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peopleofthedas2011-08-22 05:10 am
lokapala) wrote in peopleofthedas2011-08-22 05:10 am
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Discussion: playing a Templar supporter
I've just finished my second playthrough of DA2, and this time, same as the first, I played a Mage supporter. This irks the completionist in me, but my attempts at inventing a Templar-supporting Hawke all end in failure: I don't want to play a blatant hypocrite or a completely egoistical and evil character, and I can't invent enough rationalizations for the pro-Templar path to satisfy me.
So, if anyone is interested in the topic, please, please lend me your brains!
The first obvious thing to get out of the way is creating a non-mage!Hawke. The second - the question of Bethany - is easy as well, since she tells you herself she wants to be 'normal' and thinks that the Circle might've been a good thing.
Then there's the list of required decisions for the Mage Hunter or Arcane Defender achievements:
- Tell Feynriel to go to the Circle of Magi.
He's an unstable teenager already under demon attack, whose attempts at helping himself got him into slavers' hands. And what Hawke seen of Marethari (and her relationship with Merrill, whom she allowed to learn and use blood magic) do not spell 'good magical mentor' to a person who think the Circle system is the right way to deal with magic and its problems.
- When confronting Grace, turn her and the other mages over to the Circle.
Escaped blood mages willing to kill, sending them to the Circle is actually being nice.
- Recommend that Keran be discharged from his duties.
If you didn't bring Merrill or Anders with you, there's no way to know whether he's possessed, and even if Merrill or Anders 'verified' him, why would you trust the word of a blood mage/abomination?
- Make Feynriel tranquil.
Hypothetical Hawke isn't a mage and can easily disturb Feynriel by bluntly stating the obvious (THEY'RE DEMONS PREYING ON YOU, YOU IDIOT), and anyway making him tranquil is the lesser evil ('practically unstoppable abomination' and all that).
- Side with Meredith at the end of Act 2.
Military commander should take command of a military operation. Also, the only fighters who are there are templars, and they are already under her authority, no reason for you to attempt to undermine it.
- Make Emile de Launcet return to the Circle.
Even Anders comments on Emile's utter unpreparedness to live outside the Circle. It's for his own good, and this Hawke thinks the Circle is the right thing anyway.
- Agree with Samson regarding the mages.
Idiot blood mages are bad, and Kirkwall does seem to be crawling with those.
There's also the issue of handing Ketojan over to the Qunari, and, well, even a mage supporter can easily choose to do so on the grounds that it's an internal Qunari affair, there's no way of knowing what Ketojan himself wants and it's a bad idea to mess with the unhappy militant giants sitting in your city.
So far, so good. BUT. There are two major things I cannot find a satisfying justification for. Funnily enough, the bigger issue, that of siding with Meredith at the very end, seems easier than the question of your companions. One can decide that Hawke doesn't know what the Right of Annulment entails (i.e. the complete wipe out of every mage including children and elders) and thinks they're going to put down the rabble-rousers in the Circle, and/or just trust that Meredith has a templar's six sense for evil mages that need to be stopped.
But WHY, WHY is our pro-templar Hawke is running around with two apostates, and to add insult to injury, they are a blood mage and an abomination? I can even explain away helping Anders in the Tranquility quest - Hawke really, really needs those maps and is still growing out of the familial 'run from the templars for your sister's/father's good' mindset. And you can refuse their quests in Acts 2 and 3, and you can tell them they're wrong, but you cannot hand them over to the Circle and... that's just stupidly unexplainable and unjustifiable for a Hawke that genuinely thinks that the Circle system is the right idea for everyone's good.
So, if anyone is interested in the topic, please, please lend me your brains!
The first obvious thing to get out of the way is creating a non-mage!Hawke. The second - the question of Bethany - is easy as well, since she tells you herself she wants to be 'normal' and thinks that the Circle might've been a good thing.
Then there's the list of required decisions for the Mage Hunter or Arcane Defender achievements:
- Tell Feynriel to go to the Circle of Magi.
He's an unstable teenager already under demon attack, whose attempts at helping himself got him into slavers' hands. And what Hawke seen of Marethari (and her relationship with Merrill, whom she allowed to learn and use blood magic) do not spell 'good magical mentor' to a person who think the Circle system is the right way to deal with magic and its problems.
- When confronting Grace, turn her and the other mages over to the Circle.
Escaped blood mages willing to kill, sending them to the Circle is actually being nice.
- Recommend that Keran be discharged from his duties.
If you didn't bring Merrill or Anders with you, there's no way to know whether he's possessed, and even if Merrill or Anders 'verified' him, why would you trust the word of a blood mage/abomination?
- Make Feynriel tranquil.
Hypothetical Hawke isn't a mage and can easily disturb Feynriel by bluntly stating the obvious (THEY'RE DEMONS PREYING ON YOU, YOU IDIOT), and anyway making him tranquil is the lesser evil ('practically unstoppable abomination' and all that).
- Side with Meredith at the end of Act 2.
Military commander should take command of a military operation. Also, the only fighters who are there are templars, and they are already under her authority, no reason for you to attempt to undermine it.
- Make Emile de Launcet return to the Circle.
Even Anders comments on Emile's utter unpreparedness to live outside the Circle. It's for his own good, and this Hawke thinks the Circle is the right thing anyway.
- Agree with Samson regarding the mages.
Idiot blood mages are bad, and Kirkwall does seem to be crawling with those.
There's also the issue of handing Ketojan over to the Qunari, and, well, even a mage supporter can easily choose to do so on the grounds that it's an internal Qunari affair, there's no way of knowing what Ketojan himself wants and it's a bad idea to mess with the unhappy militant giants sitting in your city.
So far, so good. BUT. There are two major things I cannot find a satisfying justification for. Funnily enough, the bigger issue, that of siding with Meredith at the very end, seems easier than the question of your companions. One can decide that Hawke doesn't know what the Right of Annulment entails (i.e. the complete wipe out of every mage including children and elders) and thinks they're going to put down the rabble-rousers in the Circle, and/or just trust that Meredith has a templar's six sense for evil mages that need to be stopped.
But WHY, WHY is our pro-templar Hawke is running around with two apostates, and to add insult to injury, they are a blood mage and an abomination? I can even explain away helping Anders in the Tranquility quest - Hawke really, really needs those maps and is still growing out of the familial 'run from the templars for your sister's/father's good' mindset. And you can refuse their quests in Acts 2 and 3, and you can tell them they're wrong, but you cannot hand them over to the Circle and... that's just stupidly unexplainable and unjustifiable for a Hawke that genuinely thinks that the Circle system is the right idea for everyone's good.
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