Valmy's ADHD Dragon Age playthrough

[Valmy]

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

Well to be fair fearing mages is not an entirely irrational thing to do.

Well I am so very sad those two horrible people did not live happily ever after 

[viper37]

Well I am so very sad those two horrible people did not live happily ever after 

I felt it was the best combo for Orlais' stability.  You got people vicious enough to eliminate any opponent and doing it discretly, without revealing their hand too much, therefore insuring short and long term stability and focusing them on the real ennemies out there: Corypheus, the Darkspawn threat (there are still 2 blights to come, and the 5th one was made easier since it was a bit premature; I suspect we did not see a full scale darkspawn invasion) and the general instability of all institutions and governments out there (Orlais just out of a civil war, Ferelden just out of a blight, the Free Marchs in turmoil after the mage rebellion, no real functionning Chantry (although you could have a hand in shaping it with either Darth Leliana, the Romantic Seeker or the Cunning Mage) to guide the populace, no Templar leadership, no Seekers to keep the kids inline, Tevinter and the Qunari locked in perpetual war and Antiva being Antiva.

Gaspard reminded me too much of Loghain.  Way too focused on internal politics and ignoring the big game playing right in front of him.

Altough Gaspard might have changed Orlesian politics and made them a little less bloody, once the initial purge was done


I can't remember, but did you exile the goat thrower to Tevinter?  The response you get by doing so was hilarious

[viper37]

Well to be fair fearing mages is not an entirely irrational thing to do.

:roll:  Just because someone can light you on fire by sneezing does not make them dangerous per se.
Stop being so prejudiced

[viper37]

Finished Jaws of Hakkon.  You can do your AAR thing whenever you're ready now!

On a more serious note, my own thoughts, spoiler free:
It's a nice addon, but it's more of the same, except the fights are incredibly hard.  I had to rework my equipment thrice to be able to survive some encounters.  And for the dragon, as well as the final boss, I made a silly mistake that ended up almost costing me my victory.  But I survived to tell the tale!

The area is beautiful, with a diverse fauna, some you can't kill, some you can kill and harvest, some really annoying.

Some nice mistery about the first Inquisitor and a big reveal about it. 
But just like the rest, it has no impact beyond the immediate area and a few table missions.   It took me a week here and there to do it.  Don't know how many hours of gameplay, maybe 15-20 to do all the quests.

I hear Descent is very similar, so I'll pass on that one until the price drops.

[Valmy]

Lothar returns to Skyhold to prepare for the final assault on Corypheus; now with the Empire of Orlais and the Templars, and the Grey Wardens with him.

Awaiting him is a cleric of the Chantry asking that Cassandra and Leliana go with her to Val Royeaux for the conclave. At first it looked like their prestige as the former advisors to Justinia V was the reason...



'Leliana or Cassandra? You have met them right?'

Leliana has radical reform ideas but putting her in charge of the Chantry seems...eh...I don't know if everybody wants the Chantry secret police watching them. Cassandra is a noble woman of faith and a moderate reformer but she is a warrior and a general. She has no patience for all the political bullshit. She is much better suited to be the leader of the rebuilt Seekers. Besides that would probably be the end of their relationship and that is not something Lothar is quite ready to sacrifice...but if the other candidate is Leliana? Huh. Well it is not like he is voting.

Before stopping by the war room to debrief he does the rounds.



Crem is ready to use their business connections to stop nobles plotting against the Inquisition in Orlais from hiring mercs. Sounds like a plan. You go Crem. He is really the fourth advisor.



Bull makes a typical Qunari disparaging remark to how fucked up humans are compared to the mighty Qunari. I have to admit that was kind of a shitshow.



Lothar's party of adventurers continues to level up. What quests will he send them on next?

Sera is close to a nervous breakdown having to spend all that time with nobles. She was pretty enraged how little thought they gave to all the people who die in their political games. But the real lesson to learn here is this:



Oh I think Briala is alright with how things went.

