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Pick posted:I mean, you make Sandal clean out your poo. Darker, sexier, better.
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Oct 7, 2013 03:50
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Stroth posted:What? How in the hell does someone get that from DA2? The writer is a bit of a hack, he framed his discussion of DAI by talking about the progression of the PC's faction and the logical evolution of this series without realizing in DA2 the player is explicitly a neutral party until the last quest. Even then it's debateable. He tortured his analysis to submit his homework in on time, I guess. Still, from the rest of the article, it sounds like you're doing less fortress building in DAI and more empire building given the diversity of locations mentioned and what you can do with your captured assets.
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Oct 7, 2013 04:02
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Penakoto posted:Sounds like the same thing people do with the ending of Mass Effect 3. It's totally fine to have a different read of something, or haven't you heard of Death of the Author.  Although it takes a lot fewer leaps of logic to have a decent read of ME3 than it does DA2. e: In full disclosure I am the one person who actually felt okay with the Synthesis ending and still views it as the 'best' ending, and I don't really subscribe to the indoctrination theory myself. I just think it's valid and if it helps someone enjoy their escapist entertainment more, than more power to them. Professor Beetus fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Oct 7, 2013 |
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Oct 7, 2013 05:24
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Started to play Awakening for the first time over the weekend (was trying to finish the base game to carry a character over, but gave up pre-landsmeet*). It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be, with some pretty cool areas so far. Really enjoying it. It's also a lot easier. Even with a low level import, without using many of the newer skills, or bothering to equip new items, I'm blasting though it. Bit starved for party members, though. Nathaniel said he'd rather hang than join the wardens, and I'm not that cruel, so he was hanged. I guess he was my rogue. * DA:O would be a lot better if it were 3/4 the length. The Dalish plot lifts right out.
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Oct 7, 2013 09:50
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sassassin posted:
A rogue yeah. You'll get another one if you go investigate the drunk hunters.
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Oct 7, 2013 10:11
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Stroth posted:A rogue yeah. You'll get another one if you go investigate the drunk hunters. You also missed out on a pretty sweet character. If I were you I would restart the playthrough and not hang him.
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Oct 7, 2013 12:24
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Doublehex posted:You also missed out on a pretty sweet character. If I were you I would restart the playthrough and not hang him. Making someone a warden is a terrible thing to do even if they ask for it. Maybe next time I'll play dick human noble.
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Oct 7, 2013 12:39
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I played Awakenings and I have absolutely no recollection of a Nathaniel character so I guess I let him hang as well?
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Oct 7, 2013 12:52
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sassassin posted:Making someone a warden is a terrible thing to do even if they ask for it. Maybe next time I'll play dick human noble. Yeah, the curse of being a Warden is never mentioned past the first few minutes of DA:O. You get 20 years from the ritual at most, have to abandon all remnants of your life and follow the Wardens, and once you reach the 20 year mark you just head into the deep roads to fight darkspawn until death. It's kind of baffling how an established order of authority could emerge in the few short years before the wisest and most experienced Wardens get the Call and head off to die. The most often referenced concept I see used is that blood magic is at the core to the Joining and further use of blood magic can put off the negative effects of the ritual.
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Oct 7, 2013 12:52
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pentyne posted:Yeah, the curse of being a Warden is never mentioned past the first few minutes of DA:O. You get 20 years from the ritual at most, have to abandon all remnants of your life and follow the Wardens, and once you reach the 20 year mark you just head into the deep roads to fight darkspawn until death. Unless you're a female grey warden, then you just have to hope you die fighting the darkspawn. 
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Oct 7, 2013 13:13
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:Unless you're a female grey warden, then you just have to hope you die fighting the darkspawn. If the female wardens aren't told about broodmothers then any female heading to her calling is probably followed by a few other wardens who kill her in her sleep before she makes it to the Deep Roads.
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Oct 7, 2013 13:16
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Or just killed by darkspawn in a fight.
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Oct 7, 2013 13:18
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I haven't played the DLCs for these games, but have we ever met a Warden on the verge of his or her calling? It would be interesting to have to play with a character for a while, knowing that inevitably they are about to go into the deep roads and either die fighting or join the enemy. There could even be a timer in the game where if you haven't finished the adventure by such and such in-game month, the Warden is called to the Deep Roads and cannot be stopped; do you let them go or kill them yourself? If you want to see how that character responds to the end game and the like, you need to beat the game quickly. If they join relatively young--twenty or so--then you're looking at your senior wardens being in their 40s. Fairly old by dark age standards but who knows how old that is in a fantasy setting.
