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[Firky]

A Welcome

Champion of Kirkwall, welcome. You have travelled far.

You have come for Old Firk and her careful eye, yes? She is sitting under the window, finding the last of the warming sun.

Bring your things inside. She won’t judge you for them. She has seen them all before. Cage of squirrels, glass eye, even a disguise made from human skin.

As she casts her eye to your things, you will hear her stories, told from cold steel, or mouldy leather. Or you will learn something about your world, or about yourself.

Just be warned. Old Firk is many things, but she is not all knowing. If she does not know of a thing, she will likely guess at it. You will likely believe her, too.


Descriptions are found here.

https://docs.google....NmNpQ2RqcGh6Q0E

[Firky]

Discussion

In the maelstrom of criticism that followed Dragon Age II, really the only changed feature that I cared about in an enduring fashion, gained little attention; those tiny bits of lore secreted away in the item descriptions, characteristic to Dragon Age: Origins, Baldur’s Gate and the Infinity games; Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale, amoung others. Every single thing, great or small, had words to describe its appearance, its history or its significance. 

It’s perhaps an odd feature to love quite so fervently, but remember Carsomyr? Carsomyr was the best sword in Baldur’s Gate II, restricted to one of eleven base classes; the paladin, and won from Firkraag. It took me ages to figure out how to kill that dragon. I rocked up to the dungeon not even knowing how to damage Conster. As I finally looted Firkraag’s corpse, I made sure to savour his gear, as well as every item I’ve ever picked up since, and in retrospective playthroughs of other Infinity games.

I can still recite Carsomyr’s description from memory, it was a truly awesome weapon. Many of the best descriptions, however, were found attached to the most unlikely things. I won’t point you to them, though. The joy is in finding them for yourself, even in Dragon Age II, mostly within codices and DLC descriptions. Those little secrets are still there, they’re just organised differently.

There is no evidence to suggest that item descriptions will be making a return in future Dragon Age games, however, in past iteration, so I decided to take matters into my own, undoubtedly less capable, but willing, hands. The count of items that I identified as needed describing was 721, for a total of ~23,450 words. I started in November 2011, writing 5 descriptions per day, then increased my load to 10 per day in February 2012, to finish at the end of March. I didn’t miss a single day, including Christmas Day on which I tipsily wrote that warrior Hawke looked like a pineapple, in his Champion’s Mantle.

On style, I quickly gave up trying to directly adhere to the structure of Origins’ descriptions, largely because I found that not being able to rely on unknown lore, as content, undermined those punchy two-sentence style deliveries. Although item descriptions sometimes provide player instruction, this also became problematic in the context of DA2, due to follower restrictions/player class and the like.

Somehow, a style emerged that was less authority, more curiosity. It’s a detached, observational approach, but from the perspective of someone “knowledgeable” about the history of Thedas and characters, who would be willing to make up some details in pursuit of a good story. I tried to creatively supplement lore in logical ways, rather than wilfully disregard it, but nothing within should be regarded as lore truth.

Also, some items were simply too time consuming to double check for accuracy. Take the Paired Foreclaw. I have no idea where that was picked up in game, so I simply attributed it to a dragonling. If it actually came from some other beast, and you know this, just let me know and I’ll change it. As with any items I’ve overlooked. (There’s sure to be some.)

I even fell a tiny bit in love with Malcolm Hawke, simply by piecing together his items. He’s a wonderful example of a subtle narrative presence, in game, but fleshed out through evocative gear. I didn’t want to lose that storytelling potential by sticking to known lore, I guess.

Thanks to lots of people.

Thanks wiki contributors. If it’s not in the Dragon Age wiki, it’s not in this list of descriptions. It is one hell of a comprehensive collection of information. Without it, I would have definitely given up after about five items.

Thanks must also go to two wonderful new friends, who shared drinks with me when I was about to quit after 400-or-so items. Their understanding and enthusiasm for medieval history (especially armour and weaponry,) was both fascinating and inspiring.

Thanks to lots of people on Twitter for encouragement, and stoopid jokes, about this crazy fan project.

Lastly, I want to underline that I think BioWare writers are great. If I didn’t appreciate that before, and I probably did, I do now. That is; the deep intellectual property they have created with Dragon Age. Also, the way items were even named in such an evocative manner to begin with; King Something the Forgotten’s Armour, Pouch of Colourful Glass Shards, The Wallop Mallet, Thudpucker’s Fist, The Bodice Ripper. The irony is that I now believe Dragon Age II didn’t really need item descriptions at all. All the old secrets and little lore deliveries were there, they were just framed differently.

Regardless, Dragon Age II’s items are now carefully described, in an amateur fashion, for the niche lover of items in RPGs, and a bit of a laugh, hopefully.

Modifié par Firky, 25 mars 2012 - 09:41 .

[Shadow of Light Dragon]

"Suitable for an adventurer of ample girth, has wolves on it, attracts women." It is unclear whether the note accompanying this amulet should be taken in jest or as a warning.

These are great. As another person who sorely missed item descriptions (and didn't care much for the generic 'Ring', 'Greater Ring' items rolling around the place), I salute your dedication and -- wow, the file links to the items in the wiki too!

You know, I never paid very much attention to the items in DA2 because most of them had no context. They were mostly just names attached to stats, and stats don't interest me when I'm roleplaying...descriptions do. Lore definitely does. Thanks for doing these, you've given me more appreciation for the items in the game (and so many of them o_O).

[Firky]

Did you read them all!?! (Joking.)

Thanks for the comment. Also. Uh oh. Ring. I don't actually recall "Ring." I did some generics, but I can't recall how they were organised in the wiki. I'll go back for another look. (In a bit.)

[fritzywiggins]

"Soggy around the edges, this biscuit has the strange quality of resembling the Divine. (I mean, seriously. It's a stale biscuit and it's worth 12 silver? That was the only plausible explanation I could dream up. Something qunari related?)"

HA love it. I enjoy the more serious ones too--they're all very thoughtfully written, from what I've seen so far.  I hope item descriptions like these make a comeback in DA3-

[TopBoost]

Items in Leliana's Song had some of the best descriptions I've ever seen in a game. I STILL want the "Initiate's Blessing" armor for my Warden...

[Firky]

^ What a great description. I just looked it up.

Thanks, fritzywiggins. (I hope they do too.) And seriously. 12 silver for a stale biscuit? Maybe there's actually some kind of secret reason why it's 12 silver. Like a joke. Or something beyond my imagination. I'd love to know what it is.

[nightscrawl]

I don't usually browse this forum and came upon this from @Mike_Laidlaw.

"Fenris cannot, or will not, explain why this amulet inspires such rage in him. He will sometimes clutch at it, if the wrong topic is raised in conversation."
"Bethany knows this miniature tinderbox, on a gilded chain, was given to her mother by her father, but she doesn't know why."

I really like the personal ones, but you have a nice variety of humor as well. These are awesome, thanks for sharing!

Modifié par nightscrawl, 02 avril 2012 - 06:44 .

[Firky]

Thanks.

I like those two you picked. Not being privy to secret Bio-lore, I had to make stuff up but I just tried to do it so it raised questions, rather than stomping lore into the ground.

Yeah. And it was nice that Mike retweeted it. (It's kind of an odd niche thing, really. )