[ SECRET POST #3531 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3531 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 47 secrets from Secret Submission Post #505.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

01. http://i.imgur.com/nLz06Ha.png

[(Anonymous)]

I think they generally fucked people over who got pretty invested in playing elven characters in the Dragon Age games. And I felt they did it in a pretty underhanded, shitty way. The constant pseudo-Christianity was just an added "bonus".

[(Anonymous)]

I think this is Bioware showing how oppressed elves are and how pervasive oppression can be rather than just telling it by shouting "OPPRESSION IS BAD. ELVES ARE OPPRESSED. OPPRESSION SURE IS TERRIBLE." If your culture is seen as lesser in society then people of the dominant culture will shout down people of the non-dominant one, patronise them, and just generally treat them with a lack of respect.

Other cultures we've seen have been shown to be better and more progressive in how they deal with mages, blood magic, etc. (such as the Avvar) but are looked upon with suspicion or superiority by the Christian-analogous dominant culture.

Seems pretty accurate to real life. Being oppressed isn't fun :/

[(Anonymous)]

Cutting someone's throat in their sleep is very progressive, yes.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT I don't get it? The Avvar kill mages only in the event of a true abomination (unlike the Chantry, who kill mages just in case). From the Wiki:

The augur allow their apprentices to be possessed by a summoned Spirit and the spirit teaches the mage how to control their magic with patience and kindness. When the teaching is done, the mage must then release the spirit through a ritual that involves burning an offering and casting a taxing spell that usually requires a vial of lyrium to replenish one's strength. If the ritual is not done then the abomination is to be exiled.[39] Weak mages unable to control their magic remain possessed and the Avvars' spirit gods watches them both so neither soul becomes corrupted. If the abomination becomes corrupted or the mage stands at risk of harming the hold, then one day the abomination simply dies in their sleep.


Their mages otherwise are free to mage however they wish, or to become shamans.

I'm sorry for my thoughts on yaoi Dragon Age. But I think their lore is really interesting and I like the subtle way the canon shows that the actions are evil without making everyone cartoonishly villainous.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't understand this secret but I'm curious. It sounds like the player character in Dragon Age Inquisition is a kind of messiah figure and the dialogue options punish you for being critical of it?

[(Anonymous)]

I don't necessarily agree with the secret (I'm not sure the dialogue options are as punishing as OP seems to think) but this is actually a pretty accurate summary of the game, yeah.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

To be fair, dialogue options in Bioware tend to be "politely agree," "rudely disagree," and "dodge the subject." (See also: turning down Anders when he flirts with you.) It's to be expected that other people aren't happy when you're rude about their religion. Still, my character's religion didn't get much respect either. (I read spoilers after I quit playing, and the character I romanced breaks up with you if you won't budge on believing in your religion. Also, the DLC reveals the elven religion was false all along.)

OP

[(Anonymous)]

By chance, you were the sole survival of an attack that blew up most of the church, and people wrongly think fantasy Jesus personally saved you. A lot of the flavor text and worldbuilding deals with historical truth versus popular history, and it loops back into the main plot as the things people want to believe about you take on a life of their own. I really wasn't happy with the way the game kept dividing the world into the few who can accept the truth and the many who need to faithfully follow--it reminded me too much of Ayn Rand's belief in the few who run the world and the many who simply leech off them.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

ayrt

oooooh god you are scaring me away from this franchise. I particularly hate that kind of thinking as well. I've also come across it from Sci Fi writers that probably wouldn't consider themselves objectivists. The main characters who all have the same politics and beliefs and communication style, and everyone else who just needs to be controlled.

It's worse when the game encourages you to roleplay and feel like you have a choice in the story. I really got into mass effect for a while and I had a few moments of total horror at what my character was saying/doing.

and I'm currently playing The Witcher and while it's less roleplaying I still have so many questions about who they hired to write this crap.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

The game opens with a war in progress between mages and templars (in context, templars are warriors who are trained to hunt, fight and guard mages). The Divine - the pope-analogue of DA's pseudo-Christian religion - called a summit to try end the war, but said summit gets destroyed and a rip in reality is torn open letting demons pour into the physical world from the Fade (spirit world).

