And those "societal reasons" vanish once you get to Tevinter, where magic is seen as a blessing and mage births are celebrated and encouraged. Why aren't they the majority in the Imperium?
I believe the supposed mage gene is recessive. That would explain it, I also think there are more mages in Tevinter than in any other country but I'd also assume that the Magisters would have a hand in mage population control. Can't have any threats to their power now can they?
Well, Tevinter also inbreeds like crazy, which is how they can probably produce more mage children than most other places.I believe the supposed mage gene is recessive. That would explain it, I also think there are more mages in Tevinter than in any other country but I'd also assume that the Magisters would have a hand in mage population control. Can't have any threats to their power now can they?
Well, Tevinter also inbreeds like crazy, which is how they can probably produce more mage children than most other places.
I think inbreeding is probably a widespread problem in thedas considering the number of nobles 
I believe the supposed mage gene is recessive. That would explain it, I also think there are more mages in Tevinter than in any other country but I'd also assume that the Magisters would have a hand in mage population control. Can't have any threats to their power now can they?
So you've abandoned the belief that mages have some sort of evolutionary advantage over non-mages? Because if that was the case, again, they would be the majority.
Mages are nothing but tools of the faithful.
C is the only compromise I'd be willing to live with. Everything else will fail in the long run.
While killing all the mages would probably be the most effective solution, I don't think it's a possible one, especially with places like Tevinter that are ruled by many, very powerful mages. The reason that mages are feared is because they have such unimaginable abilities (and... y'know, the abomination thing, lol). Unless they all gave themselves up willingly (which is very doubtful), I find it hard to believe that a bunch of regular people would have a lick of chance overpowering them to the point of extinction.
There really is no "perfect" fix and I think that's one of the biggest draw-ins of the series.
While killing all the mages would probably be the most effective solution, I don't think it's a possible one, especially with places like Tevinter that are ruled by many, very powerful mages. The reason that mages are feared is because they have such unimaginable abilities (and... y'know, the abomination thing, lol). Unless they all gave themselves up willingly (which is very doubtful), I find it hard to believe that a bunch of regular people would have a lick of chance overpowering them to the point of extinction.
There really is no "perfect" fix and I think that's one of the biggest draw-ins of the series.
Murder them when they first manifest. Confused, scared children with little to no control are relatively easy prey for mobs. It's why the mages agreed to join the Chantry in the first place, all those years ago. Normal folk were wiping them out in adolescence.
Murder them when they first manifest. Confused, scared children with little to no control are relatively easy prey for mobs. It's why the mages agreed to join the Chantry in the first place, all those years ago. Normal folk were wiping them out in adolescence.
A pity that those who did commit such murders were not called to account.
A pity that those who did commit such murders were not called to account.
It was not an unexpected cultural reaction to coming out of a thousand years of slavery and brutality under the yoke of mage overlords.
Murder them when they first manifest. Confused, scared children with little to no control are relatively easy prey for mobs. It's why the mages agreed to join the Chantry in the first place, all those years ago. Normal folk were wiping them out in adolescence.
That could result in a bunch of abominations running around. There is little stopping a child from saying yes to a demon if their very life was being threatened.
It was not an unexpected cultural reaction to coming out of a thousand years of slavery and brutality under the yoke of mage overlords.
But still, killing children? Way over the line.
That could result in a bunch of abominations running around. There is little stopping a child from saying yes to a demon if their very life was being threatened.
If that was an epidemic during the first post-Tevinter purges, we haven't heard about it.
I'm not saying burning little kids is the answer to anyone's problem. I'm saying it was done in the past, it is still done in the present, and it's not a stretch to imagine it becoming the default reaction again in the future.
It was not an unexpected cultural reaction to coming out of a thousand years of slavery and brutality under the yoke of mage overlords.
No, and it served as a wonderful demonstration as to how the people at the bottom of the heap are frequently no better than those at the top.
If that was an epidemic during the first post-Tevinter purges, we haven't heard about it.
We've also never heard about abomination epidemics in Tevinter, but I've never seen your side take that absence of evidence as evidence of absence.
We've also never heard about abomination epidemics in Tevinter, but I've never seen your side take that absence of evidence as evidence of absence.
I don't recall having said anything on the matter of the frequency of abominations in Tevinter. But keep using that wide paintbrush since you're not comfortable with detail work.
I don't recall having said anything on the matter of the frequency of abominations in Tevinter. But keep using that wide paintbrush since you're not comfortable with detail work.
Note that I didn't mention you specifically.
My point was ultimately that it's not an unreasonable conclusion to come to, that lashing out at defenseless mages would lead to a corresponding rise in abominations.
Note that I didn't mention you specifically.
You did. You explicitly called it his ('your') side, linking him to the position.
My point was ultimately that it's not an unreasonable conclusion to come to, that lashing out at defenseless mages would lead to a corresponding rise in abominations.
I certainly agree. I'd also suspect that mobs in a fear frenzy wouldn't particularly be able to think about such things, and would inadverdantly have to rely on chance about whether a mage child is interesting enough for a demon to be on hand to want to make a bargain. But almost certainly many mobs died in the process of murdering mage children out of fear the mage children would murder them.
If I understood it correctly, it was not the populace as a whole that the mages feared but the original Inquisition. They sought the protection of the Chantry because they were the only ones who the Inquisition might listen to. The Chantry tolerated the mages and they would appear to have had limited interaction with the community at large, even if they were largely confined to the Chantry precincts. Then mages objected to the limitations placed on their use of magic, which would appear to have been limited to healing and lighting the braziers in the chantries, etc. So they did a deal that would allow them to use their magic freely within a specific framework overseen by Inquisition member, now renamed the Templar Order. Part of the deal involved them occupying Circle buildings located away from the main centres of population, which is why I find the White Spire and the Gallows contrary to that idea.
