153433 réponses à ce sujet

[madrar]

*clears throat nervously*

 

Ah, not to worry anyone, but I think I may have figured out what’s going on with the Andrastean Maker (or actually “Makers”) – the how, what, and why of the neutral-but-blighted Sun trapped in the Void vs the evil-but-False Sun trapped in the center of the earth, how the Sun, lyrium and the blight maps into the sundered Song, and how the whole mess of known history ties into the Freaking Neverending War for the Soul of Thedas, but I need some help making sense of the veil and we have some crazy good brains around here.  Heavy on the crazy, but that’s a good thing.

 

So the veil is really dang old.  Not just ancient elfy old, but Primeval Old.  Kind of an obvious thing to start with, I guess, because it’s what made pre-veil-“Elves” into flesh-and-blood-Elves, but… and this is the hurdle I can’t wrap my mind around- why does its age seem to be patchwork?  Thick and thin I would understand.  But why are some places older than others?

 

Crap.  Unless that’s what that means.  Thick is old.  It’s been wearing away in spots over time, because spirits pressing and thinning- OH. 

 

OHHHH.  Maybe.

 

No, wait.  It would still all be the same age, though.   Unless the writers just wanted to avoid using the phrase “the veil is thick here”, because that’s… a strangely odd image.

 

And even if you wanted to draw the tempting Veil Goes Up = Rebel Angel-Spirits Get Kicked Out of Eden, Enjoy Your Free Will Suckers connection,  that ends up requiring two primeval rebellions: one to fail and cause the Veil to be raised, and a later one to succeed, because Sun in the Void.  But then you lose the whole motivation for the second.  Because He just gave you what you wanted.  Right?  Even if it wasn't exactly how you wanted it.

 

*clutches head*

 

Or maybe that wasn't what Elgar’nan actually wanted, even way back then.  Not free will, not choice, but power.  But if that's the case, how the hell did he convince everyone else to get on board with rebellion #2?

 

Stop.  Wait. Sorry.  Not getting distracted.  Back to the veil.  Do we have theory on why it's older in spots?  Suspicious spots like Skyhold?  Where maybe we might otherwise expect it to be thin, because Fortress, and Fortress generally means war and fighting and spirits?

[Mims]

I can only imagine the immense stress the writers are under. They get some things wrong. That's clear. But I don't know how anyone can attack them when they are clearly trying. They are trying more than anyone in the industry, and there are plenty of folks who poke jokes at bioware because of that. [A term you'll hear a lot is that bioware 'panders to the social justice warrior crowd'.] 

 

I just hope that they don't take it too seriously. Hopefully there is enough praise and level headed critique to drown out the insanity. 

[nranola]

On topic Solas: I was thinking how much I love his little "oh ****" expression when Lavellan says "sweet talker." Up to that point he can still make out as if the whole conversation is about Fade nerdy stuff and there's nothing else going on. I'm sure his mind is reaching for the next bit of smooth bullshit he can try out and Lavellan just cuts through that crap straight to the money. Lovely.

 

Gaider is responding as any reasonable person would, I think. I doubt I'd be able to keep myself composed 100% of the time either when people start throwing obscenities my way. He's just keeping it real. I just hope it doesn't come to the point when he stops interacting with the community altogether. I enjoy reading his insights!

 

And yesss I love Solas's expression in that scene too! You could practically read it on his face, "Right, well... I wasn't expecting that response."   It's always a surprise with Lavellan~

[zambixi]

I heard that there will be a DLC about Solas romance.. now Idk if it is just a rumor.. but I heard it. We may have it but I WOULD PERSONALLY BELIEVE that we would have some sort of DLC well idk what kind of but the game ends up the way that way that you finish the last mission and if I checked correctly you will not have Solas on your party? so.. I would believe that we are going to have multiple DLC:s for the story. So this time you do not have to start all over again. What the DLC:s are gonna be about..  I got no idea... maybe similar to witch hunt? Maybe not? maybe sth random? we will see but I agree with that.. Solas romance is unfinished and we deserve even one sex scene and idk if the ending will be tragic but if it will then I hope that Bioware will make it perfectly tragic.. not like Thane's story that he dies in the beginning already and no one cries for him and also because he died very idiotic way... gosh.. they failed that story so badly. 

