Inquisitor:
"Right! Vivienne, when they come within range I need you to freeze them in place.Varric, that'll be your cue to open fire. Keep them pinned down.
Cole, you'll need to- wait... Cole?
Guys? Does anyone know who 'Cole' is?
'Cause I wrote battle tactics for him and everything..."
Oh, that is surely going to get old one day, but right now I can't resist.
Hehe!
Nah I'll always be here.. forever alone amused 
Inquisitor:
"Right! Vivienne, when they come within range I need you to freeze them in place.Varric, that'll be your cue to open fire. Keep them pinned down.
Cole, you'll need to- wait... Cole?
Guys? Does anyone know who 'Cole' is?
'Cause I wrote battle tactics for him and everything..."
Oh, that is surely going to get old one day, but right now I can't resist.
*Everyone proceeds to keel over and die anyways*
Varric: So THAT'S where Cole went.
Inquisitor: *grumbles incoherently for five minutes*
Personal theory is that the original spirit was one of Compassion, and subsequent time spent in the world/getting too involved with real!Cole's identity has messed things up and twisted the way such a core value gets expressed (hence the killings based on a sense of despair - he can just about justify such an act to himself as mercy since the victims 'want to die'). But that's because I'm a soppy so-and-so who isn't convinced spirits and demons aren't two sides of the exact same coin.
I like this theory. Kind of like Justice.
Inquisitor: *grumbles incoherently for five minutes*
Inquisitor: *grumbles* "Don't even know why I bother writing these bloody battle tactics, nobody ever follows them anyways." *grumbles*
Soooo I finished Asunder today and suffice it to say I am buzzing with speculation. And questions. First of all: If Cole is a demon which kind is he? That is one of the (many) flaws in the Seeker's logic since Cole does not really act like any demon we have seen before. He seems to take on an amalgam of traits. Is he a desire demon because of his desire to help the original Cole and murder? Is he a fear Demon?
Also, how does everyone think his powers will manifest themselves in the game? Will companions start forgetting him and then when he is in the party, lets say Varric, says "Marker's Breath, who are you!...oh Cole you startled me." And if he can still make people forget him now and has access to his powers and can manipulate is that not something we'll have access to in game? Would that not be overpowered? Obviously it will cost Mana/ Stamina because it seemed to take a physical tole on him, but how can it work considering he has an effective invisibility ability?
Basically...we don't know anything beyond what the book says. There's a couple other things that we know of that I have posted in the original post of this thread, but it's barely more than the book. We've theorized on stuff though. If you ever get bored you could go back and read through this thread a bit. You'd find various conversations about theories through it. (Plus a bunch of fan art)
Basically...we don't know anything beyond what the book says. There's a couple other things that we know of that I have posted in the original post of this thread, but it's barely more than the book. We've theorized on stuff though. If you ever get bored you could go back and read through this thread a bit. You'd find various conversations about theories through it. (Plus a bunch of fan art)
Fan art is always fun.
Good book Asunder though, and Cole wasn't half bad and its going to be curious to see where he fits in with my Inquisition(s)
Ok Bioware. I'm ready. Give me Cole.
(:
I guess not..
(Alsmiffy makes everything better...)
and the facebook page reposted the companion trailer from E3. Okay, sure.
For a brief moment though I thought maybe it was an updated trailer instead of the original. Ah well. The waiting shall continue for now then~
Anyone else afraid Bioware will cop out and use the inquisitors' unique fade manipulating powers to draw Cole closer to the real world and negate his invisibility? Or some other similar gimmick? I find Cole very interesting but I'm unable to see how he would work ingame as is without major ludo-narrative dissonance.
Don't get me wrong, I'm really hoping to be pleasantly surprised in this regard, but such disparity has already happened before in other Bioware games, where the narrative aspects of a character would be largely ignored outside of select plot points (e.g. blood mage PCs, Wynne, Anders, Thane in Mass Effect, ...).
Anyone else afraid Bioware will cop out and use the inquisitors' unique fade manipulating powers to draw Cole closer to the real world and negate his invisibility? Or some other similar gimmick? I find Cole very interesting but I'm unable to see how he would work ingame as is without major ludo-narrative dissonance.
Don't get me wrong, I'm really hoping to be pleasantly surprised in this regard, but such disparity has already happened before in other Bioware games, where the narrative aspects of a character would be largely ignored outside of select plot points (e.g. blood mage PCs, Wynne, Anders, Thane in Mass Effect, ...).
Yes, but I don't see doing so as a "cop out" - doing so is exactly what I'd hope for, to be honest. The "everybody around you forgets you constantly" thing was fine and interesting in Asunder, but I can see it getting very annoying and nonconducive to interesting interaction between companions in Inquisition if it was anywhere near the level it used to be. We've had that arc. Personally what I'm interested in now is seeing is how Cole copes (or doesn't cope) when he actually has to deal with a whole group of people - people who are not all friendly - on a continuous and ongoing basis, which isn't really a situation he's had to deal with before. That's my bread and butter and what I'm hoping to get out of Inquisition.
