thought it would b fun to compile all my gworls together..!!!! I just have default hawke but I hc her nose is kinda broken and she has a bunch of scars bc she’s a warrior ❤️😌
so from left to right -> Ina Tabris -> Marian Hawke -> Olivia Trevelyan -> Marina Laidir
Mabari family concept featuring mother Moira, father Dane, big sister Winifred, little brother Hanley, and twins Isibéal and Ruaidhrí! Each pup has kaddis representing the four protagonists. Would love to make them all real if I ever end up with some spare huskies 🐾
One of the major faults of Veilguard's dialogue is how often it's shaped by generic platitudes and sound bites instead of actual specific things happening or being talked about in the narrative. "Sometimes people let you down", "Family makes things complicated", "Bullies are always drawn to power", "It's just people trying to live their lives", "You have to take care of yourself every once in a while", "When your heart and your gut are both telling you, 'Do what you can'--"
My biggest issue with this is not a quibble over whether or not these things are true (like all platitudes they are trivially true, whether or not they're appropriate or correct things to say in the context the characters say them), but that they are a style of placeholder dialogue that exists to avoid having to give specific details or actual development. They could only be interesting if they were argued against, demonstrated, or interrogated for meaning in some way. Instead, the characters often take these things as read, and so nothing comes of it.
Like the line "How many exceptions 'til tyranny?"--a one-off sentiment expressed by a Lich at the end of Emmrich's questline. It doesn't exist to provide meaning or create a conversation. It exists to provide a cheap explanation as to why Emmrich is not allowed to both become a lich and to revive Manfred. There is no impassioned argument on behalf of a grieving Emmrich, torn between the protege that he loved and the life's work that he is about to give up, spurred on by the phobia that defines his motives. Nobody thinks to argue that as a wisp Manfred wasn't a "mortal" who is "supposed" to die to begin with (but then, it's either canon-breaking that they can resurrect Manfred at all, or it's no big deal and they don't need lich approval to do it, and there is no in-between on this one I'm afraid). There is no exploration of what it looks like when a Lich has "exceptions", whether in the past or during the course of the story (since Johanna was obviously not trying to resurrect people in terms of what made her a bad lich). And are there circumstances where "no exceptions" can also be a form of tyranny? How would that work? Could Rook argue that on Emmrich's behalf?
Of course not, this is cheap glue holding the scene together, we can't interrogate it or it'll fall apart.
All of Veilguard's platitudes are like that. Neve says "The gods were people, and people can let you down"--no one wants to challenge her on this? No one wants to argue that "let you down" is a MILD phrase to use for "the people you selected to protect you decided to enslave and torture you instead"? No one wants to argue that they SHOULD have been better, they were practically gods! No one wants to push their basic faith that sometimes people DON'T let you down? If someone were to push back on this line, then it might have told us something about Neve or the character arguing with her. It might have given us actual specifics in terms of what is going on--in what way were the gods "people" and what made them tyrants? Could someone else have done better? Is there no other way this could have gone? But this is filler dialogue. You're not supposed to think about it. It is supposed to paper over the scene in your head so the writers don't have to tell you any more than that. You are expected to nod your head at this aphorism and keep going.
This is, incidentally, why so much of the dialogue comes across as blandly lecturing the player.
And it's not a SURPRISE that the game with the amateur writer as narrative head where they spent the majority of the development time with no idea what the hell they were doing with the story is chock full of filler dialogue, but it is, you know, irritating when it's the sequel that was supposed to explain shit to us. What is Tevinter like? Oh, you know. Like any place with people living in it. What were the ancient elves like? They were people trying to live their lives, of course.
I don't need the game to be having arguments with itself all the time to be clear, but platitudes are something you write when you don't have anything to actually say. When you know that Bellara's problem is that her brother has become suckered in by a charismatic cult leader and is about to do a ritual that will kill/torture people, then your advice to her should be about that and not that she needs to “do what [she] can but take time for [her]self too”. "Family is hard" CAN describe this situation, but it can also describe a million other situations and so if I was Bellara I think I'd get kind of pissed that it feels like no one's actually paying attention to my specific problem.
These are my mini portrait collection of Dragon Age: Inquisition I did back in 2024/2025.
I reached +400 followers here (and on Bluesky!) recently. I'll be reposting some old art I still pround of with hopes that new people can see it.
