46 replies to this topic

[berelinde]

Rumor has it that giving Dog lamb bones, etc., will increase the likelihood that he will bring you nice goodies, but I can't confirm it, as I always give Dog treats, anyway. Who else is going to want an ox bone? Morrigan? Don't know about bones, but I know she didn't like the rabbit.

[Yovaneth]

Alistair - so far. He reminds me greatly of my best friend with his 'I was going to tell you but - ' interjections and his 'oh - all right' endings. We (my best friend and I) been playing that verbal game for so long (twenty-eight years this year!) that I can't remember who started it and to hear Alistair come out with something so similar made me warm to him immediately.

-Y-

Edited by Yovaneth, 15 January 2010 - 09:23 AM.

[Archmage Silver]

Same here. You know, I think they'll take Dog to the expansion(s). Roleplaying-wise, there's just no reason to be rid of him.

And they can't kill him, can they? Or my heart will be broken. When I read Ursula Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea", and an Otak died, I thought I'd never read her books again.

He certainly would be a logical choice for a companion in a sequel. The only concern is how long do Mabari hounds live and how old is Dog now? But I imagine they wouldn't set the DA expansion/sequel featuring the original companions too far into the future.

I also have a fading memory of that particular point in A Wizard of Earthsea, although I read the book years ago.

[Cal Jones]

I'd rather hope your romance option (other than Morrigan for obvious reasons) would be back - maybe it's not just one fixed character? Other than that, dog makes a lot of sense.

I'm maybe about halfway through the game now, or a bit more (finished Redcliffe, Circle Tower and Dalish forest stuff) and have been using Zevran a lot. I've heard a lot of people say they just don't use him but I've found he really holds his own in combat and is also very amusing (particularly his conversations with Wynne).
I haven't used Morrigan much - I know she's the power gamer's choice but I'm playing a good guy here so, much like Qara in NWN2, I've found I prefer not to travel with her unless it's for a really tough, specific fight (like the dragon at the old temple). Sten I've not used much either - he's grumpy and won't talk to my Warden.

[Tempest]

I'm guessing the sequel will take place at least 5-10 years after DA, and probably not have any of the DA party members return - they are all optional and all can be driven off in DA, so trying to account for all of that plus the enormous range of different endings would be a nightmare unless the sequel is set a long time afterwards and/or in a different country. Would also avoid telling the fangirls that the King Alistair/Queen Grey Warden thing would be a massive disaster for both Ferelden and the Grey Wardens.

Wynne is probably my favorite character, and Oghren, Leliana, and Sten aren't far behind. I know the fangirls will incinerate me for voicing this opinion, but I loathe Alistair. He's funny, yes, but also stupid, gullible, and angsty.

[Kulyok]

I'd guess the sequel would be turning around a Warden's child, so we'd not necessarily see the Origins companions. Wynne would be dead, Dog would be dead, and so on.

It's interesting, though: on the one hand, it would make sense to set the second game(not Awakening!) 30 years after the Origins, so that Alistair and PC are most certainly dead.
(I think that a mage PC could use Avernus's research and live a hundred years, but the developers will probably ignore it).

But then, if Warden's child is the protagonist, we'll have a 30 year old protagonist, which certainly clashes with the tastes of the (majority of the) target audience.

And they can't ignore the fate of the Warden's child entirely either, can they? After all, the most popular ending of the Origins revolves around it. Hmm. I suppose they can make the child the antagonist, though.

[Tempest]

You're forgetting one crucial problem: Grey Wardens having children is very rare, and nigh impossible for two Grey Wardens trying to become parents. There's also the problem that it's all but said outright in-game that the child of a Grey Warden is born tainted, so they'd have a lifespan of 30 years, tops. It's why the Alistair/Grey Warden marriage as king and queen would be so disastrous - Ferelden would most likely be left without an heir to the throne, and even if an heir was provided, that heir would be sickly and doomed to die at an early age. This isn't even counting that only about half the potential endings even have the potential for a Grey Warden to have a child - a female Grey Warden/Leliana ending, a male Grey Warden/Zevran ending, an ending with a Grey Warden who had no romance, and any ending in which the Grey Warden died unless a male romanced Morrigan, in which case the ending specifically suggests that Morrigan didn't complete her ritual, but may be pregnant anyhow.

From the way Awakening is looking - Bioware saying it's more focused on enriching the setting and game world than reacting to the events of Origins, I'd be surprised if the events of Origins played anything more than a large background role in the inevitable sequel, rather than directly affecting the storyline.

[Kulyok]

The romance children don't interest me much, I admit. But I think that the sequel will feature Morrigan's child, the one born after the ritual. That's all I am saying. It would be plain disappointing of the developers not to take That Being into account - it's a great mystery and a great story. Yes, not everyone will go with the ritual in Origins. Yet... it's a game which revolves around darkspawn and Old Gods. I feel they will want to explore it.

