Nice try Bioware, but I know the state of Southern Thedas better than you do.
First off, it matters if the Hero of Ferelden is alive or not. When the First Warden recalled all wardens, our hero knew that was a bad call and refused, finally splitting off from Weisshaupt after years of mismanagement and taking scores of wardens with them. Their presence and leadership makes all the difference, rallying southern Thedas once more against the blight. If you have only an Orlesian Warden Commander in Amaranthine they’re less inspiring, but as long as you’ve done Awakening they are a boon nonetheless. There is someone to lead the fight against the darkspawn while other focus on the Venatori.
If you 100% completed Awakenings and also Soldier’s Peak, the Ferelden wardens have never been so prepared. They’re organized, they’re outfitted and they’ve been ready for this for years. Also, if you allied with the Architect then you have scores of strange research to give you an edge.
If Merrill completed her Eluvian then she moves south once again and joins the effort. She’s managed to cleanse the blight before and she’s ready to try it again. And her knowledge of the crossroads gives the south an edge on their movement and supply lines. If Hawke’s sibling is a Warden they accompanied her.
If the Inquisitor let Briala have power in any way, the Dales become the leaders in the war against the Venatori, forming a formidable alliance with Ferelden, Orzammar and the Marches, the likes of which have never been seen. And if you completed Jaws of Hakkon then their alliances with the Avvar and Chasind are stronger than ever.
Of course, if the Inquisitor kept the Wardens around after Here Lies the Abyss then their numbers are bolstered. It may cost Wiesshaupt later, but that’s Rooks problem. And if you completed the Descent, then the Inquisitor and Warden had a much better idea of what was coming and spent ten years getting ready.
Ahhh, I know, these have been done 10 million times, but i noticed i was struggling to find ones specifically designed to help develop a ship. Which is what I use these for. So here's an ask game specifically designed to help you develop a new ship or get back in touch with an old ship.
Whilst this is an ask game, you dont have to treat it perfectly like one. Feel free to copy and paste these and fill them in on your notes app or take turns filling these in in dms with your friends. :)
What appeals you to the ship? Is it based off of canon interaction, personal headcanons, or are you not sure?
What are the character's usual types? Is it one another or are they taking a chance on smth new?
What do they like about one another? Include both physical and personality traits, anything they like.
In what areas would they help one another grow?
What type of dynamic do you see them having? Are they fluffy or steamy? Are they soulmates or doomed to fail?
Which character developed feelings first? And is there a specific moment or way this could've happened?
Which character confessed their feelings first? And how was it? What did they do? How were they feeling?
What was their first date like?
What are their love languages?
Do they have anything they dont like about one another? Any annoying habits or bad incidents in the past?
How would they deal with those things? Do they have open communication or do they just bottle it up?
What interests/hobbies would they have in common?
What interests/hobbies would they try and get the other into? Would they succeed or not?
What are their core values?
Would they adopt pets together? How many? What animal(s)? Did they disagree on the animal(s)?
What would they do to surprise one another?
Is there a couple from another piece of media you could use as a reference?
How fast do they each tend to move in relationships? Does one rush into things whilst the other takes their time? How would they find a compromise?
Do they have any fears or set backs in terms of relationships?
Leave the ship behind for a moment, what are some headcanons you have for them as individuals in relationships? Silly quirks, or any tendencies they need to quit? Are they selfish or a people-pleaser?
Would they get into fights? What over, and how do they move forward?
What would their friends and family think of their relationship? Are they supportive or not too keen?
Is marriage something thats in their future? Do they want to get married? Do they not want to get married? Do they break up before it happens?
Would they want to have kids at some point? Or do they already have them?
Try and think of either 3 silly or angsty headcanons for them as a couple? Depending on the dynamic of the ship, could be anything at all. If you cant think of 3, thats fine.
How would they celebrate things like birthdays, valentines day, anniversaries, etc..? Do they even celebrate them at all?
BONUS OPTIONAL QUESTIONS!
For steamy pairs, how compatible are they in the bed room?
For toxic pairs, would they ever break up? Why or why not?
For immortal pairs, have they known one another throughout history? Were they always able to be together?
For cross-species pairs, what are some ways their different species traits impact their relationship? What silly inconveniences or mishaps happen when a vampire & a werewolf date? Or a fairy and a mermaid? Etc..
For fictional celebrity pairs, what was the public's response to them dating? Were their fans happy?
