Drawn by the lovely askbroodyelf: http://askbroodyelf....-reading-to-her Consider this as my defence of half-dwarven babies for DA4, Bioware! We need half-dwarven babies! Look at that cute half-dwarf! How can you refuse, Bioware?
(Actually I wasn't sure about posting that drawing here, but since Nino is Fjal's son, it's still on topic, yes? 
)
Anyone care to feed me their headcanons about Brosca's father and Aeducan's mother?
I spent my entire first full game clicking every dwarf male there was in DAO with my Brosca in case that was Pops. It was like playing the children's book "Are You My Mother?" lol I was almost convinced that Dwyn was the father, just that they hadn't written it in particularly well... which makes the sex-for-favors offer a bit... yeah, no. When I recognized later that dwarves weren't considered the darling race I'd found them to be, it finally dawned on me that they'd just left out that content- no Pops to be found. Took a while for it to sink in. I mean, I'd reeeeaaallly wanted to find him. Seemed so tied to the story of Brosca leaving for the surface.
I'd never much noticed the missing Aeducan mother somehow, but I like the noble-hunter idea. Single or missing parents are all the rage in DAO.
I spent my entire first full game clicking every dwarf male there was in DAO with my Brosca in case that was Pops. It was like playing the children's book "Are You My Mother?" lol I was almost convinced that Dwyn was the father, just that they hadn't written it in particularly well... which makes the sex-for-favors offer a bit... yeah, no. When I recognized later that dwarves weren't considered the darling race I'd found them to be, it finally dawned on me that they'd just left out that content- no Pops to be found. Took a while for it to sink in. I mean, I'd reeeeaaallly wanted to find him. Seemed so tied to the story of Brosca leaving for the surface.
I'd never much noticed the missing Aeducan mother somehow, but I like the noble-hunter idea. Single or missing parents are all the rage in DAO.
Aeducan's mother died before the origin begins, and only has some passing references. Lady Helmi says she'd "melt the stone" if she knew about the deal with Lord Dace to give Casteless and surface dwarves a few more rights, such as allowing descendants of nobles houses to return home, because this venture would actually help Dace recover a great deal of financial losses he made as an investment to a surfacer trading expedition and various houses would owe him kin-debts to pay for the lost coin.
From that we can infer that Lady Aeducan either played the game well and was a staunch traditionalist, or Lady Helmi is playing on a maternal connection to save her own house from having to pay the kin debts, which Aeducan would also be forced to pay. She's clearly vying for a future favor from Lord/Lady Aeducan Warden by offering us this one.
Like these?
Oh and they are pretty long, because my sentences are always way longer than they need to be. Sorry about that.
Masarian Aeducan.
Spoiler
Aldis Aeducan. (I don't remember how marraige works in Orzammar. Can a noble caste be wed to the king without having a son or is test pregnancy required?)
Spoiler
Lily Brosca
Spoiler
I headcanon that my female Aeducan's grandmother's armor comes from her mother's side of the family and it was one of her mother's greatest wishes that she wear it when she came of age, which is why Endrin sounds so emotional about it the day of her command appointment.
I often headcanon that my Dwarf Noble, while the second son of Endrin, was born from from a casteless noble hunter. It helps me explain to myself why my Dwarf Noble Warden looks different from Endrin, Trian and Bhelen, and also why Endrin favored him so much. I like to think there was genuine affection between Endrin and whoever Warden Aeducan's mother was, raised as a concubine in the house. We know that most nobles look favorably on noble hunters as it helps replenish their numbers to fight darkspawn, although I think they lose more dwarves to political infighting than darkspawn,
It allows me to headcanon the varying responses an Aeducan might have. Would their noble birth and background make them more traditional or would they be more sympathetic to the plight of lower castes and casteless because of his mother?
Brosca's Father: This is embarrassing, but I didn't know about Brosca's father on my first playthrough, so I headcanoned that Rica and my Tatia were the results of a failed attempt at noble-hunting. I headcanoned that Kalah was a noble-hunter when she was younger, and found a rather reluctant noble patron who was rather pompous and self-absorbed and just wanted a son to name after himself. Then Rica was born. He then grew impatient and gave Kalah one more chance, but when my Tatia came out a girl he dumped her for another noble-hunter to give him a son. Kalah then sank into despair and started drinking her sorrows away (and abusing her daughters out of resentment for not being boys), and Rica and my Tatia had to get by on their own. This was partly to explain why Kalah seems to favor Rica (since she resented my gal for costing her everything), and partly to explain why my gal starts off the game as the more "tomboy" of the sisters, and uses her muscle to make a living instead of her legs like Rica--because part of her has internalized the sense of blame from her family; "If you'd been born a boy, we wouldn't be caseteless."