[Tempest]

And it would be irritating if they forced that child on us - not only does it remove what I feel is the best, most meaningful ending to Origins (the sacrifice of the player Grey Warden), it makes us assume we were fine with unleashing God knows what on the world - and killing Flemeth is entirely optional. Bear in mind that the player discovers that the Archdemons are the Old Gods, and they call to the darkspawn in their prisons even as they are still uncorrupted - a character who goes through with Morrigan's ritual is not just selfish, they're stupid.

[Eleima]

And it would be irritating if they forced that child on us - not only does it remove what I feel is the best, most meaningful ending to Origins (the sacrifice of the player Grey Warden), it makes us assume we were fine with unleashing God knows what on the world - and killing Flemeth is entirely optional. Bear in mind that the player discovers that the Archdemons are the Old Gods, and they call to the darkspawn in their prisons even as they are still uncorrupted - a character who goes through with Morrigan's ritual is not just selfish, they're stupid.

Well, this discussion is veering off topic, but I just couldn't hesitate and had to jump in. (Although maybe we should move this to a DA 2 speculation, perhaps?) I've my own little theory about the sequels and the expansions. My idea is that only the expansions and campaigns will deal with the immediate repercussions of the Blight (who did you put on the throne, do you go through Morrigan's Dark Ritual, etc). I've a feeling that number two and eventually number three (since they *did* say they intended to make it a trilogy), will deal with different Blights. Indeed, if you read a bit of the Codex, the lore says that there were seven Old Gods in the ancient Tevinter Imperium, and as Tempest pointed out, the archdemons *are* the corrupted Old Gods. As it turns out, this one is the fifth Blight (first Blight's archdemon was Dumat, second was Zazikel, third was Toth, and the fourth was Andoral). Now I don't remember this archdemon's name, but that still leaves us with two more archdemons/two more Blights to beat. They could jump a few hundred years in the future, and start from scratch, in a different land. After all, Thedas is a *big* place, and there are plenty of other lands where the Blight could strike (Blight number 4 took place in Antiva, the Free Marches and the Anderfels, for example). That certainly would solve a lot of potential problems, and would open up a world of new possibilities.
And what about Morrigan's child? Well, my "canon" story always has my PC kicking her out of Redcliffe Castle, and coming very close to slaying her for even thinking of unleashing such a thing on Thedas. But of course, we could always have the child become another immortal "Flemmeth": after all, Morrigan knows all of Flemmeth's tricks now, eh?

To get back on topic: I can't believe there aren't any votes for Dog, Sten or Oghren! I never get to see much of Oghren since I do Orzammar so late in the game, but he's fun, in his drunk dwarven way. And Sten, well, he's Sten, I thought he was pretty intriguing once I warmed up to him (and him to my PC's). And Dog, is, well... a dog! He's a cutie pie! But I guess it's kinda hard for them to get a vote when you have Alistair and Morrigan who are such hits with the players.

[Kulyok]

I recall that it's the Old Gods's taint that calls to the darkspawn, not the Old Gods themselves. It's just like Tamlen or that elven woman who became a werewolf: a curse makes their personality change and go mad with the taint. If there was a way to cure them, even with old forgotten and forbidden magic, but hurt no one else in the process *of curing*(i.e. not like Isolde/Connor thing, no one dies), I believe it is a right thing to do. I would try and cure Tamlen of the taint, if I could. And curing and Old God is a right thing to do, as well.

To me Morrigan's deal seems rather noble: it is, in fact, saving a soul. Saving a soul of an Old God. An Old God may decide to become a great healer or a great villain - it would, however, be his choice.

(I do not know if the Old God's soul "kills" the soul of the one-day-old unborn baby - that confuses me. But it seems that it's the developers intent to make us believe there's only one soul involved: a soul of an Old God; and an one-day-old child does not have a soul - in that world, at least).

[Tempest]

I was under the impression, from the Codex and the explanations from other characters, that the Old Gods themselves are not tainted - but they become corrupt the instant the darkspawn find them, as the Old Gods, even uncorrupted, call to the darkspawn, given how intimately the Old Gods and darkspawn are connected.

Also, Morrigan only knows Flemeth's tricks if you killed Flemeth and gave Morrigan her mother's grimoire - and you're under no obligation to give Morrigan the black grimoire that starts her desire for revenge.

The game doesn't judge, but the way I see it, the Old Gods are intimately tied to the Tevinter Imperium, which created the darkspawn. Near as I can tell, Morrigan's ritual is an enormously selfish and evil decision - it will lead to an Old God being reborn, which cannot possibly be a good thing. Presumably, if all the Old Gods are destroyed, the darkspawn will be defeated, or at least forever crippled (I think... depends on what all we learn in Awakening). The price to destroy an Old God is the willing sacrifice of a tainted soul. Grey Wardens are supposed to leave their names and lives behind when they become Grey Wardens - they are not supposed to do things like marry a king or queen. From the beginning, a Grey Warden's life is sacrifice. To attempt to escape that obligation and necessity is cowardice and selfishness - and it's as merciful an end as a Grey Warden could ask for, especially for a woman.

