44 réponses à ce sujet

[TDB1726]

So it has bothered me since the first time I played DAI, and I cannot be the only one. Why do they basically ignore the Warden? We get to see Hawke (for like a second), but all we get for the Hero of Ferelden is a letter? Seriously? The main character from the original game and Awakening and we don't get to see him/her or go on a mission with them? I feel like they really missed something there, just ignoring the Hero and pusing him/her aside. Anyone else feel the same? Any other characters you guys think should have had an appearance? I would have loved to see Isabela again too.

[YourFunnyUncle]

I had problems with what they did with Hawke. My canon Hawke said things I'd never have had her say, and they had a fixed backstory story and the diplomatic/sarcastic/angry personalities to work with. With the Warden, you've all the Origins, plus more permutations of the story (they can be dead FFS!) And what do they sound like? I seriously wouldn't want to see the Warden as an NPC. I would want to control what they did and said, and then what would happen to the Inquisitor? No, sorry. I don't want it.

 

As to other characters, they put Isabela in the multiplayer so they clearly built a model for her in the new engine. Maybe she'll feature in the upcoming DLC...

[Narcosynthesis]

I had problems with what they did with Hawke. My canon Hawke said things I'd never have had her say, and they had a fixed backstory story and the diplomatic/sarcastic/angry personalities to work with. With the Warden, you've all the Origins, plus more permutations of the story (they can be dead FFS!) And what do they sound like? I seriously wouldn't want to see the Warden as an NPC. I would want to control what they did and said, and then what would happen to the Inquisitor? No, sorry. I don't want it.

 

As to other characters, they put Isabela in the multiplayer so they clearly built a model for her in the new engine. Maybe she'll feature in the upcoming DLC...

 

Very much the same here. While the DAI-Hawke worked relatively good for me (in terms of what my own “imported” one would act like), the very fact that both other posters in this thread (plus numerous other ones in other threads) were not nearly as happy with theirs seems to be the perfect indicator of how difficult it is to make it work. And since the Warden is much more complicated in all regards (plus the lack of voice, which presents a problem in itself), I’d say it is more or less impossible to craft a really meaningful appearance that would at least satisfy a majority of the players. So, no: I’m perfectly fine with the Warden not playing a role in DAI or future games, too.

 

About the other question (other characters who I’d like to have appeared): I got quite lucky there since my favorites from the earlier games were Leliana and Morrigan – and both got meaningful content and enough “screen time”. So I was happy with those appearances. Also: pleasantly surprised that they also took Loghain into account because I really hadn’t expected that to happen. Seems like a relatively “exotic” choice since my impression is that the number of playthroughs in which he’s still alive is not a majority.

 

Isabela would have been nice, I agree (maybe that will happen). Also, I think an appearance of Anders could have made sense and been interesting considering his relevance to the mage/templar-conflict, but quite possibly that would have been “exotic” as well, considering that there’s certainly a substantial number of playthroughs in which he is dead (in terms of my own, for example, it’s a fifty-fifty situation).

[Cheviot]

So it has bothered me since the first time I played DAI, and I cannot be the only one. Why do they basically ignore the Warden? We get to see Hawke (for like a second), but all we get for the Hero of Ferelden is a letter? Seriously? The main character from the original game and Awakening and we don't get to see him/her or go on a mission with them?

A few reasons why (there's probably more):

1) In a lot of playthroughs, he's dead,

2) If he appeared, he'd either have to stay mute or be voiced, and whichever was chosen would be complained about by people wanting the other option

3) When he appeared, the complaints would turn into demands that the HoF be the protag

4) You can make the Inquisitor look like your HoF

 

Also, the HoF wasn't the main character in Awakening; it was an Elven mage from Orlais.  At least he was in my playthrough.

[riverbanks]

Dragon Age is about the world of Thedas, not the hero of the week. The Warden is gone because their story has been told, they're just not relevant to the events we're focusing on anymore. Hawke had their closure arc in Inquisition because their game had an open ending that didn't conclude their story, but now that they got their last hurrah they'll be gone too. Soon the Inquisitor will say their goodbyes too, and the world will move on, with or without them.

