#so i may have my first game of veilguard be 'she will save solas from himself'

[luckyjak]

I'm debating about changing my personal canonical world state for Veilguard because I fear "choosing to stop Solas at any cost" will get me a "Lavellan hates him now" ending and not the murder/suicide my Lavellan actually planned.

[thedinanshiral]

Bellanaris.

After witnessing Solas' regrets through his murals in The Veilguard many wondered, what exactly was his relationship with Mythal?

Even the Veilguard members had questions and discussed about it.

Spoilers for everything. Goes with this one too, if you want more of Solas analysis from me.

He followed her without question -or reserving the ones he had- and maybe reconsidered that love in their friendship when her crimes with the evanuris outweighed what Solas could stand, when he asked her to run away with him and she declined, and by the time she listened and tried to stop the others it was sadly too late. When Solas started his rebellion he was already carving his own path away from her, but their love was still present and it was because of that love that he warned her, and that she finally decided to listen. She may have been his dearest friend and he did everything for her. When he writes to Ghilan'nain and says "you would not be the first to sacrifice your morals for love" he was talking about himself, he was referencing his personal experience because that's what he did with Mythal.

I'll be blunt, i don't think they were romantically entagled. It's been mentioned in past games that the ancient elvhen related with each other on different levels that present Thedosians may struggle to comprehend. Now knowing they were originally spirits helps understanding things a bit better; spirits are beings of raw, intense emotions, whatever they feel they do so on a much higher degree, and whatever words they used to communicate it once translated fail to convey their real, full meaning.

I think Solas and Mythal were friends, but friendship for them was felt much strongly. There was love between them but not in the sense we'd imagine it now.

They were not equals, there was an imbalance neither were truly aware of until Solas rebelled and maybe then he started understanding their differences and from there his feelings for her changed, as he changed, his purpose twisted from Wisdom meant to guide in times of war, into a rebel leader fighting in what were supposed to be times of peace. He went from being a friend to becoming the enemy.

The romance with the Inquisitor may have been a last minute addition to the game (I have my doubts, it's too perfect and fits too well with everything to have been improvised) but it makes perfect sense only a female elf Inquisitor can sway him like that..because it's reminiscent of his relationship with Mythal, that past bond coming back to haunt him except this time the roles are a bit reversed: he's the powerful god, she's the simple mortal. But Lavellan is far from being a simple creature and she reminds Solas of all he ever loved and cared about and changes a terrible broken world into something that can be fixed, She turns his despair into hope, the fact she came out in such a way from the same world he broke tells him something may still be saved..

In both instances Solas finds himself in the service of a powerful elven woman in a position of leadership trying to save the world. But with Lavellan there's no protocols, there's no real hierarchy, with Lavellan they're more like equals, they're partners. There's no master and servant, there's people on equal standing fighting together for a common goal.

Lavellan becomes Solas' partner in a way Mythal could not and would never be able to.

Mythal was possibly Solas' first relationship, whatever label you'd like to apply there, a loyal friendship sustained mainly on his one-sided devotion to her that he eventually grew out of. While Lavellan is real, realized love, a relationship that may have started out of necessity, finding mutual respect that turned it into friendship, later developing further into something both wanted and neither could ignore. There's no one-sidedness with Lavellan, there's only mutual desire, this love unlike the past one is overwhelming, requited and wanted. Lavellan makes the first move, she's the one that isn't running away and in fact, in Trespasser and later finally in Veilguard, she shows him she's the one willing to run away with him. She's the one willing to do for him the sacrifices he once made for Mythal, even when she doesn't have to, when there's no ancient bond, mandate or obligation of any kind. Lavellan is willing to be with him out of her own free will and for the love she holds for him.

For roleplaying and replayability it would have been great if Solas could have been romanceable by more Inquisitors, but by his nature and personal history it makes absolute perfect sense that only a female elf could. Now we know he was a spirit and spirits are at their core very simple and fixed creatures, interestingly ironic considering they come from a realm where nothing is fixed. Solas isn't just stuck in his ways, he's a spirit! There's a limit to what he can understand and experience, even if he's a spirit of wisdom and is very knowledgeable, his nature is still limited (as we all are), his focus is singular, and a female elf Inquisitor fits right into that singular focus of his. Making other races romanceable for him would have broken that and it would have taken away from the Thedas pattern and his personal pattern as well.

He left the fade to enter the physical world because an elvhen woman he loved asked him to, and he followed her loyal to a fault until he had to break away from her when she chose an abusive status quo over his desperate cry for freedom and justice.

He destroys the world as a result in a desperate attempt to save it, and wakes up thousands of years later to find one person who shows him something of all he loved lives on and in doing so gives him purpose. Spirits need and crave purpose and Lavellan gives him just that.

