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Descent - so why no one caught the blight?


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#26
Serza

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Well it's not like we could walk across raw lyrium in the final areas of the Descent...wait...

 

 

Aww, that's discrimination against mouth breathers! mouthbreather.jpg

 

 

I still dislike how the super-secret-don't-read-this-no-I'm-serious Joining ritual is performed by a non-Warden in Awakening. They couldn't have plausibly had one surviving Warden from the attack on the keep, but too injured to go into the field? But yeah, there is inconsistency in the nature of Blight sickness. Carver/Bethany have caught it by the end of the expedition, but they could have been infected at any point upon entering the Deep Roads. Wesley COULD have been infected before we even met him and Aveline, but the game suggests it's when he's stabbed after we meet him. Then the ghoul Adria in Awakening had a very fast time between being infected (presumably during the initial attack, which was recent) and when we meet her. It must have taken more time to dig out that basement than I thought!

 

Well, the non-Warden just handed over the cup. There was still the Warden(-Commander) present for each of them.



#27
Dai Grepher

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Nah, the darkspawn thing is easy to explain. I had a mostly ranged party, except for Cassandra who is always with my Inquisitor. But everyone was in thick, well guarded armor, and everyone had helmets that covered their mouths. Used lots of magic on those darkspawn, and lots of barriers on Cassandra and Hissrad.

 

The thing that I hate is how the lore says mages can't even approach raw lyrium, and yet in the game the mage characters can dry hump it if they want to with no negative effects. I justified this by having my Inquisitor and Dorian in new armors with high magic resistance. I also left Dorian behind once we reached the lyrium cavern. I also played it so my Inquisitor would not be near the raw lyrium veins at all, and he would Fade Step over/through any spots where the raw lyrium was on the floor or created a choke point. Also had Cassandra destroy the raw lyrium barriers, since I think it's canon that she's resistant to it as a Seeker. Same with Cole. Lots of Aegis of the Rift to block the raw lyrium bullets from the machine guns. Man what a chore that DLC was.



#28
Blood Mage Reaver

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Like many have said, it has more to do with plot armor than anything else.

 

Microbiology science is nonexistent in Thedas so we have no clue as to which vectors carry the Blight into a new host and which kinds of resistances prevent that from happening.

 

DAI lampshaded that some people are incredibly resistant to the taint with bad future Leliana surviving even the injection of darkspawn flesh into her body without contracting it but that's not enough to explain anything other than plot armor from taking over.

 

What we can explain, however, is why Bioware placed such plot armor in the first place.

 

Writing a game with different endings and sequels is a humongous task, the main problem is not just making sense of it all but putting that into a workable frame.

 

For every different option in the previous installment the next one must account for it with a diverging plot element, this means double work for the developers of the sequel and they are limited by a budget and a release date.

 

A prime example is Allistair whose status and romance leads to over nine different continuities in the ensuing sequels.

 

In Origins, having your party become tainted over time clashed with the individual character plots since Sten could not return to Par Vollen tainted, Leliana would be barred from dwelling among the elite of Orlais, Wynne was an abomination not to mention too old to survive her joining and Morrigan's gambit depended on her fertility not being hampered.

 

The only two characters who could become tainted and join the Wardens were Zevran and Oghren because they had already lost their ties to their previous organizations and one of them in fact joins them in the sequel.

 

The same goes for DA2, only Carver/Bethany contracts the taint because the story was written in a way that deals with their absense whereas other companions account for nearly 50% of the plot of the game. Even then so just Bethany's and Carver's fates generate more than six different continuities despite their lack of involvement in the main story.

 

Imagine the nightmare of having to write about a tainted continuity for each of your companions in Inquisition minus Solas, plot armor takes care of that.



#29
thats1evildude

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I still dislike how the super-secret-don't-read-this-no-I'm-serious Joining ritual is performed by a non-Warden in Awakening.

