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alias_sqbrFinally finished Ferdi's game and have done everything I wanted to see and can imagine myself doing, and have watched videos for the rest. So now if I play again (and I don't think I will for a while) I can just let things go where they want naturally. And I can read fic without worrying about spoilers.
Spoilers!
Dorian's romance was really cute, very glad I got to play it. Ferdi's arc was very satisfying in the end though I got dispirited for a while.
He started out with a lot of internalised crap, admiring charming "classy" human nobles like Dorian and Vivienne. He was also a massive pessimist with low self esteem who thought his position as Herald was totally unsustainable and he was going to get killed, so he just tried to keep his head down and follow whatever his "bosses" suggested.
And then he became Inquisitor?! Which he was in massive denial about (and failed to get out of) so he just had short term goals: see what's up with the Wardens, warn Celene, and above all get into Dorian's pants.
Which he did! And he didn't even embarass himself at court! And he and Dorian were dating and it was adorable. But I knew there wasn't many more romance scenes after that so had to find something else to motivate myself with and couldn't, really. Plus Dorian kept going on about how inspiring Ferdi's leadership was which was jarring because Ferdi reallly didn't see himself that way.
So Ferdi went to the Temple of Mythal feeling kind of meh, and didn't do the rituals because he didn't trust all that elven magic and all the elves died and Dorian was sad. And afterwards he said he was going to Tevinter to try and fix things and I was sad.
So I decided Ferdi was inspired by Dorian to actually be a good leader with goals who helped people and stuff, even if he still thought it was all bound to come crashing down eventually. So I did a bunch of minor quests helping Dalish elves and Ferelden refugees, and then made Cassandra Divine and saved the world. And I feel pretty happy with how Ferdi ended up, and I can see he and Dorian being good influences on each other as they both try and be the person the other man admires (for all his baggage, Ferdi does offer the kind of marginalised perspective Dorian needs more of)
I manged to soften Leliana, and I think that staying within the Inquisition she'll make a good voice for change and reform to counter Ferdi's tendency to stick with the status quo. It was nice seeing where she ends up when you soften her, going to headcanon that I did that in Marijn's playthrough too because I only screwed up that one scene early on.
He ended up bffs with Sera which was really great, never got to see the end of her friendship arc before and they're very similar people. He ended up liking Vivienne a lot less by the end of the game, though, haha. He never warmed to Solas, especially when he was all "Nope, groups can't be trusted, you should be a benevolent dictator". He didn't trust Cole at ALL to start with but really liked him by the end. Didn't ever really click with Josephine. Had a quiet crush on Cullen and Varric. Never really became proper friends with Cassandra (in my head, the game thought they were bffs), but he really respected her and it was so much fun saying "yeah, sure, let's go kill stuff together" when she begs for an excuse to escape from her duties as Divine.
Exiled the Wardens which was interesting. I didn't intend Ferdi to have such Sera-like distrust of magic and wierdness, and it was odd given his relationship with Dorian, but there it is!
Also, Scout Harding says Josephine gave her flowers and is lovely *adds new ship to wall*
I watched the videos for Iron Bull and Sera's romances. I can see why people don't like them, and I don't feel driven to play them through, but I think they're ok for what they are. And now I can read ALL the ships :)
EDIT: two notable things I forgot: Once again Blackwall's quest didn't trigger, and I feel especially odd about it since Ferdi and Blackwall became pretty good bros by the end. Also I set things up so the Hero of Ferelden was Prince Consort, married to Anora and dating Leliana...and somehow Morrigan was dating him too (but had no baby). Made the scene where Morrigan says "Leliana passed on a sexy letter from the Hero and didn't even read it, she might have learned something" more amusing.
Spoilers!
Dorian's romance was really cute, very glad I got to play it. Ferdi's arc was very satisfying in the end though I got dispirited for a while.
He started out with a lot of internalised crap, admiring charming "classy" human nobles like Dorian and Vivienne. He was also a massive pessimist with low self esteem who thought his position as Herald was totally unsustainable and he was going to get killed, so he just tried to keep his head down and follow whatever his "bosses" suggested.
And then he became Inquisitor?! Which he was in massive denial about (and failed to get out of) so he just had short term goals: see what's up with the Wardens, warn Celene, and above all get into Dorian's pants.
Which he did! And he didn't even embarass himself at court! And he and Dorian were dating and it was adorable. But I knew there wasn't many more romance scenes after that so had to find something else to motivate myself with and couldn't, really. Plus Dorian kept going on about how inspiring Ferdi's leadership was which was jarring because Ferdi reallly didn't see himself that way.
So Ferdi went to the Temple of Mythal feeling kind of meh, and didn't do the rituals because he didn't trust all that elven magic and all the elves died and Dorian was sad. And afterwards he said he was going to Tevinter to try and fix things and I was sad.
