Dragon Age: Origins - An Idea

[Secura]

I just heard Zevran speak for the first time. Why is he Spanish?

Zevran is from Antiva, which is a cultural twin to Venezia/Italy.

Everywhere in Thedas is akin to somewhere from the medieval world (think Europa Universalis III, actually):

Ferelden - England
Orlais - France
Antiva - Venezia/Italy
Tevinter - Byzantium
Anderfels - Holy Roman Empire/Germany

Those are the big ones, at any rate... I think the Qunari are meant to resemble the Ottoman Empire, as they're a strong people that seem to enjoy war and invading places and they're so culturally alien to everyone else. That's the best idea I could come up with anyway.

[johnhughthom]

What I meant was, ignore the game origin and do a totally different Dalish origin story. A good one. Emphasise the tensions with humans. With Gheyna and Cammen as the central characters.




Well, maybe not that last one.

[Secura]

With Gheyna and Cammen as the central characters.

Cammen's face makes Sten cry... it's that bad.

Besides, Cammen & Gheyna are from a different Dalish tribe to the Dalish Warden, so they're unlikely to appear. I'm liking the challenge of this the more I think of it though.

[Double A]

Didn't I already say the Dalish one was lame? (of course it's only the second one, and the Dwarf noble quest, which I played about a month after DA came out, still has lasting impressions on me)

Also, who and who?

Zevran is from Antiva, which is a cultural twin to Venezia/Italy.

Everywhere in Thedas is akin to somewhere from the medieval world (think Europa Universalis III, actually):

Ferelden - England
Orlais - France
Antiva - Venezia/Italy
Tevinter - Byzantium
Anderfels - Holy Roman Empire/Germany

Those are the big ones, at any rate... I think the Qunari are meant to resemble the Ottoman Empire, as they're a strong people that seem to enjoy war and invading places and they're so culturally alien to everyone else. That's the best idea I could come up with anyway.

I thought Tevinter was just the Roman empire, not just the Byzies. Cause they aren't around any more. So what are the Dwarves most like?

Also, I don't have EU3, as I explained in some QT which I will post here once I remember where I put it.

And I think the Qunari are like the Quarians from Mass Effect. Aside from the obvious spelling similarity, they are both mysterious, especially when you first meet them. Both are HIGHLY skilled at what they do (fighting and tech). And both Sten and Tali are purple-ish.

[TheFlax]

I thought Tevinter was just the Roman empire, not just the Byzies. Cause they aren't around any more.

Nah, Secura got it right. Tevinter is still around and kicking, fighting a lot with the Qunari. They are a lot smaller now though. Also, I remember from the Bioware forums, before the game came out, the lead writer mentioned that Tevinter was heavily inspired by the Byzantine Empire.

[johnhughthom]

I thought Tevinter was just the Roman empire, not just the Byzies.

The "Byzies" were the Roman Empire....



Somebody had to say it.

[Secura]

Nah, Secura got it right. Tevinter is still around and kicking, fighting a lot with the Qunari. They are a lot smaller now though.

Which is where I drew the Ottoman-Qunari comparison from, seems the most logical one.

Also, I remember from the Bioware forums, before the game came out, the lead writer mentioned that Tevinter was heavily inspired by the Byzantine Empire.

The wikia states that "Writer David Gaider has stated that the present, weakened state of Tevinter Imperium is influenced by the real-world Byzantine Empire". He gave real-life influences for all the nations I described in my earlier post. I don't think the Dwarves or Elves had one because their civilisations are very much under wraps; the Dwarves span across most of Ferelden (and further, p'raps) with the Deep Roads and such, while the Elves are fractured and essentially nomadic.

[Double A]

The "Byzies" were the Roman Empire....



Somebody had to say it.

I know that, sheesh. But when I say the "Roman Empire" I mean when it wasn't constantly fighting Muslims and Catholics, just everyone else. Byzies are the purple guys in M2 who have Constantinople.

And I didn't know the Imperium was still around. I'll have read my codex entry for them.

Also: GAAAAH WEREWOLVES CAN TALK!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Belisarius II]

This will help as far as geography.

There are bigger resolutions of the map, a quick google search will get you one.

[Double A]

Oh wow I thought Orlais was where that strip of land between Orlais and Ferelden is...


And that it was on an island.