Then I made a Brosca who actually talked to Kalah and Rica longer than two seconds, and learned that it's canon that my gal's father was a fellow casteless who wanted to leave for the surface, but Kalah was too scared to go with him, so he left without his family, so she turned to drink to forget. Whoops.
My second Brosca, "Patches," is much more optimistic and big-dreaming like her father had been. I headcanon that he didn't abandon his family, he just meant to go up first, make a decent living, then come back for his family. Show Kalah the surface is livable by example. He was killed on the road by bandits not too long after, so now Kalah and Rica still believe he abandoned them, with only "Patches" to fulfill his dream.
Aeducan's Mother: As others have said, I headcanoned that she was a casteless noble-hunter, which is why my Aeducan is more sympathetic to the common folk.
Drawn by the lovely askbroodyelf: http://askbroodyelf....-reading-to-her Consider this as my defence of half-dwarven babies for DA4, Bioware! We need half-dwarven babies! Look at that cute half-dwarf! How can you refuse, Bioware?
(Actually I wasn't sure about posting that drawing here, but since Nino is Fjal's son, it's still on topic, yes?
Something to think about.I spent my entire first full game clicking every dwarf male there was in DAO with my Brosca in case that was Pops. It was like playing the children's book "Are You My Mother?" lol I was almost convinced that Dwyn was the father, just that they hadn't written it in particularly well... which makes the sex-for-favors offer a bit... yeah, no. When I recognized later that dwarves weren't considered the darling race I'd found them to be, it finally dawned on me that they'd just left out that content- no Pops to be found. Took a while for it to sink in. I mean, I'd reeeeaaallly wanted to find him. Seemed so tied to the story of Brosca leaving for the surface.
I'd never much noticed the missing Aeducan mother somehow, but I like the noble-hunter idea. Single or missing parents are all the rage in DAO.
Aeducan's mother died before the origin begins, and only has some passing references. Lady Helmi says she'd "melt the stone" if she knew about the deal with Lord Dace to give Casteless and surface dwarves a few more rights, such as allowing descendants of nobles houses to return home, because this venture would actually help Dace recover a great deal of financial losses he made as an investment to a surfacer trading expedition and various houses would owe him kin-debts to pay for the lost coin.
From that we can infer that Lady Aeducan either played the game well and was a staunch traditionalist, or Lady Helmi is playing on a maternal connection to save her own house from having to pay the kin debts, which Aeducan would also be forced to pay. She's clearly vying for a future favor from Lord/Lady Aeducan Warden by offering us this one.
Anyone care to feed me their headcanons about Brosca's father and Aeducan's mother?
Freyja's mother was a member of House Harrowmont and a cousin of Lord Pyral. Reputed for her beauty, she was also a staunch traditionalist, and some people were heard to say, after too much drinks at Tapster's, that while Endrin ruled Orzammar, she ruled Endrin. Their three children were her pride and she loved them dearly. She did her best to groom them to their future roles, but Trian was too abrasive, Freyja was too clever and Bhelen was too Bhelen. She died in childbirth (along with the child, a girl) eight years prior to the Fifth Blight and was deeply mourned.
Galar's father had not always been a casteless - he used to be a merchant, until a bad investment led him to be caught in the downward spiral of debts. Things were so bad that he lost his cast and ended in dustown with a new brand on his face. He never adjusted to this new life, and swore that one day he would leave to the surface and start over again there. But then he met Kalah and Littel Rica, and for a few years things were not so bad - until Kalah told him she was with child. He wanted a better life for their child than being a casteless in Dustown, and begged her to finaly move to the surface, but Kalah refused, and after plenty of fights he decided to go alone, although he promised her he would send her enough money to meet the family's needs until his situation would be stable enough for them to join him. He actually made a deal with a guard, unaware the man was one of Beraht's hirelings; all the money he sent ended in the Carta's pocket and the Brosca family never ever saw a single coin of it; the letters that came with it were burned, even the one that announced he had established a small shop dedicated to dwarven goods in Denerim and Kalah and the children could join him at last.
Eventually, the lack of answer led him to believe Kalah wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He married another woman and together they had two children; life was good until the Blight. As rumors began to spread about darkspawns, rumors also began to mention Gray Wardens defying the Lord Regent; one of them with the surname Brosca. It was a shock for Galar's father to hear about his son, and he sent him a letter after Urthemiel was dead, asking if they could meet. They did, and while things were not easy for both sides, father and son promised to write to each other as often as possible afterward.
