What did you do today in DA? [Spoilers]

The idea behind is that certain elements in the story are left to luck. All the Wardens exist, but which one Duncan meets is basically up to chance. Hawke is Hawke, but their gender and Mage status is just up to genetics. Quizzie, kinda the same. So, since who ends up in the role of the player character is up to fate, I left it in fate's hands. Once that's decided, though, I'm taking a roleplaying approach to what that means about the characters' personalities, and what decisions those result in. However, the idea is to be as reactionary and non-meta-game-y as possible and stick to character, rather than trying to shape the story as a player, and see what sort of world state that builds.

This will probably actually get a little easier for me in DA2 and Inquisition, since the Warden I rolled is one I played before (albeit a good five years ago), but the other two I've never even tried before. It's also to that end that I'm trying to write up more detailed descriptions of the story so far than I usually do; by putting it in writing as I go along, it helps me get into the character's head a little better and make decisions that reflect who they are.

On that note, today's entry from Kallian's journal...

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There's something almost satisfying about Vaughan's bluster after he's clearly trying to beg for his life anyway. Not that Kallian wasn't hiding a little uncertainty of her own behind bluster, it may be true that the humans will try to purge the Alienage to get her, but trying to hold that over her head just makes her more angry.

By the time they made it back to the Alienage, though, she was admittedly a little worried. She hoped Duncan and the elder would be able to help, but before they could figure anything out, the guards arrived. Mouth engages first "I did it, it was me, I killed them all, and I'd do it again!". It seems, ultimately, Kallian couldn't help but follow in her mother's footsteps, dead in a dungeon. Or, it would have been if the Grey Warden hadn't saved her. He took her into custody and her only thought was "wait, that's a thing?". Even though she's a little put off by Duncan's cageyness, it's thanks to him that at least most of them were saved in the end. Kallian won't forget that. She said her goodbyes to friends and family, and it got too embarrassing to be related here, took the last of her mother's keepsakes, and headed for Ostagar with Duncan.

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Arriving in Ostagar was quite the experience, really. Most of these humans are actually more or less polite! These people are trusting the Grey Wardens with their lives, it seems, even if the Grey Wardens happen to be an elf. Would they show the same courtesy if not for her position, though? Kallian's not so sure, especially given the king is naive, to say the least. Doesn't he realize what a bad situation this is? Her fellow recruits aren't reassuring her either. Jory doesn't seem like a bad human, but he's nonetheless kind of daft. Daveth, well, he's not a classic fighter of monsters, but, she's not really one to talk. If he can fight, he'll probably the most dependable of them all, too, since their immediate senior seems in it only for the wisecracking. Not that Kallian minds wisecracking, but this guy just doesn't seem very dependable.

Meeting everyone in camp is just a brief distraction, though, because they all have to do this shady Grey Warden ritual that Duncan and Alistair are really bad at hiding is going to be potentially lethal. No matter, Kallian will find a way to survive, she has to. And so it's into the wilds to collect some blood, some scrolls, and some medicinal herbs for the kennel master. Darkspawn, luckily, are just as allergic to her daggers as anyone else, so far so good. Wait, did that one just toss a giant exploding fireball at us? Magic is not something she's really used to. Like, at all. That nearly got her killed; she hopes there's not many more like that. More Mages are guarding the scrolls, great. They're a couple of mad human hermits, though, not Darkspawn. Still annoying, but not actually trying to kill them, so that's good. And they don't smell quite as bad. By a small degree. But clearly, magical bathing isn't a thing, in the Wilds. With the mission complete, it's back to the camp. Kallian's still a little unsure about what this ritual is going to be, but there's no way out, and her family back home is still counting on her to help stop the Blight.