3855 réponses à ce sujet

[Nerevar-as]

Maclimes wrote...

I wonder how expensive DLC that added in other races would be? Without knowing much more about the game, it's hard to guess.

But, if the game is truly "complete" as is, I would pay extra to add a "dwarf pack" and an "elf pack". I would have two requirements, though:
1. The game must feel like a complete game without them. This is more out of principal.
2. It must have an effect greater than just appearance.

I´d rather have full fledged expansions centered around memebers of other races, expanding on their lore.

[Caiden012]

Maclimes wrote...

I wonder how expensive DLC that added in other races would be? Without knowing much more about the game, it's hard to guess.

But, if the game is truly "complete" as is, I would pay extra to add a "dwarf pack" and an "elf pack". I would have two requirements, though:
1. The game must feel like a complete game without them. This is more out of principal.
2. It must have an effect greater than just appearance.

They also need to make sure that when we look at the main game and dlc that we don't discover that races would have fit in the main game anyway. Then we would all be asking why we didn't get them in the first place. But I doubt there would be a dlc with race choice. If race choice is going to fit in anywhere it will probably be MP.

Modifié par Caiden012, 22 octobre 2012 - 10:53 .

[Droma]

I actually couldn't care less. I also don't understand why it is such a big deal. No one ever complained about shepard beeing human and not asari/krogan or whatever. Reading the dev answers here kinda makes me sad because again even before release and without any infos so far people are complaining about everything. I loved both dragon age games and can't wait for the third one. And i would think maybe you guys are smart enough to come up with some multiplayer like me3. there everyone could play their favorite class and you guys could make a ton of money just like me3 did. Keep the random unlock system =D

ps: thanks anyways for answering so many questions on this forum in general. that's why i like the BSN, because you can actually write with the devs and be sure they read your posts (or at least some of them). good job guys

[Droma]

... lag and double post, sry!

Modifié par Droma, 22 octobre 2012 - 10:55 .

[Vandicus]

Maclimes wrote...

I wonder how expensive DLC that added in other races would be? Without knowing much more about the game, it's hard to guess.

But, if the game is truly "complete" as is, I would pay extra to add a "dwarf pack" and an "elf pack". I would have two requirements, though:
1. The game must feel like a complete game without them. This is more out of principal.
2. It must have an effect greater than just appearance.

I'd expect in the range of 30-50 dollars. I would buy one(and at that price too), as I prefer a dwarf protag, but there are substantial reasons for why the base game doesn't have these options. The amount of resources needed to so dramatically adjust the narrative to account for someone of an alien culture(say if it was crucial to the plot to have an Orlesian benefactor, just flat out does not work with a Dalish so there needs to be a lot of work done adding in new NPCs and dialog) and with the small market base of people willing to buy the dlc, the price would need to be substantive to justify the resources employed.

[NedPepper]

I guess the point of this thread was to get all the hate out of the way a year in advance? I guess that's the point. All I know is I've gotten to page 32 of this thread and all I see is arguing, bitter disappointment, and the expected "BIOWARE IS DEAD TO ME! DRAGON AGE 3 WILL SUCK" crap expected from this wonderful forum.

The truth is that this is such a superficial aspect to make such absolute opinions, all based on such a small amount of information.

Whatever happened to people who, I dunno, actually like Bioware? Or RPGs? Or the world and lore of Dragon Age? Or just video games in general? This place has all of the fun and charm of a wet, soggy diaper.

Modifié par nedpepper, 22 octobre 2012 - 11:01 .

[NUM13ER]

Negativity I expected from some but talking about paid DLC to correct something we know nothing about, in a game that's only now entering production, is a very unwelcomed surprise.

Modifié par NUM13ER, 22 octobre 2012 - 11:04 .

[Nerevar-as]

nedpepper wrote...

I guess the point of this thread was to get all the hate out of the way a year in advance? I guess that's the point. All I know is I've gotten to page 32 of this thread and all I see is arguing, bitter disappointment, and the expected "BIOWARE IS DEAD TO ME! DRAGON AGE 3 WILL SUCK" crap expected from this wonderful forum.

The truth is that this is such a superficial aspect to make such absolute opinions, all based on such a small amount of information.

Whatever happened to people who, I dunno, actually like Bioware? Or RPGs? Or the world and lore of Dragon Age? Or just video games in general? This place has all of the fun and charm of a wet, soggy diaper.

