Let's talk SWtOR!

[Thimblerig]

Just finished the Mage Tower!

 

Found the maze in the Fade a bit annoying until I unlocked the last form and then it was: HULK SMASH PUNY DOOR; HULK SMASH PUNY DEMON. :D (Alas, I cannot take the Fade shapeshifting with me to the real world ) Managed to get the final death of the main boss credited to my heroine, as it should be. (Alistair is a bit of a kill-stealer.) Decided, after much deliberation, to let the mages live. I entirely understand why people are so scared of them right now, but it seemed like character had a lot to do with it, and looked like all the mages inclined to blood rites and abominification had sprouted already. I took a risk. Don't disappoint me.

 

And then we get back to camp and Sten tells me he thought Wardens could do better!? (You're mad that I let the spellslingers live, aren't ya, Sten?)

 

Though, when I thought about it, losing an entire strike team to one attack and having to retrieve them one by one, while an excellent demonstration of my personal might, doesn't say such good things about my leadership skills. And what do I know from military tactics anyway - I grew up in a ghetto. Despite the harshness of the big guy's words, his Approval rating says he thinks I'm the bomb, so I'm taking it as, a grizzled old noncom trying to turn the fresh-faced young looey into a proper officer. Head!canon says we now have regular cookie, chai tea, chess, and campaign strategy time every evening. All the military tactics I suck out of his head will be useful when the Elf Revolution comes... (Did I say that last part out loud? No, Alistair, you misheard me. I said, "when the camembert and stilton comes..." *cough*)

[InKal]

may be useful in the future http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/816/? :]

[Twani]

Oh gods, yes. Skip the Fade. The shapeshifting deal is fascinating (if a bit frustrating) the first time around, but after the fifth time... argh! Skip the Fade allows you to get all the attribute bonuses, and see the cutscenes where you rescue everyone, without going through the tedious bits. For me, it's like extra dog slot: must have.

 

Random thoughts for someone new to Dragon Age: Origins:

++ The game is designed to be 'of level' no matter what level you explore a certain area, but some levels can be higher then you. Redcliff and the Tower are designed to be done immediately, Denerim then, and then the Dalish and the Dwarves. If an area is too hard, walk out and come back later: everything will be set (for that single area) at the level you were when you walked in (or, if you were lower then the minimum level, the minimum level for the area).

++ Having said that, I recommend picking up party members right away- so you'll want to do Tower, and then Dwarves (if you can beat the bandit group). (If you're planning on romancing getting close to Zev, though, you may want to do Redcliff, Tower, then Orzamarr. Maybe. His Tower scene is somewhat interesting.) (If you have the Stone Prisoner- which you should, because Shale is awesome- head to that little southern village as soon as you get the item.)

++ If you hate leaving anything behind, if you're playing a Noble or a Dalish, play a rogue.

++ Always kill mages (and other spellcasting creatures - arcane horrors, desire demons, emissaries) first. The best way to kill them, though, is a mage spell: Mana Clash. If the game is getting too hard, it's probably mages, so work Wynne or Morrigan or yourself up in that direction.

++ Before doing Redcliff (and maybe the tower), run in to Denerim and get the Chantry quests (you might as well pick up the Mage Collective, the Blackstone Irregulars, and the suspicious bar guys, too, but the Chantry is most important). Otherwise, you'll run in to a quest you can't finish: it requires you to pick up phat lewt (not really) from monsters you only find in Redcliff and the Tower (very few in the tower, too). I think that's the only real case of that, thankfully.

++ Glass vials! They're everywhere (well, six places), and at low levels, spawn a very strong mob (who's basically immune to magic). You may want to wait a few levels before fiddling with glass vials. Just a suggestion.

++ You don't have to totally agree with your companions to make them like you (Sten, in particular, likes if you debate with him on occasion), but in general, telling them what they want to hear is the easiest way to raise affection with them. Having said that, Wynne, Leianna, and Shale all have breaking points that even if you have 100 affection with them can lead to them stomping off. All other companions but Morrigan and Alistair (plotttt) will try to stomp out if you lose their affection down to 0. That's pretty hard to do, though, unless you're giving them the feastday pranks.

++ Finding Sten hard to get to know? He has an annoying thing where he needs to be in your party the first time you visit an area to talk about. This a bit spoilery, but as you'll never be told this in game: bring him to Denerim's market, the lobby of the mage Tower, and the chantry of Redcliff (the last I've managed to get to trigger on a second or third visit) to get some lore on his culture. Also, try bringing him along in the second part of the Redcliff quest where your in a town with a friendly sounding name.