Thank you for supporting my art and be welcome to my page = )) English is not my first language, but I have been reading english books to improve it so I can actually talk with people here :') sometimes I feel like a parrot repeating "Thank you" and "Beautiful work".
If you're anything like me, you made it your mission to collect every single horse breed in Dragon Age: Inquisition. However. If you're anything like me, it annoyed the hell out of you to not have good parallels to real-world breeds for art references. This post aims to help with that, using some tomfoolery and shenanigans to give some vague approximation of region, build and color in order to find horse breeds that exist in real life and would make sense in Thedas.
This will be put under a cut after the first pony because this post got LOOONG. Enjoy!
The Ferelden Forder, or the Cleveland Bay
The Ferelden Forder is described as a "proud animal ... [that] ranges well beyond its namesake, at home in stables and armies across Thedas." In the game, the Forder is a beautiful rich dappled bay, with darkened legs, mane and tail. Given that Ferelden itself seems to be vaguely inspired by the regions present in the UK, the stout appearance, tallness and shapely body of the Cleveland Bay lends itself near-perfectly to the Forders, in my humble opinion. The only thing about the Cleveland Bay that isn't truly represented by the Forders is their white markings--Forders have a big white blaze on their face in Inquisition, whereas real life Cleveland Bays are considered inadmissable in the studbook with markings any larger than a small white star.
Despite that, I think the Cleveland Bay is an excellent point of reference to use when drawing Forders, and the color variations are perfect for learning how to shade all sorts of variations of bay ponies.
The Amaranthine Charger, or the English Thoroughbred
The Amaranthine Charger is described as "spirited but not unruly" and an "uncommon mount, sure to impress." Amaranthine is still within the borders of Ferelden--or at least neighboring it--but its proximity to the Free Marches had me stumped. It's my opinion that the Amaranthine Charger could go two ways: a lighter, faster breed, or a thicker one that's been crossed with that fineness. So, there are two good options I feel are representative of the Amaranthine Charger.
The English Thoroughbred or the Irish Sport Horse (otherwise known as the Irish Hunter). Both breeds are brave, both have some speed, both are generally seen as being handle-able, and they both come in an array of colors that could be fun for any artist wanting to try their hand at some funky markings and patterns. I only chose a black coat since that's what we see in the game.
The Orlesian Courser, or the Selle Francais
The Orlesian Courser is breed that is spirited, with a "lineage longer than most noble names." While technically the Selle Francais is a newer breed, it is made of a bunch of older French breeds being merged into one studbook. The range of height (155-180cm at the withers), more elegant conformation and refinement lends itself perfectly to a faster, more 'respectable' horse that still may be capable of carrying a knight or mounted combatant.
The Selle Francais typically comes in shades of bay, grey and chestnut, but other coat colors are possible, especially when crossed with other breeds.
The Dalish All-Bred, or the 'Some Sort of UK Pony Breed'
Dalish All-Breds are described in-game as being hardy and sure-footed, as well as a breed of "humble origins." New Forest Ponies are generally well-temptered and loyal, often used as family mounts or for children. Being a breed that often roams New Forest, these ponies are also rather brave and perhaps exceptionally well-suited to navigating challenging terrain, making them great parallels for the Dalish All-Bred. Ironically, while piebalds and skewbalds (the pattern presented in-game) disqualify New Forests from being added to the studbook, it isn't entirely uncommon to find such patterning within the breed. Other options for Dalish All-Breds might be Exmoor and Dales Ponies.
Green Dales Feral, or the American Mustang
The Green Dales Feral is said to have descended from stock that escaped the Qunari invasions in the North, which sounds an awful lot like the Spanish horses that worked their way over to America and became feral. Mustangs aren't often used by your average Joe, and the Green Dales Feral is also "rarely seen on the field." The horses are hardy, sure-footed and brave, and come in a variety of fun and interesting colors and patterns that are sure to dazzle and make for fun art studies. Mustangs also come in a lot of different shapes, so you can really customize your pony however you'd like them to look.
The Free Marches Ranger, or the Oldenburg
The Free Marches Ranger is a palomino in-game, so I did want to make sure the breed I referenced had horses in this particular coat color. The Oldenburg is a German breed; it's sporty, athletic and also rather even-tempered. Other options might be Holsteiners or Hanoverians, depending on how stocky you want your reference to be. With the Free Marches being such a loosely connected place, it's difficult to really pin down each city-state as being of a certain region, so I used the idea that often gets circulated that the Marches resemble German city-states and worked backwards from there.
