I always take the vallaslin off... It fit better with my character backstory, being city born and wanting to leave the Dalish and go back to her family in the alienage.
"Odin è un nome ispirato alla mitologia nordica, ma in russo vuol dire qualcos'altro... significa uno! Chissà poi perché mi sarò scelto un nome russo?" Uno. PKNA
"Odin is a name ispired by norse mithology. However in russian it means something else... It means one! Why did I choose a russian name, I wonder?" Uno. PKNA
I always take the vallaslin off... It fit better with my character backstory, being city born and wanting to leave the Dalish and go back to her family in the alienage.
What's her backstory? How did she end up among the Dalish if she has family somewhere else?
I never wanted the Vallaslin to be mandatory in the first place.
Why exactly? I mean, the game tells us we're going to play a Dalish elf. Of course you could say that your character either postponed getting their Vallaslin until they feel the time has come (Dalish do that) while being just the right person to be sent to the conclave or that DAO did not force a Brosca warden to wear the casteless brand, will still asking via special prompt, as Duncan mentions the brand in dialogue during the origin story.
In case one wants to play a city elf... well the option was simply not intended by Bioware, just as we were not allowed to play a mage who does not come from the circle in DAO or mage who comes from the Dalish (which would not even "break" the origin story) or how any human option always has a present andrastian background of varying intensity, the Trevelyans more so than the Couslands, given their strong connections and the apparent habit to send (non-mage) surplus offspring to the Chantry.
Last Edit: Aug 14, 2020 16:11:50 GMT by Buckeldemon
"Magic can't be made safe and it can't be destroyed. Fear makes men more dangerous than magic ever could." - Merrill
"Strength and steel are well and good, but magic is the true power in this world." - Wuunferth the Unliving
"Maschinen abgeschaltet, Ventilatoren kaputt! Alle ersticken und tot!"
I always take the vallaslin off... It fit better with my character backstory, being city born and wanting to leave the Dalish and go back to her family in the alienage.
What's her backstory? How did she end up among the Dalish if she has family somewhere else?
I never wanted the Vallaslin to be mandatory in the first place.
Why exactly? I mean, the game tells us we're going to play a Dalish elf. Of course you could say that your character either postponed getting their Vallaslin until they feel the time has come (Dalish do that) while being just the right person to be sent to the conclave or that DAO did not force a Brosca warden to wear the casteless brand, will still asking via special prompt, as Duncan mentions the brand in dialogue during the origin story.
In case one wants to play a city elf... well the option was simply not intended by Bioware, just as we were not allowed to play a mage who does not come from the circle in DAO or mage who comes from the Dalish (which would not even "break" the origin story) or how any human option always has a present andrastian background of varying intensity, the Trevelyans more so than the Couslands, given their strong connections and the apparent habit to send (non-mage) surplus offspring to the Chantry.
I'm not entirely sure why 'we're playing a Dalish elf' is used as an argument for fixed vallaslin? People can have many different headcanons that could warrant their Dalish PCs either not wanting or obtaining their vallaslins.
Last Edit: Aug 14, 2020 18:15:52 GMT by midnight tea
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
Post by Unicephalon 40-D on Aug 14, 2020 17:30:41 GMT
Yep, but it works.. hahah so much laughing out loud here during watching that
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I always take the vallaslin off... It fit better with my character backstory, being city born and wanting to leave the Dalish and go back to her family in the alienage.
What's her backstory? How did she end up among the Dalish if she has family somewhere else?
She is originary from Denerim, from the Tabris family (yup, she is a cousin of my Warden), she and her parents run away from the alienage when she was a little kid, and ended up meeting a clan. Her parents converted to the Dalish religion, left being the Tabris name to get the clan name, and did everything they could to fit. Yet most of the clan still see them as "flat ears". Darel (is my Lavellan name) ended up more times that she could count bullied by the other kids. Even her scar over the eyebrows is a stone trow by one of her bully. She ended up in a lots of fights. Still, she tried to do her best to fit for her parents and siblings sake, took the smaller Vallaslin, and became a good fighter.
When her parents died, she decided to leave the clan and go searching for the family roots left behind in Denerim. I doubt she know her cousin is That Warden, and that Alistair is basically her acquired family (another good reason to leave Hawke behind anyway). The Conclave was her last work for the clan, once sent the information to the Keeper, she would have been on her own. She still cared enought for the clan just because she have siblings there, born after they had been part of the clan, and treated as effective part of the clan.
