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[TEWR]

Play the Templar side.  The dangers of an Inquisition that oversteps its bounds are addressed there.

 

In an overly hammy and obviously evil fashion.

 

The fact is the Inquisition becomes Thedas' dominant power no matter what because it ends up taking control of Ferelden (because Alistair's WT missions show his weakness as a king), Orlais (because whoever is on the throne depends on the Inquisition's support), and the other nations (if not now, then soon). And also, the Chantry.

 

We've already overstepped our bounds, because every nation in Thedas now depends on us to keep themselves alive.

[Dorrieb]

The 'will of the people' is still an imposed, authoritarian will. It's still a will that doesn't request respect from the individual - it demands it. All laws demand compliance, regardless of weather they're democratically created or not. And it's always a demand that is ultimately backed up by violence, or it isn't a law at all. Just a request.

 

I wouldn't say I like or dislike it. But it's an absolutely necessity of society.

 

No offense, but you're either trolling me or else you're the kind of person who wears 'Arbeit Macht Frei' on their t-shirts. Suffice it to say that no civilised person has believed what you are saying since the days of Queen Victoria, or at least they have the sense not to admit it in public. Never stand for office, is my advice to you. Either way, I won't be drawn into a nineteenth-century argument.

 

I'm comforted to see that so many other people who aren't retired colonels of the colonial wars do share my misgivings about the Inquisition. For what it's worth, I do think that the writers occasionally intended to cast a little doubt on whether it's entirely a good thing or not, but in such an ambiguous way that it can be ignored or subverted. Morrigan, for example, almost calls you out on it in the Arbour Wilds, but the player can easily dismiss her as a cynic.

[BobZilla84]

I think it can go either way really but in my opinion The Inquistion could be a means to keep peace across Thedas I mean it has both Orlais & Ferelden in check as well as a possable Alliance with the Qunari I could see them preventing wars.

In truth the only two other players on the Board are Tevinter and the Chantry and the Chantry would no doubt expect the Inquistion to disband but in truth its a necessary evil that can keep the Chantry from slipping further and becoming corrupt again and Tevinter has got Qunari problems.

Oh I could totally see The Inquisition turning out like the Peace Maintenance Brigade from Growlanser:Heritage of War they will keep peace by force if necessary.

[BobZilla84]

The minute we have Peace the minute Dragon Age is dead.
 
Where's the drama?

You got me there lol.

Ah thinking about Growlanser made me a little nostalgic I guess.

[TEWR]

Hardly.  

 

While the Inquisitor's goals are distinct from those of Envy, the visions that were shown to us can very well become reality due to the power and influence that the Inquisition wields, even if said power and influence were used for a benevolent purpose, such as bringing peace and stability.  

 

For instance, the sacking of Val Royeux can become reality as a result of failing to keep Briala, Celene, and Gaspard in check after blackmailing them.  This results in a second civil war, this time caused by the Inquisitor consolidating his or her power over the rulers of Orlais.

 

Also, the ruthless treatment of dissenters is another vision that can actually come into fruition via War Table.  You can order Cullen to use the Inquisition's forces to intimidate Grand Clerics, or engage in underhanded tactics to silence naysayers.  And these are not even the worst.

 

And tell me, where in the game are we called out that such actions are bad to do? Where in the game is it pointed out that us performing such actions would create more harm for the Inquisition then good?

 

The answer: nowhere. The game rewards you for these course of action, no matter how devious a route you take, and they're never addressed in-game. These things should weaken our position and the Inquisition as a whole, but no matter what the Inquisition is seen in a better light and given more power.

 

No matter what you do, no matter how you abuse your authority, the game doesn't call you out on it and how you're only making things worse and makes it still seem like what you're doing is the best thing out there and it's part of your holy calling.

 

Doesn't help that we actually veer almost into... I wouldn't say God Mode per se but that's the closest thing I can think of, but that sort of territory by being so competent no one stands a chance against us. There's very little struggle in the game itself.

 

I think even Cass gives disapproval on that. So it's already a sign you're barking up the wrong tree.

 

To me at least.. she's like a moral compass for me.

 

She actually approves of you using Cullen to threaten the Grand Cleric, or having Leliana silence her, on top of having Josephine deal with her diplomatically.

 

It even gives you an amulet of power for her on top of the approval boost, in Cullen's route.

[BabyPuncher]

No offense, but you're either trolling me or else you're the kind of person who wears 'Arbeit Macht Frei' on their t-shirts. Suffice it to say that no civilised person has believed what you are saying since the days of Queen Victoria, or at least they have the sense not to admit it in public. Never stand for office, is my advice to you. Either way, I won't be drawn into a nineteenth-century argument.

 

Here's a fun little experiment for you to try.

 

Go walk down the street and assault someone. Preferably with a weapon.

 

When the cops show up, see what happens.

 

Will they politely ask you to stop what you're doing? Will they say "Please stop beating that person. It's wrong."? Will they request that you please obey the law because it's the right thing to do? Will they ask your opinion on whether what you're doing is morally acceptable or not?

 

Somehow, I don't think they will. I think they will demand you stand down. And if you refuse, I think they'll enforce that demand through violence.

[Lady Artifice]

Here's a fun little experiment for you to try.

 

Go walk down the street and assault someone. Preferably with a weapon.

 

When the cops show up, see what happens.

