396 réponses à ce sujet

[Alaric]

So I've seen a lot of posts on the forums throughout the last couple of months debating on what choice is best; Mages or Templars.

 

What I'm more curious of however, is what was your Inquisitor's reasoning beyond the meta-game for wanting to side with either of the two factions?
Was it; political, personal, ethical, practical or spontaneous?

As for me, my main Inquisitor (Warrior) sided with the Templars. He first went to Val Royeaux to meet with the delegates from the Chantry to quell the rumors that the Inquisitor is heretical or somewhat responsible for the destruction of the Temple of Sacred Ashes; coupled with the death of Divine Justinia V. The initial Templar reception was cold and met with more questions than answers, but the Inquisitor soon went to petition the Mages for help, but of course once reaching Redcliffe he found out that Fiona had indentured the Rebel Mages to Tevinter.

 

Disheartened and wanting to free the Mages from their new masters, the Inquisitor went to seek the Templars aid at Therinfal Redoubt. - The reasoning for this was that with the current Inquisitor forces, he didn't like the idea of going toe-to-toe with the Magister and his Venatori without some form of counter; the Templars being the best possible option. - Unfortunately, once the Envy Demon that was posing as the Lord Seeker was slain, Haven was attacked and the Rebel Mages were forced (although I'm sure some went willingly) to attack the Inquisition. This lead to the death of Fiona and many of the Mages the Inquisitor had hoped to save and to this day still hangs heavy upon this heart, but at least now he had salvaged the best of the Templar Order and now seeks to sharpen them into a weapon to bring order amidst the chaos. 

What about you guys?
Do you like to conjure a head-canon for your choices in DA:I? Or do you just pick what seems more interesting?

[CrystalInk]

I like to headcanon my choices.

 

I've played through this game multiple times, my inquisitors siding with both factions, but my main quizzy (human female mage) allied with the mages. It was a personal thing for her, being a former circle mage herself, wanted nothing more than to see her kind be free of the circles. She considered both factions for a time---leaning more towards the Templars because she's a Trevelyan, she has a brother, a sister and a few cousins in the Templar Order--- but ultimately took Fiona up on her offer and went to the meeting in Redcliffe. The weird happenings in Redcliffe were also causes as to why she chose the mages such as Fiona not remembering their conversation, the Tevinter magister strolling into the tavern as if he owned it, finding the cabin filled with the skulls of the Tranquil. The time magic there threw her for a loop, and once it was all over, she took the mages in for their own safety and made Alexius serve them. 

[Ghost Gal]

My "Canon" Inquisitor is an Elven Mage, Keeper's First. She's not exactly going to side with the institution that outlawed her religion, oppressed her people, and spews propaganda demonizing magic when her own society accepts and embraces it. Not to mention she's not fond of Templars since the lore establishes that they often hunt Dalish and try to capture their Keepers.

 

Warrior Vashoth: She chose the Templars because they're an organization of highly skilled warriors. To her, that was not so different from her own "organization," or company of highly skilled blades for hire. She let them stay independent to regain their lost name.

 

Dwarf Rogue: Doesn't really trust magic since she can't do magic, nor can she really dream about it or conceptualize it, so she went with the Templars; but assimilated them into the Inquisition since they showed that they failed to survive as an organization when left to their own devices. 

[Dai Grepher]

Not much head-canon required.

The mages and Redcliffe were Ferelden's problems to solve, and the crown was on its way there to solve it. Best not to interfere.

My mage appealed to the mages of Redcliffe. If they chose to reject the Inquisition's offer, that's on them. Nothing was keeping them there.

Going for the templars was most beneficial. Templars are stronger than mages. The Templar Order and Therinfal are the Inquisition's area of expertise, so no encroachment on Ferelden sovereignty.

Going for the templars involved a peaceful cooperation with Orlesian nobles, which helped expand the Inquisition's influence and list of allies.

