Oh I tried both, but Sebastion is too sanctimonious and Anders is too much of an extremist for me.
I liked Anders a lot in Awakening, such a shame he got weird and psychotic.
Yeah, that's one of my many issues with DA2. Anders going from the laid-back goof of Awakening to the bipolar abomination of DA2 was jarring to say the least.
Well... it did take 7 years for him to go completely extremist.
True. But even so, the change between Awakening and Act 1 of DA2 was jarring for so short a timeframe. Awakening is supposed to be about 6 months post-Origins, and Act 1 of DA2 is roughly 1 to 1 1/2 years post-Origins. Granted, a lot can happen in a year (see, well, Origins) but it's still significant enough to be jarring.
If you don't have Sebastian's DLC it's easy enough to let Anders live. In the vanilla game, the only one who supports outright killing him is Fenris and he does not put his foot down on the issue if you are good friends with him. My usual excuse for letting Anders live, despite disagreeing with his actions, was that my sister is in the Circle and I need his help to rescue her.
With Sebastian, well, it gets complicated. Grand Cleric Elthina was a good woman, and Sebastain loved her like a mother. Lest we forget, our Hawke can sympathize with his pain. How can we not agree with Sebastian's request, especially when going against his request means war with Starkhaven? Especially if Bethany was not in the Circle, perhaps with the Grey Wardens (unbeknownst to my character, stil quite close), I would not have a good reason for letting Anders live.
True. But even so, the change between Awakening and Act 1 of DA2 was jarring for so short a timeframe. Awakening is supposed to be about 6 months post-Origins, and Act 1 of DA2 is roughly 1 to 1 1/2 years post-Origins. Granted, a lot can happen in a year (see, well, Origins) but it's still significant enough to be jarring.
I've always felt the change was understandable due to the unique situation Anders finds himself in. Anders is not the same person he once was - literally. Remember he took Justice into his body. The party banter in Awakening between the two showed that Justice felt Anders should do something about the injustice mages faced, whereas Anders was passive about it and just wanted to stay out of trouble.
Infact I'd say throughout the game (DA2) we witness Anders personalty gradually being more and more influenced by Justice. He starts off a simple healer who just wants to help out people and stay out of trouble. Then as years go by and he witnesses more and more abuse against mages and Justice's control over him becomes more and more complete. Depending on your interactions with him he'll even come to realize just how much control Justice has had over him the entire time.
Sure, Anders is different in DA2 than he is in Awakening but thats because of Justice's influence. The person Anders turns into is a lot more in line to the kind of person Justice was in Awakening. At least, that was the impression I got from it.
More on topic:
Anders. Unlike some I actually never found Anders to be annoying. I liked him. I supported his cause, though didn't agree with the extremes he went to in the end. Its these extremes that caused all the problems in the first place. I was a heavy mage-supporter but even still I'm not completely against the circle or the templars... just the ones in Kirkwall specifically. Both sides were too extreme with traces of sanity scarcely being found on either side.
As for Sebastian... well. Honestly? I felt nothing for the guy. I don't hate him. He seems like a nice person. I never took him for anything other than his story quests though. Never felt any connection. I was surprised to even see him at the ending. I would had likely forgotten about the character if his portrait wasn't always present in the party selection screen.
So to me it felt like this random acquaintance I did one or two quests with is trying to talk me into killing my best friend by giving me a "him or me" ultimatum. A bit awkward really.
It doesn't help that Sebastian is also the only companion that you're forced to hold off on recruiting until Act 2. Not that this should necessarily make a huge difference, but going an entire Act before being able to add another character to the group makes him feel like less of a part of the game.
I've always felt the change was understandable due to the unique situation Anders finds himself in. Anders is not the same person he once was - literally. Remember he took Justice into his body. The party banter in Awakening between the two showed that Justice felt Anders should do something about the injustice mages faced, whereas Anders was passive about it and just wanted to stay out of trouble.
Infact I'd say throughout the game (DA2) we witness Anders personalty gradually being more and more influenced by Justice. He starts off a simple healer who just wants to help out people and stay out of trouble. Then as years go by and he witnesses more and more abuse against mages and Justice's control over him becomes more and more complete. Depending on your interactions with him he'll even come to realize just how much control Justice has had over him the entire time.
Sure, Anders is different in DA2 than he is in Awakening but thats because of Justice's influence. The person Anders turns into is a lot more in line to the kind of person Justice was in Awakening. At least, that was the impression I got from it.
