138860 réponses à ce sujet

[OfficerDonNZ]

All 3 DA games, all 3 ME games, Jade Empire, Skyrim, SWtor, KoTOR, and KoTOR 2. I've played SWtOR, DAO and DAI extensively. About half of ME1, and a little of both KoTOR and Skyrim. The others are for that magical future when I have more free time.

You have great taste in games. Completed BG:TotSC once, have yet to finish a play through of BGII:ToB Played KotOR I to death. Finished KotOR II with the restoration mod once and the game actually made some sense too. Jade Empire I've finished a few times. Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter Night 2 I've both finished.

 

Played ME1 and and ME2 several times over. ME3 only once (Don't fear the reapers fear the terrible endings) I've just got no desire to go through that again. DA:O I've played several times always as a Fem Human Noble Rogue DA2 once and DA:I I've started many times but have yet to actually finish. Skyrim I've started god knows how many times but I keep finding mods for it

 

SW:TOR I've finished all the class stories at least once and I have one toon in KotFE. The Witcher games I've started the first a few times but never finished it and have't really played the other two. Phew. 

[Tishina]

You have great taste in games. Completed BG:TotSC once, have yet to finish a play through of BGII:ToB Played KotOR I to death. Finished KotOR II with the restoration mod once and the game actually made some sense too. Jade Empire I've finished a few times. Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter Night 2 I've both finished.

 

Played ME1 and and ME2 several times over. ME3 only once (Don't fear the reapers fear the terrible endings) I've just got no desire to go through that again. DA:O I've played several times always as a Fem Human Noble Rogue DA2 once and DA:I I've started many times but have yet to actually finish. Skyrim I've started god knows how many times but I keep finding mods for it

 

SW:TOR I've finished all the class stories at least once and I have one toon in KotFE. The Witcher games I've started the first a few times but never finished it and have't really played the other two. Phew. 

DA:O - I played 2 mage Suranas (including one who made Cullen blush and run and another who was kinder,) 1 Tabris warrior and 1 Tabris rogue, 1 Dalish rogue, 1 Dalish warrior (my only male complete PT but I really wanted to romance Morrigan,) 1 Cousland rogue and 1 Cousland warrior, 1 Aeducan warrior, 1 Brosca rogue, and 1 Brosca warrior. I think.

 

SWtOR - I soloed all the main classes once through the end of the original story line, plus a second PT to take the other spec for the Sith warrior (I wanted both a light and dark side SW,) Sith Inquisitor (my favorite,) Imperial Agent, smuggler, and Jedi Consular. Except for the SW, the "extra" runs were done to play through the stories with a gaming buddy of mine - he played the classes that paired well so he played or saw all of them - except we both played Agents so he never saw the bounty hunter. We generally made them twins (it started as a joke, when we walked out of the CC with our JK and JC, they were male/female versions of each other. We didn't even know we were picking the same race.)

 

I like the way Skyrim looks, but the controls drive me nuts - eventually I'll take the time to work them out.  My DIL has invested a LOT of time in modding Skyrim, though, and her world is really beautiful. I think I'd miss the depth of story in Dragon Age, though. Fortunately, I don't get tired of games quickly. I'm working on my second Cullenmance PT...

[OfficerDonNZ]

I use a x-box 360 game pad for Skyrim and with SKSE and SkyUI it works wonderfully. The only way I can play a FPS game is with a game pad. I even use my 360 controller for DA:I

[Tishina]

I use a x-box 360 game pad for Skyrim and with SKSE and SkyUI it works wonderfully. The only way I can play a FPS game is with a game pad. I even use my 360 controller for DA:I

My daughter keeps meaning to have me test out controllers when I visit to find one I can use comfortably (I prefer keyboards most of the time, but it's also starting to become harder on my hands.)

[OfficerDonNZ]

I can use a mouse/keyboard for most PC games but some I have to use a game pad for. I have the Mass Effect games on my 360 for that reason as the keyboard controls are just too much for me to handle. I still have an original x-box that I play occasionally Haven't bought an x-box one and I'm not likely too not after what I've blown on my new gaming rig which I still need to get some upgrades for.

[Tishina]

I can use a mouse/keyboard for most PC games but some I have to use a game pad for. I have the Mass Effect games on my 360 for that reason as the keyboard controls are just too much for me to handle. I still have an original x-box that I play occasionally Haven't bought an x-box one and I'm not likely too not after what I've blown on my new gaming rig which I still need to get some upgrades for.

