Some facts about Taash (and also the Lords of Fortune, the Qunari, Dragons and other related things) gathered from the banters
Featuring Shathaan's stories about the Crows!
I went through all companion banters on DanaDuchy's channel after playing the game to write down all facts about companions/the world that I haven't seen brought up anywhere in the game as a writing reference (and for funsies).
Note: This list may not be exhaustive. I might have missed some something or didn't write it down because I considered it common knowledge. If you have anything to add, please DM me or send an ask! (do specify what banter the information is coming from, though)
Note 2: Posts from this series (mostly) don't include information from banters specific to quests or between companions and faction members. I plan to do another playthrough to capture more of those and will add any relevant info to the character posts.
Other characters' posts: Bellara, Davrin, Harding, Lucanis, Emmrich, Neve. I'm also planning a post about just the Lighthouse some time later
About Taash
General:
Taash gets grumpy if they stay inside for too long
Taash may polish their treasure hoard or clean the dishes (even somebody else's) to get out of their head
When Taash is feeling sad, they ask somebody else about how they are doing, so they can focus on somebody else instead of themselves
Taash doesn’t like talking about their feelings because it makes them sad (Lucanis can relate)
Taash doesn't read books before bed because they have a tendency to stay up past their bedtime to finish the exciting parts
Taash seems to care quite a lot about fibre and digestive health (they are so real for that). For example, they enjoy the smell of coffee but don’t drink it because it’s bad for their guts
Taash drinks alcohol
Taash once requested Bellara/Lucanis to cook them a demon (the suggestion was disregarded)
Taash liked Lucanis’s deep-fried peppers
Taash liked Bellara’s stir-fry
(If Rook is in romance with Taash) A spirit of devotion appears next to Taash after they enter a relationship
Taash doesn’t want to look for more dragonfire tablets because “they are just more orders”, and they already have enough
Taash doesn’t kill in cold blood and needs to get angry in order to kill someone
Taash has good taste in gemstones, knowing which colours match which (based on the banters where they recommend gemstones for Emmrich’s lich helmet). They say it’s a Lord of Fortune thing, they have to know how to make gems look good
Taash isn’t afraid of the Fade, because the spirits there mind their own business and don’t try to possess anyone (or anything)
Taash thinks that even if the Nevarrans almost brought their dragons to extinction, they will still come back eventually
Taash is extremely excited to hear that Morrigan can (potentially) turn into a dragon and wants to ask her about it next time they meet
Taash doesn’t mind finding no loot when hunting dragons because as long as you survived an encounter with a dragon, you have a new story to tell
Taash doesn't think of dragons as monsters since they are a natural part of the world and have been around longer than anyone else
On fire-breathing:
Taash started breathing fire when they were a toddler
Taash needs to eat greens after breathing fire, or they get headaches
According to healers, fire breathing hurts Taash’s lungs
Taash accidentally set their first female partner’s hair on fire during their first sex
Taash once tried to cook with their dragon breath and accidentally melted a pot and set the kitchen on fire
On Taash’s sense of smell:
Taash got their heightened sense of smell after they got sick and couldn't breathe through the nose for a couple of months. After they recovered they could suddenly smell everything
Tassh can smell when someone is ovulating. They can also smell who had been in the room before them, and who is hungover
Taash could also tell Neve got together with Rook or Lucanis from the smell even before anybody told them
To Taash, Minrathous smells rainy and ‘like rich people hurting poor people’
Early life and the relationship with Shathann:
Taash learnt to swim before they learnt to walk
Shathann sometimes wouldn't let Taash play/go swimming until they finished their studies (like being able to tell the difference between some pottery shards)
Shathann gifted Taash axes during one of the gift-giving holidays when they were younger. They were simple kindling choppers, but Shathann helped decorate them to make them look like Qunari weapons. During a conversation with Bellara, Taash realises that may be the reason they are still using axes to this day
Axes are also good at lodging between dragon scales and allows them to climb up
Taash grew up poor, though they didn’t realise it because Shathann always made sure they had enough food, even at her expense (like pretending she didn’t want to eat because “Rivaini food is too rich for her”)
Taash spent the money they made from their first job as Lord of Fortune on buying Shathaan a dress. Shathann didn’t appreciate it, instead urging Taash to buy themselves boots or some other useful things
Shathann hated apples because their skin would get stuck in her teeth (“Evataash, that fruit is stupid!”)
