161 réponses à ce sujet

[berelinde]

Yes, I've heard it before: After school special, cliche, forcing an agenda. I don't care. I like it, and I'll continue to like it.

 

It isn't about a gay agenda. It's about an adult child's struggle against expectations. Who doesn't have to live with that? It's painfully relevant to just about anyone I know. OK, the ending is more positive than I've encountered in the sense that Halward is prepared to accept that possibility that he's wrong, and that he's willing to engage in dialogue at all, but hey! In a perfect world, all parents would be willing to put themselves in Halward's shoes and cut themselves a nice, fat slice of humble pie. It doesn't happen so often in the real world, but it could. That's the important part. No matter how judgmental one's parents, there's a chance they might place the relationship with their child above their own ambition, so that's something. Hope isn't dead.

 

In the follow-up dialogue with Mother Giselle, we're allowed to be fully supportive. "I wish they wouldn't disparage you." I love that line. I love that it doesn't necessarily speak of issues or agendas or anything at all apart from the affirmation that the Inquisitor is there for Dorian. In that moment, I feel as if it's Dorian and the Inquisitor against the world, and I like it.

 

"I detest confessions." It has a graceful out. So many times in DA2, I found myself voicing sentiments I didn't mean in auto-dialogue. OK, this is Dorian and I love his personal quest, so I'd be down with whatever show of support Dorian wanted, but I do appreciate the fact that I'm spared that. I like the fact that Dorian's as uncomfortable with the awkwardness as I am, and that he's trying to hurry it along. Mind you, most of my Inquisitors would say "Pbbbbt! I consider myself your friend, too! So there!" But I won't quibble. I can deal with the artistic decision to leave the scene there.

[Arshei]

I can't say I like it
I see very stereotyped this mission, is the style "gay son not accepted by his father"
So stereotyped that even seems offensive, like the transsexual in Dragon Age 2 with thicker voice than Iron Bull

[Cee]

I also like Dorian's quest and what it means, but it also worked really well for my particular Inquisitor and in thinking of the two as really close friends. She's Dalish and they're a proud and somewhat stubborn people. He knows what that's like. I played my canon Inquisitor as bisexual, and her first love, with whom she intended to build a life once, was another girl in her clan. The Dalish aren't exactly against same sex relationships, but if you're not going forth and making babies and doing what you can for the People, there's a stigma.

 

She has accomplished many things but still feels like her people have room to grow and operate with certain stubbornness that they can overcome and be better with. She still bears inner scars and a feeling of having disappointed her family/people for falling in love with and choosing to begin a life with another girl and never completing her duty to bear children. She had Mythal's vallaslin before Solas removed them, which became almost ironic to her. She does not regret her choices, but it's something she begins to let go of a bit, eventually when she finds a place in her new life. She connects with Dorian a lot, for many reasons, but also the obvious.

 

So Dorian's mission being what it was, it made me headcanon them as being brought closer together because of that. I didn't have her choose to ask him what 'company of men' meant, since she obviously would know what same sex relationships were like. I was super pleased with the friendship parts in Trespasser.

[Hazegurl]

I'll always be a bit torn about Dorian's quest.   On one hand I like it, let us see another side of Dorian besides being witty and clever.  You see a man who is going through something heart breaking, and you get a glimpse into the pressures of Tevinter society.  On the other hand, I think we could have gotten more out of Dorian than this.  We finally have a member of Tevinter upper crust society as a companion, who has connections to the Venatori, and who is facing the possible collapse of his homeland.  Dorian could have been a window into the Venatori which could have made them more than fodder npcs.  Dare I say it, Dorian should have taken Calpernia's place, while still being our companion/LI.  A mage who desires to do whatever it takes to save his homeland, he sides with Cory, he plans to be his vessel, he joins the Inquisition to feed info to Cory, weaken it, gain knowledge on the Well of Sorrows.  If he becomes friends/falls in love with the IQ he regrets his actions and can be talked down in different ways at the Well or killed with low approval.

[BloodKaiden]

I like it and make no apologies for it. Dorian is an amazing character and despite that this may be a 'stereotyped' cliché it is a common situation between a father and gay son. There is emotional struggle there on both sides and most kids would want to be accepted unconditionally by their parents no matter what. This is the first video game where I've seen it showcased so it didn't seem forced or "Oh I've seen this so many times". Kudos for having the balls to even pursue such a path in a video game format.

