Dragon Age: What's Your Story?

[Asita]

There's a little over two months left before Dragon Age: Inquisition hits shelves. As this is a series that - much like Mass Effect - is supposed to be keeping track of your character and that character's decisions, it seems only fitting that we take a moment to look back at where we've been and what fates befell the heroes of the last two tales.

So, I ask you, what was the tale of your Warden Commanders and Champions of Kirkwell? Did your Warden follow the Archdemon to oblivion? Did the Commander of the Grey side with the Architect or the Mother? Did your Champion side with the Templars or the Circle? And on a more RP note...just how do you imagine the two as seen in your playthrough would get along? Are they birds of a feather or polar opposites? Rivals or fast friends? I'm sure you get the picture. The long and short of it is simply to think on the story as it stretches across two (soon to be three) games, and see how different our respective tales have ended up. In essence, my question to you is this, escapists: What were the stories of your Wardens and Hawkes, and are those going to affect the way you play your Inquisitors?

 

[Elfgore]

My God, fuck my Dad's internet! I just spent thirty minutes writing out a fucking awesome thing. Yeah, not doing that again. This is just going to be a list.

-Male, Dalish Elf
-Rogue
-Did all DLC
-Did all companion side-quest
-Saved the Mages
-Saved the Dalish and cured the Werewolves
-Put Lord Harrowmont on the Throne
-Romanced Morrigan
-Put Alistar on the throne
-Killed Loghain himself.
-Performed the cermony with Morrigan
-Slayed the Archdemon
-Protected the City of Amaranthine over Vigils Keep
-Keep still stands thanks to upgrades.
-Spared the Architect and slayed the Mother
-Left this world to be with Morrigan and their child

-Female, Mage, Joker
-Did all DLC
-All companion quest
-Sent Carver to the Wardens
-Defeated the Arishok in a duel
-Sided with the mages
-Romanced Marril

 

[endtherapture]

1.
-Male, Dalish Elf
-Rogue
-Did all DLC
-Did all companion side-quests
-Saved the Mages
-Saved the Dalish and cured the Werewolves
-Put the other guy on the Throne
-Romanced Laliana I think
-Put Alistar on the throne married to the queen woman
-Killed Loghain myself
-Didn't perform the Dark Ritual
-Slayed the Archdemon dying in the process
-Didn't do Awakening oops

2.
-Male, Human
-Mage
-Did NO DLC
-Did all companion side-quests
-Saved the Mages
-Saved the Dalish and cured the Werewolves
-Put Lord Harrowmont on the Throne
-Romanced Morrigan
-Put Alistar on the throne with the queen woman.
-Killed Loghain myself
-Performed the ceremony with Morrigan
-Slayed the Archdemon
-Protected Vigils Keep over the City of Amaranthine.
-City dies oops
-Spared the Architect and slayed the Mother

Didn't play DA2 through fully. I should probably finish it.

Also some decisions are really hard to go through - like I can NEVER pick Loghain, my main enemy for most of the game, over Alistairs, that's just too tough.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Dragon Age Origins: canon pending
Dragon Age II: canon pending

...sooo, yeah, I have no idea at the moment. I played through both, multiple times, but for me that just means there were multiple timelines and I need to pick one... I plan to go through DAII again before Inquisition, but I'm not sure I have the patience for a full Origins run.

I will say that Mass Effect makes more sense as a cohesive trio, because--- well, it is just that. I did always import a file to DAII, but it never really felt particularly weighty or resonant. So I may just pick the Warden I like the most (probably the do-gooder Cousland who went sightseeing with Leliana after the epilogue), and go through II as a sarcastic mage archer/rogue who tries to stop both sides in Kirkwall being idiotic (I never saw a good reason to fully side with either, ultimately, so my canon Hawke will reflect that).

 

[King Aragorn]

My Warden in Dragon Age Origins was a man ripped from nobility and his family slaughtered by Arl Howe, then taken into the Wardens. While a bit apprehensive and torn about it at first, he soon comes to term with it and when the burden of the world falls unto his shoulders, he's up for the task. A kind hearted man with a sense of humor who tried to do what was right, he romanced Morrigan while fostering a friendship between him and Alistair along with Lelianna, the latter which would grow to romantic affection that tore him between his two love interests. He destroyed the Anvil of the Void,, preserved the sacred Ashes, found a compromise between both Dalish and Werewolved, saved the Mages and placed Harrowmount on the throne *something to note: I only did this because of that sodding noble guy in the tavern who said he's more forgiving. Turns out his rule would cause Orzaammar to be closed off even more* and killed Loghain with his own hands for his betrayal and ultimately put both Alistair and Anora on the throne. When it came to confronting the arch demon, he refused the ritual out of the danger of it all and the fact that he his very own son will be possessed by a tainted old god, and he struck the final blow, as he saved Ferelden and by that extent the world, from Oblivion. Elessar, forever to be remembered as the Warden who sacrificed the most for all.


