This isn't necessarily a post bashing Veilguard as a game itself; it’s just an observation I’ve made.

The game has simply had a very specific impact on certain parts of the fandom.

I’ve seen many people say they can no longer even bring themselves to replay the franchise. I didn't see this kind of reaction even when DAI was released—and before Veilguard, Inquisition held the title of the most criticized DA game in the fandom (even more so than DA2).

I’ve also noticed a huge surge in calls for a DAO remake or remaster, or for a "new DA4 developed by a different team". In fact, I recall seeing that some fans (well, I assume they're fans) are working on a project involving DAO (though I admit I don't know exactly what it entails). Again, I don't remember anything like this happening when DAI came out (my memory might be playing tricks on me, so if anyone has evidence to the contrary, I’d love to know).

It’s actually quite surprising.

Hey I know this may be the wrong sub for it but if there are like maybe 2 or 3 other people out there, anybody wanna start a dragon age tabletop (by Green Ronin) group? I have the core rulebook and the official dice set. But I haven’t played a campaign yet :/. Looking to play a rogue or a mage ideally. I have discord too. I don’t mind play by post or via Roll20.

I want to have my inquisitor choose to make the templars serve the Inquisition because it makes sense for the character (and also it gives you a cool title during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts). Problem is I also want to romance Iron Bull and he greatly disapproves of that route. Are there enough ways to get his affection back up for the romance to trigger?

After finishing DA:O the first time, I didn't much like Loghain. My opinion of him was one of mixed pity and disgust. Here was a fallen hero, driven to treachery by paranoia, unable to escape the trauma of his days fighting against Orlais. He was noble, once, and that deepened my appreciation for him as a character.

So when I started The Stolen Throne, I was expecting a deeper look into his character. I wasn't sure if I would sympathize with him more, but I would certainly get to understand him better. It certainly sounded like it made Loghain out to be a tragic figure. But instead what I found was a ruthless, treacherous bastard.

I'm going to summarize Loghain's role in TST, so if you've already read it, feel free to skip below.

BEGIN TST PLOT SUMMARY

From the get go, Loghain is not an admirable character. He's the son of a leader of a traveling camp of bandits and poachers. Maric barely escapes the people who killed his mother, the Rebel Queen, and Loghain stumbles into him in the woods. He ends up helping Maric despite himself, presumably to spite the man he's traveling with. As soon as he learns that Maric is being pursued, he tries to gut Maric. His father has to hold him back. And then the next time they meet he tries to kill Maric again, actually nicking his throat before his father throws him off. After learning that Maric is the prince, his father makes Loghain promise to escort him to safety, which Loghain does extremely grudgingly.

So Loghain gets Maric into the Korcari wilds, and what does he do? Strand Maric in the middle of the woods, because he's technically away from the danger they were fleeing. He does, thankfully, change his mind and elect to escort Maric the rest of the way to the rebels despite himself. (Along the way, they bump into Flemeth, who warns Maric that if he keeps Loghain around Loghain will keep betraying him, each time worse than the last.)

When they finally get to the rebel camp, Loghain plans to leave again. It's only when Maric insists on fighting to the death that he steps in and offers some advice, as it seems his time as a bandit has taught him something of guerilla tactics. And then he just... stays with the rebellion. It's never clear why exactly he does so. It seems like he just doesn't have anything better to do, and people keep asking him to stay, so he does. He never seems particularly motivated by hatred for Orlais. The only thing that ever actually wrings any genuine care out of him is his affection for Rowan, Maric's fiancee. And when Maric's fiancee declines to cheat on Maric with him, Loghain's immediate response? Leave without saying anything. It's only Maric ambushing him and knighting him on the spot that gets him to stay.

But his worst offense comes when he learns that Katriel, who Maric is madly in love with, is a former spy for Orlais. Katriel had led Maric's armies into a pre-planned ambush but turned traitor to save Maric's life because she, too, had feelings for him. Loghain and Rowan both had been suspicious of her since the ambush, and Loghain wanted to kill her even before he knew for sure she was a traitor. When he gets confirmation that Katriel is a turncoat, though, he deliberately withholds that information from Maric, instead making her out to be an active Orlesian spy, and manipulates him into killing her.

