But all of the sudden, everyone gives a shit about what that character's opinion is because they are a grey warden and can kick Loghain's ass? From most of what we see, most people are entirely indifferent to the grey wardens.
Sure, they were--right up until the point when Lothering and most of Southern Ferelden were obliterated by the darkspawn. The nobles are probably pissing their pants at this point, and If Maeferath came back from the dead and said, "I'll save you from the Blight," they'd consider it. The one thing people do know is that Grey Wardens defeat Blights. They'll worry about what comes later...later.
That, to me, is why Awakening was so disappointing, and why I feel like there's so much room for fanfic. I want to find out what happens 2, 5, 10 years down the line when Alistair and Queen Cousland still haven't produced an heir. I want to see the backlash to the crown giving the mages more freedom. Eventually, I want to write about the political impact of the King's mistress and closest advisor being an elf. But during the Landsmeet, it's a crisis, and people are panicked, and not thinking about the long-term consequences.
I don't buy that somehow there's this great tradition in Ferelden of the biggest asskicker in a duel gets to pick the king. This is not consistant with what we see in the books about how Maric became king.
Maric's primary qualification to rule was that he was Moira's son. He shored that up by not getting killed, and by being able to intimidate the opposition--including the Bannorn--in some cases by relieving them of their heads. By all accounts, he wasn't a particularly good ruler for most of his reign, but he's remembered for being an effective leader of the rebellion and thus, "Maric the Savior". Going back even further, the Theirin line began when Calenhad busted enough heads for the nobility to fall in line behind him.
No, if the devs were truly consistent, only the Cousland would be able to get away with playing kingmaker. But in that case, you'd also have to pretty much rewrite the game, because why would the dwarves allow an outsider, or a casteless, or a kinslayer to crown their next king? Why would the Dalish even speak to non-elves? If you apply that level of logic, the whole game falls apart, so I think you have to accept certain improbabilities, like a slender 5' tall woman dual-wielding Maric's Sword and Starfang, or like the human nobles of Ferelden letting a non-human noble hero decide the fate of the country.
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Sure, they were--right up until the point when Lothering and most of Southern Ferelden were obliterated by the darkspawn. The nobles are probably pissing their pants at this point, and If Maeferath came back from the dead and said, "I'll save you from the Blight," they'd consider it. The one thing people do know is that Grey Wardens defeat Blights. They'll worry about what comes later...later.
That, to me, is why Awakening was so disappointing, and why I feel like there's so much room for fanfic. I want to find out what happens 2, 5, 10 years down the line when Alistair and Queen Cousland still haven't produced an heir. I want to see the backlash to the crown giving the mages more freedom. Eventually, I want to write about the political impact of the King's mistress and closest advisor being an elf. But during the Landsmeet, it's a crisis, and people are panicked, and not thinking about the long-term consequences.
I don't buy that somehow there's this great tradition in Ferelden of the biggest asskicker in a duel gets to pick the king. This is not consistant with what we see in the books about how Maric became king.
Maric's primary qualification to rule was that he was Moira's son. He shored that up by not getting killed, and by being able to intimidate the opposition--including the Bannorn--in some cases by relieving them of their heads. By all accounts, he wasn't a particularly good ruler for most of his reign, but he's remembered for being an effective leader of the rebellion and thus, "Maric the Savior". Going back even further, the Theirin line began when Calenhad busted enough heads for the nobility to fall in line behind him.
No, if the devs were truly consistent, only the Cousland would be able to get away with playing kingmaker. But in that case, you'd also have to pretty much rewrite the game, because why would the dwarves allow an outsider, or a casteless, or a kinslayer to crown their next king? Why would the Dalish even speak to non-elves? If you apply that level of logic, the whole game falls apart, so I think you have to accept certain improbabilities, like a slender 5' tall woman dual-wielding Maric's Sword and Starfang, or like the human nobles of Ferelden letting a non-human noble hero decide the fate of the country.