So, as anyone who follows this blog knows, I've been working on a Thedas map that reflects the ttrpg, in-game, websites, novel, show, additional art, movie, and comic iterations of the maps. So here is a post collecting all of the unique maps of Thedas, Ferelden, the Deep Roads, and other large areas.
This does not include any small areas that you cannot place on the wider map - such as treasure maps or area maps as they're usually so contextually removed you cannot discern scale or if they're supposed to be in the area they're marked on the in-game map. (Redcliffe and Haven are examples of this.) Will make a separate post for that.
Thedas as a whole
These maps were provided by Gaider in an interview where he discusses the making of Thedas as a map. [Source]
They show Thedas before an artist got their hands on it. David's attempt to layout the world of Dragon Age and how it changed and morphed through out the timeline. Kingdoms as they rose and fell, early names of things, and also just the general geography. He drew one map and then photocopied it multiple times to make these maps.
This is the first official map of Thedas that was ever revealed to the world. First seen in the Collector's Guide of the Dragon Age: Origins game guide. This map is also used on the Dragon Age Keep. (I'm working on a high res version pulled from the Keep and I will add it here.)
Additionally, it is the map that was used to print out the large map that hung in the BioWare lunch room during the production of DAI, shown in the BioWare 25 Years of Stories and Secrets.
The second official map of Thedas was in the Dragon Age 2 game guide. Which is similar to the above two but has different icon markers. (If you have a higher res scan of this lemme know!)
This is the third official map of Thedas we were ever provided. Given through the former BSN network by David Gaider. It was provided after the release of Dragon Age 2, and is the first time we see that Cumberland has moved from its original location. This is also the map that is used for the Inquisition cloth map.
This is the fourth map of Thedas we were given access to that I could find, and the most high rez version comes from the World of Thedas Volume 1. However, this map has been shown multiple times before and was also used for the promotion of Dragon Age: Inquisition.
This next map is the bane of my existence. I have been LOOKING for since 2021 on my old blog for more info on this cause it was from the 2014 Inquisition website. But this was the map used for the promo of Inquisition on the old Dragon Age website.
This version of the map is different than the previous five maps and was shown at the end of Trespasser. This is the map that the Inquisitor stabs. On this Redcliffe Castle has been moved to the coastline, the Kinloch Circle is nearer to the western coast of Lake Calenhad, Haven is at its original location from dao as well as other minor location from the game, Kirkwall and Andoral's Reach are not on the map, The Wyrs are named The Hasana, and it includes several locations that aren't on the previous maps such as:
Trehurn in the Anderfels, Donark Steep, and Mount Volca in the Donarks.
This map was released in 2020, it is the map done by Francesca Baerald. It was first shown in the Tevinter Nights novel, was a limited run print through Dark Horse, a puzzle, and is used through out the game of Dragon Age: the Veilguard. It is also the map used for the Duel Weild Studios blanket.
The next map was teased at in the 2023 DA Day trailer that announced the coming marketing for what would be Dragon Age the Veilguard. It was fully released in 2024 with the Art of Dragon Age the Veilguard, Rook's Coffer that was sold in the BioWare store, and various concept art.
The base of this map seems to come from the stylized map done by Volta, that focuses on the landmarks of Thedas. [Source]
There was additionally, another version that was released with the art book, it is a mesh of various styles. It closely resembles the map released with Rook's Coffer in terms of final locations. This one puts the Eluvian icon (presumably meant to represent the Lighthouse) off to the side, removing what we know what was supposed to represent the Black Emporium's main island and eluvian network.
We then see another version of this map used in the Rook's Coffer, the physical collection released with Dragon Age the Veilguard. This map is a combination of the 2d simplistic style created by Volta and the final locations shown in the art book version.
A highly stylized and thematic map done for Dragon Age the Veilguard that focuses on the traversable lands of the game. But it does show the entirety of Thedas. I was done by Francesca Baerald. (If I get a chance to scan mine or a higher quality image is posted at some point, I will edit that in here.)
This one is concept art but one I feel is worth showing as this is likely the only look at the possible world outside of Thedas we'll see. But this shows how far they envisioned the land south of Ferelden and Orlais going, the lands to the east of Amaranthine Ocean, and how the continent continued going west and expanding. As well as some islands. Though it should be noted that the way this is drawn doesn't match up with the Tevinter Nights map of Thedas - where we were shown more of Thedas than we'd seen before and is finished, official art. Below is concept art, and a sketch to give an idea, not final art.
That said it can be reconciled a fair bit with official art, that doesn't alter too much of this drafted layout.