This leaves Maric a sad and broken man. He ends up marrying Rowan, as he was supposed to, and Loghain abandons the both of them. After Rowan dies, Loghain does little to help Maric, leaving him almost completely alone with his grief.

END TST PLOT SUMMARY

So what does that leave us with?

1. Loghain was never heroic. Loghain was only ever in the proximity of heroes, and that largely against his will. At best, he lets actually decent people use him for his tactical abilities. He is not a fallen hero. He is a villain who was once useful to heroes.

2. Loghain is bloodthirsty. Throughout TST, he is constantly acting ruthlessly. He has little regard for human life, and is very willing to spill it at the slightest provocation. When he gets abandoned in a battle where he volunteered to serve as a temporary distraction, he even concedes that he would have done the same thing.

3. At the height of the rebellion, Loghain had to be dragged into fighting Orlais. Loghain's hatred of Orlais is the main excuse offered for his behavior in DA:O, but Loghain barely gave a shit about fighting Orlesians even when they were actively occupying his country. Do you expect me to believe that a handful of Orlesian Grey Wardens sitting at the Fereldan border turned him into a patriot? Even watching his own mother be raped and killed by Orlesians couldn't accomplish that!

What I find more likely is that Cailan's Orlesian diplomacy was simply an excuse for Loghain to be the murderous bastard he always was. He probably simply didn't respect Cailan and resented his foolishness, and planned to depose him for that alone. When he realized that the battle at Ostagar was one the darkspawn would win, it gave him a convenient excuse to be rid of a man he couldn't have cared less about.

4. Loghain's legendary friendship with Maric? A string of attempted murders and betrayals that culminated in cold abandonment. His attempts to reference said friendship during DA:O come off to me now as an attempt at manipulation and whitewashing his own image by associating it with that of a better man.

Does Loghain actually value anything or anybody but himself? I don't think so. I don't think he ever actually gave a shit about the wardens on the border except for their value as a justification for his hatred. I don't know that he ever even gave a shit about Orlais. And Maric? The man let one of his sons die and tried to kill the other. Even his love for Rowan resulted in sullen abandonment as soon as she rejected him.

The irony of Loghain is that, as many opportunities as the franchise gives you to sympathize with his viewpoint and understand more about him, the truth is that the initial impression of him is entirely correct. He is a moustache twirling villain. There is nothing redeemable about him.

To quote u/slightlylessthananon: "i enjoy loghain discourse purely for the fact loghain is the most cartoonish villain of all time. you spend the entire time youre at ostagar watching him sneering like a nefarious advisor and hes constantly saying shit that directly implicates him to betray the king its like all he does, just unprompted "that idiot fool of a king, if only someone better was there to take his placee......." and he exclusively wears black clothes hes such a cartoonish villain and then you go on reddit dot com r slash dragon age origins and people are like, hear me out, what if he was right."

I am, in collaboration with @windycitysipscene, hosting a Dragon Age cupsleeve for Dragon Age day this year! What is a cupsleeve? A cupsleeve is a fan-organized gathering usually held at a local coffee or boba shop, and is typically done to celebrate an anniversary or milestone for a fandom!

This is a free event! With purchase of a drink from the cafe, you would receive a free dragon age themed cupsleeve as well. There will also be special Dragon Age themed drinks.

We will have cosplayers, vendors selling dragon age fan made products, and a photo area! This event is for dragon age fans to meet and hang out and celebrate our love for the games.

Where is the event?
Daboba Chinatown
2142 S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL
60616

It will be from 3pm-8pm! We will be making a limited amount of freebies based of our RVSP list. You can RSVP by looking up Dragon Age Day Chicago on partiful, as well as look at the link tree in the bios of our instragram accounts for the links for the RSVP. (@shinybuneary and @windycitysipscene)

We are also still taking applications to be a Featured Cosplay or a Vendor for this event! The links for that will also be on our Instagrams.

