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Arlathvhen: A Place to Discuss Your Elven Character, History & Culture
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Serelir
, juin 05 2015 01:32
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#227
Posté 25 juillet 2015 - 06:22
Serelir
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Sorry, I was started to feel a little depressed there. I'm going to go eat peaches and do some writing. I have a date with a Magister.
- Uccio aime ceci
#228
Posté 25 juillet 2015 - 10:52
phyreblade74
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I honestly think, it only goes to show you no particular group of people is all good or all bad, that stereotypes and generalizations only ever work up to a point. For every evil Tevinter mage, there's a Dorian fighting to make his country better. For every awful Templar who forgets he locked a newfound mage in the dungeon, there's a Barris trying his damndest to protect every mage he can from a mob. And for every proud and noble Dalish trying to preserve their history and make the future better for it, there's a Keeper summoning a demon that kills his entire clan.
People aren't perfect. They're not so much good or bad, they're only trying. And sometimes they fail.
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#229
Posté 27 juillet 2015 - 02:37
themageguy
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Am I the only one exhausted of hearing how the three mages rule is a retcon with always the same passages quoted over and over?
Yes, mages are valued among the Dalish and yes, trading them between clans to ensure nome are left withour ocurrs. At Arlathvhens. Which take place once in a decade.
According to Masked Empire, Dalish clans tend to have more than 50 but less than 100 elves. Meredith's sister killed 74.
As much as they value magic, realism has to kick in at some point and three mages is probably all they can be expected to handle.
Especially as we have info given to us that many of the clans are very different to each other.
In my first ever play through as a dalish mage solas tells you of the differences in clans, and even in the conversation with the elven mage who was kicked out as a youth, you have the option of saying its horrible and that your clan does things differently.
#230
Posté 27 juillet 2015 - 08:19
Jedi Master of Orion
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Especially as we have info given to us that many of the clans are very different to each other.
In my first ever play through as a dalish mage solas tells you of the differences in clans, and even in the conversation with the elven mage who was kicked out as a youth, you have the option of saying its horrible and that your clan does things differently.
That is basically the way I took that whole reveal, yes. If the 3 mages rule is supposed to be an ironclad universal feature of all Dalish, then it would be a retcon.
#231
Posté 31 juillet 2015 - 05:29
winteriscoming
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These are random thoughts I've had regarding the Dalish:
Do you think they utilize spears when they hunt? I know they have commonly been used throughout our human history, but I have no idea if there is any reference about elves in DA verse utilizing them. Do they rely primarily on their bows?
In regards to children: do you think Dalish "couples" have more than one child? I kind of see it as varying amongst the different clans. Ones that are in areas with reliable food resources, etc. may be able to support more children, while clans in areas with less bountiful resources have fewer. I know that in The Masked Empire, when Celene is observing the Virnehn clan she thinks the following:
"There were fewer than 50 of them, she had realized, and unless there were more children and adolescents playing in the woods, the camp would not be growing larger in the coming years."
#232
Posté 03 août 2015 - 03:51
Qun00
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The elves aren't the near immortals they once were, but are they the same as humans now?
As in, aging at the same rate and a similar life span.
As in, aging at the same rate and a similar life span.
#233
Posté 05 août 2015 - 11:55
Ninna
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The elves aren't the near immortals they once were, but are they the same as humans now?
As in, aging at the same rate and a similar life span.
Yes, they are the same now.
#234
Guest_Chiara Fan_*
Posté 06 août 2015 - 03:19
Guest_Chiara Fan_*
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Do you prefer to play as an elf? Let's chat about Thedas from our perspective. This isn't a debate about whether elves are good or bad, Solas vs. Sera, city vs. Dalish. There are plenty of other threads for that. This is about you, your elf character, and what you think about your story and the people, places and events in Thedas.
Thank you for making this thread. It's scary for elven fans out there. >>;
- What's your backstory? Tell us briefly what your origin story would be for your main character. It doesn't have to fit in with the existing games (you don't have to be the Warden or the Inquisitor).
