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drakorn · 1 month ago

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Rewriting Veilguard Part 8 - The Inquisition

Rewriting Veilguard Part 7 - The Lords of Fortune

Disclaimer: I don't hate the game, I actually think it's quite great given the development hell Bioware went through in those 10 years. This is more of a hypothetical universe where there was less of that behind the scenes drama. Just a fun writing exercise.

Reintroducing the Inquisition

It is now time, time to finally move away from the origin story missions. Now, the main story begins. We have explored the potential depths of what each factions’ origin story may bring to Veilguard as a whole. But what about the glue that brings them all together? What about the Inquisition?

In this chapter of my ongoing rewrite project, we shall look into how the Inquisition, and by extension, the main story, may be introduced into the game. As I’ve often said, I don’t really like how DAV just throws you into the confrontation with Solas without any prior build-up. It was quite apparent that, despite DAV doing away with World States, one is expected to understand at least the general plot of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and while Varric’s little narration tells us what we need to know to understand Solas’ role in the story, it’s not enough to make us care. Obviously, I cared because I played the previous game, but if we want DAV to stand on its own, like the previous games succeed, we need to do some more work.

So, without further ado, let’s get right into it. This is how I would introduce Veilguard’s main quest.

Our Canon Rook

In case you might have missed it, I recently held a poll about which of the six origin stories we would be using for our hypothetical playthrough of this rewrite, and the choice fell on the Veil Jumpers. So, for the duration of this rewrite and this World State in general, our Rook is going to be Ashara Aldwir, a Dalish mage.

That being said, occasionally, I will touch upon how the other Rooks may react to situations and characters more fitting for them. For instance, I will describe how a Shadow Dragon Rook reacts to returning to Minrathous and meeting Neve Gallus again. I will also describe how an Antivan Crow Rook would react to encountering Lucanis. Things like that. But for the most part, it’s going to be Aldwir from now on.

Travelling with Varric

So, we choose to stick with our Veil Jumper, and at this point the people watching this hypothetical stream are going to whoop and cheer with relief because this guy has finally stopped with the damn origin stories. Now we can get into the main story.

We get a small transitional scene narrated by Varric, which shows a map of Thedas, specifically our journey out of the Arlathan Forest, quite similar to what we get in the actual Veilguard. Varric tells us that what we’ve seen of the agents of Fen’Harel is just a fraction of what we should be worrying about, but that we first have to attend a certain meeting.

It should be noted that each origin will have a unique narration and map display. While Varric talks to Aldwir about Fen’Harel’s agents, he’ll speak to Mercar about the Venatori and the war effort instead. But all in all, it amounts to them having to make a stop somewhere at the Eyes of Nocen.

The Eyes of Nocen are a large geographical landmass in the North-East of Tevinter, not far away from the cities of Ventus and Carastes, which have both been overtaken by the Qunari between Trespasser and Veilguard. There is also some interesting lore surrounding that place, which we’ll get to later.

On the Road

When we return back to in-game cinematics, we find Rook and Varric travelling through the Tevinter countryside at dusk. At this point, we can ask about where exactly we’re going and what we’re hoping to find here.

As we walk, Varric begins telling us that there are people who have been working to stop the Dread Wolf’s plans for the past decade. But since resources are sparse and only a handful of people are trustworthy, such efforts can’t be spoken of out in the open.

Since we’re playing a Dalish elf, we get to voice our disbelief that the Dread Wolf is actually supposed to be walking Thedas right now. But we’ve seen Revas, we’ve seen the agents of Fen’Harel. And we’ve seen Merrill’s betrayal. That last part is something Varric is clearly hurt by. We can ask him about Merrill and why she would let herself be deceived by the Trickster God. Since we imported a World State where Hawke romanced Merrill, Varric states that Merrill experienced great loss and that this might be her way of trying to set things right. We as players can begin to guess that perhaps Merrill is hoping to get Hawke back from the Fade. But even without the romance, Merrill is someone who tries to restore old and lost knowledge. It would have been easy for Solas to convince her to join his efforts.

We proceed further down the road, until we are met with a distressing sight: a battlefield, and a very recent one at that. We come across the remnants of a skirmish between the Antaam of Seheron and Tevinter troops who were sent to retake some of the occupied lands. It’s an image of absolute carnage, war, and death. Since we’re playing a Veil Jumper, we get a short dialogue by Varric in which he breaks down the conflict between Tevinter and the Qunari. As a Veil Jumper, we know the Antaam for what it did to Arlathan Forest a few years ago. Without them, the Veil Jumpers wouldn’t exist. It’s an example of something good coming out of something very bad.

The Scout

As Rook and Varric traverse the battlefield, they are suddenly approached by a surviving group of Antaam warriors, who are looking for Tevinter legionnaires that might have escaped their blades.

They circle us and demand to know who we are, what we want, and where we’re off to. Varric, having plenty of experience with the Qunari up until this point, tries to talk our way out of it. Here’s a small choice to be made:

Do we silently prepare for battle?

Or do we contribute to Varric’s attempt to talk?

Since we’re a pretty confident Dalish elf, we’ll chime in, but that only leads to some unwanted attention. Since we’re a mage, they immediately see us as Saarebas and therefore too dangerous to be seen walking around unshackled. We bristle at that and get ready to fight. Varric simply shrugs. Reasoning with the Antaam has never quite worked out for him. But this small exchange showed Varric that we’re eager to talk first before hitting people.

Just as the Qunari are about to attack, their group leader is struck down by a well-placed arrow in the eye. At this point, another, very familiar face joins the scene: Scout Lace Harding! She thinks we could use a little help, to which Varric responds that the odds are even now, even though the Qunari still rather outnumber us.

We fight the Qunari with Varric and Harding at our side. It’s a short battle mostly serving to introduce Harding to the party, and we make rather short work of our enemies.

What follows is Harding’s proper introduction. She is happy to see Varric and intrigued by Rook. So, this is the one Varric chose for this mission, the integral part that will give us an edge. Varric confirms this, a bonus being that Fen’Harel’s agents presume us dead. Harding tenses. So we did meet them? Yes, and Merrill and Abelas were among them. Troubling news, indeed. Even more reason to get to our destination as quickly as possible. Harding then tells Varric that everything is ready. Everyone’s just waiting for us. Well, Varric says, then we shouldn’t keep them waiting. Rook is about to meet some very esteemed company.

But before we press on, Harding mentions that she was tracking a group of Antaam soldiers who rounded up some Tevinter slaves with the intention of bringing them to Seheron, and suggests we free them. Varric is generally for the idea, but worries that our numbers might be too sparse.

So, now we get to make a choice:

Do we take this small detour to free the slaves?

Or do we not risk further battle and quietly move on?

This right here is going to be the first of many smaller choices we get to make in the game. Before Veilguard came out, people spoke of how incredibly reactive it would be, how it, while not having a World State, would compensate by having many intricate choices on its own. This didn’t quite happen the way I thought it would, so let us entertain the idea of what minor reactive consequences could look like if placed in the proper moments.

