139 réponses à ce sujet

[Ssekyr1]

Just FYI, you can get through the game with your clan alive. Mine are now co-rulers of Wycome.

 

As this was a relatively huge part of this thread's discussion, I'd ask you to elaborate how. I'm certain I wouldn't be in the minority making this request of you.

 

I used Cullen once it was known Wycome's lord was going to cull his alienage. Cullen, a martial leader, seemed the appropriate response. It turned out badly, as Wycome suffered civilian (elf and human) casualties and in vengeance the noble slaughtered the Lavellen clan. I've also read in this forum that using Josephine in place of Cullen leads to mostly identical results. Did you use Leliana or?

[Amirit]

To me, since it is "reacted" to, I am fine with it. I can easily believe that someone who can close holes in the sky would get a different kind of treatment. 

 

And this is a very good point indeed. However I would still expect reaction along the line "so, that dwarf got a glowing hand and now a Herald of Andraste? Blasphemy!"

 

It's the Inquisition thing. History of Andraste knew only two races - humans (mostly) and elves as allies. Other races existed in their own worlds, totally uninvolved - neither as enemies nor as allies. BW did all they could to include other races (and you already convinced me, that they succeeded with "mystical dailish, an old race coming to save the world once belonged to them") but I still would not play the Inquisition card for dwarves and kossiths.

 

It's not about racism, it's about not being the subject of that lore. They could include some green people from the moon - and even that would look better. There had to be another way. Anything would do - just magic (magic opened the sky - so magic will close it now and that person stood up to the evil magister), or the race-related lore (humanity got caught up in [race] conflict with some Big Evil) - anything but Andraste and Inquisition. Yes, I know, could not be done. But the way it was done is not convincing for me and looks artificial and fairytale-ish. 

[atamajakki]

The Dalish get an exclusive romance and a story mission that reveals a ton of new lore for them. Dwarves? You get a War Table mission about smuggling lyrium and that's about it. Nevermind that the only Qunari-relevent content in the game is all through Iron Bull, with nothing for a Vashoth Inquisition to really dig into.

Inquisition is pretty clearly a "you're supposed to play a human" game, with some love thrown in for elves that is neat, but ties in with the main plot very poorly.

I'd rather not have origins at all than see them this half-assed.

[Mecha Elf]

shouldve just made the elf inquisitor a city elf imo. Im playing as an elf right now and to be honest i feel that a city elf wouldve fit better in many ways.

[robmokron]

The Dalish get an exclusive romance and a story mission that reveals a ton of new lore for them. Dwarves? You get a War Table mission about smuggling lyrium and that's about it. Nevermind that the only Qunari-relevent content in the game is all through Iron Bull, with nothing for a Vashoth Inquisition to really dig into.

Inquisition is pretty clearly a "you're supposed to play a human" game, with some love thrown in for elves that is neat, but ties in with the main plot very poorly.

I'd rather not have origins at all than see them this half-assed.

Origins felt very human too, the main plot anyways, there were side stories that tied into the ORIGINS, if Inquisition had origin stories that you played as well, im sure ti would have been "better", but they didnt.

[berrieh]

And this is a very good point indeed. However I would still expect reaction along the line "so, that dwarf got a glowing hand and now a Herald of Andraste? Blasphemy!"

 

 

But that is the reaction (to almost all races, really). You're labeled a heretic and the Inquisition as heretical. And it is heretical, no matter who the Herald is, because it is basically defying the hobbled Chantry at that point. 

 

However, if a peasant literally knows you closed the sky over his head before it could swallow Haven/The Hinterlands area and spew demons at him, then why wouldn't he be pretty willing to put aside heretics and race? How much skin does he really have in this fight? 

 

It's the Inquisition thing. History of Andraste knew only two races - humans (mostly) and elves as allies. Other races existed in their own worlds, totally uninvolved - neither as enemies nor as allies. BW did all they could to include other races (and you already convinced me, that they succeeded with "mystical dailish, an old race coming to save the world once belonged to them") but I still would not play the Inquisition card for dwarves and kossiths.

 

It's not about racism, it's about not being the subject of that lore. They could include some green people from the moon - and even that would look better. There had to be another way. Anything would do - just magic (magic opened the sky - so magic will close it now and that person stood up to the evil magister), or the race-related lore (humanity got caught up in [race] conflict with some Big Evil) - anything but Andraste and Inquisition. Yes, I know, could not be done. But the way it was done is not convincing for me and looks artificial and fairytale-ish. 