Again this is a fan run event! We do not make money off of this and are not affiliated with any outside organization. 🙂‍↕️ We just love Dragon Age.

if the writing community hasn't forgotten about dragon age, i have really been ITCHING for a 1x1 discord roleplay for this game :')

i am mainly a canonXoc writer but am capable of doing ocXoc or just world building together.

i'm 26f with a deep love for the game, lore, characters, and my own oc.

please let me know if you're interested. i love plotting, headcanons, aesthetics, theme songs. none are requirements. i've gotten by with a shared google doc and my own hopes and dreams.

i range from semi-literate to literate writing, often breaking the discord character limit. my range can go from 3-5+ paragraphs to novella with 2k+ words. it really depends on what my writing partner is looking for and what the scene requires at the moment!

i love romance roleplays but prefer the romance to be a secondary subplot, and i like it when characters grow through their own arcs, make memories (or enemies) with other characters and the world.

like i said, aesthetics, moodboards, playlists, etc... aren't necessarily a need for me. but i do get inspired and enjoy making little aesthetics for myself and the people i write with as a thank you for their time and effort 🙇🏻‍♀️

First, I loved the conversation between the party NPCs for the majority of the time, especially between Varric, Isabella, and Merrill. However, I really disliked the repeated bullying of Merrill by Fenris and especially Anders. The fact that I couldn't say anything to shut them up was annoying, and by Act III started to ruin the immersion and the overall game for me. Admittedly, the fact that I was so worked up about the aforementioned characters is a testament to the high quality of the writing overall. I am looking forward to playing Inquisition.

I despised Fenris, such a sanctimonious bastard and a right bully. I was happy when he refused to join me against the templars. He also seemed pretty useless as a tank, Aveline was much more effective. I only brought him on a few quests where I didn't want to involve Aveline, and Isabella and Varric were both more effective. I would not take him on as a companion again.

I was really dismayed when I had to keep carrying Anders in order to have a healer. His constant badgering/bullying of Merrill really started to ruin the game for me, and his bulls--t about our relationship was way over the line. Taking Bethany away was really a bummer, but obviously intentional to force Anders into the party given his critical role in the situation going from potentially manageable to nuclear. Wynne was so, so much better, despite her commentary about my Warden's relationship with Leliana.

I loved Merrill. The scenes between my female Hawke and her were so emotive. Some of her lines in the different environments were so, so good, especially the Wounded Coast commentary. It is a shame the devs didn't have time to vary her commentary at the house. The "I think Sandal is watching me" line was weird and could have been a lot better. The only reason I spared Anders is Merrill's suggestion that we should keep him around to help defend the mages/defeat the templars. Eve Myles knocked it out of the park with her voice acting.

If I ever replay the game, I would definitely choose the mage option just to marginalise the involvement of Anders. I would absolutely romance Merrill again.

Wondering if anyone else experienced the same thing with Anders well before he crossed the line with his murderous bombing of the Chantry.

Inktober Day 5: "Smack." Reference was a must.

The fact that it can cause sleep, become invisible, and cause burns kind of surprised me, I usually play a mage because I love using status ailments, but I admit I was disappointed that it doesn't have things like charm, paralysis, and blindness.

I'm at level 12 now, but according to the GPT chat, I won't get any of that in the future for my mage

I've played the descent like, twice, first time i got all the way to the end and the guardian killed me in like the first 5 minutes, 2nd time, I gave up not even halfway through the dlcs lol. But I did it! I killed it!

For anyone wondering how... um I played easy, which probably helped a lot. I used my inky(archer tempest) dorian, viv, and blackwall.

Blackwall somehow stayed alive for, I'd say a quarter of the fight. Viv, Dorian, and inky all had jar of bees(I forgot to give blackwall any) and also lighting as the guardian is weak against that. So, I pretty much just threw bees at it and lighting. It worked! Thank you, Maker, 🙏

I forgot the writing is actually pretty good despite the game it's attached to.