My Hawke was a female/male *undecided* sarcastic Mage Hawke who tried to tackle everything with a smile, to hide any sense of fear, doubts or insecurities behind it. When they escaped Lothering, he *I'll go with that for the sake of convenience* quickly rose to prominence in Kirkwall under the Red Iron Mercenary band, and then their little deep roads expedition got under way. He had a deep seated rivalry with his brother, Carver, who he saw as a resentful little brat. Hawke formed a very strong relationship with what would be his most loyal and best friend Varric, found a common factor with Anders, who he also formed a tight knit relationship with, and Aveline was the big sister he never had. When going into the Deep Roads, he left his brother behind, and when he returned back he did not find Carver, but a Templar in his place. His business around all of Kirkwall after he rose to prominence left him no time for any romantic relationships, so he was single through out all the years. Not only was he one of the wealthiest people in the city now, he acted as the bridge between people and Qunari, as he quickly gained the Arishok's respect and went against all zealots such as sister Petrice, including letting the Saerbass immolate himself years ago. But real catastrophe struck when his mother died due to Quentin, that's when he realized a smile and a witty line won't make everything go away, and its when he stepped up. It was in that moment that the Champion of Kirkwall was born, as his failure to protect his mother is what would drive him to protect the entire city. When things came to a head with the Qunari, Isabela stabbed him in the back and took the tome, never to be seen again, as he fought the Arishhok in single combat over the city of chains. But catastrophe struck again years later when the Mage and Templar war started, ultimately he let Anders live, the friendship he built him with was strong, but not enough to let him come along as he banished him away, and sided with the Mages to protect them against unjust annulment in his eyes.

Let me know if I missed anything major. And my Hawke and Warden will probably be good friends, yep. As for my Inquisitor? i'm still not sure, honestly. A human though, for sure.

 

[goldenblack]

Origins
-Male Human Warrior
-Pragmatic, end-justifies-means type. Howell's betrayal and slaughter of his family jaded him, dedicated himself towards vengeance on Howell and making things 'right' in Ferelden, no matter what the cost
-Did all DLC
-Kept Avernus alive, allowed to continue research
-Did all companion side-quests, none of them died
-Saved the Mages
-Saved the Dalish and cured the Werewolves
-Preserved the Ashes
-Saved all of the Arl's family
-Backed Bhalen
-Sided with Branka and brought back the Anvil
-Wed (hardened) Alistar to Anora
-Romanced Morrigan
-Did the Ritual with Morrigan myself
-Spared the Architect
-Sacrificed Amaranthine to secure Vigil's Keep
-Went with Morrigan

DA2
-Male Mage
-Snarky, devil-may-care neutral shaded towards good; generally just wanted to live freely and enjoy life, tried to avoid the Kirkwall politics and Mage/Templar dispute as much as he could
-Did all the DLC
-Carver became a Warden
-Sent Feynriel to the Dalish, then saved from demons
-Romanced Isabela, refused to hand her over to Arishok (didn't really like Izzy, but meh, she fit my Hawke)
-Had Keran reinstated to Templars
-Aveline married Donnic
-Killed Bartrand
-Dueled and killed the Arishok myself
-Helped Merril rebuild Eluvian
-Merill's clan attacks me, is killed
-Sided with Mages
-Spared Anders, made help save the city (Sebastian promises war)
-100% rivalry with personal quests done, so Fenris didn't switch sides

I imagine the two would get along well enough. My warden could and would be a stone cold, manipulative bastard when he felt it necessary, but had a sense of humor and wasn't much for the Chantry. He'd be amused by and respect Hawke, and Hawke was a charmer with anyone who didn't threaten his freedom, friends, or family. Hawke, though not an idealist, would be much less willing to make the kinds of sacrifices my Warden would for the mission however, so could butt heads over another scenario like Amaranthine vs. the Keep.

Typically done females on my second playthroughs, but leaning towards switching it up with a Qunari mage FemQuisitor on my canon run this time. Will wait to figure out personality until I see how their origin plays out in the game.

