#inquisitor as a companion: romance edition

[idontunderstandwhydoyouneedmyurl]

Inquisitor as a Companion: Romance edition!

Template here. Under a cut since it's lengthy.

Inquisitor as a Companion: original post here

For Delilah Lavellan - or since she's a companion here, just Delilah.

Sexual/Racial preference: Romancable by any gender and any race, but men/qunari get less approval for each flirt option

Nickname for PC: “Ma vhenas”, meaning “my/our home”. Sometimes just “vhenas”, which is also a play on “vhenan” being an endearment meaning “heart”

Romance only mission: “Ma Vhenan, Ma Vhenas.” (Prerequisite: complete the quests "Here Lies the Abyss" and "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts") The Inquisitor sends a letter to the Keeper of Delilah's clan via a war table mission (for Dalish Inquisitors, mission time for this is reduced 25%; time is reduced a further 25% if the war table mission “Protect Clan Lavellan and Wycome” was completed and Clan Lavellan survived). The Inquisitor explains to the Keeper that they want to do something special for Delilah, and that they would like the Keeper’s input on what to do.

The Inquisitor can choose from three gifts: a book containing all of the lore the clan has collected thus far, painstakingly written down; letters from all of her clanmates, saying how much they miss her and wish her well; or a pendant necklace from the Keeper, carved in the shape of an anatomical heart with vines wrapped around it, enchanted to help calm the mind and soothe an anxious heart. Delilah will greatly approve regardless of gift chosen, but choosing the necklace will gain additional dialogue later on where she mentions that she wears it wherever she goes.)

Dialog to being asked for a kiss: “I suppose have some time to spare. Go to our usual spot, I’ll be there in a moment, vhenas.”

Halamshiral dialog:

“I’m glad to support you, vhenas, but I don’t know why you had to drag me here. I’ve been called a rabbit twice already, and I swear if one more noble mistakes me for a servant...”

Being asked to dance during mission:

(If the Inquisitor is not Dalish) “Really? The Inquisitor, seen dancing with the Dalish savage? What will the nobility say? *laugh* First, we really ought to focus on finding the culprit behind this assassination attempt. Ask me again later, if you think about it.”

(If the Inquisitor is Dalish) “Are you certain they won't look at us and wonder why two ‘servants’ are dancing instead of passing out drinks? *chuckle* I’m kidding. Kind of.  First, we really ought to focus on finding the culprit behind this assassination attempt. Ask me again later, if you think about it.”

Asking to dance post-mission:

Delilah: "I was wondering where you'd disappeared off to. Josephine is keeping the nobility at bay at the moment, but they're sure to miss you soon. How are you feeling?

Inquisitor: (stoic) "I'm fine, just tired."

Delilah: "Same here. Orlesians can be exhausting - I'm impressed that you handled this whole evening as well as you did."

-or-

Inquisitor: (agreeable) "Things turned out well, in the end."

Delilah: "Well, hopefully it means Corypheus won't be able to spread chaos in Orlais like he'd planned. Another loss you've sent his way."

-or-

Inquisitor: (aggressive) "Tonight has been awful. I'm just happy it's over."

Delilah: (slight approval) "I agree completely. The next time you ask me to come to an Orlesian party, don't."

Delilah: "I know the Court may look down on you for it, but I still want to ask. Is your offer to dance still open?

Inquisitor: (if selected yes) "Of course. I care more about you than anything the Court could ever say about me."

Delilah: "I knew I liked you for a reason."

Romance banter (what others say about it):

Sera: "If you had to roll around with someone, should you really have chosen someone so elfy? And there's the whole magic thing too. Phew, you know? Two not so great things in one."

Dorian: "Well look at you, being all cute with our resident Dalish expert. It's adorable."

Solas: (only if specifically brought up) "Oh, I hadn't really given it much attention. Your choices are your own, Inquisitor. Delilah and I have our disagreements but I don't wish her ill - or you, by extension."

What Cole says about companion to PC: “Warm sun, cool rivers, soft grass. Home cannot be replaced, but a safe sanctuary, a new security. You make her feel safe.”

Who is concerned about the relationship?: Sera is a little put off by it, since she and Delilah don’t really get along, but concedes that it’s not her business to tell the Inquisitor who they should get involved with. Solas is totally uninterested in it, but wishes the two well.

Who supports the relationship?: Most everyone else is supportive of it, ranging from general well-wishes from the Iron Bull and Blackwall to Cassandra dragging the Inquisitor aside and giving them several unsolicited suggestions of romantic things to do for Delilah.

Who had a bet running on it?: Varric, naturally. He manages to drag Cassandra into a bet on how soon the Inquisitor will propose, and somehow Dorian got in on it as well.

Banter(between NPCs):

Varric: “So, you and Sunny, eh? You two make an interesting pair.”

Inquisitor: (diplomatic) "I trust you don't have an issue with it?"

Varric: "Not at all. I just want my friends to be happy, you know?

-or-

Inquisitor: (humorous) "Do you have an opinion on who I choose to spend time with?"

Varric: "I have plenty of opinions, which normally lands me in hot water. Here, I'm just trying to keep an eye on things."

-or-

Inquisitor: (direct) "Do you have a problem with it?"

Varric: "No, of course not."

Varric: (regardless of dialog option chosen) "I just know she's been even more smiley lately, and it suits her. If you can keep it that way, you'll have my full support."

Delilah: (if present) "(teasingly) Varric, I've found a charming little nose in my business again. Any idea whose that is?"

Varric: "Ah, it does look familiar."

Varric: (if inquisitor does not choose to reply) "Fine, keep your secrets. So long as she's happy, I'm happy."

Break up:

If PC breaks it off:

Inquisitor: "I've been doing some thinking, and I think it's best if we ended this."

Delilah: (disapproves) "(visibly hurt) What's brought this on?"

Inquisitor: (if 50+ approval) (diplomatic) "I'm sorry. I think it would be better if we were just friends."

Delilah: "I see. I'm sorry you feel that way...but I suppose I'll respect your decision."

-or-

Inquisitor: (charming/humorous) "You're smart, I'm sure you can see we're not a good fit for each other."

Delilah: (slightly disapproves) "Apparently not. If there's nothing else, I need to get back to my books."

-or-

Inquisitor: (blunt) "I don't have feelings for you, I don't want to give you a false impression."

Delilah: "Well. I suppose I should just be grateful you were upfront with me on this."

(regardless of dialog option chosen, when attempting to speak with her after this conversation she will only say "I need some time alone, please" until the Inquisitor leaves Skyhold and comes back, at which point normal dialog options resume.)

If NPC breaks it off(and why):

Delilah will break off a romance if the Inquisitor reaches -50 approval, or reaches 20 points for decisions against elves:

Allows Clan Lavellan to die in the war table mission series (5pts)

Refuses to help the dalish clan in the Exalted Plains (5pts)

Sells the true account of Red Crossing to the Chantry instead of giving to the Dalish (5pts)

In "Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts" chooses any ending except for public truce between Celene, Gaspard, and Briala; or for Gaspard and Briala to rule together (5pts)

In "What Pride had Wrought", kills the ancient elven guardians instead of allying with them (10pts)

The next time the Inquisitor initiates conversation with Delilah after meeting one of the previous requirements for ending the relationship, it triggers a cutscene.

Delilah: "I need to talk to you."

Inquisitor: "What is it?"

Delilah: "I've been doing some thinking. I'm not leaving the Inquisition...I think...but I think we need to end this. Us."

Inquisitor: (investigate) "What's brought this on?"

Delilah: "I understand you're the Inquisitor and you're having to make some hard decisions. The problem is they're decisions that I can't condone. I still think the Inquisition as a whole is doing good work, but I can't be with you anymore. I'm sorry."

Inquisitor: (agreeable) "I've seen this coming. You're right, I think it's for the best too."

Delilah: "I didn't want to make this harder than it already was. Thank you for being understanding."

-or-

Inquisitor: (mad) "We're in the middle of a war against a darkspawn magister, and you're putting this on me now!?"

Delilah: "I know the timing could be better, but I'm not going to sit quiet and miserable just for your piece of mind. I'm sorry, but this is where I stand on the matter. There's nothing else really to say."

-or-

Inquisitor: (sad) "I see...I'm really sorry it didn't work out for us. I never wanted it to be this way."

Delilah: "I know. I'm sorry too, but I hope this will be for the best."

Love confession: (after "Ma Vhenan, Ma Vhenas" is completed)

A cutscene shows Delilah crouched in the garden, talking softly to a plant in a pot. The Inquisitor comes up behind her.

Inquisitor: "What are you doing?"

Delilah: "I've been experimenting with magic to see if I can get this plant to grow bigger so we can harvest more of its leaves for medicine. My Keeper can do it no problem, but it's always been outside of my skill set."

Inquisitor: (Investigate) "You can use magic to grow plants bigger?"

Delilah: "Oh yes, and different shapes too. The Keeper and their First - and Second, if they have one - work alongside the clan craftsman, to grow wood in the specific shape we need. It's more efficient than cutting a large piece of wood, and then carving it down to only use a small part and discard the rest."

Inquisitor: (polite) "I can imagine that would be really useful."

Delilah: (slightly approves) "Oh yes. Imagine, an elfroot producing bushels and bushels from one plant. It could revolutionize medicine, and that's just one application."

Inquisitor: (special, if polite option chosen, and if the Inquisitor spoke to Adan in Haven about not having enough supplies for potions) "I'm sure the healers would be grateful. We're well stocked now, but I remember when the Inquisition was scrambling for simple herbs."

Delilah: "I believe it. If I can do this for every civilian and soldier who's been hurt, then I'll have pulled my weight here."

-or-

Inquisitor: (humerous) "Maybe you can make the grass in the courtyard fluffier. I somehow always step in that puddle of water at the foot of the stairway leading to the main hall."

Delilah: "Or maybe I like the idea of you going to the war room with wet socks. Josephine must grow another gray hair everytime you squelch past her desk."

-or-

Inquisitor: (direct) "It doesn't seem you've had much success with this one."

Delilah: "I did say it's been outside of my skillset. But that's what practice is for, I suppose."

Delilah: "But I need a break regardless. Would you like to join me for dinner?"

(The two of them head to the Herald's Rest tavern. They sit at a secluded table and eat and talk for a while.)

Delilah: "You know, evil darkspawn magister aside, this past year has been surprisingly nice. You've made me feel welcome here, which I never thought would be the case. I didn't expect to find that here...or you."

Inquisitor: (elven special choice) "I know what you mean. You've seen the resistance to having an elven Herald of Andraste."

Delilah: (approves) "(In a high pitched, whiny voice) 'The Maker would send no elf in our time of need.' Mythalenaste, I don't know how you've put up with it."

-or-

Inquisitor: (mage special choice) "I'm glad you feel safe here, as a fellow mage in an Andrastian organization."

Delilah: (slightly approves) "Andrastian or no, at least you and I have been able to bond over our magic. So long as I have that, I don't care about the revered mothers giving me dirty looks."

Inquisitor: (diplomatic) "I love you."

Delilah: "(visibly flustered) Oh! I didn't - I mean, wow. You really do?"

Inquisitor: "Ah, I didn't mean to spring that on you all of a sudden. But yes, I really do."

Delilah: "(shy smile) I love you too, vhenas."

-or-

Inquisitor: (humerous) "I mean, at this point I'm the savior of southern Thedas. Nobody's really in a position to dictate to me whom I spend my time with."

Delilah: "(laugh) I can't say I'm not glad for that, at least. Maybe I'm finally understanding what people mean when they say power is attractive."

Inquisitor: "(teasing) I knew you only wanted me for my political prowess."

-or-

Inquisitor: (direct) "I feel the same way. I care for you very deeply, and I can't imagine all of this without you."

Delilah: "I'm glad to hear it. I'm ready to see all of this through to the end with you."

(Regardless of dialogue option chosen, the inquisitor and Delilah lean in for a kiss, and the cutscene ends with them holding hands and smiling at one another.)

Romanced tarot card: Temperance

End game dialog:

Delilah: "Leaving the party already? Most of the Inquisition and half of Orlais must be here to celebrate your victory."

Inquisitor: (polite) "Parties are all well and good, but it's been a long day."

Delilah: "Nobody will deny you've earned a rest, certainly."

