Valmy's ADHD Dragon Age playthrough

[Valmy]

Time to party!



'Josephine got us invitations to the peace party. Do try to keep up Cullen.'

So glad Lothar's advisors are on top of things. Celene is negotiating with her arch enemy, her cousin the Grand Duke Gaspard and further she is surrounded by treacherous Orlesian nobles any one of which could be a Venatori agent...oh and...



'What you mean you haven't counted them all already? Some spymaster.'

Hard to find good help these days. Anyway Sera, Cassandra, and Vivienne will be the party party. Josephine scored them invitations from the Grand Duke so they are in. The Grand Duke seems to think Lothar is going to shake some shit up which he thinks will benefit him...we shall see.



'Oh you sweet talker Grand Duke Gaspar'

Check out Lothar's snappy uniform. He is the very model of a modern major general.

Anyway all the Orlesians are disgusted a mere marcher is the Inquisitor. Man they must really be grumpy if you are a Qunari mage or something. Lothar finds and gives a noble a ring she just lost and that seems to impress them all so I guess it does not take much to move up in their esteem.

Anyway there are these Halla Statues laying around that open up doors to the Palace. Lothar picks one up but myseriously does not use it to open the tutorial door. Meanwhile other security breaches are evident.



'Wait so they just leave compromising trade documents laying around during a public event?'

It is amazing this empress is still alive. But this is actually part of a big fetch quest that will torment me throughout this entire section of the game. There are all these secrets you have to find, either documents or eavesdrop on sensitive conversations, and eventually give them to Leliana so she can murder everybody. Well being an accessory to Leliana atrocities is nothing new.



'Oh and these things again'

And the other fetch quest is finding a bunch of these coins just like in the Orlesian party in Dragon Age II. Now for Urien it was sentimental, his mother used to give him Caprice coins. I have no idea why Lothar is doing this except that the Orlesian approve for some reason.



'Her sentence was cut off when she died horribly'



'Oh please say yes. I want to see Lady Dulci start a fist fight.'

Actually it would have been awesome if Nella and Emile and their kid was there. But alas all I got to hear about was the massive amounts of wine they were consuming so I presume it was Emile's two drunkard sisters. If you forgot who I am talking about the de Launcets were that family that Urien's mother almost married into in Dragon Age 2 and you later help their son pop his cherry in the Hanged Man.

Lothar enters the palace proper and enters the vestibule (or is it an antechamber? Two nobles were having a pretty heated argument on that point). Josephine walks over and warns him of the cutthroat dangerous nature of 'the game', how murder and death are treated with the greatest of posh indifference, and how he is in far greater danger there than he was in the fade with the nightmare demon. But fortunately...



'Really? Because the thing you said was less dangerous was far from fine.'

Maybe she should have led with that. Lothar pokes around the vestibule a bit and finds mostly just locked doors but there are some nobles from Orzammar around to observe and are gossiping a bit. It seems King Bhelen favors Celene. Celene must be one vile tyrant indeed to have his support. Also there was this gem:



'I am glad Jerrik Dace finally came to his senses.'

If they break into that place we might as well forget about Corypheus because the world will soon be over anyway.

Into the party. Everybody gets introduced proper.



'Wait which heretics did he purge again?'

Maybe it was a table mission? Or are we talking about the Red Templars? Eh oh well.



'Nine generations removed? Is he 400 years old or something?'

I don't think the writers knew what 'times removed' means . Lothar Bernard Anthony Ferdinand Aurelian Tythas Trevelyan and Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena (et al.) Pentaghast together 4eva! Funny they made the same aristocrat joke I did.



'That's right. I brought her. You might as well surrender now bad guys.'

Wait I thought she was Madam de Fer. Such a cooler title.



'*facepalm*'

I have to admit I had a sick curiosity for how Sera would be introduced.



'Of Honnleath huh? I should ask him about Shale...but of course Lothar never met Shale.'



'Seneschal? Is that what they are calling it these days?'



'I hope Josephine's lame intro compared to her colleagues doesn't give her a complex.'