Part of this background is born in my mind because I resented the lack of City Elf origin, since I never really liked the Dalish.
"Odin è un nome ispirato alla mitologia nordica, ma in russo vuol dire qualcos'altro... significa uno! Chissà poi perché mi sarò scelto un nome russo?" Uno. PKNA
"Odin is a name ispired by norse mithology. However in russian it means something else... It means one! Why did I choose a russian name, I wonder?" Uno. PKNA
What's her backstory? How did she end up among the Dalish if she has family somewhere else?
Why exactly? I mean, the game tells us we're going to play a Dalish elf. Of course you could say that your character either postponed getting their Vallaslin until they feel the time has come (Dalish do that) while being just the right person to be sent to the conclave or that DAO did not force a Brosca warden to wear the casteless brand, will still asking via special prompt, as Duncan mentions the brand in dialogue during the origin story.
In case one wants to play a city elf... well the option was simply not intended by Bioware, just as we were not allowed to play a mage who does not come from the circle in DAO or mage who comes from the Dalish (which would not even "break" the origin story) or how any human option always has a present andrastian background of varying intensity, the Trevelyans more so than the Couslands, given their strong connections and the apparent habit to send (non-mage) surplus offspring to the Chantry.
I'm not entirely sure why 'we're playing a Dalish elf' is used as an argument for fixed vallaslin? People can have many different headcanons that could warrant their Dalish PCs either not wanting obtaining their vallaslins.
I'm not entirely sure why we are getting backgrounds that could be seen as single-road stereotypes either? Humans are nobles and supposed to be faithful(TM) andrastians, surface dwarves are Carta, Vashoth are mercenaries and Dalish do not let a clan member do something abroad unless they underwent their traditional rite of passage, complete with tattoo.
My uneducated guess?
1) Did Bioware expect players to have these types of headcanon?
2) The scene with Solas at Crestwood. If Lavellan would not have Vallaslin, the writers would have needed to come up with an alternative topic he jumps to last minute, or at least a different decision at the end. So femLavellan got mandatory Vallaslin and males were also put to that standard, for consistency I suppose.
What's her backstory? How did she end up among the Dalish if she has family somewhere else?
She is originary from Denerim, from the Tabris family (yup, she is a cousin of my Warden), she and her parents run away from the alienage when she was a little kid, and ended up meeting a clan. Her parents converted to the Dalish religion, left being the Tabris name to get the clan name, and did everything they could to fit. Yet most of the clan still see them as "flat ears". Darel (is my Lavellan name) ended up more times that she could count bullied by the other kids. Even her scar over the eyebrows is a stone trow by one of her bully. She ended up in a lots of fights. Still, she tried to do her best to fit for her parents and siblings sake, took the smaller Vallaslin, and became a good fighter.
When her parents died, she decided to leave the clan and go searching for the family roots left behind in Denerim. I doubt she know her cousin is That Warden, and that Alistair is basically her acquired family (another good reason to leave Hawke behind anyway). The Conclave was her last work for the clan, once sent the information to the Keeper, she would have been on her own. She still cared enought for the clan just because she have siblings there, born after they had been part of the clan, and treated as effective part of the clan.
Part of this background is born in my mind because I resented the lack of City Elf origin, since I never really liked the Dalish.
Ah, I see. I've also got a bit of headcanon to get around limits I did not like much, such as the lack of a non-circle mage.
It goes like this: During the Dalish OS, Mahariel can learn that their father was the clans previous Keeper, and that both parents died in a bandit attack (these bandits had city elves among them), so Marethari became the new Keeper and Merrill was transferred over from the Alerion clan to fill the post of the First. Now, I always got the impression that Merrill was a tad bit older than Mahariel and her magic manifested when she was four (or even earlier). So I assume Mahariel magic just manifested later (up to early teens is possible, at least for humans, if Anders is any indication) and they became the "other First"/second of the Sabrae clan, perhaps already somewhat experienced in hunting/fighting. The latter part can explain a character which is a rogue or warrior in terms of gameplay, but still has access to spells. For a pure mage, there are some mods, though Bioware was apparently lazy with the dialogue coding and had some magic-related dialogue options check for the class instead of the origin, resulting in things like Greagoir recognising a mage with a different origin, unless the dialogues in questions are adjusted as well.