[nightscrawl]

"I detest confessions." It has a graceful out. So many times in DA2, I found myself voicing sentiments I didn't mean in auto-dialogue. OK, this is Dorian and I love his personal quest, so I'd be down with whatever show of support Dorian wanted, but I do appreciate the fact that I'm spared that. I like the fact that Dorian's as uncomfortable with the awkwardness as I am, and that he's trying to hurry it along. Mind you, most of my Inquisitors would say "Pbbbbt! I consider myself your friend, too! So there!" But I won't quibble. I can deal with the artistic decision to leave the scene there.

This is an interesting take on the line. While on the one hand, yes it is "Dorian being Dorian," but it is also representative of his continued problems with expressing his feelings, which you get to see more of in the romance. Even the friend version gets to see a bit more of it in the post-Adamant dialogue. He has all this stuff going on in his head, and he feels things deeply, but he just can't get it out because he's learned that that is a sign of weakness, so he holds it in and instead snaps at his friend (or lover) in frustration.

 

Then you can see, even in the friend version, at the end of the game he is much more open and comfortable, and is able to clearly express that he considers you his best and only friend. That is a huge thing for him and he wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it completely. It's actually a good way to show that he has this growth along both the romance and friend paths, because the emotional closeness and trust in another person is what he needs the most.

 

 

I'll always be a bit torn about Dorian's quest.   On one hand I like it, let us see another side of Dorian besides being witty and clever.  You see a man who is going through something heart breaking, and you get a glimpse into the pressures of Tevinter society.  On the other hand, I think we could have gotten more out of Dorian than this.  We finally have a member of Tevinter upper crust society as a companion, who has connections to the Venatori, and who is facing the possible collapse of his homeland.  Dorian could have been a window into the Venatori which could have made them more than fodder npcs.  Dare I say it, Dorian should have taken Calpernia's place, while still being our companion/LI.  A mage who desires to do whatever it takes to save his homeland, he sides with Cory, he plans to be his vessel, he joins the Inquisition to feed info to Cory, weaken it, gain knowledge on the Well of Sorrows.  If he becomes friends/falls in love with the IQ he regrets his actions and can be talked down in different ways at the Well or killed with low approval.

 

I see your point, but with the information about his history as presented in WoT Vol. 2 I think it was the natural culmination for everything. And too, Dorian's quest is only one of three companion quests that don't involve some soft of combat, which I also like. I've always felt that it's all about seeing another side of him -- he allows us to see it -- and then having the opportunity to show that you care for him for who he is, whether as a friend or something more.

 

As for your Calpernia replacement idea, I don't think that fits in with him at all. What is his fear? Temptation. That he will succumb to the same desire for personal power as the rest of his countrymen. Regarding blood magic, in DA2 Fenris states, "I have no doubt that some are good and noble men, strong enough to resist temptation. But how many temptations do you wish to offer a man before he will give in? It is too easy for a mage to resort to blood magic if they feel the need is great enough. A mage can desire power, justice, revenge, protection... any cause will do, and then they are lost."

 

The problem with this is not in the use of the power itself. Dorian says as much when he talks about blood magic, "And what if you need more [power]? You always need more." David Gaider likes exploring this theme of temptation and misuse of power, regardless of original intention. In a Q&A at a PAX East he said, "[The fear of blood mages] is based on people who have that kind of power, the ability to influence other people's minds, the temptation to misuse it is a corruption. That kind of power is corrupting, right? That's the danger, not a physical 'I suddenly turn to the dark side and my eyes have gone black' kind of corruption."

 

So, I really don't think that Dorian would stray down that path. Even though it IS his fear, he was written to be the "good Tevinter mage," and he bears that out even down to his refusal to take from the Well during that scene. Crafting him as you suggest would have taken away the very thing that makes Dorian the character that we all adore.

[Bleachrude]

My problem with the Dorian quest is that it was too obvious and especially given our Western modern nation centric viewpoint the vast majority of the audience has, I honestly wasn't impressed with how it was handled.