[Secura]

Oh wow I thought Orlais was where that strip of land between Orlais and Ferelden is...

As I said, Orlais draws influences from France; aside of the obvious culture comparions, there's the vast extent of the country compared to the nations around it and the sheer size of their army (which was able to effectively invade and occupy Ferelden for some time).

There's a reason that Cailan was trying to forge a Ferelden-Orlais alliance and wanted the Chevaliers to come to aid against the Darkspawn... and there's a reason why Loghain chose to abandon the forces even when the beacon was lit.

[Belisarius II]

Oh wow I thought Orlais was where that strip of land between Orlais and Ferelden is...

That is still Orlais. The one thing I don't like about this map is its lack of borders for the nations. The land between Orlais and Ferelden was once called the Dales (2nd homeland of the elves). Orlais occupied the land. The far eastern border of Orlais is actually the mountains that make up the west border of Ferelden. Orlais is huge, and is the superpower of the Thedas presently. Another way you can see that Orlais has control of the area is that there are a few towns in that have French-like names around the Dales.

[Double A]

Holy crap Orlais is HUGE!

So can someone draw borders on that map?

[Belisarius II]

This is a rough speculation of the borders and are in no way "official" but since we don't have an official map it'll have to do.

Does anyone want me to pop up an even bigger map, so city names will be visible? Or does this do fine?

EDIT: Slightly unsure of the western border of Orlais, so it may be smaller in reality.

[Double A]

Where's Qunariland?

[Niklas]

Qunari = Par Vollen, the island in the northeast. That's just their "forward colony" though, originally they come from somewhere across the ocean.

[Beskar]

Elf-Commoner was a great one. Though I did it as a male, it is apparently different as a female.

[Belisarius II]

Qunari = Par Vollen, the island in the northeast. That's just their "forward colony" though, originally they come from somewhere across the ocean.

And don't forget Scheron. That's where Sten came from.

I believe Scheron represents Anatolia. It was held by the TI before the Qunari came, and ever since then, the TI has launched attack after attack trying to regain the island, and they did finally get it back in what, I believe, was the latest Exalted March, but then lost it once the other nations' armies pulled out.

[Double A]

So are the Free Marches the HRE?

[TheFlax]

So are the Free Marches the HRE?

My understanding is that the Free Marches are un bunch of city states. The Dragon Age wiki mentions that the Free Marches are akin to Northern Italy.

[Secura]

So are the Free Marches the HRE?

No, that's Anderfels; the culture is apparantly quite Germanic in nature, and the socio-political aspects closely mimic the HRE... don't know much more about it, though.

Obviously most of the stories I write will be based in/around Ferelden and on the game's material itself, but I like the Orlesian and Antivan backgrounds sufficiently so that they might pop up as a proper setting somewhere down the line. :3

[Double A]

Yeah ok I get the Free Marches are North Italy, so then how is Antiva also Italy and not Spain?

[TheFlax]

Yeah ok I get the Free Marches are North Italy, so then how is Antiva also Italy and not Spain?

Antiva is more like Venice, because they are big on trade, with the merchant class generally running things.

[Double A]

I thought it was the Assassin class.

[TheFlax]

"Antiva is a nation in Thedas. Its capital is Antiva City, which lies on in the middle of its coastline. The line of kings in Antiva has remained unbroken for two and a half thousand years. In truth, however, the nation is ruled by a collection of merchant princes such as heads of banks, trading companies, and vineyards. As Antiva is well-known to be good at everything but fighting, it is ironic that the world's deadliest assassins, the Crows of Antiva, originate here. No general would be mad enough to lead an attack on the Antivan borders, for while they would surely succeed due to the fact Antiva has no standing army, the general would likely be assassinated by the Crows. " -Dragon Age Wiki

Generally assassin, being in the shadows and all that, don't run kingdoms.

[Double A]

Their figurehead would.

:P

[Secura]

Elf-Commoner was a great one. Though I did it as a male, it is apparently different as a female.

My personal favourites are Dwarf Noble, Human Noble and City Elf.

The Dwarf Noble is probably the best; the origin captures the intrigue of Orzammar's socio-economic and political aspects while highlighting the constant battle against the criminal underworld and the Darkspawn. There's so much narrative in such a short space of time that it's never enough to play the origin once, but to go at it repeatedly from every facet until you know every single outcome.