 

I've thought about DLC a lot xD.  There have been no official announcements about ANY DLC other than multiplayer support. Official sources won't even confirm that they are doing DLC, let alone what it is. I think we all assume, and there's always the possibility of a repeat of the Exalted March situation v.v

 

I ran the (grossly limited) numbers for DLC announcement and release, so if you're interested in my prediction for when we'll hear about DLC:

Spoiler

 

Based on previous DLC-release schedules, BW waits about 4.5 months to announce DLC after the game, and 5 months to release it. That's not a super-accurate number since I only have five points of data - one of which is ME which was wonky in terms of DLC - but the range (excluding ME) is ~1 - 5 months. More accurate is the amount of time between when they announce and when they release, which is on average/median about 25/27 days give or take. So...my prediction is we'll see an announcement by the second or third week of April and the release about two weeks after that. Any rumors before then are just rumors v.v 

 

As for what I think the DLC will be... we have a little info for what it might look like based on a few interviews that came out a little while back.

• No DLC companions - this might not apply to temporary companions, but there won't be any Sebastion or Shale-like add-ins
• Focus on player feedback to shape future DLC

And here's some things that Laidlaw has said but aren't confirmed in any official capacity:

• Likely format will be a new map with a central plot and a few side-quests
• Awakenings-style expansion is highly unlikely
• Would like to focus more on companion relationships, character development, and maybe romances

 

OK so now my theories. I think we'll see one of two paths, spoilers for length:

 

What I think is more likely

Spoiler

I would guess that we'll see several pre-ending DLCs first, similar to Legacy and Mark of the Assassin. These will probably deal with things in the game - red lyrium, dwarves, blight - but not with Solas/Mythal directly. I'm not super-familiar with DLC for games in general, but it seems like many games release DLC that can be played at almost any time. This motivates new players to buy the game if they're interested in the DLC, because they don't have to get through 60+ hours of gameplay to get into it. It makes it easier for developers, because they don't have to deal with the possibility that a player is missing 1-2 mages (Solas, Viv), 1-2 warriors (Blackwall, Cassandra), and/or your spymaster (Leliana). After a few stand-alone DLC, we will probably get a post-game DLC that deals with all the things that would need to be resolved before we get a new protagonist in DA4 (unless we're not getting a new protagonist in DA4 which would be swell)

 

 

What I'd Rather See

Spoiler

I'd rather see episodic, post-game DLC. Things that can be stand-alone, but link together (in the style of Fallout DLC) to form a greater story. This would almost certainly deal with the Solas/Mythal arc to some extent, since that's the biggest post-game reveal of the bunch. It probably wouldn't have Solas in it directly but it would deal with his plans or the effects of those plans. I'd LOVE this, but I think it'd be technically difficult for BW. They have to figure out what to do about the aforementioned gaping holes in your party. They have to make sure that anyone that references anything in the world takes into account the choices you made in the game. They'd probably have to raise the level cap and include leveled equipment. It seems like a big undertaking, and something they'd probably rather not tackle

[madrar]

I was talking to Sera when I last played on my human rogue. Asked about her parents..she remembers nothing except a big tree in the alienage and a locket. Then I remembered in the Dragon Age Keep there is a choice about whether you returned a certain locket to the unstable female elf in the alienage when the whole orphanage was overrun by demons in DA:O. I never understood how there were demons in the orphanage in the first place. Anyhu I dont know I feel there might be a connection?

 

You know, I totally dismissed that in game because she followed it up with HAHAHA, SUCKER, but that's... huh.

 

I think she actually was probably messing with you about the locket, but it was definitely meant to nudge the player in that direction, and that's something, I think.  Maybe the veil has to be really, really thin for an OGS to squeeze back through- after all, Sandal was way down in the Deep Roads with piles of raw lyrium.  