Lothar and Grand Duke Gaspard are then presented to the Empress and expected to say some pleasantries in front of the court.



'Oh you don't have time for pleasanties? Is that why you agreed to attend a masked ball?'

Lothar on the other hand:



'I think there is a little brown on his nose there'

Yes well when in Orlais. Josephine is being tormented by her younger sister Yvette who seems to have the maturity of a 12 year old. Lothar encourages her.



Josephine groans. And Yvette gives him the dirt of Josephine.



'I knew it!'

Cullen is being sexually harrassed by touchy feely Orlesian nobles.



'Nobody just...hey who grabbed my ass!'

Cullen is the most eligible bachelor for some reason. I presume his rugged good looks because it is certainly not his vast wealth.

Vivienne is impressed Lothar has not imploded yet and tells him to watch for the members of the Council of Heralds since they decide titles in Orlais. Also there is another person Lothar should watch out for...



Celene is quite superstitious and has some mystical advisor who wields alot of influence. A suspected Venatori agent. Leliana seems to know her personally.



If Leliana thinks she is ruthless she must really be something. The Venatori did something similar with Cassandra's 14th cousin.
Sera knows people.



So yeah this turns out to be another fetch quest but with some pretty great loot. Lothar has to find Red Jenny stashes like before only instead of being empty that have treasure inside...what a concept.
Cassandra is suprisingly useless.



'Yes yes but um the mission is to play this game so...oh nevermind'

Yeah would have been better off bringing Blackwall. She favors Gaspard which is surprising.

One of the doors in the vestibule is open and Lothar slips into a side room full of statues that are supposed to be a tribute to the heroes of the Fifth Blight but none of them look like Lorcan and his companions so meh it is Redcliffe all over again. Here he finds a couple elf 'servants' who he thinks are Briala's agents and...oh wait I never mentioned Briala did I? Right so Ambassador Briala is the leader of the elves of Orlais and is the third side in the Civil War and is here for the peace talks. Oh and she is the ex-lover of Celene. An elf. How scandalous. Anyway so Lothar listens at a discrete distance.



'It will self-destruct in two minutes'

Wow what great secret agents Briala has. Another discrete eavesdrop gets another gem from another pair of them.



'Well I wonder where the assassins are?'

Lothar rushes back to the servants' quarters but the door is locked tight. Not surprising. He explores the rest of the area and finds Gaspard's uncle who is on the Council of Heralds and learns Gaspard is using threats and violence to intimidate the councilors into supporting him. A rather flustered vassal of another of the councilors who repeats the story. Huh well isn't that interesting? Vivienne is right again.

In a nearby garden Lothar is approached by Celene's weird trio of stepford wife ladies-in-waiting. She wants an alliance and they will talk to him further back in the ballroom. Poking around in the garden he finds the package.



'Hey I could enjoy this secret agent thing'

This document shows how the elves have murdered Celene's and Gaspard's diplomats and sent phony documents to keep the fighting going. She obviously intends to sabotage the peace talks
The fountain for the caprice coins is here and Lothar tosses them in but eh it is kind of lame here. But I will do this quest anyway because I have a sickness only completing quests can cure.

More eavesdropping on a few nobles reveals one favors the Templars and another the mages in a shocking new theme in this series. Lothar goes up to them and says the Templars are with him now so if anybody wants to stop the mages they should join him. The Templar loving noble throws his lot with Lothar.



'Granted the rebel mages are mostly dead or working for Corypheus anyway...'

Lothar climbs up a lattice in the garden to an upper balcony where he accidently opens one of the Halla doors. I decided to go with it and acquired a nice (forged) document for Celene's people written by the elves to keep the fighting up with Gaspard. In a nearby library there was a secret office with a nice (forged) document for Gaspard the elves have forged to look like it was from Celene. Well isn't that delicious? Upon finding that document a bell sounds summoning Lothar back to the ballroom so he scrambles back.

As he gets to the door a voice calls from behind him 'well well what have we here?' and Morrigan descends from a staircase behind Lothar just like she did behind Lorcan back in the day. Yes Morrigan is the apostate advisor for the superstitious Celene.