I was actually super worried they were going to make him DLC for this exact reason, to be honest - it would have been very easy for them to severely limit companion interactions using the inperceptibility excuse, and I hear that's one of the fiddliest parts of trying to slot a DLC character into an otherwise complete game. Seems that's not the case, which I'm very happy about.
Also, like you said, his powers alone break the game because you'd constantly be going through story arcs going "yeah but why can't I just send Cole to assassinate [head of whatever organisation you're facing down] in their bedchambers instead of going through all these quest-based plot points, huh?" They've got to gate it somehow.
Honestly I'd see it as more of a problem if they kicked his powers down to non game-breaky levels and didn't explain it. They've got plenty of valid reasons they could use to explain it too - the Inquisitor's powers, Cole's new awareness of himself messing things up somehow, even the Breach itself could be the cause.
Yes, but I don't see doing so as a "cop out" - doing so is exactly what I'd hope for, to be honest. The "everybody around you forgets you constantly" thing was fine and interesting in Asunder, but I can see it getting very annoying and nonconducive to interesting interaction between companions in Inquisition if it was anywhere near the level it used to be. We've had that arc. Personally what I'm interested in now is seeing is how Cole copes (or doesn't cope) when he actually has to deal with a whole group of people - people who are not all friendly - on a continuous and ongoing basis, which isn't really a situation he's had to deal with before. That's my bread and butter and what I'm hoping to get out of Inquisition.
I was actually super worried they were going to make him DLC for this exact reason, to be honest - it would have been very easy for them to severely limit companion interactions using the inperceptibility excuse, and I hear that's one of the fiddliest parts of trying to slot a DLC character into an otherwise complete game. Seems that's not the case, which I'm very happy about.
Also, like you said, his powers alone break the game because you'd constantly be going through story arcs going "yeah but why can't I just send Cole to assassinate [head of whatever organisation you're facing down] in their bedchambers instead of going through all these quest-based plot points, huh?" They've got to gate it somehow.
Honestly I'd see it as more of a problem if they kicked his powers down to non game-breaky levels and didn't explain it. They've got plenty of valid reasons they could use to explain it too - the Inquisitor's powers, Cole's new awareness of himself messing things up somehow, even the Breach itself could be the cause.
Oh, wow, talk about missing the obvious! Your theory makes so much sense I'm ashamed to not having considered it, thank you for that. The situation you posit takes Cole outside his comfort zone and gives him space to actually develop and grow as a character, I guess attachment is a dangerous thing after all. Now I dread exactly what I initially wished for!
Oh well, October can't come soon enough!
So I'm almost done with Asunder, and reading it has made everything so so much worse. While it definitely gives a lot of insight into Cole's mind, I'm so excited for DA:I and getting to see him really interact with others and grow. So much curiosity and heartbreak...
And I'm definitely going to have to change my "canon" playthrough to make room in my party for Sera and Cole. I *always* play Bow&Arrow rogue, but... I must have them with me. I think I'll have to change to a mage this time.
Oh, wow, talk about missing the obvious! Your theory makes so much sense I'm ashamed to not having considered it, thank you for that. The situation you posit takes Cole outside his comfort zone and gives him space to actually develop and grow as a character, I guess attachment is a dangerous thing after all. Now I dread exactly what I initially wished for!
Oh well, October can't come soon enough!
At the very least, the Inquisitor will be able to see Cole just fine. I'm sure of that much. He was in the Fade and got changed by the experience, so it shouldn't come as a shock. Oh, and this probably has been said already, but something interesting was said in The Masked Empire that relates to Cole nicely:
At the very least, the Inquisitor will be able to see Cole just fine. I'm sure of that much. He was in the Fade and got changed by the experience, so it shouldn't come as a shock. Oh, and this probably has been said already, but something interesting was said in The Masked Empire that relates to Cole nicely:
Spoiler
Sure, but, as cogsandcurls pointed out, that ability must be curtailed somehow, or this runs the risk of happening:
Inquisitor: "Man, that Gaspard is a bonafide pain in the arse. Cole, go do that fade ninja **** and assassinate him, s'il vous plaît."
Cole: "No. Rhys said murdering people is wrong."
Inquisitor (looking at some odd 258 bodies lying on the floor): "Err... Buddy, I think at least 49 of those are yours, and that was only in the last 10 minutes..."
Cole: "... ok."
*Achievement unlocked: That Fade Ninja *****
-Skipped 20 hours of gameplay by murdering a major plot character!
Which gamers may be accustomed to, but it grows more jarring as time goes on, and is a great immersion breaker.
(really nice avatar, by the way)
So I'm almost done with Asunder, and reading it has made everything so so much worse. While it definitely gives a lot of insight into Cole's mind, I'm so excited for DA:I and getting to see him really interact with others and grow. So much curiosity and heartbreak...
And I'm definitely going to have to change my "canon" playthrough to make room in my party for Sera and Cole. I *always* play Bow&Arrow rogue, but... I must have them with me. I think I'll have to change to a mage this time.