The play against Lucius was a calculated strategy, while going to Redcliffe was foolishly walking into a trap set by the enemy.

Theoretically, any attempt to foil Alexius' trap has already been experienced by Alexius who has already gone back in time to take measures to prevent the attempt from being successful. Which means the attempt is most likely going to be expected. Better to let the Ferelden crown deal with Alexius.

It's better to answer Alexius' trap by letting him think you will walk into it, only to pass Redcliffe up and leave Alexius to figure out a plan to escape Ferelden's monarch(s). This move is the most likely to panic him so he makes a mistake, such as simply using time magic to give himself more time to escape.

Getting the templars in line means the mages have no reason to flee to Tevinter.

Recruiting mages to help seal the Breach means forcing more magic into the mark, which is risky. Recruiting templars means forcing anti-magic against the Breach itself so the Herald can use the mark normally. This is the safest option.

If the operation at Therinfal is successful, Orlais could be an ally, in which case they may be able to stop Tevinter from taking the mages north, if the Inquisition wants to stop them. (Kind of head-canony.)

[Xilizhra]

Mages, because they offered an alliance, and investigating Redcliffe reveals remarkable shenanigans going on that need to be dealt with.

[Iakus]

My original character (Trevelyan rogue) initially went with the mages.  But wen Fiona denied ever meeting me, then finding out that Tevinter was apparently running Redcliffe now, that deal went south.  Dorian revealed some interesting details, but by then Leliana and Josephine had brokered alliances with several Ferelden and Orlesian noble Houses to help pressure a meeting with the Templars.  He went along with that, and the shenanigans started.

 

By the time the dust settled and the envy demon was dead, Templar leadership had been completely decapitated.  Ser Barras was the ranking officer remaining, and seemed like a good man, who realized that the Templars had strayed very far off the path indeed.  So I gave him and his fellows a chance to redeem their honor, with an alliance with the Inquisition.

 

The (non-meta) hope was that I would be able to offer a similar deal with the mages.  But alas, the Vints escaped in the meantime. 

[Steelcan]

I usually pursue both lines until I get to the point of no return, then justify getting the templars as avoiding the blatant trap Alexius has set up and not playing ball with him, while getting a force of magic fighters on my side should he continue to prove annoying afterwards.

[DuskWanderer]

For me (Dwarf Warrior), the choice was simple. He had worked the lyrium trade, and so, knew a lot of templars. He thought about meeting the mages first since Fiona had given him an invitation, but when she claimed not to know him, he figured the whole thing was a trap. 

 

Further, as he thought about it, siding with the Templars made logical sense. As unprecedented as the size and scale of the Breach was, it was a known quantity: A rip in the Veil that allowed many demons to pass through. Sealing tears in the Fade and fighting demons are two things templars are supposed to do. How, exactly, were mages supposed to help sealing the Breach: Dropping magic into the anchor, like water into a bucket? 

[Sports72Xtrm]

Well let's look at the pro's and cons of each side:

 

Mages

- I know what the Mark does, it's magic that seals the rifts. If I amp up it's power with more magic, it's for sure going to seal the Breach which is just a big rift. Nobody knows if templars have enough juice to seal the breach.

- Mages betrayed Redcliffe. Can I trust them? But talking to some of the mages in Redcliffe, I know for sure that some of them aren't all on board with Alexius. Even Fiona felt disheartened when Alexius changed their deal so I could possibly persuade her to dissent and back me if I oust Alexius. At the very least, they know there is a hole in the sky threatening to unleash demons all over Thedas. And considering they need my protection after being kicked out of Redcliffe, they at least won't betray me or wrestle with me over authority considering they're dependent on me.

- Alexius is messing with time magic. That can literally break time itself and the fabric of reality. Even if I wanted to recruit the templars, would I want to ignore such a dangerous impending threat? Would I have time to deal with it if I recruit the templars?

