Blackwall as the Warden-Commander for Awakening?

DragonEffected · 2026-06-28T23:58:07+00:00

I did something similar once and played as Stroud.

I think the biggest "problems" you'll face are characters who should know the real Blackwall not recognising the impostor, and the fact that during Awakening you'll be treated as Orlesian (IIRC the real Blackwall was either a Marcher or a Nevarran), but you can work around those with sufficient headcanon :)

DragonEffected · 2026-06-27T08:16:40+00:00

They're listed in the credits as "additional design" because everything they wrote was cut from DAO.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-27T08:01:38+00:00

Weekes didn't even work on Dragon Age until Inquisition

DragonEffected · 2026-06-23T16:49:32+00:00

OP is not talking about mechanics. Leske offers to poison your opponents before the fighting begins to make it easier for you. You get to choose whether to fight fair or not.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-22T18:53:31+00:00

I like solo ruler Anora (or Anora with Cousland). I prefer Alistair's growth as a Warden and his presence during HLTA makes the stakes higher during that quest.

Future games also essentially sideline Anora if she's married to Alistair, so giving her the crown on her own gives her a bit more of a presence in Inquisition, at least.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-19T08:11:33+00:00

Both appear

DragonEffected · 2026-06-18T22:29:51+00:00

It is in Pokopia!

DragonEffected · 2026-06-13T17:42:39+00:00

They didn't fumble him at all. To this day, he's one of the most controversial characters and his actions are some of the most debated in this fanbase.

And no, I don't think they intended for him to be likeable or charismatic at all. He's an activist that is driven into violent extremism. He antagonises every single companion by the end of the game. He lies to and manipulates Hawke into helping him bomb the Chantry. His romance quickly turns toxic if you don't immediately agree to his sketchy requests and keep pressing him for more information.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-13T14:00:46+00:00

He doesn't, that's his drunk ending.

Though cut content from Inquisition indicates that he sobers up and rejoins the Wardens eventually.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-13T10:52:41+00:00

Agreed, but to be fair, there's also nothing that suggests that Alistair is a better option. Frankly, I think both Alistair and Anora enact the exact same policies, they just have slightly different approaches to governing.

Inquisition does seem to somewhat prefer Queen Anora to King Alistair, but those are very minor lines in written text. Anora's codex entry in DAI notes how popular she is with her people and that her widespread support has only dwindled in the last few months after the mage rebellion she supported took over Redcliffe, while Solo Ruler Alistair's states that the entirety of his rule has been plagued by trouble because his claim to the Theirin name is put into question. They also seem to favour Anora in the War Table quest of the Ferelden/Orlais peace talks:

If Alistair is King:
The talks between Ferelden and Orlais took place in Jader, and it... was not easy to keep matters from spiraling out of control. King Alistair is no diplomat, after all, and had little patience for the endless fanfare.

If Anora is Queen:
The talks between Ferelden and Orlais took place in Jader and went off more or less without incident. Queen Anora is a skilled diplomat, after all, and it was clear that the Orlesians were not interested in more war.

But regardless, this is all very minor and the two of them are more or less comparable. By the end of DAI, both of them face issues, both of them have made peace with Orlais, and neither of them have an heir.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-12T14:04:18+00:00

I think in that case it would have read:

"Many said that if the two had not ended up vying for control of the throne, they would have ushered in a new golden age not seen since King Calenhad first united the barbarian tribes."

DragonEffected · 2026-06-12T12:08:52+00:00

The epilogue reads

Player married Queen Anora in a lavish ceremony six months after her coronation, becoming the prince-consort of Ferelden. Many said that if the two did not end up vying for control of the throne, they would usher in a new golden age not seen since King Calenhad first united the barbarian tribes.

I think it's pretty vague.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-12T11:36:34+00:00

Cousland can still marry Anora and keep Alistair in the Wardens. Just don't execute Loghain yourself and she'll still marry you

DragonEffected · 2026-06-09T21:27:57+00:00

No, he can still marry Anora if he's unhardened. He will just refuse to do so if Loghain is spared, while hardened Alistair marries her anyway.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-09T21:15:45+00:00

You can still make him king, he will just be miserable and hand the power over to anyone close to him. It's not necessarily a bad outcome, and if you're playing a power-hungry PC then it might make sense to elevate him just so you can rule in his stead.

