#based on their dialogue during their Companion Card quest

[psychopomperanian]

this is a comic about twins

[galedekarios]

Dragon Age: Veilguard | The Ultimate Preview Summary

shinobi602 on twitter shared this amazing in-depth summary of all new information about the game that we have so far:

Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X and PC in Fall 2024

Consoles: Quality and Performance modes (60FPS)

Photo mode is confirmed

Fully offline single player, no EA account linking, no micro-transactions'

Play as a human, elf, dwarf, or Qunari

Choose your backstory, 6 factions to choose from when you create your character, all with "deep roots in Thedas": Antivan Crows, Grey Wardens, Shadow Dragons, Veil Jumpers, Lords of Fortune, The Mourne Watch

Each faction offers 3 distinct buffs each, like being able to hold an extra potion or do extra damage against certain enemies, and the odd reference in dialogue

You can customize your Inquisitor from Dragon Age: Inquisition in the character creator and "make a few key decisions that will impact how The Veilguard begins"

There are some "killer cameos" from past games that show up

Warrior Class: Use a sword and shield or two handed weapon to send enemies flying

Rogue Class: Utilizes quick movement and reflexes. You can wield a bow or dual swords with "powerful, precise strikes for lethal damage"

Mage Class: Use magic to incinerate, freeze, electrocute and crush. Some cast from afar, while others prefer close quarters combat

Each class also has 3 sub-specializations, such as duelist, saboteur, or veil ranger for the Rogue

Classes also have unique 'resource system's, for example, the Rogue has "momentum", which builds up as you land consecutive hits, and each will always have a ranged option

One Rogue momentum attack is a "hip fire" option we saw for the Rogue's bow, letting you pop off arrows from the waist

Another momentum attack for the Warrior lets you lob your shield at enemies

Quests are more handcrafted and mission based, curated with alternate paths, secrets to discover and optional content

There are also open ended explorable areas

Party size of 3 during combat, ala Mass Effect

Combat is focused on real-time action, dodge, parry, counter, "sophisticated animation canceling and branching", using risk-reward charge attacks designed to break enemy armor layers

Enemies have elemental weaknesses and resistances, and you can chain together elemental combos for extra damage

One example is a squadmate using a gravity well attack to suck enemies in, another slowing them down, and the player then unleashing a big AOE attack

You don't take direct control of companions like past Dragon Age games, but you can still pause and issues ability commands for you and your allies

There is a hub area for the player like Skyhold and the Normandy, called The Lighthouse

Companions can eventually start romancing other characters if you opt not to romance them

Each companion also has unique missions tied to them that play into the larger story

Nudity confirmed - romance scenes can get "a little spicy"

"Incredibly deep" character creator: 5 categories including: Lineage, Appearance, Class, Faction, Playstyle

Players can also choose different body sizes and shapes

Dozens of hairstyles to choose from, with "individual strands of hair rendered separately and reacting quite remarkably to in-game physics", pulled from EA Sports

Character creator lets you adjust the lighting so you can be sure your character looks good

The team wanted to balance the look of the game with both light and darkness. "When everything is dark, nothing really feels dark. For this one, we really wanted to build that contrast again."

Skill tree is "vast", you can also set up specific companions with certain kits, from tackling specific enemy types to being more of a supporting healer or flexible all-rounders

There are tarot cards you go through during the character creation process that will let you choose decisions from past games to implement into Veilguard

The team teases you may lose some characters during the story

[bubblebuttgames]

Dragon Age: Veilguard | The Ultimate Preview Summary ▪️Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X and PC in Fall 2024 ▪️Consoles: Quality and Performance modes (60FPS) ▪️Photo mode is confirmed ▪️Fully offline single player, no EA account linking, no micro-transactions' ▪️Play as a human, elf, dwarf, or Qunari ▪️Choose your backstory, 6 factions to choose from when you create your character, all with "deep roots in Thedas": Antivan Crows, Grey Wardens, Shadow Dragons, Veil Jumpers, Lords of Fortune, The Mourne Watch ▪️Each faction offers 3 distinct buffs each, like being able to hold an extra potion or do extra damage against certain enemies, and the odd reference in dialogue ▪️You can customize your Inquisitor from Dragon Age: Inquisition in the character creator and "make a few key decisions that will impact how The Veilguard begins" ▪️There are some "killer cameos" from past games that show up ▪️Warrior Class: Use a sword and shield or two handed weapon to send enemies flying ▪️Rogue Class: Utilizes quick movement and reflexes. You can wield a bow or dual swords with "powerful, precise strikes for lethal damage" ▪️Mage Class: Use magic to incinerate, freeze, electrocute and crush. Some cast from afar, while others prefer close quarters combat ▪️Each class also has 3 sub-specializations, such as duelist, saboteur, or veil ranger for the Rogue ▪️Classes also have unique 'resource system's, for example, the Rogue has "momentum", which builds up as you land consecutive hits, and each will always have a ranged option ▪️One Rogue momentum attack is a "hip fire" option we saw for the Rogue's bow, letting you pop off arrows from the waist ▪️Another momentum attack for the Warrior lets you lob your shield at enemies ▪️Quests are more handcrafted and mission based, curated with alternate paths, secrets to discover and optional content ▪️There are also open ended explorable areas ▪️Party size of 3 during combat, ala Mass Effect ▪️Combat is focused on real-time action, dodge, parry, counter, "sophisticated animation canceling and branching", using risk-reward charge attacks designed to break enemy armor layers ▪️Enemies have elemental weaknesses and resistances, and you can chain together elemental combos for extra damage ▪️One example is a squadmate using a gravity well attack to suck enemies in, another slowing them down, and the player then unleashing a big AOE attack ▪️You don't take direct control of companions like past Dragon Age games, but you can still pause and issues ability commands for you and your allies ▪️There is a hub area for the player like Skyhold and the Normandy, called The Lighthouse ▪️Companions can eventually start romancing other characters if you opt not to romance them Each companion also has unique missions tied to them that play into the larger story ▪️Nudity confirmed - romance scenes can get "a little spicy" ▪️"Incredibly deep" character creator: 5 categories including: Lineage, Appearance, Class, Faction, Playstyle ▪️Players can also choose different body sizes and shapes ▪️Dozens of hairstyles to choose from, with "individual strands of hair rendered separately and reacting quite remarkably to in-game physics", pulled from EA Sports ▪️Character creator lets you adjust the lighting so you can be sure your character looks good ▪️The team wanted to balance the look of the game with both light and darkness. "When everything is dark, nothing really feels dark. For this one, we really wanted to build that contrast again." ▪️Skill tree is "vast", you can also set up specific companions with certain kits, from tackling specific enemy types to being more of a supporting healer or flexible all-rounders ▪️There are tarot cards you go through during the character creation process that will let you choose decisions from past games to implement into Veilguard ▪️The team teases you may lose some characters during the story

[leveractionlesbian]

i've been playing fallout 4 a lot recently, and i've come to realize the story is actually good if you're willing to meet it halfway. it's only crime is being a story that's just "good" in a franchise with three (fallout 3 isn't real it can't hurt me) of the greatest stories ever told in any video game

elaborating under the cut:

you cannot play fallout 4 as an RPG. you will hate it. there is very little roleplaying outside of the very few avenues the game gives you for it (roleplaying as "generic member of the faction you're playing as" is actually pretty fun) because character builds don't build character narrative and the dialogue options are miserably limited. fallout 4 is a looter shooter with a branching story, and if you treat it like that, you'll have a good time.

the Minutemen questline is cool but underdeveloped. you should play it with the mod We Are The Minutemen for an improved experience. but generally, it does a good job making the player feel like a goody two shoes minuteman running to help the farmers and settlers, and building a small idealistic republic. it ties the narrative into the settlement gameplay very nicely as well. imo, they should have just made Preston Garvey the general so that him giving you orders makes more sense

the Institute are good villains. they remind me a lot of Caesar's Legion (though significantly less interesting and well written), mysterious and frightening until you reach their home base and learn more about them. they're also pretty evil, but you can at least understand them on some level: they're the greatest minds of the modern world, controlling things from the shadows using kidnapping and violence because they think being scientists makes them better than everyone else. it's not great, but it gives them enough depth to be more than just "the evil faction who is evil because they're evil." giving the player character the personal connection through Shaun was a good idea too, since it adds a layer of complexity to the question of if you should destroy them

the Synth issue in the game is misinterpreted by a lot of people, but that's because the game does an extremely poor job of communicating it. it's not "are synths human," because we interact with them enough to know, with absolute certainty, they are. the question is moreso "if this group fundamentally poses a threat to literally everyone around them, can you justify letting them exist?" this is pretty well outlined by Maxson during the BoS questline and the situation with DiMA in Far Harbor. the choice of accepting synth baby shaun is a decent resolution to this theme: do you accept this child as yours? it ties into how you feel about synths but adds the extra weight of it being your son. it's pretty cool!

the Railroad questline is kind of terrible, but it ends up being pretty fun, and i don't think it's by mistake. the characters and quests and interactions with the other factions are so absurdly goofy that it just becomes a sort of "fuck all the other factions" playthru in the same vein as Wild Card. it's not very good, but i like it for what it is.

the moment to moment writing kind of ties it all together for me. obviously the extremely limited dialogue options are awful, but it wasn't the end of the world for me, although it is definitely the worst thing about the game. but the companions are pretty likable, and the NPC dialogue has enough character to not be boring, and the side quests are mediocre at worst. there's some good writing in them, but for the most part they're extremely basic motivators to go shoot things, and the gameplay is fun.

its by no means perfect. the dialogue option sucks. the Railroad, while very funny, still kinda sucks. Preston Garvey sucks, and he's the main dude for the Minutemen questline. the reason the Synth issue is so often misinterpreted is because the writers are bad at properly explaining it outside of a few specific scenes. these are just a few problems, and most of the problems are actually extremely detrimental, and a story where you have to meet the writers more than halfway at least half the time is a poorly explained story but i still like it. it's overhated, and when you're just playing the game and actually are meeting it halfway, it's fun to take part in

[trufannekiawilson]

Characters That Could Have Been Companions

Edward Deegan - It probably wouldn’t make sense for Edward to become a companion considering he works for Jack. But keep in mind that based on the choices you made at the end of the quest, Edward would no longer be in Jack’s employ. Edward seems like a reasonable, quiet and cool headed guy with an open mind. I also just really like Edward’s design. Maybe it’s his longer face but he doesn’t look like a generic ghoul. A solid character all round.

Jack Cabot -  Just imagine the dialogue you can have with Jack as you travel the Common Wealth. He’s well over 200 years old and would offer interesting history and lore before and what happened during the fallout. Also consider how much of a missed opportunity it is that you couldn’t ask him to make a cure for MacCready’s son Duncan. Instead of finding the cure just siting on a table in a depilated building after 200 years. Jack as a companion may want to use his knowledge to help the people in the Common Wealth before his last days.  Jack seems  very curious, maybe a bit overly excitable about his passions and it bit of a brat when annoyed. Just listen to his dialogue when he tells Edward not to interrupt or when his mother asks him to look for Emogene. I think his annoyed quips could be really funny.

Emogene Cabot - Emogene has a lot of story potential. The terminals says after what happened to her dad she changed. When we meet her she seems to be lashing out and going on drunken stopers with questionable men. The relationship with her family is a bit rocky. Jack’s seems to be completely over her antics. Her mother worries but they also fight over the serum that keeps them young. Emogene could have had a personal quest where she comes to terms with whatever feelings she has on her family and their situation. She may not seem good in a fight but it is implied the serum gives the Cabot family increased strength. So I wouldn’t worry she can’t hold her own. She be like Cait except she for chems she like alcohol and likes when you’re mean. After her quest she dislikes alcohol and likes charity. 

Mel & Sonya - I just really like Mel from The Big Dig Quest. He had some funny interactions with Bobbi No Nose. Seems like he would have humor similar to Deacon. But unlike Deacon who uses rifles, Mel is a melee fighter and Sonya’s pulse would stun robot enemies.

Darla - You like being bad? Darla does. She was willing to kill her mobster boyfriend because the sole survivor can charm her into thinking they’re more of a badass than her mobster boyfriend. The more mean and blood thirsty you are the better. Maybe don’t take her to dilapidated places. She’s not a delicate flower but her nice dress and hair implies that she still likes a cushy life style. 

Honorable mention

Pickman - A companion that is a serial killer could make for an interesting challenge. By interesting I mean if you like to suffer. If you’re one of those players who plays survival or defeating Fallout 4 with only a stimpack type players.  Pickman is an unhinged character that insta-kills you because he didn’t like the options you chose. You think the raider amor and weapons looks cool? You better use it on unless you want to be insta-killed. Did a raider ask you to do something and you responded with anything but no? Dead. 

Sidenote, how terrify would it be while having the Nuka Cola World dlc installed and you play as a raider there’s a random encounter where Pickman insta-kills like the mysterious stranger. You’re just walking around the raider camp and there’s a kill cam of a random raider. You the player run over to the body and find Pickman’s calling card. Or maybe when you’re aligned with raiders it happens to you.

[crowsent]

a fuckton of things i want in da4

a few words censored bc tumblr will swallow this in the void if i dont. long ass fuck list ahead

a romanceable dwarf

more romanceable elves/qunari

more elf/qunari/dwarf companions

consistent writing for once

more nb representation

good hair. please just give me good hair options. give me long hair. give me luxurious flowing locks. give me braids. give me good fucking hair options

let me shittalk the chantry

dalish elf npcs that impact the plot in unique ways

dalish elf companions that are proud of being dalish

if it is set in tevinter maybe uh. maybe address the issue of systemic oppression (and slavery) of elves???????

a return of the friendship/rivalry system in da2 but improved. maybe instead of a friendship rivalry sliding scale its friendship/rivalry/animosity sliding scale. bc rivalry is more like. two people pushing each other to be better than they were before. friendly competition. hes an idiot but hes my idiot kind of deal. animosity would be just regular disapproval. i liked the crisis cutscenes in dai so high animosity would be the same as low approval and might make the companion leave still, but theres more variety with high approval. high approval “friendship” would be the “were best friends and we share many opinions and agree on almost everything” while high approval “rivalry” being “we disagree on almost everything but goddamn it youre my friend and ill follow you into the fade if i have to” so you can have a high approval with someone instead of being a kissass

actions and choices having consequences again

multiple endings again (epilogue slideshows dont count)

dialogue wheels with descriptions that match what you actually say

characters from rivain, antiva, anderfels, etc

gifts. bring back the gifts. i want to give my companions gifts

maybe. maybe a focus of non-andrastian religion for once?

let me shittalk the chantry

i know its a stretch, but maybe. diverse skin colours. please?

nd characters that are written respectfully and treated w dignity

please bring back the talent wheel from dao and da2

more bi romance options

more wlw romance options

more mlm romance options

ace romance options

nb romance options

background romances

let me shittalk the chantry

far fetched but maybe a polycule?

i lowkey LOVED the fast-paced feel of da2s combat so maybe bring that back in some form? maybe improved to mesh with the tactics of dai to give players absolute freedom of playstyle whether they want to be like me and rush into every encounter or play more strategically

companions with unique companion abilities

would be nice to explore cities

would be nice if the open world were a little smaller so it doesnt feel empty all the gd time

more mage spells. mages felt like just another class of fighter to me in dai. they dont really have any awe-inducing wow factor like in dao or even da2. if the narrative wants me to believe that mages are powerful and dangerous and that it takes multiple templars to hunt down an apostate, maybe show that? give me strong mages

remove the jump ability. its pointless

a narrative that addresses the oppression that the chantry and templars perpetuated please

bring back the attributes

make the choices in dai matter. mages governing themselves? i wanna see that

let me shittalk the chantry

please bring back the healing magic for fucks sakes

multi-class system between rogues and warriors?

multiple specialisations that feel like specialisations and not just skill tree+

player-only skill trees

hardening

companion quests that affect their abilities and further dialogue

actual morally grey choices instead of this stupid mage freedom vs templar oppression narrative that is in no way morally grey but is presented as such and thus leaves the conflicts and narratives set up by dao and da2 to be fucking meaningless

bring back the tactics

would be nice to have an origins-esque prologue again. maybe one that would determine future events in game just to give your character better narrative cohesion with the plot

an approval/disapproval system but for companions with other companions. bringing certain companions together may bring them closer or make them pissed off with each other which affects banter maybe quests maybe combat

give me a fucking mabari bioware. give me back my fucking mabari

day/night cycle

a nightmare mode where you have to finish the main quest on a time limit. it is absurd that dai expects me to believe that i have all this time to do wartable missions that can take literal real life DAYS to finish and still thwart corypheus’ plans in time. bullshit

that said. no more wartable missions. waiting for a countdown to finish isnt very fun

let me shittalk the chantry

kal-sharok. ive been hearing about it since dao let me fucking see kal-sharok

dwarven politics

politics in general. my fav dao quest was the succession crisis plotline in orzammar/the landsmeet and wewh in dai

npcs i can talk to. even with generic dialogue like in dao. makes the world more alive

using the environment to your advantage. far fetched but i would love to be able to pull down boulders if were in the mountains or freeze water to get to places as a mage

home base customisation but the customisation choices you make actually. mean something. and do something. or at the very least give more companion dialogue/banter/approval change

laconic and ergonomic codexes. like. sorted by what kind of codex it is, etc etc but then you just get a brief summary of the codex and the option to read more about it so i dont spend eternity scrolling through cards looking for a specific codex entry. cool aesthetic dont get me wrong but real irritating to deal with. also. maybe. the pc making comments about the codex if you do read more about it? like a dalish elf saying “they got it all wrong” when reading a codex about dalish elves written by a human??? that would a) give character to the pc b) incentivise people to actually read the codex to see what was so wrong about it c) summarise the codex for people who want to learn the lore but dont want to spent the entire game reading text

maybe have the merchants in your home base close to crafting stations so you dont have to take a fucking hike if you miscounted the amount of elfroot you need?

