Softened Leliana isn't really stabby. Even when faced with riots towards her reforms, she meets them head on, and they disperse, no stabbing. Leliana institutes reforms that could begin to heal racial disparities in Thedas, at the cost of pissing off humans, and she abolishes the Circle's, which begins to help mages in southern Thedas. If her romanced Warden is still alive she'll openly be with them, and removes the restrictions on priests marrying. She also has her faith rekindled, so she's just as much of an earnest Andrastian as Cassandra. Softened Leliana is the bomb. Hardened Leliana is the same thing but with a lot more blood.
The downside I've always seen with Leliana is that, unless she has a say in her successor (and even then in some cases) there's a massive chance that a more traditionalist-leaning Divine will take her place and re-establish a lot of the things she changed or abolished in order to grab more power and gain a following in the members of the Chantry that don't believe in what Leliana did. Divine Renata I is a great example of a Divine that due to years of contention chose to invade the Dales rather than broker peace as it garnered her immediate support of the human members of the Chantry. And she went as far as to double-down and erase elven text in the Chantry. In the words of Cassandra: "We were meant to be incorruptible, above reproach. How seldom does reality match the ideal." That all being said, I think all of the Divines (Cassandra, Leliana, and Vivenne) all have pros and cons. Butt they're all good choices!
I always choose softened Leliana as Divine, and I've always explained it this way: To me, after watching an epilogue with Vivienne as the Divine, there is no reason she should ever be the Divine. She manipulates the Chantry to give herself astronomical levels of power, cracks down on other mages to ensure no one can surpass her, and pretty much tries to run Thedas as a dictator. As a boy with Russian heritage, this infuriates me. She makes everything go in literally the exact opposite direction of the way it's been going. Every time Vivienne does the "Electing the Divine" talk, I either blatantly tell her she wouldn't make a good Divine, or I just say "What about Leliana?" Not to mention her rule probably ends up with even more people hating and not trusting mages. Cassandra is... difficult. All in all, she might be the most logical and most sound option for Thedas in terms of what will likely happen in Dragon Age 4. They'll be prepared, they'll have a Chantry that is willing to fight and help defend, and she does give mages some more freedom. It's not complete freedom, but it's close. Her short temper might not make her the safest diplomatic choice in the long run. Plus, I think she keeps the Templars around, and those guys are useful and quite powerful, as much as I might dislike some of them. If this question wasn't "who do you want the head priest to be", and rather the leader of a single country, Cassandra's the obvious choice. Hardened Leliana just worries me. I don't like the fact that the Divine (who, lets face it, is pretty much the Pope) can order assassinations and be okay with it. It freaks me out that if I say the wrong thing I'll get a blade in my throat when I go to bed that night. Her "my way or no way" attitude in this state doesn't bode well for peace. In terms of diplomacy, she might be alright, because are you going to backtalk someone who is widely known for basically running an assassin's guild in her free time? Softened Leliana is what I WANT Thedas to be like. I want mages that govern themselves, I want a Chantry that helps others and is forgiving, and I like orders that are honest about how they came to be, as a TON of issues could have been resolved because of that. The mages might have not even rebelled if they KNEW the Rite of Tranquility could be reversed from the beginning, because that discovery was one of the major causes of the rebellion. Leliana, and the throne of the Divine, is no longer seen as a symbol of a leader, but rather as an advocate for the downtrodden or as a diplomatic peacekeeper. It makes it so that the Chantry is specifically a place of healing and care that actively tries to help people, which is what I personally think a church or house of worship should be like. TL;DR: Vivienne's more of the same, which could likely lead to even worse, or even the exact same, situations in the future, Cassandra is the most stable and sound choice for the strength of the Chantry, while Hardened Leliana will violently keep peace through the shadows and start drastic reform, which could ruin Thedas. Softened Leliana keeps peace without going all stabby-stab and still manages drastic reform, however the Chantry changes vastly, again possibly leading to revolt against the Chantry.
I always leave Hawke in the fade because it feels right to their story. And I know it's problematic considering different world states but Feynriel could probably help Hawke in the fade somehow with his dreamer abilities.
I’m an elven inquisitor who is very anti slavery and my reasoning for morrigan drinking from the well is to prevent myself from being a slave to mythal because even tho Solas says she was good, I feel like she might not be good anymore because she’s obsessed with revenge now. I feel like she would gladly use you to get her revenge.
I let loghain live because it felt ironic. My Hawke is a hero, someone who felt guilty for letting Corypheus out. Meanwhile, Loghain is someone who regrets his past and is trying to attone, but everytime he tries to sacrifice himself for the greater good someone steps in front of him. In a way I see him as someone who wantes to die but keeps on living so that he does not take the easy way out. He needs to attone, but in reality he will never forgive himself, no matter what he does. I dont know just felt right xD
It depends on combinations my canon warden lives because of his LI Fenris and Hawke in verse, out of verse too. My first playthrough Hawke I'll kill because she lost everyone bar her LI Anders and the Inquisitor who decides her fate is a staunch Andrastrian so will spare Alistair instead.
I think theres a sort of tragic irony in Loghain surviving the fade, twice he should have died, and twice the world pulled him back to give him a chance/make him continue on
Vivienne is absolute nightmare as Divine and she doesn't care about the faith at all. Cassandra, one of the most faithful characters in Dragon Age, calls her an outright tyrant and leaves the Chantry to its own devices if she's elected. That should be an entire parade's worth of red flags right there.
A cold open (also called a teaser, or just a cold, especially in production circles) is a narrative tactic used in television and/or films. It is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown.
So a story from one of my inquisitors. I always while I design my DA charater decide on their past and a personality/things that they will not do sometimes guiding me to make choices I wouldn't normally make. In this particular case I was an elven warrior and at least on the surface the most Dalish obsessed of my elven Inquisitors, but he wasn't born among the Dalish, he was adopted into clan Lavellen as a child after they saved him from slavers. He's very secretive about his past and the huge place it comes up is go to get the mages, see a bunch of Vents, turn around and go and get the templars cause at least there’s no Vents. Then he ends up juxtaposed with Calpurnia who shares part of his background. It's just fun if there's a story reason to side with the Templars.
I always love when people bring up the Divine election because the difference in opinions and I guess interpretations of who is the best for Thedas and the Chantry is always so fascinating to hear about. I personally think Vivienne is a criminally underrated Divine but I place that blame a lot on the writers and how they depict her as this shifty character with a hidden agenda when truth be told, all of your companions have an agenda for joining the Inquisition. She's framed in such a light to make you think she's always trying to undermine you until you get super close to her, which makes sense considering how precarious her lifestyle is should she be undermined in The Grand Game. But that tangent aside I think her maintaing the Circles is fairly important (and I firmly empathize and side with the mages throughout the trilogy so far) because we're told over and over again how willing Thedas is to murder and ostracize mages, particularly children out of fear and with Lelianna disbanding the circles you're kind of just throwing everyone to the wind with no real safeguard for them. I also feel like based off of some banter she has with Cole we find out how she feels the Circle saved her life (("A breath-caught smile from the Enchanter as the candle lights. The walls are safe; she will never be hungry again.")) and how this is what she thinks the Circle should be, a place of safety, growth and education for mages which I never really felt Cassandra was on the same page of ((as her overall feelings towards mages seemed to be very negative)). And while Cassandra says Vivienne perverts The Chant and is a tyrant we're never really shown *how* these feelings are warranted. So while I agree with you guys in saying that Lelianna is the side of one extreme I would say Cassandra is the other extreme and Vivienne is more a middle ground between the two so to speak. ((Sorry if this is like a cluster of rambles and nonsense haha).
Vivienne is a bitch that wants to dictate how other mages live because of her privilege, she lived in a circle that treated her fairly, then got to go to the Imperial Court and do whatever she wanted. I don't necessarily disagree with her, but I don't want Vivienne to be deciding the fates of others who may have had it worse than her.
"May have had it worse than her"?! The Ferelden and Kirkwall Circles PROVE they did! Look Vivienne had it pretty good and can't understand just how terrible the Circles and Templars are for the least fortunate of Mages (Cole, Anders, the Mage Warden, the Mage Inquisitor)...But that is no excuse for her ignorance we SAW in all three games the majority of Templars and Citizens react and look at Mages as nothing more than vermin or threats to be dealt with. It is a very real fact of the situation the Circles as a WHOLE were at best heavily flawed and at worst gilded prisons/places of death. There's no but's or if's or nope's to the TRUTH of that! Viv is the worst Divine because she refuses to see a problem with the inherent corruption within the Circles AND Templar Order AND the Chantry as a whole since their foundings. Leliana does see certain problems and will risk backlash to try to at least start to fix them, While Cassandra a devout Andrastian Warrior can even see how flawed the relations between the different factions are and how it was spreading over a long peroid of time so she tries to negate that from getting any worse through a regulating of power system as well as giving the Circle Mages far more rights so they won't rebel again. Viv is outright hostile and antagonistic to any Mage that disagrees with her viewpoint that magic is inherently dangerous and must be severely regulated and that the Chantry is all good...Be they a Libertarian or Moderate or NON-Circle Mage. She sees them as monsters or vermin or fools...You can never have a heathly reasonable relationship like that. And given the majority of Mages are quite willing to risk civil war against the Chantry and nations of Thedas...They're more than willing to regain their strength to dispose of Viv the Tyrant. If Viv is the Divine it's only a matter of time before there's Another Mage Rebellion. Heck even a Templar Coup D'etat is possible given how Viv thinks Lyruim Abuse is A-Okay...People like Cullen and Samson prove that the Templars themselves can think quite differently on the matter. I don't think Viv is evil perse...But as Divine she's a menace and a fool beyond all else. Her policy of upholding the status quo of the Chantry and Circles and Templar Order GUARANTEES another Civil War will be commited over time and this time the extremists will NEVER compromise and NEVER surrender. It will be the Chant or it will be the Will of the People that wins through bloodshed. She's to stubborn to see her way of things isn't the only way of life to live for. Also for the case of Leliana and Cassandra being Extremes...Perhaps but a Devout Chantry and Circle Supporter who can't recognize their flaws is definitely an Extremist as well. Even in the case of Cass and Lily...If you chose to Inspire Leliana she's willing to deal with dissenters peacefully and Cass is a Seeker of Truth a Higher Ranked Templar in other words that has connections to the Mages as well seeing the plights of both sides. They're both far more equipped to deal with problems that arise in a more compromising their ideals for the sake of the people way. They actually care about peoples lives Mage or Templar from any walk of life...That's what matters most. They would turn the Chantry into an organization that actually gives a fuck about it's people! Not just say so then act like an uncompassionate elitist like Viv would.
@@flamesofchaos13 Yes, I honestly agree with everything you said. I've only ever chosen Leliana(except my first time I chose Cassandra.) I hated that she was so stuck in her ways. Trespasser even says she bends the chant to her will, with Cassandra leaving in disgust, as opposed to supporting Leliana, but sometimes disagreeing, and viewing her as a force of good. Madame de Fer, is the evil divine option, even hardened Leliana is more benevolent( my personal favourite, cunning, but not too much of a tyrant.) Vivienne's a fun character as a friend, and non divine because she actually, at least partially, seems to care about Inquisitor. Asking if we're okay after haven, complementing our decour skills, saying she'll take us to her tailor, trusting only us with the well of sorrows' power, even asking us, and if choosing a certain option, promising to find a way out of the "geas." Even asking about Dorian, the only romance I like to do(sometimes Solas.) I find her, and Dorian's Elitisme charming, hell they even sort of bond over it. However, she's a Loyalist mage, so fuck her, she causes enough trouble for the College of Enchanters as a mage with political clout. And one more thing, you and I have had a conversation about something else, can you recall what it was lol? Sorry if I came off as not hard enough for our Margaret Thatcher (Iron Lady/Madame de Fer.)
