove your helmet.

Even without the opportunity to become King myself, I put Bhelen on the throne anyway. In my headcanon, Bhelen got all of his "ideas" from his older brother, who actually studied history and thought about things. So Bhelen's just a hack..
 
I'm not even sure how much influence a Paragon would have if Bhelen's on the throne, given that he disbands the Assembly. They'd probably be little more then a figurehead with him on the throne. Unless he's still willing to listen to them after removing the Assembly's authority on Orzammar matters, I can't see being a Paragon as being anything more then a morale boost to the army.

Which is always a good thing. You always want your armies to have high morale, but if the political clout is no longer there.... then that also kinda adds insult to injury IMO.

But that's assuming Bhelen ignores the words of a Paragon after taking the throne and disbanding the Assembly.

Modifié par The Ethereal Writer Redux, 27 juin 2012 - 07:53 .