 

[Eliam_Dar]

What I remember right now

DA1 Still in progress

DA2
- Female Warrior
- Remained as a fierce friend of aveline throught the game. Mostly good deeds, though a few of them backfired.
- Rescued miners
- Sent Feynriel to the Dalish, then saved from demons
- One on one duel with the Arishok
- Romanced briefly Isabella then Merril
- Helped Aveline marry Donnic
- Destroyed the Dalish (I really tried to avoid this though)
- Sided with mages
- Killed Anders as he confeses his deeds
- Spared Bartrand
- Had Keran reinstated to Templars
- Did not helped Merril rebuild Eluvian (curiously this is when she became open for a relationship)

 

[Souplex]

I could not be bothered to finish Lizard Time: Crappy Sequel, because it actively hurt to play. However, I did thoroughly enjoy Lizard Time: Beginnings.
Dwarven Noble, Male, Warrior.
Noble to a fault.
Did Warden's Keep, Awakening, Golems of Amgaraak, and all main-game sidequests except the thievery ones and Antivan Crow ones.
Hardened Alistair and Leliana.
Alistar and Anora Rule jointly.
Did not take Morrigan's deal because you can't trust anything she's planning.
Loghain sacrificed himself to slay the Archdemon, earning his redemption.
Forgave Bhelen, and helped him rise to the throne because Harrowmont is an out of touch loony old man.
Sided with Branka and preserved the Anvil, saving the lives of countless Dwarves and ensuring future blights are much milder.
Brought an army back to Orzimarr.
Saved the circle.
Lifted the werewolf curse (relatively) peacefully.
Used Lyrium from the circle to save Connor so nobody had to die.
Let Avernus get back to work. (Anyone else noticing a weird redemption theme here?)
Destroyed the cult of Andraste and kept the ashes intact.
Put the moves on Morrigan, broke up with her when she suggested it after killing Flemeth, and put the moves on Leliana.
Saved Amaranthine.
Vigil held.
Told the Architect that he was an untrustworthy, shady asshole, and we'd deal with the blights. Then killed him.

 

[laggyteabag]

DA:O
-Elf Female, Mage
-Paragon type of character, needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. What would be better in the long term?
-Did all DLC
-Kept Avernus alive, allowed to continue research
-All companions recruited, all side quests completed
-Saved the Mages
-Saved the Dalish and cured the Werewolves
-Killed the High Dragon
-Public access to the Urn of Sacred Ashes
-Saved all of the Arl of Redcliffe's family using the Circle of Magi
-Jowan alive
-Backed Harrowmont
-Sided with Caradin and destroyed the Anvil. Branka was a loony bin.
-Convinced the Legion of the Dead to fight on the surface
-Romanced Leliana
-"Killed" Flemeth
-Alistair made king, Loghain killed.
-Did the Ritual with Morrigan and Alistair
-All party members in Awakening performed the joining ritual
-Killed the Architect
-Burned Amarantine to the ground, saved Vigil's Keep
-Morrigan left me at the eluvian

DA2
-Male Rouge
-Good-guy type character, with a little snark when needed.
-Bethany joined the Circle of Magi
-Sent Feynriel to the Dalish, then saved from demons
-Romanced Isabela, refused to hand her over to Arishok
-Had Keran reinstated to Templars
-Aveline married Donnic
-Killed Bartrand
-Killed the Arishok myself
-Helped Merril rebuild Eluvian (Last quest wouldn't unlock, hopefully can be rectified in Keep)
-Merill's clan attacked me, and the clan was wiped out
-Killed the High Dragon at the mine and inherited it
- Did all DLC, stayed with Tallis and sided with Larius
-Sided with Mages
-Spared Anders, made help save the city, Sebastian left the party and threatened me
-All remaining party members joined me in the final fight.