The Player Character is the only person who survives the disaster, and gets lauded as the "Herald of Andraste" (Andraste being a cross between Joan of Arc, Jesus Christ and Mother Mary). They get pushed into leading the Inquisition, a religious-military organization that ostensibly belongs to the CHantry (the aforementioned pseudo-Christian religion).

I would also add that it doesn't help that the expert on Elven history that ends up part of the team - Solas - is also critical of Dalish beliefs, but he is critical because the Elven gods were far meaner than the Dalish believe them to be.

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, interesting worldbuilding... I have an earlier dragon age game sitting on my computer that I've never gotten around to playing, this thread is making me pretty curious about it.

[(Anonymous)]

I wonder why a barely developed feudalistic society where atheism doesn't exist yet would give a head of a religious organization shit for not being religious enough... hmmm......

[(Anonymous)]

I don't play DA but it sounds to me that its not about being an atheist, but about believing in a different religion.

So like. Atheism not existing is pretty irrelevant here.

[darkmanifest]

Atheism exists, it's just not popular amongst humans (Qunari and dwarves don't believe in any deities). Your point still stands, though, humans are the most populous and dominant race and their perspective is king.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

I am LOL'ing now because I am thinking of how my Warden would get shit because of her beliefs.

[kallanda_lee]

Same-ish? My inquisitor was human, but thought the religion stuff was bs, and the game just really does NOT want you to play that way.

[fishnchips]

While I found it kind of amusing playing an agnostic Dalish who goes through the game repeating "nope, not your Messiah" at everyone who keeps nagging, I felt it was a bit annoying how eveything was so pseudo-Christian religion centered. I also thought that they went a bit overboard with their "Oh and by the way, the Dalish got everything wrong and the elven gods were actually powerful mages who enslaved their own people lol" thing.

[world_eater]

my beautiful cartha dwarf is really offended by all the dalish centricism in this thread.

bloody elves think they got the monopoly on differing beliefs.


(tbh I didn't play through but the game never struck me as bad with it? it was just like "it doesn't matter why they believe in u fam let them have hope" and no one was really a prick about it...)

[(Anonymous)]

I dunno man. I also played the game as a Dalish elf who didn't believe in any religion (both the churches and thought the elven gods are just cultural practices). Sure it did read that way, in that the people need "someone" to rely on/to be guided, I didn't really feel it was hamfisted. Maybe it's because I haven't played the other two games OP mentioned in the secret?

Then again, spoilers, OP, but you also got fucked if your Dalish elf is a devout believer in the elven gods. Metaphorically and, depending on your headcanon, literally.

[soldatsasha]

Did we play the same game?

I've played through DAI an embarrassing number of times now with every origin, and every character has either believed in the Dalish pantheon, the Stone, or in nothing at all. I don't recall every getting "harangued" about it or losing any kind of approval outside of Cassandra when you tell her you don't follow the chant.

[(Anonymous)]

Considering OP brings up Anders' reaction to rejection in a similar light upthread, I get the impression they're one of those players who consider anything other than undying devotion and perfect agreement from NPCs to be the game punishing them for playing it "wrong".

Instead of, you know, characters behaving as their own arc and narrative role would suggest.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

Off the top of my head, Cassandra, Leliana, Vivienne, Stroud, and I think Varric all gave me some variation of "the truth doesn't matter so long as the people have something to follow." Stroud and Varric were the most polite and reasonable about it, while Vivienne was the most arrogant.

[(Anonymous)]

Frankly I'm just impressed someone remembers Radiant Historia.

[caerbannog]

Is that what happens? I don't think I've gotten far enough to notice. It was the theme my character was going to be...