 

Since Shartan (the elf who helped Andraste) is considered a heretic, and since the Dalish are very big on their pantheon worship and couldn't care two figs for Andraste or the Maker, I don't see the Dalish elves as any better religion-wise. Maybe city elves, as many are Andrastian. You're right that the dwarves and Qunari aren't involved in the historical events of Andraste, but I don't really see the historical events as relevant. Maybe I'm missing your point. 

 

The Inquisition card is "I have a magical glowy hand that can close these rifts in the Fade and a woman, who looks a LOT like "Andraste" seemed to watch me from the Fade." Oh, and the Right and Left hands of the Divine are totally backing me up. I'm not saying race doesn't "matter" - it clearly comes up, and it does - but I don't think it'd prevent people from recognizing you as the Herald. Being surprised and potentially unhappy (especially TPTB)? Sure. Any race but human really and even human mages to some degree. But what does some farmer or soldier or villager care about your race if you can literally perform miracles? I don't get the separation from the lore at all, really. The "lore" of Andraste - if you're Andrastian and believe in her and the Maker - is for everyone. Just because some races have not received it does not mean that the Maker doesn't have a plan for them or watch over them. Now the "Powers that Be" of the Chantry are not going to be happy with a Herald who is a) Male, b] a Mage, c) Anything but human. Because that bucks tradition and threatens their power. But those people have just had their asses handed to them and are calling for your head whether it has knife ears, horns, or not. They can't have it. They can't reach you. You have the magic hand, and you have people who recognize that and back you up. 

 

Personally, based on the whole story, I don't believe the Inquisitior is necessarily any Herald at all (it's not impossible, but neither is it cemented) so I don't get the ,lore issue since the game doesn't really explain Andraste (any better than we know), prove her involvement, or even establish the Maker as real; all that remains a mystery. But you can't argue with Cassandra - she is what they needed, when they needed it. I think it is, likely, far more difficult to play as a devout Andrastian dwarf or Vashoth (though Varric is Andrastian by many accounts, so not impossible for a dwarf to be one). But you don't have to really be Andrastian to be the Herald. Being the Herald is about being what is needed. (Which parallels nicely with Andraste's historical story, actually, and its many accounts.)

[LexXxich]

There appears to be some confusion about war table missions about Lavellan clan, there are at least two:
- One with description that says bandits are assaulting the clan staying near Wycome. Using Josephine gets the clan killed.
- One with description that says Lord of Wycome is going to cull the Alienage. Using Cullen gets clan killed.
Any other possibilities? Are these two missions in same continuity? Are they connected to the very first mission about Contacting clan Lavellan (I used Leliana there and got the first mission)?

[DarkSeraphym]

 

But that is the reaction (to almost all races, really). You're labeled a heretic and the Inquisition as heretical. And it is heretical, no matter who the Herald is, because it is basically defying the hobbled Chantry at that point. 

 

However, if a peasant literally knows you closed the sky over his head before it could swallow Haven/The Hinterlands area and spew demons at him, then why wouldn't he be pretty willing to put aside heretics and race? How much skin does he really have in this fight? 

 

 

Since Shartan (the elf who helped Andraste) is considered a heretic, and since the Dalish are very big on their pantheon worship and couldn't care two figs for Andraste or the Maker, I don't see the Dalish elves as any better religion-wise. Maybe city elves, as many are Andrastian. You're right that the dwarves and Qunari aren't involved in the historical events of Andraste, but I don't really see the historical events as relevant. Maybe I'm missing your point. 

 

The Inquisition card is "I have a magical glowy hand that can close these rifts in the Fade and a woman, who looks a LOT like "Andraste" seemed to watch me from the Fade." Oh, and the Right and Left hands of the Divine are totally backing me up. I'm not saying race doesn't "matter" - it clearly comes up, and it does - but I don't think it'd prevent people from recognizing you as the Herald. Being surprised and potentially unhappy (especially TPTB)? Sure. Any race but human really and even human mages to some degree. But what does some farmer or soldier or villager care about your race if you can literally perform miracles? I don't get the separation from the lore at all, really. The "lore" of Andraste - if you're Andrastian and believe in her and the Maker - is for everyone. Just because some races have not received it does not mean that the Maker doesn't have a plan for them or watch over them. Now the "Powers that Be" of the Chantry are not going to be happy with a Herald who is a) Male, b] a Mage, c) Anything but human. Because that bucks tradition and threatens their power. But those people have just had their asses handed to them and are calling for your head whether it has knife ears, horns, or not. They can't have it. They can't reach you. You have the magic hand, and you have people who recognize that and back you up. 

