#dragon age speculation

[vaamiel]

uhhh if y'all aren't out here sitting in the DAVe gameplay reveal waiting room, you should be because the Dragon Age team is just dropping info in the chat! Here's what I've caught:

[varrictethrasoilytits]

Parallels Between Solas Regret Murals and Chantry Iconography

[fresh-bungle]

DRAGON AGE VEILGUARD SPOILERS BELOW

I haven’t seen anyone else talking about it but something just occurred to me.

I wondered why Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain were the only Evanuris to escape the fade. There is a line of dialogue somewhere that explains that the other Evanuris were dead, and they were the final two to survive.

We know that in order to kill the gods, we must first kill their bonded Archdemon to render them mortal.

It only occurred to me on my second playthrough that the reason for the other Evanuris’s deaths is because of the Grey Wardens.

Five blights ended and five archdemons slain, leaving only Razikale and Lusacan alive and waiting. Each one of those previous archdemons was tethered to an elven god, and when they were killed, that rendered the gods mortal.

So what I think happened next was that they either died of old age, loss of power, or they succumbed to the blight that was trapped in the fade prison with them.

I wonder which god the Hero of Ferelden killed

[nose235678]

*Veilguard Spoilers*

So, Lucanis Dellamorte is in like his early 30’s? And his parents were Crows, said they died like Crows (on the job), when he and Illario were little and around the time Zevran returned to Antiva to take on the Talons, he would’ve been maybe 10?

What I’m getting at here, is that Zevran did some stuff so heinous to the Crows that he has a standing contract on his head that nobody’s brave/stupid enough to accept (there’s a note about the contract in game for a Crow with sexual prowess and an impossible contract) and what could’ve been that bad? Perhaps, killing the First Talon’s daughters/sons-in-law?

There’s at least some chance it was him, right…?

[nadas-dirthalen]

Has anyone speculated that Rook is called Rook because Leliana might have recruited them and/or sent them to Varric?

Reasons:

her alias as Sister Nightingale (bird codename already existing)

the fact that she is in the Rookery in Skyhold despite rookery meaning only "nest for rooks" (according to Google) and not, as I thought, "tower full of corvids"

her current/former existence as spymaster? I mean, even as Divine, that's what I imagine she's doing in my worldstate lmao

it was Leliana that said to any Solasmancing Lavellan that she would start looking for Solas immediately after Corypheus' defeat

Leliana, regardless of whether she is Divine, is in the post-Trespasser cutscene about recruiting someone new to help in the hunt for Solas — maybe she still wants him found and is still working to that end!

See also: their hoods. Both the same muted purple.

Please, where are my Leliana-recruited-Rook truthers, I'm so soft, I want Leliana to help as much as Varric but from a much more cautious distance, send help

[feyunir]

One thing I love about Dragon Age is how much you can learn about your companions by paying attention to their facial expressions and body language.

So I have taken a closer look at Emmrich. Most of my impressions of him will be from before the 16th September, as I have largely been avoiding spoilers since then.

As far as I can tell he has 3 character models. High, medium and low polygon count. Not important, but I think they look slightly different so I thought it was interesting as it might affect his expressions.

Let's take a look at his "Victory pose" as I'm calling it. Usually shown when he is out in the field. He looks confident, and gives the impression he enjoys being out and about. Fighting with confidence. I think he loves magic.

Next, in conversation with all the companions. He seems happy. Give the impression he is having fun figuring out their current dilemma. His scholar is showing. Let's call this his "scholar pose" lol. Even when wearing his resting b***h face he is clearly paying attention, looking at whoever is talking. His posture is open and friendly, exposing his chest and not crossing his legs.

Alone with Rook however we see a different side of him. He has long periods of time when he isn't looking at Rook at all. Coming of as a little reserved. He has his arms resting crossed in the front. Politely present, but respectfully distant. I call this his "Funeral priest pose". I have been to way too many funerals lately and that's generally how the priest was standing. Maybe they always stand like that, but I don't go to church so I wouldn't know.

Judging by how empty the shelves in the back of the clip is, he hasn't been at the Lighthouse long.

