#dragon theorycraft

[nadas-dirthalen]

Societal Change in Dragon Age: the Veilguard

I've seen a lot of posts about how Veilguard doesn't really "move the needle" with Thedas' politics, so to speak. While this isn't a callout of any specific one of them (note the lack of links! this isn't about anyone), I wanted to talk about some changes I saw during my first two runs of Veilguard.

I also want to say that a lot of the changes we saw happen in the world of Inquisition also did not involve direct input from the Inquisitor. Dorian, for instance, was always going to go back to Tevinter and make change. The mage-templar war reaches a peaceful(ish) ending no matter which side the Inquisitor chooses to back. The Chantry moves forward after Justinia's death no matter who becomes Divine. The nobles are mad no matter who is made emperor/empress of Orlais. The Dalish flock to Fen'Harel after Trespasser no matter what.

That said... here's what I can remember off the top of my head.

Arlathan Forest and the Elves:

The Dalish got their land back. While the real-world Land Back movement is (obviously!) far more complex and far-reaching than can be portrayed within a companion quest in a video game, the fact remains: in my playthrough, not only did the Veil Jumpers (and by extension, the Dalish) get Arlathan Forest back, the magic there also stabilized. (Editing Note: this stabilization is implied through the slide with high faction strength, and stated outright in the ending with low faction strength, which says, "For the Veil Jumpers, the fall of the last elven gods left raw magic and chaos in its wake." Rook, therefore, decides whether Arlathan is habitable or not, since Arlathan's magic is described as fatal for most people during banter with a Veil Jumper Rook.)

The elves potentially also get their ancient knowledge back. Depending on what you chose for the Nadas Dirthalen, the Dalish potentially got a lot of their old technology and knowledge back, potentially putting them even further ahead in terms of magical technology than Tevinter in some areas.

... Or the Veil Jumpers chose a different path forward for the elves. If the Nadas Dirthalen was kept hidden, Rook and Bellara chose a path where the Dalish refuse to become like their predecessors, forever changing the path of Dalish reclamation efforts. The Dalish, then, become something other than what their ancestors were. Either way, the Dalish are significantly impacted.

(if the griffons were given back to Arlathan) An apex predator was returned to Arlathan. If you want to read more about how cool of a change this is, I suggest reading about how cool it is that wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone.

(added in edits) The truth about the Evanuris is well-known, or will be soon. Davrin says that while he did not notify many Dalish about the truth of the Evanuris during the events of Veilguard, it is the Veilguard's duty to inform them after. The same will likely prove true with Andrastians, and the Chantry at large. The truth will soon come to light—and even though rapid religious change has already been undergone once because of the cause of the Blights (Tevinter moved away from the worship of their old gods, save for the Venatori, because their old gods were the archdemons spearheading the Blights), the elves are already victims of prejudice in Thedas. The Chantry's response to the truth will likely be influenced by that prejudice. HOWEVER, it is my firm belief that the Evanuris also exist in the Chant of Light as the Maker's first children, and that truth being revealed or uncovered simultaneously has the potential to change the shape of the public's response across Thedas.

Kal-Sharok, Orzammar, and the Dwarves:

The titans' history has been remembered. Remember in Descent where it was said very prominently that Orzammar had struck all memories of the titans? That something political was motivating how the titans were entirely forgotten about? Now, thanks to the events of Veilguard, there is no turning back. No amount of suppression can make the world forget the titans now.

DWARVES. HAVE. MAGIC. NOW. Read that ending slide again! "The dwarven people rediscovering their lost magic, and their connection to the Stone." This is something the dwarven people have not had for literal millennia, and it's thanks to ROOK and HARDING that this change has taken root! Not Valta, but Rook!

Kal-Sharok continues to become more known to the world after being sealed off. We continue to get closer to understanding exactly what happened to Kal-Sharok after it was sealed off, and this is going to inform our understanding of the titans and the blight even more as time goes on.

Healing the titans has huge implications for the existence of red lyrium. Between Solas doing what he can (in his good endings) to soothe the blight's anger and (more importantly) dwarves connected to the Stone like Harding doing work to soothe the titans' anger on Thedas itself, we will likely see red lyrium gradually fade away all across Thedas.

The caste system of the dwarves is likely to be impacted by recent revelations. Regardless of what, exactly, is chosen going forward, it is clear the dwarves will take a good look at their own beliefs and practices about the Stone now that the truth about the titans has come to light. Their feelings about surface dwarves versus those who live purely underground are likely to be impacted here! I can't wait to see dwarf politics in DA5!

The Grey Wardens & Weisshaupt:

The Wardens don't hear the Calling anymore thanks to Rook's actions. You know... the thing that defines the life of a Warden? The thing that shortens their lifespan? That's gone. This has been a PILLAR of their organization since Origins, and the absence of the Calling is absolutely going to lead to massive change within the Wardens.

The blight is less virulent—AKA, it is greatly weakened, and has died in some parts of Thedas. Yes, completely. Read that again. Read that as many times as it takes for it to sink in. The blight has been a huge, looming threat for over one thousand years. For the first time ever, it is on its way out. Perhaps for good.

For the first time, new growth is coming back to the Anderfels and other blighted areas on Thedas. Discovering this—and keeping the Wardens alive long enough to discover this—is forever going to change the directives of the Wardens and the lands that were previously too blighted to thrive. The Anderfels, we know, are coming back to life—but some other zones that come to mind here are the Silent Plains, parts of Antiva, Denerim... anywhere a Blight ended in the past, or anywhere that the blight completely overtook in the past.

Minrathous:

An abolitionist sits on the Archon's throne!!! For the first time ever, someone who wants to end slavery is the head of Tevinter government. This is a huge step forward for the movement to end Tevinter slavery, which has had to exist in the shadows more or less until now (which we see even in the upper echelons of the altus class, in Maevaris, who was kicked out of the Magisterium for her anti-slavery views).

(added in edits) The Imperial Divine is also an abolitionist. While I did not include this point earlier because Rook has no hand in selecting Ashur/the Viper as the Divine, it is important context by the game's ending. Having abolitionists as Archon and Divine means there is tremendous potential for rapid, popular change in Tevinter. I am very excited to see where this goes in DA5!

The blight died in Minrathous when Elgar'nan was slain. Not just eased. Died. Because Minrathous was the epicenter for what happened to the Veil and the blight at the time, all blight in the city is dead. This proves that the blight can truly be ended, as well as cured. That's not secret knowledge anymore, if all of Minrathous knows it.

Treviso:

The Crows have been changed by Teia and Viago's actions during Veilguard. No matter if Treviso is blighted or not, Teia and Viago have brought the Crows into a different sphere than perhaps they were under Talons like Aranai in Origins. The Crows have a direct part to play not just in the governance of Antiva (which we knew about) but the governance of individual cities and even the organization of Antiva's military power. This was less prevalent before Veilguard (because we weren't in Antiva, but also because Antiva didn't have a Blight to defend against), but now that the Crows have stood against the Final Blight, there's no going back from the precedent their actions have set.

The Crows have a new First Talon—one who will undoubtedly bring reform. While Lucanis is no stranger to murder and there's no doubt in my mind that the Crows will continue doing just that, Teia and Viago now have a lot more pull within the Crows (and their humanitarian efforts by extension) because one of their closest allies is now First Talon.

