#i loved emmrich before the game released

[birb--birb]

Help a binch out

I cant decided who to romance!!!!!!!!!! I was originally gonna romance Emmrich but love the dynamic Bellara and Savrin have, but also after Lucanis' Cafe date I'm 👉👈 uwu (also assassin crow boyfriend dynamic is v cute)

HOWEVER my next playthrough I'll be saving Minrathous instead of Treviso and that hardens Lucanis. So if I want to romance Lucanis, my current run is the one to do so, BUT THE MORE I HAVE EMMRICH AROUND THE MORE I PPPFGGGHSHASFJFJDK ya know? I just don't think Savrin is who I want to romance Emmrich...

And I still adore Bellara, like her and Savrin are really really cute together, and I'm lowkey sad I turned down Davrin the other day bc he was so fun to flirt with JUST UGHH WHY IS EVERYONE SO ATTRATIVE

[vampirehusbands]

Indulging myself w silly memes

[felassan]

Dragon Age: "In #DragonAge: Vows and Vengeance, you'll get to meet all our companions before they joined the Veilguard - including a gentleman necromancer 💀 Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Premieres August 29: [link]" [source]

This tweet mentions that the moments of the companions' lives depicted in the podcast are from times prior to them joining the Veilguard and therefore the events of the game.

Text in the notebook reads:

"Something's gone wrong. The dead stir more easily than they should."

Maybe we are looking at Emmrich's notebook here? ^^ it sounds like something isn't right in the Grand Necropolis and with the Veil/the dead in general. (I wonder if this is part of the reason why in the release date reveal trailer, there are giant undead skeletons causing a stir). In Nevarra/the Mortalitasi, they believe that when someone dies a spirit is pushed out of the Fade into the mortal world. In exchange, they invite those spirits to inhabit the empty bodies left behind. This is common orthodoxy for the Nevarran populace. when a spirit leaves the Fade, it crosses the Veil. when the Veil is thin (or weak or damaged..), demons and spirits can escape more easily into the waking world. once they do, they sometimes possess corpses. since we need to guard the Veil in this game and there's a Veil-tearing Lyrium dagger around (plus who knows what else Ghil and Elgar'nan and whatever else are doing to it..), it makes sense that if the Veil is damaged/at risk, more dead would stir and more easily than they should do. (in TN, Lord Penrick Karn's funeral procession was interrupted by his corpse's premature possession). you can see why a Mourn Watcher like Emmrich would be motivated to join a group dedicated to guarding the Veil.

The anatomical drawings here track, Nevarra has unrivalled knowledge of anatomy. <- DA:TV spoilers at link.

The notebook also reminds me of Grim Anatomy.

These numbers look to appear twice on the pages:

"7197 | 3.85715 7198 | 3.85721 7199 | 3.85727 | 6 7200 | 3.85733 | 6"

What do they mean? could it be a calculation, or a code?

And can anyone make out what the flowing script on the left hand page says? ^^ I wonder what language it's in? Whether it corresponds to a spell? it also reminds me of this exchange from the 'Meet The Companions' panel at SDCC, as it relates to Emmrich:

"Lucy: And I hear as well that Emmrich gets, I mean, you’re all gonna get some fantastic lines, but I hear that Emmrich has some quite spectacular ones. You, Nick, you and Ashley, I would love to hear about the process of, was it difficult to get like some of those tongue-twisters, and? Ashley: Yeah, Sylvia the lead writer basically was like, ‘Ash, you’re gonna need a dictionary for all of the sessions with Emmrich’, it’s like, 'Okay!’. And we get there, you just nailed them all, like 'shduhfejdkjjdhdjdhfjehfjkhehe into the Fade’. Nick: Well, I don’t know if I nailed them all, that’s very kind of you. But, there was some serious tongue-twisters there, and, but it’s great, it’s great to be in the booth, and to be given a challenge like that, and. Yeah, it’s fantastic, I mean that’s what I love to do, so it was great to be just gifted that."

[source]

[niofo]

spoilers for the end of lucanis' questline under the cut

i still love all the crows dearly, but i'm kinda disappointed with lucanis' personal questline, maybe bcos i was overthinking it so hard before the game release - but they went with the most obvious and dumbed down solution they flagged so much that it was basically a circus billboard at that point, like illario was just so gd obvious i was sure that he can't be the actual traitor, bcos everyone with eyes would notice this bullshit. like viago is standing right there, and the man eats paranoia for breakfast. illario was the most obvious candidate, bcos he had the most to gain, and he was acting super sus on top of that, how come he managed to pull all this nonsense.

also i don't like how we got basically 0 pushback for caterina - i'm supposed to be happy that she actually always loved lucanis more, and she's his only family, so he's just happy she's alive, while she was the person who beat the shit out of both lucanis and illario, and is a major contributor to why illario turned out the way he did. i picked saved caterina over going after illario bcos i didn't think pushing spite to do more vengeance was a good call, but that doesn't mean that i thought that caterina was actually a good person and should not be held accountable.

overall i liked some bits, the time in lucanis' mind was a highlight of the questline, but i did expect something more, and some more personal drama. well, i guess that's what fics are for, and that's what i get for obsessing over and overthinking the crows in months before release.

overall i think my favorite personal questlines ended up being emmrich, davrin and taash, i got really emotional with each one of them in the end. and with lucanis it was ramping up nicely up to the point when we went after zara, but after that it it flopped for me.

[hydrangeapartridge]

My completely biased review and opinion about companions in Veilguard (major spoilers of course)

(Side note : english is not my first langage, I hope I can express myself clearly enough for you all to understand my points)

- Neve

I like Neve, she’s cool. I loved the detail of the noise her metal leg makes when she walks.

