#map; fallow mire

[danielnelsen]

anon who asked about chasind headcanons, i am not ignoring you, that is actually step 3 of my current project:

gather all chasind lore in existence

organise it into something coherent

fill in the gaps

unfortunately i have been on step 1 for about 2 weeks and it is currently a 130 page document and will still take a while to finish

but i am getting there!!! and i have formed many headcanons in the process about all kinds of things

[attila-werther]

solas babygirl do you not have an opinion on whether we should side with the mages or the templars in this close the breach storyline. as the theoretical physicist of this group, I feel like the advisors should be asking you, the one who stabilized the mark, about which is the smarter choice, instead of my inquisitor, mr. I Dont Remember Anything.

[vigilskeep]

Please elaborate on the "grating bit of inquisitions politics" about the fallow mire?

your religious army has to go beat up this religious minority. but don’t worry, it’s because THEY have a problem with YOU, and obviously they don’t have a legitimate problem. (fear not, you can check by asking, with a straight face, potentially while dalish, what problem anyone could possibly have with andraste.) they just want to pick a fight, because they suck. your poor innocent soldiers were captured by them, for no reason, because only unreasonable bastards object to religious soldiers randomly marching anywhere. we will play every mention of their religion for laughs because it isn’t christianity-based so it’s stupid. we will not engage with any of this at all nor with any implications of the map theming, which by the way literally has zero connection to the plot here, because who even needs storytelling. it’s important to make those players who like to think about things both irritated and bored

as an aside honestly between this and the storm coast and leliana’s scouts around haven, i don’t think we should send our people anywhere. they’re clearly just liabilities we’re going to have to look out for later. what were they even doing in the fallow mire, we only go there to get them. christ

[fereldanwench]

playing dai at this point is such a weird experience

for like 85% of the time im in game, I'm

well

i'm not enjoying it lmao

it's just "i dont wanna do this fetch quest, ugh god i need to do inventory management again, looted elfroot looted elfroot looted elfroot, i literally just left haven why are my advisors ready for me now, i dont wanna close this rift, i hate the hinterlands lets go to the storm coast, i hate the storm coast lets go to the fallow mire, i hate the fallow mire lets go to the hinterlands, i don't wanna do this fetch quest, how tf does this crafting system work again, fuck that druffalo, looted iron looted iron looted iron,"

and then i talk to vivienne about the circle and chantry and current circumstances and so fucking fascinating im like OH MY GOD that's right, that's why i like this stupid game

and then it's right back to "i don't wanna do this fetch quest, looted elfroot looted elfroot looted elfroot, *5 seconds after choosing a shitty map to roam* leliana is ready for you at the war table, looted elfroot looted elfrootfdgjdfjgdfgfd

[linka-from-captain-planet]

my ranking of DAI maps:

Emprise du Lion - total hit for me between the general superiority of a Snow Map, the beautiful environment and architecture, the pretty dense quest content, and relatively linear progression. It also features my #1 frenemy Michel, and 3 dragons (I feel bad killing them so I don't, but they are beautiful and I love watching them fly around). Toward the late-game, playing maps tends to get boring but this one stays fresh for me.

Exalted Plains. Just the right amount of spookiness for me, along with the weight of the story in it between the civil war, Freemen, and Dalish (more like an implied impact though to be fair). It feels like there's a lot to do here, even if some of it sucks (why can't I jump over the fucking ramparts!!!) but my only real complaint is having to kill 5 wolves every 30 feet.

Emerald Graves. Very pretty, great quest content. Loses points for me for being hard to navigate sometimes and also the number of times I get my ass beat here (see later point), but still a map I'm always excited to get to (often too excited, so I show up under-leveled; see earlier point).

Western Approach. I'm a big fan of deserts in general, and unlike OTHER maps, this one feels dense enough while maintaining the wasteland feel. There's just enough going on here to make it an above-average map for me.

Hinterlands. Truly average, as there's nothing particularly exciting here for me, but it's a great starting map. I really like doing all the early-game helping-people quests; really feels like building the Inquisition from scratch and gaining a sense of purpose. It is a little meh to have to constantly come back once new quests unlock.

Fallow Mire. Gains rank for having the decency to be a short, linear map with a clear and meaningful-feeling goal, and the beacons give it a unique stake even if I hate them because I'm a pussy and the swarming undead and demons give me the heebie jeebies. The ambiance is perfect for what it's going for. Also results in the funniest Sit in Judgement.

Storm Coast. Initially a favorite, but got old for me as the fun of exploring and hiking around wore off. There is enough to do that I find fun and interesting, but getting around just sucks. However, obviously the ogre VS dragon fight rules.