 

Will they politely ask you to stop what you're doing? Will they say "Please stop beating that person. It's wrong."? Will they request that you please obey the law because it's the right thing to do? Will they ask your opinion on whether what you're doing is morally acceptable or not?

 

Somehow, I don't think they will. I think they will demand you stand down. And if you refuse, I think they'll enforce that demand through violence.

 

This is a terrible analogy.  

[Dorrieb]

Here's a fun little experiment for you to try.

 

Go walk down the street and assault someone. Preferably with a weapon.

 

When the cops show up, see what happens.

 

Will they politely ask you to stop what you're doing? Will they say "Please stop beating that person. It's wrong."? Will they request that you please obey the law because it's the right thing to do? Will they ask your opinion on whether what you're doing is morally acceptable or not?

 

Somehow, I don't think they will. I think they will demand you stand down. And if you refuse, I think they'll enforce that demand through violence.

 

Here's a fun little one for you:

 

Go to a party and tell someone, 'I don't believe in God'.

 

When the cops don't show up, and you are not thrown in prison and tortured, and your possessions are not confiscated by the Church... will you stop talking out of your arse, or is that the freedom you treasure the most?

 

That wasn't always the case. There was a time when all of those things would have happened, and worse. But, wouldn't it be nice to live in a country where we had the right to believe what we liked and say what we liked, where everyone was equal before the law and even the leader of the country had no more rights than everyone else? Oh, wait a minute... we do. Unlike people who disagree with the Inquisition in Thedas.

 

I suspect that this love affair of yours with authority stems from your lack of imagination to picture how it could affect you. Autocracy is great, if I'm the autocrat - not so much fun if someone else is. 'Hey, I'm opposed to stealing. Authorities prevent stealing -- no problem!' 'I hate trade unions, authority crushes trade unions -- great!' 'I like video games, authority makes video games illegal -- wait, hang on.'

[BabyPuncher]

This is a terrible analogy.  

 

It's not an analogy at all. It's literal reality.

 

You deny any of this is true?

 

Every law covering every topic from littering to murder is ultimately enforced through violence. It has to be. If it isn't, it's not a law at all. Merely a request.

[Heimdall]

You know, I'm wondering if what the Inquisition becomes in the long run might be the subject of the final DLC, something involved in negotiations with other nations discussing what role they will play. See, people keep talking about the Inquisition controlling nations but fundamentally they're there to hunt demons and confront magical threats. People are seriously overestimating the Inquisition's power here, but it will be interesting to have a hand in defining the role they will have.

[Xilizhra]

No offense, but you're either trolling me or else you're the kind of person who wears 'Arbeit Macht Frei' on their t-shirts. Suffice it to say that no civilised person has believed what you are saying since the days of Queen Victoria, or at least they have the sense not to admit it in public. Never stand for office, is my advice to you. Either way, I won't be drawn into a nineteenth-century argument.

 

I'm comforted to see that so many other people who aren't retired colonels of the colonial wars do share my misgivings about the Inquisition. For what it's worth, I do think that the writers occasionally intended to cast a little doubt on whether it's entirely a good thing or not, but in such an ambiguous way that it can be ignored or subverted. Morrigan, for example, almost calls you out on it in the Arbour Wilds, but the player can easily dismiss her as a cynic.

I still don't see what the problem is with the Inquisition possibly having the creeping potential to exercise its powers too harshly, when every single other office of authority in Thedas already does that. I mean, the Inquisition still isn't guaranteed to, and even if it does, it won't be comparatively worse.

[Arijharn]

The Inquisition is as bad as you make it, which was precisely the point.

[Heimdall]

That changed when we decided the direction and rule of most humans' religion and who gets to rule Orlais. Even if you happen to just be some bum that had no stake in it.

They were the two things pre-release I couldn't believe they'd let us do. And they up and did it. DAI is a comedy. Or tragic comedy. Or maybe romantic, tragic comedy.

Yes, but the Inquisition only has indirect influence over the ruler of Orlais and who becomes Divine., their purpose is still about demon hunting/mage police.

[TEWR]

Interestingly, this parallels Ambassador Udina in the Mass Effect series, so it's probably true that this is a wider BioWare problem.

 

 

Actually, I found the Inquisition to be boringly moderate. It pretty much completely lacked any sort of fanatic or revolutionary.

 

Yeah, before release Roderick was compared to Udina.

 

Having a few Udinas here and there isn't a bad thing, but having solely Udinas means that what makes the narrative best just gets thrown out the window

[Kulyok]

The Inquisition is as bad as you make it, which was precisely the point.

 

It's bad either way. There's no perfect Divine, there's no full stability in Orlais, and everything the epilogue mentions with the mages and the templars seems shaky and temporary. And once the game is over, you're no longer in control - essentially the Inquisition is a huge NPC that can turn out any way the developers want this NPC to turn out. And there's absolutely no indication the Inquisition is going to play nice - see the endings for Cullen(army keeps everyone in fear) and Leliana(through secrets and blackmail you're in control) and Jo(power to shake kingdoms). It's really, really, really a cause for concern either way.

[Heimdall]

I hope you're right.. but if you don't dismantle the Seekers (which is another major power play btw), then they'd take that job probably.

Well, the Seekers dismantle themselves really, it's just whether or not you talk Cassandra out of resounding them. If they started competing... That could end badly now that I think of it. Not really sure what would happen.