Her questline was however a bit bland. We had better portrayals of power hungry blood mages in previous games and Aelia wasn’t that good an antagonist. She lacks charisma and isn’t seen much before the last quest so you don’t really care about her. It could have been more dramatic, like if we had to fight people of Minrathos being controlled, idk. Also not much about slavery.

I get that Bioware tried to make Neve’s quest like detective work, searching for clues and stuff, but for me it wasn’t that exciting, and Venatori are the mobs I like the least, I don’t like the crystals you have to break in order mechanics and stuff.

I chose to make her the hero of Minrathos and it was satisfying.

- Harding

I can’t find it in myself to call her Lace damn it XD

Of course I was happy to see Harding again after Inquisition ! She is a ray of Ferelden sunshine. I really enjoyed her questline with the Titans ; it was mysterious and you really felt the danger in the deep roads, and the potential threat of her newly acquiered magic. I liked the giant oracle and the design of the lyrium caves. It was a nice throwback to the first games.

The end scene of her quest was nicely done, with Rook trying to reach her while the whole cave was collapsing and then a group hug.

I chose the path of compassion.

- Lucanis

His accent was more funny to me than endearing (as is his signature « Mierda ») and I was surprised to find that he was soft instead of suave. I didn’t save Treviso so I feel like I missed a lot of his quest (and the decision at the end) and in the end he was OK but not that interesting to me.

There was also the problem of Illario ; the second he was introduced I smelled the family treason nd so there was no suspense to this quest. It felt like a bad telenovella.

I like that Zara had a literal blood bath in the quest of the same name. It was a cool fight.

I didn’t bring him out much but I enjoyed that he ended up with Neve.

- Bellara

Bellara is adorable. I liked her quirkiness but her dialogues were sometimes terrible. When she talked I felt like she kept repeating the same things phrased differently and sometimes I felt the itch to skip (I usually never skip dialog!).

I had high hopes for her questline because of Anaris and finding that her brother wasn’t dead, but it all flopped in the end when Cyrian got killed by being sent flying away and Anaris didn’t turn out that scary. It felt stupide that Cyrian was not dead and then really dead…

I chose to keep the Archive but that choice felt like the less impactful of all the companion choices.

- Davrin

I didn’t expect Davrin to be so brash ! I enjoyed his banter a lot and the growth of his relationship with Assan. That griffin is an absolute cutie !

His quests were cute for the Arlathan ones and impactful for the one with the Gloom Howler. I enjoyed Isseya’s story and saving the griffins.

I still felt Davrin to be a little too « jock » coded, but his banter with Emmrich and Manfred was perfect ! I enjoyed seeing the wardens again (Antoine and Evka <3) and am glad he was a true Warden this one.

I chose to release the griffin in Arlathan because my Rook was an elven veil jumper.

- Taash

In real life, Taash is the kind of person I would have trouble connecting with. They’re obtuse and a bit rude. I felt like I was intruding during the parts with her mother (it is probably the goal of those moments but it made me uneasy). I wanted to be supportive so I was but I didn’t feel like my Rook and them ended up great friends. The identity crisis wasn’t handled that well I think, but it wasn’t as bad as people make it out to be and maybe I’ll get hate for that but they come out at first more Trans than non binary given their problem is being misgendered as a girl mostly or expected to do girly things? They even say it feels right to be called a man I think I remember? (but I respect whatever pronouns she chose in the end)

I really enjoyed the dragon hunt quests however and their last quest was cool too. Their mother’s death was a sacrifice that made sense and it pained me.

Their romance with Harding was cute (mostly because of Harding’s reactions and that height difference XD)

I chose to push them towards embracing the Rivein life, even if I think they could have made peace with both ?

- Emmrich

Of course my favourite. And not only because he is the handsome older man who swept my Rook off her feet.

To give us a scholar necromancer that was the antithesis of the cliché : a man poised but a tad insecure, nerdy, gentle, kind, a bit posh, extremly elegant and whose favourite colour is lilac ! Genius !

The Necropolis had such a distinct ambiance that every quest there felt special, with amazing details and wonders of finding a wisp, a spirit or hearing a dead’s last words.

To me his personnal quests are the ones with the best handled rythm. The first one in the peace and quiet of the beautiful garden sets the tone : serious but poetic, sad but hopeful, and dares to tackle very real and grave subjects. Death and regret but also life and love are perfectly handled in his story and brought me lots and lots of feels.

There is a great antagonist whose motives are simple but dangerous ; a friend turned rival, similar but so different from dear Emmrich. Johanna is simply iconic (her hand gosh and the fact that you keep her skull in the end, brillant). The fights are well balanced, the cutscenes and dialogues perfect for immersion. And don’t get me started on Manfred… I love this little guy to bits.

I chose to revive Manfred and for Emmrich and Rook to live the rest of his mortality together. In Undying Love

[tahopo]

You said DAV was a 6.5/10 game for you, honestly still higher than I’ve seen from other people, would love to know contributes to that.

6.5 was a gist number i don’t think i could ever numerically rate a game the likes of veilguard ☠️ PERO.

- companions: yeah, i like them. they do suffer from resources being spread thin & economised pacing & lack of worldstates to give them relevant flavor text, but that isn’t exclusive to just companions. when it comes to their quests, you can tell where their individual writers excel! (and where they really don’t……….. but okokok i promise not to be a hater rn)

- i specifically missed the sensibility of sylvia feketekuty’s work. im glad to experience it again through emmrich.

- the resume banter mechanic upon interruption is nice. as is the banter itself. very fun.

- i do actually love rook as a protagonist. but that definitely has to do with the fact i’d already decided on ‘nice normie having a bad time’ as my rook’s personality before the game released. i think if i had my heart set on a cool and ruthless character, id be severely frustrated.

- much of the voice acting is great. i especially loved the performances of bellara, neve, solas (clywais i hynny mr david-lloyd 🫵) and the british rooks.