 

What, did you want the Warden-Commander standing there signing at the recruits? :P



#30
MaxQuartiroli

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Moreover, if you play Origins with Persistent Gore turned on you find very difficult to explain why nobody became tainted after you are out of Deep Roads or even after Korcari Wilds... Well maybe Daveth and Jory caught the blight but they didn't live enough to see it, so we'll never know



#31
vbibbi

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Well, the non-Warden just handed over the cup. There was still the Warden(-Commander) present for each of them.

 

True, I can headcanon that WE are the ones actually doing the ceremony, that we learned it off screen between the end of DAO and the beginning of DAA. I guess Varel didn't peek when I mixed the drink. Still, I feel like I'm stretching to reach this.

 

Like many have said, it has more to do with plot armor than anything else.

 

Microbiology science is nonexistent in Thedas so we have no clue as to which vectors carry the Blight into a new host and which kinds of resistances prevent that from happening.

 

DAI lampshaded that some people are incredibly resistant to the taint with bad future Leliana surviving even the injection of darkspawn flesh into her body without contracting it but that's not enough to explain anything other than plot armor from taking over.

 

What we can explain, however, is why Bioware placed such plot armor in the first place.

 

Writing a game with different endings and sequels is a humongous task, the main problem is not just making sense of it all but putting that into a workable frame.

 

For every different option in the previous installment the next one must account for it with a diverging plot element, this means double work for the developers of the sequel and they are limited by a budget and a release date.

 

A prime example is Allistair whose status and romance leads to over nine different continuities in the ensuing sequels.

 

In Origins, having your party become tainted over time clashed with the individual character plots since Sten could not return to Par Vollen tainted, Leliana would be barred from dwelling among the elite of Orlais, Wynne was an abomination not to mention too old to survive her joining and Morrigan's gambit depended on her fertility not being hampered.

 

The only two characters who could become tainted and join the Wardens were Zevran and Oghren because they had already lost their ties to their previous organizations and one of them in fact joins them in the sequel.

 

The same goes for DA2, only Carver/Bethany contracts the taint because the story was written in a way that deals with their absense whereas other companions account for nearly 50% of the plot of the game. Even then so just Bethany's and Carver's fates generate more than six different continuities despite their lack of involvement in the main story.

 

Imagine the nightmare of having to write about a tainted continuity for each of your companions in Inquisition minus Solas, plot armor takes care of that.

 

Both Zevran and Oghren would make sense in another way...since they're set up as direct melee fighters, they would have greater chance of getting in contact with tainted blood than archers (Leli) or mages (Wynne and Morrigan). Though this doesn't explain Sten, or if Morrigan shape shifts and bites at darkspawn.

 

It always seemed strange that the mabari we get has the taint (except for Cousland) but by getting a flower, all is better. So no one tried to make a resistance potion/cure for the blight from this flower? Or it only works with mabari physiology?

 

An aside, it would've been cool if Oghren had been infected, and we put him through the Joining around the Landsmeet, or else it's slow and he shows up in DAA hoping to join as a last resort.

 

 

What, did you want the Warden-Commander standing there signing at the recruits? :P

 

I mean...or even just have the flavor text "You mix the supah secret bloody mary and recite the double supah dupah oath and hand the chalice to X to drink." If we're feeling cheesy, we can even throw in some Ostagar flashbacks overlaid by this text.

 

or else...

 

Warden: holds up chalice and opens mouth to speak

Oghren: Eh...I thought this was some scary ceremony, not a kegger. I would've brought more bottles.

Mhairi: Will you shut up! This is an ancient tradition and a privilege only a few people ever see. Go on commander.

Warden: opens mouth again.

Anders: Last time I drank without knowing what it was, I ended up in the Pearl between a dwarf, a greased nug, and Isabella. Are you sure this is safe?

Warden:...

Oghren: Don't be a pansy! Here, ol' Oghren will show ya how it's done!

 

He proceeds to grab the chalice and drink, slapstick ensures. Anders and Mhairi shrug and follow suit. The commander just shakes his/her voiceless head and the scene continues.



