62 réponses à ce sujet

[Clogrock]

Hello people, this my first post so I’m sorry if this topic been addressed before (I used search, but didn’t find anything). I was wondering, does anyone here interested in playing an older Inquisitor? Older, I mean like 50+. 

I was always bothered the way DA:O didn’t have at least one origin that wasn’t tied to certain (young) age. Of course, you could create a character that’s looking old, but it totally didn’t make sense in game. If you were a circle-tower mage, of course you’d already passed Harrowing or made Tranquil by your 50s, human noble or casteless dwarf don’t make sense either (they both have older parents). City elf has his wedding day at the beginning. And so on. Even if the game don’t state your exact age, it’s pretty clear that all of protagonists are in their 20s. The same goes for DAII, where your age is stated pretty clearly.

Actually, that’s why I love to play Orlessian Knight-Commander - he/she doesn’t have any backstory, that’s ties him/her to a certain age.

So, does anyone here feels the way I do? Would anyone be interested in backstory that doesn’t involve not-that-old parents or your childhood friends that are young? Is there a chance we could create an Inquisitor that’s not only looks middle-aged/older, but also addressed as such?

Sorry for my, english beforehand - not my first language.

[Wulfram]

DA:I protagonist isn't going to be so tied down in age, but will be assumed to be somewhere between 20-40

 

The story tends to rely on the protagonist being one of the best front line combatants in the world.  That's implausible for people over 45, at least for non-mages.  Look at the competitors at the olympics for comparison.  Particularly if you're assumed to be getting better during the game.

 

I'd also say that older characters tend to need to have more back story, and this can cause problems with allowing the player to define their own character.

[Sentient Toaster]

DA:I protagonist isn't going to be so tied down in age, but will be assumed to be somewhere between 20-40

 

The story tends to rely on the protagonist being one of the best front line combatants in the world.  That's implausible for people over 45, at least for non-mages.  Look at the competitors at the olympics for comparison.  Particularly if you're assumed to be getting better during the game.

 

I'd also say that older characters tend to need to have more back story, and this can cause problems with allowing the player to define their own character.

 

This. 

 

Older,to be plausible:

 

- more defined personality as reflected in history, much less flexibility, unless you have a wide range of significant choices to make during character generation.

 

- much larger discrepancy between things that your character should already know but that the player will not (unless BW ships a collection of stories and expects players to read them... probably not a reasonable expectation) -- places where your character has already been, people whom you've already met, foes you've fought before, et cetera; basically resolvable if you're a complete stranger to the land (but then, you're not likely to be trusted with authority, are you?)

[SomeoneStoleMyName]

I made my male Hawke mage really old Far right complexion, huge white beard and hair. He was looking like ancient zeus himself. A wrinkled old cynical bastard.

[Thermopylae]

The above are good points. Younger characters allow a narrative journey over years that are transformative. The Game of Thrones RPG and TV series are a good example of this. The RPG (2012) published by Allus involved a narrative of two older characters, a Red Priest and a Black Brother, both who come with "emotional baggage" as the expression goes, and the narrative involved cut scenes of past events. The feeling I got from that RPG was a building sense of foreboding, and it wasn't bad if judged independently of the massive expectations of its audience. 

 

The character Arya Stark from Game of Thrones (TV) is a protagonist who is undergoing a journey of transformation, she is "growing up" in the TV series. (I haven't read the books and don't feel I need to. I have enough to read through my study, although I might start reading the Dragon Age novels near November, not that I expect them to be good.)

 

I think I could play an older character with a history but it would be more meaningful to me to have been with that character in the creation of his/ her history, such as through particular scenes through the life prior to the (synchronic) beginning of the main story, and I suspect that is the case with everyone else as well.

[Dubya75]

Hawke was 62 years old. You couldn't tell because he ate all his vegetables, breathed clean air, exercised regularly and most importantly, MOISTURISED!

Same with the rest of his kin. So there!

[Amfortas]

Old characters are not very compatible with the so popular Bioware romances. In swtor I tried to romance Mako with my bald white haired bounty hunter who could have been her grandfather. It felt so wrong.