So I decided Ferdi was inspired by Dorian to actually be a good leader with goals who helped people and stuff, even if he still thought it was all bound to come crashing down eventually. So I did a bunch of minor quests helping Dalish elves and Ferelden refugees, and then made Cassandra Divine and saved the world. And I feel pretty happy with how Ferdi ended up, and I can see he and Dorian being good influences on each other as they both try and be the person the other man admires (for all his baggage, Ferdi does offer the kind of marginalised perspective Dorian needs more of)
I manged to soften Leliana, and I think that staying within the Inquisition she'll make a good voice for change and reform to counter Ferdi's tendency to stick with the status quo. It was nice seeing where she ends up when you soften her, going to headcanon that I did that in Marijn's playthrough too because I only screwed up that one scene early on.
He ended up bffs with Sera which was really great, never got to see the end of her friendship arc before and they're very similar people. He ended up liking Vivienne a lot less by the end of the game, though, haha. He never warmed to Solas, especially when he was all "Nope, groups can't be trusted, you should be a benevolent dictator". He didn't trust Cole at ALL to start with but really liked him by the end. Didn't ever really click with Josephine. Had a quiet crush on Cullen and Varric. Never really became proper friends with Cassandra (in my head, the game thought they were bffs), but he really respected her and it was so much fun saying "yeah, sure, let's go kill stuff together" when she begs for an excuse to escape from her duties as Divine.
Exiled the Wardens which was interesting. I didn't intend Ferdi to have such Sera-like distrust of magic and wierdness, and it was odd given his relationship with Dorian, but there it is!
Also, Scout Harding says Josephine gave her flowers and is lovely *adds new ship to wall*
I watched the videos for Iron Bull and Sera's romances. I can see why people don't like them, and I don't feel driven to play them through, but I think they're ok for what they are. And now I can read ALL the ships :)
EDIT: two notable things I forgot: Once again Blackwall's quest didn't trigger, and I feel especially odd about it since Ferdi and Blackwall became pretty good bros by the end. Also I set things up so the Hero of Ferelden was Prince Consort, married to Anora and dating Leliana...and somehow Morrigan was dating him too (but had no baby). Made the scene where Morrigan says "Leliana passed on a sexy letter from the Hero and didn't even read it, she might have learned something" more amusing.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-22 02:37 am (UTC)I'm amazed how playing these games can pull stories out of me. There's the quest actions you take and the lore books to read and the cutscenes, but there are spaces left in between in which obviously one's character does not march halfway across the country without talking to anyone or having a good hard think/angst about what they've done, and the stories bubble up in those spaces.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-22 11:56 am (UTC)Yeah, it's interesting isn't it! And then of course we all fill in the spaces slightly differently.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-22 11:57 am (UTC)Oh also if you ever want spoiler free advice on DA games I'm happy to assist! I know that dance well.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 05:51 am (UTC)but my main burning question right now is IS MY DWARF EVER GOING TO BE HAPPY AGAIN. She's killed an old friend, she's killed LIKE THE ONLY HEROIC WOMAN IN THE GAME whom she was very much looking forward to meeting after how much NPCs talked her up, and she's killed her sister's lover and been totally disowned for it. And now she's being advised to break up with her cute boyfriend before EVEN MORE PAIN results. Oh, my heart. Why does this game have to hurt so much >:(
no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 06:32 am (UTC)Awww oh man I have TOTALLY BEEN THERE. And, uh...it is definitely possible to get a happy ending from where you are right now, and not everything is as bleak as it looks. But, well, the first time I played through from that point (which was my first ever playthrough) I ended up sobbing during the credits going "HOW COULD THEY END IT THAT WAY", and I'm not alone. Then and went back and played things differently to get an ending I liked more. So your options are to do what you feel is best and accept you may end up with sad ending, or spoil yourself for some choices. And make saves before major decisions!
If you don't mind carefully chosen spoilers I can give you a roadmap to the happiest ending(s).
no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 09:10 am (UTC)So far I find myself not at all tempted to revert and retry on major quest decisions even if I really regret them. I've save-scummed a few conversations (often due to irresistible temptation to say something hilariously nasty and out of character) but I seem to be compelled to play as the woman who wanted to help everyone and did her honest best and was really sorry about the unintended consequences and is screwing herself into a tighter and tighter angstball about it all as she goes along.
A roadmap would suit me pretty well I think, because I'd probably consider whatever tragic outcome I blundered into to be irreversible canon even if I did go back and try out other endings afterwards. But on the other hand I kinda don't want to know I'm aiming for The Ending Where Alistair Is/Isn't King and Rica Forgives Me and So-and-So Dies/Doesn't Die, so... can you be super-duper cryptic*, or just point out landmines that lead to sucky endings, without spoiling the whole end part? I'm pleased and grateful for your offer, but unsure if taking you up on it is in my best interest!
*Beware men with ginger moustaches... If Leliana takes you shoe shopping, buy ONE PAIR only... Do not touch any purple-glowy things after the bit with the loaf of bread...
no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 10:47 am (UTC)Ok I hope this is ok. It's less telling you the "right" decisions and more letting you know which decisions to weigh carefully.
There are certain major choices which make Alistair dump you or even get pissed off enough to leave the party. They are kind of obvious but since you can get past most relationship hurdles with sufficient approval a lot of people assumed that would always be true and got a nasty shock.