-or-

Inquisitor: (humerous) "I'm absolutely stuffed from those frilly little cakes, I'm leaving before I pop."

Delilah: "Not to compliment Orlais or anything, but I will admit those cakes are tastier than they're given credit for."

-or-

Inquisitor: (direct) "I'm tired, so I'm heading up for the night.

Delilah: "That's completely understandable. You've been so busy for so long, I'm surprised you're still standing."

Delilah: "I hope you're not too tired for company, though?"

(They head up to the Inquisitor's quarters and stand out on the balcony. The inquisitor puts their arm around Delilah's waist, and she smiles back at them.)

Delilah: "Corypheus is dead, there will be a new Divine, and peace is finally beginning to settle into south Thedas. You've managed some incredible feats. Where will you go from here?"

Inquisitor: "I'm not sure. There's still a lot to do...but I know I want you there with me."

Delilah: "Me too. You still have great things ahead, and I'm determined to see them with you."

(They kiss and then look off into the sunset as the scene fades.)

[felassan]

Some things in BioWare's transcript of the August 30th dev Discord Q&A are a lil different to what was actually said in the Q&A. not only editing to tidy up and be concise etc; some of it seems to actually be new/additional (or updated?) information. this post is just a quick summary of the new or different things I noticed when comparing the BioWare transcript to a word-for-word transcript (or at least the ones that stood out to me anyways). DA:TV spoilers under cut.

This post is a mix of new snippets and rephrased answers to things that were rephrased in a way that stuck out to me or interested me. nb, it doesn't highlight changes if the change was something not being included in the BioWare transcript (there was some of that too).

John Epler: "I don't know if any of [the Evanuris] consider [tea] a favorite beverage"

[re: hugging Assan] Assan "always appreciates the attention. He's got a sharp beak and he'd let you know if he didn't."

Variation of the WEWH question answer:

"There's always going to be politics to some degree - there are a number of different groups with different priorities, and not all of them are going to be immediately disposed towards trusting you. But while the Inquisitor had an organization and an army (and even Hawke and the Hero of Ferelden spent more time moving in political circles), Rook's situation is a little more desperate and immediate. Their approach is therefore a little more direct, and so while they may occasionally find themselves in the political sphere, they're not trying to assemble an army or build consensus amongst nation states."

[on companions' ages] The part of this where they described the companions' age range has been changed from where it said "early-mid twenties" to just say "mid twenties". Also, Taash was said to be "early twenties"; she is now simply "the youngest".

New sentence on the ages: "We don't usually nail down a specific age, unless it's something that comes up in their content, but we want to have an idea as to their general age range as we're writing them."

If no side characters stand out as a good candidate for a 'light' romance, this is never something they want to force

Griffons as half-bird half-lion - it now reads half-eagle half-lion

"Thedas has always been filled with extraordinary people, and in DATV you're trying to save the world. It stands to reason that the people you're bringing on board are going to be people with extraordinary circumstances of their own."

On the Veil not being in great shape and having been deteriorating in recent times/the intervening period between games, a more specific figure is given: "things in general have been slowly getting worse over the past decade and a half"

Lucanis and Bellara find out they have a lot in common and develop a "really fun" friendship, even though "it's hard to think of two companions who feel more different on the surface"

Neve and Bellara's friendship "kind of evolved organically as we were writing them, and finding out all the opportunities we could to throw little tastes of it into dialogue was a blast"

when enemies are slowed due to Slow Time, Rook stays moving at full speed

Rook's weapons and companions' gear can also be transmogged in addition to Rook's armor gear and casualwear

New sentence: "I've built Harding as a Support Character one run, and a DPS the next run. If you want to use Davrin as a DPS, you can do that."

"But each Companion has a gift that you can purchase from vendors in the world, and then give it to them." - it sounds like there is only one unique gift that you can give to the companions each?

"In general, something like a short story anthology is a volunteer thing - we ask people what they want to write and, generally, people tend to gravitate towards character ideas and concepts they already had in mind for a companion."

"So it's rare that we write a character that isn't intended to be a companion and then think 'oh wow this character would be a great fit', but it's not unheard of either."

"Ultimately we wanted to be sure that The Veilguard could be a good entry point to Dragon Age for new players and people who know almost nothing about the universe. But if you're the kind of player who wants to catch the most references, I'd suggest reading The Missing (most recent comic series) and Tevinter Nights. The former is a direct narrative setup for the beginning of the game" while Tevinter Nights is "less of a direct narrative tie", though it introduces "characters, concepts and story elements" that show up in the game

New sentence and info: [John Epler] "The Archon's Palace floating was something we came up with midway through writing Tevinter Nights and I had to furiously rewrite a few things." - the Floating Building is the Archon's Palace?

"Mae is a character that means a lot to so many DA fans" (<3)

Crow politics are now described as "complex" as well as deadly

"Some romances allow you to express interest without 'committing'" - so it sounds like not all of them allow this? - "but all romances eventually end up being exclusive"

"With each specialization we wanted to explore, both visually and through gameplay, what a specific class member of that faction might look like. Spellblade, for example, is our answer to the question 'what does a mage assassin look like'."

Our ability to save PCs so we don't have to start from scratch in CC each time was very important to the devs

"the feeling we want to evoke over the course of the game is one of growth, both in yourself as Rook and in your companions as they overcome their own problems with your help. These problems are often external in nature, but they are always tied, at their core, to the conflict that the character carries within them. And they are, also, always uniquely Dragon Age problems on the surface, but still relatable."

The difference in the answer to the is Lucanis possessed question interested me.

Original for the sake of comparison:

"So, again, spoilers, everyone has been warned, fairly warned. So Lucanis Dellamorte is also known as The Demon of Vyrantium. And, he has spent a lot of time killing Venatori, who are mages, and who do know a lot about demons, so. Yeah, somebody decided that it might be a good idea to make that nickname stick."

New:

"There's definitely something going on with Lucanis - and before you hired him, he was known as the Demon of Vyrantium. Might be that someone took offense to that nickname, especially since he earned it by killing Venatori."

New sentence in the answer to the is Thedas a southern continent question:

"Of course, nothing says that distance to the sun is the only factor impacting weather."

.. [probably reading too much into this don't look at me ik many factors influence weather irl hhh] magic? the Veil? the deteriorating Veil? the risen Gods? the Blight? Thedas is experiencing global warming? :D

"As part of our attempt to make the companions feel like they have their own lives outside of just Rook, we asked ourselves what pairings made the most narrative sense and then talked about how they might actually unfold in the game. And even before companions get together, you can see that interest starts to develop. Which is, I think, one of my favorite things about the companions. They don't just fall in love with each other, they become friends, confidents, and even rivals at times"

It takes Davrin a while to trust others. He can be a little standoffish, but eventually he warms up to anyone who shows that they have his back

As a monster hunter a lot of Davrin's hobbies revolve around that

"a lot of elves go around shoeless, and that's in part because they believe it brings them closer to nature. What better way to understand what the world and ground are saying than to walk directly on it? but not every Dalish follows this custom" [...] "The Veil Jumpers, in general, are a little more likely to wear boots and shoes, as they're far more likely to end up in dangerous places and fighting unsettling creatures than the average Dalish"

On Bellara's boots: "you never know when you're going to find a broken artifact with a lot of sharp edges."

Bellara is a big fan of pan-frying anything she can (re: food)

Lucanis has the refined palate of an Antivan Crow

Getting the beards to work with all the armor variations that they have was especially challenging with dwarves because they "tend to be" shorter

Those beards that were designed with dwarves in mind can alsobe used for humans and qunari (I wonder then if elves cannot have beards in CC? Like I know they usually don't have them or have it in CC and that lore says they don't but there are a also a few lorebreaking instances of it and I wasn't sure which way this one would go given how 'free choice/options for all' the CC in this game has sounded like it has been designed to be)

"You'll see more on this as we showcase character creator in our runup to launch"

For this question "Since you can choose to be a part of the same faction for most of the companions, will that give you an advantage when trying to befriend them?", the answer now reads that in addition to the unique dialogue same-background Rooks have with the companion of that background, it can also "change the timbre of your relationship a little bit"

John Epler: "one of my favorite things about this group of companions is how much time they spend with each other"

[on the companions] "They're a family, and like a family, they don't always get along"

"A lot of Solas' relationship with the player is personal. He sees a lot of himself in Rook - both the good and the bad - and largely talks only to you, as you're the one he has a connection with."

"Not to mention at least a couple of followers who would likely love to ask an ancient Elven god some questions."

"a common complaint we've heard in past games is that many players disliked always feeling like they needed a Rogue to be able to lockpick, so fortunately Rook finds a method to use these exploration abilities even when the associated Companion is not in your party"

An example of a companion's unique exploration ability is that Emmrich has an ability to briefly reanimate skeletons to open gates

Qunari not wearing helmets and only vitaar allows more flexibility when it comes to horns customization in CC

"yes - there will be some pretty obvious Act breaks. Not all content fits neatly into these buckets, as it's more a way of breaking up the critical path (companion and other side content follows a different cadence), but there are some pretty obvious Acts built into our game. A lot of the missions, though, we want to make sure players have the freedom to decide what they do and when they do it, so while they may have internal acts (follower missions form their own arcs), they don't conform to the overall main quest arcs"

The difference in the answer to the is Assan the only griffon question confirms that Assan was specifically one of the baby griffons that hatched at the end of Last Flight. (as opposed to another clutch that was laid in the last decade)

Old:

"So, again, just to be clear, spoilers, but yeah, Assan has brothers and sisters, so Assan is not the only griffon that shows up in Dragon Age The Veilguard."

New:

"If you read Last Flight, you'll know that Assan isn't the only griffon from that clutch of eggs, so he's got brothers and sisters. And if one griffon is good, a whole family of them is better, right?"

"We briefly experimented with other options for last names but it became unwieldy as we do refer to your Rook by their last name on several occasions, and accounting for 6 potential last names is already a lot of complexity."

Variation of the 'what goes into bringing back old characters' question answer:

"We always - both for Morrigan and any other characters we bring back - think about what they would've been up to since the last time anyone saw them. These characters should feel like real people, and the last thing we want to imply is that their stories stalled out while they weren't directly in the player's adventuring party. So we look at their arc before the time skip, and then think about where that arc would've taken them. In the case of Morrigan, she's coming to terms with a lot of truths about herself and about her mother. There are elements of her past that she's come to terms with, which is why she wears a version of Flemeth's crown. Ultimately you want the world to feel like it's real. And no one's the same person today that they were 10 years ago. That's stagnation, and it's bad in fictional characters as it is in real people."

The orb part of orb and dagger is called an Elemental Orb

Variation on the Dalish Elf vs City Elf question answer:

"While I think 'city elf' vs 'Dalish elf' is a useful distinction in the South, there's a lot more nuance in the North. Rivain, for example, has Dalish settlements intertwined with other cities. There's just not the same separation, so each of the factions has a unique approach to your lineage. You can define some of that further with choices you make in conversations - we really wanted to leave a lot of that open to players to RP."

[localization question answer variation] "Games are so complex and have so many moving pieces that you need to be in regular communication or things get missed. And a lot of that is because ultimately localization is more than just a straightforward translation. Jokes, metaphors, sayings - even specific lore terms - aren't just a matter of finding the equivalent word in another language. Every writer has a story about a time they had to explain the specifics of an off-color joke they wrote so that localization could properly capture the intent."

So mostly variations (as in rephrasing) and things, but some of the new info that particularly stood out to me was things like the description of Emmrich's exploration ability, the mention that the Floating Building is the Archon's Palace (iirc this was speculated before but not confirmed?), the new lil details or insights on Assan and Davrin, the bit about Assan being from the Last Flight eggs, etc.

[cadaveerie]

the things i'm the most and least excited about for Dragon Age: The Veilguard!

includes DATV spoilers from the trailers and articles

i might continuously edit this post until the game actually launches as we receive new info!

all of these have been confirmed by the devs, except for those in which i clarify the opposite (ie: those that i write with a "possibly", which have probably been only suggested). if you want the source for any of these specifically let me know!

and a big shoutout to felassan for answering my question, because i started wondering if i just made up the 'pause during cutscene' thing, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out where I'd heard that lol

anyway, here it is!

