Is BSN biased against black characters?

As a black guy, I didn't really like Liam or Jacob tbh. BUT I did like Vivienne because I am a pro mage, but a logical one, much like Vivienne. She's a politician and knows how to get shit done. She knows you can't force mages into a society where they're hated by several generations. You have to play it smart and integrated slowly. Lelianna iron fisting mages into society is gonna cause a disaster in the long run.

That's what's so great about Vivienne. Everything she has done was for a purpose. It might come off as selfish, but by the end of the day, she has both mages and mundanes interests at heart. That's why she's so power hungry, because might be the only one in thedas that truly "gets it" and will do what needs to be done.

He sounds like your typical Londoner to me   
Hence why I have no trouble understanding him like some others do.


I like Liam. He's not the most interesting character in the world, but he's a good natured idiot who at least owns up to his mistakes. I can deal with that. My Ryder is hardly firing on all cylinders. 

Viv I initially hated because my first run of DAI was very pro-mage and anti-chantry. She doesn't give the best impression when you are RPing that way. But I did a latter playthrough where I made an effort to be more on her side and she grew on me. She looks and sounds fab and I kinda enjoy all the crap she throws at some of my squad 

As for Jacob; ick. As Femshep your interactions with him are weird. But I hated all the non-DLC human companions in ME2 so it wasn't just him.

However, Miranda and Jack at least grew on me in ME3. Jacob? Not so much. Especially after I found out what went down with his romance. "I had to wait 6 months for you so I impregnated this woman I was supposed to be protecting from Cerberus. Good luck with the Reapers, kthxbai."  :srs:  

"Practically a suicide mission, I volunteer" That character got no respect, lol.

"Putting up a barrier!" "Nothing is gonna hurt me now!"

1)I know Jacob didn't have the most complex personality, but I thought he was kind of interesting. He felt very "military" to me.

2)Liam, on the other hand, isn't military. He's Crisis Response. So he's more (way more) casual and laid back. He makes mistakes, but his hearts in the right place. But he definitely needs to check with his commanding officer before pulling stunts like he does!

3)Vivienne does have a "superiority complex". She definitely seems a lil' bit power hungry. But she knows what she is doing. Which is one of the reasons I tend to admire her.

In the end though, like them or hate them- the worst thing you can feel about a character is nothing.
Take Sera (DAI) for a perfect example! I "like" Sera. But I hate her personality. She's naive, blocks things she don't like out. And gets frustrated when she has to discuss anything she'd rather ignore.
My characters almost always clash with Sera. But at least I have an opinion about her. The last thing you want is a character that you don't like or hate.

Off Topic: Jacket, Traynor's tooth brush has more personality than your's!

Ironically, Liam is more of a Crisis Starter in the game, than Response.

This post is pretty spot on, IMO. My thoughts on the characters are pretty similar:

1) Vivienne: I didn't like her, because unless you have a very conservative view of the mage issue then she's really not going to gel well with your Inquisitor. That being said, I think she is one of the best characters BioWare has ever written. It's not a case of her being a villain, or even a totally bad person - it's just that if you are pro-Mage, or even fairly sympathetic to them, then your worldviews are diametrically opposed and there is going to be conflict. She has a very set view of the status quo, which she seems to forget she worked to benefit herself greatly. She's got a good position at Court away from the circle, which she basically achieved by sleeping with Bastien. Her treatment of other companions, Dorian and Sera especially, rankles me. She is rude and fairly stuck-up, and horribly condescending.

That being said, my Inquisitor eventually had a healthy respect for her, and they did actually end up being friends even though my PT had Mages as allies, and Leliana as Divine Victoria. Given that it's not as easy to track friendship/rivalry in DA:I, or to cheat the approval by simply leaving a character behind, it felt more natural and organic - they simply learned to agree to disagree and respect each other. 

Comparisons to Morrigan seem to be pretty commonplace, so in that regard: I've always loved Morrigan, despite having a Warden who is a benevolent and kind hero type. I was able to befriend Morrigan, and thus saw a softer side to her (her speech before the final battle got me the most.) This isn't really as evident with Viv, except for her personal quest with Bastien.  Morrigan gets a sort-of pass due to her upbringing - she was raised alone in the Wilds by Flemeth, who instilled her distrust of people in her from a young age. However in Inquisition, you can see that she has grown and has a softer side. I do concede that a large part of seeing this relies on Kieran's existence, mind you. 

So in short: Vivienne is not an easily likable character - but she is definitely a great character. 
 
2) Jacob: For me, Jacob is about as interesting as watching a paint job on a cardboard cut-out dry.   NRieh put it perfectly, really:

"There's a point where 'normal' turns into 'dull' and 'not likable', Jacob had pretty much crossed the line. I can live with the fact that 'flat and boring' can also be used as part of a character profile, but from what I know that was not part of the writer's intention. Daddy's issues and the terrible femShep dialogues did not help it.
"

I admit I found his personal quest interesting purely because of how f*cked up it was (I like when BioWare does dark n' twisted), he was still the most boring character overall. I was also bemused by how my Gay AF FemShep gushed all over him in any conversation.   That never happened with Kaidan, Garrus or Vega - non-flirt options were perfectly normal interactions ranging from funny to professional, but not flirty. Add that to the whole mess in ME3 if you did romance him, then it's just a disaster. I'm the kind of player who usually has some level of investment in almost every character (I went out of my way to try and get my head around Sera in my second PT, and befriended her), but Jacob just does nothing for me. The 'normal good guy' attempt just fell completely flat. I also though the VA wasn't great either, but that may have just been the material. 

3) Liam: Bearing in mind I'm only about 25% into the game, I actually really like Liam. He's laid back and funny, and his enthusiasm is admirable, albeit a bit OTT at times. I think his VA drops the ball on occasion, but he is definitely likable. Probably my least favourite of the squad, and he's likely never going to accompany me on a mission outside of his own quests. But I enjoy chatting to him and I think funny Sara bounces off him quite well. He's pretty much her 'Bro', I guess. 

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Admittedly  I was away from these boards for a pretty long time, but always did my fair share of lurking. I personally have never picked up on any of the criticisms of these characters to be race-related, and mine certainly aren't. 

>black and beautiful
>all have Caucasian facial features

I'm impressed at the legs this topic got. Well done OP.

Nothing more, carry on...

It has nothing to do with them being black, they were just written in a way that many disliked. (Can't speak for Liam because I haven't played the game yet.)

Jacob seemed at first to be the nicest guy ever , until you get to talk to him and you either flirt in 90% of the options available (and a game later he cheats on you), or you go the friendly path and he's very rude, doubting your intentions, saying you shouldn't stick your nose in his business, even after you help him with his personal problem.

Vivienne, where do I start? She's a cold, ambitious mage that cares about nothing but her status, and tries to manipulate you into furthering her agenda. Whatever the result of the Mage Templar War in your game, if she's part of your team, she makes life more difficult for mages and templars in Thedas, Divine or not. Also, do I need to tell you that she manipulates the Marquis to pick a fight with you when you meet her, so she would intervene and make a more positive impression for you, or that she might have poisoned her lover to go up in the ranks?
I can respect her drive, talent and ambition, but being a complete bitch about everyone else is just too much. She could maintain her status and power and still make life better for those around her, she just don't want to. I think even Solas points this out in one of their conversations.  

Anderson, on the other hand, is the best mentor you could've asked for. And I think the vast majority of fans do love him. So, it's not bias, it's the writing of those particular characters.

Now, on Bioware's part, I can't answer you why they made black characters with these specific attitudes. Better ask them.