Cole is having a tough time so Lothar takes him out to eat...in Val Royeaux which has got to be several days journey away. Man quite a lot of effort just for a meal out on the town. Cole has been suffering from some PTSD since the last time he made a huge transformation like this his friend Rhys left him. So he thought that change meant people leave. But now he has changed and we are still out there killing our enemies with him. So he is relieved.



'Hopefully proper restaurant etiquette'

Cole doesn't eat. No wonder he is so skinny.

After returning to Skyhold Lothar stops by the gardens to see Mother Giselle. She is not there, out talking to Cassandra he later finds out, but a ten year old boy is.



'What? The large knives I carry around are not scary?'

He is a very nice boy. This is Kieran, Lorcan and Morrigan's son. He has a name kind of like Lorcan's (Lorcan is Irish for 'little fierce one' and Kieran is Irish for 'black' which is a perfect name for Morrigan's kid as well) and even has a slight under-bite like he does so I am happy by the totally coincidental resemblance. Morrigan shows up and explains she has raised him to be a nice boy. Huh. I never knew she had it in her though she does mention Lorcan had a large role to play in raising him for a bit. She knows a lot about elven things which I guess is not surprising given her Eluvian adventure in Witch Hunt and the fact she seemed to know far more than the Dalish (though that is not hard). But this all must be rather recent I do not recall she knew much about the elves in the main game of DAO.



Ah so that is why Solas translated it as 'Skyhold' but Tarasyl'an is a better fantasy name. Should have gone with that.



Lorcan and she lived together for a while but he went to find a cure for the Calling while she went to the Orlesian court. As we found out in Dragon Age 2 Lorcan returned to Denerim for a time as well. I guess his quest started either there or in Amaranthine. Interesting. I wonder if he is being put on a bus here or if he actually has a role to play in the future. She has a way to get in contact with him though.



You cannot fool me Morrigan you softy.

Varric is enraged at his publishers for not appreciating his popularity in the Orlesian market.



Man being an author is a matter of high drama. This being the merchant's guild they are probably using bootleg copies to fund illegal lyrium operations in Nevarra or something.

Solas could not have had more fun at the party. He loves intrigue and politics and all that jazz because of the strong memory and imprint it leaves in the fade. How weird. He usually acts like he is above all that. Lothar expresses sympathy that the elves got shafted and Solas says something else shocking.



'Huh? You are the elfiest elf that ever elfed.'

He does lack the psychotic insanity that Dragon Age elves usually possess though. I guess it is more like he has little in common with the Dalish and the City Elves. Lothar will discuss this further with him another time.

The whole thing made Dorian a little homesick.



Lothar enjoyed himself almost as much as those two.



'Ah hells yeah! Let's do nothing BUT Orlesian intrigue parties.'

Unfortunately that is not to be.



'The Arbor what? Probably no parties there.'

So Corypheus and his army have moved south into these other non-Kolcari Wilds and he has been scouring elves ruins for, I presume, something to replace his handy fade ripping orb. He is heading south with the remains of his supporters to some more in the dangerous wilds south of Orlais. Morrigan suddenly walks into the warroom and has an idea what he is looking for.



'Your mother?'

Well no. Morrigan takes him back to the garden where, in a side room, she has moved her Eluvian to Skyhold. She takes Lothar through the Eluvian to a weird place between the real world and the fade where you can move from one Eluvian gate to another. This is where she and Lorcan spent several years before deciding they had to return to Thedas. She explains Corypheus is after an Eluvian in the Arbor Wilds that will give him access to this place...



'And allow him to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. Clever ancient magister.'

The plot thickens. This is not going to be the victory march Lothar intended.

Meanwhile the Grey Wardens win their war with the Darkspawn and the corrupt noble.

   

And Scout Harding is deployed for the coming Emprise du Lion campaign. But events are about to intervene in that plan real fast.



Leliana, unsurprisingly, sees the opportunity to be Divine as an opportunity for radical reform.



'Yes but do you know how to garner that support?'

Yeah people would resist her radical ideas and he is not sure Leliana knows how to persuade or buy people off. She is a spook not a politician. A spy network would ensure everybody falls into line...which would undermine the whole thing.

Cassandra is not happy at all with this development and lets Mother Giselle be aware of her displeasure. Mother Giselle walks out asking Lothar to talk to her.