GENERAL

no EA app or online mode/internet to play the game

pause during cutscenes

interruptible and resumable banter

no micro-transactions

CC

the character creator!!! - more diverse bodies, better (and darker. and better dark) skin tones and afro-textured hair!

change of voice pitch for Rook!

trans Rook! they/them Rook! and the ability to express that in-game!

b-bulge slider.......? t-tittie slider?????

different lighting options in character creator :]

in-game name suggestions for rook :]

nudity :D:D:D SEXOOO

PURPLE ROOK!!!!! (sarcastic/charming, like hawke. im gonna be insufferable to solas specifically)

CHARACTERS

"not that skeleton, but we're not saying no skeletons" as an answer to whether we can romance manfred (..... the fuck. idk what that means but... im game)

bi/pan romanceable companions! - it makes me happy, especially as someone non-binary and genderfluid. i'll die on this hill

paraphrasing: “the most romantic game yet”..... mmmm… yes….

the companions overall... i rly like both the designs and what we know of them

"are there companions gifts again" John: "(...) you very well might find things in the world that certain companions would appreciate!"

John: "Not going to get into specifics on interactables, but there is more to do in the Lighthouse than conversations with companions. The Lighthouse does have a kitchen, and your companions acknowledge it/use it both narratively and ambiently. Some maybe better than others."

more focus and intentionality on the companions' stories and relationships! yay!

inquisitor presence :D

maybe solas and inky? - not confirmed that they'll interact, but pleaaaase let them. no matter if it's a romance, friendship or hateful relationship, i need to see a reunion

the relationship between solas and rook! - from what they'd said it looks like they're gonna have a fun dynamic!!! i hope that it's kind of a bad relationship but that at some points there can be some appreciation, or respect. i think they said that it could be change, depending on you

cameos!!! - we know there will be some. confirmed morrigan cameo! my bets for others are on dorian (and mae), fenris (copium), zevran (copiumx2). and maybe these are reaches but... perhaps cassandra? leliana? illario? alistair? sten? either way im looking forward to it!

700 characters (wtf)

140,000 lines of dialogue (wtf x2. almost double of Inquisition's (80,000))

DREADWOLF WOLF FORM! DREADWOLF WOLF FORM!!! *scratches his belly*

LORE

visiting places we have never seen before like Tevinter, Antiva, Anderfels, Nevarra, Rivain, etc

more thedas deep lore!!! - elven gods! and this hasn't been confirmed, but since we'll go there... will there be tevinter lore? anderfels lore? rivain lore? antivan lore? titans lore (my theory is because of Harding)!?

GRAPHICS and CUSTOMIZATION

possibly a camera mode

beautiful textures!

beautiful landscape!

very nice hair physics! (big improvement)

gear customization + transmog

enable/disable helmets for cutscenes

COMBAT

I rly like the subclasses… they feel so…. gothic

combat looks more dynamic overall!

combos with the companions!

finisher animations!

mages can move while attacking apparently?

and they^ can use staffs, daggers and orbs :0

parry + shield toss :0

and i'm just excited to see how it actually feels while playing and how everything progresses!

things I'm kinda sad/disappointed about. just a little

only can bring two companions along (probably a 3 party total?)

probably no trans, they/them or they/x companions? :( (im assuming there will be characters that are trans (mae) and go by them/them or multiple pronouns, but i mean companions specifically)

only 7 companions. i was a little disappointed at first but tbh im fine w it now haha

they haven't talked about rook as a character much so im a little worried about that, their personal journey, their dialogue etc :')

that rook doesn't seem to have different beginnings depending on his origin :( not a huge deal but tbh i loved that about origins

can't choose multiple pronouns :( perhaps it's possible? they've explicitly said that you can go by he, she or they, but i don't think that implies multiple at the same time. it can't be that hard to program it so that it randomly changes between two or more pronouns, right? idk about game development so i dont actually know, sorry if i'm ignorant

this is suuuper nitpicky but in relation to the graphics.. i kinda wish the skins looked slightly.. different? idk how to put it, but they look kind of smooth? maybe too much? i just wish they had a little bit more texture, it kinda looks like they have a beauty filter, imo, and i think it would look better if they look slightly differently

and i have mixed feelings about how the characters are stylized overall. like... y'know, the whole "cartoony" discourse. at first i didnt like it at all, but since we've seen more im way more on board. still... i kinda feel like some things could look a bit nicer

idk how i feel about how the darkspawn look. like it's not a huge deal to me either, but... i just wish they looked different. lol. they do look a little bit goofy

and idk if i like the... veiny/nervous system looking-thing in demons either? like, i like it in theory but tbh in practice im not too sure

the remake of the warden's logo :((

that's it!

tbh im just happy about most things they've said and shown so far. i think a lot of these things are a good sign. also, things like the "not ea app necessary" make me inclined to believe that this is something they've had to fight for (cause you know, if ea could choose they'd do things their way) and that's something i appreciate a lot. that's why i think this and a lot of other choices and changes they've made in relation to the last game, are good signs that they've listened to our feedback in a lot of things! and i hope this reflects in the entirety of the game. i hope it's the case. idk i'm positive about this game! a little scared ofc, because i care and i want it to be as good as possible, but excited nonetheless!

are there things i didn't include but that you are excited about? what are you looking the most forward to, overall? i'd appreciate to see your excitement and know what you like the most!

[kiivg]

Liking Vivienne and not Solas is so real tbh, I never understood the appeal of his character appearance-wise or personality. Vivienne on the other hand?? She serving cunt while she's spellcasting and seems to be the only person that asked if you were okay after the Haven attack?

.I love Vivienne, she absolutely bamboozles me when she talks about magic and stuff like that but I trust her, I’d romance her so hard if I could. At first I definitely overlooked her because I knew that I wanted to romance Dorian so he took up my mage companion slot, but when I started to pay attention to her I was like hello??? 👀👀 My Queen, love of my life Vivienne?? (90% sure she’s the only one who approves when you save everyone in Haven too). Rip Bastien but I’m here for you girlie 💖✨💖✨.

.On the flip flop, I tried using Solas but he just bores me so much. I spent at least 3 playthroughs wondering why he had a goblin shoe on his necklace before I read it was a jawbone so whatever! But also it annoys me when you ask him about literally anything he’s like “oh you want to know smth (Solas Greatly Approves)” and it’s like?? I shouldn’t be getting approval for asking basic questions so I can understand the game better. I feel like it really forces you into a positive relationship with him, like immediately as if the Inquisitor is fascinated by this guy. Which is why I ignore him, and don’t take him anywhere anymore. (Plus combat wise I didn’t care for that Rift Mage stuff.).

.I remember also way back when DAI was being announced and they revealed the VAs back then I was thrilled to see GDL on there, and then when I found out he was Solas I was so disappointed lmao. You cannot give me a lovely Welshman and then pair him with a dour and bland face, especially when some of his concept art is fantastic. So I suppose I’ve always been biased against him but ykno can’t stop me etc etc 💁‍♂️✨.

.Like, my Inquisitor is going to rock up in DA:V and be like “Who’s this Solas guy? What do you mean he was my companion? You mean the PAINTER? WHO???”.

.Edit:: I got another anon re: all this and I get you babe!! I know exactly what you’re saying.

[pseudogirlie]

I made this originally for personal use for fun but I thought I’d make a blank version to share:

This is my best attempt to do a mock wiki format for BG3. Feel free to use, edit, make changes to for your own ocs ^__^ to use just copy a version to your drive! This is 100% inspired by the Inquisitor as a companion from a thousand years ago. I also have a dragon age mock document if people are interested.

If you want to make it “official” looking, I’d just save and insert pictures of items or icons from the official bg3 wiki.

There’s some weirdness with the pages causing unwanted breaks. Which I don’t care to fix but if you know how to feel free haha, I also have not made the banter/romance page yet… I may make more updates to this in the future too.

This does not work as a pageless document due to the tables and images. Unfortunately. If you are on mobile you will need to use print preview to make sense of it lol.

[anneapocalypse]

Too Many Thoughts About Sera: A Love Letter

This post was originally part of a big long write-up I did after my first complete playthrough of Inquisition a few years ago and posted on dreamwidth and later here. It has been slightly edited to stand on its own here, but it's mostly the same. I thought it might be worth it post it as a standalone, so here is a slightly less analytical and more feelingsy post about Why I Love Sera So Much.

I understand not everyone likes Sera and that's completely okay but I am going to request that you refrain from outright dumping on her or making personal attacks on her writer on this post.

If you're interested in my more recent efforts at an in-depth analysis of Sera's character and background, you can check out my Sera Series.

Knowing my affinity for difficult, complicated, "unlikable" female characters, I was probably doomed from the start. But the truth is I did not go into this knowing I would love Sera. I just wanted to get to know her, regardless of how I ended up feeling about her. So I romanced her with my mage Trevelyan, the first Inquisitor I actually finished.

And at the end of that journey... yeah, I love Sera. I love her a lot.

So let's talk about Sera. As a character, as a companion, and as a love interest, because in this playthrough I got to experience her as all three.

And disclaimer up front that I know Sera is a controversial character in the fandom and there are a variety of reasons for that, so if you don't like Sera, that's fine. Some of this may read as an impassioned defense of her, and it kind of is, but it's not a manifesto; it's mostly that I have a lot of thoughts and feelings I'm excited to share.

Sera is a city elf orphaned young and raised as the ward of a human noblewoman, Lady Emmald, an upbringing which has left her with both a troubled relationship to elven identity, and a deep hatred of the nobility. We get only a brief glimpse into Sera's childhood with Lady Emmald, as she does not like to talk about it, but we can gather that the memories that have stuck with her are not good ones, most notably the "pride cookies" story that Sera will share with the Inquisitor at a high enough level of friendship. Lady Emmald would buy cookies from a local baker and pass them off as homemade, unwilling to admit she wasn't good at baking. To keep Sera from finding out, Emmald told her the baker hated elves so that she would never go there. She led Sera to believe she was hated and to hate in return, all to protect her own pride. To this day, cookies bring up bad memories for Sera.

World of Thedas Volume 2 suggests that Sera may have inherited Lady Emmald's estate when her guardian died of illness sometime before the Blight, but rejected her inheritance, wanting nothing more to do with that life. I don't believe this ever comes up in the game, however.

As an adult, Sera is a member of the Friends of Red Jenny, a loose network of common people who collaborate across Thedas to benefit one another's interests and offer some degree of protection from or revenge for the abuses of nobles where they can. Sera's Red Jenny affiliation is a nice bit of continuity from previous games which I like a lot. The Friends of Red Jenny are first mentioned in a cryptic little side quest in Origins wherein the Warden delivers a small painted box to a location in Denerim on the instructions of a note looted from a body after an ambush, for the reward of a few gold coins. In Dragon Age II, Hawke can clear the streets of bandits and undesirables at night and return to "A Friend" in the Hanged Man for rewards; at the end of that quest line, "A Friend" is revealed to be a Friend of Red Jenny. And now in Inquisition, we have a Red Jenny companion, who brings her network of Friends and unorthodox methods to the Inquisition. (It's also suggested in the war table operation "Red Jenny and the Tantervale Charade" that Hawke's cousin Charade Amell is a Jenny operating out of Tantervale in the Free Marches, which would explain a lot about Charade's roundabout ploys to get Gamlen's attention!)

I think it's safe to say that Sera's personal identity is most strongly rooted in a kind of class consciousness; she identifies first as what she would call a "little person," a commoner.

And it's worth noting that Sera doesn't respect social climbers any more than she respects the existing nobility, which comes out a lot in her banter and in her responses to various quests. She disapproves, for example, if in "Noble Deeds, Noble Hearts" the Inquisitor gives proof of Fairbanks' noble heritage to Clara; she approves if you respect Fairbanks' wishes to keep his parentage a secret and live as a commoner. In "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts," she disapproves of reconciling Celene and Briala, but approves of any outcome that involves blackmail (either against Gaspard or against all three parties).