@@briarrosegael2015 Cassandra twice and Leliana once. Those that sided with Cass are an Vashoth MAGE that's despises the Circle Mages and Templars both...The experiences in the Inquisition convices them otherwise to see a more neutral or grey perspective. (Conscripts Mages) The other was a Pro-Templar AND Pro-Magic Dwarven Warrior that wasn't involved in anyway whatsoever but was forced into deciding the fate of thousands if not millions anyway...Truly believes Mages and Templars DON'T have to be enemies but can in fact compromise becoming True Allies. (Alliance with Templars) My Pro-Magic even Pro-Blood Magic, Pro-Mage Rights, Pro-Dalish, Pro-Liberation at ANY and ALL costs, Anti-Chantry, Anti-Templars, Anti-Circles...Atheist Dalish Elven Mage Inquisitor HAD to pick Leliana there was no other choice for him. (Allied to Free Mages) No idea what's gonna be my canon but next playthrough of the games I'm going Pro-Templar for the first time in 2. In Inquisition the Inquisitor might end up Pro or Neutral towards them choosing Alliance or Conscription of the Templars. But it ain't my canon just an alternate playthough given I've always been Pro-Mages/Magic. My personal canon going into DA4 will be one of these three above most likely the Pro-Liberation of Magic Mage...So Leliana as Divine most likely. I'm choosing Cassandra more but I wouldn't say she's my fav choice. I don't have one I think both Cass and Lily are completely fine Divines. I always Inspire Lily not to be a ruthless killer given my Inquisitors usually end up as the kind of people that don't want to murder everything they can but actively seek peace. Essentially the choice between them in my eyes is Stability and Honor=Cass and Freedom/Equality=Leliana. Of which I enjoy all those things...So really I have to choose based on the character I make for Inquisition do they value one or the other more. I just know without ever doing it in-game that Viv is my least fav by a thousand leagues under the Waking Sea. Viv's not an evil person when she doesn't have the Sunburst Throne it's when she gains that power that her opinion doesn't become just an opinion anymore but the law of the land...And her opinions about Mages and Templars are dead fucking wrong! As a simple Loyalist Leader as long as her Circle doesn't go to war with the College of Enchanters it's actually a good thing given the Loyalists would never have fitted in there. A Loyalist has to have a Circle or be a part of the Chantry to live in comfort. The Loyalists are not wrong for existing they should have a place to go where they're safe...And if they get the Lucrosians onboard than their Circle can become the business and religious school benefiting the Orlesian Society. While the other Mages of the College become the social and research school that works with other nations like Ferelden or the Free Marches or even Tevinter in a crisis. Separately the different schools could coexist in luxury if they find their niches. Oh we've talked before? That's cool same circles given we're DA Fans. I don't remember don't take it personally my memory is complete dogshit when it comes to anything really.
@@flamesofchaos13 Honestly, I do the same thing when people like or respond to my comments, I'm like, "when did I say this?" I think we had a conversation/discussion/different interpretation on Flemeth and her "horcrux" on Ghil Dirthalen's channel. Loyalist mages mostly get my ire due to real world valid biases, atheistic, if not anti-theistic ones. Let them work in their own niches, Trespasser basically says they exist in uneasy peace by ignoring each other. P.S. As pro-mage player(honestly same, I even side with our witches of the wilds in preserving the powers that were) what would you say about the concept of a secular order of "templars" free of the Chantry, but not out of Self-righteousness, out of a realisation of the Chantry, and faith based originisations' evil?
I have Loghain as my warden in DAI, and he lives over Hawke. To me, Hawke's line of "It's a Warden's job to rebuild. Corypheus is mine." rings true. There's also a lot of lines in Inquisition from Loghain that shows he's learned from his previous mistakes. And as the only Warden who stood up to the others and believed this whole demon army is insane, to me shows that he has the level sense to lead better this time around. Hawke is also shown in game to be distancing him/herself from his/her friends. They've lost a lot, and they don't want to lose more loved ones. It kills me to think of her leaving Fenris. But I do think that what Hawke wants is to be left in the Fade. I also don't think Hawke's story is over. The game says they "may" die. I fully expect Hawke to return. And to me, Loghain's story is with the Wardens and Hawke's story is to survive this train wreck she's thrown herself at and come back stronger for it.
honestly i wish there was a way to recruit woolsey. maybe we could have used him to usurp the nug king's throne and bring about the ram age as a quest or smthn like that
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuper late on this but I always liked playing around with the Hawke/Warden choice I always liked the idea of Lohgain sacrificing himself, him serving the Wardens after what he did in DA:O I do think was the most befitting punishment and at his core he was already someone who wanted to protect something even if he stepped way out of line. By the time of DA:I it's been years, he's been left to ruminate and fester with the mistakes of his past while still working for a greater good. This comes together in a moment of self sacrifice to let others carry the torch for the future of not just his homeland but the continent as a whole. To give up that control he wanted so so badly and finally atone for all that he's done. This, along with Inquisitions greater themes of moving on from the past helps tell the story of a man who delved to some of the vilest lows come back in an act of true self sacrifice and I get a lot from that.
Here's the foolproof way of choosing your Divine: Okay, say you want to ensure that Vivienne doesn't become Divine, don't help her at all with the quests she gives you, or at the very least, finish her questline after you've finished whoever it is that you want to become Divine. If you want Leliana instead of Cassandra, don't start any of Cassandra's quests to help the seekers until _after_ you've met Leliana at the chantry where Divine Justinia sent her. It's all in who's quests you start/finish first. I've tested this in over 10 playthroughs and it works _every_ time.
I am a big Loghain fan and I choose him over Hawke in my canon. My reasoning is that Loghain is not the same man if he lives after origins. My thought process is that if he stayed the same he probably wouldn't argue with the wardens reasoning to binding themselves to demons. Based on what the Wardens knew at the time that was the best way to end the Blight since they are all in their minds gonna die. Loghain before would probably see this as the only response as well since he committed terrible things in the name of protecting Ferelden. Now I think he sees there are always other options and is more trusting of others.
what are Templars going to do to help you with possession? they only have one response to anything from the Fade, stab it a lot with swords. That is, when they can be arsed to do so, or have you forgotten Meredith - blood mage obsessed, red lyrium paranoid Meredith - walking straight past Anders who just not only destroyed the Chantry but showed clear signs of possession in the doing. And considering the blood mage/abomination rates at your average Southern Circle of Magi, their presence does little to "protect" mages from what lies beyond the Veil. In fact, when you consider just how desperate most blood mages/abominations are, I'd argue that Templars ENCOURAGE possession, because by making the Mages so miserable, they make a demon's offer that much more enticing... Generally speaking, in game, the mages win every time, because a) the Templars are grown ass adults who punched a cleric right in front of her and generally show no remorse, b) there are elderly and children in with the mages, c) Alexius and his time magic unraveling reality even further, d) the Tevinter forces that's clearly not friendly to the Inquisition parked right on it's doorstep... need I go on? also, making Cullen squirm over the matter of Maddox is ridiculously satisfying, and that comes from someone who loves romancing him. For me, choosing the Chargers was easy, even in my Quizzy's roleplay. She's a mage, so the general treatment of the Serabas is not going to win points from her, and in the moment of truth, she got the strong impression that the Qun (through Gatt) had manipulated the situation to FORCE Bull to choose between the Chargers and the Qun. Even if she were the kind of ruthless pragmatist to ally with the Qun despite all that (she's not, ok? she's got lines and this crossed them), that kind of behavior isn't conducive to long-term alliances. deliberately misrepresenting the expected resistance just so you can twist the knife on one of your operatives? not cool. it's sloppy, it's reckless, and it's not good strategy. also, the fact that Bull is almost always in her party (so he and Dorian can get their smooch on) and as such he's one of her best friends influenced her decision.
Fuck yes someone is telling the truth about the Templars complete delusion of "helping"! They're half the reason most blood mages/abominations exist in the first place in modern Thedas at least! 50% Templars Cruelty, 25% Circles Abuse(Harrowing, Isolation from Humanity and Family/Compassion, Mage Politics, Used as a Weapon in War, Murders or Rapes), 20% The Seekers of Truth/Right of Tranquility existing, 5% Mages seeking power for powers sake.
Of the three potential Divines, you could roughly describe Vivienne as the conservative, Cassandra as the reformist, and Leliana as the revolutionary. Softened Leliana brings about a revolution that everyone (except for Vivienne et consortes) dreams of, a hardened one - one that all dread.
The second easiest choice for me was leaving my Hawke behind, even though my given Warden is Stroud. For my canon playthrough, Loghain is dead and Alistair is king, and I know that my particular Hawke needed an ending, and I saw that with this choice. The thing that would have made the choice more difficult, and had me sit there for hours thinking about it, is if the Warden was the Hero of Ferelden. I’ve been wanting to write a fanfic where that occurs, but ugh, so many efforts. Well of Sorrows, easiest choice, I’m drinking. My devout Dalish elf Inquisitor is not letting a shem take another piece of history from his people, even with most of his party telling him not to (I take Solas, Cassandra, and Dorian, and the only one that says yes is Cass, only because she doesnt’ trust Morrigan.) It isn’t that Morrigan is shifty, it is more that she presents herself that way. Getting to know her, she is genuine and sweet, if you get good affinity with her in DA: O, but the Inquisitor’s conversations with her all revolve around ancient magics and some forbidden arts. If she has Keiran, that is the only part of her that would come off as humanizing to the Inquisitor, but even HE is off! (I mean, he asks if my Quizzy is an elf, and the sarcastic comment is ‘the ears, right?’ and Kieran pops off with ‘No, your blood is very old!’ NICE KID THERE, MORRIGAN.) I actually had a rough time with the Chargers vs Qunari choice, mainly because I really like the idea of the Qunari. Everyone has a place, no one is left out, no one is deemed useless. But, the execution of that ideal is overbearing, and borderline slavery (Actual slavery for the sarabass.) In the end, I chose Chargers, not even knowing Bull can just fucken’ go back-stabby in Trespasser the first time I did. I think a fun choice, one that is likely easy to make but fun to hypothesize about, is accepting Sera’s offer to be a Red Jenny. I only mention this cause I romance Dorian and his end slide says something like the Inquisitor is sometimes spotted in Minrathos, and then vanishes, and I wonder if one way to include the Inquisitor, beyond being, ya know, the fucken Inquisitor, is to have the Friends of Red Jenny make another appearance. If you say yes to Sera, you do get the slide where you see the crossbow arm in place of the marked hand, and it sounds hilarious to me that, if we don’t get to play the Inquisitor again, we meet them through Red Jenny shit and not Inquisition shit. Meeting the Inquisitor in their side hustle would get a lot of laughs from me. Also hardened Leliana for President 2020.
For mages v Templars, I'm lean toward Templars in DAI. I know they wanted you to choose the mages, and yeah it makes a bit more sense that mages could deal with the breach better than the Templars (not that they can't), but I feel like the Templars were done better. I think Champions of the Just was more interesting than In Hushed Whispers. Both missions are well done, but I really liked COTJ for 2 reasons: 1) It gives you a taste of what a type of possession is like. True, you know you'll win in the end, but the only other time DA did anything close to that was the mage origin in DAO and that wasn't even a challenge (to me). The first time I played through COTJ was with a non-mage Inquisitor and I absolutely loved that she could be emotional and scared and panic watching this demon invade her mind, mimicking and twisting everything she was. And she was my Cullen romance, so the demon "killing" him felt like it had significance, like it was using her feelings for him. It's a unique perspective. 2) The templar's attitude. I did IHW first, but after doing COTJ I started getting pretty annoyed with the mages. The Templars help you, the mages don't. Yes I know, none of the mages get sent to the future with you, and when you get back it's the end. But Barris and the Templars turn and fight with you. And after they're recruited, if you ally with them instead of absorbing them, they try to rebuild themselves and they're reputation. The mages help seal the breach, then.........nothing. They do nothing. They were scared, kicked out the Arl giving them shelter, made a really stupid decision (Fiona, really), get saved and recruited, and that's it. It feels like they do nothing with the chance they're given, while the Templars (and even the Wardens) do. I mean, it's a mission chain on the war table and it doesn't even matter in the game, but it's a touch that that liked. It made me respect the Templars more. But that's my opinion. Honestly, the only reason I didn't conscript the mages was because realistically, I don't think they'd be as willing to help. And I agree Calpernia is much more interesting than Samson. And she made more sense as the vessel. Why didn't she get a tavern song??? Also, the only time I didn't have Morrigan drink from the Well was with my Dalish mage (ironically the world state that had a romanced Morrigan lol). Otherwise I don't think would make much sense/be worth it for the Inquisitor to drink. Just me.
