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[In Exile]

I'm not sure Orlais would necessarily want an Andrastian Dales. If the Dales are openly Andrastian they lose a great deal of what makes them isolationist and what keeps them from openly allying with Orlesian enemies. Really, it's Dalish isolation - and their apparent disregard even for simple Realpolitik ideas like allying with enemies of your enemy even if you aren't culturally aligned.

[Jedi Master of Orion]

A codex entry in Dragon Age Origins specifically says that the Chantry sent missionaries into the Dales that were expelled. World of Thedas also says "Relations with humans remained hostile, the elven rejection of the Maker became cause for Chantry ire."

[dragonflight288]

The elves deserve a land and home to call their own.

Humans shouldn't be allowed there. Humans commit genocide and ethnic cleansing for both religious dogma and the giggles.

Edit: can't use devil emoticon on my phone, dang it.

[Master Warder Z_]

You know in a pique of poetic irony I'd say elven insuregents should be hung from those trees planted for dead elf terrorists.

[In Exile]

A codex entry in Dragon Age Origins specifically says that the Chantry sent missionaries into the Dales that were expelled. World of Thedas also says "Relations with humans remained hostile, the elven rejection of the Maker became cause for Chantry ire."

That's a quite extreme reaction all on its own. Religious missionaries by themselves are not especially threatening to anyone. And missionary doesn't mean templar - we see that with brother Burkel. While I can understand the Dalish sentiment on a societal level - the " we want to have our own u unique culture " - there's something very worrying to me about state mandated religious doctrine, and the expulsion of missionaries feels like that kind of flexing. Similar to the idea that one cannot be Dalish (in the modern sense) without adhering to their religion (e.g. an atheist Keeper)

[The Baconer]

there's something very worrying to me about state mandated religious doctrine, and the expulsion of missionaries feels like that kind of flexing.

 

I don't think there's a single nation where that isn't the case beyond Rivain.

[Dean_the_Young]

You know, I once thought up how 'I' could exist in the Dragon Age setting- or at least the closest I could imagine, and then translated into a NPC.

 

I think I'd be slummining it out in some port city of the Free Marches as an advisor/political consultant of the international relations of the the day. In the context of the story I'd be someone you get sent to meet after meeting someone more important for help- like say the player goes to meet the legendary Varric and he laughs and goes 'I'm not getting into this, but I know someone who knows someone who might know something that would help.' I'd be that guy (or gal), looking for a little help with my job in exchange for helping yours, and then the whims of my employer (or the death of the old) gets me caught up and helping.

 

I'd be most notably a disillusioned Tevinter Templar, someone who bought into the whole Tevinter 'magic serves the people by noble leadership' nobless oblige glory duty government shindig and who thought the Empire could be reformed if the Tevinter Templars were professionals to go after the corrupt magisters, and then grew disillusioned when they were still used as thugs and enforcers and some scandal with the Magistrate who ran the Templars sent me running away. If I really wanted to stretch the backstory, I'd say that an encounter/period as a POW with the Qunari opened me up to different viewpoints, and that even if I didn't accept theirs I could no longer blindly accept the Tevinter one. Current occupation is somewhere between information broker/political consultment/security specialist: it's not so much that I'd run my own spy network as I'd help my employer run his, and do some freelance advising on the side for people who want to know what Dwarven politics have to do with the price of Antivan cheese. I'd probably have a few employees, though whether they come along or get left behind depends on the story.

 

I'd be a sour knight archetype. Worldly and cynical and trying to be well-informed through experience and otherwise, mixing a cynical dismissal of blind-hearted idealism with a faint, beaten belief that morality does matter, even if it doesn't always win. I'd totally be a contrarian, though, enjoying the give-and-take of an intellectual debate over total agreement or obstinant refusal, so I'd be a natural foil characters. To 'good'/white-knight characters my responses would be challenging, devil's advocate, and attempt to undercut moral pretensions. To cynical/'dark' characters I'd surprise even myself by arguing the pragmitism of virtue- that doing good things and being good people will draw other people to band together in ways that cynical self-interest doesn't.