'Um isn't that what they came here to do? Ask you?'

Cassandra is torn. She is not sure she wants the job but she is committed to Chantry and will serve if called. Also she has a moderate if idealistic platform of reforming the existing institutions to be more in the spirit of the Chantry's teachings.



'Maybe stop with the lyrium while you are at it.'

Lothar is moved but...is she really the one to convince and cajole people? Plus, he would lose her. Still better than Leliana. Cassandra it is. Stupid duty. Though not that anybody is asking his opinion yet.

Vivienne wants him to venture forth for a rare alchemical ingredient for some experiment she is working on.



'I just hope it is nothing like that Ancient Wyvern'

And she wants Lothar to be discrete. Well he was not planning on announcing it to the world so that is good. I wonder what foul plan she has in store.

Blackwall has a weird story to share about a time he observed a dog suffocate and he did nothing to help it when he was a boy.



'Well Andraste forgives you?'

That was weird. The next time Lothar goes to see him though Blackwall is gone with a ominous note left behind.



'That sounds so final'

What has Blackwall gone off to do? Well Leliana already knew what was going on of course and one of her men scouted his room and found this note that somehow Blackwall got his hands on.



We already know that Blackwall is a fake warden. He is mixed up in that somehow. Lothar needs to get to Val Royeaux as soon as he can.

Maybe we need to visit the war room first? Is there a mission there?

On the way Josephine is having a problem stopping another Nevarra-Tevinter border flare up and cannot compromise herself by working with both sides. Lothar offers his family up to work with King Markus Pentaghast.



It is good to know the Bann.

No war table quest for Blackwall but:



'Good old Wade'

I am amused Wade and Herren are still stuck with each other after all these years.

Lothar figures he should have a chat with Leliana before leaving for Val Royeaux but on the way he stops to sit in judgment of a recent acquaintance.



Then choices for Lothar here are not great. First he can send her to a Chantry. Secondly he can recruit her to the Inquisition. Thirdly he can make her toil with the peasants. Fourthly exile. Lastly making her the Inquisition court jester.

Lothar sending her away seems dangerous. The other two seem petty compared to the severity of the crime. So Lothar decides to make use of her. She had little loyalty to Corypheus outside of her political ambitions anyway.



'Wait Solas greatly approves? It is so random what he likes and what he doesn't.'

Speaking of Solas, the next time Lothar talks to him he gets the option to ask him about the elves. Solas expresses a mixture of pity and contempt for the Dalish, the City Elves, and the slave elves of Tevinter. He points out the deep divisions and rivalries amongst the Dalish tribes and how their memories of a memory of Arlathan are all different shadows of the past.



Solas has seen it in the memories of the Fade. But to what extent are his own visions not memories of memories? It does make one wonder where Solas was born and why he is so isolated and separate from the other elves.

Leliana does not want to talk about Blackwall but she does have a postumous letter from Justinia V telling her to go recover an item.



Adventuring with Leliana? Well that should be a hoot.

Well off to Val Royeaux. True to form we get there just in time. Lt. Mornay is just about to be executed.



Suddenly Blackwall steps onto the platform and declares that Mornay is innocent and the man who gave the order was responsible. Varric quickly puts two and two together and exclaims 'oh shit'. Yes 'Blackwall' was not Gordon Blackwall at all.



So by Andraste's holy shit he is the traitorous captain Thom Rainier. The guards take him into custody and release Mornay. Well it was not like they did not make it blatantly obvious 'Blackwall' was a liar and fake. Lothar goes to visit him in his cell.



So Rainier was a captain in the Orlesian army. He sure did an amazing job imitating the Ferelden accent of Gordon Blackwall for an Orlesian soldier. He was bribed by a noble wanting to garner the favor of Grand Duke Gaspard right at the beginning of the Orlesian Civil War four years before and ordered his troops to murder the pro-Celene general Callier. His troops thought it was a military operation and he was a traitor to Orlais. But when they fell upon his retinue his wife and children were there and they were all killed in the fighting. In reaction to the crime Gaspard disavowed the whole thing and the noble who hired Rainier killed himself.

