Yes, it was predicted well before the game came out.
http://forum.bioware...kwall-spoilers/
I read this topic before the game came out, and was highly suspicious of him after that. So yeah, it was basically spoiled without being actually spoiled. It was enough just to make people think he was lying, because then people start paying attention to details that don't add up.
I was pretty much waiting for it. What took me completely by surprise was the reason why he took the role of pretender.
I was suspicious he wasn't a real Warden when he said killing an archdemon was just a matter of "sticking enough swords in it"
WHo he really was, no that took me completely by surprise.
I was suspicious he wasn't a real Warden when he said killing an archdemon was just a matter of "sticking enough swords in it"
That isn't questionable to me. For one, for a warden that is pretty much all they have to do. A warden does just have to stab it to death. A warden would of course explain from a warden's perspective.
Two, a real warden wouldn't explain to a non-warden how a warden needs to die by letting the archedemon's soul into their own to keep it from respawning . We know this is a carefully kept secret since it's only told to the Warden and Alistair/Loghain in private well away from anyone else. It's even mentioned how they intentionally don't let that info slip out to non-wardens.
So yeah, that part actually makes sense.
edit: missed a very vital "from" in that second paragraphg that threw the whole damn meaning off 
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I just don't get that part. Do you honestly expect a Gw to say:I was suspicious he wasn't a real Warden when he said killing an archdemon was just a matter of "sticking enough swords in it"
WHo he really was, no that took me completely by surprise.
I just don't get that part. Do you honestly expect a Gw to say:
"Ah, the Wardens. See, the way it works is that we taint ourselves with darkspawn blood. Can't blight what's already blighted! Except we use a complicated blood magic ritual to slow it down. Don't tell the Chantry about all that blood magic! It comes from the Imperium you see. Oh, we eventually go insane and turn into monstrous ghouls but that takes years. It takes quite a while before you go insane and your flesh falls off in chunks. We know if there's a blight because we can feel the Archdemon literally touch our minds. Our endgame is to destroy our soul along with it. If there isn't a blight we go off and commit suicide in the Deep Roads. Did I leave anything out?"
You have a point, but I still expected less hesitation. My character didn't suspect much because ''it needs to be a GW sword'' isn't really that stupid a prospect in a world by magic blades up the whazoo, but me the player who knew exactly what was needed didn't like the way a Senior Warden stumbled on such a simple question. I know a Duncan, for instance, would have been more convincingly evasive. One could hand-wave it as Blackwall having less people skills, but let's be honest, his hesitation was totally intendded as a tip-off to veteran players who know better than him.
Another thing that I remarked on a second playthrough is how he speaks of the Wardens as an outsider. ''All a Warden is, is a promise'' and saying how ''they'' protect the innocent and the weak. When pretty much all the NPC Wardens you meet have this outlook beaten out of them pronto during the Joining, and are far more ''resulsts at all costs'' kinda people.
Also when he says Corypheus has no hold on him, at first I thought it was just Bioware hand-waving why he didn't backstab you. But in hindsight, it's much easier to explain. Hell, it's true even, he just conveniently forgets to state why Coryfishtick has none of said hold.
I wasn't suspicious. I mean, he was evasive and secretive, especially about 'Warden business'... but all Wardens are like that. Even when the HoF was a recruit at Ostagar (or in their origin) and asked Alistair or Duncan about the order, they'd just get vague answers. Hell, even Alistair didn't know how to kill an archdemon, and he'd been a Warden for at least several months.
I did assume he had a checkered past, but didn't suspect he was a fake Warden.
It was pretty clear he wasn't a Warden. The fact that he was always alone and had no idea where the Grey Wardens were. It also didn't make any sense he wasn't suffering from the taint as others have mentioned. He never really seemed quite authentic, more of just a fairy tale. What surprised me was how much of an utter scumbag he actually was. I figured he must have known a Grey Warden and had somewhat noble intentions, but BioWare just ruined his entire character with his real personality. He went from being a likeable character to one I can't even stand. He is easily my least favorite companion in a BioWare game.
I just don't get that part. Do you honestly expect a Gw to say:
"Ah, the Wardens. See, the way it works is that we taint ourselves with darkspawn blood. Can't blight what's already blighted! Except we use a complicated blood magic ritual to slow it down. Don't tell the Chantry about all that blood magic! It comes from the Imperium you see. Oh, we eventually go insane and turn into monstrous ghouls but that takes years. It takes quite a while before you go insane and your flesh falls off in chunks. We know if there's a blight because we can feel the Archdemon literally touch our minds. Our endgame is to destroy our soul along with it. If there isn't a blight we go off and commit suicide in the Deep Roads. Did I leave anything out?"
