39 réponses à ce sujet

[Qun00]

We all know that clinging too much to stereotypes is a common and lazy form of roleplay.

However, playing a Dalish elf is trickier and you're more likely to fall into that trap. Not every human believes in the Maker. Not every Tevinter mage condones human sacrifices. Some dwarves are surfacers. Some qunari love the Qun but aren't always sure if it's the right thing.

But all Dalish care a great deal about tradition. Those who feel otherwise naturally wouldn't want to stay in their clans.

My point isn't that it's impossible to think beyond stereotype, only that it requires a little more effort in this case.

The first question is, what did you do to give your Dalish character some individuality? I'm curious to hear.

The second question is about tolerance, and believe me, I don't think it's such a black and white subject. How does your character feel about City Elves?
I don't mean everyone in alienages, but those who worship the Maker or that managed to find a place in human society.

It's easy to understand the Dalish elves' point of view. I'd wager they don't really mind other races worshipping different gods.

But that their own kind would turn Andrastian and/or reject their own history is bound to be shocking to them.

I had my character tell Solas "You and I are the same people", but I haven't managed to justify it in my head. It seems simple at first, " Yay tolerance", but this isn't the real world and circumstances are a little different.

I'm not sure how to work around this when it comes to city elves in general. "You reject everything I stand for despite being an elf like me, but that's cool".

As you mighy tell, I'm still in the first hours and haven't established what kind of character it's going to be.

[Patchwork]

I suppose it depends on the type of background you're giving your Lavellan- they could easily be from an Alienage themselves, one or both of their parents could be a City Elf or they can trace their dalish ancestry as far back as the forming of the clan. 

 

Also clan Lavellan is one of the more liberal clans and they trade with human settlements so they would come into contact with non dalish elves. Your Lavellan's attitude could range from pity, compassion, acceptance to anger at their ignorance.

 

Personally I'd come up with a backstory first and work out how your character thinks and feels from there.  

[Storvacker]

But all Dalish care a great deal about tradition. Those who feel otherwise naturally wouldn't want to stay in their clans.

 

There are some good reasons you could come up with to make your character have stayed in her clan. She has only recently been having doubts after some incident, she has family or a child she can't leave, she doesn't know anything else outside of the clan, etc., etc.

[dragonflight288]

For me it was really simple to roleplay a Dalish.

 

What did I do to give him individuality? Pretty easy. He was Dalish, but that only made up part of who he was. He actually conscripted the mages, not because he was oppossed to magic and mages, he was a mage himself, but because he didn't trust the decision-making ability of those who would willingly submit themselves to a Magister and allow Tevinter to start building power in Ferelden. 

 

He was courteous when dealing with dignitaries or meeting people the first time, but sarcastic and fun loving once you got to know him. He took great pleasure in having Varric give Cassandra a copy of Swords and Shields and was all "Thank you! That was all I was hoping it'd be!" when referring to her reactions. And he enjoyed playing Wicked Grace with Varric. 

 

How does my Dalish feel about City Elves? Simple. He sees them as less knowledgeable on elven history as he himself was. He was certainly proud to be a Dalish because he felt it represented pride in being elven. 

 

Being an elf does not mean you have to accept being a second class citizen or accept that it is right for elves to be treated so badly by humans simply because they are elves.

 

Elves were once immortal, had the greatest magical technology in the history of thedas, tevinter is still using their relics as sources of power, along with everyone else save the Qunari and Dwarves. 

 

On the issue of tolerance, my elf could be quite tolerant, and even pleasant with  human nobles if the situation called for it, like at Celene's Peace Talk party, but only so far as the other party was willing to offer the same courtesy. If someone was going to single him out for his ears, his religion, and try to have him executed or forcibly converted over it, he'd have no problem dismissing you out of hand as you would be dismissing him out of hand as well. 

 

There are saints and jerks in every group, and it doesn't help the Dalish that their clans separate for years at a time across countries. Their clans individual cultures and outlook changes based on their experiences, and some clans become little better than bandits and others are quite warm and welcoming. Take the elven dialogues and do the war table missions with your clan and you'll see your clan is a really nice one who has no problem with humans and city elves at all. In fact they will fight to save Wycome. 

 

And it probably wouldn't be that shocking for Lavellan to deal with city elves, especially if they accept city elves as part of their clan and learn about them second-hand through newcomers. 

 

It's probably not that city elves reject everything they stand for and more along the lines of what the Dalish's own codex says on City Elves in Dragon Age Origins. The city elves are pitied because they have forgotten what it means to be elven. 

 

Ironically, city elves also condemn any elf who leaves an alienage as abandoning what it means to be elven as well based on the city elf codex. 