'Hey didn't you tell Leliana you would never wear a dress like that?'

She looks more like she did in the 'Temple of Ashes' trailer now than she did in DA:O. I approve. Morrigan was attacked by a Venatori agent earlier in the night and killed him. He had something on his body.



'I wonder what it could unlock?'

Morrigan notes that if something happens to Celene it might be her head being the hated apostate. She warns Lothar that not all his enemies will be Venatori.



'Yes it will. I hope you have a lovely night'

I have to say I never thought I would see the day Morrigan is more charming and pleasant than Leliana. Lorcan definitely ended up with the right one.

Speaking of Leliana she is indulging in her other great passion. A passion for fashion.



'Morrigan making cryptic quips, Leliana talking about shoes...wait what game is this?'

Gaspard reveals his great political skills in his plans for Orlais.



'Yeah I am sure that will work great'

Lothar is pretty disgusted with both Gaspard and his heavy handed tactics and Briala and her murderous duplicity. He rushes back to the secret library where he finds a veil fire and some braziers labelled with the names of the Orlesian Emperors. They had to be lit in the order of their reigns. Well I know Florian was the emperor who had an incestous homosexual relationship with his cousin, and then made him King of Ferelden in 'The Stolen Throne' when they broke up. So two of the last two Orlesian rulers have had politically troublesome homosexual lovers. A clue said the order was in a straight line and a plaque downstairs said that Etienne I was Emperor during the Storm Age, which was two ages ago. So I guessed Etienne I - Florian and was right.



'Secret stairs...to LOOT!'

The regular library also had some nice quest stuff. After that stuff was done Lothar rushed back to meet with Briala.



'Yes that is obvious'

Well helping elves is a laudable goal...not sure that justifies her tactics. But best to keep an open mind. On to the servant's quarters!



'Vivienne must have some experience in this sort of thing'

I think Lothar will scratch off 'being an Orlesian valet' off his list of potential post-Inquisition careers. So somebody is in Celene's base killing her dudes.



'Man they just leave these things laying around anywhere don't they?'

A jumping puzzle seems so silly in a Dragon Age game. Oh well nothing I cannot handle. Down in a garden in the servant wing they find a Council of Heralds emissary dead with a knife bearing the crest of a certain family.



'This knife was planted! It is not the Shadow Thieves but Sarevok who is responsible! Oh wait wrong game.'

It is Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons by the way, in case that was not obvious. So somebody is obviously setting up Gaspard. Not even a heavy handed oaf like him would be that stupid. Then the Venatori attack along with those wonderfully awesome Harlequin assassins from DA2.



'A Harlequin ganking of Sera'

Just so awesome. I want more of that wacky shit Bioware! Orlesian bad guys with funky weapons and crazy masks and outfits were needed here but all you gave me were more Venatori and the dudes from DA2. I want Chevaliers with crazy elaborate armor duel wielding basket swords, jesters juggling grenades, fire breathing circus performers....come on lets go nuts! Oh well.

Lothar explores the area and finds a second Red Jenny stash (there was another one back by the guy I recruited for the Inquisition) and more stuff for the fetch quests and another Halla door but I decide to come back to it later.

Eventually they kill all the Venatori and Briala approaches them.



'Shocked that you suspect Gaspard!'

So did Briala murder her own people to set up Gaspard? Seems unlikely...

Then who?



'Pretty much just you my dear.'

So the bell rings again and Lothar rushes back to the ballroom. This time he is greeted by Grand Duchess Florianne, Gaspard's sister and the hostess of this soiree, who wants to dance with him so she can warn him on the dance floor. Well Lothar spent his youth doing little but dancing, fencing, drinking, gossiping, and riding so that comes pretty naturally.



'I think you mean all the parties.'

She attempts to convince him that Gaspard is a traitor. Well isn't that interesting?



'And he is just going to wait there for me? Color me doubtful.'

So the dance ends.



'I will challenge Corypheus to a dance off!'

Leliana is sure Florianne is setting a trap for Lothar in the Royal Wing Garden. Lothar's advisors all agree that the other two have the wrong candidate to back.



