Dragon Age: Inquisition Pre-Release Thread

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Dorian interview

http://www.dragonage.com/#!/en_US/news/character-profile-dorian

 

[Volourn]

Outside of the silly fake mustache, he has potential. I hope he doesn't take it too hard when I ignore his advances.

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

Here's what puzzles me about character Cole. He has a mind of 10 year old, yet he goes around cutting peoples throats? How did he become such a psychopath? That's horrific, yet Gaider believes (for good reason) its unacceptable to romance him. The hypocrisy is crazy.

• Cole is from a very poor farming family. Cole's father was abusive and extremely anti-mage. Cole was a mage and it is implied his mother was one too, or carried the "gene" for it. Note that Cole was never trained to use spells.
• Cole's father had murdered Cole's mother because of being a mage, carrying the "gene", or protecting Cole and he intended on killing Cole as well. While hiding from his father, Cole was desperately trying to keep his younger sister quiet to protect where they were hiding. While covering her mouth to keep her from making any noise, he accidently smothered her to death. Eventually, either his father found Cole, or Cole left the hiding spot to confront his father. Using his
  mother's dagger, he killed his father and made sure his father saw it was Cole that killed him and that the father would never hurt anyone again. This traumatic event happened to Cole around the age of 12 and is revealed in the book while Cole is in the Fade.
• At some point Cole is captured and taken to the White Spire in Val Royeaux; one of the mage circles in Orlais. He is put in the dungeon, most likely because of the atrocities that happened at his home. As time passes, it becomes apparent that the Templars have forgotten about him. He prayed desperately to the Maker for deliverance. It is not clear if Cole dies at this point or not. Lambert also cannot find any documentation of Cole. "Perhaps he'd died there in the darkness, and forgotten."-Page 13 of Asunder. "There was a Cole," he whispered. "You forgot him in that cell, and I heard his cries when no one else would. I went to him, and held his hand in the darkness until it was over. When the templars found him, they erased everything to hide their shame...and I was helpless to act."-Page 413 of Asunder

What he is:

• It's not entirely clear what Cole is, or alternatively what kept Cole alive or resurrected him (like Wynne). The page 413 quote above implies that he is a spirit, demon, or an abomination like Wynne or Anders.
• Cole is implied to be a physical entity, but can completely vanish if he is distressed enough (to where, we don't know). He can be touched, breathes, sweats, gets injured, bleeds, and requires food and sleep.
• Cole's physical appearance is that of a normal young man, around the age of 20. It's assumed he is human since his race is never mentioned. His stature is most likely thinner due to Rhys believing Cole could not carry him when Rhys gets mortally wounded. He is described with having shaggy blonde hair that is often in his face.
• Rhys, a spirit medium mage and someone that has studied spirits and demons in depth, does not sense Cole as a demon or spirit. It's important to note that he does not sense Wynne and her spirit either. Rhys contemplates if Cole is a demon multiple times throughout the book.
• Lord Seeker Lambert (the leader of the Seekers) calls Cole a demon. Lambert states that the Litany of Adralla dispels demonic influence over the mind as he uses it to cancel Cole's invisibility.
• Cole is not manipulative; throughout the book he is honest and tries to be considerate.
• Cole displays halmark traits of a spirit or demon being confused when entering the physical realm. He also seems disconnected from normal human culture and morals. This could also possibly be atributed to his history; desperate, impoverished, and tragic.
• Cole can hear the same music emanated by the Old Gods/Archdemons that the darkspawn and Grey Wardens hear. This is inconsequential to the events in the book, but this fact is still interesting and noteworthy. It might help unravel the mystery of what he is.