He falls in love, something he could have never foreseen, an event completely out of all his calculations, but the pattern is shifting, there's no longer an evident imbalance, he's treated as an equal, even when she learns who he is she still talks to him like he's just the man she loves.

And on his lowest point when he's about to repeat a past mistake and destroy a world trying to save it, he returns to the Fade accompanied by the elvhen woman that loved him back with a devotion he was never shown before. Some may argue they're not equals, because he's Fen'Harel and she's a mortal elf he lied to for the better part of a year, that they're not equals because he always kept that secret from her and maybe took advantage of her affection to get what he wanted. But they are equals in the end in the sense that they feel the same way, and are capable of the same sacrifices for each other, and their respect is mutual in equal measure.

Solas may have been mistaken, but had their circumstances been different you know he would have stayed with her, as he wanted to. Most of his dinan'shiral is fueled by monumental guilt, regret, shame and a hurt sense of duty and that's what prevented him from giving in to his feelings for Lavellan, just as he understood Lavellan wouldn't abandon the Inquisition for him, and wouldn't just let him burn the world without opposition. Because Lavellan also has duties she's devoted too as much as she's devoted to him. They're an unstoppable force and unmovable object clashing against their will and if it weren't for the people around them you know a Lavellan that is on equal standing with Solas would have confronted him, maybe neither would have succeeded, maybe they would have died in each other's arms if it came to it.

But fortunately it didn't have to end that way, and yes, I'm sure Solas knows too well he doesn't deserve her (because she's too good), that she doesn't deserve him (because he's such a mess), but Lavellan has always been there to prove him wrong and he welcomes that with a smile.

I headcanon my Gallia Lavellan would be a spirit of Devotion. Wisdom and Devotion make an odd pair, but she's Devotion all around, mostly for him, their love that endured everything, but she's also devoted to the truth, to their causes, to the people, to Thedas, she's devoted to doing the right thing and to doing it as best as possible; she's devoted to continue learning about the world, protecting those she love, and those who have no one to look after them.

She does all that by following him into the Fade, by becoming the fixed point in his life, his North, his Anchor, to remind him what should be done, not only what must be done, to remind him of what truly matters. She doesn't simply follow him into the Fade out of love for him but out of love for the world, which is another thing they have in common.

Lavellan is truly his match, and Solas is aware of it in a way that makes him more ashamed for everything he's done and feel more undeserving of what is yet to come for him by her side.

I don't think Wisdom turned to Pride, I think Wisdom became Pragmatism in the wars, later turned to Regret for most of his life and through Devotion's love and perseverance he returned to Wisdom with a renewed love for life. Maybe he's become Love now, love for her, love for the world he's protecting, love for his people, and for all that love he decided to sacrifice himself, his own freedom, to spend in eternity with his one true love.

And for once in his very long and troubled life i think this time he made a choice he does not regret.

[roykentschesthair]

The more we learn about Veilguard, the more I’m dreading the inevitable companion betrayal.

It’s my least favorite thing that BioWare does with the Dragon Age franchise. And other than Anders has been very clunky, in my opinion.

Morrigan isn’t really a betrayal and honestly her willingness to do a ritual pushed on her by her mother (who she’s terrified of and asks you to kill) in order to save you and Alistair feels more like a confirmation of friendship than a betrayal to me.

(Her not forcing the issue and instead opting to leave makes me question her own reasoning in terms of the ritual being a selfish choice for her)

Solas is incredibly clunky and obvious that he isn’t who he says he is. No I’m not saying I knew he was the Dreadwolf from the first conversation however he looks drastically different from other elves and it’s incredibly clear that his knowledge coming directly from the Fade is a lie (he slips several times, especially if you take him to the Winter Palace/travel with both him and Sera)

So while Blackwall is a decent red herring in terms of betrayal. Let’s be real, Solas was always suspicious as hell.

Anders “betrayal” is an inevitable consequence of his descent into madness. (Depending on your Hawke you may not feel betrayed, but even a romanced fellow mage Hawke is lied to and participates in the actions without the proper knowledge to consent to it)

So while Anders is the most successful and in many ways the most obvious companion betrayal it at least feels like a character progression instead of a removal of a mask?

Plus it’s desperate and bittersweet and while I don’t personally like Anders, it’s a great bit of character writing, the tragedy of it.

But in all honesty I find it boring.

I want a group of loyal companions. I don’t want someone inside waiting to betray you, especially if it’s going to be another mage character.

I want internal struggle and clashing (suddenly living with people you don’t know that well is a great start to character writing/building/development) but the ticking time bomb of someone working against you is a rehash of Inquisition, and they barely managed to pull it off.

I’m beyond excited for the game. I can’t wait, but I want my companions to surprise me and argue with me and have their opinions/morals but a betrayal is boring and I’m ready for something else.

