They definitely seem to have a large population, to say nothing of converts and spy networks. The controlled breeding program lends to that, I imagine.
Is there just the one continent (plus surrounding islands) in Thedas or is it like Elder Scrolls with other continents that just rarely get referenced?
We don't really know. Not much exploration has happened in Thedas, due to the constant wars and dragons and what not. We know the Qunari are from a northern continent, that's about it.
Except the one time the Qunari tried that they were stopped. Hard. See, there's a huge gap between the Qunari and the rest of Thedas in terms of magic and magical weapons. The Qunari have cannons and bombs, true, but a mage against gunpowder is a mage victory. This is why the Qunari and the Tevinter have been stuck at a stalemate for a very, very long time.
Uh, it took the entire continent of Thedas 150 years of continual warfare, along with the decimation of the population of Rivain to stop the Qunari. That doesn't sound like put down hard at all. I do wonder why they haven't tried again though.
150 years of continual warfare and no land remains in Qunari hands, except an island to the north. That's pretty impressive against an opponent with better numbers, soldiers, and technology.
There's a codex entry in ... DA2? ... that mentions that the Qunari didn't withdraw because of losses to their own forces, but due to the suffering inflicted upon the "local" Rivainis, suggesting they could have easily continued to keep fighting in Thedas but perhaps the Qun dictated that they act to preserve as many qunari lives as possible, after they had converted many of the Rivaini.
I would love a full fledged qunari invasion storyline for future games, as much as I like fighting demons and dark spawn, there's something's more interesting in fighting fully developed enemies who have their own humanistic agendas and goals and who aren't just good v evil
I'm hoping we can inquisite the Quanri into oblivion as an industrious little Inquisitor. It's possible they're the reason for the sky vomiting demons up, even! Only one way to find out!
people sure love that one codex entry though, that trys to give a reason why kirkwall makes everyone stupid
I have no idea what you're talking about. You mean the one about how Kirkwall has a super weak Veil due to all the blood magic and slave deaths and what not? Because there's a couple of reason that Kirkwall is a fucked up place, and it's not just mentioned in the codex.
Besides all the blood magic, and the vast amounts of slaves killed in and around it, it's also, as noted by the codex, very possibly one giant sigil. Gameplay wise, one of the definite reasons is that Corypheus is imprisoned not far from there.
I would say we've covered most of the South, I think we've covered the Chantry enough. But I do want to look more toward the North, I want to see what happens to nations like Tevinter, Rivaine, and do more with the Qunari.
people sure love that one codex entry though, that trys to give a reason why kirkwall makes everyone stupid
And there's a lot of lore nerds who are convinced the demons in the The Awiergan Scrolls quests are the source of all Kirkwall's evils, too. But whether or not Hawke killed those isn't mentioned in the Keep, so that's probably not it.
It will be interesting to see if Kirkwall gets saner in DA:I. If it does, then it was probably Corypheus who was making Kirkwall nuts.
Tevinter has a pretty cool style, all black and Byzantine Roman-esque, and what not. Hell, they're at war with the Qunari still, do a Tevinter based game about the Empire gearing up for a counter invasion.
I'm still disappointed they went with a big bad, rather than having it deal with the various civil wars
I blame the fanbase for this. Apparently most people who play BioWare games think that if they're not saving the universe, then the story is unengaging. Laidlaw said that was one of their primary takeaways from player feedback on DA2. I guess it's possible that they could make the Inquisitor the savior of the universe in a War of the Roses/Game of Thrones type conflict, but... a boss fight is so much more unambiguous, and in a civil war plot, there'd be huge pushback if the player couldn't pick a side. I bet they're really hesitant to bifurcate the lore the way they did with Mage vs. Templars in DA2, so I don't think we'll ever again see a main plot conflict resolved by the player making that sort of choice.
Also, after the relatively negative reactions to DA2 and the ME3 ending shitstorm, I think it's to be expected that the plot and ending of DA:I are going to be the red, red meat of the most cliched fantasy tropes. DA:I is a game for getting the broader fanbase back on the bus.