We played DA2 and ME3 ending. In this world you are at good as your last game, and BW has failed twice in  a row (I´m not counting TOR as I don´t care for MMOs). And the lore is the only reason I´m interested in DA3, the devs lost most of my trust with DA2 cut corners and writing (literature makes me slighly hopeful here though), and one of the first confirmed features in DA3 turns out to be the lack yet again of a feature I really enjoyed in Origins. So no reasons to improve my hopes so far.

Modifié par Nerevar-as, 22 octobre 2012 - 11:10 .

[frostajulie]

nedpepper wrote...


The truth is that this is such a superficial aspect to make such absolute opinions, all based on such a small amount of information.

And thats your OPINION obviously origin stories are a big deal to many people.  Having options to build our characters is a huge part of Rping for many people.

[Shadow Fox]

nedpepper wrote...

I guess the point of this thread was to get all the hate out of the way a year in advance? I guess that's the point. All I know is I've gotten to page 32 of this thread and all I see is arguing, bitter disappointment, and the expected "BIOWARE IS DEAD TO ME! DRAGON AGE 3 WILL SUCK" crap expected from this wonderful forum.

The truth is that this is such a superficial aspect to make such absolute opinions, all based on such a small amount of information.

Whatever happened to people who, I dunno, actually like Bioware? Or RPGs? Or the world and lore of Dragon Age? Or just video games in general? This place has all of the fun and charm of a wet, soggy diaper.

How does choosing not to buy this game because it lacks a feature you want mean you dislike rpgs or video games?

And does liking a company's products mean you have to like everything they make?

Like I said if I want a fixed protaganist and cinematic narrative I'll play jrpgs as I believe they do it better.

Modifié par Arcane Warrior Mage Hawke, 22 octobre 2012 - 11:23 .

[NedPepper]

Arcane Warrior Mage Hawke wrote...

nedpepper wrote...

I guess the point of this thread was to get all the hate out of the way a year in advance? I guess that's the point. All I know is I've gotten to page 32 of this thread and all I see is arguing, bitter disappointment, and the expected "BIOWARE IS DEAD TO ME! DRAGON AGE 3 WILL SUCK" crap expected from this wonderful forum.

The truth is that this is such a superficial aspect to make such absolute opinions, all based on such a small amount of information.

Whatever happened to people who, I dunno, actually like Bioware? Or RPGs? Or the world and lore of Dragon Age? Or just video games in general? This place has all of the fun and charm of a wet, soggy diaper.

How does choosing not to buy this game because it lacks a feature you want mean you dislike rpgs or video games?

And does liking a company's products mean you have to like everything they make?

No, but the jumping to conclusions, the pouting, the fact that it's a deal breaker...all based off very little information...that somehow a lack of race selection continues the disaster that is Bioware...all of this is just way too over the top.  For people who drew a line in the sand and said "No dwarves, no elves, no game for me."  Fine.  I guess that's it for you.  Sorry about that.  If that was the deal breaker, okay.  But to harp on this for the next year?  To damn the game before release?

It's just spiteful and childish.

[Dintonta]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

[...]
I think it's important to note, however, that it's not just "I wanted elves/dwarves."  It's that "I wanted elves/dwarves and all the extra stuff that comes with it."  Which, in my opinion, muddies up the water on precisely what people are looking for.  What exactly is "the extra stuff that comes with it" though?  And it can be tricky to find consensus regarding this too.

It then starts to become "can the extra stuff only be provided with different races?"  Now, if you're specifically hoping to explore and learn more about the Dalish as a Dalish Elf character, then yeah this is definitely going to be disappointing, since that won't be possible.

So for me, it becomes a quest for trying to figure out what the extra stuff is that people feel is missing, since I believe the issue is more than just "I'd like my character to be an elf or a dwarf."  (Although for some people, that's as simple as it is for them!)

The 'extra-stuff' which interested me with some of the different races/origins options in DA:O is actually nothing more than a specific Fantasy representation of the sort of roles I identify more easily with.
Plus an extension of the CC capabilities. (No humans could have the lighter body frame of an elf, or the 'baby-face' of a dwarf.)

It would have been OK for me if the DAverse had never knew anything else than humans, distributed in the same roles as all the other races, and had large possibilities of apparence customization (NWN2, for exemple, allowed to vary the size of the character.)