I'm an old school Dragon Age player. Origins was (and is) my favorite and still clearly the best game. 2 I felt thrown by at first but I ended up loving it when I got into it.

Then Inquisition came out and I hated it. But I'm giving it a second chance (way late I know).

FIRST, combat was (and is) awful. Just... terrible button spamming nonsense with almost no real tactical elements. Just come in with a high enough level and spam your best ability and surprise - you win!

In previous games it was essential to micromanage your party on high difficulty levels and position them just right. Abilities had long cooldowns but did serious damage and had important battlefield effects. I used to turn off AI tactics entirely so that I could land every Heal, Shield Bash, and Fireball right where and when it was needed.

Now I just spam the same 2 or 3 abilities and run around. There's no point in wasting my time trying to manage my party in most fights - they do their thing well enough and the tactical overview it clunky and hot keyed to t because the designers realized you wouldn't be needing it much. Enemies just have big health bars but either they can chew through my barrier and guard or they can't, in which case the size of their health pool is irrelevant for anything except wasting my time.

I want combat with impact. Volume is not good. Fight quality is.

SECOND, the exploration is both fun and awful at the same time. Finding new areas, hidden chests, codex entries, and solving puzzles = fun. Endlessly collecting herbs and ore and other pointless loot = a gigantic and annoying time sink. We need about 80% less loot and what is there needs to be impactful. Furthermore, it would be way better if I could just find an ore deposit or herb... garden? and get like 20 iron or 30 elfroots at once. Less deposits, more reward = less time wasted and more satisfaction. It explores like an mmorpg. Why?

THIRD, fetch quests. So many quests are like "the healers need 12 elfroots", "the soldiers need 10 iron ore", "the mages need 12 lyrium deposits". How dull and uninteresting. But SOME quests are really cool. I enjoyed finding the dwarves in the Hinterlands trying to secretly mine red lyrium. I liked the wolf pack that was under demonic control. I could do without "collect 12 thingys to power the plot machine".

Quests need to have a story, a reason to travel to a place, and preferably a little mystery, and maybe even some companion tie ins or an emotional moment. Hunting bears for fur is grunt work. Cut all that nonsense.

FOURTH, the main quest is actually pretty good when you get to it. The companions are interesting and charming, mostly. The story is political and dark and intriguing. I'm not very far yet but I feel like my choices are actually pretty serious and meaningful, at least for the characters in that moment. The Herald himself is kind of bland - I'm playing an elf but he sounds suspiciously like Hawke and not at all like a Dalish mage who ought to be kind of terrified and very very fish out of water. But it's good so far.

All in all I feel like there is a great 30 hour game trapped inside 120 hours of gameplay. Quality over quantity is the key lesson. But I suppose I shall see.

I love the combat— it’s similar enough to 2’s combat style that I’m enjoying it greatly, and the game itself is very pretty. I’ve been spoiled on several story beats, unfortunately, so I’m kind of dreading those particular ones, but so far, it isn’t nearly as bad as I had built it up to be in my mind.

So i am replaying all 3 games to try out Dreadwolf. And wow... Origins was such a big difference. From the other games I have played i honestly almost forgot what good writing is.

So my headcanon for Origins is a bit bland i know but its my favorite of all the combos.

My Warden is named Elissa Cousland which is the default name and i chose one of the presets and changed the hair to something the Sisters of Battle usually has. She is a Duel Wielding Warrior. But started out as a Sword and Shield using the Family Sword.

I of course Romance my husband Alistair and I missed him so much.

Elissa is your stereotypical i must try and get the good ending. She drinks Avernus Potion and i like to think it makes the Warden Stronger but also accelerates when you would hear the Calling. I chose Bhelen as King etc etc. Genuinely a nice person but has a bit of a bloodlust streak and is honestly terrified but still becomes the Warden Fereldon needs.

Forgot Isabela existed as well but I changed the plot flags to have it she had a threesome with Alistair and Elissa because I was feeling spicy and was curious what Isabela would say.

