124 réponses à ce sujet

[almasy87]

Sera (yuck! I hope to never see her again!)... Harding (don't care about her, I'm indifferent but I don't think she is worth bringing back - she is really no one, and only became important because.. well? Some people started liking her.. -.-). Morrigan (liked her in DAO but I've had enough of her attitude in DAI of "I'm the best and you're all ignorants and worthless"). Varric, cause he's been in enough games. 

I'm indifferent to Cully, I think his story is over and he won't be coming back again.

Alistair and HoF.. well I dunno.. tbh if more time passes I wouldn't want them back because at this point they'd be nearing 50 and I don't want their image ruined (or something to happen to them like what happened to Teagan... xD).

I'd like more Cassandra. But together with Leliana or Vivienne since they might be Divine, they won't be party members.

Definitely want more of: Dorian, because he will be important in the future story setting... Flemeth, if she isn't dead, cause there are many things left to explain. Cole, because he's adorable :3

[KaiserShep]

Except Solas and the Inquisitor (and perhaps allies especially SERA), the latter of which I'm sort of on the fence on because I do not like past protagonists coming back outside of my control.

[Andres Hendrix]

I'd like to see Hawke return with either Merrill or Isabela (with her armada and big hat lol) again. I'd like to see Alistair with a better cameo (I had King Alistair not Warden Alistair); Scout Harding, Dorrian, Varric might not work, however he's one of my favorite video game characters, so I'm always up for more Varric lol.  I'm always up for more Morrigan. Calpernia should return (very interesting villain), so should Cole (in my game he left with his Girlfriend to be a wandering minstrel). Cassandra should return, and the one armed man formerly known as the Inquisitor should have a cameo.

[SentinelMacDeath]

If Isabela returns (with Merrill) I'd like the option to push them into the gaping maw of a Dragon and to never see them again. That would satisfy me very much 

[thats1evildude]

II hope Merrill doesn't show up either ... so she can have lots of offscreen sex with Hawke.

[Cobra's_back]

I don't want to see anyone from DA1 or DA2.

 

I don't mind seeing Flemeth/Morrigan because her story may not be done.

 

I would like to see a cameo of the Inquisitor, Dorian, Harding, and Valta. 

[Qun00]

Where i said they were?

Characters i mentioned as badly written were characters seemed written like from horrible fanfiction written by male teen that has some unrealistic fantasies about woman.

You still don't seem to understand what badly written means. Negative traits have nothing to do whether that is the case.

Are there any problems in the narrative of her character arc? Unexplained developments, inconsistencies or perhaps a point the writers clearly intended to make but failed to execute?

[TheKomandorShepard]

You still don't seem to understand what badly written means. Negative traits have nothing to do whether that is the case.

Are there any problems in the narrative of her character arc? Unexplained developments, inconsistencies or perhaps a point the writers clearly intended to make but failed to execute?

Negative traits are when character is greedy, cruel , stupid etc and still can be properly written.Im assuming you are talking about Leliana (another angry fan), she is badly written because problem lies with how character was written and narrative ,her obvious Mary Sue portrayal is just horrible writing not character flaw.  

[Gervaise]

Definitely don't want to see Tallis again, although I admit that probably stems from the fact that she basically controlled the entire show in MoA, from sitting there keeping us talking in prison when apparently she could just open the door, to when we had to let her walk away with that list whether we wanted to or not.   The best bit of MoA for me was when I abandoned her, went for a walk in the forest with my companions and got to chat with them about my father among other things.  If they need to reintroduce an earlier Qunari spy character, they could just as easily make it Gatt but I'd prefer someone completely new.

 

I'm wary about them bringing back any character because of what they did with Anders.    I'd been so looking forward to being with him again but he wasn't the Anders I remembered.

 

My heart sank in Awakening when they brought back Oghran, since he was my least favourite character in Origins.   This is why I prefer having new characters because people vary about which characters they prefer, so someone is always going to be disappointed when they bring back old ones.

 

The problem with them bringing back Varric in DAI is that you already knew him well if you played DA2 and much of what he said really was for the benefit of people who didn't.   I doubt he will be back again because there isn't the same reason for him to be involved or provide a link as there was for DAI.