The problem is nothing changes under Cassandra and it's basically back to what it was under Beatrice and Justinia. Vivienne is a nightmare and unless you protect the mages she has basically created another mage rebellion in which she destroys killing plenty. There is "stability" but it's by far and ripe for rebellion. Leliana is by far the better choice whether she is Hardened or not. But I really wish we could've collapsed the chantry. At the moment it would be bad but in the future no chantry would save a lot of people.
54:40 on my first playthrough as a super Andrastrian Templar, I did in fact -not- ally with the Sentinels because they were good XP and I had a story reason to say "nah, f that Fam." Followed by my pretending that Morrigan was making her case, me nodding the Bull and him launching her into the Well because, again... "nah, f that, Fam."
Katie, thank you for making me feel better about letting Morrigan drink from the well. I’ve been so worried I made a terrible mistake and something terrible would happen to her.
I choose the qunari over the chargers once. It made sense to me because that shipment of red lyrium needed to be stopped. It was a pragmatic choice, you sacrifice a few fighters who are willingly risking their lifes, to save innocents (red templars and their future victims ). The qunari need you to close the breach and kill Corypheus. Yes we know that they will eventually stop being allies, but until then we can use their help. And my inquisitor was cocky so she thought expecting their backstabbing and her spy network would be enough to handle their betrayal. At that time I kinda did it for Bull too, I genuinely thought he would be very upset to become what he despised the most, he had spent his life killing Tal Vashoth, I didn’t want him to become one. Needless to say that was my worst playthrough, my poor inquisitor had to kill her lover in Trespasser, and after that, everyone was blaming her for the qunari invasion and mocking her in tavern songs and orlesian plays… Now I always save the chargers, because they grow red lyrium from people, one shipment doesn’t change anything, and the inquisition doesn’t need the help of the qunari after all. The only question is: do you want Bull to stay in the Qun? And obviously the answer is no. About the well of sorrow, I’m just terrified that if Morrigan drinks from it, we’ll have to fight her in DA4… Mythal’s not dead (great name for a punk rock band) and she will control her. At the end of the quest, if you don’t fight the sentinels, they are free right? They just leave the temple. I feel like Solas would recruit them. This whole « I wish you find a new name » feels like a promise or a hidden message. And I don’t want that, the smaller his army the better. I think we haven’t seen the consequence of that choice yet, so I side with them only half of the time.
The first time I played, I sacrificed the Chargers, because I also thought Bull would be devastated by becoming Tal-Vashoth. But at the party after defeating Corypheus, he says something like, "It's time to stop being the Iron Bull", and my heart shattered.
MonarchMKUltra That plus the Qunari attack later on anyways. They care nothing for any acts of peace or tolerance They are worse than the evanuris ever were. Even the humans of Thedas are only slightly better than them
I appreciate how much thought some people put into their choices, but if I'm honest, I leave Hawke in the Fade so I can hug Varric after. And I want Leliana as Divine, because I'm building a world state where the Warden's party rules all of Thedas (Alistair is King of Ferelden, Sten is the new Arishok, Leliana is Divine, and dammit we better be able to make Morrigan Archon.)
Even though you'll probably never even read this I side with the templars and while I agree the game pushes the mages and IHW is more spectacular the problem comes from 1. Fiona acting extremely out of character. Doubly so if Alister's King. 2. Time magic breaks the plot because of how it works. Paradox's out the ass! 3. Nobody tells you shit they should really tell you in the future 4. Alexis experiments on Lilieanna and not Fiona who immune to the blight 5. Mages acting EXTREMELY STUPID 6. You can't conscript the mages without sounding like a complete ass 7. You can't replace Fiona with somebody else 8. Time magic in the grand scheme is pointless 9. Blood magic would have explained a lot but it's never brought up 10. You have to walk into an obvious trap which is monumentally risky as the Inquisitor is the only guy who can fix the sky 11. Grabing the Templars after finding out about the plot makes sense because Templars shut down magic 12. You not knowing about The Elder One's identity makes sense in CotJ 13. Cole's entrace is much better and makes more sense than "You have to open the door" Cole. Dorian looks good either way 14. Templars actually do shit in comparison to the mages 15. And the power you spend actually makes sense in CotJ. Your forces just sneak in with IHW
I agree with everything except Leliana being experimented on...She's got Blight Immunity and Immortality if you killed her in Origins. That shows she's got powers. Also Fiona might be experimented on we just don't see it. Then again Corpy wouldn't want the Blight to be stopped in any regard so he probably sees Fiona as a threat but chose to let Alexis simply imprison her or kill her but he didn't for some reason. It could be they already know Fiona's immune to the Blight/Taint but Leliana's surprised them so they're studing her?
I disagree about Dorian vs. Cole's introduction. Dorian is a Tevinter mage, him showing up at Haven literally *seconds* before a Tevinter-led mage army attacks seems *hella* sketchy. He's also a little *too* put together for someone who supposedly "ran all the way from Redcliffe". For all anyone knows, he could be there to summon a horde of demons once inside. With IHW, you get multiple chances to observe Dorian and he's there in the war room helping you plan to take down his own mentor. Then you get the whole quest to really fight alongside him and establish his sincerity. Meanwhile, Cole's a weird kid, but when he just turns up at Haven, there's nothing to mark him as potentially untrustworthy at first glance. When I first played and Cole turned up at Haven, I just was like "Oh shit, this poor kid, he sounds so disoriented, get him inside, is there time to feed him?" CotJ was an interesting quest to play, but it doesn't substantially affect my impression of Cole. Plus, once you're at Skyhold, it's a lot more interesting to watch Cole walk around and do his thing than chat with Dorian in the library about how "no really, you can trust me even though I'm a Tevinter noble mage!"
With my canon Dai I always choose Cassandra as divine purely because I feel she is basically non "game" driven and is someone you can trust at face value and i feel the leader of the largest religion in thedas should be someone that acts with honour and trust that won't act in the shadows. Changes depending on the playthrough
The first time a demon talking shit to me actually freaked me out was in Inquisition. I romanced Isabela and the demon says to Hawke “Isabela is going to die just like your family.” I about had a cow. I had to actually stop playing for a few minutes to collect myself.
I usually keep Loghain alive over Hawke, as much as I love Marians voice actress this has more to do with the fact that Loghain is possibly one of the most well written characters in Dragon Age. Thus it has less to do with what I think it is the best choice and more to do with the fact that I want to see what they do with his character. Also just a side note, I'm kind of wierded out by Hawke in Inquisition because she talks about blood magic as an absolute evil which is strange when you romanced Merrill.
I just wanna say (@Caitie) that you’re not the only Lavellan who prefers to give the well to Morrigan. B’) My thought in my playthrough was that Morrigan knew a ton about it and was prepared to receive it while Lavellan, in spite of being a Dalish first herself, is no longer confident in her knowledge of ancient elven stuff, so the well would be wasted on her. Regardless of how much my Lavellan trusted her, it seemed the best option for defeating Corypheus. Going forward I still stand by that decision as with the end of Trespasser, my goal was to strip away any control or information flow Solas might have over my group of badass bitches. B) Gonna find that egg and save the shit out of him (I hope) lol!
So I'm playing through inquisition in the default world state. It's interesting but no one is recruited aside from Cassandra, Varric and Solas. It's incredibly strange and fascinating.
I save Hawke ALMOST every time. The one time I didn't, was when Hawke romanced Anders. In that play through Alistair was the warden. Hawke killed their lover and just couldn't take it anymore. Plus, sad Varric kills me on the inside.
Well, to MASSIVELY paraphrase Martin Luther King jr. "A negative peace which is the abscense of tension is not better than a positive peace which is the presence of Justice." Basically, civil rights and justice shouldn't have to wait because some people are uncomfortable with it. You just gotta push reforms despite how much it might piss bigots off. And elves, mages and dwarves deserve to be seen equally.
Well, I usually romance Zevran, marry Alistair off to Anora, make Loghain pay for his crimes by sleeping with Morrigan, and then sacrifice himself in the Fade. Feels weird to think about killing off my Hawke to save an older Warden who is going to hear the Calling earlier. Unless we cure the Calling, which.. I'm all for redemption, but does Loghain deserve a happily ever after? I also used my Chantry Ink to finally support the Templars, and I shockingly enjoyed the quest almost more than going back in time. I liked the weird demon stuff. And I did enjoy Calpernia more than Samson.
Given the ending with the fortress closing itself off, I'm always more worried for the wellbeing of the person who goes there than stuck in the fade as bait for the giant demon.
When it came down to Mages vs. Templars, I feel the game didn't give this decision the weight it deserves. I think it's resolved way too easily and also your decision can be inlfuenced by which mission you enjoy the most. I personally think siding with the mages is the better choice, but the mission with the Templars is more enjoyable. Also the templars give you more missions on the war map and you can establish a new Knight Commander and the mages only give you one War Map mission. Also by selecting the mages you get stuck with Sampson and his side missions take sooooo much longer than Calpernious's missions to accomplish. Sampson's payoff is better but still, takes forever to nuetralize his armor.
Emprise du Lion seems tacked on and kind of shoehorned in if one chooses the Templars. It makes more sense and feels more meaningful if one chooses the Mages.
I always assumed yes - but the only time they might have confirmed he had that ability is the moment you meet up with him in Trespasser, and he uses his influence over the Anchor to stop you instead (depending on dialogue choices). So maybe he doesn't, or maybe he didn't take Mythal's power the way it's implied he did. Perhaps Flemeth had already somehow passed on Mythal's power (there are some fan theories on this) and all Solas took from her was the Old God's soul - assuming that was there - or something else.
There is actual choices to make that will for sure make that one divine. There is set choices like how you get a hard lelianna is whether you kill the traitor in haven. If you want a certain one divine then you'd wanna make the choices they agree with to get them. it's honestly not a difficult thing.
I've done 8 play through. My choices Mage side Sorry Strout........ Keeping Wardens Saving Celene with Briana Saving the charges Morrigan have the well of sorrow Divine Unharden Liliana
I would have loved/hated to have seen the choice in the Fade to be between Hawke and the Hero of Ferelden. I know the practical difficulty of bringing back the custom Warden from DA:O, but that choice would be so much more dramatic and impactful!
I'm too invested in my FemHawke being a badass butch lesbian Reaver to have her killed off. As soon as I found out Loghain can come back, I changed my DAO canon to have him survive so that I could sacrifice him. Its a good redemption arc if you ask me! Plus Stroud is a lil hotty, he doesnt deserve to die.
As for drinking from the well, I think letting Morrigan do it serves a nice narrative resolution for her whole story arc. My canon Warden romanced her and did the dark ritual. Im all for the chaos so I support Morrigan every chance I get.
42:52 The Bull and Viv are some of the *few* companions who don't leave? Solas won't leave no matter what, Varric and Cassandra won't leave, even Dorian won't leave unless you throw him out (yeah he gets very angry, but he won't leave until you tell him to go). The only ones who leave (and even that only if you really behave like a d***) are Cole, Blackwall and Sera. No matter how you count it, Bull and Viv are on the side of the majority here, not the minority.
In the Divine choice, I had two mindsets: I picked Cassandra if I conscripted the mages and if Dragon Age 4 we will continue with the Inquisitor and the Inquisition, because I wanna keep my spymaster Leliana hahahaha. Now if the next game we are not playing with the Inquisitor anymore, then Leliana. Also I conscript the mages.