 

Ultimately, this discussion is kind of interesting. Kind of like that dwarf and human discussing things in Skyhold by the merchant Bella where the human is absolutely insistent elves cannot be trusted and that they cannot be trusted and the dwarf is questioning his beliefs and showing that he's relying entirely on stereotypes to make his judgements, especially when that human said that the dwarf couldn't know a thing about the history of elves and humans because he was a dwarf and the dwarf sarcastically talked about his fear of the sky because he was a dwarf. 

[Qun00]

There are some good reasons you could come up with to make your character have stayed in her clan. She has only recently been having doubts after some incident, she has family or a child she can't leave, she doesn't know anything else outside of the clan, etc., etc.

Or perhaps she met a city elf, they fought at first but soon become friends. Spending together changed her views.

Maybe some tragic death into the mix. I'm getting some ideas.

For me it was really simple to roleplay a Dalish.
 
What did I do to give him individuality? Pretty easy. He was Dalish, but that only made up part of who he was. He actually conscripted the mages, not because he was oppossed to magic and mages, he was a mage himself, but because he didn't trust the decision-making ability of those who would willingly submit themselves to a Magister and allow Tevinter to start building power in Ferelden. 
 
He was courteous when dealing with dignitaries or meeting people the first time, but sarcastic and fun loving once you got to know him. He took great pleasure in having Varric give Cassandra a copy of Swords and Shields and was all "Thank you! That was all I was hoping it'd be!" when referring to her reactions. And he enjoyed playing Wicked Grace with Varric. 
 
How does my Dalish feel about City Elves? Simple. He sees them as less knowledgeable on elven history as he himself was. He was certainly proud to be a Dalish because he felt it represented pride in being elven. 
 
Being an elf does not mean you have to accept being a second class citizen or accept that it is right for elves to be treated so badly by humans simply because they are elves.
 
Elves were once immortal, had the greatest magical technology in the history of thedas, tevinter is still using their relics as sources of power, along with everyone else save the Qunari and Dwarves. 
 
On the issue of tolerance, my elf could be quite tolerant, and even pleasant with  human nobles if the situation called for it, like at Celene's Peace Talk party, but only so far as the other party was willing to offer the same courtesy. If someone was going to single him out for his ears, his religion, and try to have him executed or forcibly converted over it, he'd have no problem dismissing you out of hand as you would be dismissing him out of hand as well. 
 
There are saints and jerks in every group, and it doesn't help the Dalish that their clans separate for years at a time across countries. Their clans individual cultures and outlook changes based on their experiences, and some clans become little better than bandits and others are quite warm and welcoming. Take the elven dialogues and do the war table missions with your clan and you'll see your clan is a really nice one who has no problem with humans and city elves at all. In fact they will fight to save Wycome. 
 
And it probably wouldn't be that shocking for Lavellan to deal with city elves, especially if they accept city elves as part of their clan and learn about them second-hand through newcomers. 
 
It's probably not that city elves reject everything they stand for and more along the lines of what the Dalish's own codex says on City Elves in Dragon Age Origins. The city elves are pitied because they have forgotten what it means to be elven. 
 
Ironically, city elves also condemn any elf who leaves an alienage as abandoning what it means to be elven as well based on the city elf codex. 
 
Ultimately, this discussion is kind of interesting. Kind of like that dwarf and human discussing things in Skyhold by the merchant Bella where the human is absolutely insistent elves cannot be trusted and that they cannot be trusted and the dwarf is questioning his beliefs and showing that he's relying entirely on stereotypes to make his judgements, especially when that human said that the dwarf couldn't know a thing about the history of elves and humans because he was a dwarf and the dwarf sarcastically talked about his fear of the sky because he was a dwarf.

I could do without the smug attitude, but this was an useful piece regardless.

[Icy Magebane]

While I liked my Dalish Inquisitor, I don't think I did the best job of roleplaying as a Dalish elf... now, first off, let me say that I wanted to play as a City Elf, and I have a feeling that this clouded my vision when I was deciding how to approach the game as an elven Inquisitor. 

 

That said, I did what I could to make my elf resistant to human ideology and culture, but it was difficult sometimes because he really just felt like a reskinned shemlen.  There were a few opportunities to voice a clearly Dalish outlook on one situation or another, and while that was appreciated, the character felt far too worldly in pretty much every situation he was involved in...  I mean, this person has spent his whole life in the forest and didn't even need a half hour of coaching to fit in at the Winter Palace?  Meh... Plus, some of those Dalish dialogue options are things my character would never have said, so I didn't choose them.  It doesn't show up in every conversation and it isn't always something you'd want to have your character say, but the game regularly gives you options to work with if you want them...