How has it affected your opinion on Cole, if at all? (:
How has it affected your opinion on Cole, if at all? (:
Hmm it definitely has a bit. It's kinda hard to put into words. I definitely feel a sort of connection with him in that I understand a lot of his pain, and sometimes it's even hard to read as the way he feels lines up with what I've experienced with my various mental illnesses. If anything I just really wish there was a sort of "best friend" type feature in DA games, where if you don't romance someone you can like... have a bestie you run off into the sunset with. >_>
I can actually understand the "childish" thing people keep attributing to him a bit more now, even if I don't totally agree. If anything he gave me more of an abused animal vibe, but only in the beginning. Getting near the end you can definitely see how much he has changed. I am so very curious about how much this will be reflected in DA:I.
thats a very good point about what imshael does in TME.
starting tomorrow I will be rereading asunder 
Hmm it definitely has a bit. It's kinda hard to put into words. I definitely feel a sort of connection with him in that I understand a lot of his pain, and sometimes it's even hard to read as the way he feels lines up with what I've experienced with my various mental illnesses. If anything I just really wish there was a sort of "best friend" type feature in DA games, where if you don't romance someone you can like... have a bestie you run off into the sunset with. >_>
I can actually understand the "childish" thing people keep attributing to him a bit more now, even if I don't totally agree. If anything he gave me more of an abused animal vibe, but only in the beginning. Getting near the end you can definitely see how much he has changed. I am so very curious about how much this will be reflected in DA:I.
Yeah I get what you mean with the whole "connection". I'm naturally drawn to people that are weak and in need of someone.. my compassion and need to help people is a weakness. That and I've had a fair share of problems of my own, so I can definitely relate to the loneliness. Possibly also because he's close to my age. (22)
Regarding the whole friendship mechanic in the game, I recall a dev saying how friendships in DAI will be a lot more organic and in-depth this time around.. so much so that there isn't a huge difference to the romances. And this, I love. So hey! It looks like we might get Cole as our best friend afterall. I want him to be as close to my inquisitor as he was to Rhys, so..
As for his child-like mentality, I never really got that. To me, he was just a socially underdeveloped, lonely, mentally numb person who came into his own and developed humanlike emotions and morals when he was shown some hint of love and affection.
He better not love Scribbles.. ¬¬
He better not love Scribbles.. ¬¬
Did anyone say "jealousy"? No? Was it my imagination?
Come on, let the poor boy love people, you are a terrible person!
If he did love Scribbles I think it would be equal parts adorable and creepy...and I really hope other companions think/say the same thing. Can you imagine the banter.... 
Yeah I get what you mean with the whole "connection". I'm naturally drawn to people that are weak and in need of someone.. my compassion and need to help people is a weakness. That and I've had a fair share of problems of my own, so I can definitely relate to the loneliness.
Regarding the whole friendship mechanic in the game, I recall a dev saying how friendships in DAI will be a lot more organic and in-depth this time around.. so much so that there isn't a huge difference to the romances. And this, I love. So hey! It looks like we might get Cole as our best friend.
As for his child-like mentality, I never really got that. To me, he was just a socially underdeveloped, lonely, mentally numb person who came into his own and developed as a human with emotions and morals when he was shown some hint of love and affection.
He better not love Scribbles.. ¬¬
I was especially broken up when he said he wouldn't mind being Tranquil. 
I really hope they will be, my biggest concern being if you don't romance anyone previously you don't get anyone or anything really. You can't run off with them as friends or anything. I liked in DA:O there was some allusion to it with the convos you could have at the very very end where they suggested joining you for your next adventure and such, but it wasn't reflected in the slides. I definitely remember one with Zevran and Lelianna at least. In DA2 I recently did a rivalry Sebastian romance play through which is basically nothing and the ending just left me feeling so empty compared to romance play throughs. So that's definitely my biggest concern at the moment.
Yeah that's what I mean why I don't totally agree with the "child-like" thing. I think it's a bit more complicated than that, especially considering he might not be human, but until knowing more about what he is I just am not sure. Will have to see if he's gone through major changes since the end of Asunder as I feel like that would be a big turning point for him.
I dunno I hope some people accept Cole and he makes some other friends in the Inquisition, he deserves it. ; ;
Did anyone say "jealousy"? No? Was it my imagination?
Come on, let the poor boy love people, you are a terrible person!
You only need me Cole.. only me! 
Hehe, I kid
But nah in all seriousness, I really hope we'll have some companions/advisors that actually accept him and even befriend him. But if I see him hugging Scribbles, I know I'll be waiting for a hug too it since I have this crazy headcanon (hope!) that my inquisitor will save Cole and be his bestest friend 
You only need me Cole.. only me!
Hehe, I kid
But nah in all seriousness, I really hope we'll have some companions/advisors that actually accept him and even befriend him. But if I see him hugging Scribbles, I know I'll be waiting for a hug too it since I have this crazy headcanon (hope!) that my inquisitor will save Cole and be his bestest friend
You'll never replace Rhys, NEVEEERRR!!!!
You'll never replace Rhys, NEVEEERRR!!!!
I can try!
Can't help yourself, can you?!
Retour en haut