You can see the merits of remote towers. When the Circle was overrun by demons in Ferelden, the Templars were able to contain it entirely within the building. When Meredith attack the Circle in the Gallows we had mayhem on the streets of Kirkwall. This was particularly odd since Orsino had been complaining to us how they were being kept confined to their rooms, yet both he and many supporting Enchanters were able to leave the Gallows entirely and end up in Lowtown on the way to the Chantry. It is laughable how easy it is to get in and out of both the Gallows and White Spire without the Templars being aware. They clearly had no imagination because it couldn't have been that hard to systematically make a check of all lower areas, tapping on walls, etc, to discover areas of weakness, secret passages and the like, and then seal them up. After all it is not as if these buildings had only recently been occupied. Regular maintenance checks could then have been carried out, say once a year, to ensure that new compromises in security had not occurred.
My main reason for not supporting the Templars in their current form is that on the whole they appear to have been absolute idiots and for the most part useless at performing the job they are meant to. Even in the Ferelden Tower, which seemed better run than others we have encountered, the First Enchanter was able to form an alliance with the Architect under their noses and then subsequently Uldred was able to completely corrupt the tower with blood magic, when the only person they seemed concerned with was Jowan. Then in the demo recently, Templars in the Hinterlands (so presumably from Ferelden) are incapable of telling the difference between a farming tool and a mage staff. Just don't get me started on how ineffective they were in Kirkwall. So much for the expertise of our magical police force.
Just one other thing about eradicating mages. If you systematically kill mages whenever they appear, this will in itself weaken the Veil, so allowing demons through to possess the general population. Killing people is not the answer. Trying to breed out mages is not the answer because it won't work.
The only way to deal with it is to find a practical solution to controlling the use of magic. At this stage it is unlikely that mages will automatically take control of all governments because unlike Tevinter the majority of noble families do not have mages in their ranks and will not tolerate the loss of their power. Blood magic is not endemic as it is in Tevinter. There are many mages who favour working for the good of society as a whole without necessarily seeking control; the Aequitarians are always the largest fraternity and these are the moderate mages who wish to balance freedom with responsibility. They would be quite capable of policing themselves as evidenced by the Mages Collective. Then there would be no need to have a police force who are high on lyrium in order to be able to locate, counteract and confront corrupt magic users. The Templars are not able to stop the use of blood magic in Tevinter because the will is not there and the mages who could do so are the ones who are indulging in it. However, it does not have to be that way. The first step in any solution is to stop confrontation and enable co-operation. The next would be to have a framework of government that ensure that no one particular group can seize control. If mages no longer see themselves as a group separate and superior from society as a whole but part of it, spread throughout all levels of society and identifying with their peer group whatever that might be, there is less likelihood of a group of mages achieving dominance over society because others will prevent it.
Just one other thing about eradicating mages. If you systematically kill mages whenever they appear, this will in itself weaken the Veil, so allowing demons through to possess the general population. Killing people is not the answer. Trying to breed out mages is not the answer because it won't work.
Eee if that was so easy to torn veil with killing pretty much 1 war and thedas would be eaten by demons and pretty much thedas had a lot wars and death not to mention 5 blights.We have at best few thousands mages in thedas perhaps not counting tevinter and apostates.
And still it is better alternative on veil problems because as we saw and see even 1 mage can torn veil pretty much baroness , qunari mage and now Venatori and we have a lot psycho mages in series in fact majority of mages seems nothing more than psychos and unstable walking bombs.
Actually there are a lot of places in Thedas where the Veil is permanently thin because of past battles or multiple deaths. There is Sundermount and Kirkwall itself, the Brecillin Forest, Adamant Fortress and parts of the Dales to name just a few. It is exacerbated by the use of magic either as part of the conflict or subsequent to it. It is part of the reason the current chaos and in particular the civil strive in Orlais and mage/Templar situation is so serious.
Part of the reason that having large concentrations of mages in one place in a constant state of tension, fear and suspicion doesn't work in preventing possession is because the strong emotions and use of magic actually help bring demons through the Veil.
I know it seems awfully trite and clichéd but "think happy thoughts" and "peace and love" actually would solve a lot of Fade related problems in Thedas.
Actually there are a lot of places in Thedas where the Veil is permanently thin because of past battles or multiple deaths. There is Sundermount and Kirkwall itself, the Brecillin Forest, Adamant Fortress and parts of the Dales to name just a few. It is exacerbated by the use of magic either as part of the conflict or subsequent to it. It is part of the reason the current chaos and in particular the civil strive in Orlais and mage/Templar situation is so serious.
Part of the reason that having large concentrations of mages in one place in a constant state of tension, fear and suspicion doesn't work in preventing possession is because the strong emotions and use of magic actually help bring demons through the Veil.
I know it seems awfully trite and clichéd but "think happy thoughts" and "peace and love" actually would solve a lot of Fade related problems in Thedas.
Yes, but all the places you mention were the sites of exceptional violence. I doubt there would be any need to bring mages to some central location to off them, when it would be safer and easier to do it in whatever village you found them in. Single deaths in scattered locations across the entire rural society won't have nearly the effect of a massed battle or an orphanage turned charnel house somewhere.
It's amazing how the argument is not over whether to commit genocide, but how it can be done most efficiently.
For anyone who thinks killing all mages is the solution let me ask you a question:What will you do if the mages fight back and then determine you and those like you should be wiped out instead?
If mundanes try to lead a genocide campaign against anyone with magic then that would be the final straw for mages who will then not give a damn anymore and unleash their talents against the aggressors.
It's amazing how the argument is not over whether to commit genocide, but how it can be done most efficiently.
It's also pretty damn disturbing how there are people who think genocide is the best solution because the victims are different from normal people.
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