Rivain & the Antaam:

An influx of former Antaam are potentially joining the existing Qunari in Rivain. By appealing to Antaam deserters, Taash and their allies are showing that there is a life possible for kossith (Qunari) outside of the teachings of the Qun—without attacking/invading under the orders of the Arishok. We have not seen this on this grand a scale before, and it will be fascinating to see what ripple effect this has on the rest of Qunari culture.

There is a gap left by the Antaam within Qunari society, too. While not tackled upfront in Veilguard, the fact remains that one of the three pillars of Qunari society left the Qun. Whether this is the entirety of the Antaam or a significant part of its forces, I don't know, but this will have destabilized the Qunari and will open the way for a lot of questions and change within their own society, too.

Knowledge about the adaari and about who the Qunari were before Thedas is emerging. We've seen with the elves and dwarves that when this kind of history is revealed over time, great changes happen within societies in Thedas. I can't wait to see what that means for the kossith/Qunari!

The Necropolis & the Mourn Watch:

The Mourn Watch are aware that an entire lineage of people on Thedas were spirits that took physical shape by crafting bodies made of lyrium. Knowledge of spirits has tremendously shifted. This changes the understanding of what a spirit even is, versus the soul of a living person.

(if Manfred is alive) It is increasingly apparent that spirits "grow" and mature in the same way that living children do, becoming more complex over time. This has big implications for the recognition of spirits as their own sort of people—not just in Nevarra, but everywhere.

It will soon become more common knowledge that the existence of the Veil is what ended elven immortality. This changes everything that the Mourn Watch knows about what mortality even is!

With the blight less virulent, it is possible that other cultures in Thedas start burying their dead, rather than cremating them. This could lead to a widespread rise in necromancy and/or Nevarran belief!

Orlais:

Orlais endured a rebellion of its noble class. While we can presume that their monarch survived it (and therefore probably cemented themselves as an effective leader, surviving the Final Blight and rebellion), there is just as much to be said for if they did not survive it (which would throw Orlais into political turmoil all over again). Either way, Orlais looks different as a political power going forward.

Val Royeaux—the seat of the Southern Chantry and its Divine—fell. While listed as under rebel control, I think there is just as much to be said here: the Orlesian people were likely shaken by the fall of Val Royeaux, and combined with the knowledge that will come of the Evanuris, the titans, and the Andrastian faith after the events of Veilguard, I can see a shift in how Andrastianism is perceived in Orlais, and the South as a whole.

Ferelden:

The Chasind and Avvar have allied themselves with Fereldan leaders, a shift from their former lives secluded from other Fereldan humans after a prior history of conflict with them.

Ferelden made an attempt at peace with Orlais. Whether this attempt was answered remains unclear due to communication difficulties during the worst of the Final Blight, but the Fereldan envoys were not attacked outright. This suggests that tensions between Ferelden and Orlais cooled, if even a little bit. However, it is unclear if this will remain true, given that Orlais might be in a weaker position than Ferelden due to this late lapse in communication.

Free Marches:

The Free Marches united under Prince Vael. From a quick look at the wiki, it's been 700 years since unification was even attempted.

The Free Marches fared better against the Blight than Orlais and Ferelden, and were even marching south to lend aid to Ferelden by the game's finale.

__

And there you have it! That's what I can think of that has changed in Thedas, either because of Rook or not because of Rook, in Veilguard. And again: many changes in Inquisition were either not the Inquisitor's choice (like Dorian going home, or the truth of the Evanuris being revealed over time) or did not have consequences that led into the next game (even in DAI's epilogue, before Veilguard, the nobles are upset whether Celene or Gaspard are on the throne).

But one thing is true: whether you enjoyed Veilguard or not, it is not true that nothing happened during the game. Much did! The Veil may not have come down, and Rook may not have had an omniscient perspective looking down on Thedas at changes outside their immediate scope, but the world did change around them.

[flightyquinn]

Since I'm once again reminded about how D&D 3.5 specifically encouraged players to pitch ways that their character is different from the standard statblock to their DM, here's a bit of theorycraft;

Eitrik Goldenbrook is a half-orc, born in a large trade city. He is the only child of an orcish workman and an elven barmaid (he counts as Orc and Elf, rather than Orc and Human). As orcs typically don't have surnames, he and his father use his mother's, and even Eitrik's first name comes from his dwarven godfather, one of his father's coworkers and a good friend of both his parents.

Physically, Eitrik takes more after his mother than his father, inheriting her slender, graceful build (he trades the +2 Con half-orcs get for the +2 Dex given to elves). On the other hand, he still has prominent tusks and notable green skin, making him mostly just look like a particularly lank and gangly orc. He has been teased by his peers about this, and developed a bit of a temper about it, which along with his difficulty speaking around his tusks makes it hard for him to make good impressions. However, he has still received a proper education, even if living in the city means he is less "in tune" with the natural world than orcs raised in the tribes (he trades his -2 Int for -2 Wis, but keeps the penalty to Cha).

[karniss-bg3]

what are your thoughts on why was kar'niss turned into a drider? your theories are so god tier, and i want to cry over my babie a little bit 💔

also how do you look at the possibility of turning him back into a drow?

Greetings!

This is a bit of a loaded question to be sure. I’ve mulled over Kar’niss’ origins for months and unfortunately the clues offered in-game aren’t substantial enough to form a solid through line. At best I can offer speculation based on drow lore alongside what information we do have and go from there. As you can imagine, none of the outcomes are good.

1) The Gambler’s Debt

A bit ago I dug into the meaning of Kar’niss’ name. With the help of an astute Anon, we managed to piece together that his name means “productive gambler”. Drow names can change throughout their life and I believe Kar’niss changed his name, either by choice or by force, after his transformation. It makes me curious what his birth name was but that’s another drop into the unknown bucket.

In this theory I believe Kar’niss wagered something valuable and lost it, or he bet on the wrong person to trust and was subsequently backstabbed. Drow societies are notorious for underhanded behavior as it’s a necessary evil in order to survive the harsh environments. If it was an item he lost it would’ve had to be something of high value and/or it belonged to someone notable in drow society. We know Minthara is part of house Baenre, the most notable clan in Menzoberranzan. She is also familiar with Kar’niss to some degree which leads me to believe they have history, especially as she seems sympathetic to his condition. Perhaps he took something from a member of house Baenre or was even a servant/slave to one of its members. I highly doubt he was related to anyone in the Baenre clan as I’d like to believe Minthara would’ve mentioned that at some stage.

Regardless of the chosen method, Kar’niss did the equivalent of “fuck around and find out” and was ultimately caught. As punishment he was turned into a drider and exiled to the outskirts of drow society.

2) Loyalty is Skin Deep

The next running theory is that Kar’niss is a Szarkai, otherwise known as an albino drow. If that is true then that would’ve gained him extra attention he likely didn’t want. Either by women coveting his unusual appearance or men who saw him as competition. The more likely outcome is that he would’ve been tasked in infiltrating the surface as he could pass for an elf without much trouble. He acted as a spy for his given house, Mistress or organization and was tasked to filter information back.

Perhaps time on the surface altered his perception. He was likely treated better by his peers and even accepted to some degree, even if that acceptance was based on deception. Maybe he fell in love with a surface dweller or simply became close with those he called friends. He could’ve either decided to abandon his post and opted to live with those on the surface, or his true identity could’ve been discovered by those he came to care for and he was ousted.

Following the tree of outcomes, these are the possible branches:

-His secret is discovered by his surface friends who turn their back on him for the deception. Kar’niss is either exiled or nearly killed in the process of escaping. For his failure in the mission he is turned into a drider.

