It Is Calming To See Something Familiar In Another

We call it kirkwall fashion

i think bioware should let the hero of ferelden return but every time they're in a shot they're cut off at the neck like the lady from powerpuff girls

and every time they try to add something to a conversation a dragon flies by roaring so you can't hear what they're saying

Ferelden and the Sea

Ferelden had never been a seafaring culture... (The Stolen Throne, p. 209)

Arl Rendorn's objections in private had been strenuous. He did not trust the sea, like any good Fereldan... (The Stolen Throne, p. 216)

The Fereldan distaste for the sea comes up multiple times in The Stolen Throne and I don't think any later canon has really contradicted this. Unlike other coastal nations like Antiva and Rivain, Ferelden lacks any substantial naval forces or seafaring culture.

This is really odd for a nation bounded by the sea over more than half its borders, a nation with a whole handful of major ports. And based on that line about Arl Rendorn, it doesn't seem to be merely a worldbuilding oversight but an active cultural distrust for the sea.

Why would that be the case?

It's always worth remembering that in Dragon Age, humans are not native to Thedas and therefore did not evolve on this continent the way humans and human cultures have evolved in the real world. To the best of our present knowledge, humans have only lived in Thedas for about 4000 years, give or take. They came from somewhere else, and they presumably brought cultures with them. The first humans in Thedas were known as the Neromenians, arriving from the north and gradually spreading across the continent. The human tribes that would become known as the Alamarri are believed to have settled in Ferelden sometime around -2415 Ancient. Legend has it that they came south fleeing their previous home, where they had been troubled by some sort of spirit they called a "shadow goddess."

The Alamarri maintained tribal social structures longer than most humans in Thedas, only uniting to form the nation of Ferelden about 400 years before the present day.

I wonder what beliefs and cultural norms the Alamarri might have carried from the time of the Neromenians that might have caused them to distrust the sea.

We don't know much about where humans came from before they arrived in Thedas, but it seems logical that they came from across the sea. In more recent years, we've seen the presence of a mysterious people calling themselves "the Executors," or "those across the sea." Are they connected to the origins of humanity in any way? Who knows? At this point, we don't have enough information about them to say. The most we know is that they have taken an interest in the recent events in Thedas, and that Solas claims they are dangerous.

But what if the early humans of Thedas remembered some great danger across the sea--something, say, that caused them to flee their original home? And what if the Alamarri held onto those cultural memories longer than most, with their distrust for the sea embedding itself in Fereldan culture to this day, for reasons no one remembers anymore?

Anyway here's the Guerrin timeline as best I can piece it together, if it's useful to anyone!

Updated 7/14/23 with corrections & additions.

~8:84 Blessed - Eamon is born. (The Calling - He's 15 at the time of the Battle of West Hill, which occurred in 8:99 Blessed.)

8:99 Blessed - The Battle of West Hill. Arl Rendorn Guerrin, Eamon's father, is killed in action. Maric Theirin is presumed dead but reappears in Gwaren, which is then taken by the rebels. The Battle of River Dane deals a decisive defeat to the Orlesian forces, though the conflict is not completely over. It will take several more years to completely drive out the occupying lords. However, Emperor Florian officially withdraws support for King Meghren.

9:02 Dragon - Eamon, 18, returns to Redcliffe to claim his place as arl, but find it still under Orlesian control, and works with the rebel forces to reclaim it. Isolde, the daughter of one of the Orlesian governors, is sympathetic to the rebels and becomes infatuated with Eamon, who does not return her feelings; nevertheless, she feeds information to the rebels, and chooses to stay in Ferelden after her family is driven out. Isolde is four years younger than Eamon, making her 14 at the time. (WoT v.2 p. 102, 106)

9:02 Dragon - Maric kills the usurper King Meghren in a dual, officially ending the occupation and winning Ferelden's freedom. (There is a noted discrepancy in the dates between the epilogue of The Stolen Throne, and World of Thedas vol. 1, the latter of which puts the duel at 9:00 Dragon. Given other events, the later date seems more plausible.)

~9:08 Dragon - Six years after their initial meeting, Eamon (24) meets Isolde (20) again in Denerim. They quickly become involved and are married. (WoT v.2 p. 103)

9:10 - Alistair is born to Fiona and King Maric. His parents give him up to be raised at Redcliffe Castle, inventing a story about his mother being a human serving girl. (The Calling.)

~9:20 Dragon - Isolde becomes pregnant with Connor after difficulty conceiving. This causes rumors about Alistair (10) being Eamon's bastard to resurface, and Eamon sends him away to a monastery to spare his wife's feelings. Connor is born soon after.

