Nyxanna wrote...
I disagree with what you said about them being responsible because of age. You are looking at it from a very modern point of view. Obviously we don't have assassins today and even if we did people would have enough freedom to not become assassins.
Adults are old enough to know right from wrong, no matter the time period.
In the Dragon Age world however being an assassin or bard is pretty much just a job. We don't know anything about Katriel's past so there is a good chance she was raised into it. She did have a intense bard training which I'm sure other people made her go through which tells us it probably wasn't completely her own choice to be a bard.
You're right, we don't know anything of her past. So your speculation is just that.
Like I said, I think they should be grateful that unlike any other bard, she did not completely finish her job but saved them instead. Even if she wasn't in the story I doubt they would have won without her, at least Maric couldn't have taken out the mage on his own.
I'm not saying she doesn't deserve kudos for choosing to save her target (though her actions do cost half their army :/). I'm just saying that I would not completely absolve her of all moral responsibility for choosing to remain a bard and trick, capture and possibly kill people for a living. "Honor of the bard" or not.
At least she is better than Zevran. Zevran only 'begged' for mercy after he failed his job and yet people sympethize with him more than they would with Katriel when she is obviously a way better person.
Zevran didn't fail his mission. He took the job because he realized how wretched his life was with the Crows and what a monster he let them mold him into (when he betrayed and killed the woman he loved for a crime she didn't commit, laughed at her claim of innocence and declaration of love for him, and spat on her as she lay dying) and so he wanted to die. (If you spare him, he does fail that though.)
I think many people love Zevran because they know he is a surprisingly good person despite his upbringing. They know about his past, why he became the person he is (he had no choice and was neglected, mistreated, tortured and molded from birth to present), and we can see that he actually became semi-decent despite his upbringing. (He may kill but he always gives his targets a clean death. He may be easy but he always sets boundaries that bother parties can enjoy. He disapproves of pointless cruelty, slavery, or genocide. Once you earn his friendship and/or love, he proves to be a very loyal friend and/or spouse, etc.)
Zevran is also honest about being a killer. He doesn't try to dress it up or gloss over it the way Katriel and Leliana do. I'm sorry, but they do. Under all of her protestations of being moral and pious, Leliana has to admit that she loves the thrill of the hunt and kill as much as Zevran. Under her "honor of the bard," Katriel still captures and kills people for money. Or, at the very least, she begins the novel intending to lead an army to their deaths and their leader to capture (which anyone with a brain cell can see would lead to execution) and succeeds in causing the death of half the army despite her change of heart. It's also implied that she spared Maric because she fell in love with him; not because of a serious crisis of conscious.
Even Rowan didn't want her to die and was shocked when Loghain didn't tell Maric that she really had feelings for him. Katriel shouldn't be punished for being a bard or you might as well hang all assassins and bards without asking about what they have done in the past.
I'm not saying she deserves to get killed by Maric and Loghain. (Though I do question her decision to leave the letter lying where she
thinks Maric might find it instead of making sure he gets it, and choosing to put her life in his hands because she omg wuvs him. Have some common sense and self-respect!) However, I would also keep her willingness to help to capture and kill people for money in mind when evaluating her moral fibre. She doesn't deserve the end she gets, but I think she does deserve to take a good hard look at her moral compass, and her past decisions and actions. (Not that that'll ever happen, but that's Thedas.)
I agree what you said about Loghain though. He is an idiot and his daughter too. His daughter betrays you if you tell her that you will kill Loghain in the end, which is just pathetic. She could have discussed it instead of acting like it is fine and then betraying you. I don't know why he changed. In the start he was just a 'cool' person who knew how to look after himself and only talked when people asked for his opinion and then he started 'knowing what's best'.
She probably figures that if you feel that strongly about him getting killed, then nothing she says will change your mind. She probably figures that pressing the issue might cause you to withdraw your support for the throne, so she probably decides to use her position to save her father rather than risk losing both. It doesn't pay off, but it was an effort.
Like I said, pride and paranoia. As Alistair points out, Loghain's and Anora's fatal flaw is that they think
they alone know what's best for Ferelden, and everyone else needs to just
go away. They think that they are always right and refuse to change their minds, listen to advice or admit mistakes. Loghain makes horrible decisions at the start of the game, but he refuses to change plans or back down because he's too stubborn and proud to admit he was wrong.
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