[butterflydm]

It's ~official~ (DAV posting)

I don't know how much of the game is left but it feels like things might be picking up towards the endgame. My save game data tells me that I'm currently over seventy hours into playing this character (though that includes menus and such, I assume), so no complaints if we are headed towards endgame! But I am loving the game, so I will be sad when we reach the ending (though I do already have my plans to replay as a dwarven and/or Shadow Dragon Rook).

Put down those two blighted dragons that attacked Treviso and Minrathous, so that's a win, and I shot a ballista bolt into Ghilan'nain. So that was a pretty big success, and I'm back to doing all the side quests and character quests that popped up in the aftermath of that story quest.

We finished through Harding's personal quest and confronted the Titan's Shade, so she's now officially a Hero of Veilguard. It feel fitting that she be the first one to get that status, considering that she came from DAI and all. She's finishing what the Inquisitor started.

I really liked learning more about the history of the dwarves and the Titans, heartbreaking as it could be at times. And since I took Bellara with me on Harding's personal quest, it was two elves that were talking to her at the end. Unintentional on my part there, but it really made a lot of Harding's lines feel like they resonated even more, because it was the elven people who benefited from what Solas and the other elven gods did to the Titans.

The damage that history does feels like a big theme - both in things like the elven gods being the ones who shattered the Titans, or in things like those same elven gods trying to recreate their glory days of being worshipped. One of the lines that Harding says at the end of her personal quest - "we will thrive in spite of you" (and having two elves there definitely gave that line a special punch; I wonder if that line is different if you don't play as an elven Rook or if Harding processes that part any differently if you're also a dwarf) just really felt powerful.

Sins of the past would be an other way to put it -- that applies in most every case we've seen. Regrets that stem from the past.

I got confirmation on a few of my guesses from last time -- the Gloom Howler was a Gray Warden who left on her Calling. More specifically, she's an elven mage who blighted the griffons on the First Warden's orders in order to win the fourth Blight.

Emmrich also interrogated Rana's body and confirmed that Illario is a traitor and sold Lucanis out to her in order to gain his place as First Talon of the Antivan Crows. But she was supposed to kill Lucanis, not use him for her experiments, so Illario was genuinely shocked when Caterina learned that Lucanis was alive and imprisoned.

Harding haunted by the trauma of what was done to the Titans centuries ago (millenia ago? i haven't plotted out the timeline), the splintering that created the dwarven people. Bellara is haunted by her brother, who she thought died chasing the very elven artifact that we first found with her (the archive spirit) but who made a deal with one of the Forgotten Ones of the elven gods instead. What she could have been, a deal that she fears she would have made if put into his place.

Emmrich haunted by an old colleague and Neve by an old case that got away.

Darvin is haunted by the ugly legacy of the Gray Wardens and what it means to be willing to do anything to stop the Blight, no matter what the collateral damage may be. Even if that's an entire species.

Taash's struggle has been against gender expectations, as set against the background of growing up with a Qunari mother and having escaped the Qun. A legacy of their birth culture, and deciding what they want to take from their differing cultures they grew up in. Not the sins of Taash's past but of the culture that they escaped from but still feel some connection to.

And Varric, of course, is haunted by Solas -- a friend that he's worried he can't save (and who is the echo of a friend that he believes he failed to save -- Anders and Solas have a LOT in common).

(the list of things that Solas is haunted by span the entire game lol)

On a lighter note, I took Harding and Taash out together and they flirted! <3 And then they flirted again back at the Lighthouse! <3 Harding had a dream about Taash! <3 It's charming! <3

And to get to the title of the post -- I went through Lucanis's Inner Demons quest and then we talked in the kitchens afterwards and we are officially exclusive.

It was really great too -- the quest. Spite leading me through the prison that Lucanis had constructed around himself, because he's afraid of himself after what happened in the prison. Being able to support Lucanis and also to talk to Spite to let him know that... that Lucanis isn't trapping him in that prison deliberately. It's just that it takes time for people to heal from deep trauma like that. I love how it was entirely dialogue-based and not about literally fighting to get to Lucanis but about talking to the parts of himself that were afraid and hiding.

It seemed like a good place to stop for the weekend, since I do have some non-DAV things to do.

[5mcsinatrenchcoat]

for the veilguard hype thing, 4 and/or 6?

Dragon Age: The Veilguard HYPE Q&A

4. What does your worldstate look like going into DAV?

Hmm. Well, my Tabris saved Ferelden and lived to tell the tale, also Kieran is her son by whatever (blood) magic we lesbian Morrimancers decide that happened - I'll have to put my Warden as male in case any of that happens to be relevant, I guess. Anora rules Ferelden alone, while Alistair was a Warden and got left in the Fade, sorry, my guy.