Hissing Wastes. This place sucks because there are interesting things to do here, but the map is just too big and annoying to navigate. Feels like a lot of missed opportunities.

Crestwood. I hate it here because I'm a pussy AND claustrophobic, so the big things to do here are very unpleasant. Conceptually it hits, but I'm eager to get the hell out of here ASAP.

Forbidden Oasis. I made the executive decision to stop collecting shards after making it here in my first play through and getting pissed off about the shards, so I haven't been back.

[reverberation-layla]

Another things that makes it hard to play is I Feel like I have done all of this before.

A Solas ritual with a pride demon for a mini boss.

Another decimated Warden Fortress.

Another Crestwood.

Another Fallow Mire.

Elf Hinterlands.

The maps are pretty don’t get me wrong, but so many feel like Deja vu and it doesn’t help it feel less repetitive.

Treviso is the only place I feel is unique.

Outside of the beginning cutscenes, Minrothous feels like Kirkwall with venitori.

[kirkwallguy]

the fallow mire is good why did they only design one map like this

[mabaris]

honestly tho i think the fallow mire is the best map in inquisition. the rest of them try to be TOO big because they’re chasing the open world feel and. plenty of other people have spoken, better than i could, about how it makes them feel empty and like they’re just fluff for fetch quests to pad out playtime hours

but the fallow mire is still PLENTY big and feels much more dense because there’s less empty space and overall just. less Going On. i know it’s the dragon age protagonist’s job to get involved in every problem, but i do like how most of the quests seem tighter, related to each other and the overall plot. and it feels more true to the scale of like, kirkwall and og redcliffe and haven

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

I feel like I should do Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts soon. I’ve just been ducking around doing sidequests and have mapped every region, landmark, and shard in the Hinterlands, Crestwood, Fallow Mire, Exalted Plains, and Storm Coast.

I wanted to do Wicked before Abyss because I’m afraid that this might become an “Alistair left in the Fade” worldstate and I want to get Morrigan before then because I think she has dialogue about that? I think.

[redlyriumidol]

imo they should have cut a few of the maps and made them all as good as Frostback Basin, with the same level of interest and a questline with more interactivity and actual cutscenes. maps that should have been cut:

the fallow mire. why was this in here? what did it add? you only need to go there once then never again. unpleasant and useless.

forbidden oasis. three desert maps is overkill. the shard temple could have been located in a smaller oasis in the western approach, there's not much point to the map beyond that.

the hissing wastes could also be cut, though I honestly do kind of like it. It's just kind of empty, time consuming, and irrelevant.

potentially the storm coast. I think crestwood could have served the same purpose. I also hate the hills, it's difficult to move around in. the questline is not super interesting imo. they should have kept extended crestwood and ditched storm coast.

honestly I love all the dales maps but if I had to get rid of one it's emerald graves, which pains me because it's such a beautiful map and I love it. Then again I wouldn't cut the orlesian houses so idk, but these could have been added as separate dungeons like the elven ruins. honestly I like emerald graves more than exalted plains but I think exalted plains is more important, both in terms of the civil war and the dalish+elven ruins. So for the sake of the story I would have to sacrifice the love of my life emerald graves, or perhaps combine it with the plains somehow.

I'm definitely a completionist and honestly there's things to love about all the maps (except fallow mire). I will die for emprise du lion and frostback basin especially, but personally i love exploring all the maps (except fallow mire), I don't even mind collecting the shards, I just wish there had been a bit less world and a bit more involvement. I think this could have been solved by limiting the number of maps. they were definitely overcompensating for da2 but hopefully between inquisition and andromeda they've learnt their lesson

[cityandking]

multiples of 7 for your quizzie!!

thanks!! // questions for your inquisitor

7: Do they believe the Chantry functions as it is? What would they change?

Vesper hates the Chantry. The way she sees it, most of the various injustices perpetrated in Thedas and in the Circles are results of Chantry doctrine and leadership and enforcement, including the treatment of the mages and the elves and the forced addiction of the Templars. Even Templar abuses are symptomatic of a larger sickness, which is the Chantry and its doctrine. The whole system is rotten and could use, at the very least, new leadership. She doesn't have any illusions of the Chantry actually experiencing serious reform and she certainly has no interest in enforcing change herself (one hopless cause is more than enough for her), but it would be nice to see some improvements.

14: Which advisor did they listen to more often?

Josephine. They got off on the best foot of all the advisors and Vesper respects the hell out of her for managing all their publicity and alliances and connections. Vesper understands how important optics are and she appreciates Josie's insight and advice (most of the time).

21: Which person did they flirt with for the first time? How did their relationship with that person evolve?

