The Maevaris Tilani Discussion Thread

I absolutely agree with this. It is something that can possibly come up in conversation but it does not become the overriding aspect of the character. In Last Flight there was a character in the ranks of the Wardens in Garahel's time where their gender identity was left ambiguous to the reader and was never an issue brought up by the characters in the story; just something they didn't question because that wasn't what made the character a valuable member of the team.

It is part of the reason why I would prefer Maevaris to be the transgender representative because she had all her battles with the other Magisters over her gender identity in the past and now the focus of her activity is the Lucerni and combating corruption in the Magisterium, so that would be the essence of any sub-plots particularly related to her character.

Eh. I don't see that a story about a specific trans character receiving help to accept that their choice of gender expression is just a symptom of something else and not a real reflection of who they are would be any more offensive than a story about a "cisgendered" person getting the support they need to finally accept that that isn't who they really are either. If one isn't fundamentally problematic then why should the other one be?

The whole idea that someone's expressed identity and sexuality is a sacred truth that must be respected through and through always seemed silly to me. People simply don't always know themselves that well. If you think that there could be guys out there who are gay but refusing to accept it even to themselves due to societal conditioning or what have you, like Taylor Kitsch's awesome character in True Detective for example, then logically you must also accept that there are probably "gay" guys whose homosexuality is a construct too. There should be space for telling stories about these things in both directions if we're trying to be honest about anything, shouldn't there?

And "Someone sufficiently stupid, insane or malicious could potentially see this and get the wrong idea and do something disrespectful." just isn't an argument not to tell an honest and interesting story about human nature to me.

All that said though, I agree that that's not what Maevaris' story should be about unless this Dragon Age game has a wildly different tone and pacing than any of the others. Dorian dragging the Inquisitor on a trip to resolve his issues with daddy and the latter's attempts to correct his sexuality felt weird and inappropriate in the context even though it wasn't that badly written, and Leliana's development throughout the franchise has been a complete mess because of her erratic player-choice-dependent mental state.

I'm all for the player having an impact on an NPC if it makes sense, such as the immature Alistair being encouraged to toughen up when faced with repeated trauma and disappointment by a cynical Warden, but I've yet to play a medieval fantasy game where it seemed suitable for the main character to be dragged into an important NPC's sexual or gender identity crisis as an 'impartial observer' rather than as a dear and trusted long-term friend, which just isn't a level of personal intimacy these stories tend to generate outside romances.

I agree there a strong reasons to think Maevaris could feature in DA4 but I'm not sure whether that would be as a companion, unless it was some way into the game, as she is already a very powerful Magister, so wouldn't really fit a low level party. However, she could be an adviser, contact or someone who is recruited as a companion later in the game.

The reason they might not use her is that she was really David Gaider's character and so prefer to have a new character with their own backstory rather than one that is already known. Also, I'm not sure what age she is but it is possible they might consider her too old to be a companion. I know this sounds ageist, and I am no spring chicken myself, but fans seemed to think they were pushing it a bit with some of the companions in DAI, even though they didn't look their age, and, apart from Loghain and Wynne, I don't think they have had any other companion who was over 40 (I don't count Solas ). By 9:52 I think Maevaris definitely would be since she is older than Dorian and he would be 40 in 9:51. Still, Wynne, was a companion and it would be nice to see a glamorous older woman to acknowledge that not every older woman is a granny figure. Maevaris seems to favour electricity as well, so could have an interesting skill tree. I definitely think that Maevaris could be fun to have around whatever her role.

That was Dorian's home seat too but you will recall that at the Winter Palace Ball he was announced with a variety of titles, including his father being a Lord of Asariel, on the western seaboard, so it is entirely possible that Maevaris had a number of different holdings too. Plus Maevaris has her dwarven connection, which not only means she has an income that is independent from her above ground holdings but has been the real source of her influence both inside and outside the Magisterium. I think she is more likely to be at risk of assassination, as she was in that War Table mission, than being ousted from power by less violent means. Besides, even if she did fall from grace, she is still a mage of long standing and having lived as a Magister in Tevinter for some considerable time, she would not have survived this long without developing a considerable level of skill, much more than say Wynne had down in the southern Circle. In the story Luck in the Gardens, Dorian attributes much of the electrical magic used against the Cekorax to Maevaris, which would make sense as he was a Necromancer who favoured fire magic.

He was still able to keep an eye on things whilst he was lead writer. I was more meaning how the writers might now feel about taking on one of his characters, bearing in mind the flack they will get if they don't do Maevaris justice, in other words portray her as people imagine her to be. This would be more difficult than taking on Dorian and I very much doubt he is going to be a companion next game. Having her make an appearance would not be as risky as actually have her in a full companion role.

I don't have a problem but they might want to go with a companion you can romance. Now that wouldn't entirely rule out Mae but personally I would rather they leave her devoted to her former husband. Of course, a lot depends on exactly how many companions they are going to run with next game. Nine plus three advisers was rather a lot last game and, of course, Cullen and Solas only made the final cut as romances late in the day, due to having extended development time. Who knows what they are going to do this time round with the number of reboots that have occurred.

As I've said, I have no objection to Maevaris as a companion but I can see arguments against her that might be used by the team. Now it has been mentioned by others that Hollix, the main character in Luck in the Gardens, gave off gender fluid vibes, so it is possible they may go with them or someone else entirely.

I imagine if she's a romance, she'll be one of the extra ones outside the 2/2/2. So the transphobes don't have to worry about her taking up a slot. 

Surprised Maevaris wasn't a companion but I'll be even more surprised if she isn't in the game.

I'm pretty sure,she is in the game though. Maybe she'll be an advisor, if we have those again.

Heads up to OP gangrelbeckett and the thread.

I've changed the thread title temporarily from : The Maevaris Tilani Discussion Thread
(It will revert in time)

Given the news that:



There needs to be a place to discuss the character more thoroughly.
But it can't spoil the general audience through its title on the board.

Thank you.