Rainier and his men all fled for their lives. Rainier was recruited for the Grey Wardens by the real Gordon Blackwall and he was sent into the deep roads to get darkspawn blood for his Joining. He did so but on the way out he was ambushed by darkspawn and Blackwall died defending him. Rainier was sure the Grey Wardens would blame him for the death of Blackwall and was ashamed that a good man had died so he, a very bad man, had lived. So he decided that Thom Rainier had been killed and now he would live on as Gordon Blackwall. So he has been pretending to be a Grey Warden and a good man this whole time...and over time he became a good man and when he heard Lt Mornay was captured he had to turn himself in Jean Valjean-like rather than let him die for his own crimes.

Orelsian Javert: Enfin, Rainier tu vas purger ta peine!
              Monsieur le warden c'est toi qui es l'Enclin!
Rainier Valjean: Avant de dire un mot de plus Javert!
               Avant de m'echainer encore!
              Au nom du Créateur!
              Accorde-moi une faveur.
Orlesian Javert:  Non!
                         Je t'ai traque au long des années;
              Un homme comme toi ne change pas,
              Ne changera jamais.

Sung to the tune of 'La Confrontation' from Les Misérables. Encore does not really work there but I couldn't think of anything better.



A monster would have let the guy die. Gordon Blackwall saw Rainier's chance to redeem himself through service and so shall Lothar. He meets Cullen and he tells Lothar they can get Celene to release Rainier back to them. It is also pretty clear Leliana knew about 'Blackwall' for a while and kept it a secret but also made sure he saw the report on Mornay's execution.

I wonder what else she is keeping from Lothar? Well maybe we will soon find out. On the way back to Skyhold Lothar and Leliana stop by the island of Valence and visit the Chantry there.



'So you didn't go back to Orlais to deal with Marjolaine? Did anything from the epilogue of Dragon Age: Origins actually happen? Well I presume Sten made it back to the Qunari.'

Then the pair is met by a priestess named Natalie.



'Yeah I bet she is'

So Justinia left Leliana some clues that correspond to paintings and a statue in the chapel and there is a button there Lothar needs to press. While he figures this out Leliana makes small talk with Natalie. Once he finds the last clue, opening a secret door hiding a small chest, Leliana throws Natalie up against the statue and explains that her answers to the small talk questions indicated she is a spy working for a cleric opposed to the Inquisition.

Um ok psycho what did she really learn here? That we found a box? Lothar tries to get her to join the Inquisition but Natalie refuses anxious to be martyred. Lothar then suggests they send her back to her mistress with a message.



'In fact there is no damn good reason at all to kill her.'

What the Inquisition is murdering harmless priestesses now for the crime of not liking it? Lothar thinks after securing the support of the government of the Empire of Orlais and the Chantry is about to elect one of their members Divine they probably don't have to kill every person who simply doesn't like them.

But Leliana doesn't care what he says because it is not like he is supposed to be in charge or something. So she creates a martyr for the Inquisition's enemies for no reason at all. Yeah this lady would make a great Divine. This is Leliana's gone to the dark side moment.



And Natalie quotes Leliana's line from the Temple of Ashes trailer. Showing how Leliana was really killing herself along with Natalie.

This was really an outrageous act of insubordination, but we already known Leliana is keeping secrets from Lothar.

They open the box but it is empty except for...



So Justinia V was hoping Leliana would stop being the psycho she made her. Lothar makes one last attempt to redeem her.



Then Leliana goes on a crazy rant about how can Lothar say that after all he has said...which is weird because he has asked her to back off basically every chance he had. Well except that one time...



Ok I am glad Viper told me about this because otherwise I would have been really confused here. Who was Butler again? I never would have remembered because you hear his name once in a throwaway line. He was the guy Leliana had killed way back in the very first conversation she and Lothar ever had. And this is how that conversation went:

Leliana to her agent: 'Butler has betrayed us kill him'

Lothar standing nearby: 'Wow well I am glad the Inquisition takes care of traitors.'

Leliana: 'Yeah that is how we handle business.'