 

I'll be happy to see Dorian again but not if they force some character development on him that seems out of place with what I remember.    However, he shouldn't be a companion because they would have to explain how he suddenly became so low powered again.    Just a link with the former game as a sort of mentor/advisor to the PC, which would make sense seeing as it looks like being set in Tevinter.

[TobiTobsen]

Every character that would exist purely for fanservice or to make some "awesome" cameo with "hilarious" quirks and insider jokes that the new protagonist cannot possibly understand can stay right where they are.

 

The amount of "OH NO! WHAT A SURPRISE! YOU'RE HERE TOO? WHAT AN AMAZING COINCIDENCE!" is already to high in Dragon Age. I don't want to suddenly find half the cast of DAO, DAII and DA:I in Tevinter because "uh... reasons...".

[PapaCharlie9]

Negative traits are when character is greedy, cruel , stupid etc and still can be properly written.Im assuming you are talking about Leliana (another angry fan), she is badly written because problem lies with how character was written and narrative ,her obvious Mary Sue portrayal is just horrible writing not character flaw.  

Well, no one can accuse you of lowering your standards because it's just a game. If Leliana is badly written, you must be disappointed in all of the writing in DAI. Not that that is saying much.

 

Relatively speaking, though, you have to admit that Leliana is one of the better written characters, even as far back as Origins. You can't say the same for, say, Cullen.

 

Is the accusation of Mary Sue justified, let alone obvious? Maybe. Leliana has world-class skills in more than one department and she's sexy and has good taste in armor and shoes. But -- every one of those skills and attributes does have a reasonable justification that's pretty well established through lore, and pretty deeply, not just as a one-off. Leliana is basically our measuring stick for every other Orlesian bard character. I suppose you can argue that the Orlesian bard stuff as of DAI is a gigantic retcon created to justify Leliana's preconceived awesomeness, particularly in the future of Hushed Whispers, but if that is so, it's a damned good one.

[PapaCharlie9]

Every character that would exist purely for fanservice or to make some "awesome" cameo with "hilarious" quirks and insider jokes that the new protagonist cannot possibly understand can stay right where they are.

 

The amount of "OH NO! WHAT A SURPRISE! YOU'RE HERE TOO? WHAT AN AMAZING COINCIDENCE!" is already to high in Dragon Age. I don't want to suddenly find half the cast of DAO, DAII and DA:I in Tevinter because "uh... reasons...".

Not even as a self-parody of Bioware's own tendency to fanservice? I mean if they are obviously making fun of themselves for committing the crime that you accuse them of (rightfully so), it can't be that bad, can it?

 

I think it would be awesome to have a cutscene with every character ever as an inside joke. Some would have to be spirits only, visiting from the Fade, because, you know, they're supposed to be dead. Some might be SFX only, or maybe be shown in murals or paintings on the wall, because they never really existed (Andraste, the Maker, Blackwall).

 

Bioware, prove again that you've got a sense of humor (ala ME3 Citadel DLC) and have a cutscene in DA4 with a cameo from every character ever! I'd settle for just a tumblr post with every character ever all in one group picture.

[LatteRene]

The Requisition Officer

[Hinjo]

Leliana. I really don't want to be her therapist. Again.

[TheKomandorShepard]

Well, no one can accuse you of lowering your standards because it's just a game. If Leliana is badly written, you must be disappointed in all of the writing in DAI. Not that that is saying much.

 

Relatively speaking, though, you have to admit that Leliana is one of the better written characters, even as far back as Origins. You can't say the same for, say, Cullen.

 

Is the accusation of Mary Sue justified, let alone obvious? Maybe. Leliana has world-class skills in more than one department and she's sexy and has good taste in armor and shoes. But -- every one of those skills and attributes does have a reasonable justification that's pretty well established through lore, and pretty deeply, not just as a one-off. Leliana is basically our measuring stick for every other Orlesian bard character. I suppose you can argue that the Orlesian bard stuff as of DAI is a gigantic retcon created to justify Leliana's preconceived awesomeness, particularly in the future of Hushed Whispers, but if that is so, it's a damned good one.

