#dao dwarves are so interesting to me and i love reading the codex

[mermermaid]

absolutely crazy how i finished dao, and yes, there's so much heartbreak and tragedy, especially near the endgame. but since then!!! i cannot stop thinking about this guy!!!!

when you get to the fade portion of the circle, you meet this man. he doesn't accompany you, but he tells you about the fade, sloth demon, and how he and some other mages tried to fight against the blood mages, but was put into the fade instead. you notice how hopeless and pessimistic he was, and rightfully so, because the sloth demon was using his life to power its realm. so your warden starts going through the fade, getting the different forms, and you can show him your progress. and, maybe it's just me, but every time i check on him, he seems much more hopeful than before. and don't get me started on how the warden themselves feels. it would probably be one of the first times they were fighting all alone without their usual companions and against so many enemies, and to have another lost soul in the fade with you as you journey through it just.. makes it so much more... tender?

niall: "you're... so much braver than i am. i was so sure it was impossible to get anywhere..."

at the end of the quest, after you defeat the sloth demon, you talk to niall again. but this time he says you need to find the litany on his body, and explains that he's dying and can't return to you. andddd what the fuck that shit made me cry actual tears ahaha. you are hearing this dying man's last words and thoughts. he's dying and all he can think about are his regrets and his mistakes of not saving the circle. but, he did! through the warden! by guiding them through the fade and being their only company in this very strange and twisted place.

and there's this one dialogue tree that really pulled on those feelings:

niall: i'm not... a hero. perhaps trying to be one was foolish. warden: ordinary people can do great things when they have to. niall: dark times, greater acts of heroism, eh? you may be right. before i was taken to the circle, my mother said i was meant for greatness, that i would be more than my ancestors could have ever dreamed. i hope i haven't disappointed her. niall really just tears me up inside. he was such a small character in the grand scheme of things. people will speak and remember the warden-- the hero of ferelden and how they stopped the fifth blight. but will they think of niall? that side character in the circle quest? your sole companion in the fade? will they think of the ordinary people who stepped up during those dark times and may not live to see peace?

maybe they won't, maybe they will. but, at least, i hope the warden will.

[12raben]

Dragon Age & Sims 2

So, while building in twinhills, I listened to Ghil Dirthalen various lore videos, podcasts and codex entries (which are great, so you should subscribe to her channel) and set me in the mood to replay DAO and DAI. This is my new Inquisitor by the way:

I named her Raisa... Yeah, like one of my sims. (Raisa Buckholtz) The qunari/kossith are such an interesting race and I adore their looks. The Iron Bull is one of my favorite charakters in the whole series (but I tend to not romance him, because it kinda scared me, the first time I did so @_@’ Also I’m really into the idea of Bull and Dorian beeing a couple.)

Why am I telling you about this? Well, there is that idea, that has been floating around in my head for some time now: I play a BaCC-MCC-Mix and in a BaCC you can unlock downtown. While playing in a modern setting, this gives you cool nightclubs and various other cool features (not to mention the additional building space). But in a medieval fantasy setting? How would that turn out? I am very much tempted to add a “magical/supernatural downtown” to twinhills at some point (in the far future).

(Edit, after I wrote all this: This post got way longer, than I thought. Hidden the rest to not block your dash with a text wall)

I already saw some impressive CC, which could totally work for a qunari-ish race. (Because I’m not just port them over. That would be too simple.) I also wouldn’t need to add a ton of CC to make it work. Maybe 2-3 skintones, a few outfits (I think, Athletic Girl and Leaner BodyBuilder might be a good shape) and the iconic horns. For eyes and hairstyles I can use the ones, I have already. I installed Meduza’s bending mod some time ago and tested it with great results. I think, the horned people would be great earth benders! As for other DA-races: Elves are covered, but Dwarves? I think, the only adjustment, they would need, is to fiddle with their bodysize in Simpe. Makes some animations weird, but I’m not bothered by that. As you might have guessed by the description of my gods, Oghmor is the deity of the supernatural sims. (At least in my head.) I created him, because of a PT-Mod at PBK (The Deep Ones) and my love for Lovecraft/Bloodborne. I made a PT-mod myself, so alien impregnations will look something like this:

And of course those deep ones are not aliens, but mermaids/sirens/selkies. I thought about blending mermaids and vampires, because I like the parasitic nature, it would add to the deep ones. All those ideas are great and all, but I need a system. Are all supernaturals attached to a deity? Do I even want all those diffrent races? In an unmodded game downtownies do not show up in the mainhood, so I wouldn’t have to block them manually via Visitor Controller. I juggled some of those ideas, because I swore to myself to not touch twinhills gamplay-wise until I caught up posting here. I also started to decorate a new neighbourhood for this purpose, but I’m not satisfied.

How are those supernaturals going to work? Are they playables? Downtownies? How many can I create without overwhelming myself? Should my playables be able to just roam in the supernatural subhood or are there requirements? How open are my sims to supernaturals? Praios is the only god, I designed as anti-supernatural. So far Siofra is the deity revered by most sims in Twinhills and she favours plantsims (fairies). Should I add a sub-hood for every deity and have their respective race roam it? And should I actually create a sim, who at least looks like the deity? Can downtownies of diffrent “origin” roam in other downtowns? Can playables live in supernatural downtown? Do supernaturals also do the class thing (peasants, yeomanry, gentry etc.)? Are some races limited to a social class? (Just like in DA, where elves are usually in a lower class) Do I even want this kind of racial problem in my game? How could I implement that gameplay-wise? Can my playables marry supernaturals? How should I handle supernatural offspring in my mainhood? Maybe I could add a placeholder household to add unwanted supernatural babies? Maybe I should set up a seperate MCC for the downtown to have a slowly progressing, seperate neighborhood? Is this new town a melting pot of diffrent cultures like Kirkwall? Is it a hidden world like in Harry Potter? Questions, questions... Lastly I wanted to touch the issue of crimes, assassins and stuff in my game. I think, it would be great to have a clan of robber-knights. And I would also love to add something like the Dark Brotherhood (of The Elder Scrolls universe) to the game. These households might be a good opportunity to import some kind of other challenge. Maybe not a legacy, but something like the Mafia Challenge or a heavily edited Besieged!-Challenge... like a more story-driven playstyle, which I never really played. (So, that would be a new thing...) I also love the “I saw three ships”-set at MTS, which has a very well written Piracy career. Might be a good opportunity to introduce pirates as well? And should these criminals be part of the supernatural neighborhood? Or should I have one for “criminals/prirates/outlaws” and one for supernatural purpose?

I think right now: I absolutly have to start a new word document and write down my BaCC-MCC-rules for good. The notepads I keep at the moment are enough for now, but I like to plan ahead.

If you read all of these ramblings: Wow, I’m impressed. ;D

Happy simming!