 

My primary dichotomy and character arc would be my approach to 'corruption'- the pragmatic side of me recognizes it as a reality and often a necessity of the world, the way that deals are made and compromises enacted and how things get done, that you have to play the game to win it. The idealistic side, the one that tried and failed in Tevinter to change the system, wants to root out corruption and burn out the stake, leaving something that should be true and honest and able to work without that false 'necessity.' Assuming I don't go from disillusioned to worse, the end of my character arc and motivation at the end would be tied to which path I found motivation in: the cynical side that embraces reality and acknowledges the corruption, but thinks it can be worked around and through and still make the world a better place, or the idealistic side that believes that even if it's a never-ending battle that virtue and good governance are worth struggling for, and that ends up using my knowledge of the cynic to target and try and change the unsightly things of society (even at the risk of seeming a selective hypocrite).

 

My approval would be tied to pragmatic justifications, the idea of letting reason dictate what should be done, and integrity (keeping one's word/general honesty/not telling different companions different things, a carryover of the Templar days). Disapproval would be tied to stupidity, petty selfishness, pointless cruelty and suffering, blindly moral arguments, or expectations of unthinking obedience (the reason for my former Tevinter Templar days being former). 'Do this because X, Y, Z makes sense' is good- 'Do this because it's the Right Thing/I'm selfish/because I say so' would not. Because I'm a disillusioned ex-T.T. who gave up the life of duty and purpose I probably wouldn't care what you do so much as I'd approve/disapprove of the reasons you did it. I'd be comfortable enough to snark at the morality of the typical RPG protagonist without carrying enough to actually try and stop them: expect jokes like 'how dare all those guards try to defend themselves after you broke into their house and started killing people' or 'do you rob every house you walk into, or just the ones with chests and barrels that catch your eye?'

 

My audience-appealing virtues would be the appeal to pragmatism (good for those players who like to feel reasonable rather than heroic), a generally non-confrontational approach to the PC, and general snark against the more ideological party members. As a political analyist/advisor before recruitment, and from the old days in the Tevinter Templars, I'd be a lore source and lore nut who knows enough to talk to a lot of people on a lot of different conversations. I could talk to a Qunari about perspectives on the Qun (from being Tevinter's 'anti-magic' group), discuss slavery, great power politics and intrigue, and so on- the sort of stuff anyone with access to a lot of books and a decent bit of experience could pick up, though obviously inferior or with different biases to subject matter experts or people who lived it. And as a Tevinter Templar whose approach to reforming them was to make the enforers of Thedas's evil empire them more professional, I'd have a comedic tendency to skip over the morality of something and try to just do wrong right. Like my biggest criticism of Fiona's mage rebellion wouldn't be mage freedom per see (I'd have a cynical view that the strong are the natural leaders of the weak, and that mages are naturally strong), but just how incompetent she was. Or if talking to/interrogating some criminal who describes how they're doing an intimidation/torture campaign on a target who deserves it, I'd comment at how they're doing it all wrong and set out a horrific how-to do wrong right.

 

 

[Disclaimer- what follows is a description of what I suspect my views would be were I raised more within the Dragon Age setting. They are not my actual views, even if I say 'I'. I wish I didn't need a discliamer, but I bet I do.]

 

My audience alienation factors would be there as well. As a contrarian, I'm not only inclined to disagree on general principle about often semantic quibbles (yes, that person is a bad man, but not because of the reasons you say), but I'm also able to argue either side of topics I don't care that much about. This could be interesting for some people (the Wright brother story of switching sides mid-argument), but come off as hypocritical and needlessly oppositional to some. My tendency towards amorality and intellectual apathy towards distant people can also offend people with strong views on certain subjects who see things more of 'with us or against us.'