We are a Dalish elf. We know what slavery is and what it did to our people. We know that the Antaam survivors who ended up founding D’Meta’s Crossing with Clan Morlyn were essentially slaves to the Qunari. We’re not going to let anyone share in this fate if we can help it. We choose to take the detour and free the slaves.

Freeing the Slaves

Once our trio is on the same page, we follow Harding to a small Qunari encampment on the battlefield. It’s absolutely nothing fancy, just a temporary base. The slaves aren’t hard to find as they’re all cooped up in an improvised large cage, guarded by Antaam warriors.

After a brief and slightly more difficult fight, the Qunari are defeated and we free the slaves. And here’s when we notice something rather dark: the slaves are all wearing collars. If you recall our Shadow Dragon origin story, the Imperator of Tevinter’s legions, Magister Laskaris, introduced the blood magic collar as a way to combat the Qunari threat. And seeing it here means that he’s already implementing in in small doses amidst the army, permitting the use of blood magic.

We are horrified by this discovery and see that the slaves have no way of getting them off. They tell us that the Centurio who led this party performed a blood magic spell to bind them to his will, as per Laskaris’ instructions. The Centurio in question is still alive, about to be given the qamek treatment, which would render him a mindless puppet.

We tell the slaves to wait here until we’ve dealt with the Centurio. So we proceed further through the encampment, fighting off a few more Qunari along the way, until we get to the leader’s tent. The leader in question is a Sten (no, not our Sten, that one’s the Arishok now).

We make it just in time before the qamek is able to be applied to the Tevinter mage screaming in absolute panic. And here’s where we get to make another smaller choice:

Do we save the Centurio?

Or do we let him be mind-wiped?

As a Dalish elf and someone who came here to free slaves, we are furious about these new blood collars. But we’re also not someone who exposes people to fates worse than death, that’s not who we are. So we hurry up and blast the Sten into the Void before he can apply the qamek.

With all the Qunari dead, the Centurio is now free as the sole military survivor of this small campaign. Now, you might think he would thank us for freeing him, but as he sees our vallaslin and pointy ears, he’s immediately going to resort to calling us a savage knife-ear.

At this point, we allow ourselves to be a little angry and strike him while he’s weakened. This at least gets the man to listen, so we demand that he release the slaves from the blood collars. We threaten that if he won’t comply, we shall either bind him to a pole for the next Qunari patrol to find, or we can apply the qamek ourselves. Or we could just kill him, his choice.

Reluctantly, the mage relents and we take him to the slaves. With one last look, he relinquishes his blood magic hold on the collars and they open up, falling into the dirt.

Now comes the next choice. What do we do with the Centurio?

Do we kill him?

Do we leave him here for the Qunari to find?

Do we apply the qamek ourselves?

Or do we let him skulk back to Minrathous?

Everything in us wants to cause pain to this man who had contributed to the enslavement and torture of innocent beings. But we’re choosing to play a Rook who’s of the more merciful sort. Rook chooses to let the Centurio live and allow him to scamper back to Laskaris and report on his failure. Is this truly the merciful way? Who knows.

We send him on his way with the knowledge that he owes his life to a Dalish elf who forced him to release his slaves.

We turn back to the liberated slaves who thank us profusely. And now comes our last choice for this scene. What do we do with the slaves?

Do we send them on their way?

Or do we take them with us?

We ask Varric if the place we’re heading to has any room for more people, to which he says yes. We could either take them to safety or send them on their way. In this case, I’m actually going to send them on their way. We know that we’re about to possibly go up against Fen’Harel, so taking these newly liberated slaves with us would mean putting them in yet another dangerous conflict. So, we give them some resources, let them loot the camp, and wish them good fortune. Varric asks why we let them go, to which we say exactly what I wrote above. He nods and approves, as does Harding.

Now we really need to get going before even more Antaam troops arrive. We gather ourselves and move on.

This entire segment was completely optional, we could have skipped it entirely. But choosing to free the slaves gave us an early insight into the blood collars and allowed us to participate in some potentially morally grey choices. Of course, our Rook chose the most paragon-esque outcomes, but the game lets us do some extensive roleplaying in scenes like this.

The Cliffside

As the day draws to a close and night falls upon the coastal countryside of Tevinter, Rook, Varric, and Harding reach a cliff overlooking the vast Ventosus Straits, the body of water that separates Tevinter from Seheron.

At first, we see nothing truly remarkable, just a cliff, a very high cliff at that. But then, Varric directs us to a set of barely noticeable steps, carved into the rock. Slowly, we make our way down, closer and closer to the moonlit surface of the sea, until we come upon the entrance to a cave, hidden behind a spell of concealment. Since Varric and Harding know where the entrance is, they just pass through the wall. Rook has a momentary confused reaction, before following.

Meeting Charter

As we enter the cave, we are approached by another rather familiar figure: Charter. Those who only played the games might remember her as the stoic elven commander from Caer Bronach in Crestwood. Those who have read the comics and Tevinter Nights will remember her as basically the new Leliana. She goes around Thedas and recruits all kinds of people into the Inquisition. Veilguard mentions that she is the new Spymaster after Leliana, and you can read a few letters from her.

I absolutely adore Charter as a character and think it’s rather criminal that she was scrapped from Veilguard. So, we’re going to include her here. Since in this World State, Leliana has assumed the role of Divine Victoria, we can confidently say that Charter is the Spymaster here.

Charter remarks that we’re late, to which Harding explains that we took a little detour. The Spymaster studies us and remarks that, somehow, she isn’t surprised that “another” of the elven people has been chosen for the job given the circumstances.

Since Rook hasn’t been living under a rock, we can now begin to guess where we are headed. So we ask the people around us if we are about to join the Inquisition. Charter explains that the Inquisition does not officially exist anymore, only a shadow organisation that operates in the dark, away from the enemy’s gaze. Too great is the risk of corruption amidst the ranks, as we all remember from Trespasser. But in the most direct sense: yes, we are about to join what became of the Inquisition. But all of it can be explained later. We must now head off. Everything is ready. We ask what “everything” is, to which Charter only replies that we’re about to find out. Harding promises that we’re going to be absolutely floored by what we’re about to see.

The Palace of Almadrius

As we move further down through the cave, we occasionally see glimpses of ruins, remnants of an ancient palace that must have been magnificent once. By investigating and asking our guides, we learn that we are traversing what remains of the palace of Archon Almadrius. He was briefly mentioned in DA2 in a codex entry for having built a lavish palace near the Eyes of Nocen, manned by many guards. But one day, everything disappeared without a trace. Well, given the state of this place, we can deduce that some kind of spell or cataclysm caused it to collapse beneath the waves.

