LobselVith8 wrote...
The neighbor of the Dales was Orlais, an empire that was being created through conquest and expansion into it's neighboring territories. Kirkwall, Nevarra, Ferelden - all these nations were eventually conquered by Orlais at one point or another; in fact, Orlais "helped" Nevarra during the Third Blight, and then conquered them right afterwards. I'm not sure why you think the Dales engaging Orlais in trade would have made any difference when it has never stopped them from conquering other nations in it's long history.
From Orlais, you mean. Let's not pretend the elves rebuked all of humanity simply because they refused to open relations with the fanatical empire that wanted to conquer and convert them.
Orlais doesn't actually spend most of it's time conquering other lands. And most of the time it does, it can only conquer individual city states. Ferelden was the only other nation state it ever conquered and that was the result of a mad emperor and trechery within the Ferelden bannorn. Either way though, treating with Orlais responsibly was still important for the Dales. Antagonizing powerful neighbors is a foolish policy for any state.
But it's not a war with Orlais that was even the real problem for the elves, its the decades of decisons that caused humanity to hate them, culminating in the sacking of the seat of the Chantry. Anti-elven sentiment became so pronounced that a Divine called for a holy war against them and so many people answered that it turned the tide in a war the elves were at the time winning.
LobselVith8 wrote...
It doesn't mean the protagonist can't, either. You might prefer playing as a protagonist who favors Orlais and the Chantry, but I'd rather play as a proactive protagonist who helps free his people. I think liberating the Dales from the Orlesian Empire so that elves can finally have a homeland of their own - after so many centuries of living under the subjugation of human tyranny - is worth the effort. I could care less about Celene or Gaspard's little war over the throne.
What I'm trying to say is that you may have to care, practically speaking. The Inquistion's mandate is (presumably) to restore order to the world. In order to do that there are almost certainly going to be concerns of realpolitik the Inquisitor might have to consider.
LobselVith8 wrote...
There are a sufficient amount of Andrastians in Rivain that they tried to expel the Qunari converts, and ended up killing plenty of Rivain people who followed the Qun. Countless people were murdered: "And again, when the Rivain Chantry and nationalist forces, unable to convert its people back to the worship of the Maker, tried a purge by the sword, slaughtering countless unarmed people and burying them in mass graves."
But as you just quoted from the codex, It wasn't just the Andrastian forces that particiapted in that, it was nationalist forces as well. Both the Rivain codex entry from Dragon Age Origins and World of Thedas cofnrim that Andrastianism was and still is the minoirty in Rivain. Genetivi even mentions that "resistance to the Chant goes deeper than the Qunari War." He even says "the Chant of Light never truly reached the ears of these people," so Rivain has been a non Chantry country for essentially it's entire history.
LobselVith8 wrote...
There were different Cults of the Maker; Kordillus Drakon simply nationalized his and imposed it on the people as the one, true religion. "There were many converts, including powerful people in the Imperium and in the city-states of what is now Orlais. Such was the power of the Maker's word that the young King Drakon undertook a series of Exalted Marches meant to unite the city-states and create an empire solely dedicated to the Maker's will. The Orlesian Empire became the seat of the Chantry's power, the Grand Cathedral in Val Royeaux the source of the movement that birthed the organized Chantry as we know it today."
Also, the Orlesian Empire had issues with the Dales since Drakon's reign as the first Emperor, since it prevented him from conquering the Free Marches.
But it doesn't say he actually ever tried to expand into the Dales or wanted to destroy or attack them. If anything the "pressures from the Dales" seem like something they caused. Otherwise how would that stop him from expanding into the Free Marches?
LobselVith8 wrote...
It's been worse for centuries for the elves; you might be content with the status quo, but I'm not interested in doing nothing if the opportunity arises for an elven Inquisitor to help his people.
The simple fact is that a bad status quo is preferable to an action that will make things worse. The Dales wouldn't be "the only safe haven for elves" they would just be a trap surroounded on all sides by humans who'd now be angry enough to perhaps destroy the Elvhen once and for all. And the Dales aren't special in that regard. Cleansing the human population from anywhere would get you the same thing.
It's also worth noting that the status quo is very different for different elves. City Elves' lives can often become miserable, but frankly the Dalish all in all seem quite happy with life. Some may dream of a better day when they can settle somewhere, but especially when compared to what many other peoples can expect, the Dalish seem quite content with their day to day nomadic existence. I dare say that the Dalish Origin features probably the second or third happiest life for it's main character out of the six possible wardens. (Not counting the events of the origin story itself).
As such not all elves are going to fight with the same motivation or for the same reasons.
LobselVith8 wrote...
Based on what the developers have said, the Inquisition is an organization that can become quite powerful, so I see no reason why an elven Inquisition would have to capitulate to human rulers if the Inquisitior is the one who can stop the threat from the veil tears. And I don't see a new Inquisiton created by a follower of the Creators being absorded into the Chantry of Andraste.
Being "powerful" doesn't mean "absolute athuority" or "able to act with carefree immunity from consequnces."
And after the current crisis is averted, then what happens? The Inquisition needs to readjust to fit into the world somewhere. Exisitng to guard and protect the elven state that was built on the suffering of human refugees is probably not going to be a politically viable policy in and of itself.
The religion of the Player Character doesn't necessarily mean it is going to be reflected in the order of the organization itself or all it's members. I don't think all the soliders and workers are also going to worship the Creators even if they follow the orders of an elf who does. And after he or she is gone, what would become of the organization? My point about the origional Inquisiton was not that it was absorbed into the Chantry but that it was assimilated into society after it had it fufilled or no longer could fufill it's mandate. I still think the Inquisition will ultimately be tied to the rules of the world it exists in.
Centuries of hostility aren't going to go away over night, and definitely not if they are exacerbated during the course of the game.
The true challenge for any hypothetical elven state is not really creating it, but maintaining it. Using force will not be a feasable long term solution in the end.
Modifié par Jedi Master of Orion, 28 septembre 2013 - 08:00 .
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