I'm just kinda musing/lamenting so feel free to ignore this.
I really need to update my height posts...
But I'm also like elbow deep in other things atm and I dunno if I want to deal with people being weird about it again. I could update, mute post and close the inbox for a bit... But I also hate doing that because not why I spend so much time doing these things.
Kinda really sucks the motivation to even share them. Cause I don't mind doing it for my own reference but... People get weird over dwarves not being under 4'6/137.16cm and also get weird over how the calculations aim towards the high end of the conversions (I use scaling calculators cause there are variables). And while I don't mind the comments in good fun or even expressing a preference for methodology...
Its kind of exhausting to deal with. It also isn't the type of interactions I want to seek out or encourage. And like, the best way to avoid those types is to just... not create an opportunity for them right?
But then I get a little bummed because I like making resources and them being helpful for the people who want them. And it ruffles my feathers to not provide a resource simply because people get upset that something goes against their personal canon and decide to take it out on my inbox.
I dunno. Feeling complicated because I am like 50% of the way through collecting all the data I need and even went back and fussed with Origins and da2. And its not fun anymore.
Hi, I really enjoy your Bull analysis you wrote recently!
I was wondering, though - how old do you think he is in Inquisition?
I've seen different takes on his age from different people. Some say he's over 40, some say he's younger. I'd like to hear your take and any kind of math you could have though about 😁
Hey! Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I really should yell about him (and companions in general) more. Especially since my thoughts have definitely changed since 2014. As for Bull’s age, I’m so glad you asked cause I have thoughts.
According to Patrick Weekes, Bull is in his mid-to-late 30s. Thats what they had in mind while writing him. Which would be his canonical age range.
I think that is a perfectly reasonable range and likely a good one considering the age range they have for the Inquisitor. Which is up to the player but as young as 18, Patrick does specify the assumption is for them to be in adulthood.
But personally, for Bull, I put him in his 40s. I think my preference at the moment is mid 40s but it fluctuates depending on who im writing him with/what world state I have.
As for the math, I’ll put it below the cut.
So to start off, we know members of the Qun get their roles at the age of 12 if they’re born into the Qun. So while we don’t have a named year we can work from here.
From there the next thing is his time in Seheron. It is suggested by Gatt that the Qunari won’t send people into the thick of it in Seheron unless they’re “old enough”. There are stens who are stationed at quiet ports in Seheron before they’re 18, but other than that guess, I’ve been working with is 18 minimum for when you get sent into war zones.
To use Sten as an example, he is described as being very young when stationed at the port in Seheron City in 9:03. He is there for three years before disappearing for several before reappearing as a navel leader in 9:12 (its in total six years given the math.) So, even if he was 12 when he arrived at Seheron (though I have doubts) we don’t hear record of him being in active combat till he is at least 21.
So with that logic, Iron Bull is at the youngest 18 when he’s stationed in combat on Seheron. However, I go with 21 since he is put directly in a position of leadership and is known for many accomplishments in Par Vollen. There is no mention of him being younger than any other soldier, and nothing of note about him when he’s recommend for the position. He then works in Seheron for eight or ten years (World of Thedas offers both numbers) before he breaks and we lose some time on how long re-education takes.
Next, we know he ended up with the mercenary company Fisher’s Bleeders, who he worked with for several years (BioWare really likes to be ambiguous with this, as is the term itself.) There is also Bull himself saying he worked for them for a year or two. Consistency is lacking, as is par of the course with BioWare. The range lore gives is one to seven years; I say range, because as recently found with Cassandra, in game dialogue — when related to timelines — can be iffy. So, really, dealer’s choice.
Then comes the Chargers. We know he got set up and established in a few months, and that Krem was recruited somewhere in the beginning. Other than that, we just get the general “several years” which by definition is “more than a few but less than many”. (I really hate English sometimes.) Given the definition of “few” is typically associated with three or less, you’ve got a ballpark of three to seven years.
So keeping with the hard numbers, starting with 12:
Add 6 years to reach “adulthood”
Dealers choice if you want to add the 3 years till given a command role
Add the 8-10 years in Seheron
Add the 1-7 years with Fisher’s Bleeders
Plus the 3-7 years with the Chargers
You’re looking at a range of 30-42 if you have him in Seheron at 18.
If you put him there at 21, the range is 33-45.
This is just at the start of Inquisition and none of this accounts for how long he was re-educated, how long it took him to travel and even find Fisher’s Bleeders, or any of those unspecified and unaccounted numbers.
Come Trespasser you’ve known him for three years so you have a range of 33-45 or 36-48.
Now if you want my personal, hundred percent headcanon and only in my sandbox math? The time line is like this:
Role at 12 -> Seheron at 21 -> Asked for reeducation 31 -> got out of re-education 32 -> Traveled and joined up with Fisher’s Bleeders 33 -> left Fisher’s Bleeders/Formed the Chargers 37 -> Became well known across Free Marches, Nevarra, and Orlais 43 -> Joins the Inquisition 44 -> Trespasser 50
Which my math might change if he pops up anywhere in future installments. But main reasons why I prefer him in his 40s:
I find it miserable that he’s already worn down so much and he still has at least 40-50 years left unless he dies in battle/in game. I probably don’t ache as much as him (I hope), but gosh the fact it will likely get worse is not the kind of ouch I want cause it makes me worry about how my health will poorly age in 40-50 years.
Because everyone acts like being in your 40s is old and its not.
I also read him as more comparable to Blackwall and Solas who are written to be in their 40s as well.
Oh hey... I did say I was working on a dwarf lore master post. I am almost done with that. I dunno how I want to share it though. Would a series of tumblr posts be okay? Or a ellipsus (rather than google doc) link be preferable?
Long Format Master Post
Make it a tumblr post. We scroll like dwarves.
Doc link. We are scholars and like to read freely.
The more fanworks I see that are exploring food... the more I want to kind of catalogue them? Especially from the standpoint of appreciating the exploration of that topic.
But I would also want to like point to where it also probably exists in canon (cause I like making those attachments). Not in a "oh this should actually go here" way but just as a "you could totally link it to this thing that also exists" reaffirming way.