let me shittalk the chantry

avvar companion maybe??? interesting lore right there

bring back stat requirements for weapons and remove the class restriction for most shit. obviously a dagger would be better for a rogue than a longsword and a mage would do better with a staff than a sword and shield but its not about efficiency. its about the roleplay. its about the options. give me the option to make a mage with wildly inappropriate stat distribution

bring back sustained mode abilities

traps. bring back traps. bring back the option to stealth into an area, trap the fuck out of it, and go from there

have the three available classes in kind of a rock paper scissors scenario. warriors do real well against rogues who do real well against mages who do real well against warriors. so you can plan your party depending on who/what youll face AND how much their approval will change during the quest you take them on

let me shittalk the chantry

actually resolve the plot points introduced in dai

a more threatening villain. the inquisitor thwarted every attempt made by corypheus in dai. he was not threatening at all

queer characters. background, companions, etc. queer characters

mounts were meh in dai. maybe. make them faster? or less cumbersome? or have your companions on mounts too so theres still banter?

i liked the armour tinting. let me have armour tinting from the beginning

i would really like mages to move and attack at the same time bc lowkey standing in one spot is uhhhhhhh kinda boring

let me check companions friendship/rivalry levels

would be nice if the narrative acknowledged that elves suffered greatly at the hands of the chantry and stopped victim-blaming them

more taverns. specifically like tapsters in dao where theres a dwarf just reciting something in a language i cant understand and if you look its a ballad/poet about dwarven culture and that was a real nice touch let me have that

dalish elf clan. dalish elf clan that does not get murdered please and thank you

meaningful quests. more cinematic dialogue

make found gear / quest reward gear more valuable than crafted gear

game modifiers like in dai were real nice. i want more

let me shittalk the chantry

quests that can be resolved in multiple ways. like connors fate in dao. and for those ways to impact further quests

companions with varying moral alignments

companions that are mutually exclusive (like alistair and loghain) but are both good companions so itd really make you think

a pc that IS NOT a “chosen one” vanilla da2 is my fav dragon age game for one reason and one reason only and that is because hawke is just some random refugee who escaped lothering. no chosen one magic at all. just an ordinary person who is a real good fighter. and that appealed to me more than this “you are the only one who can do it” narrative

let me meet more elvhen gods

if the setting is in tevinter, GIVE ME FUCKING ARCHITECTURE. give me the high spires, the archways, the buttresses, give me statues lining city gates and magic infused into the buildings. tevinter is a land ruled by MAGES give me magical architecture. give me floating buildings. give me fire floating as orbs above the streets like lamps. GIVE ME ARCHITECTURE

SHALE

let me shittalk the chantry

PIERCINGS GIVE ME FUCKING PIERCINGS BIOWARE

more main quests, longer main quests

if it is set in tevinter maybe. maybe address the fact that tevinter has been at war with the qunari for a while? on and off war is still war. and maybe give us the option to influence the outcome of that war?

more voice options. instead of just american voice or british voice, do the thing in dao again where there are multiple voices of different tones to further cement the pcs personality

more armour designs

biased but uh. can. can taliesen jaffe va a character?

i already said qunari companions but specifically saarebas companions

blood magic

FINISHING MOVE ANIMATIONS

please do not let it be as long as inquisition. inquisition was a SLOG in later playthroughs

body sliders. what if i want a tall but lanky qunari? what if i want a buff as shit elf? body sliders

more eye options

let me call out companions

btw bioware. if you really wanted cullen to be a good guy. maybe handle his fucking redemption arc a little better instead of retconning all the terrible and creepy shit hes done in the past k thx

can female walk/run animations not have. so much swaying hips? no one moves like that

personality dialogue that affects future dialogue like in da2 but meshed with the wider range of emotions introduced by dai

keep the race/s*x lock on romance candidates like in dai. keep the fact that some characters can only be romanced by certain races or s*xes

nb and genderqueer options for the pc

cutscenes of companions interacting

ngl i lowkey liked the random encounters of dao so maybe bring that back

my fav quest in dao is the landsmeet / orzammar succession crisis questline but you know whats my second favourite? the rescue mission if the warden gets captured and you have to play as your party members. give me that again

more creepy/dark shit. dai was too lighthearted for me esp after da2 and dao

let me shittalk the chantry

broodmothers. in hd.

red lyrium broodmothers. in hd

companions with different backgrounds. different faiths. different statuses. different families. etc

maybe make the pcs appearance make an impact on the story? like how bull says he likes redheads, but even if you are a redhead, he says nothing about it????? maybe keep track of which slider the player picks so that can affect the story?

i love my inquisitors but maybe. dont. bring the inquisitor in as anything more than an advisor/npc in this game? let me fall in love with a new pc???

if theres gonna be a homebase like skyhold where youre not in armor. maybe give us better clothing?

a kind of gear skin mechanic similar to ac:odyssey where you can change how the gear looks but keep the stats. so you can equip that higher level armour and keep the look and aesthetic of your old armour and you unlock the skins/looks of the armours you discover/make so you can be both powerful AND aesthetic

i enjoyed the nobility/underworld/arcane/etc knowledge in dai unlocking more dialogue options so maybe keep/expand on that but make it more accessible by side missions or companions or something that isnt the abysmal perk system in dai

let me shittalk the chantry

customisable walking animations. does the pc walk straightbacked? slouched? with a swagger? please

since there will undoubtedly be an obligatory fade sequence, maybe have an option for nightmare demons that ARENT spiders. thank you

slap on subtitles and conlang some languages. i want to hear elvish. i want to hear tevene. give me the languages

more dragons. esp if they look vastly different

more bard songs

i am completely biased here, but i would like to hear laura bailey as a va for a character. preferably a voice option for the pc

hey maybe have the true ending actually included in the base game and not in a dlc (tresppasser cough cough)

better val royeaux

please remove the had to do it to em idle animation tis distracting

on that note, more idle animations. maybe some unique to companions?

very trivial but. unique stair climbing/descending animation

bring back talking to companions on the road. maybe with some dialogue that can only be said on the road???

if banter is interrupted, make like rdr2 and pick up where the banter left off

more vallaslin designs please?

if theres another formal scene like dai maybe. give us. decent clothing. or better yet, decen clothing OPTIONS. i wanna decide how i look in a ball full of haughty orlesians

mage vs templar conflict resolved and addressed please. it is NOT resolved in dai. what we got was sequel bait and a slideshow. resolve it please

let me shittalk the chantry

a pro-mage anti-circle circle mage companion like anders

religious person who doesnt victim-blame elves in the codex or in game or anywhere please

characters more like leliana who question the chantry and acknowledge its corruption and greed

unapologetically sapphic companion

idc if its tevinter i dont want to fucking see queer people being disrespected

a true tal-vashoth companion, one who escaped from the qun

have quest decisions affect whether or not a companion will turn hostile to you or not

if IF solas will be redeemed, please do the redemption arc right

more horn options for qunari

an apostate mage who doesnt use me for their personal agenda whilst hiding something from me (morrigan, anders, solas) thanks

i really dig the whole “leader of an army” thing dai was trying to go for. but you didnt actually. lead. anything. would be nice to have that option. command soldiers. send them places that affect further quests. would even use the wartable for its intended purpose. planning wars. battles. like. you get sent word that there are bandits harassing villagers. you can set up an ambush with your soldiers or confront them headon, and theres a new mini-location on the map like the manor you meet vivienne in where you can go deal with the bandits and depending on your choices, there are actually soldiers with you in a field, or traps in a narrow pass, or even in a city. id rather the wartable shit dont return but if they have to, at least this way youre not just waiting real life time for a bunch of text to appear

i am real fucking excited for the possibility that da4 companions can just fucking die on you. good shit. give me that angst

missions that certain companions would refuse to go with you to. you know. so you actually have to use other members of your party instead of the same 3 (three) people all the goddamn time

disabled characters (i want a character who suffers from the same chronic bad leg disease as i do is that too much to ask)

kinda touched on by the da2 combat point but let me do close combat damage with the staff

no multiplayer. and if there is a multiplayer, dont tie it with achievements

let me fucking explore weisshaupt

(i dont think solas will be the endgame villain of da and i dont think da4 will be the last da game but still) again. for emphasis. resolve the plot points dai brought up

full-body scars and tattoo options

companions and npcs changing their opinions about things over time. eg: a pro-circle mage wanting instead for circles to be abolished after a specific side mission or a main quest decision etc

keep the multiple companion quests. and maybe change what kinds of companion quests are available further down depending on choices made in previous companion quests

please for fucks sake give us more characters of colour

let me shittalk the chantry

[phoenixsoul13]

Rosalie Hawke as a DAI Companion

I’ve always wanted to do want of these, and these past couple days I was blessed with enough inspiration to finish one. :D which is nice, because if I have to look at this anymore, my eyes might start bleeding. (original template by dextronoms)

OC’s Name: Rosalie Hawke (non-Champion Hawke/4th Hawke Sibling)

Race, Class, & Specialization: Human, Mage, Spirit Healing

Varric’s Nickname for them: Patience (”she has the patience of a saint”)

Default Tarot Card: Temperance (temperance, patience)

How they are recruited: After finishing The Threat Remains, a five minute mission will appear on the Ferelden side of the war table, where a scout reports a group of mages near the Hinterlands that does not appear to be allied with either the rebel or loyalist mages. Some appear to be healers, which could be helpful for the Inquisition. Completing the mission with Josephine or Leliana will unlock a temporary location between the Hinterlands and Lothering, and upon arrival, the party is on the edge of the Imperial Highway with a rift nearby, with various mages fighting off demons.

After closing the rift, a cutscene will start where Rosalie cautiously approaches the party, thanking them for their help, and asking the Inquisitor if they’re the “Herald of Andraste”. The Inquisitor can respond with “Yes,” “No,” or “I don’t know,” to which Rosalie does not immediately respond, although she does smile faintly if the Inquisitor answers with either of the latter two. A shout pulls her attention, and Rosalie turns her attention to a mage with multiple injuries and immediately works on healing them.

As she works, Rosalie will ask the party what they’re doing here. The Inquisitor can be evasive about their purpose or say they were investigating rumors of a group of mages in the area. If the Inquisitor is evasive, Rosalie will eye them cautiously but say nothing. If the Inquisitor is forthright, Rosalie will thank them for their honesty.

Once the other mage is healed up, they will thank Rosalie and step away. Here, the Inquisitor can ask Rosalie some questions about the group, such as where the mages are from (“All over”), and what the group will do now, to which Rosalie says she doesn’t know; they have mostly been focused on surviving since the Breach. After asking all the questions they wish to, Inquisitor is given the choice to ask the group to join the Inquisition, and Rosalie specifically, pointing out her healing skills. There are three possible outcomes.

If the Inquisitor was upfront earlier about why they were there, Rosalie will be cautious, but appear to like the idea, though she says she’ll have to discuss it with the other mages first. (Rosalie will be recruited with an automatic Slight Approval; the group of mages will be recruited as an Agent.)

If they weren’t upfront, Rosalie will frown and ask if that’s why they’re really here. The Inquisitor can be honest this time or evasive again. If honest, Rosalie will frown, but says she’ll bring it up with the group. (Rosalie will be recruited with an automatic Slight Disapproval; the group of mages will be recruited as an Agent.)

If the Inquisitor is continuously evasive, Rosalie says she’ll bring it up with the group, but not to get their hopes up. (Neither Rosalie nor the group of mages will be recruited.)

If Varric is brought along, he and Rosalie will recognize each other, though all the Inquisitor will learn from their exchange is that they were friends in Kirkwall.

Where they are in Haven/Skyhold: In Haven, Rosalie can be found sitting inside the Chantry, in the alcove just to the right inside the doors. In Skyhold, she can be found in the garden, usually by the well.

Approval/Disapproval: Rosalie generally approves of being honest, taking merciful options, helping people in need, negative comments about Orlais, and dialogue options that consider the Chantry with some sort of nuance (neither wholly condemning it nor praising it). She generally disapproves of being deceitful, cruel, ignoring people in need, having a high-and-mighty attitude, and displaying egotism.

Major Quest Approvals/Disapprovals: -In Hushed Whispers/Champions of the Just: Ally with the Mages (Approves), Ally with the Templars (Disapproval), Disbanding the Templars (Slightly Approves), Conscript the Mages (Slight Disapproval)

-In Your Heart Shall Burn: rescuing everyone in Haven (Greatly Approves - “Excellent, they’re all safe.”)

-Inquisitor declaring for: “I fight for order, not faith./I'll do it because it's right./Corypheus must be stopped.” (Greatly Approves), “I'll set an example as a mage.” (Approves), “I will lead them to vengeance.” (Disapproves), “I'll do it for my own power.” (Greatly Disapproves)

-Here Lies the Abyss: Hawke left in the Fade (Greatly Disapproves), Hawke Survives (Greatly Approves), Grey Wardens exiled (Slight Approval), Grey Wardens recruited (Slight Disapproval)

-Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts: Letting Celene be assassinated (Slight Disapproval), Taking Florianne without a fight (Approval), Celene rules (Slight Disapproval), Gaspard rules (Greatly Disapproves), Briala rules through Gaspard (Slightly Approves), Public Truce (Approves)

-What Pride Had Wrought: Following the Elven rituals (Approves), Ignoring the Elven rituals (Slightly Disapproves - “I understand we need to move quickly, but this doesn’t feel right.”), Allying with the Sentinel Elves (Greatly Approves), Refusing to ally with the Sentinel Elves (Greatly Disapproves), Anyone drinking from the Well of Sorrows (Slightly Disapproves)

Mages, Templars, Other?: Having been raised as an apostate, by an apostate, Rosalie is very supportive of mages’ right to choose what lives they lead. She does, however, believe that this change can’t be forced, given how many of Thedas’s people have been taught to be so fearful of mages. She is very appreciative of learning Vivienne’s experiences, for example, as Rosalie has never lived in a Circle herself. If Bethany ended up as a Circle mage, Rosalie will mention that her sister said she was happy there, but never actually seemed to be so.

Given that she’s an apostate, Rosalie has lived her entire life hiding from templars. She will admit she is probably biased, but she doesn’t trust them at all. This trust was further eroded by her time in Kirkwall, and because their split from the Chantry seemed to be driven more from a hunger for more power than anything virtuous. She understands and believes that not all templars are bad (if Carver ended up as a templar, she will mention her brother), but she’s needed to distrust them to keep herself and her fellow mages safe.

Friends in the Inquisition: Varric, Vivienne, Sera, Blackwall

Companion Quest (1): Upon first reaching Skyhold, Rosalie will be up on the ramparts with Varric where the Inquisitor meets Hawke. Before Hawke appears, Rosalie will say there is something the Inquisitor needs to know about Rosalie, but she remained quiet until now because she was afraid of the Inquisition’s reaction. The Champion of Kirkwall is her sibling, but this is not a well-known fact as Varric left her out of Tales of a Champion. When questioned about this, Varric says after the Hawkes fled Kirkwall, Rosalie didn’t seem to be as well known as her siblings and given that she was an apostate, the less that was known about her the better. After this, Rosalie takes her leave, and the Inquisitor finally gets to meet Hawke. The Inquisitor can ask Hawke about Rosalie, who speaks fondly of her, though seemingly less so if they are the Red archetype and/or supported the Templars.

After meeting with Hawke, the next time the Inquisitor talks with Rosalie (in the garden), she will apologize again for keeping her background a secret, considering her usual preference for honesty. The Inquisitor can accept her apology (which will cause her to Approve) or scold her for not saying anything earlier (to which she’ll respond with “Yes, I agree”).

After this conversation, the Inquisitor can ask her about Hawke, to which she’ll respond based on their archetype and decisions made during DA2. (Rosalie will be most fond of a diplomatic Hawke, and/or a Hawke that supported the mages; she will be angry towards a Hawke that supported the templars and/or gave Isabela to the Arishok.) This is also where the Inquisitor can learn that Rosalie is romantically involved with Fenris (unless he was romanced in DA2, where instead Rosalie will admit she had feelings for him at one point, though those feelings weren’t returned. Those feelings have by now faded and she is happy to say they’re good friends).

Small Side Mission: Anytime after recruitment, the Inquisitor can ask Rosalie why she was with the group of mages. She’ll say after the Mage-Templar war broke out, she and other mages that did not belong to either the rebels or the loyalists (mages that felt that the way forward was somewhere in-between) banded together to try and keep each other safe and out of the way of chaos. She’ll also mention that there are other bands of mages out there that could be willing to join the Inquisition. If the Inquisitor expresses interest, this’ll mark on the map different locations where the Inquisitor can reach out to these groups of mages. Rosalie will Approve of each that is successfully recruited, and for completing all of them successfully, Rosalie will Greatly Approve.

Companion Quest (2): After completing both Here Lies the Abyss and Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, and with high approval, talking with Rosalie will trigger a cutscene where she and Varric are sitting in the garden gazebo. Varric is telling her that his leads haven’t gone anywhere so far, but at her dejected look, insists “she’ll turn up; don’t worry, Patience”. As the Inquisitor reaches them, Varric notices and suggests “perhaps our illustrious leader can help out”. Rosalie says she doesn’t want to bother them with something this minor before she realizes that the Inquisitor is there. The Inquisitor can offer to help (Approval), ask what the problem is (Slight Approval), or say that resources can’t be spent on just about anything (no approval change).

Rosalie will explain that she has been trying to find a friend from Kirkwall, Sister Ebris. Ebris was a sister in the Kirkwall Chantry and one of Rosalie’s closest friends in the city. Sister Ebris was not in the Chantry when it was destroyed by Anders, but Rosalie has not seen her friend since that event and reconnecting with Ebris is something that she has wanted to do for some time now.  Varric had offered to help find her, but has turned up nothing so far.

The Inquisitor can offer to look into it (Approval) or say that they can’t take time to look into it (no approval change). If they offer to look into it, Rosalie will jump up and hug the Inquisitor in thanks. It has offered more hope than she’s had in a while. If they say they can’t, Rosalie will smile sadly but say she understands the Inquisition has more important things to worry about than lost Sisters.