The risk of reducing the racial choices, in the now established DAverse, is that races, as far as we know, have rather determined relationships and status.
For exemple, I think that a poor human remains actually a privileged person in Thedas countries dominated by humans (compared to elves or casteless dwarves in dwarven cities.)

This topic arose in a thread upon "Why no Human Commoner origin in DA:O".
The general opinion (if I understood well) was precisely that the most 'low-life' of the humans in Ferelden would always look privileged compared to an elf or a casteless dwarf.
And thus, a 'Human Commoner' origin would have only been a redundancy, in a less efficient form.

That's one of the reason why I think that thedosian humans do not entirely represent RL humans, and limiting the choice to that only specific race of the DAverse represent a decent risk of frustration for some players like me, who aren't even deeply attached to the traditional Fantasy non-human races.

Some real 'low-classes people' (natives in a colony, low-class cultural minorities) tend (not always and not for everybody) to be confronted to specific problems, that their 'more integrated' neighbours do not always share (even if they live on the same economic level.) This situation may impregnate their attitude and culture in a way rather similar to what the elves and casteless dwarves stand for in the DAverse.

Having those races (and origins) in DA:O stood for this 'other side' of humankind. And they will continue to stand for it as long as we'll see NPCs belonging to those races, struggling with thedosian problems loosely equivalent to RL cultural outcasts problems.
The only difference is that we would share no more those already established cultural problems. As in viewing to them now from a privileged POV.

In other terms my fear is that the restriction in races' choices equates a restriction in meaningful thedosian background choices (or at least those which have a meaning for me... )
Unless the writters are willing (and skillfull enough, because I'm not sure it's easy) to create a thedosian-human background which could convey an equivalent feeling of playing a culturally 'un-privileged' person as much as some of the already existing other thedosian races do so well already...

I cannot give you a feed-back about Hawke character's background, since I have yet to play DA2, but I can give you a feed-back of my first impressions when I looked at the descriptions of the protagonists of DA2 and those of DA:O :

The multiple origins and the explicit inclusion of 'underdog' backgrounds, were one of the main reasons why I was curious about DA:O (along with a brand-new toolset), and found the game so enjoyable.

On the other hand, most of the descriptions I could find about DA2 seemed to insist on the 'awesomeness' of Kirkwall's human 'badass' Champion, which doesn't sound the same at all...
(that translates in my mind -perhaps too quickly-  by 'boring privileged over-powered brute'.)
And it was a sufficient reason for me (in addition with the lack of a toolset) to not give a try to DA2 (despite interesting looking CC and art, and my curiosity about the DAverse lore...)

Sorry for the lenght of the post, and I hope it helps to clarify the 'muddy water' around what people see in races options... at least a tiny bit.

[shedevil3001]

i'm in favour of a human protagonist, i actually prefer playing humans as apposed to elf or dwarfs, not that they are bad or anything, but this would be awesome imo

[Shadow Fox]

nedpepper wrote...

Arcane Warrior Mage Hawke wrote...

nedpepper wrote...

I guess the point of this thread was to get all the hate out of the way a year in advance? I guess that's the point. All I know is I've gotten to page 32 of this thread and all I see is arguing, bitter disappointment, and the expected "BIOWARE IS DEAD TO ME! DRAGON AGE 3 WILL SUCK" crap expected from this wonderful forum.

The truth is that this is such a superficial aspect to make such absolute opinions, all based on such a small amount of information.

Whatever happened to people who, I dunno, actually like Bioware? Or RPGs? Or the world and lore of Dragon Age? Or just video games in general? This place has all of the fun and charm of a wet, soggy diaper.

How does choosing not to buy this game because it lacks a feature you want mean you dislike rpgs or video games?

And does liking a company's products mean you have to like everything they make?

No, but the jumping to conclusions, the pouting, the fact that it's a deal breaker...all based off very little information...that somehow a lack of race selection continues the disaster that is Bioware...all of this is just way too over the top.  For people who drew a line in the sand and said "No dwarves, no elves, no game for me."  Fine.  I guess that's it for you.  Sorry about that.  If that was the deal breaker, okay.  But to harp on this for the next year?  To damn the game before release?

It's just spiteful and childish.

Well from what I've read from some folks it wasn't just the race thing but a multitude of factors, alot of folks on here are still sore about Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 those peolpe where most likely going to be upset at something else this is probably just a conveinient target for those folks.