-He is found out by his surface friends but is instead accepted by them. Other spies learn of Kar’niss’ alliance, reports back to Lolth, and eventually Kar’niss is kidnapped and brought back to the Underdark for his punishment. Instead of killing him they turn him into a drider knowing his new appearance would horrify his former companions and thus isolate him once more. Ashamed by his form, Kar’niss becomes a recluse and never sees his old allies again.

-In an attempt to deny his growing bond with the surface dwellers and in a bid to get in good with Lolth, Kar’niss opts to betray his new friends. He leads them into a trap where they are ambushed by drow scouts and killed. Kar’niss is a witness to the massacre and sees the betrayal in their eyes as the life leaves them. Consumed by guilt, Kar’niss begins to crack at the seams mentally over time. He starts to hear their voices, sees their visage from the corner of his eye, haunted by the terrible crime he committed. Eventually he comes to snap entirely, turning on fellow drow in violent outbursts and accusatory tirades. He may even severely injure or kill another drow which is what leads to him being transformed. This only worsens his fragile mental state and the “ghosts” continue to follow him everywhere he goes. The delusions are amplified once he reaches the shadow lands. To him, the shadows are the phantoms of his fallen former friends, stalking his every waking moment to remind him what he has done. It is why he is so thoroughly terrified of them and lashes out anytime someone foolishly tempts fate.

3) Love Lies Bleeding

This is more of a personal headcanon I began to write sometime ago but never finished. Essentially, Kar’niss is a slave to a cruel and overbearing mistress named Kyrzhal. She abuses, torments and mocks him at every opportunity. At some point she brings home a new male drow pet, Xaros, and parades him around in front of Kar’niss, intentionally seeking to disturb him so he no longer feels safe in his position. Kar’niss despises this man and wants him gone as he sees him as a dire threat.

To his surprise, the new addition is not only helpful but is nice to Kar’niss. He helps treat Kar’niss’ wounds after their mistress beats him, cares for him, shows him affection in a way he’s not accustomed to. Over time Kar’niss begins to trust him and even finds he feels something a little more than he anticipated. After this trust is gained, Xaros convinces Kar’niss to run away with him and escape the Underdark. At first Kar’niss is vehemently against the idea, still loyal to Kyrzhal despite the abuse. It takes time but Xaros eventually convinces Kar’niss to defect, and the two make a plan to flee.

The day comes and they take their shot. They leave the manor when Kyrzhal is gone and make a break for one of the exits out of the Underdark. Before they can reach salvation they both hear a familiar voice call out behind them. It is Kyrzhal with a hunting party of female drow. She knew about the betrayal all along. Xaros retreat from Kar’niss’ side to go to Kyrzhal as it is revealed he was working alongside her the entire time. It was a game for her amusement and both drow men were the pawns. It would be Xaros who’d gain a reward while Kar’niss was to suffer punishment.

Heartbroken and betrayed, Kar’niss is taken away, beaten for two weeks, mutilated and verbally abused. Once Kyrzhal became bored of that she opted to turn him over to Lolth who then warped him into a drider on Kyrzhal’s request.

“Death is an easy out for that one. It is my desire that he live on in the form that suits him the best. I warned him that someday I’d remove his manhood and this is the most inventive way of doing so. I hope he’ll remember this moment the next time he thinks to turn his back on his superiors.”

And he would remember, forever and always. He’ll never betray his Majesty, no matter the cost.

***

Those are just a few backstory ideas and of course all of them are sad as hell. I’ll forever be a sour apple that I can’t recruit the poor bastard and show him some love. But at least I can do so in my head!

As for him turning back into a drow, I’m all for it. I’ve written a fanfic where he does exactly that here. The most viable option we know of is the wish spell, which is rare and hard to come by but would be a cool option thematically. In the end though I’d want Kar’niss to make the choice. If he prefers to remain a drider I’d be happy with that but I’d still love him as much as a drow. One thing I do believe is that, whether drider or drow, his mental state will never fully recover. He’s been through too much and suffered immensely and that has long term effects. Still, with the right amount of care and attention he could have a happy life moving forward.

Thanks for the ask!

[cellphishthekaiju]

Crackpot Headcanon: The Emperor's 'Grand Design'

Goes without saying, that spoilers abound for Baldur's Gate 3 and course, lotta this is gonna be extrapolated ravings of a deluded fan reading too much into events, subtext, and the Forgotten Realms wiki.

This will be a lengthy doozy. I hope it's, at the least, enjoyable or useful.

The Emperor, a.k.a Balduran... our 'savior', ally, and back-stabbing squid friend who does nothing but pretend to have noble intentions from the moment he speaks with you under the guise of 'The Dreamer'. To Larian's credit, The Emperor is a very well-written character, as he can appear as either an ally or enemy based upon how players interact with not just him but the game overall. There are layers upon layers of secrets, deceit and half-truths when it comes.

But ultimately, The Emperor is the true antagonist of The Absolute crisis, only overshadowed by the Elder Brain itself, if the Player goes against him and puts the final nail in the coffin of his Grand Design.

So, first order of business; dissecting the squid's character as much as I can.

The Emperor has a very unique design when compared to illithids encountered in Baldur's Gate... which, granted, is not many as we only encounter one other named illithid and the 'common' enemy types seen, sparsely, across the game. The common sense case of this is because, obviously, this is an important character so of course they'd stand out extravagantly.

But it's this fanciful drip that leads me to believe The Emperor is much more than just some other illithid, that his deception about his opposition to The Absolute is far more sinister than the game makes it appear (and with the way the endings with The Emperor work, this feels further validated)

The Emperor may be a 'unique' breed of illithid known as a Ulitharid, a powerful and sinister 'evolution' of illithid that others view as godly, only second in power to Elder Brains... and this is what Elder Brains evolve from, usually at the Ulitharid's leisure but before it ages too far for its brain to be decrepit.

However, The Emperor's 'drip', attitude... just 'him' just screams he is an Ulitharid that broke away from The Absolute, yet has his own ambitions and no intention of furthering the Grand Design. He simply does not wish to rule a mere colony...

He IS the Grand Design (in his twisted squid brain, at least)

THIS DUDE TRIES TO SEDUCE YOU FOR GOD'S SAKE!

Anyway, The Emperor is quite powerful in his own right, both physically and mentally but when it comes to evolving, becoming an Elder Brain has its downsides; namely that he would become a massive brain forever floating in a jar or Morphic Pool. All that physical power he is proud of would be gone, forever. His mental strength would be unmatched but without a body... The Emperor doesn't seem to like that idea at all, especially if his host had been the 'great hero' Balduran, as he claims (confirmed by Ansur if one does Wyll's personal quest through Act 3)

At first, The Emperor passes himself off as The Dreamer, an entity within the Astral Prism that, repeatedly, tries to assure you that you both are in the same predicament, that The Absolute is a threat to you both and he protects you out of some noble benevolence... as well as that you need to embrace your illithid infection, consume other Netherese tadpoles to strengthen yourself, all for the 'sake' of your survival without actually explaining what is going on or who he is fighting within the Astral Prism (which turns out to be the Githyanki Honor Guard)

Once you hit Act 3, you learn of The Emperor's true nature (surprise, he's a squid!) and the reason he is able to guard you against The Absolute's attempts to transform you is due to dominating the mind of the trapped Githynki Prince to manipulate his unique psionic null-zone powers.