It's not about the specific hero you're playing, it's about the world you're shaping. The best you can do is enjoy your heroes while you're playing in their shoes, but learn to let go as well when their time has come.

Think about it - no complains when you move from hero to hero in Elder Scrolls, Fallout, etc, and your old character is barely acknowleged anymore. It's the same here; a larger story that goes beyond the one specific person we play in each game. Dragon Age was never about the Warden. They were only the first in a line of many different people who'll shape the world in different ways for as long as we follow that story.

[Nixou]

Dragon Age is about the world of Thedas, not the hero of the week

 

 

Indeed: the Dragon Age series' protagonist is the Dragon Age itself.

Which ironically is why I wish the writers would bring back the Warden in a subsequent game... so they can finally kill him/her for good.

 

So long as there's a chance that the Warden still live, there will be people clamoring for bringing back Origins' protagonist, and eventually the writers will run out of credible excuses to keep Origins' him/her away from the spotlight, especially with hints that the Grey Wardens are on the verge of an internecine war.

 

Better send the Hero of Ferelden on a collision course toward a plotline death. Besides, it would be a thematically fitting conclusion to the Warden's tale, making it about how a mighty warrior tried and ultimately failed to cheat death.

[Korva]

Dragon Age is about the world of Thedas, not the hero of the week.

 

I'd be more inclined to believe that if they didn't keep bringing NPCs back all the time both as cameos and as plot-critical. By this point I'm getting mighty cynical about any achievements/friendships/impact my characters supposedly have, because it's all set to go down the crapper as soon as the credits roll (or the last DLC has been sold) to make room for the next recyclable pseudo-protagonist while the writers' favourite NPCs tell the "real" story behind my back.

 

I am someone who loves the ultimate sacrifice. Can't imagine ever picking any other ending to Origins. But the sacrifice was perfect in no small part because it was a choice. When getting rid of the player character seems to become obligatory in a series (be it by killing them or not), it leaves a sour taste in my mouth and makes it really hard to get excited about upcoming games.

 

Hawke's cameo didn't affect me because I never had any interest in DA2 and thus no emotional attachment whatsoever, but I still thought it was badly handled on every level. Player characters should never be turned into NPCs. They are ours. Let us have that tiny slice of the world.

[Sabriel.]

I was ecstatic when I clicked on Varric and found out I'd get to remake my Hawke and do a quest with her--fortunately her personality/anti-blood magic views fit well enough with my own canon, but then she yells at Stroud that they need a "world without Grey Wardens"....when her brother is a Grey Warden? And that was with a human-only, voiced character with a set background. There are way too many things that could go wrong if they brought back the Warden, who's voiceless and so vastly different from player to player. (Or even dead. So if someone's world state has the US, what happens in a future story involving the HoF?)

 

I personally hope they don't make a habit of having all the previous protagonists show up in future games. The world becomes too small when all the Avengers old heroes have to help with whatever the current crisis is. I'm happy they gave the (living) Warden their own quest to do offscreen; it adds to their legendary status IMO. 

[TheKomandorShepard]

Eh, i hope they just won't mention warden again, they have ruined character for some already with simple mentioning them and letter ,not to mention what would happen if they brought them back.

 

They should just stop bringing tons of returning characters into every game and move on.

[Sah291]

I'm guessing there were just too many variables for the Warden. Not just in world states/choices, but race/background and personality. They had a set default look for Hawke. All Hawkes were human, and had a common background and 3 personality types. All Hawkes are alive at the end of DA2, and either sided with Templars or Mages...and it looks like that was still a challenge to make work for everyone.

I thought they did a good job for my version of Hawke, but I understand some fans weren't happy. So I can only imagine how many would be unhappy had they tried to bring the Warden back who had even more variables.

