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I will get to drawing my Rook eventually, but that letter you get in the middle of the game just did things to my brain I cannot stop drawing these two. Not yet. Not ever.

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So Dorian says in Tevinter Nights that someone he met down south convinced him that slavery was an awful practice and he started hiring servants rather than using slave labour. It's kind of implied that that's the Inquisitor but I have another thought. The Inquisitor can have like one kinda weak conversation with Dorian in the game where you can't even really challenge him directly. Maybe stuff happens offscreen, sure, bioware like doing that. But do you know who does have several harsh conversations with Dorian about slavery? Solas. Solas is the one who repeatedly calls out the abuses of Tevinter when he's talking to Dorian and never lets the issue of slavery go. That banter thread ends with Solas saying that if Dorian truly feels bad for what his country has done then he should go home and work to free every slave in the Imperium. Dorian, sounding rather shamed, says he doesn't know if he can.

"Then how sorry are you?"

Sorry enough to start trying apparently.

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Matt Rhodes: "Veilguard. The first real piece of concept art I made for this project [in 2014]. We knew we were going to Tevinter, so this was the first attempt to flesh that out. A powerful magister being carried on a palanquin by her elven slaves, and scrappy adventurer's trying to evade mage patrols and survive in an urban labyrinth." [source]

Art by Matt Rhodes.

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard - very early days concept art/story ideas drawn by Matt Rhodes. under cut due to possible spoilers [source, two].

Art by Matt Rhodes.

Caption on first 3 images:

"A long time ago... All the way back in 2014, before Dragon Age: Inquisition had even shipped, I started sketching out what cool things might come next. We had momentum, so these quick mock ups explored where some of the unfinished story threads might lead."

File name "Last hope". Caption: "The world is falling apart, so the Divine sends out several elite teams to seek out answers. The art team loved the idea of having at least one "parallel party", another group of awesome characters you cross paths with, to help imply a bigger world."

File name "Power vacuum". Caption: "During Thedas-wide chaos, three enemy factions are ready to take advantage of this moment: Tevinter, the Chasind, and the Qunari"

File name "20 years". Caption: "Chaos is spreading, and various factions from around the world come to seek council from the Inquisitor."

Caption on next 4 images:

"More early exploration All the way back in 2014, before Dragon Age: Inquisition had even shipped, I started sketching out what cool things might come next. We had momentum, so these quick mock ups explored where some of the unfinished story threads might lead."

File name "Dwarven refugees". Caption: "There are stirrings in the depths that are disturbing enough for the Dwarves to do the unthinkable: flee to the surface."

File name "Elven exodus". Caption: "Elves from all across Thedas are leaving their lives behind to answer a mysterious call coming from Arlathan forest."

File name "Friendly invitation". Caption: "Meeting Solas in Arlathan forest, and the army he's been secretly building."

File name "Titan rips open the Veil". Caption: "An artist's pitch for a potential end-game. Solas has raised the titan upon which the city of Minrathous had been built, in order to use its strength to tear open the veil."

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🌖The Calling🌘

You can get a print of this piece here!

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Warning: Some dav criticism ahead

Why is Tevinter so shallow? It isn't just about the lack of slavery (that, whatever else it is, however it was handled before, has been a pillar of Tevinter identity and inevitably leaves a hole in the narrative by being pratically missing). Why does the magisterium, the caste system, the Antaam invasion outside of Minrathous and the Black Divine play no role at all in its storyline?

Why the atrocities of the Crows (buying children, for example?) never come up during their faction quests?

Why do we hear nothing about the political side of the mortalitasi, how they control Nevarra from the shadows?

Why do we never even hear about Kont-aar even though we are in Rivain? Why there is no counterpoint to the (metaphorically, by qunari standards, mindless and souless) Antaam? Why is the qun completely missing from the game and the qunari reduced to cannon fodder the player has to cut down?