And personally I don't see it as anymore annoying then people mindlessly praising a game because of vapor ware*dev promises* or a sense of loyallty.

[Keiran Solaris]

If the story is good and the character is interesting then I'm ok if he/she is a human.

I didn't much care for Hawke, he never felt like my character. DA2 while fun felt to me like I was playing someone elses story. I liked the dialog options and enjoyed being a wise ass but there was just something missing from Hawke.

DA:O and ME trilogy felt like I owned the character, my Warden/Shepard was my character. Hawke just didn't appeal to me, I never connected with him, I never replayed the game, and I never purchased DLC because simply put I don't care about Hawke or where his story goes. A large part of that may also be how tied up the end of DA2 was where it really felt like any decisions I made were useless which further reinforced that Hawke wasn't mine.

Reminds me a lot of Revan vs the Outcast. Revan was mine, Outcast was just some guy that I had to deal with in order to experience an incomplete story. Even with the story complete though he wasn't gonna work. I was Revan, I didn't want to be this other guy.

I think the criticism that Hawke was just handed to us isn't the extent of it since a lot of these other characters were also just handed to us and I've been able to make them mine (Knight Captain from NWN2, Gorion's Ward, Revan, Shepard, etc).

For Hawke I think it was just being handed such a set character with no options other than his personality that really made him lacking, especially AFTER having such a great experience making my own character in the world previously.

That being said I never wanted to play my forest elf Warden again. He went with Morrigan through the Eluvian and was gone. For him to come back would have angered me greatly as I made the conscious choice to end his story. I just wanted that experience to create a new character to become enamored of and Hawke didn't cut it.

Was it that he was human?

No.

Am I OK with playing a human again in DA3?

Yes... but I expect versatility with the character. I expect to be able to connect with this character, make decisions that actually feel important (regardless of if they actually are), and I need to have a decent amount of control (beyond facial aesthetics, voice, and class) over who this new character is.

If we get Hawke 2.0 it won't be because he's human. It'll be because he's too predefined.

[Sylvius the Mad]

fchopin wrote...

Because if Bethany was in the game both Hawke and Bethany would be mages and the game would not work correctly when Bethany was taken away.

Why not?  You'd still have a sister who was taken away.  It might even work better, becasue there would be a "it could have been me" angle.

hhh89 wrote...

There are methods to find if a person is a mage or not. The moment they interrogated Carver and Hawke, they'd know they're not mages.

Do non-Templars know this?  If not, then it doesn't matter.  Fear isn't necessarily rational.

People could've leaked info about Hawke/Bethany to the templars.

They could have done that anyway.  Leaks aren't always true.

Moreover, I don't recall the whole Templar angle being very important overall.  The Hawkes would still be desperate refugees even without a mage among them.

LinksOcarina wrote...

Well, non-mage Hawke's had Bethany act as a sort of "self-hatred" kind of character, whereas Carver was a typical little brother, bratty and trying to get out of his older brothers Shadow. The reason the shadow existed was due to Hawke being a mage (and more capable) For Warriors and Rogues, it makes little sense for Carver to be around because then this is a sibling rivalry where Carver is on equal footing, versus him failing to understand what it means to be a mage.

Because people can only feel inferior to Mages?  What?

Now that I think about it, dialogue wise in the game, there is no way Carver could be alive if Hawke is not a mage.

Only because they wrote it that way.  That's not a criticial story component.

[Shadow Fox]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

fchopin wrote...

Because if Bethany was in the game both Hawke and Bethany would be mages and the game would not work correctly when Bethany was taken away.

Why not?  You'd still have a sister who was taken away.  It might even work better, becasue there would be a "it could have been me" angle.

hhh89 wrote...

There are methods to find if a person is a mage or not. The moment they interrogated Carver and Hawke, they'd know they're not mages.

Do non-Templars know this?  If not, then it doesn't matter.  Fear isn't necessarily rational.

People could've leaked info about Hawke/Bethany to the templars.

They could have done that anyway.  Leaks aren't always true.

Moreover, I don't recall the whole Templar angle being very important overall.  The Hawkes would still be desperate refugees even without a mage among them.

LinksOcarina wrote...

Well, non-mage Hawke's had Bethany act as a sort of "self-hatred" kind of character, whereas Carver was a typical little brother, bratty and trying to get out of his older brothers Shadow. The reason the shadow existed was due to Hawke being a mage (and more capable) For Warriors and Rogues, it makes little sense for Carver to be around because then this is a sibling rivalry where Carver is on equal footing, versus him failing to understand what it means to be a mage.