On the other hand, I do love my bitter "circle elf" (Surana mage), as she's pretty much hated all around. For the Dalish, she has been raised by the Chantry (a.k.a. "Flat Ear", though she's past that ever since the origin story. For city elves, she's an icky mage. For humans, she's an icky mage, a knife ear, and a troublemaker.
Oh, and now that I think about it... my SoLavellan also got hit with some headcanon. After the debacle with Solas, she hooked up with a city elf who joined the lower ranks of the (former) Inquisition to get away from her past. She fled from her home alienage after being sold out as a "troublemaker" and killing a chantry priest. I suppose there is nothing that prevents her from being part of the extended Tabris family. Am I allowed to make her interested in the "never again we shall submit" line of thought?
(borrowing a style of writing that I've seen in use by Colfoley at times)
"But Buckeldemon, all city elves are faithful andrastians (TM)!"
1. Every single last one? I doubt so. Some seem to remember that Andrastianism was forced down their throat, besides recognising that it is rather abusive and kinda racist anyway.
2. I always preferred the more rebellious characters like Shianni over people like Elva.
3. I don't frickin' care.
Last Edit: Aug 14, 2020 19:27:24 GMT by Buckeldemon
"Magic can't be made safe and it can't be destroyed. Fear makes men more dangerous than magic ever could." - Merrill
"Strength and steel are well and good, but magic is the true power in this world." - Wuunferth the Unliving
"Maschinen abgeschaltet, Ventilatoren kaputt! Alle ersticken und tot!"
So femLavellan got mandatory Vallaslin and males were also put to that standard, for consistency I suppose.
Corypheus also taunts you about your vallaslin, saying they are slave marks. I'd love to know how he knew this. If you haven't romanced Solas then Lavellan's response to this is "Huh?" followed by "He's got it back to front." Then in Trespasser we discover what he was going on about.
Still the Dalish have given it a different meaning now. It is the sign of the elves who would not submit (to human tyranny) and thus nothing to be ashamed of. I was never that fond of marking my face with vallaslin until I learned that Solas disapproves. Now they have a new meaning, they show defiance of him and a refusal to submit to the fate he has assigned to us.
I thought the reason we were obliged to have vallaslin as Lavellan and yet not as Mahariel is because Lavellan is meant to be somewhat older and thus the reason the Keeper entrusts them with the mission to spy on the Conclave, although I must admit I thought the vallaslin would be a dead give away that you had no business being there. By contrast I think Mahariel was only late teens or very early twenties in age and so it was possible they had not taken their vallaslin yet.
It would also seem the writers do not think that all Dalish clans insist city elves eventually taking vallaslin to be fully assimilated into the clan because:
Strife in Three Trees to Midnight does not have vallaslin, despite claiming to have been part of his clan for years since being forced to Starkhaven in a hurry. I still think with a name like that he is someone that should be regarded with deep suspicion.
Last Edit: Aug 14, 2020 19:55:47 GMT by gervaise21
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Post by pessimistpanda on Aug 15, 2020 5:28:09 GMT
I feel like the Dalish giving new meaning to their Vallaslin wouldn't matter much in the event that the Evanuris were to break free and start re-asserting control.
I feel like the Dalish giving new meaning to their Vallaslin wouldn't matter much in the event that the Evanuris were to break free and start re-asserting control.
I think it depends on whether the way the Dalish Keepers give their Clan members their vallaslin in the present is exactly the same way the Evanuris did it in the ancient past. Are modern vallaslin really just a tattoo (ie, pigment inserted into the deep skin layers)? Were ancient vallaslin more of a magical ritual? The way vallaslin are given may have changed as much as their meaning has over the centuries.
Fenris' lyrium tattoos are possibly closer to the ancient Elvhen vallaslin than modern Dalish vallaslin are. We know from numerous banters between Solas and Dorian that a lot of Tevinter magic tech is actually ancient Elvhen magic tech, so it's entirely possible that Danarius' methods were based on ancient Elvhen methods.