And finally there is this map from Veilguard. This is pulled from the game files and is the world map that we see. The final version of all the maps we see above from concept to merch. We also see more Par Vollen and it is a bit different. It is neat.
Deep Roads
In Dragon Age: Origins, the in game map of the Deep Roads includes the traditional top down view as well as a depth map in the bottom left hand corner. This has only been used in dao.
Released in the Dragon Age Tabletop adventure Buried Pasts.
What makes Solas difficult for me to read as a villain is that he not only has noble, concrete ideals, but that they are consistently enacted rather than abstract.
He values free will and choice above all, as well as wisdom and compassion. He cares about actual people, and he carries personal guilt for the deaths he caused. His actions are framed, even by himself, as attempts to correct a catastrophic mistake, one he blames exclusively himself for, rather than efforts to gain power or domination.
His real hubris isn’t cruelty, it’s isolation. He insists on making world altering decisions alone, refuses to recognise equals, and consistently underestimates his oversights. The result isn’t malice, but devastatingly bad planning.
From a systems perspective, his core mistake is planning as if the world were a closed system. He designs solutions that don’t account for unknowns, second and third order effects, or the limits of individual foresight. In a reality as complex as Thedas, that isn’t wisdom, it’s misplaced certainty driven by emotion.
That combination, real care, real guilt, and solitary decision making, reads as profoundly human to me, not villainous. I can’t hate someone like that.
If anything, my Lavellan is furious at how incoherently the narrative tries to flatten this into a simple antagonist arc—and is almost certainly plotting something about it.
Receipts:
A ) Values over doctrine (dialogue with Cassandra)
Cassandra: Solas, if you do not mind me asking, what do you believe in?
Solas: Cause and effect. Wisdom as its own reward, and the inherent right of all free willed people to exist.
Cassandra: That is not what I meant.
Solas: I know. I believe the elven gods existed, as did the old gods of Tevinter. But I do not think any of them were gods, unless you expand the definition of the word to the point of absurdity. I appreciate the idea of your Maker, a god that does not need to prove his power. I wish more such gods felt the same.
Cassandra: You have seen much sadness in your journeys, Solas. Following the Maker might offer some hope.
Solas: I have people, Seeker. The greatest triumphs and tragedies this world has known can all be traced to people.
B) Guilt and motive (dialogue with Cole)
Cole: You don't need to envy me, Solas. You can find happiness in your own way.
Solas: I apologise for disturbing you, Cole. I am not a spirit, and sometimes it is hard to remember such simple truths.
Cole: They are not gone so long as you remember them.
Solas: I know.
Cole: But you could let them go.
Solas: I know that as well.
Cole: You didn't do it to be right. You did it to save them.
Inquisitor: Solas, what is Cole talking about?
Solas: A mistake. One of many made by a much younger elf who was certain he knew everything.
Cole: You weren't wrong, though.
Solas: Thank you, Cole.
C) Hubris and denial of risk (dialogue with Viviene)
Vivienne: I'm sure you know exactly what you're doing, Solas, but a word of advice?
Solas: Oh, I look forward to this. Go ahead, Enchanter.
Vivienne: You set your coattails on fire with that last spell.
Solas: Perhaps what you perceived was merely a figment of the Fade.
Vivienne: (Laughter) I would not claim your familiarity with the Fade, but I recognize fire when I see it, darling.
Solas: It did go out eventually. It was not worth mentioning.
He's not the main villain in any of the games or DLC he is in. In base Inquisition, he is the reason events occur (giving his orb to Coryphyshits) but is helping to fix the issue in the best possible way that he can. He provides advice and guidance to a friendly Inquisitor, and tells an unfriendly Inquisitor to pull their head in for the good of the world, even to his own detriment. He stays and helps even if he hates the Inquisitor because he sees the mission as more important than the asshole in charge.
In Trespasser, we see the game trying to set him up as the villain, but again, he's not the main BBEG. He's helping the Inquisitor stop the Qunari. He can't be convinced off his path but he is presented as sympathetic and poorly intentioned, rather than villainous.
Even in Veilguard, he's not the BBEG. He's an unwilling confidant, an antagonistic presence, but he advises Rook, helps you escape Elgy's trap, and jumps in to fight the BBEG when required. When his goals align with the main cast, he helps them. His initial actions are in line with his pride (he is right, he is always, always, right. It's a character flaw of his along with always assuming he's the smartest in the room) but after everything fucks up, his initial response is telling you how to fix it, rather than refusing to help from spite.