I think there's an interesting contrast to be had, too, between Sera and Vivienne, both of whom are characters I like and find quite interesting. And despite what you might think if you take their conversations at face value, I think their relationship is quite a bit more complicated than Vivienne being more privileged than Sera and looking down on her. Vivienne dresses, talks, and behaves like a noble, yes—but she's not a noble. Vivienne was born to Rivaini merchants and raised in the Circle of Magi, where she rose to First Enchanter of Montsimmard and then Enchanter to the Imperial Court of Orlais—a position that according to Leliana was once "little more than Court Jester" until Vivienne herself worked to make the appointment a position of respect. Sera is elven and common-born yet inherited a noble fortune; while she probably would never have held a title in Ferelden, she could have had greater financial resources at her disposal, had she not rejected them. It's easy to forget, but both Sera and Vivienne have come from fairly humble origins, and both of them have been presented with some unique opportunities given those origins.

Vivienne holds considerable influence in Orlais for a mage, but we should not forget that she has had to work for every scrap of it. Vivienne's manner, the way she approaches every situation with confidence and poise and her head held high, is just how one survives in Orlais. If you're not looking down at someone, you're looking up at them, and if you're looking up you're under someone's boot. On the one hand I don't love the way Vivienne treats Sera, especially a romanced Sera; on the other hand I must admit that "It's nothing personal, darling. I am demonstrably better than most" is an absolutely sick burn and I did laugh. (These days, I am frequently more amused by companion acrimony than I probably should be; I think somewhere around DA2 I just gave up on being bothered when companions don't like each other and instead embraced the comedy gold that often comes with it.)

There's a delightful little bit of party banter where Blackwall (who shares much of Sera's distaste for the nobility) needles Vivienne a bit about how she must miss being away from the luxuries of Val Royeaux. To this, Vivienne breezily responds, "I miss them. I do not require them. But please, continue to imagine me a pampered lady, if it makes you feel superior."

I am reminded here of the ongoing tension between Solas and Sera that comes out frequently in their party banter. At one point Solas will remark that it is a shame she was "denied an elven life," and Sera fires back, "Ooh! You think the only reason I'm not elfy is because I had no choice? Poor me, right?" At multiple points Solas will offer opinions on Red Jenny. When he asks Sera, "Do you wish to disrupt the nobility, secure a title? Or change the political structure entirely?" Sera responds with dismay, "None of it! I don't want any of that!"

Set these next to each other and they show us how Sera and Vivienne are alike and how they are different. Vivienne has worked hard to achieve upward mobility, and the reward for her success is that everyone assumes she is too privileged to know anything else. Sera has deliberately rejected upward mobility (as well as "elfiness") in favor of class solidarity, and is rewarded by people assuming that she is too stupid and ignorant to have chosen anything else.

Sera and Vivienne do not like one another, and probably never would, and Vivienne especially doesn't approve of the Inquisitor romancing Sera and makes that known (I'm sure the reverse would also be true if Vivienne were romanceable, which she isn't, because the world isn't fair). Both of their identities and worldviews are rooted in a certain understanding of power and power structures, but they approach those structures completely differently. Vivienne is a climber, believing it worthwhile to try and reach the top. Sera despises climbers, preferring to stay on the ground and fire arrows upward. And yet as different as they are, they have both made very deliberate choices with regard to their social status, and both will in their own way call out the assumptions other people make about them.

I think the biggest question that arises with Sera is, if she thinks the nobility is so terrible, then why isn't she trying to actively change the existing power structure? This is certainly Solas's confusion, as expressed in this conversation:

Solas: I do not understand you, Sera. You have no end goal for your organization. Sera: Nobles get rattled, and people get payback. I play in the middle. Solas: Why not go all the way? You see injustice, and you have organized a group to fight it. Don’t you want to replace it with something better? Sera: What, just lop off the top? What’s that do, except make a new top to frig it all up? Solas: I…forgive me. You are right. You are fine as you are.

This, I think, gets at some of Sera's core beliefs about power and why she prefers to act from below rather than trying to get to the top. Sera views structural power as inherently corrupting. Anyone who makes it to the top is going to frig it up.

That's what being at the top means.

We might call it a failure of imagination on Sera's part that she doesn't seem to be able to consider the possibility of creating a different kind of power structure, only replacing who's at the top. And, well, fair enough. But consider even in our own world, with a variety of governing structures on display for us, the challenge of imagining something completely new and then envisioning a realistic path to it. (And if you've got that all figured out, let me know!)

Sera is class-conscious, Sera identifies and organizes around class-consciousness, but she is not a revolutionary. We might criticize that about her, but why lay that burden on her, specifically, when the Inquisition is packed to the gills with people who have far more structural power than Sera? This setting is full of injustices, but it is worth questioning why the burden of righting them should be laid on this character, specifically, when she is already dedicated to helping other "little people" in smaller and less risky ways.

Once the Inquisitor gets friendly with Sera, they can ask her more about herself, about where she's from. In this conversation she'll talk about the Red Jennies in Denerim where she grew up, and she'll mention that some other Jennies were "a lot more serious about being serious" and that it got some of them killed—a reminder that Sera's "little people" have plenty to lose. And Sera really hates anyone who gets less powerful people hurt and killed for their own ends. I think this is really at the heart of both her visceral hatred for nobles and her passion for Red Jenny, and this becomes really clear during the "The Verchiel March," when Sera will get more and more upset if the Inquisitor keeps talking to Lord Harmond and appears amenable to working with him. She never set out intending to kill the Verchiel nobles, only rattle them a little, but after Harmond murders an unwitting informant in front of her? She's furious. She wants him dead. And if the Inquisitor is willing to work with him, that makes the Inquisitor someone who can't be trusted.

So let's talk about Sera's relationship to elven identity. There's no question that it's a complicated one; one of the first things she says to an elf Inquisitor (which at the time of writing I'm currently playing) is an offhanded "Hope you're not too elfy." You don't get an approval hit for saying she's "different for an elf," but she will respond to the effect that she doesn't appreciate assumptions being made about her based on her being an elf, which doesn't seem unreasonable, honestly. I've seen Sera's attitude framed as self-hatred but I do feel like it's a bit more complicated than that; has she struggled with self-hatred in her life, yes, absolutely--the cookie story makes that very clear. But I think that to simply say Sera hates herself for being an elf is an oversimplification in the same way as saying Vivienne hates herself for being a mage. Sera definitely has some insecurities, and I think Vivienne needles her accurately when she remarks that Sera actually cares a great deal what people think of her. At this point in her life, however, I don't feel like she hates being an elf so much as she hates when all people (elves and otherwise) see in her is their own presumptions about what elves are or should be, and not who she is.

Elven identity is a complicated thing in this universe, and tensions between city elves and Dalish elves is certainly nothing new. Dalish elves largely view themselves as the sole keepers of elven culture, calling city elves "flat ears" and in some cases barely regarding them as elves, and yet I would argue that alienage culture is also elven culture. Though they are not referenced as a group in-game, we also see plenty of examples of what we might call "country elves"—elves who live on farms and in villages in more rural areas, some of whom still maintain a bit of the ancient language and a belief in the ancient gods. (The elf family you meet in Lothering comes to mind, as well as various NPCs around the Hinterlands.) Even among elven servants, which could be regarded as a sort of sub-class in itself, there seems to be a kind of subtle understanding and solidarity, based on Briala's point of view in The Masked Empire. All of these are elven culture.

Sera is on the extreme end of not identifying with elven culture generally, but I want to draw a distinction between Dalish culture (which might be called a kind of Elvhen reconstructionism) and elven culture generally. Sera is not fond of the Dalish, but I'm also not sure how much contact with Dalish elves she's actually had, considering that she's lived most of her life in major cities. So I have to wonder if her particular irritation with the Dalish comes from interactions with actual Dalish elves, or from their general reputation. I'm not saying the Dalish wouldn't be rude to Sera; many of them definitely would. I'm just not sure if her feelings about them come from direct experience with the Dalish or from other elves generally.

Because Sera does feel alienated by elven culture generally, and if you listen to to her ambient dialogue and banter throughout the game, if you take her on quests and listen to the things she says, it becomes really obvious that being told she's the wrong kind of elf is a particularly sharp pain point for Sera and has left her with a lot of anger and resentment. I don't know from whom exactly this has come, because she never goes into details, but it's obviously something she's heard a lot.

I had Sera with me for most of Jaws of Hakkon on this playthrough, and she has some really interesting dialogue for Finn, a young Avvar man who is in danger of being disowned because due to a disabling injury, he is unable to complete the ritual hunt for his late father's funeral rites. "Wait, so he does this or he's the wrong kind of elf?" Sera snaps, like that's something she's been told repeatedly. She clearly feels a powerful compassion and solidarity for Finn, insisting the Inquisitor give the gifts of the hunt to Finn himself so that he can keep his father's name: "We help him. Not asking. Do it." Upon doing so, Sera remarks to Finn, "Say what they want, and you can belong. But maybe when you figure that threatening you was shit, come look for a Jenny." She wants him to have the option to stay with his community, but also for him to know he has somewhere to go should he choose to leave. I really love that. To me, this is Sera at her best, reaching out in solidarity and compassion to help someone outcast, offering them a place to belong.

Sera certainly has her less-sympathetic moments too. Her absolute glee over the revelations from the Temple of Mythal is honestly not cute. I have sympathy for where Sera's coming from on elfy things, but she's really spiteful about it in this case: "The Dalish. Are going. To shit themselves!" She'll get angry at a human Inquisitor (as she did at mine, who was in a romance with her) just for trying to be respectful of what they saw in the temple and not outright denouncing all of elven tradition as rubbish. "You're not even an elf! Why are you being so damned elfy?" There are several ways to resolve this fight, and it certainly wasn't a relationship ender with a human Inquisitor. (I can't speak to elf Inquisitors since I haven't romanced her with one yet.) I certainly don't think it's out of character for Sera, but it definitely exposes some of her pettiness and insecurity. If she were fully secure in who she is, elfy or not, she wouldn't need "elfy elves" discredited to validate her.

But Sera's a flawed character, and that's not a bad thing. I think she does show some growth in subtle ways, too—if an elf Inquisitor befriends her, her journal will include the line: "Book. Read elfy stuff for her (scratched out)." She's trying! In Trespasser her journal entries express concern about whether the Inquisitor is "all right with the elfy stuff" and wanting to be there for them and help if they aren't. A big step forward from the Temple of Mythal!

I also enjoy the way Sera actually comes around to certain people you wouldn't expect her to like, or at least respects them. Of Josephine, Sera remarks that "She's as good at humbling her kind as I am, just with less mess. Knows her business, if you have to have it." And there's this beautiful banter with Dorian:

Sera: So you’re fat with it, right? Dorian: Me? Are you referring to…? Sera: Do you sleep on silk while gold shits down all over you? Are you rich? Dorian: I left all that behind. Although I do miss the gold-shitting from time to time. Sera: You really left it, huh? Knew you weren’t all bad.

I talked quite a bit about Vivienne above, so let's talk about how other characters interact with Sera.

After a successful march through Verchiel, Cullen notes at the war table, "Potential future gains may be impressive. Do not tell Sera I said so."

Why not?

This quest is Sera's first chance to prove her value and the value of her organization to the Inquisition—and she's proven it. (Yes, things go a bit sideways later, but that hasn't actually happened yet, and she continues to bring information and quests to the Inquisition after that setback if allowed to stay.) So, that Cullen doesn't want to acknowledge her value after she's demonstrated it? Well, that sucks a little! We sure wouldn't want to let one of our allies know she's valuable to us. All because he doesn't like her personally—and because she's not important enough to be worth showing respect. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, honestly, and illuminates a certain feeling I have about the Inquisition generally.

Let's review the backgrounds of the rest of the Inquisition's inner circle, shall we?

Cullen Rutherford, Knight-Captain turned Commander, respected enough to gain the trust of Leliana and Cassandra which is not nothing. Leliana, experienced bard, used to mingling with nobles, friend of the Hero of Ferelden, Left Hand of the Divine. Josephine Montilyet, noble-born, Ambassador. Cassandra Pentaghast, Nevarran royalty, Seeker of Truth promoted to Right Hand of the Divine at a remarkably young age. Dorian Pavus, Tevinter nobility, albeit estranged from his family, still influential enough to be apprenticed to a magister. Varric Tethras, born to a powerful dwarven Merchant Guild family, popular author, friend of the Champion of Kirkwall. Vivienne, Enchanter to the Imperial Court, mistress to the Duke of Ghislain (which in the Orlesian court is considered a respectable enough position to be declared openly). The Iron Bull, Qunari Ben-Hassrath, commander of the Bull's Chargers. Solas, the Dread Wolf of elven legend and though currently known only as an elven apostate, quite vocal about his authority on elven history and his dismay over Sera's everything.