 

[Uncle Comrade]

DA:O
Reginald Amell, a human mage (and later battlemage) whose polite (if sometimes sarcastic) exterior hid a cold and cynical interior. He fully embraced the Grey Warden philosophy of the end justifying the means, and as a result during his adventure he;
- Preserved the Anvil of the Void
- Helped Bhelen rise to the throne of Orzammar
- Preserved the Circle of Magi
- Led the werewolves to slaughter the Dalish
- Killed Connor
- Set up an Alistair/Anora marriage and recruited Loghain into the Wardens
- Killed Zevran after his failed assassination attempt
- Performed the ritual with Morrigan (who he had romanced anyway)
- Let the city of Amaranthine burn to save the Keep
- Allowed the Architect to live
Despite all this, he had an odd charm about him, and was highly respected by his allies. Eventually, he and Morrigan left in the eluvian to raise an amoral uber-mage baby together. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

DA:II
Astrid Hawke, an archer whose jokey demeanour was worn down by the hardship she encountered, leading to occasional bouts of bitchiness and criminality.
- Fought for mage rights whenever she could
- Romanced Fenris, tried to change his mind about magic
- Bethany joined the wardens
- Befriended Varic and Isabella, rival with Aveline
- Sided with the mages at the end, spared Anders, but wanted nothing more to do with him
- Other stuff that I can't really remember, it's been a long time since I played the game.

 

[soren7550]

Gonna have a hard time remembering everything, since it's been years since this playthrough, and the 1 1/2 other playthroughs I tried, I'd play briefly, then not touch it again for months/years. DA:O just wasn't really fun for me to play.
DA2, I only played the demo for, since the boyfriend lent his copy to a friend and refused to take it back.

- Human female noble, Warrior (played more like a Rogue though)
- Paragon
- Think I did all the DLC you can be the Warden in
- Saved the Circle
- Protected the Dalish elves and cured the werewolves
- Destroyed the anvil
- Put Bhelen on the dwarven throne
- Saved Connor and the bloodmage without killing anyone
- Kept the ashes pure
- Romanced Alistair, but he broke up after the landsmeet (I know female nobles can rule with him, but I couldn't make it happen)
- Loghain died at the landsmeet (again, I know that you could keep him alive, but I wasn't able to make it happen)
- Took Morrigan's offer to not die
- Defended the city because the Keep could (should have anyway) defend itself
- Told Avernus to keep doing his thing, but in a safe manner
- Put Alistair on the throne (presumably Annora ruled with him)

Aaaand I'm lucky I can remember that much. Really hope that I can get access to the Keep thing.

 

[UmberHulk]

origins
Male Dwarven Rogue
- goodish guy
- saved the circle
- saved the werewolves
- saved Connor, but killed his mom
- destroyed the anvil
- no romances
- put alister on the throne
- killed logihane
- killed the archfiend my self(dying in the posses)

DA2
- Male Human Rogue
- hated everyone except his sister, Aveline, and Varric.
- lost Bethany in the deep roads
- Isabella ran away with the Qunari's book
- Sided with the mages
- did not kill anders

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

Origins:
Male Human Noble Warrior

-Kind of like what Duncan is portrayed as. A pretty good but pragmatic guy who sometimes does some not so nice things to achieve his goals.
-Saved the Circle.
-Saved the Elves and cured the Werewolves.
-Let Avernus continue his research unhindered.
-Saved Connor but sacrificed his mother.
-Romanced Morrigan.
-Sided with Bhelen and destroyed the Anvil of the Void.
-Hardened Alistair and had him marry Anora.
-Spared Loghain.
-Took Morrigan's offer.
-"Killed" Flemeth.
-Killed Arl Howe but not for revenge.
-Saved the Alienage elves from the Tevinter slavers.
Kept the Ashes of Andraste pure and slaughtered Kolgrim's cult and god.

As Commander of the Grey I
-Recruited everyone I could into the Grey Wardens.
-Forced the Nobles to stay at the keep when I learned of their plotting.
-Threatened the rioting peasants with violence.
-Forced that one guy (might have beena thief?) to join the army/guard as punishment for his crime.
-Helped the Blight Orfans.
-Took out the smuggling ring.
-Fully upgraded Vigil's Keep and its soldiers.
-Had Vigilance forged.
-Defended the city.
-Sided with the Architect.
-Followed Morrigan into the Eluvian to see my son.

My Warden was a pretty decent guy. He always tried to help the poor, save the weak, etc. He knew however that sometimes people need to die or that bad things must be done to further achieve a goal. He did not let personal feelings get in the way of his actions (he wasn't the biggest fan of Bhelen but he gave him the throne anyway) and he had a pretty dry and sarcastic sense of humor but it only came out on rare occasions, usually he was a bit straightforward and short with people.
Also enjoyed a good fight.

DA2:
Male/Female (haven't decided yet) Warrior
-Friends with everyone (no rivalries yay!)
-Romanced Merril.
-Sarcastic, jokey personality.
-Placed ideals and morals above what the best course of action would be.
-Defeated Arishok in one on one combat.
-Sided with mages.
-Let Anders live because he was a friend but believed he deserved execution.