I think probably Cassandra? If only because she was the first person Vesper was around for any length of time with a flirt option. It wasn't intentional, more of one of those compliments that sounded flirtier than she meant it (Vesper is, generally speaking, not a super flirty person). They got off to a bit of a rocky start in general but eventually became friends.

28: How do they feel about Vivienne calling them “Darling” or “my Dear”?

Lovely. Big warm fuzzies. Vesper and Vivienne don't see eye to eye on a bunch of Circle stuff, but Vesper treasures her insight and political acumen and it's so nice to have someone so openly and fondly looking out for her, especially when it comes to mage (and Orlesian political) relations.

35: Does your Inquisitor enjoy travelling? How much does your Inquisitor stick to their map?

She likes it a lot, actually. Would be great if it weren't war-torn Thedas she was traveling through—a vacation would be nice—but she never got the chance to as a kid and she's generally curious and inquisitive (no pun intended) and it's fun to see the world. Except for all the fucking deserts. And the Fallow Mire. Fuck the Fallow Mire.

42: Which bed does your Inquisitor sleep in at night (if they ever sleep)?

The big Orlesian one. So much of her life is stressful and uncomfortable and claustrophobic and exhausting. She likes having a big nice comfy bed to be an insomniac in.

[v-arbellanaris]

Listen I voted Emerald Graves but in defense of the Fallow Mire: nice small size (unlike some hinterlands I can think of) & nice creepy vibe (subjective but I get it, I love me a good bog). If it wasn't for the undead rising every time my party sneezes too close to the water it would be on my top 3 dai maps

agreed with the small size (unlike the endless hinterlands which the game keeps throwing me back to for some reason!!!! like theyre telling me HEY HAVE YOU EXPLORED THIS CORNER OF THE MAP YET HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THIS HEY HEY LOOK) and the creepy vibe but for me i literally CANNOT SEE!!!!! i keep walking INTO the water and fsr blackwall and cassandra aggro everything even when i switch off their aggro abilities so. :^)

[vigilskeep]

How do u feel about them changing DA4 from Dreadwolf to veilguard?

i’m in favour!! veilguard is kind of silly but i think it’s cute. and if they’re being upfront in saying it’s because it’s more about you and your companions than about your enemies, i’m all for that

also, places where the veil is weak have always been, like, some of the coolest maps and ideas in dragon age. the brecilian forest? a disrupted circle tower? the blackmarsh? sundermount, or kirkwall in general? crestwood and the fallow mire? werewolves and walking corpses and talking trees and wandering wisps and demons barely kept at bay? that’s got to be the kind of place where a “veilguard” would be operating and the kind of thing they’d be dealing with, and i’m incredibly here for that

i like solas well enough but his plot isn’t really my thing, so less focus on it—although this is obviously still related—isn’t going to ruin my day

[gardensystemtv]

wwwwwwwwwWe are going to the Hinterlands! pack your bags! You can find the previous livetumble [here] or the very first [here] all the good stuff is under the cut as always

Welcome to the Hinterlands, the land of battle, green forests, horses and way too many bears.

Almithara is beginning to get really sick of being called the Herald of Andraste. she is just herself, and not some hero for the humans to raly behind.

All she wants is to make sure her own people (the Dalish) are safe, but more and more, the realisation sets in that the entire world of Thedas will rely on her, and needs her to be safe. A responsibility she will not turn away from, no matter how overwhelming it gets. Okay, also a few notes. Still on Nightmare, and it is still going well so far. Im also trying to minimize fast travel, to the point that to leave Haven, I walk to the gates outside and the travel point. Not sure how well that will work inside the larger areas, but I’ll come up with something after exploring more. For now, I’m focussing on looking after the people at the crossroads. and slowly branch out to get more and more quests, trying to avoid going into higher level areas too early.

“hey, your wife is dead, wanna join my army?” Love the way you recruit agents in this game tbh. Though I am also reminded of how much I kinda dislike the power mechanic. I do a lot of sidequests, so I always have too many, but people who just want to do the story will end up barely having enough. I wish instead, doing sidequests provded some more clear and tangible direct aid to the world, instead of a more undefined “power”

one overlapping trait I will try and maintain for this run: we will side with and help sapphics whenever we can.

So welcome to the Inquisition Ritts, we can use your talents well I was planning to clear out all of Dwarfson’s pass for now, but one of the rifts is level 8, and my party is level 4 so... back to the crossroads for now. Gonna hand in all the quests I can. For fast travel, I’ll permit myself to use the travel points on the map, such as the stone at the Crossroads, but I cannot travel to camps, or other places that do not have a specific item for it in the overworld, just to make expeditions out into areas a bit more dangerous.

