The Crazy Theory Center

Thanks for including all that stuff from Mike Laidlaw. It sounds like it would have been a proper Expansion like DAA, not simply a DLC like the others. I know it was only in concept stage and it is possible that what sounded good on paper might have proven too difficult to translate to the screen in any event but I do find it annoying that it seems really interesting concepts have been dropped twice now, first the Exalted March with DA2, to develop the use of Frostbite with DAI, and now Dylan (or was it Joplin?) with DA4, because of Anthem,.

Anyway, a related crazy theory of mine concerning the reason Flemeth rescued Hawke. Now Flemeth says that she likes to nudge things along the path she wants them to take. So Hawke could have simply been a random person in distress who seemed like a good target for shipping her amulet to the Freemarches, although I must admit surely it would have been simpler just to give it to Marethari if that was the case. We know from WoT2 that she was definitely calling in favour that Marethari owed her and that is presumably why the clan left for the Freemarches like they did.

However, there was another important factor about Hawke and that was their relationship to Malcolm which meant that their family needed to be in the Freemarches in order to be on hand to release Corypheus. Only Hawke blood would do for that, which made it vitally important that at least one member of the family made it to the Freemarches alive. Could Flemeth have known about that? Which is why she wasn't just casually flying around and happened to spot something interesting happening on the ground but was actually tracking their progress and stepped in when things took a turn for the worst, thus giving her an excuse to ask for a favour that would ensure Hawke was required to be in the vicinity of Sundermount in the Vimmark Mountains.

There are a few things that seem to point to this. The Warden may not have killed her for Morrigan in which case the amulet insurance was unnecessary. Flemeth says she wanted to be smuggled out of Ferelden and it seems unlikely that it was because of fear of Morrigan, so it seems she wanted to keep her whereabouts secret. Otherwise why not simply fly out of Ferelden? After meeting with Hawke a 2nd time she mentioned about needing to leave to ensure she was on time for another meeting somewhere. Who was that with? When she admonishes Solas, instead of saying "you shouldn't have given away your orb", she says "you should not have given your orb to Corypheus". I just get the feeling that may be Corypheus was part of her plan but not in the manner that Solas made him.

It's wise to heed Gaider's advice to not think too much about what-might-have-beens (he even says that the expansions itself might've looked very different in the end - Schreier said the same thing about Joplin in his article, though I'd like to stress that we don't know how much of Joplin is stil part of the current project).

It is generally a good advice across storytelling medium and in fact any creative endeavor to just.... not get too annoyed about these things. Sketches, drafts and concepts can hold certain appeal because of all the potential they hold or all the ways different people can imagine the final picture before it's finished. I'm certain everyone who expresses themselves creatively had this happen to them occasionally. It sure as heck happened to me, which is why I've grown reluctant to share my drafts or initial ideas. Art is rarely a straightforward linear process. It's very common for initial concepts to evolve to something very different in the end, even if everything goes our way.

So really - don't get too bummed out about it. Would things look/end up in a better place if this or that happened? ...Who knows? Chances are high that they wouldn't tho... or people would be annoyed while imagining how cool it would be if things evolved in about the way we have them now Grass is greener on the other side and all.
I very much doubt that Hawke was just some rando, but at the same time I don't think Flemeth has looked specifically for them. Heck, she loudly muses something close to "Holy cow, how could I be so lucky???"

I think Flemeth has simply deemed Hawke to be strong-willed enough to prevail. In fact, she literally tells us so: "Hurtled into the chaos you fight, and the world will shape before you".

That suggests that she has ways to evaluate such things. It's probably how she's deemed that HoF has a higher chance of stopping the 5th Blight too.

I do have to wonder whether it has anything to do with some sort of special sight that beings like Flemeth posses. We KNOW that some people or entitles can see or sense things other's don't. And we know that some sort of 'will-o-meter' exists because Cole can't shut up about some people being 'bright' - and the more someone/something burns or shines the stronger they are suggested to be. Corypheus also seems to possess such a sight, which is how he seemed to have guessed that Calpernia is powerful (or what her name is) at a simple glance:
I think Flemeth has simply deemed that meeting fateful/lucky enough to see an opportunity in it. In fact, I suspect she may have even picked to get smuggled on Sundermount only after this opportunity has presented herself.

