questions part 2: the lightning round!
I'm going to be obnoxious and post a bunch of questions again! Someday these answers will amount to something I can actually contribute, I swear. ^^
Ok, first off I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of Uldred's background, there isn't much on the wiki so I guess I might be asking for pure speculation. I DID find out "First Enchanter Irving admires his ability to root out blood mages" which just got me thinking, I wonder how long he's been a practioner...
Anyway, yes, too much thinking, always. Also I was wondering about how old most of the mages are when they are Harrowed. Jowan makes a big deal that he's been there two years longer than you and he still isn't, he also seemed like he was probably a few years older besides... and I am so bad at aging characters I really have no idea. I would put him at 22-25 but I imagine he is closer to 18 or 20 or something. (I did the same thing to Alistair haha)
Annnd Jowan again: I just found out he was (way back in the beginning of production) intended to be recruitable via Conscription. I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were with this--I personally wonder if he wouldn't be more like Nathaniel where it takes a lot of work to convince him... but that's just going by how hard it was for my mage bff to try and get him to run; he really seemed like he wanted to face his punishment/take responsibility, so would that seem to him like escaping it or be an honorable alternative?
(Also any other insight into Jowan's personality, link me to your fics etc--I need to spend some quality research time. :D)
Ummm and one last thing I just remembered: talking to Duncan you can say something about being allowed to walk the tower grounds which I assumed meant you could walk outside on that tiny island (undoubtedly only while under supervision). A quick conversation with the door guards reveals this is impossible. So much that they pretty much laugh at you for asking. Okay, I guess that's not a question. o_O
(sorry, I know they're hard to read. >_>)
edit: oh yeah! And noticing some of the spell animations: it seems you perform a lot of them with your staff. Is there an explanation for this? I remember Fiona using her staff a lot in The Calling. Is it simply like a focal point for your spells; are they weaker without it? Are they just like that one statue thingy in the Repository that "amplifies" your magic (or rod of fire)?
and oh well I should have just numbered these, I'm running out of uninspired transitions. It seems like (in the codex and lore rather than in-game) all mages have a "mentor" which from what I gather is a senior mage (not to be confused with a senior enchanter?)--a mage that takes on an apprentice for tutoring I imagine, although the classroom scenes would also point to group learning sessions... which means the leftovers are the Harrowed mages who haven't taken apprentices and are apparently at risk of "boredom" (codex entry). I'm guessing those are the majority of the blood mages you end up fighting?
Anyway, what I'm wondering mostly is if you pretty much have one mentor or get passed along to different teachers for different subjects or if a mentor is supposed to be more like a general guide or something... if anyone knows? or guesses? I feel like that should have been more fleshed out, both Wynne and Fiona I believe mention their mentors, but all you get is a "I'm sure your mentor is proud of you" after your Harrowing. (I like to imagine mine is the bitter angry old woman scrubbing floors in the mage's quarters upstairs, angry that she didn't get to go Ostagar and saying something like "I'm surprised you even passed, I suppose I should congratulate you.")
Mostly I want to know if I should bother creating a character of my own to fill this role, or is it possible to utilize some of the other mages we are introduced to? Which for the most part are senior enchanters, who for all I know have much more important things to do. For example, is Wynne still "mentoring"; I know she had a few apprentices and apparently enjoyed teaching--is this something that the senior enchanters would no longer have time for?
Oh man, sorry, that got long-winded and messy fast. >_>
Thank you guys <3