I've read a fair few topics about the various companions, but only generalities about the colerful cast of NPCs that inhabit Kirkwall. I've decided to rectify this, here's my list of NPCs, from favorite to least favorite. Potential spoilers.
First set, those I like
1: Viscount Dumar: I liked Dumar since he seemed to be just about the only sane person throughout most of the game. Plus, I just felt sorry for him: he was desperatly trying to keep a city full of crazies from destroying itself, knowing that if he annoyed Meridith she'd have him killed like his predecessor. Then, in the corse of a few weeks/a month, everything went up in flames despite his best efforts: the Qunari were provoked, his son was murdered, everthing was going wrong... and then the Arishock killed him. The last part of poor Dumar's life sucked, and I really wish there was a way to save him.
2: Feynriel: At first, I didn't like Feynriel too much: he was whiney, weak, and his voice was annoying. Then, when I sent him to Tevinter to master his powers, he became awesome. Not only has he seemed to keep himself (not becoming a horrible person, despite Tevinter being horrible person central) he was able to kill a bunch of bandits IN HIS SLEEP, FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CONTINENT! That is awesome.
3: Grand Cleric Elthina: This is a wierd case: When I first saw her, when she shut down Petrice, I absolutly adored Elthina. She was calm, cool, and in control. And then again, when Orsino and Meridith were on the verge of trying to kill each other, she calmly walked in and told them to go to their rooms, and they did it. True, after that it became apparent that her passive style was making things worse, but I still can't bring myself to dislike her.
4: Thrask: Thrask strikes me about representing everything good about the Templar. He truely does see mages as people, and wants to help them against the true enemy: the demons. If more Templar were like him; if he'd been Knight Commander, I don't think things would have gotten as bad as they did.
5: Sandel: ENCHANTMENT!
6: Orana: The only reason she's not higher is because you don't see enough of her, she's so sweet. Even when I was doing my evil runthrough I couldn't bring myself to make her a slave.
7: Bodan: A great father. A great dwarf. No longer sells goods at a rediculously steep price and calls it a "discount."
8: Leandra: She had her flaws, certainly (going to Kirkwall was not the brightest idea.) Still, she wanted what was best for her children, and it was clear she loved them. I was sure to murder Quentin horribly for what he did to her.
9: Gamlen: In Act 1, I hated his guts, but after Leandra died in 2, I realized that, for all his countless flaws, he did have a good heart (buried very, very deep.) Then, after meeting his dauther, I finally accepted him. He's a douche, but he's a douche I have some fondness for.
10: Orsino: Orsino struck me as a flawed person. He wanted to do what was best for his mages, but he started going crazy near the end. Still, I blame his Harvester transformation on bad writing rather than him, so I'm not holding that against him (much.) Still, I find it very hard to forgive that he knew abot Quentin and did nothing.
Now we start getting into the charecters I don't like.
11: Cullen: On risk of being mobbed by his fangirls, I say unto you that I don't like Cullen. He may not be as bad as Meredith, but he did say that he didn't consider mages to be people, which is a very dangerous attitude to have. It's only a short distance from saying that mages aren't people to saying that they all deserve to die, no matter guilt or innocence. Still, he could be much, much worse.
12: Javaris: He disgusts me more than anything, I've never liked slimy merchants. Still, he doesn't deserve to die.
13: Bartrand: He stabbed everyone in the back. He's a horrible excuse for a person. He has major anger manegment issues even before the Idol. The only reason I don't kill him is because I know Varric will regret it later.
14: Arishock: I've never liked zealots, and that's what the Arishock is. He simply cannot accept the idea that other methods might be valid, he cannot change, and if he could so many problems could have been avoided. If he'd told Hawke or the Viscount why he was in Kirkwall, they could have helped him find the Tome and the climax of Act 2 could have been avoided, which would have made Act 3 less of a pain.
15: Petrice: CRUSH! KILL! MAIM! DESTROY! WHY DIDN'T I GET TO KILL HER MYSELF!