~9:29 Dragon - Short of taking his vows as a templar, Alistair (19) is conscripted into the Grey Wardens. (WoT v.2 p.79)

~9:30 Dragon - Connor Guerrin (10) shows signs of magic. Isolde hires an apostate, Jowan, to tutor Connor in secret. Eamon (46) is poisoned by Jowan and falls ill. (Origins.)

~9:31 Dragon - Following the Blight, Eamon decides to stay in Denerim, serving as an advisor to the throne, eventually declaring his brother Teagan the new Arl of Redcliffe. (Origins, WoT v.2 p.104)

?:?? Dragon - (If Connor is dead) Rowan Guerrin is born to Isolde and Eamon. After a difficult birthing, Isolde dies. (Potential Origins Epilogue slide.)

?:?? Dragon - Rowan Guerrin shows signs of magic and is sent to the Circle, though her father continues to visit her. (Potential Origins Epilogue slide.)

𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑠; 𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑛 🌻 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑚 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠ℎ 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑢𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝐸𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑄𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑖 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠. 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒. 8𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠 / 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒

I miss my Awakenings crew. How are they? Are they eating well? Has the Calling started for any of them? Is Oghren's kiddo all grown-up? Is Nathaniel still broody and gumpy? Is Sigrun still taking care of the potted plant you can gift her? Is Velanna writing in her journal? Are any of them missing Anders or even Justice? What about Varel? Is he still around? Are any of them travelling with my Warden to cure the Calling? I want to know, Bioware.

These days I kind of can't stop thinking about how much I enjoyed the possibility of being from Orzammar in Origins, specifically because just being who you are put so much of the early game in a wholly different context.

Like, a dwarf from Orzammar has, by definition, lived literally under a rock their whole lives!! They've never left the underground, and yes, while that also makes their ignorance of surface squabbles (the mage issue, the Ferelden/Orlais conflict, everything with the city elves and the Dalish, etc.) make a lot of sense, it also comes with so many interesting new angles that I'm honestly so surprised still that I've never really seen it mentioned very often, if at all. (Even though we even get an explicit moment to reflect on it, when leaving with Oghren.)

In Origins, the moment a dwarf first steps out through the gates of Orzammar and begins the game, is a profoundly life-altering experience. Dare I say, even more so than it is for an elf or a human. Because stepping out, for the first time, they are entering an entirely new world, and for the first time, in front of them is a vast expanse of nothing but air.

The end of the prologue, it's not just a fundamental personal change that awaits you, it's also a displacement so complete, that it's absolutely dizzying to even think about.

That first time a dwarf feels the sun on their skin, they are made sun-touched, a surfacer: stripped not only from caste and kin, of identity, but also faith and memory, any favor their ancestors may have still held for them, and any possibility of ever returning, as far as they know. (Aeducan may even have a bitter little chuckle over the irony of how they could very well have just one day before shrugged off the concerns of their surface brethren completely, only to be made one of them now.)

Their whole lives, they had always been able to see the opposite wall of the cave, or at least to know for sure that it's there, along with the miles and miles of unchanging, crystal-littered rock stretching protectively over their heads-- now all of that is gone. There's nothing between them, and the infinite and ever-changing blue, grey, orange, black of the open sky they've never seen, and in the distance, there's no wall-- just glorious, humongous mounds and spires of rock jutting up into the belly of the sky, the likes of which they've only ever seen from the inside.

Orzammar, despite no sunlight ever penetrating that far, is always lit bright, and it's heated by the lava streams and pools below. A dwarf has never known anything colder or warmer, brighter or darker, never seen seasons change... the biting winds and the frequent rains in Ferelden are completely new to them, not to mention the terrifying cracks of thunder that sound like the very Stone over them cracking in two, the bright flashes of lightning illuminating the night for but a moment, or waking in the middle of the night to what sounds like countless fingers pat-pat-patting the tarp of their tent, or the fact that animals -which are varied and plentiful and wholly alien- sometimes just randomly fall into the sky, like the rumors say! They might know academically that with birds, that just sort of tends to happen, but they've never seen one take off!!

Hell, all of surface flora and fauna are completely new to them-- it's likely they've only ever seen a tree or a dog in a picture book. Flowers, they've likely only ever seen as an expensive and frivolous luxury few can afford to have for a while, and even then, they are by necessity brought in removed from their roots, dead, wilting, taken from their natural place... while here, blooms just spring up underfoot willy-nilly, not entirely unlike mushrooms at the home which is not theirs anymore.

And... there must be something organic, something comfortingly animal to the scent of hundreds of warm bodies crammed into a sealed hole in the ground-- which is just gone now. The air is fresh, clean... empty, cold, lonely. No smell of spilled ale, piss, and vomit, no thick scent of the combined breaths and bodies of all their people... no scent of belonging, the air that moves their lungs now is no longer that which has moved those of all they've ever known, and every breath washes more, and more, and more of who they once were from inside their very body.