 

In a lot of ways, it also cheapens the setting in a big way. I *LIKED* the fact that the non Cousland warden has to break up with Alistair because of inheritance issues among the nobility. To me, one of the big "differences" about medieval fantasy moreso than modern day works is how big an influence bloodline plays into the decision making of the actors of that timeframe. W

 

Who they marry, who they support, who they ally with etc all of this is almost always based on bloodline....it's what signifies a medieval tale.

 

Dorian's questline basically has someone who grew up in that setting basically chick it all, and weirdly, the game treats this as a good thing and worse doesn't offer any blowback against Dorian. I would've liked the questline to have more consequences for the Pavis family such as the automatic exclusion of the Pavus from the magisterium and/or the retraction of the privileges of being a magister that Dorian's father has.

 

Basically, I wanted to see a more realistic interpretation of the consequences of having an only son forsake his duty to a high ranking noble family.

[CuriousArtemis]

I dislike his story line very much and am very disappointed that he was one of two m/m options BUT I'm very happy that you love him and enjoyed his story even if I didn't Different strokes for different folks, and not everyone can be happy all of the time. We shouldn't have to defend why we like something... though you do know there's a whole thread dedicated to Dorian, yeah? You'll find plenty of like-minded folks to gush with over there I'm sure

[SerenityRebirth2]

I too love Dorian's personal story. I've been inclined to even write about it in the form of an essay. It's got quite a few great incentives in it. 

[leadintea]

My problem with the Dorian quest is that it was too obvious and especially given our Western modern nation centric viewpoint the vast majority of the audience has, I honestly wasn't impressed with how it was handled.

 

In a lot of ways, it also cheapens the setting in a big way. I *LIKED* the fact that the non Cousland warden has to break up with Alistair because of inheritance issues among the nobility. To me, one of the big "differences" about medieval fantasy moreso than modern day works is how big an influence bloodline plays into the decision making of the actors of that timeframe. W

 

Who they marry, who they support, who they ally with etc all of this is almost always based on bloodline....it's what signifies a medieval tale.

 

Dorian's questline basically has someone who grew up in that setting basically chick it all, and weirdly, the game treats this as a good thing and worse doesn't offer any blowback against Dorian. I would've liked the questline to have more consequences for the Pavis family such as the automatic exclusion of the Pavus from the magisterium and/or the retraction of the privileges of being a magister that Dorian's father has.

 

Basically, I wanted to see a more realistic interpretation of the consequences of having an only son forsake his duty to a high ranking noble family.

 

Thank you! This is precisely why I hated Dorian's story and why I really want a gay conservative Tevinter in DA4 who actually plays by the setting's rules instead of getting everything they want by virtue of his sexuality. Dorian's quest was entirely too one-sided in his favor and the outcome made no sense with what we've already experienced in Thedas. It ends up looking like the writers gave him preferential treatment and treated him with kid gloves just because of his sexuality, instead of actually giving him a hard decision to make. I mean, why is it that the gay guy is one of the only few people in Thedas to get their cake and eat it too? Why couldn't his quest have been him either choosing to follow his duty and get some political clout in Tevinter or to turn his back on Tevinter and lead a life not bound by its rules?

 

The fact that he's also allowed to create his own political faction in Tevinter after all the crap he's pulled off just irritates me further. It's things like this that cause DAI to be accused of pandering to the tumblr crowd and SJW's and I really have to agree with them. Why can Alistair have such complicated and varied outcomes to his story, yet Dorian gets things always go his way? Apart from the whole boyfriend dilemma, which will most likely be resolved favorably for Dorian in DA4 like with Divine Leliana, his story, IMO, has very little substance and feels rather saccharine and not very ambitious or interesting for the DA setting. I'm really hoping that DA4 will give us a gay companion with a lot more chutzpah and a much more interesting and "grayer" story than the tripe we got with Dorian.

[Hazegurl]

I agree that Dorian's storyline is a bit too modern day for the setting and the consequences of Dorian's actions are nill which is a disappointment.  I liked the fact that my mage Warden couldn't marry Alistair and had to opt for a mistress role if she wanted to be with him.  I liked that if she thinks she could stand in a room full of nobles and declare herself future Queen she will get dumped.   That's more realistic. I think it would have been a bit more real if Dorian faced the real possibility that his actions could very well cause the fall of his house and that he may just have to suck it up and get Married if he wishes to have any power to change his country and if the IQ still wants to be with him, then they will make the arrangements.  If not, and he cannot bear to marry a woman and sire children then he does not gain the power to create his own faction.  Perhaps he lives outside of Tevinter forever or opts for a more Rebel behind the scenes role. idk.

