DA4 - Beginnings, Backgrounds and Origins

Do you think the Inquisitor matters? More than Hawke? Not really. The Inquisitor's hand matters. S/he's Andraste's (Solas's) blessed hand.

I don't want to burn the world down. I just want to cut the cancer out of it.

I'm tired of fighting someone else's enemies in someone else's war for someone else's reasons. I'm tired of protecting institutions I don't believe in because people are afraid of change.

My signature on the old BSN, which I had written prior to inquisition's release, laid out what I had intended on being my Inquisitor's philosophy. Paraphrasing because I forget the exact wording - which is a shame because it was a great line; "My one goal is sealing the breach and stopping the demonic tide that threatens this world. All who aid me in this are my allies, all who frustrate me in this are my enemies. I care not for the petty squabblings of mages, templars, or nobles. They will fall in line, or they will simply fall."

I wanted to be able to issue ultimatums. I wanted to be able to tell the templars and mages to help me seal the breach or I would destroy them. I wanted to be able to tell Celene and Gaspard to help me seal the breach or I would let Orlais burn.

Obviously I didn't get what I wanted. I can't even sit back and let the Chantry collapse, and I have the majority of my party telling me why it needs to be preserved. And I can disagree with them until the cows come home, but it doesn't change a thing.

The inquisitor is ultimately impotent. We are repeatedly told that our intentions and desires don't mean anything; our legend is going to form and grow into something out of our control. Our actions will have consequences but ultimately the Inquisition will be taken over by it's own inertia and corruption.

I didn't mind Hawke not being able to change major events. Hawke was just an individual, who did their own thing for their own reasons. And I want to get back to that.

Yes I would like to topple Minrathous, both to just be the first person to conquer the unconquered city, and also to strike a blow to a deeply corrupt and toxic government so that social change and upheaval can take place.

But I'll settle for putting one elven head on a spike. Not to protect Tevinter or Orlais or even Ferelden, and damn sure not to protect the Chantry. But because he pisses me off with his self righteous martyr complex.

No. In the beginning it was more of a counsel with Josephine, Leliana, Cullen, and Cassandra all leading and defer to the protagonist to do what they think is best. After the events of Haven, the protagonist is named the leader when given the title of Inquisitor. The Inquisitor proved themselves a leader and that's why they got the position, not because of the Anchor or anything else.

Proved? How? With fortune? S/he didn't prove anything, s/he just an accidental hero surrounded by a bunch of hopeless people who need anyone to worship. S/He was there with his/her glowing hand, because touched Solas' ball.

Sounds bad.

How pretty is the Inquisitor.

I just don't see, how proved, that s/he's a leader. The people just worship him/her, because of Solas' "blessing".

Cassandra and Lelina finished the war with the army. Inquisitor's blessed hand was, what stopped the Orlesian Civil War. Without this mark, the Inquisitor's nothing before the Orlesian nobility. (Even who care about the Orlesians? The Inquisitor only needed the Orlesian army...) Every good and brave man would able to save the people. Especially the Anchor was, what saved the Grey Wardens. 

Don't get me wrong, I like the Inquisitor too, but s/he have the weakest story. Nothing special: an accidental hero with a "blessing" what makes his/her to Chosen One. Whatever s/he did, the people worship him/her, and s/he triumph over the evil, how glorious! A big step back after Hawke.

According to Catilina they aren't a leader because they can only do what they do because of a special power given to them.

And because s/he has an army behind his/her ass. An army a great benefit.

Hawke's story personal, fun and refreshing. Hawke's coolest hero ever. The Inquisitor's story a world-savior fantasy, no more. Inquisitor's just a hero...

I agree that the Inquisitor is an agent of order, they need to be because their enemy engineers chaos so stopping corypheus's plans means creating order - a united and stable south is also needed to close the breach and defeat cory's armies. You can even declare order as being the reason you take up the mantle of inquisitor (it's in the keep and everything).

But unlike Corypheus I don't think defeating Solas is going to be about armies and stability, a small elite band finding ways to depower solas/make them selves protected from him and investigating what his plan is to stop it seems in order (pun not intended). There is no need for such a group to act like the inquisition did, indeed achieveing those goals could have all manner of chaotic consequences. Whether as the desired effect or in an ends justify the means manner.

This is true regardless of whether there is a new protagonist or a returning one.