Lothar: 'Ok then'

Leliana never gave any indication she hesitated nor did she ask his opinion or permission. The only thing he did was comment on it. And further this is the first conversation they ever had. Lothar had no idea who Butler was or whether or not it was justified to execute him. How would a comment from the new guy who knows nothing at all about the situation give her confidence? Does she regularly look for affirmation from random people who have no idea what is going on?

'Hey guy on the street should I have a beer?'

'Um if you want one'

'Aha! I was going to stop being an alcoholic but this person who did not know I was an alcoholic gave me permission to keep drinking. Thank you for giving me confidence that being a drunk forever is the right thing to do!'

'Wait maybe you should seek help?'

'Too late! Drunk forever and it is your fault.'

Who thought this was a good idea? To have a major character be determined by the very first conversation where you are supposed to make a decision based on no information? I thought they were just establishing who Leliana was. You know, like most intro conversations go in these games.

But really what grinds my gears is how Bioware (well...Leliana) completely misrepresents the conversation. I mean it drove me nuts when Bioware basically rewrote how things went with Anders in Awakenings in DAII but at least that was across games. This is the same game! If it was the intention that Leliana was hesitating and it was up to the player to make a meaningful choice here well she should have hesitated and asked the player for his opinion. Maybe even said who Butler was and what he had done. Because they did not do that I would have found this really confusing because Leliana says it was this sort of conversation. And frankly even if it was that conversation it was too early in the game for that to be the only meaningful conversation you ever have with a character. They never did that with DAO or KOTOR or any other game so how is it possible to make such a basic mistake after so much experience under their belt?

Also she just tells the Inquisitor to just go fuck himself when he gave her a direct order which I found a little...weird considering he was doing her a favor.

Yeah Lothar will sure stick his neck out for this lady again.



Yes well Lothar will be watching his back from now on. He is not sure who Leliana works for but it is not him or the Inquisition. Granted in every conversation since Haven Leliana has been telling Lothar how naive and wrong he is about everything so it was not like they had an awesome working relationship anyway.

So Cassandra will be the new divine. She will be really unhappy at that job and Lothar will lose his lady love. So I guess a bittersweet ending is coming. Then suddenly Lothar gets a surprising third option when he talks to Vivienne after returning to Skyhold.



'Oh Viv you have no idea.'

So they discuss Leliana and Cassandra for Divine and Vivienne definitely recommends Cassandra of the two. Then she says this:



'Maybe even a lady of iron?'

Well it is obvious who she is describing. Lothar loves this idea. Granted she is a little too conservative for his tastes but just the fact she is a mage will shake up the Chantry. It is also something he has wanted: mages in the Chantry itself. And she is a politician, she knows how to play people. Like she has obviously been playing Lothar this whole time to get this job in the first place. She even has the decency to act surprised when he suggests she be the next Divine. She is an adult and a woman of the world, she will know how far she can go.

The more Lothar considers this idea the more he likes it. He makes sure Josephine lets the Clerics know.



Sorry Cassandra but you did outright say you did not want the job but would serve if asked. Lothar hopes she will forgive him. He goes and explains himself.



'Slightly approves? Well that is a good sign.'

I think she is relieved. But she still might elected anyway. Who knows what those wacky clerics will decide? So long as it is not Leliana it will be ok. But fortunately Lothar's part is done so he can stop stressing.

Now Josephine has another task.



I am glad Celene is properly grateful for Lothar saving her life. A life for a life, eh your Imperial Majesty?

In addition Leliana's people received two letters from Lorcan Amell, one for Lothar and one for Morrigan.



So wait, even in text they cannot use Lorcan's first name?

Ah well I think that is the first time he has been referred to by his last name outside of Leandra in DAII. Anyway I like this: the letter is concise, calculating, and polite. It sounds like something Lorcan would say but then this was written by the same guy who wrote all the Warden's dialog in DAO so that makes sense.

Time to deal with Thom Rainier.



'Who? Oh right that guy they captured in Coracavus.'

I had forgotten about him. He is actually not a member of the Venatori but an independent contractor who was actually double crossing Corypheus. Lothar can either imprison him, return him to Corypheus to suffer for his double dealing, or recruit him. Lothar ponders it and decides to recruit him.