My new Hawke, whose playthrough I'm currently finishing up, will side with mages and that will ultimately result in a dead Fenris, which will be... interesting in case of any potential cameos. Bethany is in the Circle, altho I don't think that will be relevant.

EDIT: False alarm, Fenris did stay by her side! Somehow! Yay!

And I'm not changing my forever Inquisitor, so, human, Trevelyan, sided with mages, took the Wardens in, did NOT drink from the Well, Leliana (softened) is the Divine and last we checked Briala was pulling the threads of the Orlesian throne. Kinara herself is married to Sera and I am flinching in advance awaiting the inevitable explanation on why they are separated when Inky appears in the game (as was with Hawke and their LI previously).

She also kept the Inquisition going and swore to stop Solas by any means instead of trying to change his mind so uuuh yeah Varric does not act with her authority there. Curious to see how THAT plays out.

6. Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have?

I have a thought, although we'll see if I'll run with it. Way back when I was playing the Inquisition for the first time, at some point I conjured a non-Inq OC who was a dwarf pirate, which would nicely translate into a Lord of Fortune backstory. She wasn't especially detailed (or I do not remember), so she could be a nice jumping point for the Rook.

That said, I would need to rethink her design a bit, 'cause she suffered from the same careless choices Kinara did - and I know better now!

But also I may open the CC, say "Woooow" and hard pivot in some other direction entirely, who knows. This is the only thought I have by now.

I am thinking dwarf either way, though, to break the elf-human-human line a bit. And most likely a two-hander warrior, my beloved. Hopefully the swords stopped clipping through the ground on short MCs...

The first mission should look fun btw. Snow White and seven dwarves are out, Neve and three dwarves are in!

[dota2apologist]

i have gathered some dragon age thoughts post veilguard for you all. i guess ill put under cut for the people avoiding spoilers still.

i dont care if the maker is real or not, andraste is and that's all that matters

they really missed the opportunity w the andraste coin not meaning anything personal for neve. you dont think a girl trying to save the common people in a tevinter city could believe in the woman who marched on tevinter???????

only two of the character final personal quest choices are going to be controversial. davrin and emmrich. (yes the griffons stay w the wardens literally bite me. and being a lich is emmrichs dream and also i was just curious what he'd look like and its sick as hell the end)

a lot of the character interactions didnt live up to the hype for me. unfortunately, all the ancient elves part and the solas conversations were the hypest parts. but i love lore. so yehaw.

antoine and evka had charmed me in my letter from home and when i finally see them in game im already obsessed. they are perfect.

WHY the hell do all my party members get pissed off when i dont punch the warden in the face. fuck off. he's got blight dementia and is gonna die, im being NICE. in death, sacrifice. my sacrifice was not embarrassing this old man right before he dies!!

annoying that i say i married cullen and i dont get to hear ANY lines about my husband OR my dog.

god morrigan's haircut is so good. she is always so fine.

i am OBSESSED with all the warden outfits. that alone had me in a vice grip. yes i made skyhold a faux warden stronghold. yes i made my lighthouse the warden theme. i have taste.

why the fuck did they act like taash's mom was being transphobic?? why cant qunari have any rights smh

isabella after what happened in kirkwall i dont think you should be within ten feet of another qunari relic i never forgave you

i knew varric was gonna die this game, the reveal at the end was like hmm. just do it in the beginning.

OH MY GOD. speaking of dying. HOW THE FUCK can we not kill illario. 'oh he just sent me to prison' 'oh he just faked my death and held me prisoner' whatever that's family business. but he colluded with the fucking venatori. yknow the extremist group from tevinter that's to the right of the people that already say slavery is okay?? i should be able to execute!!! HoF would never.

i will never believe redcliffe fell. alistair and my warden would hold it till the maker himself came knocking.

unfortunately the faction side characters interested me the most. ily antoine and evka. ily viper and tarquin. ily the nevarra people i dont remember the names of rn.

i dont think i appreciated the writing in inquisition enough the first time around. it must be so difficult to encompass this whole world.

OK. back to lore. im thinking about how the dragons were the evanuris still putting their influence out to the magisters, hence unleashing the blight. NOW think back to the high dragon that was there at andraste's ashes, ([she came down in a bubble voice] and who ELSE had a high dragon, that's right flemythal) ......... bioware literally give me a blunt, two hours, and a whiteboard. ill solve all your lore problems.

i really need more lore exploring the first warden and the creation of the wardens. we understand how blight and shit came to exist. we get that solas created the black city. then years later the magisters find it blah blah. i still dont care about the maker. so blight gets unleashed, well let's talk about who's answering the call!!

i think maferath's regret is actually awesome. i think it's awesome that he regrets it. everyone go replay The Gauntlet in dao.