I agree with Catie on the well of sorrows -choice. When I got to that point, my first thought was "I ain't touching dat shiet!" and I let Morrigan have it. But at the same time, I was a bit suspicious of how much she wants it. I originally told her "hell naw!" when she wanted to have an old god baby in Origins too.
Age softens most men, Logain has now lived with men and women he would have once seen as mortal enemies. He is a man who has outlived his enemies in a sense and sees that making a desert is no peace.
TBH, my Hawke would never offer to sacrifice himself. He's just not that kinda person. He'd just be like "well, if the Warden wants to stay here so bad...."
So typically I kill Loghain at some point. However, I just got through a playthrough where I kept him alive over Hawke. My reasoning was that he’s a good soldier and leader if he supports the cause, like when he supported Maric. While he made horrible choices during the Blight, you can see from a perspective that Cailan instead of a noble king was a naïve and ignorant king who would rather charge into battle to certain death. While I don’t actually agree with this, one could see Loghain’s actions as strategic, he saw the King as a lost cause and decided to save his men for a battle later.
Regarding the mage/templar decision: how come nobody ever mentions the PR angle of recruiting the Templars? Coming from the perspective of a commoner in Thedas: you just heard that a mage bombed the Chantry and killed the Grand Cleric in Kirkwall. Now templars and mages are fighting out in the open. That's bad. Next thing you know, the Temple of Sacred Ashes, which is basically the holiest place in the entire world, is destroyed by magic. Oh, and there's a massive magical hole in the sky leaking demons. Then you hear that all this was in fact caused by a Tevinter Magister, who represents the Magocracy of old and also caused the Blight. He's also allied with another group of mages from Tevinter who are called the Venatori, who want to restore Tevinter to its former glory. And now the Inquisition, which is painted as this righteous religious organization, is going to ally with the rebel mages. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that following all the events described above, anti-mage sentiment would be at an all-time-high during DAI. The only thing I can think of which could potentially offset this a little bit is if your HoF was a mage. In contrast to this, if you ally with the Templars, people are going to associate you with a "police" force dedicated to fighting demons, apostates and blood magic (problems that are very prevalent and out in the open during DAI.) The typical commoner probably doesn't have inside knowledge about all the terrible abuses inflicted on mages in the Circle. But they sure as hell know about the demon-spouting hole in the sky. Who are they going to want to turn to in these times? And another thing: in the beginning of DAI, the Chantry basically denies you legitimacy. If you ally with the Templars and try to reform the Order with someone like Barris at the helm, you gain the support of a former Chantry institution. It gives you legitimacy in both the eyes of the common people and the nobility, and Leliana says as much if you ally with the Templars. At the start, the Inquisition doesn't have much support from the Nobility or the clerics. The Inquisition depends on the myth that is created around you, the Herald, for recruitment purposes. It depends on the faithful masses believing you are the Herald of Andraste, that you are a holy force sent from the Maker. Recruiting the templars helps to spread this image.
Dai was my first BioWare game and I chose to have the inquisitor drink from the well because I just did not trust morrigan. Being a complete stranger to orlais, being an apostate, and having no connections, I knew I could never trust her. But after hearing this podcast I think I’m going to let morrigan drink from now on
yeah i feel like leliana is the best moral choice for divine. cassandra has good intentions but is too supporting of existant power structures. maybe the pragmatic choice is cassandra but morally its leliana. vivienne wants power for mages, but only mages like her. i’ve never chosen vivenne in my canon play through. i just...dont agree with her ideals at all. mage rights
I let Morrigan drink from the well as I expect the well to be key to Flemeth surviving her encounter with Solas. I believe whoever drank from the well will end up carrying a bit of Flemeth with them which she will use to resurrect herself. Therefore letting Morrigan partake of the mystical puddle will be interesting story-wise because Flemeth will finally inhabit Morrigan, just as she planned in Origins.
Sacrifice in the fade I choose Stroud unless loghain or brute hawk. Varric breaks my heart. Divine is Cassandra, softened leliana, stabby leliana then Vivienne. If Vivienne approves you did something wrong lol. In hushed whispers. More interesting quest and Dorian...just yes. I side with the chargers however I will say I fully trust the qunari. I trust them enough that they will pull something and try to manipulate you. The well...sadly I choose morrigan because she becomes a dragon!
I lean toward hardened Leliana for divine. It's not really the healthiest choice but it's certainly the most dramatic. I think I enjoy trying to create the darkest timeline. But also, when it comes to the divine decision - I think it's valid to want Vivienne to focus on that circle shit and as for Cassandra, you might want to preserve the romance with her. For me, I was a little sad when I finished my first playthrough as a soft quiet Dalish templar boy and Cassandra was like haha we're probably not gonna have time for each other now that I'm basically the Divine.
I really hate siding with the mages because I hate Samson. I hate the recon of his character, because when you are first introduced to him in DA2 he's selling mages into slavery and likes it. He's only in it for the money. You're really going to tell me that between games he grew a conscience?! No. Calpernia only wants to help Taventer the same Dorian does, but she's fighting for the slaves while he's fighting for everyone. And the introduction to Dorian is so badass if you side with the templars and Cole is so much more fleshed out. Essentially when Dorian arrives ahead of the army it feels like meeting Stroud in DA2, you almost get the sense he's played a whole another game, and it's great. He shines better in that scene, than in all the others if you side with the mages and puts Cullen in his place when he's willing to give up and go down fighting and claims he's the one thinking like a blood mage. It's all so better story wise than siding with the mages.
Here we are thinking there are no negative consequences to allying with Abelas and the Sentinals, and meanwhile they allied with Solas and will be a real hard boss fight in DA4
i do kinda meta the well of sorrows if i play a elven inquis. i choose to use it myself solely to piss off solas. let the controlling know it all get mad :D
I let Morrigan drink, not always but in my own head cannon run. Yeah, let the stranger I feel nothing towards be the guinea pig. She's power-hungry, sure, but "no one should go in the Well of *Sorrows* ". The name alone... If my Inquisitorialness doesn't really trust anyone, he or she will be a glutton and drink. I think it affects both the Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser DLCs.
My hawke is always a rogue and she's fucking scoundrel who bled and killed to get everything she had and restore the hawke name (always pick rogue because, lore wise, i feel like they have the disadvantage so a rogue protag seems like the ultimate underdog.) after kirkwall, my hawke just wanted rest. but i wasnt leaving her behind in the Fade. she deserves peace and to sail happily ever after with Isabela
even though in my cannon the inquisitor drinks from the well i feel horrible just because morrigan wants it and i don't like taking power it felt selfish to me so i let morrigan have it in my first playthrough but i like the idea of an elven inquisitor being bound to mythal which is the only reason my cannon inquisitor drinks from the well
I worry that being divine is bad for Leliana, even softened the position demands intrigue and power that will make it difficult for her not to slip back into the Game
I don't care about the well of sorrows. Like at all. In fact I would be more than willing to let Morrigan drink the whole damn thing. But the fact that she is SO shady about her desire for it and the fact that she REALLY wants it always makes me want to drink it to spite her.
I do prefer the Templars' quest. I like watching Abernash die, pissing off Envy and the fight. It's more challenging than Alexius', at least for me. If what they had originally planned is as described, then it would've been even better. Why the hell did they cut it? To avoid an abomination Inquisitor if you had a mage? Maybe...
I don't like In Hushed Wispers because I hate time travel themes in general. Also, Morrigan did run off with the kid, but she said she would. Lastly, when Jordan says people can find him in the Exalted March I can only imagine him fighting the Imperium, but he says it too casually so it feels like "Oh well, this weekend I'll be at the exalted march, doing some stuff but you can find me there."
@ExaltedMarch Loghain would DESTROY darkspawn lol his wardens would be amazing! He would only have the Orlais wardens as well. Don't forget our hero still leads the other set so imagine if they both met up and squashed the beef and they lead both parts they'd destroy cause the hero is the sympathy and i guess moral side and Loghain is the tactics and commander.
Vivienne as Divine is a terrible idea for Divine she's a status quo warrior only interested in hypocritical control of everyone else even Cassandra in Tresspasser thinks she's a fricking tryant if you makes you her. I'm with Lady Insanity I do my best to make sure she never has any real power.
Loghain leading the Wardens to me is pretty easy to justify. He is an excellent tactician, he has the will to do what is necessary to win but also the levelheadedness, especially after the events in DAO, to not lose himself in the ideology of "all or nothing" like Clarelle did. Plus he seems to believe it is his obligation to atone for what he did, to the people of Ferelden, the Wardens and the Warden him/herself, who he seems to deeply respect. So Loghain probably wouldn't repeat the extremes he went to in DAO during non blight times, but would be prepared for the really hard decisions during one. Alistair is a nice guy, but to me he seems to be lacking the will to do the really terrrible shit required of the Wardens when fighting a blight (and as far as we know, a blight might be coming). Alistair would rather sacrifice the Wardens to save a village then let it fall to the blight, and in a blight the Wardens cannot take losses for short term moral victories .
I make Viv Divine because: A) I rather have Cassandra be free of politics B) Leliana can be influenced too easily Viv may be a b* but at least she chooses on her own. And I think it is what she wants I drink from the Well because I headcanon that a romanced HoF sent a letter to the Inquisitor asking him to take the bullet
I prefer the cold intro for sure. (With the welcome) It feels off and unprofessional to start a video in the middle of a conversation. But I’m curious about what most people prefer
jedicam10 well the alliance only lasted for the duration of the war and immediately went back to rivals fighting proxy wars The qunari alliance would probably be the same where as the chargers are a permanent alliance I sided with chargers because they were my troops and I wasn’t sacrificing them just because the qunari botched their operation
I mean, kinda? The US definitely didn't benefit from it as much as the USSR did, with their spies in the Manhattan Project and all. Also, the USSR had the manpower and weather to defeat the Nazis on their own, and the US had the production capacity and also manpower to defeat the Nazis on their own (even without the Bomb). The Nazis mainly lost because they didn't have enough petroleum to run the literal machinery of war. The US-USSR alliance shortened WWII, but it wasn't necessary to defeat the Nazis.
Totally disagree, I'm a big mage supporter but I feel forced to do templars because CotJ is just 1000x more fun than IHW... Much better intros for both Cole and Dorian too, even though IHW is Dorian's big quest lol...
I let Loghain live over my Hawke because Warden Loghain is cooler and my Hawke has no reason to live because everyone he loves is dead or resents him and life continues to deal him bad hands, he wants to die.
Dude CDPR is god among boyz, Cyberpunk will destroy all!!! DA:I talk! Does anyone think that Lel's is a baddie, either shes a baddie or the worlds worst spymaster.
Softened Leliana isn't really stabby. Even when faced with riots towards her reforms, she meets them head on, and they disperse, no stabbing. Leliana institutes reforms that could begin to heal racial disparities in Thedas, at the cost of pissing off humans, and she abolishes the Circle's, which begins to help mages in southern Thedas. If her romanced Warden is still alive she'll openly be with them, and removes the restrictions on priests marrying. She also has her faith rekindled, so she's just as much of an earnest Andrastian as Cassandra. Softened Leliana is the bomb.
Hardened Leliana is the same thing but with a lot more blood.
The downside I've always seen with Leliana is that, unless she has a say in her successor (and even then in some cases) there's a massive chance that a more traditionalist-leaning Divine will take her place and re-establish a lot of the things she changed or abolished in order to grab more power and gain a following in the members of the Chantry that don't believe in what Leliana did. Divine Renata I is a great example of a Divine that due to years of contention chose to invade the Dales rather than broker peace as it garnered her immediate support of the human members of the Chantry.
And she went as far as to double-down and erase elven text in the Chantry.
In the words of Cassandra: "We were meant to be incorruptible, above reproach. How seldom does reality match the ideal."
That all being said, I think all of the Divines (Cassandra, Leliana, and Vivenne) all have pros and cons. Butt they're all good choices!
