@Cydh -- Hey, welcome! I enjoyed your post and I liked seeing all the dwarven timelines all tidied up like that. Personally I'm weak on the elven lore myself (haven't played a Dalish elf beyond the origin story) so I couldn't offer up any thoughts in that regard. I do feel that the races are all connected somehow like parts of a greater whole so your theories touched on that idea a bit.
A friend gave me the heads up on a Gaider/Weekes twitter conversation about dwarf romances earlier today.
I know Gaider/Weekes are joking, but some of the vitriol that Gaider is specifically getting about this is crap.
Here's a very old post that was made prior to DAO's release. It obviously didn't happen under his watch, but he clearly had nothing against dwarf romances from the onset.
He wrote Alistair, who specifically addressed that the dwarf thing wasn't even an issue if romanced by Aeducan or Brosca.
He wrote Dorian, who cheered on dwarves breaking stereotypes.
Spoiler
Dorian: “A little bird told me you were part of the Carta, Inquisitor.” Cadash: “A little bird?” Dorian: “Well, a big bird. A big, indiscreet bird. Who was drunk at the time.” Cadash: “What you heard was true. I was once part of the Carta.” Dorian: “Not any longer? Too bad. They’re an excellent source of cheap contraband.” Dorian: “Back home, you see dwarves everywhere … and not just from Ambassadoria.” Dorian: “Rather odd how, in the South, everyone thinks of dwarves as merchants. Limited view, in my opinion.” Dorian: “Maybe you’ll change that? In the future, one will hear ‘dwarf’ and think 'messiah.’ Down with stereotypes!”
He's just not the dwarf-hater that some are trying to paint him as.
If they don't make any of the known dwarves a romance in the future (Oh varric what could have been *sad face*),
So for fun if you want answer this question> How would you want your dwarven romance to be?
For me
Gender- Male
Sexuality- Straight
Looks wise- Long beard and hair! Maybe some scars and tattoos!
Class- Doesn't really matter to me tbh.
Personality- Doesn't have "certain things" on his mind all the time, or at the very least doesn't talk about it all the time. Also I would like if he didn't seem stand offish about commitment. Always ready for a fight with the enemy. Very laid back and has a great sense of humor (for great banter with other companions). Oh and maybe he could use his brain more instead of his physical strength to really break him away from the stereotype and make him more unique. Oh and of course Casteless and or a surfacer! (which in some cases is the same thing lol).
I would take Harding as the dwarven romance, which she would fit for all size. Truth be told, I'd welcome another strong female warrior again! (Cassandra. )
Thanks for the read, Cydh. I've always enjoy reading more lore about the dwarves. Gilsa, I'm right there with you about the Dalish lore. I've tried to read up more about it, since Solas may play a huge role in the future DLCs.
I'm a huge dwarf's fan, and I'm still down about Gaider leaving the Dragon Age's series. I don't blame him for there not being a dwarven's romance, and I know that we dwarf fans are small in number.
@Cydh -- Hey, welcome! I enjoyed your post and I liked seeing all the dwarven timelines all tidied up like that. Personally I'm weak on the elven lore myself (haven't played a Dalish elf beyond the origin story) so I couldn't offer up any thoughts in that regard. I do feel that the races are all connected somehow like parts of a greater whole so your theories touched on that idea a bit.
A friend gave me the heads up on a Gaider/Weekes twitter conversation about dwarf romances earlier today.
I know Gaider/Weekes are joking, but some of the vitriol that Gaider is specifically getting about this is crap.
Here's a very old post that was made prior to DAO's release. It obviously didn't happen under his watch, but he clearly had nothing against dwarf romances from the onset.
He wrote Alistair, who specifically addressed that the dwarf thing wasn't even an issue if romanced by Aeducan or Brosca.
He wrote Dorian, who cheered on dwarves breaking stereotypes.
