#leliana's song dlc

[mass-effect-galaxy]

Dragon Age Origins: Leliana's Song DLC

Leliana is an Orleasian spy in the kingdom of Ferelden. Together with her master and lover, Marjolaine, the mage Sketch, and the dwarf Tug, she is creating chaos in the Ferleden capital. This mission already is dangerous enough, but Marjolaine's ambitions know no limits.

[lelianasbong]

Playing Leliana's Song and that moment when she confronts Raleigh, when he knows he's about to get got and resorts to taunting her about the week he spent torturing her in his dungeon -

Raleigh: I still remember that scared little girl in my cell!

Leliana: I remember her too. This is for her.

And then she KICKS THAT MAN OFF A CLIFF

[jemandthesingalongs]

insaneeee insaneeeeee that for leliana meeting adaia was essentially a footnote in what is her lowest point in her life, a blip on the radar, not really even going out of her way to save her or anything, just happened to be in the direction she was going only for this chance crossing paths to lead to someone else having one of the lowest points in their life

and she can meet them and fall in love

[danielnelsen]

Awakening not included for balance reasons :)

[andrewknightley]

i can go to the final mission in dragon age awakenings now but i havent finish oghren mission now cause i dont have enough approval ughhhhhh

[catebees]

This little guy from a 2 hour long DLC owns my heart and soul

(Couldn't decide whether to use Skech's palette from Leliana's Song or from DA:II, so I did both)

Lineart under the cut!

[anna-dreamer]

I was replaying Leliana’s Song DLC to get the armor (lost it after reinstalling the game), and now that i’ve played a BIT of Inquisition (jeeez it’s so huge and overwhelming and lonely!) i've caught Nightingale’s Eyes in the soundtrack! I've no idea how and why they’ve reimplemented old pieces of soundtrack into a newer game, but i’m not crazy, right! I’ve looked it up and other people have noticed the same. (Plays when Leliana is escaping from prison, called Sorrow in the official Album.) 

[justyeghost]

It is time for Leliana's Song

Now that the main campaign is over, it is time to start the DLC. Up first is Leliana's Song.

Catch it on my Twitch YouTube Channel or below the fold.

[vigilskeep]

Who is the Kristjanson guy you don't want to write a companion? Did he fuck up a past companion? I'm new to DA and don't really know anything about the writers or anything that goes on behind the scenes.

lukas kristjanson. he’s been a part of the series from the beginning and i’m not saying he’s never contributed good stuff! he wrote quests i love, like dao’s a paragon of her kind and dai’s in your heart shall burn. but he has a very questionable history writing wlw. he wrote sera, whose romance and writing have their, uh, issues and controversies. he wrote the leliana’s song dlc which heavily features leliana/marjolaine, and presumably wrote branka/hespith if he wrote a paragon of her kind, which are probably less glaring when taken on their own but together are two major contributions to dragon age’s weird pattern of all canon wlw relationships being super toxic for some reason. on top of that, and i don’t know anything about this really bc i don’t go here, but i hear bad things about his writing of black characters in mass effect

so i’ve been pretty concerned (and i’m not the only one) ever since a black man and two wlw became the last companions we didn’t know the writers for. it’s just harding left, which unfortunately i feel would make sense for kristjanson, who has historically written dwarf-y content, fereldans, and inquisition archers... but afaik we also still have sheryl chee unspoken for, another veteran who has been writing major characters and quests since origins (leliana, wynne, oghren, dog, sigrun, velanna, isabela, blackwall). she’s written dwarves too, and wrote the mage origin and circle quests in dao, so you’d think this is the person to go to for a dwarf that suddenly has magical abilities, right? she is also still at bioware while kristjanson was among those laid off, though that doesn’t necessarily mean anything either way

[thedreadfulwolf]

Dreadful's Dragon Age Bonanza

Because I definitely feel normal feelings about Dragon Age and needed Dreadwolf, like, yesterday, I've decided to read every book and play every game in chronological order while waiting for its release! Here's a list for me to keep track and for anyone else who may want to give it a whack!

The Stolen Throne

The Calling

Leliana's Song

Dragon Age: Origins (+ Stone Prisoner, Soldier's Peak, and Return to Ostagar).

Dragon Age Origins: Awakening

Dragon Age Origins: Golems of Amgarrak

Dragon Age Origins: Witch Hunt

Dragon Age II + DLC

The Silent Grove

Those Who Speak

Until We Sleep

Asunder

The Masked Empire

Dragon Age: Inquisition + Mage Killer

Inquisition: Jaws of Hakkon

Inquisition: The Descent

Blue Wraith

The Last Flight

Inquisition: Trespasser

Knight Errant

Deception

Tevinter Nights

Dark Fortress

The Missing

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD

Let me know if you'd do it in a different order/why! And happy Dragon Age brainrotting!