 

As for your second question... again, I wanted to play as a City Elf, so obviously I had no interest in playing as a Dalish who disliked or looked down upon City Elves.... lol.  Since they were pretty much nonexistent in the game anyway, it turned out to not really matter.

 

I honestly had very little tolerance for either Sera or Solas.  Sera should be obvious... she constantly rambled about her disapproval of Dalish customs, so there was really no common ground to be found.  Solas also seemed very negative towards the Dalish, and perhaps even the whole of elvenkind to a lesser extent.   He was simply too focused on spirits and the Fade.  Even though my Inquisitor was a mage and thus had a pretty good understanding of the Fade, Solas had this condescending air about him that caused me to not bring him on missions very often.  I think there is a good amount of room to openly disagree with their views from a Dalish perspective, but I prefered to simply not talk to those characters instead, so I don't know how extensive that gets.

 

So, in short... the Dalish experience was pretty solid for the most part... there were some chances to roleplay as a traditional Dalish, but at the same time, the character was just too knowledgeable about things that a Dalish would have no experience with or understanding of (human and dwarven culture, primarily... heck, how does this person even know how to read?).  If you ignore some of the more questionable aspects, there's room to come up with a few interesting and unique characters, I think....

[Qun00]

Just one more thing. Solas or Cullen?

While the former has a powerful ending, its beginning and middle are lacking. Very little happens.

As a romance option, Cullen seems more like a full package.

At the same time, I don't think I could bear to have my character live in ignorance. There's no way to be informed about the huge misconception concerning. the vallaslin without romancing Solas.

Cory makes a reference, but it's far from an actual explanation. It's only enough to leave your Lavellan confused at best.

[Bayonet Hipshot]

We all know that clinging too much to stereotypes is a common and lazy form of roleplay.

However, playing a Dalish elf is trickier and you're more likely to fall into that trap. Not every human believes in the Maker. Not every Tevinter mage condones human sacrifices. Some dwarves are surfacers. Some qunari love the Qun but aren't always sure if it's the right thing.

But all Dalish care a great deal about tradition. Those who feel otherwise naturally wouldn't want to stay in their clans.

My point isn't that it's impossible to think beyond stereotype, only that it requires a little more effort in this case.

The first question is, what did you do to give your Dalish character some individuality? I'm curious to hear.

The second question is about tolerance, and believe me, I don't think it's such a black and white subject. How does your character feel about City Elves?
I don't mean everyone in alienages, but those who worship the Maker or that managed to find a place in human society.

It's easy to understand the Dalish elves' point of view. I'd wager they don't really mind other races worshipping different gods.

But that their own kind would turn Andrastian and/or reject their own history is bound to be shocking to them.

I had my character tell Solas "You and I are the same people", but I haven't managed to justify it in my head. It seems simple at first, " Yay tolerance", but this isn't the real world and circumstances are a little different.

I'm not sure how to work around this when it comes to city elves in general. "You reject everything I stand for despite being an elf like me, but that's cool".

As you mighy tell, I'm still in the first hours and haven't established what kind of character it's going to be.

 

Giving a character individuality ? For me this is an easy job. I just decided to be myself.

 

I was born in Malaysia, in a religious Indian family, lived in a socially conservative environment, was expected to grow up and become a medical doctor, was expected to settle down, have the family + 2.5 kids in the not too distant future, and so on.

 

That is what I was supposed to be. I reality however...

 

I do not care about me being a Malaysian or an Indian. The only label that I identify with is Human Male. I am also an atheist and apolitical. I am now in graduate school doing history of science and my degree was in Chemical Engineering. I pursue knowledge for knowledge sake. I also plan to not marry. Ever. Cohabitation, perhaps, but no marriage and definitely no children.

 

Yeah, talk about being a "disappointment". There is a reason I liked Dorian's personal quest, the whole conform to the norm, just because of feels and if not you are a rebellious outcast resonated really well with me. 

 

You would think of me as a rebel, the people in my hometown certainly do, but I am not. I just try my best to do what makes sense. I know the history of Malaysia and of the Indian people and that is sufficient for me. 

 

So when I played my Dalish Elf, I just played the game and Lavellan made the decisions I would personally make. He did not make them to conform to the Dalish or to conform to a Elves suck-humans bad trope. Nothing like that. That was how I made my Lavellan an individual. 

 

It resulted in an interesting playthrough to say the least. 

 

My Lavellan took the mountain path to the Temple because he was a mage, not a warrior and there might a chance we could pick some folks up as backup.