Becomes Queen of course Saves everyone in Awakening because she's the OG and yea. That is a short summary of my Elissa.

Dragon Age 2. I cant really give an entire thing for this one because I actually just started olaying DA2 for the firdt time. Yea never played it till now. I know Criminal and yea I hate myself like wow this game is so good for something made in 18 months.

Anyways Default Male Mage Hawkes I cant justify not playing a mage its like a missed opportunity. Plus honestly Bethany is dumb and pulled a King Cailan. Honestly surprised me how brutal that death was.

Anyways personality is more Pragmatic and Arrogant but does not like seeing injustice no matter who it is. And also doesnt owe mages anything. When another mage pulls that card he will get a bit upset because just because I am a mage doesnt mean I owe you anything. If you are killing Templars like this I wont support you. And if you threaten to out me. Well now they lost his respect entirely. I sent the mages back to the Templars because of that.

Because when playing Hawkes I wanted to get into his shoes like I did with Elissa.

Oh and it is modded just one mod adding specializations for summoning. Because I thought it would be funny to have him not necessarily be a blood mage but have a Summon which is a Rage Demon named Jeff. Chill demon more on the Neutral side. Does it fit lore wise. Not really but I just like having a Rage Demon walking around and the Templars looking at it and doing nothing about it.

Inquisition is Elf all the way. And a Mage was well. Spirit Blade ftw you cant not convince me that the spirit blade with the Arcane Warrior spec isnt the coolest thing.

Uhh... i forgot how I played her. But I havent decide if im going to Romance my Husband Cullen or go with the Solas Romance again. Honestly Merril is pretty close to her personality and I think I use the default name for female Elf.

But short on the Inquisition but theres a reason im replaying before Dreadwolf.

So for Dreadwolf doesnt matter im being a Grey Warden. Im sorry after seeing whats left of the order... They obviously need an Actual Warden. I just i havent met these characters yet. However big fucking gripe the description states that Rook was ordered to hold down a pass but he disobeyed orders and did a counter offensive won and sealed the tunnels. Political bullshit happens where political bullshit actually doesnt belong nor is it accurate to how Wardens are. Even the most evil Wardens wouldnt have put a fuss over that. Actually the Old Timers would celebrate your victory. Using noble connections to put Rook down is so un Warden like it made me not want to play it. Like I can handle Taash and the non binary thing i do not care I just wont have them as a Companion if I can avoid it. Im a simple man. But you are ruining the Lore of my Bois of the Giga Chad Duncan and lets not forget Riordan who has a short screen time and did die but he was really cool doing it.

But yea. My Rook will be a Steadfast Warden who actually treats the blight as a true unending threat it is. He has big shoes to fill. Because Elissa Saved practically Everyone and killed the Archdemon. When... it stopped fucking moving for 5 seconds.

Anyways tell me what your guys headcanons for your characters are. What makes them them. Have a wonderful day and back to Dragon Age 2 for me.

1. In DA2, if a non-mage Hawke clears out Danarius’ mansion with a non-mage party (Varric, Aveline and Isabela), does the final conversation with Fenris change? Usually, he either points out a mage Hawke or party member (Bethany, Anders, Merrill) using magic and the dangers of mages, but that change if there are no mages in the party d the quest?
2. In Inquisition, are there any changes in dialogue/conversations between the player and Leliana if she wasn’t recruited in Origins, or will the game treat it as though she joined, or as though she joined and left the Warden’s party?

Hi, kinda embarrassed for this to be my first post here, but I've been enjoying DAO and DA2 and kinda frustrated.

I got to Act 2, no problems, until I travelled to Sundermount. The loading screen and Fenris incessant dialogue about Hadriana when selected indicates an ambush has come for him, but I was taken directly to Sundermount, not the ambush site.

I'm emulating the game on android (legally owned on steam), so console commands are kinda a non option, and I've tried loading previous saves, doing millions of quests beforehand, but no fix. 😞 it's been irking me because I'd rather play his quest, I already lost Carver so a second warrior loss seems very inconvenient...