This is one of many examples of environmental storytelling that Dragon Age is so masterful at. Just by looking at the world, we can see traces of its history. We could have made this a simple cave, but thanks to the location and the legends surrounding it, we can now make it so much more.

Eventually, Charter takes us to a wide cavernous area beneath the sea. Magical barriers prevent rocks, ruins, and water from collapsing upon us. And right in the middle of it all, we see a monstrous vessel. An underwater ship in the shape of a great dragon. True to Harding’s word, Rook is absolutely floored by the sight. We have now reached the end of our journey. This is the Dumat.

The Dumat

Just like the rest of you, I have seen the concept art book. And when I saw this gigantic dragon submarine, I knew I had to include it in the rewrite. Does it take heavy inspiration from the Normandy in terms of having a mobile base in the form of a ship? Yes. Does that mean we’re no longer following the Dragon Age formula? I…honestly don’t think so.

Tevinter is a land of magic, a land of magic allied with the dwarves of Orzammar, master craftsmen. There is a lot that can be done when those two forces sit down together and plan not war, but a work of wonder. And I don’t really subscribe to the idea that the concept of a submarine goes against the fantasy genre. You can make it work if you give it the proper look and feel, and give it a logical explanation for existing in the setting.

But I also have another reason for choosing the Dumat as the hub instead of the Lighthouse: I have something else planned for the Lighthouse and the Crossroads as a whole. It’ll still be a while before we get there, since Solas is still around and has his agents in this rewrite.

As we approach the Dumat, Rook is still absolutely shocked. This is the first time she has ever seen an underwater vessel. And truth be told, this is probably the first submarine in Thedas’ history. Varric tells us that we still have some friends in the Magisterium and Orzammar, plus the funding of some other powerful friends. Combine all that, and you get this.

We board the Dumat and find ourselves in an…actually very homely-looking interior. It’s not overly lavish but definitely comfortable, as well as practical. There is a lot of room for people here, that much is clear. While we’re walking, we just can’t shake off the feeling of sheer awe that’s going through us right now. This is where we’re going to be staying for the foreseeable future? Incredible.

The Briefing

We eventually make it to a war-room-like place with a large round table in the centre. Only Rook, Varric, Harding, and Charter are currently present. But that is soon changed, for before we even get to properly speak, the door opens and another face joins us. It is none other than Isabela! The moment she heard Varric had arrive, she needed to come and see him for herself. Varric is glad that she accepted the offer and made it in time. As seen in the Lords of Fortune origin story, Isabela gave the Siren’s Call II to her first mate for the time being as she was chosen for another job. This is it. Isabela is going to be the captain of the Dumat.

Personally, I think this is something that fits Isabela’s character a bit more than being the stay-at-home leader for the Lords of Fortune. This way, she’s going to still be able to contribute to the story, but in a way that is far more in-line with her personality. Isabela would never miss up on the opportunity to sail an underwater vessel. And she does happen to be one of the most skilled captains around.

Isabela greets us and says we remind her of Merrill, and ooff. Yeah, about that. The meeting begins with Varric and Rook telling Charter and Isabela of everything that happened in Arlathan Forest and how we confronted the agents of Fen’Harel. Because we took that slave-liberating detour, we can also speak of the blood collars. When she hears of Merrill, Isabela’s face darkens and she refuses to believe it at first, but then…yeah. When she thinks about it, about the pain Merrill went through after losing Hawke and the trust of her people��she is shaken by this revelation. In a surprisingly endearing moment, Isabela proclaims that Merrill can still be saved. She just needs her friends to pull her out of the wolf’s maw.

At this point, Rook has had enough of the secrecy surrounding her part in all of this and asks Varric why she specifically was recruited into this affair. Varric agrees that it is time, so he begins a story. And this is where we get the “I knew him as Solas” speech we get at the beginning of the vanilla game. But it’s going to be slightly longer. We get a few more thoughts and feelings of how Solas was as a person and what exactly he did while serving in the Inquisition. We get a brief recap of the war against Corypheus, the betrayal at the end of Trespasser, and the decade-long shadow war against the Dread Wolf. It all culminates in Varric saying how Solas is now approaching the fulfilment of his promise: to tear down the Veil and restore Elvhenan. “Somebody’s gotta stop him. And that’s…where you come in.”

So then. This is what our purpose is. To join the fight against the Dread Wolf, the evil deity from our very own religion. He who caused the imprisonment of our gods. And now we learn that it was he who created the Veil. Of course. It lines up. How else would he have imprisoned the gods if not for the literal Veil? We try to reason it with ourselves, but it’s all a little…much.

We just got absolute confirmation that the Dalish beliefs, the way we see it at least, are true. Well, Varric says, yes and no. Solas never referred to himself as a god. Of course he wouldn’t, we think, he’s the great deceiver. But then we realise something else. “How do I…come in?” we ask. “What am I supposed to do?”

Then we learn our role: We won’t just be joining this shadow war. We’ll be one of the people leading it. As Varric’s second-in-command. While he will be making plans and arranging everything in the background, it is us who must be out there in the field, recruiting allies, carrying out heists, learning and undermining the Dread Wolf’s plans. We are Rook. The strongest piece on the chessboard. The one Solas will never see coming. The one he doesn’t know.

So at this point, I’m choosing to play Rook as incredibly shocked and overwhelmed, to the point where she outright refuses. Why would we be the perfect fit for such a high position? Varric lists our accomplishments among the Veil Jumpers, how Strife and Irelin speak so highly of us, how we took initiative in the ruined Temple of June, how we are the perfect seeker of ancient artefacts, and how we don’t give up. We fit perfectly. Obviously, this dialogue is going to be different for every origin story. We get an added line that we are of the Dalish, we know the Dread Wolf like few do.

We are still overwhelmed, and don’t know what to say. But then the door opens, and another figure steps in.

The Inquisitor

We are joined in the meeting chamber by Inquisitor Lavellan herself. Yeah, I chose to have the Inquisitor appear right at the beginning of the story. I mean, we already made her in the CC, it’s not a big reveal that she’s in this game. But it also makes thematic sense for her to be here. She was our last player character. Who better to pass on the torch and give us the final push into this new adventure than her?

For this playthrough, I’m choosing to go with my canon Inquisitor, Elera Lavellan. In my canon I romanced Cullen, but if you so choose, I can go with the Solavellan route here, yeah okay, I see ya.

The Inquisitor, wearing Dalish mage clothes and carrying a staff, no Shadow Dragon pjs to be seen anywhere, walks up to us and pretty much says how she felt the same when she was given the task to close the Breach and defeat Corypheus ten years ago. Nobody’s born a fighter, much less so a leader.

We get to have a small conversation with Lavellan. I’m choosing to have Rook react in awe to her because, of course, she has heard of her, how one of the People rose up and heroically led the Inquisition against the greatest of evils. Those were stories we heard as a teenager. And now we shall be joining this fight. Now it’s our turn to become a part of this ever-growing tale.

