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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 29, 2021 9:19:57 GMT -8
Since I can't continue with the main story without more Power, that means I have to galivant around doing sidequests. (boo) But along the way, I recruited Blackwall! He's a cool dude. And it's also really easy to get him to like you, because he gets +25 approval for every Grey Warden artifact you find when he's in the party. A reminder that maximum approval in this game is 125. And there are two artifacts for every open world region. Yeah.
I also did Solas' little sidequest, where Kevlan met Mhiri, who's apparently from one of the novels. Cool! She helped find an ancient Elven artifact, which turned out to be a Rare Candy just for Solas. She was going to keep it, but as a fellow Elfy Elf, Kevlan was able to convince her to hand it over. However, why the heck can you not recruit her to the Inquisition? Even as a Dalish? She wants to help close the rifts and find a new tribe to take her in, so why can't you say, "Hey, want to join our rift-closing organization? I'll vouch for you to join the Lavellen afterwards." Well, she never appears again, so I can take comfort in, you know. Pretending that happened.
Also, is it just me, or do my companions...not banter? I don't even ride a horse, and I think I've seen, in total, one bit of banter. Ever.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 29, 2021 12:24:51 GMT -8
So, having done sidequests until I reached the requisite power level, Kevlan confronted the Magister in Redcliffe Castle. Also, TEAGAN'S THE ARL NOW!  In less happy news, he blasted Dorian and Kevlan into the future one year, where a mysterious Elder One (by which, I mean Corypheus) has succeeded in his plan of turning Thedas into a demon-filled wasteland. The two are now tromping through the castle to find him and send him back, to reverse this bad future. We met up with the future versions of Cassandra, Varric, and Fiona, as well as Leiliana. And jeez, she is not ok. She even bitterly points out that, no matter if they reverse it or not, it was real. It happened to them. ...Coriander died, didn't she. You see, in my own little personal Dragon Age Story, Coriander drops everything and runs home to Fereldan as soon as she learns about the Conclave explosion. Which, in this bad future, means she arrives just in time to get torn to shreds by demons. Fun times! |
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Post by Daos on Jan 29, 2021 13:58:20 GMT -8
I recruited Blackwall! He's a cool dude. Blackwall is your third and final warrior, your requisite Grey Warden companion, and has the Champion specialization. I liked Blackwall; he had some Sturm Brightblade vibes for me. But...I barely used him, to be honest. That's because he's a tank, and since I was romancing Cassandra, who is also a tank, I would always take her instead. But he and my Inquisitor got along; always great to meet another fellow Free Marcher. I also did Solas' little sidequest, where Kevlan met Mhiri, who's apparently from one of the novels. Cool! She helped find an ancient Elven artifact, which turned out to be a Rare Candy just for Solas. She was going to keep it, but as a fellow Elfy Elf, Kevlan was able to convince her to hand it over. However, why the heck can you not recruit her to the Inquisition? Even as a Dalish? She wants to help close the rifts and find a new tribe to take her in, so why can't you say, "Hey, want to join our rift-closing organization? I'll vouch for you to join the Lavellen afterwards." Well, she never appears again, so I can take comfort in, you know. Pretending that happened. If I were to guess, they probably have something else planned for Mihris in a future game. Or book. But I guess we'll see. Also, is it just me, or do my companions...not banter? I don't even ride a horse, and I think I've seen, in total, one bit of banter. Ever. They don't? I recall them having banter fairly regularly, but I could be misremembering. So, having done sidequests until I reached the requisite power level, Kevlan confronted the Magister in Redcliffe Castle. Also, TEAGAN'S THE ARL NOW! Yep, although he's not a very good one; he spends so much time overseas that the people of Redcliffe feel neglected. Did you also see Connor? All grown up now, you can speak with him in Redcliffe so long as you didn't kill him or leave him possessed in Origins. The time travel thing was interesting. One can only hope the Magisters never figure out how to repeat that process. They'd take over all of Thedas with it. |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 29, 2021 14:06:25 GMT -8
In the end, we were able to kill the Magister and return to the past safely. Since the Templars had refused to work with us at this point, Kevlan saw no harm in allowing the rebel mages to become fully-fledged allies, rather than indentured soldiers. Although, on advice from Cassandra and Vivienne, he is keeping them on a tight leash.
