44 réponses à ce sujet

[Araceil]

To be honest just reading the plot synopsis on the dragon age wiki should be enough to give you a good idea of whats going on. 

[Beerfish]

The books are pretty good, having said that I personally would avoid them before playing the game.  Asunder will make you form an opinion about one of your companions that you may not be able to shed in the game. 

[CronoDragoon]

If you are the type to know absolutely as much as possible about the events of the game and the characters that appear in it, then Asunder and ME are probably as necessary as supplemental books come. However, they won't be necessary for RPing purposes since your Inquisitor was (presumably) not present for any of those events, and will therefore get a crash course in relevant information anyway.

[ev76]

I don't think they are necessary, but the two books I have read are great reads. As others have mentioned Asunder is about the Mage/Templar conflict, giving insight on cole. The masked empire is about the orlais civil war, giving insight to Celene and her rival.

[Jigglypuff]

It's fun/depressing to read got me more pumped for the drama that will be the inquisition.

 

[Amirit]

It depends on your definition of "necessary." I'm sure the game will fill in what you absolutely need to know without having read the books. But Asunder and The Masked Empire both provide a lot of background on the present state of the world at the start of DAI. 

 

QFTT

 

You do not HAVE to read it but your character is supposed to be someone who knows all of this by heart, not as writing obtained from a character creation screen. Basic information you do get from previous games but if you are born in Orle (your character, I mean, of course) you can not be ignorant about Celen or Gaspard and the civil war around. Since we have only one origin now, no excuses a la "my dwarf has no idea about that human world".

[wickedgoodreed]

The books are pretty good, having said that I personally would avoid them before playing the game.  Asunder will make you form an opinion about one of your companions that you may not be able to shed in the game. 

 

Yeah, The Calling strongly influenced my view of the Architect in Awakening. So unless you're the type that can easily compartmentalize having more information than your player character, this is definitely something to consider.

[katerinafm]

I would say Asunder and the Masked Empire would be the most useful to read. If you only had to pick one, then I'd pick Asunder, which not only has Cole in it, but also shows how the mage rebellion starts. The Masked Empire is also extremely interesting, not so much for the Orlesians, but because of the info on the ancient elves and eluvians you get.

 

Both books are good (Asunder is my personal favorite), and easy to read. I recommend them. 

 

As for the other books (The Stolen Throne, The Calling), they go over events before Origins, so they are not as 'necessary' to read.

 

Obviously you can play the games even if you haven't read the books, the devs know that and make sure you get any info you need from the game itself. But they are a great bonus and a good read.

[LilyasAvalon]

I've read all the books and am halfway through the Orlais one.

 

They're not necessary to adding to the experience, but definitely provide a deeper a look into backstory, same as the comics.

[Zatche]

I generally don't read tie ins either, and I don't think they're necessary, but they are rather good. I especially enjoyed Masked Empire.

[Silfren]

I normally stay clear of tie-in books, but it seems that 'Asunder' is getting referenced as a useful prologue for some of the action in DAI.

 

If you have read them, how helpful or necessary do you think it is to take in these (three?) novels.

 

It's a long summer ahead after all...

 

The Masked Empire is more of a useful prologue for DA:I than Asunder, actually. By quite a long shot.  I would recommend Asunder for some background info to the war, especially for the character of Cole, but The Masked Empire is definitely more immediately relevant.  Honestly, though, if you're not opposed to reading in general, there's no real good reason not to just read both books.  I'm positive neither of them will be necessary to understand or enjoy DA:I, and it's silly of anyone to believe otherwise.  But that doesn't mean that reading these books won't enhance your appreciation for the game's own story.  

If you're a fan of reading, I say just read all the books and stop fishing for people's opinions on whether they're necessary or not.  =P

[Maria Caliban]

I normally stay clear of tie-in books...

Good.

Continue to do so.

I appreciate the kind and helpful feedback.
I've picked up an electronic copy of Asunder.

I am late to the dance, it seems.

[Lukas Kristjanson]

We're proud of them, of course, but Inquisition doesn't require knowledge of anything in the books. Just like it doesn't require you to have played DAO or DA2. We have created a history, but we won't reference it without context that is accessible to you and your character within the current game. So read 'em if you'd enjoy them. The books are intended for those who like the setting and want more, not as homework before you can start.

[leaguer of one]

They are good but not necessary. Each game is going to star a new character so no mc will have the accumulated knowledge of what's going on in the over must less anything that happens in the books unless told to in game. The player/reader/viewer will have more understanding what happen in previous events but it will not give them a better understanding of the overall story. In fact you don't even need to play each game to get the full story.

[leaguer of one]

Good.

Continue to do so.


 

Dear god.. You are super picky. The books are good you know.

[SofaJockey]

The reason I asked was because I don't have particularly high regard for tie-in novels.

I do like my fantasy, from Tolkein via Donaldson and Feist. I guess that sets a high bar.

 

I wanted something that genuinely added enjoyment, that was canon and added texture.

Part-way through Asunder, buying the download was a good choice. I'm enjoying it.

[Maria Caliban]

Dear god.. You are super picky. The books are good you know.

Suggesting someone not read a tie-in novel is about a super picky as suggesting someone not eat at Taco Bell. People may love that Cheesy Gordita Crunch with Beef, but let's not go so far as to call it good food.

[Heimdall]

The reason I asked was because I don't have particularly high regard for tie-in novels.
I do like my fantasy, from Tolkein via Donaldson and Feist. I guess that sets a high bar.

I wanted something that genuinely added enjoyment, that was canon and added texture.
Part-way through Asunder, buying the download was a good choice. I'm enjoying it.

Well Asunder is leagues better than the two novels that preceded it. Masked Empire is even better, so I recommend picking that up next.

[Avaflame]

I would definitely say that they are not necessary. They are, however, very enjoyable (at least for me), especially if you are already attached to the universe at large. Especially Asunder, I think it's possibly my favourite.

[Devtek]

Hmm maybe the books should go on my todo list ..after the 16 remaining books in the Horus Heresy series 

 

Try reading the complete Mechwarrior novel series...i think i'm on book 42...holy crap been reading them for a couple years...

 

I did enjoy Asunder and Masked Empire the most out of the 4 for DA and they will provide, like almost everyone here has said, background information for the DA world and its upcoming conflicts.