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Dipped into bg3 and decided to run my durge again becauae i missed Melkior DID THEY GIVE DURGE A COMBAT LINE THAT SAYS 'FATHER ARE YOU WATCHING'

MORE IMPORTANTLY IS IT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO TRIGGER IN THE INCITING EVENT BECAUSE. UH.

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I need to run Neve's personal quest again with different outcomes but I sort of feel like I don't totally understand what the Stakes of that are like what is materially different about her journey. It feels like there's this binary being set up of is Neve going to become colder and more calculated in pursuit of a safer city or is she going to keep trying to be this inspiring figure even if it means she's a little less effective. But like what does she Do differently to reflect that. What's the threat that Rava is so worried about if Neve loses herself because it doesn't really feel like there's consequence.

Granted. Neve had a Terrible Bad No Good Time in my playthrough (Treviso saved, Threads allied, abducted by Elgarnan, Possibly died??? trying to control the blight? that part was inexplicably unclear to me) so its genuinely just possible i drove her into a weird corner

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MASSIVE VEILGUARD SPOILERS ENDGAME SPOILERS

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really do want to like the Varric twist I think giving Rook an unconfronted regret in that moment is worthwhile and interesting and a good way to distinguish them from Solas (acceptance vs reliving). I also think its such an intensely personal betrayal by Solas in a way that can fuel a lot of interesting character decisions. I just really think the whole thing is stronger if the ENTIRE TEAM is under the impression he's alive. The Lighthouse is Solas' backyard, weaving that kind of illusion is absolutely within his powers. It removes the problem of everyone acting like a goddamn alien about it and also makes for some much more juicy interpersonal drama when you get back, as the entire team has to have it sink in all at once that they've been caught in a lie this whole time. I also think it could lead to some interesting ongoing threads with Neve and Harding. Harding would be doubling down on her protectiveness of Varric in the wake of a failure to protect him from Solas, not to mention likely confiding in him as (at least one of) the only other dwarf on base about her experiences with the Titans. In contrast, Neve is suspicious immediately, but playing her cards close to her chest. If Solas IS casting an illusion then who's to say if anything around the Lighthouse is real? Rook can notice her insisting on staging most important conversations away from the Lighthouse and locking off from Varric, resulting in possible interpersonal tension if Rook interprets her as resenting him for dragging her in here, or an alternative means of figuring this out through careful conversational management. I think there was a lot left on the table for this one idk!!!

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@bunnymustdieagain that's where cullen has been

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still on this. I realize this is 70% "the author's barely disguised fetish" at work here but also

aravis, gaping hole for validation, just learned they got possibly their entire origin trio killed and their hometown hates them and they lost a lover who they never really had a chance to break up with in a really traumatic way, experiencing self doubt for the first time ever in the worst way ever: i dont know how to feel

lucanis (autistic, feels insanely guilty for holding them at arms length for so long particularly when they almost died on his watch and harding for sure DID die on his watch, thinks hes being romantic): i do. i know exactly how to feel

LIKE ITS NEVER BEEN MORE OVER

how is it two separate rpgs have handed me the chance to create deeply unethical mob wife scenarios in the wake of the finale

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how is it two separate rpgs have handed me the chance to create deeply unethical mob wife scenarios in the wake of the finale

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Does anyone else think Elek is kindve....

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Act 2 Veilguard Morrigan spoilers

on the one hand feeling extremely validated that Morrigan's speech patterns felt more Flemeth in this game. On the other hand really not sure how to feel about all this. Letting them cook but also my wife. My wife I'm not sure you kept as much of yourself as you think.

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The only props I will give it is that with Isabela in charge of the Lords - a big part of her deal was kind of majorly fucking up her life and everyone else’s by stealing an important artifact from another culture. And she has a dalish gf trying to teach her elvhen with little flashcards now. So making a kind of half assed attempt at making the Lords not steal “cultural stuff” without sacrificing her love of looting and plundering does track for me

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Rook: Hey your cousin is acting a little odd like how'd he even know we were here

Lucanis: I know right haha such a kidder this is no place for him

Rook: No I mean like. I'm pretty sure Zara just called him Amatus? And the blood magic button

Lucanis: That was his heart. He saved me. With the power of love

Rook: This seems likely to you. Likelier than a Crow making a grab for first talon

Lucanis: Its a beautiful heart.

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I will not let you all revise history the Inquisition dialogue options were not good. They never were. That isn't true. The only good one is "oh we had fun on Street"

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Anyways look at my beast. Aravis Mercar, they/them. Some slightly custom backstory notes

-Third generation Liberati elf and the first in their family to be born with magical abilities. Their family kept them out of the Circle (since even free elves aren't safe from Magisters if they start drawing too much attention) before being noticed by the Mercar patriarch when they were around 12.

-Offered a personal apprenticeship and an education only accessible to noble children provided they accepted ward status and served the family for a set period of years.

-Impulsive, cocksure, talented but impatient. Begins their journey quite self-assured about their destiny to be some kind of protagonist. Their abilities combined with often being the only elf in a room have given them something to prove, but they also tend to feel alienated from other elves in the city due to their status as Liberati. Deeply opposed to slavery from an ideological standpoint but has been raised by their birth family and their adoptive one to regard themselves as Tevene before an elf. They're having to play a lot of catch-up on elven tradition now.