 

But the biggest sin, the black mark to tar my character, would be a culturally appropriate view on elves that can honestly be described as racism. My view of Dalish should be exagerated- take what some people on these forums suspect and exagerate it two or three times, to the point that I dismiss them as blood-thirsty tribals and uncivilized savages. Some of that might be informed by experiences with the Tevinter Dalish clans, who I suspect would be hyper-militant and often as guerillas, but I'd let the general disdain apply to the rest of them, to the fact that I'd be remarkably surprised to be able to have a reasoned and reasonable conversation with a Dalish companion. The view of the Dalish tribals would really be a Tevinter-carryover of imperialist attitudes- I'd have a low opinion of all tribal groups, be it Avaar or Fog Warrior or Qunari mercenary bands. My general attitude would be 'if you don't have a city, you aren't civilized enough to be respectable.' Cultural chauvenism as it's finest, even if I'm no longer a Tevinter uber-patriot and I've come to accept/tolerate the cities of the Free Marches and the coasts.

 

However, the elven issue would extend past just the Dales- towards the City Elves I would be softer sort of racist, more of a pitying paternalist. As a 'professional' from an empire where class matters more than race, I'd have a certain sympathy and willingness to enable and accept city elves trying to do their job. In fact, in some cases I'd actively embrace them: whether as the most unnoticed spies, or the most grateful beneficiaries. I'd probably have that 'good elf' story or three in which a City Elf who made it into the Tevinter Templars was one of the best I'd ever known. I'd seem a progressive reformist in many respects... with one horrifying exception.

 

For entirely rational, mathematical reasons fitting the dark and dreary world of Dragon Age, he'd support the end of the elven race through the eugenics of interracial breeding.

 

I wouldn't be thinking of violent genocide. I wouldn't even be suggesting or tolerating forced marriages or rape. But my character's arguably worst flaw would be the old progressive argument of eugenics as a way to social betterment. (1) City elves are the lowest and the most oppressed group in society, and that's bad. (2) The more equal city elves are with humans, the more likely they are to meet and engage eachother and couple as equals.  (3) When humans and elves couple, only humans are born. (4) Humans born from human-elven inbreeding can escape the racial animosities and live equal lives. (5) There's no clear reason why the preservation of elfyness is an inherently good thing worth presserving at the cost. Conclusion: the elven race is already doomed to extinction by interbreeding (or eventual inbreeding and self-destruction), and the sooner the better for everyone. Future generations could escape discrimination and so much potential wouldn't be wasted because of racism. It's a racists's anti-racism thinking trap.

 

As a politically powerless advisor, that's a pretty academic viewpoint and well outside his area of expertise. He would probably have gotten it from the Qunari social engineering/breeding programs, and so it'd be abhorent even to the Tevinter or Andrastian elites he works for. No one is actually taking it seriously under consideration, and my character would probably oppose any actually coercive implementation. His view would be 'elves should interbreed with humans,' not 'elves should be forced to interbreed with humans.'

 

But it's a viewpoint, a [deliberately] provocative view, that is definitely meant to balance out what could otherwise seem as too sympathetic or nice/enlightened a character. It's not the sort of viewpoint he would advertise freely- you'd have to ask about it, and have a certain amount of trust to be told. But man, imagine how you'd respond if/when you came across that your first time. 'Hey, what's your most heretical belief?' 'Human-Elf eugenics to defeat racism.' Now imagine if you did that while playing an elf and romancing me.

 

That conversation right there, and how the player responds to it, would probably have enough potential negative approval to deep six a relationship/friendship for the rest of the game. Call it the really cookie and outrageous belief of an otherwise reasonable guy.

 

[/Repeating Disclaimer: These above are not my actual views on solving racial issues in Dragon Age or anywhere else. I do not support eugenics and do not approve of cultural chauvenism.]

 

 

Political stances on other topics of the Dragon Age setting could be generally summarized as follow:

 

Tevinter: Love-Hate. Has pride in the history and impressive accomplishments of the Empire, while recognizing the harm it's caused and feeling shame for the corruption that rots it. The times as a Tevinter Templar in particular are a mix of old pride (professional, capable, relevant) and old shame (mislead, used, corrupted). Knows/believes Corypheus really was a magister, and is glad that he was stopped.

 

Magic and Mages: Caution and fatalism. Was raised/conditioned to see mages as natural leaders in a Darwinistic sense (favored by the Maker, the strongest rule is only natural), but thanks to being a Tevinter Templar magic is something that can be mastered and even beaten by mundane rather than something terrifying like the Southern Templars and Qunari believe. I suspect 'professional' Tevinter Templars, as opposed to thugs, would focus on well-executed plans and interrupts and teamwork tactics to overcome overconfidant magisters even without lyrium. The dangers of magic and mages are viewed like natural disasters: inevitable, often fatal, and nothing to do but clean up after them rather than prevent.

