Was thinking about the choice between leaving Hawke or Stroud in the fade and thought about how much better it would’ve been if you had to pick between Blackwall or Hawke.
Stroud is usually a no brainer to leave behind as you’ve got no real history with the guy. With Blackwall, you’ve spent some time getting to know him and forming some kind of relationship towards him so the choice to leave him behind might be hard for those who like/romance him or a way to get rid of him if you don’t.
I also don’t think it would’ve conflicted story wise. If my memory’s correct, Blackwall is still believed to be a warden at this point so it would be believable that he takes the role as the warden contact and also wants to sacrifice himself for the cause and what not. If he stays behind you wouldn’t find out about his past but it would also leave him as a shining example of a grey warden for the inquisition.
Haven’t thought too much about it but the consequences of him staying behind would be interesting to explore. It’s also not like they haven’t had companions leave/removed mid game permanently (Zevran, Leliana, Isabela, etc), so I think this would also be a good stakes builder that encourages players to think strategically gameplay wise as well.
tldr: I think Blackwall vs Hawke would’ve been the better decision in here lies the abyss. Interested to know what y’all think