Calpernia: From Corypheus to the DA 4 Party?

I don't want to have Calpernia as a companion.

I haven't read sources outside the game, so perhaps I am missing an important insight on these characters, but I've never understood the popularity of Samson and Calpernia.

Samson permanently sold his soul to the lyrium ages ago and would do anything for it with no morality attached.

Calpernia in Inquisition struck me as a dangerous fanatical figure who in spite of the freedom motivation fell into the clutches of Corypheus because she was filled to the brim with hatred and that emotion was easily manipulated and swayed into turning to ashes all in her path for her 'good' cause. She did all those horrible things with dead surety that she was right to do so and I did not see remorse, the last factor is absolute mandatory for me to give any character the slightest chance.

Granted, my Inquisitor allowed Calpernia to escape, but less out of sympathy and more because I saw her as a vengeance weapon once the Inquisitor could redirect her anger. During that quest line, I felt Inq motivation was getting her off their back and getting her onto Cory's, rather than turning her into an ally.

Presumably much of the material in Legacy was already in place before they decided to cancel Exalted March, when Cory was going to be actively involved in further subverting the Templar Order in Kirkwall. Him approaching Samson does make more sense in that context because of the information he could get about their leadership and internal workings in that location. If Exalted March had gone ahead, the Red Templar plot was going to be linked directly to Kirkwall and Hawke would have been the one dealing with it. Then when it was cancelled they shifted the story over into DAI and Samson got his promotion along with it, even though his influence over and knowledge of the Templars outside of Kirkwall should have been limited.

Incidentally, another group that appeared in the DLC associated with Sebastian were the Resolutionist mages who were rumoured to have links with Tevinter and were committed to overthrowing the Chantry and their control over southern mages. I rather think they were re-branded as the Venatori since they were never mentioned again after DA2 and, if so, that would suggest that Cory was behind the mage rebellion. The problem is that so far as game play is concerned, Legacy can take place at any time during or after the main events of DA2, which makes it difficult to place his release in the timeline with regard to cause and effect but it would make more sense for him to have been released before Anders blew up the Chantry. In fact, since the Exalted March would have given Anders the opportunity to redeem himself as a Warden (so fitting in with the epilogue in DAA that has him return to the fold after an absence), it does hint at the likelihood that they were originally going to say that Cory was influencing his thinking via the taint.


Sylvia does seem more invested in the Nevarran Mortalitasi at present, so if she has a particular preference for a character it does seem likely to be someone from there. Remember the idol was also said to have been taken to Nevarra after the events of Dark Fortress and the Mortalitassi were working with the shadow Inquisition against Solas, so it does seem a good bet that one of their representatives is going to be a companion next game. However, Calpernia could have taken refuge with them, given their strong links with Tevinter historically and their independence of the Chantry and of course Sylvia could be responsible for more than one companion character, although I think it unlikely that they would both be mages.

Solas slightly disapproves if you let Calpernia go and has no opinion if the Inquisitor chooses to fight her anyway. That last part is normally not something I would point out, but according to the wiki the only companions who react to continuing to fight her are Blackwall (who slightly disapproves) and Sera (who slightly approves) which seems...oddly small. Only two companions had an opinion on that? Meanwhile 7 companions have a reaction if Calpernia is let go. 

Still, in Solas's case, I'd hazard a guess in that he was displeased in how the Inquisitor let a 'loose end' go free to potentially cause problems in the future. Both for himself and the Inquisition. He doesn't strike me as someone who let a known loyal enemy lieutenant go free unless he or she has proven their loyalty to being a turncoat. Despite her goals, she was willing to ally herself with someone Solas sees as a blight-corrupted/god-aspiring madman, something Solas has rather strong opinions about. He may very well see her as not only an enemy leader, but a disastrously misleading one who will ultimately doom her own cause. 

Exactly! If every character is a Josephine, then it not only makes for a tragically boring cast, but it makes characters like that stand out less. You absolutely need characters on both sides of the paragon/renegade scale to create an interesting party dynamic and to challenge your beliefs as a player.

Well, him looking like generic Ferelden soldier NPC #5 is probably a factor

I legit could not tell you who that guy is! 

Silas Corthwaite. Yeah... maybe not the most memorable character, or DLC.
It's from the Leliana's Song DLC.

I had grave misgivings about Anders early on, as soon as he had taken out his tranquil friend, however, I had hoped for a quest line to help him take control of his emotions and to bring out a better side of Justice, except the game laughed at me and instead of taking the road from the lowest point up, it went in the opposite direction. During my first Hawke run I went for a different romance option, but I still held onto being his friend and helped Anders with his personal quest despite those bad vibes. That ended very badly with Vengeance coming out and claiming directly who he is, which is probably the worst end for Anders in that scenario because he can end a game more or less in control of the spirit. I must add, the scene of putting a knife in his back is too well written, as it had slayed me as good as a tragic romance could have, that feeling of desperation when you have failed a friend you deeply cared for. Had this been a new character, I would have built a relationship differently with him starting with the church incident and interestingly enough this may have yielded a better ending for him.

Also it would be a nice contrast to Solas and maybe even Sten / Arishok who are possible the main antagonists in DA4.' Like Cobra Kai i hope that DA 4 shows many different perspectives other than good vs evil like DAI. It would be a crime if Tevinter are just the good guys and the Qunari are the evil ones because they have invaded Tevinter.