My splurge this spring was a new graphics card, which I need to get installed. I'm trying to get a friend to come help me as the alternative involves carrying the computer down a set of stairs to take to the shop (I can get it done very cheaply, it's getting it there that's the problem.) Once I get it installed, I plan to try to get better screenshots of my current Cullenmancer. I may go back and replay the scenes I've already played through at that point because I think the Cullen x Cadash combination is cute (if funny at times.)

[OfficerDonNZ]

Hehe, That's where a good chunk of my money went when I bought my new rig that and a new 27 inch screen. I splurged and got an Nvidia GTX 980TI On the to get list is another SSD and I've just about filled the 500GB SSD I have (got about 80GB left and I could sink that easily enough), a proper sound card and a decent set of gaming speakers as well as a RAM upgrade.

[Tishina]

Hehe, That's where a good chunk of my money went when I bought my new rig that and a new 27 inch screen. I splurged and got an Nvidia GTX 980TI On the to get list is another SSD and I've just about filled the 500GB SSD I have (got about 80GB left and I could sink that easily enough), a proper sound card and a decent set of gaming speakers as well as a RAM upgrade.

I have a rig that my daughter built almost 5 years ago (about half-rebuilt about 3.5 years ago when a power surge from a lightning storm that literally broke over my head overwhelmed my surge protector.) Once a year I upgrade something, though eventually I'll have to start over. I have an AMD processor, so I got a Sapphire Nitro Radeon R9 380 card (I had bad experiences with an Nvidia card, though my daughter says that's because AMD processors and cards work better together and Nvidia works better with Intel processors, and she's usually right.) The video card was the only thing that was a bit underpowered, but that's because when I had to go a bit cheap on it when I had the unexpected repairs.

 

I really want to be able to play without it hanging up, plus I'd really like to see everyone's art and screenshots at a better quality.

[OfficerDonNZ]

My old rig was the first of the Intel i7 CPU's so probably 5 or 6 years old now and I never once upgraded it. I just basically ran it into the ground. Most of the games I bought weren't that graphics heavy so I didn't need to worry too much about that. With me wanting to run DA:I and The Witcher 3 I knew it was time for a new rig. Surprisingly though I could run Skyrim on the old rig well enough. And your daughter is right about AMD processors and cards liking each other better.

[CuriousArtemis]

I use a x-box 360 game pad for Skyrim and with SKSE and SkyUI it works wonderfully. The only way I can play a FPS game is with a game pad. I even use my 360 controller for DA:I

 

Same, well, I use my 360 controller for everything ^^ And yeah modded Skyrim is the best. I'll play that game forever thanks to mods.

 

If we're talking DA... DAO I have two complete playthroughs, male Mahariel archer and male Tabris daggers. DA2 I have approximately 20 Hawkes lol DA:I one complete crap playthrough and one modded playthrough, and repeated efforts to play the game a third time continue to fail. 

 

ME trilogy I have maybe 3-4 complete playthroughs. Sure wish they'd make ME1 and ME2 compatible with the 360 controller on PC. Oh well.

[Tishina]

OK, next chapter of my Cullen x Surana (+Timur the Mabari) story. Please pay attention to the warning at the top of the chapter. This one might be disturbing for some people.

 

Old Books - AO3

Old Books - FF.net

[Cerulione]

DId you guys see this?

 

[R2s Muse]

DId you guys see this?

 

<snipo>

LOL oh my. I hadn't had a chance to watch it yet. He is just adorable. 

[CuriousArtemis]

I'm dying. He is so talented LOL  I don't know what to say at this point. It's a caricature to the nth degree. AND IT'S SO DAMN GOOD   

 

Also, Fenris.       

[Cerulione]

He is amazing XD

 

Seriously, his Fenris is also amazing XD

 

And we should invite Fenris to be the weather forecaster in Brittany they seriously only have like... 10 minutes of sunshine for every 30 minutes of rain alternating during the day and now I can't stop seeing Fenris doing that XD.

 

"It still rains in Bretagne...  Oh, Sunshine, for ten minutes. Then it rains again".

 

*drink from cranberries beer bottle*

[Ghost Gal]

DId you guys see this?

 

 

"Sincerely,

 

David Gaider."

 

[beat]

 

"Who is this man?!"

 

I burst out laughing! XD

 

All right, I'm sold. Just like that, don't need any more convincing. I'm gonna follow this show, now! XD

[R2s Muse]

"Sincerely,

 

David Gaider."