i miss alistair

i dont like that you can flirt w everyone all game and they just commit at the end and then you dont really have much established relationship time. i like that you basically get battle married in the other games. like yeah !! the world may end tomorrow!! we're your parents now you listen to us.

also im sorry and this is literally for no good reason its just bc im controlling and terrible but i dont like when the companions have separate relationships w each other. excuse me you are all supposed to be in love w me right now.

the strategy part of the games seems to be getting simpler ... the skill trees, the inventory, etc. requires less management.

also the three party makes sense bc the combat got so simplified but at first i was like how am i supposed to bring all my friends? and then i didnt really become obsessed w any of them so it was fine.

im already replaying and trying a new romance, just begging for one to scratch the itch. i have a good romance in every other one even DA2 the game where everyone will sell you for a corn chip (ily fenris) so !!! any thoughts or feedback here will be welcome bc im searching (i did neve the first time, i was holding out for the warden companion but i thought she had so much potential to be sooo interesting. im gonna do davrin now bc warden 4ever)

[sage-nebula]

Found this Dragon Age Protagonists Questions post and decided to fill it out for my own Dragon Age OCs from each game. The original post only includes the protagonists from the first three games (since Veilguard wasn't out yet), but I'm going to include my Rook as well since I love her. I also may rewrite the questions a bit, either to condense them or otherwise add in Rook. (And some questions will be skipped, also, either because I can't or don't want to answer them.)

So without further ado . . .

The Cast:

- Warden Lyra Mahariel

- Briar Hawke

- Inquisitor Lucia Trevelyan

- Thalia "Rook" Mercar

1.) What would your protagonists all think of each other?

Lyra: "I like Hawke. She's funny, and not afraid to do what has to be done. Trevelyan is weak, and as annoying as humans come. Thalia's fine, but it's a shame she didn't get to grow up among the Dalish."

Briar: "Good on Lyra for saving Ferelden, and it's fine that she's grumpy; I'm used to that from Fenris. Lucia is all right, I suppose; though anyone that close to the chantry can't be all that trustworthy, can they? I really like Thalia; she reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. Hope that naivete doesn't come to bite her, though."

Lucia: "The Hero of Ferelden is, well . . . a hero. She managed to save Ferelden and not die killing an archdemon somehow. She's amazing. Hawke is . . . Varric's friend. His best friend. But she's kind of shady, don't you think? And Thalia . . . I thought she understood. I thought we were the same, but she didn't even try to talk Solas down in the end . . . I don't know that I've ever felt so betrayed."

Thalia: "Lyra could stand to relax a little. Scowling that much can't be good for her face. Briar's the best; she gets it, you know? She knows exactly what it is to be in these fuck-ass situations. And Lucia . . . I can't believe she'd still think Solas could've been talked down, after all that. After what he did to Varric. What is wrong with her?"

2.) What do they think about each other's love interests?

Lyra: "Isabella is fun, and not afraid to get her hands dirty. She gets a pass from me. Josephine is a human bureaucrat; she cannot and should not be trusted. Davrin is Dalish, he has griffons, he is devastatingly attractive -- where was he during the fifth Blight? Could we rewind the clock so I could trade Alistair's ungrateful ass for him? 'Going down a dark path' -- that ritual saved both our lives and you agreed, you twit."

Briar: "Zevran's a riot; Isabella has good taste in friends. Josephine seems nice enough, and I like her well enough for that, but it's never a bad idea to be careful of what you say around someone like her. Davrin's a bit gruff around the edges, but again, I'm used to that from Fenris and a bit of Anders. His griffon's a cutie, too."

Lucia: "Zevran is an assassin; one of the Crows. I don't feel comfortable around him. Isabella also makes me uncomfortable, though for a different reason; I've never met anyone who talks so dirty like that, and in public! And to me . . . and how gorgeous she is . . . oh Maker, I can feel my face on fire just thinking about her . . . Davrin is a good man. Brave and honorable. He would have been an asset to the Inquisition."

Thalia: "Zevran is funny! But is what he said about the Crows and what they do to children true? I need to have a chat with Lucanis after speaking with Zevran. The Lords of Fortune couldn't be more lucky with a leader than they are with Isabella; she's a riot like Zevran is. Josephine is warm and kind; I think anyone would feel comfortable in a presence like hers."

3.) Are your Inquisitor and Rook jealous of the Warden's and Hawke's mabari hounds?

Lucia: "No. Mabari are fine from a distance, but they're rather loud, and Skyhold has enough animals as it is."

Thalia: "You have no idea. There's no such thing as too many animals. Still a bit miffed we couldn't bring Assan's siblings back to the Lighthouse."

4.) Combat classes and specializations?