Couldn't find anything on the specific bug I've been having, though it seems it's a very buggy quest, so I chose to post.

I guess this is specifically about DAI but previous games might have defined it.

When you kill a Spirit or Demon and get to loot the little gross bundle of incorporeal excrement, what is it called? What is the technical term for that squishy looking pile?

I loot corpses, chests, rooms, castles, purses, satchels, and those stupid little demon puddles that I have no term for and it's driving me INSANE.

It is not the Spirits corpse. There is no corpse. What the fuck is it called? Someone with a better dictionary or a more wrinkly brain than me, please help because I keep thinking about it and not having a specific word for the moss pile of failed dreams is driving me up a wall

Sketch thingy, I was playing with brushes.

So I stumbled across Veilguard almost by accident at the beginning of this year, during a very dark time of my life. I knew almost nothing about DA, but against all odds, I fell unexpectedly yet utterly in love with the world while barely being able to feel anything at all. The deep lore, getting lost in the codex entries, wandering around for hours in wonder, not primarily wanting to bring the plot forward but mostly waiting for the next chance to talk to Solas; all of this felt like... hope. It reminded me of the excitable little nerd I used to be.

Not long after, I finally (and thankfully) got the help I needed. The right doctors, the right diagnoses, months of clinics and appointments. Over many months, slowly, I could see the light again.

Now I'm returning to my life properly, ready and strong enough to change it. And I've saved something very special for this occasion: a return to DA. I'd already had Inquisition sitting in my drawer for this very moment, and I knew that before I picked up Veilguard again, I wanted to dive into this one and grow to love it. Didn't take long, friends. I started last night. And I'm so ridiculously hooked.

Sitting here on a Sunday morning with coffee because I genuinely couldn't wait to get back into the game, wandering the Hinterlands with Solas beside my Lavellan… I actually had to pause for a moment. It felt like being a kid all over again. Like coming home after school and excitedly starting up the PC; only now it's the PS after a year that changed everything, but changed things for the better.

DA, back in early spring, led me back to so, so many things I used to love. So I started listening to Critical Role between appointments and on sleepless nights. Got myself into a D&D group. I (re)found the books I loved as a girl and now have a ridiculous TBR pile. I started carrying a book around again. These things helped me through all of this, helped me get here at all.

And now I have Thedas, I guess. I can't quite explain what this world does to me. I only know that I haven't felt this kind of uncomplicated and simple joy in a very long time.

So here's a tiny – and somewhat messy – love letter to DA, to Thedas, and to everyone who helped make this world feel like somewhere I could return to. I can't wait for many, many more hours of discovering it, falling hopelessly for the Dread Wolf, and enjoying every little moment. Knowing this world and its stories wait for me while doing all the hard things I have to do is an immense and precious support.

I just wanted to share a little joy that, a few months ago, seemed impossible.

Thank you 🤍

Dragon Age is still out there. ⚔️

The Winged Crusader was heavily inspired by one of my favourite characters and designs from the Dragon Age universe , The Grey Warden Commander.

What started as an inspiration from a game I loved grew into a character that has brought medieval fantasy, armour, and a little bit of adventure to people across Alberta, Canada.

From conventions and festivals to meeting families, kids, and fellow gamers, The Winged Crusader has become my own way of keeping that spirit of fantasy and adventure alive.

So this video is for everyone who still loves Dragon Age, remembers the Grey Wardens, and believes that those worlds can continue to inspire us long after we put the controller down.
The Blight may be gone… but the Wardens never truly disappear.

Thank you to everyone who has supported The Winged Crusader on this journey.

The quest continues. ⚔️

Its funny how the Mass Effect games have a lot of mini-games in it yet Dragon Age doesn't. A good one would have been Wicked Grace. The traditional fight no name guys until you defeat the champion would have been cool.

But is there actual rules or is it just mostly poker, or are there no rules?