 

[beat]

 

"Who is this man?!"

 

I burst out laughing! XD

 

All right, I'm sold. Just like that, don't need any more convincing. I'm gonna follow this show, now! XD

LOL IKR?? Then he brings the joke full circle by sending the IQ's bank info to him. bwahaha. Very clever.

[duckley]

So I am reading a fanfic about Cullen and part of the story revolves around  the female mage Inquisitor coming to terms with Cullen being associated with the Kirkwall Circle. The Quizzy reads Varric's book and confronts Cullen on whether or not he says those things. It seems that the Kirkwall Circle is notorius and just about the worst place on Earth, with terrible abuses being the norm. I appreciate this is the authors take of events, but it got me thinking...

 

So here are my questions:

 

1. Is Varric's Tale of Champion supposed to be fiction or non-fiction? I thought Varric is known for stretching the truth, so why would the Inquisitor accept what is written by Varric as being totally accurate?
2. Is there any evidence to suggest abuses were taking place regularly at the Gallows? It was clear in DA2 that the place was very much like a prison - basic freedoms denied -  but was rape, beatings, and illegal tranquility the norm?
3. Given Cullen's moral compass and his traumatic experiences I could see him supporting locking Mages up, denying them freedoms - but I cant see him turning his back on rape, beatings, and ill supported tranquility... am I off-base here?
4. What role did Cullen have at the Gallows? Was he mostly the one training the recruits? He seemed to spend his days outside the Gallows. Didnt he  imply at one point he was not privy to all the Meredith was up to?
5. Cassandra indicates in the Inquisition that Seekers knew that things at the Kirkwall Circle were not great, that there were many rumours, but that they chose not to investigate? Do we know why?
6. Were the people of Kirkwall aware of the number of Demons/Abominations etc running around in the city? Like the guy that murdered those women and Hawkes mother or that Elf who killed his wife?

  Any insights would be great

[kitcat1228]

1. According to WoT2 Tale of a Champion is a non-fiction novel, that every one treats as if it was fiction to the point of criticising Hawke's actions as unrealistic to Hawke's face. Of course knowing Varric it's exaggerated.

2. Maddox and Karl both had harrowings and were made Tranquil, which is supposed to be illegal, so that was happening. The game doesn't come out and explicitly say it but reading between the lines you can infer rape was happening. There's a note you find, and one of the Starkhaven mages Alain tells you "Ser Keras says he'll make me Tranquil if I tell anyone he comes into my room at night" something like that. And there's the Templar with the Tranquil Solution who tells the runaway mage that once she's Tranquil she'll do whatever he wants, in the creepiest way possible. I don't think there's evidence for beatings, but isn't this stuff enough.?!

3. I don't think Cullen was aware or would tolerate the rapes or (beatings if they happened). I think the only thing he would be aware of are the High number of people being made Tranquil. Given his mind frame, distrust of mages I think Meredith could convince him that the tranquility was necessary.

4. Cullen was a Knight-Captain. What that entails I don't know. In DA2 we mostly interact with him in regards to the Templar recruits, so him being the one to train them seems reasonable. Cullen does say that Meredith kept things she knew he would object to from him.

5. It's my recollection (I could be wrong) that Cassandra says that they sent Seekers to investigate the Kirkwall circle, and found that Meredith's methods were harsh but that there was a much higher number of blood mages and abominations in Kirkwall, so the investigator deemed her actions reasonable.

6. I don't think we ever get any ambient duologue of people talking about all the Demons/Abominations, but it's been awhile since I've played DA2.

[Fadburger]

1. According to WoT2 Tale of a Champion is a non-fiction novel, that every one treats as if it was fiction to the point of criticising Hawke's actions as unrealistic to Hawke's face. Of course knowing Varric it's exaggerated.

2. Maddox and Karl both had harrowings and were made Tranquil, which is supposed to be illegal, so that was happening. The game doesn't come out and explicitly say it but reading between the lines you can infer rape was happening. There's a note you find, and one of the Starkhaven mages Alain tells you "Ser Keras says he'll make me Tranquil if I tell anyone he comes into my room at night" something like that. And there's the Templar with the Tranquil Solution who tells the runaway mage that once she's Tranquil she'll do whatever he wants, in the creepiest way possible. I don't think there's evidence for beatings, but isn't this stuff enough.?!