- trans inclusivity

- no forage/collection animation. after dai, thank god.

- loved the contained level design. (the content of the maps is another thing)

- stress-free inventory

- ui & text formatting & accessibility features (though i wish they’d patch the blindingly white screen that flashes in some memory quests, and when going in and out some portals like the music room? dykwim?)

- DAVRIN. and neve <3 and emmrich, again <3

- “at least you have varric to talk to”

- the combat is buttery! but ive only played warrior so…

- i genuinely appreciate that there are multiple endings. thankful even.

- i like the item descriptions, glad they’re still there

- warden faction npcs <3 first warden, greta, flynn, the mayor, mila and her dad, antoine and evka etc

- even that one warden in weisshaupt that tries to apprehend rook when their heart is absolutely not in it and just goes 🤷 i remember you.

- i actually do enjoy that you can get multiple companions killed. sorry. (though i think the deaths could’ve worked far better and been less… tutorialised)

- FALL OF WEISSHAUPT <33333333

- the cinematics… i do get rly mesmerised. it’s looking visually promising for future instalments (if any)

- davrin.

- sorry but absolutely nobody giving rook a reality check is the funniest fucking plothole ive ever experienced in my life, i can never truly hate something like that. this is crazy but i think it even made me like rook more. and it’s kinda giving nasty implications to the companions which im weirdly enjoying.

[bunabi]

extra thoughts as I rewatch the video at 0.25x speed

DAV spoilers obviously obviously

Varric's voiceover monologue feels like his final words

Dunno how to feel about the Crows being heroes in this but the red lyrium scythes of their enemies look sick. Or maybe these are just blighted weapons? I assume the explosion during that encounter gives Lucanis his powers.

I love Neve's secondary (?) outfit with the scarf in place of her cravat, very cute, very business casual of her, I fuck with it

Emmrich. What can be said. This is a man who will die.

Also: his trailer outfit is such a departure from his default armor, and I'm really curious where this set is from. Maybe it's the honeycomb pattern, but it feels like a Destiny skin; so unlike anyplace in Thedas. It's not like the Arlathan armor sets we've seen either. It's neat. I'm making a mental note!

The acrobatic/throwing/falling animations feel so floaty. Inquisition had the same thing going for it, so it's not a huge deal.

No final boss fight against Solas confirmed — he will be our ally in the final battle — I feel thoroughly robbed but I'll cry in private on my own time

I thought that was Inquisitor Lavellan at the 2:37 mark but it's not — just someone with DAI June vallaslin; hopefully a member of their clan

I'm holding out hope the red & blue lyrium dragons are Elgar'nan & Ghilan'nain & the big daddy demon is Dumat because it's the only thing I wanted that hasn't been debunked just yet

All interesting things but I think I'll stick to my plan of watching a playthrough before I buy it

I feel so much more optimistic about the game's release — I don't want it to under-perform and create a third pickle for Bioware — but I don't really do preorders anymore & I'm just not there yet overall

Maybe the combat deep dive will open my eyes to the vision because the shortened skill tree & the thing with companion skill advancement being tied to their relationship level are what's holding me back the most 😭

[fereldanwench]

i'm still holding off final judgement until the gameplay today, but seeing some stills on twitter kind of helped me solidify what i found so off-putting about the style in the companion trailer

although before i post those, a few counter arguments because i'm already tired of ppl bashing the ppl who aren't vibing with it, and my head is clear enough to put these thoughts down:

"cinematic trailers rarely look like the actual game" - true to a point. however: 1) typically cinematic trailers strive to look like a higher definition version of the game, which seems to be the opposite here. in the case of DAO and DA2, i would say the cinematic trailers actually strived for more realism, not stylization, as that was the trend at the time. 2) this is a cinematic trailer, but it is also done in the game engine so it's not unreasonable to assume that the end product is gonna look somewhat similar 3) this was supposed to be their best foot forward so suddenly going "don't worry, it's gonna look better in-game" is just a bad marketing move. it's not on the audience to give this company the benefit of the doubt (particularly in light of all the shit that has gone down there in the past decade)

"not everything has to be super realistic!" - agreed! not liking elements of this particular style doesn't mean i'm opposed to stylization in DA at all. i think DA2 is much more stylized than DAO, and not only does it look nicer, it looks more distinctly dragon age. DAO visually is also very generic, especially for its time. i still love the almost painterly look of DA2, even all these years later

and i think DAI has issues with the character models, especially the uncanny valley disconnect between the really stiff animations and realistic faces (having played it within the past year, they've aged pretty roughly), but in terms of environment and armor and whatnot, it did build off the style presented in DA2 in a way that effectively modernized it for that era. it did go for a more realistic look, but it was cohesive and still distinctly dragon age

"people reacted like this to DA2 and DAI's trailers too" - no, they did not, lmao. DA2's trailers were the reverse--they looked more realistic than the actual game. now there was some backlash against the stylistic choice in the actual game. i remember david gaider talking about it in a panel at dragon con in 2012--apparently ppl were upset that the companions looked like they were made with cosplayers in mind, which i thought was an interesting criticism. but no, the trailers did not get this sort of response.

and DAI's trailers used a lot of in-game footage, and the cinematic ones were both pretty accurate to the game and well-received by the audience. DAI's marketing was also absolutely bonkers and nonstop for like 9 months before the game was released, which in hindsight i think was way too much, but in terms of visuals, we knew exactly what we were getting.