I liked what they did with the Warden researching a cure, all things considered. I would have enjoyed seeing my Warden appear as a NPC, maybe as part of the Warden story line, but I would expect them to have to take some pretty big liberties with that character....

[diaspora2k5]

If BioWare feels that he/she is too important to relegate as an NPC then fair enough; but don't start a story about the Warden going on on a quest to uncharted lands and then tell us we'll never be able to experience it. The problem with how the Warden is handled is mostly about starting story threads they have no intention of actually following through with.

 

edit: If Ser Weekes doesn't want to revisit the Warden, that's honestly fine, but I feel like it would have been better if the Hero of Ferelden simply retired after DA2 and went on his calling rather than going off on what seems like a really interesting adventue we'll never get to experience.

[Nixou]

If Ser Weekes doesn't want to revisit the Warden, that's honestly fine, but I feel like it would have been better if the Hero of Ferelden simply retired after DA2 and went on his calling rather than going off on what seems like a really interesting adventue we'll never get to experience.

 

 

The problem is that Bioware's writers pretty much wrote themselves into a corner: they can't give the Warden an offscreen death without pissing off a major segment of their audience, nor can they keep him/her offscreen indefinitely without creating unmanageable plot holes (sooner or later they'll have to tackle the Wardens' internal power struggle announced during Inquisition's epilogue, and it makes no sense to keep the Order's highest ranked surviving Southerner away from it).

Which is why I say "Bring the Warden back: and finish him/her off" with a big, fancy death by cutscene like the one Elthina and Roderick got: no possibility for survival, no "never found the body": kill the Warden for good and free the series from this narrative millstone.

[diaspora2k5]

 

The problem is that Bioware's writers pretty much wrote themselves into a corner: they can't give the Warden an offscreen death without pissing off a major segment of their audience, nor can they keep him/her offscreen indefinitely without creating unmanageable plot holes (sooner or later they'll have to tackle the Wardens' internal power struggle announced during Inquisition's epilogue, and it makes no sense to keep the Order's highest ranked surviving Southerner away from it).

Which is why I say "Bring the Warden back: and finish him/her off" with a big, fancy death by cutscene like the one Elthina and Roderick got: no possibility for survival, no "never found the body": kill the Warden for good and free the series from this narrative millstone.

 

I only bring up an off screen death via the calling as an alternative to going on an epic quest we can never play off screen. Ultimately an epic showdown and death would be my favourite option.

[ShadowLordXII]

The HOF probably won't make a return anytime soon for many reasons.

 

Most importantly because the HOF is dead in BW's canon and because a living HOF is too big to not overshadow anything else.

 

That's probably why the HOF was killed-off "canonically" so that BW wouldn't have to worry to much about him. But, since the Hero only dies in 1 out of 4 potential end-states (Alistair dies; Dark Ritual; Loghain dies; HOF dies), then that means that BW has acknowledge to that alternative and try to make it as equally valid as their own. Otherwise, what's the point of the player feels like they choose the "wrong path"?

 

Guess that just comes with the territory when you give your players an option to kill off their pc or not. That's probably one reason why Hawke and the Inquisitor live through their games without any possibility of dying. (Hawke in Inquisition doesn't count since he's an npc there)

[Narcosynthesis]

 

The problem is that Bioware's writers pretty much wrote themselves into a corner: they can't give the Warden an offscreen death without pissing off a major segment of their audience, nor can they keep him/her offscreen indefinitely without creating unmanageable plot holes (sooner or later they'll have to tackle the Wardens' internal power struggle announced during Inquisition's epilogue, and it makes no sense to keep the Order's highest ranked surviving Southerner away from it).

Which is why I say "Bring the Warden back: and finish him/her off" with a big, fancy death by cutscene like the one Elthina and Roderick got: no possibility for survival, no "never found the body": kill the Warden for good and free the series from this narrative millstone.

 

 

I see the logic in what you’re saying and an onscreen death would be a solution, yes.