I am too planning to play a fifty something warrior in inquistion. I just hope the backstory allows it, but I don't really need any special mentions regarding his age.

[Realmzmaster]

In reality the average age of medieval people (upon which a lot of fantasy crpgs are based) was 44 for women and 49 for men. This is based on the recorded births and deaths of the aristocracy which tended to have easier lives, access to better food and medicine, therefore longer lifespans.

The average lifespan of peasants was much less. In fact in medieval Britain the average life expectancy was 30. If a person lived to 21 the chance of living to 64 was greatly enhanced.

A boy of aristocracy was sent to become a knight at age 6-7 as a page. Usually around age 13 the boy became a squire and at age 21 (assuming the squire makes it) a knight. One of the squire tasks was participating in the battle, protecting the knight in battle, rescuing the knight( if the knight is taken prisoner) along with securing any prisoners the knight captured.

Mortality rates among squires could be high. (A knight could have multiple squires, but a squire could have only one knight.)

 

The other way to become a knight was to prove oneself in battles (lots of battles) for queen or king and country.

 

The chances of a warrior being effective at an older age (say above 35) was greatly lessen due to injury, disease and lack of medical care. So while an older warrior may have the discipline and skill the physical capacity may no longer be there.

Which is way you did not see many old warriors.

 

The other point as others in this thread have mentioned an older warrior should already have some set skills and a backstory.

 

Actually in DA2, Hawke should have already come with skills being either a warrior or rogue (at Ostagar) or a mage (trained by Malcolm). For gameplay purposes Hawke starts at level 1.

 

The same with the Dwarf noble who was suppose to be a trained warrior. Romances are another reason. Many younger woman or men if marrying an older man or woman it was for power, money politics or all three. I am not saying there were no marriages for love, but it was most likely not the case, because many wanted heirs to carry on the line.

 

That was another reason for having younger women and men having children. The mortality rate for children was high before age 5. Many women died in childbirth and more from childbirth complications. Older men especially warriors had trouble due to injury and disease.

 

Just some realism sneaking into the fantasy.

 

Edited: Had to correct women's average age.

[The Night Haunter]

Cause you can't really be a 50 year old traveling half the world, constantly fighting, and getting chopped to pieces every few fights. 'I'm getting too old for this ****!' Seems appropriate.

 

Old Mages might be workable, but all in all the main reason is that the vast majority of prospective buyers are 15-30, and passed 30 the numbers begin to decline. People connect best with characters they can, in some fashion, relate to, thus the age similarity.

[AshenEndymion]

Cause you can't really be a 50 year old traveling half the world, constantly fighting, and getting chopped to pieces every few fights. 'I'm getting too old for this ****!' Seems appropriate.

 

Old Mages might be workable, but all in all the main reason is that the vast majority of prospective buyers are 15-30, and passed 30 the numbers begin to decline. People connect best with characters they can, in some fashion, relate to, thus the age similarity.

 

If the average age of a video game player is 30, I somehow doubt that the number of potential buyers over 30 years old is smaller than the number under 30...

[Altima Darkspells]

In DAO, it made since, because younger people have a higher chance of not dying when sucking down super monster blood, and I base that on absolutely nothing.

In DA2...well, DA2 was bad anyway. But it had a certain amount of criteria to fulfill for the story (having a living mother, young-ish siblings, etc.). So, young.

You can play an old-ish person in DAI, though.

Or as a dwarf. Because all dwarves of all ages look the same.

I think the real reason that developers don't make elderly protagonists is that the older a person gets, the more set in their ways they become, the less able they appear to other people, the more knowledgeable and worldly they may be, and the more grounded they appear. Which makes for meh drama.

[The Night Haunter]

If the average age of a video game player is 30, I somehow doubt that the number of potential buyers over 30 years old is smaller than the number under 30...

http://www.theesa.com/facts/

Average is 31 (according to their studies), so # above 31 = # less than 31.

 

Not meaning to sound like what I'm saying is true 100%, simply my view of the situation. It's legitimacy is as suspect as any opinion.

[Lucidae]

 

Hello people, this my first post so I’m sorry if this topic been addressed before (I used search, but didn’t find anything). I was wondering, does anyone here interested in playing an older Inquisitor? Older, I mean like 50+. 