Flemeth appears to be someone who has some insight into the future, but - from the way she acts - she seems to be a person who either accepts that chance will always be a factor or that she's more an agent - or conduit - of fate rather than one who always controls it ("alas, so long as the music plays, we dance"). So I think she may choose to... go with the flow when things happen and present an opportunity.

The way I see it, this is probably the major way she differs from Solas, who is 'not much of a gambler anymore'. He'll adapt and modify plans when necessary and have contingencies where he can, but other than that he's much more of a skeptic in powers of fate OR doesn't believe it'll lead anywhere that is beneficial to world at large, hence he wrestles with it. Ironically, maybe this is why he gave his orb to Cory... only to create another unexpected opportunity there.

I actually wonder about this. Flemeth I can understand because she has the indwelling spirit of Mythal to give her these insights but how would Corypheus have acquired this gift? I mean, people can have a gut instinct of their underlying power when faced by someone but we are really seeing this from her viewpoint and whilst she doesn't know how he could know her name or anything about her, the fact is he has already confronted her Master, Erasthenes and he could at least have told him her name and the fact she was a mage. It is also possible that Erasthenes had an inkling of her ability because whilst he didn't seem that bothered once he had completed her initial training, the fact is he didn't trade her away or donate her to the Circle for experiments as his friend suggested. So I have a feeling that Corypheus was just using the skills he had probably developed of reading people when he was a priest of Dumat and thus knowing how to play them to get them on his side.

The Blight, maybe? We don't really know what it's capable of, though it already can be said that a lot. I'm also unsure whether this is an ability that only beings like Evanuris possess. After all, we do know that Cole can tell how bright people are - as do many other spirits.

Also - terribly unlikely Erasthenes said anything about Calpernia to Corypheus. Erasthenes was wholly occupied by Cory at that moment, as was Cory with his meeting and demands from Erasthenes. Neither expected Calpernia to walk in.

And no, Erasthenes had no inkling about Calpernia. Nobody knew and nobody cared and that was underlined thoroughly in the text. The fact that he's never sold or gave her away, as he did in case of Marcus, only shows that he was a somewhat better guy than Anodatus. Plus, he probably didn't want to bother with buying another slave to take care of his house, because other than ensuring Cal has rudimentary knowledge of magic for safety's sake, he never did anything with her talents. She was back to scrubbing floors and serving pastries the moment Erasthenes deemed her magical training complete.

It's Corypheus that has first stated that she has great potential - as she has proven later by dealing with a supposedly powerful magister (supporting his magic with blood of his slaves) without breaking a sweat.

I don't think so - the split seems to have happened very early in production. Plus, if DA4 is/is based on "2nd part of Inquisition" then I seriously doubt that this 2nd part would basically be done via side-quests. 

I think it was mostly their first shot at designing game on Frostbite or designing zones this big. And they've likely cut the story in half simply because either the story was essentially too long, too unwieldy or they knew they wouldn't be able to cram all of it and do it justice, regardless of issues with new engine. Like, if you look at DAI, that story is huuuuuuuuuuuuuge already.  There's a ton of content there and a lot of new stuff to learn. Plus, David Gaider has explained in a different interview (I think...) that zone content simply wouldn't be replaced by more, say, story content or cinematics, because that's not how it works in gamedev.

Not sure where they are going with it but maybe its...somewhere. But there is a lot of interesting things happening with the Deep Roads since DAO came out and well in the Dragon Age in general.

Kal'shirok just suddenly reappears and is connected back to Orzamaar when they thought they were the only one.
The Fifth Blight happens which at least temporarily lets the Deep Roads be cleared which leads to:
The Dwarves reclaiming both Kal'hirol and likely Heidrun as well.
Red Lyrium is discovered by the Bartrand expedition.
We discover evidence of Titans/ Scaled ones and Valta promises there is *more* down there.

Just more ancient history to uncover.

I'm not sure about this. There is that cryptic reference by the merchant that says when the dwarf from Kal-Sharok looked him in the eye he was instantly reminded of the Grey Wardens and the darkspawn. This could mean they have directly used the taint or that they have the same single-minded determination to use "whatever means necessary" to survive. They are clearly a very close-knit group that "look after our own", as shown in the War Table mission, and perfectly capable of dealing with the Venatori. Another mission has them willing to work with the Inquisition provided it is done on their terms.

