I could never understand what's that so cool about Sandal. His 'enchantment' gets old pretty fast and becomes already annoying by the end of DAO. I've always thought that in DA2 they had been forced on the player as part of the game mechanics. Plot-wise and character-wise they don't really add much. That 'Prophesy' is too easy to miss anyway.
I suppose Sandal was intended to be Dagna's replacer for those who had not helped her in DAO, but they had abandoned the idea after all. I don't miss him.
.........
The Ball at the Winter Palace was an event for important officials and members of the nobility: It would likely not be appropriate for either Bodahn or Sandal to be present especially the latter since he lacks the social grace expected. Morrigan was Celene's personal court mage and knew how to act so she had reason enough to be there. A cameo would not be too odd, however, especially since it'd have turned Sandal's myseriously did something to enemies into a running gag.
Merill's mirror can potentially be broken and Merill cease all attempts to repair it so it would not be sensible to make it a part of an important plot point. I am also not entirely sure that she manages to repair it in a way that makes it functional since I cannot recall anything about her learning the mirror were meant for traveller. She believed that it was meant for verbal communication across the ancient elven empire.
I was not so bothered by the lack of Sandal but I suppose I have grown a bit weary of the enchantment joke due to overexposure especially from the forums and 'net in general. I do not dislike the character but it shifts how fond I am of him.
The fact that it's counterpart exists in the Crossroads (if Merrill didn't destroy it) shows that she knew more than most, considering she built a new one through information she extrapolated from the shard and the lore she studied.
It shows - assuming it was there - she was pretty close to getting it to work. That doesn't mean she knew anything about it - trial and error (and incorrect theories) have let us, IRL, design a lot of impressive things.
Merril is a smart cookie and can do a lot, but let's not oversell it here.
WoG stated that Merrill studied the lore on the Eluvians as part of her efforts to construct one - as well as extrapolating information from the shard she cleansed. She also stated that she thought they could stop the decline of the People.
Right. That doesn't prove she knows anything about them. I "studied" the "lore" on computers. I've build one, from parts, and it works. I think their proliferation will "improve" the lives of people.
That doesn't make me knowledgeable about computers. You're conflating Merrill's studies, with her possible success, and with her actual level of knowledge. She thinks Eluvians will help people because of how they work as a communication device - she is totally and wholly ignorant of their purpose and function.
I suppose Sandal was intended to be Dagna's replacer for those who had not helped her in DAO, but they had abandoned the idea after all. I don't miss him.
Dagna's overly chipper personality is enough to induce diabetes. Would have much rather had Sandal back.
It's odd that Merril did not even make a token appearance as a multiplayer character since even Isabella joins the fray with an admiral hat.
But what really bothered me about Dragon Age Inquisition was how the Eluvians had been inserted into the story. In the whole of Dragon Age Origins we dealt with two at most, and only by the second one in Witch Hunt do we have a vague inkling that they can act as transportation devices. In Dragon Age 2 we skirt around Merril's broken Eluvian for almost a decade and it does absolutely nothing but sit in the corner of her alienage apartment. Then, jump right into Dragon Age: Inquisition and apparently there is an entire network of the damn things being used by the Orlesian elves working with Briala. I know this was covered in the books, but the sudden appearance of a supposed network, not just a working Eluvian but a network, strikes me as a major leap from where we last were in Dragon Age 2. If I were Merrill I would drop my sunny demeanor and throw a right fit about that whole subject matter. I can just imagine it:
"Um excuse me, I spent almost ten years and became ostracized from my people trying to study these things and now it turns out that they are in style after all of my suffering? Right, who wrote the script - I demand a mention by someone about my damn mirror!"
"Um excuse me, I spent almost ten years and became ostracized from my people trying to study these things and now it turns out that they are in style after all of my suffering? Right, who wrote the script - I demand a mention by someone about my damn mirror!"
Yeah, that's exactly the stuff ; It's not about you like Merril or not, or feel she shoud be back in the game, it's just the fact that there's not even a mention of her in the whole game that seems a waste given the major place that the eluvians got in the story.
Not it's too late, but maybe it's up for another story in a book/comic perhaps ? "The adventures of Merril, explorer of the eluvian network" ?
I was extremely disappointed that Sandal wasn't in the game, especially with how they hinted about him being in the Imperial Count at the end of DA2, and my disappointment deepened with the release of Descent. We finally got an explanation of Sandal's crazy "Enchantment!" powers and he's nowhere to be seen!?
~*Disgusted Noise*~
The issue with Merril's Mirror is that since the player can affect if it is broken or not it can't really be a major plot choice.
This is exactly why her mirror could NOT be included in Inquisition, no matter what your individual Keep choice may reflect. Hawke's interaction with Merrill in DA2 could have resulted in the thing being destroyed. I know that Bioware has called an audible before [Leliana being killed by the Warden; ditto for Morrigan], but they do try to minimize some of those bogus rollovers (whether some of us would prefer otherwise or not).
Bodahn and Sandal are another matter entirely!
In dialogue spoken by Bodahn it was clearly established, stated and specified in Dragon Age 2 that the pair were offered a place in Celene's court and at that time Laidlaw and other devs began teasing us with the whole "somewhere French" stuff about where DA3 would be set. It has never been clarified why this alteration happened with these franchise npc's, but despite my irritation over this; at this point I prefer that we just never see these characters again. Their absence during Inquisition amounts to a huge elephant in the room that can't be logically washed away!
Sandal could just appear when he was needed, like he did at Fort Drakon and again when he dealt with Darkspawn and demons for Hawke.