#32
sjsharp2011

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There are people naturally resistant to the blight. And it can't be that easy to catch, or else it would be impossible to fight. It seems to take actually ingesting blood, which is hard to do (or it getting mixed into wounds). 

yeah I think it's a case of that it has to get into your bloodstream somehow in order to infect you. So unless you actually swallow some or you have an open wound it's unlikely you'll get infected. As you say also there are people that are naturally resistant to it as well like the Grey wardens. Whicfh is why they're entrusted with the honour of dealing with the darkspawn and helping keep them away from hurting ordinary civilians as they're trained to deal with such matters.



#33
SomeoneStoleMyName

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Also, Valta is wierd, way too obsessed and creepy :D Why the hell would you actually just leave her there at the end of the DLC, what is she now, how come that she can cast "accidents" as she says, instead of spells. She is deffinately gonna come back to bite us in the ass, we have no answers to any of our questions and just her word that everything is going to be fine now :D

 

This bothered me beyond words.

 

Inquisitor: "Guys we made a world changeing discovery that will alter the history of Thedas. That historians and lorekeepers around Thedas will be super-excited about and that the world deserves to know. BUT LETS JUST WALK OUT OF HERE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED LOL, and keep this to ourselves."


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#34
Daerog

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As others have pointed out, not everyone gets infected just because they fought darkspawn.

 

If that was the case, there would never have been Grey Wardens because Thedas would have ended with the First Blight. There would also be no Legion of the Dead, who are dwarves that live in the Deep Roads and have to trek around blight covered areas all the time.

 

Plot armor helps as well. 



#35
Serza

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True, I can headcanon that WE are the ones actually doing the ceremony, that we learned it off screen between the end of DAO and the beginning of DAA. I guess Varel didn't peek when I mixed the drink. Still, I feel like I'm stretching to reach this.

 

 

I agree. The Warden just delegated the words and the chalice holding to the Seneschal. Maybe that's proper thing, too, but Ostagar Joining was short on proper procedure.



#36
Shechinah

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I agree. The Warden just delegated the words and the chalice holding to the Seneschal. Maybe that's proper thing, too, but Ostagar Joining was short on proper procedure.

 

I'm wondering if it would not lessen the trouble Duncan had a little if he'd told his recruits to drink all at once but there is a chance the chalice needs to specifically be what the recruits drink from.

 

I would find it morbidly amusing if a Warden tries to convince potential recruits to bottom out as fast as possible like it were a contest by claiming it is an initiation ritual.
 


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#37
In Exile

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Nah, the darkspawn thing is easy to explain. I had a mostly ranged party, except for Cassandra who is always with my Inquisitor. But everyone was in thick, well guarded armor, and everyone had helmets that covered their mouths. Used lots of magic on those darkspawn, and lots of barriers on Cassandra and Hissrad.

 

The thing that I hate is how the lore says mages can't even approach raw lyrium, and yet in the game the mage characters can dry hump it if they want to with no negative effects. I justified this by having my Inquisitor and Dorian in new armors with high magic resistance. I also left Dorian behind once we reached the lyrium cavern. I also played it so my Inquisitor would not be near the raw lyrium veins at all, and he would Fade Step over/through any spots where the raw lyrium was on the floor or created a choke point. Also had Cassandra destroy the raw lyrium barriers, since I think it's canon that she's resistant to it as a Seeker. Same with Cole. Lots of Aegis of the Rift to block the raw lyrium bullets from the machine guns. Man what a chore that DLC was.

Has Bioware ever established that "raw" lyrium is the type of lyrium you see as a vein, or is "raw" lyrium a mined by-product? Typically in natural resource extraction the "raw" resource isn't the same as the naturally occuring resource. 



#38
In Exile

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I agree. The Warden just delegated the words and the chalice holding to the Seneschal. Maybe that's proper thing, too, but Ostagar Joining was short on proper procedure.

 

The reason almost certainly ends with "-ilent Protagonist". 



#39
In Exile

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I'm wondering if it would not lessen the trouble Duncan had a little if he'd told his recruits to drink all at once but there is a chance the chalice needs to specifically be what the recruits drink from.

 

I would find it morbidly amusing if a Warden tries to convince potential recruits to bottom out as fast as possible like it were a contest by claiming it is an initiation ritual.
 