...jeez, Iris would have made a terrible Inquisitor. Once I finish this game, I'm tempted to play it through with Iris Trevelyan, just to see how she would have pissed everyone off if Varric had known where she was. Or not lied about not knowing where she was.
Also, Dorian's lovely. He's just great. And that moustache...dang. Anyway, with Fiona on side, the next step is to close the breach above Haven. Wish us luck!
(Also, I'm having trouble finding Connor in Redcliffe...apparently, he's on the docks, but I can't find him for the life of me.)
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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 30, 2021 13:13:38 GMT -8
With the assistance of the mages, Kevlan closed the Breach. It was surprisingly easy! Except, immediately afterwards, Haven was attacked by an army of "Red Templars," led by Samson (the dude who kidnapped Carver, if I recall correctly), commanded by, as suspected, Corypheus! We were warned of this by Cole, who's from Asunder! From what I understood, he's a dead mage fused with a spirit--so, somewhere between Wynne and Kristoff.
Chancellor Roderick got infected with...something...before telling us of a secret escape route through the mountains. In order to do that, we're distracting Corypheus and his big dragon minion, because that is a wonderful idea that won't get us killed.
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Post by Daos on Jan 30, 2021 13:19:43 GMT -8
With the assistance of the mages, Kevlan closed the Breach. It was surprisingly easy! Except, immediately afterwards, Haven was attacked by an army of "Red Templars," led by Samson (the dude who kidnapped Carver, if I recall correctly), commanded by, as suspected, Corypheus! We were warned of this by Cole, who's from Asunder! From what I understood, he's a dead mage fused with a spirit--so, somewhere between Wynne and Kristoff. Chancellor Roderick got infected with...something...before telling us of a secret escape route through the mountains. In order to do that, we're distracting Corypheus and his big dragon minion, because that is a wonderful idea that won't get us killed. Not quite. Cole is a being from the Fade that took the form of a dying mage. He didn't possess the mage, merely took his shape. So more of a doppelganger than an abomination. Anyway, good luck with the battle of Haven. It contains one of my favorite scenes in the game. |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 31, 2021 7:48:04 GMT -8
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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 31, 2021 8:48:15 GMT -8
May I present, Iris in Inquisition!   And guess what? In the game, she's friends with Alistair! That works out nicely, since my personal canon has her come along with him, Varric, and Isabela to the Dark Horse Comics trilogy. (Silent Grove, Before We Speak, and Until We Sleep). It also works well with her being a bit more moody, because in said personal canon...well, let's just say she has even more reason to hate the Qunari. Also, Dorian got a letter from his dad, proposing a meeting! He, of course, thinks it's a trap, so he wants Kevlan to come along in case things need to be killed. He's good at that. By the way, purely by picking the Vallasin I thought looked nice, I gave my Inquisitor, sneaky espionage rogue, the markings of the Elven god of secrets and trickery. Nice! |
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Post by Daos on Jan 31, 2021 13:26:56 GMT -8
Kevlan fought off the Red Templars and, in an incredible scene that I understand why you like so much, confronted Corypheus and buried him under an avalanche. EPIC. It was pretty awesome. Of course, I never played any of the Exodus DLC, so I had no idea who Corypheus was at the time. It took me awhile to realize he was cut from the same cloth as the Architect. But still, it was such a cool scene. Made me feel like a real badass. Solas, presumably because Kevlan is a Dalish Elf, pulled him aside and confided that the Orb Corypheus was using was of Ehlven origin. Both agreed to keep it a secret. Then it was on to Skyhold! I honestly can't remember if he did the same thing or not with me. I know the orb's origins, but I may have discovered that later in the game. May I present, Iris in Inquisition! I remember this came as such a big surprise to me when Hawke showed up. He seemed to get along with my Inquisitor fairly well. Probably because they are both goody-goodies. Also, Dorian got a letter from his dad, proposing a meeting! He, of course, thinks it's a trap, so he wants Kevlan to come along in case things need to be killed. He's good at that. Wow, things are moving fast! You just met the guy, and he's already inviting you to meet his parents.  By the way, purely by picking the Vallasin I thought looked nice, I gave my Inquisitor, sneaky espionage rogue, the markings of the Elven god of secrets and trickery. Nice! Dirthamen? |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Jan 31, 2021 13:44:39 GMT -8