 

Personally, based on the whole story, I don't believe the Inquisitior is necessarily any Herald at all (it's not impossible, but neither is it cemented) so I don't get the ,lore issue since the game doesn't really explain Andraste (any better than we know), prove her involvement, or even establish the Maker as real; all that remains a mystery. But you can't argue with Cassandra - she is what they needed, when they needed it. I think it is, likely, far more difficult to play as a devout Andrastian dwarf or Vashoth (though Varric is Andrastian by many accounts, so not impossible for a dwarf to be one). But you don't have to really be Andrastian to be the Herald. Being the Herald is about being what is needed. (Which parallels nicely with Andraste's historical story, actually, and its many accounts.)

 

 

To add to this, I think it's important to keep in mind that a part of the reason why there is a disconnect between what Lavellan may believe, and those who follow him, is precisely because that pantheon is not part of the latter's belief system. They keep hounding it into you, much as you try to deny it, because it is one of their primary reasons for following it.  It doesn't really matter whether or not Lavellan truly believes they are the Herald of Andraste. It doesn't even matter whether the Andrastian faith has even a lick of accuracy to it. The story line holds true for everyone - many choose to follow the Inquisition out of the belief that this character is being presented as the earthly will of their deity. Lavellan can choose not to believe it as much as he likes, but that doesn't necessarily make the claim false and even if it were, the fact that they believe so gives Lavellan power.

 

For me, Lavellan chose to use their devotion to his advantage. His status as the Herald of Andraste, although he simply believes he was in the right place at the right time, affords him an opportunity create change across Thedas. It's a catalyst for righting many of the wrongs that continue to proliferate among everyone. If the Inquisition chooses to call him the Herald of Andraste, and it can be a powerful tool, why fight it publicly? I see this as a "if a tree falls in the woods, and no one hears it, does it make a sound" issue. Provided Thedas can be changed for the better, does it really matter whether or not they know the truth? Personally, I find that story more fascinating as an elf.

[Amirit]

But that is the reaction (to almost all races, really).

Except human war\ rouge - I know and thankful for Chancellor Roderic (at least one normal reaction). But even he does not underline ridiculousness of the declaration. He is stressing the explosion in his speech.

The initial reaction of villagers was good as well and in line. But then...
 

However, if a peasant literally knows you closed the sky over his head before it could swallow Haven/The Hinterlands area and spew demons at him, then why wouldn't he be pretty willing to put aside heretics and race?

And this is why I remembered magic - templars are constantly putting down rouge mages. In Thedas you do not need to mention Andraste every time you see someone with glowing hands. Ok, that particular magic was very strong, but those crazy mages are always up to something.
 

You're right that the dwarves and Qunari aren't involved in the historical events of Andraste, but I don't really see the historical events as relevant. Maybe I'm missing your point.

No parallels whatsoever. Should not even come to mind of anyone (to tide a dwarf and Andraste or Chantry). Like when you are looking at a dog you do not think of Jesus or Church, simply because these are unrelated matters.
There are thousands andrasteans around - how come a dwarf was the chosen one? Why not a mobary then? Or some stone? Because of the miracles? Com'on in a magical world they see miracles every day.
 

Oh, and the Right and Left hands of the Divine are totally backing me up.

Ok, now THIS is a good point. But for me to make it work I have to headcanon lot's of propaganda, to - first - make a connection, and second - to turn minus (she\he killed Devine) in to plus (was sent by Andraste). And even in this case Inqusition it would be more logical to present you to the people as a tool, like "this dwarf\mobary\qunary was given us by Andraste" same way as "that sword was given to us by Andraste herself".
Hm, still not good but more close.
 

Now the "Powers that Be" of the Chantry are not going to be happy with a Herald who is a) Male, b] a Mage, c) Anything but human.

Exactly what I was said. We do see that reaction - and it's totally believable. But like with nobles welcoming elves as equals, the same way it is hard to me to picture common andrastean folk worshiping a dwarf. Using the "green hand" for inquisition's advantage in general - yes, using it as a holy symbol on a completely inappropriate object - no. Guess I wan more clear power-play and different stress-points.