 

Hmmm.  HM.

[tsunamitigerdragon]

.

[Rabbitonfire]

I was talking to Sera when I last played on my human rogue. Asked about her parents..she remembers nothing except a big tree in the alienage and a locket. Then I remembered in the Dragon Age Keep there is a choice about whether you returned a certain locket to the unstable female elf in the alienage when the whole orphanage was overrun by demons in DA:O. I never understood how there were demons in the orphanage in the first place. Anyhu I dont know I feel there might be a connection?

Oh my god. Someone should post this on reddit.

[Mims]

;; /writes very long theory post

 

/accidentally hits back button

[tsunamitigerdragon]

.

[LliiraAnna]

I've thought about DLC a lot xD.  There have been no official announcements about ANY DLC other than multiplayer support. Official sources won't even confirm that they are doing DLC, let alone what it is. I think we all assume, and there's always the possibility of a repeat of the Exalted March situation v.v

 

I ran the (grossly limited) numbers for DLC announcement and release, so if you're interested in my prediction for when we'll hear about DLC:

Spoiler

 

Based on previous DLC-release schedules, BW waits about 4.5 months to announce DLC after the game, and 5 months to release it. That's not a super-accurate number since I only have five points of data - one of which is ME which was wonky in terms of DLC - but the range (excluding ME) is ~1 - 5 months. More accurate is the amount of time between when they announce and when they release, which is on average/median about 25/27 days give or take. So...my prediction is we'll see an announcement by the second or third week of April and the release about two weeks after that. Any rumors before then are just rumors v.v 

 

As for what I think the DLC will be... we have a little info for what it might look like based on a few interviews that came out a little while back.

• No DLC companions - this might not apply to temporary companions, but there won't be any Sebastion or Shale-like add-ins
• Focus on player feedback to shape future DLC

And here's some things that Laidlaw has said but aren't confirmed in any official capacity:

• Likely format will be a new map with a central plot and a few side-quests
• Awakenings-style expansion is highly unlikely
• Would like to focus more on companion relationships, character development, and maybe romances

 

OK so now my theories. I think we'll see one of two paths, spoilers for length:

 

What I think is more likely

Spoiler

I would guess that we'll see several pre-ending DLCs first, similar to Legacy and Mark of the Assassin. These will probably deal with things in the game - red lyrium, dwarves, blight - but not with Solas/Mythal directly. I'm not super-familiar with DLC for games in general, but it seems like many games release DLC that can be played at almost any time. This motivates new players to buy the game if they're interested in the DLC, because they don't have to get through 60+ hours of gameplay to get into it. It makes it easier for developers, because they don't have to deal with the possibility that a player is missing 1-2 mages (Solas, Viv), 1-2 warriors (Blackwall, Cassandra), and/or your spymaster (Leliana). After a few stand-alone DLC, we will probably get a post-game DLC that deals with all the things that would need to be resolved before we get a new protagonist in DA4 (unless we're not getting a new protagonist in DA4 which would be swell)

 

 

What I'd Rather See

Spoiler

I'd rather see episodic, post-game DLC. Things that can be stand-alone, but link together (in the style of Fallout DLC) to form a greater story. This would almost certainly deal with the Solas/Mythal arc to some extent, since that's the biggest post-game reveal of the bunch. It probably wouldn't have Solas in it directly but it would deal with his plans or the effects of those plans. I'd LOVE this, but I think it'd be technically difficult for BW. They have to figure out what to do about the aforementioned gaping holes in your party. They have to make sure that anyone that references anything in the world takes into account the choices you made in the game. They'd probably have to raise the level cap and include leveled equipment. It seems like a big undertaking, and something they'd probably rather not tackle

Personally, I'd love F:NV style DLC. Standalone, yet connected to each other, and culminate in you meeting The Mysterious Character (Ulysses for F:NV, Solas for DAI). *sigh* /wishful thinking/

[vierrae]

Actually her showing up in his dreams and laughing a creepy laugh and standing over him? TOTALLY the **** I would do to the guy who murdered me and thought he could get away with it.

