#(blackwall / stroud as other potential candidates)

[lizzybeeee]

Before the game and before learning anything about it I thought Assan was like 2nd gen griffon idk like maybe Davrin's griffon's baby. It takes 5 years irl for both lions and eagles to mature! why the hell griffons take apparently the same amount of time as a human! They're magic!

VERY TRUE!

They could have made them 2nd generation griffons - and, yeah, magic exists! I did a quick check of the wiki to see if there was any details on griffons growth (couldn't see any) and then had a look at dragons since they're also this mythical flying beast - so it's kind of as close as we can get? Not a lot either - just that they have large broods, most die, but the few that survive are scary as hell.

I think it potentially could have upped the stakes a little bit more - this very critical breeding program is suddenly upended and a decade of planning is suddenly thrown out the window. The genuine hope of restoring the griffons is outright robbed, since there's proof that it's possible to to accomplish. Killing all the griffons hatched in the Last Flight off-screen is unnecessary (also cruel!), so maybe have them simply fly off to find the babies on their own after they're taken?

(Maybe Assan's parents could be killed - so that's why he stays with Davrin? Then it gives Davrin this genuine drive to save the griffons if possible or avenge them if not?)

Instead of conveniently having characters drop by who just happen to have the relevant information to find the griffons you can have the wardens and Davrin track them down? Which works a bit better since Davrin has a background as a monster hunter. What better person to hunt down a bunch of elusive griffons than him?

But, yeah, hard agree that it's weird that the griffons are still babies after all this time.

[simonjadis]

those of you who know me know that Dragon Age is my #1 hyperfixation

I’m aware of the DA4 “leaks” which may be real-yet-outdated but may also be someone’s ploy for attention by describing a plausible-sounding guess

unrelated to that, I’ve been wanting to do a “will this person show up” list and just talk about how likely certain companions and other popular characters are to make an appearance in DA4 and future games

I’m not going to try to guess what writers have planned, here; just which characters are and are not available

Alistair Theirin: can be dead, can be king, can have been stranded in the Fade; with this number of variables, I doubt that we will see Alistair in DA4 unless the Hawke/Alistair/Stroud/Loghain character appears and you have Alistair in that slot. you can likely expect for codexes or even dialogue to mention him if he’s king or died a hero. it’s likely that Alistair’s story has been told, so to speak [tl;dr probably not]

Morrigan: Morrigan is always alive and is a free agent and has possibly even been empowered with some portion of Flemeth’s power and perhaps even some of what Flemeth removed from Kieran, though that is speculation on my part; whether or not she drank from the Well, Morrigan could easily appear [tl;dr available]

Zevran: in worldstates where the Warden killed him instead of recruiting him or in worldstates where he betrayed the Warden to Taliesen in Denerim, Zevran is dead. iirc, Hawke has the option of turning Zevran over to the Crows in Kirkwall, though Zev could escape that. I would say that he will probably not appear in DA4, though there is a chance that popular demand (and the fact that he’s the only Origins romance who didn’t show up in Inquisition) could give him an appearance. He’s been tearing down the Crows. [tl;dr probably not, barring popular demand]

Leliana: she’s alive and an important fixture in canon, but since probably more than half of all worldstates (that’s a guess) have her as Divine Victoria, I wouldn’t expect to see her unless we meet the Divine. In fact, I’d say that chances are reasonably good that all three candidates for Divine are now retired from the game, though since Cassandra might lead the Seekers and Vivienne might lead the new Circle, they could show up. still, I feel like Leliana’s story has been told. [tl;dr probably not]

Wynne: she’s dead, jim [tl;dr not available]

Shale: Shale is wonderful, though a DLC companion and also potentially having been slain if brought to face Caridin by a Warden who sided with Bronca . . . but otherwise very likely still alive and active and, in the default worldstate of the novels, Shale was part of the initial Mage Rebellion at the White Spire. Shale’s one avenue for death could easily be written out [tl;dr available]

Sten: Sten could be dead (left to rot or if he tries to kill your Warden) but, if he didn’t die, he’s no longer Sten but now the Arishok. His chances of appearing in a future game are fairly high, though some worldstates might have a Stroud-like substitute as Arishok. [lt;dr available]

Oghren: the yosemite sam of Thedas is probably alive but I don’t expect to see him again and honestly I was shocked that he had enough fans that he came back in Awakening [tl;dr probably not]

Dog: the Warden’s mabari (whom my Surana named “Jowan”) is . . . well, old. We might see a descendant of the Warden’s dog, as it is canon that your mabari was personally involved in replenishing the Fereldan mabari population

DRAGON AGE II

Anders: an extremely well loved and also extremely reviled character; quite possibly the most controversial figure in the Dragon Age franchise (yes, more so than Loghain or Solas or Morrigan) who could potentially be dead in half of the playthroughs . . . no. we’re not seeing blondie again. [tl;dr not available]