The Inquisitor, just like Leliana and Cassandra did at the beginning of DAI, tells us that we are free to go if we so choose. But if we stay in this fight, we shall make the world a safer place.

Varric chimes in and states how all of this started with the Hero of Ferelden’s quest against the Blight, how it continued into Hawke’s battles with the shadows of Kirkwall, how it reached new heights in the Inquisitor’s war against the Elder One, and now the time has come for what he feels and hopes is the final chapter. And Rook gets to be one of the central characters, if not the central.

We think long and hard, but then we see where we are. We are aboard an underwater ship, amidst the remnants of the Inquisition. We are standing amidst legends. And these legends have become flesh and chosen us to join them. We have the chance to avenge our people, to finally strike back at the god who has been deceiving us all this time. Solas, Fen’Harel, the Dread Wolf, has returned. And with him, the ancient conflict may come to an end. Justice may be served at last.

With a heavy breath, we shake hands with the Inquisitor, mirroring the scene in Haven’s Chantry so many years ago.

What follows is a cinematic showing Rook, Varric, Harding, Charter, Isabela, and Inquisitor Lavellan standing in the control room of the Dumat. Lavellan gives a nod and Isabela takes hold of the helm.

From outside, we see how the protective spells and wards that kept the cavern dry during the ship’s construction phase begin to flicker, until they disappear entirely. The Palace of Almadrius sinks beneath the waters once again, having fulfilled its purpose.

The Dumat floats in the darkness of the cavern, seemingly suspended in a shapeless void. But then, dwarven crystals and runes begin shimmering around it. Tevene magic creates light on the interior side, flooding the rooms with mysterious shines of many colours. Then, the ship begins to move. It slithers and glides through the cavern, until it swims out into the open sea. From afar, it looks like a great sea creature, not at all a ship. Perfect for the purpose of remaining unseen.

As the Dumat glides through the moonlit waters, the camera pans up to show Thedas’ two moons shining upon the deceptively calm sea. A distant wind comes up, and as the screen begins to fade to black, we hear the single howl of a lonely wolf.

The screen goes black, and we finally see the title of our game:

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf

And there you have it! This is how I would pitch bridging the gap between Rook’s introduction and her joining the greater story. And…yeah, I do kinda prefer the Dreadwolf title. Obviously, The Veilguard is more fitting for what the vanilla game does, but I believe that the original title has more merit here, given that we’re ditching the Lighthouse and the Fade for the time being. But what we’ve definitely established so far was that Solas is a threat that must be stopped. The sequel hook that Trespasser dangled in front of us has to be paid off.

This concludes the Prologue segment of our hypothetical Veilguard rewrite. Now, the real story begins. Next time, we shall be dealing with the beginning of Act 1, a detailed look at the Dumat submarine, the people inhabiting it, and some first missions.

Thank you to everyone who’s still following this project. It’s really been quite an entertaining and captivating journey so far. And there’s so much more to come. Stay tuned!

Rewriting Veilguard Part 9 - The Dumat

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spacefae · 6 months ago

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Some thoughts about Dragon Age: The Veilguard now that I have had about 24 hours to ruminate after finishing. Spoilers incoming.

I miss the Dragon Age: Origins beginning. It felt more impactful, and I was able to connect with my hero more when I played through their origin. Getting little cards about their backstory is not enough to make me feel actually connected to my home faction.

Factions were watered down. The Mourn watch was essentially a monster of the week questline. The crows were not edgy enough (i thought there was slavery in antiva?). Lords of Fortune had no personality. I wish there was more to the shadow dragons than just "venatori bad." Let me free from slaves! The veil jumpers were fine but didn't stand out. The only faction that felt correct was the Grey Wardens.

To me, it felt like none of my decisions actually mattered in the grand scheme of the story. Minrathus vs Trevisio was impactful, but from what I understand, Trevisio is not decimated like Minrathus is after the dragon. There aren't Crows getting publicly executed. Choosing between Harding or Davrin was also impactful, but otherwise I felt like I was just riding the story.

Relationships felt like they didn't matter. I romanced Emmrich. I liked the story, but I felt like it didn't impact anything other than one endgame conversation and a single line of narration in the ending screen. I wish there was more substance. And, at least I get kissed more than once in Peepaw romance? Slow burn is fine, but at least make the pay off good. I flirted with Taash, Emmrich, and Lucanis. There could have been dialogue about choosing between them. Other than late game mechanics, relationships felt like they didn't matter. Even their pivitol quest decisions I felt like didn't matter other than Emmrich's. In previous posts, I agonized over Lichdom vs. Manfred. I did not agonize over decisions for other companions.

A friend of mine described Act 3 as a marvel movie. I didn't hate Act 3. I felt rewarded for being thorough in the game and helped ensure success in the final battle. I don't necessarily have any major issues with how Act 3 went down. Other than feeling like I was just along for the ride.

I think comedy and dark fantasy can coexist. DA:O made the political implications for your choices and involvement feel impactful, while also have moments of brevity. The general tone of Veilguard made me get whiplash when something devastating happened.

The secret ending??? Was??? What????

These are all my opinions. And I won't claim to ever be right. I spent 61 hours playing the game, and I enjoyed every minute of it, but it left me craving something a little more substantial, ya know?

#dragon age veilguard #dragon age #dragon age spoilers #dragon age the veilgaurd spoilers #dragon age the veilguard #dav #da:tv #da:tv spoilers

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deadlymaelstrom · 11 months ago

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Okay, I think I have an idea on what to name my different Rooks for the upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard with their profile summary and backgrounds included:

Stefano d'Baldovinetti: An assassin from Antiva and a member of the Antivan Crows. Specializing as a duelist, Stefano was hired to eliminate a target in Tevinter when he inadvertently crosses paths with Varric Tethras and Lace Harding.

Meyla: A Dalish elf from the Ralaferin clan. Due to there being too many mages within the clan, Meyla was cast out with nothing but her magical abilities and wits to keep her alive. Without a place to call home, Meyla joined the Veil Jumpers to learn more about ancient elven history in the Arlathan Forest before sensing a strong tremor in the Fade.

Alfonso Maderuelo: A young, headstrong mage of Nevarra's Mortalitasi and the Mourn Watch's newest recruit. Upon discovering an intruder sneaking into the Grand Necropolis to steal a forbidden tome, Alfonso defies the Overseer and chases the thief all the way to the border between Nevarra and Tevinter, discovering them to be an agent for the Venatori.

Olelinda Varra: A surface dwarf and member of the Carta. With her quick feet, fast hands, and sharp knife, Olelinda joined the Lords of Fortune in the hopes of accumulating great wealth in Rivain. She is in a relationship with her Qunari bodyguard, Seraan.

