Here is Isedar Tabris the Hawtsome but Angry. The piece started cel-shaded, but even that took several weeks a million years. Armor colors are roughly inspired by Wade's Superior Drakescale, so I'm sure that to Herren, it felt even longer. ;)
Full size available on Deviantart.
Isedar's character is based on Isedar Matine, from Chain of Fealty. Now that I'm finishing up the main quest, I wonder what kind of Arl he'll be without The Blight to motivate all of his actions.
Background is pulled from Bioware's Map of Denerim, since Isedar hails from the Alienage.
Side note--so, when I got back home after my grand adventures, I was pretty shocked to find out that my mom had a sword giant dagger that required 30 dexterity. (I know, I know, level dependent, but it's canon to me.) This bugged me. If Adaia was so awesome, why was she still living in the alienage? Ferelden society needs a kick in the pants.
Isedar Tabris's face was modeled after Zhou Yu, from Dynasty Warriors 2 through 5. Kudos to the Dragon Age Origins face generator for allowing me to bring my evidently eastern sensibilities into this very western game.
As someone who plays a lot of D&D, it's a fairly natural step to take characters I've created for other stories and import their personalities into the Bioware games I've played. Isedar Matine, of Chain of Fealty, was a pretty good fit for the City Elf Warden—maybe it's just Isedar's fate to constantly be trading his freedom in exchange for the safety of a fiancée he feels obliged to protect. [Unfortunately for his Tabris incarnation, Duncan isn't nearly as hot as Selunaya. - R]
Even if I hadn't brought a ready-made personality to the game, Isedar's playthrough showed me that the DA:O origin stories prompt role-playing in a way that most RPGs do not. By showing you who your character is before they are thrown into the Epic Storyline, DA:O invites you to explore its myriad of choices in light of the individual you happen to be playing. It isn't just about race, or class, but a whole life's outlook. Isedar taught me this because I didn't realize how different my two playthroughs would be, until I started the second one.
(Dragon Age: Origins story spoilers below.)
My human mage, Vermille, came from a place created and constantly influenced by the fear of others. From the templars who warned her about the predations of demons, to the disorienting effect of being thrown into a playthrough that starts in the wonky Fade, Vermille has always been motivated by stomach-churning fear—fear of not having a weapon (Fight Valor for Staff!), fear of losing her valued place as Irving's teacher's pet (tell Irving about Jowan and Lily), fear of going to prison (go with Duncan to Ostagar). Her spell choices leaned heavily towards protecting herself from harm and bolstering her companions, to the point that she had almost nothing to use to hurt her enemies in the parts of the game where she was forced to travel alone. She avoided unnecessary combat (Flemeth, the High Dragon, all the Revenants) because she was afraid of getting hurt; of provoking something she could not overcome. Her personal arc, as I told it to myself, was about how her compassion eventually helped her overcome that fear and instead act with optimism—she saved Colin, trusted Harrowmont, believed that the werewolves could be redeemed, and tragically, let herself fall in love with Alistair, and turned down Morrigan's Dark Ritual. When her optimism was betrayed by Riordan's death, proving that there were, in fact, fears her optimism and skill could not overcome, she shut down, sleepwalking through the Battle of Denerim and all of her time as Arlessa of Amaranthine, until finally, I knew, time and experience would bring her to a new place, and a new equilibrium.
My City Elf, Isedar, is having a completely different playthrough. Isedar is instead fueled by rage. His time in the alienage taught him that his people are hated and oppressed, and his wedding day showed him that taking vengeance—and being honest about it—is rewarded with accolades and freedom. He revels in his untouchability as a Gray Warden because he considers it the world's recompense for his people's oppression. He tells King Cailan that he killed an Arl's son for raping his cousin. He sides with Zathrian against the werewolves because he is still angry about Shianni, and instinctively understands how Zathrian might still feel the same. Despite all of his desire to turn the might of the Anvil of the Forge against the darkspawn, he cannot allow someone like Branka to live, not when she oppresses her people the way the Bann's son oppressed his. He actively seeks out confrontation, because he has come to believe that all who stand against a Gray Warden in the middle of a Blight must be removed for actively aiding the Archdemon. Isedar has come to think of himself as righteous, and does not realize that both his moral compass and his blade are motivated by anger. When he demands Loghain's fealty, in cosmic justice for the Teyrn's shortsightedness, it's going to cost him Alistair's friendship. I look forward to discovering if that changes him—if anything will.
...Damn this game is good. Now if only DAII (which I also love, but for different reasons) had an Origin or two for Hawke...