Even his escape from the Fade Prison is more driven by 'I know best how to do this and cannot do this from in here, so you are collateral damage' rather than 'evil, evil, bad, wrong.' He does bad things for what he believes are good reasons, which is always what his character has been. We see this with the Orb, with the Elluvians, and with his actions towards the Qunari in Trespasser. He will do whatever it takes even if that's genuinely shitty, bad ideas.
Which is why his narrative 'fall' on one of the paths of veilguard does make sense. He's got the potential there to be corrupted by his short-sightedness, for his pride and lack of overarching foresight to lead to a situation where he feels he does know best and could be the best choice to rule the world. He's already set up as someone who believes that he is always right and always better than everyone else.
It's also why it works well for him to listen, finally, and make the right sacrifice to save the world (because he does listen to the opinions of those he respects, even if he may not act in alignment with their wishes.)
Because he's not the villain. He's a foil and a counterbalance and an anti-hero, but that's because he's working to his own ideals, rather than the same ideals as the PC.
Solas is one of the (limited) ways in which Veilguard shows some of the same morally grey undertones as previous games. Probably because Solas is Trick's baby, but also because it's one of the only areas where they could get away with it. Solas is presented as a villain so they could get away with the morally grey shit he does, rather than have it all black and white like the rest of the game.
i LOVE the idea of "i can't win, but you can lose" in fictional confrontations it is SO fucking tasty. the human nature to self destruct and the human nature to survive by any means necessary combined at its finest.
character: has no chance of winning a fight they're in
me:
character: allows the person they're fighting to wound them, perhaps even fatally, so that they can get close enough to slip past their defences and destroy them right back
I think that a lot of Solas’s negative opinions about the Qun ultimately originate with the fact he was a Spirit. Think about it, Spirits have an extremely individualistic culture - there's definitely factors in that they absorb ideas and perspectives from others, but they don't seem to be doing like. Dream agriculture or anything. They don't seem to need community in order to survive, though they do need others to realise the best of themselves. And it seems like they choose what it is that they want to become (Justice chose to pursue the idea of justice, etc) which one can say is choosing their 'role', and that role is a huge thing for them. And if something happens to force them out of that role, for example a peaceful spirit being forced to fight, that manifests very physically and immediately as them becoming a demon. So of course Solas hates the idea of people's roles being decided for them: that's how you get demons.
kind of obsessed with the banter series where taash is like “huh you’re not bothered by killing people even when it’s not personal” and harding is like “oh well one time i was told to kill this old wolf lurking around the farm, but i felt bad for it, and then it savaged the lambs. which i had to put down myself. so i learned young that a quick kill prevents more suffering! that’s why the inquisition hired farming people as scouts, because the scouts were required to kill people who weren’t our enemies personally or trying to hurt us. :)” i guess none of that is news and at the same time there’s so much to unpack
harding in her cartoon character voice: oh, you know, it’s necessarily to kill some people and i think of it the exact same way as slaughtering livestock. i know this because i was the right fit for the religious army i signed up for as a very young woman and they said i did great! :)
This banter always makes me think of the Cullen Lyrium ending card, in which it is Lace Harding who puts him down in the streets of Denerim. Just slits his throat in the street.
im glad people are talking abt this bc when i first played datv and noticed all the weirdness with the crows, i went on reddit and saw a bunch of takes like 'well the crows are different because Zevran was successful, it's been 20 years' and i felt like i was losing my fkcing mind.
to my knowledge, the one time Zevran it's mentioned anywhere in datv, it's here:
so one thing I do like about this banter is how evasive Lucanis is. he's so cagey with the details that Harding is confused about how the Talons died. like notice how he doesn't really answer her question, and the answer he does give doesn't make a lot of sense.
Lucanis thinks of Zevran's actions as an embarrassment to his whole house, significant enough that even other houses are unwilling to take contracts in Ferelden. which is odd, right? Like Ferelden itself wasn't the problem with that situation? Unless they're afraid to go to Ferelden because they think Zevran might be there, which is actually kind of funny. but in any case, this definitely doesn't suggest that Zevran succeeded in changing them. all it suggests is that they're still afraid of him, and unwilling to admit that.
but this is still weird, right, because if the crows are ostensibly the good guys now, but we also understand Zevran to be one of the good guys...you know?
the resolution of Lucanis' tension with Davrin (which imo really did not need to happen. just let them hate each other. it's literally fine) seems to kind of hinge on the fact that Lucanis is a good guy actually?