16: Hadriana: For some reason, I hated her more than her master. Despite all his evil, I almost see Denarius as an evil businessman, certinly a terrible person, but not the psychopathic, cowardly b!#*h that Hadriana was.
17: Meridith: I hate Meredith. I'm not sure if this is true, but I think that the Idol can only amplify feelings that are already there, not create new ones. She had the potential for madness even before she made the stupid thing into a sword (why did she do that? What was going through her head when she decided making the Idol into a sword was a good idea? Oh, wait, nothing because she was CRAZY!)
18: Quentin: Do I really need to talk about why I hate him?
19: Grace: This psycho b!#*h caused so many problems in Act 3. If she hadn't been so determined to get revenge on Hawke for something that was her own bloody fault, then the Templar/Mage rebellion might have been able to overthrow Meridith and Anders might not have decided blowing up the Chantry was a good idea.
20: Ser Alrick: He. Used. The. Rite. Of. Tranquility. To. Make. Sex. Slaves. Do I really need to say any more?
So, thoughts? I know there were people I didn't talk about, but they're people I'm mostly neutral about or didn't make that big an impression on me for some reason.
Rate the NPCs
Débuté par
SoaringHawk218
, nov. 30 2012 05:37
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#2
Posté 30 novembre 2012 - 09:24
sylvanaerie
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My favorite non-companions in DA2 were (in no particular order, since they all had relatively minor roles).
Likes:
1. Sandal/Bodahn. There's a story there that Bioware is only dribbling out in bits at a time. I like both (though I definitely find Sandal a lot more intriguing than his dad).
2. Seneschal Bran. Firstly, he has a fantastic voice actor. Secondly he is one of a handful of people who aren't awed by the Champion and continues to treat him/her with the same snooty disdain in all 3 acts. And he seems competent enough in his role to maintain it all the way through all three acts.
3. Thrask. An interesting person, I felt he was there as an example of what the templar order could be, compassionate but firm, but he was too trusting. He trusted the wrong person and it came back to bite him in the ass.
4. Emeric. The only person who tried to stop Quentin and got killed for it. (I guess the lesson here kiddies is, if you're a nice guy in Kirkwall, you're gonna be pushing up daisies before the end of the game).
5. Potions guy in the Gallows (I forget his name). One of the few mages in DA2 you meet who isn't batsh*t insane. I hope he got out okay at the end.
6. Hawke's family. While Gamlen starts off as an ass (and my snarky Hawke's love aggravating him) even Gamlen ends up being a decent guy, especially once you find his daughter. Few scenes in DA2 affected me more than Hawke's loss of Leandra and the aftermath.
7. Cullen. *yes I know original poster doesn't like him but he DID ask for opinions.* Cullen has come a long way from the tortured young man in Ferelden's Circle. Considering at that time it was "Kill em all and the let Maker sort them out", his gradual turn around from someone who *has a crush on a mage, then wants to kill them all, then talking about how stupid he was to have ever thought they were human, to having misgivings about Meredith and her tactics, to finally standing up for what's right, even against his superior officer*, he has done a lot of character growth over the course of the two games. Moreso than any other minor character has exhibited. I like him more for the story arc he's undergone and I feel there is the potential for more to come, even if he stays a minor character in the overall story of Thedas.
Dislikes. (again in no particular order as they came to me)
1. Ser Alrik/Karras. I dislike both of these jackass*es about equally. Both are sadists without any redeeming qualities whatsoever. Minor roles Bioware didn't work at making more than 'stock psycho bad guys'. I might feel more dislike for them had they tried to give them some depth, but as it is, they are only a minor blip on my radar.
2. Petrice. Sadistic fanatics are so not my cup of tea. My only regret is I didn't get to murderknife the b*tch myself. I think even Lily (my pacifistic Diplo mage) would have done it with glee.
3. Elthina. On the surface she seems nice enough, but her monumental passivity in the face of what was happening only exacerbated the situation, and I found her extremely annoying. Her attitude about everything in Kirkwall made her come off as two faced to me (like a lot on my 'dislike list').