As you continue exploring Baldur's Gate itself, The Emperor continues to try and lure you to his 'side' of things but speaking of how he had once been an adventurer the illithids had captured and turned, how he escaped The Absolute and came back to his beloved city to protect it from the shadows (and how he took the moniker 'The Emperor) but through the course of this deceit, he seems to unintentionally reveal things about his true nature; how he was manipulating magistrates and politicians, such as his dear friend Stelmane.

This is further "supported" in-game by The Emperor attempting to seduce you.

Like guys... WHY?! What about this dude does it for some people? I'm a monster-fucker myself but like The Emperor inspires nothing aside from punching him in his squid face... with a sledgehammer.

When you reject him, The Emperor will still speak to you in a very passive tone (though a bit disappointed) but if you reject him more severely... basically call him a freak, the mask falls off and he will aggressively tell you that you are nothing more than a tool, a servant, to him

Nothing about The Emperor is noble or sincere, hell if you side with him and go full illithid, you are enslaved to him along with The Absolute, free to continue his own Grand Design to dominate the Sword Coast.

Alright, now that THAT part is over, let's move on ya.

So how the hell does The Absolute, the Crown of Karsus and the Astral Prism factor into all this?

*clears throat*

The theft of the Crown of Karsus and the Astral Prism are integral to the Emperor's plan; The Crown of Karsus would enable him to dominate and control the Elder Brain via the use of the Netherstones and the Astral Prism, due to Prince Orpheus's unique psionic abilities, would enable him to preserve and guard his mind (I assume to prevent his evolution into an Elder Brain and/or protect against other illithids, including Elder Brains)

However, he needed to orchestrate the theft of the Crown of Karsus, which lay in Mephistopheles's vault in Cania, the Eighth Layer of Baator (The Nine Hells) and the Astral Prism from some unknown location, likely guarded similarly to her phylactery (perhaps Larian referencing the old lvl 16-20 adventure module 'The Lich-Queen's Beloved')

The Dead Three were easy to manipulate, Chosen of godlings with grander ambitions but at odds with each other otherwise. Through them, The Emperor fostered his plan by managing to fool them into stealing the Crown of Karsus. Convincing and fooling the Dead Three into thinking an army of illithids, rehensible creatures without souls, was how Bhaal, Bane and Myrkul would ascend to Jergal's

This plan, in part, can be learned through finding texts in Kethric's personal quarters in Moonrise Towers along with looting Gortash's Vault in Baldur's Gate.

The theft of the Astral Prism, however, likely proved much trickier for The Emperor, since it was under the possession of, what is essentially the Apex Predator of illithids; The Githyanki Queen Vlaakith CVII. This is how Viconia and Shadowheart become involved. He needed a backup plan in the event the Dead Three failed to retrieve the object.

Manipulating disciples of Shar, especially Viconia DeVir, was likely the best answer, especially if he needed agents that had a chance to retrieve the Astral Prism, given how obsessively Vlaakith likely guarded the device and being a powerful lich, her safeguards would be powerful and many. The Emperor, and by extension the Dead Three and The Absolute would lose nothing.

Heh, irony amirite?

I suspect The Emperor found some means to convince DeVir, under the pretense of Shar's command, to put together a means to steal the Astral Prism. Unfortunately, all the game ever gives us is a list of who was on the strike force, including Shadowheart, who does have the Astral Prism when introduced.

However, there was always something that bugged me about this part and that is in the notes about the theft. The Dead Three were planning to make the theft themselves, using tadpoled agents and a nautiloid (though giving no indication WHERE they were going) with the assumption that The Emperor was leading the team (believing they controlled him and not the other way around).

This, kinda, explains the 'story' of how Tav and the rest of the characters are tadpoled on the nautiloid together. (The Dark Urge was tadpoled before but that's a whole other thing)

My thoughts?

Ready for more crazy?

The Emperor manipulates DeVir and the House of Grief into going after the Astral Prism. The Dead Three 'assign' The Emperor to go after the Astral Prism but he simply intends to 'retrieve' (ala kidnap and tadpole) what's left of the Sharran team and collect the Astral Prism for himself. We see the first signs of his duplicity in the opening cinematic, even. Several of the illithid crew are dead before the githyanki kith'rak attack the ship... but there's no indication as to how and why they were killed

(There's some thoughts to be had there)

Interestingly enough, The Emperor planeshifts the nautiloid to Yartar and starts attacking the city, which seems to draw the Githyanki raiders to attacking the ship... then he jumps it to what is (presumably) Cania, the 8th layer of Baator (where the Crown of Karsus had been stolen), then ultimately Avernus before taking shelter in the Astral Prism... which I think man explain why we find Shadowheart's pod seperated from the cauldera room Lae'zel and Tav (Any Origin) start in.

To make a long, lunatic story endless, the Emperor manipulated everything from the day he left The Absolute (his story about leaving The Absolute twice is absolute horseshite), envisioning himself ruling all of the Sword Coast with Baldur's Gate as his 'throne'.

Welp, this went on WAY longer than I expected but I hope it was, at least enjoyable. If folks enjoy my crackpot theories, ah... well, you're welcome to ask me stuff or a pitch. Asks are always open (I think)

[themarydragon]

Dragon Age: Origins potentially started with a bloodbath/tragedy (depending on which origin you picked) and then a betrayal in the prologue takes out your mentor/savior, king, new friends, and a whole-ass army (not to mention a lot of very good doggos).

DA2 kicked off with the loss of a city we knew from DA:O and then a character death (a sibling, no less), and then a major betrayal in the first act (not to mention the OTHER sibling's fate). And that's just the EARLY tragedy.

DA:I kicks off with the destruction of the Temple of Sacred Ashes (also from DA:O) and then jumps right into the destruction of Haven & death of countless allies in the prologue.

So it would follow suit if they killed someone(s) very early on in a way to get the DA veterans immediately invested in murdering the new antagonist(s) instead of focusing solely on Solas.

That said.

Tell me why Varric didn't get his name flashed across the screen when Lace Harding did.

Is there anybody that could get merc'd in the prologue that would piss all of us off more than Varric?

I don't want to be right. But I only trust Bioware to hurt me.

[arcandoria]

because some of my poor friends are struggling to keep up with 10+ year of Dragon Age OC lore that only existed in my head so far:

DA Origins

Alythess Cousland Rogue, Warden, Hero of Ferelden, the canon protagonist (LI Alistair, becomes Queen)

Elros Mahariel of the Sabrae Rogue, not a warden, joined the party post-Ostagar, father to Serilyel (no LI)

DA 2

Garrett Hawke Warrior, Champion, the canon protagonist (LI Anders)

Marian Hawke Rogue, Garrett's twin, largely unknown (no LI)

DA Inquisition

Ekaterine "Ekko" Trevelyan Mage, Inquisitor, Herald of Andraste, the canon protagonist, half-elf (LI Cullen)

Serilyel Mahariel of the Lavellan Rogue, Regent (right hand of the Inquisitor), Elros' daughter, Ekko's half-sister (LI Solas)