I always choose softened Leliana as Divine, and I've always explained it this way:
To me, after watching an epilogue with Vivienne as the Divine, there is no reason she should ever be the Divine. She manipulates the Chantry to give herself astronomical levels of power, cracks down on other mages to ensure no one can surpass her, and pretty much tries to run Thedas as a dictator. As a boy with Russian heritage, this infuriates me. She makes everything go in literally the exact opposite direction of the way it's been going. Every time Vivienne does the "Electing the Divine" talk, I either blatantly tell her she wouldn't make a good Divine, or I just say "What about Leliana?" Not to mention her rule probably ends up with even more people hating and not trusting mages.
Cassandra is... difficult. All in all, she might be the most logical and most sound option for Thedas in terms of what will likely happen in Dragon Age 4. They'll be prepared, they'll have a Chantry that is willing to fight and help defend, and she does give mages some more freedom. It's not complete freedom, but it's close. Her short temper might not make her the safest diplomatic choice in the long run. Plus, I think she keeps the Templars around, and those guys are useful and quite powerful, as much as I might dislike some of them. If this question wasn't "who do you want the head priest to be", and rather the leader of a single country, Cassandra's the obvious choice.
Hardened Leliana just worries me. I don't like the fact that the Divine (who, lets face it, is pretty much the Pope) can order assassinations and be okay with it. It freaks me out that if I say the wrong thing I'll get a blade in my throat when I go to bed that night. Her "my way or no way" attitude in this state doesn't bode well for peace. In terms of diplomacy, she might be alright, because are you going to backtalk someone who is widely known for basically running an assassin's guild in her free time?
Softened Leliana is what I WANT Thedas to be like. I want mages that govern themselves, I want a Chantry that helps others and is forgiving, and I like orders that are honest about how they came to be, as a TON of issues could have been resolved because of that. The mages might have not even rebelled if they KNEW the Rite of Tranquility could be reversed from the beginning, because that discovery was one of the major causes of the rebellion. Leliana, and the throne of the Divine, is no longer seen as a symbol of a leader, but rather as an advocate for the downtrodden or as a diplomatic peacekeeper. It makes it so that the Chantry is specifically a place of healing and care that actively tries to help people, which is what I personally think a church or house of
worship should be like.
TL;DR: Vivienne's more of the same, which could likely lead to even worse, or even the exact same, situations in the future, Cassandra is the most stable and sound choice for the strength of the Chantry, while Hardened Leliana will violently keep peace through the shadows and start drastic reform, which could ruin Thedas. Softened Leliana keeps peace without going all stabby-stab and still manages drastic reform, however the Chantry changes vastly, again possibly leading to revolt against the Chantry.
I always leave Hawke in the fade because it feels right to their story. And I know it's problematic considering different world states but Feynriel could probably help Hawke in the fade somehow with his dreamer abilities.
I’m an elven inquisitor who is very anti slavery and my reasoning for morrigan drinking from the well is to prevent myself from being a slave to mythal because even tho Solas says she was good, I feel like she might not be good anymore because she’s obsessed with revenge now. I feel like she would gladly use you to get her revenge.
I let loghain live because it felt ironic. My Hawke is a hero, someone who felt guilty for letting Corypheus out. Meanwhile, Loghain is someone who regrets his past and is trying to attone, but everytime he tries to sacrifice himself for the greater good someone steps in front of him. In a way I see him as someone who wantes to die but keeps on living so that he does not take the easy way out. He needs to attone, but in reality he will never forgive himself, no matter what he does. I dont know just felt right xD
I do the same
It depends on combinations my canon warden lives because of his LI Fenris and Hawke in verse, out of verse too. My first playthrough Hawke I'll kill because she lost everyone bar her LI Anders and the Inquisitor who decides her fate is a staunch Andrastrian so will spare Alistair instead.
I think theres a sort of tragic irony in Loghain surviving the fade, twice he should have died, and twice the world pulled him back to give him a chance/make him continue on
Vivienne is absolute nightmare as Divine and she doesn't care about the faith at all. Cassandra, one of the most faithful characters in Dragon Age, calls her an outright tyrant and leaves the Chantry to its own devices if she's elected. That should be an entire parade's worth of red flags right there.
I am 99% certain Cold Open is when you walk into the conversation as it's going.
Warm Open is when you go "Welcome....yada yada...".
yeah i think Jordan got it the other way around
I am wrong about everything.
A cold open (also called a teaser, or just a cold, especially in production circles) is a narrative tactic used in television and/or films. It is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown.
So a story from one of my inquisitors. I always while I design my DA charater decide on their past and a personality/things that they will not do sometimes guiding me to make choices I wouldn't normally make. In this particular case I was an elven warrior and at least on the surface the most Dalish obsessed of my elven Inquisitors, but he wasn't born among the Dalish, he was adopted into clan Lavellen as a child after they saved him from slavers. He's very secretive about his past and the huge place it comes up is go to get the mages, see a bunch of Vents, turn around and go and get the templars cause at least there’s no Vents. Then he ends up juxtaposed with Calpurnia who shares part of his background. It's just fun if there's a story reason to side with the Templars.
I always love when people bring up the Divine election because the difference in opinions and I guess interpretations of who is the best for Thedas and the Chantry is always so fascinating to hear about.
I personally think Vivienne is a criminally underrated Divine but I place that blame a lot on the writers and how they depict her as this shifty character with a hidden agenda when truth be told, all of your companions have an agenda for joining the Inquisition. She's framed in such a light to make you think she's always trying to undermine you until you get super close to her, which makes sense considering how precarious her lifestyle is should she be undermined in The Grand Game.
But that tangent aside I think her maintaing the Circles is fairly important (and I firmly empathize and side with the mages throughout the trilogy so far) because we're told over and over again how willing Thedas is to murder and ostracize mages, particularly children out of fear and with Lelianna disbanding the circles you're kind of just throwing everyone to the wind with no real safeguard for them. I also feel like based off of some banter she has with Cole we find out how she feels the Circle saved her life (("A breath-caught smile from the Enchanter as the candle lights. The walls are safe; she will never be hungry again.")) and how this is what she thinks the Circle should be, a place of safety, growth and education for mages which I never really felt Cassandra was on the same page of ((as her overall feelings towards mages seemed to be very negative)).
And while Cassandra says Vivienne perverts The Chant and is a tyrant we're never really shown *how* these feelings are warranted.
So while I agree with you guys in saying that Lelianna is the side of one extreme I would say Cassandra is the other extreme and Vivienne is more a middle ground between the two so to speak. ((Sorry if this is like a cluster of rambles and nonsense haha).
Vivienne is a bitch that wants to dictate how other mages live because of her privilege, she lived in a circle that treated her fairly, then got to go to the Imperial Court and do whatever she wanted. I don't necessarily disagree with her, but I don't want Vivienne to be deciding the fates of others who may have had it worse than her.
"May have had it worse than her"?! The Ferelden and Kirkwall Circles PROVE they did! Look Vivienne had it pretty good and can't understand just how terrible the Circles and Templars are for the least fortunate of Mages (Cole, Anders, the Mage Warden, the Mage Inquisitor)...But that is no excuse for her ignorance we SAW in all three games the majority of Templars and Citizens react and look at Mages as nothing more than vermin or threats to be dealt with. It is a very real fact of the situation the Circles as a WHOLE were at best heavily flawed and at worst gilded prisons/places of death. There's no but's or if's or nope's to the TRUTH of that!
Viv is the worst Divine because she refuses to see a problem with the inherent corruption within the Circles AND Templar Order AND the Chantry as a whole since their foundings. Leliana does see certain problems and will risk backlash to try to at least start to fix them, While Cassandra a devout Andrastian Warrior can even see how flawed the relations between the different factions are and how it was spreading over a long peroid of time so she tries to negate that from getting any worse through a regulating of power system as well as giving the Circle Mages far more rights so they won't rebel again.
Viv is outright hostile and antagonistic to any Mage that disagrees with her viewpoint that magic is inherently dangerous and must be severely regulated and that the Chantry is all good...Be they a Libertarian or Moderate or NON-Circle Mage. She sees them as monsters or vermin or fools...You can never have a heathly reasonable relationship like that. And given the majority of Mages are quite willing to risk civil war against the Chantry and nations of Thedas...They're more than willing to regain their strength to dispose of Viv the Tyrant. If Viv is the Divine it's only a matter of time before there's Another Mage Rebellion. Heck even a Templar Coup D'etat is possible given how Viv thinks Lyruim Abuse is A-Okay...People like Cullen and Samson prove that the Templars themselves can think quite differently on the matter.
I don't think Viv is evil perse...But as Divine she's a menace and a fool beyond all else. Her policy of upholding the status quo of the Chantry and Circles and Templar Order GUARANTEES another Civil War will be commited over time and this time the extremists will NEVER compromise and NEVER surrender. It will be the Chant or it will be the Will of the People that wins through bloodshed. She's to stubborn to see her way of things isn't the only way of life to live for.
Also for the case of Leliana and Cassandra being Extremes...Perhaps but a Devout Chantry and Circle Supporter who can't recognize their flaws is definitely an Extremist as well. Even in the case of Cass and Lily...If you chose to Inspire Leliana she's willing to deal with dissenters peacefully and Cass is a Seeker of Truth a Higher Ranked Templar in other words that has connections to the Mages as well seeing the plights of both sides. They're both far more equipped to deal with problems that arise in a more compromising their ideals for the sake of the people way. They actually care about peoples lives Mage or Templar from any walk of life...That's what matters most. They would turn the Chantry into an organization that actually gives a fuck about it's people! Not just say so then act like an uncompassionate elitist like Viv would.
@@flamesofchaos13 Yes, I honestly agree with everything you said. I've only ever chosen Leliana(except my first time I chose Cassandra.) I hated that she was so stuck in her ways. Trespasser even says she bends the chant to her will, with Cassandra leaving in disgust, as opposed to supporting Leliana, but sometimes disagreeing, and viewing her as a force of good. Madame de Fer, is the evil divine option, even hardened Leliana is more benevolent( my personal favourite, cunning, but not too much of a tyrant.) Vivienne's a fun character as a friend, and non divine because she actually, at least partially, seems to care about Inquisitor. Asking if we're okay after haven, complementing our decour skills, saying she'll take us to her tailor, trusting only us with the well of sorrows' power, even asking us, and if choosing a certain option, promising to find a way out of the "geas." Even asking about Dorian, the only romance I like to do(sometimes Solas.) I find her, and Dorian's Elitisme charming, hell they even sort of bond over it. However, she's a Loyalist mage, so fuck her, she causes enough trouble for the College of Enchanters as a mage with political clout. And one more thing, you and I have had a conversation about something else, can you recall what it was lol? Sorry if I came off as not hard enough for our Margaret Thatcher (Iron Lady/Madame de Fer.)
@@briarrosegael2015 Cassandra twice and Leliana once.
Those that sided with Cass are an Vashoth MAGE that's despises the Circle Mages and Templars both...The experiences in the Inquisition convices them otherwise to see a more neutral or grey perspective. (Conscripts Mages)
The other was a Pro-Templar AND Pro-Magic Dwarven Warrior that wasn't involved in anyway whatsoever but was forced into deciding the fate of thousands if not millions anyway...Truly believes Mages and Templars DON'T have to be enemies but can in fact compromise becoming True Allies. (Alliance with Templars)
My Pro-Magic even Pro-Blood Magic, Pro-Mage Rights, Pro-Dalish, Pro-Liberation at ANY and ALL costs, Anti-Chantry, Anti-Templars, Anti-Circles...Atheist Dalish Elven Mage Inquisitor HAD to pick Leliana there was no other choice for him. (Allied to Free Mages)
No idea what's gonna be my canon but next playthrough of the games I'm going Pro-Templar for the first time in 2. In Inquisition the Inquisitor might end up Pro or Neutral towards them choosing Alliance or Conscription of the Templars. But it ain't my canon just an alternate playthough given I've always been Pro-Mages/Magic. My personal canon going into DA4 will be one of these three above most likely the Pro-Liberation of Magic Mage...So Leliana as Divine most likely.
