Love How In Dragon Age You Sometimes Click On A Random Rock And It Tells About Some Fucked Up Group Of

three fools does not make a wise man i fear

DA Cinematic Designer Derek: "I can confidently say myself that when I messed around with the character creator, it was absolutely one of the best I’ve EVER played with. And that was in its earlier stages." [source]

Chronological Timeline of Dragon Age Media - From "Stolen Throne" to Veilguard

A timeline I put together for my own personal reference, which I figured I'd share. It does not include every single piece of Dragon Age media (for example, it doesn't have all the short stories Bioware has put out or some of the older comics) but it's got all the big ones.

These dates are either taken from the timeline found in the first volume of "The World of Thedas," surmised from evidence within the stories themselves, or in a few cases provided by the writers and creators.

Events listed under the same year are not necessarily listed in chronological order, as it's often not clear in which month specific events took place.

9:00 Dragon

The events of "Stolen Throne" (novel)

9:10 Dragon

The events of "The Calling" (novel)

9:22 Dragon

The events of "Dawn of the Seeker" (animated film)

9:30 Dragon

The events of DA:O begin

The events of DA2 - Prologue

9:31 Dragon

The events of DA:O conclude

The events of DA:O - Awakening (DLC)

The events of DA:O - The Golems of Amgarrak (DLC)

The events of DA2 - Act 1

9:32 Dragon

The events of DA:O - Witch Hunt (DLC)

9:34 Dragon

The events of DA2 - Act 2

9:37 Dragon

The events of DA2 - Act 3

~9:31-37 Dragon (exact dates unknown)

The events of DA2 - Legacy (DLC)

The events of DA2 - Mark of the Assassin (DLC)

The events of "Redemption" (web series)

9:38 Dragon

The events of "Silent Grove" (comic)

The events of "Those Who Speak" (comic)

The events of "Until We Sleep" (comic)

9:40 Dragon

The events of "Asunder" (novel)

The events of "The Masked Empire" (novel)

9:41 Dragon

The events of DA:I begin

The events of "Last Flight" (novel) begin

9:42 Dragon

The events of DA:I conclude

The events of "Last Flight" (novel) conclude

~9:41-44 Dragon (exact dates unknown)

The events of DA:I - The Descent (DLC)

The events of DA:I - The Jaws of Hakkon (DLC)

9:44 Dragon

The events of DA:I - Trespasser (DLC)

The events of "Knight Errant" (comic)

The events of "Deception" (comic)

~9:44-45 Dragon (exact date unknown)

The events of "Blue Wraith" (comic)

9:45 Dragon

The events of "Dark Fortress" (comic)

~9:44-51 Dragon (exact dates unknown)

The events of "Tevinter Nights" (short story anthology)

The events of "Absolution" (animated series)

The events of "The Missing" (comic)

The events of "Vows & Vengeance" (podcast)

~9:52-54 Dragon*

The events of DA:V begin

*From what I could find, there is conflicting information from different devs as to the exact year that Veilguard begins. If anyone has newer information or an official answer, please let me know.

DRAGON AGE II + mentioning the hero of ferelden

they said it couldn't be done etc etc [x]

On solidarity, and it's lack, and my raw horror and delight at seeing these missives pop up in my file across the game. This SUPER got away from me, so this is now part 1.

I disbanded the Inquisition in this run, and did not save Minrathous, and have not yet seen if that makes a difference to the content of these letters!

I am aware these letters are a controversial part of Veilguard for a lot of people, and it's fine for everyone to feel how they feel about it! I'm not telling anyone that they are wrong, I'm just offering my perspective on why I really love what they did here, and think it's an excellent way to unite disparate threads while also punctuating the theming of this game, respect the struggles of our previous protagonists, and also realistically represent what we could expect of the disparate nations of the South in the conditions we see in Veilguard.