[icespyders]

ooooh i got all mad about veilguard again, time for more word vomit

so the release date trailer tells us more about the plot of the game: in an attempt to avert the destruction of the Veil, rook instead inadvertently freed the Evanuris, the elven gods who once ruled Arlathan and have been imprisoned in the Fade/Beyond since the Dread Wolf tricked them and trapped them when he created the Veil in the first place. in the trailer, solas's dialogue refers to the Evanuris as "corrupted," and the main hook of the game seems to be defeating the elven gods before they destroy the world (idk why they want to destroy the world, i guess they're just super cheesed off about being imprisoned in the Fade for eleventy billion years). it also seems like the return of the Evanuris and/or whatever damage solas managed to inflict on the Veil has made magic go haywire in Thedas (it looks like harding is doing some sort of magic akin to magic we've seen sandal inexplicably do in DAO/DA2, probably linked to the Titans introduced in The Descent, which means it's all linked to lyrium somehow, and that's cool at least), which makes sense, since Arlathan was a society suffused with magic and the lack of magic post-Veil led to their destruction, as far as we've seen so far; them coming back and bringing wild magic with them tracks to me. the fact that we're specifically using the word "corrupted" suggests Blight sickness, which also makes sense, since both elven lore and the tevinter lore features a distant city, where the Evanuris are trapped and where the tevinter magisters trespassed and brought the Blight down on the world; if this is the same city in both traditions, it makes sense for the Evanuris to be Blight-sick, if that indeed is the source of the Blight and the darkspawn etc

my big problem is that: i really really hate the evil Evanuris rewrite, because our only source claiming the Evanuris are evil is solas, the Dread Wolf, a literal trickster god who lies constantly to suit his own ends, both in lore and in practice in DAI. he spends all of inquisition lying directly to everyone around him! even solas stans have to admit that; he's not telling the truth about himself, his goals, and his knowledge of the whole situation with the Breach and corypheus. i simply do not trust anything he says, so i'm really disappointed that, apparently, this whole time i was supposed to fully believe a trickster when he talks nonsense that contradicts previously established lore.

the elves are one of the most oppressed groups of people in the entire series, whether city elves or dalish; imo only the qunari have a rougher time in thedas. merrill, for example, talks all the time about the hole left in her understanding of herself and her heritage because their records are gone, their artifacts are scattered or broken, their society was all but destroyed (Jaws of Hakkon ultimately is all about this, too, ameridan being an elf was deliberately erased from records and i doubt he's the only one). so the elves hang onto their traditions about the Evanuris and Arlathan because it's pretty much all they have left of their culture, and it just really rubs me the wrong way that Veilguard takes the faith culture of this deeply oppressed group of people and twists it into something nefarious. i've played an elf in most of my dragon age runs where that option is available to me, and i've always really enjoyed picking up codexes about the lore and legends. i thought really carefully about picking vallaslin when i played as a lavellan inquisitor in my first time through DAI. i really hope that there's more to the Evanuris in Veilguard than solas's rewrite of the lore, but i have a bad feeling they're just gonna be the bad guys no matter what, and it sucks for me. i went all through Trespasser skeptical of anything and everything solas claims that contradicts previously established lore, but i guess i was the idiot all along!!!! stupid me, refusing to trust a trickster god who played me for a fool for all of inquisition, doing his Dread Wolfy play-both-sides bullshit. i should have realized solas is actually the main character of the entire franchise. fuck this game

[thisfragilesky]

on the idea of godhood and my one giant lore catchall post

spoilers for dragon age, inquisition, and trespasser dlc, etc.

this plays off of a post i read recently (i didn't remember to save it) that referred to a word used in a codex entry that basically corresponds to 'the idea and worship of power/godhood made real', as in the worship of a figure, at sufficient quantities, granting them real power. the post theorized this was how the evanuris went from being mere generals in a war to being worshipped as mage-gods, same for solas and possibly mythal. i believe it also mentioned the idea that the way the 'gods' were worshipped would've affected the gods' demeanor as well, though that becomes more of a chicken vs egg situation.

anyway. here's some thoughts i've been having.

according to solas, 'Falon'Din's vanity and desire for worshipers was so great he started brutal wars to gain more, killing all who would not bow to him.' it's unknown if the other evanuris did similar things, but the general idea is that: gain worshippers to gain power through their worship.

the chantry's goal '...is to spread the Chant of Light to all four corners of the world and to all races... Once all peoples have accepted the Chant and practice its teachings, the Maker will return and restore the world to its former glory.' (emphasis mine, quoted from the wiki)

so.

would the idea of 'worship of power/godhood made real' apply to this as well? that the meaning of the chantry insisting on spreading the chant of light to all of thedas is to mean that once everyone/enough people worship and believe in the maker, he will have power (again) to affect the world, whether the chantry knows this or not?

going down this line of thought leads me to think.. regardless of whether the maker is Real God or a Powerful Mage Worshipped to Godhood, the concept of the Original Sin would line up with a very primeval 'had his children/worshipers turned away from him, thus diminishing his power' that may have happened before the actual original sin.

would the same apply to how the qunari leaders try to spread the teachings of the qun? as far as i can tell, the qun maybe honors the askhaari koslun, but he isn't venerated as a god or as in having powers aside from the tales of his visions and prophecy regarding his teachings. i think. i did a brief skim on the wiki.

in light of it all, this could be an aspect of atheism trying to quell all the powers vying for godhood in the world. don't believe in gods! any of them! you'll give them power! all you need is order and obedience!

in works, in theory.

anyway, the thing that's been on my mind the MOST:

the Forgotten Ones, the void, and the blight. bear with me.

All that the Maker has wrought is in His hand Beloved and precious to Him. Where the Maker has turned His face away, Is a Void in all things; In the world, in the Fade, In the hearts and minds of men.

(emphasis mine, quoted from the wiki as from the canticle of threnodies)

i've read and may or may not subscribe to the theories about the blight originating from the void, from the implication of andruil going hunting in there for the Forgotten Ones and becoming Infected, bringing a plague back to her lands. assuming this story is true, then that is where the initial taint came from that could have affected the primeval thaig in the free marches (it being somewhat close to the forest of arlathan could lend credence to this) before the tevinter magisters ever entered the fade.

according to the wiki, the codex for fen'harel gives us that 'Forgotten Ones are a dark mirror presiding over the worst aspects of existence: disease, terror, spite and malevolence. They serve not as shepherds of the elves, but rather as figures of fear and dread.'

SO. IF:

andruil's plague = blight the plague = came from the void the void = either 'the maker turned his face from it' or 'the maker is not present here' The Forgotten Ones = worst aspects of existence, reside in or were born of the void the evanuris = aspects of the maker? (i THINK morrigan mentions this idea)

the evanuris as the relatively more positive aspects of the maker warring against the forgotten ones, the objectively more negative aspects of the maker, while both try to spread their versions of.. idealogy, i guess?

i say this because i question what the whole point of the blight is. but if the blight comes from the void, and the void is where the forgotten ones are or live or come from, and if the forgotten ones are.. possibly.. negative aspects of the maker... it's less that 'the maker is sending us trials by cleansing fire via the blights' and more 'this splintered part of the maker (the forgotten ones) wants to spread this negative blight to make themselves more powerful'.

the evanuris, though relatively More Positive, also apparently just want to make Themselves more powerful (because ambition can be both good and bad). and maybe initially the war between the evanuris/ancient elvhen and the Forgotten Ones WAS a war against the negative aspects of the maker, to prevent the bad from overtaking the good.