4. Arishok. Stupid, hidebound fanatic, who refuses to see there are other paths. He knows only one way to do anything. If a species cannot change, I expect his race to eventually go extinct. I can't imagine there are enough Tal Vashoth to keep them going.
5. Quentin/Grace/Taronhe/Danarius/Hadriana. (And the host of other batsh*t insane mages in the city). The worst examples of everything non magic using people in Thedas fears in mages.
6. Orsino. Mostly because he knew Quentin was shady and doing forbidden magic, and said nothing, even knowing women (including at least one mage) were disappearing around Kirkwall. This is either incredibly stupid or duplicitous. Either way, his turn into a Harvester (while incredibly stupid and out of place in a mage sympathetic run) affords me the opportunity to take him out as well.
7. Knight Commander Meredith. Or as I like to call her Knight Commander Crazy or Knight Commander Merrydeath. While her views on mages can be attributed to PTSD from having her entire family slaughtered by the abomination her sister became, she's the worst example of the order, especially in Act 3 when the plot device was acting on her, making her even crazier than she would normally be. Almost to the point of 'stock evil' but at least she's better written than some of the others on my dislike list since you can almost see the struggle in her. At least I could.
There are probably other examples of characters I liked and disliked, but these are the ones who immediately came to mind as it's been several months since I played with any regularity.
Likes:
1. Sandal/Bodahn. There's a story there that Bioware is only dribbling out in bits at a time. I like both (though I definitely find Sandal a lot more intriguing than his dad).
2. Seneschal Bran. Firstly, he has a fantastic voice actor. Secondly he is one of a handful of people who aren't awed by the Champion and continues to treat him/her with the same snooty disdain in all 3 acts. And he seems competent enough in his role to maintain it all the way through all three acts.
3. Thrask. An interesting person, I felt he was there as an example of what the templar order could be, compassionate but firm, but he was too trusting. He trusted the wrong person and it came back to bite him in the ass.
4. Emeric. The only person who tried to stop Quentin and got killed for it. (I guess the lesson here kiddies is, if you're a nice guy in Kirkwall, you're gonna be pushing up daisies before the end of the game).
5. Potions guy in the Gallows (I forget his name). One of the few mages in DA2 you meet who isn't batsh*t insane. I hope he got out okay at the end.
6. Hawke's family. While Gamlen starts off as an ass (and my snarky Hawke's love aggravating him) even Gamlen ends up being a decent guy, especially once you find his daughter. Few scenes in DA2 affected me more than Hawke's loss of Leandra and the aftermath.
7. Cullen. *yes I know original poster doesn't like him but he DID ask for opinions.* Cullen has come a long way from the tortured young man in Ferelden's Circle. Considering at that time it was "Kill em all and the let Maker sort them out", his gradual turn around from someone who *has a crush on a mage, then wants to kill them all, then talking about how stupid he was to have ever thought they were human, to having misgivings about Meredith and her tactics, to finally standing up for what's right, even against his superior officer*, he has done a lot of character growth over the course of the two games. Moreso than any other minor character has exhibited. I like him more for the story arc he's undergone and I feel there is the potential for more to come, even if he stays a minor character in the overall story of Thedas.
Dislikes. (again in no particular order as they came to me)
1. Ser Alrik/Karras. I dislike both of these jackass*es about equally. Both are sadists without any redeeming qualities whatsoever. Minor roles Bioware didn't work at making more than 'stock psycho bad guys'. I might feel more dislike for them had they tried to give them some depth, but as it is, they are only a minor blip on my radar.
2. Petrice. Sadistic fanatics are so not my cup of tea. My only regret is I didn't get to murderknife the b*tch myself. I think even Lily (my pacifistic Diplo mage) would have done it with glee.
3. Elthina. On the surface she seems nice enough, but her monumental passivity in the face of what was happening only exacerbated the situation, and I found her extremely annoying. Her attitude about everything in Kirkwall made her come off as two faced to me (like a lot on my 'dislike list').