[Vilegrim]

Starting as a Dalish again, just to check: No option to mention elven gods when the 'herald' conversation happens (claiming to be the Herald of Andruil would rock), and it continues thru the 'we are declared heretics' conversation......where is the option to be a pious dalish?  People keep saying it exists but done one playthru with no references, and no starting another...and the silence about the Dalish gods is deafening, if a human can be a pro-maker bigot playthru (And I hear they can) Then why are the other faiths denied being equally bigoted?

[PsyQUEpedia]

In conversation with Cassandra afterwards you can tell her that you worship Dalish Gods @Vilegrim

[berrieh]

Except human war\ rouge - I know and thankful for Chancellor Roderic (at least one normal reaction). But even he does not underline ridiculousness of the declaration. He is stressing the explosion in his speech

 

But they do call you a heretic even as a human rogue. (Not played any kind of warrior.) I have both an elf and human playthrough and while it's a bit more accepted as a human - at first, they are still calling for your head, and the Chantry still denounces you, etc, etc. Also, Roderick was the Divine's personal assistant basically - for a LONG time. He knew her. He presumably liked her (revered her, etc). Of course, he's stressing the explosion. The death of the Divine is bigger than one uppity Elf/Dwarf/Qunari. 

 

I thought in the elf one it came up with Josephine - and I know it's mentioned by a few world NPCs - how pissed people are that an Elf is the Herald of Andraste. I can't remember a "cinematic" scene where it came up, but I do remember lines of dialogue. 

 

 

the initial reaction of villagers was good as well and in line. But then...
 

And this is why I remembered magic - templars are constantly putting down rouge mages. In Thedas you do not need to mention Andraste every time you see someone with glowing hands. Ok, that particular magic was very strong, but those crazy mages are always up to something.

 

If you're a mage of any race, this is a good point. (If you're not a mage, it's pointed out by Solas early on and everyone knows it.) BUT everyone does know the story pretty quickly (conclave exploding a big deal) and realizes your mark is tied to the Breach. When you use it to stabilize it, some still are skeptical of you, but I think it's human nature to hope you're going to save them at that point. What other hope do they have? And the womanly figure is still there, as are the Left and Right Hands of the Divine. 

 

No parallels whatsoever. Should not even come to mind of anyone (to tide a dwarf and Andraste or Chantry). Like when you are looking at a dog you do not think of Jesus or Church, simply because these are unrelated matters.
There are thousands andrasteans around - how come a dwarf was the chosen one? Why not a mobary then? Or some stone? Because of the miracles? Com'on in a magical world they see miracles every day.

 

Technically, if you play as a Dwarf, you are an Andrastian, I believe (at least someone complained about that here). Now the traditional Chantry isn't inclusive of them in any meaningful way, but pretty sure that's in the Dwarf background for this game. I don't think the people of Thedas think of dwarves as inanimate objects or dogs. I don't get your point. As to "why the PC"? It's a valid question that I imagine is raised in every origin but seems more-so in the Elf one than the Human (non-mage at least) one based on my experience, so I'm guessing it's brought up. I don't have trouble believing Andrastians could accept that The Maker works in mysterious ways if they wanted to. The reason the PC gets tied to Andraste is because there was an explosion at a holy place, people thought they saw the figure of Andraste send him out from the Fade (the Fade is where she'd be in their myths, after all), and he has miraculous, unexplained powers. Sounds like the makings of a messiah figure to me. And also the makings of bullshit. 

 

Also, most of these people who accept you aren't exactly learned, religious scholars. They believe in the Maker because it's what they were taught and it gives them some small degree of comfort. Maybe they can't even read the Chant themselves. I mean, I think some skepticism would prevail and more-so if anyone other than a human rogue/warrior woman was the Herald. But skepticism is undone by action - that's the whole point of building up the Inquisition. 

 

My major point is that desperate, scared people create myths like this to soothe themselves. That's essentially what's happening. NOW you could also be "touched by the Heavens/Fate" (of whatever religion - we have no idea what's really true in Thedas) and more than a mere coincidence. You could be an instrument of the Maker or divine intervention. It's not impossible in the story, but it's not really suggested to be true in the story, whatever your race. Thank goodness. You can decide. If the dwarf in question is Andratian as people say, and a rough-lived Andratian carta dwarf, perhaps it would be comforting to believe a connection to Andraste, to believe she was "saved" and sent on a new path... I haven't rolled a dwarf yet, but if that's true about the background (what I've read here), it could be a really interesting character and maybe the only one I roll who really believes she is the Herald. (My human rogue is Andrastian, but she doesn't believe she's the Herald and feels guilty about using that name - always telling people she doesn't know, etc, etc.) 