[illusivesoul]

Why Leliana is half dwarf

My hc theory on why Leliana is half dwarf.

The rest of the post is under the cut.

.

1 - Her mom was a servant to an Orlesian noble, and dwarven servants are common in Orlais. Nobles: Don’t be an idiot. How could the Herald of Andraste be a dwarf? Nobles: Maybe it’s just a servant.

The comments Orlesian nobles make towards a dwarf inquisitor in the Winter Palace. 2 - As it's seen in the mission In Hushed Whispers, Leliana has a very strong resistance to the Blight sickness. Dwarves are naturally resistant to the Blight sickness due to their constant proximity to the darkspawn. And in another example, the dwarves of Kal'Sharok have adapted and "become inmune" to the blight disease, similarly to Grey Wardens. So it'd make sense if she had inherited this same resistance from her mom.

3 - She likes nugs and is very passionate and caring about them. Granted, she doesn't want to eat them like all dwarves do, but still, she's the only human (afaik) in the series who has shown so much interest for nugs. Also, following with the possibility of her mom being a dwarf, I wonder if she told her stories or had figurines or something about nugs and thats why she's so fond of them.

4 - She's in awe of Orzammar and really likes the city.

5 - The epilogue for lyrium ghost Leliana in Trespasser very much sounds like the song of the Titans, and the corrupted version of it which its what imo prompts the darkspawn to seek out the Archdemons.

Like this comment that Cole makes about the Titans’s song: “It’s singing. A they that’s an it that’s asleep, but still making music.”

Also, we all know lyrium is a titan’s blood. So a dwarven blooded Leliana becoming a “lyrium ghost” after “dying” could actually be pretty similar to what Valta becomes at the end of The Descent DLC. Also to note is that Valta somehow revived Renn after becoming connected to the Titan and acquiring its “magic”. This could also explain why Leliana returned to life after being killed in the Temple of Sacred Ashes", cause she would have a special connection to lyrium from her dwarven blood.

6 - She has super strong thighs that can break a person's neck. Clear sign of dwarven genes.

Venatori: "You will break!" Leliana: "I will die first! Or you will"

Thanks for reading my very serious theory.

[blightmage]

Doing some achievement hunting since I rebought the games from Steam, and Sketch and Tug are some of my favorite minor characters. I am kind of holding out hope that we;ll get to see Sketch again in DA4 due to him being mentioned in a DAI Base game or Trespasser Codex (can't remember which one off the top of my head) entry and being imply to have been working for Solas since Leliana knew him (predating ~9:20/21 Dragon).

Leliana's Song is probably my favorite DLC. Along side Mark of the Assassin.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I'm sorry, but why don't we talk about Witch Hunt more? Seriously, I think it might be my favorite DAO DLC. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the hell out of Awakening. Leliana's Song is good. The Golems of Amgarrak is... eh, bad. I didn't really like that one. The Warden's Keep, The Stone Prisoner, and Return to Ostagar are all amazing and I love them.

But Witch Hunt??? Y'all. I can't. I'm too emotional right now.

I have at least one dynamic from each game that I'm obsessed with. For DAO, it's the dynamic between romanced!Alistair, Tabris, and Morrigan. I've talked before about the dark ritual and stuff in this post, so let's just say that my Tabris, Rose, very much has unfinished business and a score to settle with Morrigan.

Tabris and Morrigan grew so close throughout the entire journey of DAO, y'know? Close enough that Morrigan claimed she thought of her as a sister, and Tabris felt the same way... and then in one single moment, it's just shattered.

There were signs that Tabris ignored, like the way Morrigan dismissed all the circle mages and claimed they should be left to their fates since they "allow themselves to be caged like cattle." Or how she disapproved every time Tabris wanted to help those down on their luck. Or, worst of all, when Morrigan disapproved when Tabris chose to kill the Tevinter slaver instead of making a deal with him to use the lives of the remaining elves to grant her more power... one of those caged elves being Tabris' father.

But she gave Morrigan the benefit of the doubt; she's sheltered and only had Flemeth as an influence and teacher, of course she's unempathetic and selfish, but there is good in Morrigan's heart. She can learn to be more empathetic and to care for others.

At least, Tabris believed that until Morrigan confessed that she's known about the ultimate sacrifice and the dark ritual from the beginning, that Flemeth sent her with the wardens with a purpose that Morrigan intends to follow through with. It's devastating and it broke Tabris' heart.