No, but I would have expected him to say something like "Sorry, trade secret" Or at least "It has to do with the Joining ritual we undergo when we become Wardens"
But treating the archdemon as nothing more than a really big darkspawn? Nope, something was off about that. It wasn't a vague answer, it was a wrong answer.
I just don't get that part. Do you honestly expect a Gw to say:
"Ah, the Wardens. See, the way it works is that we taint ourselves with darkspawn blood. Can't blight what's already blighted! Except we use a complicated blood magic ritual to slow it down. Don't tell the Chantry about all that blood magic! It comes from the Imperium you see. Oh, we eventually go insane and turn into monstrous ghouls but that takes years. It takes quite a while before you go insane and your flesh falls off in chunks. We know if there's a blight because we can feel the Archdemon literally touch our minds. Our endgame is to destroy our soul along with it. If there isn't a blight we go off and commit suicide in the Deep Roads. Did I leave anything out?"
For me Blackwall sounded like he genuinely struggled to answer the questions for which he just didn't know the answers. He sounded ignorant, not evasive. And that's why it was so suspicious.
The minute he claimed to be in Ferelden fighting darkspawn during the blight, my alarm bells went off. He acts like a heroic and chivalrous grey warden who fights for justice. Why would he go on gallivanting alone in the outskirts of Ferelden when my Warden tries to save the world almost on her own? At that point, me the player was pretty sure Blackwall murdered real Blackwall and assumed his identity. Partially incorrect, but my suspicions were well-founded.
My inquisitor (who has less super secret information on wardens than me) got suspicious after taking Blackwall along to meet with Loghain. It was damn strange and also arrogant how BW just claims to be this extraordinarily strong-willed person who doesn't have to worry about the calling. Loghain is one of the people who defeated the blight! Why would Blackwall be so much superior than all the other wardens in the area, including Loghain?
The thing that was the most suspicious to me though, was Blackwall's general attitude. He idolized the wardens and thought them as saints. His attitude was closer to that of a rookie warden who doesn't have a clue how far that organization is willing to go to achieve their goals. If Blackwall really was a senior warden, he should have been more like Duncan or Clarel, not have a childish hero-worshipping syndrome like Alistair did.
I understand your position. That's an interesting point about the hesitation. Here's a fun Easter egg - in an earlier version of DAO apparently there was no DR or US choice; it was a quest to find the legendary anti-AD GW sword. So Blackwall is sort of right.You have a point, but I still expected less hesitation. My character didn't suspect much because ''it needs to be a GW sword'' isn't really that stupid a prospect in a world by magic blades up the whazoo, but me the player who knew exactly what was needed didn't like the way a Senior Warden stumbled on such a simple question. I know a Duncan, for instance, would have been more convincingly evasive. One could hand-wave it as Blackwall having less people skills, but let's be honest, his hesitation was totally intendded as a tip-off to veteran players who know better than him.
Another thing that I remarked on a second playthrough is how he speaks of the Wardens as an outsider. ''All a Warden is, is a promise'' and saying how ''they'' protect the innocent and the weak. When pretty much all the NPC Wardens you meet have this outlook beaten out of them pronto during the Joining, and are far more ''resulsts at all costs'' kinda people.
Also when he says Corypheus has no hold on him, at first I thought it was just Bioware hand-waving why he didn't backstab you. But in hindsight, it's much easier to explain. Hell, it's true even, he just conveniently forgets to state why Coryfishtick has none of said hold.
But, again, he's right. He actually parallel Riordan who tells you that killing the AD isn't the hard part, but rather making sure it stays dead. The AD IS nothing more than a big load bearing boss, and the GWs as far as we know don't have any more sophisticated view of it beyond that part.No, but I would have expected him to say something like "Sorry, trade secret" Or at least "It has to do with the Joining ritual we undergo when we become Wardens"
But treating the archdemon as nothing more than a really big darkspawn? Nope, something was off about that. It wasn't a vague answer, it was a wrong answer.
I personally wasn't, but during this second playthrough I've realized there's a fair amount of evidence before that point.
For example, one could wonder why Blackwall apparently wasn't affected by the fake Calling or how he had no clue where the wardens had gone.
I was. I wanted to kick him out during my first PT because I felt something wasn't Kosher with him, and I actually took him everywhere with me as he was my main tank.
Two clues tipped it off for me:
Conscripting those guys just to fight off bandits was the first thing that made me slightly suspicious because I couldn't see a Warden using conscription in that manner without making them GWs afterwards. Maybe I was thinking of Duncan(and even Stroud in DA2) too much here, because they refused to conscript anyone who wasn't worthy of becoming a GW for any reason...even a good one. So I actually saw it as BW abusing his power as a GW, albeit for a good cause....but it still seemed out of the ordinary for a GW to conscript even for a good cause.
It wasn't until after meeting with Loghain that I just knew Blackwall was lying. I confronted him in the barn and had a confirmation that he wasn't a GW due to his defensive responses. I wanted to kick him out but didn't have the option. 