Thats honestly all I remember about DA2. I didn't get any of the DLC and I only played through it 4 times. I really disliked it.

I don't think my Warden and Hawke would get along very well. My Hawke would not agree with a lot of what my Warden had done (let Avernus continue his research as is, taking Morrigan's deal, threatening the peasants, sacrificing Connor's mom, stuff like that) and while my Warden would no doubt respect Hawke he would definitely think he/she was foolish and a bit naive. Probably would be annoyed by the constant sarcasm and jokes too.

He had a weak spot for love and was a hidden romantic.

 

[CaptainCoxwaggle]

Human Warrior, Noble, Man obvsly
Wearing heavy armour and wielding large twohanded weapons, as all masculine men should
Had the additional classes of Templar and Berserker

-I shut down the Circle, but kept the Old Lady alive to be a healer.
-Forgot to unlock the cage to the Qunari guy
-Killed the annoying elf assassin.
-Slayed the Dragon and preserved the ashes
-Saved some kid and brought back some sword, demanded a kiss as a reward
-Killed the kid for being inhuman demonspawn, gave 50 crowns to the bar waitress because I'm a swell guy.
-Backed the rightful Dwarven Heir to the throne, Prince Bhelen, and destroyed the Anvil for creating inhuman monstrosities.
-Initially I was going to wipe out the Werewolves for being furries, but I found the Lady of the Forest attractive and endeavored to wipe out the elves instead. During this time I finished all side quests, with the exception of the sad elf that was a terrible hunter, so I showed his love interest my masculine prowess and told him.
-Romanced both Morrigan and Leliana, think I had a threeway with a pirate as well, then married Queen Anora to secure my rightful place as future King of the Land. Had Alistar killed off by Loghain in order to prevent him from being a future problem and his constant whining was grating to say the least.
-Did the ritual with Morrigan in order to keep myself alive, which is quite important.

 

[Takolin]

Warden:

Male mage elf
Tried to do as much for Jowan as possible in the circle.
Saved the circle
Romanced Morrigan
"Killed" Flemeth
Saved the arl but sarcificed his wife in order to save Connor with the help of Jowan.
Learned blood magic from the demon while he was in the fade (the main reason the little brat is actually still alive).
Defiled the ashes of Andraste and iirc killed the scholar, no backtracing to me. Might have had to kill Wyne and Leliana but can't remember exactly.
Killed the werewolves, we elves need to stick together.
Lord Bhelen is on the throne and the anvil still works.
Saved Sten in the beginning of the game
Didn't kill Zevran
I let a hardened Alistair kill Loghain and he took the throne for himself.
Did the ritual with Morrigan and in the very end with her through the ELuvian.
Avernus was allowed to continue his research.

Awakening
Same elf
Sacked Amarantine
Saved the Architect
Fully upgraded the keep


DA2

Male Hawke
Sarcastic personalty
Apostate blood mage
Romanced Anders
Was friends with Merril, Isabella and Varric
Didn't care for Aveline but let her marry Donnic
Hated Fernis and Sebastian
Killed the Arishok himself in a duel by returning the stolen codex but refusing to give him Isabella
Sided with the mages throughout the game.
Let Anders live in the end and killed Fenris in the process.

 

[Hithel]

Necroing this instead of starting a new thread.

Which of the origin stories do you consider the most satisfying and providing the best overall realized character? I'm currently doing all I have of DAO+A again in preparation for Inquisition.

 

[small]

origins..
female city elf rogue. tried to make things better and chose the good option apart from people who hurt her friends or family, then they died by falling on sharp pointy things.

DA2.
female warrior, again tried to do the good thing, took out the mages guild, due to finding out they were behind the mothers death, and none of the mages could be trusted due to the amount of blood mages

 

[Breakdown]

My current DA Origins character is a noble dwarf warrior. He's kind of heroic, but is totally intolerant of human and elf culture and bangs on about Orzammar every chance he gets. I killed Leilana when she took issue with that time I ruined the Urn of Ashes. I supported Bhelen to be king of Orzammar, because an Aeducan must be on the throne!

Alistair stopped speaking to me pretty early on when I killed that possessed kid, and now our working relationship has hit a new low when I tried to get Loghain to be a Grey Warden. I backed down and let him kill Loghain, but then Alistair lost his shit with me when he became king. I'm close to the end now and I'm pretty sure Alistair isn't going to survive his meeting with the Archdemon.