(but perfectly good and perfectly bad are in no way perfection, in and of themselves)

solas says the evanuris were mortal. there's theories that they're spirits, whose identities depend on how they are remembered and worshiped.

i say: who is to say that solas's insistence on their mortality ISN'T just another way to alter their state, to MAKE them mortal just be believing that they are. spirits can alter their reality. and with how cole made himself corporeal, the idea that spirits can just become Real and Physical if they Believe it (or are believed in?) hard enough has implications on, maybe, how some things came to be:

the evanuris: the practice of vallas'lin dedicating (unhappy, ungrateful) slaves to the evanuris affecting their later behavior (madness, vanity, betrayal) the avvar gods: powerful spirits(?) given stewardship over the avvar clans by their reverence and worship. one can even be bound to a dragon, just like how the grey wardens bound demons. just like how you could bind cole, if you wanted. the void: did the maker turn away from those dark parts of himself, whether in fear or shame? did they fester in resentment and give rise to things void of love? the forgotten ones: because every light makes a shadow, whether intended or otherwise. these shadows are black and forgotten, and they want you to know that you are, too. the dragons you fight: were they heroes worshipped to dragon-godhood, like the ancient human tribes of old did? which hero was hakkon made to possess and subvert? which angry soul perverted hakkon's purpose? the old gods: who created them, and for what? (i have ideas.) the titans: did they make the dwarves or did the dwarves make them? (i'm thinking about this) the archdemons: like demons. a spirit's purpose, perverted. the blight: a perversion of life? or the spiritual equivalent of terraforming the world for an incompatible race? the inquisitor: are you who you are or are you what they believe you to be? how do you know? you are, inevitably, a product of society and what it expects from you. the maker: did someone make him, too? what did they expect of him?

...and, you know, maybe i'm a bit crazy to theorycraft in this direction. but you know what?

i wonder if the impression of teyrn loghain on the fade is ultimately that of a traitor or a hero. i suppose that depends on how you, the player, altered his story and what people believed of him, how they remembered him. if he is remembered as both, is he both? can he only be one?

does this make you a spirit? does that make you a Maker?

[bookishmeow]

Predictions and what we got

Okay now that it's been a few months and I can assess things and look back at my predictions with the trailers and the Grey Warden: I was going a lot more into the horror/betrayal of the Grey Wardens in getting controlled and twisted by Ghilan'nain. Which would have been way more dark. I kind of wish we got something like that.

I felt, they felt, they needed to give the wardens a break and let them fight, and ultimately help win, against the big bads. The Siege of Weisshaupt and Fire and Ice were pretty epic and I did enjoy them. But if we got corrupted wardens controlled and mutated by Ghil? That would have been horrifyingly delicious. Oh, what could have been. I fully blame Horrors of Hormak for this. They set the scene so creepily. I was really looking forward to some body horror with Ghil. She threatened to do things and we saw her squish and change Razikale, but I would have liked to have actually twist someone or something that made us go "ughhh wtf". Would have been dope.

[sol-flo]

having uncanny good luck with pulling full art event cards. if i were superstitiously inclined i'd say packs from expert give you better luck but i just think the odds are higher for venusaur since it's not a pokemon ex

[nadas-dirthalen]

Dragon Age: the Veilguard Was Packed with Lore — But Many of Us Overlooked It

— PART ONE — [ 2 ]

Welcome back, friends and travellers. If you've been here a while, you'll know that I wrote 30,000 words of predictions in the week and a half before DA:tV released. But here's the most surprising thing—I was right, for the most part.

I spent my first Veilguard playthrough grinning (and then sobbing) at all the lore reveals. And here's the thing: I think most of us missed a lot of them, including even me.

So let's begin with...

Titans: Dark and Light, Compassion and Rage, the Eternal Hymn and its Endless Listeners (1/2)

This is your warning: This post will contain spoilers for the entirety of Dragon Age: the Veilguard, and all Dragon Age content made before Veilguard.

Alright, pals. If you've been here a while, you know how this goes. I always start by listing what we're going to cover, like anyone who's never fully recovered from academia.

Today's Discussion:

What Veilguard (Re)Taught Us about the Titans

The Titans the first Shapers of the known world.

The Titans are beings of the Abyss.

The Titans are sleeping, dormant—but alive.

Dwarves are the Titans' children, created to tend them.

The Evanuris mined the Titans' bodies to create people.

The Titans—the Earth—fought back.

What Veilguard (Re)Taught Us about the Titans

The best thing about Dragon Age, as someone who loves the series to death, is that its worldbuilding is consistent, but also bears the unique quality that we, as players, are not aware of it all. Our protagonists in each game don't know everything; the people they learn from also don't know everything. We learn what we can through codices that are all biased and need an extra layer of decoding. This is a feature, not a bug.

It also means that we did not know how to understand the Titans before. Even my 30,000 words of theorycrafting, especially my piece all about the Titans, had elements of speculation. I had to check that speculation against other sources like the Chant of Light, which is a source that we REALLY did not know how to decode when it was revealed piece by piece in DAO, DA2, World of Thedas, and Inquisition.

Here, I'm going to break it all down, piece by piece.

The Titans were the first Shapers of the (known) world.

It is said in the Descent DLC that Titans are enormous beings whose singing shapes the world. Their existence predates much of Thedas, if not all of it. The Titans are called the first Shapers for this reason, and in Veilguard it is restated several times over that they did, indeed, shape the world—for instance, by Cole in Inquisition.

"Their ancient shapers were mountains drawn of all their wills, walking their memories into valleys of the world." —Cole dialogue.

Inquisition told us so much more about the Titans than just that, though. The Titans have a realm all their own, a counterpart to the Fade, mentioned over and again in the Chant of Light and referenced as a quest name in Inquisition.

Here lies the abyss: the well of all souls.

The Titans are beings of the Abyss.

Now, it's important that I mention right here that the Chant of Light has existed long before Inquisition. In fact, its tale is what opens DA:O as the game begins. Recently Eurogamer stated that BioWare has had a massive lore document for the 20+ years of its existence, and I believe that there is no truer example of this than in the Chant of Light itself.

The Abyss, for a long time, was a mystery to us. Inquisition cleared it up a lot—not only with its game content, but with World of Thedas' publication shortly thereafter.

Not only is the Abyss referred to in many elven codices, but we go there. The key locations of the Descent DLC—the Forgotten Caverns, Bastion of the Pure, and the Wellspring—are in a region called the Uncharted Abyss.

Now, with Harding, we go deeper into the Deep Roads than the average dweller. The same is true in that instance: venture down far enough, and we reach a Titan's heart.

We find a Titan's heart there. But the Titan does not wake—none have before DA:tV, and even then, they have not fully woken. Because, for as long as we have known...

The Titans are sleeping, dormant—but alive.

"It's singing. A they that's an it that's asleep, but still making music." — Cole dialogue.

There is so much Cole dialogue in Inquisition that speaks on the sleeping Titans, on their old songs that once sang the same, on how they will never wake up, that it would be folly to try and post every codex here. Suffice it to say: Cole knows of the Titans, knows of their songs, and knows they are asleep. He is one of the pathways to our knowledge of the Titans in Inquisition, and his words are peppered throughout the game.

The Chant of Light also makes reference to a mountainous Maker, who oft speaks about a forgotten mountain. When Andraste meets the Maker "in darkness unbroken," specifically, these words are used:

The Maker Appears to Andraste (7) Eyes sorrow-blinded, in darkness unbroken There 'pon the mountain, a voice answered my call. "Heart that is broken, beats still unceasing, An ocean of sorrow does nobody drown. — Andraste 1:7

Heart that is broken, beats still unceasing — a being who has been broken, but whose heart still beats. We can hear that, in the Descent DLC.

Veilguard confirms that both sources are true through Harding, her personal quest, and the codices for the Dwarven people.