Seraan: A Qunari mercenary and personal bodyguard for her dwarven lover, Olelinda Varra. Originally from Par Vollen, she became disillusioned with her place among Qunari society and abandoned the Qun, effectively becoming a Tal-Vashoth. After years of killing bandits, pirates, blood mages and agents of the Ben-Hassrath, Seraan was hired the Lords of Fortune as an enforcer.

Cassius Lunaris: A mage from the Tevinter Imperium and apprentice to Magister Dorian Pavus. Born and raised in Minrathous, Cassius is of the Laetans, lower-class families with no direct lineage to Dreamers. As such, he was often looked down upon by the Imperium's upper-class: the Altus. A strong supporter of the Lucerni political faction and a knack for solving puzzles, Cassius was contacted by Neve Gallus and accepted her offer to join the Shadow Dragons, hoping to reform Tevinter from within.

Vandrad Thidriksson: A grizzled Anderfels Grey Warden veteran stationed at Weisshaupt Fortress. He was Davrin's former mentor and a rival to the Hero of Ferelden. With more than 28 years of experience, Vandrad believes the ends justify the means when dealing with darkspawn and Blights. Before he inevitably has to venture to the Deep Roads for the Calling, Vandrad prepares for what seems to be his final battle.

#dragon age #queue #bioware #dragon age the veilguard #spoilers #queued post #datv spoilers

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thedragonagelesbian · 5 months ago

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@hexblooddruid omg okay uh... here's a bunch of rambling

i think the core story of any of the playable origins would be getting to see the inciting incident that we only get to read about in the character blurbs. this is also where you met varric, so it would be a great opportunity to strengthen his relationship with the pc before killing him off for an emotional impact with mixed mileage. in a version of this game where rook was actually allowed to have some sort of character, you could even imagine a version of things where you get to choose whether you defy authorities and save the day or listen to them and get people killed, and in either case, you still get kicked out because you still fucked up. you were put in an impossible position, you made what you thought was the best call, and no matter what, it blows up in your face and becomes something you regret (almost. almost. almost like the theme of the game.)

for the veil jumpers specifically, i have a lot of big & strong feelings about how this origin should function as an introduction to thedas. the veil jumpers are one of the newest factions; like the lords of fortune, they developed entirely in the span between inquisition and veilguard, but unlike the lords of fortune which are ultimately tangential to the main geopolitical & metaphysical stakes of the game, the veil jumpers are fundamental in a way that makes the lack of world building around them specifically. infuriating. and emblematic of a lot of the issues veilguard has with writing around the dalish in this game.

so, for the veil jumpers specifically, i would want an origin that fleshed out its relationship, both organizationally and individually, to the dalish clans. it is, again, infuriating that strife, irelin, and bellara are all from the same clan (clan morlyn) and yet as far as i know it's never actually mentioned in-game. maybe it's the clan that the venatori kidnap in the blood of arlathan??? but there's no sense of interpersonal stake in that quest from the characters so maybe it's just Generic Faceless Victimized Group For Us To Save (which @ epler is not the great improvement over how the previous games treated the dalish that you think it is)

i would want to see clan morlyn, learn about their culture and customs, and talk to elves to hear more varied perspectives on the evanuris reveal that has, it seems, been widely disseminated in the time between trespasser and veilguard. hell, maybe we even get to meet a former agent of fen'harel who can help fill in that gaping hole in the plot. i would want cameos & references to other clans both in arlathan forest and across thedas (especially if briala is ruling orlais i'm canonizing the repatriation of the dales goddamnit) and i would want to get a sense for how and why the veil jumpers came to be, with some additional nods to their significance as a highly armed and capable organization on tevinter's border.

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kenwaysfolly · 6 months ago

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here's how i would fix dragon age the veilguard. set it 100 years in the future to achieve the utopic worldstate it presents us with (no elf oppression, no mage conflict, this has been solved off-screen but with an appropriate amount of time to make it so). solas is immortal, as is morrigan, so these events can take place at any time. even better if there's more than 20 years between blights. veil jumpers are explicitly a dalish clan and racelocked to elves. lords of fortune and crows are removed as origins. a venatori cult who wants to bring back the tevinter of old in a progressive post-slavery society makes more sense, the shadow dragons are their foils. the inquisitor has the potential to occupy a similar role as inquisitor ameridan, like the dread wolf worked with them, let's uncover stuff about the inquisition, you can find notes between them and their love interest in the codex. not sure what to do about varric's role but at least this world state is a fraction closer to making sense.

#veilguard spoilers #da #*

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autopotion · 11 months ago

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Ok here are my companion predictions for DATV:

Two humans, a Grey Warden and an Antivan Crow. The Warden has pretty much all but been confirmed (Davrin) and the Crow is almost certainly Lucanis or Illario. Judging from the voice clip Davrin probably hails from Ferelden or the Free Marches. Possibly Tevinter but I'm thinking Ferelden

Female dwarf rogue, also pretty much confirmed (Bellara). Sadly I don't think my dwarf mage companion theory is true. That being said, considering the new mechanical details, I do wonder if companions are going to break the typical m/r/w tradition and have more hybrid classes? In which case... Give her a little magic, Blease. I'd love it if she was from Kal-Sharok too, but idk how likely that is.

Mortalitasi skeleton. Considering how much art we've seen of these glowing skeletons I will be extremely surprised if we don't get one.

Lady Qunari/Tal-Vashoth. Same as skeleton, we are for sure getting a Lady Qunari, but that's all I can definitively say about her. Would not be surprised if she's Tal-Vashoth to finish the pattern, since Sten was Qunari and Iron Bull could be Qunari or Tal-Vashoth.

The remaining two companions I'm less certain of. Options:

Veil Jumper. I think someone has to be, right, but anything about this Veil Jumper is pure speculation. I personally feel like elf would make sense, maybe a Dalish elf... We haven't had a Dalish elf companion since Merrill!

We know that each companion represents a different faction, and I haven't accounted for two of the likeliest factions yet: Lords of Fortune and Shadow Dragons. I'm convinced a Lord of Fortune will be present in some capacity, but whether they're a companion or an option for the PC remains to be seen. I suppose Lady Qunari could belong to one of those factions, which would be cool.

Keeping with the typical DA trend, I don't think there will be a ton of crossover between potential PC origin factions and companion factions, meaning I'm not sold on Antivan Crow as an origin. We'll see though. (Just please don't be a GW again...)

This one is a stretch, but I would love an Executor companion. I'm just picturing that shadowy group concept art with a hooded figure holding a rifle... That would be so cool IMO. And it would make DATV the DA game with the most fantasy diversity among companions!

On that note I'm going back to sleep.

#dragon age blogging

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mamamittens · 2 months ago

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The kid au of "That Funny Feeling" is just Nyla, freshly traumatized baby, learning to trust people and be open. Lying through her teeth because she feels like she, personally, has to fix the possible problems that will come if she doesn't.

