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[Nimlowyn]

Great question!

 

In my original concept of my mage Lavellan, I was going to have her conscript the Templars. She supported approaching the Templars for two reasons: 1) Lesser of two evils. While not a fan of the Templars as a concept, with the mages "allied" with Tevinter, and a Magister obviously orchestrating a trap, approaching Lord Seeker Lucius with the support of Orlesian nobility seemed the more stable option.  2) She did not like the approach of adding more power into the mark (she felt this approach with unknown magic was careless and dangerous). She was going to conscript them because 1) In the short game, she felt that restructuring them through the Inquisition was the better form of rehabilitation and 2) In the long game, she saw an opportunity to potentially guide the future of the order, and if there was any opportunity to make them less of a threat to the Dalish, she was going to take it. 

 

When I decided I was more interested in an elf who allied with the mages, I reworked her motivations a bit. I gave her more trust in magic and a lot more distrust in Templars. Though she is erudite and sought out information on the Templars, she was never going to take them seriously as a solution because she doesn't value them as an institution. She went to Redcliffe to liberate the mages because she trusted magic (and Solas, who advanced the magic approach to begin with) to close the Breach. While she condemned Fiona for selling her people to Tevinter, she offered an alliance. Her reasoning can be summed up as "if you expect the worst of people, you'll get it". She believes in responsible magic use through an emphasis on community responsibility, education and a solemn respect of magic. She rejects an emphasis on the fear of magic because she sees it as destructive; and to her, growing up Dalish, the Templars exemplify the fear of magic. So when Vivienne told her they needed more Templars in Haven, she said absolutely not. 

[LobselVith8]

Yes, I know: another Mage-Templar thread. Just listen, please. I know there are other threads about this, but I felt I need to make this thread for myself, and other who are still dealing with a Dalish mage RP with the mage-templar choice. Just wondering what others who did dalish magi chose, and why. Trying to get a sense of which one I should focus on:

 

Mage: Well, I usually go to Redcliff before making the choice, so I can see their side, in terms of RP. On the one hand, the Mages are like her (always do female), and figure that going for them is a good choice. On the other hand, the situation there just makes my head hurt, and I hate it when my head hurts.

 

Templar: On the one hand, siding with the Templars would be good for the inquisition in the long run, as people respect them more. On the other, she is a mage, so why would they accept a mage as the "herald," especially a Dalish Elf. Not to mention that the Templars did not really ask for you in the first place.

 

So, forumites, feel free to add you Dalish mage's reasoning for their choice.

 

My mage, Revas, ended up siding with the independent mages. He didn't agree with the Chantry controlled Circles, he shared the cultural and religious view that magic is a gift of the Creators, and the People have dealt with the threat of templars for centuries. Supporting mage autonomy also meant that the Dalish clans could breath a little easier because of the existence of independent mages within the clans.

[draken-heart]

I like all these answers. I hope that they can help others, as trying to figure this out is hurting my head.

[LobselVith8]

It was a Exalted March, the elves were enemy of the mankind, they werent innocents ( and the mages had their part in the downfall of the Dales too, just ask arianne in the Witch Hunt).

 

Prior to the scroll revealing that both humans and elves played a part in the inception of the war, both sides blamed the other. The war against the Dales certainly involved the Circles, but it also involved the templars as well, as Archdemon Urthemiel pointed out; one of the templars who participated in the Exalted March is reviled among modern elves for his actions during the war. "Ser Mhemet, a Rivaini templar, fought in the Exalted March on the Dales for one reason: his love of killing elves, which pushed him to so many victories, the Chantry elevated him to Anointed after his death. To this day, Halamshiral elves consider his name a curse."

 

The Templars dont hunt down the Dalish, there are reports of templars hunting Dalish mages, but they were in human lands, só the Chantry laws are applicable on them.

 

Merrill addresses that the templars are part of the reason why the clans are nomadic. The Order has been a threat to the People for centuries, since templars hunt down the clans; Ariane even defended her clan from a templar.

 

The only time we see templars vs Dalish in in DA2, if you sent Feynriel to the Dalish. The templars want Feynriel to be sent to the Circle and the Dalish didnt want to hand him over, depending on hawke choice one of the sides are killed. But the Dalish were harboring a apostate in Kirkwall's lands.

 

All Dalish mages are technically apostates. As the lore reads, "The Keeper that leads each clan also further increases tensions with the Chantry. Apprenticed from a young age, Keepers maintain the traditions of elven magic and pass down their knowledge in turn. The Chantry regards all Keepers as apostates, mages who operate outside of the Circle of Magi, but unlike rogue mages from human society who are quickly hunted down by the templar orders, the Keepers are not so easily taken. Pity the templar who takes it into his heart to track the Dalish into the forests, thinking to take the leader of a clan prisoner."

[Lady Artifice]

To me it seems that the Inquisitor can't know as clearly as we know that their choice is exclusive, and investigating one side over the other doesn't have to be about favoring that side, but potentially about wanting to investigate it first. I have ten characters, and only three of them go Templar path, and only one of of them allies rather than conscripts. 

 

I don't really understand the mentality of only doing things in game that you yourself find ethical, honorable, or right. I mean, I have one semi self insert for that style of play, but all of my others are characters with motives and tactics independent of my own. 

[Gervaise]

The choice is actually very evenly balanced for a Dalish.   On the one hand you have the Templars, who were formerly the Chantry police force, and there is no love lost between the Dalish and the Chantry.   However, on the other you have the mages who have willingly sided with Tevinter extremists, having betrayed the monarch and his people who offered them sanctuary in the best defended castle in the country.   The Dalish hatred for Tevinter predates the Chantry; they are the original bad guys who destroyed Arlathan, according to their lore, and enslaved their people.

 

I had my Dalish mage opt for the mages, because she was very much guided by Solas and she realised that not all the mages liked what Fiona had done, so she wanted to help them.   I still think the disappointing part of choosing the mages, whether you conscript them or ally with them, is that you can't replace Fiona as their leader.  Ultimately she seems to end up causing trouble down the line on practically every ending, apart from the softened Lelianna one.

 

However, I had originally intended going with the Templar path because of what I have said about how she viewed Tevinter.   The problem was there was a bug when I got to the Templar stronghold so I spent the whole last part of the quest, including fighting the demon, alone.   Having gone there rather early I just ended up with no potions left and getting killed.    Which is why I reloaded an earlier save, got my levels up and then thought better of my decision and went to the mages instead.   I found I could justify either decision both according to her own prejudices and in viewing things through the wider benefit to the Inquisition.

 

I have subsequently done both paths with my hunter Lavellan, in both cases with Dorian as romance.   It makes no difference to the outcome with him and I am still torn as to which will be my canon playthrough for him.