Some facts about Emmrich (and also the Necropolis, Nevarra and other related things) gathered from the banters
I went through all companion banters on DanaDuchy's channel after playing the game to write down all facts about companions/the world that I haven't seen brought up anywhere in the game as a writing reference (and for funsies).
Note: This list may not be exhaustive. I might have missed some something or didn't write it down because I considered it common knowledge. If you have anything to add, please DM me or send an ask! (do specify what banter the information is coming from, though)
Note 2: Posts from this series (mostly) don't include information from banters specific to quests or between companions and faction members. I plan to do another playthrough to capture more of those and will add any relevant info to the character posts.
Other characters' posts: Bellara, Davrin, Harding, Lucanis, Neve, Taash to be added tomorrow (or on Monday Jan 5th)
About Emmrich:
Family and early life:
“Volkarin” is a commoner’s name. Emmrich’s father was a butcher, and his mother was a cook
When Emmrich was around 5 years old, his neighbours had a pig named Lucy. He was very fond of her, and she’d always let him hug her around his neck
Emmrich grew up poor (clocked by Neve based on the way he always saves his candle stubs, shows up first for meals and never leaves food on his plate)
Emmrich grew up hearing that all dragons were so hostile they had to be slain and is surprised that Taash has found ways to deal with them peacefully
General:
The gold Emmrich’ wears is called “grave-dowry” (or “grave gold”). It’s a Nevarran custom to wear precious objects one would like to take to their grave
Emmrich’s bracelet (not specified which one) was gifted to him on the day he became a full Watcher. The ring with a large stone was the last gift from his father. The skull pin doesn’t have a story, he just likes it
Emmrich isn’t fond of the Nevarran nobility
Emmrich’s shaving cream smells like potash
Emmrich uses moss perfume with flowers
Decades ago, Emmrich used to see an Orlesian woman who was an art appraiser
If Emmrich wasn’t a watcher, he would like to be a botanist
Emmrich displays some interest in Ferelden, mentioning that many of its heroes greatly shaped the history. Harding says that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about her homeland
Emmrich doesn't like beer because it's bitter
Emmrich prefers tea (he mentions purchasing a Brynnlaw curled-leaf blend in Nevarra), but he can also drink coffee
Emmrich doesn’t eat meat (seafood and insects included), but he indulges in cheese. It seems to be a Watcher thing - he says that each Watcher must decide what they will and won't take a life for, and meat crosses that line for him
Emmrich likes melons, mushrooms and pineapples. He also enjoyed a plate of fried leeks and potatoes at Halos’s stand in Minrathous
Emmrich always thought he’d get married one day
After a Minrathous merchant sells Emmrich fake charms, he causes him to see skeletal faces on the windows and hear spirits whispering that false goods endanger lives as punishment. Emmrich agrees to stop once Neve tells him that she can convince the merchant to get back to selling linen if the visions cease
On magic and studies:
Some deaths may leave emotional imprints so intense Emmrich may feel them decades later
Emmrich thinks the magic of old Elven artefacts is “rigid”
Emmrich isn’t very good at figuring out Elven artefacts (by his own admission)
Emmrich’s first published work was A Monograph on the Vagaries of Determining a Body's Time of Death
Emmrich is roughly familiar with the dragon anatomy
Emmrich knows a lot about how bodies work (muscle-wise etc.) from the time he performed autopsies
Watchers study the death practices of other cultures. Emmrich knew about Eb-ketarra and the Rivaini traditions even before Taash performs them at the end of their questline
On life in the Necropolis:
When Emmrich fell for another boy during his youth, he showed him a corpse he was allowed to practice dissection on. The date was ruined by a passing wisp possessing the body and causing it to sit up and ruin the mood
Emmrich tutored Dorian during his term in the Necropolis (“Tremendous potential, but appallingly flippant towards the dead”)
Emmrich and other watchers live in the Necropolis (Emmrich has a flat there)
On life at the Lighthouse:
It took 8 skeletons half a day to bring that slab of marble into Emmrich’s room
He didn’t bring his entire collection of books to the Lighthouse (there are more)
Emmrich talks to skulls in his room