If Taash chooses to pursue Rivaini culture and wear Shathann’s horn as jewellery, they have a blacksmith do runes in the old Qunari language along the edges and get a Seer to bless it
Shathann stopped telling stories about the Crows after Taash once climbed on the roof to play as a Crow
The things Shathann taught Taash about the Crows:
Antivan Crows make themselves invisible to dragons by imitating the dragon's shadow
Antivan Crows coat the beaks of actual crows with poison so that the crows can kill people by pecking
Antivan Crows can slow down their breathing until they become invisible
Antivan Crows come through houses at night and kill children who aren’t in bed
Antivan Crows can do a special move that stops their enemy's heart
Antivan Crows can strangle a Qunari with their own dar-saam (but only if it’s tied incorrectly)
Relationships with companions:
Bellara gives Taash advice on cooking dinner for their mother
Davrin teaches Taash to use buckets filled with water and sand for lifting
Taash has never flown a kite before and asks Harding to teach them
Harding's mother sends Taash a letter with homemade candies after Shathann’s death, calling it “a hug from afar” (Taash appreciated the gesture and liked the candy)
(If Rook is in romance with Taash) Taash asks Lucanis about what Rook likes to eat, and Lucanis offers to teach them how to make coffee/tea/chiocolata calda
Taash isn’t scared of Spite, and even convinces (or more like intimidates) him not to talk about how other people smell without their permission
Lucanis agrees to teach Taash how to kill targets with flair (with varying degrees of success when it comes to cool one-liners) and then plans to ask Teia to make a Crow cape just for them (Taash is very excited about it, as they love crow capes)
Taash insists Neve should get some trophy from Aelia (a ring, or an amulet with her name) to show everyone she beat her, and doesn’t understand why Neve isn’t interested in something like that
Taash offers their blood to Neve for blood magic purposes (Neve doesn’t take up the offer)
Taash thinks Neve’s ‘dresses’ are pretty
Taash thinks nobody can go toe-to-toe in magic with Neve
Taash offers to hook Neve up with their jeweller to get her a discount (in case she wants a new leg) because “Neve deserves nice things”
Lords of Fortune:
Lords of Fortune have a drunk game where they throw a goblet made from fool’s gold into the water for others to find. Whoever finds it gets free drinks for the rest of the night. The game has only one rule: no punching in the junk
There is also another drunk game where drunk Lords jump off a giant cliff. The only rule is not to hit the water face-first
Even if those are “drunk games”, you can participate in them sober, as long as you are willing to be as stupid as the drunk people
The Lords of Fortune pick new jobs by Isabela throwing daggers at a map or racing nugs (the winner picks the job - could be its owner, or the nug itself)
The lords used to blindfold Mateo (the faction merchant) and spin him around in circles until he tripped on something like a map. They stopped doing that because a Seer told them to quit (the whole thing gave Mateo headaches)
After Shathann is gone, Taash is in charge of appraising Qunari artifacts for the Lords until they find a better expert
The Lords of Fortune work with a Dalish clan keeper Shivanas (Taash calls them ‘Shiv’) who appraises artefacts for them (tells them what’s okay to sell and not to sell etc.)
After losing his hand, a Lord named Bernst got a lock-pick hand prosthetic decorated with gems
About Dragons:
Different breeds of dragons can mate and produce offspring. That’s how ice- and lightning-breathing dragons came about
The muscles of dragon wings’ are vulnerable behind. Another weakness is the underbelly
Fighting Dragons is all about making them come to you, either by having them see you as a threat (so they come down to assert dominance) or prey (so they come down to eat you)
There is a dragon called Wildervale Spitter, which can breathe fire or poison gas. The “fire breath” is actually just poison that burns when the dragon breathes. Most dragons always ignite their breath. The Spitter's special for being able to choose whether to light it up.
Dragons have an extra eyelid that they shut while breathing fire in order to protect their eyes
About Qunari etc.:
Eb-ketarra means something like “growing memories.” When you graft someone’s horn onto yours, you also add their strength to yourself
Qunari food uses a lot of oil for frying
Qunari have a much better sense of smell than humans
Qunari can bury their dead with large jars inlaid with a flame pattern. It’s called ‘issalatar’ and is empty inside, representing that the deceased’s body is also empty now that their spirit is gone
The Rivaini armada can hold its own against the Antaam fleet, but only in good weather. They can’t match the Antaam in firepower, but they can outsail them
Isabela is apparently still a captain of the Siren’s Call