 

As for your Calpernia replacement idea, I don't think that fits in with him at all. What is his fear? Temptation. That he will succumb to the same desire for personal power as the rest of his countrymen.

 

I don't see how it wouldn't fit Dorian's character.  If his fear is Temptation then we can see him face that fear head on and possibly conquer it rather than just be told he has it without much of any struggle on his part. In other words, I think Dorian should have been tempted to reach for that personal power and perhaps see that despite his good intent it isn't worth the price.  Or that he would just be as bad as the Magisters that came before him et al.

 

 

 

So, I really don't think that Dorian would stray down that path. Even though it IS his fear, he was written to be the "good Tevinter mage," and he bears that out even down to his refusal to take from the Well during that scene. Crafting him as you suggest would have taken away the very thing that makes Dorian the character that we all adore.

 

I think the problem is that he IS written to be the "Good Tevinter Mage" more than just being a Mage from Tevinter. Why can't he be a good person AND still work with Cory, who could possibly save his country from the brink of collapse? Why does he just have to sit in the library and tell us stories about everyone else's fall from grace without us actually seeing a bit of his own to be a Good mage from Tevinter? Why can't the IQ still inspire him to want more and strive to make his homeland a better place? IMO, Calpernia is a good Mage from Tevinter.  I enjoyed gaining some insight into her character during the Cory quest and I always opt to let her live.  What disappoints me about Calpernia, is the little screen time she has and it almost makes me wish that she was replaced with Dorian as the Tevinter companion because I find her story more interesting than his.  But overall, the best of both worlds (for me) would be for Dorian to merge with her, though.

[Bleachrude]

 Dorian's quest was entirely too one-sided in his favor and the outcome made no sense with what we've already experienced in Thedas. It ends up looking like the writers gave him preferential treatment and treated him with kid gloves just because of his sexuality, instead of actually giving him a hard decision to make.

 

Apart from the whole boyfriend dilemma, which will most likely be resolved favorably for Dorian in DA4 like with Divine Leliana, his story, IMO, has very little substance and feels rather saccharine and not very ambitious or interesting for the DA setting. I'm really hoping that DA4 will give us a gay companion with a lot more chutzpah and a much more interesting and "grayer" story than the tripe we got with Dorian.

 

It _DOES_ feel like Dorian gets to have his cake and eat it too and it seriously devalues why even bother having a medieval background? I mean, what's the point if it pretty much can be ignored willy nilly? You are right as well about Leliana...I'm STILL in disbelief that a setting where for almost a 1000 years, only single female human non-mages could be leaders of the spiritual community, Leliana is also to instigate such a change that you can now have married male elven mages....and there isn't uprisings from the lay people and regular people not just from other chantry mothers as implied.

 

THAT really devalues a lot of the previous works as well...and makes some of the potential interesting stroylines (what about ferelden with no heir, orlais and neverra with no official heir)

[BabyPuncher]

It's a complete joke of a mission.

 

Why? One very simple and easy reason.

 

Because nothing is actually happening. Literally. Nothing happens. It's Dorian whining about bad memories. That's it. His father is not doing or saying anything confrontational.

 

Yet another example of the staggering failure of the DA writers to understand and implement the very basic principle of conflict and resolution.

[BSpud]

I like the nerd tears it produces.

[HurraFTP]

Dorian's questline basically has someone who grew up in that setting basically chick it all, and weirdly, the game treats this as a good thing and worse doesn't offer any blowback against Dorian. I would've liked the questline to have more consequences for the Pavis family such as the automatic exclusion of the Pavus from the magisterium and/or the retraction of the privileges of being a magister that Dorian's father has.

 

Basically, I wanted to see a more realistic interpretation of the consequences of having an only son forsake his duty to a high ranking noble family.

 

I don't think that Tevinter works that way.

There's not such a thing as a law that forces you to be married to someone with strong magic in his/her bloodline.
If arranged marriages are so common is only because of the ambitions and lust for power from the major families of the Imperium.