'Huh. The spymaster wants him to support the spymaster. The military man favors the military man. The ambassador favors the diplomat. How shocking.'

So the three competitors for the throne are kind of like the Inquisition's advisors. I took that as a clue that the best outcome would be an alliance between the three so that was what I was determined to do from this point on. Unless Gaspard was the guy working with Corypheus but I was pretty sure he was set up. But just to check Lothar asks Gaspard about it.



'The elf probably didn't kill her own people so...or maybe she did Leliana likes her.'

Well you would expect Gaspard to deny it but he did admit he intimidated all the heralds with violence and smuggling troops into the palace. Does not seem like a very subtle guy. Celene's Stepford ladies are likewise rather impressed with Briana's murder and doube-dealing.



'Also cross 'Orlesian ambassador' off the list of possible post-Inquisitor careers'

Everybody is just so indifferent to their crimes I have a hard time believing Gaspard is lying. Orlesians are wonderful. Lothar decides to comb around for fetch quest stuff he may have missed. There are a few more that show up in the library and more on the hallways off the Hall of Heroes...but here he also overhears the guys guarding Gaspard's trophy room gossiping and walks up to talk to them. They are excited Lothar is the Inquisitor and ask him about the battle at Haven. Lothar takes a chance.



And all three of them all go off to talk to Cullen about it. So Lothar slips into Gaspard's trophy room. Wow. Worst guards ever. Not even one of them stayed behind. Lothar finds some more stuff but also a cache of secret orders detailing Gaspard's plan to launch a coup tonight. Huh. Maybe Florianne was right? He slips out before the guards get back from talking to Cullen.

At that point I decide to go ahead and enter another one of the Halla doors. This one is beside the Caprice fountain in the garden off the Hall of Heroes. Inside is...another garden and more of the Heralds and other nobles milling about. Huh? How did they all get in here?



'So the Royal Wing Gardens are sealed eh?'

At this point I start thinking Florianne is up to no good but Leliana already suspected that and she is usually right.



Lothar finds the last Red Jenny Stash and a few other things. He also finds a few nobles trying to figure out puzzles from previous Bioware games.



'Man that one stumped me KOTOR but in Mass Effect I was a pro'

That was not the only one either

He has found almost all the fetch quest stuff by now.

Leliana's people get him into the Royal Wing where Cassandra, Sera, and Vivienne join him. They find a bedroom shortly in where a single elf is about to be murdered by a harlequin, who jumps out the window when he sees them approach. Man how is that for timing and Urien is not even here! The elf says she was ordered there by Briana and she sent that harlequin to kill her to shut her up because she knows a little secret:



She does not give two fucks about the elves and is using them for her own selfish powergames. The poor elves even get fucked over by their own. Well maybe she did sacrifice her people to set up Gaspard? That would be cold blooded shit. Well who thought the elf freedom fighter would be so evil?

Lothar finds his way into Celene's bedroom, behind another Halla door, to find that she has seduced one of Gaspard's chevaliers and chained him to her bed naked.



It seems Celene knew all about Gaspard's coup and was planning on letting him launch it then arrest everybody. Well that will be handy information. Cassandra is almost physically ill with all this cloak and dagger stuff. I guess she was sheltered from everything her colleague was doing when she was serving Divine Justinia V.



'Wahoo! The last fetch quest item!'

Lothar returns to the fountain and tosses all his coins into the Caprice fountain and visits Leliana.



'Leliana now has all their secrets. Hundreds of Orlesian nobles will die in the coming weeks.'

I cannot even begin to describe how much time I spent canvassing that place finding those damn coins and secrets. So glad that was over. Next Lothar goes into the servants' wing to open that other Halla door now that he has all the Halla. But that door required three Halla and he only had two left. Probably no more Halla doors can be opened. Damn he only got to open three doors with all those Halla? Anyway back to the Royal wing.

So they go to the Royal Wing Garden and Florianne is waiting with some archers and a fade rift.



'Wow Leliana was right again'

So yes it is a trap and Florianne is working for Corypheus who has promised her the role of empress of the world once he becomes a god. Well she is nothing if not ambitious. Then she sends in her goons while she goes off and assumes everything goes according to plan. Bad guys amiright?



