Types Of Possessions In Dragon Age World

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?

Demands of the Qun, or How the Inquisitor's Choice Answers the Iron Bull's Most Important Question

I was having a chat about the Iron Bull and his personal quest with some friends and one person said in response to something I said that I should make it a Post, so here it is! And a usual disclaimer: this is not about which in-game decision is "correct"--it's an RPG, there's no wrong way to play the game. I just want to talk about the meaning of this decision for Bull's character and for his future.

Dragon Age: Inquisition’s “Demands of the Qun” is, for me, one of those quests where the RPG format of “player character makes major decision for companion character” really works. I do not see this as an example of game mechanics taking away agency from an NPC. I think Bull has agency in this situation.

The Chargers are not Inquisition soldiers. They are mercenaries, and Bull is their commander. If the Inquisitor makes a call he doesn't like, he is free to say "Screw you" and take his people and leave, because they are not soldiers, they're independent contractors, so leaving isn't desertion, it's just quitting. If he were already certain he wanted to leave the Qun, he could simply call the retreat himself, take the Chargers and leave. Similarly if he were certain of his loyalties and willing to sacrifice the Chargers for that purpose, he could do that, regardless of what the Inquisitor says.

He lets the Inquisitor make this choice.

The Iron Bull has had one foot out the door of the Qun for a long time now. But he's gone back and gone back, submitted himself for re-education and done his best to keep serving the Qun, because he believes he needs the Qun. To him, becoming Tal-Vashoth means losing himself, his identity, his purpose, his very sanity, and as the Fade tells us in "Here Lies the Abyss," this is quite literally his greatest fear. Bull could never bring himself to leave the Qun with nowhere to go instead, nothing to give his life purpose and meaning—and no one to entrust himself to should he doubt his own sanity.

But in his work in the south, the Iron Bull has found community and identity and purpose outside the Qun. The very name he has given himself speaks to that, as does his close relationship to the Chargers.

Right from the beginning, there is tension in "Demands of the Qun." Bull remarks that he's gotten used to the Qunari being "over there" during his life in the south. I think Bull has a very potent anxiety when he meets Gatt again on the Storm Coast, and introduces him to the Inquisitor and their party. To me, it very much has the vibes of introducing two friend groups, where you're not only pretty sure they won't get along, but you're also very aware that they know very different sides of you—and neither of them are going to like seeing the other side. Bull's discomfort is visible both when Gatt speaks freely about Bull's work in the Ben-Hassrath, and when the Inquisitor's other companions make disparaging remarks about the Qun. His two worlds have collided, calling into conflict two sides of his sense of self that he has thus far managed to avoid confronting.

And this is likely part of the point. The Qun does not truly respect alliances with any outside the Qun. I wouldn't say for sure that the Qunari set up this whole situation just to test Bull—it's possible they knew exactly how many Venatori would show up, but they couldn't have known precisely how the Inquisition would respond. That, and their desire to root out the Venatori is no doubt sincere. But I do think they are watching Bull's actions very closely throughout this proposed alliance, gauging his loyalty. Gatt tells him outright that many already believe he has betrayed the Qun.

Bull's internal conflict quickly becomes an external one when the Venatori reinforcements show up, and Bull is faced with the decision of whether to withdraw the Chargers or defend the dreadnought at the cost of their lives.

The thing is, Bull is not neutral on this. He tells the Inquisitor what he wants. He wants to save the Chargers. If the Inquisitor says that the Chargers still have time to retreat, Bull agrees. When Gatt tells him they need to hold position, he says in a low, intense tone, "They're my men."

And then, when Gatt tells him in no uncertain terms that calling the retreat will make him Tal-Vashoth, the Iron Bull looks to the Inquisitor.

Again, he is not neutral. He knows what he wants. He is standing there basically begging the Inquisitor with his eyes to save his boys.

So why doesn't he just make the call himself?

Because just as this whole situation is in part a test of Bull's loyalty, this is also a test of the Inquisitor.