Three rogues and a mage, and the specializations are as follows:

Lyra learned to be both an assassin from Zevran, and a bard from Leliana. Her focus was on ending fights as quickly as possible, by any means necessary. She used both her bow and blades as needed.

Briar focused only on blades, and went for both assassin and shadow. Her focus was being the one to do the hitting, fast and hard, rather than being hit.

Lucia was only ever an archer, and went for the artificer specialization, preferring to lay traps to hinder her enemies and give her more time to shoot them.

Thalia, as a Shadow Dragon, specialized as an Evoker, focusing on entropy and ice magic. She has a staff, but is equally skilled with an orb and spellblade.

5.) What do the others think of what happened in Kirkwall? Would they have supported Hawke's decisions?

Lyra: "Kirkwall is a cesspit and everyone in power there should be gutted like fish. Anders was right to do what he did and I only wish I had been there to help. Hawke should have helped more than she did."

Lucia: "Kirkwall is tragic, but that doesn't mean acts of terrorism are all right. I don't believe in capital punishment if it could be avoided, but Anders should have been arrested."

Thalia: "Where are Kirkwall's Shadow Dragons? The people should rise up and form their own Shadow Dragons there, to root out the corruption and make a difference. I don't think anyone should blame Anders for what he did; it's the least those in power there should have expected."

6.) Would the others have accepted the role of Inquisitor?

Lyra: "Fuck no."

Briar: "No."

Thalia: "If I had to, but would they seriously ask me? Me? You're really telling me there's no one else?"

7.) Do they share the same opinions on the Chantry?

Lyra: "The chantry is a joke, and so is their Maker."

Briar: "If there is one thing living in Kirkwall taught me, it's that the Chantry can't be trusted."

Lucia: "The chantry wants what's best for everyone. Even if there are a few bad apples, the whole chantry shouldn't be stroked by that same brush."

Thalia: "I don't care about the chantry, honestly."

8.) Do they share the same opinions on mage rights?

Lyra: "Everyone should be free, regardless of their birth. If the mages want assistance killing their oppressors, they need only ask."

Briar: "My father and little sister were apostates, and so are two good friends of mine. What do you think?"

Lucia: "Kirkwall's Circle was bad, but that was the exception to the rule, wasn't it? I don't think mages are all bad or dangerous, and Circles should be healthy and safe places. I think both things can be true."

Thalia: "It's hard to imagine mages not having rights. Couldn't they just set someone on fire if they felt they were disrespected? Seems to happen often enough in Tevinter. And honestly, good for them if the alternative is being made slave, locked away in some 'circle' or whatever they call them down south. Seriously, what is up with that?"

9.) Do they share the same opinions on blood magic?

Lyra: "If you're using it to enslave someone, fuck off. Otherwise, I don't care so long as elves or halla aren't your sacrifices."

Briar: "Merrill is the only valid blood mage."

Lucia: "Blood magic is evil."

Thalia: "Blood magic is the magic of the enemy. The mages among the Shadow Dragons do not have need of it, and do not use it."

10.) Do they have the same opinion on The Game?

Lyra: "'The Game' is literally too stupid for me to care about."

Briar: "Seems like a lot of petty bullshit those in power do to avoid having to do any actual work for the people."

Lucia: "It's fascinating, and takes great skill. Josie's ability to navigate it is enchanting."

Thalia: "They can play if they want, but if they start playing to make people suffer, that's when the Shadows come to call."

11.) Who would they have romanced from the other's choices?

Lyra: Fenris from Kirkwall, Leliana* from Skyhold, and Davrin from the Lighthouse.

Briar: Zevran from Ferelden, Iron Bull from Skyhold, and Neve from the Lighthouse.

Lucia: Leliana from Ferelden, Merrill** from Kirkwall, and Bellara from the Lighthouse.

Thalia: Alistair from Ferelden, Isabela from Kirkwall, Sera from Skyhold.

*Leliana is not normally a romance option in DAI, but would be for Lyra since they have prior history. They weren't compatible in DAO, but they are now.

**Lucia would be able to grow past her anti-blood magic biases if she got to know Merrill.

12.) If Origins and Inquisition had the three personalities (blue/diplomatic, purple/sarcastic, and red/aggressive), which ones would they have? And what did your Hawke and Rook have?

Lyra: Red/Aggressive

Briar: Purple/Sarcastic

Lucia: Blue/Diplomatic

Thalia: Purple/Sarcastic

13.) What is the biggest similarity between your protagonists?

None of them asked for this ("this" being their quest).

14.) Who handles responsibility the best? Who handles it the worst?

The worst is probably Lyra, because she doesn't want it and will fight against it every step of the way. It's rotten work, especially to her and especially if it's the fate of the world. She'll do it, but Mythal alive.

The best is Lucia, who although she didn't ask to be made leader of the Inquisition, ended up happy there and handling it very well.