'Wait Leliana? Oh damn.'

Well maybe he should have imprisoned him. Now he put an untrustworthy dude under the authority of his unreliable spymaster. Hopefully that will not come back to bite him.

Ok NOW it is time to deal with Thom Rainier.



He is pretty upset and worries the moral authority of the Inquisition is now compromised for getting him released. We shall see. Rainier was deemed worthy to redeem himself with the Grey Wardens by the famous hero Gordon Blackwall and he has more than proven himself in his time with the Inquisition up to this point. He will get the same chance with the Inquisition. Join again and fight Corypheus as Thom Rainier and gain redemption.



He asks that if he had said otherwise would Lothar have had him killed. Um...maybe. They finally wrap up the bizarre saga of Varric's copyright violator. All the murder and intrigue and bad writing was the work of Worthy, the runecarver from Act I of Dragon Age 2. It was done to revenge Varric's crime of introducing Urien to Sandal, thus losing Urien's business.



Good work Aveline. That was nine years ago. Some dwarves really hold a grudge.



'Really? I never knew Lorcan had it in him.'

Lorcan wrote a dirty letter to Morrigan. Kinky. He never could get enough of her.

Lothar meets with Rainier and they discuss what he should be called from now on.



'Ser Thom Rainier the Blackwall'

Pity it would have been nice if they changed his name on his character sheet. Well he will be Rainier to me from now on.

Ok wow so a lot happened but now it is time to join Scout Harding in Emprise du Lion. Will they need l'emprise du lion to survive? I am sure she is getting really tired of waiting for him to show up after all that.

Stuff Lothar did:



Thom Rainier is now back in the Inquisition to save the world and atone for his crimes.

Leliana is now beyond redemption. If she is the villain of DA4 they would have set it up nicely.

[Valmy]

I can't remember, but did you exile the goat thrower to Tevinter?  The response you get by doing so was hilarious

Yes the sarcasm from Tevinter was hilarious.

Finished Jaws of Hakkon.  You can do your AAR thing whenever you're ready now!

On a more serious note, my own thoughts, spoiler free:
It's a nice addon, but it's more of the same, except the fights are incredibly hard.  I had to rework my equipment thrice to be able to survive some encounters.  And for the dragon, as well as the final boss, I made a silly mistake that ended up almost costing me my victory.  But I survived to tell the tale!

The area is beautiful, with a diverse fauna, some you can't kill, some you can kill and harvest, some really annoying.

Some nice mistery about the first Inquisitor and a big reveal about it. 
But just like the rest, it has no impact beyond the immediate area and a few table missions.   It took me a week here and there to do it.  Don't know how many hours of gameplay, maybe 15-20 to do all the quests.

I hear Descent is very similar, so I'll pass on that one until the price drops.

Wow 15-20 hours? That is Awakenings length. And the fights are that hard for a group that has completed the main game? Hmmmm...

I am demanding six (single player) DLC and an expansion.

[viper37]

Awakening took me much longer than that.

Anyway, about Darth Leliana.  I had to look it up on Bioware's forum the first time, I did not understand how I got there nor who was that guy she was talking about.  It's like the story is pushing you in one direction, really, because if you tell her to spare her traitor right away, you still have 2 more chances to turn her into Darth Leliana.  You can go up to the final confrontation by trying to sweeten her and then you tell her to kill her "friend" and she's hardened.

That's just silly.  But she's not really insubordinate.  A good spy master will always try to protect her boss, no matter the consequences.  I guess her rationale, by killing the girl against your orders, she was protecting you from a backstabbing ennemy of which she knew more than you, someone that could derail your plans of controlling the chantry through a carefully placed word to the electing council
It's not like she can be a martyr anyway.  Her employer would have to admit he sent her to spy on the Herald of Andraste, without anything to discredit you.


Blackwall, well, there were lots of clues here and there, and you were supposed to guess it before it happens, especially if you go to the exalted plains before doing Halamshiral.  I guess that was ok.  I didn't really see it the first time as I barely used him.  Second time, it became very obvious, but of course I knew, so I was biased

[Valmy]

Awakening took me much longer than that.

