New Comic, Dragon Age: Deception

1. I think Dorian would be best served as an advisor since he's already had his shot as a companion. He's also a magister now so he falls into the same field of issues that I've mentioned in regards to the idea of Maevaris as a companion. 

Interestingly, I was actually quite alright with the idea of the Inquisitor not appearing in Dragon Age 4... until Trespasser, that is. Prior to it, the Inquisitor and their associates had no knowledge of Solas' true identity nor his motives so although I would have liked to see their relationship come into play, I could see a plausible excuse for why they wouldn't be involved. Trespasser, however, not only made the Inquisitor aware of Solas' real agenda but also played up their relationship angle and set up a new dynamic to it. 

While I still prefer a new protagonist because it allows for the conflict and Tevinter to be viewed through a new pair of eyes, I do want the Inquisitor to feature in some playable capacity hence why I've been a big supporter of the dual protagonist idea. I admit that might not be financially feasible and so I'm also in favor of the Inquisitor appearing as a playable character for some part of the finale where they are able to have their moment with Solas and see it through to the idea. They might not necessarily be the one to ultimately decide his fate and (and I think it would interesting if they aren't) but the very least, they should have a conversational moment with him. Once again, I cannot stress the importance of the playable angle. If it's not possible for the Inquisitor to be playable then I don't want them to appear because it's liable to turn what could be an awesome and emotional moment into… something that is neither.   

2. I'm relatively indifferent to Calpernia (although my feelings would be subject to change if she was implemented as a companion) but I do agree. I don't believe we saw any indication that she was not acting on her own volition or that she did have sufficient oversight over the Venatori to be aware of their doings. I'd say she's proven herself the hypocrite. It would be one thing if she targeted people who she felt had contributed or was in some other way, maintaining the status quo of slavery but the Venatori enslaves people out of convenience without really caring who they are and then there's the Red Lyrium experiments like on the poor townspeople in Emprise de Lion.

Calpernia essentially made herself into someone who is just as horrible as the magisters of Tevinter in the way that she disregards the lives of others and uses them to further her own ends. I think this is a large part of why she ends up being a case of the Unintentional Unsympathetic trope to me. When you reached the point where you are enslaving people, shoving them into cages and force-feeding them a substance that inflicts horrific pains and mutations upon them, you've kind of reach the point where I go: "Oh, cry me a river." at any sob story you might present.

The only exception is if your perception of reality has been warped to such an extent that you don't perceive what you are doing and your sob story explains but even then, you're still going to have to be stopped. And again, I don't recall seeing any indication that Calpernia is not aware of what she's doing.      

3. I don't know. I feel DA2 did showcase some of her traits. For example, Varric points out that she seems to have a bit of a hero worship concerning Hawke, indicating the romantic in her. There's also her skepticism (or is it cynicism?) when she notes that Hawke dueling the Arishok in single combat sounds made up.  

It has been a while since I saw the movie though. To be honest, I don't think I could sit through it with a straight face. I haven't been able to think about it seriously ever since me and my friend riffed on it together. Now ever time I see the scene where Cassandra's brother is killed, I can't help but think back to the jokes we made about how Cassandra should be prejudiced against farming tools instead of mages because her brother was technically killed by a scythe. One wielded by a mage but still a scythe. There's also the infamous scene of the army of golems and ogres.