(Long OP, you've been warned)
Anyone else notice huge similarities between Corypheus and Solas?
1. Both are ancient beings from a long gone past.
2. Both were among the highest powers/influences of their civilizations.
3. Both ran into a problem and decided to resolve it through an act that changed their people and the world forever.
4. Both had the above decision personally backfire on them and make things worst for their people.
5. Both were put to sleep for hundreds of years and only recently awoke in a future that is alien to their sensibilities and viewpoints.
6. Both strive to build a network of agents and followers to "fix" the new world at the expense of the current world using the Orb of Destruction. (Cory wanted to become god and Solas wanted to tear down the Fade)
7. Both are nigh all-powerful mages with great expertise and knowledge in powerful schools of magic (Cory is an ancient tevinter magister/High Priest with blood and blight magic; Solas is an elven god with Dreamer and Elven magic)
8. Both are extremely proud individuals.
9. Said Pride causes both to make easily avoidable mistakes which undoes their plans
Thoughts on Solas
Some question whether Corypheus can still be considered the true antagonist of Inquisition in light of Solas' role and actions. Specifically that Solas is the true antagonist of the story through giving the Orb to Corypheus with the intent to unlock and use it's power to destroy the veil and likely the current world along with it.
I'd disagree.
Corypheus was going to screw with the world one way or the other and already had multiple seeds with the Venatori; Red Templars; Alexius manipulating the Rebel Mages; manipulating the Grey Wardens; and planning to destabilize and destroy Orlais. He did all of this with malicious intent to undermine and weaken the strongest countries of Thedas to make it easier for him to take over.
Solas' actions appear to be an admitted miscalculation on his part which would have potentially enabled Corypheus to reenter the Black Golden City. At worst, this means that Solas unintentionally enabled the central conflict to take place, but I don't see how that renders Corypheus from being the central villain of Inquisition.
It certainly does put everything that Solas does in a darker light. Corypheus is a monster, but he's honest about it and makes no attempt to excuse or cover over what he's really doing. In contrast, Solas knowingly gave the orb to Corypheus with the intent for it to be unlocked so that he could destroy the world himself. The only reason that he apparently helped the Inquisition was to cover his tracks and possibly recover the Orb.
He helped stop the world-destroying monster so that he himself could destroy the world.
Also, it seems odd that Solas wouldn't realize the Cory was immortal till after the plan failed considering how quickly he seemed to have been able to analyze and understand the modern world after an eons-long nap. Why didn't he have his agents do a background check on Corypheus to make sure that he's a legit patsy? Or give the Orb to another similarly powerful mage (Morrigan; Yavanna; Fiona; Vivienne; Flemeth; Anders; Hawke; HOF; Sentinel Mage) who isn't horribly mangled and tainted by the blight (whom Solas and his buddies might have been scared of back in the day)?
Or...I don't know...why didn't Solas just wait until his own powers returned and then unlocked his orb himself? Likely a decently long wait, but that's the option that's least likely to backfire and you'd think that Solas with all of his knowledge and wisdom would know that.
But like Corypheus...he was proud. He was also hasty to amend his mistake and return the world to what he believed that it should be and Thedas nearly paid the price.
Thoughts on Corypheus
Decent character, but could've been better.
What makes this feeling more exasperated is that there was a lot of potential for Corypheus to be truly fleshed out and magnificent as an antagonist.
Think about it. Corypheus is the leader of 7 ancient magisters who first discovered the blight and brought it into the world where it continues to plague Thedas in multiple shapes and sizes.
He has a clear and relateable character motivation for why he acts and what his goal is with clear context for how he decided to make his decisions. He's a powerful magister who can command darkspawn and grey wardens while snoring; blight magic; blood magic; red lyrium (blighted lyrium to be specific); and subverted a High Dragon to his will. He has the charisma and will of force to hold an entire network/army of followers from all across Thedas to his agenda and the blight makes him virtually immortal.
Worst yet. By the time that the PC comes on the scene, Corypheus has already taken steps to weaken and subvert any major power like the Grey Wardens; Chantry; Orlais; Ferelden; Templars; Mages and the Seekers who had any chance of stopping him. Even the Breech seems like a minor setback in the grand scheme of things since Cory seems to be able to take control of demons and has already convinced several powerful ones to join him of their own free will.
And most of this seems wasted.
The only time where he seems like a legit on-screen threat is at Haven and in the final battle where's he's basically tossing over the table.
But there's never a moment where Cory gets fed up with the Inquisitor's meddling and chooses to personally end it. Where's the part where the conflict ups the ante when Cory takes the gloves off? Starts to make the fight personal for the Inquisitor and friends? Decides to take the same measures that he used to beat everyone else to beat the Inquisition? Resorts to a measure that he wouldn't have taken if the Inquisition hadn't ticked him off?
Here's some examples just to contextualize:
a) Corypheus could have sent an army to assail Skyhold before or after the Arbor Wilds. This would a moment similar to Haven where Cory sees a threat and decides to crush it no matter how small. This would further enforce his ruthlessness and also his decisiveness in honing in on legit threats.
Corypheus could have used blood magic to torture the Inquisitor and/or their companions (particularly love interests) to show how evil he is and as a way of raising himself up by putting down others through pain and torture.
c) Corypheus could have intentionally poisoned the Inquisitor and/or their companions (particularly love interests) with the taint to try and gain control over them or just kill them slowly as punishment for defying him.
d) Corypheus could have had the Inquisitor's love interest captured and held hostage in a situation where saving them requires someone else to die (lots of innocents/inquisition agents/other companions/important npcs/etc). This would not only potentially strain the relationship based on the decision, but it would be Cory's way of showing the Inquisitor that he/she can't protect their loved ones from the Elder One.
e) Corypheus could have had his dragon raze highly populous areas who support the Inquisition to terrorize them and cause the people to doubt the Inquisition's ability to protect them.
f) Corypheus could have summoned a great company of darkspawn; enhanced them with red lyrium; and sicked them on the people to further demoralize them and convince the Grey Wardens to take more of his manipulation bait.
g) Corypheus also could have tried to unlock the Orb anywhere, but a highly public and heavily populated conclave. He also could have used any sacrifice except for the Divine. But Corypheus is prideful remember? Plus, this one can be handwaved since the game needs a plot somehow right?
Instead, it seems like none of the above was considered and possibly ignored. Was this a conscious decision so that more focus could be given to the shocking twist of Solas' true identity? Or was it simply a case of the developers missing the mark despite having a lot of potential angles to work with?
Conclusion
Ultimately, I'd say that the big difference between the two characters is that Corypheus had a lot of build-up and potential, but disappointing payoff while Solas had little build-up, but a great payoff and potential.
As another poster said in another topic, Solas is the deeply flawed, yet relateable and likable anti-villain that the developers tried and failed to make in Anders. Solas has a lot of likable and sympathetic qualities that make him a great character, but his plans and actions are also villainous, selfish and hypocritical in a sense. Yet, they make the character stronger because we also see and feel his pain and why he believes that this is the path that he must take.
Corypheus could have been similar, but he got skimped and he suffers for it due to the wasted potential. True, he's just the villain and there's not much else that he can be considering his characterization and goals, but even villains can be fascinating to watch and enjoy. I do enjoy myself whenever Corypheus is on screen, but that just makes me sadder because there's multiple more ways than what I listed as to how he could have been better.
And if Cory had been fully realized, then that would make the Solas twist that much more powerful since Solas knowingly enabled this monster for his own selfish and equally destructive though marginally more noble goals.
It would also make Corypheus into a effective and powerful dark mirror of what Solas could become due to his pride.
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