3. I don't think Cullen was aware or would tolerate the rapes or (beatings if they happened). I think the only thing he would be aware of are the High number of people being made Tranquil. Given his mind frame, distrust of mages I think Meredith could convince him that the tranquility was necessary.

4. Cullen was a Knight-Captain. What that entails I don't know. In DA2 we mostly interact with him in regards to the Templar recruits, so him being the one to train them seems reasonable. Cullen does say that Meredith kept things she knew he would object to from him.

5. It's my recollection (I could be wrong) that Cassandra says that they sent Seekers to investigate the Kirkwall circle, and found that Meredith's methods were harsh but that there was a much higher number of blood mages and abominations in Kirkwall, so the investigator deemed her actions reasonable.

6. I don't think we ever get any ambient duologue of people talking about all the Demons/Abominations, but it's been awhile since I've played DA2.

 

1. Even though Varric is prone to exaggeration it's usually to make him look good or things look cooler (think about the bit when he is talking himself up to Cassandra about confronting Bertrand and you play as Varric and are invincible etc.) I don't think that he would play up rape and beatings etc. for a better story in a nonfiction piece at least, and I think the Inquisitor trusts him enough to know that he's telling the truth when it counts. He's a storyteller not a liar and I don't think he'd pull his punches there. 

 

3. I got the impression Cullen thought Meredith was too hard on everybody but not that he would let things like rape and beatings slide...he could have probably been convinced all the Tranquility was necessary because of his feelings about mages but he's over all a good guy doing things for the right reasons, I don't think he'd be OK with such terrible things...

 

6. Do the regular people realize how bad it is until the end of the game? I feel like all those things happened without other people around to spread the rumor...like sure people know there was a serial killer on the loose but they had no way of knowing he was a blood mage. Huon killed his wife at night, etc. 

 

EDIT: I just beat DA2 for the first time on Saturday so this is a good time to have this discussion while everything is fresh in my mind lol

[Ghost Gal]

Is Varric's Tale of Champion supposed to be fiction or non-fiction? I thought Varric is known for stretching the truth, so why would the Inquisitor accept what is written by Varric as being totally accurate?

 

I think it was supposed to be and taken as non-fiction. They kind of teased Varric being an unreliable narrator in DA2, but seem to have decided not to follow through for DAI.

 

Which is a shame because, personally, I think this was a wasted opportunity for the devs to address or retcon issues the fans had with the previous game. They could have just said, "Varric's an unreliable narrator! This is how it really happened!" But no, they have him stand by everything he said, or have other characters confirm what he said.

 

Which is I think part of the reason the Inquisitor could be excused for believing him. Despite claiming to "tend toward extravagant lies" in Haven, Varric never really lies during the game, and/or his claims are confirmed to be true by other characters (including Cole)! Plus, depending on when the Inquisitor reads his book and confronts Cullen, she could have been traveling with Varric for months and/or befriended him. Why wouldn't she trust a friend?

 

Is there any evidence to suggest abuses were taking place regularly at the Gallows? It was clear in DA2 that the place was very much like a prison - basic freedoms denied -  but was rape, beatings, and illegal tranquility the norm?

 

Other than its reputation for being a complete and utter hellhole, and Cole confirming that most Circles, Kirkwall included, are like that? 

 

Given Cullen's moral compass and his traumatic experiences I could see him supporting locking Mages up, denying them freedoms - but I cant see him turning his back on rape, beatings, and ill supported tranquility... am I off-base here?

 

This... is still a contentious issue among many fans. To put it mildly, some fans feel that Cullen being depicted as a better guy each subsequent game (kinder in DA2 compared to "deranged serial killer Cullen" of the DAO end slides; nobler in DAI compared to "you can't reason with mages; they aren't people like you and I" Cullen of DA2) comes across as clumsy retcons to the previous games. The DAI YMMV TV Tropes page even says that, to some, Cullen's complicity in Meredith's past crimes was either insufficiently addressed or clumsily retconned.

 

I wish it had been better addressed in DAI too, but... well, there's no taking it back.

 

What role did Cullen have at the Gallows? Was he mostly the one training the recruits? He seemed to spend his days outside the Gallows. Didnt he  imply at one point he was not privy to all the Meredith was up to?

 

From what I understand, he was something of Meredith's right hand; or at least one of her higher-ups. And Cullen half-heartedly mentioning at one point that he didn't know what she was up to--see above.