Lighthouse kitchen reminds Emmrich of the mortuary
Relationships with companions:
Emmrich offers to introduce Bellara to Audric, the Necropolis librarian (who appeared in Tevinter Nights’ Down Among the Dead Men)
Emmrich calls the Archive spirit a work of art
Emmrich and Davrin disagree on parenting methods. Emmrich thinks Davrin should better discipline Assan and teach him boundaries, while Davrin suggest Emmrich should let Manfred learn more on his own (e.g. let him fall so he learns how to get up)
Emmrich turns to Neve when he needs help acquiring some reagents he can't get his hands through normal ones, and she agrees to help him out (smuggling is involved)
Emmrich isn’t too thrilled about Neve taking over the Threads, questioning of what’s going to become with the organisation and the future and thinking it may become corrupt (sort of mirroring the way Neve is apprehensive about his lichdom)
Taash likes Emmrich’s lich helmet. They are not usually fond of skulls, but that helmet is fine because it’s on fire
Taash thinks that gemstones like amethyst or green opal would look good with the lich helmet
Emmrich doesn’t seem to like unrealistic books as he criticised Harding’s “Gore-Knight” novels for their incorrect interpretation of magic. He is worried about people misunderstanding magic and spirits
Emmrich calls himself Harding's 'de facto physician'
On Manfred:
(If Rook chooses to save Treviso) Manfred brings Neve tea by his own volition. Emmrich thinks it's because Manfred sensed she might need a friend
Manfred is as aware of his surroundings as most people (to a certain degree)
(If revived at the Necropolis) Manfred learns to say Emmrich’s name
(If revived at the Necropolis) Manfred becomes much more talkative
Manfred likes boiling tea because he is fascinated by steam
Emmrich suggests Manfred tries tending to plants in Harding's garden
Manfred is curious about Spite and wanders into Lucanis’s room at night
Spite and Assan miss Manfred if he’s gone
On Lichdom:
Emmrich smells fine to Taash even after he becomes a lich
Emmrich’s lich helmet burns with veilfire. He once tried using it in combat, but the flame ended up blinding him
Emmrich thinks Strife would no longer be interested in a relationship after he becomes a Lich. That doesn't prove to be true
Lich!Emmrich doesn't need to eat but still comes by the kitchen for company
The energy of Emmrich’s magic changed after he became a lich
Other liches call lich!Emmrich “Young Volkarin”
Lich!Emmrich no longer has muscles, but when he tries out Taash’s pull-up routine, he can still feel something like “a spectral memory of flesh”, as if he had pulled a tendon
Emmrich starts seeing more books in the Lighthouse library after becoming a linch
About spirit, demons, and the Necropolis:
There are spirits of Temperance and Diligence
The Watchers avoid using the word “demon” because it creates bad expectations and can negatively influence spirits
Some in the Mourn Watch suspected that elves originated from spirits, though it was just one of many theories, and not a particularly popular one
Chambers in the Necropolis can go missing (according to MW!Rook, they turn up, eventually)
Even after the despair demon is banished from the Necropolis, the halls remain cold. However, the effects will abate with time
There are horses on display in the Necropolis
Watchers rarely get possessed thanks to the special wards of the Necropolis. Possessions also don’t happen as often because the necromancers already provide spirits with bodies, so they don't need to possess anyone by force
Bellara calls the background magic of Necropolis tidy and quiet
There something called “The Deep Necropolis” featuring sections like “The Unspoken Valley” and “The Charnel Bridge” (which has something called “nightmare fog”) that hosts all kinds of entities. Bellara is very excited to visit once the nightmare fog clears
Vorgoth ensures that the transgressions of those who use magical to cruel and abusive means will not be tolerated (whatever that means)
About Nevarra:
Many great Nevarran artefacts have been lost to time, including the Skull of Sabinar, the Key of Dead Dreamers, and the Crown of the Moon
There are strict rules about selling enchantments in Nevarra. You can’t sell anything without a licence and an inspection from the mage Circles
A Tevinter poem “Faustina's Song”, a romantic epic from the Steel Age, is very popular in Nevarra, and its quotes are used on ‘more than one’ epitaph in the Necropolis. Neve is surprised people even read it outside Tevinter
Pineapples don’t grow in Nevarra