The Asaarash, or the Iberian Horses
The Asaarash was another one difficult to pin down, as the model in the game seems to just be an armored version of the Green Dales Feral. However, the actual information blurb tells us that the breed is Rivaini in origin, resilient, and is used to carry messages across Seheron. There's a couple different directions here, but I chose to focus on the Rivaini origins of the breed and chose the Lusitanos and Pura Raza Espanolas to represent the Asaarash. They're powerful breeds that are tall and stocky, capable of carrying heavier loads as well as being used to work cattle. They're brave and particularly adapted to war, having been used as cavalry horses. Both also come in the chestnut coat.
If looking for a horse that would more closely match the 'speed' and desert adaptability of Seheron, I would recommend Egyptian Arabians as your starting point.
The Frostback Mountain Horse, or the Trotters and Saddlers
The Frostback Mountain Horse is used by the Avaar in the Frostbacks, making the horse hardy and adapted to cold by nature. I chose to look to Scandinavian horse breeds for this and discovered the Swedish Coldblood Trotter, a horse with some feathering (hair) around the legs that matches the in-game equivalent and comes in varying shades of brown and black. The game codex describes the Frostback Mountain Horses as being "fierce, loyal and not quite tame" which doesn't exactly match the psychological profile of these Trotters, but I felt the region and build apt enough regardless to overlook it.
Other options for mountain horses would be the American Rocky Mountain Horse or the Kentucky Mountain Horse (sometimes referred to as the Kentucky Saddler/Saddle Horse).
The Taslin Strider, or the Italian Saddle Horse
The Taslin Strider is described as a refined breed and is most common in Antiva's warmer areas. It's also described as being suited to long distances and spirited charges. I thought the Italian Saddle Horse, or Sella Italiano, would best fit this particular description. The Sella Italiano is a breed with a great degree of refinement, as evidenced by the beautiful floaty trot above and pricked ears. The Sella Italiano is also bred for show-jumping, giving it a degree of power and force. The breed also competes in three-day eventing and endurance, meaning it checks off the boxes for long distance riding as well.
The Imperial Warmblood, or the Lipizzan
You may be familiar with the elegant Lipizzan from the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, with their elegant caprioles and levades. The Imperial Warmblood, being this beautiful grey and described as imposing, made perfect sense to be represented by the Lipizzan. The horses have all the refinement of a dressage horse with all the warlike structure of a good cavalry horse (the two are actually more entwined than you'd think). Additionally, the Lipizzan has near world-wide fame, lending itself further to the Imperial Warmblood's omnipresence when the Tevinter Imperium was at its height. Nowadays, the breed seems to feature more often in the Imperium's homeland, mirroring the current concentration of Lipizzan horses today.
The Anderfel Courser, or the Altai
The Anderfel Courser was a tough one, and I'm torn between two options. The Altai is a breed that is suitable for mountainous terrain as well as cold climates, which I think makes it perfect for the areas of the Anderfels that are freezing and rocky (think Hossberg in Veilguard). However, the Anderfels also has areas of arid, rocky and cavernous deserts, which left me stumped. I think a combination of the Altai and the loose 'Afghan horse' category (Qatgani would be an excellent keyword to start on those horses, or the sport of buzkashi for action-packed poses) would be best suited to this strange combination of climates. It also fits the Anderfel Courser's description of being highly uncommon across Thedas. Being bred for the Grey Wardens, I think the Altai and Afghan horses would likely be the best suited for their particular brand of excitement.
Some Quick Diagrams
I realize not everyone is as into horses as I am, and may be stumped on how to search for certain colors and patterns when looking up references. As a final little send off, I've compiled here a group of diagrams designed to help beginners look for color, markings and patterns without drowning in resources on [insert your search engine of choice].
As always, feel free to play with keywords and markings, and really, just go buckwild. These are fantasy horses, after all. But I know sometimes finding references that fit the image in your mind's eye can be tough, so I hope this post helps out, either with finding drawing references or just showing off some cool kinds of horses you may have never heard about before!
If you're interested in learning about medieval horses and their general uses and care, I would highly recommend watching Modern History TV's Everything You Need to Know About Medieval Horses for more information.
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