The only description of them other than this that I have is from the Core Rule Book in one of the suggested table top campaigns. Now this was issued under the Bioware banner and is based off the lore surrounding DAO plus later additions. When Kal-Sharok dwarves arrive at a surface gathering of the races they are described as "strange - pale, younger than would be expected, seem somewhat diminished, as if worn down by prolonged hardship and horror." The fact that there are no older dwarves among them might point to their older members doing some sort of joining ritual that shortens their lives but has enabled them to fight darkspawn more effectively. However, I am particularly struck by the emphasis on them being pale, so wonder if there is some other reason for this. Could it be related to the dwarves of the sha-brytol in some way, drinking the blood of a titan perhaps?

Whatever the case, Kal-Sharok is definitely one of those locations that I hope we do get to see. There seems so many questions that need to be answered: how did they survive; who have they been trading with; and how was their survival kept from the Orzammar dwarves for the entire time since they abandoned them? If they have been trading with the outside world, people talk. Are we really to believe that not one merchant spoke about their encounter, particularly those who were from Tevinter? (Or did Kal-Sharok specifically refuse to have dealings with anyone from Tevinter?) The writer of the codex was said to be a merchant-scholar who also doubted the official date of their "rediscovery" as declared in the Assembly at Orzammar. Of course I wouldn't put it past the deshyrs to have known about the survival but kept it from the general populace for political reasons. Nevertheless, their survival is intriguing, particularly since they are located near a part of the world, the Anderfels, where the darkspawn are "a constant and formidable threat" even between Blights, suggesting they do seem to congregate beneath the surface in that location.

The only problem I have with this is that they are said to sing from their prisons with a song the darkspawn and Wardens can hear. Now if they are untainted they should not have any song at all. So either it is the prison that makes the song, which would make sense as to have created a powerful enough seal would require a lot of lyrium, or something else is directing them towards the Old God.



I'm not sure about this. Firstly, how did the Architect find him if he wasn't tainted? (see above). Also, why did the Architect think he needed the Warden Joining if he wasn't already tainted? It is a long time since I played DAA but I recall the Architect saying that it the act of trying to administer his "cure" that awoke Urthemiel. So I have wondered if the Old God was already tainted and the Architect was trying to help him whilst he slept but instead simply awoke him. The taint in the arch-demon is so strong that it is not possible to alter them in that way.

Flemeth definitely seems on some sort of rescue mission for the Old God soul, although it is doubtful that is purely out of the goodness of her heart. The Old God soul represents power. However, it is interesting that once free of its corrupted body, it is free of the compulsions even though it was originally attracted to the foetus by the taint. That is something that has also bothered me about that plot. If the taint in the foetus is strong enough that the OG soul is drawn there rather than to any other darkspawn nearby, why isn't the child born tainted? I think these little details were conveniently overlooked and then forgotten by the writers. After all, by the end of DAI, Kieran no longer has the soul whether his body is tainted or not. 

Yea, I think that this is almost all about Morrigan and how she acts rather than Kieran himself. OGB Kieran (just like meeting with Hawke that allowed her to travel to Sundermount undetected) is an opportunity rather than the main goal.

my theory about titans and Red Lyrium would explain the inconsistencies...

Good spot! Since the Fade is equated with the sky that would make the Eternal/Golden City the city in the clouds and how did the ancients reach there? Via eluvian. I'd say that the use of Eluviesta being associated with Cloudreach is not accidental, bearing in mind what we know about the meaning of the word, Skyhold.   Could that month have been significant in some way with the creation of the Veil, so the city was now out of reach in the clouds?   Avvar legends certainly seem to recall the event so why not the pre-Imperium Tevinter people too?

I don't think this is where they are going with Wardens, and especially with Wardens from Anderfels. Whatever secrets they have and powers they could develop, it's somethinb that may only be utilized for the benefit of Weisshaupt alone. I say so because the suggestion since DAO is that Anderfels Wardens are corrupt and interested mostly in political power and reign over the region. Like... being a nobility there isn't a good sign, you know? That's not what Wardens are for.