What Bull needs to leave the Qun is not simply for someone else to make the choice for him, but to believe that there is a future for him outside the Qun. That he will still be himself, that he will have purpose, and meaning, and that someone else is worth trusting. Bull cannot bring himself to leave the Qun if it means he will be left utterly alone with nothing but his own mind and his deepest fears. And if that's what leaving the Qun means… then in his mind, it would be better to stay.

The Inquisitor's choice will answer that question.

To sacrifice the Chargers leaves Bull with nothing outside of the Qun. He has just watched his closest friends die, and he cannot trust the Inquisitor. With Krem and Rocky and Skinner and Stitches and Dalish and Grim, the new sense of self that the Iron Bull has found in the south also dies.

Of course he turns back to the Qun. He has nothing else left.

But if it's the Inquisitor who makes the call to save the Chargers… Bull can leave. He has friends who care about him. He has purpose. He has someone whose command he can trust. He has hope. None of this makes the choice easy for him. It is quite clearly very painful and difficult, and I don't think there's any way it could be otherwise. But he has a way forward nonetheless. The choice makes leaving possible.

The Inquisitor doesn't force the Iron Bull to become Tal-Vashoth. Instead, Bull implicitly asks a question, and the Inquisitor by their choice gives him an answer.

A list of potential cures for the Calling, that we know about, that BioWare has apparently forgotten

Andraste's grace: it's not specified whether the flower the kennelmaster has you pick in the Korcari Wilds is Andraste's grace or if the game just needed a one-off asset and decided to reuse one they already had. However, in the dark future in DAI, Leliana is found to have unusual tolerance for the taint, and in DAO she talks about her mother pressing her laundry with dried Andraste's grace flowers, so it makes you wonder. Anyway, the flower stops Barkspawn becoming a ghoul and seems to make them immune to the taint from that point on.

Maric's longsword: he finds it in the Deep Roads and is suprised it isn't covered in the same Blight-rot as everything else - until, that is, he touches the sword to a patch of it and sees it wither away. Whether it's the dragonbone the sword is made of or the runes on the blade is difficult to say, though if it was just the dragonbone then it would make sense for that to be a more well-known property of the material (and would have been an interesting reason for why dragons were hunted to extinction). If Alistair carries it with him, doesit slow the progession of the taint through his body? Does he know its effects, and give it to the HoF to help keep them safer on their journey to find a permanent cure?

That obsidian dagger Duncan finds in The Calling: the dagger belonged to First Enchanter Remille - who also gave the expedition members brooches that accelerated the spread of the taint. iirc the both the dagger and the brooches are made by the Architect with Blight magic, which means the darkspawn magisters have more knowledge of how the Blight works than the Chantry attributes to them.

Whatever the fuck is going on with Avernus: he hasn't managed to cure himself yet, but he's managed to make it to 200 and the Warden can let him continue his experiments if they don't kill him - and he'd be a really useful resource if the Warden later wanted to send him other potential cures for testing.

Dragons: they have an ability to isolate the Blight in their bodies by forming crystaline cysts around the initial infection to stop it spreading. Useful if it can be more widely applied. Also, it's implied that Maric's reaver blood, which Calenhad gained by mixing his blood with a dragon's, is what somehow cured Fiona of the taint, kinda like a reverse STI, BUT in the Deep Roads they went through an area where the walls were coated in a pale, chalky substance suspiciously devoid of Blight-rot and she touched it, so I'm a bit suspicious of that.

Blood magic: makes sense since the taint is a problem that starts with infected blood. There are two major instances in DA canon where blood magic has been used to purge the taint from an object or being (both by elves btw). The first is Isseya using it to draw the taint out of a clutch of unhatched griffon eggs, which she says is only possible because the taint hasn't yet taken over the hatchlings' bodies to the same extent that it had with the adult griffons. The second instance is Merrill purging the Blighted eluvian in DA2. It's insane that Anders - who is a reluctant Warden and who possibly knows the HoF seeks a cure - isn't more excited about this. She literally removed the Blight from a fully tainted object. Since Isseya proved the same can be done with living tissue, it's probably the closest we've come to an actual cure, but since it also took years there's no telling if it could be a practicaly solution for all Wardens

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!

