The conversation with Davrin about feeling a bit lost as a Warden was interesting for me, because none of the options say, "I didn't choose this". I was very excited to have this conversation for roleplaying purposes and I love Rook and Davrn's camaraderie as fellow Wardens. I suppose because it's not a Blight that the Grey Wardens aren't conscripting, but it's also not completely unheard of for the Right of Conscription to be invoked in special situations outside of a Blight. The dialogue options aren't logged and brought up later, but for roleplaying purposes it would be nice to not be pigeon holed into implying that Rook chose to join the Wardens. The most vague answer works like,
Davrin: Feeling lost?
Rook: I dunno if I've ever been found.
Which implies that they feel out of place among the Wardens. The other three options are: "I'm learning the ropes."/"The First Warden is an ass."/"We should be doing more!" but none of those are really the "I didn't choose this, but I've adjusted."
Which led me realize the difficult part of this conversation is how lighthearted it is.
For one, we approach Davrin because the game let's us know a conversation is available. Then when we enter the conversation, Rook leads with talking about the Joining, as the experience he and Davrin have in common despite not crossing paths at Weisshaupt. We had no idea the conversation that Rook would be initiating. But this already bothers me a bit. It takes into no account how traumatizing the Joining is, even the most tame one. I don't think my Rook would just start talking about it as like a bonding thing. And if he did, it would have a somber undertone.
The Joining, no matter how calm it manages to be, involves hunting darkspawn and harvesting their blood — only for the Warden Recruiter to tell you ONLY after retrieving that you are going to drink it. At this point, you are not allowed to leave. No matter your second thoughts or concerns, you will not leave. You will either undertake the Joining, or you will be murdered. You stand by and watch as the other recruits drink literal poison from the chalice. Some might resist and be murdered. Some may not take to the Blight and die choking on it. And you are not allowed to leave.
While it's possible to get through a Joining with no deaths, I would say that's less common. There's probably at least one everytime that doesn't take to it. They don't tell you about the Joining because they know there's a high probability that you will die. The fact that Rook and Davrin survived their Joinings is a feat in of itself.
So Rook and Davrin discussing it with a lighthearted tone is a bit difficult for me, roleplaying wise. What if my Rook's Joining was traumatic? I'm assuming Davrin's wasn't, but damn. Rook is the player character. They joke like "damn wasn't that crazy? Anyway —"
Secondly, Davrin asks Rook if they're feeling lost after Rook expresses that things haven't been as fun and dandy as the Joining (which... what?? 😭😭).
My Rook is troubled because he didn't choose to become a Warden, he was forced to by Conscription. He actually does enjoy being a Grey Warden, but he struggles with his life being over before it began as he was conscripted when he was only 18. He's 20 now, he's made some peace with it, but with the First Warden all but sentencing him as a traitor the old wound of not even choosing this in the first place opens again. Now obviously, I don't expect the game to have a dialogue option for my very specific story. But a vague, "I didn't choose to become a Warden... now it feels like I'm being kicked in the ass for it." would have sufficed.
I was excited for Rook and Davrin to bond over their shared trauma as Wardens, and I don't mind them making a few lighthearted comments to keep the conversation from becoming depressing, but unfortunately the very nature of being a Grey Warden is martyrdom. It's hardly a lighthearted topic. 😭