I'm still disappointed they went with a big bad, rather than having it deal with the various civil wars
I blame the fanbase for this. Apparently most people who play BioWare games think that if they're not saving the universe, then the story is unengaging. Laidlaw said that was one of their primary takeaways from player feedback on DA2. I guess it's possible that they could make the Inquisitor the savior of the universe in a War of the Roses/Game of Thrones type conflict, but... a boss fight is so much more unambiguous, and in a civil war plot, there'd be huge pushback if the player couldn't pick a side. I bet they're really hesitant to bifurcate the lore the way they did with Mage vs. Templars in DA2, so I don't think we'll ever again see a main plot conflict resolved by the player making that sort of choice.
Also, after the relatively negative reactions to DA2 and the ME3 ending shitstorm, I think it's to be expected that the plot and ending of DA:I are going to be the red, red meat of the most cliched fantasy tropes. DA:I is a game for getting the broader fanbase back on the bus.
Urk. What's the reply choice that indicates that I agree with you, but I still hate it so so much?
On the bright side, I like who the big bad is, or at least who I think it is, so that's cool.
I'm actually hoping that...
Corypheus is acting on behalf of some greater power, like Sovereign was for the Reapers in ME1. If every new DA game has squeeze the lore to pop out a new Big Bad, then that's going to be sort of lame. A greater malevolent power stuck in the Fade who can only indirectly influence the events on Thedas would be a lot cooler, and a unifying plot element across many games.
htm on
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
Also...I still have my feedback from when they asked about DA2.
Its funny because some of the stuff I asked for totally made it in the game, and some of the other stuff I asked for I actually kind of disagree with now.
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Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
Damn. Accidentally clicked that Inquisition spoiler..
If it is Corypheus that is the elder one, that would bring in some interesting questions about what might be Blackwall's role in the inquisition since he's the only party member that will be able to kill him if Corypheus has that sort of archdemon like body transfering he seemed to showcase in Legacy.
Damn. Accidentally clicked that Inquisition spoiler..
If it is Corypheus that is the elder one, that would bring in some interesting questions about what might be Blackwall's role in the inquisition since he's the only party member that will be able to kill him if Corypheus has that sort of archdemon like body transfering he seemed to showcase in Legacy.
Actually...
Don't forget...Hawke is hanging around with your party for some of the missions.
Damn. Accidentally clicked that Inquisition spoiler..
If it is Corypheus that is the elder one, that would bring in some interesting questions about what might be Blackwall's role in the inquisition since he's the only party member that will be able to kill him if Corypheus has that sort of archdemon like body transfering he seemed to showcase in Legacy.
Actually...
Don't forget...Hawke is hanging around with your party for some of the missions.
Oh shit.
What if the only way to stop Corypheus is using Hawke's blood. All of it. And in order to save the world, you loose half your party 'cause they won't let that happen.
Damn. Accidentally clicked that Inquisition spoiler..
If it is Corypheus that is the elder one, that would bring in some interesting questions about what might be Blackwall's role in the inquisition since he's the only party member that will be able to kill him if Corypheus has that sort of archdemon like body transfering he seemed to showcase in Legacy.
Actually...
Don't forget...Hawke is hanging around with your party for some of the missions.
Yeah but Hawke blood was just for the seal on his prison.
And I get the feeling we'll have to kill him dead rather than stuff in back the cell.
Damn. Accidentally clicked that Inquisition spoiler..
If it is Corypheus that is the elder one, that would bring in some interesting questions about what might be Blackwall's role in the inquisition since he's the only party member that will be able to kill him if Corypheus has that sort of archdemon like body transfering he seemed to showcase in Legacy.
Actually...
Don't forget...Hawke is hanging around with your party for some of the missions.
Oh shit.
What if the only way to stop Corypheus is using Hawke's blood. All of it. And in order to save the world, you loose half your party 'cause they won't let that happen.
Heh.