'Um yeah about that hand...he can close fade rifts were you aware?'

Well somehow there is a fade rift here. Did Celene not notice this during her stay here? A pretty tough fight with demons erupts but Lothar has his marked saved up so down they go.



'Ok everybody just group all these demons in the middle!'

She was not lying about Gaspard's mercenary captain, he was tied up next door. He is a Ferelden and eagerly decides to switch sides to Lothar. Never rely on mercs for intrigues Gaspard. He says he was here to supplement Gaspard's troops and confirms there was a coup planned for tonight. So hey now Lothar has people to testify against all three contendors for power as well as ample documentation.

On the way back to the ballroom they find two more Halla doors. I bet there was some good loot behind them

Now comes the cool part. Lothar bursts in shortly before Florianne can kill Celene and confronts her in front of the entire court.



'I love Florianne's smirk here. Like 'of course my evil plan failed.'

Lothar then exposes her whole scheme to the court in the style of Sherlock Holmes, how she murdered the emissary and framed Gaspard, how she let in the Venatori to kill Briana's agents, and how she planned to murder the empress.



'Take her away boys'

So she gets seized by the guards and taken off for judgment. Then Celene invites him back to talk to she, Briana, and Gaspard.

Briana tries to claim Gaspard was in league with Florianne. Briana sucks ass. Celene has shitty taste in women. Anyway Lothar is about to drop the bomb.



'That's right. Nobody wins and nobody loses. You all suck.'

Lothar exposes all their crimes once again Sherlock Holmes style.



Frankly I don't think he has much on Celene here, but she did purge the alienage so fuck her. He demands they all work together to rule Orlais as a spymaster-diplomat-warlord team.



'Wait are you sure you are the diplomat?'

Maybe this was not the best outcome for Orlais after all. Ah well. They all go out to make speeches announcing the accord to the shock of the Orlesian court.



'I know. Not one public murder. What a boring party.'

Afterwards the party starts back up again and Lothar goes outside to reflect on his total victory. Morrigan follows him out and asks him why he left the party.



'I mean really, booze run out at such a fancy party? The national shame or Orlais will last a thousand years.'

Lothar may not be a funny guy like Urien but he has a few quips. Morrigan insists she is being donated by Celene to join the Inquisition but eh...I don't believe it she has some other plan. But hey Leliana AND Morrigan on my team? We really only need Zev to get the triple crown of sketchy DAO characters.



'We have pie'

I wonder where Lorcan is and their son? After she leaves Cassandra comes out and scolds him for leaving her alone with all those nobles. She is eager to get back to Skyhold but Lothar has one dance on his dance card. Awwwww isn't that precious?



And thus ends a perfect evening. Well except for all the elves and that vassal who were murdered.



So...yeah pretty self-explanatory.

[Valmy]

Also, Sera is a lesbian.  I guess it's gay men version of how a lesbian is supposed to be
That would explain why Gaider said Dorian was his first fully homosexual character and totally forgot about Sera.

She is eh? Well I guess that explains why she wanted Celene to win solely because she was the prettiest one.

And meh Dorian flings fire. Maybe not giant balls of fire but fire.

[viper37]

Lothar picks one up but myseriously does not use it to open the tutorial door.

total mystery!

I have no idea why Lothar is doing this except that the Orlesian approve for some reason.

You show respect for Orlesian cultural traditions and such.

I don't think the writers knew what 'times removed' means .

ah, got it.  "removed" implies generational gap.

Wait I thought she was Madam de Fer. Such a cooler title.

Only to her back.

'*facepalm*'
I have to admit I had a sick curiosity for how Sera would be introduced.

sick being the key word

'I think there is a little brown on his nose there'

take one for the team, and all that

[Martinus]

Wait, so the Empress of Orlais is also a lesbian?

[Valmy]

Wait, so the Empress of Orlais is also a lesbian?