++ Don't waste gifts. If you get Morrigan to 100, save your jewelry. Anyone else will take it- including the companions in the Awakening expansion, where it can be very hard to get them to 100. The Feastday gifts can't be taken along, but all other non-plot gifts can be. (This is major with one companion in Awakening, who is bugged not to get full affections for gifts, thus making his personal quest a bitch to trigger.)

 

 

I am so glad for the 'fix' mods I have that allow me to hang around in Leianna and talk about hair and shoes without her falling in love with me. Now I actually have to tell her I think she's beautiful or tease her if she's ever been close to woman before for her to in to adore status. I mean, I like Leianna, don't get me wrong, but if I ended up on Zev or Lei's romance track, I'd totally go with them instead and ignore Alistair, and I'm supposed to be romancing that jerk. Argh.

[SapphireIce101]

Why romance Alistair, when you can romance Zevran? He isn't as whiny, and he doesn't abandon you, OR Ferelden if you decide to make Loghain undergo the Joining.

 

Also, if you want Zevran earlier, the Zevran ASAP mod is the way to go. There's also Zevring, that actually gives you a ring when Zevran basically proposes. One more thing, Zevran Dialogue fix, it fixes a lot of things.

[Thimblerig]

So... when does Zevran actually turn up in the unmodded game? I got a cut-scene where he got hired by Loghain's pet weasel, but he hasn't actually shown yet. (Finished Tower, trying to get to Orzammar.)

 

And I got beaten up by the bandits three times in a row, so I might head trot down to Denerim to see what's happening.

 

Thanks for the advice!

[Twani]

Oh, I've romanced Zev many times. Morrigan once, Alistair once, Leianna twice, and then Zev some ten or so times.

 

(I've played this game a lot, hey.)

 

But I lost all my saves in the great computer crash of last year, so right now I only have three wardens. ;; Making a fourth, and, well, Alistair might be important in Inquisition! Doing stuff! Maybe! So I'll give the boy a chance. He can be awkwardly charming, I guess. And he does go well with a dwarven princess.

 

(And, honestly, I can't really blame him about Loghain. Loghain killed his brother and foster father, the only one who believed in him, and had his other foster father poisoned. And then basically doomed Ferelden by refusing any other Gray Wardens in his borders. Interesting, but a moron, as I say.)

 

As for dear Zev, he should show up after you finish your first 'area'. So as long as you completed the tower (IE, Irving or Gregior promised to give you support), he should show up while your traveling to a destination. His event has a pretty high priority, so I'm a bit surprised you haven't seen it- it should have popped up when you tried to go from the Tower to Orzammar, or failing that, when you go from there to Denerim.

 

I do use Zev ASAP as well. Checking, the mods I use...

 

++ All official content (I um, cheated and got all off the promotion items as well- they used to be around all over the net)

++ Quickslot expansion that allows me to use 50 quickslots

++ Dialog Tweaks, Morrigan Dialog Fix, Zevern Dialog Fix, elven boots in chantry fix, sten two specializations fix (silverate fix, sigrun's quest fix, and joining fix for Awakenings)

++ Dog Gift Bonus (dog gets an attribute bonus when you give him one of his bones)

++ No Follower Autolevel (so Morrigan isn't a moron with points in useless shapeshifting... though warning, this makes the Tower *really* hard as the generic two losers who join up with you have no skills what so ever)

++ RAVage (adds random items ala diablo on enemy corpses, and adds a bit of variety to spawn groups)

++ Stamina Potion Recipe (because it should have been in the game already)

++ The Winter Forge (kind of cheaty, but allows you to customize items- I only really use it for that)

++ Universal Dye Kit (so I can look purty)

++ Advanced Tactics (more tactical options, better AI)

++ Chantry Rewards (adds some useful rewards to Lotherings chantry quests)

++ Combat Tweaks (makes almost every skill useful)

++ Morrigan Ritual (a scene that Gaider wanted in the game but didn't get to put- a scene between Morg and Alistair if the Warden is friends with the first and lovers with the last)

++ Lock Bash (with a good chance of destroying loot, but still, I wanted the option)

++ No Helmet Hack (so we can pretend we're in Kirkwall!)