Records that exist outside of Orzammar mention "great sleeping Titans" and "the First Ancestors." — Codex Entry: Harding's Notes: Orzammar and Titans

Harding's experiences in Veilguard, in this way, serve to prove Cole right. That is a deliberate narrative choice: BioWare's way of saying, Yes, this is true. Yes, you should take Cole's take on Titans as correct.

We also know, from Cole, that this state of being is permanent. Not only are the Titans asleep, but they don't know how to wake.

Songs screaming far away. It wants to wake up but can't remember how. No one should be here. — Cole dialogue.

This becomes crucial information in Veilguard, and central to the main plot. It serves as the backdrop for what actually matters most to the characters living in Thedas right now, which is...

Dwarves are the Titans' children, created to tend them.

By now, a lot of people have seen this reveal in the art book: the dwarves were created to tend to their Titan hosts/makers. But we knew this before—we just didn't know it in context, and therefore we did not believe it to be objectively true of Thedas.

In truth, we've known about the elves and the dwarves' origin since the Chant of Light came out in full with World of Thedas volume 2.

At last did the Maker From the living world Make men. Immutable, as the substance of the earth, With souls made of dream and idea, hope and fear, Endless possibilities. — Threnodies 5:5

I talk about it in more depth in my Chant of Light dissection, but what this verse says in context is that the dwarves (the Maker's second children) are beings crafted by the maker: bodies made of lyrium, souls made of the same "dream and idea, hope and fear" as the original spirits.

This concept has already been massively hinted toward with both Valta (who has become The Oracle in DA:tV) and Dagna, who both connect to isatunoll during Descent and Inquisition's base game, respectively.

We've known about the Evanuris' horrible crimes since before Inquisition, as well, for the same reason and from the same verses in the Chant of Light.

Until, at last, some of the firstborn said: "Our Father has abandoned us for these lesser things. We have power over heaven. Let us rule over earth as well And become greater gods than our Father." (8) The demons appeared to the children of earth in dreams And named themselves gods, demanding fealty. — Threnodies 5

With the context given to us by Trespasser and Veilguard, we know without a doubt that the Evanuris are those "jealous spirits" that comprise the Maker's first children.

And just like the Chant describes, they sought to conquer the earth: the realm of the Titans.

The Evanuris mined the Titans' bodies to create people.

Trespasser taught us so much of what we needed to know about the Evanuris' and Titans' conflicts. Its codices in the Deep Roads outline how it was Mythal, specifically, creating some of the first elves in the coffins found in that zone. The Temple of Solasan features coffins of the exact same kind.

Ir sa tel'nal Mythal las ma theneras Ir san'a emma Him solas evanuris Da'durgen'lin Banal malas elgara Bellanaris, bellanaris. — Codex: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 3

My (updated) translation: Isatunoll Mythal gives you dreams Lyrium within Becomes Solas evanuris Little stone boy You give nothing to the Titan (anymore) Forever, forever.

Trespasser reveals that Mythal mined the bodies of slain titans and rendered their demesne unto the People: she conquered Titans and used their bodies for her own ends. The hints about these actions, however, are not exclusive to Trespasser, nor to Solasan. These seeds were planted all the way back at the Temple of Mythal.

Elgar'nan, Wrath and Thunder, Give us glory. Give us victory, over the Earth that shakes our cities. Strike the usurpers with your lightning. Burn the ground under your gaze. Bring Winged Death against those who throw down our work. Elgar'nan, help us tame the land.

This codex to Elgar'nan makes reference to Elgar'nan giving victory over the Earth (capital-E, the Titans). Trespasser would follow this up with much context—that it was Mythal who was first known to have slain Titans, "rendering their demesne unto the People."

I theorized that Mythal's mining of Titans for lyrium to make elvhen bodies was what angered the Titans, based on codices in Trespasser and the Temple of Solasan. (I go into much more depth there!) Veilguard confirms this theory in Solas' Memory #4: A Memory of Manifestation.

Solas: I have the Fade. Besides, this talk of taking on a solid form. When you took the glowing stone to build your body, did the earth not shake? Mythal: The lyrium gives us the strength we had when we were of the Fade. We are the best of physical and spirit.

Mythal's crime was what took the war with the Titans in a new, darker direction. It was what would set off the chain of events that would change the very nature of the world—and it was foreshadowed, back in Inquisition, by Cole.

The Titans—the Earth—fought back.

"They made bodies from the earth, and the earth was afraid. It fought back, but they made it forget." — Cole dialogue.

In this post, I theorized that it was Solas' creation itself that caused the first Titan to "go red." That is to say, to change its nature and fight back. I used codices from Trespasser and Solasan to get there, as well as one paragraph from World of Thedas and this codex on Fen'Harel that describe the Forgotten Ones as "beings of terror, malice, spite, and pestilence."

Thinking about those words, and specifically terror, I read the codex in the secret Deep Roads room in Trespasser with fresh perspective.

For a moment, the scent of blood fills the air, and there is a vivid image of green vines growing and enveloping a sphere of fire. The vision grows dark. An aeon seems to pass. Then the runes crackle, as if filled with an angry energy. A new vision appears: elves collapsing caverns, sealing the Deep Roads with stone and magic. Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast.

Terror. The first of the turned Titans. The fire/plant/ice imagery also caught my eye, and when I went back to Solasan to check, there were many hints that this was, indeed, where Terror came into being. (For more, go look at the most recently linked post in this section!)

Huge implications for Solas aside, what this codex taught me is that Titans' natures could change. This was confirmed in Veilguard many times over, yes—but my point here is that Inquisition taught this to me, just a few days before I gained the context of Veilguard. This was never a retcon! However, this lore plays exactly to BioWare's rules: we did not have the full context, and so almost no one read that Deep Roads codex as it was meant to be interpreted—including me, the first few times I read it!

It was only when I'd seen the achievement icons before Veilguard's release that it all clicked for me. All of the lore of Inquisition and everything before it made sense. That was never a bug, never a retcon, but a genius twist on BioWare's behalf: one that almost no one guessed at for an entire decade.

One that changes everything.

Titans, we know for certain now, behave as spirits. Obscure hints in World of Thedas, Inquisition, and the previous games have been confirmed in Veilguard. This new understanding changes not just the Titans, not just the dwarves, but reframes everything we know about the entire history of Thedas and how its magic system works.

______

Thank you for reading! It means a lot when people engage with these. And don't worry: I'm not nearly through with them. It's taken me a while to compile everything, but with more of Veilguard added to the wiki every day, it's a lot easier to compile things for these posts!

(Immense thanks to the wiki staff, of course. <3)

Up Next: Titans and Spirits are far more similar than we think, and it means everything.

[jerichoes]

lrb there actually IS something with the dragons at least in THEORY but you know... who knows where we'll end up with this series eventually

[seeker-ophelia]

This is wonderful

Parallels Between Solas Regret Murals and Chantry Iconography

[criffyzou]

More random D&D transposition because overthinking things is my favorite hobby. All 3 of my Thedas girls conveniently fit into my fav d&d class, ranger.

Tini Brosca (legionnaire scout/assassin): Hill dwarf Monster Slayer Ranger I love tanky, warrior-like rogues; legionnaire scout is my fav for that reason. Monster slayer does not exactly scream tanky rogue, but it has the magic defense and wardenish vibes.

Emmanuelle Hawke (shadow/assassin): Human Gloom Stalker Ranger Hawke has the shadow spec because Isabela already had duelist; I usually don't like playing stealthy rogues. At least it gets her my favorite ranger subclass.