Spoiler
Dorian: “A little bird told me you were part of the Carta, Inquisitor.” Cadash: “A little bird?” Dorian: “Well, a big bird. A big, indiscreet bird. Who was drunk at the time.” Cadash: “What you heard was true. I was once part of the Carta.” Dorian: “Not any longer? Too bad. They’re an excellent source of cheap contraband.” Dorian: “Back home, you see dwarves everywhere … and not just from Ambassadoria.” Dorian: “Rather odd how, in the South, everyone thinks of dwarves as merchants. Limited view, in my opinion.” Dorian: “Maybe you’ll change that? In the future, one will hear ‘dwarf’ and think 'messiah.’ Down with stereotypes!”
He's just not the dwarf-hater that some are trying to paint him as.
No, he's not, though he did make a couple of poorly considered statements...4 or 5 years ago...which he reconsidered. People need to stop holding grudges forever. Gaider's written some of my favorite NPCs stories, so I hated to see him move on. I don't think most of us on here think he was the issue; I think it mostly has to do with none of the writers really being into dwarves themselves so not hitting on a really good dwarf storyline (though someone must have been at one point to have created the Brosca and Aeducan story lines which were great.) Although I'd dearly love to see a dwarven romance (Harding!), I actually have more issue in DAI with race-gating from the mainstream f/m romances and poorly executed cutscenes---some of Blackwall's are bad enough, but Reska had a conversation with Varric in Skyhold in which a chair blocked their faces through most of the cutscene. And even though I like NPCs with a good sense of humor, I feel the Ohgren-Sigrun-Varric trio is enough comic relief (Sigrun wasn't really, but the other two have had much more game time).
And I have no real fears of them giving us an Ohgren-type as a romance. What writer wants to put that much work into something that virtually no one will play?
If they don't make any of the known dwarves a romance in the future (Oh varric what could have been *sad face*),
So for fun if you want answer this question> How would you want your dwarven romance to be?
*snip*
Gender-male by preference, but any gender is fine
Sexuality-Bi, so no one has to be disappointed.
Looks wise- Anything except a pseudo-Tokienish dwarf.
Class-A warrior would be a nice change, but a DW rogue would also different (Sigrun had a much smaller role than the other two)
Personality-Most important is he or she not be the primary comic relief. My preference - quiet, thoughtful, and maybe outwardly a bit of a "bad guy/girl" (carta maybe?) but turn out to not be. I don't much care how wild he or she has been in the past or not, but I'd prefer reasonably confident. And I think it would be a riot if he or she spoke with a very proper British accent and had rather elegant manners; most dwarves make me think NE US from a former factory town. Not that I don't like that, but some variety is nice...
So....watched all 4 eps of Series 5 of Game of Thrones (Found the leaked eps hehe) I now need to play Dragon Age! I've kept my dwarf aside, so I'll start his PT when the new DLC is out next month But now....it's time to make a Dornish mage maybe rouge! I know.. humans eww xD But come on! Who doesn't love Dorne Think you can tell, I'm a House Martell supporter haha
P.s sorry for going off topic...just want the DLC to hurry up, so my dwarf can start his quest for Power, Order and Strength among the races of Thedas and for one cause!...the inquisition!
I would take Harding as the dwarven romance, which she would fit for all size. Truth be told, I'd welcome another strong female warrior again! (Cassandra. )
Thanks for the read, Cydh. I've always enjoy reading more lore about the dwarves. Gilsa, I'm right there with you about the Dalish lore. I've tried to read up more about it, since Solas may play a huge role in the future DLCs.
I'm a huge dwarf's fan, and I'm still down about Gaider leaving the Dragon Age's series. I don't blame him for there not being a dwarven's romance, and I know that we dwarf fans are small in number.
They should totally bring Sigrun back as a romance. Everybody loved Sigrun. She would be awesome.
If I had my choice ... I'd certainly prefer a male dwarf LI. Make him bisexual, so everyone is happy! (Well, everyone who wants to romance a male dwarf.)
As for his personality - I'd love to see a deep dwarf companion who DIDN'T decide the surface was the best place ever ten minutes after arriving there. I think that worked for Oghren, Sigrun and Dagna given their personal circumstances, and obviously Varric and Harding are surfacers to begin with. But it would be nice to have one prominent, sympathetic dwarf character that sees value in dwarf culture, for all its faults. My dwarf noble Warden loved her home and missed it terribly when she was exiled, and ever since I've wanted to see an NPC that felt the same way. Maybe someone who has basically the same attitude towards Orzammar that Dorian has towards Tevinter? (I mean, they'd need to be very different in other respects to avoid seeming repetitive, but I think that could work.)