I doubt Bioware would ever go that extreme. Especially if it meant players would have to choose between their PC(though I'm sure plenty of the DA2 haters would love it).
But I'm thinking if Cory is the big bad you will need Hawke's assistance and that would explain why they've made a decent amount of appearances.
Damn. Accidentally clicked that Inquisition spoiler..
If it is Corypheus that is the elder one, that would bring in some interesting questions about what might be Blackwall's role in the inquisition since he's the only party member that will be able to kill him if Corypheus has that sort of archdemon like body transfering he seemed to showcase in Legacy.
If you didn't like the previous spoiler, then this one is worse...
In the Last Flight novel, it's mentioned that remote Grey Warden fortresses are falling out of contact with Grey Warden HQ; and in spoiled plot text from a DA:I video, it's revealed that Cory is using Warden mages to summon an army of demons. So the implication is that Corypheus can mind control Grey Wardens and that he's taken over at least one Grey Warden fort, and that this why we keep seeing the forces of the Inquisition doing battle with Wardens in the various trailers.
In the other big plot text spoiler, the Inquisitor has a quest to meet Hawke and "The Warden" at a Grey Warden fort. It's not clear who "The Warden" is, but educated guesses are the Hero of Ferelden, Blackwall, or Stroud. No clues about why Hawke is with the the Wardens, though.
In any case, I don't mind if Corypheus is the Elder One. But I think his appearance in the game and the spoilers we know so far bode very ill for the Hero of Ferelden. In the best case, I think that the Hero Ferelden goes out like a boss trying to stop Corypheus. Worst case, something awful happens to her, like... she ends up being a host body for Corypheus.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
Damn. Accidentally clicked that Inquisition spoiler..
If it is Corypheus that is the elder one, that would bring in some interesting questions about what might be Blackwall's role in the inquisition since he's the only party member that will be able to kill him if Corypheus has that sort of archdemon like body transfering he seemed to showcase in Legacy.
Actually...
Don't forget...Hawke is hanging around with your party for some of the missions.
Yeah but Hawke blood was just for the seal on his prison.
And I get the feeling we'll have to kill him dead rather than stuff in back the cell.
Heh...maybe
If Hawke isn't trying to reseal him there will be some kind of deal where since Cory's was one of the original magisters and not a true elder god his spirit can only be locked away in someone who has a blood connection to him specifically.
Heheh...so many possible outcomes.
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Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
edited November 2014
If you didn't like the previous spoiler, then this one is worse...
Well...I mean everything we're talking about is just theory from what we've seen of the trailers.
So we could be wrong about everything. That said...I'm actually feeling kind of confident about at least the base assumptions.
Actually, wasn't there a leak of the achievements awhile back that seemed to confirm The Elder One's identity?
I've been avoiding it.
Well...no spoilers just answering your question.
That list is actually different than the one they've shown us so far.
That said...it was pretty close to the current one in some parts. So Bioware could have changed it up just to throw people off the trail.
One of the more valuable achievements is for defeating Corypheus, so it's very likely he's the Elder One. Given his incredibly powerful magic and being quite possibly the only person to ever physically enter the Fade and survive to the present day, it makes sense.
Well, I think I've read all of the known spoilers so far. And the game remains... remarkably unspoiled. So far, BW has a done an Apple-like job of keeping main plot details secret. And given the sort of suppressed glee that they talk about not spoiling things in the live stream, I think the plot must have a lot of twists and a lot of feels.
Most of the spoilers are conjecture, at this point, but very likely ones. On the other hand, they could be totally off! Like, I though for sure ME2 was about harvesting humans to repair Sovereign.
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Their homeland isn't on the map, just the islands they settled near Thedas. Nobody knows where they actually came from or how many of them there are.
There's a codex entry in ... DA2? ... that mentions that the Qunari didn't withdraw because of losses to their own forces, but due to the suffering inflicted upon the "local" Rivainis, suggesting they could have easily continued to keep fighting in Thedas but perhaps the Qun dictated that they act to preserve as many qunari lives as possible, after they had converted many of the Rivaini.