Sheana Lavellan (assassin): Wood elf Horizon Walker Ranger Sharing a specialization with companions was my least favorite part of DA:I, but assassin was alright. Horizon Walker has good Inquisitor vibes, with portals instead of rifts.

And now all companions with no explanation whatsoever:

Leliana (bard/shadow): Human College of Whispers Bard

Alistair (templar/guardian): Human Oath of the Watchers Paladin

Morrigan (shapeshifter/blood mage): Human Circle of the Spores Druid

Zevran (assassin/duelist): Wood elf Assassin Rogue

Sten (reaver): Goliath Path of the Zealot Barbarian

Wynne (spirit healer): Human Divine Soul Sorcerer

Shale (no spec): Warforged Rune Knight Fighter

Oghren (berserker/champion): Hill dwarf Way of the Drunken Master Monk

Velanna (keeper/arcane warrior): Wood elf Circle of the Land Druid

Sigrun (legionnaire scout/shadow): Hill dwarf Phantom Rogue

Nathaniel (assassin/ranger): Human Hunter Ranger

Justice (spirit warrior/guardian): Scourge aasimar Oath of Vengeance Paladin

Anders (spirit healer/battlemage): Human Celestial Warlock

Fenris (spirit warrior): Drow Psi Warrior Fighter

Isabela (duelist): Human Swashbuckler Rogue

Aveline (guardian): Human Oath of the Crown Paladin

Merrill (blood mage/keeper): Wood elf Archfey Warlock

Bethany (force mage): Human Graviturgy School Wizard

Sebastian (shadow?): Human War Domain Cleric

Varric (artificer): Hill dwarf College of Eloquence Bard

Dorian (necromancer): Human Necromancy School Wizard

Sera (tempest): Wood elf Swarmkeeper Ranger

Solas (force rift mage): High elf Aberrant Mind Sorcerer

Iron Bull (reaver): Goliath Path of the Berserker Barbarian

Vivienne (knight enchanter): Human War Magic Wizard

Cassandra (templar): Human Order Domain Cleric

Blackwall (champion): Human Banneret Fighter

Cole (assassin): Changeling Way of the Shadow Monk

Origins DLCs Bonus round !

Ariane (champion): Wood elf College of Valor Bard

Finn (spirit healer): Human Knowledge Domain Cleric

Jerrik (duelist/ranger): Hill dwarf Beast Master Ranger

Brogan (reaver/berserker): Hill dwarf Path of the Battlerager Barbarian

Rules were: max 3 characters of the same class (not counting my 3 ranger gals), every class has to be there at least once, and it has to be thematically coherent with my own lore builds. I didn't do multiclass as it is more fun to me to integrate the different themes of a build into one (1) subclass but, mechanically, some should put levels elsewhere. I will not be taking criticism at this time for my decision to make the reavers barbarians instead of the berserkers. I know I am right.

Now I know I said no explanation but I can't resist rambling about characters sharing a main spec in Dragon Age but not a D&D class:

Force mage: Bethany & Solas Rift mage is just reflavored force mage, but in Solas' case I wanted to imply that something sinister was afoot, even if some force mage essence was lost in the process. It does tie back to force mages using their mind as a weapon though.

Assassin rogue: Zevran, Nathaniel & Cole This one is very straightforward in the ways they differ: Zevran is the only trained assassin, Cole hides in the shadows, and Nathaniel is a darkspawn killer.

Spirit Healer mage: Wynne, Finn & Anders Despite Wynne technically being possessed, her spirit is not a presence she feels, more like an abstract protection; Finn is a book nerd; Anders is in a committed relationship.

Champion warrior: Blackwall & Ariane Champion is a team player spec and both fighter/bard subclasses match the support vibe, but Blackwall was trained to be in an army, and Ariane is recovering her people's history.

[felassan]

i havent been able to keep up with all the veilguard news, but i was hoping you might know if theres been any word on a potential comeback for Sandal Feddic?

hello! ◕‿◕

this post is just listing references to him in interviews/marketing etc, not going into theorycrafting. ◕‿◕

around 2012 in an interview somewhere a writer mentioned a concern that they had around how the portrayal of Sandal could be insensitive/uncomfortable.

around 2 years ago there was an article:

‘Sandal Probably Isn’t In Dragon Age 4′ At least not with his usual voice actor, Yuri Lowenthal. Speaking to USA Today, voice actor Yuri Lowenthal revealed that has not been asked to return for the fourth game. “I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn, but as far as I know there’s no Sandal in Dragon Age 4. If there is then it wasn’t played by me because I would have loved to have come back.” The only silver lining for fans is that Lowenthal would love to play the quirky character again. “100%, I love that little guy. He could have just been a terrible joke, and he wasn’t. They gave him some turns that nobody saw coming. He’s a right badass.” [source]

that was 2 years ago however, and things can change. as we know from Morrigan/Claudia Black, it's possible for this kind of comment to be made prior to a studio asking an actor to reprise a role. NDAs and changing voice actors are also a thing.

about a year ago Mark Darrah said this, on why he doesn't directly appear in DA:I -

[on Sandal] “I told the team if you put him in DA:I you gotta put him in everything because he basically then becomes a central figure of the franchise. So they gave him a rest. So you can blame me for him not being in DA:I” [source]

I don't remember seeing any other direct/specific Sandal mentions in promo/marketing type material one way or the other in more recent times.

[high-voltage-rat]

I think the problem with Veilguard is mostly just that they were so focused on giving a culmination of the Deep Lore that they forgot about the shallow lore we've had for the last 3 games. Anything about the chantry systems, the dalish as we know them, the political situation as it currently stands in general- it's fallen by the wayside pretty much completely. But deep lore theories about the blight, lyrium, old gods, spirits, the origin of elves and qunari, titans and the dwarves, etc. have all been addressed. However, in the process, these big reveals end up feeling pretty par for the course, rather than a groundbreaking revelation to the characters uncovering it OR to us, the players.

I get the sense that this game was built on the core goal of trying to give closure to all the little lore threads they'd planted in the last 3 games. It wasn't to explore the current state of thedas, or the effects of the events that we dealt with in each game- just the metaphysical state of the setting and how it came to be. In a weird way, it seems to be built to appeal to new players and deep lore buffs, but not to the people who just, like, played all three games and are invested in the present-day storyline. But honestly I think the shine for lore buffs is even limited, because so many of the great mysteries of the setting have been explained that there's nothing left to really theorycraft about. Our own world has so many mysteries, so much unknown- it's what gives life wonder. Even in a fictional world, taking that away makes things feel flatter. If everything is known, why explore?

Don't get me wrong, I still love it. I'm having a lot of fun and I really love the lore reveals we've been given. I'm a deep lore guy. I had already put together that Ghilin'ain was blighted, that original elves were spirits in lyrium bodies, that old gods corresponded to evanuris and were probably their dragon servants, and I've been excited to see my theories come true. But as someone who also has a great love for the dragon age setting in its present day, I am also pretty disappointed that you can play the game without any real knowledge of what the circles in the south are like, why the mages rebelled, what happened with the antaam in Kirkwall, what the current living conditions of elves are, the relations between the Grey Wardens and Ferelden, the colonial history of Orlais and its chantry... and lacking any of that knowledge will make no difference to your understanding of the game. It will never even tell you that info, aside from some short and oversimplified codex entries, because you don't need to know. If dragon age historically operated on this kind of simplified, "only what you need to know" style, we would never have the lore threads this game is based on to begin with.