Post by Sifr on Dec 7, 2018 9:05:36 GMT
I almost guarantee their answer will involve transgendered people.
I figure that it's easy to handwave.
Either Sten is referring to the enforced gender roles in the antaam, where women cannot be soldiers... or else, he's extremely conservative for a Qunari, one of those "there are only two genders, do not try to convince me otherwise" types of guys, which is entirely in-line with his rigid worldview and characterisation in Origins.
Rather than a major retcon in-universe, I prefer to think that instead it was that our only frame of reference on the Qun wasn't entirely reliable, because all we had to go on was Sten's views and own personal biases.
(Something like this even happened in the lore, as the codex mentions that for centuries people in Thedas thought there weren't any Qunari women, because the only Qunari ever seen outside of Par Vollen were men. When a Chantry delegation were finally permitted to enter Par Vollen, they found out how hilariously wrong they had been.)
Out-of-universe, maybe Bioware did decide to change bits of the Qunari lore, but those changes really aren't as earthshattering or lorebreaking as some people pretend they are.
back then the history of the Qunari Wars recalls how they wore impressive shining silver armour, suggesting they may have developed superior metalwork. Now the Qunari barely wear any armour at all and what they do wear is neither shining nor silver.
Yeah, the lack of armour in DA2 was likely a result of having to abandon most of their gear to swim to shore.
It does make me wonder however how they managed all that Vitaar (enough to last for four years), but we know they were scouting the Wounded Coast, so they may have found it when salvaging whatever flotsam washed ashore.
All in all, I like Bull's explanation that when Qunari show up in armour, they mean serious business.
Although it does mean I can't stop thinking that somewhere this has happened before;
"The Qunari are coming! The Qunari are... oh wait, I can see their nipples. Thank the Maker, for a moment there I thought we were in trouble!"