Trying other origins

After a very frustrating time in Redcliffe, which may not have been so bad if I'd visited there first as Alistair had suggested at Lothering (but which I forgot), I decided to take a break from the main campaign and try out some of the other origin stories. Unfortunately for me, there's really only one origin for mages, so this meant that to experience any of the other ones, I had to go as a rogue or a warrior. Since I've never liked warriors (and it's not like I didn't get a feel for what it was like to play one, since I have several warriors in the party), I went as a rogue.

I tried the dwarven noble origin first, which was pretty fun. I tried a couple of alternative courses of action with the "brother" plot, played to Ostagar, and stopped.

Next I tried the human noble origin (as a rogue again). This one was just excellent. It draws you in, and feels very rich and well-developed. You have a real past in this place, and a loving family (unless you choose to be a smart-mouthed brat, I suppose), and it involves you emotionally. Also nice is that you have a chance to talk a visiting noble and/or his handmaiden into bed.

The only thing that jarred me out of it was a certain heroic sacrifice that "had" to be made during a cutscene dialogue. "Go on without me," says gravely wounded Father. "I'll hold them off and give you time to escape." "No, come with us," says Mother. "We can get you healing magic!" He refuses, not wanting to slow us down. All the while, I'm carrying about 10 healing poultices, and my dialogue options are frustratingly mute on the issue. So mother decides to stay at his side and go down fighting, and here I am, unable to save them, and vowing revenge on the man who did this, when Duncan forcibly conscripts me! Duncan, you bastard, I'm glad you're dead, after this and what you did to Ser Jory.

I played a little longer with my noble, as far as going into the wilds for the darkspawn blood.

Next, I played the city elf origin (guess which class I picked?) Another great, emotionally compelling story, which rivaled the human noble! Once again, Duncan came to recruit me, but this time I played nicely, even though I could have simply killed the 5 guards that came to apprehend me, if the game would have allowed it. Hadn't I just slaughtered a whole castle full of soldiers? But yes, I know, the game is about being a Grey Warden, and that means going with Duncan, like it or not.

I played this one past the Tower of Ishal, all the way into Lothering, where I picked up Dog, Sten, and Leliana! I noticed that when playing as a mage, the two NPCs that joined my party at the Tower of Ishal were warrior and archer, whereas when I played as a rogue, the two NPCs were archer and mage of the Circle. Very handy!

I think my city elf rogue will be a nice alternate to my human mage. Maybe I'll play some of the DLC with the rogue, whenever I buy some, assuming I do.

I still haven't tried the Dalish elf or the dwarven commoner, but I feel like getting back to my mage now.

Important recent mods

Of the mods I've added lately, these are the ones I found most indispensable.

• Natural Bodies: A true nude mod. No more ridiculous underwear during those love scenes.
• Dexterity light armour: Light armour (what a rogue would wear) is changed to check your dexterity, not your strength, as a requirement for being able to wear it.
• DA Modder: A replacement for the DA Content Updater for installing .dazips, which also manages your core override mods.
• I'm also using a mod that makes arcane warriors able to cast without sheathing their weapons, but I can't find wherever I got it now.

Alistair, you had your chance

This entry is essentially an epistolary fanfic of mine, with spoilers for many plot points in the character romances, so I've put the whole thing into a spoiler block.

Spoiler: Click to display/hide

Dear Alistair,

Because I can't say this to your face, I'm writing this in a letter that will never be sent. I have to find a way to let you down easy, and knowing the truth won't help. I know, because I've tried the truth, and the results were disastrous. And the truth is, that despite my willingness to try out the star-crossed combination of mage and ex-templar, it just isn't going to work.

I gave you every opportunity, and made my intentions and wishes clear as glass despite your every attempt to turn my invitations into a joke. At least Leliana seems to understand that demons are destroying the world, that almost all other Grey Wardens have been wiped out, and the two who remain are probably on a suicide mission to stop it, and that we've been framed as traitors, and that we risk death every single day, and even if we survive the Blight, our lives have been drastically shortened by darkspawn blood. We have to take our pleasures where we can, and this silly schoolboy personality of yours mocks the gravity of the situation.

So it seemed like I had done or said something wrong at some point, or that I just wasn't your type, and that you really weren't interested, because you preferred to spend the evening taking a cold bath instead of sharing a warm bedroll with me. And Leliana did seem interested. So I gave her the same opportunities I gave you. The difference was, she accepted them. She was right when she said you reminded her of a puppy.

Sure, Wynne had a thing or two to say about it, at first, but she changed her mind soon enough, and apologised for clucking her tongue at us.

And then you gave me that rose. You finally came clean, in your stammering, joking way (which is somewhat cute, but goes too far sometimes), and confirmed your interest. Well, it could still work. I could probably be satisfied with one man and one woman in my life, so I approved. You even seemed to accept my final invitation into my tent, but then confused me by excusing yourself to go stand by the fire blushing before anything happened. And when I came to ask why, you had the gall to deliver me an ultimatum: Break up with Leliana, or get no Alistair love. What?! Are you bloody insane? You want me to hurt and lose the girl of my dreams over you, an unknown quantity? How do I even know you're worth it?

Leliana serenaded me. You yanked a plant out of the ground. You're a slobbery puppy. She's a purring kitten. She sees me as a beacon in a beautiful world to whom the Maker led her. You see me as a flower growing out of a pit of filth. She would travel the world with me after this is all over. You, I suspect, would prefer to lock this mage away in a tower to "protect" me from the world, like the templar you would have become. I think the choice is obvious. Hurting Leliana, and giving her up, is unacceptable.

Despite this, I really didn't want to hurt your feelings. If you wouldn't accept having less than exclusive property rights over me, I at least wanted to spare you the heartbreak, because you'd probably just get yourself killed out there in battle with all your moping around and low morale.

I've turned back the clock several times, saying different things, approaching the problem differently, trying to reach a good compromise. But it all comes down to how many pieces your heart will break into, and I just can't do it right now. For now, I'm just avoiding talking to you in camp at all, because I don't want to give you the opportunity to give me that damned flower. Sorry, puppy.

Do not copy without permission.