The Human Noble, to me, feels like the way the game was meant to be played; while the Dwarf Noble has the best origin story, I feel that the Human counterpart has the overall better storyline (in length and breavity) across the course of the game, the highlight being the confrontations with Arl Howe and Queen Anora, in particular. Besides, Tim Curry is awesomeness, could listen to his evil-laden tones all day long. xD

As for the City Elf, I loved the marital aspect and how it was ruined by the Human overlords, and then the subsequent revenge plot and eventual intervention of Duncan. Much better from the female perspective, too.

I think I'm going with the Dwarf Noble origin as an initial story, just need to iron out the mechanics; I'm thinking of changing the hitpoints thing to static Attack and Defense stats that determine the relative success of actions, which would be increased/reduced by specs, items and abilities/spells. Not sure yet.

[Double A]

Why not all 3? :P

[Secura]

Why not all 3? :P

See, here's the thing; say that the player who ends up as the Warden is unsuccessful and they die, or they fail to unite with Duncan or whatever... then they're dead, it's okay, because we can move on.

Consider what happens to the other Origins that you don't play as due to not meeting Duncan:

- the Mage is likely turned into Tranquil for helping Jowan destroy his phylactery
- the Dwarf Commoner dies in Jarvia's dungeons
- the Dwarf Noble dies in the Deep Roads
- the City Elf is executed for their crimes
- the Dalish Elf dies next to the Tevinter mirror
- the Human Noble is slain by Arl Howe's forces

So, if one Warden fails, so what? We've got other origins we can move onto until we get a successful Warden!

Anyways, mechanics-wise I'm considering using an array of stats that range from 1-10 and determine the success of an attack:

- Strength: determines the attack score for Rogue/Warrior characters
- Magic: as above, but for Magi
- Constitution: determines the defense score for physical attacks (melee and ranged weapons)
- Willpower: as above, but for staves and spells

So, for example, let's say we have the following characters, all without any items, buffs or abilities:

Sandal - 8 Strength, 0 Magic, 7 Constitution and 4 Willpower
Genlock Emissary - 1 Strength, 6 Magic, 3 Constitution and 6 Willpower
Hurlock Alpha - 6 Strength, 0 Magic, 6 Constitution and 2 Willpower

Both the Emissary and Alpha choose to attack Sandal overnight, the former choosing to attack with a Fireball, the latter with their bare hands, thus they are the aggressors; Sandal is defending himself with his bare hands, he is the defender.

The Alpha has 6 Strength compared to Sandal's 7 Constitution; this would result in Sandal surviving the Alpha's attack outright, or perhaps suffering an injury which could have any number of effects depending on the luck (or lack thereof) of the die... typical examples would include head trauma (loss of willpower), broken bones (loss of constitution) and so on. As both Sandal and the Alpha are in melee range of one another, there is a possibility that Sandal could retaliate against his attacker; in this instant, he may inflict an injury, but were his attacker somewhat weaker he might kill them outright, dependent on the luck of the draw.

The Emissary has 6 Magic compared to Sandal's 4 Willpower; this would likely result in Sandal's death, though the luck of the draw may favour him and he comes out with injuries instead. As the Emissary is a ranged attacker and Sandal is melee, there would be no opportunity in this instant for Sandal to retaliate to the attack, in this instant.

As a rule, melee characters can only retaliate to melee-ranged adversaries, bow-wielders can retaliate to ranged only and magi can retaliate to both, although there's a high liklihood they won't survive to do so at close-range. These rules can be circumvented by specific abilities such as Archery or Templar abilities, for example.

It's something I developed that's akin to the mechanic used in the Star Wars game over at CFC, just more relevant to the world of Dragon Age and more personalised through class, spec, items and such. It might seem complex, but it really isn't in practice, it's just there to inflict a greater sense of roleplay and remove that whole Health/Stamina/Mana aspect and the monitoring of recovery and such. Tell me what you think, anyway. :3

[Double A]

Yeah by all 3 I meant HP, attack, and defense, not 3 Wardens.

And about archers... I think some should be able to retaliate. Melee archer or having a dagger are both ways. And then there's Dirty Fighting, my most used ability :P

But they just won't be as powerful that way.

Also... I think Sandal should have more Magic than than. Like, enchantment! Gosh!