 

He conscripted the mages because their leadership has shown itself incapable of responsibility. Freedom comes with responsibility and with the treatment of the tranquil, alliance with the Vints, dissonance between the rebel mage leadership with the mages they shelter, the rebel mages have proven themselves to not be very responsible.

 

He allied with the Grey Wardens because he wanted more people to fight demons and to keep the Wardens as a buffer if there is a threat of Blight, since he saw that Ferelden expelled the Wardens before and when the Fifth Blight began, their expulsion was used as a political tool to gain power.

 

He executed Gaspard and reunited Celene with Briala for it resulted in unification of both human and elven interests, a unification of the people's interest. 

 

He let Morrigan drank from the Well because he did not want to be under a geas. Knowledge is good but the cost, which is giving up your personhood, is not worth it.

 

He romanced Josephine out of interest and practicality. He needed to understand human political customs and etiquette quickly. Josie was the best for that. He also prefers cerebral women and love interests and Josie is good for that. 

 

Overall, I had a pretty good experience playing as a male Lavellan mage. The only drawback was those darn arms. 

[Toasted Llama]

I don't know about you guys, but my Dalish Inquisitor's personality was mostly shaped by past events. It helps me give "reasons" as to why she is the way she is. I also find it interesting to think of different ways for my Dalish to react to those events.

I eventually settled down with a chain of events, starting with the murder of her parents by (human) Templars (her mom was a mage and her dad carried her staff, so they thought her dad was the mage and killed him, followed by her mom who wanted to take revenge), which scarred her and her sister (who was also a mage and the Keeper's first) at an early age (11ish years old) which resulted in a "Booo shemlen and Templars! Yay elves!"-attitude. But several years later, my Quizzy came across a Templar from Kirkwall, who was patient/calm and protective, contrary to the previous Templar encounter. Said Templar was a lady trying to get away from the tension going on in Kirkwall and hoped she could get away from Meredith's command, deeming Meredith's decision way too harsh and she hated to see the mages suffer because she actually cares about mages and their well-being. So occasionally she slipped out of Kirkwall and wandered off in the forests, which is how she met the Quizzy.

So my Quizzy grew curious and asked the Templar to teach her to learn the "art" of sword 'n board, which her clan refused to teach her because they wanted her to be like her dad, a hunter. Anyway, Templar and Quizzy grew close, eventually falling in love, and that's when her sister goes batshit insane, because she thinks the Templar is "plotting" to take Quizzy away and make her hate elves and mages. So her sister then kills my Quizzy's Templar lover in front of her eyes. Quizzy is like "holy **** how could you do that?" to which her sister just replies with "Human Templars killed our parents and hate elves, so therefore all humans and templars are evil" and then she sees how batshit insane her sister has become over sheer paranoia and prejudice towards humans and templars, so then my Quizzy gets a "I'm Switzerland from now on"-attitude. And then she gets sent to go investigate the Templar-Mage issue in an attempt by the Keeper to make my Quizzy realize how "bad" Templars and shems are.

Long story short: My Dalish Quizzy had seen both the good and evil of both humans as well as elves, so she's mostly neutral. She does have a desire to go back to her clan but mostly to "protect" her clan from the insanity of her sister, who goes on to summon demons and do blood magic because her sister thinks that humans/Templars hate demons and blood magic because it's their only weakness and demons and blood magic will bring elves to their former glory (yes I'm very original *cough*)

She does however slightly lean towards hoping for a future where humans and elves live side by side and not hate each other.

And somewhere she still believes her sister's insanity can be cured and wishes she could just be a normal Dalish again, because occasionally Quizzy misses the "good old times".

As far as tolerance goes and opinion on city elves:
Considering my Quizzy is neutral and knows that most things have good and bad sides, she doesn't think city elves are inferior and if they want to live like humans and follow human religion, then she's okay with that.
She also sees successful  and respected city elves as proof that humans and elves can live side by side. And that the Andrastian religion isn't evil and horrible.



Oh and she romanced Cullen... because she has a thing for human templars? Or maybe she saw something in Cullen that reminded her of her former lover, don't know how I'm going to explain that yet.

[stop_him]

The first question is, what did you do to give your Dalish character some individuality? I'm curious to hear.

My Dalish elf inquisitor, Erawen, usually replied with the funny, sarcastic reply. She is like a female Dorian, a real smartass. I'd like to think she is charming, but also uses humor as a defense mechanism. I also headcanoned Erawen as a mage who was "traded" from a "Snow Elf" clan (since she was inspired by Skyrim's Snow Elves) to Clan Lavellan, and she is still a bit bitter about that whole affair.