Another thing that I noticed was when Rook says "A Watcher's work is never done", he looks sad? At first I thought he is sad because of the never ending stream of death, but then it occurred to me maybe it could be taken more literal. As in, once a Watcher, always a Watcher? Once a Watcher dies, their body/skeleton is being put back to work? We know from The Flame Eternal that Emmrich thinks it would be romantic to be buried with the one you love. Maybe he is sad because he knows that even if he found that someone, being buried with them is something he can't have as long as he is a Watcher. Just a thought.

Next is his "Nope pose". I'm not sure what to make of this one lol. The game clearly has NPC - player head tracking. Emmrich is turning his head and looking at the approaching Rook. Only to do an extreme NOPE turn when they come within talking distance. I'm willing to blame game mechanic on this one, but even then he is a bit strange. He is just standing there to the left of the fireplace, clearly not warming himself. Just standing there looking up at the roof. If anyone have any thoughts on this one I'd like to hear them xD

From his V&V episode we know he is very kind and polite. Probably to the point he became a bit naive and easy to take advantage of. A friend of mine said he came across as potentially having mild Autism. Interesting thought, and I can see where they're coming from, but I don't like slapping labels on ppl so I'm going to leave it in the theory box. All in all he seems confident in his choice of work field, fighting/magic/scholarly, but a bit distant or reserved when in one on one situations.

[voelene]

There's rather damning evidence that Illario is the one that betrayed Lucanis, both in what we saw of the game and in Tevinter Nights, But also some hope Illario is innocent

- his obvious jealousy and bitterness ("I'm Dellamorte the lesser" in WJ among other clues)

- the fact he's forgotten about by the other crows (in eight little talons, the crows only talk about Lucanis as Caterina's grandson, and Illario is barely hinted at and not named)

- he wants to become First Talon, and point 1 and 2 show he isn't really considered for the position, that Lucanis would be a clear winner (even if he doesn't want it)

- his flimsy excuse not to go with Rook to save Lucanis

- his underwhelming reaction to seeing his cousin for the first time in a year after thinking him dead (not even a hug, really ?)

- Caterina mysterious and very convenient disappearance, just before Lucanis arrives (didn't want to take any chance she would appoint Lucanis first talon upon seeing him, right Illario ?)

BUT

There's also hints that Illario wouldn't hurt his cousin like that

- in WJ, his first argument for becoming first talon instead is that he could protect Lucanis, and allow him to retire. It's not a good point for Lucanis, who lives and breathes crows and has accepted his death, but it shows Illario cares.

- in WJ also, Illario again shows his care while Lucanis is seemingly throwing the contract "your life would be forfeit" he seemed worried about Lucanis there, again not the words and action of someone planning his cousin's murder.

- in the Wake, he seemed genuinely distraught, and acting well while drunk is difficult

- in the game, he says he might have reacted harshly and recklessly if he had known Lucanis was alive, again showing care.

The problem is, Illario is very good with words, and all those exemples are words, not actions. He could just be a master manipulator. I don't want to think that, I hope he truly cares about Lucanis, and I'll resist the idea of Illario being a traitor until I see it on screen.

I hope Caterina is the traitor instead. That she sold Lucanis to Zara, who promised her an enhanced weapon, possessed by a demon and under her absolute orders. It would explain why Lucanis wasn't killed while in the Ossuary, where he seemed to be more trouble than he was worse. He killed so many venatori, he was deemed a failed expert, and yet he was kept alive. Why ? Because he wasn't a failed experiment, he was exactly as Caterina wanted. She just needed him broken enough, then to send someone to retrieve him to get him back to her control.

The only problem with that theory is why Caterina disappeared during the rescue mission. Unless ... Zara didn't agree to have her prison broken into, and she took Caterina because she broke their deal. Or maybe Caterina left on her own, knowing that her 'death' would motivate her grandsons and push them toward killing Zara, therefore erasing evidence of her own wrongdoings.

I know I'm grasping at straws here, that Illario has much more evidence against him, but I'm hoping for a red herring, that they're trying to hide the real evidence.

[tealandbrynnstone]

Hey if dwarves get access to the fade in datv and presumably the ability to dream, how many dwarves do you think are about to get their shit rocked by fear demons as they have their first nightmare ever