Why are the questions about magic that permeate every previous game absent here, especially when veilguard being set in the north could have given us such a unique viewpoint?

And, more importantly:

Why am I supposed to believe that no dalish elves would worship the gods they have already been worshipping their whole lives? That they wouldn't follow out of naivety, out of misplaced hope for a better future, out of fear, seeking to placate them?

Why am I supposed to believe that the gods would not even try to seek the dalish, when we are told by the previous games about the dalish hunters of legend, about how they are a mighty force to be reckoned with when united? Why do they only show up at the Blood of Arlathan quest, to play damsel in distress?

Why am I supposed to believe that no elves from the alienages would want to join the gods, because of every reason mentioned above, or out of spite or disdain for an uncaring world?

And yes, I know everyone learned the gods were evil off-screen. Why was it off-screen?

Also, where are the agents of Fen'Harel? Where are the people that vanished by the end of Trespasser?

Obviously, you can't expand on all of this in a single game, but why is all of it absent?

Why is bioware so afraid to engage with the world they created?

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I don't have enough words to describe how much I adore them

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society if veilguard had been made by people who actually like dragon age

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I think I deserve something better

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Sketch of Dorian inspired by some concept artwork in the art book.

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Taking my Pavellan crums and making it better.

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something something the inquisitor's hand becoming a holy symbol that people can't help but want to look at, to touch, to kiss like the rings of a king. nobles grasping at the inquisitor's wrist during the halamshiral ball, nails like claws. soldiers clasping hands with the inquisitor, hoping for just a glimpse of that holy protection to shine upon them before a battle. commoners dropping to their knees and pressing their faces against the inquisitor's palm for mercy, for protection, for vengeance. do you see it.

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This dialogue became more interesting after the elves’ descent from spirits was confirmed.

Dorian: Do you use spirits as servants, Solas? You'd have no trouble capturing them. Solas: No. They are intelligent, living creatures. Binding them against their will is reprehensible. Dorian: How much "will" do they have? They're amorphous constructs of the Fade. Solas: Hmm Dorian: There's no harm putting them to constructive use, and most mages back home treat them well. Solas: And any that show any magical talent are freed, are they not? Dorian: What? Spirits don't have magical talent. Solas: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about your slaves.

Pity we didn’t get to see the spirit servants in Minrathous given their kinship with elves and the fact that Solas wanted to free them from the veil as well as elves. Bioware could have drawn a parallel between the oppression of elves and spirits; their disparagement by thedasian society.

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🍻

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The Hope of the fallen Imperium

Tevinter Imperium is the oldest human civilization, centre of slavery and closest link to the ancient elves, which has been told since DAO. Tevinter was supposed to be the key place in DA4 and it is, just very badly.

Minrathous is presented as superficial parody of Kirkwall where nothing happens. Dorian, the opposition magister, former member of the Inquisition and husband of the Inquisitor, does nothing throughout the game and becomes the Archon only in the epilogue. Narrative and immersion 0/10

As far as I can remember, a magister cannot become an Archon. I checked wiki and World of Thedas and yeah, he can’t but small inaccuracies are common in da. It’s nothing compared to the rest of Veilguard.

I expected he would be able to become the Archon and I’m glad. However, I think he doesn’t necessarily have to become one to be reformer and simply choosing new Archon is the dullest way to make Mae or Dorian a political leader.

Fenris said that slave rebellions in Tevinter were unsuccessful because the Senate had unified policy on slavery, which led to a quick suppression of rebellion. But what if it hadn't happened this time because of Lucerni? What if situation had spun out of control and Dorian had seized the opportunity?

I’d like to see good Tevinter representation and the story of Dorian taking charge when others lacked the courage and ability. The rise of Fen’Harel, slave revolts across Tevinter, the exhaustion due to war with Qunari, Archon’s death, Venatori, social crisis. And in the midst of this chaos is Dorian who emerges as a leader saving his country and transforming the rotten, corrupt system.

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midnight mass dress