Then my game had the Blackwall quest bug so I just let him sit in my barn for the rest of the game. I actually thought he was a spy for Cory at one point so I stopped taking him on missions. I just waited for what I thought would be the big reveal of him working for Cory this entire time. But that never happened and I realized my game was just bugged lol!
Inquisitor: How do Grey Wardens deal with an Archdemon's?
Blackwall: Short answer. Stick it with swords until it stops moving
Inquisitor: Wardens are in all the stories, If it was that easy, anyone could do it.
Blackwall: No, it is really that simple. Just because the Archdemon is magic, doesn't mean it can't be killed with swords. It just......has to be a Grey Warden sword. Look, its not the killing blow that's the problem. Its getting the dragon to the point where its vulnerable, where it actually can be killed. There's no short answer for that, I'm afraid
Thanks for the laugh Blackwall.
*snip*
And despite the flub with Anora the Joining is not supposed to be public knowledge.
Slightly off topic, but that really depends on which warden you speak with. My warden from Origins was pretty much dragged to the organization kicking and screaming, and always held a grudge against them for making her (without forewarning) almost infertile and cutting years out of her lifespan. I imagine many of the other wardens would feel the same. The organization is also infamous for accepting criminals and other outcasts who might not feel much loyalty towards the wardens. I'm convinced that many of the warden secrets have been leaked, even if officially there's not much public knowledge about them.
That being said, Blackwall doesn't seem like the sort of guy who would babble about the top secret stuff. Still, as I said above, he didn't seem evasive as much as ignorant on GW issues.
I felt something was off about him, but it's when the Inquisitor asks about killing the Archdemon that I knew he wasn't a real Grey Warden.
Slightly off topic, but that really depends on which warden you speak with. My warden from Origins was pretty much dragged to the organization kicking and screaming, and always held a grudge against them for making her (without forewarning) almost infertile and cutting years out of her lifespan. I imagine many of the other wardens would feel the same. The organization is also infamous for accepting criminals and other outcasts who might not feel much loyalty towards the wardens. I'm convinced that many of the warden secrets have been leaked, even if officially there's not much public knowledge about them.
That being said, Blackwall doesn't seem like the sort of guy who would babble about the top secret stuff. Still, as I said above, he didn't seem evasive as much as ignorant on GW issues.
*snip*
It wasn't until after meeting with Loghain that I just knew Blackwall was lying. I confronted him in the barn and had a confirmation that he wasn't a GW due to his defensive responses. I wanted to kick him out but didn't have the option.
This really irked me too. At that point, both the player and the inquisitor have received so many red flags about Blackwall that there should have been an option to confront him about it directly. If he still still refused to tell the truth there should have been an option to kick him out.
This is especially true if the inquisitor was in a relationship with the man. For my inquisitor it was excruciating to know Blackwall was blatantly lying and that he didn't trust her enough to tell the truth. She didn't want to get dragged along in such a relationship, but the game didn't offer a chance to get out until much later. Bioware shouldn't have made Blackwall's deception so obvious and then force us to go along with it so long.
Oh, I share your view of the Wardens. Had DAO allowed it I would have asked for their entire order to be banned from Ferlden, but only after having a high level one - say, Avernus if he lived - spill the beans on the Joining for safe keeping.
Keep in mind though that it's not clear what secrets the wardens share with their recruits. Duncan was open that the Joining effectively involved ingesting darkspawn blood but that Joining might be irregular. Alistair knows about the blood bit, but not how an AD dies.
The high level stuff you presumably aren't told unless they know you're loyal.
Fair point. I forgot how ignorant Alistair was on some topics. Still, I'm fairly certain at least something must have leaked. But of course, the true stuff would just mix with rumours, and trustworthy GW information would be hard to attain. Fear might keep some silent as well. Knowing how cut-throat the wardens can be, I imagine they don't tolerate traitors very well.
No, but I would have expected him to say something like "Sorry, trade secret" Or at least "It has to do with the Joining ritual we undergo when we become Wardens"
But treating the archdemon as nothing more than a really big darkspawn? Nope, something was off about that. It wasn't a vague answer, it was a wrong answer.
Hof: How do the Grey Wardens defeat the Blight?
Alistair: We chop off the snake's head, it's the only way ...
For all intents and purposes, it is just a really big darkspawn to the Wardens. Even if Blackwall knew the specifics of archdemon slaying (which is implied to be known only by high level wardens), he shouldn't share it with an outsider as it is tied to the secret Joining ritual. Saying "wardens need to stab it until it dies" is a completely satisfactory answer because it's true and it doesn't reveal Warden secrets.
The high level stuff you presumably aren't told unless they know you're loyal.
Or you're one of the senior high ranking Grey Wardens too.
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