 

The second question is about tolerance, and believe me, I don't think it's such a black and white subject. How does your character feel about City Elves? 
I don't mean everyone in alienages, but those who worship the Maker or that managed to find a place in human society.
Erawen personally thinks that the Maker was crap, but doesn't denigrate those who chose to believe. She views City Elves as "of the People," but have lost their way / chose a different way to live. Perhaps she feels sorry for them, but will not criticize someone solely on the basis of making different life choices.

 

But that their own kind would turn Andrastian and/or reject their own history is bound to be shocking to them.

My Dalish elf grew up with the stories of the Creators, but is uncertain of their "Godhood" since they've never offered much proof of their existence. After the Temple of Mythal, Erawen came to realize that much truth has been lost to time. She is uncertain what to believe anymore. 

 

Erawen may be Dalish, but she is easy-going, curious, loves to learn, and has a sense of humor. I imagine she questioned her Keeper often, and pushed the limits of traditional Dalish culture. She and Dorian are besties because of their similarities. A more "traditional" Dalish probably has a huge stick up her ass-- but I leave that to Cullen, LOL. Erawen actually romanced Cullen even though she still has doubts about it, but she just couldn't help herself. She is very much attracted to his assertive and direct personality, but is rather amused when he becomes adorkable bc of his inability to make intelligent conversation around women he likes. She loves to watch him lose control.

[Sjofn]

I'm not sure how to work around this when it comes to city elves in general. "You reject everything I stand for despite being an elf like me, but that's cool".

 

Thing is, Sera aside, I don't think the city elves really ... do that? My Dalish elf didn't assume that, anyway. My Dalish elf has a healthy respect for Andraste (NOT the Chantry, just Andraste herself) for her role in freeing the elves from Tevinter, being buds with Shartan, etc, so while he thinks the Chantry sucks, he doesn't really have a problem with city elves (who he just assumes don't know any better) going the extra step into worship. And while he might condescendingly pity city elves for having lost even more of their culture than he has, he's enough of a realist to know people gotta do what they gotta do, and he's not going to be a dick to someone who is just ... trying to live the life they've been given. Plus both the Maker AND the Creators are "gone," so ultimately, who cares? Neither is going to answer any prayers.

 

I also imagine he's seen plenty of city elves come and go in his clan (since running away to join the Dalish is a Thing, and washing out like Zevran did is ALSO a Thing), and is smart enough to realize that being Dalish just ... isn't for everyone. So for him it would be less "you reject everything I stand for" and more "aw, it's okay, you just couldn't hack it." Still condescending and probably annoying for any city elf dealing with him, but less ... er ... actively hostile? On his part?

 

 

 

edit: And, unexpectedly, Sera wound up being his best friend. Character growth for everyone!

[dragonflight288]

 

 

I could do without the smug attitude, but this was an useful piece regardless. 

 

Smug attitude? I think this is a case where the tone I intended is lost in translation. 

[Patchwork]

Just one more thing. Solas or Cullen?

While the former has a powerful ending, its beginning and middle are lacking. Very little happens.

As a romance option, Cullen seems more like a full package.

At the same time, I don't think I could bear to have my character live in ignorance. There's no way to be informed about the huge misconception concerning. the vallaslin without romancing Solas.

Cory makes a reference, but it's far from an actual explanation. It's only enough to leave your Lavellan confused at best.

 

I wouldn't be too bothered about vallaslin.

 

During the time of Arlathan it was put on slaves by nobles to show the noble's dedication to their patron god. It's slave markings in that no one else would ever have them but the dalish's take isn't wrong either. What Solas says provides a fuller picture, though Solas' opinion on this as so many things is coloured by his ultra high ranking at that time, on the use of vallaslin in Arlathan but thousands of years later the use and context has been changed so the news has little bearing on dalish tradition.  

 

The dalish openly admit their lack of knowledge about ancient elves, it's the news they had slaves that would be the real stumbling block for the not only the dalish but for all modern elves.  

[esper]

On being elf.

 

First of I made sure to only pick the perks fitting for my Inqusitioner, which meant that she had Arcane Knowlegde and History knowlegde, but not nobility knowlegde and underground knowlegde.

 

Then I only went on the side quest she would be concerned with.

 

My Lavellan is super curious and a scholar more than a fighter. She is proud of being dalish, but have always been a sponge for knowlegde and history and so begged her Keeper to let her be the one to go to the Conclave, because she would never get another chance to learn so much about the shemlen.

 

 

That being said, she ended up learning too much and now hate Andrastiantism with a burning passion since she is under the impression that the Andrastian can not even accept help in saving the world without erasing her cultural background.