She just learned that a warden has to die to stop the blight, and that warden could be her or Alistair. Not only are they romantically involved, but they've been through all of this shit together, they're the only ones who fully understand what being a grey warden is like. They carry the burden on their shoulders, and they're probably going to lose each other to the archdemon.

And Morrigan waits until she's at her most vulnerable to ask that of her.

Again, I've gone into more detail about that before, but at this point Rose is done with people deceiving her. She's done with Morrigan... except she's not. It's the betrayal and knowing Morrigan got what she wanted that causes Rose to go searching for her.

To Morrigan's credit, she does give some answers. She claims she didn't thing the archdemon would show itself so soon, and she did what she had to because she didn't wish to see Tabris hurt or die. I believe her, and to an extent, Tabris believes her... but Morrigan still doesn't get WHY it's a betrayal.

Morrigan's right: She will never understand Tabris, and Tabris will never understand her. She can insist it's not a betrayal all she wants, but it absolutely is, and Tabris has never allowed anyone who crossed her to just walk away... except for Morrigan.

Until now.

Hearing that Morrigan manipulated her way into the trust of this Dalish clan so she could steal their book and run is just further evidence in Tabris' eye that she hasn't changed. Maybe it was always foolish to believe she could.

So... she stabbed Morrigan.

She didn't do it to kill her; Morrigan is the daughter of Flemeth and a powerful mage with healing magic, a mere stab isn't going to kill her.

No, it's about what the stab represents: "I am done with you."

And how the scene plays out? It's so dramatic and good, just the way everything slows down, the music, how they make eye contact as the stabbing happens just....

I know it sounds really bad, and this is the part where I remind everyone that I ADORE Morrigan, but the stabbing ending is so satisfying from a story-telling standpoint for my playthrough.

It's so tragic and it hurts and I hate it.... but I love it, y'know?

I love Witch Hunt, like I haven't even talked about Ariane and Finn, or how the circle just has all these books on Dalish artifacts and translations of elvhen, or how other eluvians can be found with a shard from the broken one in the dalish origin.... like you're telling me that Merrill had a piece of the puzzle? If she had the knowledge, she could've found a working eluvian to study?? I'm going to gnaw my own leg off--

Listen, I could gush about this all day.

But now that I've completely finished DAO, it's time to replay DA2.

[pirateofrohan]

I really do think the best version of the Leliana's Song DLC has her telling the story to a romanced Tabris on the eve of the final battle. She sets the events mainly in Denerim so that it is easy for Tabris to picture, weaves a complex tale of adventure, betrayal, and loss. Perhaps most importantly, she tells the story they both know the ending to and watches her love drift off to sleep in her arms.

[wendynerdwrites]

Pretty cringe on Bioware's part

Okay, so I do not work for Bioware, don't have connections, and what I'm writing is based only on some background and experience in social media and online marketing. I HAVE NO INSIDER KNOWLEDGE AND CLAIM NONE.

But... It VERY MUCH LOOKS TO ME that this new name change is a plot to try and circumvent SEO on the new Dragon Age release being about how delayed the game is and all the layoffs and the severance lawsuits and shit.

And yeah, maybe this'll seem obvious to some of you, but I kind of just want to word vomit: (and this is a further musing on a TWITTER thread I made earlier. Sorry I just have to get this manic-episode cynicism out)

Why else at the supposed 11th hour would you change the game title to one that is just, so bad for so many reasons?

(It should be obvious that I'm editorializing here, but I like to cover my ass more these days)

So yeah, reasons why I think this name change is so bad and nonsensical it could only be made for desperate reasons:

Okay, so because I like to overthink stupid shit like video game name changes and have become quite Dragon Age fixated over the years, I was going over this bullshit too much.

Like, I tried to explain things to myself because sometimes I want a break from feeling cynical even with shit like this.

So I read this and mulled it over:

"BioWare general manager Gary McKay explains that while Solas is “still very much a part of the story of Dragon Age: The Veilguard,” the team wanted a title that reflected a “really deep and compelling group of companions.” --- Kat Bailey for Gameinfomer.com

Okay, fine, well, the last game is called "Dragon Age: Inquisition" and not "Dragon Age: Corypheus" or "Dragon Age: Elder One." And you know, stuff like "Leliana's Song" focuses on, you know, Leliana."

But you what, me? That doesn't hold up.

For one thing, Leliana's Song is a DLC. No one is going to mistake a main series Dragon Age release as being not about an ensemble cast of characters and just being about Solas because of a naming convention in the DLC. Especially given how common that can be in RPG's anyway.

