35 réponses à ce sujet

[Heimdall]

And ideally each origin would have a personal quest based on loose ends from the prologue (The Qunari slave might encounter slave catchers or maybe some link to his past, like meeting his/her old Tamassran, the elven Soporati might look for their family, the dwarven Ambassadoria might get dragged into the politics between the Ambassadoria and the Imperium, the Altus might have to deal with their remaining family's reduced political status)

 

Optimally, each of these would be a quest chain unlocked by the advancement of the main plot.

 

EDIT:  Actually I think I'm going to add this to the OP

[Heimdall]

Another option would be no noble background option at all in DA4. I could see the devs wanting to distance the player's ability to identify with the Evil Tevinter Magisters^TM that we've known for the past three games, and limit our ability to play as someone with power. It would make the ability to reform the Imperium be more clear cut as "I was oppressed in this sytem all of my life and now I'm going to change it!" rather than "I lived as a pampered magister-in-waiting all of my life, but now I'm rebelling."

 

In order for the second scenario to work, I think the PC would have to already have some degree of familiarity with Dorian, as he is the voice of reform amongst the upper class. And that would require more customization of Dorian's interactions with the PC than is worth the resources. IMO of course.

I don't think so.  For starters Dorian and Maevaris' movement is fairly recent, and Dorian wasn't screaming his opinions from the rooftops before.  They needn't be familiar, except by reputation (Which is something they could slip into the prologue I'm suggesting).

 

Besides, I'd like to have the option to disagree with Dorian, which an Altus origin would be well suited to.

[vertigomez]

I love the idea of being a dwarf of the Ambassadoria, or one of the many underground embassies in Tevinter. It's a nice mesh of traditional dwarven culture and the surfacer stereotype of dwarves as greedy lyrium smugglers/merchants - just the glorified version in Tevinter, for obvious reasons.

My biggest concern would be the Qunari invasion, because I feel like that immediately puts us at odds with the Qunari and I'm much more interested in a grey versus grey scenario. Half the point of Par Vollen and Tevinter is that they're both pretty horrible (and also awe-inspiring), and I wouldn't want new players automatically sympathizing with Tevinter because that's where they started. It's not as interesting to me.

In some ways, I'd rather start on Seheron. Now THAT is a perspective I'd love to explore.

[DuskWanderer]

Your start is interesting, but I think you tie into Harding and Dorian (previous characters) far too quickly. You don't give us time to introduce many new characters, to immerse us more in Tevinter's setting. I've no problem starting with a dreadnought opening fire because it immediately engages the player, but it would be far better if you stuck with native Tevinter first, and brought in Harding later. 

[Heimdall]

Your start is interesting, but I think you tie into Harding and Dorian (previous characters) far too quickly. You don't give us time to introduce many new characters, to immerse us more in Tevinter's setting. I've no problem starting with a dreadnought opening fire because it immediately engages the player, but it would be far better if you stuck with native Tevinter first, and brought in Harding later.

Well, like I said the details of how the prologue leads into the main plot are subject to change. I was more trying to get across how we could have origins and an exciting prologue in a more compressed form than DAO.

[vbibbi]

I love the idea of being a dwarf of the Ambassadoria, or one of the many underground embassies in Tevinter. It's a nice mesh of traditional dwarven culture and the surfacer stereotype of dwarves as greedy lyrium smugglers/merchants - just the glorified version in Tevinter, for obvious reasons.

My biggest concern would be the Qunari invasion, because I feel like that immediately puts us at odds with the Qunari and I'm much more interested in a grey versus grey scenario. Half the point of Par Vollen and Tevinter is that they're both pretty horrible (and also awe-inspiring), and I wouldn't want new players automatically sympathizing with Tevinter because that's where they started. It's not as interesting to me.

In some ways, I'd rather start on Seheron. Now THAT is a perspective I'd love to explore.

Yeah the problem I'm seeing with all four races is that there's no easy method of having them end up in the same starting place. Obviously Bio will probably pull a Warden or Inquisitor where the PC becomes some figure that transcends race. But the social disparities available from the races to begin with will make this a challenge.

 

If we are not playing a Qun following kossith, which seems the most likely option, chances are a kossith PC would have to start as a slave or else a Tal Vashoth mercenary. I think a dwarf would realistically have to be an ambassadoria dwarf. From all that we know of Tevinter, the majority if not all dwarves in the country are from the ambassadoria, and are highly respected and their own social class. We could learn that there are surface dwarves living there, but AFAIK that has not been made clear. We know there are no Dalish in Tevinter, for example, so I think a lot of the social norms we've grown accustomed to in the South won't be in the next game.

 

Elves and humans have a wider range of background options. And if Fenris' sister can be apprenticed to a magister (assuming Danarius wasn't lying to her), then it seems elves can be just as powerful as humans. I would think there are far fewer elven magisters, though, and they might be second-class citizens of the magisterium. Presumably they would not be descended from dreamers, so they wouldn't have the distinction of heriditary blood lines as much as the human Tevinters do.

[ESTAQ99]

I approve. Then something horrible happens, the pc becomes an out law because of it. They become a pirate/corsair.