 

Anyway, if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you, but I don't find it that difficult to imagine. 

[Amirit]

Technically, if you play as a Dwarf, you are an Andrastian, I believe (at least someone complained about that here).

Mmm... could you please point me to that post? Because neither in background, nor in any lore dwarf ever referred as Andrastian (one exception - that believer who tried to run Chantry in Orzammar).

From the other hand, a deeply religious people when they have to spend their lives far from own country are known to accept another religion only to be still in ... how to say it?... contact with god? Have something holy in their lives? Well, ok, THAT way as funny as it sound I would even accept such thing. Though that particular dwarf has to be holier then holy
 

Also, most of these people who accept you aren't exactly learned, religious scholars. They believe in the Maker because it's what they were taught and it gives them some small degree of comfort. Maybe they can't even read the Chant themselves.

Precisely! There for - more reason for hate and nonacceptance. The less you know, the more you cling to traditions and to "old ways to do things", because it works. Religion - is a tradition first and foremost. Any deviation is a heresy. And you can not go farther then that.

Anyway, if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you, but I don't find it that difficult to imagine.

Will not bother you anymore. You gave me an idea. It still sound like a Kungfu Panda rather then a dark fantasy, but at least something

[Zu Long]

As this was a relatively huge part of this thread's discussion, I'd ask you to elaborate how. I'm certain I wouldn't be in the minority making this request of you.

I used Cullen once it was known Wycome's lord was going to cull his alienage. Cullen, a martial leader, seemed the appropriate response. It turned out badly, as Wycome suffered civilian (elf and human) casualties and in vengeance the noble slaughtered the Lavellen clan. I've also read in this forum that using Josephine in place of Cullen leads to mostly identical results. Did you use Leliana or?

Honestly, I think there are two different points where they can die, which people are getting confused. The first is with the first coded message, suggesting that the Advisor is a Venatori. You have the option to either take him out with Leliana, it leave things be with Josie. I took him out, which is what the letter said to do. The following mission is another letter from the diplomat, who says things are getting crazy, and you can either sneak elves into the city with Leliana, or send troops with Cullen. The letter specifically says not to send troops yet. I used Leliana. The Final mission is after that, with other cities threatening to send armies. Now I used Cullen to send MY army in, and the other cities backed down. Really, It's all about reading between the lines on the dispatches. Hope that helps.

[Adynata]

Am I the only one who expected to see more Dalish elves around the Emerald Graves and Exalted Plains? There was, like, one teeny tiny clan and lots of ruins. One would think that the Dalish were practically extinct by this time. Granted, we barely saw dwarves or qunari, either, both of whom played bigger roles in other DA games. It seemed to me like the game was very human-centered, and I noticed that playing a human. As an elf it is certainly felt moreso.

[Applepie_Svk]

The Dalish get an exclusive romance and a story mission that reveals a ton of new lore for them. Dwarves? You get a War Table mission about smuggling lyrium and that's about it. Nevermind that the only Qunari-relevent content in the game is all through Iron Bull, with nothing for a Vashoth Inquisition to really dig into.

Inquisition is pretty clearly a "you're supposed to play a human" game, with some love thrown in for elves that is neat, but ties in with the main plot very poorly.

I'd rather not have origins at all than see them this half-assed.

 

The funny part about Dwarven story is that you´ll get surfacer, which is basically smaller human which works as some local smugler. There is not story at all, as much as very few dwarfs around. But back to topic, there are few interesting points about Dalish, but in the end it´s all meaningles when you´ll realize that none of your inner circle does acknowlendge your own tragedy.

[dragondreamer]

There appears to be some confusion about war table missions about Lavellan clan, there are at least two:
- One with description that says bandits are assaulting the clan staying near Wycome. Using Josephine gets the clan killed.
- One with description that says Lord of Wycome is going to cull the Alienage. Using Cullen gets clan killed.
Any other possibilities? Are these two missions in same continuity? Are they connected to the very first mission about Contacting clan Lavellan (I used Leliana there and got the first mission)?