++ Sleep Until Dawn (with Alistair's Nightmare) (Because I think it's a neat idea)

++ Extra Dog Slot (as I said, so Doggy can come with me alll the time)

 

Then five gazillion cosmetic mods. So my warden can have a scar on her cheek, more tattoo options, more hair (though I'm using standard of both this time), more colors for everything (red eyes, red hair, pretty dark skin, and white tattoos, because why not?), and of course tons of armor- including the DA2 Grey Warden armor, which is so much more pretty.

 

I'm shallow. >.>

Almost all my DA2 mods are cosmetic, too, thinking... but that game didn't have a big modding base. DA:I will probably have very little or none, considering it's on the Frostbite engine.

[SapphireIce101]

I can blame Alistair for abandoning the wardens. He isn't just turning his back on Riordan, and The Warden, but he's also turning his back on Ferelden because he thinks that not letting Loghain under go the Joining is what would have wanted Duncan. Which is stupid. Then again, that's Alistair's Therin blood showing. You know, the reason why Eamon wants Alistair on the throne, other than to have an easily manipulated puppet.

 

But yeah, when it comes to Maric, Cailan and Alistair, I kind of don't like them. All three of them seem to have their derp moments. Maric's being the fact that he's mostly ruling a country with the head between his legs, not his ears. Cailan has a derp moment when he decides that he needs to be on the front lines with the Wardens after Loghain tries his darnedest to convince Cailan not to go to the front lines. Alistair has plenty of derp moments, all the way from meeting his "half-sister" all the way to him deciding that quitting the Wardens because he thinks Duncan wouldn't want Loghain to join the Wardens.

 

Yeah, some more nice mods that are highly recommended:

-Dragon Age Redesigned

-Improved Atmosphere

-Anything by RogueLass (Seriously, a lot of the items from her packs are awesome looking)

-Grey Wardens of Ferelden, Templars of Ferelden, Chantry of Ferelden, Mages of Ferelden, and Noble Couslands of Ferelden by TommyIrianto. (These mods make Dragon Age: Origins a tiny bit more immersive when it comes to the Sequel.)

 

Dragon Age 2, yeah, most of those are cosmetic mods, and Bioware never made a toolset for it due to "license issues" or something like that.

 

Again, with Dragon Age 2:

-Anything by RogueLass

 

As for DA:I I can see the usual nude mods, and maybe some cosmetic stuff, but I doubt EA is going to let Bioware make a toolset for this game either.

[Thimblerig]

Ooh, I'd love an extra slot for Blossom-the-Dog... (Every now and then he brings me slobbery, stinking things and I pass them on to the intended recipients - and get Approval for it, too. If the Dog likes you, you're doing okay.)

 

I found Zev! He, uh, really liked the masterful way I

knocked an unarmed woman unconscious and then cut her child's throat.

*cough* It was a difficult situation for everybody. (Actually, my biggest regret is leaving Isolde alive. She says she understands, but don't tell me she isn't plotting my painful and inventive demise behind her pretty Orlesian mask. And her definition of 'But it's okay if I do it' is demonstrably very... flexible. Fingers crossed she waits until the blight is over.) Bets that Connor is actually Teagan's kid? Anyone?

 

I'm finding it hard to pin Zevran's motivation for flirting down - I thought at first he was making himself extra agreeable to get leverage among the people who might still kill him, but then one of his colourful anecdotes was about how it's really stupid to trust someone because they're pretty, and not long after he hit on Leliana. So... is he warning me not to trust him? Warning himself not to trust me? Eh. Guess I'll be a reliable buddy until he figures out what he wants, and then we'll see.

 

Oh, and Sten started calling me kadan, but I don't actually know what that means. I think it's a compliment?

 

And I will continue buying Alistair off with toys... (This is not making me respect you more, buddy.)

[SapphireIce101]

Kadan is Qunari speak for Friend.

 

I totally think Connor is Teagan's.

[Twani]

To translate exactly, 'kadan' means 'where the heart lies'. So it's friend, lover, probably the soldiers under his command... he'll also refer to you once as 'Ashkaari', which is translated simply as 'one who seeks' but also means 'one who has found enlightenment'.

 

(Yeah, I swear there's a Sten romance in there. It's just hidden.)