4. Arishok. Stupid, hidebound fanatic, who refuses to see there are other paths. He knows only one way to do anything. If a species cannot change, I expect his race to eventually go extinct. I can't imagine there are enough Tal Vashoth to keep them going.
5. Quentin/Grace/Taronhe/Danarius/Hadriana. (And the host of other batsh*t insane mages in the city). The worst examples of everything non magic using people in Thedas fears in mages.
6. Orsino. Mostly because he knew Quentin was shady and doing forbidden magic, and said nothing, even knowing women (including at least one mage) were disappearing around Kirkwall. This is either incredibly stupid or duplicitous. Either way, his turn into a Harvester (while incredibly stupid and out of place in a mage sympathetic run) affords me the opportunity to take him out as well.
7. Knight Commander Meredith. Or as I like to call her Knight Commander Crazy or Knight Commander Merrydeath. While her views on mages can be attributed to PTSD from having her entire family slaughtered by the abomination her sister became, she's the worst example of the order, especially in Act 3 when the plot device was acting on her, making her even crazier than she would normally be. Almost to the point of 'stock evil' but at least she's better written than some of the others on my dislike list since you can almost see the struggle in her. At least I could.
There are probably other examples of characters I liked and disliked, but these are the ones who immediately came to mind as it's been several months since I played with any regularity.
Modifié par sylvanaerie, 30 novembre 2012 - 09:27 .
#3
Posté 30 novembre 2012 - 07:15
Sylvanpyxie
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Characters I like:
1) Sebastian Vael - His hypocritical nature, conflicted beliefs and complete lack of self awareness is both utterly annoying and insanely compelling. Sebastian Vael is a very passionate and selfish man, yet he has a duality to his personally that leaves him conflicted - His teachings in the Chantry cause him to disregard who he actually is. His complete lack of personal awareness and his refusal to accept himself causes nothing but indecision, causing him to cling to the safety of the Chantry when a greater cause requires his attention.
Behind all the Chantry teachings, behind his blatant indecision and refusal to accept who he is, Sebastian is nothing more than a spoiled child, hell bent on playing by his own rules and constantly demanding all he can from others, whether it's Hawke, Elthina or the Maker himself. It's infuriating and intolerable and it's the main reason I like his character.
2) Feynriel - Despite the fact Feynreil is effectively a minor NPC, the Half-Elf Boy probably has the most character development of any character in the entire game, including Companions. Starting off as a stroppy teenager that refuses to accept what he is, running away to avoid his place in the world and constantly trying to demand a better life from the people around him, Feynriel gradually matures and not only accepts what he is, but accepts his place in the world.
This is only the ending that sends him to Tevinter of course, but finding out that Feynriel not only mastered his powers, but chooses to use them to protect the innocent... It was a moment that filled me with great pride. In this ending at least, Feynriel turns into probably the most level-headed, mature and sane person in the entire game....
Also, having the ending in which Feynriel becomes possessed, goes utterly insane and becomes one of the most crazy, powerful and dangerous creatures in the Free Marches is beautifully tragic in comparison.
3) The Herbalist Mage in the Gallows. He was not only the most sane Circle Mage in the game, but he also had the most awesome pun in the game. Remedy that.... HA!
As for characters that I hate: Everybody else.
If i'm going for specifics, though, I'll have to single out Orsino.
He not only encouraged the use of necromancy, but also turned a blind eye to the murder of countless innocent women so that he might benefit from the knowledge that Quentin unearthed. Orsino also, after presenting himself as one of the more sane people in the game, decided to resort to the blackest of magics when there was still hope for the Mages to survive.
Orsino is a world class arse.
1) Sebastian Vael - His hypocritical nature, conflicted beliefs and complete lack of self awareness is both utterly annoying and insanely compelling. Sebastian Vael is a very passionate and selfish man, yet he has a duality to his personally that leaves him conflicted - His teachings in the Chantry cause him to disregard who he actually is. His complete lack of personal awareness and his refusal to accept himself causes nothing but indecision, causing him to cling to the safety of the Chantry when a greater cause requires his attention.
