Friday 26 December 2014

Guest Post: Murphy's Perfect Dragon Age - Part Three


 So, we’ve looked at our lead character, our villain, and the setting, so let’s talk about advisors and companions - in this instance, specifically only the mages of the latter. Advisors, like the ones in Inquisition, will be specialists who remain at your base, but can be interacted with like party members and utilised in war table missions to procure resources, influence or items. Companions, meanwhile, will be combatants who join you as you go out and blow people up and/or hack them to death.

 So, let’s take a glance at some ideas for ones in Dragon Age, specifically your three advisors and your three warrior-class companions.

 Advisors

 

  Magister Aurelia: Mention of her and her hastily-picked-out name was prominent in the last post, and it makes sense to have her as an advisor. A shrewd but eccentric Tevinter magister in control of a large estate, she would take the role usually filled by Josephine: That of a skilled diplomat who uses her influence and negotiation skills to achieve what she wants, with maybe a bit of subterfuge now and then.

 As a close acquaintance of your character, she would potentially also be your most trusted advisor, and in conversation there could be reminiscing about the good old times. Obviously, not a romance option. I mean, in some origins, she would be your mother.

 Morrigan: Eh, why not? She functionally became one of your advisors in Inquisition, if only for a short time, she’s a fan favourite, and she could easily fulfil the role that Leliana held in Inquisition (Leliana herself, alas, cannot, as she might be Divine Victoria).

 Morrigan is skilled at subterfuge and has honed her skills at the Orlaisian court, and as a mage would have at least some societal capital in Tevinter. She’s slipped into courts before and ingratiated herself to a monarch in order to further her plans, so there’s no reason why she can’t do so again.

 Commander Grattius: A rather gruff, older non-mage, Grattius would have been the garrison commander for the previous Archon, and gigantically distrustful of the new one. It seems like it would be nice, after all, to have an advisor who doesn’t like your character: Every advisor in Inquisition was a generally cordial, pleasant person, after all, but that won’t always be the case when dealing with an inner circle of experts.

 Grattius would fulfil the role that Cullen fulfilled in Inquisition, solving problems with the application of soldiers and martial forces, and pursuing missions related to building up your army.

Warriors

 

  Ser Cullen Rutherford: What? I, like many people, really like Cullen. I was quite disappointed that despite being a capable fighter and templar, he was an advisor rather than a companion in Inquisition, so let’s rectify that with Dragon Age: Hypothetical. That’s what fanfiction is for, after all.

 Sent from the Inquisition to provide aid to the new Archon, Cullen would join you in battle as a warrior with templar abilities, with a greatsword as his main weapon. He would be a romance option (for men and women, as there are sound files indicating that Cullen was intended to be bisexual), but only if you didn’t import an Inquisition save file in which he was romanced.

 As a whole, he’d be suspicious of you and Tevinter, and provide a Ferelden viewpoint on things, probably being one of the characters who gets into arguments more often.

 Raetia: Tevinter is Roman/Byzantine, so it makes sense that they’d have gladiators. Raetia would be a freewoman gladiatrix, specialising in a sword and shield, who is recruited by your Archon due to her unparalleled skill in the arena.

 Raetia probably adores Tevinter culture, and goes in for it entirely. She’s a celebrity, after all, and a freewoman (and possibly a noble) do something she loves doing. While she might come into conflict with other party members who point out how brutal her career of choice is, she’s hardly going to care: It’s not her job to care, and everyone she faces would kill her if they could.

 Her specialisation would be Guardian, focusing on defence and taunting: Essentially, your tank. She’d also be your only warrior who starts out with a specialisation in sword and shield.

 Karasten: A Qunari infantry commander sent to assist the new Archon. The Qunari have been skirmishing with Tevinter for decades, but they aren’t stupid. They know that a demonic quasi Old God is bad for everybody, including them, and we know that the Qunari, while they may not like playing nice with others, are entirely capable of it.

 Playing nice doesn’t mean playing nice, though. Karasten would be eager to discuss the Qun with people, but outright scornful of Tevinter culture, seeing it as base, low and decadent, filled with corruption and people losing their way. Expect many suggestions that everybody should die. Like Jaavik in Mass Effect, only multiplied by a factor of a thousand.

 His specialisation would be Reaver, like Iron Bull’s, with many of the same abilities.

 Next week we’ll finish up on companions by covering your Mages and Rogues.

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