 

 

 

 

On tolerance

 

My Lavellan think of all elves as of the People. City elves was just born in different circumstances than her and is not to blame for an accident of birth. That said with Sera being the first true city elf she interacted with she is now a bit iffy on city elves who pray to the Maker.

 

She is willing to give them a chance and prove themselves to be not Sera, but she is on guard.

 

 

 

[Roamingmachine]

The best advice i can give about this is that you should keep in mind at all times that the Dalish live in tight-knit clans that don't have that much contact with eachother and even less with the other races. Your clan is going to be your world and working for the good of the clan your day-to-day life. 

That said, here's my example:

The oldest descendant of a family line of an Emerald knight who died defending the Dales and sworn to the defence of her people just like her forefather was. Has two adult children with a spouse who is already long dead.---> Honorable,patient and loyal but her people will always come first. Extremely suspicious of the chantry&templars.  Extremely keen on the safety of her children and making sure they they carry on the Dalish ways. City elves who at least try to remain true to the ways she would consider her people in a wider sense and protect them, but those who had gone full shemlen she would judge to be foolish and ignorant as children.

There's more to her, but this is just to illustrate a character from the view that the Dalish are very communal and traditional.

[Khione]

I tried to make my Lavellan a pretty open minded chick and like others have said it'll probably rely on the back story you give them.

Artemis grew up idolizing her father who was a hunter of the clan and wished to be just like him when she grew up. Her father made sure she didn't have this stigma against humans, wanting her to know they aren't all bad. She was cool with that because "what dad says is 100% right" till -- cliché tragedy happens --her father is killed by a couple scared fugitives who thought he was feral and would attack them. It broke her heart and she was revenge driven for a few years till she met a human girl. The girl was a scholar type and wanted to know more than the stereotypes of the Dalish but Artemis wanted nothing to do with her, but of course she wore her down. That encounter reminded her of what her father taught her but she's still wary of humans and doesn't trust them 100%.

Regarding tradition I kind of made her like me where she'll listen and take it in for the sake of the clan but doesn't really hold it to heart. She acknowledges these gods may be real but with just stories alone she's a bit skeptical. She wholly doesn't believe the Maker is real though or just thinks he's useless. You can believe in whatever you want so City Elves switching over to Andrastian, she's just "do you" kind of attitude. Only thing she doesn't tolerate is blatant disrespect of her culture and their traditions. Its still something near to her even if she isn't completely devoted to it.

And I find it a bit funny (and maybe a little sad), that my Quizzy's bestest friends are humans (Cassandra and Dorian) and she isn't very close with the elves of the team. Sera was starting to grow on her though, after the cookie thing heh.

Oh and Cullen because "strapping young templars" and I'd like to think he was a little helpful of getting Artemis used to her role as Herald/Inquisitor. Solas didn't grab her as romance material but a cool friend.

 

EDIT: tl;dr 

I'm not sure how much "different" I made her other than her not being totally against humans and that she isn't very into her tradition like most Dalish are. Giving a backstory and adding personality helps the individuality bit but the game is still pretty restrictive with what you do.

 

City Elves are just elves that happen to live among humans and worship different gods to her. Ones that act human and take on that racism don't do it for her though.

[AlleluiaElizabeth]

How I made her unique:

For my Dalish, I made her unique (to me) by establishing some personality traits and applying my own logic regarding what the game has given me to work with. 

 

As a dagger wielding rogue, her role in the clan is as a "hunter", which according to the card text in the CC means she's responsible for food and protection of the clan. I don't think she was responsible for the food kills, so much (b/c how many deer can you sneak up on to stab with a dagger?), so I reasoned she was more in the gaurdian role, protecting the bow-wielding hunters from predators during hunts and the clan in general from hostile people, like bandits. And she scouted ahead of the clan when they traveled (which is why I really loved being able to tell Josie in Haven that she loved spending time in the forests and such). 

 

For personality I decided she's pragmatic and she's dutiful. These traits, plus the scouting experience, were the reasons she was trusted to journey so far on her own to spy on the conclave. The Keeper could trust she could take care of herself and manage to accomplish her task without the support of clanmates.

 

So, I knew my Lavellan was 1) pragmatic, 2) dutiful, and 3) saw herself as a protector. This decides her actions in-game. 

 

- Being pragmatic makes her ask questions(and read books) so she can get all information possible to tackle a situation. It also allows her to roll with the punches being thrown at her, once she's realized life has its fists raised in her direction. She takes events in stride a lot of times. (i.e. She doesn't give tearful reaction wheel responses very often.)

 

- Being dutiful to her clan, she believes in tradition (so she follows the Creators, is ok with mages/being led by a mage, feels spirits are not good or bad but are also not to be taken lightly, etc.). Dutifulness also makes her express a desire to return to her clan whenever she's asked and feel resentment at this mark that is not allowing her to do so. 