 

Please, don't make me laugh.Leliana one of best written characters? She is one of worst written characters in this series, though unfortunately there are even worse characters out there.

 

In origins she was average character that is all, in dai writers obvious bias and favoritism toward her showed up turning her into rather nasty mary sue. Cullen actually in dai was not badly written (far from brilliant writing) , well not counting his dao and da 2 apparence, also whole orlesian party thing  .  

 

Yes, it is is not only justified but obvious. If you missed extereme glorification in many fields she is given from almost all characters that mention her, lack of ability to call her on mistakes and when you can she is immediately excused, lack of ablity to reprimand her and even punish for crap she pulls of like disobeying her superior orders or even threats toward her superior and attempts to make her special like resurrection and immunity on the blight pretty much her ridiculous and extremely unrealistic ending that glorifies her even further should be good indication she is mary sue.And don't make even laugh ther her ridiculous glorification is justified beyond that "she is bard so she is greatest thing ever" . 

 

So in the end Leliana isn't one of best written character , not even average character as i said she seems like written by male teen that tries transfer his unrealistic fantasies about his ideal women into spy fiction.

[PapaCharlie9]

 
Please, don't make me laugh.Leliana one of best written characters? She is one of worst written characters in this series, though unfortunately there are even worse characters out there.
 
In origins she was average character that is all, in dai writers obvious bias and favoritism toward her showed up turning her into rather nasty mary sue. Cullen actually in dai was not badly written (far from brilliant writing) , well not counting his dao and da 2 apparence, also whole orlesian party thing  .  
 
Yes, it is is not only justified but obvious. If you missed extereme glorification in many fields she is given from almost all characters that mention her, lack of ability to call her on mistakes and when you can she is immediately excused, lack of ablity to reprimand her and even punish for crap she pulls of like disobeying her superior orders or even threats toward her superior and attempts to make her special like resurrection and immunity on the blight pretty much her ridiculous and extremely unrealistic ending that glorifies her even further should be good indication she is mary sue.And don't make even laugh ther her ridiculous glorification is justified beyond that "she is bard so she is greatest thing ever" . 
 
So in the end Leliana isn't one of best written character , not even average character as i said she seems like written by male teen that tries transfer his unrealistic fantasies about his ideal women into spy fiction.

Okay, for level setting, who would you consider to be a better written character? You can pick anyone from any volume of the game. Actually, let's stick with DAI, since I didn't play DA2 and I've forgotten too much of Origins.

And "none" is a perfectly acceptable answer.

[TheKomandorShepard]

Okay, for level setting, who would you consider to be a better written character? You can pick anyone from any volume of the game.

And "none" is a perfectly acceptable answer.

Eee , practically every character (with few exceptions) as seems you missed part where i pointed she is one of the worst written characters in the series?

 

And no, "none" isn't perfectly acceptable answer unless you want me to lie but then i would have something in it to do so.

[PapaCharlie9]

Eee , practically every character (with few exceptions) as seems you missed part where i pointed she is one of the worst written characters in the series?

 

And no, "none" isn't perfectly acceptable answer unless you want me to lie but then i would have something in it to do so.

Okay, what are the exceptions? Specifically, where do you rank the writing for Josephine, Vivienne and Blackwall relative to Leliana?

[TheKomandorShepard]

Okay, what are the exceptions? Specifically, where do you rank the writing for Josephine, Vivienne and Blackwall relative to Leliana?

 

Tallis, Bianca and Sera tough i won't get into reasons because it would turn into wall of text.Briefly, Josephine would be average despite i didn't like disney like written romance but i won't judge.When it comes to Blackwall he was rather weak because there was not much up to him outside formule with reveal about dark past that is now cliche.Viviene while i would put as above average character even if i didn't like her she was refreshing character as she was static (didn't went through character development during story) in contrast to pretty much every companion that follows guide and fix me rule, she would score higher if not poorly written attempts to make look her competent.
 

[berelinde]

Well, no one can accuse you of lowering your standards because it's just a game. If Leliana is badly written, you must be disappointed in all of the writing in DAI. Not that that is saying much.