Still deciding what kind of Rook she's working with, but it would be no fun if it was the same Rook as the original. Thinking Shadow Dragon, maybe? Because the emotional blow up of Nyla running to help the other city (Treviso) is VERY interesting if it's Lucanis losing his shit out of worry. A Gray Warden would likely help Treviso because of the explicit blight threat, mourn watch would likely value culture without overt slavery, veil jumper probably could go either way, crow is obvious, and lord of Fortune might go for Minrathous but canonically that Rook was rescued from slavery so maybe not.

Anyway!

Neve feels like, realistically, if she lost her shit it would be like... Way too mean for a kid lol, and it would be hard to come back from that. At least if Lucanis loses his shit it'll be mostly in Antivan and she won't understand it.

Maybe quinari shadow dragon Rook romancing Neve? Still deciding.

Anyway, Nyla is doing her 'fun little projects' that are actually desperate attempts to ensure the best survival of all her new friends. Whatever she can think of. And no, she didn't Google Veilguard perfect playthrough, in this one it's her personal worst timeline wherein both her parents are dead and she's temporarily in custody of relatives where one cousin actually tries to bond with her. Playing Veilguard several times with her watching (skipping or timing her bathroom breaks for the romance cutscenes cause she's a bit young for that lol).

Anyway, the Unknown Goddess pulls her in to help since it may not be The Worst Timeline (maybe) but it's not one where she reunites with Solas and maybe shit goes south for other reasons idk. There's a secret third reason and it's that she happened to see Nyla and didn't like the resemblance between them for someone so young.

Anyway, kid Nyla is Stressed™ all the time, keeping secrets until it accidentally slips in the argument with Lucanis after the dragon attacks (she does get injured pretty hard but hides it decently, basically gets smooshed for a hot minute). Before that point, as far as anyone knows, she was found in Arlathan by the Veil jumpers with a weird Vallaslin that is only visible around magic, growing with the amount of exposure (into horns, basically, if you've seen the basic form I drew a bit ago). Kind of like Fenris' lyrium markings, actually, but not really. Just in the glowing, weird side effects kind of way.

Strife is basically Stern Dad, but he really does care. After the Incident with the time loop, he has her go with Varric in the hopes of finding a better answer when she's not setting off ancient artifacts by proximity (they go wild around her/the goddesses' magic). She studiously ignores any questions about her home, only saying her parents are dead. Thought it'd be fun if she ended up with elven features in the transition, just to muddy the waters.

OG evanuris are curious and ghilly is mildly upset to see grown up Nyla's markings. Kid version it's very... Intense curiosity and interest. She might register as a sort of proto-god to them, or at least the herald of one they'd never heard of before. Not fun times lol

Kid Nyla doesn't have a lot of the skills adult does. Not so much dancing (still ballet), and only just started violin and piano. Very inquisitive and clever tho, that hasn't changed. Desperate to help where she can and a little naive, understandably so. Doesn't do the affectionate, mildly flirty nicknames. Does tend to use 'sir' 'miss' and 'ma'am'. She's pretty fast but not usually a hard hitter, making worryingly dangerous tools to make up for it in a fight.

Kid Nyla is a lot more devious.

She also keeps her secrets a lot better as a kid. Choosing to not talk a lot to try and decide the best thing to say.

I like the idea of her making an enchanted pocket watch for Lucanis since he's so worried about losing track of time in the Lighthouse and to Spite. It has a failsafe where if he's in critical condition or struck super hard, time slows, allowing him to recover. Needs time to recharge, the longer between pauses the better. And he forgets, drops, or otherwise leaves it behind in the lighthouse in his rush, giving her the perfect excuse to go to Treviso with Rook in Minrathous.

She challenges the dragon by doing a super loud whistle and a pillar of fade fire, encouraging it to chase after her ass through the streets. Not... The best idea. Worse idea is diving between its claws when it pounces, stabbing a spell blade in the ground, and electrocuting the shit out of it's sensitive underbelly, making it collapse on top of her. Ghilly retreating reluctantly to tell Elgar'nan of this weird, possible ancient elf kid running around with unknown god markings.

Cue massive blowout because Nyla isn't taking the threat to her life very seriously (still super passively suicidal) and she retreats to the Veil Jumpers because she thinks she isn't wanted anymore. And Strife patches her up and is Very Unimpressed with the Veilguard at her state. She was supposed to be SAFE damnit, away from ancient magic shit, at most ducking out of the way for Varric's talk with Solas.

She is connected to Solas and she is NOT having a good time about it. Solas isn't omniscient but he knows what a Wounded Child looks like. Feels like a massive asshole the entire time but in a "my cross to bear" kind of way. Especially once he starts piecing together what her regret is. She's still keeping ahead of Solas, strategically letting him see how... Sad she is, basically.

The lyrium blade only does it's spooky shit with her, hilariously. So she's running around with her own short blade unless Rook needs to taunt the gods with it. The only one that can comfortably hold it for long periods, too. Mostly because of the blood magic.

And that about all I can say while still being coherent lol, been sitting on this all day and it's delightful to rotate in my head.

Does not bode well for the OG fic tho ngl

#mittens rambles #that funny feeling #da veilguard #fanfic ramble #yet another kid au #if the da kid aus disapeared i will simply add them myself #as god intended

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vaultedvagabond · 6 months ago

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Dragon Age Veilguard Review

I just finished Veilguard so I am gonna put my thoughts below a readmore, but my general review is the game felt amazing and was a ton of fun while missing a lot of marks I wish it hit. Full spoiler review below.

OK so first off this game /felt/ amazing. I was a rogue and lining up headshots in slow motion for critical hit kills felt so good constantly. Finding a bit of calm in combat to drop enemies in a single hit felt exactly like a rogue should feel. The entire combat system is amazing and I would kill to see Origins and 2 remade in this style.

I think a lot of the conflict and politics that make dragon age dragon age are completely gone. It makes the world feel a lot shallower and I missed it. It isn't just the struggle mages face, this game is the one that feels most removed from ideas of class. I think however poorly handled the questions and struggles that city elves, the dalish, mages, the poor everyone faces are a huge part of Thedas. Companions refer offhand to elven oppression but we never really see it.

On a similar note everyone gets along so well. I hardened Lucanis who has a Demon of Spite inside him and he was super understanding towards me. Him and Davrin have beef for a little bit but it is resolved very quickly. Companions arguing is such a huge part of DA and I really felt its absence. I think it relates to the stuff above. No one has opinions or is affected by the big societal problems Thedas has so they just instantly get along well. Like shouldn't the Lords of Fortune and Veil Jumpers have disagreements? Both raid ancient ruins and one stores and guards the dangerous artifacts while the other sells them. They even start out going "yeah we don't sell any cultural artifacts at all". I think the game would be better if we got to see these differences and if some companions had flaws.

