Neve Gallus - Official Companion Thread [Spoilers]

Neve is really selling me on a Shadow Dragon Rook, just to get more content with her.
I just worry, that all her adventures from the comics and the novels will just be vaguely alluded to or minor mentions in party banter, rather than be important demonstrations of the kind of person she is. We all know how well the DA games make use of the other additions to the franchise in how they characterise companions after all.

Quotes from the Schmooples page of the panel:

Sounds good to me. I think we are going to be good friends and she has just moved up to position of female character I am likely to romance first. Still in competition with Lucanis for overall number one spot.

That is where I see playing as a Shadow Dragon Rook is an advantage as I can assume they are more likely to have heard of Neve's exploits before from other members of the faction, even if they never actually met, so I can legitimately draw off my meta knowledge. By contrast, whilst Varric apparently knew of Neve, even though I was not aware he had ever been to Minrathous before the Missing (I assume it must be through his dwarven Merchants Guild contacts in the north), I find it hard to imagine how any of the other Rooks would have prior knowledge. I suppose Hollix (a Lord of Fortune) may have heard of Neve during their time in Minrathous and then passed the information on during conversations back at base and the Crows may have a dossier on her but nothing as detailed as I know from her story in Tevinter Nights or that is likely to be in her description in game when they are first introduced.

This is how I treat details I have acquired from associated media. I think how my PC might conceivably be aware of the things I know. An example of this would be what Celene did to the elven rebels in Halamshiral. This was alluded to in Wicked Eyes but not the full picture. I decided my Lavellan would have made it his business to know and that if his clan had heard about the Conclave at Haven, likely they would have heard about the burning of the elves in Halamshiral as well. Hence him wanting justice for the elves from the Empress who ordered their destruction. Celene did not survive in that run through.

I'm rather fond of purple as a colour and it will offset my Rook's blond hair nicely, so I'm rather glad they opted for that as the official colour of the Veilguard (I'm assuming it is the same for all Rooks) even if it is more associated with royalty than practical wear for running around Thedas.  I mean the Inquisition was meant to be high profile with a noticeable uniform, even though we didn't necessarily wear it but back in the 2020 trailer it said we were someone "they would never seen coming".   Well, wearing an obvious purple uniform with a team badge does rather give us away.

I wonder why they called it the Veilguard though. How exactly are we guarding the Veil and why does a Fortune Hunter, an Assassin and a Grey Warden have the necessary expertise in that respect? The mages are more understandable from their general connection with the Fade/Veil but also their own history. Bellara is a Veil Jumper (whatever that name means), Emmrich has expertise in spirits crossing back and forth through the Veil and Neve was raised in Tevinter, so enough said.

Going to be a bit picky here but in Tevinter just being a mage makes you more than working class, unless you started out as a slave. However, if you focus just on those who qualify as full citizens of the Imperium, the Altus are the aristocracy, so upper class (even if they are relatively poor in the scheme of things), and the Soporati non mages are the working class (even if some of them are quite rich and don't do much actual work), whilst the Laetans are the middle class because they automatically have a higher status through someone in the family being a mage. However, I have to admit I'm evaluating it from a U.K. perspective and I understand that the other side of the big pond has a different way of looking at class, which is largely based around money and who has it.

Also perhaps I am misunderstanding him because he isn't saying Neve is a "working class hero" because she is from the working class but because she cares about those who are. She may be a Laetans but she chooses to live among the ordinary people of the docks rather than in some fancy estate or hanging out with the elites in the Circle.

Anyway, so far so good with the information about her to supplement what I already knew from Tevinter Nights. She sounds like my kind of mage so I think we should get on famously.

I usually consider detective working class, or right on the cusp anyway, but I too think Neve might be from an upper class background. It explains the facilitator and the shadow of the magister in her card. She chose to spend time among the working class and essentially work pro bono full time. It could also be an interesting wrinkle if she’s concealing this in some fashion and larping amongst the poor; would be a good basis of conflict for her personal quest, especially one intended to be class conscious.

There is a bit in the Streets of Minrathous where she says her family have more Templars than mages, that she is not from an "old family" and did not feel at home in the house of a victim who was. That suggests she is not upper class because that is the Altus and I would be very surprised that one of their families had more mundanes than mages. Also, the fact Neve states she is not from an old family, together with not being accustomed to large mansions flaunting their wealth, suggests a more recent elevation to the Laetans class. Thus, she likely identifies more with her Soporati roots and that is why she is happier in the docks among her "own" people but her family may not approve because they would rather suck up to the elite than hang out with the riff raff, so she may still be something of a black sheep to her relatives. According to World of Thedas often the Laetans are more ruthless in their political scheming than the Altus because they are vicious in their social climbing. Having multiple individuals in the Templars would likely help with this as I am sure there is a fair bit of corruption in their ranks. After all Dorian said how in Tevinter he knows of people who have been made tranquil because they upset the wrong person. No doubt the Templar police force are still the ones to administer this punishment. Also, if you suggest making Erimond tranquil in DAI he objects strongly on the grounds that "I am a Lord, you peasants". Perhaps only Laetans are allowed to be made tranquil. It will be fascinating to learn more about Neve's background.

Incidentally, the shadowy figure in her background could well be the Viper, the leader of the Shadow Dragons.   I think we may find out they are rather more sinister than Neve is aware of.   Also, there were Templars in the Shadow Dragons in the DA Day short story , so her mundane relatives may be mixed up in the faction too and may even be the ones who introduced her to them. 

Will my Rook be forced to care about the plebs? Is this what the removal of a noble background and the forcing of obligatory companions foreshadows? Ugh, I don't want her or any other bleeding heart on my team. At this point I might just follow whatever Solas tells me to do...

/j, but honestly, please give me some morally grey companions, it's the end of the world (again), there will be people who want to fight because that's what's best for themselves in this. I don't want a care bear team, I want conflict.

I do hope that's how it will all play out, but the found family theme has me worried. Please let the companions clash, and let me support one over the other because I actually agree with their viewpoint, not just because "we all have to work together".