Andrastian Statues

The purpose of this collection of statues is to show the Andrastian style depending on the region, the details in it, and how this may or may not influence other statues we saw in game. I also attempt to recollect some interpretations of them, although most of them are mostly based on speculations.

The current post contains the following set of statues:

Ferelden Style: Pre-Divine Andraste, Chasind Andraste, Ferelden warrior protector Andraste, The Maker, The Dwarf [?], Rider Maferath  [?], Masferath Repentant, Hanged Masferath, Other Statues.

Orlesian Style: Rustic Maferath, Hessarian, Andraste; The Orlesian Warrior Andraste, The Stylised Orlesian Andraste, The Orlesian Andraste, The Orlesian Maferath, The Orlesian Havard, and the Orlesian Hessarian; The Weight of War

Free Marches Style: The Free Marches Hessarian, The Free Marches Andrastian Warriors [?]

Unknown Style: The Skull with sword, The Guide, Guardians of the Path / The Watcher.

[This post belongs to the series “Analysis and speculation of Statues”]

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my best friend varric dragon age

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.

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

Known Types of Magic

Magic is so vast that mages often put special emphasis or interest in a particular brand of magic. Sometimes this is because they have a natural affinity for it, or sometimes it’s just a matter of what their education is like.

Magic has its limits, but not many. Even still, those limits are pushed and broken—for example, World of Thedas vol. 1 stated that true teleportation is impossible, but in the Tevinter Nights story The Wigmaker Job, an elven mage does just that, transporting a room from one location to another. What we know of magic lore is constantly evolving, and when we talk about the fields of magic, or specialties if you prefer, there are only so many concrete facts and constraints.

In other words, it’s much easier to imagine whatever the hell you want. When looking at the principles of magic schools, I argue that the imagination should not be limited to in-game battle mechanics. For that reason, this post is not about just listing off all the specific abilities each school of magic can do, but rather, the concepts behind each school. The general principles. The ideas!

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The thing that gets me about Varric in The Missing and the new gameplay, is that this has happened to him before.

He already had a friend who tore down his world - even if on a much smaller scale. He had a friend who was a mage, who had suffered and experienced injustice, and who used that as fuel to do something awful that might achieve his aims but would kill a lot of people, would tear about Varric's chosen family and...and he couldn't stop him. He didn't really try.

Varric in Inquisition is bitter - horribily bitter - about Anders. About what happened in Kirkwall. From da2 in his ambient dialogue we see that he knew something was wrong. He even says he thinks Anders will get himself killed if he keeps doing what he's doing. He's rightfully suspicious of him in the third act. But ultimately, he does nothing. Even when Anders is waiting there, possibly about to die, he refuses to commit to an opinion, to a side. And then in Inquisition he blames Anders bitterly. He's angry at him. But he also blames himself, it's all tangled up in the deep roads, in bartrand and red lyrium and the fact that he was the one who brought all these individuals together.

So skip forward to now. To Veilguard. To Solas trying to tear down the veil. And I honestly think Varric is seeing them both. He looks at Solas and he sees his friend Chuckles, and he sees his friend Blondie and he already failed one of them when they were in this situation. He stood by even and let Anders die! He didn't try and stop him, he saw the signs and did nothing. And this time he will not let that happen. This time he will not lose his friend. He will not stand by and watch him die, and he will not stand by and watch him destory the world.

The whole Solas thing is just a larger expansion of what happened in Kirkwall to Varric, except this time it's happening everywhere and the stakes are much higher. Which makes it even more tragic that all he wants to do is talk him down, give him another option, get his friend back. I just...fhjudbhajfdhfhareli