 

Cassandra indicates in the Inquisition that Seekers knew that things at the Kirkwall Circle were not great, that there were many rumours, but that they chose not to investigate? Do we know why?

 

My completely objective and unbiased guess ( ) is that the Seekers were biased in the Templars' favor.

 

Were the people of Kirkwall aware of the number of Demons/Abominations etc running around in the city? Like the guy that murdered those women and Hawkes mother or that Elf who killed his wife?

 

My guess is no, otherwise there would have been widespread panic. Didn't Meredith hire Hawke to track down the runaway mages to keep the public from finding out? Either that or the public did know how many Demons/Abominations were running around the city, and that's exactly why they, the Seekers, and every other non-mage supported Meredith's extreme measures.

[Ghost Gal]

Okay, totally got inspired to make a new character who could romance Cullen in a new playthrough.

 

I was surfing Google, enjoying some Disney-hyjacked inspired DA fan art, when BAM! This hit me.

 

 

 

Between that, and this lovely video

 

 

that I've had in my Pinterest for months, I felt inspired to make a Mulan-esque Inquisitor who can romance Cullen without any of the hangups I'm always going on about.

 

(I decided to make her an archer too. Partly so I could get some mileage out of this awesome Immersive Starting Armors, so she can start the game wearing lovely Dalish Scout Armor  , but also partly because, I think, over 300 out of the 366 hours I've been playing DAI have been with a mage. It gets a little old after a while, ya know? Plus, "Swift as the coursing river, with all the force of the great"--yeah, you get it.)

[thats1evildude]

The high number of possessions and mages falling to blood magic made the Seekers reluctant to intervene in Meredith's affairs. They knew she was harsh, but thought that a firm hand might be necessary.

There's no indication that Cullen was aware of Ser Alrik's abuse of the Rite of Tranquility. He was certainly privy to some of Meredith's executions, though.

I think people were somewhat aware of the demons operating in the shadows of Kirkwall - the people at the Bone Pit certainly knew about the dragons, spiders and walking corpses infesting the area - but the qunari and the Mage/Templar conflict seemed like far more pressing threats.

[R2s Muse]

I'll pretty much agree with everything that has been said. There's lots of evidence in DA2 FOR THE PLAYER that there were genuine abuses happening at the Gallows. It's an open, controversial question regarding how much Cullen knew, and that's part of the reason so many people hate him (and us, by proxy). 

 

The only canonical answer to what he knew is what the writers had him say in DA:I dialogue, that Meredith kept things from him that he would find problematic. Additionally, to quote David Gaider, Cullen was generally "oblivious" in DA2 due to some, erm, logic gaps in the writing. To see what the writers intended about Cullen, you can read DG's own words, where he describes Cullen a good man -- which is not consistent with someone who was complicit in the wrongdoings in Kirkwall. 

 

Now. it is a shame that the writers felt compelled to sanitize, for lack of a better word, Cullen's controversial opinions in DA:I and instead thew him onto the 'Templars are Bad rah rah' bandwagon. He could have been our one voice of insight into the templars who sees the original good the Order tried to bring, and it could have added depth for him to be struggling with his biases or still be pro-Circle, since his stated reasons for overthrowing Meredith were not that templars are categorically bad, but that her actions were 'not what the Order stands for.' Instead, he gets to join everyone else in descrying the templars, mostly because they make him take lyrium. Um, wut?  "Don't you see why I want nothing to do with that life?" No, Cullen, in your case, honestly, I don't. :shrug: 

 

For more on DA2, there's a thread FAQ in the second post of the thread. 

[Flaine1996]

The high number of possessions and mages falling to blood magic made the Seekers reluctant to intervene in Meredith's affairs. They knew she was harsh, but thought that a firm hand might be necessary.

There's no indication that Cullen was aware of Ser Alrik's abuse of the Rite of Tranquility. He was certainly privy to some of Meredith's executions, though.

I think people were somewhat aware of the demons operating in the shadows of Kirkwall - the people at the Bone Pit certainly knew about the dragons, spiders and walking corpses infesting the area - but the qunari and the Mage/Templar conflict seemed like far more pressing threats.

Uhm... actually when you get the notes on ser alriks body and give it to cullen he remarks about it tho I dont remember what he says exactly but I think he agrees to it just not with the abuse part.... Though I can generally headcannon Cullen agreed to most of Merediths action because, as you said, Kirkwall is quite known for high number of possession and such... Just my two cents ....