Why... would I have an original elvhen character that doesn't fit in the pre-existing games? Actually, I do. That's a good question.
My Warden is a City Elf who became Bann of the Denerim Alienage and kept Alistair a Grey Warden, so the two could alternate between politics in Queen Anora's court and working with the Wardens in Amaranthine, until the Warden went West searching for a cure to the Calling and Alistair went to deal with the False Calling.
I used to headcanon that my "Hawke" was elven, but that word-of-mouth and Varric's stories claimed she was human to make her more palatable for human listeners (and to throw Cassandra off the scent, since her search for a human Champion would keep her from finding the elf), but Hawke's appearance in DAI dashed that headcanon. Instead, now I imagine that Fox was one of the elven laborers at Ostagar, sister to Pick, and that her whole family was laboring at Ostagar until the battle went South. As they fled the Blight they eventually sought passage on Isabela's ship, unaware that they were going to be captured and sold as slaves. My character fought the guards so passionately that it eventually pushed Isabela to act on her conscience to free the slaves, and Isabela had my character join her crew (giving her family passage from the Blight in the process) until Isabela's ship sunk near Kirkwall after stealing the Qunari relic. After Isabela started following Hawke and Fox settled into the Kirkwall Alienage, where her mother had family, she eventually met and fell for Merrill. While the actual Hawke romanced Fenris, my OC Fox romanced Merrill. After Meredith became a statue and the Circles melted, Fox got the dubious "honor" of becoming the new Kirkwall Hahren (much like Shianni in DA:O), while Merrill started helping elven refugees. I imagine two continue to help Kirkwall elves together, while Hawke and Fenris are on the run.
I imagine my Lavellan was city-born (mainly to explain the British accent), but her family fled to the Dalish when she first started showing signs of magic as a little girl to keep her from being sent to the Circle. I imagine that she eventually came to embrace her Dalish upbringing (especially since they're more mage-friendly and accepted her enough to make her their Keeper's First), even though her mother raised her with city elf values. I feel like this character embodies the best of the city and Dalish elf cultures, seeing value in both despite their differences. "City elf? Dalish elf? In the end, we're all elves." I think she loves elves, loves being elven, and wants to help elves, regardless of any cultural upbringing.
- Why do you identify with elves?
To quote my boyfriend: "They are the Jew/Gypsies of Thedas." XD
- What do you think of the game models? Would you change the appearance of the elves?
I thought the DAO models looked fine, the DA2 models too silly, and the DAI models just right. They're stylized, but not too exaggerated.
- What do you think will happen, and what would you like to see happen (not necessarily the same thing!) with elves in the next game?
If it's anything like the mage rebellion for DAI, I imagine elves will rebel with some huge act(s) of destruction (maybe Solas' plans put into motion?), the revolution will be bloody, some elves will attack innocent human civilians, some characters will sympathize with them while others will claim it's no excuse, some elves will go mad with power, there will be some ham-fisted lesson that yesterday's oppressed will become tomorrow's oppressors, and the player will be able to decide whether to help the elves or re-oppress them (the way we could help the mages in Inquisition or basically re-create the Circles).
I do hope we can help elves though. =(
- What do you think of the Sentinel elves? Did their discovery change your character's perspective?
I liked them. I'm surprised they were so tall and muscular, but I guess it shouldn't be too surprising. Tevinter doesn't exactly treat its slaves like people, and they have breeding programs even for their nobility (as Dorian reveals). If they can breed their nobles to have the best magical talent and Mabari to have intelligence, I imagine centuries of slavery (before Andraste freed them) would probably cause them to selectively breed elves to look smaller, lither, and prettier for their masters. =/
The Sentinals didn't really "change" my character's perspective though, because she didn't really have any pre-conceived notions of what the ancients were like. Well, I think she wondered if there were ancient elves out there still, asleep in hidden place away from the rest of the world, and meeting the Sentinals confirmed it. I imagine she's itching to ask them everything they know about ancient elven society, and wants to find more like them.