 

I got both of those in the Lavellan clan quest chain.  The trouble begins with the bandits; Leliana suspected something wasn't right with the scenario, so I sent her to check it out and to distract the bandits long enough for the clan to retreat.  I believe I also used Leliana for the second one.  She sneaks the Dalish hunters into Wycome, where they join with the City Elves' resistance and together they join up with the human commoners after proving what's really going on.  Then later other nobles in the Free Marches want to invade the city and kill all the elves.  Sending in Cullen to help defend the city saves them.  At the end, the Lavellan clan's Keeper and a City Elf leader joins the new city council.  Really loved this quest line.

 

And I thought the Kal-Sharok dwarves' War Table missions were really interesting and creepy. 

[Yael]

Sorry for the thread-necromancy but I've boughtnthengame a bit later

To me the elven option feels well enough, though I would have largely preferred a city elf mage over a dalish one. The dialogue options look nice, where they react to the inquisitors race.

Not so mich though the default dialogue, that appears for default answers. In a lot of situatioms I found that the herald aleeady sounds like a leader, well trained in diplomatic speech, even before becoming the inquisitor. That kind of makes sense for a human noble. For a dalish elf it felt out of place.

A particularly clear example is the recruitment of Blackwall. Except for the romance option, unless you recruit him after becoming the inquisitor, the way the character speaks in the name of the inquisition seems outright haughty. Similar occurences, where it feels like the herald talks too formal too early seemed frequent to me, reinforcing the feeling that she sounds like a noble, and thus human.

The same applies when recruiting Sera. While she makes a reference to the herald being an elf, that's one sentence. The "hey, high-and-mighty, watch you breeches!" undertone, with matching dialogue for the (dalish) herald, which feels distinctly written for a character of noble origin, is by far the bigger part of that conversation.

Compared to that, racial dialogue options felt gimmicky. Nice as it may be to ask Solas about elven culture as an elf, these are isolated occurences, while the majority of conversations is more or less subtly biased towards a background in nobility.

[Ghost Gal]

Sorry for the thread-necromancy but I've boughtnthengame a bit later

To me the elven option feels well enough, though I would have largely preferred a city elf mage over a dalish one. The dialogue options look nice, where they react to the inquisitors race.

Not so mich though the default dialogue, that appears for default answers. In a lot of situatioms I found that the herald aleeady sounds like a leader, well trained in diplomatic speech, even before becoming the inquisitor. That kind of makes sense for a human noble. For a dalish elf it felt out of place.

 

Not if you play as a mage. As Keeper's First, you're second-in-command of Clan Lavellan and training to become your clan's new leader (should your Keeper die). That's a story reason to have leadership and diplomacy skills.

 

As a hunter? Okay, it makes less sense, but there are still ways around it. Since the opening slide says you were the main hunter in charge of getting food for your clan, I guess you could headcanon that you tended to lead a group of your clan's hunters when out hunting, or that you tended to take charge and direct the other hunters during one of the many attacks led against your clan by humans. (In your Keeper's letter in Contact Clan Lavellan, she mentions that your clan has had to defend itself from humans on occasion. Also, when Josephine asks you about life among the Dalish, you can reveal your clan was attacked "more times than I can count").

 

You could also probably headcanon that you accompanied or oversaw trade negotiations with humans (again, because Lavellan can comment that your clan often traded with humans), which forced you to learn to speak clearly and carry yourself with confidence. I mean, heck, most humans distrust Dalish and tend to reach for their weapons at the first sight of trouble, so if you're involved with trade negotiations you'd have to learn to speak diplomatically in clan/village interactions, if you don't want to incite an incident. 

 

Human nobles aren't the only ones in all of Thedas with occasion to learn leadership skills or diplomatic speech.

[Yael]

Human nobles aren't the only ones in all of Thedas with occasion to learn leadership skills or diplomatic speech.

While this does help make sense of some of the dialogue, a lot of dialogue sounds like someone lacking experience with anything BUT noble customs. Which feels a bit forced for any background but the human noble.

Well, part of it also is in how the herald sounds like the official leader too early for my liking, so maybe it feels better once reaching Skyhold.

[Helmetto]

I played my canon playthrough as though my elf was just a common Dalish hunter that got picked because they were the least likely to be rude toward the non-Dalish and actually act as a proper spy. When she got dragged into the Inquisition, she started picking up bits and pieces from everybody, and learning how to diplomacy. She at least learned how to flub her way through the Orlais quest. She spoke honestly about her intentions and feelings 100% of the time.