[Archmage Silver]

Poll results so far:

Alistair leads with 6 votes
Morrigan is second with 4 votes
Shale and Wynne are tied for third with 3 votes each

Dog has a vote!


I've opened a topic for all the Dragon Age 2 speculation, feel free to use it:
http://www.shsforums...-2-speculation/

[Slug]

I liked Wynne because she was a Spirit Healer and could heal everyone in battle and remove their injuries.  She was a bit boring to talk to but an excellent addition in combat.

My friend liked the Dog the most.  

Edited by Slug, 22 January 2010 - 01:20 AM.

[persocom01]

Gameplay wise, I almost always take Leliana along because she's really good with traps and locks when built right, and she's pretty much the only good rogue companion for this purpose. (Zevran isn't as mechanically inclined so it seems) She also approves of most of the choices you would make in the game, unlike Morrigan whom you lose approval with when you try and save Redcliffe village and stuff like that. Her banters are pretty interesting too, although in terms of interjections she's probably less interesting than Morrigan who seems to like being sacastic. Leliana's interjections are pretty predictable by comparison.

Banter wise, I think Zevran has the most funny banters. (but I didn't have Shale when I played, so can't judge her) Unfortunately I think he is the most useless too unless you wish to manage him in combat instead of your pc. He is not as durable as warriors and you can't make him a good support archer like Leliana.

Male pc romance wise Leliana is alot sweeter than Morrigan, but some people like Morrigan better. It's really a matter of taste and which belief system you identify with. In game Leliana and Morrigan have an intelligent design verses atheistic origin debate about the game world in one of their banters. It reflects their different belief systems and the way they have relationships is basically a stereotype of a church girl and a material girl. Leliana is very idealistic. She won't for example, have sex with the pc until your relationship has hit 100 with her. Morrigan on the other hand, is a pragmatist and has a 'beneficial exchange' kind of attitude towards sex.

Female pc romance wise I've only tried Alistar. He's very sweet. Leliana remarks that he is "very good at listening to instructions", which is amusing but sometimes I think he's too much of a pushover, especially when he dumps you after becoming king unless certain specific conditions are met. (I could imagine just how heartbroken my female pc was!) That was totally mean of him. I guess he makes up for it at the end by willing to erm... well nevermind, too big a spoiler I think, even though most probably already know. Never tried Zevran, I couldn't bear to play through the game again, fun as it was the first few times.

Edited by persocom01, 11 February 2010 - 10:43 AM.

[Cal Jones]

I liked the Zevran romance the best of the ones I've played (I romanced him with a male character, Leliana with a female and Morrigan with a bad boy blood mage). Trying the Alistair romance in my current playthrough.

Must admit I find the Secret Companion way hotter than Alistair though. Perhaps because I'm a bit older myself.

There are no characters I really dislike but a few I'm ambivalent about, like Oghren (I actually rather like Sten, despite his dour demeanour. His banters with Alistair and Morrigan are pretty funny).

[Kulyok]

Secret Companion is Da Man! Miss a romance with him, too. Thank the Maker there's lots of good fanfiction with him around.

[Cal Jones]

Yes, I do wish you could have a night of passion with him before the final battle (you know, a "we're probably going to die tomorrow so let's console each other" sort of thing). Sigh.

[Kulyok]

(spoilers, kinda)


Well, I think he got consoled: I let my best friend sleep with him, and Morrigan's got fantastic hips, so I don't think it was that bad. Me, I spent the rest of the night looking for Alistair's things: I've been told that after his execution there's a chest in castle Redcliffe with his weapons and armor. Granted, I only left him Tier 2, but still. Alas, it seems he was buried with Runic Token and Templar Shield. Well, as long as it's not Warden Commander Armor, I am content.

By the way, it was fun to hear Anora say in the epilogue that the memorial commemorating the Grey Wardens would be dedicated to Alistair(who deserted the Wardens and was executed in disgrace), and not to Loghain, who helped slay the archdemon. Then again, Alistair did help to gain the allies and to revive Arl Eamon, so I guess it's fair to remember the good and to try and forget the bad.

Besides, Loghain says in the end: I shall see you with the Wardens. So... I guess there'll be time for a quick(or long) shag later?

[berelinde]

(spoilers, kinda)

Besides, Loghain says in the end: I shall see you with the Wardens. So... I guess there'll be time for a quick(or long) shag later?

Please tell me that he doesn't literally say that. I haven't yet recruited him, but I'll never be able to take him seriously if he starts talking like Austin Powers.