Separation or Integration? Or something else? Should elves marry humans? Can you be an elf culturally but not physically?
That's a tough one. Maybe a bit of both? A homeland for elves who might want to live in an elven society without having to wander if they so choose, but also equal rights in human lands so those who want to live among humans won't be herded into impoverished ghettos? I think if elves had a choice of how they wanted to live, they'd be happier.
As for elves marrying humans? I don't think it should be forbidden... but I can understand some elders not wanting elves to do it too much, since elves who marry and have kids with humans will only have human kids. Do it too much and there won't be any elves left. In time elves will become a distant memory, and if you give it long enough they'll just become fairy tales written by humans, who will eventually doubt they ever existed. (Much like how we feel about elves in real life.) I can't really blame elves for not wanting their people to become extinct. =(
While I think it is possible to be an elf culturally but not physically, I think it has an expiration date. Only so many generations of human children can cling to their elven ancestry before they say, "So what if my great-great-great-grandfather was an elf? I'm human; my parents are human--my whole family's human! Why should I care about some distant ancestor that has nothing to do with me? My grandpa's Nevarran too, but that doesn't make me Navarren." So, yeah. >>;
- Whom do you worship: Andraste, Dalish Gods, Old Gods, No Gods or Qun?
I'm guessing you mean my characters? Um, I think my characters tend to be agnostic, but leaning more toward Elvhen gods. If they have to believe in any gods in a world that doesn't always care for elves, I think they figure they might as well believe in their own rather than the ones that humans tell them they should believe in.
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#235
Posté 07 août 2015 - 05:10
stop_him
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Vunin is an older inquisitor. She is a competent spellcaster, but by no means a master, and thus never became Keeper's first. A few simple ward spells and ice magic were all she knew. Her magic grew slightly when she gained the mark, though she still has a long way to go. She recently undertook the study of necromancy, which she finds fascinating, and will put to practical use when she returns to her clan, reanimating the dead to turn humans away from Dalish camps. Vunin never had time for romance even when she lived with her clan. She agreed to an arranged marriage 10 years ago, and while she never felt passion toward her husband, she finds comfort in the thought of returning to him. Vunin is leery of the human inquisition, and believes the "advisors" are just using her mark to restore order. Concerned for her own personal safety, Vunin plays along, parroting pro-Chantry rhetoric, awaiting the day she can face Corypheus, and then flee from her captors.
(I have been wondering if I should experiment with a romance + break up--since Vunin will always return to the clan and her husband. Maybe physical/emotional fling with IB, Sera, or Scout Harding. She does NOT get along with Solas, so he's not an option. No humans LOL.)
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#236
Posté 07 août 2015 - 07:34
Qun00
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I really don't like DAI's character model.
The women have a giant head on top of a tiny body, and the men have boobies.
The women have a giant head on top of a tiny body, and the men have boobies.
#237
Posté 07 août 2015 - 07:47
stop_him
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I really don't like DAI's character model.
The women have a giant head on top of a tiny body, and the men have boobies.
Really?
Seems ok to me.
Elves:
Qunari (sometimes have the opposite problem, a small head on a giant body):
#238
Posté 08 août 2015 - 11:15
rolson00
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For my elf ill be going with my Mage Neria from DA:O (My picture),
Early Life
Ive always imagined my elf being being born in Highever, her parents were servants to one of the Knights of a small Ban but were killed by Arl Howes troops when she was around 4 (DA:O events). It is that moment she discovered her magical potential using them to wound the soldiers and saved the Knights life and together they fled to Denerim, but the Templars soon discovered her and took her to the Circle where she spent the next 15 years.