Also, Dorian is not the only exception.
Alexius was in love with his wife, he hadn't married her because of her bloodline and they got Felix, a nice guy but not a powerfull mage (at least not as powerfull as his peers).
Maevaris is a trans-woman and she was married to Varric's cousin.
None of them was following the implicits rules and however none of them was kicked out of the magisterium.

To be clear, I think that laws regarding who can have a seat in the Magisterium exist (obviously).

Ironically, I think the magisters themselves have passed laws to be sure it won't be easy for anyone to kick someone out of the magisterium (they are so attached to their little power that they refuse to seat on unstable chairs).

That also explains why Tevinter politic is such a vipers nest (bullying, assassinations, corruption....).
 

 

It _DOES_ feel like Dorian gets to have his cake and eat it too and it seriously devalues why even bother having a medieval background?

 

Dorian is an idealist and a strong mind. Of course he won't be happy with just a little piece of cake. He doesn't have to be.
To continue with the "cake metaphor", I think Dorian’s ambition goes further. He doesn't even want to have all the cake, he wants to make another one completely and well, ... he's far from his goal, really.

(And Thedas has really little to do with our actual medieval times, a background has to be a background not a straightjacket.)

 

At the end of the story, I don't see how Dorian gets in such a “great” situation, nor not facing any consequences for his attitude
His father gets assassinated. Finally, he was maybe trying to protect or help his son... I don't know, but Dorian has now to live with that.
Then, he throws himself into the eye of the storm in the Magisterium with only Mae and some inexperienced magisters at his side.

He's far from his friends and possibly far from his lover.

He will struggle every day with his idealistic views and with his goals for Tevinter. Not to mention that a large part of the Magisterium certainly wants to see him humiliated, to get him corrupted or simply dead.

I admire him, but I do not envy him.

 

@ OP: I like his personal quest too.
To me, personally, it was never about "family duty" vs "Dorian's fantaisies", not even about who was right or wrong (I think Halvard was plain wrong but that's not the point), it was all about empathy, how a little moment of intimacy revealed can possibly grow -or not- into a strong friendship or a love story.
The story doesn't ask you to judge of Dorian or his father. The only question was: can you or will you put yourself into someone else shoes during 5 minutes? How do you feel about that?
This little moment of humanity was refreshing to me between two "Go there and kill everyone" parts of the game.

[nightscrawl]

I don't think that Dorian is getting to "have his cake and eat it too" because he's never wanted that level of power or to be a magister. At the beginning of the game when you ask him about himself he explains that he "despised it all; the lies, the scheming, the illusions of supremacy..." Don't forget that in the events leading up to DAI that Halward lost his position in the archon's inner circle due to Dorian's behavior (WoT Vol. 2), so I'm sure that that contributed to that whole mess. That's certainly not a minor consequence for Halward or the family as a whole.

Dorian is a competent player of the Game (in Tevinter), but he doesn't like it. I think if he could make his country a better place without using the magister position he would do that, but that would be completely naive to think so. He has to work within the system and he knows it. Dorian has touted himself as a pariah and I doubt that attitude will win him any favors as he embarks on this mission. Yes, of course there is some pleasant gratification that his father kept him as heir after everything, but that was Halward's choice to make. I rather doubt that the Magisterium would take away the Pavus seat because one person in the family went off the reservation. And of course if the rumors are true (as they see it), then Dorian would be the last anyway so there's nothing to worry about.

Also, Maevaris is the one that formed the Lucerni party, not Dorian, which makes sense because she is the senior magister and has more clout as a magister than Dorian does, but he is lending his aid and will be a part of everything.
 
IF Dorian were concerned with accumulating power I might agree with the "cake" thing, but that's not the case. This will be a hard, dangerous struggle and he knows it. This is not something he will enjoy, but he believes its the right thing to do and it's important to him, so he's willing to make the sacrifice.

 

At the end of the story, I don't see how Dorian gets in such a “great” situation, nor not facing any consequences for his attitude
His father gets assassinated. Finally, he was maybe trying to protect or help his son... I don't know, but Dorian has now to live with that.
Then, he throws himself into the eye of the storm in the Magisterium with only Mae and some inexperienced magisters at his side.
He's far from his friends and possibly far from his lover.
He will struggle every day with his idealistic views and with his goals for Tevinter. Not to mention that a large part of the Magisterium certainly wants to see him humiliated, to get him corrupted or simply dead.
I admire him, but I do not envy him.

