A Promise

[grownupneko]

So I went through every single review of A Twisted Kind of Honour and Scars of Friendship tonight. I read every last one. I forgot how much I loved you guys. With work, stress, cosplay and having a life outside the internet, I forgot that at heart, I'm a computer games geek and always will be.

This is my promise to all of you: Scars of Friendship

Comments

[kel_fish]

Make sure you enter the tavern in Lothering or you won't recruit Leliana--also, Sten is the qunari locked in the cage situated at the end of town; you don't pick them up here, they die. You get Wynne at the Circle Tower (she's annoying and I can't stand her and I completely agree with Morrigan and Zevran every time they verbally shrug her off/cut her down), and Zevran won't try to kill you until after you use one of the treaties (SO DON'T KILL THE HIRED ASSASSIN--HE'S A GOOD GUY). Oghren you won't acquire until the later part of Orzammar, but he's awesome, all drunk and crass with (English) Vincent Valentine's voice.

I adore Morrigan; by the end of the game she calls you "sister." Wynne's preachy and higher-than-thou, but she's also seven different kinds of hypocrite. Gah. Leliana's adorable and after you romance her she talks about catching your eyelashes in jars. In context, it's cute. She reminds me a lot of my sister. Romancing Alistair is fun and just as cute, and romancing Zevran is... nice. Nnph. Same with Morrigan because she's so... uh... dominant. She's only available for males, though, while Leliana and Zevran are for both sexes and Alistair's all about teh ladies.

There is racism abundant in Dragon Age, but not so severely that it thwarts game play. Mostly I just play through as an elf and despise the Chantry for their hypocrisy. Dwarves put up with a little discrimination as well, but most of it comes from their own homeland because of their rigid caste system. Mages deal with suspicion too. Bascially, human nobles get it perfect because everyone loves them and they get to marry Alistair (or Anora, if you're a man).

Honestly, playing as a human is my favorite simply because I am human, and for some reason the origin stories are more entertaining and involved in the overall game. Like... you're either part of Howe's scheme or you're... well, that's a spoiler, but the mage origin is tightly wound into the overall plot of the game as well. Actually, every origin is somehow wound into the plot (that is, if you're playing as, say, a human noble, you'll encounter the alternate origins in a way that shows what would've happened to them if Duncan hadn't come along) except for the Dalish elf.

Oh, and just one huge warning, as I ran smack into this and had to stop playing for a couple of days: there is rape in the City Elf origin. Nothing... uh... visually graphic, but your cousin (who is awesome, so this just makes it worse) is beaten and raped and you walk in on the aftermath and gut the rapist like a fish. But... no warning. Just... rape. And then (and I know this part was written by a guy) the stupid cow who was abducted alongside you and your cousin says that "she'll recover". Just shrugs it off. I saw red and raved for two days. I thought I should let you know, seeing as how they don't even mention noncon in the rating.

Murr. I posted Wish's first chapter back in July and every time it gets faved or alerted I'm like, *cringe* because I haven't even started writing chapter two yet. I suppose that's some incentive, except... Dragon Age II comes out in March, and I'm already anticipating it crazily because of this guy.

...Oh god... Reno... I immediately pictured Cloud's face, with all things considered. And then Zevran popped up beside me with his sympathy face and squirmed uncomfortably. Oh, and if you enjoy Alistair's sarcastic humor, wait until you meet Zevran--I keep him in the party constantly because he's just as jaded as Morrigan and his snark is... well-practiced. Basically, I identify with his character very well, from how he handles things to how he talks.

And have I mentioned he's fun to romance? He's got more of a spine than Alistair--he proposes to you in his own way and even states to Shale (she's a downloadable character, but I highly recommend getting her as she is awesome) that he really wouldn't mind if you and he wound up with a child.

Do you see what happens when you have a life? My comments become novellas!

[grownupneko]

I play as a human male noble so I'm pretty sorted (job class rogue). I only borrowed the game while at a friend's house, so I'll have to pull up your comment next time I go so I can remember. Zervan sounds ten kinds of awesome. And I'm kind of stoked I can date a guy... Usually those games are all M/F ONLY PLZ!

Thanks for the warning about the rape, but my friend had already mentioned there was something in the city elf storyline. Something about choosing between letting them rape the women or letting your girlfriend die or something. She was comparing it to Fable 3 and saying how Dragon Age does it right (and makes choices hard and ambiguous in morality) while Fable 3 failed. Hard.

It's alright Kel. We have a lot to catch up on lol

[kel_fish]

I have yet to romance Zev as a male, as I've only done it with Morrigan (I'm a bit annoyed that sex is a trophy because the moment you get the achievement, there's not much new development in your relationships... unless there's some major plot involved).

Some of my favorite Zevran quotes: "'Death happens,' as we like to say. 'And when I get paid for it, death happens more often.'"

"You tend to get up to interesting things. You meet interesting people and then you kill them. I'm game to tag along, if you are."

(Upon interrupting father Eirik's sermon in Haven) "Just once I'd like to walk into one of these places and discover a lively dance, or a drinking festival. Or an orgy. But alas, no."

(When searching the tree stump of the mad hermit) "Ha! Let's see... When was the last time I slipped my hand into some dark hole? Hmmm... Long story, that."

Shale: "So you see me winning the affection of another golem, do you? Most golems are slaves to whomever holds their control rod."
Zevran: "Funny, it works exactly the same way for us as well."

Oh, and one of my favorite battle cries for him is, "Grey Warden, Darkspawn. Darkspawn, Grey Warden."

He also sends you a letter at the beginning of Awakening because, sadly, he can't be there with you right away. Leliana's letter is cute too: "Save some darkspawn for me? Well, no, don't, they're vile creatures..." lol

I'm really hoping they'll maintain these standards in DA II. They fail about toward the end of Origins, as you'll see eventually, because they set it up like they expected you to only play as a human noble, and if you choose not to make something happen, the game still progresses as if you did make it happen. Murr.

But! I have faith in DA II, and it turns out David Gaider wrote for the character of Fenris (Gaider also wrote Zevran). You can only play as the human Hawke (male or female), so there will be more options and opportunities for people to actually say your name. You also have twin sibs, an elf from the Dalish origin (Merrill), Isabela (she's from Origins as well, and a former companion of Zevran's), a sarcastic dwarf, a formerly enslaved elf, a married woman warrior, and an exiled nobleman. And there's supposed to be at least one more companion but they haven't announced him/her yet.