"you guys just think anything with a style to it looks like fortnite" - lmao, okay, yeah, describing it as fornite is probably unfair and inaccurate, but i know for me, i kind of use it as a shorthand to reflect my general dissatisfaction with the way so many 3D styles (in both games and movies) just have this bland, cartoonish look to them. the pixar-ification of everything. i just don't like it.

and the logo with the bright purple and overly smooth text doesn't really help here either. i think a less saturated and darker purple paired with a grungier font would also help in making this feel like less like fornite season 3458345: dragon age avengers.

plus it was originally gonna be a live service game and i think that it still has some of that dna artistically

SO ANYWAY

these stills, which i think are also in-game engine but im not entirely sure if they're from cinematics, gameplay, or just renders but they seem to be in-line with the trailer:

and seeing emmrich and to a lesser extent neve in these pics solidified why the stylization didn't work for me on a visual level (never mind it being paired with the light-hearted planning-for-a-silly-little-heist vibes)

so when i first saw the trailer, and i saw varric, i was like "nice"

he looked like a higher definition, older version of a DA2/DAI hybrid of his model. he looked really good. i thought harding looked good, too. it did take me a minute to realize who she was, but it really wouldn't be a DA trailer if we weren't left wondering who tf a returning character was lmao (remember the confusion over alistair's appearance in one of the DAI trailers? this is actually tradition now)

but as the trailer goes on, the style doesn't even stay consistent--it just gets progressively more cartoonish right up to emmrich, which is the exact moment that made me go WHAT

he looks like a cartoon character. the hard lines in his face, the stiffness of his hair, his overall proportions--he looks like he should be a villain in a pixar movie. like i'm digging his overall vibe and as a concept of a character design, i love it. but this execution of it next to fellow old wrinkled man varric looks so off

and then we go right into davrin who is beautifully rendered and designed--he doesn't look out of place next to varric or harding

some characters have the soft, wispy hair while others have hair that looks like a hard shell with lines carve into it. some characters have finely detailed wrinkles while others have thick, cartoonish ones. some characters have realistic proportions while others have more exaggerated features.

stylization is only effective when it's purposeful and consistent, and from what i've seen so far, it's not. it's all over the place.

so there's my thesis about why i dont like the art direction in the trailer lmao

and like i've been saying since it dropped, i am reserving full judgment for the gameplay reveal, but based on the other stuff bioware has teased, i'm not expecting this aspect to change too much. i've seen other ppl who were on the fan council thing say the tone in the game is more in-line with the tone in the other games, so maybe that'll help smooth out this disconnect

[thedissonantverses]

woah wait can you tell me more about each team member corresponding to a chess piece, i LOVE this

Oh heck I would love to haha! I’m having trouble finding the original post so maybe one of my mutuals can help but I did find this one https://www.tumblr.com/thedissonantverses/768194221984432128 discussing the themes of each companion quest and how they relate to the themes of the game. (Works better than a straight chess breakdown imo)

But I believe the breakdown was something like-

Davrin-Knight

Harding-Pawn

Neve-Queen

Taash-Knight

Bellara-Bishop

Emmrich-Bishop

Lucanis-Pawn

Rook-Rook (Castle)

There’s eight pawns, two bishops, two knights, two rooks, and one king Elgar-‘nan would be the enemy king, ghil’nanin the queen(that’s why she has to get taken out first)

I’d argue Solas is the other rook in this situation and it’s not the best 1:1 hahaha but it was fun to fit into the chess theme. It’s kindve a “squint and you might see it” situation. Feel free to tell me I’m wrong about who is what.

[omgkalyppso]

WAIT I AM SO BEHIND IS YOUR PFP YOUR ROOK DO YOU HAVE A POST ABOUT THEM!!!!!!!!

Bellara is a companion from dragon age the veilguard! I haven't met Emmrich yet, who I intend to romance with my first rook, but before release I was thinking she'd be my second romance, and then at release was thinking that maybe Davrin would be second, but after playing for a while I'm back to loving Bellara and the temptation to have flirted with her rather than waiting for Emmrich was very real!

She's a lot of fun to have in the party when we're travelling around. I like her voice actress. Her backstory is tragic but it makes her determined and her bubbly / cheerful personality seems unreliant on any specific events of her past or present. She's a researcher (and tinkerer) of magical artifacts and phenomena. She's a mage, but uniquely she uses a magical bow instead of the usual staff or dagger + orb for the setting.

My first / current (main) Rook is Nadzen Mercar of the Shadow Dragons. They're a dwarf rogue who relies on daggers and me pausing the game a million times to survive combat encounters. Sometimes I'm worried their mouth is too wide, but I haven't yet committed to going to the mirror to change it because mostly they're cute.

I have a few posts about them. I'm mostly committed to the third backstory I imagined Here.

[himluv]

DA Review Series: Tevinter Nights

<<< Previous Review: Absolution

I've read this anthology once before, and I'm happy to say it holds up beautifully on a re-read. Since this features multiple stories, I'm going to review the whole work, and then do little reviews of each individual tale.

Title: Tevinter Nights Editors: Chris Bain, Trick Weekes, Matthew Goldman, and Christopher Morgan Year Published: 2020 In-World Year: ~9:45+ Verdict: Required reading. This is a fantastic look at the state of Thedas after Trespasser, as well as an introduction to a few of our companions and factions in Veilguard. If you only consume one piece of tie-in content leading up to release day, make it this one.

Tevinter Nights is a collection of short stories all set after the fall of Ventus. We meet Strife and Irelin, Evka Ivo and Antoine, Lucanis and Illario Dellamorte, Andarateia Cantori and Viago de Riva, Emmrich and Manfred, and Neve Gallus, among others. We also see all of our factions — Inquisition, Lords of Fortune, Veil Jumpers, Shadow Dragons, Antivan Crows, the Mourn Watch, and the Grey Wardens. This book really feels like a primer for the next game and is a ton of fun. I enjoyed my second reading as much as the first!

1. Title: Three Trees to Midnight Author: Trick Weekes Verdict: Set in the aftermath of the invasion of Ventus, this story feels like the perfect jumping off point. It picks up from the comics and introduces us to the Veil Jumpers and Arlathan Forest — a very exciting first story for longtime fans.