What his power is:

• Cole can only be seen and remembered by people who wish to die, spirit mediums, and to a lesser extent people that journey to the fade with him (they will eventually forget and not see him though). Later in the book it is implied that he has enough control of his powers to make people see him if he wishes (Lambert in the prologue).
• This power of "invisibility" is powered by either blood magic (as the codex and wiki states) or a demonic power (as Lambert states); it can be dispelled by the Litany of Adralla. When Cole extended his power to protect the people around him, it caused him to bleed from his nose and after his concentration was broken he was overwhelmed with pain.
• There is a "darkness" inside Cole that he can tap to enhance his powers. He struggles to control this power which makes him almost physically ill and he is afraid of it. Later in the book it seems as though he's reluctantly accepting of the "darkness".
• Early in the book, Cole feels he must kill the people that can see him (which can only see him because they
  wish to die). He feels that he is slipping away from the physical realm, or existence entirely, and that killing them keeps him from vanishing. It is implied that he has some sort of internal conflict about this, and might not actually want to kill these people. "You need to stop."-Page 21 of Asunder
• As the book progresses, Cole begins to understand that murdering people, even if they want to die, is morally wrong. He comes to this conclusion thanks to Rhys expressing his displeasure, and Cole desperately wants to remain Rhys' friend, so he obliges. Further into the book, he realizes he has no "burning" need to kill anymore, and actually willingly chooses to spare lives. "What did he feel now? Even with the darkness unleashed, crawling up inside of him like a horde of hungry insects, there was still no burning need...If he didn't need to do it, did that make it mercy instead of murder?"-Page 335 of Asunder

tl dr: you will not have him in your team unless you are into emo derspawns


all from that shitty Gaiders book. dont know how much of this shit will be in game.

 

[set]

Holy shit that is the most angst-ridden deviantart-tier story I've ever had the misfortune to read. How do you know all that? Why do you know all that? Why would BioWare think a character like that appeals to anybody at all? He's neither badass, likable, attractive, interesting nor relatable. You can't even hate him; he's just pathetic.

 

[Elfberserker]

There are some characters that you like to cheer
Then there are some characters that you love to hate.
Finally there are some characters that causes headaches and confusion...

I am in middle camp for now until further information.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

Also, isn't portraying a gay character as a metrosexual looking mage with an obvious curly gay mustache stereotyping?

Actually, nothing quite says "I'm a manly heterosexual whoremonger driven half-mad by absinthe and an advanced case of syphilis" than a handlebar moustache.

 

[Volourn]

"oly shit that is the most angst-ridden deviantart-tier story I've ever had the misfortune to read. How do you know all that? Why do you know all that? Why would BioWare think a character like that appeals to anybody at all? He's neither badass, likable, attractive, interesting nor relatable. You can't even hate him; he's just pathetic."

Some people like that stuff.I mean 90% of the PST characters were pathetic but people still liked them. L0L

 

[Athelas]

Dorian sounds like he could possibly be Gaider's self-insert character. I guess when I inevitably play DA;I, I'll romance him for maximum depravity.

 

[set]

Oh Volorun, comparing DA3 characters with PST characters... they aren't even remotely the same. But it's exactly the kind of argument that'd make amazing bait if argued correctly.

 

[Volourn]

Think about it. Almost every joinable PST npc has some 'magical/mystical' tie to TNO that they can't resist because he is just that 'charismastic'. You can't get any more pathetic than that. FFS Then you have 'ol bones who has been long dead but still acts like a 13 year old boy who gets his first ahrd on when he sees a pair of b00bies. Then you gott FFG who is such a rebel she shpits in the tradion of her entire race because she 'knows better' and does so by starting a brothel where you can't have sex. How edgy, rebeliy, and new age. (and I mock her out of love b/c FFg is one of my favorite characters ever). R00fles!

P.S. And, every single character has some sort of sad pathetic history/characetr trait ala Annah having and enjoying sex with her 'daddies'.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Wait... what... I was just kidding... it wasn't supposed to be true...

Spoiler

It IS a TRAP!

 

[Elfberserker]

Ahahahahahahaaaaaaa.
....
Wait a minute...Is that just very mannish woman or actual Trap?