If accepted, a mission will appear on the war table near Kirkwall, where a couple of Leliana’s scouts in the area can investigate to figure out where Roselie’s friend ended up. After completion, a temporary location will appear around Ostwick, which is apparently where Sister Ebris ended up. Traveling to it will bring Rosalie and the Inquisitor to outside a Chantry, where a group of Sisters are preparing to enter. Rosalie apparently recognizes one of them, and calls out to her friend. Ebris, rather than looking happy, looks quite angry to see Rosalie.

It’s revealed that Rosalie was in the Kirkwall Chantry the day that it was destroyed, as she was often there to help out, but left earlier than expected after receiving a message from Anders. Sister Ebris, distraught, says that Rosalie clearly knew what was going to happen and should have warned them. Their friends, other Sisters in Kirkwall’s Chantry, would still be alive if she had. Rosalie tries to say that she had no idea, but Ebris clearly does not believe her, and joins her fellow Sisters in entering the Chantry. The Inquisitor can suggest they follow them, but Rosalie says that wouldn’t help at all.

Back in Skyhold, talking with Rosalie will trigger a cutscene where the Inquisitor finds her praying to Andraste’s statue in the room off of the garden. After realizing the Inquisitor is there (either after the Inquisitor makes themselves known or Rosalie finished praying), Rosalie wonders if it was a mistake to reach out to Ebris. She has clearly caused her friend distress. The Inquisitor can ask if Rosalie knew, to which she’ll say of course not. She supports mage freedoms, but not at any cost. The note from Anders was him asking her to watch his clinic (she helped him out regularly) while he took care of an important task; it was only after the explosion that she realized the note’s true purpose: to get her out of the Chantry. “With all the good he’d done with the Mage Underground and his clinic, I’d forgotten he was possessed by a spirit of Justice. Justice has no patience.”

Rosalie looks up at the statue of Andraste and wonders aloud what she should do.

Option 1: The Inquisitor can suggest now that Roesalie knows where her friend is, to give Ebris some time and then send her a letter explaining her side of things. This way Ebris will know her friend still cares, but can respond (or not) in her own time. Rosalie perks up at that idea and thanks the Inquisitor for the suggestion. After leaving and returning to Skyhold at least once, the next time the Inquisitor talks to Rosalie, she’ll mention that she received a response from Ebris. Things are still shaky between the two of them, and while they may never be as close as they once were, they might be somewhat friends again.

Option 2: The Inquisitor can also suggest that Rosalie drop the matter; Ebris will clearly never forgive her, regardless of how much Rosalie is actually at fault or not. Rosalie sighs sadly, but agrees that it is probably for the best. Rosalie will become more withdrawn and reclusive. Her spot in the garden will move from the well to a chair in the gazebo. She tries to act normally, but it is clear that her friend’s accusations hit her hard.

Tarot Card Change    Option 1: Two of Cups (friendship, cooperation)    Option 2: Ten of Cups (broken relationships, quarrel)

Romanceable?: Conditionally. Her romance is not locked by gender or race; if Fenris was not romanced in DA2, after a few flirt options, Rosalie will tell the Inquisitor that while she is flattered, her heart belongs to another, though they’re separated for the time being. Someday soon, she hopes to reunite with Fenris.

If Fenris was romanced in DA2, after reaching Skyhold, a few flirt options, and high enough approval, a cutscene will trigger where Rosalie will ask how serious the Inquistor is with their intentions. If the Inquisitor says it’s just for fun, she’ll ask them to stop. She doesn’t want to be toyed with. If they say it’s serious, she’ll blush and briefly turn away, overwhelmed with emotion. Eventually she’ll turn back to the Inquisitor and admit she has very little experience with these things. Being an apostate meant she had to be guarded with most people, and the one person she developed romantic feelings for didn’t return her affection. But she has been developing feelings for the Inquisitor, so if they’re serious, she would love to start a relationship with them.

If Hawke was left in the Fade before this cutscene, it won’t trigger, all flirt options will vanish, and Rosalie will not be able to be romanced. If Here Lies the Abyss is completed after starting a relationship with her, Rosalie will break up with the Inquisitor after they return from the Fade without her sibling.

If Rosalie was danced with at the end of Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, she will say that it was worth “spending a whole evening surrounded by Orlesians”.

After completing Here Lies the Abyss, Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, and Rosalie’s companion quest, a cutscene will trigger where the Inquisitor and Rosalie are cuddling on the bed in the Inquisitor’s quarters. Rosalie will mention she’s glad they’re able to spend some downtime together, especially with things feeling like they’re going to escalate soon. Here the Inquisitor can confess their love, glad to spend their free time with Rosalie, or decide they have other things they’d rather be doing and break it off.

(tw: minor acephobia/mention of attempted (failed) pressuring to have sex)

If the Inquisitor confesses their love, Rosalie will be delighted and confess her love for the Inquisitor before kissing them. Here the Inquisitor will be prompted to try to escalate the situation physically or stick with the kiss. If they try to escalate, Rosalie will pull back and stop them. If the Inquisitor attempted to take things further, Rosalie will ask if it’s that important if they have sex. If the Inquisitor didn’t, Rosalie will ask if they mind that they haven’t had sex. Either way, she’ll continue on, saying that it isn’t likely to ever happen, as it isn’t something she is ever interested in doing.

The Inquisitor will be given a number of ways to respond: 1. They don’t care if they never have sex, all they care about is being happy with Rosalie. 2. They aren’t interested in sex themselves. 3. They don’t judge Rosalie for feeling that way, but they prefer a partner that would have sex. 4. They mock Rosalie for feeling that way, saying it’s high time they had sex. (1 and 2 will lock in the romance; 3 and 4 will break it off.)

If 1 or 2 are picked, Rosalie will Greatly Approve, and the cutscene will fade out as she moves to kiss the Inquisitor again. If 3 is picked, no approval change will happen, though Rosalie will clearly be disappointed. She’ll thank the Inquisitor for being honest about their feelings on the matter, and leave their quarters. If 4 is picked, Rosalie will Greatly Disapprove. She’ll abruptly get up from the bed, facing away from the Inquisitor. Her hands will visibly shake, and when she turns back to face the Inquisitor, her eyes will be filled with tears. “How could I ever see any good in you?” Rosalie will then rub at her eyes as tears start to fall and storm out of the Inquisitor’s quarters.

   Romanced Tarot Card: Ace of Cups (love, joy)

Trespasser: If Fenris was not romanced in DA2, Rosalie will not be present, though a letter from her to the Inquisitor can be found and read. She explains that she wishes the Inquisition well, but after reuniting with Fenris sometime after Corypheus’s defeat, she couldn’t bear to leave his side again.

     If Hawke was left in the Fade or Rosalie left the Inquisition early, instead of a letter from Rosalie, there will be a scout report mentions seeing someone fitting her description traveling with an elf near the Tevinter border.

If Fenris was romanced in DA2, Rosalie will be present, though her demeanor will change slightly depending on the outcome of her companion quest. If option 2 was taken, she’ll be less cheerful, though not as reserved as she was following that quest. Regardless, she suggests that it is time for the Inquisition to disband, since their purpose has been met. If she was romanced, if the Inquisitor doesn’t propose, she will. If the Inquisitor turns her down, she’ll be disappointed but accept it, happy to be with them regardless. If a proposal is successful, Rosalie insists they wait until after the excitement of the Exalted Council (if only so more of her friends and family can be present).

     If Hawke was left in the Fade or Rosalie left the Inquisition early, Rosalie will not be present. The Inquisitor can learn from Varric that she is off somewhere trying to make a difference in whatever way she can (while avoiding the Circle if it still exists).

Cole’s reflection on their thoughts: “Another stop, another crossroads; you ask for direction but no one answers.”

Comment(s) on Mages: “Fear can make a person desperate, unfortunately.” “Magic itself doesn’t make a person power hungry; Orlais has proven that much.” “There is so much good we mages could do, but the Chantry has taught people to only fear us.”

Comment(s) on Templars: “Forgive me for my bias, but it is a rare templar that actually has mages’ well-beings at heart.” (After Champions of the Just) “I’m not asking you to take back your decision; I’m just asking that you understand why some of our mages will be wary of them. Some of the stories my father told me still chill me to the bone.”

When looking for something: “Hm? Might be something useful around here.”

When finding a campsite: “This looks like a restful spot.”

When the Inquisitor Falls: Low approval: “If only you had paid attention…” High approval: “Inquisitor! Hold on!” Romanced: “Please no!”

When they are low on Health: “Oh Andraste, that hurts.”

When they see a Dragon: “Maker, must we?” “Could we leave it alone, please?”

When during their small side quest: “Good. Now they’ll have some protection.” “It’s nice to have a purpose.”

Default saying: Low Approval: “Yes?”; High Approval: “How can I help?”; Romanced: “What is it, my love?”

Travel Banter with Canon Companions of your choice:

(Before Skyhold) The Iron Bull: “So, you and Varric go back a ways.” Rosalie: “Yes, we met in Kirkwall almost ten years ago.” The Iron Bull: “Ten years ago, huh? Isn’t that when Kirkwall’s Champion first arrived?” Rosalie: “Yes… though a lot of people arrived during that time, trying to escape the Blight in Ferelden.” Varric (if he is in the party): “Not to mention the boatload of Qunari. They were a bundle of joy.”

Vivienne: “My dear I must say, for a hedge mage, you are remarkably well trained.” Rosalie: “Thank you; my father taught me.” Vivienne: “Was he also a hedge mage?” Rosalie: “…no, he escaped from the Circle to be with my mother.” Vivienne: “Ah, that explains it. Surely you see the value of Circle training then.” Rosalie: “I see the value of its training; I don’t see the value in forcing people to live their entire lives there under the control of the Chantry.” Vivienne: “You still have much to learn, it appears.”

What do they call the Inquisitor?: Low Approval: “Inquisitor.” High Approval: “[last name]”, “Inquisitor [last name]”. Romanced: “love”, “my love”, “sweetheart”.

Leaving the Inquisition: Rosalie will be standing on the ramparts, staring out from Skyhold. As the Inquisitor approaches, she’ll slightly turn her head towards them. “I thought I was making the right choice, that I would be able to help people here. But I see now you only care about yourself.” As she turns to leave, she adds, “Let’s hope you don’t do Corypheus’s work for him.”

[meticulousfragments]

Inquisitor as a Companion

Lanyla Lavellan

I saw @dextronoms​ awesome template going around, and I’m trying to get back in the DA headspace to try and write some fic again. (EDIT: turns out I did this for her a million years ago on my old blog? I’m using some of my answers from them, with some tweaks to better fit how I think of her now)

Inquisitor’s Name: Lanyla Lavellan

Alternate Name?: I guess she’d potentially have a different clan name if the Inquisitor was Dalish so that they’re not arriving together, but honestly I chose her name in part because I like how it sounds with Lavellan so I’m not sure what her alternate name would be.

Race, Class, & Specialization: Dalish Elf, mage, knight-enchanter

Varric’s Nickname for them: Goldie (because of the eyes and tattoos) or Neels (which is her nickname with family).

Default Tarot Card: Page of Swords (New ideas, curiosity, thirst for knowledge, new ways of communicating)   When Lanyla joins the Inquisition, she is very much in the headspace of wanting to explore and learn and grow, and wanting to make connections with the world beyond her clan.

How they are recruited: Lanyla would have had a camp in the woods near Haven. She approaches the Inquisition early on, wanting to know what they’re doing. Her reasons are a combination of curiosity about the Rift and this rising power, and wanting to make sure her people have the knowledge they need to stay safe.

Where they are in Skyhold: The little arcane library near the kitchen. Once Skyhold is fully “moved in,” it gets a bit cleaned up and there are more plants and light.

Things they Generally Approve of: Helping people, preserving knowledge, opposing Chantry/Templar interests

Things they Generally Disapprove of: Siding with Chantry or Orlesian interests, being reckless with innocent lives

Mages, Templars, Other?: Mages. She does not approve of the Circle system, and even though she’s concerned about the people caught in the conflict, she also thinks that the rebellion is an understandable and even inevitable result of how they were treated.

Friends in the Inquisition: Like in her playthrough, she gets along alright with all of the companions, but a few relationships would stick out.

She has a lot of respect for Vivienne as a mage and a leader. If the Inquisitor specializes in Knight Enchanter, going for the book on it Vivienne has would trigger a small cutscene where Lanyla is returning that same book. There’d be some ambient dialogue about comparing some of the ways they were trained; she may not like the Circles, but she’s curious about how magic use differs across cultures and disciplines.

She and Bull get along great, and like to bounce increasingly-ridiculous ideas off each other during banter. (Similar vibe to some of Sera/Bull dialogue). (shameless plug for the fic I once wrote about this)

She starts out somewhat distrustful of Dorian, but they eventually get closer and closer. They mostly bond over research and being homesick for a place that’s less cold. 

Romanceable?: Lanyla would be a romance option for Inquisitors of all races and genders. Romancing her would involve asking questions about her family and her home, showing interest in her research and not being dismissive or cruel when she expresses homesickness.

Her Important conversation would involve her expressing that she misses home, but that what she thought she wanted in life seems to be changing as she sees and learns more. The player would have the option to either dismiss her wanting to go out and research more (disapproval), reassuring that wanting to go out and explore doesn’t mean she can’t love her home too (friendship), or asking if those new plans involve anyone else (triggers romance).

Later in game, player would go to their room and find her (kind of like with Bull) already there. Unlike Bull, she was trying to get in and out unseen; the Inquisitor finds her leaving a packet of tea and a note on their desk. She made it using her knowledge of herbs, specifically because she wanted them to have something soothing given all their responsibilities.

And because they were my first DA pairing (I played the games in reverse order the first time around) and have a special place in my heart, if Cullen is unromanced they still end up together.

Small side mission: Collecting Elvhen writing/artifacts in the Exhalted Plains. Once completed, would unlock some dialogue about her mother. She reveals that her clan once crossed that part of Orlais when Lanyla was very small, and that that was where her mother died. It was due to a lingering illness, but for a tiny Lanyla it seemed to come out of nowhere. Her mother was buried at Var Bellanaris (and desecrating that site causes her to Greatly Disapprove) and Lanyla felt closer to her by learning more about the site and the region.

Companion quest: 

Would essentially be an expansion of one of the parts of the Clan Lavellan War Table operations. (Because I’m mad that they’re only War Table Operations) Inquisitor would have to do a few of the operations usually only done if you play Lavellan, like getting in contact with them and sending an agent to Wycome. The playable part would be based on these two missions, where choices are basically the same, but name and details vary depending on the chain to get there. For simplicity, assume this one is kind of combined in there.

Option 1: Sneak into the city with the Dalish and assist the elven rebels in destroying the red lyrium. Result: The elves are lauded as heroes and become allied with the city. Clan Lavellan’s new reputation and Inquisition support means a change in how they will interact with the Free Marches in future. Lanyla is praised as the one who made this possible, and is set up to be an influential and capable Keeper when her time comes.

Option 2: Tell the Dalish to stay back and attack the city head-on. Result: The red lyrium is destroyed, but so is much of the city. Clan Lavellan is essentially wiped out. Lanyla is left on her own, angry, grief-stricken, and somewhat lost as to what to do with her life. Though she stays with the Inquisition, it’s more out of having no where else to go than because she’s really committed. She has no idea what she will do once their goal is reached, since what she spent a lifetime preparing for has been destroyed.

Tarot card change (I like the idea of them being related, especially because the results of the personal quest can be SO different)

Option 1: The Tower, reversed (Personal transformation, fear of change, averting disaster). Tragedy was averted, but her clan’s changing role and home also means that what she’d planned out for her own life has to change too. In the long run, though, that’s a good thing.

Option 2: The Tower, upright. (Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation) Everything she was working for and planning to go back to is gone. She is lost and doesn’t know what to do.

[inquiriesofart]

Inquisitor’s Name: Clearwater Trevelyan Alternate Name?: Clearwater, Clear Race, Class, & Specialization: Human, Mage, Battlemage Varric’s Nickname for them: Strings, from her lute-playing Default Tarot Card: Ace of Wands How they are recruited: Clearwater's troupe is passing through the Exalted Plains when they were caught in the fighting between Gaspard's and Celene's troops, the Freemen, and the demons traipsing the countryside. Several of their members disappeared searching for herbs and firewood the previous night; Clearwater is concerned and asks for the Inquisitor's aid, traveling along with the group to find her missing companions. The troupe members are discovered to have wandered too close to a Fade rift that had gone unnoticed in a nearby cave. Disturbed by the slaughter of her friends, Clearwater offers her aid to the Inquisition. Her contacts with various traveling troupes, as well as her connections in villages and towns, could prove useful in picking up rumors and news.

Where they are in Skyhold: The stables, feeding the horses apples or talking to Dennet or Blackwall. Occasionally she can be found in the stable loft plucking at her lute. In Haven she's found in the pub, watching people from the bar.

Things they Generally Approve of: Actions that aid the common folk rather than nobility. She also approves of strategically using a person or  a situation rather than applying strict justice. Smart-ass responses and a quick wit with earn her approval, as well as honesty in all situations. More covert actions and peaceful negotiation over displays of power.

For Clearwater, one should always pursue the heart of a situation. An Inquisitor who takes the time to understand the hearts of others will earn her approval, rather than inquisitors who will not see beyond the appearances of a situation.

Things they Generally Disapprove of: Lying. False bravado. Having no sense of humor. Self-interest. Strict pro-Chantry/anti-mage leanings. Bloodthirst and revenge. Seeing a situation from a strict black/white angle.

Also a quick way to get on her bad side is to make assumptions based on anyone's past--or her own colorful one. An Inquisitor romancing Clearwater who brings up her work as a prostitute or traveling player as a reason for speeding up the romance, for example, will quickly be shot down. Clearwater despises judging people by apearances, because she knows that there is always more to someone's heart than a first impression reveals.

Mages, Templars, Other?: Other. Clearwater is not majorly invested in either group. She wants to be free to live as she wishes and would rather not get involved in politics; while sympathetic to the mage plight, she has not been moved to become involved in it. She would likely approve of siding with the mages and then offering them alliance because it's the most humanitarian thing to do, as well as, in her mind, the most sensible.