 

Qunari: Respectful ambivalence with some caution. Time with the Qunari opened the mind to new viewpoints and an intellectual approach, but the totalitarianism and inability to quit or change on your own volition isn't for me. Would recommend Qunari scholars as a cultural exchange, but warn against them setting up ideological spy networks if left unsupervised. Will admit that Qunari women during his stay were attractive.

 

Slavery: Ambivalence born of fatalism. The strong do what they want, the weak suffer what they must. Professionals must follow their orders no matter how much they dislike or despise the ones giving them, so as a Tevinter Templar he had to stand by slaver abuses, which really hurts the 'purity/anti-corruption' aspect of him. That said, is more than willing to root for the underdog, and like most mundane Tevinters has a soft spot for slaves who cleverly outwit and escape their masters. All the same, would keep at least some slavers as underworld contacts back to Tevinter rather than try and kill them on sight. (On the other hand, probably wouldn't object too much if the player killed them under acceptable circumstances.)

 

Chantry: Follows the Black Divine, not the White, more out of tradition and upbringing than religious fervor. Recognizes that the Black Divine, tied to the Magisterium and Archon as it is, is equally corrupt in Tevinter decadence. Has differing views of the White Divine: bemusement at Vivienne on the grounds of a mage being the most conservative/pro-Circle White Divine, skepticism of Leliana (with 'ha, told you so' if it's bloody murder Leliana), and a cautious respect for Casandra.

 

Andraste: Andraste's war against the corrupt magisters of her day, the sword of mercy, and the imagery of purifying flames cleansing away corruption are important elements of the 'moral' anti-corruption path. Has a bit of a kit-bash of White and Black Chantry beliefs regarding her: believes she was a prophet, doesn't believe she was a mage (self-serving Tevinter mage claim), doesn't believe she necessarily was bride to the maker (because if she was why was she left to die?).

 

Circle of Magi: Scorn, on multiple fronts. As a Tevinter-raised, a bit of mystification and presumed inferiority for being curtailed and cowed for a millenia into the Circles. The idea of 'the strong naturally rule, and mages are naturally strong' runs into the fact that they mages weren't ruling, and must be weaker than the Tevinter sort. The conduct of the rebellion is also mercilessly mocked, from it's unplanned start to however it ends at the mercy of others. No matter the world state, dealing with the Mage Rebellion and the aftermath is one of the biggest reasons I'd have a job, especially from a former professional Tevinter Templar's perspective on how mundanes without lyrium should cope and respond.

 

Templars: More than a slight romanticazation and touch of envy of the Southern cousins. Southern Templars are/were what Tevinter Templars wish they could be: respected, free to act, and lyrium-enabled. Even the fact that the Templars rebelled is respected, seen as proof that they had the purpose and willingness to stand up to the mages and their political masters- in Tevinter the Templars are puppets to the mages, as often used as thuggish enforcers against mundanes as not. Considering that the worst Templar abuses pale in comparison to the mundane realities of Tevinter and what Tevinter Templars are sometimes called in to do against the mundanes, the Order is seen and idealized as the 'model' of what the 'professional' Tevinter Templars should aspire to. Amusingly, I'd be a total Barass fan as well, even writing letters. Maybe Casandra too, if she's a Seeker.

 

City Elves: Covered above. A paternalistic reformer and racist who believes the best outcome is integration and interbreeding. Believe in supporting/rewarding elves who cast aside racial identity for national/political identity. Wouldn't claim it, but would make a hypothetical argument asking how the player would know if I had elven ancestry or not.

 

Dalish: Covered above. Imperialistic scorn and cultural chauvinism. Would concede that there might be decent ones out there if talked to them rather than be shot at sight by them.