Compare all of those Very Important People to: Blackwall, (not) Grey Warden, traitor, murderer, and liar. Cole, spirit, lost soul. Sera, commoner, elf, Red Jenny.

At the end of the day, you can spin it any number of ways and it's generally in-character for most of them so this isn't a writing complaint, but people look down on Sera. Most of your advisors and companions are either noble-born, used to mingling with nobility, or otherwise Someone Important. Even Blackwall, the closest to Sera in terms of class (and you can tell by how well they get along in party banter), spends most of the game pretending to be Somebody that he isn't. Cole's whole personal conflict is a crisis of identity and fear of his own nature. Sera is low class, crass, broad, common—and an elf to boot. And she doesn't try to hide any of that. She is who she is.

And her commonness is her value. She sees things in a way that people like Cullen and Josephine and Cassandra cannot. She has a perspective most of the Inner Circle doesn't. She is valuable because she is nobody. The founders of the Inquisition make plenty of noise about "restoring order" and you get a lot of dialogue about how the Inquisitor gives hope to "the people" and how important they are to "the people." Well, Sera is the goddamn people. Not to say that she represents all commoners, but if the Inquisition has contempt for the manner and perspective of someone like Sera, they are going to have that same kind of contempt for many of the very people they claim to be protecting, when they actually meet them face to face.

Sera's crassness and prankster tendencies come across as disrespectful, but it's worth asking why exactly everyone else is deserving of her unconditional, unearned respect when they show none to her. Just because they're Very Important People of higher social standing? Is that not an assumption worth interrogating? I think it is, and I think Sera's very presence in the Inquisition invites us to examine assumptions about class and status and respect that might otherwise go unexamined in a story like this. And if you've read my Masked Empire essay, you know that I am 100% here for storytelling in this universe that dismantles the fantasy trope of the benevolent nobility.

It's no mystery why the companion Sera gets along with best is Blackwall, and they have some great friendly banter. I think she might even get along fine with Cole if she didn't know he was a spirit, and if he didn't constantly say out loud really on-the-nose things about people's hidden pain, because that's the stuff about him that freaks her out. If he was just a weird dude who wanted to help people and went about it in some strange ways, I think she'd be cool with him.

I gained a lot of sympathy for Sera over the course of the game and romancing her, but frankly nothing gained me more sympathy for her than seeing how shitty other characters are to her. Sera's used to being treated like dirt, but she's also not going to curtsy and thank you for the pleasure. Fart noises, indeed.

But that's not actually a complaint about the game. Like I said, I think the unexamined disdain for someone like Sera is pretty in-character for most of our Very Important Companions. And I like all of those characters a whole lot, so I'm definitely not trying to slam any characters to uplift Sera. It's good for characters to have flaws. Sera has them. Every companion has them. That's good writing.

Where I do have some complaints is in the ways in which the Inquisitor is able to talk to Sera—or rather, the ways they're not.

For many of the dialogue options with Sera, even the most positive response kind of implies that you're just tolerating her or humoring her. Even when you're trying to role-play as aggressively positive toward Sera as possible, the Inquisitor as written and voiced comes off as confused by her and by Red Jenny. Of course that will make sense for some characters, but the total dearth of a "Sounds rad, count me in" option when Sera tells you about her organization is a source of continual frustration to me. Why, exactly, don't I have the option to say I think Red Jenny is awesome? Why is that not a thing my character can think? Of course I should have the option to say otherwise, but why I assume I won't get it and will need it explained to me over and over?

The concept of the Friends of Red Jenny is not that hard to understand. People with little power banding together to exercise a bit more collectively should not be stupid or baffling. It especially should not be baffling to a mage or a surface dwarf or a Vashoth qunari. It also shouldn't be that confusing that they're working together to achieve small goals and desires without looking to start a large-scale revolution that would likely just get a lot of them killed. It's not complicated, but the game seems to expect you to view it with, at best, confusion, and at worst, contempt. It starts to feel like you're expected to either dislike her or at the very least not "get" her, and that rubs me the wrong way not just because I do like her, but because it feels railroady. I should have the option to vibe with Sera right from the start if I want to.

(For the record, I'm pretty sure the reason this happened is because the Inquisitor was originally conceived and written as a human from a noble family. Basically everything that's annoying about the Inquisitor's dialogue with Sera makes so much more sense if you look at it from that perspective, and it's also not the fault of her writer. Mark Darrah has talked about this more recently, and the Bioware team never actually wanted to have a human-only Inquisitor but had to start out that way because EA wanted the game to ship in 2013; it was a whole thing.)

Where you do get the option, it's fun to vibe with Sera. It's real fun. She has some excellent friendship content that is not unique to the romance. There's the pranks sequence, wherein Sera wants to play a few tricks on the Inquisition's advisors. I can see how this could be off-putting to some people (I don't like practical jokes in real life) but I can appreciate Sera's stated reasons for doing it: to humanize these Very Important People to their underlings and as such, to improve morale. In that way, it reminds me of the Iron Bull taking the Inquisitor to mingle with the rank and file disguised as one of them, to hear their perspectives and give names and faces to the people depending on their leader. It's also really nice for breaking up the Everything Is Super Serious tone of the Inquisition as an organization and injecting some fun into it. Again, Sera just brings an energy and perspective to the Inquisition that no one else does. Then there's the roof talk about the cookies, after which you have the option to go spend some "friendly roof time" with Sera whenever you like. For a reluctant Inquisitor, I think Sera can offer a much-needed escape from the gravity of their work, and I certainly found her becoming that for my Inquisitor Eleanor.

I find Sera's little window alcove in the tavern so charming. I also love the idea that she just claimed this space and told everyone to piss off. Maryden might have had a thing for Sera, if the song is any indication, so maybe she went to bat for her. Either way, Sera has her own little space and collection of curiosities.

The codex entry you can read nearby features a note from Quartermaster Morris questioning whether it's a good use of Inquisition resources to give her a cabinet. A cabinet. She doesn't even have a private room with a bed, but how dare she ask for one wooden bookcase for her stuff. Again, it's everyone treating Sera like a waste of space, like she doesn't deserve even one nice thing, while Skyhold's "visiting dignitaries" have their every whim catered to.

And let's talk about stuff. Let's talk about Sera's collection of things, a collection for a girl who's been reminded her whole life of all the things she doesn't deserve. A collection of the few things a girl considers important or interesting after she rejected the inheritance left her by her abusive foster mother. Parts of Sera's catalog are very funny! I will always laugh at "Goblet. Fancy cup. Cup. Shit goblet." But I also find something very touching about Sera's little collection of things, and what she writes about them, especially with a romance active, as she gradually adds things that remind her of the Inquisitor she loves. I could write pages just talking about how much I love Sera's journaling but some bits I especially love:

Silk. Bolts, not arrow-bolts. Soft! Make something!

Use silk for her! Underpants (scratched out). Tit thing (scratched out). Scarf (scratched out).

Silk is stupid. Get book to sew better. (scratched out).

Silk comes out of a worm's arse! Yuck!

That book she reads. Why's it good? Soooo long (scratched out).

Stupid book. Didn't cry.

Book. Learn Human stuff for her (scratched out). Every book is human stuff.

Sera's gift quest, "A Woman Who Wants for Nothing," is delightful and made me so glad I chose this romance. In it, Sera mentions that she got the Inquisitor a hat. Well, actually, what she says is, "Listen! I got you a hat, but it's ugly, so I drew Coryhe-whatzit's face on it, and stuffed it with apples. Everyone's hitting it with sticks! I really hope you like it!" and then runs away giggling. The Inquisitor, charmingly, takes this SUPER SERIOUSLY and decides she needs to get Sera a gift in return. She then asks everyone in the Inner Circle for gift ideas, with the responses ranging from supportive befuddlement to outright annoyance, with Solas and Vivienne both giving approval drops and Vivienne sarcastically replying, "Just shave something rude into your privates, dear. She won't get the redundancy." (If you entertain this suggestion, you get a hilarious bonus cutscene later.)

But when the Inquisitor returns to Sera to confess that she asked everyone for advice but couldn't figure out a proper gift, Sera replies, "Wait wait wait. You went to everyone and said I was your lover? Right to their faces?" She doubles over laughing before adding, "Best gift ever."

It's a funny scene, and a funny quest, but at the core of it is the fact that the best gift Sera could receive is someone who accepts her, who isn't ashamed of her—someone who's proud to claim her and love her for who she is.

Usually, the expression that a person "wants for nothing" means that they already have everything they could possibly want, but for Sera it takes on a different meaning. Sera, probably the least wealthy member of the Inner Circle, with her rejected inheritance and her little collection of things—Sera for whom the greatest gift is not another thing for her shelf, but simply acceptance.

In Trespasser, Sera has a new journal codex, "Sera's Past and Now Things" and it's even more of a delight, with such notes as "Back to the Winter Palace? Never good. Pack bees." It also features Sera's worries about the Inquisitor's mark, which is slowly killing them, with increasing distress for a romanced Sera and such heartrending bits as:

It isn't... (scratched out).

I will... (scratched out).

We have to... (scratched out).

(The book is scuffed, as though thrown against a wall. This page also has what look to be tear stains.)

I have arrows. They leave and things die.

I get to keep something.

Why don't I get to... (scratched out).

Make her happy. I will keep that she was happy.

I also found it really touching that her love being there makes the Fade okay for Sera, and helps her face something she's afraid of.

If you can look beneath the surface with Sera, I think her friendship and especially her romance is really moving, and taking the time in-game to get to know her is extremely rewarding in the end.

The Inquisitor and Sera can get married at the Winter Palace during Trespasser. Inky can wear her terrible dress uniform and Sera wears an ugly dress and shouts "That's our bells, nobbers! We frigging win!" from the balcony. It's perfect.

I love Sera, I'm so glad I really got to know her, I'm so glad I decided to play her romance. This one's a keeper.

[spidercatenthusiast]

16 for your KC?

thanks so much for asking!!

How well do they play mechanically with their romance, if any? If not, which party member do they synchronize best with?

in the days of yore before respec mod, Tamarie existed in constant competition with arueshalae and wenduag for the best bows i could find which is just. bad. nowadays i usually have tamarie specced into bows and arueshalae as an estoc eldritch scion DPS machine, which i found a lot more fun for me. the crit range they both get and being able to give everybody outflank/seize the moment because of Azata & Inquisitor stuff is really great also

cernan's a heavy hitting frontline tank, and wenduag gets respecced into kukris, both of which work fantastic together. then after that, Mongrel's Blessing happens and legend happens and a pre-buff +30 BAB happens and cernan just solos encounters.

mordren & daeran don't have any particular synergy, it usually because she doesn't need a bunch of healing before picking up transformation, and i always* build daeran as King Healbot/Buffbot, so there's not much else for him to do. as far as all the other companions go, she goes well with arueshalae (New! Court Poet Edition) in acts 3 and 4 for that sweet sweet INT buff, and then in act 5, aspect of Nocticula is just. its way too good. ill set her up with the demon aspects built for martials, pop aspect of nocticula on greybor or wenduag, then change her stuff to whatever. cannot be understated how fun it is, demon is an incredibly versatile mythic path to play as.

[madymoo-fandom]

My Opinions on Dragon Age Inquisition

Currently I have WOPPING 1253 hours on DA:I, and even tho no one asked or cares, I'm gonna ramble on about it.

DA:I

For me, the role playing aspect in DAI is middle ground. Its not nearly as good as DAO's but much better than DA2 when it comes to your choices and how it impacts the world, however, if often feels like when a companion disapproves of an action, it doesn't matter. For instance, I had the disapproving cutscene with Cassandra late game, I later did a few quests and then got the cutscene where Cassandra claims you as a good friend in the same playthrough. It was just a bit confusing.

DAI has the best cast of companions is my opinion, this may be due to the larger cast of diverse characters but still. Their personal quest don't feel random, the romance options are good and also feels like an actual romance. Their are scenes were you let your hair down and just do whatever, showing these character are more than just comedic/broody characters we fight with.