Because people can only feel inferior to Mages?  What?

Now that I think about it, dialogue wise in the game, there is no way Carver could be alive if Hawke is not a mage.

Only because they wrote it that way.  That's not a criticial story component.

I think Carver's inferiority complex would be worse with a non mage Hawke as then Hawke is better than Carver via natural talent not because they lucked out in the genepool.

[William91]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

Felya87 wrote...

Hawke was imposted. Cousland choosen.
I may seem little, but in truth, is a lot. it remind me of "Antz". the theme is that.

Fair, and I can understand that.

Does human with different backgrounds somewhat mitigate this?

Yes, but only if the backgrounds are important to the story, they have impact (much more than the Mass Effect ones, which were nice but almost non existent). However, making them not playable like the origins seems a step backwards.

[NedPepper]

Arcane Warrior Mage Hawke wrote...

nedpepper wrote...

Arcane Warrior Mage Hawke wrote...

nedpepper wrote...

I guess the point of this thread was to get all the hate out of the way a year in advance? I guess that's the point. All I know is I've gotten to page 32 of this thread and all I see is arguing, bitter disappointment, and the expected "BIOWARE IS DEAD TO ME! DRAGON AGE 3 WILL SUCK" crap expected from this wonderful forum.

The truth is that this is such a superficial aspect to make such absolute opinions, all based on such a small amount of information.

Whatever happened to people who, I dunno, actually like Bioware? Or RPGs? Or the world and lore of Dragon Age? Or just video games in general? This place has all of the fun and charm of a wet, soggy diaper.

How does choosing not to buy this game because it lacks a feature you want mean you dislike rpgs or video games?

And does liking a company's products mean you have to like everything they make?

No, but the jumping to conclusions, the pouting, the fact that it's a deal breaker...all based off very little information...that somehow a lack of race selection continues the disaster that is Bioware...all of this is just way too over the top.  For people who drew a line in the sand and said "No dwarves, no elves, no game for me."  Fine.  I guess that's it for you.  Sorry about that.  If that was the deal breaker, okay.  But to harp on this for the next year?  To damn the game before release?

It's just spiteful and childish.

Well from what I've read from some folks it wasn't just the race thing but a multitude of factors, alot of folks on here are still sore about Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 those peolpe where most likely going to be upset at something else this is probably just a conveinient target for those folks.

And personally I don't see it as anymore annoying then people mindlessly praising a game because of vapor ware*dev promises* or a sense of loyallty.

I don't really see that.  I just see the people who, like you mentioned, are upset about DA 2 and ME 3, and all they want to do is come to a forum that made these games and complain.  And complain.  And complain.

I AM looking forward to Dragon Age 3.  It's why I come here.  I liked Origins.  I liked Dragon Age 2.  (I know...the HORROR!)  There are a lot of things I think could make DA 3 really great.  There are some things I think should not be in the game. (Ditching the save import, first and most importantly).  But that's not going to happen.  Am I pouting and crying about it?  Nope.  Is it a deal breaker? Nope.  

Truthfully, nothing is a deal breaker at this point, because I don't know much about the game, period.  Could there be a deal breaker? Sure.  But from what I've seen and heard, I have the same feeling I have for any game early in development.  Guarded excitement.  The screen shots look nice.  The compromise to have armors look different on different characters.  The leaked information about the game.  All piques my interest. 

I could sit here and think about all the things I don't want to see in the game, but what's the point?  If Gaider, Darrah, or Laidlaw decide to give us a fixed character with a fixed first and last name who works for the Chantry, hates mages, and can only be a rogueish warrior, I'll probably not buy the game.  That's my deal breaker.  But you know what?  That's an extreme.  And not likely.

What's likely is you are going to get a Bioware game with choices, leveling up, designing your own character, picking your class, hanging out with companions, and trying to stop some kind of civil unrest and some dire evil. And with the new engine, it will probably look really pretty.  That works for me.  Maybe I'm just easier to please.

[fchopin]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

fchopin wrote...

Because if Bethany was in the game both Hawke and Bethany would be mages and the game would not work correctly when Bethany was taken away.

Why not?  You'd still have a sister who was taken away.  It might even work better, becasue there would be a "it could have been me" angle.