You become totally safe from the most common dumping point if you "harden" him (make him less concerned with other people's opinions) by saying something like "everyone sucks" after you meet [Spoiler] on his personal quest. It feels OOC to be so mean, but it's just one line and a lot of people consider him a happier person afterwards (I like him both ways) But if you missed that choice things can still turn out ok.
Near the end of the game Morrigan offers a controversial solution to a problem. It's very much worth considering. If you say no, who you take with you in your party to the final battle is an unstated and counterintuitive "choice", the nature of which I can spoil for you on request.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-24 02:00 am (UTC)He's already shocked me badly once by reacting unexpectedly to one of my decisions. I solved the dilemma in what seemed the most straightforward, reliable way, and okay, I murdered a child there and that is bad, but I didn't expect him to feel that blood magic would have been a preferable solution! My character hadn't even admitted to herself that she wanted to bone him at that point, and she'd done her best to avoid doing what she knew would upset him, and it backfired. But I did Redcliffe first of all and she's had time to make up for that blunder. (Though not enough to get into his pants yet.)
Hum. I will make sure I have a backup save before doing anything potentially disastrous. Is this a situation where it's better to save frequently as long as things appear to be going well, or save once somewhere before things really start winding up and be prepared to ditch everything and start again from that point?
I think I'll go along and see what sorts of decisions I'm going to need to make, and then post in my journal bleating about it if I can't deal with it :)
no subject
Date: 2015-01-26 06:38 am (UTC)nods And that's the difference between the choice at Redcliffe and some of the later choices: it doesn't matter what you're approval's like, if you make the "wrong" choice you're done.
Hmmmmmmm....I can't remember if you can save ON decisions, what I usually do on a first playthrough is save frequently while things are stable and keep overwriting the previous save until I pass what feels like a milestone, then I start a new save. Plus I make sure I have a save every few hours of gameplay to prevent masses of unneccesary replaying.
rot13 for less circumlocution
Date: 2015-01-28 08:58 am (UTC)Zl Ynaqfzrrg jnf njrfbzr naq V'z shyyl fngvfsvrq jvgu gur bhgpbzr. Naq V ybir Naben gb cvrprf - jul jbhyq nalbar pubbfr bgurejvfr, jura fur'f fb terng? Qba'g xabj jung Rnzba unf n orr va uvf obaarg nobhg - n qjnes creuncf qbrfa'g frr jul bar cnegvphyne aboyr snzvyl fubhyq ehyr jura fbzrbar ryfr vf qbvat n tbbq wbo bs vg? Cyhf, jura V frysyrffyl bssrerq gb yrg ure unir zl oblsevraq, fur ghearq vg qbja, juvpu cyrnfrq zr.
Is this counterintuitive choice along the lines of it being a bad idea to take someone you don't want to see die horribly? :0
Re: rot13 for less circumlocution
Date: 2015-01-28 09:18 am (UTC)...ok let's rot13 it why not :)
Lrf! Gur nofbyhgr qrnyoernxre vf fcnevat Ybtunva. Naq gur zbfg pbzzba qrnyoernxre vf znxvat uvz Xvat, orpnhfr ur srryf boyvtrq gb oernx hc jvgu lbh hayrff ur'f uneqrarq. Juvpu V gubhtug gur tnzr fvtacbfgrq cerggl jryy ohg n ybg bs crbcyr jrer oyvaqfvqrq naq urnegoebxra. V jnf cresrpgyl unccl znxvat Naben dhrra naljnl, naq unq va snpg orra guvaxvat "Htu, V ybir Naben, ohg gur tnzr vf tbvat gb sbepr zr gb znxr Nyvfgnve Xvat vfa'g vg? Qnza snagnfl gebcrf." :)
Guhf sne lbh ner qbvat RKNPGYL jung V qvq. Naq hu....pbhtuf njxjneqyl
Re: rot13 for less circumlocution
Date: 2015-01-28 11:50 pm (UTC)Naben jnagrq gb or dhrra, Nyvfgnve qvqa'g jnag gb or xvat, V qvqa'g jnag uvz gb or xvat; guvf jnl rirelbar'f unccl rkprcg znlor Rnzba, naq jr trg gb xrrc enpxrgvat nebhaq orvat Terl Jneqraf gbtrgure. Gubhtu V qrsvavgryl cyna gb xvat uvz naq creuncf sbepr uvz vagb n cbyvgvpny zneevntr ba nabgure cynlguebhtu jvgu n punenpgre jub qbrfa'g srry dhvgr fb nggnpurq gb uvz.
V unir n uneq gvzr xvyyvat nalbar jub'f fheeraqrerq gb zr (rira fynir genqref, vs gur IN vf unzzvat hc uvf ovg cneg va gur pnzcvrfg cbffvoyr jnl!) fb V yrg Nyvfgnve qb gur qrrq ba Ybtunva. V gubhtug ur'q svaq vg pngunegvp. Gung znl or gur zbfg ebznagvp tvsg V'ir rire tvira uvz.
Re: rot13 for less circumlocution
Date: 2015-01-29 05:25 am (UTC)nods After playing Inquisition a bunch I'd forgotten how bad the earlier games were with women in power (Inquisition does so well some male players complained haha)
How romantic :)