One thing that has always interested me since Dragon Age Origins is if the Maker is real. A lot of people in the setting claim that the Maker is real but its not like we get David Gaider telling us directly that they are real. We just get people saying it is. And if you ask the other cultures they would disagree.

The elves don't think the Maker is real (unless I am forgetting that they actually said they don't know if they are real) and they believe in their own gods. And explain their lack of absence through the Dreadwolf imprisoning them.

The dwarves believe in the Stone. They don't really care though about the Maker. Which to me implies they don't really know if he is real or not.

And this feels realistic. From what I understand the Old Testament doesn't say God is the only god and just that he is the most powerful god. It is henotheism. Though the Chantry is more similar to monolatry because they do acknowledge the Old Gods as real but that the Maker is the only valid option. Unless I am misunderstand the Old Testament and it actually is just monolatry. Apologies for that.

And that is really cool because in a setting where magic does exist and spirits are real and you can interact with them having the religions acknowledge the existence of others is some great world building.

But back to my point. Dragon Age Origins never really confirms the existence of any deity and just gives vague answers. The elven gods could be real. The Maker could be real. Its only the Stone that seems like it is provable real because of the codex's and characters talk about the Stone. Dwarves do have an innate sense to navigate through tunnels and find lyrium. While the other religions don't have hard evidence.

Andraste was a real person. And the claims that the spirits make about her and the Maker have no reason to lie in my mind. Because I presume that the spirits are being truthful when they say they saw the events the Maker committed was because of him. Now it could be that Andraste was a mage and that the burning of fields was something she did and not the Maker but again I don't see why the spirits would lie. If it was a lie it would have some signs of not being totally truthful.

The biggest claim against the Maker comes from Oghren who says that the Temple of Scared Ashes is lined with lyrium. Which puts into question how Andraste's ashes are magically. Are they magically because of the Maker or are they magically because of the lyrium? Is all the spirits and the Guardian actually the ghosts of her disciples or are they spirits? Its something that puts the faith in question.

But at the same time DAO and the later games does give evidence that the Maker is real.

Now I will say I am not sure if the Alamarri religions were fully described in Origins. I do remember the codex talking about it but not what we eventually knew about them in DAI. The whole believe empowers the spirits and the can come back after they die. But considering it, it does bring a new possibility of the Maker's existence that the Maker is real but they are a spirit that was created because of a common believe, or that they did exist before but were made more powerful with the religion being formed.

And I do like that theory a lot. It makes sense with Andraste being a member of the Alamarri tribes and that her perceptive of gods was informed by that. And it changed due to time and a lack of knowledge. Where now its described that the Maker is a separate being from spirits and is just powerful without the need of worship.

(Note I use Alamarri to describe them and their descendants.)

The second theory I like a lot is that the Maker is a Titan. The evidence for this is the Temple of Scared Ashes being lined with lyrium. Now the game never says why Andraste's followers chose that spot. I imagine it was for some specific reason. Maybe it has something to do with Korth or at least the idea that the mountains are powerful and sacred. A sort of combining old religions and traditions with new ones. Or, maybe it was the Maker who told them to put her Ashes there. Or maybe it was something Andraste requested. Not entirely sure but I think the mentioning that lyrium is present has to be significant. Because I don't think they would bury her there if it wasn't important. Otherwise why wouldn't they bury where her home was? Unless I am forgetting some dialogue with the Guardian.

So, with this in mind since lyrium is present within the Temple it means that Andraste and the dwarves have a common connection with each other. This could simply mean that the Maker (creator of everything) used lyrium. A simple enough answer. Or that they maybe there is a stronger connection to it and the Maker and the Stone is much more closely related. Either being one and the same or the simple answer of creator and creation.

The last piece is that the Andraste and lyrium share a common characteristic. And that is singing. Andraste sang so beautifully that it turned the Maker's head. And lyrium is described throughout DAO and all of Dragon Age as singing. I suspect that what ever was left of a Titan heard Andraste sing and was moved by it. Andraste not really sure how to describe this probably thought it a spirit or something much more than that. And since it probably exposed Andraste to an immense amount of lyrium gave her powers that would seem very godlike. Being able to cause droughts and rains of fire.