 

Relatively speaking, though, you have to admit that Leliana is one of the better written characters, even as far back as Origins. You can't say the same for, say, Cullen.

 

Is the accusation of Mary Sue justified, let alone obvious? Maybe. Leliana has world-class skills in more than one department and she's sexy and has good taste in armor and shoes. But -- every one of those skills and attributes does have a reasonable justification that's pretty well established through lore, and pretty deeply, not just as a one-off. Leliana is basically our measuring stick for every other Orlesian bard character. I suppose you can argue that the Orlesian bard stuff as of DAI is a gigantic retcon created to justify Leliana's preconceived awesomeness, particularly in the future of Hushed Whispers, but if that is so, it's a damned good one.

Objectively, she's one of the worst-written characters in the series, and she is without a doubt the worst-written character in DAO. Of course, that depends on your criteria for ranking characters. If you're saying "They inspired me to like them," well, OK, but you have to accept that likability is subjective and others may not share your preference. Criteria such as "undergoes character development within the framework of the game" and "writers illustrate character traits through dialogue" are may be evaluated objectively, and Leliana fares very poorly. One hundred percent of her character development takes place off-screen, minimal as it is. She begins her career as a generic aspiring rogue in Leliana's Song, where she is rescued from prison by the future Divine Justinia. By DAO, it becomes clear that her experience has inspired some kind of religious epiphany, but when she joins the party, she is completely static, and no explanation for her change of heart is ever offered.

 

Based on the character traits displayed in her DAO dialogue, her defining personality characteristics are "bland, cloying, and insipid." If the player elects to defile the ashes, she displays a backbone and actually becomes interesting, but she dies about 3 seconds later, so any character development that happens there is short lived. Had the conflict here been spun out a bit, or had we been allowed to butt heads with her about other matters, it would have been a lot better.

 

We're told that she's some kind of intriguing spy with a dangerous past, but all we see is flower picking and spun sugar. That's lazy writing. Writers should show, not tell. Contrast that with a better-written character like Alistair. His disappointment and disillusionment over his sister's greed is a palpable thing. You can watch his heart break in game as Goldana lets him know how little she appreciates his return. Then, if the Warden disappoints him by sparing Loghain's life, he throws a rather childish temper tantrum about it. He's a real character with flaws, not some syrupy cardboard cutout of what a hero is supposed to look like. Heck, even Cullen (an incidental, virtually insignificant NPC at that point) undergoes more on-screen character development through the torture he endures. Leliana? Nothing. At least not in DAO. She undergoes another crisis of faith when Justinia dies before DAI, but this time, she's still struggling with it when the game starts, so we get to see some actual character development. She is much, much better written in DAI than she was in DAO. Which makes sense. DAO was released 8 years ago. I would expect better writing (and less exposition) after 8 years of practice. Incidentally, some players hate both Alistair and Cullen with undiluted vitriol. OK, I get it. Alistair is not above emotional manipulation and has been known to be petulant on occasion. I have no idea why folks hate Cullen with such a passion considering he's got about 30 seconds of screen time, but let's be charitable and assume that there's actually something unlikable about his personality. Alistair, especially, proves my point. He is allowed to have flaws. He's allowed to run the risk of being disliked, even violently. He wasn't protected and sheltered from all criticism. The writers let him stand on his own as a character and what's more, they actually allowed dialogue options where you can tell him to shut up! Before DAI, the player was never allowed to criticize anything Leliana said or did. The writers loved her too much.

 

There's also the question of balance. Some characters are better balanced than others. They are invested with both virtues and flaws, and it makes them richer, more nuanced, and vastly more interesting as characters. Poor Leliana was given virtues aplenty, but she was never allowed to have any flaws, so she came across as being flat and one-dimensional. She's all shine, all surface, without any rough edges to snag against the player's expectations and make them think. To be fair, DAI was a vast improvement. The player is even allowed to be rude to Leliana at one point, which I consider huge progress.

 

It isn't often I agree with Kommander Shephard about anything, but I'm going to have to side with him here. Leliana is a classic example of "don't write like this."