Friends in the Inquisition: Dorian, Cassandra, Varric, and Blackwall mostly, but also gets along with Sera, Cullen, and Iron Bull. Really the only companions she has noticeable tension with are Solas and Vivienne.

Romanceable?: Yes; heterosexual, open to all races. Fun flirting options are available immediately after recruitment, and Clearwater herself will make a flirty comment or two even during her recruitment mission. She doesn't go out of her way to make lewd comments, but very little phases her sexually (evidenced by some of the banters she has with Blackwall and Sera).

Despite her frequently bawdy mouth, however, she's surprisingly difficult to jump into bed with. She is resilient to the idea of a relationship with the Inquisitor. He's a high-and-mighty leader of this world power, which matches little with her own personal goals and dreams (or what she imagines those to be right now). She doesn't necessarily see an imbalance in "class," per se (especially since she herself is really from nobility), but simply in walks of life. She's all for returning to her minstrel traveling after all this is over, and becoming involved with the Inquisitor would certainly hinder that.

If not romanced, she initiates a romance with Blackwall. The Inquisitor may express approval or disapproval over this, but it happens regardless. During Blackwall's personal quest, the Inquisitor can seek advice/perspective from Clearwater. Things can become heated between the Inquisitor and Clearwater if the Inquisitor chooses to have Blackwall remain "in servitude"--she will greatly disapprove, and her approval will drop even further depending on the Inquisitor's dialogue choices. Likewise, an Inquisitor who leaves Blackwall to his fate will earn significant approval drop. Both options will cause Clearwater to leave if she is NOT romanced by the Inquisitor OR if her approval was already low.

Small side mission: Early after Clearwater's recruitment, she will mention to the Inquisitor her desire to discover more cultural lore and legends, an opportunity she enjoyed while traveling with her troupe. The Inquisitor can find several spots throughout Orlais and Ferelden, such as a book in Val Royeaux, a scroll tucked into a ruin in the Exalted Plains, for example. 

Companion quest: Crossroads

Clearwater's future has always been one of fluctuation. As a child, she ran from her duties as a noble and then as a mage. Her time at the Sultry Siren only lasted so long until she joined a traveling troupe. Now, she finds herself in the Inquisition... but who knows after that? The future is still an unwritten book, and Clearwater can feel the approach of yet another crossroads in her life.

After the Inquisitor complete's Clearwater's side mission, she will discuss her growing collection of stories. She is eager for the Inquisition's quest to be finished so she can return to her troupe with what stories she's gathered and begun to practice performing.

Clearwater tells the Inquisitor that she has received a letter from the daughter of her troupe's leader, Valerie Geraud, asking that Clearwater meet her in Crestwood as soon as possible. Clearwater asks the Inquisitor to accompany her, as she is concerned her troupe is in trouble again.

Upon meeting Valerie in Crestwood, the young woman reveals that she suspects her father, Henrik, the leader of the troupe, is involved with the red templars. Clearwater is shocked, as she cannot believe that Henrik would side with Corypheus.

Returning to Skyhold, a War Table mission appears allowing the Inquisitor to investigate the claims against Henrik Geraud. Investigations reveal that Henrik has been hiring Venatori sympathizers as body guards, allowing them easy travel throughout Orlais and Ferelden. Clearwater requests they confront Henrik back near Crestwood.

The confrontation goes poorly. He is angry at her leaving the troupe for the Inquisition--what else could he do but hire guards, as the roads are no longer safe for traveling? A simple troupe cannot afford to be picky with the help they hire, and the mercenaries are clearly capable at an excellent price.

Clearwater is torn. She deeply understands that Henrik is attempting to act in concern for their troupe, but also knows that this activity cannot continue. Henrik, however, refuses to comply with Clearwater's request, saying that he must act first and foremost in concern for their--his--troupe.

Option 1: Henrik is arrested and brought to Skyhold for judgment, as his actions simply cannot continue. Valerie takes over the troupe, and a small group of Inquisition forces are sent to protect them instead.

Clearwater approves, glad to see the matter resolved and her troupe safe. Maximum approval is gained if Henrik is treated mercifully. She is saddened by Henrik's decision, but understands both his and the Inquisitor's actions. The troupe is gained as an Inquisition Secrets agent.

At the end of the game, Clearwater remains with the Inquisition, at least for a time.

Option 2: The Inquisitor allows Henrik to continue to hire Venatori guards. It is so small a matter that the Inquisition's forces are better used elsewhere. The Inquisition's spies will keep tabs on the troupe's movements instead.

Clearwater disapproves, recognizing the volatile situation. Sometime later, the Inquisitor receives a report from one of Leliana's spies. City guards in a large town they attempted to enter had been tipped off about local Venatori presence. When the guards confronted Henrik's troupe, the Venatori fought their way out, killing several troupe members in their retreat, including Valerie and Henrik.

At the end of the game, Clearwater leaves the Inquisition and becomes a solitary traveling minstrel.

Tarot Card Change

Option 1: Queen of Wands

Option 2: Eight of Cups

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Symbiote Spider-Man #5 Thoughts

This series does not end with a bang. Nor a whimper. But...something in between?

 The plot of this issue is incredibly thin. Spider-Man fights Symbiote Mysterio, Black Cat shows up to help, Mysterio uses fire which scares his piece of the symbiote away,, Spidey and Felicia beat up Mysterio, Mysterio gives up his quest to get the suit and Peter misses his meeting with Aunt May. The end.

It isn’t that these events don’t pay off what was set up per se, it’s just tat it all felt rather anti-climactic. The first issue set itself up to be something of an exploration of Mysterio’s character but it wound up...not being that. He seemed to get over killing someone and we didn’t really mention it again

The inconsistencies from last issue persist. I’m not up to scratch on symbiote continuity so a separated portion of the symbiote acting independently like a symbiote seems extremely off.

PAD did have the sense though to have Peter not be conscious (the symbiote took over) during most of the fight so he didn’t see Symbiote Mysterio and thus we don’t have to No. Prize why exactly he never brought that up whenever he referenced people who’ve bonded to symbiotes or how Venom kind of reminded him of Symbiote Mysterio. We also have an explanation for why Mysterio himself doesn’t mention this escapade. However the rationale for why he’d just give up on getting the suit for himself (because he’s hoping it will kill Spider-Man) is a little....ehhhhhhh...

I mean sure he wants Spidey dead so leaving the suit to do it makes sense, but didn’t he also want more respect and power in this story even before finding out about the costume? Wouldn’t he still want it. it seems like he gave up on it just because the story needed to end and he needed to line up with established continuity.

The action itself wasn’t bad, it was fun for what it was, and Felicia got some nice scenes. However there was some head scratching dialogue with her where she tried to dissuade Peter (really the symbiote in control of him) to not kill Mysterio by saying ‘It doesn’t always have to be like this’. I am not really sure what she or PAD were getting at with that dialogue. Is she saying they don’t have to always fight crime or fight in general they can just have fun swinging through the city? I dunno.

The art is...well it’s consistent with the rest of the series. I like the aesthetic myself but I can see other people really not. There is one major art flub though on the last page where Land fails to draw the phone cord on Peter’s phone. It looks like he is using a mobile/cell phone which wouldn’t be a problem were it not for this series treating the events of the story as actually happening in the actual 1980s. It’s even more jarring since the phone cord shows up a panel or two later.

A similar anachronism pops up earlier where there is a reference to Steven Spielberg’s ‘dinosaur movie’ This is obviously a Jurassic Park reference but not only had the film not come out during the time period this comic was set in, it wasn’t even on the cards. The Jurassic Park movie was released in 1993 and the NOVEL that the movie was based upon wasn’t released until 1990! Spielberg did know about the book before it was released but that was in 1989 not 1984-1985 when this series was set. That is a nitpick but it’s sad seeing how fidelity to the time period has devolved from the strong start the series had.

There might be other things that do not jive with established continuity but honestly I haven’t got the energy right now to triple check them throughout the series.

Over all this series was a mixed bag, but I think still worth a look at. Good or bad, it was more fun than it wasn’t. Pick it and this issue up.

I do wonder though if the odd ending (which is more of a stop than a true ending) might’ve been due to the series pivoting to tie into Absolute Carnage. A five issue mini-seires isn’t unheard of but it’s companion minis at the moment (Life Story and City at War) are noticeably 6 issues. So perhaps it was intended to go for six issues but got truncated for the sake of a tie-in.

The last page is actually rather intriguing. It promises a return of symbiote Spider-Man, which we all knew was going to happen because of Absolute Carnage, but that event goes unmentioned. Rather we have orange text with a Hobgoblin head showing!

This could mean one of two things.

Either Absolute Carnage will feature the Hobgoblin somehow.

OR...there is going to be an outright continuation revolving around the Hobgoblin.

If the latter it’s something of a double edged sword. On the one hand Hobgoblin is awesome. On the other hand Spidey never encountered him when he had the symbiote, believing him dead or disappeared so that’d go against established stories.

We shall just have to wait and see.

[jellydishes]

i recently rediscovered the Inquisitor as a Companion meme i had filled out for my Belluel Trevelyan (pictured here, on the left) several years ago, and wanted to post it here for own purposes (i.e. crying)

Belluel (Jacinta Immaculada Maita) Trevelyan

Alternate name: Her name is identical, though she is from a lesser branch of the Trevelyan family

Race, Class, & Specialization: Human, Duel-wielding rogue, Tempest

Varric’s Nickname for them: Jaws

How they are recruited: Belluel is first encountered on the Storm Coast a short distance away from where the dragon and the giant are battling, hunched in the ruins of a lifeboat with what surviving crew made it off her ship. She grips the hilts of her blades in her hands, and seems adamant in her refusal to leave her crew, some of whom are gravely injured.

Once the dragon leaves, the giant turns on Bell and her crew. The inquisitor can choose to fight the giant at this time, and if so, Bell leaves the scant cover of her lifeboat to provide assistance. If, however, the inquisitor avoids fighting the giant, Belluel will be understandably short with the inquisitor when they do speak, and several dialogue choices will be unavailable.

Either way, once the giant is finally dispatched, Belluel will approach the inquisitor. She promises the full support of herself and her ships, a pirate fleet she’s gathered under her command in the last ten years, if the inquisitor helps her repair her ships, damaged by storms and monster attacks.

The inquisitor can refuse to help Bell, or turn her offer down once the ships are repaired, at which point Belluel will scrub a hand down her face and say with brittle cheerfulness that she’s sure they’ll muddle along with them. Bell and her crew will be gone the next time the inquisitor comes by that spot, and will vanish from the game at that point.

If the inquisitor accepts, Bell will beam and tell the inquisitor that, really, they’re taking advantage of her good nature, seeing as how they’re getting a pirate captain and a fleet of ships out of the deal.

Like Iron Bull, her crew will accompany her to Haven/Skyhold. At Skyhold, her first mate Claudette can be found in one of the two buildings overlooking the bridge leading away from Skyhold, warming her hands over a fire (or, in the case of a glitch, IN the fire.) Talking to Claudette, as like Krem, provides additional information about Belluel and her crew, and will occasionally trigger quests. Usually, her crew will be put to use scouting out materials or harassing enemy forces on the seas, though they will also serve as protection for dignitaries and additional forces traveling from Rivain or Antiva.

Where they are in Skyhold: In Haven, Belluel can be found outside the walls by the trebuchets with her hands crammed up in her armpits and a wide smile turned towards the mountains, and the Free Marches. These first conversations with her are bright and cheerful and mostly lies. A Trevelyan inquisitor can call her out on a number of her lies, which will net both a laugh and disapproval.

In Skyhold, she can typically be found on the long bridge leading away from the fortress, leaning against the low wall and looking out over where the land breaks away from the sky. She will freely share stories of her decades at sea and of her various misadventures through every port town with a name and some that didn’t, always with a smile and a tilt of her head. Occasionally, if approached with the right amount of approval, she can be convinced to tell stories of her pre-Andrastrism gods and how they shaped the world, though, with the crooked smile she’s aiming at the inquisitor, it’s hard to tell if she’s telling the truth…

Things they Generally Approve of:

Providing assistance to mages whensoever possible, choosing dialogue options that support mage freedom, and, similarly, working against oppressive systems.

Good natured teasing.

Lying as a means to conceal your motives or true emotions will often be rewarded with a skeptical snort or a sideways, though wordless, glance, but a slight increase in approval. Similarly, cleverness and subterfuge. An easy way to get Bell’s approval rating up is to successfully beat her at riddles or word games. (This comes up later in her romance path, when she requests that the inquisitor help her locate a book of riddles given to her by her cousin Ista as a child, which is filled with their beginning efforts at code to make it past the circle’s censors, and that Bell had to leave behind when she ran away from her family home to be a pirate decades ago.)

Taking her to visit the tailor in Val Royeaux, wherein she will coo over waistcoats and tails and the detailed tooling on leather gloves. An additional approval point can be gained by purchasing and subsequently outfitting her in a specific item, which is randomly selected each playthrough.

A larger bonus can be gained after recruiting Dagna, after which Bell will be found in the undercroft, pulling up her pant leg to expose one of her prosthetic legs, conferring animatedly with Dagna over design and function and wouldn’t  it be magnificent if the leg came to a point?? The inquisitor can comment on the proceedings, during which approval can be won or lost (though, it should be noted, the inquisitor has no actual say on the final design). On this occasion, joking will be met stiffly if made at anything but the highest approval, and any serious attempts to change her mind will result in an invitation to suck on Phoenix eggs, and a loss of approval. (Shortly afterward, a short cutscene will be triggered where she will be seen giving a small sigh with her eyes sliding shut, shifting her weight from side to side to judge the fit, before opening an eye to a slit and joking that she’s “moving away from the floral motif. Whatever will people say.”)

Expressing skepticism in Andrastrism and/or the chantry, or inquiring after her gods and Rivaini background.

Riding on the rowboat on the Storm Coast, though only if she is actually present in the party.

Things they Generally Disapprove of:

Siding against mages, or choosing dialogue options that reinforce  oppresTHE LIESsive rules or beliefs.

Taking the amulet from Mihris in the Hinterlands will result in a loss of approval, while killing her will trigger a major loss of approval, and a small cutscene wherein Bell will stand rigid over her body in shock, before whirling on the inquisitor and shouting hoarsely at them. “How could you?!” She’ll cry out, slashing the air with a palm. “You’re supposed to be better than this! Than me!” If currently romanced, this is one of several triggers that can cause Bell to end the relationship.

Choosing to full-out decorate Skyhold with all of the chantry decorative options.

Upgrading the tower for templar usage.

Out and out cruelty in conversation choices, or in ignoring sidequests that benefit mages for a set amount of time, depending on the severity of the quest. (Taking your sweet time about delivering the amulet containing her phylactory to the mage in the Hinterlands, for example, will result in dropped approval.)

Confronting her directly about things she’s obviously lied about or evaded in conversation will often result in a loss of approval, though these can subsequently be won back if the inquisitor expresses genuine concern. These won’t win you the answers you’re looking for, either, not in the beginning, but Bell will give a start and a huff of a laugh and say with only a bit of awkwardness that she appreciates your concern. “It’s. Been some time since any but a select few people have called my bluffs. Perhaps I should play cards more, yeah?” (These same questions can be asked again after achieving high approval, and will net very different answers.)

Unnecessary killing, though she will admit, with clenched teeth and shaking fists, that the inquisitor is doing what they think best serves the inquisition, as she did (and does) with her crew. Continued executions will result in further loss of approval.

Hiding things that are considered important to someone’s well being (such as the fact that Dorian’s father wrote the letter from Dorian) result in a massive and immediate loss of approval.

Asking Krem transphobic questions. One of her mothers is a trans woman, and Belluel will immediately lose approval if the inquisitor picks certain dialogue choices. Additionally, she will bring this up the next time the inquisitor talks to her.

Mages, Templars, Other?: Belluel whole-heartedly supports mage freedom, and is openly disapproving of anyone expressing otherwise.

If pressed, she’ll admit that she’s given some thought to the ways her Rivaini mother Ahu described the circles in Rivain as being run, and will start to expound upon this before interrupting herself with a snort and settling her weight back on one leg, crossing her arms. “Well. That worked out so grand for Dairsmuid, then, didn’t it?”

If asked her opinion on the matter, Belluel will hem and haw and give her usual diversionary smiles and half truths before eventually telling the inquisitor that she supports Cassandra for the new divine based on the reforms she plans to make to the chantry, though Bell is also willing to hear the inquisitor out about their decision.

Friends in the Inquisition: (which canon characters are they close with?)

Belluel can often be found bullshitting with Varric, the both of them bent over mugs by the hearth, each trying to top the other, either in most believable lies or in the most unbelievable truths. Varric will take particular delight in telling her stories of Isabela, about whom Bell is greatly intrigued, while Bell will regale him with stories of her surviving sibling and twin, Rudy, who quit the pirating life many years ago and now lives in Kirkwall. After the jokes fall away, though, is where they find the other’s smile waiting for them.

She finds that she has a lot in common with Iron Bull. Once they get past that initial feeling out period wherein they take one-step-forward-two-steps-back, they settle into a comfortable rhythm of jokes and actual personal admissions carefully hidden as bunk. Several banters are the trading of riddles or talking entirely in code, with both trying to figure out what is actually being said.

She has great respect for Cassandra, and can sometimes be found sitting nearby Cassandra’s practice, discussing all manner of things. Cassandra will sometimes try to trap Belluel in a lie, but it is good natured, and Belluel somehow always manages to get a smile out of the seeker. Belluel is utterly, and unapologetically, head over heels for Cassandra, though she doesn’t know quite what to do with that information, often leading to her usual flirtations stumbling out of her mouth in a muddle. Numerous gifts make their way to Cassandra’s quarters, and Belluel can be spotted dancing with Vivienne, relearning the steps of a dance she’d long forgotten, though the inquisitor cannot interrupt.