-Transitioned around the age of 16 after which they began running with the Shadow Dragons. Depending on potential Mercar family reveals this may get retconned but I think they're relatively liberal by Tevene standards (in that they think more minorities should be able to join the military, that the Venatori are a threat that cannot be afforded with the threat of war with the Qunari still looming, and that national security should be the first priority rather than a return to Ancient Ways). The Dragons are a little extreme for their tastes but a "necessary evil". they agreed Aravis' time of service would be better spent cooperating with them than continuing to study for the next few years

-Fresh-faced 24 year old by the time veilguard rolls around.

-Had had a couple of very bad no good hookups with Varric prior to the start of the game. Varric in my timeline is double divorced (yet never married) from both Hawke and Anders. So when he meets a blonde fast talking rogueish mage eager for approval, well-

-90% Rook's idea. He feels very bad about it and is still trying to let them down easy by the time inciting incident rolls around. They aren't getting it at all they think they are killing it with this hot DILF they found

-I'm playing them very Purple the same as my main Hawke but where I always felt Maryann was being glib as something of a power play/to show off I genuinely don't think Aravis is quite smart/socially aware enough to understand the witticisms read as frequently callous and inappropriate

-Generally good-hearted and willing to take responsibility for the hard choices but generally feels entitled to the benefit of the doubt. In their head everyone should just assume they only have the best of intentions (even if mistakes do happen). They shouldn't ever have to prove themselves or correct their method of expression people should just assume they're a good person based on vibes

-Lucanis mancer provided i can land this plane and Taash doesn't keep pulling on me. I've cultivated a real Dynamic here between Resting Dreamworks Face and Resting Defeated Face

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Ok so past. The most non-spoiler way to say it is The Big Grey Warden Fight. Here are thoughts so far (spoilers ahead)

-First two hours had me NERVOUS they apparently saved all their cringest lines for those two hours ("People are always dying. It what they do" they could never make me not burst out laughing at you). After that though I genuinely think they found their footing. Still the occasional cringe or eyeroll moment but now at extremely manageable Bioware levels. I can feel the Gen Xer/Millenial in the room with me but they are no longer beating me over the head with Joss Whedon

-God this game is fucking gorgeous to look at every environment I could be in for hours. They keep bringing us to these highly anticipated locations and it keeps being better than I imagined.

-Roleplaying definitely feels more limited. In the spirit of Dragon Age 2 Two I've elected to play as the wisecracking scoundrel hero I feel the game is angling for after my attempt to oc kept crashing and burning. This isnt inherently a bad thing but time will tell if this will be like Hawke (where I am pretty locked into playing specific archetypes but there's enough wiggle room in there to play different kinds for freak) or Inquisition (where there's really only One kind of guy the game will let me realize via dialogue and if I want to do anything different I'll need to hc the shit out of them)

-Companions have proven vastly charming ajd are finally starting to develop the kinds of conflict I associate with Bioware companions. I very much get people who say they feel a little too nicesies for the series, I've felt that in different bursts on my own. That said they are all individually compelling enough for me to still be engaged. Possible my time with FFXIV has also just increased my appetite for groups of people who are Friendships. Neve Lucanis and Davrin have so far all been massive hits with me

-Was a little worried the choices were gonna feel too edgeless but I actually think the linear storytelling lends itself well here. My Shadow Dragon Rook chose to help Treviso believing their organization could handle the other archdemon without them and oh boy were they wrong!!! And the consequences of that have felt deeply palpable on an interpersonal level and a worldstate level

-Glamour system a lot of fun. Wish they let you try things on in the shop before purchasing

-Trans stuff has been both a lot of fun to play with and shockingly well-executed with some genuine variance in play. As a personal preference I tend to kind of repel when fantasy worlds have identical concepts of transition/identical terminology but its been really good to have as a dialogue option. Taash being possibly nonbinary/transmasculine has also been a kind of delightful surprise and I'm really excited to see where they go with it. never in a million years did I really expect them to do this with an R.O.

-BLIGHT IS SO FUCKING BACK DRAGON AGE HORROR IS SO FUCKING BACK ORIGINS/AWAKENING IVE MISSED YOU SO BAD

-DWARF LORE DWARF LORE DWARF LORE

- Weishaupt genuinely inspired a level of hype in me I haven't had for dragon age since my first time playing the battle of denerim. Extremely cinematic in a genuinely compelling way and the use of all the companions (not just whatever two I clocked on here) made it feel so much BIGGER and more engaging.

-In general I think its finally perfected making my inner circle feel like an inner circle rather than just a collection of guys i found in the woods. Its not just banter big team meetings, finding them talking to each other around the Lighthouse, cutscene interactions all make them feel like a proper growing unit. Almost like thats the theme or something-

-I don't mind the simple puzzles (because I am stupid) the environments are fun enough to navigate that it stays fun to complete them for me but I do wish maybe the companions would wait a little longer before prompting you. Hearing "we just need to destroy two more crystals", destroying one, then hearing "ok, one more, just up ahead!" in the span of ten seconds is. Something.

-While I do think that HR writing people are moaning about is a bit exaggerated (likely due to both the anti-woke weirdos and also the lack of companions just going for the throat on each other's lived experiences right away) I do think occasionally its a little too precious about anticipating the discourse. The poor Lords of Fortune get hit by this pretty hard the amount of emphasis drawn on btw we dont steal any cultural artifacts and we employ sensitivity Tomb Raiders is a little clumsily executed in a way that pulls you out of genuinely a cool idea (pirates turned guardians of a way of life that imperialism is trying to snuff out)

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Really love this fun new dynamic we've cultivated online where a character will express a Singular Emotion and half of you will log on to go I hope the bitches who think he can top choke to death no one is more obsessed with dom characters that people who want you to know they find it degrading

oh BROTHER!!!!!!!!

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oh BROTHER!!!!!!!!