 

Templars

- Lucius Corin the one leading the templars, just insulted me and deserted those they were sworn to protect and all the templars followed him. I never got to talk with any of the templars so I don't know if they'd back me or Lucius. He just punched a Mother in Val Royeax and left them defenseless. Even if I were to somehow negotiate an alliance with the *******, I'd have to constantly wrestle with him over command decisions because he is a dick.

- Alexius is messing with time magic. That can literally break time itself and the fabric of reality. Even if I wanted to recruit the templars, would I want to ignore such a dangerous impending threat? Would I have time to deal with it if I recruit the templars?

 

Imo, recruiting the mages is worth more considering the risk. thus my inquisitor recruited them.

[Ghost Gal]

Mages, because they offered an alliance, and investigating Redcliffe reveals remarkable shenanigans going on that need to be dealt with.

 

Yeah, I can ONLY side with Templars if I skip going to Redcliffe to talk to Fiona. Going over there and learning about a Tevinter Magister infiltrating Arl Teagan's castle, squirrely time magic, Dorian asking for help, etc., and then just abandoning them to their own devices seems criminally negligent.

 

Of course, going straight to the Templars loses Dorian as a companion, so those playthroughs where I side with Templars tend not to last long after getting to Skyhold. It's just not the same without Dorian.

[jlb524]

My Inquisitor is a "rebel Mage" herself. Plus the Templars were acting like assholes and the situation in Redcliffe needed resolved.

[vertigomez]

My mage Adaar went with the mages - she dealt with them in the first place because their situation seemed so urgent (and things were shady AF in Redcliffe), and conscripted them because as far as she was concerned, they weren't competent enough as a group to operate without oversight. And she'd spent most of her life skirting the templars and even dealing with prejudiced Tal-Vashoth, so it seemed a safer bet on the whole to err on the magey side of things.

My rogue Cadash went with the templars, because he thought they seemed like a better bet for closing the hole in the sky (figured more magic would just make it worse), and as a lyrium smuggler he trusted "steady" over "unstable" - but otherwise he didn't have a stake in the mage versus templar conflict. He conscripted them because allying with them sounded too much like supporting their ideals, when he was more of a neutral fella. My warrior Adaar did the same for similar reasons.

I have yet to ally with either faction, but I'm afraid that's my own personality seeping in. I don't trust these people.

[nightscrawl]

So I've seen a lot of posts on the forums throughout the last couple of months debating on what choice is best; Mages or Templars.
 
What I'm more curious of however, is what was your Inquisitor's reasoning beyond the meta-game for wanting to side with either of the two factions?
Was it; political, personal, ethical, practical or spontaneous?

I typically go with the mages. My Inquisitor's reasoning is ethical and practical, with a dash of personal.

I'll say right off that my Inquisitor's LI is Dorian. On meeting Dorian for the first time, he finds him interesting, and these thoughts lead to an initial trust that he might not have had otherwise. Both Dorian and Felix seem quite genuine. To him, the whole situation as Dorian explains it seems rather dire. In addition, the conversation with the advisors at the war able also makes the immediacy of dealing with the situation seem paramount. On the other hand, the templar side has this whole thing about waiting for the nobles to gather and whatnot, which can seem like a huge waste of time while, over in Redcliffe, unstable time rifts are popping up and moving further out.
 

As for me, my main Inquisitor (Warrior) sided with the Templars. He first went to Val Royeaux to meet with the delegates from the Chantry to quell the rumors that the Inquisitor is heretical or somewhat responsible for the destruction of the Temple of Sacred Ashes; coupled with the death of Divine Justinia V. The initial Templar reception was cold and met with more questions than answers, but the Inquisitor soon went to petition the Mages for help, but of course once reaching Redcliffe he found out that Fiona had indentured the Rebel Mages to Tevinter.
 