 

Not sure about the “unmanageability” of the plot hole you mentioned, though. Yes, one could argue that one would expect the rather powerful and influential Warden to play a role in the internal power struggle. But they have already established that he/she is (at least currently) "not around", out for an indefinite time span to look for a cure for the Blight, not even able - or willing - to abandon that lone ranger quest when the world faces a more immediate threat in DAI. They have also established that our dear Warden can be quite hard to find if he/she doesn’t want to (as the ending sequence of DA2 and the fact that they still haven’t been found by the time of DAI make clear). So, while it is certainly debatable if it’s an elegant or clumsy way to avoid the issue, I’d at least say it is a way.

 

Yours certainly is an alternative, no doubt. But it would require them to tell a story they probably don’t even want/planned to tell and to pour a lot of resources into somehow making the Warden “work” - with a highly questionable chance of success. As I said before: even with Hawke - who had a much more limited and fixed set of characteristics - a lot of people seem to have found the appearance in DAI lacking. Now to portray the Warden in a manner that is satisfying even for thin majority, the effort would be substantially higher – with a high chance of utter failure. That’s quite a lot of effort and risk to put into a character death which probably isn’t even wanted by the majority of those who “want the Warden back”.

 

Don’t get me wrong: I agree that your scenario would be a nice way to be done with it and give people closure and all. But personally I’ve accepted that the Warden is no part of the main story anymore since the beginning of DA2 and (again: personally) I don’t need it spelled out like that. And putting so much effort into a DLC that has a high chance of just blatantly end up disappointing people (not even taking into account that it's only a certain amount of players to whom this has such a high relevance at all) doesn't sound like a promising plan. Especially not when DA has so many other interesting stories left to tell.

[Nerevar-as]

Dragon Age is about the world of Thedas, not the hero of the week. The Warden is gone because their story has been told, they're just not relevant to the events we're focusing on anymore. Hawke had their closure arc in Inquisition because their game had an open ending that didn't conclude their story, but now that they got their last hurrah they'll be gone too. Soon the Inquisitor will say their goodbyes too, and the world will move on, with or without them.

It's not about the specific hero you're playing, it's about the world you're shaping. The best you can do is enjoy your heroes while you're playing in their shoes, but learn to let go as well when their time has come.

Think about it - no complains when you move from hero to hero in Elder Scrolls, Fallout, etc, and your old character is barely acknowleged anymore. It's the same here; a larger story that goes beyond the one specific person we play in each game. Dragon Age was never about the Warden. They were only the first in a line of many different people who'll shape the world in different ways for as long as we follow that story.

Bethesda games change whole plot, geographic region, decade and even century, and what passes for npcs in their games who had significant interactions with the pc.

Here we have significant overarching plots, big supporting characters and relationships, close in time and space. But the pc is different each time, take any big tv/book series that changes only the main character every season or volume. Narrative resents it heavily. Mass Effect wouldn't have worked with a different soldier each game, nor the witcher with anybody but Geralt (just try random guy interact with Ciri and Yennefer). Yet that's what happens every other time the new pc meets Leliana, Morrigan or the others. There should be a main pc for the whole overarching background plot they have going on, instead of a changing ultimate hero who is conveniently out of the picture for the next stage. Which was likely the idea behind Hawke, but was so bland it failed to make the needed impression on most players. In the end, a freaking dlc was more significant than a whole game plotwise too.

[Nixou]

But it would require them to tell a story they probably don’t even want/planned to tell and to pour a lot of resources into somehow making the Warden “work” - with a highly questionable chance of success.

 

 

While I agree that it would take a lot of resources to make the Warden "work" as a character if brought back (need for good voice actors, tons of lines of dialogue written to accommodate the many possible variations of the Warden's personality and backstory...) and understand perfectly why Bioware's writers aren't enthusiastic about trying to bring back the character there are two of your points I must dispute:

 

 

Yes, one could argue that one would expect the rather powerful and influential Warden to play a role in the internal power struggle

[...]

it's only a certain amount of players to whom this has such a high relevance at all

 

 

The thing is, there Is a character holding the title of Warden-Commander of Ferelden, regardless of the world-state chosen: either it's the HoF, or it's the Orlesian Commander selected to replace him/her.