Maybe. She did almost marry King Cailan and seduced that one chevalier so I would vote bisexual. But those may have just been political. But bisexuality seems to be a norm among the characters you meet whose sexuality is ever firmly established. Is it a norm for society in general or just the characters you meet for the purposes of making more romantic options for the player? Never addressed.

Which kind of touches on my issue here. Gender and sexuality are both really important and not really important in this story. There is general openness, except when the plot demands otherwise . But this is also a violent, agricultural, pre-modern society where reproduction is a very serious concern and should dominate these considerations yet they are barely a consideration. Not one of the characters ever says anything about feeling pressure or even a desire to have children unless they become a king (and even then I have not heard the Alistair and Anora ever got that accomplished). I mean the economic need to have lots of kids and doing so to simply maintain your numbers is not something that demands intolerance of homosexual relations but I think there was an expectation and demand even in those societies to also be popping out kids. But in this world even the heterosexuals usually only have a small number of children if any at all. This society should have long since died out with all the numerous things killing people everyday. And nevermind female characters having regular heterosexual sex for years on end without ever getting pregnant. I mean that is hard to do now in the era of the pill. But maybe Isabela had a magical Antivan baby-away amulet. Maybe Merrill was magically blood magicking her womb. But you cannot really fall back on 'magic' as an explanation for everything since if it were mages would have a very different role in society than they do in the story. Every village would need a mage.

But maybe everybody you meet is unusual and off-screen everybody else is having 20 babies a woman. Could be. But nobody is ever from a big family.

The elves are even weirder. Having relations with humans will destroy the elves as a species, a very old and proud species. So one would expect this to be a very serious taboo that any elf character would have to wrestle with. But none (that I can recall) of the elf characters even bring it up, even the ones who have had human children. There is zero shame from the other elves nor any guilt on the part of the elf parent, most of the taboo seems to come from the humans but why would they care? An elf blood is just a human. So if it was never going to be explored why was this plot point even introduced? To justify why Alistair is not elfy at all?

Now it is just a game and it is fun so really I don't care but I cannot help but think a bit about it all the time. Why? Because they constantly introduce characters and plot points involving gender and sexuality yet never really explore them or make them cohesive. So you are constantly reminded that you don't understand what is going on with respect to these themes. It is weird because generally the writers do take pains to explain how other recurring themes work. 

It is like when Crem outted himself as a transman. I mean he hides it, he was bribing doctors in Tevinter to keep it a secret (nevermind the silliness of the Tevinter military having physical examinations of recruits by doctors like this is the Vietnam war or something ). But he just assumes that the Inquisitor will be perfectly fine with it and he is right. It is just mentioned in passing, there is not confiding or asking the Inquisitor to keep it a secret. So is transgender no big deal? Cool, but on the other hand they make it sound like it was kind of a big deal in his life. So it is like the issue was brought up but nothing significant really came from it as far as learning about the setting. Besides the fact that the Qun accommodates it because I guess what gender you are is the only thing you have the free will to choose in that culture. That was a bit surprising.

[Valmy]

total mystery!

You show respect for Orlesian cultural traditions and such.

Yeah I get that. It just seemed alot more interesting of a quest when there was a personal reason to do it in DA2.

ah, got it.  "removed" implies generational gap.

14th cousin is also pretty absurd. We are probably much closer related than that. Obviously it was a joke about how big and absurd the Pentaghast royal family is but they might have overplayed it a bit

Only to her back.

Yeah I guess it is a bit like being 'the dragon lady' or something.

[viper37]

She favors Gaspard which is surprising.

Not really.

He's a warrior who hates the game and prefer the direct approach.

She looks more like she did in the 'Temple of Ashes' trailer now than she did in DA:O. I approve.

Need more meat on those bones.

Well helping elves is a laudable goal...not sure that justifies her tactics.

To be honest, it's not like the other 2 are real do-gooders, noblehearted knights defending the widow and the oppressed...  Celene is discrete but nonetheless ruthless, and she will have anybody killed if it can advance her cause.  Gaspard prefers the direct approach, eliminate all threats.

I guess she was sheltered from everything her colleague was doing when she was serving Divine Justinia V.

it's a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand does

Damn he only got to open three doors with all those Halla? Anyway back to the Royal wing.