First thing you often learn about Dragon Age as a series is that it's story focused RPG with strong cast of supporting characters and a lot of lore. Granted, that may not be the case for EVERYONE depending on when they or how they got acquainted for the series; but that's how it's commonly characterized.

In one game, Solas was given far more significance plot and character wise than Corypheus had in two.

Corypheus has good points. He's got a backstory that is couched comfortably by the lore and significant to the story. He's got motivation - he's pissed about there not being Gods and Tevinter falling, so he's trying to become a God now to restore the world he wants. He's got one of the most FUCKING BALLER VILLAIN REVEALS:

He also works very well thematically. He's a good symbol of corruption and the results of hubris and tyranny when Thedas is being torn apart by it's various authorities and their abuses of power. Civil War in Orlais. Templars have broken from the Chantry, the mages from the Templars, and they're all at war. From the first game we know that this is what is left of the peace and safety won by your Warden and their people. And we know a few reasons why. In Dragon Age II, we know how that happened and SO MANY MORE reasons why. THERE'S CORRUPTION IN THE WARDENS AND WTF IS EVEN HAPPENING IN WEISSHAUPT??? OR THE DEEP ROADS??? We add in an Orlesian Civil War and also, boom! Whoops! THE GUY WHO CAUSED ALL THOSE BLIGHTS WE'VE DIED IN IS BACK AND HE WANTS TO RIP THE SKY APART! OOH LOOK HE JUST DID!

He's the anthropomorphic personification of all of that.

But, uh, even with fabulous voice acting, Corypheus is not much of a character in his own right. He is more of a device for both plot and theme than, like, a person. As far as more humanizing antagonists, we get that from Samson, Calpernia, and Alexius than Corypheus.

Corypheus wants to restore Tevinter to the Empire he wishes to be God of. He's pissed at there being no Gods. So now he wants to rule over everything (while also destroying it.) "THIS CORRUPT WORLD NEEDS TO BE MADE ANEW BLAH BLAH BLAH I'M AN RPG BIG BAD"

And that's fine with me. Never had a problem with Corypheus turning into Darkspawn Skeletor.

Corypheus is a dick who wants to be God. But he works as a device to save the world from and lead to lore revelations and shit.

I don't know if Corypheus ever had anyone he cared about. I don't know what he like(d?) to eat. He has no goals that don't serve glorifying himself and being a tyrant. I don't know if he hates Thedas as anything other than standing in the way of the Tevinter he can be god-emperor of. I don't know what he really thinks of anything in the world of Thedas other than "inferior, kill it." He doesn't have complex motivations or thoughts on the world we're playing in. We don't know if any of his thoughts or perceptions have changed over the course of the thousands of years he's lived. If there's anything he enjoys. We don't know what kind of personalities he's drawn to. What he actually enjoyed about the world he came from.

We get all of that shit and more from Solas. Even if you don't like him, don't play with him much, he has a distinct personality. And his significance to the lore of the world actually reveals a lot more than Corypheus's. Solas CREATED THE FUCKING VEIL. ALSO THE ELVEN LEGENDS ARE ALL FUCKED UP. FLEMETH IS ACTUALLY HIS ANCIENT DIVINE PLATONIC DOMMY MOMMY FROM BACK IN THE DAY WHEN THEY WERE BOTH LITERAL GODS! DID WE MENTION HE CREATED THE VEIL?! BECAUSE THE DALISH ARE FUCKING WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING! AND TEVINTER DIDN'T DESTROY ARLATHAN! AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO LEARN SOME SHIT ABOUT THE FORGOTTEN ONES! ALSO DID WE MENTION HOW THE VEIL CAME TO BE????

All this through this Elven God of Bad Decisions:

Also, yes, Solas has got major thematic importance but I feel like that's a whole other rant and this is getting too long.

Point is: Solas is, flat out, more significant to the world all of these characters inhabit than Corypy-tits. The literal fabric of their plain of existence is woven by him. The entire way magic has worked and been handled, (something that is extremely significant character-wise for at least a third of this game's cast) is because of him and his history. There was a century between the fourth and fifth Blights. And, you know, the veil he created played a part in their origins.

Even putting aside that legacy characters like Varric, Cullen, and Leliana all have personal history. Solas is why Circles exist/ed. Those Magisters who started the Blight did so by fucking with his creation. He is why elves age and live as a diaspora.

And that's just what we know him to be responsible for. What about those hints about the Forgotten Ones? Exactly how did his rebellion work? What is his plan for the other Evanuris and will it work? [(No.)] What will that reveal about what the others are/were capable of? And what exactly happened between them and the Titans?