Once the Wardens' internal conflict comes to the spotlight, the Commander of the Grey in Ferelden, whether s/he also happens to be the HoF or not, will be highly relevant to the story, even in world-states created by players who sacrificed Origins' protagonist and didn't care for the Orlesian replacement.

 

 

That’s quite a lot of effort and risk to put into a character death which probably isn’t even wanted by the majority of those who “want the Warden back”.

 

 

You seem to base your assessment of whether the Warden's comeback can work as a story on whether the people who want the Warden back are satisfied by said comeback's conclusion. I disagree with that notion: many disliked DA2's ending because Hawke failed to defuse the mage-templar tension -and failed to save his/her mother and sibling(s)-, yet I daresay that DA2 is the best episode in the series storywise precisely because it has such an unsatisfying ending. Killing the Warden for good would probably feel like a kick in the guts for many who want to bring him/her back... but that doesn't mean that his/her downfall wouldn't improve the overarching story.

[Narcosynthesis]

The thing is, there Is a character holding the title of Warden-Commander of Ferelden, regardless of the world-state chosen: either it's the HoF, or it's the Orlesian Commander selected to replace him/her.
Once the Wardens' internal conflict comes to the spotlight, the Commander of the Grey in Ferelden, whether s/he also happens to be the HoF or not, will be highly relevant to the story, even in world-states created by players who sacrificed Origins' protagonist and didn't care for the Orlesian replacement.

You are right, yes, but that wasn't my point. I was referring to you mentioning that they'd run into an "unmanageable plothole", i.e. a logical flaw or contradiction in a narrative that is not resolved. Now again: I completely agree that the Warden Commander of Ferelden would be someone the Wardens would turn to, which would make him/her highly relevant (the second part you quoted was about relevance to the player personally, by the way - sorry if that didn't become clear from my post). But as I said: It has "been taken care of" because the Warden Commander is to our knowledge not available - they weren't when it came to the Left and Right Hand were searching for an Inquisitor and they also weren't when the Wardens were affected in DAI. I'm not sure if it was mentioned whether their quest for the cure was "official Warden business" or if they were out on there own, but since no one seemed able to contact them, I assume they are off the radar - at which point the Wardens can during a potential "Inner Conflict"-DLC cry for them all they want, but it won't change that they are not there. 
 

You seem to base your assessment of whether the Warden's comeback can work as a story on whether the people who want the Warden back are satisfied by said comeback's conclusion.

Partially, yes. My main reason why I find it hard to make the Warden "work" in a satisfactory manner are the ones already stated. But you are right: in terms of an appearence "working out", I also take into account what player's expectations are because frankly it seems rather clear that the wish for the Warden's return is a player's thing, not something BioWare wants. And here my opinion stands: I doubt that a majority of the people who actually want that comeback would be satisfied if that ends with the character death.

 

As for the rest of your statement: again, you and I are on the same page there, both in terms of what you said about the DA2-ending and about the idea that a death would work nice story-wise. It's just that I think it's far too much effort for a story that doesn't need to be told. You rightfully pointed out the one instance where the Warden would be needed and I (hopefully) pointed out that they found a way around that, maybe not an elegant one, but certainly one that will allow them to focus on other stuff.

[nightscrawl]

I thought that DAI Hawke was just OK. Like others I wasn't too pleased with some of the dialog, but that is out of my hands. I suppose I was really only irked by the continuous remarks about blood magic -- omg stfu about it already. I would have been totally pissed if she had been a blood mage and still saying that crap.

 

At any rate, they have said that they don't want to have the DAO Warden in a future game unless they can do it 100% right and in a way that would please most players. Since that is not likely to ever happen, the Warden probably will never be shown. I am perfectly happy with this. I would prefer to never see my Warden again, and had preferred to never see Hawke again.

