13 réponses à ce sujet

[fiveforchaos]

So I was replaying DA:II the other day and I noticed something interesting. Nearly every dwarf, except for Varric (and one or two other exceptions) have the same pale blue eyes. Of the dwarves with this attribute (Bartrand, Anso, Jarvis Tintop, Bodahn, and Sandal) nearly all of them are confirmed/semi-confirmed to have been born below the surface. The only exception being Jarvis Tintop who's backstory is never revealed. After looking through some screenshots, it looks as though they might have lightened Bodahn and Sandal's eyes between DA:O and DA:II. Yet another change aesthetics for the sake of lore perhaps?

 

Now Varric, who was born on the surface, doesn't have these eyes. His eyes, as far as I can tell, are a deep amber. The only other dwarf I could find with the same trait was Dougal Gavorn, the dwarf who tries to lend Hawke money prior to the expedition in Act 1. Dougal's backstory is also not revealed but his shaved appearance implies a certain lack of respect for his dwarven heritage, which might in turn suggest surfacer origins. 

 

It would seem as though dwarves born underground tend to be born with paler, bluer eyes while dwarves born on the surface are born with darker, browner eyes. Either that or a dwarf's eye color is directly influence by the amount of sun they're exposed to early in life.

 

What do you guys think? Am I reading too much into this, or is a dwarf's eye color governed by more than just genetics? If you believe the later do you think it will ever be relevant within the games? Given the amount of animosity the dwarves of Orzammar have towards surfacers you'd think being able to recognize one at a glance might come into play from time to time.

[Walrider]

Well, paler eyes do tend to be more sensitive to light sources. If a race mostly resides underground, then I suppose it could make sense that pale blues/greens/grays tend to be more dominant?

[Sir Froggie]

Dougal is branded, so he's casteless and thus from Orzammar, and his eyes are a paler brown than Varric's are.
Also in Origins Loghain makes a comment towards Dwarven characters in regards to their eyes, so I think it's something like quanri horns that Bioware simply couldn't program correctly.

[berelinde]

Frandlin Ivo's eyes are brown in DAO, IIRC, as are Nerav Helmi's and Gorim Saelac's. I'm pretty sure Ruck's are, too, but I can't find any images with high enough resolution to confirm.

[AtanatarAlcarin]

Seriously...?

[Eveangaline]

Could be tied to caste as well. Dwarves modtly marry people in te same caste, I'm betting (CAste hunting does happen, but we've only seen one time it worked and one time it failed, so how common it actually happens is debatable)

[Clockwork_Wings]

Dougal is branded, so he's casteless and thus from Orzammar, and his eyes are a paler brown than Varric's are.
Also in Origins Loghain makes a comment towards Dwarven characters in regards to their eyes, so I think it's something like quanri horns that Bioware simply couldn't program correctly.

What's he say?

[Sir Froggie]

What's he say?

"You're no surface dwarf I can see it in your eyes. Smart of the Grey Wardens to look for recruits in Orzammar."

[Wulfram]

"You're no surface dwarf I can see it in your eyes. Smart of the Grey Wardens to look for recruits in Orzammar."

 

He might just be referring to the way you alternate between glancing nervously up where the ceiling should be and staring fixedly at your feet to avoid seeing the vast abyss that is the sky.

[Wolfen09]

I would be shocked if this was intended by the devlopers.  Im thinking just a major funky coincidence.  It does bring up an interesting piece of lore that could be added at a later date though

[fhs33721]

I'm pretty sure it is not possible for eye color to be genetically linked to a caste. The genetics of eye colors are extremely complicated and there are about 15 genes that somehow factor into it. Just because your parents both have the same eye color doesn't mean that you will have it too.

So no there is no conceivable way that all dwarves of the same caste have all the same or even similar eye colors.

Except the explanation is magic, but seriously what entity would ever waste magic power on something like this?

[Wolfen09]

Except the explanation is magic, but seriously what entity would ever waste magic power on something like this?

 

 

flemeth works in mysterious ways

[fiveforchaos]

Dougal is branded, so he's casteless and thus from Orzammar, and his eyes are a paler brown than Varric's are.
Also in Origins Loghain makes a comment towards Dwarven characters in regards to their eyes, so I think it's something like quanri horns that Bioware simply couldn't program correctly.

I've looked through several screenshots and vids of Dougal, he's got no brand as far as I can tell, at least on his face. 

 

Frandlin Ivo's eyes are brown in DAO, IIRC, as are Nerav Helmi's and Gorim Saelac's. I'm pretty sure Ruck's are, too, but I can't find any images with high enough resolution to confirm.

Yeah I noticed this pattern didn't show up in DA:O but I figured since Bioware changed the appearance of the Qunari and Elves for the sake of lore they might have made a few teaks to the dwarves as well. Particularly interesting was the fact that while Sandal and Bodahn didn't change much in other regards between the two games, their eyes definitely seemed to get lighter and bluer. 

 

 

I'm pretty sure it is not possible for eye color to be genetically linked to a caste. The genetics of eye colors are extremely complicated and there are about 15 genes that somehow factor into it. Just because your parents both have the same eye color doesn't mean that you will have it too.

So no there is no conceivable way that all dwarves of the same caste have all the same or even similar eye colors.

Except the explanation is magic, but seriously what entity would ever waste magic power on something like this?

There could be a gene that adjusts eye color depending on sun exposure in youth, it'd be a useful adaptation for dwarves, seeing as how family groups apparently have a habit of finding themselves banished to the surface rather suddenly. 

 

 

He might just be referring to the way you alternate between glancing nervously up where the ceiling should be and staring fixedly at your feet to avoid seeing the vast abyss that is the sky.

 

Fair point, though that's a bit of a romantic way of saying "you sure seem pretty jumpy for a surface dwarf". 

[caradoc2000]

What do you guys think? Am I reading too much into this, or is a dwarf's eye color governed by more than just genetics?

All it confirms is that those with pale blue eyes get their contact lenses from the same optician.