Some personal context that I don't actually need to share, and you don't need to read, but does inform my perspective on this:

I keep a keen eye on international politics in the real world, have a lot of experience in doing so, and I was one of many disabled advocates who saw the danger of covid coming long before it was declared an official pandemic and started doing what I could with a platform I had at the time to keep as many people around me both tangibly and in an online network sense as safe as possible. I know for a fact that my efforts saved lives. But there were limits to what I could do as an individual, and especially one confined to my bed.

When it came to mobilizing individuals, to getting information into the hands of trusted people in influential positions - eg. librarians - and providing them with the resources to then educate and mobilize their workplaces and social circles, I did great. But the issues I and others faced were systemic, and our effectiveness was limited by this.

With that context said and either read or skipped past, let's talk about the state of Southern Thedas across Veilguard.

So, this first letter from the Inquisitor contains a lot of information, densely packed.

Discussion of Morrigan here alone could be another post, but suffice it to say that this tells us that in the last ten years she has succeeded Flemeth as a guardian advisor of the South, inheriting in spirit (heh) if not in name (yet) the mantle of Ashar'bellanar.

The key part here is that she was very firm with the Inquisitor, more so than Scout Harding is being and Varric had been, that Rook is someone to watch and rely on at this time in history. With her personal context of being a hero of the Fifth Blight, that makes Rook contextually a peer to the hero of Ferelden in her eyes. Which might seem unlikely - but we need to remember that Morrigan was there from the very beginning, when the HoF had no idea what they were doing, and in most worldstates she witnessed them unite the disparate groups of Thedas, including those among the margins, into a powerful (if mostly transitory) alliance to combat and ultimately defeat the Blight.

Her endorsement is invoking all of that history.

Next up: it is established that when Solas began his ritual, the consequences were felt everywhere. We can operate on the assumption that at least some fade tears were ripped open, and that demons escaped and wreaked a wave of initial havoc.

This is backed up by a detail in a later letter, about demons having occupied Skyhold, and by the consequences we see in Minrathous, despite the ritual taking place in Arlathan.

On their escape, the gods immediately began to make their moves, and one of the first is Elgar'nan's overtures to the Venatori, which become consolidated into firm control very quickly due to his appeal as a mythic figurehead for them in their own goals, and the power he promises.

That they quickly become extensions of his will, their original cause nothing more than deluded lip-service, is part of the design, as I have gone into elsewhere previously but will likely do so again in more detail after a few more playthroughs.

When we hear that a splinter group of nobles have made common cause with the Venatori, we can intuit that they will be openly Imperialistic, likely a blend of old guard who still carry resentment around Ferelden's independence and up and coming warhawks. They will be those who resent the declining influence of Orlais on the international stage; who resent the gains that have been made over the years in improving the rights of the elves; and that they will be incredibly stubborn individuals who will insist that Orlais needs no allies and can stand on its own.

They will be those who cry for a return to the glorious past, and who are easily swayed by the promises of personal power to do so, because these are all the traits Elgar'nan selects for when gathering pawns - and they are traits that we have seen on display in many Orlesian's across both the games and the extended media. That's not a unique to Orlais situation, it's a cultural marker of a sunsetting Empire.

No matter who is the sitting Emperor of Orlais from the options we have been able to influence in the past titles, these people would still exist. They would be those who are laughed at and dismissed as toothless relics and hotblooded upstarts in Celene's court, and the hawks that consider Gaspard to be weak and lacking in ambition, while likely forming a core part of his supporter group.

They receive backing from the Venatori - and we know that the Venatori are embedded deeply in the upper strata of Tevinter society, that they have long ceased being a fringe group as they were initially presented in Inquisition - and the writing was on the wall even then that they had already made great strides in entrenching themselves in the halls of power.

So, to have Venatori backing is to have Tevinter backing, at a time when they are for the first time across the games free from needing to devote their military resources to combating the Qunari - and, however deeply reluctantly, are actively working with the Antaam, so we can operate with the belief they are providing logistical support that canonically the Antaam have lacked since they performed their military coup and launched their invasions. This read is backed up across this and the rest of the letters, with discussion of the dreadnaughts and the role they are playing.