 

I can live with NPCs looking different from one game engine to the next -- Alistair, Cullen, and Leliana have been in all three games, each with varying degrees of success -- but I have no desire to see my own characters. Luckily for me my canon fem Hawke used a slightly altered form of the default face, which I was only able to do because I'm on PC and modded the ability to edit the default. Had my canon instead been my male Hawke I would have had quite a difficult time reproducing him.

[riverbanks]

There should be a main pc for the whole overarching background plot they have going on

 

There could be a main character for the whole story, but that's not what BW has in mind for this series. The original Mass Effect trilogy was a story about Shepard, yes, and it wouldn't have made sense without them (although even that's not true anymore, we're moving to a new protagonist over there too) - but Dragon Age was always about Thedas itself.

 

Still, if this was around the time of Origin's release, or even around DA2, it would make sense to still be lamenting that this is the direction this series wants to follow. But we're on the third game now, with the third different protagonist (potentially fourth for those that did the Ultimate Sacrifice in DAO) - it's way overdue time to get used to it. That's how this series works - DA4 will have a new hero too, DA5 as well, etc. That's why I said we gotta learn to let go. We can sit around and moan about the Warden being gone until 2073, or... we can get used to it and enjoy the heroes we have while we have them, before they're gone too.

[Jazpar]

I don't really think they should bring back characters like HoF or the Inquisitor. But it's fun with revisiting old companions and characters from other games and se the progress of those character like the cameo of Loghain or Alistar.

[Gilsa]

I've seen a few interviews where they don't want to give HoF a voice so it's a good bet that HoF will remain confined to codexes and in-game letters until the Calling finally claims them.

 

However, to be fair to the fans that want to see HoF again, it was not clear at the onset that the game was about the setting of Dragon Age until they announced Dragon Age 2 and that Hawke was the next protagonist. Up until then, people on the forums had been making multiple playthroughs to see how their King/Queen, chancellors, paragons would fare in the next installment. Even the original epilogues were so vague that it created the impression that the HoF would return. Awakenings was an expansion that kept the HoF momentum going. Anyone picking up the games now can see that there are different protagonists for each game and the epilogues now provide better closure for a one-shot character so it's not as much of an issue these days. But for those that started with DAO, the nostalgia remains strong, which is why the HoF requests are understandable. Those requests will eventually die out as time marches on in Thedas. The original cast of DAO are getting up there in their years, too.

[Nixou]

That's how this series works - DA4 will have a new hero too, DA5 as well, etc.

 

 

True, and it's a pattern I for one tend to prefer to Mass Effect's "sole savior" approach.

Another RPG franchise which follows this pattern is the Suikoden series.

But the reason it worked well in this series was that each new installment was set in a new region: in the Suiko's canon endings, the protagonists either retired from worldly affairs (McDohl, Riou), or remained in their country and kept busy with their job (Thomas, Lazlo, Frey), having therefore reasons (personal or duty-related) to not get personally involved in the next conflict.

Likewise, the Warden-Commander's (HoF or Orlesian) absence wasn't much of a problem in Dragon Age 2: s/he was either busy ruling Amaranthine or chilling with Morrigan in some elven ruin, and therefore not available to get directly involved in Kirkwall's affairs. But Inquisition brought the action back on the Warden's home turf, prompting the writers to find an excuse to keep him/her away from the spotlight, which by itself isn't much of a problem... yet.

 

Now let's say the next Dragon Age is set in Northern Thedas. It won't be much of a problem to keep the previous protagonist away: the Inquisitor is busy ruling the Inquisition down south and a handful of references acknowledging their Worship's existence will amply suffice.