Last Edit: Aug 15, 2020 14:43:16 GMT by ladyiolanthe
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I mean, my theory is that original vallaslin was made with lyrium and that's partly why the Evanuris was so anxious to get it. Like Fenris they would also become perfect bodyguards for mages as they seem to be inherently magic resistant (meaning, can actually attack rival mages). Although given that the name seems to mean "blood writing" I guess it's not a very likely theory.
"He is the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on... He has got huge, sharp -- eh -- he can leap about -- look at the bones!"
Well, with lyriun being actual Titan blood... It fits... Still, it can simply be that the old vallaslin was mixed with the master blood, so the slave could be find wherever they were, like a reversed filactery.
"Odin è un nome ispirato alla mitologia nordica, ma in russo vuol dire qualcos'altro... significa uno! Chissà poi perché mi sarò scelto un nome russo?" Uno. PKNA
"Odin is a name ispired by norse mithology. However in russian it means something else... It means one! Why did I choose a russian name, I wonder?" Uno. PKNA
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Fenris' lyrium tattoos are possibly closer to the ancient Elvhen vallaslin than modern Dalish vallaslin are. We know from numerous banters between Solas and Dorian that a lot of Tevinter magic tech is actually ancient Elvhen magic tech, so it's entirely possible that Danarius' methods were based on ancient Elvhen methods.
If IRC, the most recent comics (the ones with Fenris) touches upon this.
Remember, remember the Palace of Winter, the Qunari gaatlok attack. I know plenty of reasons, why Fen’Harel’s treason should end with a knife in his back.
So femLavellan got mandatory Vallaslin and males were also put to that standard, for consistency I suppose.
Corypheus also taunts you about your vallaslin, saying they are slave marks. I'd love to know how he knew this.
It's established in the game that at least some of the knowledge Corypheus possesses has been extracted from the Orb. It's how he knew about the Well Of Sorrows and it's how he's made his Red Lyrium Dragon into a Horcrux, IRC.
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
It's established in the game that at least some of the knowledge Corypheus possesses has been extracted from the Orb. It's how he knew about the Well Of Sorrows and it's how he's made his Red Lyrium Dragon into a Horcrux, IRC.
Yes but we also know that he was taking an interest in elven artefacts even before he went to the Black City. I think there is a reasonable chance the Claw of Dumat was elven and he also knew how the ancient elves were tied to the Fade and that he needed the magic that lives in the blood of elves for his ritual to succeed. Of course at that time he was still in communication with Dumat or whatever the creature was that was speaking to him in his dreams, so he may simply have got the information from there but it is possible that there are archives in Tevinter with information as well.
I must admit, if the orb was such a repository of knowledge as well as a power source, it does surprise me that Solas let anyone else have it. Even if he thought Corypheus was going to be killed through unlocking it, what if someone else had got to it first after that?
Last Edit: Aug 16, 2020 21:39:09 GMT by gervaise21
It's established in the game that at least some of the knowledge Corypheus possesses has been extracted from the Orb. It's how he knew about the Well Of Sorrows and it's how he's made his Red Lyrium Dragon into a Horcrux, IRC.
Yes but we also know that he was taking an interest in elven artefacts even before he went to the Black City. I think there is a reasonable chance the Claw of Dumat was elven and he also knew how the ancient elves were tied to the Fade and that he needed the magic that lives in the blood of elves for his ritual to succeed. Of course at that time he was still in communication with Dumat or whatever the creature was that was speaking to him in his dreams, so he may simply have got the information from there but it is possible that there are archives in Tevinter with information as well.
I must admit, if the orb was such a repository of knowledge as well as a power source, it does surprise me that Solas let anyone else have it. Even if he thought Corypheus was going to be killed through unlocking it, what if someone else had got to it first after that?
Even if Claw Of Dumat was elven (which I have some doubts about), Corypheus didn't know it at the time. He thought that he was following instructions from Dumat and that's all that mattered at the time.
Anyway, If I suddenly transported to Thedas I don't think I'd find it reasonable to assume that handing Corypheus my iPhone would mean he'd crack it anytime soon and clean my bank accounts The technology would be just too exotic for him. And Solas's orb would probably vaporize anyone unauthorized who'd try to pry it open - it didn't vaporize Cory, because he's had a unique (so far) talent.
Last Edit: Aug 16, 2020 21:46:57 GMT by midnight tea
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
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