The combat is also my favorite. I personally play with a controller for DAI, unlike DAO and DA2 just cause once you add a jump button on keyboard, my brain cannot process. I felt more in tune with the combat and less restricted. The specializations is really nice, although I'm not a big fan of companions also having the same specializations as the Inquisitor. I do wish they did different specializations for each character, like DA2 but with the time constraints they were under, I understand.

DA:I DLC

Black Emporium

Idk if you have to pay for this cause I got the game on sale with all the DLC and Expansions but honestly, I wouldn't use pay for this separately. I use it a lot in game, but only to edit my Inquisitor threw out the game and to buy crafting supplies cause I can never have enough bloodstone. I can find more than enough fantastic weapons on my adventures and the armor is very lacking in this game already and the schematics and armor in the stores doesn't add much. I'm an artist, I feel a need to have my characters looking good.

The Spoils of Avvar

Again, idk if you have to pay for this one but I get it for me personally, I rarely use the armor, weapons or customizations but I can see why some people would like this.

Spoils of the Qunari

Even though this pack is the same as The Spoils of Avvar, I would pay money for this (if you have to, again idk), well up to a sertain price. Since we have little armor options for our Qunari inquisitor, I would give a toe for more. Like a said, before. I enjoy cosmetic mods and this helps keep my folder a little cleaner.

The Descent

Fantastic DLC that added much lore (and kinda reconed some) to the Dwarves and also added a bit more to the Ancient Elves. The Descent is ment for after vanilla gameplay, so imagine my surprise playing this midish, late game and immediately being at 2 potions once the first enemy. I resaved and decided to play when it was ment, "level 16" it said, and damn it was still hard. I honestly beat a lot of areas by hiding between rocks where the enemy couldn't get me. A scummy tactic, but a working one. All in all, I had fun.

Jaws of Hakkon

Evil, in a fun way. If you think The Decent was hard at its recommended level, this was worst. Jaws of Hakkon has a level 20 recommendation, and with beating the vanilla game at level 14, (you could probably do it sooner if you skips a few pointless quest) and level cap of 27, I had to do a lot of grinding just to have my a$$ wooped every step of the way. Still, I had fun, although when getting frustrated I recommend a drink of your choice and getting some food, maybe watch some YouTube videos.

Trespasser

Somehow, not nearly as hard as The Descent or Jaws of Hakkon for being the actual end, maybe because the developers felt people would skip the other dlcs or for those who didn't have them, which is a nice thought, since it is the actual ending to the game, players were most likely to play this dlc than any other. I am a bit frustrated that you had to pay for the real ending but I think there's a few reason why. Time constraints and money. Inquisition was under a huge time constraint and EA/ The higher ups at bioware were not wavering. We're lucky the game was pressed back a year already, the game would have been under polished, faced a lot more issues and important parts would just be missing entirely. Another reason I think to why is because Trespasser is very different in story and setting compared to the vanilla and other DLC's. Players would properly have a harder time feeling that this was end game. If was a good DLC, personally my least favorite story driven out of the 3, but I still enjoyed it

I am impatiently waiting for DA:D. I just hope if Bioware ask for more time, EA will give it to them so they can make a great game. Not gonna lie, I'm just excited its not going to be multi-player. In my opinion the formual we are use to in these kinds of games don't translate well in multi-player, and without this formula is wont be a true Dragon Age game.

[theheraldsrest]

"Companions reacting to Inquisitor jumping off the balcony at Skyhold"

(Also, Cabot is dipstick)

-LordLex

Cullen

-“MaKER NO, INQUISITOR!”

-He only noticed after the soldiers wouldn’t stop staring at something

-This is the same person who lead an attack against Corypheus, jumping off a balcony for shits and giggles

-You’ve never had anyone look at you with such parental disappointment

-If romanced, makes you promise not to do that again. And again. And again. And again. And ag-

Josephine

-“What, in your right mind, told you that that was a good idea?! Jumping off the balcony! You could have killed yourself! Not only that, you nearly gave the people in the garden a heart attack!”

-Very long rant

-By the end of it, you should feel bad (Course, that doesn’t stop you from doing it, just not when Josephine is around)

-Word does get back to her and you decide that hiding is the best option

-If romanced, people are still, to this day, talking about how Josephine Montilyet was hitting the inquisitor with a broom

Leliana

-“Just a few questions. One, why? Two, how? I’ve seen you trip on boxes and get bruises, yet falling from that height, you’re barely even winded. I think you need to teach that trick to some of our spies.”

-One of the mysteries in life that Leliana can’t solve

-Was wondering why she would hear you speaking to Dorian at one point and then in a second hear a loud thump and “Hello Solas!”

-Does get a small chuckle out of her

Vivienne

-She looks from the balcony, to you, to the ground below your feet before saying “You’re squishing the petunias, dear.”

-Makes it seem that she doesn’t care

-Doesn’t want to admit that she has done the same thing before

-Refuses to say that she did have a heart attack when she had seen you up there

Varric

-*Wheezing* “For fucks sake”

-Brief flashbacks of a certain friend who would HAS done the exact same thing

-After finding out that you are not hurt from that, Sera, Bull, and Varric all start discussing how high you could actually fall from without getting hurt

-’What a horrible idea, definitely shouldn’t do this, you could get seriously injured’ he says with a smile on his face as they look up at the tallest tree you could find in the Frostback Basin

Cole

-”Wait, you shouldn’t-! Oh, you’re ok? How?”

-He doesn’t understand anything. Why did you do that? How did you survive? How are you not even injured?

-Tries it as well, to some people’s horror

-After a quick talking to from dad Varric, he stops doing it

Solas

-”...” Completely ignores it

-Who says he’s not already used to this shit from you jumping off the balcony in the library?

-Doesn’t stop him from listening to make sure that you are safe

-He might be the reason why you’re safe

-If romanced, no matter when you do it, no matter what time of day, when you land he's standing there asking if you're ok. You tell him your fine everytime but he just wants to make sure

Cassandra

-”Do you have a death wish?!”

-Safe to say, Cassandra was not prepared to find you next to her in the short span of time it took you to run up the stairs and landed with a thump

-Left a good lump on your head for being an idiot

-Doesn’t help that she also spotted you jumping from your balcony (“I’m the Inquisitor, damn it! Don’t lock my own windows!”)

-If romanced, acts like a child and refuses to do anything with you until you promise not to do it again

The Iron Bull

-”Holy shit! Nice landing, boss!”

-Rather impressed with the fall

-Krem has to stop him before he tries it

-Eventually does it but now the Inquisitor’s choking on their laughter and they have to find someone to pry Bull’s horns out of the ground

-If romanced, whenever you spot him in the garden and call out to him, he'll drop whatever he's doing and hold his arms out to catch you, which is a better landing than landing on the hard stone

Dorian

-”Vashanta Kaffas! When it’s a few feet off the ground I’m fine with it! This?! No!” 

-He usually thinks it's pretty funny when you jump down from the balcony in the library, but this is a little too much

-It’s a little terrifying to him that no one outside batted an eye at you falling from there and landing next to Mother Giselle only to strike up conversation with her

-’Course, no one batted an eye when the magister started yelling at you, either, so there’s that

-If romanced, you try jumping again but as you fall your vision blacks out and you're suddenly back in your room. Questioning Dorian, he tells you he has no idea what you're talking about, but also says don't try it again

Sera

-”What the fucking hell was that?!”

-You’re surprised to see her berate you for doing that, but then you realize that she’s mad because you didn’t tell her and she wanted to try

-Is cackling the entire time and does the thing where someone approaches it but then backs away, only to come back to it

-When she finally does it, you find she landed in the bushes, laughing and saying “Let’s do that again!”

-If romanced, your window turns into her escape from your room if anyone comes in there, whether it be you two were having some alone time or she needs a quick way out after pulling a prank

Blackwall

- "Maker’s balls"

-If you look closely enough, you can see all life has left his eyes and is replaced with pure terror

-Calmly approaches you, puts hand on your shoulder and says for you to never do that again

-Disappointed parent noises when he sees you do it again

-If romanced, it takes a bit to convince him, but eventually agrees to jump down once. Safe to say, he landed safely but hard, saying 'he's too old for this shit'

Trying to get back into the flow of things, what with both of us working and college. Cabot should be dropping his own post next. Edited to add in romanced companions

[brehaaorgana]

I fell down a hole playing Pathfinder's wrath of the righteous and I'm also reading spoilers and trying to make sure I get as close to a good ending as I want. But man I have a few gripes:

1. Daeran Arendae is not pale white and I don't know how or why people keep coloring him that way

Look at him:

He's literally golden and an aasimar. He's not pale white. Someone has a mod of him having super Nordic features and it's.....horrifying lmfao.

2. I would like to argue the alignments of the companions should be more changeable than they are (except for you-know-who, they're never going to change)

3. Daeran should at *least* become chaotic neutral over time. He does have a moral compass and he DOES choose to do good things. Also because of the The Other resolution.

4. I looked up his happy endings and I'm...going to riot. All three of them make me want to yell.

[spoilers spoilers] I'm sorry he becomes slightly cold and evil-er if I kill the inquisitor??? I kill the guy who sees me basically exorcise Dae because THE INQUISITION IS FUCKED AND EVERYONE KNOWS?? And that's supposed to be a Bad Choice?? Compared to a lifetime of surveillance?? I don't want to hand him over to the mental health cops what the fuck!! Those guys BURNED EMBER'S DAD AT THE STAKE and tried to KILL HER TOO! They are a literal inquisition!! it feels like they're trying to say "absolute power corrupts absolutely, a Good commander should sometimes bend to the Law," but also fuck that, my dude! Just because ONE of you isn't an unhinged lunatic doesn't mean I trust any of that institution. I demand end screen rewrites because what the fuck lol. There should be a better resolution besides being watched by Big Brother Inquisition for the rest of his life or going cold due to the inquisitor dying. Make it make sense!! The inquisition is clearly full of total idiots. Why does this inquisitor dying make Daeran more cold? He was protected!

5. I'm concerned about the Azata path option to close the worldwound 🤔 idk if I'll switch paths.

6. Enhanced edition wants:

fix it so if I'm worried about Sosiel as a FC he doesn't immediately go "sorry I'm gay." Like okay sir I was just concerned you'd been nearly mauled as your *friend*

woljif romance when

fix daeran's endings and allow his alignment to develop!!!!

more opportunities to build daeran's secret trust meter because I am panicking since he gave me the wands and not the ring in the donation to the crusades. I thought that party was done perfectly so I'm really wracking my brain here.

More Azata path content besides just aivu.

this is too big of an ask but another companion entirely. For a few reasons.

1) I feel like there's a huge lack of good aligned companions. It's literally just Seelah (LG), Ember (NG), and Sosiel (NG).

Neutral is Arue (CN) , Greybor (N), Woljif (CN), Nenio (N), Lann (LN).

Evil is Regil (LE), Daeran (NE), Wenduag (NE)

Camellia is [Undetected] (lol but we all know)

Where is my CG companion?? It just feels so weird so much of this campaign is evil npc heavy because like there's technically MORE evil companions if you go lich path and take on undead companions. I think there's maybe 9 total?? And you're supposedly out here ready to FIGHT HELL.

2) I feel like there's a lot of classes we lack in the options given. It would be nice to have a companion who covers something a little different: Alchemist, Arcanist, druid, Kineticist, skald/bard, magus, sorcerer.

I honestly regret not immediately respec'ing some of the companions. Like Lann should've moved out of monk more quickly. I love Seelah but the Paladin class is boring and she needs more verve. Sosiel I should've immediately pivoted into summoning more because he can't hold a candle to daeran as a cleric.

[dani-dear]

Inquisitor’s Name: Rosenwyn “Rose” Trevelyan

Alternate Name?: Rosenwyn “Rose” Thorley

Race, Class, & Specialization: Human - Mage - Rift Mage

Varric’s Nickname for them: Rosie

Default Tarot Card: The Tower

Aaaand the rest is going under a Read More:

How they are recruited: Description from War Table: Inquisition scouts report sightings of a mage at the entrance of Crestwood village, leading a group of friendly Templars and mages, trying to fend off the undead and demons. She has expressed interest in joining the Inquisition but only after Crestwood is saved. Meet up with her and she’ll help you do just that.

Where they are in Skyhold: On the battlements near the tavern.

Things they Generally Approve of: Mercy, second chances, open-mindedness, generally anything “nice”. Sympathy. Honesty.