2. Title: Down Among the Dead Men Author: Sylvia Feketekuty Verdict: Undead murder mystery, what's not to love? Plus, we meet Emmrich and Manfred and it's absolutely adorable. And, I'll be honest, I'd do anything for Audric. This story makes the Mourn Watch seem pretty darn cool.

3. Title: The Horror of Hormak Author: John Epler Verdict: Absolute nightmare fuel. If you're worried that Veilguard isn't going to be dark enough... Read this story. A pair of Wardens are investigating a missing unit, and discover a very messed up underground lab of some sort. This story very much gave that same creeping dread as meeting the Broodmother in DAO. And if I have one fear for Veilguard, it's a Broodmother in 4k.

4. Title: Callback Author: Lukas Kristjanson Verdict: Heartbreaking. But also a really moving farewell to Skyhold. I love this story even though it kills me. In fact, I loved it enough to write some fanfic revolving around it! That's how good it is.

5. Title: Luck in the Gardens Author: Sylvia Feketekuty Verdict: This story introduces us to the Lords of Fortune faction. Hollix takes a job from none other than Dorian Pavus (and we see him with Mae!!!) to find out what's been hunting people in the docks. And it's uhhhh not anything you might expect. We see more evidence of gross, tentacled, briny-blooded monsters lurking underground. Again, things are getting real messed up in Thedas y'all.

6. Title: Hunger Author: Brianne Battye Verdict: In another throwback to Origins, werewolves are back babeyyy! This time a pair of Wardens (Evka Ivo and Antoine) are on their way back to Weisshaupt when they come across a cursed village. The pair decide to lend a hand and quickly realize they might have taken on more than they bargained for...

7. Title: Murder by Death Mages Author: Caitlin Sullivan Kelly Verdict: More Mortalitasi in this one. We get a peek at Nevarran politics, a brief glimpse of Cassandra, and more insight into the Mortalitasi. I will say, this is probably my least favorite story in the collection. While it showed Inquisition agent Sidony's power, it didn't really come together for me plot-wise.

8. Title: Streets of Minrathous Author: Brianne Battye Verdict: Helloooo Neve Gallus! This is an utterly stunning introduction to our private detective companion. A great noir-style tale that confirms that the Venatori are very much still a problem in Tevinter.

9. Title: The Wigmaker Job Author: Courtney Woods Verdict: Oh man. This is one of my favorite stories. There's just so much to love here! Lucanis and Illario are great together (I fell in love with Lucanis here and have rooted for him to be a companion since I first read it). The action sequences are great, and again, some real nasty, dark things are happening in Thedas.

10. Title: Genitivi Dies in the End Author: Lukas Kristjanson Verdict: This story is So. Much. Fun! It's also a pretty deep cut for fans, featuring Brother Ferdinand Genitivi (from DAO) and Philliam, a Bard!, as well as a few references to the Randy Dowager. All figures you'll only know if you are a lore hound in Inquisition. We also meet another Lord of Fortune and get a fun romp into elven ruins. What's not to love?

11. Title: Herold Had the Plan Author: Ryan Cormier Verdict: More Lords of Fortune, this time stealing an artifact from the Grand Tourney in Starkhaven. We also see Vaea and Ser Aaron at the end, which was a nice little treat. I will say though, this one had me a bit misty-eyed by the end. I usually want to see more of characters I love, but I hope Bharv retires to his farm and never treasure hunts again. Man has earned it.

12. Title: An Old Crow's Old Tricks Author: Arone Le Bray Verdict: After a troop of Tevinter soldiers attack a Dalish clan to make way for their camp, the Dalish seek revenge. That vengeance comes in the from of an old woman named Lessef. Watching her decimate the soldiers was gruesome good fun, and I cheered each time she said "Lessef of the Antivan Crows has fulfilled the contract."

13. Title: Eight Little Talons Author: Courtney Woods Verdict: This is the longest of the stories (I'd probably consider it a novelette) and it is maybe my favorite. I love a good whodunnit, and this one has a remote lake house, Antivan Crows, murders that replicate historically famous assassinations, AND sexual tension through the roof! We are formally introduced to Andarateia Cantori and Viago de Riva in this story, though we can infer from the text that they are the unnamed Crows we met in the comic Deception. I love them and NEED them to kiss on screen on Veilguard, okay?????

14. Title: Half Up Front Author: John Epler Verdict: It's hard to follow up Teia and Viago, but this little heist story is good fun. We see Gatt, and go to Kont-Arr! We also learn that the Agents of Fen'Harel are uhhhh real intense, Solas is after yet another artifact, and his feud with the Qunari is alive and well. We also learn that Dorian hired the narrator of this story to steal something from the Archon(?!) and at the end Gatt suggests the narrator and her girlfriend Irian head to Kirkwall to meet Varric. So, I guess we'll see if they show up in Veilguard?

15. Title: The Dread Wolf Take You Author: Trick Weekes Verdict: Look. As a Solavellan, I was never going to be normal about this story. I remember screaming (and crying) the first time I read it. It's a really interesting look at some different groups around Thedas, including the Carta, the Mortalitasi, and the Executors. We get to see Charter again, and she mentions Tessa! But the real gem here is that Solas himself shows up, and he somehow manages to break my heart all over again all while leaving me we more questions than answers. What an absolute banger of an ending for this anthology!

[wizardsix]

so I'm wondering what the general consensus is on the companion relationships bc from what ive seen so far they're so lackluster compared to the previous games.