But what about the subsequent sequels? If Dragon Age series keeps going for several episodes, as Bioware clearly intends, and the writers keep coming back to locations explored in previous episodes, well within previous protagonists areas of influence, they'll have to either bring back into the fray previous PCs or put half a dozen protagonists on buses to nowhere, which will eventually look ridiculous:

"So, where's the Warden-Commander of Ferelden? -> Traveling West

The Champion of Kirkwall? -> Somewhere up north

The Inquisitor? -> Lost in the southern wildernesses

The Paladin of Par Vollen? -> Took a boat and went east

The Steward of the Anderfells? -> Went through an Eluvian to explore a parallel dimension

The Paragon of Nevarra? -> Somewhere in the deep roads"

[Narcosynthesis]

 

Now let's say the next Dragon Age is set in Northern Thedas. It won't be much of a problem to keep the previous protagonist away: the Inquisitor is busy ruling the Inquisition down south and a handful of references acknowledging their Worship's existence will amply suffice.

But what about the subsequent sequels? If Dragon Age series keeps going for several episodes, as Bioware clearly intends, and the writers keep coming back to locations explored in previous episodes, well within previous protagonists areas of influence, they'll have to either bring back into the fray previous PCs or put half a dozen protagonists on buses to nowhere, which will eventually look ridiculous:

"So, where's the Warden-Commander of Ferelden? -> Traveling West

The Champion of Kirkwall? -> Somewhere up north

The Inquisitor? -> Lost in the southern wildernesses

The Paladin of Par Vollen? -> Took a boat and went east

The Steward of the Anderfells? -> Went through an Eluvian to explore a parallel dimension

The Paragon of Nevarra? -> Somewhere in the deep roads"

 

 

Yeah, that is indeed a problem they could run into. The "conveniently gone at the moment"-option is something that would become indresingly ridiculous each time they pulled this card. So it will be interesting to see how they deal with that in the future. One can already speculate about the possible implications of the leaked DLC-survey, but that's all theoretical at the moment.

 

And while the HoF (or their Orlesian replacement in DA:A) certainly was the only one with the "lack of voice"-dilemma, the problem with the huge number of variables could still become an issue with other player characters.

 

A few potential options I could see happening:

- Appearences like Hawke in DAI

- Character deaths (like you already suggested for the Warden)

- Constantly switching regions with each game

- Putting enough time between "returning" to one region of a previous game to account for changes in leadership (say, setting the next game that revisits Orlais 15-25 years after DAI with the Inquisitor retired and replaced)

- Limiting the variables in positions your character can end up in (narrowing the range to avoid something like "is either dead or rules the Wardens or rules Ferelden" in DAO)

- Making a big cut - say, after DA5 switching from the Dragon Age to the Nug Age or whatever in the next game, thus making most of your decisions part of history 

 

Not saying that I like all those options; these are just the ones from the top of my head.

[Nixou]

Putting enough time between "returning" to one region of a previous game to account for changes in leadership (say, setting the next game that revisits Orlais 15-25 years after DAI with the Inquisitor retired and replaced)

 

 

Another advantage in putting large period of times between two depictions of the same region is that it's a convenient way to explain inconsistencies in a player-character brought back: "time has passed: people change, now stop complaining about our portrayal not exactly fitting your headcanon". I mean, we've already seen Leliana, Cullen and Morrigan, characters present in Origins, going through rather stark, but logical personality changes.

 

***

 

Limiting the variables in positions your character can end up in (narrowing the range to avoid something like "is either dead or rules the Wardens or rules Ferelden" in DAO)

 

 

They are already doing this, actually: Hawke slays both Orsino and Meredith before leaving Kirkwall no matter which side in picked in the finale, and the Inquisitor has a large victory party before staying in charge of the Inquisition regardless of who's chosen as Divine.

 

I think the problem with the Warden, specifically, is that during the game's development the writers weren't sure that Origins would be successful enough to warrant a long-running franchise based on Thedas' world: leaving the protagonist's fate vague and open-ended made sense back then; but now, reintroducing the Warden means going through the trouble of addressing the tangle of schrodinger plot threads they created alongside this character.