 

Ancient Elves: Indifference. Not aware of how Tevinter scavenged the bones of Arlathan culture, but wouldn't really care. Cultural ethno-centricism would probably peg the belief of 'the strong devour the work' before believing that Arlathan had a civil war, but pre-Tevinter history is broadly considered irrelevant. A bit of regret of how the elves were enslaved, but would equivocate all slaves, human and elf, as equally miserable and oppressed since then, and not be interested in raising one above the other.

 

Fog Warriors/Seheron: Roots for Tevinter to reclaim the island in the same way that sports fans root for a favored team. Dislikes the fog warriors, but more as a former professional of Tevinter than anything personal.

 

The Free Marches/minor kingdoms neighboring Tevinter: Ambivalence. Sees his newfound home as 'civilized enough,' but obviously not as good as Tevinter. Doesn't really care what happens to them one way or another, to the point of would shrug and nod and move somewhere else if Tevinter invaded the city-state he was in.

 

Orlais: Faded national rivalry, of the Tevinter-Orlais sort. Would have banter with an Orlesian about which of our empires is better (or worse). Understand the Game well enough to play for low stakes as part of the job, but would cut my losses and prefer to lose than get in too deep. Would never, ever, ever get involved with an Orlesian bard no matter how nice they seemed, and would advise anyone else to never do the same.

 

Dwarves: As major economic actors, they are both valued clients and even more valuable targets for collection. Orzammar is the source of lyrium, which is the lifeblood of magical politics in the post-Inquisition era- mages want more of it to do more magic, Templars (official or illegal) want it to suppress them, and smuggling has kicked into overdrive now that Red Lyrium is also on the market. The Dwarven Merchant Guild is also a huge actor, and I'd be one of the people who analyzes them to give clients a sense of what they're dealing with. Would also have once had a fling with a dwarven woman.

 

The Inquisition: An interesting challenge to be managed. Not adversarial, not allied, but interested. As a political advisor, besides the aftermath of the mage rebellion the Inquisition and it's international affects are one of the big factors generating employment. As a lore-source NPC, I'd be well placed to describe the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of the Inquisition in its form and choices. As a minor political actor of note if working with a court or nobles, would probably have received a form letter of some sort from Ambassador Josephine. Would respect the reputation of Cullen (again, lionizing the Southern Templars), and have a wariness when dealing with Leliana (who suspect has spied on me as a former Tevinter/potential Coryphus agent during Inquisiton)

 

Wardens: General respect and admiration for the utter pragmatism in pursuing their cause, but only vaguely involved since they're a Western political actor in the Anderfels and I'd be in the far east. I'd have in-universe speculations based about how the Wardens have secret knowledge about how to start/end the Blights, but I'd lack the meta-knowledge to be accurate. They'd fit in the 'idle speculation' category rather than 'informed expert', with a bit of Tevinter perspective thrown in. The current situation in Weistaphut would be one of the broad general questions I'd try to be informed about for my work.

 

 

And finally, as a character with a personal and romance arc...

 

My general character arc would be confronting the past circumstances that made me disillusioned and flee from Tevinter. I'm thinking a corruption scandal on the Magister who was the patron/leader of the Templars and who had me believing that the Tevinter Templars could become a profession anti-corruption force rather than thuggish enforcers. Combine that with an implication/belief/suspicion that I was being blood-magiced mind controlled into something, I ran away from the pit of vipers and refused to go back to Tevinter ever since. There should be ambiguity about who did what: was 'my' Magister truly corrupt, or was he framed? Did I suffer from mental influence, or was paranoia and post-Qunari captivity scrutiny triggering something?

 

Regardless, years later the past comes back. An old friend says they want to bring the matter to a close, and wants my help. I'd ask you, the player, to help me solve this. Whatever happens, I either come to a cynical resolve that the ends justify the means, that corrupt or not we can still make the world a better place by making unpleasant compromises with our morals- or I return to the old absolutism of professionalism and integrity, preferring to tear corruption out at the roots rather than let it poison a good thing. I may pick and choose my battles, but there are lines I absolutely will not cross.

 

 

 

 

Now, as far a romance goes, if you want to win my heart...

 

 

Nah, that's a secret..

[Dean_the_Young]

I don't think there's a single nation where that isn't the case beyond Rivain.