Oh, this is precious! Look at his sweet little face! I wish we could actually see a half-dwarf in the game. There are a few codex entries and possibly Kieran, but no character model designed primarily as a half-dwarf.
Actually, this makes me think. I wonder if interracial relationships with male dwarves or female dwarves are more common, generally speaking?
Ah! Thanks! His smile is just the sweetest! And Mommy looks so happy, too! 
And it's a very good question! I'll go with the male dwarves, but it's just because Galar and Fjalar both went into interracial relationships, while Freyja was all "nope nope nope". Maybe we should ask Mister Weekes? 
Freyja's mother was a member of House Harrowmont and a cousin of Lord Pyral. Reputed for her beauty, she was also a staunch traditionalist, and some people were heard to say, after too much drinks at Tapster's, that while Endrin ruled Orzammar, she ruled Endrin. Their three children were her pride and she loved them dearly. She did her best to groom them to their future roles, but Trian was too abrasive, Freyja was too clever and Bhelen was too Bhelen. She died in childbirth (along with the child, a girl) eight years prior to the Fifth Blight and was deeply mourned.
Galar's father had not always been a casteless - he used to be a merchant, until a bad investment led him to be caught in the downward spiral of debts. Things were so bad that he lost his cast and ended in dustown with a new brand on his face. He never adjusted to this new life, and swore that one day he would leave to the surface and start over again there. But then he met Kalah and Littel Rica, and for a few years things were not so bad - until Kalah told him she was with child. He wanted a better life for their child than being a casteless in Dustown, and begged her to finaly move to the surface, but Kalah refused, and after plenty of fights he decided to go alone, although he promised her he would send her enough money to meet the family's needs until his situation would be stable enough for them to join him. He actually made a deal with a guard, unaware the man was one of Beraht's hirelings; all the money he sent ended in the Carta's pocket and the Brosca family never ever saw a single coin of it; the letters that came with it were burned, even the one that announced he had established a small shop dedicated to dwarven goods in Denerim and Kalah and the children could join him at last.
Eventually, the lack of answer led him to believe Kalah wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He married another woman and together they had two children; life was good until the Blight. As rumors began to spread about darkspawns, rumors also began to mention Gray Wardens defying the Lord Regent; one of them with the surname Brosca. It was a shock for Galar's father to hear about his son, and he sent him a letter after Urthemiel was dead, asking if they could meet. They did, and while things were not easy for both sides, father and son promised to write to each other as often as possible afterward.
And it's a very good question!
I just found out that if you romance absolutely no one through the course of Inquisition and you flirted with Harding, you are in a relationship with her in Trespasser.
I just found out that if you romance absolutely no one through the course of Inquisition and you flirted with Harding, you are in a relationship with her in Trespasser.
Wait, really? Like it says it in a slide or your companions mention her or something? And is there video? lol
I just found out that if you romance absolutely no one through the course of Inquisition and you flirted with Harding, you are in a relationship with her in Trespasser.
Yep! Sorta. If Vivienne is to be believed... and the Inquisitor's wording was a little less vague...
It'd be nice if it was acknowledge in the Keep.
i'm hoping the keep will get an update on its tiles closer to the release of DA4. There are several things I feel like should be marked in the keep, but aren't.
Wait, really? Like it says it in a slide or your companions mention her or something? And is there video? lol
Dialogue with Vivienne.
Vagueish but enough there that the dragonage wikia treats it as fact.
Spoiler
The IQ's response can be read one of two ways. One - something happened and he's lying to Viv (and the awkward way he answers gives a lot of support to this as a possibility.) The other way is that he's just so surprised that Viv of all people brings it up that he stumbles on his answer. I lean toward the first. It's at least a nod toward the romance, but doesn't sound to me as if anything more than drinks ever happened.
The IQ's response can be read one of two ways. One - something happened and he's lying to Viv (and the awkward way he answers gives a lot of support to this as a possibility.) The other way is that he's just so surprised that Viv of all people brings it up that he stumbles on his answer. I lean toward the first. It's at least a nod toward the romance, but doesn't sound to me as if anything more than drinks ever happened.
I didn't realize before today that you can actually give a beard to your female dwarf! That's amazing, I don't think you could do that in DAO. I myself never play dwarfs, but this definitely makes me appreciate DA dwarves even more. Bearded female dwarf companion, yes please. 