Okay, took a short detour to pick up the ring for the Elven Widow. but now, we delivered the ram meat and potion, got plenty of power, and are ready to head back to haven... next stop, Val Royeaux

Finally got enough Drakestone to make a fire staff too. And need to save up some cloth for a better armour piece fo Almithara, but it’s getting along nicely. Don’t have any rogue armour yet, but I did get new armour for Cassandra. Gotta hunt more schematics still, but so far crafting is going very well.

We are going to Orlais! Get in!

We are here to cause trouble.

Well, the chantry proved as useless as Almithara would have expected. and the Templars are showboating for some reason. Time to go... ooh wait what’s this arrow with a message saying?

LESBIAN SPOTTED

Still really love this intro. “Just say what” I love her so much I kinda missed the opportunity to get a good screenshot from the moment, but we also recruited Vivienne already. The team is getting together bit by bit. Okay, used up my power to get the Storm coast and the Fallow Mire opened up for now. Gonna try and recruit The Iron Bull and Blackwall soon, then maybe try and clear whatever missions I can for now, and gain some more XP, got a lot still going on in the Hinterlands too.  But it is all going well! The next chapter should be here [soon]

[fereldanwench]

So we've made a lot of in-game progress since the last little update I made on my random Valerie-inspired playthrough of Dragon Age Inquisition:

The big story advancement was choosing between the templars and mages to close the Breach. I still have no idea where Valerie really stands on magic, the Chantry, etc., so I opted to go for my personal favorite route: disbanding the Templar Order and bringing them under the Inquisition. I just really like Ser Barris (a good man who has mistakenly given his life to a shitty institution and is now coming to terms with it? Why yes, I do have a type, thanks for asking) and The Champions of the Just is prrooobably my favorite quest in the whole game because it's one of the only quests across the entire series that really gives us a good glimpse into the secret life of templars, so to speak. Like we get to see a lot of what life is like behind closed Circle doors for mages in all the games (especially if you play as a mage in Origins), but not so much the templars. Even in DA2, where you do have more access to templars, it's still mostly their public-facing arenas, like the Gallows courtyard. And the way Barris describes how the Order slowly introduced red lyrium into the ranks is horrifying on so many levels. (Also, it always fucks me up that the fully corrupted templars don't die as human enemies, but as creatures.)

This means Valerie met Cole! She also met Dorian since she did talk to Fiona before going with the Templars, and if I recall correctly, he's gonna be pretty pissed that she went with the Templars, whoops. First impressions: Cole: ???? Does not compute. But she's pragmatic and he helped her so he can stay for now. Dorian: Far too pleased with himself, but he's obviously brilliant so at least it's not without cause.

Jury is still out if I'm actually going to romance anyone in this run--Leaning towards no, but Valerie is a bit of a flirt by nature and a heartbreaker in Cyberpunk canon so I have had her up the charm with a few characters: Blackwall: Serious, hardened warrior too committed to his duty and with a manbun (he's modded in my game) certainly meets some of her requirements, and his delighted response when she told him he's better suited to getting eaten by a dragon is fun for everyone. But he's a little too enamored with her too fast and he's not honest. Verdict: Needs less simping, less lying, and more biting sarcasm. Cullen: Flirting with him was more for old times sake and because I wanted to see the cute smile the Inquisitor makes when they say they're willing to listen to his lectures. But Valerie in a lot of ways is sort of a spiritual successor to my favorite Hawke, Rhiannon, whomst I shipped hard with Cullen so there is something there. Cullen also fits the decent-man-coming-to-terms-with-serving-a-corrupt-organization archetype. I think he's just slightly on the wrong side of priggish and dorky for her, though. But perhaps most importantly: I don't want to romance him again, lmao. Verdict: Get wrecked, nerd. Cassandra: I don't currently have a mod installed to romance her as a femInquisitor, so I would have to grab on in order to make this happen obviously. But I think Cassandra actually has the highest potential here: grumpy, stubborn, impulsive warrior trying to stick to a righteous path even if she's full of doubts? With a secret soft side?? I mean, come on. That's perfect. Verdict: Modding magic vs Wench's laziness: Who will win?

I want to grind a little bit more before actually closing the Breach (and dying from cringe at that goddamn singalong scene) so I've been chipping away at various quests in the Storm Coast, Hinterlands, and Fallow Mire. I remember really disliking the Fallow Mire when I first played, mostly because of the undead popping up everywhere, but I'm actually finding it far less of a slog than the other two maps this time around. Like a fairly small map that I can actually clear without huge expanses of emptiness that are just there to make the game seem bigger? Yes, please.