Deep red is blurring my eyes

“The old man and the somehow not old woman broke apart and reached for their drinks. Their faces wrinkled in disgust at the taste.

“This is burnt filth!” Petrice snapped.

“I have never been so disappointed by a drink from Mac Tir’s!” Eamon raged.

“Let me speak to your manager!” They shouted in unison.

Their eyes widened as they turned to each other, ignoring the shellshocked young girl. They gave each other tight-lipped smiles as their cold hands intertwined like the legs of a supermarket squid.”

I just realized that Sister Petrice is totally the Umbridge of Dragon Age 2

I’m sorry, Anonymous person, I’m not sure I can answer this sensibly. You see, I don’t know anything about your Hawke.

‘Blue’, ‘purple’ and ‘red’ are absolutely useful shorthand terms for a Hawke in general. It gives a broad sense of their demeanour and the dialogue options they pick. But it doesn’t tell me anything much about their politics or their inner thoughts. It doesn’t tell me about the times in the game where you go against type and pick the blue or purple option, because the red is just wrong this time.

So – my Hawke is a blue Hawke. And that is partly because Jo is genuinely a soft spoken person. But it is also because, in the early parts of the game, she is desperately afraid of bringing the Templars down on Bethany’s head. So there are times when the words that come out of her mouth are blue, but the thoughts going through her head are red. By Act 3, she is more inclined to pick the red options when speaking to Templars, or to Elthina. The Champion of Kirkwall has the clout to protect the people close to her, and the Templars can’t touch Bethany the Grey Warden. So if ‘go fuck yourself, Grand Cleric’ is running through her head, those words can come out of her mouth, too.

I tend to find several of the purple options too unkind for my Hawke. But they’re not all unkind. Some are funny, or ridiculous in a way that makes sense for her. She tends to use them most (where they’re not taking jabs at her loved ones) when talking to Varric, Anders or Isabela – the people to whom she’s closest. Humour, for her, is a sign of trust.

She never uses enough red or purple options to change type, but they’re there, and I know what that means for her personality and her politics.

Jo would not work with Petrice, but it’s not to do with being blue. It’s more to do with her suppressed red streak. I mean, it’s hard to overstate how awful Petrice is. My Hawke has never forgotten that she used a Saarebas in her plans. As the quest plays out, it’s impossible to save him. Once the Arvaarad has spoken, there’s only one possible end for him. Is there any hope for a better way? Maybe not. But we’ll never know, because Petrice never cared to try.

Petrice uses people. She can’t be trusted. She intends to get Hawke killed; she uses the Saarebas for her own ends; she manipulates a distraught elven woman into releasing poisoned gas in Kirkwall; she throws Varnell under the bus as soon as he becomes inconvenient. She never takes responsibility for her actions, and you could never trust her as a partner in any venture.

It’s also worth noting that the Qunari aren’t the bad guys in DA2. I mean, I’m not defending them overall but in this specific context? They’re the victims. Their sacred text was stolen, as part of the ongoing conflict with Tevinter. The best way to get them out of Kirkwall, if that’s the only aim, is simply to get them their damn book. When Isabela returns with it, their impulse is to actually leave peacefully. If you give them Isabela, they actually do that (Note: I’m not actually advocating giving them Isabela. Qunari punishment is way in excess of any act of theft she committed under bloody duress. But I can’t help but point out that the return of their property and taking a thief for trial would not be wildly unreasonable demands were the Qun not, well, the Qun).

Petrice doesn’t want them to leave because they hurt people and she disapproves. She wants blood. She wants a war as a test of faith. Her fanaticism is alarming.

Honestly, Jo has a certain amount of respect for the Arishok: they are always truthful with each other, and were he the kind of man who went to The Hanged Man they could probably have an epic ‘What the fuck is wrong with Kirkwall?’ session over a few beers. She has no respect for Petrice.

But I don’t know about your Hawke. They’re red. That means, on average, blunt or aggressive responses. Are they violent by nature? Do they want to physically fight the Qunari? Do they actively hate them for reasons particular to your Hawke? What do they think of Petrice? Do they trust her to back them up when needed? Do they think they can outplay her? Will they accept torture as a strategy?

Is all that ‘red’ a bluff or misdirection, and they’re actually cunning or politically savvy? What do they think of Petrice’s ‘all out war’ strategy? The Qunari are big, strong and honestly the best organised fighting force in Kirkwall (Aveline may be working on turning the guard into an army, but that takes time; the Templars are terrifyingly numerous, but they’re basically just thugs), so is provoking them wise? Is your Hawke interested in what’s wise? Are they playing to win, or is fighting what they perceive to be ‘the good fight’ everything?

Does ousting the Qunari tie in with taking down the Chantry? Are they trying to pit one against the other? Do they have a strategy for getting the Templars involved (other than Varnell)? Do they believe that will happen naturally?

Dragon Age 2 is a … pretty fluid game. I mean, it doesn’t allow you to change much of what happens, but it gives you a whole lot of freedom on why and how. It is a story, told by Varric, well after the fact, to a hostile audience. I’m not a fan of invoking the unreliable narrator for the entire plot, but I think it is a thing that can be invoked judiciously to smooth over any minor narrative bumps that don’t fit with how you see Hawke. You can make just about anything make sense if you can see why your Hawke is doing what they’re doing.