 

[Lagole Gon]

You know the answer. Every real Codexer does.

And seriously, fuck Bioware. SMA is way hotter. And probably better endowed.

 

[Excidium]

Now we know why everyone is ugly, they are modelled after Bioware employees

 

[imweasel]

Wait... what... I was just kidding... it wasn't supposed to be true...

Spoiler

It IS a TRAP!

Well, that explains why Morrigan looks like shit in DA:I.

 

[Mary Sue Leigh]

Marzipan, really?
Can't argue with street cred like that.

 

[Angthoron]

 

[dryan]

What have they done to mai waifu?

 

[Angthoron]

That's her original design in the cutscenes.

 

[Xu Fugui]

That said, this is a fantasy setting and there is no obvious way to do anything, as long as they thought it through.

That's the problem with Bioware, they never do.

 

[kris]

The Negroe comment wasn't meant as anything political or whatever. It comes from annoyance about every European Middle Ages based Fantasy game desperatly trying to give black folks a major role in their games, "'cause inclusion, you know". - Whilst in Europe during the Middle Ages there wasn't that much Negroe around.
But I don't really care about it, it's not as much an immersion breaker as strong lesbians leading the Churches and Guilds all over the place.

This is often an economical decision. Everyone knows that people want to play characters and meet characters of their own ethnicity. More apparent in movies were they shoehorn in characters just to sell a bit more. Of course some people do this to be inclosive for sure.

It is funny then that their asian game Jade empire was the game that had the least characters and people outside its main ethnicity group.

 

[Infinitron]

Wait... what... I was just kidding... it wasn't supposed to be true...

It IS a 4CHAN LINK!

Fixed.

 

[Excidium]

No shit. 80% of what's humorous on the codex is from 4chan. The rest is from DAC

 

[chestburster]

It is funny then that their asian game Jade empire was the game that had the least characters and people outside its main ethnicity group.

It's even funnier considering that the Black Whirlwind character is inspired by a Chinese novel character who is (most likely) a Black dude.

Also look at this black dude in ancient China:

 

[Malpercio]

If I ever wrote a homosexual character then I wouldn't make him an overly obvious one. Maybe even a repressed one. This one is just dragged straight from the pride parade.

Why the fuck does it even matter?
This kind of Fantasy is broadly based on the Middle Ages, right?
So wymyn fucking cook, Negroes nigg (far away from the Homeland), and gays fucking don't exist, at least not officialy!
My point: If for some reason you need to include strong wymyn and cewl gayzzz at least do it in a be fucking lieveable way!

It matters because it matters to them and you seemingly have interest as you post in this thread.

What I wrote was basically what you said. A non-obvious/repressed homosexual character is more along the one that is in a middle age setting. That said, this is a fantasy setting and there is no obvious way to do anything, as long as they thought it through.

Your "Negroes" comment is the strangest as far as a fantasy setting go. If anything a good fantasy setting don't have stereotypes completetly mirroring our world

First of all: I didn't want to criticize your post. I wanted to criticize the fact that Bioware and many of their fans (as the public in general) talk about these issues all the time and always as if it automatically was a good thing.
I didn't make that clear enough because I was abviously in rage mode.
So I agree that your original post isn't that far away from what I said.

The Negroe comment wasn't meant as anything political or whatever. It comes from annoyance about every European Middle Ages based Fantasy game desperatly trying to give black folks a major role in their games, "'cause inclusion, you know". - Whilst in Europe during the Middle Ages there wasn't that much Negroe around.
But I don't really care about it, it's not as much an immersion breaker as strong lesbians leading the Churches and Guilds all over the place.

Yeah, good think this isn't Europe, it's fucking magical land of generic fantasy. Bioware quality of writing aside, you can have white, black, yellow or purple people in your game and it still would make sense, because it's not based on our world history and continents. Why the fuck would it break your immersion if some characters are blacks?