I'm choosing Cassandra more but I wouldn't say she's my fav choice. I don't have one I think both Cass and Lily are completely fine Divines. I always Inspire Lily not to be a ruthless killer given my Inquisitors usually end up as the kind of people that don't want to murder everything they can but actively seek peace. Essentially the choice between them in my eyes is Stability and Honor=Cass and Freedom/Equality=Leliana. Of which I enjoy all those things...So really I have to choose based on the character I make for Inquisition do they value one or the other more.
I just know without ever doing it in-game that Viv is my least fav by a thousand leagues under the Waking Sea.
Viv's not an evil person when she doesn't have the Sunburst Throne it's when she gains that power that her opinion doesn't become just an opinion anymore but the law of the land...And her opinions about Mages and Templars are dead fucking wrong! As a simple Loyalist Leader as long as her Circle doesn't go to war with the College of Enchanters it's actually a good thing given the Loyalists would never have fitted in there. A Loyalist has to have a Circle or be a part of the Chantry to live in comfort. The Loyalists are not wrong for existing they should have a place to go where they're safe...And if they get the Lucrosians onboard than their Circle can become the business and religious school benefiting the Orlesian Society. While the other Mages of the College become the social and research school that works with other nations like Ferelden or the Free Marches or even Tevinter in a crisis. Separately the different schools could coexist in luxury if they find their niches.
Oh we've talked before? That's cool same circles given we're DA Fans. I don't remember don't take it personally my memory is complete dogshit when it comes to anything really.
@@flamesofchaos13 Honestly, I do the same thing when people like or respond to my comments, I'm like, "when did I say this?" I think we had a conversation/discussion/different interpretation on Flemeth and her "horcrux" on Ghil Dirthalen's channel. Loyalist mages mostly get my ire due to real world valid biases, atheistic, if not anti-theistic ones. Let them work in their own niches, Trespasser basically says they exist in uneasy peace by ignoring each other. P.S. As pro-mage player(honestly same, I even side with our witches of the wilds in preserving the powers that were) what would you say about the concept of a secular order of "templars" free of the Chantry, but not out of Self-righteousness, out of a realisation of the Chantry, and faith based originisations' evil?
I have Loghain as my warden in DAI, and he lives over Hawke. To me, Hawke's line of "It's a Warden's job to rebuild. Corypheus is mine." rings true. There's also a lot of lines in Inquisition from Loghain that shows he's learned from his previous mistakes. And as the only Warden who stood up to the others and believed this whole demon army is insane, to me shows that he has the level sense to lead better this time around. Hawke is also shown in game to be distancing him/herself from his/her friends. They've lost a lot, and they don't want to lose more loved ones. It kills me to think of her leaving Fenris. But I do think that what Hawke wants is to be left in the Fade. I also don't think Hawke's story is over. The game says they "may" die. I fully expect Hawke to return. And to me, Loghain's story is with the Wardens and Hawke's story is to survive this train wreck she's thrown herself at and come back stronger for it.
Guys you forgot the most important decision in the game. To kill Lord Woolsey or not
honestly i wish there was a way to recruit woolsey. maybe we could have used him to usurp the nug king's throne and bring about the ram age as a quest or smthn like that
@@ifoldyougo6517 lord woolsey and storvacker would be friends
@@HairyNippy ...with scout Grandin as their handler.
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuper late on this but I always liked playing around with the Hawke/Warden choice
I always liked the idea of Lohgain sacrificing himself, him serving the Wardens after what he did in DA:O I do think was the most befitting punishment and at his core he was already someone who wanted to protect something even if he stepped way out of line. By the time of DA:I it's been years, he's been left to ruminate and fester with the mistakes of his past while still working for a greater good. This comes together in a moment of self sacrifice to let others carry the torch for the future of not just his homeland but the continent as a whole. To give up that control he wanted so so badly and finally atone for all that he's done.
This, along with Inquisitions greater themes of moving on from the past helps tell the story of a man who delved to some of the vilest lows come back in an act of true self sacrifice and I get a lot from that.
Here's the foolproof way of choosing your Divine:
Okay, say you want to ensure that Vivienne doesn't become Divine, don't help her at all with the quests she gives you, or at the very least, finish her questline after you've finished whoever it is that you want to become Divine. If you want Leliana instead of Cassandra, don't start any of Cassandra's quests to help the seekers until _after_ you've met Leliana at the chantry where Divine Justinia sent her. It's all in who's quests you start/finish first. I've tested this in over 10 playthroughs and it works _every_ time.
I am a big Loghain fan and I choose him over Hawke in my canon. My reasoning is that Loghain is not the same man if he lives after origins. My thought process is that if he stayed the same he probably wouldn't argue with the wardens reasoning to binding themselves to demons. Based on what the Wardens knew at the time that was the best way to end the Blight since they are all in their minds gonna die. Loghain before would probably see this as the only response as well since he committed terrible things in the name of protecting Ferelden. Now I think he sees there are always other options and is more trusting of others.
I love that no matter who you leave in the fade, Varric has words to honor them.
Always stroud or loghain.
I am too emotionally attached to my Hawke.
Same except for a different reason - I am too emotionally attached to Varric and I can't stand the devastated look on his face if Hawke dies.
what are Templars going to do to help you with possession? they only have one response to anything from the Fade, stab it a lot with swords. That is, when they can be arsed to do so, or have you forgotten Meredith - blood mage obsessed, red lyrium paranoid Meredith - walking straight past Anders who just not only destroyed the Chantry but showed clear signs of possession in the doing. And considering the blood mage/abomination rates at your average Southern Circle of Magi, their presence does little to "protect" mages from what lies beyond the Veil.
In fact, when you consider just how desperate most blood mages/abominations are, I'd argue that Templars ENCOURAGE possession, because by making the Mages so miserable, they make a demon's offer that much more enticing...
Generally speaking, in game, the mages win every time, because a) the Templars are grown ass adults who punched a cleric right in front of her and generally show no remorse, b) there are elderly and children in with the mages, c) Alexius and his time magic unraveling reality even further, d) the Tevinter forces that's clearly not friendly to the Inquisition parked right on it's doorstep... need I go on? also, making Cullen squirm over the matter of Maddox is ridiculously satisfying, and that comes from someone who loves romancing him.
For me, choosing the Chargers was easy, even in my Quizzy's roleplay. She's a mage, so the general treatment of the Serabas is not going to win points from her, and in the moment of truth, she got the strong impression that the Qun (through Gatt) had manipulated the situation to FORCE Bull to choose between the Chargers and the Qun. Even if she were the kind of ruthless pragmatist to ally with the Qun despite all that (she's not, ok? she's got lines and this crossed them), that kind of behavior isn't conducive to long-term alliances. deliberately misrepresenting the expected resistance just so you can twist the knife on one of your operatives? not cool. it's sloppy, it's reckless, and it's not good strategy. also, the fact that Bull is almost always in her party (so he and Dorian can get their smooch on) and as such he's one of her best friends influenced her decision.
Fuck yes someone is telling the truth about the Templars complete delusion of "helping"! They're half the reason most blood mages/abominations exist in the first place in modern Thedas at least! 50% Templars Cruelty, 25% Circles Abuse(Harrowing, Isolation from Humanity and Family/Compassion, Mage Politics, Used as a Weapon in War, Murders or Rapes), 20% The Seekers of Truth/Right of Tranquility existing, 5% Mages seeking power for powers sake.
Of the three potential Divines, you could roughly describe Vivienne as the conservative, Cassandra as the reformist, and Leliana as the revolutionary. Softened Leliana brings about a revolution that everyone (except for Vivienne et consortes) dreams of, a hardened one - one that all dread.
The ONLY time I drink from the well is if my inquisitor is Elven, otherwise there is NO WAY I am becoming beholden to Mythal
Cold open is when you enter directly into the plot with no time to adjust. Warm open is when you start with introductions.
The second easiest choice for me was leaving my Hawke behind, even though my given Warden is Stroud. For my canon playthrough, Loghain is dead and Alistair is king, and I know that my particular Hawke needed an ending, and I saw that with this choice. The thing that would have made the choice more difficult, and had me sit there for hours thinking about it, is if the Warden was the Hero of Ferelden. I’ve been wanting to write a fanfic where that occurs, but ugh, so many efforts.
Well of Sorrows, easiest choice, I’m drinking. My devout Dalish elf Inquisitor is not letting a shem take another piece of history from his people, even with most of his party telling him not to (I take Solas, Cassandra, and Dorian, and the only one that says yes is Cass, only because she doesnt’ trust Morrigan.) It isn’t that Morrigan is shifty, it is more that she presents herself that way. Getting to know her, she is genuine and sweet, if you get good affinity with her in DA: O, but the Inquisitor’s conversations with her all revolve around ancient magics and some forbidden arts. If she has Keiran, that is the only part of her that would come off as humanizing to the Inquisitor, but even HE is off! (I mean, he asks if my Quizzy is an elf, and the sarcastic comment is ‘the ears, right?’ and Kieran pops off with ‘No, your blood is very old!’ NICE KID THERE, MORRIGAN.)
I actually had a rough time with the Chargers vs Qunari choice, mainly because I really like the idea of the Qunari. Everyone has a place, no one is left out, no one is deemed useless. But, the execution of that ideal is overbearing, and borderline slavery (Actual slavery for the sarabass.) In the end, I chose Chargers, not even knowing Bull can just fucken’ go back-stabby in Trespasser the first time I did.
I think a fun choice, one that is likely easy to make but fun to hypothesize about, is accepting Sera’s offer to be a Red Jenny. I only mention this cause I romance Dorian and his end slide says something like the Inquisitor is sometimes spotted in Minrathos, and then vanishes, and I wonder if one way to include the Inquisitor, beyond being, ya know, the fucken Inquisitor, is to have the Friends of Red Jenny make another appearance. If you say yes to Sera, you do get the slide where you see the crossbow arm in place of the marked hand, and it sounds hilarious to me that, if we don’t get to play the Inquisitor again, we meet them through Red Jenny shit and not Inquisition shit. Meeting the Inquisitor in their side hustle would get a lot of laughs from me.
Also hardened Leliana for President 2020.
For mages v Templars, I'm lean toward Templars in DAI. I know they wanted you to choose the mages, and yeah it makes a bit more sense that mages could deal with the breach better than the Templars (not that they can't), but I feel like the Templars were done better. I think Champions of the Just was more interesting than In Hushed Whispers. Both missions are well done, but I really liked COTJ for 2 reasons:
1) It gives you a taste of what a type of possession is like. True, you know you'll win in the end, but the only other time DA did anything close to that was the mage origin in DAO and that wasn't even a challenge (to me). The first time I played through COTJ was with a non-mage Inquisitor and I absolutely loved that she could be emotional and scared and panic watching this demon invade her mind, mimicking and twisting everything she was. And she was my Cullen romance, so the demon "killing" him felt like it had significance, like it was using her feelings for him. It's a unique perspective.
2) The templar's attitude. I did IHW first, but after doing COTJ I started getting pretty annoyed with the mages. The Templars help you, the mages don't. Yes I know, none of the mages get sent to the future with you, and when you get back it's the end. But Barris and the Templars turn and fight with you. And after they're recruited, if you ally with them instead of absorbing them, they try to rebuild themselves and they're reputation. The mages help seal the breach, then.........nothing. They do nothing. They were scared, kicked out the Arl giving them shelter, made a really stupid decision (Fiona, really), get saved and recruited, and that's it. It feels like they do nothing with the chance they're given, while the Templars (and even the Wardens) do. I mean, it's a mission chain on the war table and it doesn't even matter in the game, but it's a touch that that liked. It made me respect the Templars more. But that's my opinion.
Honestly, the only reason I didn't conscript the mages was because realistically, I don't think they'd be as willing to help. And I agree Calpernia is much more interesting than Samson. And she made more sense as the vessel. Why didn't she get a tavern song???
Also, the only time I didn't have Morrigan drink from the Well was with my Dalish mage (ironically the world state that had a romanced Morrigan lol). Otherwise I don't think would make much sense/be worth it for the Inquisitor to drink. Just me.