Being on the surface, it's like being thrust into an alien world, with which all just expects you to be intimately familiar. What do you mean the grass, the bugs, the birds, the leaves are strange? What do you mean you've never eaten leaves from this plant, fruit from this tree, the flesh of this creature you've only ever heard about? They laugh when you avert your eyes from the sky and try not to think about falling into it, or when you startle at the feeling of falling water suddenly hitting your skin, as if that was somehow funny, charming.

The night, which you've never before seen fall, is a comfort from all that endless, boundless seeing- but after the Joining, not even that is a relief.

Because if you're a dwarven Warden, all the dreams you've had in your life have been nightmares.

So you cope. You learn, and adapt, and endure.

Strong and immutable, like the Stone from which you were rent.

Dragon Age NPC Ages in DA: The Veilguard

This assumes that the 9 years between Dragon Age Inquisition and Dragon Age: The Veilguard refer to the Trespasser DLC (as in the last time Varric would have seen Solas), versus the start of Dragon Age Inquisition. This places DAV in 9:53. Characters who showed up in a previous game will not be repeated in the lists for later games they also appeared in (i.e., Leliana is under DAO, not DAI).

Read more for length & spoiler reasons. The ages listed are assuming they have not had their birthday in 9:53 yet.

Dragon Age: Origins - 9:30 - 23 years prior

Alistair Theirin - 42

Morrigan - 48

Leliana - 49

Zevran Arainai - 47

Oghren Kondrat - 65

Wynne - RIP (would've been 70)

Shale - Eternal

Sten (now Arishok) - 66

Loghain Mac Tir - 74

Anora Mac Tir - 49

Dragon Age: Awakening - 9:31 - 22 years prior

Nathaniel Howe - 52

Anders - 53

Sigrun - 47

Velanna - 47

Dragon Age 2 - 9:30-9:37 - 23-16 years prior

Hawke - 47

Carver/Bethany Hawke - 42

Fenris - ~53

Isabela - 53

Merrill - ~46

Sebastian Vael - 45

Aveline Vallen - ~58

Varric Tethras - 52

Dragon Age Inquisition - 9:41-9:44 - 12-9 years prior

Josephine Montilyet - 40

Cullen Rutherford - 41

Cassandra Pentaghast - 49

Solas - ~2000 (appears mid-40s)

Sera - 31

Vivienne de Fer - 56

Blackwall/Thom Rainier - 57

the Iron Bull - 49

Dorian Pavus - 41

Cole - Ageless (appears 20, or he may have aged into his 30s if he were made more human in DAI)

Kieran - 21

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.

Currency in Thedas, Part 2

So World of Thedas 2 comes out and more Currency Lore! Yay! Also I added on a lot to my old post and so I’m going to write/sort that out too.

Disclaimer: All of this is completely canonical knowledge. Nothing headcanoned, there are sources for it and I’ve gathered from every source that I could. This includes: The World of Thedas Vol.1&2, Dragon AGE (the tabletop RPG), Dragon Age Origins & Dragon Age 2 Game Guides, and a forum discussion with Mary Kirby & David Gaider (Information regarding Qunari economy). Nothing is headcanon and nothing is taken from an unreliable sources (i.e. Wikipedia).

Most of Thedas uses the same currency system, run by the Dwarven Merchants Guild. The Dwarves were the first to set and use the present currency standard; the Dwarven Merchants Guild refusing to accept any other currency, if it did not meet their specifications, and forcing many nations to convert to the new standard immediately.

Every nation and race within Thedas uses the same metals/basis for their currency, the standard fare being Gold, Silver, and Copper. Most of these come in the form of coins and their names and appearances vary country to country. Larger, more expensive transactions may be used in the form of bars (solid bricks) or strands (stacked groups), these seen used more between guild contracts or governments/nations than in daily commerce.  For example: Hawke would pay gold pieces to buy new armor, while Varric would buy a new estate or make an investment in bars and strands.

1 Gold piece is equal to 100 Silvers which is equal to 10,000 coppers.

Or

1 Gold = 100 Silvers 1 Silver = 100 Coppers

However, prices do inflate depending on location. 5 Gold pieces/Sovereigns in Ferelden will buy you a meal (probably for 2 if you know where to look) and an okay cowl will run you maybe 10 gold pieces/Sovereigns, where as in Orlais a single ring will run you around almost 60 gold pieces at the least and a decent meal is probably around 50 gold pieces per a person.