 

Sure, that's when the new pc meets Peter Pan who takes the pc's whole family to Neverland where they live happily ever after. The devs can also introduce a little twist and make the whole crew of Pirates of the Caribbean attacks Minrathous with powerful missiles from Treasure Island. At the end Twinkle Bell saves the day before we discover she is in reality an old god and a former Coryfish's lover.

[Heimdall]

Yeah the problem I'm seeing with all four races is that there's no easy method of having them end up in the same starting place. Obviously Bio will probably pull a Warden or Inquisitor where the PC becomes some figure that transcends race. But the social disparities available from the races to begin with will make this a challenge.

 

If we are not playing a Qun following kossith, which seems the most likely option, chances are a kossith PC would have to start as a slave or else a Tal Vashoth mercenary. I think a dwarf would realistically have to be an ambassadoria dwarf. From all that we know of Tevinter, the majority if not all dwarves in the country are from the ambassadoria, and are highly respected and their own social class. We could learn that there are surface dwarves living there, but AFAIK that has not been made clear. We know there are no Dalish in Tevinter, for example, so I think a lot of the social norms we've grown accustomed to in the South won't be in the next game.

 

Elves and humans have a wider range of background options. And if Fenris' sister can be apprenticed to a magister (assuming Danarius wasn't lying to her), then it seems elves can be just as powerful as humans. I would think there are far fewer elven magisters, though, and they might be second-class citizens of the magisterium. Presumably they would not be descended from dreamers, so they wouldn't have the distinction of heriditary blood lines as much as the human Tevinters do.

Well, i don't think there are any elven magisters.  Or if there are, its extremely rare, seeing as most seats in the magisterium appear to be hereditary.  Still, as long as one has magic tevinter is ironically more meritocratic than the south to a degree.

 

This is actually why I think Dorian's sponsorship (For whatever the new PCs mission turns out to be) will be very early on.  If the new PC is officially the agent of a magister, that should minimize the social disparities.

[Cute Nug]

I agree that they'll never do it, but personally I think that Qun adhering Qunari would be bitchin.

 

Andastrianism/Makerism (sp?) has tons of cults and offshoots maybe Bioware could write a qunari that thinks the accepted implementation of the Qun is wrong and is part of a Qun cult trying to fix Qunarianity.

[vbibbi]

Well, i don't think there are any elven magisters.  Or if there are, its extremely rare, seeing as most seats in the magisterium appear to be hereditary.  Still, as long as one has magic tevinter is ironically more meritocratic than the south to a degree.

 

This is actually why I think Dorian's sponsorship (For whatever the new PCs mission turns out to be) will be very early on.  If the new PC is officially the agent of a magister, that should minimize the social disparities.

Perhaps the upcoming comic series will shed additional light on Tevinter politics and society. I would have thought that apprenticing to a magister means the apprentice expects to take a seat in the magisterium someday, but maybe in a House of Commons role rather than House of Lords. Or maybe all seats are hereditary and apprenticeships are just to advance one in society, completely separate from politics.

 

I wonder if non-mage characters will have to gain some form of magical power, either similar in function to the Anchor or completely separate like Valta's new powers. Because otherwise mage PCs should theoretically be at a severe advantage over warriors and rogues in Tevinter society. They are automatically given access to things the other classes will never have, regardless of how high their class. Or else, the mage characters will have to be societally depowered to put them on the level of warriors and rogues. I don't know if being the agent of a magister would be sufficient to gain a non-mage access to everything.

 

Of course, we don't have enough information about the culture to really know enough, so we'll have to see if we get further source material in the years before DA4 comes out. I would think we'll at least get one novel along with the comic series.

[Heimdall]

Perhaps the upcoming comic series will shed additional light on Tevinter politics and society. I would have thought that apprenticing to a magister means the apprentice expects to take a seat in the magisterium someday, but maybe in a House of Commons role rather than House of Lords. Or maybe all seats are hereditary and apprenticeships are just to advance one in society, completely separate from politics.

 

I wonder if non-mage characters will have to gain some form of magical power, either similar in function to the Anchor or completely separate like Valta's new powers. Because otherwise mage PCs should theoretically be at a severe advantage over warriors and rogues in Tevinter society. They are automatically given access to things the other classes will never have, regardless of how high their class. Or else, the mage characters will have to be societally depowered to put them on the level of warriors and rogues. I don't know if being the agent of a magister would be sufficient to gain a non-mage access to everything.

 

Of course, we don't have enough information about the culture to really know enough, so we'll have to see if we get further source material in the years before DA4 comes out. I would think we'll at least get one novel along with the comic series.

Actually I seem to recall there are a few ways to become a magister.  hereditary among the major families is one.  A magister can also be appointed from the senior enchanters of Tevinter's Circle of magi (But not the first enchanter).  The Grand clerics and the Black Divine all have seats, and the Archon can appoint new magisters of his choosing at any time.

 

Conceivably I could see an elf being one of the Circle of magi seats.

 

I think you overestimate just how much more power a character gets from simply being a mage, especially in a society currently at war.  Remember, Dorian says that simply being born a mage doesn't guarantee that much in tevinter.  Endorsement from an Altus magister would go a long way,