And, uh, that has nothing to do with the character being a love interest. So: give him a beard and a good sense of humour and some sexy voice acting and it will be the GREATEST LOVE STORY OF ALL TIME.
Honestly, as much as I want dwarf love interests, to me, I think its more important and interesting if we got some meatier dwarf content. Such as Kal Shirok or a Deep Roads DLC, let's put the spotlight on the awesomeness of dwarves and that way there would be more clamor for more dwarf characters and possible love interests.
That being said, I wouldn't oppose a female dwarf warrior. It would be nice to get more perspective on the dwarf culture, and maybe even help them adjust to life on the surface. I think that is glossed over too quickly and then forgotten.
The impact and aftermath of being forced out of the only home you ever knew and forced to wander this strange new land, the surface would be quite the adjustment, I think helping them would make for a good companion quest, maybe trying to show them the good the surface has to offer and help them adjust.
But that's just my opinion, no need to spread it around.
Hey everyone, I'm the author of the reddit thread about House Cadash that was linked here a few posts ago, linking the Inquisitor to Shale, Kal'Sharok, Cad'Halash and possibly Paragon Fairel.
I would love to revisit it and add/remove whatever deserves a mention or doesn't make much sense!
As far as we know, the lifespan is pretty much the same as human beings.
House Cadash had a Thaig, and the Thaig had statues of Golems, which were created during the first Blight, with Shale as the first female golem.
My personal interpretation of the banishment is that they did something bad enough to warrant banishment of the entire house - it used to be a Warrior House, so it can be anything, but my own theory is that they accidentally provoked a Blight a short time after the events described in the codex Letters From The Past, by trying to reactivate the Eluvian from Cad'Halash, or by letting an Ancient Magister know about it. Another theory is that once Kal-Sharok realized their deed might be uncovered, they set House Cadash up for something and forced Orzammar to banish them.
Considering what we know of Kal-Sharok and their current relation to the Blight, we will probably learn more about it once we visit it (my bet is on the next game).
Anyway, whatever the reason, the banishment itself would be have happened anywhere from a hundred years ago to a thousand years ago at best ("generations"). If it happened like I suspect at the time of the Second Blight, that would put the banishment between 1:00-1:50 Divine, or about 800-850 years ago.
Regarding the Carta: I supposed once you banish an entire House they kind of stay in touch with each other, and would tend to unite their strength to settle topside. It would make sense for the Carta to suggest an alliance of sorts between the Merchant's Guild and the Cadash. House Cadash was originally a Warrior House, it makes sense to have them as bruisers protecting important goods. The Carta would be responsible for dealing with Orzammar, the Merchant's Guild would be responsible for dealing with the Circles, and the Cadash family would ensure that the Lyrium can properly flow on the surface.
It's also possible that the Carta is actually an organization born from the main branch of House Cadash, and that would give us other ways to identify when House Cadash was banished.
If House Cadash created the Carta or the Lyrium Trade within the Carta, and was banished for that reason, and if the Lyrium trade was created along with the Templar order and the Circle of Magi, that would put the date of banishment around the time of the Nevarran Accord (1:20 Divine), roughly at the time of the events of Jaws of Hakkon DLC.
I'll spoiler tag the part dealing with Jaws of Hakkon - these are Mild Spoilers. Literally a few lines from codex entries about two secondary characters that are hardly mentioned and have nothing to do with the actual plot of the DLC nor the important Lore we discover there. You don't risk much if you click it, but it's still spoiler-ish.
Spoiler
Haron (one of the first Inquisitor's companion) was possibly one of the first templars - he had "discovered" how to use Lyrium against demons and was arguing about the "cost" with Telanna.
"O" here is Orinna. She's a dwarven warrior and an alchemist from Orzammar. Could she be from House Cadash, and the one "procuring" Haron with his Lyrium and setting up the organized Lyrium trade branch of the Carta, when the Inquisition was itself laying the ground for the use of Lyrium by the Templar Order?