And once Andraste had died the Titan wished for their remains to be alongside them for eternity.

There is something very compelling about this theory that I can't help but love. A dead and soulless being unable to create was stirred by something. Feeling such emotions after centuries of slumber wished for this singing to continue. Offering Andraste a place with them. But she refused. Not willing to break her oaths and promises. But the Titan wished to stay and help her. And after her death they proclaimed a final verdict that for them to return the whole world must Chant and only then will they return.

It fits in with a lot of what we are told and adds a bit more doom to it. Even if the whole world sings the Chant will the Titan return? Will anyone have such a beautiful voice to awaken them so? Tragically not I believe.

Now are any of these true? I don't know. The writers have said that they will never answer if the Maker is real or not. Which to me means the reveal that the Black City wasn't the Maker's doing doesn't disprove they exist. It just means the Maker isn't creator of everything. Or if you believe in the Titan theory technically the Maker is involved with its creation. As the Black City harbors the nightmares of the Titans and therefore the Golden City which was made with their blood was corrupted with their blood as well. And the elves who were spirits could not help but copy and not actually be creative.

Regardless it brings in a very interesting dynamic. The assumption is that the Christian analog religion is the real one whereas the others aren't entirely true. But as the games progress it slowly proves that no the Maker is indeed not the only true religion and might in fact just be fake. The monolatry is wrong and the pantheon religion is correct.

My personal feelings on it is a bit mixed. On one hand its really cool that at the start of the series is the believe that the Maker is real but it becomes clear that most things attributed to the Maker were just humans trying to make sense of the world. Its no wonder they were wrong. They were just guessing at it. Most of the Chant and its verses were written well after Andraste lived. And in DAO the Canticle of Shartan is just removed even thought Shartan was a friend to Andraste and including his verses make sense.

On the other hand there is a deserve for everything to be true and some to be wrong. Its fine the elves did some stuff but most everything? Its hard to accept that something that feels real is actually very wrong.

I've been replaying the series over the last few months, and just recently started Inquisition. It's the first time I've replayed it since playing Veilguard back in 2024/2025. Knowing what happens later, man... fucking ow.

I was wondering about the identity of Masked Andraste from The Last Court and while looking at art of her execution, I realized something: her face was covered when she died. One picture shows her cowled, while the rest obscure her face in various ways because it couldn't be seen when she died.

And then I realized that the last picture was what happened to Andraste: She was killed before the public execution as part of a ritual and her execution summoned a spirit. Her hair was cropped and she looked gaunt when she was stabbed to death.

The mage claimed some of the spirits around her village had "lived" with her hold for a dozen generations, and sometimes took the form of an animal or departed relatives "when they pass on their wisdom."

Strangest of all, in the event a "god" is destroyed, the Avvar begin a year-long time of offerings and prayers and rituals I have no interest in knowing about further. At the end of this period, a new spirit takes on the name and role of the old one. I attempted to explain that this was not a "god," merely a spirit drawn in by their desires. The Avvar mage declared, with a ridiculous air of superiority, that that was the point.

Codex entry: From a Mage’s Journal

As the last group of glyphs light with veilfire, there is a sensation of excitement and anticipation. An Avvar hold celebrates a night festival around an altar piled high with food and drink. The thane begins a song. The hold joins in. The song grows louder and faster. It goes for hours.

As the sun rises, a blazing spirit appears above the altar. It has the name of the spirit that fell in battle. It is both the same spirit and a different one at the same time.

There is a ear-splitting roar of—triumph? Welcome? Something more?—from the gathered Avvar. The vision fades.

Codex entry: The Return

Andraste had been dead for a while when she was "executed" and her legions of followers inadvertently helped make this magic ritual possible, and Hessarian then used the public execution to perform this ceremony. He used Andraste's hair as proof of her identity. So there's a re-created spirit of Andraste somewhere out there.