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[Lusey]

Hello! New forum-goer here with some interesting topics for discussion!

 

 

Topic One; Missing Limbs and Shapeshifting

 

So, characters are inevitably going to have missing limbs in lore, and mages are no exception. What are your thoughts on mages being able to shapeshift into different creatures while, say, missing a leg or a hand?

 

Would the overall magic of the shapeshifting allow for a temporary replacement of the limb? Or would you get a very sad looking three legged bear?

 

Shapeshifting is indeed a powerful tool to mages, giving people like Morrigan the gift of flight as a corvid or your Warden the ability to turn into an 8 legged monstrosity of a spider, but how would a mage with a physical handicap function with the magic?

 

Consider this; the magic is rather instantaneous and takes a lot of concentration to cast, and seeing as you can go to four limbs to eight (the spider), perhaps the possibility isn't too much of a stretch.

 

Then again, we're not taking prosthetics into the conversation yet, which opens up a whole other can of worms

 

 

Topic Two; Mixed Races between Non-Elves

 

So lorewise we know for a fact that Elf parents can only have elf children if they get together with their own race (or at least I think it's a fact, please correct me if I'm wrong.)

 

But what about the other races mixing? Dwarf-Human, Dwarf-Qunari, Qunari-Human?

 

How do you think their physiology would differ? Or do you think that the race is more of a toss up between the two parents than a blend of them?

 

For instance; a Qunari-Human might have shorter horns or horns that dont come out of the skin, might be a bit taller than a human but shorter than a qunari, and have ears that are not quite pointy but not totally round.

 

 

 

Share your thoughts! I want to see the creative ideas people have regarding magic and biological lore 8)

[Hydwn]

Well, dwarf-human is implicitly confirmed by Morrigan's Dark Ritual in DAO.   A dwarven warden can take that deal.

 

Some people thought that Sandal was an elf-dwarf, but that's pure speculation.  I think it runs mostly on the fact that he's beardless and (like every other half-elf we've seen in the series) blond.  Of course, some people think he's the Maker, so elf-dwarf makes more sense

 

As for qunari-hybrids, I'm not sure.  I don't think it's been addressed, though Iron Bull thinks they mixed some dragon in there...

 

As for shapeshifting, it's very confusing.  We do know shapeshifters can't shapeshift into other human forms - they return to their own.  My best theory is that they "copy" the form of a specific animal they study, and so become that that particular animal entirely.  For instance, a shapeshifter doesn't become any old bear, but whichever bear they studied (Morrigan mentions studying creatures).  So the magic would replace the limb if the copied creature had one.  But that's pure speculation on my part.

EDIT: I just looked it up.  There are six half-elves we've seen images of across all media, and five have been blond and one red-headed.  Feynriel's parents both have darker hair than he has, and Alistair's mother was dark-haired.  Kieran can be a half-elf, and if so he's the only one with black hair.  Kieran is also the only one I've been able to find who can be half-dwarf, unless Luthias Dwarfson's name is literal (the legend never says).

[Evil Asch]

Well, dwarf-human is implicitly confirmed by Morrigan's Dark Ritual in DAO.   A dwarven warden can take that deal.

 

Some people thought that Sandal was an elf-dwarf, but that's pure speculation.  I think it runs mostly on the fact that he's beardless and (like every other half-elf we've seen in the series) blond.  Of course, some people think he's the Maker, so elf-dwarf makes more sense

 

As for qunari-hybrids, I'm not sure.  I don't think it's been addressed, though Iron Bull thinks they mixed some dragon in there...

 

As for shapeshifting, it's very confusing.  We do know shapeshifters can't shapeshift into other human forms - they return to their own.  My best theory is that they "copy" the form of a specific animal they study, and so become that that particular animal entirely.  For instance, a shapeshifter doesn't become any old bear, but whichever bear they studied (Morrigan mentions studying creatures).  So the magic would replace the limb if the copied creature had one.  But that's pure speculation on my part.

EDIT: I just looked it up.  There are six half-elves we've seen images of across all media, and five have been blond and one red-headed.  Feynriel's parents both have darker hair than he has, and Alistair's mother was dark-haired.  Kieran can be a half-elf, and if so he's the only one with black hair.  Kieran is also the only one I've been able to find who can be half-dwarf, unless Luthias Dwarfson's name is literal (the legend never says).

Alistair's mother was a dark haired elf and he's blond.

[Hydwn]

Alistair's mother was a dark haired elf and he's blond.

 

That was kind of my point there.  Alistair and Feynriel are the only two we see both parents for.  Alistair has a dark-haired elven mother, and a blond human father, and he's blond.  Feynriel has a red-haired elven mother and and a dark-haired human father, and he's blond.  All of them except Slim Coudry are blond, and Slim Coudry is a professional liar.

 

I'm not sure if this is intentional - a weird side-effect of species hybridization - or just an accident of artistic choices.

[thats1evildude]

My thought is that the shapeshifted form will eliminate the disability of the caster, but the original form will still bear the disability.

In other words, an armless mage will shift into a normal bear, but when they change back, the mage will have no arms.

[Evil Asch]

That was kind of my point there.  Alistair and Feynriel are the only two we see both parents for.  Alistair has a dark-haired elven mother, and a blond human father, and he's blond.  Feynriel has a red-haired elven mother and and a dark-haired human father, and he's blond.  All of them except Slim Coudry are blond, and Slim Coudry is a professional liar.

 

I'm not sure if this is intentional - a weird side-effect of species hybridization - or just an accident of artistic choices.

Yes, sorry wasn't arguing otherwise.

[Treacherous J Slither]

I'm interested in seeing the result of an elf mage qunari mage union.

[Illegitimus]

My thought is that the shapeshifted form will eliminate the disability of the caster, but the original form will still bear the disability.

In other words, an armless mage will shift into a normal bear, but when they change back, the mage will have no arms.

 

My thought is that one of the reasons why shapeshifting is so useless is because all injury carries over to the new form.  

[Lusey]

I'm interested in seeing the result of an elf mage qunari mage union.

 

Well the offspring would be an Elf Blooded Qunari. But two mage parents might give the child a higher chance of being a mage as well.

 

I'd still love to know what a human and qunari bby would look like, myself

[Hydwn]

Ah, it turns out Dragon Age's creator David Gaider did say that half-dwarves exist.  He actually discusses it here:

 

Incidentally, for half-dwarves the situation is a bit different. Dwarves aren't a very fertile race to begin with, and far less so when it comes to mating with humans and elves. In fact, it would be considered rare... rare enough that it's considered more of an oddity than a group of its own. The result is also less stigmatized... primarily because it's also less noticeable. You end up with what would appear to be a tall dwarf or a short human. That calls for a new model -- which we weren't going to get, even if we wanted to address such a rare case. Again, it's certainly something we could do in the future, though such a character would still be considered unusual.