Their relationship begins in fits and starts, but Belluel eventually becomes quite close with Vivienne, and will in fact eventually be heard to say that Vivienne is one of her few, close friends. They have very basic and very intrinsic disagreements about mages and the future of the circles, but through banter, it becomes obvious that the two are coming to genuinely appreciate each other despite this, and settle into a very easy back and forth.

She is unsure what to make of Cole at first, though she very quickly warms up to him. Their banters are warm, with Bell making mention of training him as a sailor after all of this.

Belluel and Dorian have their differences, most notably on the topic of slavery, though in most cases they get along very well, and become very close by the end of the game. She spends a lot of time with him in the library after his personal quest, talking of inconsequential things, joking and teasing and being silly just to get him to smile, though she can be spotted gripping his hand in hers and telling him with the utmost seriousness that she doesn’t have so many loved ones that she is ready to lose him just yet. She promises him that wheresoever he chooses to go, she and Ista will be there with him, whatever comes.

Though they couldn’t truly be called friends, Bell actually gets along better with Blackwall after his revelation than she did before, though she certainly does not approve, and in banters with him will admit that she cannot fault him for wanting to be someone else.

Romanceable?: Belluel is romanceable by women and nonbinary individuals of any race, and is available for poly relationships.

At low approval, or if the flirtation options are only occasionally chosen, Bell will return any and all flirtations with a laugh and a wink, including flirtations from men.

Once medium approval has been reached, Bell will cock her head at further flirtations, something going stiff in the edges of her smile. She will hesitate only a moment before shaking her head with a laugh. At this point, she will gracefully let down men with a clap to the shoulder and an offer of drinks at the tavern, and will meet further flirtations from women and nonbinary individuals with a flustered, crooked smile and a hand to the back of her neck. She “hadn’t actually considered this far,” she’ll admit.

“That’s not true,” she’ll say after a time, the first time in the inquisitor’s memory that she’s admitted to a lie, and will look down at her cupped hands before glancing back up at the inquisitor. “You are. Filling in a lot of spaces with light and noise, my dear inquisitor, and."

Still, she will hesitate, starting and stopping several times before she goes on to say, ”I’m not used to things going well, you’ll find. With ships or with people. It will go wrong, eventually, or all at once. I’m still not convinced that they won’t,” Bell will add with a breathless laugh that tried for normalcy, “but- if you’re serious-” She will draw in a breath and take up the inquisitor’s hand in hers, saying, “I wouldn’t mind seeing where they can go right.”

If the inquisitor approaches Bell and initiates private moments, there will be a cutscene of the pair of them holding hands on the staircase overlooking the main hall, Bell breathing out a smile before tipping her head to press kisses to the corner of the inquisitor’s mouth, hands rising to caress their face.

Early on, in a conversation triggered by walking by Belluel while she is talking with either Cassandra or Josephine enough times to witness certain fumbling smiles, Belluel will take the inquisitor up to the inquisitor’s bedroom for a private discussion. She’ll pace the length of the bedroom, holding her arms behind her back, pursing her lips before telling the inquisitor with a slow and measured carefulness that she’s poly, and if asked will explain, emphasizing trust and mutual respect, before falling quiet again.

Bell will stop moving and draw herself up to her full, if diminutive, height, and inform the inquisitor that she had only recently ended a long-term relationship with her first mate, Claudette. For over ten years, she will explain haltingly, the pair of them had spent a good deal of their time hurting each other, with Bell taking solace from events in her past and current depression in drink and in increasingly risky pirating activities, while Claudette turned to dallying with men and women outside of their relationship. Which would have been fine, she’ll take care to say, except that Claudette had never approved of Bell’s being poly, and took pains to hide her liaisons. Neither spoke of it, of any of it, and it festered between them for years.

Only recently, she’ll say, did she find it in herself to break things off, round about the time she found out about Ista’s disappearance. If asked why she’d never ended the relationship earlier (which will earn a sharp look but no loss in approval), Belluel will merely say that it’s not so easy to climb out of a hole when the sky holds just as many horrors.

Belluel will fall silent again for long moments after her story before giving herself a shake. “I haven’t even told Ista that,” she says. “I haven’t told anyone. I only tell you so you will fully understand what I mean when I say that that is not what I want. I want. I-” Belluel will drag a hand down her face again to grasp at her mouth. “I love you,” she says, simply, “but I have room in my heart for other people. I always have.”

At this point the inquisitor can A) Accept Belluel and her expand the relationship, which will both continue the romance and open up additional pathways for romance with other characters, eventually triggering cutscenes with Belluel involving those characters. Belluel herself will approach Josephine and Cassandra if the inquisitor does not.

B) Accept Belluel but decline expanding the relationship, which will continue the relationship unchanged.

C) End the relationship, to which Belluel will step back with her hands clenched behind her back, her crooked smile falling to pieces. She will reach for a joke and, finding nothing, will wordlessly leave the inquisitor’s bedroom. Later, she will be found sitting beside Ista, their joined hands between them as they share quiet stories of times past.

Also: Midway through the romance, Belluel will initiate sex. Turning down her offer of sex will have no negative consequence on the romance, and will trigger a cutscene wherein Belluel takes the inquisitor up to the battlements wherein Bell will be seated beside the inquisitor atop the battlements, arms linked together, voice a low hush as they talk over everything and nothing.

If unromanced, Bell will romance a similarly unromanced Josephine and Cassandra, both if they are both available.

Small side mission: Between the Lines

Belluel requests that the inquisition use it’s resources to track down former circle mages that hailed from the Free Marches and are located throughout Orlais and Fereldan, though she’s rather cagey as to the reason, more so than usual. If present in the party when the mages are located, Belluel talks with them, and bags will change hands. Belluel will refuse to discuss the bag’s contents with the inquisitor, and if pressed, will tell the inquisitor an obvious lie.

As with Blackwall, she disapproves if she is not in the party when they are located, and will make pointed remarks about this when talked to back in Haven/Skyhold.

Several items can be shaved off the questline if you take her along to the Winter Palace, where she can be spotted in one of the side rooms, trying to leverage some of the power behind her family name in order to track down a certain artifact, though the inquisitor’s presence is spotted before much of significance is heard.

Companion quest: Words, Words, Words

After her approval is high, Belluel will barge into the war room in a triggered cutscene to demand Leliana’s help and, when confronted by the inquisitor, their help as well. For once, Belluel’s usual easy going smile is shaken, and she is quite serious when she tells the inquisitor the purpose of her side mission: she has been bargaining, wheedling, and outright bribing mages in order to suss out the location of her cousin Ista’s phylactory.

Ista, she tells the inquisitor, had half raised her when they were both children, until she had, Bell would say delicately, “shown signs of magic” and, less delicately, “been stolen away by those utter bastards in armor” when Ista had been twelve and Bell had been six. They kept in regular contact through letters, passing along hidden messages through increasingly convoluted code, and Bell became worried when those letters cut off recently. Ista, she says, has disappeared from the Ostwick circle in the confusion of the war. Much of the circle’s contents had also since disappeared, Bell had discovered, including the phylactories.

Bell requests the inquisitor’s help in locating Ista’s phylactory so that no one could use it against her, even if that means that she wouldn’t be able to use it to find Ista, either. Further questioning will reveal that Bell had not met the inquisitor by chance— she had purposefully driven her fleet in through unseasonal storms in order to meet up with the fledgling inquisition. As fleeting as the hope of their assistance may have been, it was still the best chance she had of finding Ista’s phylactory.

The quest itself takes about three hours of research, after which time Ista’s phylactory, and Ista herself, is eventually located in the Hinterlands with a small group of young mages and tranquil, penned into a box canyon by red templars. Belluel will demand that the inquisition journey there right now, this very instant, damnit.

The mission is TIMED. If the quest is not begun within a set amount of time, Belluel will leave Skyhold. She can be caught up with in the Hinterlands, though she will be bitterly angry with the inquisitor, and will barely be able to speak through her anger and worry.

When they arrive, Ista is clearly in trouble. The vegetation around her is a scorched ruin, and a number of red templars lie dead, but there are more, always more, and Ista is flagging. Seeing no other course to protect her charges, Ista gulps down her last lyrium potion at the inquisition’s approach, and tears open a hole in the Fade that begins to draw in everything in a large radius, including Ista herself.

Belluel grows desperate, and tears away from the inquisitor. Dousing herself in an alchemical solution, Belluel hurls herself down the canyon towards the Templars and her cousin, damaging her prosthetics in her haste and nearly tumbling down the canyon wall.

Option 1: The inquisitor can seal the rift, which requires opening it still further and dealing with the demons that emerge. Multiple pride demons have to be dealt with, including the red templars.

After the battle, Belluel and Ista will joyfully reunite, and Ista will be gained as an agent. Ista will subsequently be found nearby Bell’s location in Skyhold, and can be talked to, though will have limited dialogue.

Option 2:

The inquisitor can refuse to help, try to delay or stop Belluel, or collapse precariously balanced boulders down on the canyon.

Depending on the choices made during the battle, Ista may or may not survive the battle, but any combination of the above will result in Belluel leaving the inquisition.

If Ista dies, Bell will collapse at her side, passing a shaking hand over her face before balling her fist up by her mouth. Without speaking a word to anyone, Belluel will gather her cousin up and disappear in the direction of the coast. Later, Belluel will turn her pirates against the inquisition forces in a series of brutal attacks, and can be captured in a subsequent quest, at which point Belluel can be imprisoned, forced to once again turn her fleet towards the good of the inquisition, or be executed.

If Ista survives, Belluel and her crew will permanently leave the inquisition, along with Ista. The pair hug, Bell leaning up to kiss one of Ista’s largest scars and to whisper things in her ear that go unheard by the inquisitor, and then off they go, without a backward look.

Afterward, reports on the war table tell you that the pair have ended up using Bell’s boats to ferry refugees, particularly rebel mages away, from dangerous areas.

The inquisitor will later get a quest on the war table about a minor Fereldan lord getting riled up because Bell’s crew was spotted flying pirate colors off the coast, and setting up a war camp full of apostates and criminals on his lands. Varying reports coming in accuse Belluel of intercepting shipments of food and armaments for the use of her crew or, according to one particularly colorful tale, planning on deposing the lord and setting up her cousin Ista as the new ruler of the lands.

If Cullen is used to strongarm Bell, Ista, and their crew away from the lord’s lands, they resist, and a good number of pirates die defending the apostates and refugees. Bell herself is injured in the attack. Some time later, the inquisitor will be notified in a bit of ambient dialogue from Josephine that the inquisition has received a bill from Belluel for the cost of a replacement prosthetic leg from a certain artisan in Val Royeaux.

If Josephine is used to negotiate a parcel of land for the refugees, a grateful Belluel will (somewhat begrudgingly) pass along a bit of intelligence about venatori forces moving along the coast, earning a bit of influence for the inquisition. The letter notifying the inquisitor of success will be from Belluel, informing Josephine (and, therefore, the inquisitor) that, as leader of their combined forces, all further messages can be directed to Bann Ista, please and thank you. The inquisition earns a small amount of influence.

If Leliana is used, Belluel and Ista’s forces will be slowly picked away by Leliana’s agents until Belluel is forced to gather what remains of her people and retreat back to the relative safety of the sea,  leaving much of her supplies and ships behind. The inquisition earns a substantial amount of money from this course of action.

[magicbound-a]

Companion Verse

FULL NAME: Orsino VARRIC’S NICKNAME: Duke. ( thanks to @extravagantliar )  AGE: Fifty-two (52) main game and fifty-five (55) during Trespasser.  RACE: Elf (city/circle).  CLASS: Mage. SPECIALIZATION: Force magic.

RECRUITMENT QUEST

   The Inquisitor will first meet Orsino during the meeting with Fiona in the pre-acquisition to In Hushed Whispers. He will be briefly introduced by Fiona as helping oversee the mages before he excuses himself, saying he can be spoken with after the Inquisitor sits down with Fiona first. He does not have a presence during the negotiations with Fiona and Alexius. 

   After a little bit of exploring, he can be found in Redcliffe, able to be conversed with. He seems distressed about the turn of events with Fiona and Tevinter, but seems more outraged with the Order and Tevinter than he does Fiona. There’s minor hints in his dialogue that he plans to do something about it all, but nothing is said outright. 

   Companions will comment on his existence, either about who he is and the rumors about him. If Varric is brought along, there will be a minor dialogue cutscene when the building is exited where Varric will talk more about Orsino and also address the lies he told about Orsino’s death and the dramatized use of blood magic. Varric is reluctant to say anything about him actually doing blood magic and it’s left very vague. 

   It’s not until after the move to Skyhold that he regains relevance. If In Hushed Whispers was completed, Fiona will reveal that before the Inquisitor traveled to Redcliffe Castle to meet with Alexius, a large chunk of the mages suddenly went missing. She shares that she thinks Orsino had something to do with it, having good intentions, and that the Inquisitor should look for him and the mages. She says the Inquisitor should go to the advisers. If Champions of the Just was completed instead, the information will come straight from the advisers instead. 

   Talking to either Leliana, Josephine, or Cullen will say that there had been sightings and rumors of a group of mages by spies, nobles, or soldiers according to the respective adviser that pinpoints them to a tucked away area in the Hinterlands. Once traveled there, Orsino and the mages will be found. Initially defensive ( or hostile if templars were sided with ), the Inquisitor can reason with him where eventually he can be recruited as long as the Inquisitor promises that no harm will come to these mages. 

   The first conversation with him will be about either In Hushed Whispers or Champions of the Just. 

If the mages were allied with, you will receive heavy approval from him immediately.

If the mages were conscripted, you will be met with medium disapproval. 

If the templars were allied with, you will be met with heavy disapproval.

If the templars were conscripted, you will be met with medium disapproval unless the dialogue tree is carefully navigated. Orsino is skeptical for the time being. 

LOCATION IN SKYHOLD

   He can be found in the gardens or the library, away from other people. 

APPROVES

   Orsino approves of any kindness and mercy displayed to mages, notably circle mages. In general, he will approve of generosity, kindness, and mercy shown to anyone who had been dealt a bad hand, had been inflicted with injustice, or had made honest mistakes. He believes in peaceful resolutions as long as it does not infringe on someone’s right to justice or a truly abhorrent person is given mercy. While he believes in personal choice and personal freedom, openly detesting the Circles, he approves of reform, allowing mages to govern themselves, and does actively believe that it’s best for everyone that mages have access to education and people of their own kind. He does not approve of reform of the Order or the inclusion of templars. Any uses of tranquility will result in great disapproval. 

      Companion Quest: similar to other companions, Orsino has optional quests in different regions. These quests comprise of finding small groups of refugee mages and promising them safety within the Inquisition. This is not his major companion quest, only a way to earn approval like other companions.

Allying with the mages. 

Ally with the Grey Wardens. 

Let Celene and Briala co-rule. 

Not doing the rituals in the Temple of Mythal. 

Morrigan drinks from the well. 

Dalish Inquisitor drinking from the well will grant approval.

DISAPPROVES

   Orsino disapproves of any overly support of the Order, templars, and the Chantry. He disapproves of any talk about mages needing to be governed or the Circles being re-established without reform. Severe punishment of mages and circle mages will net disapproval. Denying justice, using violent resolutions, giving mercy to abusive individuals, and stifling personal choice/freedom gives disapproval. 

Conscripting the mages or templars. 

Allying with the templars.

Let Gaspard rule (even if blackmailed by Briala). 

Doing the rituals in the Temple of Mythal. 

Any race except a Dalish elf drinking from the well.

PERSONAL QUEST(S) + TAROT CARDS

    Orsino’s initial card is based upon the TEN OF SWORDS. One of the larger qualities to Orsino was the tragic loss he endured at the Right of Annulment and how the trauma lingers even years later. A lot of Orsino’s reactions and opinions on things are either based upon his life in the Circle or the Right of Annulment. He is reluctant speaking of personal details of his life, though high approval and banter with other characters will gradually ease him open. 

   The details of Orsino’s relationship with blood magic is ambiguous until an inquisitor has warm or friendly approval with him OR some other path has been taken to learn details about Orsino that he wouldn’t give ( what this path is up to the blog, but it can be something like war tables missions or seeking and forcing information from people who would know the truth ). Before, everything was based on rumors and conflicting counts. If asked too early, he denied it. 

   However, if that workaround was chosen and the Inquisitor chooses to reveal they knew the truth about Orsino before he brings it up himself, the inquisitor will receive disapproval. Alternatively, if the Inquisitor waits until Orsino’s approval is high enough for him to reveal it himself, the Inquisitor can reveal they knew all along but waited until he opened up the conversation first. The Inquisitor will receive approval if this was done with good intentions, but disapproval if it was done with bad intentions.

   Overall, the level of approval and disapproval the Inquisitor receives is based upon the Inquisitor’s personal reaction, morals, and understanding. At the end of the conversation, Orsino will express his anxieties and dilemma about whether or not he should continue using blood magic or not. He argues that quitting is not as easy as it seems and that he only ever uses himself for blood, but also admits his fear that he has become too reliant on it and has failed morally.

   The Inquisitor can choose to suggest Orsino either quit using blood magic or "encourage” him to continue, which he will say he’ll ponder their answer and say the Inquisitor might be right. These choices don’t decide his overall outcome yet nor does it affect approval, but will affect later decisions. 

   Orsino’s major quest begins with him informing the Inquisitor that he had heard whispering and rumors of a large group of Circle survivors from Kirkwall hiding in an abandoned but minor fort, a special area the Inquisitor can travel directly too. He mentions that the survival rate of the mages in Kirkwall was tragically small and that he had known of the whereabouts of most of them, leaving him eager to see if there is more than he thought. He adds on that there was an observed rise of rogue templars in the area, making him worried that they may be planning to attack the survivors.

   Once the fort is traveled to, the group will be met by hostile forces of rogue templars. Orsino insists on battling to the heart of the fort, suspicious that he has yet to see any live or dead presences of mages, but also holding onto hope that they’re hiding within and there’s still a chance to save them. Once the fort’s most inner walls are breached, it’s revealed that there was never any survivors and that the information had been fabricated by a group of templars trying to bait Orsino into a trap. Their reasoning being that he’s a mage who escaped a justifiable Right of Annulment and a maleficar. 