so idk about you but these examples seem like pretty small potatoes compared to being sent to kill the only people standing between the Blight and Ferelden, failing, and then choosing to fight by their side. you could argue that Lucanis gets more leeway than Zevran ever would due to his proximity to Caterina, but datv doesn't seem interested in arguing that, as much as I think that'd be interesting to explore.
but okay. so Lucanis can spare people who didn't deserve it and Caterina is not only willing to allow this but also send someone to rescue him when he does fail, but Zevran has to suffer forever for doing more or less the same thing, and Lucanis doesn't do anything to suggest he has a problem with that. all he suggests is that he's afraid of Zevran for...what reason, exactly? if we're to take the crows as presented in datv at face value, Zevran looks extremely unreasonable to be fighting them at all.
it's like. okay imagine if datv did have circles but the narrative was beating you over the head with 'OK but the templars are literarally Niceys now' (i realize i'm kind of describing DAI but bear with me here) & you had a Templar companion and a Templar origin, & maybe you got some mention of the mage rebellion or Anders or the new Divine in banter, (and the banter for sure was like Anders was an insane terrorist who sucks!! and so on) but other than that it wasn't clear what the result of any of this was. they certainly aren't showing you any of the bad parts of circles anymore, which is just really odd because all the hierarchy and leadership structure is the same as it always was, and it was that very structure & the ideology that justified it that led to a lot of the violence before. But it's all cool now, I guess. Changing oppressive institutions has nothing to do with dismantling them and everything to do with making them niceys, instead of violent like they were before for absolutely no reason other than, idk, Meredith i guess, who was of course ontologically evil unlike most templar leadership, who are there to protect mages, obviously, like that's literally in the job description. chantry propoganda? we don't have that here. it's all real and good and the rebellion was all for nothing.
the way lucanis phrases that is soooooooooo fucking interesting
for one thing, he's careful to quarantine the embarrassment to one house, as if arainai is an outlier. for another, he says that the crows buried six eighth talons. bc we have meta knowledge, we know that the crows are burying those talons bc zevran is picking them off (and there's smth borderline snarky abt being sure to note that they're burying eighth talons, not, you know, the higher ups of the higher ups). but nothing lucanis suggests that this couldn't be, for example, a sort of intra-crow action. as if caterina or another non-eighth talon culled the bad apples in house arainai for embarrassing the organization as a whole.
and the way he responds to harding's follow up rly only doubles down on it. "some of them weren't dead at the time. but they got it eventually." like there's a little bit of haughtiness there, right? a little bit of "the crows send their regards"? as if he, too, feels they got what they deserved bc, as the later banters w davrin attempt to argue, he's a proper crow who is discerning and merciful when called for. a noble crow.
and you're so right, there's the way the crows have apparently decided ferelden is the issue. no more contracts in FERELDEN. problem solved! except that that wasn't what caused the disaster, what caused the disaster was a crow deemed a "nothing" by his superiors deserted the guild. it makes sense to me that an organization that has invested so much in patriotic mythmaking has decided to frame it as an issue of nations rather than individuals, but lucanis parroting it, even to a nosy outsider, is remarkably like. like if i am harding i'm going that's a big ol lie, which is maybe why she responds so flippantly.
and then there's the crown prince of the crows failing to complete his contracts, which are a source of honor for both individual crows and the organization as a whole. not that, to me, i think those things are viewed as all that separate. the body politic of the crows is more important than the actual bodies of the crows that make it up.
what i find bizarre and funny abt this is dai already gives us an example of what, maybe, a more flexible crow protocol could look like.
(caveat that i do not get the point of the house of repose/assassins' league, like cool that orlais also gets one of those, but given that the crows work everywhere in thedas and also, josephine and her family are ANTIVAN, that is one bit of dai lore that makes me roll my eyes )
BUT the house of repose views letting the target know the terms of what they feel to be an unjust contract as an appropriate intervention. not, you know, voiding the contract. and for all that i think it's the unfun kind of silly that they made up a redundant assassin guild, that is, to me, far more interesting than crow elites getting to pick and choose when they go thru w a contract, esp given that contracts are the entire basis of the crows.
anyway, they can say it was just eighth talons all they want, zevran did shake them up v badly, and for good reason, bc along w being deeply contract-based, the crows are also reliant on marginalized orphans to put in the murder machine — they have a class hierarchy, and zevran completely upends it. per the mystery letter in wot2, "if we do not find him, and stop him, this elven son of a whore — an assassin who never even attained the rank of master — will undo us all." you bet he will!