Isabela: worst case scenario, Isabela was given to the Qunari at the end of Act II of DA2, presumably by the Worst Possible Hawke. that horrible fate could easily be written away, such as with an escape. they even put her in the DAI multiplayer. it would be hard to picture a game featuring naval forces or pirates where she isn’t at least a questgiver or something [tl;dr available]

Fenris: could be dead (if he sides with Meredith against Hawke and won’t switch back), could be traded away to Danarius by an absolute monster of a Hawke. though all signs point to Tevinter for the next location in the game, writers may feel like Fenris’ story has been told or that there are too many versions of him. [tl;dr maybe but probably not]

Merrill: sweet and beautiful and clever, Merrill seems like she’ll be getting increasingly relevant thanks to certain events shown in Trespasser, though I doubt that she’d be on board. That said, because she’s a potential romance for Hawke, and because she tends to not be pro-Annulment and thus can die fighting to protect mages from the slaughter, she’s not always alive or available. [tl;dr available but not likely]

Aveline: Aveline is busy being the main character on Law & Order: Kirkwall, thanks [tl;dr probably not]

Varric: spoiler alert but he’s the Viscount of Kirkwall so he’s very unlikely to show up as more than a cameo [ tl;dr probably not]

Carver/Bethany: the fact that I am writing about them both at once, because they are mutually exclusive characters, should tell you -- too many variables. either can be alive. either can be a Warden or a Circle Mage/Templar. [ tl;dr probably not]

Sebastian: hot but probably the least popular DA2 companion; he’s the Prince of Starkhaven and shows up in the comics but as a DLC companion, plenty of people never even met him also, he has a city to run. [ tl;dr probably not]

Dragon Age Inquisition

Cassandra: as I mentioned about Leliana, Cassandra may be Divine and therefore I feel that it’s unlikely that we’ll see her unless we happen to see the Divine or maybe unless we encounter the Seekers. [ tl;dr probably not]

Varric: as I said, he’s busy Viscounting in Kirkwall and can’t come to the phone right now [tl;dr probably not]

Solas: well he���s sure as frick not gonna be a companion again but I 100% expect to see him again [tl;dr available]

Iron Bull: he’s wonderful but potentially killable if your Inquisitor makes bad choices, so between that and the fact that his story feels like it’s been told -- despite his storytelling potential in Northern Thedas -- I’m gonna lean towards “no” [tl;dr probably not]

Krem: not a companion but relevant: Krem is killable if your Inquisitor makes the same bad choice that cost Bull his life; that said, Krem is overwhelmingly popular. the devs would have to balance out the popularity of letting us see our precious son again vs the uproar over retconning his death. considering that they refuse to let us see the Warden again because some people give Morrigan the finger instead of doing the sensible thing in Origins, I sadly don’t think that we’ll get to see our handsome boy [tl;dr probably not]

Sera: unless I’m totally missing something, the worst that you can do for Sera is not recuit her or kick her out of the Inquisition, which would be a shame because she’s a (chaotic) treasure. honestly if you avoid talking politics with her she’s darling, and perhaps the most enjoyable romance in the franchise (even if you’re not into women!), so while I don’t really expect to see her again, she’s definitely around, right? [ tl;dr available]

Vivienne: again, she could potentially be busy being the Fantasy Pope and, if not, she’s leading the new Circle [ tl;dr probably not]

Blackwall: his story is told and he’s already old af and some versions of him didn’t exactly get their happy ending, so I would be shocked if we saw him again [ tl;dr probably not]

Cole: our precious ghost son! this sweet, good boy has too many variables and may have even returned to the Fade, so [ tl;dr probably not]

Dorian Pavus: there is a very strong chance, in my estimation, that we’ll see Dorian again. not only was he a popular character (even with the Hets) and a beloved romance for many, but his story is tied to Tevinter. his variables, like his relationship with his father and whether or not he’s in love with the Inquisitor, can be handled via a few dialogue items and and are unlikely to make his character burdensome for the writers or the people doing cutscenes. [tl;dr available]

Cullen: he’s been in three games despite starting off as a one-off NPC and he was a romance in Inquisition; we are unlikely to see him again in game except perhaps to deliver a quick cameo line where appropriate somewhere in Southern Thedas [ tl;dr probably not]

Josephine: despite being only an advisor, I feel like Josephine’s odds of returning aren’t low. she’s young and she’s a master of the Game and she’s supposed to take over House Montilyet, an Antivan House. unlike Leliana and Cassandra, she’s not part of the Chantry. her only real variable is whether or not she’s hooking up with the Inquisitor, which is no obstacle (as with Dorian, dealt with in a few lines about a long-distance relationship). [tl;dr available]

anyway, those are my guesses