Disheartened and wanting to free the Mages from their new masters, the Inquisitor went to seek the Templars aid at Therinfal Redoubt. - The reasoning for this was that with the current Inquisitor forces, he didn't like the idea of going toe-to-toe with the Magister and his Venatori without some form of counter; the Templars being the best possible option.

This is the same reasoning I have for my templar play. Unfortunately, you get a pissed off Dorian if you talk with him first and then go with the templars anyway, but I find that it works best for the roleplay.
 

What about you guys?
Do you like to conjure a head-canon for your choices in DA:I? Or do you just pick what seems more interesting?

For the most part, headcanon and roleplay are my primary tools for decision making in these games.

[nightscrawl]

Yeah, I can ONLY side with Templars if I skip going to Redcliffe to talk to Fiona. Going over there and learning about a Tevinter Magister infiltrating Arl Teagan's castle, squirrely time magic, Dorian asking for help, etc., and then just abandoning them to their own devices seems criminally negligent.

 

Of course, going straight to the Templars loses Dorian as a companion, so those playthroughs where I side with Templars tend not to last long after getting to Skyhold. It's just not the same without Dorian.

 

Uh... you can still recruit Dorian if you go with the templars. There is a recruitment scene in the library. His approval starts out lower, but you can pump it back up by killing some Venatori.

[vbibbi]

I headcanon going to Redcliffe, learning that there is an obvious trap for me from a Tevinter magister who commands most remaining mages in Southern Thedas, located in one of the most secure strongholds in Thedas. So rather than walking into the trap, she joins the delegation investigating the Templars, thinking if she can recruit some Templars to help infiltrate Redcliffe, she won't be such a walking target. She had no way of knowing choosing one side eliminates the other.

[Xilizhra]

I headcanon going to Redcliffe, learning that there is an obvious trap for me from a Tevinter magister who commands most remaining mages in Southern Thedas, located in one of the most secure strongholds in Thedas. So rather than walking into the trap, she joins the delegation investigating the Templars, thinking if she can recruit some Templars to help infiltrate Redcliffe, she won't be such a walking target. She had no way of knowing choosing one side eliminates the other.

You actually learn exactly that if you choose the "let's go get the templars" option when discussing the Redcliffe Castle trap.

[thesuperdarkone2]

You actually learn exactly that if you choose the "let's go get the templars" option when discussing the Redcliffe Castle trap.

This. Seriously, your advisors straight up tell you why that won't work

https://m.youtube.co...h?v=7E95T32q1d8

Funny how it's always Mage supporters who actually provide facts and do research

[vbibbi]

You actually learn exactly that if you choose the "let's go get the templars" option when discussing the Redcliffe Castle trap.

  

This. Seriously, your advisors straight up tell you why that won't workhttps://m.youtube.co...h?v=7E95T32q1d8
Funny how it's always Mage supporters who actually provide facts and do research

Wow sorry I thought this was the HEADCANON thread and not the "let's argue about Templars versus mages for the 100th time" thread.

Funny how certain (not all, I don't lump entire groups of fans together) Mage fans seek any excuse to attack people who take the Templar path. Please cite where I bashed IHW in my response or said how Templars rule mages drool lolz

[Xilizhra]

  
Wow sorry I thought this was the HEADCANON thread and not the "let's argue about Templars versus mages for the 100th time" thread.

Funny how certain (not all, I don't lump entire groups of fans together) Mage fans seek any excuse to attack people who take the Templar path. Please cite where I bashed IHW in my response or said how Templars rule mages drool lolz

This was me pointing out what appeared to be an error in your assessment.

[sniper_arrow]

Funny how it's always Mage supporters who actually provide facts and do research

 

LOL

[vbibbi]

This was me pointing out what appeared to be an error in your assessment.

All right, not fair of me to lump your post in with the following one. It was building off of yours but that doesn't mean yours had the same tone. So yes, if the advisors tell us we can't recruit both, fine. But that to me is more of a gameplay segregation issue, as realistically the advisors couldn't predict that we could only choose one, it's more the game telling the player "are you sure you want this choice? It will exclude the other choice."