The Imperial Highway

While the Imperial Highway (the trade route throughout Thedas) does not have it’s own currency, it does have it’s own practice related to currency. Usually merchants and travelers will carry Traveler’s Bends, Gold coins that are beaten curved so they can be hidden beneath the tongue. The practice is done to protect small amounts of coin (for emergency or bribes) from bandits patrolling the roads; however it is very easy to swallow or choke on the coin rolling around in one’s mouth. It is also a common case for Hunter Fell currency (containing lead) to cause a condition called “Miser’s Madness”, which is lead poisoning.

Ferelden

In Ferelden, Gold pieces are referred to as Sovereigns, Silvers are Silvers, and Coppers are called Bits or simply Coppers.

Orlais

In Orlais, “Gold” pieces are referred to as Royals; however due to different and more expensive lifestyles of Orlais, Royals are equal to 20 Sovereigns/General Gold pieces. Silver pieces are referred to as Crowns and Copper pieces are Bits (like Fereldans) or Pennies. 

There are also the traditional Caprice coins of Orlais. They are made of very little gold and more often use low grade materials, as Caprices are made to be disposable. Most Caprices are decorated with a single family’s heraldry or a specific event. They are not used in normal economic exchanges, but rather in a party game at high-class, Orlesian, social gatherings. Nobles hand Caprices back and forth during parties, rewarding cleverness and grace. The Caprices are then thrown into a fountain at the end of the party or a fireplace in a more rural setting, for well wishing. Reusing a Caprice is thought to be both bad luck and a great embarrassment.

Serault

Serault has the same base currency as the rest of Orlais, but they do have a special coin. This coin is known as the Andraste’s Tear, a nonmetal coin that has the same equivalence as 5 Royals (or 100 Gold Pieces). Andraste’s Tears were made in a very small, limited quantity; created by pressing Serault glass together, trapping “the still of the air as they watched Our Lady breathe her last” (later discovered by a coin collector to be a waft of alcohol) between the slates of glass, and then a signet is pressed into the glass like wax.

Nevarra

Nevarra uses a coin referred to the King’s Gulder, it is implied this is their Gold coin as it is seen equivalent to the Fereldan Sovereign and Orlesian Royal. Another name for the King’s Gulders are Dragons. The term is both due to Nevarra’s culture association with dragons, and the naming of their Dwarven Guild/Enclave.

Anderfels

The Anderfels has a coin named the Double Griffon, it is implied to be their Gold piece as it is compared to the Fereldan Sovereign, Orlesian Royal, and Nevarran King’s Gulder.

Antiva

Antivan Andris are Antiva’s “Gold” pieces worth the same as an Orlesian Royal (20 typical Gold pieces), they are actually struck with the faces of leaders operating major groups within the Antivan limits rather than faces of their Royalty. For example one Andris appeared to be struck with a (familiar) Pirate Queen’s visage, one who operates within the Antivan seas.

Also 5,000 Andris are considered to be one Bastard, which is an offer used as an insult in business negotiations.

Tevinter

Tevinter uses a coin similar to Orlesian Caprices for their own gatherings, Imperial Tesseraes are tokens and/or tiles that are used as invitations and passes into certain events. The events can range from political meetings (like Magister congregations) to celebrations (name day parties) to competitive gathering or betting at said gathering (sport contests like Jousting) to private performance (of a famous bard/minstrel or celebrated play troupe). Coins are usually specially made for each event, depicting the event, a favorite athlete, an animal, or the subject/guest of the event. Tokens for a private performance are considered the rarest Tesserae to acquire and are highly sought by collectors. However Tesseraes lose value the minute the event or gathering has ended, since there is little interest in tokens of a rival’s family, success, and/or vanity.

Par Vollen, Seheron, Parts of Rivain (Qunari)

Qunari follow a completely different economic system that the rest of Thedas, as they do not have currency or a trade system. Rather Qunari run on a communist system. They do not own property; they do not trade, buy, or sell things amongst one another. Any example given by Mary Kirby:

“Merchants” in qunari cities have the job of making sure goods are distributed appropriately.

Because Qunari do not buy goods, the goods instead provided to everyone fairly and evenly. The “merchants” deliver the essentials to live, to everyone equally and the goods they need to perform their role/jobs (bakers get their flour for the day, farmers their seeds for the season, etc.)

Qunari do follow Thedosian currency out of curiosity, trading and borrowing with the rest of Thedas to interact with and explore the activities, behavior, and goods/products that come from the other nations. However, they do not actively participate nor adopt Thedosian economic standards among their own communities. It is unknown whether the currency they use to participate in Thedosian economy has special names like the rest of Thedas and are rather just Golds, Silvers, and Coppers.