May I present, Iris in Inquisition! I remember this came as such a big surprise to me when Hawke showed up. He seemed to get along with my Inquisitor fairly well. Probably because they are both goody-goodies. Also, Dorian got a letter from his dad, proposing a meeting! He, of course, thinks it's a trap, so he wants Kevlan to come along in case things need to be killed. He's good at that. Wow, things are moving fast! You just met the guy, and he's already inviting you to meet his parents. By the way, purely by picking the Vallasin I thought looked nice, I gave my Inquisitor, sneaky espionage rogue, the markings of the Elven god of secrets and trickery. Nice! Dirthamen? Haha, Iris is as far as you can get from a goody-goody while still being a heroic figure. Actually, Kevlan and Iris are sort of opposites, in that they're both unscrupulous heroes, but Kevlan cares about doing the right thing and is willing to bear the burden of the hard choices. Iris just enjoys killing people she doesn't like. I mean, immediately after I met Dorian's parents, we started kissing, so... By the way, his dad is a total jerk full of empty apologies. Get screwed, Dorian's Dad! And, yes, it was Dirthamen. At least, according to the wiki. Anyway, not a lot has been going on. Kevlan's mostly just been chatting with the companions, doing such activities as deescalating an argument between Varric and Cassandra (over a predictable disagreement) telling Cole to stop feeding spiders and doing other weird things, and starting the Specialization Quest only to realize that it's in an area I haven't unlocked yet. And, of course, doing lots of War Table missions to gain influence and power. ALSO DAGNA I had a lot of fun with the crafting stuff. I made Kevlan a sweet black dragon armor, with the Great Bear Rune that massively increases stamina stuff. |
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Post by Daos on Jan 31, 2021 19:56:59 GMT -8
By the way, his dad is a total jerk full of empty apologies. Get screwed, Dorian's Dad! It seems like every Magister we've encountered has been full blown Evil so far in all three games. It's interesting, because DA loves the shades of grey nuance within factions. But Tevinter Magisters have always been bad. Yep, Dagna's back! I was so pleased to see how much progress she's made at the Circle, studying with the mages. And she's just as adorkable as ever. |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Feb 1, 2021 9:26:13 GMT -8
By the way, his dad is a total jerk full of empty apologies. Get screwed, Dorian's Dad! It seems like every Magister we've encountered has been full blown Evil so far in all three games. It's interesting, because DA loves the shades of grey nuance within factions. But Tevinter Magisters have always been bad. Well, it's not hard to understand why. After all, they are politicians. *dabs, indicating an obvious joke* First, I have something to say. Schmooples II. That is all. After regaining Dorian's amulet and defending their relationship to Mother Giselle, Kevlan and Dorian's relationship, umm, progressed. Quite quickly, actually. Unfortunately, I couldn't just skip...it. Because there were dialogue options, you know. Just, well...leave it to the fanfics, ok, Bioware? We also discovered of a plot against Josephine and her family. We killed an assassin and decided that Leiliana's solution to the problem (murder) is better than Joe's (giving a position of power to a hated enemy of her family) But first, off to Crestwood, to find Alistair! Except Kevlan got a bit sidetracked unflooding a town from the Blight, and closing a Rift. But you know what? It worked out all right. Now, we just need to make the trip to where Alistair's hiding. Did you know some Grey Warden commander idiot branded him a fugitive? Who does she think she is, Loghain? She's a discount Janeka, at best. |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Feb 1, 2021 11:13:33 GMT -8