   The group of templars overpowers the group and smites Orsino, draining him of mana. As the leader of the templars is about to deliver a fatal blow to the Inquisitor, blood will begin to drip from his noise and he becomes unable to move. In a desperate attempt, unable to cast, Orsino had turned to blood magic to save the Inquisitor. Enraged and despaired with broken hope, Orsino will force the templar leader closer to him and increase the amount of agony the templar is in until it’s apparent Orsino is going to murder him.  

   The Inquisitor receives two critical choices: allow Orsino to kill the templar with blood magic or convince Orsino to spare him so he can be brought in for judgement. Once again, neither of these choices result in an approval change. 

   Back at Skyhold, the Inquisitor will enter one last conversation with Orsino where the Inquisitor can decide whether to tell Orsino to quit or tell Orsino it’s okay/encourage him to continue. 

   Earning approval is based upon CONSISTENCY. If an Inquisitor suggested Orsino continue, allowed him to kill the templar, but then said Orsino should quit, he will disapprove. Vice versa. At least ONE of the previous two choices must line up with the final decision to earn approval. For example, an Inquisitor who suggested he work on quitting but allowed him to kill the Templar will still earn approval for either final decision. He will follow the final decision, even if it garnered disapproval.

   Once this quest is completed, all of the other companions will know for sure that Orsino is a maleficar and this will affect banter. 

   Orsino’s card changes based upon the final decision, even if it was an inconsistent choice that received disapproval: 

If Orsino continues using blood magic, his card will be themed after THE DEVIL.

If Orsino is convinced to quit using blood magic, his card will be themed after JUDGEMENT.

ROMANCE

   Orsino is open to being romanced by any Inquisitor of any race and gender as long as they’re above a certain age (over twenty-five), are not pro-templar and pro-circle, and you have high approval with him. He will turn down Inquisitor’s he thinks to be too young and immature. 

   If romanced, his tarot card is based on THE STAR.

[anyu-blue]

Joran Lavellan as a Companion

I was Tagged by @littleblue-eyedbird Thank you again!!

I don’t have anyone to tag with an inquisitor, but if you see this and wanna do it, please do!!

Inquisitor’s Name: Joran Lavellan Race / Class / Specialization: Dalish Elf, Rogue, Assasin Gender Identity: Male

Varric’s Nickname for them: Spook (Joran has a tenancy to get lost in thought during down time/while reading and gets spooked by people easily because of this. It’s hilarious.)

Short bio: Joran Lavellan is a soft hearted, yet level headed elf who uses his skills to the advantage of as many people as possible. Being raised by his entire clan with his parents being dead, he learned early on what benefited all most certainly would benefit individuals. While he doesn’t particularly enjoy his job (both chosen and thrust upon him), he has the kind of determination to keep doing the best he can at all times if only for the sake of others.

What would their companion card look like?

Default Card: (Page of Swords) Possibly the most simple of the bunch, Joran’s card would feature his profile half obscured by dark trees, green leaves falling in such a way they frame his hand and a silver dagger held out in the open.

(see below for alternatives)

Recruitment mission:  

“Find the Assassin/Remove the Mask”

Leliana: “Reports are trickling in about a lone, masked figure picking off some of our enemies on the Free marches- man and demon alike. It is unknown what the figure’s goal is and it would be prudent to find out. They may be an asset if it is not just coincidence. Caution is advised, though we still need to understand their motives.”

Cullen, Leliana, or Josephine may be chosen to complete the task of sending someone to meet this figure with varying times; Cullen being the longest as it will cause a minor stand-off, Leliana’s agents taking a moderate amount of time as they play cat and mouse with him, and Josephine’s agents will be easily recognized and confronted quickly.

The Inquisitor will be able to complete the preliminary preparations operation at the war table early on and then the main quest will be accessible shortly afterwards. Depending on who is sent will determine what kind of mood the assassin is in for a cut scene near Planasene Forest- irritated, wary, or warm.

Depending on continued dialog choices all emotions are possible, but eventually the figure- a skilled hunter turned assassin- removes his hood and mask and reveals he was once a part of Clan Lavellan(or a separate clan if inquisitor is Lavellan) and broke away once the Chantry fell. He could no longer sit idly by hearing of the chaos and pain it was causing. He will ask to join the inquisitor’s cause to finally see some form of peace restored and offer a show of skill should the inquisitor ask for it.

The inquisitor can choose to decline his request and will receive Intel of his still roaming the marches attacking demons and bandits alike (albeit with a more extravagant mask) later on in the game, or accept and gain a new agent for the Inquisition.

Where they would be in Skyhold / Haven:

In Haven (if applicable) Joran will be just outside of the tavern window.

In Skyhold, Joran will often be found off to the side of the stables (about where the assassin trainer is for rogues).

Personal quests:

Quest 1: The Heaviest Heart- Before deciding on whether an infirmary or a war camp is founded on Skyhold’s grounds, Joran will approach the Inquisitor with a personal matter. With low approval he will only be curious as the inquisitor’s thoughts on war versus its casualties and can gain approval/disapproval based on the level of empathy displayed in the Inquisitor’s dialogue choices. With neutral/high approval an extra bit of dialog is available in which Joran confesses wishing he could have been a healer instead of a killer, mention the significance of his Vallaslin, and remark on how heavy the many deaths he is and will be responsible for weighs on him. The inquisitor will have the option to console him and tell him they believe his sense of justice is well founded (slightly approves), To tell him to just keep on doing what he does best (no approval change) or to tell him to buck up, this is a war and no place for something like that (slightly disapproves). He will slightly approve if an infirmary is built and there will be no change if it is not.

Quest 2:  Laying in Waiting- after Joran joins the inquisition and after clan Lavellan is saved/wiped out in the war table operation this optional operation will become available. If not done before the next major mission, it will disappear and quest 3 will be unavailable. Joran will ask for resources to track down some responsible parties and bring them to justice. This can be approved or denied with slight changes in approval but regardless will begin a small series of events that have the Inquisitor and a team (that must include Joran) at a base of operations. There are several wounded and captive peoples with keys needing to be found and the outcome will depend on the level of empathy displayed to those innocent and those responsible. He will make several comments going through the base about detesting torture and wanting justice for all the atrocities already committed and still happening like this. If empathy levels are not high enough, too much innocent blood is spilled/ignored or too many guilty are not captured/killed, Joran will greatly disprove and many further dialog options and quest 3 will become unavailable. With high enough empathy however he will approve and a ‘judgement’ will become available at Skyhold for a major general. He will outright disapprove of torturing the man for information, but be alright with the other options including making him useful at Skyhold or executing him for his crimes; Joran himself will do the honors.

Quest 3: In Life and Fire Breath- After killing 2 dragons with Joran in the party after Laying in Wait, a cut scene will open up. Joran will once again (or first time if approval was too low initially) open up about his wish to bring life instead of death and will also ask to talk privately about his confliction in killing dragons more in depth with the inquisitor. Denial will end the scene and the quest, acceptance will bring the Inquisitor and Joran to another cut scene at the stables where Joran will gently pick up a beetle walking on the wood.

-If an high approval/romance is held, Joran will start talking immediately, musing on the worth of a beetle or mount compared to a dragon, and then compare himself to the ‘fire breathing killers’ everyone is always on about.   —————Romance can be locked by the inquisitor telling Joran that they love his compassion and care, even for creatures everyone else would call monsters. He will confess he always thought himself too much of a hypocritical pushover, but is so grateful to have been found by another extremely caring individual (’with the cutest ears’ if inquisitor is dalish).

-If high-approval and the inquisitor mocks Joran’s musings, he will Greatly disprove and end the scene in major discomfort, telling the inquisitor they should probably watch their back from now on. -If low-approval is held, Joran will wait for the Inquisitor to make the first comment before talking and will once again gain or lose disapproval based on empathy displayed. If none is forthcoming whatsoever, Joran will permanently disprove of the Inquisitor and their opinions. If empathy is displayed, approval can rise and Joran will dismiss himself in the end to sort through his head and opinions.

How to get their approval/disapproval:

Approval is gained when lending a hand, or blade, to those in need of help. Even if the cause turns out to be not the greatest, Joran will still be grateful the inquisitor is trying to do the honest/right thing. Anytime a life is spared outright or suffering is ended quickly, Joran will approve.

Disapproval on the other hand is quickly gained by being overly rude, sadistic, dishonest, or blatantly uncaring for the plight or pain of others. Directly being the cause of pain and torture will make it extremely difficult to gain a high approval rating.

Joran will approve of promoting kindness in Cole and disapproves of any encouragement of mean acts. He also greatly disapproves of sacrificing The Iron Bull’s chargers and will approve of saving them, even though in the end a sacrifice was still made. He does not enjoy or approve of using/deceiving any person against their will in a way that does not also benefit themselves.

Breakdown of Approval Ratings for Major Missions:

Fate of the Mages Conscript: Disapproves Ally: Approves

Fate of the Templars Disband: No Change Ally: Slightly Approves

Inquisitor’s Lead: A Dwarf/Elf/Qunari Stands for us all: Approves Example as a Mage: Approves For Faith: No change For Order: Approves For What’s Right: Greatly Approves To Stop Corypheus: Approves For Personal Power: Greatly Disapproves For Vengeance: No change

Fate of the Wardens Exile: Disapproves Ally:  Slightly Approves

Ruler of Orlais Gaspard: Disapproves Briala: Slightly Approves Celene: No Change Reunite: Slightly Approves Spare Everyone: Slightly Disapproves Arrest Florianne: Greatly Approves Save Celene: Approves Kill Celene: No change

Abelas Alliance Ally: Approves Reject: Disapproves

Drink from the Well: Non-Lavellan Inquisitor Drinks: Slightly Approves Lavellan Inquisitor Drinks: Slightly Approves Morrigan Drinks: Slightly Disapproves

Are they romanceable?

Open to all races and genders. The inquisitor will have special romance specific dialogue options and scenes- including the option to spend time with Joran and the animals in the stables. He will gladly give his significant other a kiss any time they ask for it.

Can you have sex with them?

Romance only. Joran is not a flirt prefers only those within of his range of trust knowing him intimately. A special cut scene can be activated once romance is locked by bringing him a pot (puchased in Val Royeaux) soil (gathered in the hinterlands) and a seed (found in the Hissing Wastes).

Are they open to polyamoury?

Certainly, so long as it is mutual all around. Secrets are dangerous things.

If they can be romanced and are not, will they begin a relationship / relationships with other character(s)? If so, who?

Joran has the potential to have a relationship with Cassandra, The Iron Bull, or Dorian if brought on missions often enough with one of them.

He will remark on Cassandra’s own love of reading alongside his own and so long as Varric is in the party once for him to pester, a romance can start with her based on his series.

For The Iron Bull, Joran must be present during dragon fights to learn of the Bull’s interest and fascination with hunting them- Dorian cannot be in the party as well or they will potentially develop their own romance.

Dorian must be in the party directly before and as soon after his personal companion quest as possible and unromanced for Joran to well and truly notice his need of friendly presences that could potentially blossom into something more.

Who are they friendly with?

Everyone. He detests growing or picking any fights.

Who do they dislike?

A low approval inquisitor.

Companion card changes: (use a text descrip. if you have no images)

Loyalty: (Hierophant) With support on his loyalty mission, The trees will move into the backdrop, framing him in a halo of green and gold from the sunset. Kneeling, one one of his hands is holding the silver dagger to his breast over his heart in a salute, and one hand raised with a silver chalice above his head.

Loyalty Alternative: (Tower) Either neglecting Joran’s loyalty quest or should it fail along the line, his card will take a much more sinister turn. The trees will still be in the backdrop, but they will be bare, the brown and dead leaves at his feet. His back to the viewer face sneering to the side, a dagger will be in each hand, one dripping blood and the other green poison. Joran will permanently dislike those who neglected to help his mission and romance will be impossible.

Romance: Dagger(s) and thick forest abandoned, Joran’s head will be framed in a halo of moonlight reflected in a pool of water in front of which he sits comfortably. Two red leaves will be held aloft in a romantic pseudo heart shape, stark against a twinkling night sky.

Side Missions:

Target Acquired. Repeatable mission in which Joran can be dispatched/used to take out an unruly target and receive a random item in return- Neutral or positive approval only.

Opinions on mages / templars / how the world is going to shit?

Joran has a really hard time with the war and conflicts. He can see reason(s) in both/all sides, though absolutely detests the poor treatment of people; It enrages him and he uses that rage to kill those whom he deems deserving of nothing else. When it comes to Circles, he wishes that less force and less rules were necessary/used to keep both the mages and the world safe. He has a small personal fear of mages themselves and the unrestrained power some seem to have. Those with too much that go unchecked can wreak havoc and some do not care whom they may hurt along the way. The same can be said for templars, however, and he has heard too many a story of people being abused simply for having any power- which can also lead to them becoming overwhelmed and hurting people themselves.

All in all, it gives him a headache. He is only one man and can only do so much to stop the injustices in the world. That does not stop him from trying with all his might though.

Something guaranteed to make them leave the party:

No matter how disagreeable the Inquisitor may become, even if they should rampage and ravage people and lands, Joran will not leave. The inquisition is the best place from within which he can help even a small few and he will not abandon his sense of duty. He is also afraid of being entirely alone again, having left his clan.

Special Events:

Imprisoned at Redcliffe: How is your companion holding up in Redcliffe, being slowly infected with red lyrium over the course of a year?

Should he be imprisoned- Joran’s a fighter and in some ways that makes it harder on him. Being trapped and corrupted slowly, the voices would be loud and unrelenting. Sometimes his want of justice and peace for the world would be louder and help him get through a day, but other times his own guilt will eat and eat and eat at him. He’d be quite haggard by the time he was released, hanging on to his sanity by a thread.

At the Winter Palace: Does your Inquisitor enjoy the party, any special events with them at the Palace?

Should he be in the party, Joran will be leaning against a pillar half hiding from the proceedings, but watching closely. If approached, he will remark that while the palace is lovely, some of the guests are deplorable. He will express his distaste for those whom have their riches only thanks to the toil and pain of others. He will also mention he’s happy to save face for the sake of the inquisition, but oh how he wishes a few of those attending could meet his dagger for the sake of those they step on.

If romanced, the inquisitor will have the option to pull Joran into a dance at the end of the night and bring a smile to his face/lighter thoughts to his head.

In the Fade: Companion’s reaction upon entering the Fade? Archdemon’s taunt, and Companion’s response? Epitaph on their grave?

Joran would take great comfort in that everyone seems to be alright and still has the use of their weapons. He will try to keep a level head about all of it, but would actually be freaking out a little bit.

His epitaph would say 'Unwanton Murderer’

The nightmare would prey on Joran’s fear of being wrong and of hurting people without cause. It would tell him he is dripping with the blood of innocents and that no matter how hard he tries to be a good person, he will never wash away what he has done. (At this point, the inquisitor will have the option to offer Joran a pat to the shoulder and receive one in return if approval is high enough). Joran would not be able to respond to any of the accusations and will relax with the comfort the inquisitor offers, if any. Otherwise he will shove it all down as he usually does and quietly get on with it.

Trespasser: What is your Inquisitor up to two years after Corypheus’ defeat? Any special events with them over the events of Trespasser?

Joran would continue with the inquisition and work closely with Leliana (or other spymaster), becoming one of her people. He will gladly be a message carrier in keeping in contact with the Divine and anyone scattered, and of course he will help in all available ways in tracking down Solas for the inquisitor.

If romanced, there will be a special cut scene of him returning and running to embrace the inquisitor and fussing over them/asking how they are. (If he romanced another companion, there will be something of a photobomb of him doing this to them in the background of a different cut scene)

Other Major Events: Any other major events that happen with them over the course of the main game?

In most Joran just kinda does his own thing, but can occasionally be found in the library, chatting with other companions before/during side quests, and is always present (when applicable) for the “sit in judgement” scenes.

[aion-rsa]

Doctor Who: Ranking the Dalek Stories – Which is the Best?

https://ift.tt/2ZLI4i2

“… hideous, machine-like creatures. They are legless, moving on a round base. They have no human features. A lens on a flexible shaft acts as an eye, arms with mechanical grips for hands.” Terry Nation’s script for ‘The Survivors’ (aka ‘The Daleks’ Part Two)

The Daleks, along with Judge Dredd, are fictional fascists beloved by a wide audience. At their heart is a combination of terrifying concept – Nazis who always return (imagine) – with a triumph of design. The greatest Dalek stories tap into this uneasy alliance.

A quick summary of the thinking behind this article:

A. We thought people would enjoy it.

B. If a story features the Daleks in a small cameo role, I’ve not included it (for example, ‘Frontier in Space’, ‘The Wedding of River Song’, ‘The Pilot’). I’ve removed ‘The Day of the Doctor’ and ‘The Time of the Doctor’: it seems silly to rate them based on their Dalek content.

The rankings are not based purely on how entertaining I find the stories, but also on how the Daleks are used and developed, the Doctor’s response to them and what that says (within both the larger context of the show’s history and the stories surrounding it). As this only covers television stories, I should mention that I think the best Dalek story of all time is the Big Finish audioplay ‘Jubilee’ by Rob Shearman, which you should know as little as possible about before listening to.

24. Planet of the Daleks

Having not seen this until its DVD release, I don’t have any residual affection for this story from childhood (unlike other stories on this list; I thought ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’ was great when I was nine).

‘Planet’comes across as lazy now. To be fair to Terry Nation, no one could rewatch episodes in 1972, and so his first script for the show since 1965 drew heavily on his old stories. The result is a rote traipse through the familiar.

It’s not without positives: The Doctor’s grief and rage when he thinks Jo is dead is very well acted, although the oft quoted “Courage isn’t just a matter of not being frightened” line works better in isolation than in the actual scene, which feels like HR has invited Jon Pertwee in to do a motivational seminar.