Because they don't want you to have a mage in the circle if you play a mage as it would make it easier to save the mages, if your brother is with the Templers then it would make it harder to pick mages and kill your brother.

Plus if they took Bethany they should also take you also as they should know you are a mage.

Modifié par fchopin, 22 octobre 2012 - 11:55 .

[The Elder King]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

Do non-Templars know this?  If not, then it doesn't matter.  Fear isn't necessarily rational.

Circle mages certainly know that, and Malcom was one of them. So Hawke shoudl've know this, considering that Malcolm certainly teached his kids to hide from the templars.

Modifié par hhh89, 23 octobre 2012 - 12:03 .

[Aggie Punbot]

Very disappointing, but I'm not in any way surprised.

[Palipride47]

fchopin wrote...

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

fchopin wrote...

Because if Bethany was in the game both Hawke and Bethany would be mages and the game would not work correctly when Bethany was taken away.

Why not?  You'd still have a sister who was taken away.  It might even work better, becasue there would be a "it could have been me" angle.

Because they don't want you to have a mage in the circle if you play a mage as it would make it easier to save the mages, if your brother is with the Templers then it would make it harder to pick mages and kill your brother.

Plus if they took Bethany they should also take you also as they should know you are a mage.

It was also due to class balance, since you didn't want to have no party mage till Anders or Merrill. 
And Bethany had some default damage spells (primal) and you could make her a buffer/supporter type (with healing and whatnot) 

Lore-wise, there are 5 trillion reasons it "should" be one way, the other way, or not matter. 

Modifié par Palipride47, 23 octobre 2012 - 12:01 .

[LethesDeep]

Honestly, I'm very disappointed about this decision. I'm (obviously) a human in real life and I have to play a human in all my shooters, flight sims, Guitar Hero-esque games, majority of modern RPGs... the list goes on.

So, when I pick up a fantasy RPG the first thing I do is play as a different race (usually half-elf or full elf). In fact, out of all the origins in DA1 the ones I loved the most were the Elf ones followed by the Dwarves. However, it ultimately didn't change anything other than my perception when making choices and, like, one thing at the end. That was disappointing because I was hoping the game world recognize race as well. Example: After I found the Ashes I could hear random NPCs saying "Did you hear? The Warden cured the Arl of Redcliff with Andraste's Ashes." What I would have liked was a response like: "Yeah, and did you know he's an elf too? Really makes me look at the Alienage in a different light." When I didn't get that I thought Oh, well. There's always next game...

However, I realize you guys got your own vision for this story where maybe only a human makes sense and ultimately, it's your world. So I'll compromise this time: You make the story react to my decisions really well (I mean a lasting effect, not just a passing comment) and I'll forgive the race restrictions.

Modifié par LethesDeep, 23 octobre 2012 - 12:09 .

[RosaAquafire]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

Fair, and I can understand that.

Does human with different backgrounds somewhat mitigate this?

What it comes down to to me is that humans are just the most boring race with the most boring culture in Thedas. They're the vanilla flavour. There are no special RP considerations of cultural baggage associated with being a human. The context of culture is, to me, a hugely important part of RP. No matter what flavour of human I have, I'll never get to roleplay the mix of defiant pride and constant self-loathing that comes with playing a Thedosian elf, or the blase attitude towards moral ambiguity, assassination, and murder that comes with playing a Thedosian dwarf. CULTURE is a huuuuge part of RP.

It just frustrates me that Bioware creates the most interesting versions of Fantasy 101 races I've ever seen via unique cultures, lets us roleplay as them, and then railroads us into objectively the least interesting culture of the lot. Three different types of human are just vanilla with sprinkles, vanilla with caramel, and vanilla with oreo. There is no baggage associated to your race, and you lose the strange and unique pleasure of wrapping your mind around an alien culture.

When the dude behind the counter has these cool unique flavours you've never seen before, and then is like "well you can only have the vanilla, but you can LOOK at these other flavours! And you can have toppings on your vanilla! Tha's almost as good!"

No, no it's not.

This may just be coming from the POV of someone who is really, really into the roleplay elements, but I connect with my character on a really deep level and try to sync myself up to Thedosian values as much as possible. NOTHING affects your characters' worldview in Thedas as much as their race, and it just sucks that we get to see all these amazing cultures and then be told we can't actually experience them -- especially when we COULD do so in DA:O.