Predict the romances of DA4

That was right after he'd been tortured for who knows how long, he does have PTSD, there's no denying that, he just doesn't betray you in any way in DAI, or have commited any terrible acts himself, though you could argue that he should have delt with Meredith earliar, I'm still not convinced he had the power to do so (both the Chantry and the Viscount were reticent about going against her) or was in the headspace either (specially not on Lyrium ehich seems to nullify emotions/feelings which is another check against the chantry for using it). He's  a character that grows over the games and slowly gets over his bad beliefs about mages, which is what I like about him, he's not pure snow white, but he doesn't do anything too bad either if that makes sense? I kinda thought that was what Felya87 was going for.

haha DBZ had bad writing all around.


Yes, they did. I think they even admitted to doing so. They also forgot that you can kill Lell back at camp, making her lyrium ghost outcome impossible. They at least recalled come DAI that she could have died.

Now they're afraid to kill anyone in case they need to necro them as a character. Is that better? I'd rather ignore the mistakes with Lel, then be told by Cullen I can't have Samson's head*

*I killed him in DA2, he was hung. They forgot that outcome as well.



He said that trying to get rid of the circles would kill everyone. He was afraid, he didn't actually support the Circles themselves, just feared the outcome.


They "fixed" that in the comic for Alistair, he admits to using lyrium for those powers. Anyone can buy lyrium potions. I think Templars only get addicted because they're dosed consistently to maintain their position in a mage tower. "as needed for battle where I suspect I'll run into mages" is apparently non addictive.

I didn't realise it was non-addictive if only consumed now and then. That's really interesting, I've always kinda been interested in how Lyrium works (specially as we know it has to do with the Titans now). But that actually makes what the Chantry did with the Templars' and their "leash" even worse, as then it's very much not needed.

Yeah, the devs have said the epilogues are considered as "semi-canon" or rumours at most.

(Which makes it easier to justify retcons and not limit the story going forward)

In Cullen's case, you can rationale the rumours as him being on edge around mages (due to his traumatic experience), before abruptly disappearing one day. Witch Hunt has it revealed that he was actually sent to a small Chantry in Greenfell to recuperate and from there, he presumably accepted the transfer to Kirkwall.

But since no-one in the Circle Tower presumably knew that, Cullen never coming back would definitely lead them to begin speculating wildly what happened to him and as Cullen himself commented in DA2, at times even the Templars can be "worse than a weaving circle with their rumours".

Asunder also showed that mages vanishing seems to be considered a routine part of Circle life (at least in the White Spire). Since the Templars refuse to disclose details, that leaves the mages having to wonder if their colleagues had failed their Harrowing, were killed, imprisoned, transferred or they tried to escape?

So you can imagine a few mages disappearing around the time Cullen did, might lead some to speculate that wasn't a coincidence?

He does admit in Inquisition that he wasn't in a good place at the time though, as well as regretting having remained willfully ignorant of Meredith's increasingly erratic decisions and behaviour for far too long.

But in fairness, having a bad boss wasn't hit fault, nor was trying to downplay their negative qualities or decisions something that he alone was guilty of. Many Templars in Kirkwall seemed to support Meredith's actions, even enough to begin huffing Red Lyrium in Inquisition (even knowing what it did to her).

(Same with the Qunari who attacked Kirkwall. From the noticeable glance that two Qunari guards shared when the Arishok started ranting about his hatred for the city, you get the sense that even some of the Antaam might have been wondering if the big guy had lost it. But orders were orders, so when he told them to attack, they did)

And we have to also remember that Meredith wasn't crazy at the start of the game and that even the Seeker investigations found her decisions "justified" given the circumstances, according to Cassandra. For their own piece of mind, it seems that Cullen and the Seekers both deliberately chose not to look any further than they had to.

I love Mr Popo's explanation for this in DBZ Abridged;

"Your father's an idiot" :smh:

According to Cole;

"They feel older than they look. They've been changed, and their bodies are incomplete now. The lyrium helps, but their bodies always want to connect to... something older. Bigger than they are. That's why they block magic. They reach for that other thing, and the magic has no room to come in. Like when I listen to Varric."

That seems to suggest that Templars permanently (and irreversibly) alter their physiology. Whether this happens immediately after the first draught or takes a while is unclear, but it could imply that if even a Templar doesn't take regularly take lyrium, they experience some degree of mild craving for it as a side-effect.

If a Templar only uses it occasionally (like Alistair) when having to deal with mages, demons or darkspawn emissaries, that might imply they have to go cold turkey and endure the withdrawal symptoms every single time. Otherwise they have to remain as functional addicts (like most Templars) or go completely teetotal (like Cullen).

Keran also was tortured, but didn't become a prick for years. Sorry, I just tired, they shows Cullen as a poor, tortured man in shining armour... but he still able to defend Meredith's methods, and Trevelyan Circle mage can't push him back, can't say a word against him, while we able to punch two non-Circle lover Mage... Cullen's redemption arc is weak.

Anders and Fiona and the rebel mages treated as idiots. Cullen treated as a poor tortured man. The Templars, just misled by some evil demons and red lyrium, but they did nothing wrong...

Sifr :
Perhaps Meredith was not THAT mad, like with the red lyrium, but she was criminal, and a tyrant (the first guard say that, whom Hawke meet, when s/he arrives in Kirkwall: Meredith and her templars rules over the city, the viscount only their puppet), who encouraged the teplars who committed abuses, rapes and another crimes against the mages. Tranquilized harrowed mages for nothing...

And: Cullen knew about everything, and he had many doubts, about Meredith's mental state at the act2 and act3, he told that. And even told, that because yet he doesn't see that madness in Meredith's eyes, what he saw in Uldred's eyes when Uldred transformed into a raging abomination...

If he supported Meredith, he supported terrible acts. He was part of a group where he turned a blind eye to the atrocities, because he thought they were neccessary due to his PTSD and fear from his time at Kinloch Hold.

I love Cullen, but it's only his turning against Meredith in DA2 and his total Self Reproach that wins him over to me. Maybe he never committed a crime with his own hands but he didn't blow the whistle either.

Now Thrask, that's a man who was trying to do his best while not leaving the system. Maybe it's because his own daughter was a mage, so he had something personal to draw out his sympathy and empathy but he risked a lot on multiple occasions. Cullen risked nothing until Meredith was finally too insane even for her staunchest of followers.

I hope not for two reasons:
1. I’m hoping we play as the Inquisitor so that wouldn’t work unless we go full Narcissus.
2. That would almost certainly involve Bioware changing the Inquisitor in a way that it would conflict with how some players played them.

Interesting idea, dunno how that would work *rubs chin* not like we can flirt with King Alistair as Hawke in DA2.





Romancing yourself. I dig it, but I don't think they'd value this enough to bother with it.

You can, however, flirt with Zevran.

I had forgotten this, but he is also a character where he could be talking about death and sex with the same words, and you're not certain which subject he's actually on about. Not surprising you can flirt with him, it'd be OOC otherwise?


AND you aren't dating someone in DA2? Unless it's Isabella.

I guess I just suspect those same people would date ISabella, and as they obviously have an open relationship at that point, she won't care whether she is or isn't there.

Although, I did once read a comic where Female Hawke had gotten left by Fenris so she tries to take it up with Zevran and Fenris is like "no." and Hawke says "It's been three years! what even!"