I didn't realize before today that you can actually give a beard to your female dwarf! That's amazing, I don't think you could do that in DAO. I myself never play dwarfs, but this definitely makes me appreciate DA dwarves even more. Bearded female dwarf companion, yes please.
I think it's kind of cute, myself...
Yes, the stubble is really cute!
I just wonder... what does the lore say about dwarven women and beard? Do they all grow it but most just shave it? Or is it more like a rare trait like the hornless qunari? Also I wonder how attractive bearded dwarf women are considered by dwarven culture.
... The absent parent thing is one thing I loved about the dwarf origins, because there's room to headcanon there (as far as appearance goes, and motivations, etc.) but you also have another living parent and at least one sibling, so there's a nice framework for your character.
Another thing I thought was interesting: Rica says "your father" went to the surface, which makes me think she and Brosca have different dads. Totally reasonable. Same with Aeducan and Trian and Bhelen - no reason they can't be half-siblings!
Hahahahaha, that cracks me up! I admit, I was also hoping we'd run into him. My Brosca would have punched him in the face, mostly for Rica's sake. I wonder if he's dead, or if he knows his kid's the Hero of Ferelden?
Harrumph! Laughing at my perfectly reasonable assumption that the devs appreciated how awesome the dwarf commoner narrative was and thus naturally extended it to at least one origin-specific encounter somewhere post-origin... Good Q about him knowing his kid sorta saved the world (for the moment) and is now the most important dwarf in known Thedas history... more or less. And if he did know, would he try to make contact? Could be any number of reasons for him being on the surface in the first place, of course.
Very much agree about how wonderful the mom and sis for working in a meaningful head canon.
Aeducan's mother died before the origin begins, and only has some passing references. Lady Helmi says she'd "melt the stone" if she knew about the deal with Lord Dace to give Casteless and surface dwarves a few more rights, such as allowing descendants of nobles houses to return home, because this venture would actually help Dace recover a great deal of financial losses he made as an investment to a surfacer trading expedition and various houses would owe him kin-debts to pay for the lost coin.
From that we can infer that Lady Aeducan either played the game well and was a staunch traditionalist, or Lady Helmi is playing on a maternal connection to save her own house from having to pay the kin debts, which Aeducan would also be forced to pay. She's clearly vying for a future favor from Lord/Lady Aeducan Warden by offering us this one.
I don't have a comment on this directly, just reminded me of the Helmi's as another example of dwarves that don't fit the usual mold of criminal/comic relief/political cutthroat. There's Denek, of course, who- OK, he's a drinker and regular at Tapster's- but he's also an Assembly member who openly criticizes and tries to steer clear of "the Game." The most interesting character in DAO for me- wish there'd been more. And then there's Adal who at the very least does seem to maintain her own sense of integrity and again, steers wide of "the Game." This is why I wanted my Jagan Aeducan to have a different mother for his child than Mardy:
I don't have a comment on this directly, just reminded me of the Helmi's as another example of dwarves that don't fit the usual mold of criminal/comic relief/political cutthroat. There's Denek, of course, who- OK, he's a drinker and regular at Tapster's- but he's also an Assembly member who openly criticizes and tries to steer clear of "the Game." The most interesting character in DAO for me- wish there'd been more. And then there's Adal who at the very least does seem to maintain her own sense of integrity and again, steers wide of "the Game." This is why I wanted my Jagan Aeducan to have a different mother for his child than Mardy:
Adal Helmi is particularly cool when you play a female Aeducan and fight her in your origin's Proving. I don't know how she reacts to a male Aeducan, as I haven't made one, but she calls the princess an inspiration (regarding females fighting, I assume) and I felt an immediate kinship/respect with her. That, plus her mother's no-nonsense attitude later, biased me towards really liking the Helmi family. lol
Yes, the stubble is really cute!
I just wonder... what does the lore say about dwarven women and beard? Do they all grow it but most just shave it? Or is it more like a rare trait like the hornless qunari? Also I wonder how attractive bearded dwarf women are considered by dwarven culture.
Far as I know, dwarven women having beards was never a thing before Inquisition. I am actually kind of put off by the option. For one thing, it feels like its copying Tolkien when the setting wasn't copying that aspect of Tolkien dwarves before as far as I know. And I'm definitely never going to use it, as I don't think facial hair on women is attractive, particularly when there's enough of it to be called "stubble".
More options for everyone are good, though, I suppose. Its just going to be weird if they ever actually incorporate this into dwarven NPCs when its never been a thing before.
