JHByrne wrote...
1) Why a Landsmeet if there is nothing to decide? If it is just a public celebration/parade fest after the Victory at Ostagar, is that truly a Landsmeet?
Of course.
2) Cailan doesn't have the power to strip Loghain, despite provocation. The point of Ferelden politics is careful balance, in this case, Loghain is the power (almost a shogun), Maric/Cailan is the legitimacy; together, they are able to dominate the collection of petty states that is Ferelden. But, for the sake of a story, presume that such a thing does happen...
As King, Cailan probably does have the de jure power to do so. Certainly any Warden can be given Loghain's title, regardless of whether Loghain is still alive. De facto, however, is another thing. And, as I stressed, it was the rash action of a moment, not a deliberate.
3) If Loghain takes the Army of Gwaren to the Orlesian border to safe-guard it, who guards Gwaren? Who guards the supply wagons necessary to feed all those soldiers, up in the Frostbacks? Such a plan would have to involve securing the supply route beforehand (such as by reoccupying the old Soldier's Peak forest, long since abandoned by the Wardens, 150 years previously). If you look on the map, Soldier's Peak is just west of Howe's lands of Amaranthine, and just NE of Cousland's lands of Highever. Before Log could even conceive of such a plan, he would have to secure both Highever and Amaranthine, with Soldier's Peak for reinforcement. However, this would also serve to guarantee the northern coast of Ferelden (and supplies from Antiva) as well as secure the road from Denerim to the Mage's Tower.
I was playing on the assumption that Gwaren is to the west, but it's actually irrelevant, since it can simply be excused as Loghain has supporters in the West who can feed his army there (which really doesn't have to sit on the border itself), while Gwaren is defended from where it is. There doesn't need to be a straight route from the port of Denerim to the Western border, since Denerim itself isn't the only means of supply.
With Howe's intervention in the Couslands, the North is thrown into chaos anyway.
4) Why would Orlais fear Loghain? Ferelden is held in contempt by most Orlesians. Winning a war against an occupier is a different thing than winning a war of invasion, after all.
Who says it fears him? It's an excuse to try and apply influence on Ferelden, while inflaming Ferelden's own political problems. Orlais can play the concerned party, Loghain points to them as justification for his actions, and Cailan finds himself needing Orlesian support even more.
5) War between Cailan/Loghain: skill only takes you so far. Much of war is about logistics... who can feed & supply more people, more quickly. Still, if Denerim falls, how does the army of Cailan eat? You can't feed a giant Royal army if Cailan has no popular support. If Orlais supplies help to Cailan, then that just proves that Loghain was right (it's hard to keep such support 'quiet' for long... supply wagons, after all, have to be driven by gossipy ox drovers, LOTS of them!). Even if such a thing is possible, Orlais has to get supplies to Cailan in Ferelden across the Frostbacks, which means that the Dwarves now hold the key to the way, due to Orzammar's strategic location, and because a lot can be moved through the Deep Roads, IF they are secured.
The first thing I will say to you here is: step back. This isn't a real socieity, or a real world, nor was it ever portrayed to be super realistic. By all rights, the lack of logistics should have killed Ferelden in the Blight as well, but it didn't. Literature, and fantasy in particular, works best without lists of supplies. If you can point to a cover, it works well enough. And there are enough covers to pass with.
Denerim is not a food producer: Denerim is a food importer, and their are farmlands throughout the country. There are also many more ports than just Denerim, from which resupply (and Orlesian aid) can flow.
The Dwarves have never cared about who rules the surface outside of a Blight in the first place. But it's rather redundant, since Orlesian aid isn't going across the mountains. It would go by ships (through foreign ports even).
6) Why would Howe betray Loghain? He has nothing to gain, and much to lose. It's not likely that Cailan would allow Howe to continue. So, Howe could only profit if BOTH Loghain and Cailan die, which is not easy to do.
Because, in the context of the Civil War, Howe does have more to gain. (He's always had much to lose at any stage.) At a time when Cailan is lacking allies, may even be losing, Howe's offer is a 'I don't like it but I need his help'. Howe's always been a greedy man who's grasp exceeds his caution.
7) If you're thinking of involving the Mother/Architect, these two thinking/talking DS would be smart enough to take advantage of the chaos or ally themselves with one side or another. At the very least, the Mother/Architect would be wise enough to wait for the Human armies to actually engage in battle before making a move.
The same applies for during the game, however, which neither intervened in. What the Awakened darkspawn might try, and what others would accept, are two different things. Sentient or not, they are still darkspawn, there are still grey wardens there to kill them, and at least one faction is actively hostile.
The Mother has never shown interest in any alliance with the surface: she and hers are just as vicious as the regular Darkspawn.
The Architect might try, but finding someone willing to work with him is another thing all together. We all remember how his first attempt at benign contact went. Whoever did ally with him and had darkspawn armies on their side, if they trusted him to any length, would instantly be branded a heretic of the worst order by the Chantry, and worse than that by the Wardens at large. Not to mention most of the populace would likely turn against them.
8) All these little threads are very mixed together... you've got the beginnings of a 3 way or 5-way civil war. What a mess.
There's only a two-way civil war. Loghain vs. Cailan. Everyone else is just mixed in, trying to take advantage of it, or just doing their own thing.
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