 

That doesn't mean that you're wrong for liking Leliana, if you do. Personal preferences are completely subjective and you don't have to justify them to anyone. And some people do like sweet, ultra-feminine characters. But if we're talking about literary character development and the means and methods of storytelling, she leaves a lot to be desired.

[PapaCharlie9]

Tallis ,Bianca and Sera tough i won't get into reasons because it would turn into wall of text.Briefly, Josephine would be average despite i didn't like disney like written romance but i won't judge.When it comes to Blackwall he was rather weak because there was not much up to him outside formule with reveal about dark past that is now cliche.Viviene while i would put even as above average character even if i didn't like her she was refreshing character as she was static (didn't went through character development during story) in contrast to pretty much every companion that follows guide and fix me rule, she would score higher if not poorly written attempts to make look her competent.
 

Fair enough. I was going to call you on criticizing Leliana for cliches and tropes and not Josephine, but you didn't. Personally, I think Vivienne was the worst written of the DAI inner circle -- so much potential, but such a cliche with the hard-outside-soft-inside schtick. Blackwall was for level setting, he was written by the same writer as Leliana, Sheryl Chee, who as far as I know is not a hormonal teenage boy. I agree with you that he was stuck in the liar redeemed formula -- I'm not sure whose fault that is, the writer might have been told to write to that formula by DG. If we assume it was a forced assignment, not the writer's choice, I think she did a decent job with it.

[TheKomandorShepard]

Before DAI, the player was never allowed to criticize anything Leliana said or did. The writers loved her too much.

Actually, in fact it is other way around in dao you could criticize leliana, be cruel to her and even call her out on being hypocrite quite a lot and even companions or npc occasionally called her out on something, while in dai pretty much you are unable to call her on something outside very rare cases when you can and then she is immediately excused.I wouldn't call her bad character in dao as she was simply average what sadly can't be said in dai.

 

 

Fair enough. I was going to call you on criticizing Leliana for cliches and tropes and not Josephine, but you didn't. Personally, I think Vivienne was the worst written of the DAI inner circle -- so much potential, but such a cliche with the hard-outside-soft-inside schtick. Blackwall was for level setting, he was written by the same writer as Leliana, Sheryl Chee, who as far as I know is not a hormonal teenage boy. I agree with you that he was stuck in the liar redeemed formula -- I'm not sure whose fault that is, the writer might have been told to write to that formula by DG. If we assume it was a forced assignment, not the writer's choice, I think she did a decent job with it.

Im just being fair nothing more nothing less.I didn't found Vivene cliche in fact she had rather unique style even if i found it annoying and she wasn't rly being hard-outside-soft-inside , she is quite bi*** but her "softer" side was pretty much about not being sociopath rather than soft girl playing tough and even her "softer" side was/is ambiguous. Well, that would explain quite bit considering quality of those two characters while i won't judge her writing skills as i don't know all characters she wrote but she didn't do good job with Leliana and Blackwall. 

 

 

 

[PapaCharlie9]

Contrast that with a better-written character like Alistair. His disappointment and disillusionment over his sister's greed is a palpable thing. You can watch his heart break in game as Goldana lets him know how little she appreciates his return. (snip) Leliana? Nothing. At least not in DAO.

You don't credit Leliana vs. Marjorlaine, particularly if the HoF offs her, with the same development as Alistair vs. Goldana? I think that's a bit unfair. That said, I agree that more could have been done with Leliana after that crisis.

But I'll stipulate for Origins, since I don't remember it all that well. I can't really argue it one way or the other with any confidence.
 

She undergoes another crisis of faith when Justinia dies before DAI, but this time, she's still struggling with it when the game starts, so we get to see some actual character development.
 
She is much, much better written in DAI than she was in DAO. Which makes sense. DAO was released 8 years ago. I would expect better writing (and less exposition) after 8 years of practice. Incidentally, some players hate both Alistair and Cullen with undiluted vitriol. OK, I get it. Alistair is not above emotional manipulation and has been known to be petulant on occasion. I have no idea why folks hate Cullen with such a passion considering he's got about 30 seconds of screen time, but let's be charitable and assume that there's actually something unlikable about his personality. Alistair, especially, proves my point. He is allowed to have flaws. He's allowed to run the risk of being disliked, even violently. He wasn't protected and sheltered from all criticism. The writers let him stand on his own as a character and what's more, they actually allowed dialogue options where you can tell him to shut up! Before DAI, the player was never allowed to criticize anything Leliana said or did. The writers loved her too much.
 