AlleluiaElizabeth, I understand your point of view. But other races have also changed during the series - qunari had no horns in DAO and elves have looked very different in every game (I really hope they stick with the DAI appearance now!) For me as a Tolkien fan dwarven woman without a beard looks more like a hobbit than actual dwarf. That's the only problem I have had with the Dragon Age dwarves so far. But like you said more options for everyone is always good. I would be very happy if we got to see more bearded dwarven ladies, but I understand if some fans would not like that. For me it just makes the race much more interesting.
Far as I know, dwarven women having beards was never a thing before Inquisition. I am actually kind of put off by the option. For one thing, it feels like its copying Tolkien when the setting wasn't copying that aspect of Tolkien dwarves before as far as I know. And I'm definitely never going to use it, as I don't think facial hair on women is attractive, particularly when there's enough of it to be called "stubble".
More options for everyone are good, though, I suppose. Its just going to be weird if they ever actually incorporate this into dwarven NPCs when its never been a thing before.
Aw, I really like female beards for dwarves. I think it should be an option for sure.
Next game, the devs really need to work on ways to make the races more unique. Dwarf females really suffered in DAI. Now the female dwarves just look like mini humans while the male dwarves still have the giant gorilla arms and body bulk. Too much sexual dimorphism there. Bring back the longer arms, sturdier frames, which made sense to me, and if players want to, let us adorn them with beards!
AlleluiaElizabeth, I understand your point of view. But other races have also changed during the series - qunari had no horns in DAO and elves have looked very different in every game (I really hope they stick with the DAI appearance now!) For me as a Tolkien fan dwarven woman without a beard looks more like a hobbit than actual dwarf. That's the only problem I have had with the Dragon Age dwarves so far. But like you said more options for everyone is always good. I would be very happy if we got to see more bearded dwarven ladies, but I understand if some fans would not like that. For me it just makes the race much more interesting.
Actually, qunari were always meant to have horns. But they didn't want to lock the qunari party member out of wearing helmets and they hadn't thought of the magic war-paint yet, so they nixed the horns for that one game only, and then provided a lore-consistent reason for it in the next game.
As far as dwarves go, I understand why some people might like the idea of bearded dwarf ladies, as it further distinguishes them from being hobbits or short humans, but it's balanced by the fact that many people consider facial hair on women to be extremely unattractive and it'll probably never be a popular enough option to make it a significan feature.
Aw, I really like female beards for dwarves. I think it should be an option for sure.
Next game, the devs really need to work on ways to make the races more unique. Dwarf females really suffered in DAI. Now the female dwarves just look like mini humans while the male dwarves still have the giant gorilla arms and body bulk. Too much sexual dimorphism there. Bring back the longer arms, sturdier frames, which made sense to me, and if players want to, let us adorn them with beards!
Completely agree. I didn't much care for the stubble but I wouldn't have used it on a male dwarf either. I could definitely go for an actual beard as an option. I want my female dwarves to look like a separate race - right now, they look much more like short humans than dwarves. The sexual dimorphism is particularly absurd. It's a non-human race, why worry about whether they match the "standard" of "attractive" humans instead something completely different? (quoting because people forget that not everyone defines attractive the same way.)
Completely agree. I didn't much care for the stubble but I wouldn't have used it on a male dwarf either. I could definitely go for an actual beard as an option. I want my female dwarves to look like a separate race - right now, they look much more like short humans than dwarves. The sexual dimorphism is particularly absurd. It's a non-human race, why worry about whether they match the "standard" of "attractive" humans instead something completely different? (quoting because people forget that not everyone defines attractive the same way.)
As long as it stays optional, got no problem. I wouldn't want them redefining the race aesthetics like they did the qunari, though, and taking away the option to make my dwarf supposedly look like a "small human".
Though I disagree with that descriptor given the stockier build and rounder facial structure still makes them stick out compared to any human model. Also, even in DAI, female dwarven busts are... pointier? lol Not trying to be crass, but its been like that since DAO so I think its actually a distinguishing feature of the race, instead of some mistake in modeling. Point being that there are already features that define dwarves to me and I don't think its necessarily accurate to say they just look like small humans.
I personally wouldn't mind the longer armed body proportions from DAO coming back, either. That would go towards making dwarves feel different more to me anyway.
Completely agree. I didn't much care for the stubble but I wouldn't have used it on a male dwarf either. I could definitely go for an actual beard as an option. I want my female dwarves to look like a separate race - right now, they look much more like short humans than dwarves. The sexual dimorphism is particularly absurd. It's a non-human race, why worry about whether they match the "standard" of "attractive" humans instead something completely different? (quoting because people forget that not everyone defines attractive the same way.)
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