She's like, "Hey bra, you know that time you betrayed me? Know how that betrayal totally destroyed our people, led me to be sealed in a dragon, cause a blight not of my own free will, be reborn into another woman whose life ended in betrayal as well? I AM COMING FOR YOU. Just you wait. No one is going to buy your sweet cries of 'ENCHANTMENT' when I get there and reveal you for what you are."

EDIT: But I do really love Sandal and I hope he doesn't end up being the betrayer. I agree that something is super fishy-fish with Ghilan'nain and that freaking owl. I've been thinking that perhaps after Andruil is defeated by Mythal and made the equivalent of a tranquil, Ghilal'nain or one of her followers seduces Falon'din in the form of an Owl, convinces him that she too isn't afraid of the Dark (aka the Void), that's how he goes through his period of madness/ bloodshed forcing Mythal and the Gods to bloody him up in his own temple - but Ghilal'nain or this owl servant obtain what they wished in the process and set things moving towards an inescapable hell-hole.. If we know anything of Ghilal'nain and the stories told of her, she is shockingly loyal and bound to Andruil, much in the way Fen'Harel seems to be loyal and bound to Mythal. I could definitely see that loyalty culminating in a cunning act of betrayal against Mythal.

Also... I know there's talk of Flemythal having a lover. The tales of Flemeth states that she has one, but she herself states that the man who is linked to her in legend as her husband wasn't actually her's. He was attached to her story at a later period of time. Is there any evidence of Mythal-proper having a lover? And if so, is there any evidence they were male? They might have been a woman, like the lover of Tyrdda. 

Eh... wouldn't that be a little petty for a powerful goddess?

And aside from owls everywhere we also have 1)elven archers, oodles; 2)elks, more than a few. Sooo... owls may pretty much be just a decor thing, come to think of it.

[tsunamitigerdragon]

. 

[BoscoBread]

@zambixi - I didn't even think of the party issues.  The only person that left for me was Solas.  So I still have Dorian and Viv - even though Viv says she goes back to Orlais she still shows up in my party select screen.  I made Leliana Divine, but she was still hanging around.  Though I know there was the issue that if you played an Assquistor and were NOT a mage, you may not have had any mages after Solas leaves.  And I know they had said they will not be adding new companions. 

 

For whatever reason, I had read somewhere - maybe it was with laidlaw - the intent was to do post-epilogue DLC.  So the it would be like set-up for whatever is to come and/or resolve some outstanding story issues.  I really could be just quoting that from an errant article and that was the writer's desire.  No idea where I got that idea.

 

I hope I don't have to wait until DA4 for the Solas thing to be resolved.  Another 4-5 years....ugh.  

[Avejajed]

I want to contribute to the theories today but I don't think I'm smart enough with lyrium and dwarven lore.

I'll just go look at the pretty.

[MaidenM]

Also random question that I will search for the answer for once I am back from said nap but.. have there ever been any ELVEN templars?

And I mean full-blooded, not half like Alistair.

 

 

Never seen any, and I suspect there are none. Leliana mentions that she'd open the chantry to all races if she where to be the next Divine, implying that the chantry is human-only, and templars are part of the chantry...

 

Soo, probably no elven templars? Apart from player characters I mean.

[zambixi]

I can only imagine the immense stress the writers are under. They get some things wrong. That's clear. But I don't know how anyone can attack them when they are clearly trying. They are trying more than anyone in the industry, and there are plenty of folks who poke jokes at bioware because of that. [A term you'll hear a lot is that bioware 'panders to the social justice warrior crowd'.] 

 

I just hope that they don't take it too seriously. Hopefully there is enough praise and level headed critique to drown out the insanity. 

 

Gaider is responding as any reasonable person would, I think. I doubt I'd be able to keep myself composed 100% of the time either when people start throwing obscenities my way. He's just keeping it real. I just hope it doesn't come to the point when he stops interacting with the community altogether. I enjoy reading his insights!