There's also the question of balance. Some characters are better balanced than others. They are invested with both virtues and flaws, and it makes them richer, more nuanced, and vastly more interesting as characters. Poor Leliana was given virtues aplenty, but she was never allowed to have any flaws, so she came across as being flat and one-dimensional. She's all shine, all surface, without any rough edges to snag against the player's expectations and make them think. To be fair, DAI was a vast improvement. The player is even allowed to be rude to Leliana at one point, which I consider huge progress.
 
It isn't often I agree with Kommander Shephard about anything, but I'm going to have to side with him here. Leliana is a classic example of "don't write like this."
 
That doesn't mean that you're wrong for liking Leliana, if you do. Personal preferences are completely subjective and you don't have to justify them to anyone. And some people do like sweet, ultra-feminine characters. But if we're talking about literary character development and the means and methods of storytelling, she leaves a lot to be desired.

I can't agree with a lot of that, at least, relatively speaking. None of the writing in DAI holds a candle to even minor characters in, for example, A Song of Ice and Fire, but within the limitations of Bioware game writing, I can't agree.

I can't agree that Leliana is one-dimensional as compared to Vivienne or Blackwall or Cullen.

I can't agree that Leliana has no flaws. She can be ruthless and cruel -- other characters make comments about being afraid of her. She can be petty and a snob -- all that stuff about buckles in WEWH. She's conflicted about her faith and about who she thought the Divine was and what she really was. She's overprotective and butts into Josephine's business.

It's true you can't call her on those flaws -- I mean, at least you can banish Blackwall, and even before you know he's an imposter. The fact that you can't really react to Leliana's flaws might have more to do with the companion vs. advisor roles in the game than the writing, though.

I went through both paths with Leliana in DAI, hardened and softened, and I thought there was a reasonable amount of character development in both. True, it's all through dialogue, but that's true for all the DAI characters, since cutscene dialogue is all we get for character development anyway. Although, oddly enough, it is Leliana who gets the non-dialogue character development showcase, through the future vision of Hushed Whispers. We learn a lot about how tough and loyal she is without her having to say so.

[PapaCharlie9]

Oh, and since I demanded level setting from Kommander, it's only fair I do the same. I think Sera was the best written of the lot, by a landslide. Not even close. Lukas Kristjanson did an outstanding job with Sera. I think the fact that her character is so love/hate polarizing in the community is proof of what a good job he did.

And that's saying a lot, because I think Patrick Weekes is awesome. IB would have been my pick for best written, if it weren't for Sera. Heck, forget about A Song of Ice and Fire, if DA4 is even one percent of one percent as well written as Rogues of the Republic, it will be the best written game of all time.

[berelinde]

You don't credit Leliana vs. Marjorlaine, particularly if the HoF offs her, with the same development as Alistair vs. Goldana? I think that's a bit unfair. That said, I agree that more could have been done with Leliana after that crisis.

But I'll stipulate for Origins, since I don't remember it all that well. I can't really argue it one way or the other with any confidence.

I can't agree with a lot of that, at least, relatively speaking. None of the writing in DAI holds a candle to even minor characters in, for example, A Song of Ice and Fire, but within the limitations of Bioware game writing, I can't agree.

I can't agree that Leliana is one-dimensional as compared to Vivienne or Blackwall or Cullen.

I can't agree that Leliana has no flaws. She can be ruthless and cruel -- other characters make comments about being afraid of her. She can be petty and a snob -- all that stuff about buckles in WEWH. She's conflicted about her faith and about who she thought the Divine was and what she really was.

It's true you can't call her on those flaws -- I mean, at least you can banish Blackwall, and even before you know he's an imposter. The fact that you can't really react to Leliana's flaws might have more to do with the companion vs. advisor roles in the game than the writing, though.

