But no one dies if you dont have sex ritual with your dinner date. In Alistair's case there is. And him and Morrigan was not in relationship to start with. Far from it.
Morrigan isn't responsible however for the deadly consequences of becoming a Warden, nor is she responsible for the Blight, or for the player character, Alistair, or Loghain becoming Wardens. She merely offers a way for them to avoid death, when short of running as far from Ferelden as possible, there are no other options. That the DR even saves a Warden's life is an unintended consequence. The goal of the ritual isn't to save a Warden; The purpose is to create a child capable of capturing the soul of an Old God. That it provides an 'out' for a Warden is only a happy side effect for those who choose to go that route.
She also gives any potential partner in the DR the right to refuse. That a refusal comes with deadly consequences can't be blamed on Morrigan, as there is no other known alternative (short of cowardice and desertion), and she is no way responsible for the potential participants becoming Wardens, the Blight, or the consequences of ending one.
Morrigan's offer can't be equated with death threats or intimidation.
You seem to be focussing on the concept of forcible coercion, which used to be crucial for rape convictions in the past (along with evidence of physical resistance, in some states). Also, for a discussion among us DAO aficionados we can concentrate on right and wrong, instead of being bound by the letter of the law and the chances of a successful prosecution at some point in space/time.
From Consent & Coercion of the University of Michigan SAPAC web (emphasis original):
And Morrigan's threat to abandon the team - explicit if she is in love with the Warden, implicit otherwise - can imply bodily harm to the rest of the team in general and Alistair in particular, as several people have pointed out. Even the death of the party and total failure of the mission.
Hence I think that my minefield analogy fits the situation better than your panhandlers.
My issue is the word 'rape' being used. I think that is a gross exaggeration of what actually went on in the game.
The other day a college student soliciting for Planned Parenthood was asking passersby, "Excuse me sir (or ma'am), can you spare a minute for Womens Rights?" (or something similar) That could be considered slightly coercive by the University of Michigan's definition, since the implication is that if you ignore the solicitor and continue walking you don't have time for Womens Rights or Womens Health. Its a common tactic used by solicitors, no matter their particular cause. They try and guilt trip the person walking by into contributing or signing their petition.
Is that unethical? Perhaps. But if I were to have stopped and contributed some money out of guilt, I wouldn't be the victim of a robbery.
Was Morrigan's offer unethical? Is the Warden being unethical if they convince Alistair to participate in it? Perhaps...I think that is up for debate at least. But what went on clearly was not rape. There is a large divide between pressuring someone and raping someone, just as there is a large divide between a solicitor pressuring someone and robbing them.
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