Completely agree.

 

The thing that exemplifies that Dorian's personal quest was about more than "being gay" was the description of his childhood in WoT Vol. 2. We see that he was a rebellious troublemaker right from the get-go, and that had nothing to do with his sexuality. That turned into self-destructive behavior later on and led to much greater issues, but at Dorian core was always the person who refuses to conform. Near the start of the tavern scene Halward sighs and says, "It has always been this way," when Dorian starts to get riled up, so I imagine that their personalities have always clashed.

[Dabrikishaw]

I like Last Resort of Good Men as well. I think the idea here is that the main core of the tale is a child refusing to give up their freedoms for a political maneuver, so whatever other issue the story is about will depend on the issues of the child. Since Dorian didn't want to perform this political move due to not being attracted to women, Dorian's specific version of this tale  also takes on issues of homosexual rights.

[HurraFTP]

IF Dorian were concerned with accumulating power I might agree with the "cake" thing, but that's not the case. This will be a hard, dangerous struggle and he knows it. This is not something he will enjoy, but he believes its the right thing to do and it's important to him, so he's willing to make the sacrifice.

 

 

 

I agree. To me his "cake" is his ambition to change Tevinter not a thirst for power just for the sake of it (It wasn't clear in my post).

[Hazegurl]

It's a complete joke of a mission.

 

Why? One very simple and easy reason.

 

Because nothing is actually happening. Literally. Nothing happens. It's Dorian whining about bad memories. That's it. His father is not doing or saying anything confrontational.

 

Yet another example of the staggering failure of the DA writers to understand and implement the very basic principle of conflict and resolution.

lol!!! You know, this actually could be the problem.  When I read the complaints in this thread and think about my own, it seems to all boils down to wanting something to happen.  It certainly doesn't have to be a fight in the pub, that would just suck as I love non combat quests.  But all the juicy bits of the tale happens off screen and far away either before the quest or after it.....except for the love scene and dat ass shot.    We go to a pub, watch a touching scene between Dorian and his father, told a lot of things happened, and leave.  It's essentially an exposition quest. Not a bad one though just one where we don't actually get to experience or outright witness an outcome.  I can understand why those who aren't  that interested in the character, romancing him, or befriending him, would be put off by it.  You kind of have to already like him enough to really care and if you don't, or you wish to RPG something different (such as a noble who identifies with Halward), you're just kind of stuck there listening to past tales without much actually going on. 

 

 

As for Dorian's consequences connecting to the DAI quest.  I think Dorian's consequences are more connected to his current actions rather than the in game quest. Halward losing his position is certainly because of Dorian so that is a family consequence of Dorian's actions before the quest begins but I doubt Halward was killed because of Dorian. 

[riverbanks]

I just find the writing itself of this scene so trite. Not even going into Dorian's character or what he represents or what he accomplishes etc, I find the writing of that quest so... I don't know. Childish? Hand-holding? Like, "I prefer the company of men" - really? The Inquisitor hadn't picked up on it, after flirting with him for months, or even outright asking him if he and Felix were ever involved? Ok. So if you try to tell him "yeah I know" he gets snippy about it, like... what, should I pretend not to know, then? No, that's no good either, because saying you hadn't realized also gets you attitude. So I don't know what the hell Dorian wants from me here?

 

The quest is okay, Dorian is a good character, etc. It's just that the actual lines he says in this quest are so cringe-worthy. For someone who has such witty lines throughout the rest of the story, this quest really feels so underwhelming when this moment, that is supposed to be the peak emotional moment for Dorian in the game, reduces him to a mouthpiece for this Lesson of The Day. That's the "afterschool special" feeling I get from it - not from the premise of the quest, or from Dorian's importance to the story etc, but from the trite writing of his lines as this It's OK To Be Gay PSA from the early 90's.

 

His character arc is not bad, it's just this one quest really needed a few rewrites and a lot more editing to sound less corny.

[Bleachrude]

I don't think that Tevinter works that way.

There's not such a thing as a law that forces you to be married to someone with strong magic in his/her bloodline.
If arranged marriages are so common is only because of the ambitions and lust for power from the major families of the Imperium.