I went through both paths with Leliana in DAI, hardened and softened, and I thought there was a reasonable amount of character development in both. True, it's all through dialogue, but that's true for all the DAI characters, since cutscene dialogue is all we get for character development anyway. Although, oddly enough, it is Leliana who gets the non-dialogue character development showcase, through the future vision of Hushed Whispers. We learn a lot about how tough and loyal she is without her having to say so.

I would not describe the crisis between Leliana and Marjolaine as being similar to the crisis between Alistair and Goldana. In comparison to Alistair's crushing disappointment over his shattered hopes, Leliana barely seems to react to Marjolaine's betrayal. Or maybe that's it. Alistiar invested so much emotion in his reunion with his sister and actually worked to bring it about, but Leliana's encounter with Marjolaine was initiated by Marjolaine and Leliana was more passive about its resolution. Leliana's quest didn't feel as emotional... but that may have been because I didn't care as much about Leliana. 

 

Oh, I have no complaints about Leliana in DAI. She's still a little too special for my tastes (and a lot too girly), but the actual writing is much improved, as I said in my post. It's just that it seemed as if you were presenting Leliana as the best-written character in the series, including DAO, and while she's OK in DAI (not exceptional, but certainly acceptable), she is anything but in DAO. I was using her characterization and (lack of) character development in DAO as an example of a poorly written character. Leliana is not the best character in DAI, but she isn't the worst, either.

 

Leliana's character development didn't happen until DAI. In DAI, she was allowed to be ruthless, cruel, and superficial, and what's more, there were options to call her out on it. You could even tell her that she was wrong! As I said, it was a vast improvement.

 

There's no opportunity to challenge her assertions in DAI, but she isn't a full companion and as an advisor, there doesn't really need to be. Her character development is probably on par with Cullen's. I was disappointed that so much of his struggle took place behind the scenes, that we couldn't see him behaving erratically or undergoing withdrawal, but that may have been a desire to avoid talking about the ugly side of substance abuse. That's a tricky subject for a lot of people, and it's a tricky subject with a lot of fans. It would have been a more powerful story if they had included more of it, but too much emphasis would have been worse. I would hate to see Cullen become like Tallis, where he dominated every scene and the Inquisitor was forgotten. Also, I'd worry that it might come across as preachy. I think they hit a good balance with him. A lot of fans protested his inclusion in the game at all. They wanted to rake him over the coals and leave him there to roast. They wanted him to suffer a variety of embarrassing and disfiguring afflictions, and they wanted it to culminate in his inescapable death. I guess what I'm saying is that when it comes to Cullen, it could have been much worse. I'm content with the way they handled it.

 

Josephine... wasn't memorable enough. I like her, and I especially like her romance, but there was no journey, no crisis. The writing isn't terrible. She isn't portrayed as being superior to every other character in the game or the bestest at everything she attempts, so she escapes that pitfall. But of all the characters and all the romances in the game, her seems to be the least developed. I could guess at Leliana's signature fragrance notes (vanilla, almond, and neroli) and I would risk ordering a drink for Cullen (Rusty Nail), but I wouldn't even venture to hazard a guess about any of Josephine's preferences. I don't feel as if I know enough about her.

 

Regarding Sheryl Chee's other character, Blackwall, I find him interesting. (I sense that I'm in the minority here.) He has his share of flaws (he's crude, judgmental, and willfully blind about anything related to the Wardens), but I've never been discouraged from liking a flawed character. I like the fact that he doesn't always have the answer. He is allowed to be wrong, and sometimes painfully so. I like the fact that he's occasionally the butt of the joke. None of that has anything to do with the reason I find him interesting. Unlike most of the other characters, his personal quest changes everything about his life including who he is perceived to be, but it doesn't change a thing about his values or his beliefs, who he really is. His quest doesn't harden him or soften him or make him act more Orlesian. He doesn't exactly grow, per se, because he doesn't really change at all, but the affect on his life, and how others view him, changes profoundly. His quest didn't change him, it changed his environment. As a writer, I find that interesting. I'm not sure if it's as effective a storytelling tool as character change, but it's different, and I appreciate the novelty of it.