 

- Being a protector, she has motivation to help the innocents she sees in the Hinterlands, for example, even though she doesn't even want to BE in southern Thedas at that point in the story. Its also what eventually lets her kind of adopt the Inquisition as a "clan" of its own, with people looking to her for guidance and protection from the nightmare-born threat that is Corypheus.

 

I took those personality traits and reacted accordingly to situations, with a few exceptions (namely, the prologue). 

 

In the prologue, she was almost all aggressive and curt. Not b/c she's normally like that. I think she's capable of all tones of dialogue, depending on who she's talking with, what she needs to accomplish, how she's being treated by them, the subject matter and her knowledge of it, etc. She was acting angry in the prologue cus she'd just woken up with a painful glowing hole in her hand and this really angry human woman in her face, accusing her of murder, when she has no idea what the **** has even happened. As a result, the rest of the day she was cooperating, but she wasn't having anyone's guff. And she was rude/short to people who weren't really deserving of it, too, like Cullen and Varric. 

 

As game events continue she gets more comfortable with the people she's met and sees they aren't bad people, so she starts to ease up/mend fences a bit with them.

 

How she viewed city elves/humans/other people:

Its really open to go either way, imo. Prejudiced or non-prejudiced.

 

I went with what the codex about Clan Lavellan implied. The keeper leads them to generally be open to outsiders (much as a Dalish clan can be, anyway). They're still nomadic cus not all Marchers are hunky-dory with them, but they've managed to establish good relations with some regular traders around the Marches and such. Since my Lavellan is responsible for the physical safety of the clan, she's weary of all strangers until she assesses them. If they're not a threat, she follows her keeper's lead (being dutiful, again) and doesn't generally have a problem with them, regardless of ear shape. 

 

The game allows you to play a racist human-hater, too, of course. The Keeper points out how your hunters apparently love arguing with humans the clan meets, for instance. I just choose to act more like the Keeper herself and how she seems to *want* the clan to behave, but you can go either way.

 

As for the city elf thing specifically, she goes the pity route other people have mentioned. Like, she doesn't hate, look down on, or argue with city elves who don't adhere to the old ways. She doesn't expect them to, cus they're city elves and she knows the reality of that. But she'll also try to impart Dalish values to them whenever possible, like telling Hyndal in the Hinterlands that his place is with his family, etc. Cus that's part of being Dalish, valuing her family/clan above practically all else.

 

Solas or Cullen:

She fell hard for Solas. He intrigues her, she's not put off by having her point of view challenged in a conversation, and she enjoys that he's as stubborn as she is while still being able to concede points occasionally. And she could honestly listen to him talk all day with that voice of his.

 

Cullen seems like a very nice man, though, the more she gets to know him. They're both protector types and he's pretty funny when he wants to be, so they're best buds.

[Incantrix]

1)The first question is, what did you do to give your Dalish character some individuality?

My Dalish actually enjoyed shem politics. He enjoyed the fact that he could outsmart them and it brought him delight to participate in the game.

2)The second question is about tolerance, and beliefs

As a keepers first, he was tasked with knowing about the creators. But deep down inside, he didn't give a damn about them. He acknowledged their once existence but he came to the conclusion that they were no longer with his people. What's the point of revering them?

Furthermore, he laughs at Andrastian shems who think their invisible god actually cares. In what way has he shown his divinity?

3) Views on humans?

He enjoys their company BUT deep down inside he feels superior to them and will remind them, if only subtly.

4)Views on elves?

City elves who allow them selves to be subserviant to humans disgust him. But then there's elves like Briala who throw a smile on his face. He wants to see more power players like her.

5)

In the end, he dated Dorian. Not for looks, but for his brain and willingness to change things in tevinter. His rebelliousness and charm enthralled him. Plus, he enjoys the hidden ego battle they have.

In the end, I view my elf as chaotic good. He tries to do "good" things but sometimes he goes about it the wrong way. He thinks being peaceful gets you no where and prefers the more...unorthodox choices to get things done.

[Qun00]

Just to clarify, I am reading everything but I have yet to figure out what to make of it.

[Carmen_Willow]

We all know that clinging too much to stereotypes is a common and lazy form of roleplay.

However, playing a Dalish elf is trickier and you're more likely to fall into that trap. Not every human believes in the Maker. Not every Tevinter mage condones human sacrifices. Some dwarves are surfacers. Some qunari love the Qun but aren't always sure if it's the right thing.

But all Dalish care a great deal about tradition. Those who feel otherwise naturally wouldn't want to stay in their clans.