I also think that despite the game being about the 6 factions they felt so bland to me. The Crows have the way they abuse kids to turn them into assassins erased, and they also don't really assassinate anyone. They act as a group of neighborhood watch. Similarly, the Shadow Dragons care mostly about the venatori and don't really focus on normal non cultish Tevinter brutality. I think both factions end up being defined as resisting the enemy factions and lose the interesting stuff about them. I wish that Lucanis's personal quest line involved assassination missions, maybe even make us decide between letting Lucanis assassinate someone important to the story or lose the crows as an ally. Not being able to have big text trees with faction NPCs also robbed them of a lot of depth.

My last major criticism is that a huge chunk of the game has no choices whatsoever. Choosing which city to defend felt great and was so cool and I was so ready to see what other things would happen like that. But then until the final mission there were no choices, and in the final mission my maxed faction support and all companion quests done meant there was really no risk. I much prefer the mass efect 2 style of choice where you choose between multiple people who could do it but some are destined to die vs "well if I choose a mage for the mage task they live but if I chose a warrior they die". I wish we got to shape the world more, and make more hard choices. I think that the parallel to Solas and the Regret Prison would hit a lot harder if we constantly were making hard choices and pissing people off at us.

OK now back to the positive. I can complain all I want about how few punches the game decided to take but the things they fully commit to feel great. When the game is on a roll and the writing is good its so good. I loved the companions, every one of them is so interesting and fleshed out. I loved Taash's quest specifically (I do wish the game had binary trans rep though). I really appreciated the different options for each crew member and while I think the big tangible choices are lacking the emotional ones we were offered were so interesting.

Lastly I really appreciated the fact that every side quest felt real. They all tied into the main story and that was really neat. The time spent doing side quests really felt important and I think the games strongest writing is in them.

In conclusion the game has a lot of holes in it, which is only made more frustrating by how good the game is when it is good. I can tell that the flaws were caused by studio intervention, and that the devs wanted to fix these issues too. But ultimately Dragon Age is a series /about/ games that have glaring flaws while also being so captivatingly good you cant forget them. I wont be forgetting this game, I am excited to replay it.

#dragon age the veilgaurd spoilers #Dragon age the veilguard

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invinciblerodent · 6 months ago

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Far into Ver as I am, I'm kinda also having a good time thinking about all the future plans I have for my other characters I plan to play.

I think Tristan and Marcus are both also going to choose to save Minrathous, and Coris and Tanner are going to choose Treviso. (I'm not yet sure about Syl, but her whole Deal is gonna be symbolically choosing between Neve and Bellara, so I'll have to see how she feels once I get there with her.)

Tristan is a Grey Warden. He's no stranger to making uncomfortable choices that hurt people, but ultimately are made in service of the greater good- if Minrathous falls, then the Imperium also falls, and then there's nothing to stop the Antaam from expanding further and further South- first through Tevinter, then the Marches, and if Orlais falls, the entire South falls. It's unfortunate that Treviso has to be the one to pay that price, but... someone has to. In Death, Sacrifice.

Marcus, I'm also thinking of as a fairly pragmatic person- he's on the Mourn Watch, he's gonna be a scholar, and I quite like the thought of him being especially invested in stopping the Venatori in particular. They're the living representation of all the worst things magic can do: they control, they destroy, they enslave, and even beyond the immediate threat they represent, there is an ideological reason for standing against them.

Neither of these guys are thinking about the city specifically, not in the way Verbena did (honestly, to her, what Neve said there was like the fucking icy terror unzipped her spine, and there was immediately no way she would choose otherwise- it was an emotional choice, a personal choice, and one she believes in her heart as well as her mind was the closest to a right choice that she could make), I don't think they've ever even been there- but they both have their reasons for why they'd choose to prioritize it over Treviso.

While Coris, to her, Treviso is as much of a home as it is to Lucanis- and, I'm pretty sure that'll be the first moment when she looks and Lucanis, and doesn't see the hated First Talon's repulsive grandson she's been playing the nice girl for, but him, for the man he is. That'll likely be their first moment of genuine bonding, as Crows, as people, and it'll set a shaky foundation for their future relationship being something genuine, too.

And Tanner, well... I figure that she isn't one for ideology. As a Lord of Fortune, she's going to be thinking about the people, first and foremost- the Blight in the waterways, the innocent bystanders, all those who can't protect themselves. Minrathous is, simply put, far more capable of defending itself. With its military, its magic, its covert militia of Shadows, it simply has a better shot than Treviso is with its handful of assassins and people already straining under the weight of the Antaam.

Treviso is flying on a hope and a prayer, and even though in the metagaming way we can know that Minrathous, too, falls... well, at that moment, it sounds like Treviso needs the help more.

I think I'm satisfied with these choices so far, but I'll be really interested in seeing where Syl falls. She'll be a Veil Jumper, a city elf originally, and from Orlais no less- she needs a lot more developing until I can figure out where she falls in all this.

#squirrel plays datv #datv spoilers #oc: verbena mercar #oc: tristan thorne #oc: marcus ingellvar #oc: coris de riva #oc: tanner laidir #and also one more #oc: syl aldwir #for the road #i took a mental health walk today for the first time in four days and did a bit of thinking about this #can't wait to make my way through all the origins #i think after Ver I'll either play Coris or Tanner because i want a dwarf girlie #and then I'll go Tristan maybe?#i wanna vary things so i don't get bored

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kogiopsis · 10 months ago

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DAV ask meme 2 4 6 9 11 !! God damn I really miss ask memes this is great.

ALRIGHT ALRIIIIIGHT

2. Which Dragon Age game is your favorite so far?

You know, it feels like going against the grain to say this but I just... love Inquisition a lot. It's got a lot of flaws (I mean, they all do) but I find exploring the open world really satisfying, the landscapes are gorgeous, the story still compels me, and I love (most of) the characters. I do think the combat can be kind of dull, but I don't play Dragon Age for the mechanics.

4. What does your worldstate look like going into DAV?

lol you sent me this just so I could ramble about my overly complex worldstate structure didn't you? I love you.

anyhow, I have three:

Primary: Daine Surana/Kenina Hawke/Kepi Lavellan, all mages. Pretty much the 'lawful good' runs, very heroic protagonists trying for the best possible outcomes. Decisions that I think will be relevant... Morrigan did the dark ritual; Alistair remained a Warden and was later left in the Fade; Kepi drank from the Well; Leliana is Divine; Celene and Briala reconciled. The Inquisition was disbanded and Kepi swore to stop Solas.

Secondary: Tohora Mahariel/Signy Hawke/Faina and Isaak Trevelyan. Tohora was a rogue, Signy a warrior; Faina's a mage and Isaak is a rogue. Lore-breaking/reluctant hero playthroughs. Yes to the dark ritual; Alistair became king; Hawke survived the Fade. Morrigan drank from the well... I think Vivienne is Divine, and I can't recall what I did in Orlais! I have not played Trespasser yet, but Faina is a faithful Andrastian, so she'll keep the Inquisition together but still swear to stop Solas.