I was always bothered the way DA:O didn’t have at least one origin that wasn’t tied to certain (young) age. Of course, you could create a character that’s looking old, but it totally didn’t make sense in game. If you were a circle-tower mage, of course you’d already passed Harrowing or made Tranquil by your 50s, human noble or casteless dwarf don’t make sense either (they both have older parents). City elf has his wedding day at the beginning. And so on. Even if the game don’t state your exact age, it’s pretty clear that all of protagonists are in their 20s. The same goes for DAII, where your age is stated pretty clearly.

Actually, that’s why I love to play Orlessian Knight-Commander - he/she doesn’t have any backstory, that’s ties him/her to a certain age.

So, does anyone here feels the way I do? Would anyone be interested in backstory that doesn’t involve not-that-old parents or your childhood friends that are young? Is there a chance we could create an Inquisitor that’s not only looks middle-aged/older, but also addressed as such?

Sorry for my, english beforehand - not my first language.

 

You probably won't be able to pull off a 50+ Inquisitor that fits with the backstory either, but they did say you should be able to get an early 40's character that made sense. I think DAO was meant to be more of a coming of age story. If you were a veteran at life who had allies, friends, and power the Blight wouldn't have felt quite as impossible. You could pull off a scenario in DA2 where your character became old since the game took place over 10 years.

[SerTabris]

http://www.theesa.com/facts/

Average is 31 (according to their studies), so # above 31 = # less than 31.

 

Not meaning to sound like what I'm saying is true 100%, simply my view of the situation. It's legitimacy is as suspect as any opinion.

 

That's if they're using the median for 'average', which seems reasonable but isn't stated.

[Hizoku]

In reality the average age of medieval people (upon which a lot of fantasy crpgs are based) was 434 for women and 49 for men. This is based on the recorded births and deaths of the aristocracy which tended to have easier lives, access to better food and medicine, therefore longer lifespans.

 

women used to live for 434 years? xD

[Gamemako]

Bernard Hopkins holds a boxing title at 49 after a lifetime of taking punches for a living. It's not really that farfetched to have an older warrior, especially when experience does so much for the styles of combat depicted. Certainly not much reason to ignore a 50-year-old mage, either.

[Gabdube]

Bernard Hopkins holds a boxing title at 49 after a lifetime of taking punches for a living. It's not really that farfetched to have an older warrior, especially when experience does so much for the styles of combat depicted. Certainly not much reason to ignore a 50-year-old mage, either.

Fists =/= spears, warhammers, swords or crossbow bolts

The only way to live long as a warrior (that is, if you aren't fighting unarmed children) is to NOT get hit, and to be very lucky if you ever do get hit.

Now matter how good a warrior you are, or how much plate you're wearing, half-blind peasants with crossbows can and will kill you if you aren't lucky.

[Nukekitten]

Fists =/= spears, warhammers, swords or crossbow bolts

The only way to live long as a warrior (that is, if you aren't fighting unarmed children) is to NOT get hit, and to be very lucky if you ever do get hit.

Now matter how good a warrior you are, or how much plate you're wearing, half-blind peasants with crossbows can and will kill you if you aren't lucky.

It's highly unlikely that a crossbow impact would kill you more or less immediately unless it hit in a vital area. Even with swords there are accounts of people being run through multiple times in duels and going on to live. Even with guns, if you're shot and get to aid within 30 minutes or so your odds are generally reasonably good (though of course they get worse if you're shot repeatedly.) Most casualties in war, before the advent of reasonably modern medicine, were more due to infection and disease than anything else.

Killing someone outright takes a not insignificant amount of skill.

In a world with magical healing, I don't find it hard to believe that the occasional hit wouldn't be that big a deal, if someone doesn't kill you outright you can be put back together. At least, you can if you're sufficiently valuable. Which a suit of plate or being a mage would tend to suggest you are - the latter's a strategic resource and the former's incredibly wealthy.