Circle Life
Growing up in the Circle she studied Ancient languages and by the time she reached her twenties she could speak avvar, read and write Ancient Tevinter and had a basic understanding of Elven. Despite being highly talented Neria was thoroughly disliked in the Circle due to her habit of being a colossal jerk to everyone, preferring to make a joke out of them and finding ways to mock them in witty putdowns and delighted in annoying them. The templars got tired of the complaints about Neria so she was shipped off to Orlais where she continued her studies of the lost elven language.
DA:I Events
After spending 2 years in Orlais the mage-Templar war broke out and she and a couple of other elven mages sort the protection of the Dalish which a clan agreed to only if she taught the keeper what she had learned about her studies of the Ancient ways. The Dalish keeper then began to train her in the ways of the Dalish keeper in the hopes she would become her 1st.
Personality
Neria is s bright talented young elf with a sarcastic sense of humor and is staggeringly selfish, the current situation of elves is something she doesn't really think concerns her and is very likely to laugh in the face of anyone who expects a favor where she doesn't get anything out of it. Despite huge flaws shes not a bad person really and like most city elves believes in the maker much to the Keeps annoyance (which Neria loves to do to people).
I hope it all makes sense aha really like this topic love reading other peoples creations, i love playing elves because iv always reckoned im a closet elf in real life but seriously i guess im drawn to the fact that the higher classes are trying to crush them and take everything from them and they aren't letting them.
- Serelir aime ceci
#239
Posté 08 août 2015 - 11:41
rolson00
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Yes, they are the same now.
huh thought i recalled gaider saying that the Dalish live a bit longer because they stay away from humans?
#240
Posté 09 août 2015 - 12:20
Jedi Master of Orion
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Exactly how long Dalish live and why is one of the major points of contention that the devs have given us contradictory information about.
#241
Posté 11 août 2015 - 06:18
Roamingmachine
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These are random thoughts I've had regarding the Dalish:
Do you think they utilize spears when they hunt? I know they have commonly been used throughout our human history, but I have no idea if there is any reference about elves in DA verse utilizing them. Do they rely primarily on their bows?
In regards to children: do you think Dalish "couples" have more than one child? I kind of see it as varying amongst the different clans. Ones that are in areas with reliable food resources, etc. may be able to support more children, while clans in areas with less bountiful resources have fewer. I know that in The Masked Empire, when Celene is observing the Virnehn clan she thinks the following:
"There were fewer than 50 of them, she had realized, and unless there were more children and adolescents playing in the woods, the camp would not be growing larger in the coming years."
Spears don't exist in the DA universe, dontcha know? 
Seriously, though, i'd imagine spears to be as common as bows with people like the Dalish, being cheap and easy to make. Heck, i'd expect them to be most common weapon with any fighting force in thedas as they are simply the second best weapon to use in massed formations right after poleaxes.
As for children, i'd imagine couples would aim to have minimum of two and up to as many as resources allow. The overall adult population of an avarage clan i'd expect to be between 100-200 individuals as it would help keep the population going till the next Arlathvhen where i'd fully expect cross-clan pairings to happen. Masked Empire was poorly written, lore breaking garbage and i'd advice to just disregard outside major events. Flying aravels indeed
#242
Guest_Chiara Fan_*
Posté 11 août 2015 - 07:02
Guest_Chiara Fan_*
Guest_Chiara Fan_*
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Really?
Seems ok to me.
Elves:
Qunari (sometimes have the opposite problem, a small head on a giant body):
I agree. I think DA2 elves had heads too big for their bodies, but DAI fixed it right up. #
#
I'm also glad you mentioned the Qunari heads too. When I told my boyfriend I couldn't get into my Qunari for a long time because I couldn't get over the tiny head on the huge body, he had no idea what I was talking about. I even pulled it up on the screen and pointed, but he said he still couldn't see it. No one else on the internet seems to notice either, so I thought I was going crazy! (I still love playing a Qunari though, it's just distracting.)
