DA4: Skyhold 2.0?

I wouldn't be shocked if the PC starts out completely independent of the Inquisition, but gets pulled into the conflict with Solas.

(Assuming, of course, the next Dragon Age game isn't a complete abandonment of the Solas storyline. Dragon Age Kart Racing, for example.)

Dragon Age Nug Herding.

If we are playing in multiple locations around the Nocen Sea and beyond then a ship would make most sense as a base that actually moves around with you. However, if we are predominately in, say, Minrathous then probably some underworld base of operations would work well.

As for the relationship of the PC to the "shadow" Inquisition, I've long wondered if the Inquisitor would play a role similar to TIM in ME2, so you are provided with resources and given leads concerning the plot and possible allies and whilst you are forced into working with someone you may not like, there is a valid reason (saving the world?) for continuing to do so. Then at the end you can either agree with the boss about how you resolve matters or tell them where to go and do your own thing.

Oh, trust me, I will. Assuming Bethesda actually releases another one before the nukes drop and we all die. My level of anticipation for Elder Scrolls VI far and away outstrips my anticipation for Dragon Age IV. At this point I genuinely can't imagine anything Bethesda could do to make me not pre-order TES6 as soon as a teaser drops, where as I'm already committed to not pre-ordering DA4 and have a very solid idea of several things Bioware could do to make me skip it all together.

And Inquisition is a massively pro-establishment game. We are constantly told about the importance of the existing power structure; how the chantry needs to exist - with varying degrees of reform - despite all the horrible shit it does because it binds the various nations together. How Orlais cannot be allowed to fall because the instability caused from it's collapse would be so disastrous; on top of that we're told repeatedly how unimportant who sits on the throne actually is to the people so long as the war has stopped. The majority of our companions and advisors are for maintaining the status quo - even the rebellious Sera dismisses the idea of massive social upheaval because that just creates a new "top" that punches down, and Iron Bull, despite being an agent of a hostile government that would overthrow all the current social structure of the south, is massively apprehensive about it and thinks that things should remain the way they are for the foreseeable future. Among the companions who aren't pro-establishment you've got Cole and Blackwall who're simply smaller-picture guys who want to do good. Dorian is the only companion who openly endorses getting rid of the chantry all together and while the Inquisitor can personally agree with him, there's no option to actually make that happen; sure, the negative approval epilogues for Divine Victoria imply the Chantry's in for some rough times ahead but anyone who believes Bioware's actually going to run with those is delusional, and more importantly, there's always a Divine Victoria; there's no way we can leave that spot vacant. And yes, Leliana as Divine Victoria imposes wide spread, radical change in the Chantry but that's less an endorsement of sweeping social change and more Leliana's creator pet status giving her that power.

And in the end, after the Chantry and Orlais have gotten their shit together, the Inquisition is presented with an ultimatum; either submit and become a tool for the establishment or disband all together.

The only instance where we do get to have a major impact on the status quo is with the Wardens by telling them to gtfo of Orlais which 1; will be instantly undone if another blight happens and 2; is more a part of Bioware's war against the Wardens than anything.

The only companion in favor of true, massive social change is Solas and he's the secretly the villain who, however much they want us to sympathize with, we're ultimatley supposed to disagree with. Especially given that his plan is almost identical to Corypheus', and the entire game - largely through Solas - hammers home how terrible and futile Corypheus' plan is.  All three of Corypheus' lieutenants are motivated by social reform - selfishly for the Grand Dutches but genuinely for Samson and Calpernia. Hell, one of the main enemy factions - the Freemen - are motivated entirely by deciding which noble's ass sits on the Throne isn't worth them dying for and they are far and away the least sympathetic major group of enemies in the game; both the Venatori and the Red Templars are given some degree of sympathy, while the Freemen are depicted as cowardly deserters and psychopathic soldiers while the true, decent, honorable and honest soldiers are the ones who remain dedicated to the cause of fighting for the right for some rich asshole to rule them all.

Yeah, I was never entirely clear on where exactly Dorian, Cassandra, or Varric actually slept.

Wasted opportunity if you ask me. Varric having a room with half finished manuscripts would be neat.

Nope. The Templar thing is more an unforseen consequence than a deliberate act to change the status quo. The mage thing is also largely the result of Leliana's creator's pet status, or otherwise a point about history repeating itself. And that elf is and always was part of the establishment; she was Celene's spymaster. She isn't an outsider. She may have a progressive, pro-elf agenda, but she's still establishment. On top of that several characters denounce her as the least trust worthy, most duplicitous option to back in that scenario - Cullen, Josephine, and Sera all condemn her; and if nothing else we're supposed to take Cullen & Josephine as sympathetic and reasonable voices.

And I'm not necessarily advocating that we should have had the option to order Inquisition forces to march into every city in Southern Thedas to burn their Chantrys to the ground (although now that I think about it...) but we're told that by inaction - by not endorsing a new divine, we could allow the Chantry to fracture and fall apart on it's own. Yet we can't do that; one way or another, Cassandra, Leliana, or Vivienne will be elected Divine. One could argue the fact that Leliana, being the most reformist of the lot of them, being the hardest to get elected could be the game saying that she's the best option and thus requires the most effort, but the fact that there is no War Table mission to support Leliana while there are missions to support both Cassandra and Vivienne shows that the Inquisition itself is a more conservative, establishment organization that's unwilling to openly push for the kind of change that Leliana wants.

And that point more reinforces my point. It frames people who are willing to take drastic, radical action to implement the kind of change they want - freeing the Templars from addiction-enforced servitude for Samson and purging Tevinter of it's corruption and starting a wide spread abolitionist movement for Calpernia - as foolish, deluded, and in no uncertain terms doing more harm than good. If the only way to push for this radical change is to back a would be god king bent on world domination at the potential risk of global destruction, then the alternative of incremental, slow, gradual change from the inside - the kind that the establishment pushes to lull the populous and maintain it's own power - suddenly looks a lot more appealing.

How about we not turn my thread into a political debate? That sound good to you guys?

Am fine with that.

For me, I can't even really picture what Skyhold 2.0 should even look like until we get a basic understanding of what DA4's plot is going to be. Are we going to be spending most of the game as an established military force dealing with the Tevinter-Qunari? Or are we going to a clandestine shadow group trying to deal with Solas' and his shenanigans? Either would probably need a different kind of base to fit with that kind of story. 

I think it'd be cool to get something within the crossroads as well.

If not and they give cities a big overhaul maybe give us a district to run/upgrade. Npcs could also wander about and have more unique places to hang about.

I'm not on board with a crossroads base. Lends itself to a degree of escalation I wouldn't particularly be interested in.