 

And yesss I love Solas's expression in that scene too! You could practically read it on his face, "Right, well... I wasn't expecting that response."   It's always a surprise with Lavellan~

 

I remember after DA2 Gaider did end up taking a break from social media because things got a little out of hand. Which is unfortunate on all fronts, really.

 

 

I must say that I love all the fanfics about alternative universes/go back in time/Lavellan was a reincarnation. The idea is that she had a past with Solas when he was Fen'Harel and influenced his rebellion and development. I've felt that Solas loved Lavellan in the game, but had a lot of trouble grasping at why. Yeah, I know he loves her personality and spirit, but there must have been other cool women throughout the ages. Why Lavellan? These fanfics give a lot more depth to their relationship makes their relationship more meaningful.

 

I love these too! I really love the very NSFW Anachronism (I don't know what warnings should go here, there's maybe a bit of dom!Solas depending on people's classifications), which is supposed to be pure smut, but actually ended up making my heart hurt a little. The idea that he waits thousands of years to meet the woman he knows he's going to fall in love with... *dreamy sigh*

 

But I also like the idea that Lavellan is just special. There are a few people I've met in my life (friends and more-than-friends) that I develop affection for out of the sheer force of their personality. It's exactly like how Cole describes - they are "bright" - and it can't really be explained. Plus there's timing - Solas has been asleep for at least one thousand years - and the fact that Lavellan is powerful in almost every sense of the word, and that she uses that power to help people instead of bolstering her own position, and she tries to understand Solas and... I really do think she's probably unique and unexpected and that may be enough.

[scintilla]

;; /writes very long theory post

 

/accidentally hits back button

 

That's the worst. I'm sorry. 

 

 

Top of page Solas:

Spoiler

 

 

I like how his expression is "but that's got nothing to do with me" and his words are "oh god I hope this works please this has to work."

[madrar]

;; /writes very long theory post

 

/accidentally hits back button

 

There's an autosave thingie!  I did that yesterday and almost cried until I figured it out.  It's still there, probably.  Look for the "last auto-save" link directly under the post field and click it.

[vierrae]

Just finished Cole's quest, made him more spirit-y. Asked him about the Fade afterwards, he said that "it is here, but held" (talking about the Veil, likely?). And then he says something like "Without you, there is nothing, not even us". Maybe I'm becoming paranoid about things ppl say in this game, but this sounded... weird 

I think, he means, that inhabitants of Thedas shape the Fade and spirits within it, nothing more.

[Eivuwan]

 

 

 

I love these too! I really love the very NSFW Anachronism (I don't know what warnings should go here, there's maybe a bit of dom!Solas depending on people's classifications), which is supposed to be pure smut, but actually ended up making my heart hurt a little. The idea that he waits thousands of years to meet the woman he knows he's going to fall in love with... *dreamy sigh*

 

But I also like the idea that Lavellan is just special. There are a few people I've met in my life (friends and more-than-friends) that I develop affection for out of the sheer force of their personality. It's exactly like how Cole describes - they are "bright" - and it can't really be explained. Plus there's timing - Solas has been asleep for at least one thousand years - and the fact that Lavellan is powerful in almost every sense of the word, and that she uses that power to help people instead of bolstering her own position, and she tries to understand Solas and... I really do think she's probably unique and unexpected and that may be enough.

 

Oh I love Anachronism for the smut (really awesome smut), but I love "Crystal White" and "Only time will tell" even more because they have a lot more chapters and great characterization. I love how Fen'Harel and Lavellan are portrayed in both of those. I highly recommend all three fanfics. I do like the idea that Lavellan is just special, but there just wasn't enough interaction in the game and these fanfics really flush everything out. I feel like I finally "get" why Solas loves her so much.

[madrar]

Oh my god. Someone should post this on reddit.

 

Reddit is for suckers!   Wolf Pack Theory > ALL  @w@

 

^{_{(I'm kidding.  Really.)}}

[dragondreamer]

Crazy theory time-- I've been wondering why Solas is so against the Grey Wardens plans to hunt down the remaining old gods.  He never really explains his reasoning, though he hints at it in a banter with Blackwall: https://www.youtube....h?v=SQLMLOE6_ms (The one where Solas "hopes they are correct" about killing all the archdemons stopping the Blights.)