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Oct 7, 2013 13:40
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Lotish posted:I haven't played the DLCs for these games, but have we ever met a Warden on the verge of his or her calling? It would be interesting to have to play with a character for a while, knowing that inevitably they are about to go into the deep roads and either die fighting or join the enemy. There could even be a timer in the game where if you haven't finished the adventure by such and such in-game month, the Warden is called to the Deep Roads and cannot be stopped; do you let them go or kill them yourself? If you want to see how that character responds to the end game and the like, you need to beat the game quickly. Duncan was very close to his calling, but since he gets his head caved in by a darkspawn at Ostagar nothing really comes of it. 
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Oct 7, 2013 13:45
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:Duncan was very close to his calling, but since he gets his head caved in by a darkspawn at Ostagar nothing really comes of it. Riordan was also close, since he joined at the same time as Duncan, but as with Duncan he died before it could matter. And there's Avernus, but he blood magic'd his way out of it. I think I remember something about there being a warden who was undertaking his calling in one of the DA2 DLCs, but I never played them so I'm not certain.
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Oct 7, 2013 14:31
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I didn't play Legacy enough but I think that was what most people thought was happening to Larius.
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Oct 7, 2013 18:48
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Doublehex posted:You also missed out on a pretty sweet character. If I were you I would restart the playthrough and not hang him. I played a Human noble. gently caress the Howes.
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Oct 7, 2013 19:08
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KoB posted:I played a Human noble. So did I. gently caress THAT Howe. The rest of them had nothing to do with it.
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Oct 7, 2013 19:13
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KoB posted:I played a Human noble. Impossible, he's not an LI  .
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Oct 7, 2013 20:16
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Pick posted:Impossible, he's not an LI There's probably a mod for that.
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Oct 7, 2013 20:21
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:There's probably a mod for that. Surely a body-swap one, but I doubt a robust "romance" one. Actually, someone did briefly do a swap where Hawke looked like Danarius, Merril like Hadriana, Isabela like Orana, and Fenris as Fenris of course. The notion was amusing. Mostly because Wham, bam, Orana from the shadows!
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Oct 7, 2013 20:41
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That's actually a kind of horrifying meta plot. Where you are person tormenting an amnesiac Fenris who doesn't remember your face. You lure him into thinking he's safe with you, perhaps even seduce him or lure him into loving one of your other slaves so he's bound to you emotionally, and then can choose to preserve the illusion by killing the "master" who is hunting him or selling him away...to yourself. Mod Hawke is truly the greatest villain.
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Oct 7, 2013 21:08
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Lotish posted:That's actually a kind of horrifying meta plot. Where you are person tormenting an amnesiac Fenris who doesn't remember your face. You lure him into thinking he's safe with you, perhaps even seduce him or lure him into loving one of your other slaves so he's bound to you emotionally, and then can choose to preserve the illusion by killing the "master" who is hunting him or selling him away...to yourself. Oh my god that's incredible. 
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Oct 8, 2013 00:05
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:Unless you're a female grey warden, then you just have to hope you die fighting the darkspawn. Sorry, what? Is this that hepsith poo poo?
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Oct 8, 2013 00:22
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Yes. Broodmothers, the things that birth new Darkspawn, are transformed women.
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Oct 8, 2013 00:24
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"First day, they come and catch everyone. Second day, they beat us and eat some for meat. Third day, the men are all gnawed on again. Fourth day, we wait and fear for our fate. Fifth day, they return and it's another girl's turn. Sixth day, her screams we hear in our dreams. Seventh day, she grew as in her mouth they spew. Eighth day, we hate it as she is violated. Ninth day, she grins and devours her kin. Now she does feast, as she's become the beast. Now you lay and wait, for their screams will haunt you in your dreams." Gahhhh gently caress, that little bit of darkspawn backstory doesn't come up enough in Dragon Age discussions and I'm kind of glad about it.
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Oct 8, 2013 01:31
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You know, it only just occurred to me that Genlocks are born from dwarves but are capable of using magic. You'd think they wouldn't be since dwarves can't.
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Oct 8, 2013 01:48
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Assuming that isn't just a stupid oversight, it would suggest that the taint's inherently magical qualities can connect a dwarf to the Fade, allowing them to use magic. Which would beg the question about why a dwarven Grey Warden could not develop magical powers. Or perhaps that's how we get dwarves like Sandal.
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Oct 8, 2013 02:13
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Lotish posted:Assuming that isn't just a stupid oversight, it would suggest that the taint's inherently magical qualities can connect a dwarf to the Fade, allowing them to use magic. Which would beg the question about why a dwarven Grey Warden could not develop magical powers. Or perhaps that's how we get dwarves like Sandal.
