Companion Quests, pt. 2
A personal challenge for how I’d work largely within the existing framework to tweak things. It’s fun to think about.
The way I’ve broken them down is any character changes; their narrative arc broadly and how some quests might change; and what Rook’s involvement would be in terms of the outcome. Overall, I felt like some of the quests were far too personal for it to be solely up to Rook to determine the outcome. In general, I believe it should have been a gradual influence that ultimately the companions decide on.
Featured are Harding and Neve.
Harding
Changes: I’m divided on Harding because the storyline that we got would have worked with Dagna, who had always been interested in magic and is a caste dwarf and more tied to her heritage. Also her bubbly personality would have been an easy swap. However, if I had to rest the Titan story on Harding, I would change her personality to be more aligned with that of DAI where she is a bit more rough around the edges. I understand the stance that because she’s not in the presence of a public figure like the Inquisitor, she’s more casual. But I feel like there were glimpses at the beginning of the game where she seemed more of that rough-edged personality. I am a strong proponent that Harding could have been a conduit for knowledge from previous events if players wanted to engage with that content.
Arc: Harding’s quest would lean into the question of why her and what this means for the rest of the dwarven population. It would be that she never was against her heritage but also not super close to it, having been in human society for most of her life. When she does get this ability, she would be kind of confused. Like,” ugh, why is this happening to me?” But she would also see the benefits of having it. There would be some foreshadowing or hinting that the reason Orzammar and didn’t respond to her inquiries is due to a smattering of their citizens mentioning hearing voices and being able to dream. It worries the leadership and, unsure if it is madness, they would like to keep it within their walls. A minor thing, but I think impactful, would be reactivity to having completed enough of Solas’ regrets before doing Harding’s quest, allowing her to confess that she knows what happened to the Titans. This would change the Oracles dialogue slightly and be a little more pointed, but it would still be a relatively vague response.
I did like the training we did with her and the encouragement/discouragement angle. There would be another instance where Rook could double down on their stance, which could affect their relationship with Harding. There would be the added nuance that perhaps Rook is wary a bit, but will still stand by Harding as she discovers more about these powers. Rook could also be very flippant about her research or actively hostile towards her using them (in the same vein as telling Lucanis you don’t trust him after rescuing him from the Ossuary). As you progress, in one of her quests*her abilities fail her and she gets taken over by the other half a bit, allowing you to see that there is an imbalance.
Instead of her anger seemingly being directed wholesale towards the elves, Harding would struggle with even being the keeper of these feelings. Yes, she felt the need to blend in, but she would recognize that she did in fact live a more privileged life than some others. Should she be the conduit for this righteous anger? How should she go about imparting it to others when they are also trying to keep things in a small group of knowledge? How can the dwarves, who are being affected by awakening Titans coexist with modern elves?
Rook’s Involvement: I think since it’s a lot of high emotions in her final quest, having a friend grounding her was a nice touch. The choice would remain the same, but Rook’s encouragement/discouragement would be taken into account when Harding decides. Being more encouraging would result in Harding taking heed to what Rook is saying, naturally more inclined to Compassion but could also use the anger to empower herself. In contrast, being dismissive towards her abilities would result in Harding for sure embracing anger. The Compassion choice sets her up with more support skills while the Anger is for more combat, but I think even visually it would have been cool. Perhaps the Compassion choice would have Harding's eyes glow blue while Anger would have her briefly look like her red counterpart.
Interpersonal: Harding would be in an interesting position to me, as a Southerner who has recently traveled a lot of Thedas with Varric and also came into contact with a lot of different people in the Inquisition. As an Adrastian, I think she could be challenged depending on the player and the reveals within the game. I think she could be on the cusp of being more open-minded while still being devout.
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Neve
I didn’t dislike Neve’s quest, but Aelia really fell flat to me.
Changes: I feel like Neve needs to be more ingrained in the SD or she is outside them but knows them.
Aelia: In my opinion, Aelia needs to be more dangerous, more formidable. I would give her the Johanna Hezinkoss treatment, where we tangibly see the danger instead of hearing about it. With Johanna, we see she has the lantern; she has pulled in a piece of the Fade; and has already stolen the life from so many. So when she comes through with her golem, it’s a tangible “oh no” moment. With Aelia, the gimmer of that was when she was controlling the Thread boss and the witness. I think it would have been more impactful if there was the implication that she has grown more powerful, perhaps able to control groups of people during a quest or Rook helping Neve to stop a group of her followers wreaking havoc in Dock Town. Or approaching the catacomb temple, we see blood magic going crazy. Neve’s quest could have been a way to really see the damages of blood magic in the same way Zara could have pushed the grotesque side of it.
Arc: Neve’s questline would play out largely the same, with her closing in on a former opponent but with a few more dramatic flourishes. For example, Bataris comes up dead with his father and templars thinking Neve had something to do with it. I think her quests could interact with the main story and support it, providing a more granular experience while the main story remains more high-level. Upon finding out that Aelia is back, there would be another quest where there is major Venatori movement, after their failure in "Blood of Arlathan." It is revealed that Aelia is mobilizing in mass and has gained more followers who want to be on the ‘right side’ of the conflict. Among those missing or controlled would be NPCs (like Hal and Cida) that we see in the temple later on. Neve would be confronted with a choice that mirrors that of the Archon quest and generally similar to the vanilla game's choices: protecting Dock Town using the underground connections and with a show of force against the corrupt; or relying on due process and civilians to change things. I could see the 2nd option as being an exercise in using official channels to make change that sticks and to fight propaganda/negative sentiment on the Shadow Dragons.
Rook’s Involvement: Rook’s support in Neve’s quest would determine how she decides the outcome for her final quest as well as if she is hardened or not. A Shadow Dragon Rook could have an opinion on whichever choice she makes. For example, a by-the-book Rook may be disappointed with Neve choosing to go the forceful route and vice verse. Or Rook could include themselves in the future-facing outcomes of her decision.
Interpersonal: Neve would have been fun to have dialogue with throughout the game, learning her views on events as they happen, as well as her past cases. Players would be able to challenge her on her views of Tevinter and being a mage of some privilege, even as she fights against injustices. Her and Lucanis would not initially get along due to the perceptions of both their origins. If she was hardened, she would be more subdued overall but still a dedicated member of the team. I think it would be nice to see her open up in general.