Everyone has great reasons for choosing templars but I just do it to get the broken philters
The problem is nothing changes under Cassandra and it's basically back to what it was under Beatrice and Justinia. Vivienne is a nightmare and unless you protect the mages she has basically created another mage rebellion in which she destroys killing plenty. There is "stability" but it's by far and ripe for rebellion. Leliana is by far the better choice whether she is Hardened or not. But I really wish we could've collapsed the chantry. At the moment it would be bad but in the future no chantry would save a lot of people.
54:40 on my first playthrough as a super Andrastrian Templar, I did in fact -not- ally with the Sentinels because they were good XP and I had a story reason to say "nah, f that Fam."
Followed by my pretending that Morrigan was making her case, me nodding the Bull and him launching her into the Well because, again... "nah, f that, Fam."
Katie, thank you for making me feel better about letting Morrigan drink from the well. I’ve been so worried I made a terrible mistake and something terrible would happen to her.
I choose the qunari over the chargers once. It made sense to me because that shipment of red lyrium needed to be stopped. It was a pragmatic choice, you sacrifice a few fighters who are willingly risking their lifes, to save innocents (red templars and their future victims ). The qunari need you to close the breach and kill Corypheus. Yes we know that they will eventually stop being allies, but until then we can use their help. And my inquisitor was cocky so she thought expecting their backstabbing and her spy network would be enough to handle their betrayal.
At that time I kinda did it for Bull too, I genuinely thought he would be very upset to become what he despised the most, he had spent his life killing Tal Vashoth, I didn’t want him to become one.
Needless to say that was my worst playthrough, my poor inquisitor had to kill her lover in Trespasser, and after that, everyone was blaming her for the qunari invasion and mocking her in tavern songs and orlesian plays…
Now I always save the chargers, because they grow red lyrium from people, one shipment doesn’t change anything, and the inquisition doesn’t need the help of the qunari after all. The only question is: do you want Bull to stay in the Qun? And obviously the answer is no.
About the well of sorrow, I’m just terrified that if Morrigan drinks from it, we’ll have to fight her in DA4… Mythal’s not dead (great name for a punk rock band) and she will control her.
At the end of the quest, if you don’t fight the sentinels, they are free right? They just leave the temple. I feel like Solas would recruit them. This whole « I wish you find a new name » feels like a promise or a hidden message. And I don’t want that, the smaller his army the better. I think we haven’t seen the consequence of that choice yet, so I side with them only half of the time.
The first time I played, I sacrificed the Chargers, because I also thought Bull would be devastated by becoming Tal-Vashoth. But at the party after defeating Corypheus, he says something like, "It's time to stop being the Iron Bull", and my heart shattered.
The College of Enchanters is the governing body of the Circle of Magi, located in Cumberland, Nevarra.
MonarchMKUltra
That plus the Qunari attack later on anyways. They care nothing for any acts of peace or tolerance
They are worse than the evanuris ever were. Even the humans of Thedas are only slightly better than them
I appreciate how much thought some people put into their choices, but if I'm honest, I leave Hawke in the Fade so I can hug Varric after. And I want Leliana as Divine, because I'm building a world state where the Warden's party rules all of Thedas (Alistair is King of Ferelden, Sten is the new Arishok, Leliana is Divine, and dammit we better be able to make Morrigan Archon.)
I would love an episode of Mass Effect choices.
Even though you'll probably never even read this
I side with the templars and while I agree the game pushes the mages and IHW is more spectacular the problem comes from
1. Fiona acting extremely out of character. Doubly so if Alister's King.
2. Time magic breaks the plot because of how it works. Paradox's out the ass!
3. Nobody tells you shit they should really tell you in the future
4. Alexis experiments on Lilieanna and not Fiona who immune to the blight
5. Mages acting EXTREMELY STUPID
6. You can't conscript the mages without sounding like a complete ass
7. You can't replace Fiona with somebody else
8. Time magic in the grand scheme is pointless
9. Blood magic would have explained a lot but it's never brought up
10. You have to walk into an obvious trap which is monumentally risky as the Inquisitor is the only guy who can fix the sky
11. Grabing the Templars after finding out about the plot makes sense because Templars shut down magic
12. You not knowing about The Elder One's identity makes sense in CotJ
13. Cole's entrace is much better and makes more sense than "You have to open the door" Cole. Dorian looks good either way
14. Templars actually do shit in comparison to the mages
15. And the power you spend actually makes sense in CotJ. Your forces just sneak in with IHW
I agree with everything except Leliana being experimented on...She's got Blight Immunity and Immortality if you killed her in Origins. That shows she's got powers. Also Fiona might be experimented on we just don't see it. Then again Corpy wouldn't want the Blight to be stopped in any regard so he probably sees Fiona as a threat but chose to let Alexis simply imprison her or kill her but he didn't for some reason. It could be they already know Fiona's immune to the Blight/Taint but Leliana's surprised them so they're studing her?
I disagree about Dorian vs. Cole's introduction. Dorian is a Tevinter mage, him showing up at Haven literally *seconds* before a Tevinter-led mage army attacks seems *hella* sketchy. He's also a little *too* put together for someone who supposedly "ran all the way from Redcliffe". For all anyone knows, he could be there to summon a horde of demons once inside. With IHW, you get multiple chances to observe Dorian and he's there in the war room helping you plan to take down his own mentor. Then you get the whole quest to really fight alongside him and establish his sincerity. Meanwhile, Cole's a weird kid, but when he just turns up at Haven, there's nothing to mark him as potentially untrustworthy at first glance. When I first played and Cole turned up at Haven, I just was like "Oh shit, this poor kid, he sounds so disoriented, get him inside, is there time to feed him?" CotJ was an interesting quest to play, but it doesn't substantially affect my impression of Cole. Plus, once you're at Skyhold, it's a lot more interesting to watch Cole walk around and do his thing than chat with Dorian in the library about how "no really, you can trust me even though I'm a Tevinter noble mage!"
With my canon Dai I always choose Cassandra as divine purely because I feel she is basically non "game" driven and is someone you can trust at face value and i feel the leader of the largest religion in thedas should be someone that acts with honour and trust that won't act in the shadows. Changes depending on the playthrough
The first time a demon talking shit to me actually freaked me out was in Inquisition. I romanced Isabela and the demon says to Hawke “Isabela is going to die just like your family.” I about had a cow. I had to actually stop playing for a few minutes to collect myself.
Regardless of if it's pragmatic or not I always save the Charges because I love the Chargers and Krem specifically I just can't let them die.
31:41 Well, in the templar mission there is a good staff for the beginning. That's a reason to go there.
I usually keep Loghain alive over Hawke, as much as I love Marians voice actress this has more to do with the fact that Loghain is possibly one of the most well written characters in Dragon Age. Thus it has less to do with what I think it is the best choice and more to do with the fact that I want to see what they do with his character.
Also just a side note, I'm kind of wierded out by Hawke in Inquisition because she talks about blood magic as an absolute evil which is strange when you romanced Merrill.
I just wanna say (@Caitie) that you’re not the only Lavellan who prefers to give the well to Morrigan. B’) My thought in my playthrough was that Morrigan knew a ton about it and was prepared to receive it while Lavellan, in spite of being a Dalish first herself, is no longer confident in her knowledge of ancient elven stuff, so the well would be wasted on her. Regardless of how much my Lavellan trusted her, it seemed the best option for defeating Corypheus. Going forward I still stand by that decision as with the end of Trespasser, my goal was to strip away any control or information flow Solas might have over my group of badass bitches. B) Gonna find that egg and save the shit out of him (I hope) lol!
So I'm playing through inquisition in the default world state. It's interesting but no one is recruited aside from Cassandra, Varric and Solas. It's incredibly strange and fascinating.
I save Hawke ALMOST every time. The one time I didn't, was when Hawke romanced Anders. In that play through Alistair was the warden. Hawke killed their lover and just couldn't take it anymore. Plus, sad Varric kills me on the inside.
Well, to MASSIVELY paraphrase Martin Luther King jr.
"A negative peace which is the abscense of tension is not better than a positive peace which is the presence of Justice."
Basically, civil rights and justice shouldn't have to wait because some people are uncomfortable with it. You just gotta push reforms despite how much it might piss bigots off. And elves, mages and dwarves deserve to be seen equally.
Well, I usually romance Zevran, marry Alistair off to Anora, make Loghain pay for his crimes by sleeping with Morrigan, and then sacrifice himself in the Fade. Feels weird to think about killing off my Hawke to save an older Warden who is going to hear the Calling earlier. Unless we cure the Calling, which.. I'm all for redemption, but does Loghain deserve a happily ever after?
I also used my Chantry Ink to finally support the Templars, and I shockingly enjoyed the quest almost more than going back in time. I liked the weird demon stuff. And I did enjoy Calpernia more than Samson.
Given the ending with the fortress closing itself off, I'm always more worried for the wellbeing of the person who goes there than stuck in the fade as bait for the giant demon.
You can Knight Ser Barris AND you get Bonus stats in the possession from siding with the Templars.
When it came down to Mages vs. Templars, I feel the game didn't give this decision the weight it deserves. I think it's resolved way too easily and also your decision can be inlfuenced by which mission you enjoy the most. I personally think siding with the mages is the better choice, but the mission with the Templars is more enjoyable. Also the templars give you more missions on the war map and you can establish a new Knight Commander and the mages only give you one War Map mission. Also by selecting the mages you get stuck with Sampson and his side missions take sooooo much longer than Calpernious's missions to accomplish. Sampson's payoff is better but still, takes forever to nuetralize his armor.
Emprise du Lion seems tacked on and kind of shoehorned in if one chooses the Templars. It makes more sense and feels more meaningful if one chooses the Mages.
Regarding the Well of Sorrows, do you think when Solas took Mythal's power, that he gained the ability to control who drank from the Well?
I always assumed yes - but the only time they might have confirmed he had that ability is the moment you meet up with him in Trespasser, and he uses his influence over the Anchor to stop you instead (depending on dialogue choices). So maybe he doesn't, or maybe he didn't take Mythal's power the way it's implied he did. Perhaps Flemeth had already somehow passed on Mythal's power (there are some fan theories on this) and all Solas took from her was the Old God's soul - assuming that was there - or something else.
There is actual choices to make that will for sure make that one divine. There is set choices like how you get a hard lelianna is whether you kill the traitor in haven. If you want a certain one divine then you'd wanna make the choices they agree with to get them. it's honestly not a difficult thing.
I've done 8 play through.
My choices
Mage side
Sorry Strout........
Keeping Wardens
Saving Celene with Briana
Saving the charges
Morrigan have the well of sorrow
Divine Unharden Liliana
I would have loved/hated to have seen the choice in the Fade to be between Hawke and the Hero of Ferelden. I know the practical difficulty of bringing back the custom Warden from DA:O, but that choice would be so much more dramatic and impactful!
I'm too invested in my FemHawke being a badass butch lesbian Reaver to have her killed off. As soon as I found out Loghain can come back, I changed my DAO canon to have him survive so that I could sacrifice him. Its a good redemption arc if you ask me! Plus Stroud is a lil hotty, he doesnt deserve to die.
As for drinking from the well, I think letting Morrigan do it serves a nice narrative resolution for her whole story arc. My canon Warden romanced her and did the dark ritual. Im all for the chaos so I support Morrigan every chance I get.
42:52 The Bull and Viv are some of the *few* companions who don't leave? Solas won't leave no matter what, Varric and Cassandra won't leave, even Dorian won't leave unless you throw him out (yeah he gets very angry, but he won't leave until you tell him to go). The only ones who leave (and even that only if you really behave like a d***) are Cole, Blackwall and Sera. No matter how you count it, Bull and Viv are on the side of the majority here, not the minority.
In the Divine choice, I had two mindsets: I picked Cassandra if I conscripted the mages and if Dragon Age 4 we will continue with the Inquisitor and the Inquisition, because I wanna keep my spymaster Leliana hahahaha.
Now if the next game we are not playing with the Inquisitor anymore, then Leliana. Also I conscript the mages.