(putting the rest under the cut bc this got unintentionally long...)

and you know what? yeah, I will compare it to bg3, bc I vividly remember so many developers, including bioware ones, being against bg3 being the standard. maybe they meant graphically or scale wise, but it's obvious that we meant the diversity of choices and quality/depth of the companions. larian made it a point that they wanted the relationships to be complex, it wasn't about pressing all the right dialogue for approval, and that sometime you have to challenge your friend's beliefs, sometimes you have to argue w loved ones. and when it came to romance, it was especially stressed that sex wasn't the end goal like so many other games have treated romance.

so yeah, the veilguard companions are disappointing, because it is a massive step backwards from their previous complex companions. you can't be friends, you can't be rivals, and you certainly can't have any kind of deep or complex romance. you don't even have a say in recruiting these people. there's no options for any kind of player, because bioware clearly only had a very specific player in mind. no matter what you do, it forces the illusion of friendship with characters you might not even like, it forces you to be nice and supportive no matter what, stripping the player of the agency and roleplay we were promised.

and there's the part I'm the most sore about. if bioware wanted a more linear game with a more fixed protagonist, fine, but 1) da2 exists and there was still more choice there, and 2) don't fucking lie about it. bioware lied up and down about this game for ten years straight and everyone just accepted it right up to release day. we shouldn't have to accept the bare minimum, especially from a $90cad game. that's money most people don't have to spare anymore, the least you could do is be honest about what people are paying for, especially when those who will buy it are faithful dragon age fans who thought this game was going to be faithful back and finally give them answers about the world they cared so much about.

(and don't get me wrong, larian isn't perfect either and I've made a lot of posts criticising them too, but bg3s success shows that people Do appreciate depth of choice and complex companions (see astarion's success))

to me, it feels like they only included romance bc the previous games had it and they knew people wanted it, but they didn't really care for it or just ultimately had no idea Why these romances worked. I don't get any feeling of care or effort went into these relationships (minus emmrich, but especially with lucanis') and it continues to puzzle me as to why writers even bother writing stuff they don't like or care for. and I don't want to assume it's just for money, bc I want to hope people actually do care about the work they do, so im not saying that, but it definitely doesn't feel good. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I would rather have a few characters with depth in friendship/rivalry with no romance, rather than ones that clearly have depth but is never explored. it's so frustrating to see wasted potential and it's even more frustrating to have my time and money wasted.

[unsettlingcreature]

here's my thoughts on the veilguard reveal trailer. I would say there's a mix of good and bad for me, but I've tagged it as critical just in case. all the bad stuff is grouped together at the top :)

I wonder if they went with a more cartoony style because of Absolution…? I'm not against a style change, but I think it's too cartoonish, I can definitely see the Fortnite/Overwatch comparisons people are making. Taash especially suffers from this WHICH SUCKS BC I LOVE QUNARI

I'm not reaaaally going to comment on the hammy Marvel-esque dialogue because this was mostly just revealing the characters. I'm more upset they labelled Emmrich as the necromancer and not the mortalitasi. Probably aiming for a wider audience 😔

Overall, the tone just feels off. If you put this next to Origins and DA2, you'd barely be able to recognise it as Dragon Age. Is this an end to its dark fantasy roots? Sad if true. We already saw the beginnings of the shift in DA:I but this is… much further :(

OK I'M DONE DWELLING ON THE THINGS I DON'T LIKE, ONTO THE THINGS I DO

Varric looks SO good, you can really tell whoever modelled him put a lot of care into it even if I personally think Mr Tethras needs to go back on the shelf 🙄 very excited to see more Harding, if they deny us a proper romance with her then I will be rioting!

I want Lucanis to do unspeakable things to me. I don't think I need to elaborate. I want to give Davrin smooches, I think he genuinely looks the best (visually) out of all the Companions. He looks SO good 🥰 Bioware, they both better be on the list of romanceable characters!

I loved the small glimpses we got of Tevinter in Neve and Lucanis' intros (assuming I'm right, those lanterns look a lot like some of the earlier concepts for Tevinter, especially Neve's)

(OURRRRRRRRRGH I WANT TO SEE MORE OF TEVINTER PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE)

The elven ruins look brilliant, regardless of what I think about the art direction a la the characters, the environments look amazing. Ain't no way my current PC is going to run this game LMAO, I'll definitely need to upgrade before DA:tV releases.

Also baby griffin:) very cute and the dragon looks AWESOME, I definitely think they've improved on them consistently with each game. I can't wait to fight with or against that big ol' beast.

I think that the trailer wasn't a total miss for me but it definitely wasn't a complete hit either. I'll be holding off on making any proper judgements until we get the gameplay teaser + more trailers in general.

[felassan]

Thoughts on DA: Vows & Vengeance -

[info compilation post link] [more info on the podcast]

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this post is rather unstructured : )

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I know what BW said about how there won't be official transcripts, but I hope that they decide to post official transcripts of each episode if it's possible, as it's rly important for accessibility & inclusivity.

I like the title - the alliteration is fun, and the concepts of vengeance and revenge are a DA thematic staple atp. it's neat that it's free and the spacing of one episode per week until mid/late October will help pass the time until launch (the last podcast episode releases 2 weeks before DA:TV Release Day). it's also cool to see DA expand into new forms of media, and I'm excited that we will hear lots more lines from each of the 7 Veilguard companions. 👁️

here is one of the podcast writers, Jeremy Novick, on Twitter.

I’m really looking forwards to Taash and Davrin’s episodes of the podcast in particular ◕‿◕ it feels like we don't know much about them or their backstories relative to the other DA:TV companions at this point in time.

Nadia Carcosa, Drayden and Elio are described as being "podcast-exclusive" characters, I guess this means they will not appear in the game itself (which helps the podcast storyline stay self-contained and the podcast to remain as optional listening). but it would be cool if in the game there is some references to them here and there, like in dialogue and/or codex entries/notes etc. 😊

in the background image of the teaser trailer and what looks like the thumbnail for the podcast[?] on podcasting sites, the two faction symbols shown are the Mourn Watch and the Shadow Dragons. is this a coincidence/just since their symbols look cool, or are these two factions the factions with the biggest roles in the podcast storyline relative to the others? the penultimate episodes are the ones that focus on Emmrich and Neve 🤔

"revenge, redemption, and love": these themes mixed together often produce regret. and there was a quote somewhere in DA:TV marketing materials that said “For DA:TV [the game itself], from the start one of the biggest themes has been regret; how regret shaped peoples’ lives, how people deal with their regrets, how people maybe move past their regrets.”