 

There's a difference between formal and informal pressures. In Orzammar, setting up a Chantry pretty much requires government approval IIRC and ultimately gets that Dwarven Brother killed by traditionalists. In Ferelden, it's not against the law to be a Heathen- missionaries go to the Avaar, but Avaar aren't barred at the gates or anything unless they convert.

 

The two known periods of forcible conversion in Chantry history were the Dales (which was as much a national war of cultural eradication as it was religious), and the purge of the Qunari converts. For the rest of it, and certainly in the current era, the Chantry isn't interested in and doesn't advocate or pursue forcible conversion by the sword. Being a Dalish is more likely to get you distrust and shunning by virtue of racial animosities and mage harboring and cultural conflict than it is about 'oh, you worship funny gods, die.' Elven religion is pretty far down on the list of reasons that Humans and non-Humans get along.

 

The Qunari also don't explicitly outlaw religion. They're secularists who expect people to abandon such supersitions as they are enlightened, but I'm pretty sure it's mentioned (if not shown) that there's still pockets of mysticism about the Qunari influence areas.

[LOLandStuff]

That wall of text....My finger got numb from scrolling.

 

Liking it as I appreciate the effort.

[Jedi Master of Orion]

Actually world of Thedas says that "...the Qun does not allow for the existence of religions." and "Any worship of a god or gods, such as the Maker, is forbidden and stopped with violence if necessary."

[myahele]

Rivain exists the way it does due to the remote location and general "tolerance" the population has with its occupiers.

 

The Qun that are in Rivain are more or less missionaries based on what's known about them. Probably due to some Qunari rule

[Jedi Master of Orion]

Rivain is, in fact, the only place in Thedas that has anything close to religious tolerance (and even then there are sometimes problems). And that's mainly out of necessity because it's the only nation that has a sizable population of differing religions that need to coexist. Andrastians in the capital, pantheists in the rural areas and Qunari in the north.The Rivani Qunari aren't members of the "true" Qunari nation, so the Ariqun wouldn't consider them Qunari. 

[Dean_the_Young]

That wall of text....My finger got numb from scrolling.

 

Liking it as I appreciate the effort.

 

I don't always do self-inserts, but when I do, I plan it out.

[The Baconer]

There's a difference between formal and informal pressures. In Orzammar, setting up a Chantry pretty much requires government approval IIRC and ultimately gets that Dwarven Brother killed by traditionalists. In Ferelden, it's not against the law to be a Heathen- missionaries go to the Avaar, but Avaar aren't barred at the gates or anything unless they convert.

 

The two known periods of forcible conversion in Chantry history were the Dales (which was as much a national war of cultural eradication as it was religious), and the purge of the Qunari converts. For the rest of it, and certainly in the current era, the Chantry isn't interested in and doesn't advocate or pursue forcible conversion by the sword. Being a Dalish is more likely to get you distrust and shunning by virtue of racial animosities and mage harboring and cultural conflict than it is about 'oh, you worship funny gods, die.' Elven religion is pretty far down on the list of reasons that Humans and non-Humans get along.

 

The Qunari also don't explicitly outlaw religion. They're secularists who expect people to abandon such supersitions as they are enlightened, but I'm pretty sure it's mentioned (if not shown) that there's still pockets of mysticism about the Qunari influence areas.

 

We don't even know if the Dales enforced religion within its own population with any more or less vigor than Andrastianism is/was enforced now or in the past. Anders implies that maintaining a Tevinter perspective of the Chant can be a hanging offense. We know that various off-shoot cults in the past were purged during the unification of Orlais and the creation of the southern Chantry. Individual practitioners of non-Andrastian belief may be allowed to exist, but whether or not they would be allowed to preach their beliefs, and try to convert others, is a different story.

 

As for the Qunari, they certainly do inhibit religious practice when they can. Beyond that, human converts in Rivain seem to have blended the Qun with traditional beliefs and practices, given the presence of Seers, even though the ways of Seers are anathema to the tenants of the Qun.