Behind all the Chantry teachings, behind his blatant indecision and refusal to accept who he is, Sebastian is nothing more than a spoiled child, hell bent on playing by his own rules and constantly demanding all he can from others, whether it's Hawke, Elthina or the Maker himself. It's infuriating and intolerable and it's the main reason I like his character.
2) Feynriel - Despite the fact Feynreil is effectively a minor NPC, the Half-Elf Boy probably has the most character development of any character in the entire game, including Companions. Starting off as a stroppy teenager that refuses to accept what he is, running away to avoid his place in the world and constantly trying to demand a better life from the people around him, Feynriel gradually matures and not only accepts what he is, but accepts his place in the world.
This is only the ending that sends him to Tevinter of course, but finding out that Feynriel not only mastered his powers, but chooses to use them to protect the innocent... It was a moment that filled me with great pride. In this ending at least, Feynriel turns into probably the most level-headed, mature and sane person in the entire game....
Also, having the ending in which Feynriel becomes possessed, goes utterly insane and becomes one of the most crazy, powerful and dangerous creatures in the Free Marches is beautifully tragic in comparison.
3) The Herbalist Mage in the Gallows. He was not only the most sane Circle Mage in the game, but he also had the most awesome pun in the game. Remedy that.... HA!
As for characters that I hate: Everybody else.
If i'm going for specifics, though, I'll have to single out Orsino.
He not only encouraged the use of necromancy, but also turned a blind eye to the murder of countless innocent women so that he might benefit from the knowledge that Quentin unearthed. Orsino also, after presenting himself as one of the more sane people in the game, decided to resort to the blackest of magics when there was still hope for the Mages to survive.
Orsino is a world class arse.
#4
Posté 25 décembre 2012 - 05:55
ReiKokoFuuu
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hmm this is a hard one. all my favourite characters were the companions.
likes:
1. feynriel: at first, i didn't like him. he was a whiny character who was throwing a temper tantrum, making his mother worry throughout the whole game. it took several playthroughs for him to grow on me. he's not a bad person, he was just an immature brat when hawke first meets him, before growing into a strong, abled mage in his own right after studying in tevinter. i sincerely hope he returns as a companion in DA3.....a somniari companion would be epic. it would be nice to see how the years in tevinter changed him. of course, the possibility of him being either possessed or killed in the fade probably makes it unlikely he'll be a companion
2. sol: i liked him from the onset. there he was, a mage in the gallows, and he's the only cheerful person there. i loved his attitude and it was nice to see a pleasant face once in a while.
3. marethari: i loved merrill....but i always thought it was unfair of her to act the way she did towards marethari. she obviously treated merrill like a daughter and cared for her a lot, and always asked merrill to return to the clan. she just wanted merrill to give up the blood magic and worried about what would happen to her because of it. she even sacrificed herself so that merrill would no longer be in danger from the demon who had coerced her into using blood magic. i wish there had been a way to save marethari.
4. viscount dumar: i've always felt bad for him. i thought it was unfair of everyone to mock him, belittle him and call him an incompetent ruler, when there clearly wasn't much that he could do without fearing for his life (meredith). i felt especially bad when saemus died....losing his only son because a b**** wanted to make an example of him just because he wanted to convert faiths. it's like he was slowly being torn apart by everything around him....the qunari, the templars, the blood mages and then his son. i'm starting to think that the arishok killing him was a mercy.
dislikes:
1. petrice: dislike.....is an understatement. she is, by far, the character that i hate the MOST in the whole DA universe. she's a conniving, hypocritical heretic who is willing to sacrifice everyone's lives but her own for her precious eternity. she loves to shove her beliefs down everyone's throats and use people to further her religious cause. the cutscene where she dies is one of my favourites, and it brings a smile to my face every time. i just wish that hawke was the one to kill her.