I agree with Catie on the well of sorrows -choice. When I got to that point, my first thought was "I ain't touching dat shiet!" and I let Morrigan have it. But at the same time, I was a bit suspicious of how much she wants it. I originally told her "hell naw!" when she wanted to have an old god baby in Origins too.
Age softens most men, Logain has now lived with men and women he would have once seen as mortal enemies. He is a man who has outlived his enemies in a sense and sees that making a desert is no peace.
TBH, my Hawke would never offer to sacrifice himself. He's just not that kinda person. He'd just be like "well, if the Warden wants to stay here so bad...."
I let Stroud live his relationship with the warden commander caronel and personal involvement in the events with adamant.
I think it is sweet that Jordan thinks Vivienne won't order people killed as the Divine. The Game is deadly and the Chantry is a player in the Game
Always Morigan drinks, almost always Mages, Save Hawk.
Loghain will somehow make it out of the fade. Old bastard will always survive. Anyway I want the Hawke/Warden in Weisshaupt game.
So typically I kill Loghain at some point. However, I just got through a playthrough where I kept him alive over Hawke. My reasoning was that he’s a good soldier and leader if he supports the cause, like when he supported Maric. While he made horrible choices during the Blight, you can see from a perspective that Cailan instead of a noble king was a naïve and ignorant king who would rather charge into battle to certain death. While I don’t actually agree with this, one could see Loghain’s actions as strategic, he saw the King as a lost cause and decided to save his men for a battle later.
Regarding the mage/templar decision: how come nobody ever mentions the PR angle of recruiting the Templars?
Coming from the perspective of a commoner in Thedas: you just heard that a mage bombed the Chantry and killed the Grand Cleric in Kirkwall. Now templars and mages are fighting out in the open. That's bad. Next thing you know, the Temple of Sacred Ashes, which is basically the holiest place in the entire world, is destroyed by magic. Oh, and there's a massive magical hole in the sky leaking demons. Then you hear that all this was in fact caused by a Tevinter Magister, who represents the Magocracy of old and also caused the Blight. He's also allied with another group of mages from Tevinter who are called the Venatori, who want to restore Tevinter to its former glory.
And now the Inquisition, which is painted as this righteous religious organization, is going to ally with the rebel mages. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that following all the events described above, anti-mage sentiment would be at an all-time-high during DAI. The only thing I can think of which could potentially offset this a little bit is if your HoF was a mage.
In contrast to this, if you ally with the Templars, people are going to associate you with a "police" force dedicated to fighting demons, apostates and blood magic (problems that are very prevalent and out in the open during DAI.) The typical commoner probably doesn't have inside knowledge about all the terrible abuses inflicted on mages in the Circle. But they sure as hell know about the demon-spouting hole in the sky. Who are they going to want to turn to in these times?
And another thing: in the beginning of DAI, the Chantry basically denies you legitimacy. If you ally with the Templars and try to reform the Order with someone like Barris at the helm, you gain the support of a former Chantry institution. It gives you legitimacy in both the eyes of the common people and the nobility, and Leliana says as much if you ally with the Templars.
At the start, the Inquisition doesn't have much support from the Nobility or the clerics. The Inquisition depends on the myth that is created around you, the Herald, for recruitment purposes. It depends on the faithful masses believing you are the Herald of Andraste, that you are a holy force sent from the Maker. Recruiting the templars helps to spread this image.
The wardens made that mess, they should be the ones to make the sacrifice to fix it.
Dai was my first BioWare game and I chose to have the inquisitor drink from the well because I just did not trust morrigan. Being a complete stranger to orlais, being an apostate, and having no connections, I knew I could never trust her. But after hearing this podcast I think I’m going to let morrigan drink from now on
yeah i feel like leliana is the best moral choice for divine. cassandra has good intentions but is too supporting of existant power structures. maybe the pragmatic choice is cassandra but morally its leliana. vivienne wants power for mages, but only mages like her. i’ve never chosen vivenne in my canon play through. i just...dont agree with her ideals at all. mage rights
I let Morrigan drink from the well as I expect the well to be key to Flemeth surviving her encounter with Solas. I believe whoever drank from the well will end up carrying a bit of Flemeth with them which she will use to resurrect herself. Therefore letting Morrigan partake of the mystical puddle will be interesting story-wise because Flemeth will finally inhabit Morrigan, just as she planned in Origins.
Sacrifice in the fade I choose Stroud unless loghain or brute hawk. Varric breaks my heart. Divine is Cassandra, softened leliana, stabby leliana then Vivienne. If Vivienne approves you did something wrong lol. In hushed whispers. More interesting quest and Dorian...just yes. I side with the chargers however I will say I fully trust the qunari. I trust them enough that they will pull something and try to manipulate you. The well...sadly I choose morrigan because she becomes a dragon!
I lean toward hardened Leliana for divine. It's not really the healthiest choice but it's certainly the most dramatic. I think I enjoy trying to create the darkest timeline.
But also, when it comes to the divine decision - I think it's valid to want Vivienne to focus on that circle shit and as for Cassandra, you might want to preserve the romance with her. For me, I was a little sad when I finished my first playthrough as a soft quiet Dalish templar boy and Cassandra was like haha we're probably not gonna have time for each other now that I'm basically the Divine.
I really hate siding with the mages because I hate Samson. I hate the recon of his character, because when you are first introduced to him in DA2 he's selling mages into slavery and likes it. He's only in it for the money. You're really going to tell me that between games he grew a conscience?! No. Calpernia only wants to help Taventer the same Dorian does, but she's fighting for the slaves while he's fighting for everyone. And the introduction to Dorian is so badass if you side with the templars and Cole is so much more fleshed out. Essentially when Dorian arrives ahead of the army it feels like meeting Stroud in DA2, you almost get the sense he's played a whole another game, and it's great. He shines better in that scene, than in all the others if you side with the mages and puts Cullen in his place when he's willing to give up and go down fighting and claims he's the one thinking like a blood mage. It's all so better story wise than siding with the mages.
Here we are thinking there are no negative consequences to allying with Abelas and the Sentinals, and meanwhile they allied with Solas and will be a real hard boss fight in DA4
I didn’t even know vivienne was a divine option lol
i do kinda meta the well of sorrows if i play a elven inquis. i choose to use it myself solely to piss off solas. let the controlling know it all get mad :D
I let Morrigan drink, not always but in my own head cannon run. Yeah, let the stranger I feel nothing towards be the guinea pig. She's power-hungry, sure, but "no one should go in the Well of *Sorrows* ". The name alone... If my Inquisitorialness doesn't really trust anyone, he or she will be a glutton and drink. I think it affects both the Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser DLCs.
My hawke is always a rogue and she's fucking scoundrel who bled and killed to get everything she had and restore the hawke name (always pick rogue because, lore wise, i feel like they have the disadvantage so a rogue protag seems like the ultimate underdog.)
after kirkwall, my hawke just wanted rest. but i wasnt leaving her behind in the Fade. she deserves peace and to sail happily ever after with Isabela
even though in my cannon the inquisitor drinks from the well i feel horrible just because morrigan wants it and i don't like taking power it felt selfish to me so i let morrigan have it in my first playthrough but i like the idea of an elven inquisitor being bound to mythal which is the only reason my cannon inquisitor drinks from the well
Leliana is the best choice to be divine her changes are whats best.
I worry that being divine is bad for Leliana, even softened the position demands intrigue and power that will make it difficult for her not to slip back into the Game
I don't care about the well of sorrows. Like at all. In fact I would be more than willing to let Morrigan drink the whole damn thing. But the fact that she is SO shady about her desire for it and the fact that she REALLY wants it always makes me want to drink it to spite her.
If Viviene is divine, she ask if you still need her. If you say no, she leaves.
I haven't spoken to vivienne since my first playthrough
I do prefer the Templars' quest. I like watching Abernash die, pissing off Envy and the fight. It's more challenging than Alexius', at least for me. If what they had originally planned is as described, then it would've been even better. Why the hell did they cut it? To avoid an abomination Inquisitor if you had a mage? Maybe...
I feel like Hawke's story isn't finished, left in the fade or otherwise.
I don't like In Hushed Wispers because I hate time travel themes in general. Also, Morrigan did run off with the kid, but she said she would.
Lastly, when Jordan says people can find him in the Exalted March I can only imagine him fighting the Imperium, but he says it too casually so it feels like "Oh well, this weekend I'll be at the exalted march, doing some stuff but you can find me there."
@ExaltedMarch Loghain would DESTROY darkspawn lol his wardens would be amazing! He would only have the Orlais wardens as well. Don't forget our hero still leads the other set so imagine if they both met up and squashed the beef and they lead both parts they'd destroy cause the hero is the sympathy and i guess moral side and Loghain is the tactics and commander.
Binging!!
Cannon in my head about DA2 is Veric lied to Cassandra completely
When I was mage elf I drank but when not elf I'm like go for it morrigan
Yay podcasts
I'm here at 6.9k views ✌
Stroud, because my Hawke is female.
Vivienne as Divine is a terrible idea for Divine she's a status quo warrior only interested in hypocritical control of everyone else even Cassandra in Tresspasser thinks she's a fricking tryant if you makes you her. I'm with Lady Insanity I do my best to make sure she never has any real power.
Loghain leading the Wardens to me is pretty easy to justify. He is an excellent tactician, he has the will to do what is necessary to win but also the levelheadedness, especially after the events in DAO, to not lose himself in the ideology of "all or nothing" like Clarelle did. Plus he seems to believe it is his obligation to atone for what he did, to the people of Ferelden, the Wardens and the Warden him/herself, who he seems to deeply respect.
So Loghain probably wouldn't repeat the extremes he went to in DAO during non blight times, but would be prepared for the really hard decisions during one.
Alistair is a nice guy, but to me he seems to be lacking the will to do the really terrrible shit required of the Wardens when fighting a blight (and as far as we know, a blight might be coming). Alistair would rather sacrifice the Wardens to save a village then let it fall to the blight, and in a blight the Wardens cannot take losses for short term moral victories .
I make Viv Divine because:
A) I rather have Cassandra be free of politics
B) Leliana can be influenced too easily
Viv may be a b* but at least she chooses on her own. And I think it is what she wants
I drink from the Well because I headcanon that a romanced HoF sent a letter to the Inquisitor asking him to take the bullet
I prefer the cold intro for sure. (With the welcome) It feels off and unprofessional to start a video in the middle of a conversation. But I’m curious about what most people prefer
One question to everyone who sided with the Chargers because they didn’t trust the Qunari:
Was the US wrong to ally with the USSR during WW2?
jedicam10 well the alliance only lasted for the duration of the war and immediately went back to rivals fighting proxy wars
The qunari alliance would probably be the same where as the chargers are a permanent alliance
I sided with chargers because they were my troops and I wasn’t sacrificing them just because the qunari botched their operation
I mean, kinda? The US definitely didn't benefit from it as much as the USSR did, with their spies in the Manhattan Project and all. Also, the USSR had the manpower and weather to defeat the Nazis on their own, and the US had the production capacity and also manpower to defeat the Nazis on their own (even without the Bomb). The Nazis mainly lost because they didn't have enough petroleum to run the literal machinery of war. The US-USSR alliance shortened WWII, but it wasn't necessary to defeat the Nazis.
They should let. U have three choice warden hawke or inquisitor to stay in fade
Totally disagree, I'm a big mage supporter but I feel forced to do templars because CotJ is just 1000x more fun than IHW... Much better intros for both Cole and Dorian too, even though IHW is Dorian's big quest lol...
I would like to comment about the Bulls Chargers decision, you do save more via the Chargers because the Qunari aren't people.
I let Loghain live over my Hawke because Warden Loghain is cooler and my Hawke has no reason to live because everyone he loves is dead or resents him and life continues to deal him bad hands, he wants to die.
Dude CDPR is god among boyz, Cyberpunk will destroy all!!! DA:I talk! Does anyone think that Lel's is a baddie, either shes a baddie or the worlds worst spymaster.