[Jedi Master of Orion]

A lot can happen in 300 years. It's possible that the Dales grew more strict about enforcing religion as time went on. Ameridan appeared to be a figure of noteworthy political importance in Halamshiral and he had a hybrid of Andrastian and Elven beliefs. My suspicion is that there may have had been a noted religious minority of elves in the Dales who followed such beliefs, possibly tracing back to the time of Shartan.

[In Exile]

A lot can happen in 300 years. It's possible that the Dales grew more strict about enforcing religion as time went on. Ameridan appeared to be a figure of noteworthy political importance in Halamshiral and he had a hybrid of Andrastian and Elven beliefs. My suspicion is that there may have had been a noted religious minority of elves in the Dales who followed such beliefs, possibly tracing back to the time of Shartan.

That would cast the expulsion of missionaries in a decidedly darker light. After all, what would happen to all those Dalish people who didn't ascribe to the state-sanctioned version of religion?

[Jedi Master of Orion]

They could have been killed, they could have been expelled as well, they could have been persecuted or otherwise had their rights restricted. It could be any number of things.

[Steelcan]

We don't even know if the Dales enforced religion within its own population with any more or less vigor than Andrastianism is/was enforced now or in the past.

Actually we do, according to the Dalish themselves they had conflict with missionaries and templars, implying that they were not allowed access to Dalish land for prostylizing.

 

Mind you that this reasoning was used to explain why the Orlesians and Dalish went to war, which as we now know was the result of the events of Red Crossing.  Ignoring for a second who has the moral guilt for the events (hint hint its the ones who crossed the border illegally and massacred a civilian population), the undeniable outcome of it was the war between the two nations that started with the large scale elven invasion of Orlais.

[The Baconer]

Actually we do, according to the Dalish themselves they had conflict with missionaries and templars, implying that they were not allowed access to Dalish land for prostylizing.

 
Read the rest of the post.

 

Individual practitioners of non-Andrastian belief may be allowed to exist, but whether or not they would be allowed to preach their beliefs, and try to convert others, is a different story.

 

Regarding the question of the Dales' hostility to alien religions, I don't see any evidence that suggests this behavior is unique compared to almost every other nation in Thedas.

[In Exile]

Read the rest of the post.


Regarding the question of the Dales' hostility to alien religions, I don't see any evidence that suggests this behavior is unique compared to almost every other nation in Thedas.

Sure. But I'm a bit troubled when - as we have our IRL debates using modern day morals about which party was in the right - we cast the Dalish as victims or heroes for adopting a repressive state policy toward religious belief and the suppression thereof.

Or to put it differently, I have trouble with the moral position that the Dalish had a valid casus belli (in the just war - or moral war - sense on the basis of their xenophobic attirudes). This isn't to defend cultural imperialism by Orlais or the Chantry. Their activities historically have also been morally repugnant.

[The Baconer]

Sure. But I'm a bit troubled when - as we have our IRL debates using modern day morals about which party was in the right - we cast the Dalish as victims or heroes for adopting a repressive state policy toward religious belief and the suppression thereof.

Or to put it differently, I have trouble with the moral position that the Dalish had a valid casus belli (in the just war - or moral war - sense on the basis of their xenophobic attirudes). This isn't to defend cultural imperialism by Orlais or the Chantry. Their activities historically have also been morally repugnant.

 

Fair enough.

[Steelcan]

 

Regarding the question of the Dales' hostility to alien religions, I don't see any evidence that suggests this behavior is unique compared to almost every other nation in Thedas.

I'm willing to wager that they didn't extend the right of worship to a religious group associated with humans that is very emphatic on missionary work to spread the Chant.

[myahele]

I think the main issue would have to be the Templars being sent with the missionaries.

[The Baconer]

I'm willing to wager that they didn't extend the right of worship to a religious group associated with humans that is very emphatic on missionary work to spread the Chant.

 

Given the situation with Ameridan, there's already more evidence present to suggest the opposite.

[Steelcan]

I think the main issue would have to be the Templars being sent with the missionaries.

Templars that came with missionaries, according to the elves who have already demonstrated ignorance as to the war's origins.

 

 

IIRC its in the Dalish clan that you learn about the templars and missionaries, but they don't mention the fact that they burned a human city and marched into Orlais to the tune of marching drums