2. grace: no matter what, she'll always come up with an excuse for wanting to kill hawke and she blatantly lies when she claims that she had 'had no truck with demons'.
3. gamlen: i've never liked him. no matter what, he's a terrible uncle to the hawke siblings. he's not a completely terrible person, as evidenced by his grief over leandra's death and his obvious joy and almost-adorable-awkwardness at meeting charade, but....i still can't bring myself to like him >.> he's a slimeball.
4. tallis: i liked her at first, but after a while, i started to dislike her more and more, to the point that if i saw her hp dropping, i would just let her die and each time she died, i would feel a small measure of satisfaction (although it will never compare to petrice's death). she lies to hawke from the very beginning and yet still has the gall to ask for hawke's help after finally admitting it. her cause was a noble one, but if she didn't trust hawke enough to tell him/her the truth (note, she only told the truth after prosper blew her cover :/), then she should not have asked for hawke's help in the first place and instead, thought of another way to infiltrate prosper's chateau.
likes:
1. feynriel: at first, i didn't like him. he was a whiny character who was throwing a temper tantrum, making his mother worry throughout the whole game. it took several playthroughs for him to grow on me. he's not a bad person, he was just an immature brat when hawke first meets him, before growing into a strong, abled mage in his own right after studying in tevinter. i sincerely hope he returns as a companion in DA3.....a somniari companion would be epic. it would be nice to see how the years in tevinter changed him. of course, the possibility of him being either possessed or killed in the fade probably makes it unlikely he'll be a companion
2. sol: i liked him from the onset. there he was, a mage in the gallows, and he's the only cheerful person there. i loved his attitude and it was nice to see a pleasant face once in a while.
3. marethari: i loved merrill....but i always thought it was unfair of her to act the way she did towards marethari. she obviously treated merrill like a daughter and cared for her a lot, and always asked merrill to return to the clan. she just wanted merrill to give up the blood magic and worried about what would happen to her because of it. she even sacrificed herself so that merrill would no longer be in danger from the demon who had coerced her into using blood magic. i wish there had been a way to save marethari.
4. viscount dumar: i've always felt bad for him. i thought it was unfair of everyone to mock him, belittle him and call him an incompetent ruler, when there clearly wasn't much that he could do without fearing for his life (meredith). i felt especially bad when saemus died....losing his only son because a b**** wanted to make an example of him just because he wanted to convert faiths. it's like he was slowly being torn apart by everything around him....the qunari, the templars, the blood mages and then his son. i'm starting to think that the arishok killing him was a mercy.
dislikes:
1. petrice: dislike.....is an understatement. she is, by far, the character that i hate the MOST in the whole DA universe. she's a conniving, hypocritical heretic who is willing to sacrifice everyone's lives but her own for her precious eternity. she loves to shove her beliefs down everyone's throats and use people to further her religious cause. the cutscene where she dies is one of my favourites, and it brings a smile to my face every time. i just wish that hawke was the one to kill her.
2. grace: no matter what, she'll always come up with an excuse for wanting to kill hawke and she blatantly lies when she claims that she had 'had no truck with demons'.
3. gamlen: i've never liked him. no matter what, he's a terrible uncle to the hawke siblings. he's not a completely terrible person, as evidenced by his grief over leandra's death and his obvious joy and almost-adorable-awkwardness at meeting charade, but....i still can't bring myself to like him >.> he's a slimeball.
4. tallis: i liked her at first, but after a while, i started to dislike her more and more, to the point that if i saw her hp dropping, i would just let her die and each time she died, i would feel a small measure of satisfaction (although it will never compare to petrice's death). she lies to hawke from the very beginning and yet still has the gall to ask for hawke's help after finally admitting it. her cause was a noble one, but if she didn't trust hawke enough to tell him/her the truth (note, she only told the truth after prosper blew her cover :/), then she should not have asked for hawke's help in the first place and instead, thought of another way to infiltrate prosper's chateau.
Modifié par ReiKokoFuuu, 25 décembre 2012 - 05:56 .
