#mage circles

[bingsoo-jung]

To help folks out with this whole convo about Harrowings and circles.

So canonically it’s been around 12 years since all circles were abolished in game. This was after Rivain’s circle was annulled and the mages decided to rebel. After they were abolished it took at least 2 years for any new circles to be put up. During which, almost harrowings took place.

Now, in DAI, no matter what, circles are then put back up, HOWEVER mage colleges are then created across all of Thedas. Canonically this is where most mages post-rebellion would’ve finished their education as most mages decided to rebel. Furthermore, while circles are put back up, no matter what those circles are being led by Vivienne, who states time and time again, in game, that most circles were not as bad as that of Kirkwall or Kinloch hold, and that that’s how she wants her circles to be. She believes in mages being able to come and go from circles with ease. Vivienne is actually incredibly reasonable when talking about her vision for the circles. She thinks that mages need to be educated, and that they need to be kept apart from the general population because of how dangerous magic can be, but she also fundamentally believes that they should be allowed to come and go at ease. She doesn’t believe that people should be killed willy-nilly or lack basic human rights.

There is no reason to think that 12 years after DAI that people would be constantly put through incredibly traumatic harrowings when literally every option on the table as stated in DAI, is against that as an option. The idea that all the circles would still be like Kirkwall and Kinloch were 20 years later, despite there having been, once more, a giant ass mage rebellion, is wild. Kirkwall and Kinloch were like that not because of the mages, but because of Templar and Chantry abuses of power. However, all instances of the circles and colleges that can exist, are being led either by people who are mages, and believe that mages are people who shouldn’t be killed for being mages. No one, from Vivienne, to Cassandra, to Leliana, to Fiona, approves of that idea.

There’s also the fact that pre-mage rebellion circle’s are also specifically talked about in game. At length. There’s a whole long ass side mission about the annulment of rivain’s circle. It’s

But long story short, there is no reason for anyone under the age of 32-37, to have experienced a harrowing. Harrowings even pre-mage rebellion, often were conducted when the mage was 20-25, any younger than that was considered early. 20 is about the minimum age they harrow someone, so if your Took was a teenager during DAI? Yeah, they probably weren’t harrowed. If they were in their early 20s? Also probably not harrowed. And while yes, your mage’s life would’ve changed quite a lot their continuing education as a mage would’ve been in a world where they were allowed to choose to not be harrowed. Because most mages post-DA2 would’ve not been harrowed.

This is not some insane abandonment of lore, that’s a normal conclusion that requires a handful of minutes of thinking about everything we were told about the consequences of the mage rebellion in DA2. I’m begging people to just like… calm down for a few seconds and like… think? Please?

[snail-drop]

[Legacy. Passing on something precious to the man you love, the man you’re desperate to trust.] I got emotional equipping Anders with the Malcolm’s Honor staff during the legacy dlc while he’s near-constantly having a breakdown over the level of control he has over his own mind. It’s like trying to ground him. Like saying, “Look, love. You’ve already been carrying the torch my father passed on. His, mine, yours, ours.” (Like giving yourself something to look back on, so you can tell yourself: I really tried.)

[arcane-gold]

i started origins again. this is pim. he was made to die

[tuxedo-rabbit]

I will say playing a DnD game set in Thedas is a great balm to the death of the series. The collaborative storytelling of ttrpgs is the closest thing I've gotten to how it feels to play Dragon Age.

I highly recommend anyone else who is missing the series try to organize a game to play with your other DA fans. Sheryl Chee said the series is ours now, and it really is.

Dragon Age has it's own ttrpg, but if your more familiar with 5e and want something similar, there are people who have worked on conversions. Tantervale 9:21 is a wiki for someone's personal 5e Dragon Age campaign, and they've been kind enough to give everyone access to their class and race conversions for 5e.

The best part is you get to choose what part of the world and what stories you want to focus on! It's a lot of fun.

[abyssal-ilk]

no more romance. romance is canceled. tell me about your warden/hawke/inquisitor's best friend and any info you want to add about their dynamic 🖐

[lavellaned]

A lot of the pro-veilguard arguments I see include a very specific way of viewing what “dark fantasy” is which misses the entire point as to why there are criticisms about the overall tone of the game.