Mae Whitman previous credits include: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Brigette Lundy-Paine previous credits include: Bill & Ted Face the Music, Atypical, I Saw the TV Glow Armen Taylor previous credits include: Diablo IV, Octopath Traveler II, Vinland Saga

I wonder when the podcast is set? maybe in the weeks to months before Varric, Harding, Neve and Rook go to Solas' ritual site in the game's prologue? I also wonder what lineages Nadia, Drayden and Elio are? If Drayden has a mysterious connection to the Fade, they're most likely to be human or elven, right?

cat burglar, thief, scoring jobs like the one described in the podcast's plotblurbs - these kind of plot beats remind me of what we learned about an earlier concept of DA:TV when the game was more about stuff like heists and spies.

Nadia being a thief unknowingly employed by the Dread Wolf to track down a powerful ancient artifact before finding herself tangled up in everything: this reminds me sm of one of the 'here's what the DA4 PC's backstory could be and how they could end up caught up in the narrative of the game'-speculation ideas I used to wonder about hhh.

a retired cat burglar.. maybe Nadia has ties to the Lords of Fortune? some of them seem to be more thiefy. although, being wanted by Tevinter authorities for crimes of theft, high treason and murder maybe points towards Shadow Dragons instead.

two lovers going on a job to get an artifact reminds me of Irian Cestes and Vadis from TN. "burglar" also gives me Hobbit/LOTR vibes :D I imagine that over the many years since DA:I, the Dread Wolf has employed many such people [unknowingly to them] on jobs like this.

Elio being "seemingly" banished to the Fade is interesting wording.. so is "banished" actually. (Elio's Fade banishment also makes me think of foreshadowing Solas' subsequent entry to Fade Jail in DA:TV.) ((shoutout to left-in-the-Fade-Hawkes' LIs who I can also imagine desperately searching for answers on a rescue mission across all of Thedas after learning that Hawke was left in the Fade in DA:I...))

Carcosa

I'm reaaally curious about what Drayden's mysterious connection to the Fade is all about and entails.

"a few [answers] they wish they hadn’t" 👁️...

the question is, what the powerful ancient artifact is, and why does Solas want it? if he wants it it's probably ancient elven, right?

On the trailer itself

"This chamber, it feels different from the cave. I can sense something. The Veil is thin here." - I'd guess this speaker is Drayden. it isn't Nadia, as we hear her later on. the speaker can sense the thin/thickness of the Veil and Drayden is said to have a mysterious connection to the Fade. at this point they're in some kind of, well, chamber, as the speaker's voice echoes and you can hear water dripping down the damp walls.

The announcer's voice is so deep hh!

To be wanted by Tevinter authorities for crimes including high treason, maybe Nadia is from Tevinter? treason is "the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government." so to commit treason in Tevinter context, you're probably from Tevinter.

"Who the hell is Nadia Carcosa?" - this sounds like Varric. :>

"So, what's the mark?" - I'd guess this speaker is Nadia. they sound scrappy/seasoned (Nadia is nearly retired), and the speaker is probably asking for more details on the job they've just acquired to do. does she sound like she could be a dwarf to anyone else or is this just me? :D maybe that's just my daydreams hhh

"The Eye of Kethisca" quote: presumably the middle man who Solas hired to hire someone, thereby keeping his own identity secret

The Eye of Kethisca itself: this must be the "powerful ancient artifact" from the text blurbs. there are no hits for "Kethisca" on the DA Wiki, so this is a new name/thing. it must be creepy-deepy, because when it's mentioned in the trailer you can hear creepy voices whispering ominously. :D "Kethisca" doesn't sound elven, but you could easily have an artifact that's e.g. ancient elven but acquired another name or been called something else by others in the centuries since.

"The Eye was made from a rare gem mined here in the caves beneath us. It was crafted centuries ago by a powerful Dreamer." - Solas speaking. I wonder how oblique/lies of omission/technically true (you know what I mean? that thing he does) Solas is being here.. like maybe the Dreamer was an ancient elvhen Dreamer not a human Tevinter one, like maybe the centuries ago were centuries and centuries and centuries ago dating back to Elvhenan rather than later on temporally at say, a more recent time in history like the height of the Imperium. "Eye" makes me think of spherical things, "gem" makes me think of how lyrium (Titans' blood) is a mineral. caves makes me think of dwarfy things and the Deep Roads. as for "mined":

"The runes say the Evanuris fought the Titans. They mined their bodies for lyrium and... something else. It's not clear."

what if the Eye is the heart of a Titan, a foci? Solas' Orb was spherical and the hearts of Titans look spherical here in the Death of a Titan mural. the way he frames it makes it sound like the mark is a rare jewel mined from caves by a Tevinter human dreamer long ago before being crafted into something, but I wonder if it was, more technically, the heart of a Titan mined from the body of a Titan even longer ago by, say, a member of the Evanuris, before being crafted into a foci. Solas needed his own foci in DA:I to carry out his plans, and then it was broken. there was more than one foci in ancient Elvhenan; after DA:I and Trespasser, I could see a world/storyline in which, during the long years between then and DA:TV, Solas at some point learns that another one of the foci artifacts survived into the modern day, and decided to try and get his hands on it so that he can carry out his plan using another foci instead. and since the foci can do Fadey/Veily stuff, that could be how Elio got yeeted in there. reminds me a bit of the scene when the Inquisitor yeets Cory at the end of DA:I. (here I'm just speculating wildly for fun hhh. Solas' Orb doesn't really look like a gem etc. and the Lyrium Knife tears the Veil, so maybe this storyline was set before he got that or sth)

also I wonder where these caves are? beneath Minrathous? Solas has a hideout beneath Minrathous, as we know, and the deeper you go the more elfy things get.