 

Recruiting people who aren't obviously psychologically incapable of being GWs would be a start, but Dunca was really awful at his job. 



#40
TeffexPope

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They do in The Calling.

Seriously?! Did William Dietz author that book, by any chance?



#41
TeffexPope

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Like many have said, it has more to do with plot armor than anything else.

 

Microbiology science is nonexistent in Thedas so we have no clue as to which vectors carry the Blight into a new host and which kinds of resistances prevent that from happening.

 

DAI lampshaded that some people are incredibly resistant to the taint with bad future Leliana surviving even the injection of darkspawn flesh into her body without contracting it but that's not enough to explain anything other than plot armor from taking over.

 

What we can explain, however, is why Bioware placed such plot armor in the first place.

 

Writing a game with different endings and sequels is a humongous task, the main problem is not just making sense of it all but putting that into a workable frame.

 

For every different option in the previous installment the next one must account for it with a diverging plot element, this means double work for the developers of the sequel and they are limited by a budget and a release date.

 

A prime example is Allistair whose status and romance leads to over nine different continuities in the ensuing sequels.

 

In Origins, having your party become tainted over time clashed with the individual character plots since Sten could not return to Par Vollen tainted, Leliana would be barred from dwelling among the elite of Orlais, Wynne was an abomination not to mention too old to survive her joining and Morrigan's gambit depended on her fertility not being hampered.

 

The only two characters who could become tainted and join the Wardens were Zevran and Oghren because they had already lost their ties to their previous organizations and one of them in fact joins them in the sequel.

 

The same goes for DA2, only Carver/Bethany contracts the taint because the story was written in a way that deals with their absense whereas other companions account for nearly 50% of the plot of the game. Even then so just Bethany's and Carver's fates generate more than six different continuities despite their lack of involvement in the main story.

 

Imagine the nightmare of having to write about a tainted continuity for each of your companions in Inquisition minus Solas, plot armor takes care of that.

The sad thing is, there ARE people who believe Bioware should have to do this and are incredulous that they do not.



#42
Lumix19

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Seriously?! Did William Dietz author that book, by any chance?


I have literally no idea who that is. David Gaider wrote The Calling.

#43
Evamitchelle

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I have literally no idea who that is. David Gaider wrote The Calling.


He's the guy who wrote the horribly inaccurate Mass Effect novel (Deception).
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#44
Lumix19

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He's the guy who wrote the horribly inaccurate Mass Effect novel (Deception).


Ah I see. Well as I said Gaider wrote that book and in it Maric was given potions that protected him from contracting the Blight.

#45
Serza

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I'm wondering if it would not lessen the trouble Duncan had a little if he'd told his recruits to drink all at once but there is a chance the chalice needs to specifically be what the recruits drink from.

 

I would find it morbidly amusing if a Warden tries to convince potential recruits to bottom out as fast as possible like it were a contest by claiming it is an initiation ritual.
 

 

I think it's mostly because they only had one chalice suitable enough for the task.

 

And I think only Oghren would actually take that.

 

The reason almost certainly ends with "-ilent Protagonist". 

 

Well, it's true that we could've just had a single-option dialogue to say the words, but spoken they have much more impact.



#46
ShadowLordXII

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Either high constitution; a strong immune system; plot armor or a combination of all three.



#47
KCMeredith

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To be fair, imagine how annoying it would be to restart the same battle over and over again because someone somehow got infected.


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#48
Mr.House

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Same reason no companions got the taint in DAO or everyone but Carver/Bethany didn't get it. The taint is simply a plot device. This is pretty consistent in fact.



#49
Qun00

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They needed a master ball.
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#50
Illegitimus

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Seriously?! Did William Dietz author that book, by any chance?

 

No.  However there's no actual confirmation that the prophylactic potion Maric is taking does anything for him.  We don't know whether he would have been infected without it.  They're just trying to maximize his odds.  

 

As for those who invoke plot, it's not that they're wrong but even those those who don't have plot protection rarely get infected.  So really it's a matter of people only getting infected by plot rather than people being protected by plot.