Well, Celene's door requires 5.  If you skip this one, you can open the last 2 doors and possibly another (the first one on the balcony, I think).  But then, you can't blackmail everyone into submission

Maybe this was not the best outcome for Orlais after all.

By your actions, you have condemned Orlais to a cold civil war for years to come and paralyze their decision making

Triumvirat rarely worked well for long in history


Btw, there's a noble you didn't talk too, or maybe you did not have the perks that opens more nobility talk?  It would have given you one more table mission

[viper37]

Wait, so the Empress of Orlais is also a lesbian?

She is a lesbian.  She has refused to take a suitor for years.  However, she will not hesitate to use her feminine powers to get what she wants from a men.  She's just not romantically or sexually attracted to them.  She deeply loves Briala, but she'll sacrifice her in a heartbeat if it means protecting Orlais.

[Valmy]

Btw, there's a noble you didn't talk too, or maybe you did not have the perks that opens more nobility talk?  It would have given you one more table mission

The lady herald in the ballroom near Josephine about how you should 'dance'? Yes I did 

By your actions, you have condemned Orlais to a cold civil war for years to come and paralyze their decision making

BAH I thought the game was giving me a clue. At least the civil war is 'cold' this time

[Valmy]

Wait, so the Empress of Orlais is also a lesbian?

She is a lesbian.  She has refused to take a suitor for years.  However, she will not hesitate to use her feminine powers to get what she wants from a men.  She's just not romantically or sexually attracted to them.  She deeply loves Briala, but she'll sacrifice her in a heartbeat if it means protecting Orlais.

By doing that isn't she assured Gaspard will be Emperor when she dies? I mean since then do you need to be sexually attracted to or romantically interested in your consort? Besides she was all ready to marry Cailan, but I guess the possibility of acquiring Ferelden was involved.

Oh and Briala is a monster. But maybe that is an attractive trait to Celene 

[viper37]

There is general openness, except when the plot demands otherwise .

Kinda true.  There does not seem to be any religious taboo from any group about homosexuality.
With the nobility, it seems more than you're expected to marry and make babies to further an alliance and the power of your family but whatever you do after that (secret lover) will be tolerated to a point.

Celene's position is weakened due to the rumours about her and Briala.  Is it the lesbian thing or the elf thing?  I don't know.

And nevermind female characters having regular heterosexual sex for years on end without ever getting pregnant.

who says they never do?  Abortion exists.  Stuff like "morning tea" in GoT could also exists.  There's regular methods employed by women since the beginning of times, like checking their temperature with their fingers.  Condoms aren't a new thing either, they used to call it "redingote anglaise" in the 18th century.  And Egyptians used something that could be considered a condom.

But maybe everybody you meet is unusual and off-screen everybody else is having 20 babies a woman. Could be. But nobody is ever from a big family.

We don't know much about peasants.

But none (that I can recall) of the elf characters even bring it up, even the ones who have had human children.

In DA2, wasn't Feynriel's mother exiled from the Dalish?

Because they constantly introduce characters and plot points involving gender and sexuality yet never really explore them or make them cohesive.

that's what happens when you have a gay writer.  There is a need to have gay and bisexual characters everywhere, just like on TV.

But he just assumes that the Inquisitor will be perfectly fine with it and he is right. It is just mentioned in passing, there is not confiding or asking the Inquisitor to keep it a secret. So is transgender no big deal? Cool, but on the other hand they make it sound like it was kind of a big deal in his life. So it is like the issue was brought up but nothing significant really came from it as far as learning about the setting.

Well, it mike make the game more popular on Fox News if your character could call Krem an abomination that needs to be purged with blood magic, but... I'm guessing Bioware doesn't want to push intolerance into their games.  I guess I can live with that part.  It does not make sens storywise, but in the external contest, it does.

[Valmy]

Well, it mike make the game more popular on Fox News if your character could call Krem an abomination that needs to be purged with blood magic, but... I'm guessing Bioware doesn't want to push intolerance into their games.  I guess I can live with that part.  It does not make sens storywise, but in the external contest, it does.