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Oct 8, 2013 02:27
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^^ Sort of. The joining is technically a blood magic ritual. He's trying to find a way to make that ritual do more than give people nightmares and let them know when darkspawn get too close.Lotish posted:Assuming that isn't just a stupid oversight, it would suggest that the taint's inherently magical qualities can connect a dwarf to the Fade, allowing them to use magic. Which would beg the question about why a dwarven Grey Warden could not develop magical powers. Or perhaps that's how we get dwarves like Sandal. Well, we know the taint does connect to the fade, that's why Grey Wardens have nightmares all the time. Because they're hooking into the darkspawn... well, hivemind doesn't fit but it's the closest word I can think of. Collective consciousness? Actually, that raises another good point: Why don't dwarven Wardens freak out over those nightmares more? Since, I'm pretty sure normally dwarves don't dream at all. They don't have a strong enough connection to the fade. Stroth fucked around with this message at 02:32 on Oct 8, 2013 |
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Oct 8, 2013 02:30
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Oghren has some pretty hosed up dreams after his Joining in Awakening. The actual darkspawn visions don't bother him at all.
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Oct 8, 2013 09:33
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Ravenfood posted:Isn't that what crazy dude was researching in the DAO Keep DLC? How the Grey Warden tainted blood can serve as a magical conduit, even if the person in question isn't a mage? Avernus spent around a century exploring 'forbidden' avenues of magical research into the Warden ritual and probably solved a ton of problems along the way. This raises a better point, Tevinter Wardens probably have a massive advantage over the rest of the Wardens since they can use blood magic freely and conduct all the research they want.
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Oct 8, 2013 09:42
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pentyne posted:
All wardens can use Blood Magic freely, though Tevinter ones would probably have easier access to Blood Magic Lore.
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Oct 8, 2013 10:16
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Arkeus posted:All wardens can use Blood Magic freely, though Tevinter ones would probably have easier access to Blood Magic Lore. Well, it's less 'freely' and more 'The templars have to arrange for an "accident" instead of openly murdering you.' See: Ser Rylock in Awakening.
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Oct 8, 2013 10:54
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Zzulu posted:Dark Souls is god drat terrible when it comes to story, characters and plot. As far as I am concerned it was enjoyable because it offered a challenge and you got to explore a bunch of creepy locales What the gently caress universe are you living in, ive never encountered a game that conveys the sort of subtlety it does through gameplay mechanics and environmental storytelling far and above anything that bioware has ever managed to poo poo out.
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Oct 8, 2013 11:32
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Mahuum Aqoha posted:"First day, they come and catch everyone. This was the coolest/ceepiest part of DA:O for me. Not the broodmother part but the fact that a creepy woman is slowly telling this tale to you in the middle of the deep roads as you're slowly progressing through the halls and realizing what the hell it is she's saying  It made the Darkspawn seem a little bit creepier and less goofy Zzulu fucked around with this message at 11:41 on Oct 8, 2013 |
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Oct 8, 2013 11:37
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That part freaked the crap out of me. Part of it was how is sounds just so loving depressed. It's not all witch-cackle-y, it's just a miserable drag.
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Oct 8, 2013 18:13
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Here's another article I think's worth sharing. A new factoid mentioned here is the new engine allows for some destructibility. http://www.edge-online.com/features/dragon-age-inquisition-biowares-rpg-returns-to-its-origins/ quote:...We can’t stop to aid Crestwood because we’re in a hurry: Inquisition’s maps are sprawling and expansive, thanks to DICE’s Frostbite engine, and the “medium-sized” area we’re currently viewing takes at least 15 minutes to cross on foot. Along the way we see another advantage of using Frostbite: destructibility. We spy some of the longboats the Templars have been using to cut short their journey to the keep and, with the aid of a few firebombs, torch the lot.
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Oct 8, 2013 22:58
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Since this thread seems to be a catch-all discussion, how much do the different backgrounds change DA:O playthroughs? I'm trying to decide between a second run or picking up DA2. So what would I get, a different starting story and then end up becoming a GW and doing all the same poo poo with the same people? And because DA2 isn't on Steam, where's a good place to get it if I do? Coldstone Cream-my-pants fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Oct 9, 2013 |
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Oct 9, 2013 01:28
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After the origin story itself ends there's generally one "major" callback for each origin later on in the game. Other than that and the odd, "Hey, you're an elf!" that's about it. The Human Noble origin gets referenced in Awakening, and if you import a Human Mage save into DA2, they'll reference your Warden being a distant relative of the Hawkes. EDIT: Oh, and human nobles have a bit more flexibility in a certain major plotpoint near the end of the game, which is kinda neat for them. I'd... recommend just doing another run with a different origin rather than playing DA2. It's... I mean, personal taste is personal taste, but depending on what you like about DAO, DA2 could be a huge disappointment for you. The Crotch fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Oct 9, 2013 |
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Oct 9, 2013 01:32
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