New Comic, Dragon Age: Deception

I'm just jazzed to be getting something new.

Yeah the premise really has my attention and actress-turned-con-artist has me more interested in this comic protag than any of the previous ones.

Not to mention it seems to be fully set in Tevinter.

Also, I assume that Olivia is not claiming to be a native of Tevinter because Pryde is a very un-Tevene sounding name so is not something you would use if you were trying to assume the identity of a native. Or is it a stage name?

To me the “it sound like Qunari” is such a pessimistic reason, to assume your fan base is easily confused. If so we should change Cumberland because cousland is similar.

That said i’m Excited for anything DA in this drought of content. 

City name drama aside, it's nice to have a comic taking place in Tevinter.
The Knight comic was alright, way better than Broody and Snarky adventures.
Not sure how I feel about the cover, the pompadour wig ( not sure it's the correct term) doesn't evoke Tevinter.
Probably some actor stuff like the name, but I'm still not over the Archon dressed like a cosplayer gone wrong in past comics. Orlesians looking goofy is ok. But Tevinter looking goofy hurts mah feelings.

But... the preferred type of garment among Tevinter nobility appears to be goth goofy.

From WOT2:
"Magic rules in the Imperium, and their clothing reflects this. Dark robes, hoods and light armor are commonplace in Tevinter. Some of it is practical, allowing the movement necessary to cast spells while protecting from an odd blade edge. Still, Tevinter nobles are not above impractical, sharing some of the Orlesian love for fabric volume, if not color."

I kind of hope Mae appears in this comic, especially since it seems to take place in Qarinus Ventus. We haven't seen her in a comic since Those Who Sleep.

Except you're ignoring the fact that their actual reason for the change is because they think people will be confused. That is completely meta and has nothing whatsoever to do with lore. Because they wanted to make this lame change, they then devised a lame lore excuse to make it work and accommodate the change.

And yes, I'm sympathetic to new players... to a degree. At some point, they have to be left to fend for themselves in service of the greater story or product (the game itself). Too much coddling makes for a lesser product. We're not talking about some tutorials or levels of combat difficulty, but a change in the lore. Do we need to spend each game explaining about mages and templars and abominations and the Chant of Light and Andraste and casteless and Dalish and alienages and on and ON? No. We don't expect the devs to accommodate new players in that way, nor should they. I jumped right into Skyrim, despite having never played an ES game before and knowing nothing about the lore; I muddled through just fine. I played MEA despite never having played any of the other ME games and knowing nothing about that lore -- the races, the genophage, etc -- and still managed to follow along.

I was talking about how it was done rather than why.

And changes in lore or narratives, especially in large, continuous series are made all the time - from 'lame' to less' lame' reasons.
Okay,... how is a name change of a city resulting in a lesser product? It's definitely a way less impactful change than retconning Leliana's optional death, and somehow I don't think people think that the result is 'coddling'. From what I've seen people enjoyed Leliana's presence in the game quite a bit and I bet most people will be entirely alright with a change of the city name, especially if lore reason is given and found plausible (which it is).
All they really need to do is give us a lorebook/codex - "Ventus, previously known as Qarinus, with the change made to commemorate a significant victory nearby". And nothing in the lore is ruined, for either hardcore or new players. At best it can be questioned how is it that in the narrative the name Ventus ain't used, but considering that the change is relatively recent and most of the story is told from the perspective of Southerners (or those who interact with Southerners like Dorian) it's not really that unbelievable to think they'd use old name instead. 

Like I said - they didn't make a sudden lore change where the previous name is somehow invalid. It WAS Qarinus up until fairly recent.
Um, what does it matter whether characters or events are introduced in comics and novels or previous games? From new player's perspective, all of those are things that happened outside of the game they're playing. 

I mean... I began my adventure with DA3 and I wasn't really that confused about stuff, they gave enough of an explanation in-game. It's when I wanted to bite into details or gain deeper understanding when I had to grab stuff released prior to DAI, which is a different thing from not differentiating between Qunari and Qarinus.

Also - how do you know that players will have no knowledge of characters or events when playing the next game? Do you have access to DA4 we don't know about that you know how linked or not linked current ancillary material will be to the game?

Don't put words in my mouth.


This is disingenuous on your part and you know it. Both Asunder and The Masked Empire had content that was used in DAI. While I don't agree (as I'm fine basing my RP choice on in-game material), some players feel it is essential to have read TME before playing the game. While it's true that we can't say for certain, most people that follow the series agree that the path these comics have been taking is related to the next game and that it's likely we'll be seeing one or more of these new characters. Don't act like that's not the common view in the fandom, which has been borne out by the actual history of the franchise.