Ashe seeing Merrill's mirror at the Crossroads got me thinking. So what happened to the eluvian at Soldier's Peak (Warden's Keep dlc) and the two eluvians found in Denerim in the 'deserted buliding' full of blood mages (final request quest).
Also those tree-shaped structures were also at the Dead Hand puzzle with crystals (?) yet they were all empty at the Crossroads and yet some eluvian were intact. What would have broken them?
Another thing I would not mind knowing is about the scientific apparatus that the Architect uses in his laboratory. It's everywhere. In the Werewolf lair where the Arcane Horror is, on the roof of Soldier's Peak, in the Wonders of Thedas shop in Denerim, there are similar cross pieces on the roof at Redcliffe Castle where they could have been positioned. I am hoping it is not going to be another thing that is never made clear.
Something David Gaider said that may be relevant as to why Sandal didn't show up much
http://swooping-is-b...om/1286233.html
DG: Well, Sandal in Dragon Age Origins was fun. We brought him back for DA2. A lot of people thought it wasn't the same voice actor, but he was. That was Yuri Lowenthal. I don't know what it was, having Sandal just saying "Enchantment!" was adorable. I think as soon as you started having him talk more I kind of got a little bit of the feeling, like we were going somewhere a little uncomfortable to me, almost like we were making fun of mentally handicapped people. He's not mentally handicapped but sometimes he sounds like it. I'm a little leery of what was essentially a bit of a joke, and a lot of people are taking him more seriously than he was perhaps intended, to the point that perhaps he may become more important as a result.
The problem with this statement is of course Sandal's Prophecy, so no matter what Mr. Gaider's original intent or later regret, clearly indicates that Sandal's importance to the lore grew beyond David's assumption. Which means dropping the character from Inquisition looks even more ridiculous!
The problem with this statement is of course Sandal's Prophecy, so no matter what Mr. Gaider's original intent or later regret, clearly indicates that Sandal's importance to the lore grew beyond David's assumption. Which means dropping the character from Inquisition looks even more ridiculous!
I would just like to point out that there is in fact two eluvians identical to Merrill's in the crossroads. In my playthrough where Merrill did not destroy hers I found two of them. I haven't checked if there's two in a playthrough where it was destroyed though.
Proof:
I would just like to point out that there is in fact two eluvians identical to Merrill's in the crossroads. In my playthrough where Merrill did not destroy hers I found two of them. I haven't checked if there's two in a playthrough where it was destroyed though.
Proof:
Spoiler
I think you can find a mirror identical to hers in the Winter Palace (during WEWH), so perhaps the second one is that one? Why exactly they look the same though, I don't know. (Other than re-used resources, maybe?)
OP, actually there are references to both Sandal and Merril's mirror in DAI. They are not obvious and in your face. But they are there.
Merril's mirror is in fact in the Crossroads, we just don't know if Merril got around to fix it and open it.
Sandal is (trespasser spoilers):
Spoiler
As mentioned above, one possible consequence in DA2 would have left Merrill's mirror destroyed, so it could not have appeared during Inquisition, but there is no excuse for Varric not having at least mentioned it to the Inquisitor in an offhand manner.
Bodahn and Sandal's absence from Inquisition is probably the most ridiculous gaffe made by the devs, and they know it, because they sure as hell have gone out of their way not to offer a proper explanation. That diary found in the Fade during Trespasser is at best merely a concession to repeated comments about Sandal made here in the forum since the games release!
As mentioned above, one possible consequence in DA2 would have left Merrill's mirror destroyed, so it could not have appeared during Inquisition, but there is no excuse for Varric not having at least mentioned it to the Inquisitor in an offhand manner.
Bodahn and Sandal's absence from Inquisition is probably the most ridiculous gaffe made by the devs, and they know it, because they sure as hell have gone out of their way not to offer a proper explanation. That diary found in the Fade during Trespasser is at best merely a concession to repeated comments about Sandal made here in the forum since the games release!
The mirror you see in the crossroads is the counterpart to Merril's mirror. So even if her mirror was destroyed, its counterpart is still intact in the crossroads.
As for Sandal, I dont think it was a mistake. They added too much hype to Sandal with his prophecy in DA2 to "forget" about him. I just think Sandal isnt present because whatever the revelation behind him is, we are not yet in a point in the story where it would make sense to learn about. Im sure he will show up again in the future, when it is proper for us to learn about him. Also, besides the diary in the crossroads, there is a dwarf in the dreaming sequence of the Templars quest (where you go to Therinfal Redoubt) that looks strickingly like Sandal caged in a cell. Both references to Sandal seem to indicate he is around, in the fade/crossroads, which is by itself a big revelation with him being a dwarf and all.
Also I wouldnt be surprised if later on we find out that the dates in his diary (in the crossroads) have some meaning that we can't understand now.
I admit, I was disappointed we didnt see them. But I dont think it was an oversight. We just have to wait and see.
EDIT: Now that i think about it, Sandal in a cage in a dream sequence, could mean that during Inquisition's timeline Sandal was a prisioner of the Qunari? In Trespasser we see that the Qunari were gathering magical artifacts of any and all kinds in Darvaarad, maybe they captured Sandal as well? And somehow Sandal escaped before we got to Darvaarad thru the eluvians. Remember the impaled Qunari next to Sandal's diary? Dunno, its all speculation, but it kinda makes sense. Maybe some DA lore scholar could look at the Diary's dates and try to make some more sense out of this?
Retour en haut