OK, so. Alistair explained that Corypheus was making every Warden in Orlais hear the Calling. Which creates hysteria and desperation. When a group is full of hysteria and desperation, dictators tend to arise. Alistair knew that, so when he started bringing up Corypheus? Clarel, who's definitely under his control at this point, banished him and called him a fugitive. He also brought this up because Clarel was bringing up some nasty blood magic ritual stuff, which even Iris thought was a bad idea. ("I'd object and say that blood magic is perfectly safe and cool, but I have a feeling this isn't your average, everyday blood magic. You know, the kind we all just shrug off.") But, hey! There was some bonus dialogue with Blackwall! That was cool! Also...is Coriander hearing the Calling, too? We know that it's not just Orlais, because Alistair and Blackwall are hearing it even in Fereldan. Yes, Fereldan is right next door, but recall that Coriander is currently desperately running back to Fereldan, fearing Leiliana's death. So at some point, she's going to start hearing it. Oh no...I hope there aren't any Deeproads entrances between where she is and Fereldan. Between the (fake) Calling and the (false) possibility of Leiliana's death, she might do something rash...  In addition, Alistair implied that Coriander would probably side with Corypheus, using Morrigan's Sex Ritual (TM) as a precedent. Are...are you all right, Alistair? Are you bitter about that? Does...was the sexual encounter that bad? You do realize that without the ritual, you were going to be the one dying? And anyway, there's no way in hell Coriander would side with Corypheus. The last time she met a Magister Lord, he was relatively helpful, and she killed him without even letting him speak. Corypheus is a primo-evil-doer man, Coriander's gonna stab him in the face before he gets a single word in. And then she'll use Twin Strikes, follow it up with Unending Fury, freezing him in place while everyone else attacks/uses support spells, then she'll chug a stamina potion and attack with every other special ability, probably use Second Wind at some point, and then... |
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Post by Daos on Feb 1, 2021 13:39:42 GMT -8
After regaining Dorian's amulet and defending their relationship to Mother Giselle, Kevlan and Dorian's relationship, umm, progressed. Quite quickly, actually. Unfortunately, I couldn't just skip...it. Because there were dialogue options, you know. Just, well...leave it to the fanfics, ok, Bioware? Oh, was it particularly graphic or something? Cassandra's was a fade to black, then a scene of them cuddling naked. All you see is one of her boobs. No actual sex at all. OK, so. Alistair explained that Corypheus was making every Warden in Orlais hear the Calling. Which creates hysteria and desperation. When a group is full of hysteria and desperation, dictators tend to arise. Alistair knew that, so when he started bringing up Corypheus? Clarel, who's definitely under his control at this point, banished him and called him a fugitive. Interesting. See, in my playthrough, Alistair is king. So he is no longer working with the Wardens, he's too busy ruling Fereldan with Anora. (Which is what makes it so heartbreaking when he shows up in Redcliffe and tells his mother to get out. He has no idea who he is chewing out, but poor Fiona is clearly on the verge of tears.) So it's not him, but Stroud who shows up to tell me about all of this. Also...is Coriander hearing the Calling, too? Canonically? Unknown. Depends on where the Warden is, which we don't know. If they are in Orlais or Fereldan, then probably. But if they were that close by, one wonders why they were unavailable to become Inquisitor. So I always assumed they must be much further away. In addition, Alistair implied that Coriander would probably side with Corypheus, using Morrigan's Sex Ritual (TM) as a precedent. Are...are you all right, Alistair? Are you bitter about that? Does...was the sexual encounter that bad? You do realize that without the ritual, you were going to be the one dying? Maybe he was just bitter about Coriander friend-zoning him? |
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Post by GravityEmblem on Feb 1, 2021 14:12:40 GMT -8
After regaining Dorian's amulet and defending their relationship to Mother Giselle, Kevlan and Dorian's relationship, umm, progressed. Quite quickly, actually. Unfortunately, I couldn't just skip...it. Because there were dialogue options, you know. Just, well...leave it to the fanfics, ok, Bioware? Oh, was it particularly graphic or something? Cassandra's was a fade to black, then a scene of them cuddling naked. All you see is one of her boobs. No actual sex at all. In addition, Alistair implied that Coriander would probably side with Corypheus, using Morrigan's Sex Ritual (TM) as a precedent. Are...are you all right, Alistair? Are you bitter about that? Does...was the sexual encounter that bad? You do realize that without the ritual, you were going to be the one dying? Maybe he was just bitter about Coriander friend-zoning him? Nothing more than a posterior, but that was too much for my little brain. I mean, she didn't; the possibility of a romantic relationship was never even brought up. Unless he counts an attractive woman he spends a lot of time with not actively pursuing a relationship with him as friend-zoning. Which I hope he doesn't, it's kind of a trashy viewpoint. |
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