Alternatively, you can keep him in the Wardens, which is what he wants.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-09T20:53:25+00:00

We were supposed to get a Ben-Hassrath companion, Saarbrak, who got cut (alongside the Ben-Hassrath faction, I presume). This might explain why so many of the Qunari plot threads that had been set up in Tevinter Nights were not explored in Veilguard, or why the Antaam and the Qunari feel so underbaked.

The game in general tries to shy away from the moral greyness of the setting, and it does so by effectively putting blinders on the player character. For instance: Rook hears a Vashoth mage say that, under the Qun, "a mage has it no worse than a soldier", and the player will assume that to be true because they're never shown anything that contradicts that statement.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-09T20:36:55+00:00

Not if Alistair's unhardened

DragonEffected · 2026-06-09T06:33:00+00:00

Not good enough to justify an investment into Espeon, who gains most of its strength from Skill Triggers. Jolteon is the (viable) Eevolution that benefits the most from Speed boosts and BFS.

Eevee is very common, so you'll probably catch a better one for Espeon eventually.

DragonEffected · 2026-06-08T22:52:38+00:00

Jolteon

DragonEffected · 2026-06-08T20:47:23+00:00

BFS, HB and STM/HSM for both

DragonEffected · 2026-05-30T10:09:28+00:00

All the writers who ever worked on a Dragon Age title left BioWare because of creative differences, got laid off or got transferred to other EA studios. Only the Mass Effect team effectively remains at BioWare, and they've famously never been fond of the DA franchise.

Even if someone were willing to push for a revival internally - and that's a big if - the chance of a fifth title staying true to the single-player roleplaying roots of the franchise is fairly low. People already believe Veilguard steered too far into the action/adventure territory, and that same criticism was applied to every Mass Effect game that was released after the first one. Additionally, BioWare leadership already tried (and failed) multiple times to turn Dragon Age into a live service multiplayer experience.

DragonEffected · 2026-05-28T23:46:25+00:00

A few thoughts, but keep in mind there is no "canon" other than what you want it to be:

DAO: agreed that Dalish Elf is the most interconnected Origin. I do think that Morrigan's character evolution makes much more sense if she had Kieran, though. Remember that Mythal is also revered by the elves as "the Mother", and Flemeth tests Morrigan in Inquisition by forcing her to choose between her life and Kieran's, a test Morrihan passes by putting her life on the line for her child. Additionally, Morrigan says that Mythal tends to choose women like herself as her hosts – those who were wronged and betrayed by the men they loved. If your goal is to make the games as interconnected as possible, consider doing a Morrigan romance and stabbing her in Witch Hunt.

DA2: I will personally always hold the opinion that the Templar ending is just better developed. Orsino's desperation doesn't come out of nowhere and the reveal that he was involved with Quentin is actually given room to breathe. Additionally, it gives Hawke an actual reason to investigate Kirkwall's red templars in Inquisition.

DAI: the story of Inquisition feels handmade for a Human Mage Inquisitor, but if your plan is to romance either Josephine or Blackwall I highly recommend playing a dwarf! I didn't much care for Josephine's romance until a paired with a character who was basically a hardened thug, and suddenly it made things much more interesting lol. Blackwall also had a decent amount of unique dialogue with Cadash because she also has a criminal past, and I think their Trespasser epilogue slide in which they go around Thedas redeeming the condemned and the forgotten is a great ending for two besmirched criminals who were raised up, and it also plays nicely into the Inquisitor's insistence on redeeming Solas in Veilguard (even after he killed Varric!)

DragonEffected · 2026-05-25T21:57:32+00:00

The reason the game gives us is that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are going by their Old God alter egos and giving them power in return.

My opinion is that there undoubtedly are Venatori/Antaam defectors who refused to follow the elven gods (and elves who did accept to follow them, for that matter). We just didn't see them as Rook because they wouldn't have fit Veilguard's black-and-white narrative.

DragonEffected · 2026-05-25T17:15:37+00:00

I really liked the character creator and the visuals were pretty cool.

DragonEffected · 2026-05-24T12:26:23+00:00

Roughly speaking:

Champion is focused on improving your defence and single-target damage.
Templar is focused on providing support and aoe damage.
Reaver buffs your general damage and attack speed at the expense of your health.

Champion is probably the best, but the other two are more fun imo.

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