We can subsequently operate with the assumption that the Orlesian splinter faction is being provided money, logistical support, political influence (key, given the Game) and potentially tangible military backing.

They waste no time, and specifically target the Royal Guard and the border keeps of Ferelden.

What does this tell us?

It backs up who these people are, and what they want, and we can subsequently intuit the kind of populist right wing messaging they will be using. They launch attacks against the core forces of the current Emperor or Empress, signalling a rejection of the current status quo in doing so. The move against the border keeps is a promise to return to the golden era of expansionism, and one that also serves to harry and divide Ferelden's forces.

In the next sentence, we learn that an initial force of Antaam corsairs are harassing shipping out of Ostwick, and that location is very significant.

It, in conjunction with the coordinated attacks in Orlais, is the first move in cutting off core allied supply lines from the North to the South. We know from prior titles that the ocean proper is not navigable without disaster, and control of the Waking Sea is going to be very important in subsequent letters and how the tide (heh) shifts back and forth.

Immediately, the goal has been to attempt to cut off and isolate Ferelden from international support, replicating the conditions of the Fifth Blight. This, more than anything else at this point in the game, made me very scared of Elgar'nan. We know from the memories that he was a brilliant strategic mind, and that the Evanuris started out as generals.

Man wakes up, glances across the board, probably gets a tl;dr primer from his new associates and as someone familiar with the lines of hard and soft power quickly moves to shut down the biggest threat in the South: those fucking weirdos from Ferelden who keep kicking over the board. It's an excellent call.

Ghilan'nain is not idle either, with her control of both the Blight and the work she is doing with the Antaam. Massing the Darkspawn at Ostagar again is both an excellent strategic move - for the same reasons it was in Origins - and a highly effective terror tactic.

We can intuit that it's a terrible time to exist in Ferelden right now. You've just been reminded of the events of Inquisition and the last time the sky was split open, a wound which everyone has gotten used to seeing above them but healed, and now Orlais is harrying the border and the darkspawn are massing once again at the site of the major historical event that led to mass death and upheaval in the LAST Blight.

Every lever possible to invoke and then beat on generational trauma and create mass panic has been pulled at once. It will divide their forces, it will divide their political system - it's what Loghain was scared of in Origins, but this time it's actually happening for real.

But hey at least we have the Free Marches and Orzammar and the Grey Wardens! [I'm being handed a note, which I will open later.]

The rest of this letter is reassurance from the Inquisitor: all of this fucking sucks, but it's terrible things that the South has experienced before, and as it has in the past, so will it survive it again.

This single letter told me so much, immediately.

All of these situations that they put forth are ones that cannot be fixed by swapping people in and out of chairs in the high halls of power.

The vulnerabilities that Elgar'nan preys on are systemic, cultural issues, reflecting ancient wounds and vulnerabilities. The victories that we can potentially make across the games can breathe within this narrative space, but do not in themselves have enough power to override these core weak points.

Orlais is an Empire. Ferelden is geographically isolated and culturally scarred by the horrors of a brutal occupation by said Empire, by the events of the Fifth Blight, and the blows it received during the events of Inquisition. We know that getting the bannorn to agree on a course of action at the best of times is like pulling teeth, and they may as well have dropped a thousand live bee grenades into an active debate.

It's a brilliant opening move, and it isn't one that invalidates what has come before, but one that preys on the active weak points that we have seen remain active across all of the games. We cannot expect solidarity from Orlais in Ferelden. Orlais cannot expect solidarity from Orlais, because their political culture is one of backbiting, plotting, and endless sabotage: this is a feature, not a bug, to them. It is one that ordinary Orlesians have paid for time and again, and one that will continue to have incredibly predictable and dire consequences.