 

 

In medieval times, there was never a law that said "nobles have to marry nobles" but do you think the ONLY son of a powerful family that has been part of the upper crust of society xould randomly marry whoever they wanted?. Hell, Dorian himsel tell you how important family bloodlines are.

 

There's no indication that the other people you list are the heirs of their family 

[Madrict]

I think Dorian's quest is excellent. Well written and hits pretty close to home.

 

A good representation imo. Hard to see his character go through it, but I am glad they did it. Favourite companion quest!

[CuriousArtemis]

I just find the writing itself of this scene so trite. Not even going into Dorian's character or what he represents or what he accomplishes etc, I find the writing of that quest so... I don't know. Childish? Hand-holding? Like, "I prefer the company of men" - really? The Inquisitor hadn't picked up on it, after flirting with him for months, or even outright asking him if he and Felix were ever involved? Ok. So if you try to tell him "yeah I know" he gets snippy about it, like... what, should I pretend not to know, then? No, that's no good either, because saying you hadn't realized also gets you attitude. So I don't know what the hell Dorian wants from me here?

 

The quest is okay, Dorian is a good character, etc. It's just that the actual lines he says in this quest are so cringe-worthy. For someone who has such witty lines throughout the rest of the story, this quest really feels so underwhelming when this moment, that is supposed to be the peak emotional moment for Dorian in the game, reduces him to a mouthpiece for this Lesson of The Day. That's the "afterschool special" feeling I get from it - not from the premise of the quest, or from Dorian's importance to the story etc, but from the trite writing of his lines as this It's OK To Be Gay PSA from the early 90's.

 

His character arc is not bad, it's just this one quest really needed a few rewrites and a lot more editing to sound less corny.

 

Ding ding ding! this sums it up for me ^^ I could get over hating the mustache for his magnificent voice actor alone (personally I think he does the best job in the whole game). And Dorian as a character has promise (though few DAI characters get fully developed, probably because there are approximately 230523 of them); he's an idealist as well as a patriot; he never bothered to wonder why slavery was such a bad thing, and yet he himself is pretty much a good person. Nice, potentially complex character there. Decent writing.

 

But it's the damn After School Special feel of this (subjectively) awful "quest" that makes me grit my teeth. Part of it is knowing who his writer is and what he said about always wanting to write this kind of character. But the actual writing of the scene doesn't help. It is, as you say, utterly cringe-worthy, and it's probably the main reason detractors accuse it of "pushing an agenda." Now it says a lot about you when you think writing in a gay character is "pushing an agenda" (okay so it means you're a total ass and probably secretly no one likes you) but small wonder that the homophobes are going to latch on to such a poorly written scene.

 

Also, just as an aside, I hated how Dorian moped about being gay so much and pulled his "I prefer the company of men" speech, and I never had the opportunity to say, "So do I, get over it."

[GoldenGail3]

I'll always be a bit torn about Dorian's quest.   On one hand I like it, let us see another side of Dorian besides being witty and clever.  You see a man who is going through something heart breaking, and you get a glimpse into the pressures of Tevinter society.  On the other hand, I think we could have gotten more out of Dorian than this.  We finally have a member of Tevinter upper crust society as a companion, who has connections to the Venatori, and who is facing the possible collapse of his homeland.  Dorian could have been a window into the Venatori which could have made them more than fodder npcs.  Dare I say it, Dorian should have taken Calpernia's place, while still being our companion/LI.  A mage who desires to do whatever it takes to save his homeland, he sides with Cory, he plans to be his vessel, he joins the Inquisition to feed info to Cory, weaken it, gain knowledge on the Well of Sorrows.  If he becomes friends/falls in love with the IQ he regrets his actions and can be talked down in different ways at the Well or killed with low approval.

No, please no. He's the only non crazed Mage companion we've had so far.

[Youknow]

I thought it was kind of bad to be honest. I glitched out the first time so I didn't get to see the quest, and then I started a secondary playthrough to play it, and I get to it... And it kinda sucks. His dad didn't even seem like a bad guy, just a guy that made a mistake.

 

Especially because I've had siblings that were all "I want to do something else," and as a result, I had to take on the responsibilities they fled from. And the quest really just glosses over that. A lot. Ugh.