15.) Do they share any of the same hobbies?

Lyra and Briar both like to steal. Lucia and Thalia can both play musical instruments (piano for Lucia, violin for Thalia).

16.) How old were they at the start of their journeys? Looking back, would they make any major choices differently?

Lyra: 23, and she would have never gone on that treasure expedition with Tamlen if she knew it would end up with her blighted and forced to become a Grey Warden. Other than that, no.

Briar: 17 when leaving Ferelden, and she wishes she had not taken Bethany with her on the Deep Roads expedition with Varric and Bartrand. (Keep in mind she doesn't know this would have ended up with Bethany arrested by Templars.)

Lucia: 24, and no, she thinks she did everything as correctly as she could.

Thalia: 27, and she wishes she would have convinced Varric to not try to talk Solas down, or that she could have warned Varric somehow that Solas would hurt him, or something.

17.) How do each of your protagonists handle loss?

Lyra: Vengeance.

Briar: Heavy drinking.

Lucia: Lots of crying, and prayers to the Maker.

Thalia: Distractions, lots of distractions.

18.) What is / was their relationship like with their family?

Lyra: Her parents died when she was too young to remember them, but she considered her whole clan to be her family. She loves them dearly still, and misses them strongly.

Briar: Loved her father dearly, and had a great relationship with him. Loved her mother, but had a much more complicated relationship with her, since Leandra never loved her as much as she loved the twins, and it showed. Loved her younger siblings, though found it harder to get on with Carver due to his resentment toward her having their father's favor. Had a very strong relationship with Bethany, though, until Bethany blamed Briar for pushing her into the arms of the Grey Wardens after she was blighted.

Lucia: Had a wonderful childhood. Wasn't the heir and so was allowed much more freedom to do as she wanted (hence taking up archery), but became the pride and joy of the family after she became Inquisitor.

Thalia: Has a complicated relationship with her parents. They love her as their only child, and she does love them, but although they felt themselves very progressive for adopting an elven child and not treating her as a servant or slave, they also didn't correct people out in public who made that assumption, and their "it doesn't matter what they think" attitude didn't make Thalia feel better about it. They got her books and scrolls on elven history, but made sure to tell her that the Dalish gods weren't real anyway and that they were just nice fairy tales; only the Maker was real. (Joke was on them, Thalia didn't believe in any of them.) They were upset any time Thalia "acted out" in trying to discover her own personality. They wouldn't join her in learning elvish, etc. She left home at seventeen and joined the Shadow Dragons shortly after, and though she feels guilty for how that must have hurt her parents, she still has not gone back.

19.) Do any of your protagonists marry and/or have children?

Lyra: No, though she and Zevran do stay committed to each other for many years.

Briar: Also no; her relationship with Isabela is on-again, off-again.

Lucia: Yes; she and Josephine get married (and it does not take ten years to do so) and adopt three children.

Thalia: Yes; she and Neve elope, though they don't have children. Instead, they are the DINK aunts who bring the gift reckoning on their friends' kids.

20.) What would their fears on the graves in Here Lies the Abyss be?

Lyra: Being bound in slavery.

Briar: Bethany dying because of her.

Lucia: Being the one who actually doomed the world.

Thalia: Getting her team killed with her faulty leadership.

21.) How do they each feel about the Deep Roads?

Lyra: "Why are we always in the gods-damned fucking Deep Roads?"

Briar: "Fuck the Deep Roads."

Lucia: "The Deep Roads are frightening . . ."

Thalia: "The Deep Roads are both interesting and exciting."

[manystarredface]

Rambling Thoughts on the end of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, spoilers below

I think it's hysterical that Solas had to be convinced NOT to tear open the Veil by two ex-girlfriends and a kid he backstabbed TWICE. I would have liked a harsher tone a little bit from Lavellan, but that doesn't play into 1) the themes of Regret and Forgiveness of the game and 2) Solas likely wouldn't have heard her if she'd been harsh about the whole thing. I liked their ending.

I loved the way they played more into the cunning aspect of Solas in DATV rather than the knowledgeable aspect from DAI. I romanced him in my only true playthrough of DAI (i don't think i ever finished the other runs), so while he was a little cheeky and did lie about the big stuff or omitted it, I don't remember any out-and-out manipulations or word play in DAI that were at all like in DATV.

I WISH my Rook could have laughed in his face when she waltzed into the cutscene with him in Minrathous!! XD

I thought that manipulation of Rook was fantastic and a good character moment. I also loved that he very specifically swore that the veil would not be opened by his hand and then gave us the Final Quest "you're the only one who can save us" bullshit by saying "the final blow must be dealt by you." I wish Rook could have laughed in a "this fucking guy!" way when Bellara revealed the consequences of killing Elgarnan.