Dark fantasy is not just “how much murder rape bigotry and overall suffering can we put in a story for the sake of doing so”.

It’s about having events and themes based off of the darker parts of reality and then, as the player, being able to do something about it. The general appeal is the catharsis. It’s about seeing these stories reflected through an interactive story in a meaningful, respectful, purposeful way.

Is dragon age the poster child for handling its complicated, real-life-inspired politics well? No. But veilguard was somehow worse. The bar was in hell and it still tripped flat on its face.

Veilguard’s lackadaisical, chronically ironic “well THAT just happened”, neutered writing and theme is not a good argument as to why this is a good dragon age game, and you can’t blame the dark fantasy genre for it.

[eldrtchmn]

Grey Warden

[notebooks-and-laptops]

Don't get me wrong I love (most) Bioware games and universes but also. Why do they constantly want to ask the question 'are some people inherently evil because of the way they were born? Should some people just be locked up forever because of something they can't control?'. And worse they seem absolutely shocked when all of us go 'no? Kinda fucked up to think that way. Let's make the decisions in game that means we can free those people'.

[sha-brytols]

the circle's laws on marriage is so awesome btw. apostates can't legally marry. mages can't marry each other in 90% of circles. but a mage can theoretically marry a non-mage outsider (logically unsustainable given that 90% of mages cannot leave the circle and non-chantry civilians can't enter a circle and all communication between the circle and outside is heavily monitored) so mages do have marriage rights! hurray! ^_^

[anaugust]

"Mom?"

12yo Anders being taken to the Circle for the first time. I just have a lot of thoughts about young Anders.

I have no idea if we have any canon art of Ander's pillow because when I was looking for it I... well, I did find Pillow Anders, just not Ander's pillow.

[oldschoolfrp]

The wizard in his magic circle -- useful when summoning chaotic forces (Les Edwards cover for White Dwarf 35, November 1982)

[largemandrill]

Bethany Hawke got the entire teen girl experience when she was socially radicalized by her older brother’s mentally ill communist friend. She was told a sentence of theory and was so ready to jump on the mage rebellion before her ass got dragged to the circle.

[sunlight-shunlight]

i think one neat Mage Combat Tactic™ in dragon age should be

if there's enemy archers, they can just... set the bowstring on fire. that's it. woe. all they have is a bendy stick now.

[14dayscirclemages]

14 Days of Circle Mages

A Dragon Age Fic Event

Coming: Feb 1st, 2025

Have a character with a Circle mage background you always wanted to write about? Now's your chance!

Why not take 14 days out of 2025 to develop these stories?

FAQ is now live! Check out this post for more information.

Text version of prompts and links under the cut!

Prompts:

Day 1: Upbringing Day 2: Arrival Day 3: Phylactery Day 4: Templar Day 5: Friends Day 6: Enemies Day 7: Lovers Day 8: Joy Day 9: Sorrow Day 10: Blood Magic Day 11: Lyrium Day 12: Wish Day 13: Escape Day 14: Free Space

Tag @14dayscirclemages or upload to the collection at https://archiveofourown.org/collections/202514DaysCircleMages

[abyssal-ilk]

vivienne having "early promise" in the orlesian game at the age of nineteen when she previously spent her entire life in the free marches (born in wycome and raised in the ostwick circle tower) kind of rots my brain. the orlesian game takes years to master, the slightest mistake can end with your social (and often times, literal) death, and yet vivienne thrived in montsimmard and the orlesian court. but i can't get over the fact that she was nineteen and showing so much promise. a free marcher at nineteen who's never stepped foot in orlais before transferring to the montsimmard circle.

and then i think about the fact that vivienne only mentions her time in the montsimmard circle when you ask her what her experience was like in the circles. the only knowledge we have about her time in the ostwick circle is that she was put through the harrowing young and this voice line from cole:

[bunabi]

I still wish Vivienne's quest was about her position as Celene's court enchanter....I already know that Ice Queens having feelings too

It's like if Morrigan's quest had nothing to do with escaping the long shadow and brutal expectations of her mother but a hunt for ingredients for soup, delicious antidote soup for Flemeth, Warden I need you to gather these deadly ingredients but aha — a surprise twist — tis for soup