Look, I'd go on, but I don't want to go on too much longer like the Solas girlie I totally am. Point is: Solas's backstory alone has had significant ramifications for everyone in Thedas. And the ways he's affected their lives varies between races, generations, magical ability, etc. And that's through creation of the Veil alone.

And we know a shit ton about who Solas is as a person.

You don't need to be a Solas pro, Solas-anti, neutral, or Solas-mancer for this to be true.

So yeah, I would say he's "very much a part of the story." But also, in a way that informs and contributes to the characterization of the ensemble cast.

Inquisition's antagonist was no Fen'Harel. And you're not going to subtract from your ensemble, but rather enhance them (if you care at all about writing them well) by having a focus on him.

Now, I totally think the idea that the final big antagonist will be the Evanuris or someone else lurking behind the veil has merit. But Solas will ultimately be that catalyst.

"Okay, but maybe Bioware doesn't see it that way. Maybe they saw some social media complaints about too much Solas focus and did a hasty rebrand."

Well, for one, that complaint has been around for years now. And it's valid. The problem isn't a lot of Solas, it's that we got so little else. The promotion is bad, not the character or their role in the story. But if that's really it, why now? Why are they only changing the name now?

Now, okay, but Inquisition was still called Inquisition.... This game is about the Veil Guard. It's called Veil Guard.

Cool, but once again, then why hold onto Dreadwolf for so long? Why focus so much on Solas? Why haven't we gotten any glimpses of companions?

And, um, if this is really what you want, shouldn't the title be... better?

Inquisition is a good, solid, and communicative title. While the Inquisition of Thedas is not exactly the Spanish One, there is enough association there to give a general idea. Origins had a group of dumbass misfit fugitives drawn together to save the world. II was similar except they were mercs who get drawn into shit against their will and unwittingly. Inquisition: okay, so this time they'll probably be more of an official, religious-quasi military organization. It'll probably be controversial.

You can be a complete noob to Dragon Age and figure that out.

Veil Guard sounds like something last minute they got from Game of Thrones at the last minute. Okay, the Kingsguard are cool. They guard the king. We're stopping the veil from being torn down, so Veil Guard.

Here's the thing: none of the main ASOIAF series is called The Kingsguard, and you don't need to know anything about A Song of Ice and Fire to get it. Everyone knows what the fuck a king is and why he should be guarded. So even if there is a book called "The King's Guard" we'll get it. It's a book about fuckers guarding a king.

This game is about fuckers guarding... a veil....? The veil?

If you're up on your Dragon Age lore and are really into it, yes, you know what that means. If you're a noob or a casual who hasn't given much thought to Dragon Age in, say, a decade, uhh...:

Noobs: "The game is about fuckers guarding... a veil...? The veil???? Is it some sort of artifact, like it has Jesus's face on it? Or if they mean veil between worlds like some Lovecraft shit, is the new Dragon Age a horror game? Are people trying to travel to different worlds and we're trying to stop them? "

Casuals: "Or wait, is this about that dream world thing? That demon place that spits out demons? Didn't we just get done fixing that in the last game??? Wow, real original. Bioware Magic! "

It also just sounds uncool. Inquisition is an imposing title. Dreadwolf is an imposing title. The Veil Guard sounds like a sartorial maintenance product.

You want people to focus on your ensemble cast? SHOW IT! Because as long as all the promo keeps giving us new Solas anyways, it's just weak sauce.

Nah, this has panic move all over it.

Now, I'm trying to spin this optimistically in that I think this means we may actually get the game within this decade. Because I refuse to believe a) "Veil Guard" is the best they got out of a proper round of workshopping and b) That if this was truly about trying to avoid focussing on Solas too much, they'd announce this without a bunch of promo for the rest of the cast to accompanying it.

Bioware: "We wanted people to know the story is just all about solas, but more about our ensemble cast! We wanted this enough to change the name this late in the game!"

Everyone: "ALRIGHT! SHOW US THIS ENSEMBLE!!!"

Bioware:

Nah bitch, that's not what this is about. Bioware needs this to be a hit, and they need a hit soon. But they don't want their long-awaited blockbuster release to be mired in bad press. They don't want the general audience googling their new massive title only to find articles and reddit threads about layoffs, labor disputes, Mary Kirby's departure, the massive delays, the contract non-renewals happening in the midst of severance lawsuits.

BioWare wants to get their title out finally and they want to bury all the bad shit that's been plaguing this project. All the stories about the labor disputes, layoffs, firings, and lawsuits have mentioned the "Dreadwolf" team.

And quite frankly, it's just shitty. It looks bad. It's desperate.