The codex is in-universe, so it can be wrong.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
I have no idea what you're talking about. You mean the one about how Kirkwall has a super weak Veil due to all the blood magic and slave deaths and what not? Because there's a couple of reason that Kirkwall is a fucked up place, and it's not just mentioned in the codex.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Sounds like they want to do more with the qunari aswell:
Like it would be the inverse of most other DAs where if you pick mage you're actually a noble and stuff.
Sounds really crazy and being a mage nation, should be a nice opportunity to create some really interesting and strange cities.
And there's a lot of lore nerds who are convinced the demons in the The Awiergan Scrolls quests are the source of all Kirkwall's evils, too. But whether or not Hawke killed those isn't mentioned in the Keep, so that's probably not it.
It will be interesting to see if Kirkwall gets saner in DA:I. If it does, then it was probably Corypheus who was making Kirkwall nuts.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
I blame the fanbase for this. Apparently most people who play BioWare games think that if they're not saving the universe, then the story is unengaging. Laidlaw said that was one of their primary takeaways from player feedback on DA2. I guess it's possible that they could make the Inquisitor the savior of the universe in a War of the Roses/Game of Thrones type conflict, but... a boss fight is so much more unambiguous, and in a civil war plot, there'd be huge pushback if the player couldn't pick a side. I bet they're really hesitant to bifurcate the lore the way they did with Mage vs. Templars in DA2, so I don't think we'll ever again see a main plot conflict resolved by the player making that sort of choice.
Also, after the relatively negative reactions to DA2 and the ME3 ending shitstorm, I think it's to be expected that the plot and ending of DA:I are going to be the red, red meat of the most cliched fantasy tropes. DA:I is a game for getting the broader fanbase back on the bus.
Urk. What's the reply choice that indicates that I agree with you, but I still hate it so so much?
Observe.
*Crackles the post to express that exact emotion*
On the bright side, I like who the big bad is, or at least who I think it is, so that's cool.
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I will simply say that is very interesting.
I think it would be funny if the qun was like Puritanism, and they were kicked out of the homeland because everyone hated the fanatic assholes
I'm actually hoping that...
Its funny because some of the stuff I asked for totally made it in the game, and some of the other stuff I asked for I actually kind of disagree with now.
Actually...
Oh shit.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
And I get the feeling we'll have to kill him dead rather than stuff in back the cell.
Heh.
But I'm thinking if Cory is the big bad you will need Hawke's assistance and that would explain why they've made a decent amount of appearances.
If you didn't like the previous spoiler, then this one is worse...
In the other big plot text spoiler, the Inquisitor has a quest to meet Hawke and "The Warden" at a Grey Warden fort. It's not clear who "The Warden" is, but educated guesses are the Hero of Ferelden, Blackwall, or Stroud. No clues about why Hawke is with the the Wardens, though.
In any case, I don't mind if Corypheus is the Elder One. But I think his appearance in the game and the spoilers we know so far bode very ill for the Hero of Ferelden. In the best case, I think that the Hero Ferelden goes out like a boss trying to stop Corypheus. Worst case, something awful happens to her, like... she ends up being a host body for Corypheus.
Heh...maybe
Heheh...so many possible outcomes.
No! I must not click.
Maker give me strength.
*holds up cross*
So we could be wrong about everything. That said...I'm actually feeling kind of confident about at least the base assumptions.
I've been avoiding it myself.
Well...no spoilers just answering your question.
That said...it was pretty close to the current one in some parts. So Bioware could have changed it up just to throw people off the trail.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Heh.
Well, I think I've read all of the known spoilers so far. And the game remains... remarkably unspoiled. So far, BW has a done an Apple-like job of keeping main plot details secret. And given the sort of suppressed glee that they talk about not spoiling things in the live stream, I think the plot must have a lot of twists and a lot of feels.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
And by "creative" I mean ME3 green, and by "overly" I mean filled with stupid.