I was thrilled by this letter, because it lit my brain on fire. I began to consider next moves, what I would expect from each faction involved based on historical context and precedent. As I will get into in later parts, this speculation was rewarded for me, and it's one of my favourite things about Veilguard.

You don't have to like it personally, but I am excited to talk about why I do, and how I feel it reflects the best of Dragon Age's political writing.

Life in Rivain - What We Know Going Into Dragon Age: The Veilguard

For the first time in the game franchise, it has been confirmed that players will get the opportunity to explore Rivain. As such, we will finally be learning a lot more about Rivain upon its release. This piece is about the information we have thus far.

Location & Population

The Kingdom of Rivain, founded in -44 Ancient, is located on the northeastern peninsula of Thedas. Surrounded nearly entirely by water, its only land connection is Antiva.

Those native to Rivain are called Rivaini. Just like any nation in Thedas, there are different racial/ethnic backgrounds who live there – however, the majority of Rivain’s population is Black.

There is also a notable qunari population in Rivain, dating back to when they arrived in Thedas in 6:32 Steel. Kont-aar still exists as a large Qunari settlement in the northern part of the nation – it is regarded as peaceful.

The capital of Rivain is Dairsmuid, which sits on the Rialto Bay. Dairsmuid is the only place in Rivain that has any real Chantry control.

Relations

Because Rivain has a lot of flavour profiles found only in the northern part of Thedas, other nations highly value their food exports. As Rivain is friendly with the Qunari, they are willing to trade in Seheron, too.

Rivain has a “less-than-cordial” relationship with Tevinter. It also has an unserious rivalry with Antiva.

Culture

The Rivaini are traditionally a matriarchal society, believing that women are best suited to rule. Major decisions within a community rest on the head of elder women, who is often a Seer (see: Magic).

Rivain has a currency-based economy. However, there is, generally speaking, a greater value placed in making sure everyone has what they need over monetary gain. For example, if one community has a bad year the neighbouring communities will send supplies and labour to ensure its people do not suffer.

“The Rivaini people trace their roots to pantheist ancestors, and many in Rivain still believe that their god and the universe are one in the same.” —Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 1

Rivain is has the most diverse range of spiritual beliefs in Thedas, because the Chantry failed to become the monopoly like they did everywhere else. The three most common spiritualties are Andrastianism, the Qun, and unnamed traditional Pantheism beliefs.

Daily life for an average citizen of Rivain differs greatly across the nation, because it is such a patchwork of cultures that co-exist in relative peace. Life in Kont-aar for example, is structured by the Qun, where life in a remote village in the southern tip would likely be highly influenced by the Raiders who call Llomerryn home.

Magic

Traditional Rivaini beliefs hold their Seers in high regard. Seers are female mages who specialize in peacefully communicating with spirits and even intentionally invite them into their bodies. They act as wise women and leaders of their communities, for whom people go to for guidance.

Twice a year, the Seers of Rivain gather in Dairsmuid to meet in council, forge trade agreements, and publicly pledge loyalty to Rivain's queen. This is called the Allsmet, and it is a fully celebrated festival with lavish feasts, gift exchanges, ceremonial gatherings, and music.

There was a single Rivaini Circle of Magi, located in Dairsmuid, but it existed largely as a façade to appease the Chantry. Unfortunately, when the Chantry sent Seekers to inspect the Circle in 9:40, they discovered the mages breaking Chantry law. The mages were allowed to freely be with their families, and were training female mages as Seers. The Seekers they invoked the Right of Annulment; they murdered all the mages of the Circle, and destroyed their library of books and artifacts.

Lords of Fortune

The Lords of Fortune are a guild of treasure hunters and dungeoneers, based out of Rivain. They can be identified by the decorations they were all over their body; trinkets they’ve collected over their years of treasure hunting. Sometimes they are hired by others to help out on a job, while other times they seek their own adventure. Anyone of any race can become a Lord of Fortune.