 

I'm not captain of the realism team, but the game let me play it the way I wanted to play it, and it was fine by me.

 

On the other hand, I did notice that there weren't a lot of options to really express my elfy-ness, and I largely suspect that I can play exactly the same way with different races and don't get a whole lot of a "unique experience." I didn't really feel very Dalish, now that I think about it. I felt like someone who was just told that they can never be Dalish ever again, and that I needed to adjust and abandon the parts of the cultural identity that didn't mesh well. Which is fine, except it's not a process that we have any say in. It's there from the outset. It made me feel weird in the beginning because I was wondering where my 'Typical Stupid Shemlen' option was, because I was pretty sure that after being tied up and being told that the entire village hate me, my character would make some remark on it.

 

Just my thoughts.

[Tidus]

As far as the Elvan Gods.

 

Roughly.

 

Cassandra: Do you even believe in the maker?

 

DE.. I'm Dalish.. I believe in the Elvan Gods.

 

Cassandra: There isn't room for another?

 

98% of the time I play a Elf in DA:O and 100% Elf in DA:I.. I seldom play DA:2 because there's no choice.

 

As far as a Dwarf Inquisitor .. A Dwarf could be at the conclave--you see the Dwarf is a surface carta smuggler complete with brand makings-unless you choose to remove the tat... This comes to light when Josie questions the Dwarf about her/his criminal background.

 

I'm playing a Dwarf as Inquisitor test game. At least Sera thinks she's cuddly and adorable.Harding is happy to see another Dwarf.

 

The jury is still out on a Dwarf  being a Inquisitor. Just seems odd to me.

[Fylimar]

I think you can explain your character doing well in the diplomatic area with Josephine. I'm pretty sure, she gives you a few lessons in diplomacy, since you are mostly the speaker for the inquisition. You can even ask her about certain nobles and behavior, so I always thought, she would teach you to be diplomatic.

As with my Dalish hunter - I tend to ignore the introduction sheet, since I don't like it. So in my head cannon, my archer is not a hunter, but the apprentice of the clans storyteller, suits me as a player better and it really doesn't matter for the story. I take some of the knowledge perks, that give you more choices in dialogues and let you appear more knowledgable (my rogues always became bards in DAO) - and it would explain her being at the conclave. I find a scholar more logical than a hunter..

 

And I think, so far the  game makes me feel very 'elven'. I have a lot of opportunities to talk with other characters about my religion and my culture and I don't feel like I should be pushed into the Andrastian church. If ask, I always can say, I'm just here to help, because it's the decent thing to do and that it has nothing to do with belief. And I think, the dwarf and Qunari have similar options. So it does not feel to me, that the devolpers had a human Andrastian in mind - or like Iron Bull put it 'People are just people' - the big threat in the game is universal enough for everyone to have a couse to help.

[Tidus]

Fylimar,I haven't used a Elf rogue yet (maybe next game)  but, here's my logic. The Keeper sent two rogues to protect his/her second and the second and other rogue died in the explosion.

[In Exile]

It was delayed longer. And the "Exalted March" DLC planned for DAII was scrapped in favor of bringing those staff members over to begin work on Inquisition sooner than expected.

What I meant by my post wasn't "they changed it from Hawke last minute". It was that the original plan for Inquisition-- which began inital development before DAII was completed-- was to have Hawke as the main character. While that changed, many of the key aspects of the story-- which didn't take into account the fact that you may not be a human noble-- had to remain unless they were willing to start fresh with a rewrite. By that stage in the game, I'm guessing a startover wasn't in the cards, considering EA's investment.

There's still plenty of referencing to my Inquisitor being an elf, or being Dalish. It's enjoyable, and honestly, really not any less than my elf Warden received. I think we just notice it more because we now have a voiced protagonist, and when she says things that sound distinctively human, it's jarring.

When I went to the Emerald Graves, it bothered me how many times she referred to the people there as "the elves". Dalish don't say that. Humans say that. You don't see Hawke go out into the Wounded Coast and talk about "the humans" there.

Dalish can say that - the Dalish that don't buy into their own myth. It was a tough line to balance. For someone who wants to play an elf but not a Dalish one, I found the game too often railroads my character into rah-rah Dalish positions - especially with Solas but even generally.