23. Destiny of the Daleks

Terry Nation’s final script for Doctor Who clashed with Script Editor Douglas Adams. Adams tried to zest up what he regarded as tired Nation standards (including radiation poisoning, overambitious monsters, a rare mineral, a quest, things named after their primary characteristic, invisible monsters, jungle planets, aggressive vegetation, flaky Daleks, unfortunate comedy episodes and plagues). The lack of budget is obvious, with knackered Dalek props and an ill-fitting Davros mask (actor David Gooderson also cannot lift Davros’ generic villain dialogue).

Some jokes land (‘Ooh look! Rocks!’) as does some of the Mild Peril (Episode 3’s cliff-hanger especially), but the story about inertia reflects its subject. K9 doesn’t appear because Nation didn’t want him to distract from the Daleks, then reduces them to impotent robots in thrall to their creator anyway.

22. Daleks in Manhattan/ Evolution of the Daleks

It’s not that this re-treads ideas from ‘Evil of the Daleks’, or that the science strains credulity even by Doctor Who standards, it’s that this story feels strangely perfunctory despite its ambitions. This is a shame because there are some great moments in the first episode where the Daleks plot, skulk and lament. It feels salvageable, but Russell T. Davies was ill and unable to perform his usual rewrites on the scripts, and the result feels like ticking off items on a Tenth Doctor Bingo card.

We do get the mental image of the Cult of Skaro sneaking around 1920s New York trying to kidnap a pig though, so you can’t say that it’s all bad.

21. The Chase

‘The Chase’ starts off well and cosy. Terry Nation sets the initial action on a desert planet called Aridius where some aliens from RADA are menaced by a giant ballbag. The regulars are all enjoying themselves. Then we getawkward comedy skits, a poorly judged trip to the Marie Celeste, and a sequence in a haunted house where everyone is stupid for some reason. The momentum never fully recovers from this.

Giving the Daleks time travel to pursue the TARDIS is an important development, and it’s a fantastic set for the interior, but the middle of this story lets it down.

20. Resurrection of the Daleks

From this point on, using the Daleks required approval by Terry Nation or his estate. Nation had been unsatisfied by other writers’ version of the Daleks, which is quite the take, and refused to allow another writer to tackle them until a convention appearance changed his mind. Nation’s feedback on an Eric Saward script meant that the story was revised and became overfull to satisfy both writers’ visions.

A delay in production gave time for streamlining, but nonetheless ‘Resurrection’ is messy and ultimately doesn’t seem very interested in the Daleks (focussing again on Davros and Saward’s mercenary characters). Indeed, the Daleks here seem even weaker than in ‘Destiny’, relying on mercenaries to take over Davros’ prison ship and being insecure enough to give them little Dalek decorations on their helmets.

In its defence, Matthew Robinson directs it with gusto, somewhere in there is a critique of its own violence, and Tegan’s departure is excellent.

19. Revolution of the Daleks

This is not a story that uses the Daleks on more than one level, and yet also possibly the nearest thing its era gets to political satire. We have someone using the remains of a Dalek to build security drones, associating a representation of fascism with law enforcement and connecting it to government, but the story moves away from this idea into cloned Dalek mutants hijack the drones and kill people, and then the original Daleks turn up to kill them because they’re not genetically pure. The Doctor’s solution to the remaining Daleks is good, but while this one doesn’t do anything outrageously wrong, it doesn’t do anything especially right either.

18. Resolution

Likewise, this story is just sort of there, like Shed Seven or thrush. The Daleks have a new form of controlling people, with the mutant wearing them like the title creatures from ‘Planet of the Spiders’ (as strong an image as it was in 1975) and the DIY Dalek shell mirrors the Doctor’s rebuilding of the sonic screwdriver.

The Dalek also demonstrates its firepower quite impressively, but contrasting this with ‘Dalek’ shows what’s missing: this doesn’t have anything like the personal stakes of that story, and so we have some pulpy and familiar thrills but little depth.

17. Into the Dalek

The main job of ‘Into the Dalek’ isn’t getting under the skin of the Daleks, but setting up the Series 8 arcs. We have a good Dalek, which turns out to have a damaged inhibitor allowing it to feel compassion, and a Fantastic Voyage-style journey through its interior. This lacks existential dread (in contrast to Clara being trapped inside a Dalek during ‘The Witch’s Familiar’), but Ben Wheatley directs the Daleks in combat extremely well.

It’s very busy, ambitious and patchy: the gag where the Doctor keeps finding Clara unattractive gets old quickly, the dialogue is of variable quality, and everyone has to be stupid for the plot to happen. There’s an interesting story to be had about a broken Dalek and the Doctor’s response to it, but this isn’t it.

16. Victory of the Daleks

Another riff on a Troughton-era story, in this case ‘Power of the Daleks’, this is easier to criticise now separate from the outcry over the New Paradigm design.

And it is… okay. The twist that the Doctor’s hatred of Daleks is what progresses their plan is a better use of this than the usual abyss-gazing. The Daleks win, but this doesn’t land with sufficient weight as the meat of the ending is given over to the ongoing series arc.

It’s a hybrid of Dalek event story and Companion Proves Themselves (with all the iconography of Churchill, World War Two and the Daleks) and is so by necessity somewhat pat in its resolution. Also, by Printing the Legend of Churchill a more interesting story is compressed into the line “If Hitler invaded hell I would give a favourable reference to the Devil”.

Putting aside the Dalek designs, which didn’t work for most people, this story fulfils a function and attempts to disguise this amiably enough.

15. Death to the Daleks

This is a story that, thanks to it being four parts rather than six, we could afford on video. I can’t say for sure how much this impacts my preferring it to ‘Planet of the Daleks’, but I do think it stands out slightlyfrom other Terry Nation stories despite the familiar elements (rare minerals, quests, a first episode featuring just the regulars). 

Carey Blyton’s score, along with Arnold Yarrow’s performance as Bellal, has an endearing quirkiness. There are little flourishes like the Daleks using a model TARDIS for target practice, and the Doctor’s melancholy at the destruction of the city. Its oddness occasionally overcomes the quaintness of Nation’s approach to Doctor Who, which doesn’t seem to have changed since 1965.

14. Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday

Having successfully brought the Daleks back, Russell T. Davies held off on using them again until the Series 2 finale. We have the Daleks versus the Doctor and – for the first time – the Cybermen. The Dalek threat is resolved fairly swiftly as a mechanism to separate the Doctor and Rose, but what we do get is the Cult of Skaro (the return of the Black Dalek! Daleks with names! I don’t know why these are exciting but they are!) and the joy of subverting the two biggest monsters finally meeting by – instead of a huge space battle – having four of them read each other in a corridor with sassy putdowns.

13. Revelation of the Daleks

Eric Saward’s second Dalek story features Davros turning humans into a new race of Daleks leading to the stirrings of a civil war with the originals.

There are always garish edges to Saward’s writing, but the sequence where a character discovers her father’s body inside a glass Dalek – and he alternates between ranting about genetic purity and begging him to kill her – is at its core such a terrifying idea that it succeeds where the horrors of ‘Resurrection’ seem shallow. It does share that story’s lack of interest in the Daleks for the most part though, but this scene makes them scary for the first time since ‘Genesis’.

This also features Alexei Sayle fighting Daleks with a ray gun that fires rock’n’roll. If you don’t like that then we’re probably not going to agree on much about Doctor Who.

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12. Day of the Daleks

This is an example of the Daleks’ importance to Doctor Who. After talking to Huw Weldon, who had been responsible for the length of ‘The Dalek Master Plan’, producer Barry Letts decided to bring the Daleks back for the Season 9 finale, with Terry Nation’s permission, only to decide that the show instead needed a hook for the opening story of Season 10. As a result, the Daleks were inserted into the story planned for that slot. This is a common feature of Dalek stories: it’s hard to write something original that they’re intrinsic to.

The production suffers from the small number of Dalek props available, and director Paul Bernard not using the ring modulator effect for their voices. This is a good story (though maybe not a good Dalek Story) with a then novel time paradox plot and Aubrey Woods’ Controller is a really strong performance. Viewing figures broke the 10 million mark for the first time since ‘The Dalek Master Plan’, so the decision to bring the Daleks back was absolutely vindicated.

11. Mission to the Unknown/The Daleks’ Master Plan

Essentially a longer and darker version of ‘The Chase’ with higher stakes – it’s not simply that the Daleks want to kill the Doctor, it’s that the Doctor stole part of their superweapon – with a subpar comedy episode and lots of hostile planets (deadly plants, invisible monsters, a rare mineral: such familiarity!). Extended to twelve episodes, it loses its way but commits to its scale with an incredibly downbeat ending that uses jungle planet cliché for contrast: Kembel is reduced to sand and dust.

A highlight of this story is the alliance of Outer Galaxy emissaries who join with the Daleks, a group of Doctor Who villains who inevitably bicker and betray each other. This, rather than the Space Security Service, is what Terry Nation should have focussed on for his spin-offs.

10. Asylum of the Daleks

Steven Moffat’s first proper Dalek story was part of Series 7A, an attempt at weekly blockbusters driven by high concepts. Here, then was the promise of a Dalek asylum with old and replica props, while also attempting to unify both the New Paradigm designsand the lack of emotional fallout to Amy and Rory Pond’s baby being kidnapped. Moffat also threw in a surprise new companion appearance and it’s this, combined with a nano cloud weapon that turns people into Daleks.

It’s not that the others don’t get resolved, but it’s done swiftly in another busy story. While the Daleks have previously controlled people, the idea of actually being turned into Daleks is both macabre and slightly jarring. It feels like, considering their last story involved a plotline about genetic purity, this isn’t the right fit. What does work better is the concept that the Daleks have a concept of beauty, and it’s based around hatred. While this episode does fulfil its blockbuster ambitions it also feels like it needs more room to breathe in order to do justice to all its concepts.

9. The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End

This is the logical conclusion of the Daleks’ return to the show: invading present-day Earth with a huge fleet (complete with Davros backseat driving). Also here, on top of the scale and sheer pace of the storytelling, is the logical conclusion of the Daleks: they attempt to destroy all other life in the universe in one go.

However, there’s also a sense of their ‘Day of the Daleks’role. They’re the Big Guns, so out they come for Doctor Who’s version of Infinity War. They’re developed here by virtue of Davies giving some of them distinct characters (Hello Dalek Caan, hello another stellar Nick Briggs performance). The Daleks here are aggressive and powerful (until Donna finds the off-switch in their basement), but the Doctor’s storyline is more tied up with the companions’ fates than the Daleks.

Davros is also here, trying to suggest to the Doctor that his friends trying to kill Daleks – the most evil race in the universe who are currently trying to obliterate all other sentient life – is bad (this idea worked once in a specific context and no one else has managed it before or since). On the other hand, Davros recognising Sarah Jane again is a thrilling way to bind Doctor Who to its past.

8. The Daleks

On the one hand, I find this story drags towards the end after a strong and uneasy start, but on the other Doctor Who doesn’t exist as we know it without ‘The Daleks’.

It’s hard to imagine the impact of this story on a 1963 audience, especially as we’re so familiar with what the Daleks and Doctor Who were to become. Consider, then, a story with the fear of the bomb writ large (broadcast a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis) and the Daleks in that context. That’s the existential fear angle for the adults covered, which meant they were happy to watch along, but more important was the response from children: love.

Many people contributed to the story and to the Daleks. Nation’s desire to avoid a Man-In-A-Suit monster is important, but key is the work of designer Raymond Cusick, voice actor Peter Hawkins and the Radiophonic Workshop’s Brian Hodgson. What the initially sceptical BBC found was that by the third episode, children who had watched the show were impersonating the Daleks.

There’s a lot to be written about the ageing geek audience who take their childhood toys with them into adulthood, and this article is written by a 35-year-old man who grew up when Doctor Who was off-air. However it’s worth stressing: next time you complain about the show reaching out to primary school aged children, remember that without kids in the playground, Doctor Who would simply not have survived.

7. The Evil of the Daleks

This is an excellent four-part story. Unfortunately it’s seven episodes long.

After a ludicrously convoluted scheme to get the Doctor into the actual plot, amid subplots that go nowhere, there are great parts of David Whittaker’s tale: The Daleks have kidnapped the Doctor and Jamie in order to isolate the Human Factor – the quality humans possess that enables them to regularly defeat the Daleks – to enable them to finally overcome humanity.

Firstly, if Russell T. Davies had written this the forums would never stop complaining about its scientific accuracy. Secondly, what this concept does is allow Whittaker to put the Doctor and Jamie into conflict, with the Doctor’s trickery leading to the unnerving scene of Daleks acting like children and then ultimately a Dalek civil war. We also see the first appearance of the Dalek Emperor, with a huge prop built for the story. When ‘Evil of the Daleks’ is good, it’s electric. You can see this in the surviving episode when the Doctor realises just before they appear that the Daleks are involved.

It’s a shame that the superfluous padding significantly detracts from the rest.

6. The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar

A story which is primarily about the relationship between the Doctor, Davros, Missy and Clara, but which also casually drops in several new concepts which get under the skin of the Daleks more successfully than anything since ‘Dalek’. The focus is on Davros, but as the Doctor observes ‘Everything you are, they are.’

Firstly, there’s an elegant piece of writing from Steve Moffat where Davros narrates the moments before a Dalek fires, explaining they are waiting for Clara to run. Not only does this explain the Daleks not immediately shooting people, it offers a glimpse into their sadism and malice (as exemplified by Davros). Similarly, the idea that the creature inside the Dalek clings on outside of their life-support system, as they cling onto their home planet, ties into what we’ve seen on screen before.

Finally, anything in a Dalek casing trying to express individuality will have those words and thoughts twisted into the opposite meaning. This returns to the idea that original voice artist Peter Hawkins had for the Daleks – that the creatures inside were trapped. It’s an insidiously nasty idea, perhaps explaining behaviour such as the Dalek that commits suicide in ‘Death to the Daleks’when it sees its prisoners have escaped.

5. The Dalek Invasion of Earth

This and ‘Genesis’ confirm that Terry Nation’s strengths were in war stories rather than the pulp science-fiction adventure story he relied on. ‘Dalek Invasion of Earth’ is a thriller full of post-war fears that forever intertwined the Daleks and The Doctor.The production team pull out all the stops to show a conquered Earth with harrowing matter-of-factness, but the Doctor takes delight in opposing them (Hartnell is great here, taking the edge off with a twinkle but playing Susan’s leaving scene with great pathos too). The last episode is little rushed but overall this is well balanced.

The Daleks here are more mobile and powerful, their regime oppressive, their plans for turning the Earth into a spaceship bizarre and ineffable. As Nation puts it ‘They dare to tamper with the forces of creation’, the sort of boldness that would seep out of his own storytelling in future stories.

4. Genesis of the Daleks

‘Genesis of the Daleks’is another war story realised extremely well. The production does not pull many punches, and is atypically grim for Doctor Who: The Doctor loses but clings on to the slim hope that he hasn’t.

This is clearly Terry Nation’s best script, and is still clearly a Terry Nation script: radiation poisoning, over-ambitious creature requests – I don’t think Doctor Who could ever do a giant clam well, even now – and the endearingly-crap naming conventions (the mutants in the wastelands are called ‘Mutos’ and their dialogue could slot effortlessly into The Mighty Boosh).

Outgoing producer Barry Letts called Nation on his bullshit when he attempted to hand in a similar script for the second time, and suggested an origin story. From here Nation developed the war of attrition, Nazi parallels and the character of Davros (created to have a Dalek-like character who could be given interesting dialogue). Nation commits to making the origins of the Daleks plausibly horrifying. Contrast the halfway stage of ‘The Chase’ – with its misplaced comedy episodes that sap the momentum of the story – with the halfway point here: Davros willingly destroys his entire race to ensure the survival of the Daleks.

Where it feels lesser in comparison is that it is neither connected to an everyday, material reality (unlike ‘Spare Parts’, the story exploring the Cybermen’s origins) and its famous scene where the Doctor asks if he has the right to commit genocide, which looms large in later stories.

And yet, this scene only works in isolation. In context it’s jarring. In surrounding stories, the Doctor kills a sentient robot, a Sontaran, and some Zygons; he will later poison someone with cyanide, all without any qualms. Here, though, he compares destroying Dalek mutants – which are already attacking people – to killing Hitler as a baby. The Doctor worries he’d be as bad as the Daleks if he wipes them out. A few scenes later he has changed his mind, trying and failing to kill them. If it was linked to Davros’ aspirations of godhood, fine, but it’s neither written nor played that way.

It’s not as if the Doctor hasn’t already instigated attacks that seem to wipe the Daleks out, but there other people did the dirty work. It’s this, going forward, that becomes the key aspect of the scene for future writers.

3. Remembrance of the Daleks

‘Remembrance’takes the brewing civil war situation of ‘Revelation’ and connects it simultaneously to Doctor Who and British history. The Doctor is trying to trick the Daleks into using a superweapon hidden in 1963 London, knowing it could result in people dying. The Doctor’s trap feels like a response to ‘Have I the right?’ – clearly he feels he has but doesn’t want to directly press the trigger. It’s both a significant change and logical development in the series and the character, with Sylvester McCoy wanting to play both the weight of the character’s years and actions.

The Daleks are here because it’s an anniversary series but also because if you want a demonstration of power then potentially defeating the Daleks is a clear statement. Writer Ben Aaronovitch doesn’t just involve Daleks with a view to blowing them up, but addresses the reasons for their civil war: the hatred for the unlike that has defined the Daleks but also been part of British culture the entire time Doctor Who has been on screen and beyond, explicitly linked to the most evil creatures in the universe. Not only that, he places that hatred in the supporting cast: the ostensible good guys, the UNIT precursor, the family home.

This has scale, depth and feels important on different levels. This is Doctor Who back to its playground-influencing best.

2. The Power of the Daleks

As Terry Nation was unavailable, David Whitaker wrote the initial scripts before Dennis Spooner’s uncredited rewrites. The Daleks are in this story to bring viewers back on board after the first regeneration, and they also legitimise the new Doctor in contrast to the Daleks. The Mercury swamps that bookend the story also evoke Terry Nation in terms of putting the characters into a hostile alien environment.