My point isn't that it's impossible to think beyond stereotype, only that it requires a little more effort in this case.

The first question is, what did you do to give your Dalish character some individuality? I'm curious to hear.

The second question is about tolerance, and believe me, I don't think it's such a black and white subject. How does your character feel about City Elves?
I don't mean everyone in alienages, but those who worship the Maker or that managed to find a place in human society.

It's easy to understand the Dalish elves' point of view. I'd wager they don't really mind other races worshipping different gods.

But that their own kind would turn Andrastian and/or reject their own history is bound to be shocking to them.

I had my character tell Solas "You and I are the same people", but I haven't managed to justify it in my head. It seems simple at first, " Yay tolerance", but this isn't the real world and circumstances are a little different.

I'm not sure how to work around this when it comes to city elves in general. "You reject everything I stand for despite being an elf like me, but that's cool".

As you mighy tell, I'm still in the first hours and haven't established what kind of character it's going to be.

I haven't yet, but I'm thinking of playing a Dalish elf who disagrees with Solas. That would be a BIG leap for me.

[esper]

Huh, I forgot to answer the LI part. Well I will add it with a how she interacts with the companions in general since that is an important part of roleplay.

 

The whole Herald of Andraste thing, generally put a distance between my Lavellan and the companions. 

 

As First she has always been dutyfull and used to putting distance between herself and other so she have a friendly, but distant relationship with most.

 

She  saw Dorian as a good friend, and pretty much adopted Cole.

 

Cassandra and Vivienne, she didn't get along with. Cassandra because of an early animosity in the prolog and then my Lavellan's tendency to defend mages.

 

Sera was kicked out when she flipped out on the noble. While Lavellan liked Blackwall and got along with him, she couldn't in good conscience save him from the gallows.

 

Cullen scared her because she had 'avoid templars' drilled into her from a young age. She respected his abilities, but never felt at ease around him.

 

 

Solas was her li. He attracted her curious and studious side and she was always a fan of debating issues, that is a good way to learn and grow.

There was also a more calculated side to their relationship, which she would never admit to either him or herself: Solas is a dreamer (or at least presented himself as such) something my Lavellan considered a lost elven art, and she would never forgive herself if she hadn't attempted to... ahem... bring that bloodline back to the People. 

[wiccame]

We all know that clinging too much to stereotypes is a common and lazy form of roleplay.

However, playing a Dalish elf is trickier and you're more likely to fall into that trap. Not every human believes in the Maker. Not every Tevinter mage condones human sacrifices. Some dwarves are surfacers. Some qunari love the Qun but aren't always sure if it's the right thing.

But all Dalish care a great deal about tradition. Those who feel otherwise naturally wouldn't want to stay in their clans.

My point isn't that it's impossible to think beyond stereotype, only that it requires a little more effort in this case.

The first question is, what did you do to give your Dalish character some individuality? I'm curious to hear.

The second question is about tolerance, and believe me, I don't think it's such a black and white subject. How does your character feel about City Elves?
I don't mean everyone in alienages, but those who worship the Maker or that managed to find a place in human society.

It's easy to understand the Dalish elves' point of view. I'd wager they don't really mind other races worshipping different gods.

But that their own kind would turn Andrastian and/or reject their own history is bound to be shocking to them.

I had my character tell Solas "You and I are the same people", but I haven't managed to justify it in my head. It seems simple at first, " Yay tolerance", but this isn't the real world and circumstances are a little different.

I'm not sure how to work around this when it comes to city elves in general. "You reject everything I stand for despite being an elf like me, but that's cool".

As you mighy tell, I'm still in the first hours and haven't established what kind of character it's going to be.

My dalish are VERY Dalish in that they revere their gods and their ways but, because of how strongly they feel about their own beliefs they also respect that others have different beliefs and respect those beliefs. 

My characters also tell Solas they are of the same people. The dalish have this nice sense of community about them and my dalish try to bring that to other elves, they don't exclude them. 

Sera is the exception though. My elves try for a while to accept her but her constant insults to the dalish grate eventually. 

[Hanako Ikezawa]

The first question is, what did you do to give your Dalish character some individuality?

Made them hate how the Dalish are. 

 

 

The second question is about tolerance, and believe me, I don't think it's such a black and white subject. How does your character feel about City Elves?
I don't mean everyone in alienages, but those who worship the Maker or that managed to find a place in human society.

Feels sorry for how they've suffered and hopes to better their lives and pursue the paths they want. 

[Qun00]

Made them hate how the Dalish are. 
 
 

Feels sorry for how they've suffered and hopes to better their lives and pursue the paths they want.

Am I right to assume these are self-insert views?