Indeed. I didn't want to see that but rather they just do not mention how transgender stuff is thought of in Ferelden/Orlais. You get the impression that the Qun is unique for being alright with it but nobody acts like it is a big deal. So it was confusing and left me feeling like Crem was just there to have a transgendered character rather than to actually address this as part of the setting. That might be unfair. However:

that's what happens when you have a gay writer.  There is a need to have gay and bisexual characters everywhere, just like on TV.

Maybe but I don't anticipate this is going to change now that Gaider is no longer the lead writer and a straight guy took over

Gaider was very resistant to add a bunch of gay characters and was in the closet himself for awhile, or at least that is how things went when I was on the forums IIRC.

We don't know much about peasants.

We meet a few.

With the nobility, it seems more than you're expected to marry and make babies to further an alliance and the power of your family but whatever you do after that (secret lover) will be tolerated to a point.

One would expect so. But there was no pressure on Hawke to do in DA2 nor any explanation why he or she was not doing so. Maybe Leandra mentions it once. Josephine does not seem to feel this pressure.

Celene's position is weakened due to the rumours about her and Briala.  Is it the lesbian thing or the elf thing?  I don't know.

One of the rebel leaders threatening her Empire would be scandalous enough. But yeah it is never stated if the lesbian thing was part of the scandal.

[viper37]

By doing that isn't she assured Gaspard will be Emperor when she dies?

Unless he dies first...

I mean since then do you need to be sexually attracted to or romantically interested in your consort? Besides she was all ready to marry Cailan, but I guess the possibility of acquiring Ferelden was involved.

You don't need to, but she loves Briala and wants to be only with her.

Homosexuality may not be that big a thing, but the Elves in Orlais aren't exactly in good standing.  I'm guessing that, say, even today, if we were to learn that Donald Trump has a love affair with a black man, it might hurt his ratings a little.
With Celene, I think that she fears she'd have to abandon her relation with Briala to have a Prince Consort.  He might tolerate her having a few sidesteps with servants (remember Vivienne is introduced as the "mistress" of Duke Ghislain), kinda like the Queens and Princesses of old tolerated their husbands having affairs (didn't work so well for Charles) but would likely not tolerate a real loving&caring relationship.

Oh and Briala is a monster. But maybe that is an attractive trait to Celene 

Well, she's not exactly that naive young girl everyone thinks she is, and Celene kinda discovered that on the late.  And yes, I think she finds it even more attractive than before

[Valmy]

She would just need to find some broke noble with a fancy title and little else. He would be too dependent on her to protest too much

And are you sure she loves Briala? They seemed to despise each other. I guess it is the hate only love can know.

In DA2, wasn't Feynriel's mother exiled from the Dalish?

I believe she was already exiled when she had the relationship. Let me check. Oh you are right. Weird I did not get the impression she and that Antivan merchant even liked each other that much, much less she making such a sacrifice for him.

Homosexuality may not be that big a thing, but the Elves in Orlais aren't exactly in good standing.  I'm guessing that, say, even today, if we were to learn that Donald Trump has a love affair with a black man, it might hurt his ratings a little.

Donald Trump supporters are not nearly as tolerant of homosexuality as the people of Thedas

[viper37]

And are you sure she loves Briala? They seemed to despise each other. I guess it is the hate only love can know.

Oh, she loves her.  I confirmed it in my playthrough, when I got her to rule with Brianna at her side, as an Elven noble.
She admitted to still loving her, and so did Briala.  Even after the burning of the alienage and learning the truth about her parents.

I believe she was already exiled when she had the relationship. Let me check. Oh you are right. Weird I did not get the impression she and that Antivan merchant even liked each other that much, much less she making such a sacrifice for him.

I think he dumped her when she got pregnant, or when the kid was very young.  Lots of guys can't handle babies.  The fine, sweet piece of ass is great, but once there's a kid involved, they seek a thrilling new adventure.

Donald Trump supporters are not nearly as tolerant of homosexuality as the people of Thedas

Well, most of them seem busy hating&fearing mages.  Except if they have money to hire them