The action takes places on a human colony, Vulcan. The Daleks are introduced as a potential solution to their problems, with an insurrectionist faction interested in using them as weapons and the scientist restoring them obsessed with his discoveries. The Doctor’s lone voice of dissent comes across as lunatic ravings, but the audience know the Daleks are manipulating everyone else.

Daleks obviously have the power to kill, but ubiquity had already removed their uncanniness until this story. The suggestion of deeper thought and intelligence builds, and this story gives the lie to the notion that you can’t give the Daleks good dialogue: “Why do human beings kill other human beings?” is full of chilling curiosity, “Yes, you gave us life” a future echo of their capacity for destroying father figures, the almost mocking repetition of “I am your servant”, and the cacophony of “Daleks conquer and destroy” that becomes a disorientating swirl of hatred.

This culminates in a final episode of mass slaughter. The release of tension is colossal. The very end suggests this is not over. The Daleks will never be more unnerving.

1. Dalek/Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways

This isn’t a three-parter in the usual sense, but these episodes are inextricably linked, with Russell T. Davies using a series arc to delay and distract the audience from their connection.

What’s key to all three episodes is Christopher Eccleston. He sells the threat of the Daleks better than any other Doctor, elevating the already strong scripts. These are the best performances against the Daleks there will ever be.

If you’re reading this website there’s a strong chance you know that the Daleks were seen going upstairs in the 1980s, but for most viewers ‘Dalek’ was the one that took all the jokes and weaponised them (Indeed Rob Shearman asked his partner what she thought was silly about the Daleks before writing his script): they not only go upstairs but crack skulls with their sucker arm, with added revolving weaponry and force field.

The carnage is well-realised, with director Joe Ahearne letting the Dalek take its time to build the tension, Shearman’s script taps into Russell T. Davies’ new Time War mythology and companion dynamic to allow the Dalek more intelligence in terms of dialogue and emotional manipulation. This Dalek has the threat of those in ‘Genesis’and the intelligence of the ones in ‘Power of the Daleks’.

Their redesign is a microcosm of why ‘Dalek’ works so well: it doesn’t change much, rather it takes what already works and improves upon it. I can’t imagine the return of the Daleks being handled better, while stealthily setting up the stakes of the previously unimaginable series finale.

Over this article I’ve talked about different aspects of the Daleks’ appeal. Children love them and fear them. They tap into adult fears of death, fascism and the uncanny (exemplified by the cacophonic chanting of ‘Exterminate’). That they can appear comical can be weaponised, as can the fact their hatred is not unique to them. Their reach extends into the mundane.

The reasons these episodes work so well is partly because they tap into these strengths, but also that they tell more than anything tell the story of the Ninth Doctor. He’s already committed a double-genocide, as far as he’s concerned, and is barely keeping it together without the prospect of having to commit another one. This is contrasted with the fact of one Dalek being demonstrably dangerous, and now there are hundreds of them. We know what they can, what they will do, and the only way to stop it is for the Doctor to kill Daleks and humans alike. It’s a much more effectively constructed and persuasive dilemma than the one the Doctor proposes in ‘Genesis’.

This story also puts in work with the supporting characters, and rather than being soldiers the staff of the satellite are office workers put into a desperate situation, or people who just wanted to be on telly. While ‘Bad Wolf’isn’t as Dalek-heavy, its satire is subtly devastating. If you look back at clips of The Weakest Link now you can see casual and sadistic cruelty meted out, so connecting this to the Daleks is a stroke of genius (especially with celebrity voices unwittingly joining in their own condemnation), bringing their evil to the everyday.

The Doctor’s closest friends here are merely the people who die last; he knows they’re going to die, and he hears it happen. It becomes increasingly personal, while also satiating that morbid fannish desire to see the Daleks kill someone. Here they seem sadistic, devious, and unstoppable. The need to stop them is obvious, as is the cost.

So rather than an unearned moment of moralising here we have a situation where the Doctor’s decision makes sense, is not abstract to him. This also, in the first series back, makes an important statement: Doctor Who can be dark, and nice people can die horribly, but it is not a series where the grimness becomes overwhelming. Here the Doctor’s decision not to kill is one he knows will also cost him his life, and then his ideals inspire his salvation: it is Rose, not Davros or the Doctor, who is set up among the gods, and her instinct is not – to paraphrase another franchise – to destroy what she hates.

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The reason I love this one is because it delivers on so many fronts: these stories define this Doctor. The story is epic but steeped in the everyday. The Daleks are terrified and terrifying, silent and shrieking, devious and brutal. They feel unstoppable here in a way they simply haven’t since. For a story to do this many things is impressive, but to do them all well is astonishing.

The post Doctor Who: Ranking the Dalek Stories – Which is the Best? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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All These Worlds Are Yours (Except Europa)

It’s been a while since my last CRPG report and I have played quite a lot of CRPGs in the meantime. I’m going to keep it brief. It’s by no means all the games I played over the past year or so, but it is all the games that are worth playing in some fashion or another.

Yet again I didn’t really bother to get decent screenshots so you’ll have to endure some tangentially related Shutterstock photos.

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk

It’s like Etrian Odyssey but made by horny 14 year olds. Monsters take the form of purple-black eyes that move only when you do. Colliding with them triggers a JRPG battle with your team. You must conquer around a dozen or so dungeons to defeat a mysterious evil whilst learning about your protagonist’s horny hubris.

I like how it automatically fills in the in-game map, only drawing tiles you have stepped in. Stairways also connect perfectly on most dungeons, leading to some detective work to solve them. The combat is passable. The story is PG13 with random suggestions of poop and sex without really showing any. It’s… a good game with a lot of simple mechanics that it layers up over time to make something quite complex. I really enjoyed solving the dungeons but it’s such a multilayered ball of weirdness that I hesitate recommending it. 

Dragon’s Dogma

It’s like Skyrim but with less items, less map, and decent fights. Like, really decent fights. You can climb on the back of beasts and hack pieces off of them or shoot magic arrows that do a host of cool things. The story is pretty anime - I can’t get into why without some major spoilers. Safe to say that after the first (and honestly entertaining) chunk of the game you get an overlay of falling ash pinned to your screen and the monsters become hit point sponges. That’s around when I stopped playing because it felt like I’d reached “an” ending and the rest was about beating as many dead horses with whatever sticks I could upgrade enough to hit them with. Last time I fired it up I got in an hour long fight with an off-brand beholder that basically respawned all its limbs eight times because of its egregious hit points.

You’re joined by some enthusiastic AI companions called pawns who have no story and just kinda throw themselves at enemies whilst repeating the same phrases over and over. I’m not really sure if they’re a blessing or curse. The game overall is pretty jank with terrible traversal (don’t explore, the quests will send you to every corner of the map anyway - twice). Despite all my complaints it’s a lot of fun - at least until the 1st ending. It’s cheap and I recommend it.

Sky Rogue

It’s like a lot of aircraft dogfight games but a bit random. I’ve played this a bit on single player and it’s alright. However I have played many, many, missions in the 2 player mode with a coworker. It’s just very satisfying doing the whole Top Gun team thing taking on a bunch of enemy planes whilst working on upgrades.

Disco Elysium

It’s like Planescape Torment but without the tedious combat or problematic writer behind it. There’s a video of one of the devs explaining how the dialogue is laid out like Twitter in tabloid format for easy reading. This is revolutionary. I want every computer text game to use this format from now on.

I cannot stress how important it is to enter Disco Elysium unprepared. To have no grasp on just how far you will be allowed to explore, who you will meet, who you will travel with, or what you are expected to do. It is a game about amnesia and becoming someone new - if that is at all possible.

I have two pieces of advice however:

Don’t start with Psyche or Physique stats below 2, they’re both your health and the game will surprise you with damage to either in the most unexpected places.

Do every quest. Explore every nook and cranny. Not knowing is the very essence of the game. You’ll have lost that feeling after the ending.

I don’t need to tell you how good the game is. Just look at most reviews.

Everspace

It’s like Descent (that 1st person spacecraft game on the PSX) but in space and it’s a roguelike. Everspace has you mine, salvage, fight, trade, and quest - but you do it all from the comfort of a spaceship that has responsive controls and interesting weaponry. I had a lot of fun skulking round wrecks to salvage parts whilst avoiding patrols of hostiles until I had enough kit to take them on.

It has a substandard storyline but great meta-progression, asking you to grind cash from each run to unlock parts for a better ship on the next. I put in a great deal of hours into this game and I’m looking forward to what the studio does with the sequel.

Horizon Zero Dawn

It’s like Shadow of Mordor but good. My only major complaint was how constant use of the bow had the camera staying uncomfortably close to Aloy’s arse and burying itself in grass during frenetic combat. When the camera wasn’t trying to kill me the combat was astoundingly good. You fight lumbering robo-dinosaurs with special weak spots and various attacks. The quests are also good with a surprising amount of cutscenes and dialogue for a lot of completely optional content.

I was also amazed at how they managed to pull off an almost believable backstory for a world full of robot dinosaurs. Despite some frustrating combat encounters I had a good time exploring its large and very pretty world.

Pathfinder Kingmaker

It’s like Baldurs Gate but not as good. Only on my 3rd attempt at playing the game with the newly patched in turn based mechanics did it start to make sense. It uses Pathfinder’s rules which are deep and tactical - as tactical rules go they’re pretty good. However when those rules fly by at real time speed you don’t learn how opportunity attacks work (they’re more complex than modern D&D) or how to utilise charge and positioning.

The story is pretty forgettable and the encounter design is relentlessly dull. A lot of areas are just simply fight after fight after fight. In turn based mode the fights are pretty good but too many of them are identical. The ones that weren’t I found inscrutable and impossible to pass. If you like min-max fighting and little else then have at it - but I warn you that the UI is lagging behind most popular CRPGs. You can’t even check the world map whilst in a town.

Metal Gear Solid V

It’s like an RPG. Despite not having a main character with stats, in this open world game of hide and seek you kidnap soldiers who in turn become your stats. Through them you gain access to new abilities. Through them you are drip-fed the resources you steal, only becoming able to spend all that you’ve stolen by having enough accountants to do your taxes. It is a brilliant work of roleplaying economics and a thoroughly enjoyable open world game. One where I can completely ruin a mission yet chuckle at my attempts to save what’s left of my dignity.

It also fails to stick the landing. At around the 20th mission the game starts committing to its plot and the rot sets in. Bit by bit it becomes worse to play. There was trouble at Konami when the game was made and it feels like the end of the game was hit the hardest. This was the part that was tested the least and had the worst ideas thrown into it. Metal Gear Solid V is still worth it for the 1st half of the game.

Final Fantasy 8

It’s like the other Final Fantasy games but poorly paced and balanced. The junction system is incredibly interesting in that it tries to sidestep the whole issue of items by gluing your characters to guardian angels. It’s built in card game Triple Triad is simple and engaging. The story is kinda interesting with some time travel shenanigans going on...

But it’s pacing is dreadful with endlessly copypasted rooms. The magic draw system is miserable (and yes I know you can get GFs to convert items to magic but then it’s more tedious busy work to upscale all the magic into something work attaching). The world map is shockingly empty. And the characters are just yawn, yawn, yawn.

Pick it up on sale.

Torchlight 2

It’s like Diablo 2 but not quite as good. Still worth playing though. I got it on the Switch and found that playing it with a gamepad was a pleasant experience.

It has a few balance problems with the Engineer class being ridiculously overpowered compared to any of the others (and way more fun). And there’s some annoying bugs that prompted a few reloads. Still pretty entertaining however.

Pokemon Shield

It’s like every other Pokemon game (surprise surprise) but easier. As much as I like how they’ve removed a lot of busywork from this entry, it makes it feel like the only challenge in the previous titles was the busywork. When really it was the busywork that held you back from just kerb-stomping everything in your path.

It’s not until the final DLC that you’re given some pokemon that are needlessly tedious to catch and some group battles using randomly selected pokemon that test your knowledge of the game’s systems. The only real challenge in the game is in the online multiplayer against humans where your pokemon level is normalised and encyclopedic knowledge of the title’s history is required.

My internet is terrible so the online gameplay is dead to me. It’s a very fun game, but also a very disappointing one.

Burnout Paradise

It’s like a sandbox game for cars. Except that you’re not really driving a car, it’s more like you’re driving a bobsleigh with a rocket attached to it. Unlike most driving games you aren’t given terrain that slows you down. Even if you hit a wall you’ll skate off it so long as you collide sideways. The game just wants you to drive like an arsehole and go faster and faster - to the tune of Epic by Faith No More (literally).

I mean yeah, it’s not an RPG by any stretch but it’s one of the best sandbox games I’ve played. Even when you’re not doing a “mission” you can just drive around the city finding back alleys and ramps to fly off of. It’s just a massive playground with very little negative feedback.

Cyberpunk 2077

It’s like a bunch of different games you’ve played before but not quite as good. The story is the best bit. I really liked the characters I got to hang out with. I guess I would have enjoyed the gun fights if I hadn’t been playing Doom 1 before I played it. And I would have enjoyed the stealth if I hadn’t already played Metal Gear Solid V with its superior A.I. It has cool Obra Dinn style brain movies to explore for detective work but I enjoyed the spectacle of them more than the execution (though I did enjoy them more than Obra Dinn which I found tedious to navigate or understand).

I saw one review say it was the most backwards view of the future. Not imagining what could be but endlessly paying homage to cyberpunk stories of the past.

I see other reviews say play it when it’s fixed. When the myriad of bugs (and I experienced enough to impact gameplay) are solved.

I say play the sequel. It’s worth experiencing but there’s too much going on that’s playing catch up to other titles.

Shiren The Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate

It’s like Rogue. I first played Shiren 2 on the Nintendo DS and was amazed by its deep systems and story meta progression - various tales progressing in the game only after each death and subsequent replay.

This entry is technically Shiren 5. Holy shit the content in this thing. There are 15 optional dungeons with different rules. Over a hundred block pushing puzzles using various mechanics of the game that you can just walk up and play in the 2nd village you enter. A minesweeper minigame. Loads of tutorial levels. All of these give you rewards which you can take on your main adventure which is a wholly different set of dungeons. I’ve unlocked several companions to adventure with and the game is hinting there are even more later on. It is obscene the amount of value there is packed into this title. And it’s fun. A little unfair at times, but as with all roguelikes the later depths require knowledge and a lot of caution. Strong recommendation for roguelikers.

Dicey Dungeons

It’s like Dream Quest but with dice. I played the prototype of this at the 7DRL after party. Terry was quite bashful about his creation and didn’t want to submit it. I honestly didn’t see why he shouldn’t as many of us had made far worse in the past.

I put off playing this until it finally landed on the Switch as complete as any roguelike can hope to be. It’s quite different to Dream Quest in that it requires a bit of math to do well in. If you’re not prepared to do basic sums then it’s hard to make progress. Also unlike Dream Quest it’s very balanced. There’s definitely some cheesy tactics you can pull off to get cheap victories but not without some thought and planning.

In a sea of deck building roguelikes, Dicey Dungeons is quite simply refreshing. There’s a lot of good ideas in here you won’t see elsewhere - give it a go.

[getgamez]

Grand Guilds

.ugb-835361d .ugb-video-popup__wrapper{max-width:1774px;border-radius:25px;background-color:#1b2838;background-image:url(https://getgamez.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Grand-Guilds-free.jpg)}.ugb-835361d .ugb-video-popup__play-button svg{fill:#ffffff !important}.ugb-835361d .ugb-video-popup__wrapper:before{background-color:#1b2838;opacity:0.3}.ugb-835361d .ugb-video-popup__wrapper:hover:before{opacity:0.6}.ugb-835361d.ugb-video-popup{margin-top:-7px !important}@media screen and (max-width:768px){.ugb-835361d .ugb-video-popup__wrapper{max-width:242px;height:180px !important}} Game Overview Grand Guilds is a story-driven, tactical RPG with unique card combat mechanics. You and your comrades will journey the lands of Irin, a continent on the brink of another war, while engaging in challenging tactical combat. STORY After a year-long mission, Eliza returns to the seemingly normal city of Ozryn when suddenly a horde of mysterious creatures set fire to the streets. Upon repelling the enemies, Eliza and her guild strive to discover where the attackers came from, only to realize that the phenomenon happened all over the continent… all at the same time. With her guild’s reputation on the line, she takes it upon herself to find and capture whoever is behind the attacks. It is up to Eliza and her trusted guildmates to discern the true motive behind the unusual assault before the other guilds of Irin suffer the same fate, or worse. Turn-Based Strategy – Learn and master the fundamentals of tactical combat. In Grand Guilds positioning, terrain, and your action points will mean the difference between victory and defeat. Card Combat System – A diverse set of skill cards will form the abilities of your units, making every turn more dynamic and each decision more important and meaningful. Deck Building – Tailor each character to your playstyle by customizing their skill decks. Obtain powerful new abilities by completing quests or leveling your characters. Guild Quests – Embark on challenging, procedural missions that yield exciting rewards. Increase your guild’s reputation to earn bonuses that will aid you in combat. Diverse Cast – Each playable character has unique mechanics and abilities that enable them to fill various roles in your squad such as tank, support, and damage dealer. Epic Narrative – Unravel the mysteries shrouding Irin, a continent on the brink of war. Follow Eliza and her companions as they journey through this vast, magical world. Partial Voice Acting – Heroes will shout out their actions in combat and express their feelings during dialogue with short voice lines. Will you help Eliza in her struggle to save the beautiful world of Irin? Screenshots for System Requirements MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating systemOS: Windows 64 BitProcessor: 2.0 GHz+ Dual CoreMemory: 4 GB RAMGraphics: GTX 550 / Radeon 6850DirectX: Version 11Storage: 10 GB available space RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating systemOS: Windows 64 BitProcessor: 2.4 GHz+ Dual CoreMemory: 8 GB RAMGraphics: GTX 760 / Radeon 7850DirectX: Version 11Storage: 10 GB available space Read the full article