 

So why WOULDN'T killing all the archdemons stop the Blights?  Well, maybe there's something worse down there below even the Old Gods, something that if corrupted or released would be far worse than any one Blight?  Like, I dunno, a massive ancient elven city trapped at the center of the world for thousands of years? 

 

(Of course, he could also be pissed about the idea of hunting down Gods and killing them before they get corrupted, for fairly obvious reasons... but I really like the "Arlathan is at the center of the world/is the Golden City" theory.  Even if geologically it's pretty nonsensical... but hey, fantasy! Hell, maybe the Old Gods were trapped down there in the first place to defend against anyone getting down there and finding Arlathan at all.)

 

Without the Old God song compelling the darkspawn to search for them underground, the darkspawn and the Blight would likely flood the surface with no way to control it.  The Grey Wardens are like a temporary band-aid for a much bigger longterm problem.  They stop the Blights caused by the surfaced Archdemon, because when it dies, the darkspawn respond by heading back underground to search for another Old God.  Eventually they're going to run out of Old Gods, and there will be no more reason for the darkspawn to retreat underground again.  And because there's few Old Gods left, they're running out of time to find a real solution.  Flemeth's idea to save the Old God soul with the ritual may have been about more than just saving another elven god for the sake of doing so.  Like Solas says, killing a god should never be done lightly. 

 

The center of the world theory is weird from a real world perspective, but considering ancient elves could create pocket dimensions, magical mirror portal travel, and other magical weirdness, you can get away with a lot. I think the Forbidden Ones' "Black City" is at the center of the planet (can be seen everywhere in the Fade) and is where the Blight is sourced deep underground (and at least for a time, controlled and locked away before the magisters showed up), but I don't think it's Arlathan.

 

 

Also random question that I will search for the answer for once I am back from said nap but.. have there ever been any ELVEN templars?

 

Seeker Lambert had an elven page in Asunder, so I assume that means they must exist.  (I know, Seeker=/=Templar, but it's still Chantry affiliated.)  And I recall hearing that Evangeline was originally going to be an elf, so that would also support the idea.  I would guess they weren't very common based on what we've seen though.

[Avejajed]

I think Gaider is both responding as most people would and as someone who is slightly hot tempered. Its clear that he has a temperament that doesn't agree with everyone and I do sometimes think he almost enjoys riling people up.

But I also think they put up with a lot and I'm super grateful that they have as much fan interaction as they do.

[BlueElf2]

On an entirely off-topic and self-serving note, I have finally gotten my s*** together enough to write DA:I stuff that is NOT smut   I could use some critical feedback on this one.  Writing Solas's POV is so much harder than I thought it would be.
 
The Dread Wolf's Blessings

I read your fanfic. I liked it! Is there any more? LOL. I thought you did an excellent job on the characterization. I've thought about trying my hand at it, but I think Solas would be really hard to get right.

[madrar]

On the topic of Sandal:

• Sandal: One day the magic will come back. All of it. Everyone will be just like they were. The shadows will part, and the skies will open wide.
• Bodahn: Huh. What's this?
• Sandal: When he rises, everyone will see.
• Bodahn: By the ancestors, what's gotten into you, my boy?
• Sandal: Enchantment?
• Bodahn: Hmph. That's more like it.

 

If my theory holds, this is Sandal "dreaming" with his eyes wide open.  He's a raw conduit being fed lines by Elgar'nan, who's prophesying his own triumphant return in a suitably pompous way.  Little does he know the fire in Falon'Din is back, mofo, he's finally ready to take up arms again, and the False Sun is going down.   Whether the blight of the true Sun can then be reversed, and whether that might redeem the world enough for him to fulfill the rest of the prophecy (not just like they were, but... you know. Like they were, but with free will?) or smite us into a smoking heap of rubble remains to be seen.