Because then, yeah, Solas may have been a little truthful when saying "shit Rook, I made a mistake, I can't defeat him as I am" because he really is going into the fight with NOTHING and NO ONE and he probably realized "ah, I do not have the support I once had in the first fight, this was a bad call," BUT I think he was mostly just manipulating Rook again. He wanted to set her up as the fall guy so he could say "I didn't really betray you. I told you that it wouldn't be by my hand and it wasn't."

The game did a great job of making it feel like I'd chosen "the" combination of characteristics for my Rook. She was an elvhen Mourn Watcher, so she was connected to the issue through her heritage and her job/skills. I'd be interested in trying a different combination to see if it fits just as well (based on some posts I've seen, it sounds like they do a pretty good job of it).

There was one post that pointed out how wild all the Fade Physical Walking was and I'm going to chock that up to us only being in Ferelden in DAO where it's established to be a bad thing and the kingdom mostly being hyper conservative when it comes to magic. I'd be interested to know if the Mourn Watchers move regularly between the Fade and back, given their jobs.

I worry a little bit about the future game, given the power creep of the whole series. We're at God Level enemies who destroyed most of Southern Thedas with the Blight and took out a LOT of northern Thedas with the Blight, too. The road to recovery may mean the formation of new kingdoms, I'd imagine, especially since Denerim was overrun completely and, I think, so was Redcliffe, which were the primary spots of power. Orlais might make its way out of the apocalypse, but I don't see how Ferelden does.

My next play through is going to have Solas redeemed again and my Lavellan show up again, but I'm going to swap around who lives and who dies in the Harding side of things. I'm glad she passed on some of what she knew to the Kal-Sharok dwarves. :( I didn't expect her to get wiped out like that, but maybe she returned to the stone and we haven't seen the complete last of her in some form or another?

[ryniadora]

So I finished Veilguard.

As a game, about a 6/10. As a DA game, about a 3/10.

First and foremost, it runs like absolute dogshit. Now this may be on me because it warned me not to install in on my HDD but I thought it'd be fine ... nope. Constant popin, having to wait minutes at at time for quest objectives to spawn, quests breaking because certain NPCs didn't spawn/I accidentally moved over the trigger too fast ... oh and every now and again when I load a save my character returns to default. I could handle the long loading screens but UGHHH.

I love Lucanis with my entire chest but the romance feels so unearned because you can never just talk to him, get to know him outside of heavily scripted scenes. Well-written as they are, it's just not enough and it makes the entire thing feel ... not real? He makes you a dessert (cute af by the way 10/10) and then ... everyone starts saying you're a thing??? And I'm like ARE WE??? Then suddenly he busts into your room and is all lovey dovey and adorable and it's just ?????????

Looking forward to writing it though.

Gameplay is meh, but I expected that. Played on baby mode and basically stomped everything, had to actively stop DPSing to hear all the dialogue sometimes xD Mage was frustrating as you'd get stunlocked all the time, though that may be a skill issue.

Main story was OK. Very much too focused on certain people who shall not be named, but it was okie. Please let the inquisitor hug egg, he needs a hug.

Companions were very disappointing. I went in expecting to love Davrin, but found him very boring. Bellara was too "look at me, I'm SO QWERKY". I never liked Harding much so was meh. Neve I expected to like but went cold on relatively quickly. Taash pissed me off from the get-go, and I got bored of their shit real fast.

Emmerich, though. I went into the thing fully expecting to LOATHE him, but he turned out not to be a snarky rat man but a very nice, sweet college professor and I was actually very tempted to romance him. May well do so on a second playthrough.

Side stories varied in quality wildly, and a lot of it felt like it was written with entirely different games in mind.

Definitely not enough Dorian, and too much Isabela.

But the most egregious crime is that nothing matters. Nothing we did in the previous games mattered except "what was your inquisitor's relationship to Solas?". It even let me pick who she romanced but it didn't matter, even when Dorian teased her about it in one throwaway line there were no names mentioned, not even a mention of her GOING HOME TO HER HUSBAND DORIAN PLS. I feel that choice is there just to ferret out the Solavellans ...

Where is Hawke? Where is the Hero of Ferelden during this crisis? You can't even choose who the Divine is, and it seems to default to it being Divine Victoria based on some Harding dialogue.

Fenris was lurking around Tevinter being a menace, where the fuck was he? I was holding on to hope I'd see my husband =(

Also I was proud of myself for only getting one person killed through the whole thing (sorry Harding I couldn't risk Assan's neck, he is best boy) on my first try. I feel like it's possible to get everyone through? Maybe? Difficult to say.

Overall I had a good time but it didn't feel like what we'd been waiting 10 years for. They threw out most of the established world building and just kind of winged it.