[NextArishok]

I am.  My Qunari is going to be "old" i guess you would say.  Huge grown out horns just like the arishok had.  I don't mind playing older protagonists.  I loved MGS4 and snake was ancient in game

 

I have an issue playing female characters.  I just don't like it....at all.  That's not to say I don't play the Fury or the Asari Adept in ME3...or that I don't love Last of Us.  Its just something that bothers me  and when I have a choice I will never choose a female.  I absolutely love females, I just don't want to play them.

[Borosini]

Actually, that’s why I love to play Orlessian Knight-Commander - he/she doesn’t have any backstory, that’s ties him/her to a certain age.

 

...That's a great idea. Now I want to try this.

[Realmzmaster]

women used to live for 434 years? xD

 

A typo. I have corrected the mistake. Thank you for noticing it.

[PsychoBlonde]

In reality the average age of medieval people (upon which a lot of fantasy crpgs are based) was 44 for women and 49 for men. This is based on the recorded births and deaths of the aristocracy which tended to have easier lives, access to better food and medicine, therefore longer lifespans.

The average lifespan of peasants was much less. In fact in medieval Britain the average life expectancy was 30. If a person lived to 21 the chance of living to 64 was greatly enhanced.

 

Yeah, the unspeakably high mortality rate between 1-5 years of age played a big part in these numbers.  If you managed to survive to become an adult, you weren't that likely to die in your 40's--you'd often live to be old.  But you had to survive to be an adult first.  And just because you lived that long, it didn't mean you were in good shape.  You lost your teeth, your hair, your eyesight, you had bad joints, etc.  Spry elders were uncommon.

That, and women died a lot in childbirth.  The increase in women's lifespans when medicine got a handle on most childbirth problems was phenomenal.

 

Granted, Thedas has magical healers and actual mass hygiene along with some degree of sanitation, so it's a tough comparison to make.

[PsychoBlonde]

Killing someone outright takes a not insignificant amount of skill.

 

Or a lucky accident, as anyone in the medical profession can tell you.  But that's not the same thing as being common, otherwise we'd all be dropping dead from tripping and falling or similar.

[Realmzmaster]

Bernard Hopkins holds a boxing title at 49 after a lifetime of taking punches for a living. It's not really that farfetched to have an older warrior, especially when experience does so much for the styles of combat depicted. Certainly not much reason to ignore a 50-year-old mage, either.

 

Bernard Hopkins did not start boxing until age 23 while in prison. He change weight classes (moving to light heavyweight) because he could no longer beat his opponents (especially Jermain Taylor  Hopkins lost the middleweight title to him in 2005) at the middleweight class in which he previously fought.

 

Boxing is also a controlled sport. It does not compare to getting a sword through the gut, head trauma from a sword cut  or having limbs damaged from axes. 

 

Bernard Hopkins is also a rarity in the sport mostly due to having come to boxing later in his life. Most boxers start at a young age.

[Realmzmaster]

It's highly unlikely that a crossbow impact would kill you more or less immediately unless it hit in a vital area. Even with swords there are accounts of people being run through multiple times in duels and going on to live. Even with guns, if you're shot and get to aid within 30 minutes or so your odds are generally reasonably good (though of course they get worse if you're shot repeatedly.) Most casualties in war, before the advent of reasonably modern medicine, were more due to infection and disease than anything else.

Killing someone outright takes a not insignificant amount of skill.

In a world with magical healing, I don't find it hard to believe that the occasional hit wouldn't be that big a deal, if someone doesn't kill you outright you can be put back together. At least, you can if you're sufficiently valuable. Which a suit of plate or being a mage would tend to suggest you are - the latter's a strategic resource and the former's incredibly wealthy.

 

In a battle most soldiers are not wearing plate and there are normally not enough mage medics to heal all of the dying or injured. The same occurrence happens in any battle. 

Magic healing is also an abstraction for gameplay purposes. I doubt that the healing magic could regrow limbs. Anders in one of the cutscence in DA2 is extremely drained curing a refugee boy. I seriously doubt that any 50 year old mage could do that multiple times in a row which most battles would require. Whereas a younger mage would probably have more stamina and an ability to recover quicker.

 

The older mage may have more mental fortitude to withstand mystical attacks than the younger mage. That comes down to experience. The ability to wage prolonged battle is significantly weighed in favor of the young.