Things they Generally Disapprove of: Closed-mindedness. Defending Tranquility. Disrespect of cultures.

Mages, Templars, Other?: Both-ish. Rose is for giving the mages a chance at independence, but she is also well aware of the usefulness of Templars. She greatly approves if mages are allies/if the Templars are disbanded. She greatly disapproves if mages are conscripted/if the Templars are allies.

Friends in the Inquisition: Basically everyone. She tends to stay on everyone’s good side, but in private she complains the most about Vivienne and sometimes Solas and Sera. She later will get on better with Vivienne and Sera.

Romanceable?: Any gender, any race. Probably has more special dialogue if the Inquisitor is a warrior and maybe a Templar specialization.

Small side mission: Rose will reveal to the Inquisitor that after her Circle disbanded she, two of her Templar siblings, and some other mage and Templar friends travelled Fereldan. Her brother left three different items at three different campsites, and since her brother died at the Conclave, she’d like to have his stuff as a reminder of him. Collect his journal, dagger, and necklace from the Hinterlands, Crestwood, and the Storm Coast.

Companion quest:

Rose receives a letter from an old friend of hers from her Circle days — a man named Osulf. He wishes to join the Inquisition and to apologize to Rose for how he parted ways with her, for which she is willing to forgive. However, what troubles her is the fact that in the letter he mentioned he was going to Crestwood to find Rose’s group of mages and Templars. She thinks that her group could be hostile towards him, as he had used blood magic and was violent in his departure.

Option 1: Do not let Rose attempt to make peace between Osulf and her group. (He is a blood mage, and therefore poses a risk). Rose’s group will then kill him. She greatly disapproves.

Option 2: Let Rose make peace between them. Osulf will then become an Inquisition agent.

Tarot card change

Option 1: Temperance

Option 2: Wheel of Fortune

Banter Edition here

[idontunderstandwhydoyouneedmyurl]

Inquisitor as a Companion

Template here. Under a cut bc it's a long post

Inquisitor as a Companion: Romance Edition here

Inquisitor’s Name: Delilah Lavellan

Alternate Name?: Delilah (given name only)

Race, Class, & Specialization: Dalish elf, mage, spirit healer

Varric’s Nickname for them: Sunny

Default Tarot Card: The Sun

How they are recruited: After the Crossroads are secured, the party is approached by an Inquisition agent who tells them about a group of refugees who had passed through, guarded by a Dalish mage, on their way to Redcliffe, but the agent had received a report about incredibly well-armed and armored bandits up that way and they were worried. The Inquisitor makes their way towards Redcliffe and finds this group under attack by bandits just a stone's throw from the town gates, and there is a fight to kill the bandits. After the fight is complete, Delilah asks if she can join the Inquisition; for her reasons, she traveled south to witness the Conclave fallout to report back to her clan, but stayed to help try and help the overwhelming number of refugees; she believes that joining the Inquisition is the best way for her to help the most people possible. For her qualifications, she's the First of her clan and is a pretty skilled mage.

Where they are in Skyhold: In the small study/library off of the basement, usually reading or writing at the desk

Things they Generally Approve of: pro-elf choices, pro-mage choices. Decisions that favor cooperation, helping those in need, working for the common good of all. Mage alliance earns great approval, templar conscription earns regular approval.

Things they Generally Disapprove of: anti-elf choices, pro-templar choices. Decisions that are selfish, refusing to help those in need. Templar alliance earns great disapproval, mage conscription earns disapproval

Mages, Templars, Other?: Delilah is less pro-mage than she is anti-Templar, due to her history with them. She sees herself as an elf first and a mage second, so she is less invested in mage-specific issues than elf-specific issues. But she still definitely is distrustful of templars in general.

Friends in the Inquisition: Delilah is very friendly with Varric and Blackwall. She gets along fine with Iron Bull and Vivienne, and is neutral-ish towards Solas, Cassandra, and Dorian. She does not get along with Sera and does not trust Cole.

Romanceable?: Yes; romancable by any gender and race, but men and Qunari PCs earn less approval with flirt options than the other race/gender combos.

Small side mission: "Pieces of the Past"; Delilah asks for help finding a few elven artifacts she believes are scattered throughout the Exalted Plains. Basic fetch quests, 5 misc items such as jewelry, books, etc.

Companion quest: "Ancient History" (available after either "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts" or "Here Lies the Abyss" are completed)

Delilah believes that an ancient library from the time of Halamshiral, before the Exalted March of the Dales, may have its ruins somewhere in central Orlais. She asks that the Inquisition use its power to scout for this ruin. (War table area unlock, requires 5 power). Once unlocked, the party can travel to a small dungeon like the Temple of Dithamen (Delilah is a locked companion for this quest). The party finds the place decrepit and scorched, the remains indicating that the library was scoured by a massive blazing fire. Not much remains, though there is a hidden chest that contains an Amulet of Power for Delilah, a high level lightning type staff, and 200 gold. There are also scattered scraps of paper, barely legible due to damage from the fire and time and damp, that each grant some XP. Every now and then the party's passage triggers undead to rise, which each grants some XP and minor loot when defeated. Dialogue throughout from Delilah reveals she's shocked and a little disappointed that this is all that's left, but she's mostly surprised anything is left at all. Anything she can learn here will be useful, however, and it's implied that she's feverishly jotting down notes as they go through the dungeon.

Returning to Skyhold, there's a cutscene where Delilah is sat at a table with several books and sheets of paper, writing. She says she's putting everything they learned at the burned library together in one place, and admits that while she's not a writer like Varric, she's trying to put together as much Dalish history as she can into a few books.

Delilah: "It's nothing that the College of Enchanters would find worthy to display in their Grand Library, but imagine if I could share this knowledge with the rest of the Dalish! So much of our knowledge has been lost, I want to save and recover what I can."

Inquisitor: (special elven dialog) "Our clans can be pretty widespread at the best of times. How would you get this knowledge to them?"

Delilah: (slightly approves) "The Arlathvhen, when all Dalish clans convene. It's been over a decade since the last one. I think the clans have been holding off on it with the mage-templar war going on, but with the Inquisition stabilizing things, there's finally one arranged. It'll be held about a year from now. I need to get everything together that I can for it, to share."

Option 1:  Inquisitor supports this dream and encourages her to share her knowledge. This earns great approval.

Option 2: Inquisitor is dismissive of her goal and/or says that she should share it with everyone, not just the Dalish. This earns disapproval.

Tarot card change

Option 1: The High Priestess

Option 2: The Star

Banter:

Cole’s reflection on their thoughts: "Burning curiosity, a thirst to know everything that was and has been. She aches with grief of ages past but fights with hope that it will be better - it will be better, it must."

Comment(s) on Mages: "Human mages typically learn magic in Circles, yes? I wonder what it's like to learn from several elders instead of one Keeper."

(if mages are allied - Delilah approves) "It will be interesting to see where things go from here...a free mage alliance, free of the Circles and out from under the thumb of the templars. With that much magic, sealing the Breach ought to be simple."

(if mages are conscripted - Delilah disapproves) "I'd hoped the Inquisition had better to offer than another type of subjugation for the mages. How is this better than what Alexius was trying to do to them?"

Comment(s) on Templars: "Templars will strike first and ask questions second. Be on your guard when dealing with them."

(if templars are allied - Delilah greatly disapproves) "Templars' entire experience with magic is that it needs to be either snuffed out or subjugated. They left the Chantry in order to hunt down mages, which even I understand is bad. I hope you know what you're doing."

(if templars are conscripted - Delilah slightly disapproves) "I suppose if you had to enlist templars to seal the Breach, this would be the best way. They can't be trusted to be here just loose and free with no supervision. They were duped by the envy demon, after all."

When looking for something: "Something must be here."

When finding a campsite: "Ah, if you're tired we can make camp here."

When the Inquisitor Falls:"Inquisitor, no!" or if romanced, "Vhenas! Get up!"

When they are low on Health: "I'm not built for combat!"

When they see a Dragon: "What a magnificent beast. You don't see too many creatures of such ancient magic anymore, nowadays."

When during their small side quest: "A great find! I can't wait to catalog this for my notes." (when quest is completed) "Thank you for this, it means a lot to me."

Default saying: "Hello. Did you need something?" or once 50+ approval, "(humming)...Oh! Sorry, I was lost in this manuscript. How are you?"

Travel Banter with Canon Companions of your choice:

Solas: "So, I understand you are Dalish."

Delilah: "And I understand you are not."

Solas: "You are the First to your Keeper, yes? Learning all you can about magic?"

Delilah: "Among other things. My place in the clan is to be the next Keeper, and to pass down our knowledge. I will need to learn much before it is my time."

Solas: "(disdainful) The Dalish have a very patchwork knowledge of the ancient elves...from what I have seen."

Delilah: "And you claim to know better?"

Solas: "I have made no such claim."

Delilah: "Yet."

---

Solas: "I have offended you."

Delilah: "Are you going to explain to me my own feelings now?"

Solas: "I had no intention of insulting your intelligence previously. I'm sure you're aware that even the Keepers do not know everything about the ways of the ancient elves. I only wished to point that out, nothing else."

Delilah: "I'm fully aware that we don't have all of the pieces - and with so much lost, we may never recover everything. But we're trying to hold onto what we have, and I myself am trying to recover some of what was lost. I feel that is worthy of appreciation, at least."

Solas: "You make a good point."

---

Delilah: "So you travel the Beyond in your dreams to learn about history?"

Solas: "Yes. The echoes of time let me witness the past for myself, instead of being forced to rely on a book."

Delilah: "I'll admit it's creative."

Solas: "I take it by the fact you're speaking to me, that you're no longer angry with me?"

Delilah: "I wasn't angry...but I wasn't happy with you either. You came across demeaning and dismissive. Is it surprising that I was defensive?"

Solas: "No, I suppose not. Ir abelas, dalen."

Delilah: "Apology accepted. Next time, if you're going to act like you know more than me, at least share what you know."

Friendship?: If 50+ approval, Delilah will call the Inquisitor "lethallan/lethallin" depending on their gender. If romanced, she will call them "vhenas" regardless of gender.

Leaving the Inquisition: Delilah leaves the Inquisition if the Inquisitor has -75 approval or more, or does all of the following:

Allows Clan Lavellan to die in the war table mission series

Refuses to help the dalish clan in the Exalted Plains

Sells the true account of Red Crossing to the Chantry instead of giving to the Dalish

In "Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts" chooses any ending except for public truce between Celene, Gaspard, and Briala; or for Gaspard and Briala to rule together

In "What Pride had Wrought", kills the ancient elven guardians instead of allying with them

Her post-mission conversation will trigger a cutscene where she's gathering her papers and books and packing her bag.

Inquisitor: "What are you doing?"

Delilah: "What does it look like? I'm leaving."

Inquisitor: (investigate) "Why?"

Delilah: "I can do more good elsewhere. Clearly you don't need me here, and to be honest I don't want to be associated with the Inquisition anymore. Not if this is how you're running things."

Inquisitor: (agreeable) "That may be for the best."

Delilah: "The one and only time we agree on anything."

-or-

Inquisitor: (stoic) "If that's your choice, I suppose I won't stop you."

Delilah: "Good. You've made enough bad choices, I don't want to be involved in any more."

-or-

Inquisitor: (aggressive) "Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Delilah: "(glaring) Gladly. I can't wait to leave your stupid organization behind for good."

[kingbooty]

Dragon Age Inquisition Deleted Content #1

While working on the Dialogue Wheel Overhaul mod I stumbled on some deleted content in Inquisition that I thought would be fun to share with you all. These are some I remember off hand but I will add more as I come along them in the future. These descriptions can be found below the cut along with a video full of voice lines :)

There was a deleted and mostly unfinished quest in Haven where a woman would ask you to find her husband who was a hunter working with the Inquisition. This seems to have branching conclusions with either you helping him or finding him dead. There are also some lines in the video below implemented of the wife and the Inquisitor’s conversation.

There is deleted content in Halamshiral, some have been readded by my mod but the most interesting titbit is that when meeting Celene both Sera and Vivienne could talk to her as well. This can be seen in the video, and it would result in different approval or disapprovals with the court. The full voice lines can be found in the video as well.