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References

Codex entry: Seers and the Allsmet (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Codex entry: The Annulment at Dairsmuid (Dragon age: Inquisition)

Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 1

Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 2

Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights

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I’m replaying the Jaws of Hakkon dlc and it really has me mulling over the sheer loneliness of our Inquisitor’s situation.

The Hero of Ferelden gained their title and status after they had already bonded with their companions and stopped the blight. Hawke is known for their dysfunctional polycule/found family. Rook is in the same boat.

But the Inquisitor became a symbol before they even had a chance to really get to know anyone. Every other protagonist leads a group of companions, meanwhile the Inquisitor leads a political and military force. Sure, they still become close with some of their companions and advisors, but everyone constantly reminds them of their status as a holy symbol and how intimidating and unapproachable it makes them.

You can literally tell Varric, Mr. Friends-With-Everyone, “I don’t need a disciple, I need a friend” and he’ll reply “If you knew how intimidating you are, you wouldn’t make it sound so simple”. Imagine how isolating it must be to keep hearing that.

One of the craziest things about Dragon Age (and this might help those of you who don’t go here kind of understand what people are yelling about in the coming months) is its lore. But I don’t mean that in the way you’re probably thinking.

I mean, quite literally, the way it presents its lore to you. In picking up notes and books as you go along and sifting through the codex, the game effectively asks you to act as an anthropologist. You’re met with a host of primary and secondary sources, some many hundreds of years apart from one another, written by anyone from the highest Chantry scholar to John Farmer, and you’re meant to constantly be questioning every piece of information you’re given. What biases are present in what I’m reading? What is fact and what is complete fabrication and what is, potentially, a slightly twisted version of a fact? How does one source potentially contradict another? The lore is one giant mystery-puzzle that you get to piece together across three games, and what conclusions you draw are going to be entirely different from someone else’s, and so on.

And yet, the series still does something even cooler than any of that. You realize, at a certain point, that this idea you have been engaging with on a meta-level — this idea that history is biased and fallible, that it’s written by colonizers and conquerers, genocidal racists and religious zealots, that the ability to control historical narrative is the prize you win for spilling the most blood — that idea is one of, if not perhaps THE most important, overarching theme of the series. The way that we remember history — what we remember and what we don’t, and why — and the impact that has on people on a sociological, political, cultural and psychological level, on both a macro and micro scale. It’s the entire thesis of the series’ main villain’s whole motivation.

And there’s gonna be a lot of people that don’t care about all that but me personally it makes me want to gnaw on a cinder block and scratch at my walls

can i say, as i'm playing the veilgaurd, i really enjoy how every game varric's in he has a completely different relationship with each protagonist (not really spoilery under the cut but read at ur own risk)

in da2, him and hawke are BESTIES. they match each other's wit. they flirt (female hawke). they get each other into boatloads of trouble and always get each other out of it. varric never left hawkes side no matter what hawke said or did. they were equals.

in dai with him and the inquisitor, it always seemed like he held the inquisitor just a little bit at arm's length. yes, he was their friend and a part of their inner circle, but he always made it a point to mention that the inquisitor is "larger than life" and is more of a figure of legend than a person. he always gave advice the best he could, but obviously what would he know about being a "herald of andraste". they were not equals, at least if you asked varric.

in datv, he is clearly rook's mentor. any chance you get, he is always hyping up rook's abilities and leadership. making jokes if their feeling on edge. making sure they never doubt themselves. literally, any time you visit him where he's healing, he always has some real SWEET thing to say to you "are you sleeping?" "make sure you rest" "you got this kid". with varric, rook can be vulnerable. "if i hadn't made that choice, neve/harding wouldn't've gotten hurt" and varric makes sure you understand that that wasn't your fault and had to make a choice. they were not equals, at least if you asked rook. but varric would disagree.

(obviously i'm not done playing VG so idk if how i'm interpreting this is accurate BUT ALAS)

i appreciate how varric is seen differently in each game he's in, it makes him always really interesting to watch throughout each game!