I mean, in previous Bioware games there has been the "best" third option where we make peace between Geth and Quarians or elves and werewolves or bring the Circle to save Connor. So it's not like here isn't precedent for the initial thought that it's an either/or decision turns out to have more options.

Plus, this is my headcanon, in part to help explain why my PC goes for Templars. I don't like the thought of leaving the mages to Cory, but I like the Templar quest better and the resulting consequences (Barris v Fiona, war table missions, Templars being mentioned in the epilogues) so my headcanon explains this choice without making my PC be entirely dismissive of the mages' plight.

[Xilizhra]

All right, not fair of me to lump your post in with the following one. It was building off of yours but that doesn't mean yours had the same tone. So yes, if the advisors tell us we can't recruit both, fine. But that to me is more of a gameplay segregation issue, as realistically the advisors couldn't predict that we could only choose one, it's more the game telling the player "are you sure you want this choice? It will exclude the other choice."

What they actually say is that going to the templars will take enough time that Alexius will be able to finish whatever he's working on. It's not metagamey at all.

[nightscrawl]

You actually learn exactly that if you choose the "let's go get the templars" option when discussing the Redcliffe Castle trap.

This. Seriously, your advisors straight up tell you why that won't work

https://m.youtube.co...h?v=7E95T32q1d8

Funny how it's always Mage supporters who actually provide facts and do research

This was me pointing out what appeared to be an error in your assessment.

What they actually say is that going to the templars will take enough time that Alexius will be able to finish whatever he's working on. It's not metagamey at all.

 
Well, yes it is metagamey because in order to see that conversation you actually have to click on the war table piece for IHW and listen to the conversation. In fact, the war table itself tells you that you can only choose one in the description of each mission. It is right there. So yes, ANY and EVERY player must use roleplay and headcanon for this choice, regardless of what they decide, because the game, not the story, tells you that you can only choose one.
 
If the Herald goes to Redcliffe and then has the thought that, "We need the templars to resolve this craziness," it is perfectly reasonable to pick the templar war table piece, only that one, and do only that mission, for whatever reason that they choose.

 

Also, that is only ONE conversation path for the IHW conversation. It is also reasonable for the Herald to think that, while the nobles are taking their sweet old time and doing... whatever it is they do, you could resolve the Redcliffe crisis and then meet with the templars afterward. You could very well have that conversation and never pick that dialogue option.

[vbibbi]

What they actually say is that going to the templars will take enough time that Alexius will be able to finish whatever he's working on. It's not metagamey at all.

 

I consider that metagamey because how can the advisors actually know how long it will take Alexius to finish whatever he's working on? Even if Leliana had spies in place, no one apart from Alexius and Dorian could reasonably calculate the time magic progress. They could have said "we risk Alexius performing some ritual we don't understand, and we can't guarantee there will still be enough time to stop him if we go to Therinfall" etc. The war table selection does already state that whichever choice we pick is mutually exclusive, so I personally think that's sufficient to inform the player. We don't need the advisors to heavy handidly repeat this as fact rather than a possibility.

[Sifr]

Well, the mages are closer, offered us an alliance and have the power to help us plug the giant sky hole. Knowing that the Venatori have taken over their ranks and have been creating more rifts with timey-wimey properties, means they are something we need to stop now.

 

The alternative is put that aside to gather a gaggle of rich people, then wait outside the Templars door and see if they respond at all. Considering they've shown they enjoy Renegade Interrupts to punch out priests, said that the Breach wasn't as important as fighting mages and told us to do one earlier... there's not really any compelling reasons why they are the better option to seek aid from?

 

The mages might be a risky move to ally with, but at least they've tried to offer help, rather than actively refuse to do anything. The only reason we even got the Templar invite was because Barris went behind his superiors back to send us a letter, because the rank and file might help if they weren't being ordered not to by their insane leaders.