Tertiary: Luthe Cousland/Basil Hawke/assorted Inquisitors. Luthe is a rogue (archer); Basil will probably be a mage, as that seems like the laziest path for him. No dark ritual; Alistair becomes king. I have NO idea how Basil's playthrough will go, because his defining trait is that he doesn't want to do any work, so he's going to do the bare fucking minimum and probably end in disaster. I have not yet defined all of the inquisitors for this worldstate.

6. Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have?

I mean, I have to play a female elf mage first, but other than that... I'm waiting for more information (video/images/pre-release of the CC, info on how Rook gets to the point of meeting Varric, etc).

Faction-wise, I think the Shadow Dragons or the Veil Jumpers are most likely. I have a good idea for a later-playthrough Lord of Fortune character, and I want to see how the Crows are characterized in-game before I design a character for that faction. The Mourn Watch is just less appealing for a first run because necromancer is the one mage specialization I'm not considering, and the Wardens... well, I know you're going to play a Warden first, so I don't want to do two of the same. :D

9. Which romance, if any, do you plan to pursue first?

If the game was released tomorrow, with no additional information, I'd just let things happen organically. Since I expect we'll get lots more character info, I imagine I'll have decided between Bellara, Neve, and Taash by the time it's out. But historically, DA romances can sneak up on me, so I don't know!

11. What's one thing you'd really like to see in this next game?

KAL SHAROK KAL SHAROK KAL SHAROK.

I've wanted to visit Kal Sharok since first reading about it in Origins, and after not getting to go there in Inquisition OR learn more via The Descent... gimme gimme GIMME. It's clear from The Descent that there's a lot of un-plumbed depth (pun intended) re: dwarf lore and I want it SO badly.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Hype Q&A

#esseastri #ask memes #dav

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mrs-gauche · 2 years ago

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While I know it’s generally bad for leaks to happen (unless they are intentionally encouraged by the developer, and yes this seems to be a thing, as Mark Darrah himself even mentioned in the past), and there’s no real point in overanalyzing something that is pre-Alpha footage from over a year ago (!!)... I’m just glad it didn’t contain some major spoilers story wise, because I wouldn’t know how to avoid them until whenever this game actually releases. 😂 I’d like to know as little as possible about the story and the characters going into it.......

........That being said.. I’m a hypocrite, I couldn’t resist and took a tiny little peek 😂(and if you don’t wanna know anything until there’s something official, I completely understand, just don’t read any further now!), so all I want to say is

HOLY SHIT GUYS This seems legit and we are probably looking at the very first glimpse of REAL (pre-Alpha) DA4 gameplay footage after EIGHT flippin years, which means this game is REAL, it’s actually happening, it’s a real game that’s playable and everything and ahhhh!!! Weisshaupt?? Davrin?? A dragon?? Darkspawn?? Purple stuff??? DID YOU SEE THAT HAIR ANIMATION THOUGH??

Ahem. Okay, so with the first wave of euphoria out of the way now, how are we feeling about THIS

Hmmmmm 👀👀👀

HMMMMM

OHHHHHHH

Seems like the spirit of Joplin lives on after all?? 👀👀👀

I’ve already seen plenty of people speculating and while we should take everything with a grain of salt here of course, there was a comment on a reddit post by another (supposed) playtester that confirmed “Rook” to be indeed the protagonist’s name/title! 👀 And while this could be of course just a placeholder name for whatever it’ll actually end up being, there could be a lot to derive from this!

- As people have pointed out, “Rook” does sound a lot like a code/spy name, much like Charter, Butler, Farrier or any of Leliana’s spies

- Rook being also a type of crow, fitting in perfectly with the bird themed names like Hawke

- In slang, it’s ALSO another word for “swindler” or “deceiver”, which also reminds me a lot of how there was a Lord of Fortune in Tevinter Nights who used the name “Hollix” as part of their disguise during a mission (which btw was actually the name of Dorian’s mother’s pet nug lol)

So all of this considered, and assuming that the leaked footage might have been part of the very beginning of the game (and how the leaker seemed to suggest that Grey Warden is just one of multiple factions you can choose from!), can I just say that my speculation about how DA4 might start off with an infiltration mission of one of four factions (Grey Warden/Antivan Crow/”Veil Jumper”/Tevinter.. something), while playing as a “spy” (/Lord of Fortune?? 👀) under the alias “Rook”, might actually turn out to be true after all??? (°ロ°)

I mean.. it could just end up being a simple “choose your class/faction” at the start and that’s it 😂, but either way, if we get something resembling different “origin stories”, like depending on which faction you choose, the game starts off with a different mission (similar to what Cyberpunk did?), I think that would be an awesome concept! (Not setting any expectations here though! 😌 The game might start off at Weisshaupt no matter which faction you choose!)

But back to topic, the rook being of course also a piece in a game of chess, which was depicted on the cover of Mark Darrah’s red “Joplin” book first seen in 2016!

Which in turn also of course immediately takes us back to the amazing mind chess game between Solas and Iron Bull, referencing a real game that happened in 1851 known as “The Immortal Game”. While people have been taking Solas sacrificing most of his pieces as well as his queen (Flemythal) only to then strike the final blow and win by moving the bishop (mage) as foreshadowing and also a perfect respresentation of how both Solas and Iron Bull think and strategize, what’s interesting to note, is that it’s the turn in which Bull takes Solas’ rook that ultimately seals Solas’ win in the end.

Now, this could mean absolutely nothing of course, but with this new information from the leaks, maybe there’s more to it than we think. 👀

Then there’s also the link to Solas’ final Tower tarot card of course...

Other than that, I just think it’ll be really cool to have a chess themed aesthetic for DA4 following the tarot card theme of DAI! Or just the idea of having a “game of minds” like the Immortal Game rather than just relying on “brute force” with an antagonist like Solas, that requires a certain level of strategic thinking and consideration from us in how we act/make decisions to outwit him, would make a lot of sense to me!

(Or we might as well reference that one Simpsons episode with the “human chess board” and cover both brute force AND strategic thinking lmaoo)

Or, even better, let us do something like the flippin “logic chess” mechanic from that glorious Ace Attorney spin off game lmaooo

Let’s bombard Solas with some hard hitting arguments. lmao

I will say though that, if “Rook” does actually end up being the title/name of our next protagonist, I’m once again very curious how the hell they’re gonna make this work in the localized versions, if they do attempt to translate the name literally. Let us pray that they’ll just stick to English for this one, or else the multiple meanings of the term will be completely lost in translation. lol Can’t wait to play as flippin “Turm” in German or “Tour” in French. 😂

#da4 #dragon age 4 #solas #need to step up my chess game it seems 👀#exciting stuff!!#speculation time ~ 🎵🎵🎵#who am I kidding I will probably absorb every new piece of information about this game like a sponge 😭#yet I'd love to go into it completely blind 😭#the dilemma 💀

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