There was also going to be an eccentric Archivist character who had many voice lines, who would presumably hang out in the empty Skyhold library. Description of the character is “A cheerful librarian who is occasionally overwhelmed by all the tasks he's been given.” Fully voided, has many fun voice lines and can be found in the video. Unsure why he was deleted but it’s probably because he didn’t add too much. - This is my mistake, thank you to @demianwas for pointing this out but the character can be found after unlocking the Enhanced Studies perk and starts a quest called Scattered in Skyhold :)

There was a character called Shokrakar found under “Origin Characters” that may suggested they were to implement more content for specific backgrounds. She has only one reference to a conversation, although does not appear in the Mother Giselle scene that is when you meet her in the Hinterlands, this seems to be a mistake. The character is related to a series of war table missions but the inclusion of the character in the game as a localisedcharacter and reference to a voice actor implies that they were to be in game.

Character description in localisedcharacter: Shokrakar is a female qunari who spent her life rebelling against the dictates of the Qun, and finally escaped. She was always too aggressive and too opinionated to fit the Qunari’s idea of proper female behavior, and rebelled repeatedly against every profession and part of society the priests tried to force her into. Her name literally means a rebel in qunari. She bears hefty emotional and physical scars from years of enduring re-education camps, but is triumphant about having gained her freedom. She is forthright, confident and impossible to intimidate. Visually, she should show the scars of her background, but have a relaxed, open demeanor, since she has finally achieved everything she was fighting for. 

In the final quest, there appeared to be voice lines that hinted at different structure, it appeared that you would face Corypheus in a battle alone or, was to be an implemented cutscene before you destroy the orb but was left out because the final mission was supposedly rushed. The hint to helping people seems interesting however as it is only you and the party there, this may suggest that the quest would have been different. These include some romance lines and can also be found in the video.

There are some also finishing dialogues when killing Corypheus. Some are serious where some are the fun ones that were used in this Bioware YouTube video, these are all still in game however I could not find a way to implement them. Here’s to hoping I add them in the future.

Video for all these dialogues can be found here.

If you like to see more of these in the future please leave a like and I will see what I can find when editing companion dialogues.

[fernaee]

i’m kinda disappointed that there’s not even one cutscene or line with the companions and advisors about the solas break-up. i think they could have add, idk, a cutscene in skyhold with maybe the companion with the biggest approval for example, in which the inquisitor could talk (or not), share (or not) her feelings about what happened with solas. it’s frustrating because it’s like nobody noticed anything and even if i don’t doubt the inquisitor is really good to hide their emotions, yeah, it’s... frustrating.

or maybe the solas/lavellan romance was kinda secret and no one knew about it?

also, aëll comes back without her not-so-subtle vallaslin and the only people noticing it are josephine and sera? hm, okay. once again, just a line of dialogue would have been nice :((

(edit. or maybe i have to wait for the end of the game to have that, idk 🤷‍♀️)

[boom-crunch3r]

Warden as Companion

Alright. So. I got really into thinking about Companion AU for my inquisitor, and I had to go further and think about my wardens too. So they get their own prompt list yaaay! And I'm publishing these in case someone else might want to use them too yaaaaaay! This is based on oatcarwilde’s inquisitor as companion meme. If they happen to see this, thank you for creating that post. It’s a really wonderful prompt, and I’m just repeating what they did. [edit: fixed the amount for +/- approval

[insert warden pics here]

Warden’s Name:

Race / Class / Specialization:

Pronouns:

Introduction:

Recruitment: Where can they be found in camp?

Companion Quest: Can your warden be hardened?

Gain approval by: Gain disapproval by:

What gifts would your Warden appreciate? Feast Day gift? (Gain +50 Approval) Feast Day prank? (Gain -50 Disapproval)

Can your Warden be romanced? Do they have any interest in sex? Is there a gift your warden will give to their partner? How do they react if another companion is being romanced?

What companions do they…

Like the most? Flirt with? Just get along? Start a rivalry with?

Does Shale have a name for them?

What’s your warden’s opinion on handling the Blight?

What allies does your warden wish to seek aid from? (Would they rather preserve the mages in the tower to gain their assistance? Would they rather assist Harrowmont to get the support of the Dwarves? Etc.)

Is there anything that would make your warden turn on the party?

What do they do following the Blight (if they had an Epilogue Card what would it say)?

❗️Special Events❗️

Mage Tower: What vision is created to trick your warden while in the fade?

Haven: What does The Guardian say about your warden before beginning the trial? What is their reaction to finding the Urn of Sacred Ashes?

Denerim: Does your warden have any parting words before the final battle with the Darkspawn? If they can be spoken to after the battle during the celebration do they mention what they’re going to do next?

Awakening: Does your warden return to help at Vigil’s Keep? Or does a letter arrive to the Keep to just check in?

[mywitchcultblr]

CALM DOWN INQUISITOR WILL BE BACK

okay there's people who are worried that Inquisitor wouldn't be in the next da, but Inquisitor definitely will be back, here's why (edited, I add another point about the red lyrium idol and my arguments against ALBEISM within the fandom)

1.Solas

Solas , Solas is a very very personal person for The Inquisitor, don't know about you guys but Francois is Solas Bff and he seen Solas like a brother he never had and he promised that he doesn't want to kill Solas ,hell and it would be disrespectful for people who are still stuck in Solavellan hell if they didn't get Answers!!!

Based on information from Tevinter nights, INQUISITION AND INQUISITOR IS STILL VERY MUCH IN ACTION

Solas literally gave message to charter to send his sorry to the Inquisitor , and Inquisition and Inquisitor have business in nevarra

2. Remember Josephine personal quest? Of somewhat a fallen fortune

Josephine literally said that when Inquisitor visited Antiva, the Montiliyet family would literally throw the biggest party as a thanks to The Inquisitor for helped The Montiliyet, and I'm sure antiva would be one of many northern country we will see, and based on Tevinter Nights (seems like qunari have a plan to fucking invade Antiva) and new DA4 tease of the female antiva crow, Antiva would be one of northern countries that would play a big role

3. Dorian Romance

Yeah no shit Dorian, you wanted to be with Inquisitor and Inquisitor also wanted to be with you, y'all better be get married ASAP, Tevinter would be one of major countries that definitely will play a hugeee role in whatever Solas doing right now.... And Inquisitor also stabbed Tevinter map with the war table knife at the event of exalted council , the next mission would be in tevinter everybody know that, if anything it's confirmed that Inquisition will move it's operation HQ to Tevinter, 'Some claimed to have seen The Inquisitor on the street of Minrathous on rare occasions, sneaking into the heart of Tevinter to aid his Amatus" It's fine to ask help from your lover Dorian....It's fiiinneeeeeee..... Hell I think Inquisition and Inquisitor moved to Tevinter, so Inquisitor can be closer with Dorian and for their missions........

Well hello there Magister Pavus *wink*

Seems like Isabella, Dorian, that skeleton boi and that woman jumped into the sea to avoid arrows? Are they on a quest?

Besides The Inquisitor status as 'The Inquisitor's and Dorian Pavus lover ,a Magister of great influence and power definitely would tremendously help Inquisition and the new hero.

4. Song about Inquisitor

Maryden song is not just a song about Inquisitor glory, it's about fear and uncertainty of what's to come NEXT, and people who rely on The Inquisitor as their leader,people who place hope on the Inquisitor to guard them from darkness to come, this isn't a song about 'yaaayy the world is saved y'all can be happy and go back home's

Inquisitor is still the hero people rely on and needed to lead them against the future threats that definitely will threaten Thedas.....Again and....Solas (whhyyy T.T )

Inquisitor....Lyrics

A soldier, a savior 

A hero, a leader

Inquisitor fought for our souls

A battle, a breach

The one we beseeched

To protect our lives and our homes

Now how do we follow

The battle is all but won

Peace can't last forever

Guard us from what's to come

Inquisitor, take your breath

A soldier, a savior 

A hero, a leader

Inquisitor fought for our souls

A battle, a breach

The one we beseeched

To protect our lives and our homes

Now you all shall follow

The breach is all but closed

Light can't last forever

Guard us from darkness to come

A soldier, a savior 

A hero, a leader

Inquisitor fought for our souls

5. The ragtag people in DA teaser we have seen lacked resources power and support.

Hell even they are described as a bunch of people who wanted to change things but lacked the power to do so....Sounds familiar with Inquisitor and companions at the beginning isn't? Now Inquisition and The Inquisitor is a forces to be reckoned with, Inquisition is not actually disbanded, The Inquisitor and Inquisition simply refused to be collared by chantry and Orlais (ewww besides tf want to be collared by chantry and Orlais) and they went rogue, and Inquisitor once again will save the world, and need an agent that Solas doesn't know.....

Who can give those groups of people resources and chance to be something more? If anything Sutherland and company group of adventures is a foreshadow of the new ragtag bunch of groups, and who gave Sutherland and Co resources and chance? Inquisitor who believe in them. The Inquisition and Inquisitor is the only group that can give these people chance and resources they needed, and as foreshadowed and basically confirmed by The Inquisitor song, Inquisitor is the leader and boss of Inquisition and that new group.

Come on who's gonna trust them and give them resources if not Inquisitor and Inquisition? Even on the brink of destruction, state leaders always preferred to fights against each other rather than save the world and fix shits!!!! People like Gaspard and other state leader would prefer to perish on their throne rather than fixing problems they have.

6. Have you seen the red lyrium idol?

Link for proof that the red lyrium idol have three figures, and much more clearer picture of the red lyrium idol:

The red lyrium idol actually have three figures, Solas who's hugging mythal and Mythal who hugging him back (that figure dragon tail and crown? Come one that's Mythal) and hugging the third person behind them, and then there's the third person behind Solas and Mythal, a figure who lost their LEFT ARM! And we knew one person who have close ties with Mythal and Solas who also lost their left arm:

Inquisitor.

7.Stop ALBEISM within the fandom

I don't want to hear another person who think.... and absolutely believe that disabled people are helpless or cannot be relied on, stop that shit okay? It's just rude, and let me tell ya ladies and gentlemen and people of any other identities and genders , The Inquisitor is a badass hero, I have wrote in point 4 and 5 that The Inquisitor is the leader and hero people relied on and needed, and Inquisitor still kicking ass after the event of exalted council, Inquisitor is a seasoned hero and veteran, Inquisitor feats:

• killed Ten high Dragons

•killed Corypheus

• leading Inquisition Armies to fight against legions of red templar and many other Corypheus followers

• literally murdering demons here and there as if it's just a walk in the park

•sealing rifts all across Thedas

• survived time travel and psychically entered the fade

• Successfully ended Orlesian civil war , so The Inquisitor do have great talents in politics

• Darkspawn? Darkspawn is just another noob enemies The Inquistor eradicated with companions

• have seen Titan's heart and defeated it's guardian, survived deep roads

• defeated a mother fucking avvar god aka Hakkon Winterbreath

•probably surpassed Ameridan as Inquisitor

There's nothing that stop The Inquisitor to fight like a badass and to be in action, losing one arm can be solved with prosthetic ( there's Dagna) and I have said that in the red Jenny tresspasser slide, The Inquisitor have crossbow/hook arm,I don't know man Francois is one of the most powerful mage in Thedas? He's a mage. So the arm problem also definitely can be solved with magic!

Besides Inquisitor definitely would be boss of the new hero, Inquisitor is a capable and seasoned leader and veteran,who has been proven time and again as a legendary fighter (just like HoF and Hawke) and a great leader both in politics and military, I will make second post about my theory and covering Thedas newest political leaders and state also the continuity of this post.

And in conclusion

8. Double hero/ protagonist?

Duo/double heroes (Inquisitor and new hero) is the best way, the new hero need sponsor and resources , The Inquisition and Inquisitor need new agents, besides it's confirmed by the red Jenny slides (Inquisitor have prosthetic ) , tevinter nights, the song and romance with Dorian that The Inquisitor is still the hero and leader and still kick ass like a badass, it would be so great to see them disagreeing and agreeing about stuff, come on it would be so interesting to see dynamic of their approval, to see them interact with each other, and fight together.

They'll work so well together!!!!!

Seriously guys....Pavelyan romancer....Dorianmancer....It's all fine calm down....Inquisitor is back........

Sorry for grammatical mistakes.... I am south East Asian so English is like my third language and I try to fix typo here and there....

I am so excited.....I'm too excited