- stop_him aime ceci
#243
Posté 29 août 2015 - 02:42
winteriscoming
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I'm sure everyone has seen this image by now, but! ELUVIANS! THAT WORK! ELUVIANS!!!!
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#244
Posté 30 août 2015 - 01:39
Endee
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I have perfect timing 
Started a new game last week, remade my first elven Inquisitor to romance Bull with and BAM, new DLC! This is going to be amaziiiiing! *excited whale noises*
But yes, elves! I love me some elves and I can't seem to be playing anything but elves in DAI. I think they're the most interesting choice for an Inquisitor, I'm a huge fan of the whole underdog coming out on top theme. Elves are perfect for that, and it helps that you can make some really pretty ones in the CC. I prefer my player character to look a little on the slender side anyway, humans already look too bulky for me and it's the same with dwarves. Plus... Dalish elves, man. Awesome.
Currently playing this fellow:
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#245
Posté 30 août 2015 - 02:30
Qun00
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I agree. I think DA2 elves had heads too big for their bodies, but DAI fixed it right up. #
Honestly, I think it only got worse.
How do they even balance that thing on their shoulders?
Dragon Age: Origins is the only game that has done elves right.
#246
Posté 01 septembre 2015 - 08:59
Scuttlebutt101
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Sansa Lavellan, 23, Archer-Artificer.
Spoiler
Irritable, aloof, impatient, conceited, sometimes sarcastic as*hole. Super girly. Pretty as a statuette and quite stuck up about it. Kind of a loser. She wasn't exactly "gifted" in archery (or much else), so in order to become any good at it, she made herself go through years of rigorous training. This made her a bit more insufferable: "Oh, so you're a natural, aren't you, well I had to work for it." (she never actually said it this harshly, but she's always thinking it when she meets someone who's naturally talented with bow and arrows). Even though clan Lavellan is more human-friendly, she was one of those who wanted nothing to do with humans. Joining the Inquisition was quite a humbling experience for her. Surviving the conclave, feeling foreign and alone in a human society, having so many people put their hopes in her - all of this and more had made her mellow out a bit. She became less arrogant (though she still has her moments) and got over her prejudiced views on humans (even romanced one). Despite her flaws, she has always been honest and compassionate and has a strong sense of responsibility. She didn't want to become the Inquisitor and would have happily fled her coronation, but felt like she would betray the trust of the people who thought of her as their saviour (however misguided she felt it was). Genuinely wants to do good, but doesn't always use the best judgement in her decisions.
What do you think of the game models? Would you change the appearance of the elves?
I liked the DAO elves the most.The DA2 ones were awful, thank the Maker the devs ditched them. DAI elves look mostly fine, except for noodle arms. Yes, elves are skinny and all, but these arm just look like they have nothing on them - no muscles, no fat, just bones. Other than that they look really nice, imo. Though I would personally prefer them shorter, like in DAO. And the male model looks too lanky for my taste.
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#247
Posté 06 septembre 2015 - 05:18
themageguy
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Anyone else notice in the trespasser trailer the spirits look a lot like sentinel elves? 
#248
Posté 06 septembre 2015 - 06:20
MerchantGOL
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Is there significance to Solas's Statue being EVERYWHERE or is that bioware being lazy?
#249
Posté 06 septembre 2015 - 11:47
The Ascendant
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Playing an Elf Mage Inquisitor currently. Any recommendations for a specialization?
#250
Posté 06 septembre 2015 - 03:36
Serelir
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Playing an Elf Mage Inquisitor currently. Any recommendations for a specialization?
I played Rift Mage and found it very satisfying, especially in the Frostback Basin. Others swear by Knight-Enchanter, but I have absolutely no desire to be a tank. I would have chosen Necromancer (I'm always drawn to the dark side), but Rift mage seemed to fit well with the Inquisitor's special talent, and Necro has some issues/is more difficult to play effectively, from what I've read.
It's such a shame that we didn't get any Dalish magic for our elves. One would think a Keeper's First would know a few nature spells.
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