I wasn't thinking about it that way, but now that you mention it, I do see the similarities between Awakening!Justice and later DA2!Anders, particularly in Act 3.
Back on topic:
I never felt particularly connected to Sebastian, but Act 3!Anders was just too extreme even for my pro-mage Hawke. So Sebastian by default, even if I wasn't doing it for him.
Save if Sebastian is being romanced, I let Anders live most of the time, since I prefer he lives with what he's done. Also, I can't kill the blighter if he's being romanced; on top of breaking Hawke's heart by lying to her, I can't completely smash it to pieces by having her emotionlessly stab him in that scene, which doesn't seem to care if he's being romanced or not.
Also, Sebastian may be the only companion who can use bows, but Anders is the only good healing mage I have unless I'm a mage myself.
I went for Anders.
Reasons for short:
*Anders is a loving character
*Felt sypathetic towards mages through the game
*Myself, a mage (DA:O); Pro-mage Warrior (DA2)
Even though his personality is super whiny, I imagine him being a devoted and kinky lover (NOTE!: Romanced on a male|mage Hawke).
It was a tough choice since I thought Sebastian was a great friend but I had to choose Anders. Better one friend alive and the other estranged than one friend dead.
Sebastian just wanted the person who killed his mother figure to die.
If someone had requested that you just let Quentin go, how would you have reacted?
Sebastian just wanted the person who killed his mother figure to die.
If someone had requested that you just let Quentin go, how would you have reacted?
I am fine with Sebastian wanting Anders death.. I can understand him.
But invading Kirkwall if I refuse to kill him (what I always do)? Sebastian lost all of my sympathy after that.
I am fine with Sebastian wanting Anders death.. I can understand him.
But invading Kirkwall if I refuse to kill him (what I always do)? Sebastian lost all of my sympathy after that.
It would have made more sense if he asked the Inquisition to help him hunt down Anders instead.
It would have made more sense if he asked the Inquisition to help him hunt down Anders instead.
Sebastian and making sense?
I would have liked to tell him once again to shut up and go home.
Nobody hunts my friend Anders! 
I like your avatar btw
There is 'protecting' someone and then there is demanding they live exactly the way you want, when you want and being constantly under restraints. I never said I believed the CIRCLE (in itself) was a bad idea, I said the way they were going about it all the time WAS a bad idea. I feel that way, and that is the wonderful thing about the series is we are able to draw our own conclusions. Having an idea, and applying it is one thing but that doesn't mean the way you follow through afterwards is going to be seen as excellent in the eyes of everyone else.
I did state that I feel the chantry is 'just' in some sense of the word. Regardless, I do not feel as though their application of power was the correct way of handling the situation and in the end I believe that power went to some peoples heads.
*Red Might Contain Spoilers for Inquisition*
According to Vivienne, every mage lived differently. She was not restrained to the circle, but had a suite in the palace of Orlais and a wing within her suitors estate. She said she never lived under confinement. All the mages had to do was ask for permission to live away from the circle. We are also forgetting that the total sum of all the mages was broken in half because half of the mages WANTED to live within the circles and the other half did not. The circles were divided within themselves and Grand Enchanter Fiona broke the tie, according to Vivienne anyways.
Either way, I ALWAYS choose Sebastian Vael 
. I'm kind of obsessed with him lol. I hate Anders though, even if Bioware never created Sebastian. He complained way too much. Poor Justice, if Solas is correct, stupid Anders probably twisted Justice's nature into Vengeance. See, I liked Justice from Awakening, he reminds me of Sebastian's nature.. I always kill Anders. I'm not religious, but if someone blew up a Christian Church because someone thought they were doing a bad job, I wouldn't let that person go free, who knows how unstable they are. Why not blow up the Gallows? The Templars were founded before the Chantry anyways according to Cassandra or was it Mother Giselle? Ahhh I just realized, Cole is supposed to be like Justice.
P.S. Sebastian SAYS he's going to invade Kirkwall , and that's what he does... and the only one the power seemed to go to their head was with Mother Petrice in DA2 and Revered Mother Hevara from Inquisition. I guess a few rotten apples spoil the whole batch I suppose, but the same could be said of the mages and the Templars. It's ironic that the Tevinter Imperium also has a Chantry with Templars, but instead they hold no power. There is a balance that seems no one can achieve.
Anders. ALWAYS.
Anders! Always....
I just wish I could get the recepie for the explosives he used on the chantry, my inquisiton would benefit greatly 
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