Strangely enough, this all happened pretty much at the same time the Second Blight started in the Anderfels.
These two theories for the banishment of House Cadash (for provoking the Second Blight and for dealing with surfacers and creating the Lyrium Trade with the Carta - or even the Carta itself) would both fit in roughly the same period: within the period that separate the creation of the first Inquisition and the Nevarran Accord, which also includes the Second Blight. Two unrelated theories giving us the same date: about 800-850 years ago, or around 1:00 Divine.
Conveniently enough, it also fits with the bits I mention in my Reddit post about Shayle Cadash being the first woman warrior caste Paragon, whose title was potentially stripped from the Memory when House Cadash was banished: Astyth the Grey was granted the title of first woman warrior Paragon roughly a hundred years after these events in 1:95 Divine.
Regarding fertility: no idea! I imagine consorting is less common on the surface, simply because there are very few matches "at hand". Without the help of Noble Hunters, families would naturally tend to go extinct, especially without official settlements. For that reason, I say it's probably easier to conceive on the surface.
So I've bought a PS4 last month and of course I had to remake Fjalar:
Also today is a great day! The day I finally got the Ardent Blossom (the description of the helmet made me laugh)! I'm planning for Cass to wear it, but first:
Adorable, isn't it? And of course Fjalar wouldn't be Fjalar if he didn't ruin at least one screenshot:
Ugh, you should had gotten a Xbox, so we could had been Xbox friends. .
Where did you get that headgear? Cespar will love to make fun of Cassandra wearing that.
Ugh, you should had gotten a Xbox, so we could had been Xbox friends. .
Where did you get that headgear? Cespar will love to make fun of Cassandra wearing that.
Sn: Wasn't that headgear created by a dwarf?
I did hesitate between a Xbox and the PS4 actually. But some of the games I plan to play at will only be released on PS4. It doesn't mean I will not get the Xbox though, just really later.
For the Ardent Blossom I completed that quest: http://dragonage.wik...he_Tiniest_Cave It's just the perfect helmet for Cass! Nice stats, and so pwetty! And yeah, it was created by a dwarf for an Orlesian. The dwarf wasn't amused.
I apologized to Sera and then gave her the Ardent Blossom to wear for the sheer irony. I've taken to collecting purple items that have dwarven lore on them and storing them in the chest in the Undercroft. I don't know what I'd do with them, but it's nice to be able to hold on to these things somehow.
I apologized to Sera and then gave her the Ardent Blossom to wear for the sheer irony. I've taken to collecting purple items that have dwarven lore on them and storing them in the chest in the Undercroft. I don't know what I'd do with them, but it's nice to be able to hold on to these things somehow.
I know what you mean about the storage chest in the undercroft. I keep the original shield of Cassandra's in it. I just can't sell it. The design is so cool. Why is it not a schematic, Bioware? As well as some of the original gear of some of the other party members, and older weapons and armor I crafted, it seems a waste to sell since anything you craft can only be bought for like a few lousy coins.
Is it just me or the merchants in this game more stingy with their prices? So I just tend to horde it, instead of selling it.
I wonder if that shield design is available in the Jaws DLC. I didn't buy it myself, but I've read that you can get the schematic for Blackwall's original helmet now in that DLC. (Apparently if you don't put him in your group immediately after completing the Lone Warden, he doesn't get his original gear, including his helmet.)
I apologized to Sera and then gave her the Ardent Blossom to wear for the sheer irony. I've taken to collecting purple items that have dwarven lore on them and storing them in the chest in the Undercroft. I don't know what I'd do with them, but it's nice to be able to hold on to these things somehow.
I don't know If I'm the only one, but I keep the Paragon Aeducan toys.
Retour en haut
Truth be told, I'd welcome another strong female warrior again! (Cassandra. 
) 
But now....it's time to make a Dornish mage maybe rouge! I know.. humans eww xD But come on! Who doesn't love Dorne 
And of course Fjalar wouldn't be Fjalar if he didn't ruin at least one screenshot:
