so here's the vision for Treviso: instead of the nonsensical and racist Antaam invasion, the Qun are working with the Antivan government to push the Venatori out of the city. We get a Josie cameo here. In the meantime, the Chantry are taking advantage of the political situation to push for more power in the country; there are da2-Petrice style anti-qunari demonstrations in the streets, trade embargoes, gridlocks, religious fervour. We meet various Qunari ambassadors, workers, delegations, all of whom get names and faces and personalities and opinions.
The Crows are being pulled back and forth by whoever has the most money that week (this changes a Lot, depending on your actions) and multiple contrasting contracts. There's infighting going on, as well as hierarchical friction: since the loss of the symbolic favourite grandson of the first talon, the resentment of the other fledglings has been stirred up, and there's talk of potential coups being planned. The elves who were bought as children and abused into becoming dispensible killers resent the leading family of wealthy humans; the Dellamorte's position is weakened as Caterina grieves her favoured protĂŠgĂŠ, and expends resources on his return while the city breaks down around her. âThe crows rule Antivaâ is less a rallying cry than a threat.
This is also an opportunity for Teia to shine, and bring out the nuance of the worldbuilding: she's an elf that clawed her way to the top of the hierarchy, and as a result is resented by the ruling elite; having her in this rare position, where she is neither a Dellamorte nor a human, but holding onto her power in this historically incredibly unbalanced organisation, it would be good if you could ask her opinions on the Issues. what does she think of Lucanis, of the elf children, of the practice of buying slaves?
Rookâs presence as the leader of the alliance built to combat the blighted gods (more on this later) catalyses the events that break the stalemate one way or another, by supporting certain crow subfactions, choosing to fight back the blight or not, taking quests for the chantry or the qun â and choosing to save Treviso or Minrathous, which can bring the conflict to breaking point â but ultimately, theyâre one more representative of one more faction in the city, and while they can influence the balance of power by lending their aid to or with holding it from various factions within the city, they donât dictate where the cards fall, and wonât find out for quite a while how things in Treviso shake out.
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my inquisitor meeting rook in bioware's datv canon: solas 𼺠was my situationship... how could i have fallen for an elven god..? (EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER)anyway..𼺠heres a wolf statue i found that seemed to have been specifically left for me to find. i have no vested interest in what comes of it btw
my inquisitor meeting rook in my world state's canon: i already wasnt going to aid the dipshit little boy that got my pookie varric killed but now that youve established solas is the one who put you on this path i want to put you down like a horse with a broken leg so i dont have to watch him ruin yet another bisexual in their prime. i couldnt find his dagger but i did find this wolf statuette. no im not giving it to you im just showing it to be a cunt. oh YOU have the dagger? cool. no i dont want to trade. i have a better idea. cassandra seize him
been thinking up potential taash rewrites and i think i have something i like
i saw this comment on steam by amayzo da mujishun
and it got me thinking. (taash story spoilers ahead)
tldr: taash's arc would be about purpose. finding purpose after losing what you thought would be the rest of your life. finding relief and rest after so many years of endless fighting. getting to be vulnerable and letting someone in. being yourself. loving someone else. knowing and being known.
so take what amayzo had said, about taash being a part of the qun and giving up being a woman to be a soldier.
they often butt heads with qun ideals and rules, so maybe they did something that their leaders didnt like. the rules are so strict, it isnt hard to break them.
they get tossed out. never raised to be a woman, and not addressed as a man anymore. a secret third thing. picked up by the lords of fortune and then meets rook and team.
after being rejected from the qun, instead of searching for a label for their gender, i feel like taash would just move on. theyre very task oriented and straight forward. their entire arc being their gender doesnt make sense with this backstory and a majority of their character. it only makes sense in the context of their mother.
if someone asked taash if they were a man or a woman, they would say theyre a fighter. theyre taash. easy as that. they know there are bigger fish to fry and gods to kill.
which, ties into the idea for their arc.
i imagine something similar to lae'zel. a warrior brought up in a very organized society with strict rules and a role to fill. no options outside of that. theyve given up their entire life to this cause.
taash doesnt spend much time learning about other people or cultures. they come off as brash and ignorant at times (ie. emmerich "skullfucker" volkarin, etc.). they also, being raised in the qun, likely feel a sense of uselessness unless they are the best at what they do. this can express itself in a plethora of ways, and for them, they ignore everything outside of their main goal. intense tunnel vision and seeing other things as pointless and unnecessary. they would always look for things to do and ways to fill the empty role they were tossed out of.
taash's arc should be learning to stop and smell the flowers. take a break, rest, talk to people, learn, and expand their horizons. it should be about a soldiers vulnerability and finding new purpose in life. finding something new to fight for. someone.
there could be a scene where rook takes them to their home (whichever faction youre apart of) and shows them their favorite places. telling them your story. later, taash mirrors this by introducing their mother. (if youre a lord of fortune, it would be somewhere in rivain or overall thedas taash hasnt been, not sure yet).
we can keep the conflict with their mother. but make it about taash's warrior outlook/personality vs their mothers scholarly/proper personality. their mother doesnt care about their gender, even in the game. she cares about taash respecting and learning their cultures and where they come from.
also! they can still be really horny and forward and flirty! maybe just rewrite it to make it a bit more mature. not "quick think about us having sex *growl*" and more like sly quips and flirty options. something a bit smoother. or, keep it clunky because taash is young. but, being a pirate and surrounded by vulgar and sexual language, i imagine them being smoother.
i have not romanced taash or played a lof rook, so i dont have as much input on what a romance would look like. but once again, something lae'zel-esque. loosening up, lowering their guard, and focusing on something more than the fight. finally caring about someone because they arent restricted anymore. letting themself get hurt because it helps them feel real and not just a weapon for destruction (ties into what their mom says all the time!! shokra toh ebra!! learning some mutual understanding there)
i heard their mother dies, and im not sure how to translate that over to this rewrite yet. give me ideas. i need to do a full taash playthrough really bad.
ANYWHO ARC TIME
so in the final battle, if you have done taash's quests and everything. they live? idk i havent figured out a happy ending, the others just live if they did their arcs. ive only finished 1 playthrough so far. (they died cause i didnt want to watch the "im nonbinary" scene. it hurts my brain. especially when tarquin and maevaris are RIGHT THERE and are SO SUBTLE AND IN UNIVERSE with the way they speak about being trans -sincerely, a nonbinary person. i love taash. but the writers did them so fucking dirty)
BUT IF THEYRE NOT ARCED OUT
they die because they hadnt looked outside of the fight. they had mainly been trained to fight anntam and dragons, they werent prepared for so many venatori and darkspawn. they hadnt been resting, they trained nonstop for the battle and were completely burnt out. maybe they collapse from exhaustion and get bombarded. maybe the venatori or darkspawn catch them off guard. something like that. they didnt get over their rigid ways and paid the price.
taash's arc would be about purpose. finding purpose after losing what you thought would be the rest of your life. finding relief and rest after so many years of endless fighting. getting to be vulnerable and letting someone in. being yourself. loving someone else. knowing and being known.
AND IT COULD BE GREAT!!!!!!! GAH WRITERS LET ME IN THE ROOM /j
thank you for reading đđ ive been brainstorming for a few days and just needed to noodle around
im also not a taash or qunari or lof expert (or dragon age expert tbh, im a poser, veilguard is the only game ive played fully). i could be missing like the entire point. but please just let my cool neurodivergent nonbinary adult character not be written by/for 13 year olds. i want a mature queer story please :(
Another chapter of The Theory of Being is up (maybe another one this week depending on how busy the con I am going to is!).
Chapter 59: Secrets of Elvhenan
Full Story: The Theory of Being
The Forgotten Ones weren't always... well, forgotten. The stories were likely partially true, the tales of cruelty and hiding in the darkness. They were everything they shouldn't have been - those who caused terror, pain, despair. The woman the world would eventually know as Inquisitor Lavellan was, in fact, a Forgotten One. Somehow Isathe was not imprisoned by the Dread Wolf in the abyss with the rest of them. Whatever the reason, the former spirit of Curiosity coaxed into physical form was stuck in the aftermath of that event. She felt the moment the Veil was created and pulled her even farther from her home. Then she slept. Slept for thousands of years until she woke in a world where elves were no longer what they had been. She had to find a way to stay alive and adjust to the world that formed from the Betrayal so long ago.
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The Archon - The Imperial Conclave is interrupted by an assassination attempt and a slave rebellion all at once. Amidst the casualties is Archon Radonis, previously an ally to the Inquisition and someone who has been staunchly against the Venatori. A successor must be chosen - it is in the Veilguardâs best interest to involve themselves in the succession process.
Dorian Pavus - Previously, a valuable ally to the Inquisition. He still remains friends with Lavellan and is willing to help him. Dorian is a Magister, and previously a representative of Maevarisâ Lucerni until she was framed for treason and stripped of her position. Whilst Maevaris went underground and reformed the Lucerni into the Shadow Dragons, Dorian remained in the Magisterium. Dorian proposes radical reform: an end to slavery, corruption and all notions of Tevinter superiority. Better alliances with the South and a chance to redeem Tevinter for the better. As for the Qunari, Dorian is willing to offer peace talks but heâs also prepared to fight back with support from the South.
Radonisâ nephew - a devout of the Imperial Chantry. He shares some of his late uncle's policies. He promises an end to corruption and an end to the Venatori, however, he has a staunch pro slavery stance and wants to dissolve the Magisterium. He also proposes a restoration of the Templar order as he associates the evils of Tevinter society from unrestrained mages. He also wants an alliance with the South, provided that they help against the Qunari.
A Venatori-sympathetic Magister - he has many allies in the Magisterium. His policies are popular with most in the Magisterium and the Altus: A harsher stance against the Qunari and a proposal to take back the lands that Tevinter once ruled over. He does not want to make allies of the South, making him more or less an obstacle to the Veilguard/Inquisition.
Calpernia - One of Rookâs companions, she can remain Venatori or reject it depending on Rookâs choices. Calpernia wants to restore Tevinter to its past glory and has a harsh anti-Qunari stance. Calpernia has similar stances to the pro-Venatori candidate, however she desires an end to slavery. Because of her humble origins, she can become immensely popular with the lower classes of Tevinter society. She is willing to offer an alliance with the South but requests their support against the Qunari.
*This is part of a personal challenge for how Iâd work largely within the existing framework to tweak things. Itâs fun to think about.
For factions/locations, I am structuring them in terms of what the current world is like as well as some quests that I thought would be interesting.
Treviso
I love the look of Treviso but I would make two major changes: lean into the âlife on the rooftopsâ aspect and removing it as the second prime area for the Evanuris (more on that below).
There would be expansive rooftops - to highlight how the Crows get around. The rooftops would be a thriving place, with shortcuts you can find, many ânestsâ on the roofs, and part of the market. Ziplines would criss-cross the towers and attics across the skyline. The armor and weapon merchants would be on the roofs, away from the Antaam's prying eyes, while the decor and food items would be in the regular marketplace. Ground visits would be reserved for fighting against the Antaam or special quests (like Cafe Pietra or visiting the Chantry). The strongholds would remain, but would act as checkpoints around the city. The largest concentration would be along the shores and the Drowned District. Within those strongholds/camps would be âcenters of re-education/visitationsâ where the Antaam seek to use qamek to neutralize their opposition. As the Crowsâ resistance to the Antaam progresses, the Antaam become more hostile, releasing the gas in pockets that are toxic when passing through, necessitating using the roofs until it is cleared.* The Butcher would be a prevalent figure throughout the game - not as a fightable entity until later, but his speeches and messages would be heard throughout town.
Treviso on its own would have an arc that is centered on the Crows rule over Treviso, for better or worse, and the Antaam conflict.Â
Assuming Treviso still remained vulnerable to being blighted, then the rooftops would prove to be the safest place for citizens. The canals would have blight boils floating downstream as a constant reminder that the water supply is tainted. Upon getting rid of Zara, the Chantry would be used for triaging the wounded. However the Antaam hold on the city would be slightly weakened as they suffered casualties as well.
Enemies (unchanged)
Antaam
Venatori (around Chantry area and Zara contracts)
Darkspawn (conditional)
----
The Crows
The Crows would exist as a morally grey organization that deals in death, full stop. They take contracts from those that can afford it and are not shy about throwing their influence around or making their kills known (The Crows send their regards.) Having them be around town constantly and be visible is not bad, as they would be intimidating. However, there are more justice-minded Talons and families that prefer their kills to be more clean/moral and improve Antiva for all. With the invading Antaam, broken off from the main force that is currently warring with Tevinter, they have decided to focus on disrupting the invaders and gaining more support (via freeing slaves, doing good will). Some citizens are still critical of the Crows, throwing in their support with the Antaam and the standing government.
Quest Types
*Re-Education/Visitation Centers: those are locations where qamek are found. This would be similar to the Crow quest for finding gaatlok. It would entail destroying strongholds where citizens are being kept.
Conspirators: Build up to Ivenci being the co-conspirator for the Butcher. He didnât act solely alone. The player would be tasked with tracking down those who had a hand and continue to in the Antaam influence.
Outcomes are determined by Rookâs stance on the Crows and their influence. You can outright kill conspirators, imprison, or let them go. Killing them nets the most rep with the Crows while obviously letting them go will have negative. This could be driven by the playerâs desire for less Crow oversight. Imprisoning would be a compromise between the government and the Crows, forcing the two to work together effectively. This would build rep with the citizens (which could be argued is a good thing for the Crows.)
Target Practice: Would be exclusively for a Crow Rook. This would be completing the task failed during the prologue.
**If Treviso is blighted, there would be quests for destroying blight in addition to finding fallen comrades.
One of the biggest things I want to fix in a rewrite of DATV is the lack of Agents of Fen'harel. Considering combining this with fixing another problem I had; which is that Eluvians are in too public of spaces.
Imagine instead going to an island/temple/clearing in a forest in Northern Thedas where Agents are waiting to escort the party to various maps. Perhaps even a Scout Harding-like briefing about a place when you first arrive.
The Agents can also function as a merchant area. Maybe even another faction.