Magister Andante: I think this is our first time hearing about this character. their name reminds me of Andraste.

"Magister Andante? It's about Nadia. She's about to do something quite reckless." - this sounds to me like Neve speaking. it kind of sounds like she's meeting the magister clandestinely, at night. she seems to know Nadia.

"Listen to me, you've been tricked. This isn't a simple grab-and-go for the money. There are bigger forces at play. We have to put this back and leave." - I'd guess this speaker is Elio. it sounds like at this point he and Nadia have found the Eye and taken it, but he's trying to get her to see reason/warn her. it's a tense moment with the sound of battle all around them.

"I'm sorry, but I won't let you pay for my mistakes." - Nadia refusing to listen to Elio. the sounds of battle get louder and it sounds like there's an explosion or something? plus the dragon roar. maybe Mr dragon is breathing fire everywhere. :D I wonder as well if it's Elio grunting in pain at this point. I'd guess this is the moment where Elio is seemingly yeeted into the Fade perhaps?

"Nadia, I presume. I am Solas, and I am, I believe, the one that you seek." - Solas again obviously, only this time sounding way more godly and Fen'Harelly in persona (booming) than he did when he was talking more demurely/plainly about what the Eye is.

"The name I seek is the Dread Wolf" - Nadia again obviously :) so something in the job went wrong, she figures out who hired them, and goes to find the Dread Wolf presumably because she either blames him for Elio being stuck in the Fade and/or she thinks he might be able to get him out or tell her how.

"The Eye will destroy you" - and this sounds like Neve again maybe?

[birb--birb]

about Dragon Age/Veilguard✨

General heads up for what I'll be posting in regards to Dragon Age Veilguard spoilers

All posts with story/character spoilers will be tagged with the following

datv da4 dragon age veilguard datv spoilers da4 spoilers veilguard spoilers

This is my first time experiencing a Dragon Age game upon release so I'm not sure how things went in the past, but I'll be posting screenshots of story moments, character designs, reoccurring characters, and story-impacting decisions. Use tag blockers as needed! At this point, I have finished one playthrough, but will still be tagging all story spoilers:)

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

Feel free to tag me in tag games! I love rambling about my characters, whether it be the Warden, Hawke, Inky, or Rook:) I'll link my tags for those that have them below.

Jasper Cousland, Hero of Ferelden Hawke (eventually there will be something here I swear) Ellaika Lavellan, first inky! Solas-mancer, inky for Savrin Izaic Trevelyan, in progress Inquisitor, Inky for Narra Savrin De Riva, my first and darling beloved Rook! Elven Crow spellblade, Emmrich romancer 💀💚🗡 Narra Thorne, Dwarven Grey Warden (current Rook, 2nd playthrough)

lmao aside from Rook, Jasper's the only one I have a tag for bc I played on console my first playthroughs and only managed to get a playthrough of Origins done before Veilguard 😅

[nostalgiaclown]

So the issue with creating my Rook/Veilguard OCs so ahead of release time is the backstories they have given us are very specific... I have already deluded enough to craft my own possible backstories- so now they will be reworked into AUs, anyway, here's Holly Monett 🦋✨️

Lore dump below...🦋🫶

She's an alchemist, in her late 30s, who was born in Orlais.

Black hair and bright blue eyes (she has her mothers eyes), prominent dark circles. Olive tone skin(?), lot's of beauty marks. Petite frame, short.

Blue moth/butterfly as her character motif. This theme will be prominent in her armour/outfit design.

Her mother (Edith Monet) was Orlesian, and her father (Marcus) Nevarran.

She moved back to Nevarra with her Papa when her Maman passed away from a rare terminal illness.

She learnt alchemy from her mom. She became highly skilled in her craft, able to cultivate and gather ingredients to make an aray of tonics, toxins, poisons, and explosives. She continued her mothers work (trying to make a cure for the same sickness that took her life, yaay), so that she lives on in their hearts and memories. (Poor Papa was not okay tm).

She's a Rogue(?) Mainly using deadly poison coated daggers and throw this vial at the enemy and see what happens style.

Holly never fully processed her grief, too focused on making sure her Papa was okay.

Holly has unrealistic expectations for what love should feel like. She's never felt it before (she came close once), not in the way her father describes it. (Girl, watch out that old man gonna make you feel so loved)

She ended up (kind of) joining the Mourn Watch after she sent a letter in, requesting to join on one of the excursions deep into the Necropolis, particularly interested in the flora and fauna she would be able to acquire and study down there (idk man I've not looked into any lore accuracies yet, I'm just having fun).

Emmrich took an interest in her work, passion clearly coming through in her writing, and agreed to let her come along despite his peers' protests. They made for quick friends, the chemistry between them apparent. (You know when u meet ur soulmate, yeah)

She then stayed within the Necropolis after that and helped with the preservation and organisation of the dead.

She would then occasionally be assigned to other expeditions with him, both finding different excuses to see each other while working within the Necropolis. (TeeHee)

Fun bits:

She has a stuffed rabbit simply called 'petit lapin' she has trouble sleeping without.

She likes to climb up high on things, like a cat, then she can't get down.

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So, this is my little world where my 'canon' Rook is going to be her Cousin, Robert - he would be the one to drag her along into staying at the lighthouse, aiding them with her tonics and the like.

I'll no doubt switch it up when the game comes out but, I always end up making NPC OCs rather than main characters, oops.

I'll make more posts talking more abt Holly's parents and her Cousin.

Oh and... Claude Delecroix, he's fun 💕