Anyway, about Darth Leliana.  I had to look it up on Bioware's forum the first time, I did not understand how I got there nor who was that guy she was talking about.  It's like the story is pushing you in one direction, really, because if you tell her to spare her traitor right away, you still have 2 more chances to turn her into Darth Leliana.  You can go up to the final confrontation by trying to sweeten her and then you tell her to kill her "friend" and she's hardened.

Yeah I would have done the same. Most of the later decisions are fine though. I am not sure what they are but I am sure at least the conversation after Haven is one and it is pretty clear you are discussing policy on a matter you have knowledge on.

That's just silly.  But she's not really insubordinate.  A good spy master will always try to protect her boss, no matter the consequences.  I guess her rationale, by killing the girl against your orders, she was protecting you from a backstabbing ennemy of which she knew more than you, someone that could derail your plans of controlling the chantry through a carefully placed word to the electing council
It's not like she can be a martyr anyway.  Her employer would have to admit he sent her to spy on the Herald of Andraste, without anything to discredit you.

Maybe but part of the point of me writing these things to get my reactions out there and I was hopping mad after that so I wanted to write it with that emotion fresh in my mind

I guess I can comfort myself with the knowledge me keeping her soft in DAO didn't matter much so maybe her getting hardened in DAI won't matter much

Blackwall, well, there were lots of clues here and there, and you were supposed to guess it before it happens, especially if you go to the exalted plains before doing Halamshiral.  I guess that was ok.  I didn't really see it the first time as I barely used him.  Second time, it became very obvious, but of course I knew, so I was biased

I knew he was lying when he said he was in Ferelden during the Blight. It took awhile for it to dawn on my he was not even a Grey Warden at all but that gets pretty obvious in the whole Adamant plot thread.

I try to take everybody out as much as I can. Cole is the odd man out just because he is also a stabby rogue. He does not strike me as a very important character. Well maybe it would have been cool to take him into the Fade.

Emprise Du Lion is a gold mine of Tier 3 stuff. Damn.

[Jaron]

Andraste have mercy!

[Valmy]

Andraste have mercy!

Mercy on us all!

LOL Can I be: Orlesian Empire?

[Valmy]

Wow this part of the game is a grind.

I decided to wait until I finished Exalted Plains to write up the next part and wow is this boring. 11 and 15 level monsters in a huge zone when my guys are level 20? Snooze.

[viper37]

Wow this part of the game is a grind.

I decided to wait until I finished Exalted Plains to write up the next part and wow is this boring. 11 and 15 level monsters in a huge zone when my guys are level 20? Snooze.

There are 2 war table operations that extends the area though.  One place gave me trouble the first time, but I did it the way I was supposed to: Before my trip to Orlais

There's something weird with the difficulty level of this game, it's as if ennemies don't always scale up with you, when sometimes, I'd swear they do.

Anyway, the game is really not made to go complete an area and move on to the next.  You need to go back&forth between all places.  If it's too boring, just visit another area for a little while.  Or check your quests for mosaic pieces missing and other assorted stuff.

[Valmy]

There is a level range. The dudes in the ballcrushingly hard west section of the Hinterlands leveled up with me.

Telling me the level ranges for each zone would have been really cool. They do it for the main story missions.

The Exalted Plains was clearly supposed to be done right after Haven. It would have been nice to indicate that someplace.

[Valmy]

Anyway, the game is really not made to go complete an area and move on to the next.  You need to go back&forth between all places.  If it's too boring, just visit another area for a little while.  Or check your quests for mosaic pieces missing and other assorted stuff.

It is not like I am going to be lower level in the future and it will be less boring. Just going to power through.

[viper37]

Anyway, the game is really not made to go complete an area and move on to the next.  You need to go back&forth between all places.  If it's too boring, just visit another area for a little while.  Or check your quests for mosaic pieces missing and other assorted stuff.

It is not like I am going to be lower level in the future and it will be less boring. Just going to power through.

No, of course not, but it changes the mood.