 

Zev flirts with everyone. The player character (of both genders, of course), Morrigan, Leianna, Wynne (all the freakin' time- I think he has a thing for older woman), if you squint, a certain dwarf, and he once says he'd like to sleep with Alistair. I think it's just the defense mechanism thing: 'See, I am flirty, vaguely creepstery (Wynne is clearly not interested, boy- yeah, she can handle herself, but leave the poor woman alone!), and harmless! You do not want to get to know me better, no? No you don't. La la no deeper personality here.' Push him far enough, and he drops the act. Sort of. Still runs off with Isabella in DAII, which is my biggest issue with him. YOU'RE TAKEN, ELF. TAKEN.

 

(It was so weird seeing Isabella in game. The appearance didn't bother me; a gal like Isabella probably changes her style all the time (I tend to make my companions wear different clothes/hair styles randomly after year changes in DAII). But the voice! I was like 'NO'. 'Anora, you are not a pirate queen, stop trying! Where is that throaty purr? ISAAAAABEELLLLAAAA.')

 

I think Connor probably is Tegan's, too... >.>

 

Heh, for Redcliff and the Forest, I generally choose the optimum 'Golden Solution'- everyone wins, everyone lives, la de da. It's just so easy, and it costs nothing. Unless I'm trying to get a certain game outcome, I always do it that way (and these days, I'll probably just do it that way and if I really want to, change it in the keep). I kind of wish they weren't in the game, though: that you actually had 'Kill an innocent child or use blood magic, ha ha ha'. I mean, that's grimdark (shitdark is a term I've seem used over in my beloved Exalted), buuuuuuttt... I think having actual decisions (like with the dwarves, in which I so can't decide what my dwarf noble is going to do, or the end game) is more interesting then generic 'EVERYONE WINS YAYYY'
.

As for Cute Redhaired Dwarf Noble, I've completed Redcliff up to Haven, and did the Tower and the Dalish (...I get so tempted to use that persuade option with the Lady whenever jerk Keeper starts talking, seriously; I think I'm evil). Now I'm in the caverns, dun dun dun. I figured my girl would do Orzamaar last, because, you know, banished. And I have to do Shale afterwards, because... reasons.

 

I'm trying to figure out if I can do the Deep Roads with an all male party (reasons!). I've been running two-handed/Ali/Leianna/Wynne (healing/support/magic killing). Zev can take Lei's part easily enough, but without Wynne or Morrigan, things may be tough. I like healz. ;_;

 

 

Other Dragon Age hints:

++ Specialties! YOU WANT THEM. They are good! Shapeshifter, berserker, assassin, bard, templar come from exactly who you would think they would come from (though you can also buy them, but it's waste of money). Ranger and Spirit Healer you have to buy. Champion you will get automatically through the plot. So that leaves four that are a bit difficult... as non spoilerly as possible,

++++ Dualist you'll find in Denerim, though not in the main market area. Explore. It can be got before the end game.

++++ Arcane Warrior you'll find in some ruins. It's an ancient elven art, so... It's easy enough to miss if you're not tabbing everywhere, but you can go back and get it. (On a side note, if you've properly built for it, this is probably by far the most powerful build in game.)

++++ Reaver you can only get by taking a rather morally ambiguous option, and you can only do it if a party member who really enjoys picking fights isn't around. When you start seeing 'Reaver' opponents everywhere, you should have a pretty good clue you're coming up on it.

++++ Blood Mage can only be got if your main character is a mage, and involves blood magic (as one might expect). It also requires another morally ambigious option, or what I think is the hardest intimidate check in game.

++ Intimidate! Persuade! Important! While raising your combat abilities and tactic slots are very important, I always try to max out coercion as soon as possible. It gets you extra information, allows you to skip some fights, allows you to start some fights, and is generally awesome.

++ Favors for Interested Parties- the 'sneaky' type quests (but not the Slim ones) in Denerim- are sort of complicated. In general, just remember the obvious: if you kill someone, you can't complete quests for them. Also, there are two different quest endings for this chain. You don't get to choose, though; one is assigned to you. In general, it depends what you do with the dead drops. /that's kind of spoilery, but it's so out there does anyone care?

++ (Also kind of spoilery.) For a long, pretty cool quest chain, your MAIN CHARACTER has to have at least one point in stealing (or one point in stealth; rogues only). You'll then meet a certain character in Denerim; tell him you 'know it all' to be able to complete the chain. In the quests, you can use Lei/Zev/whoever, but you need that initial point to make things spawn.

 

 

 

(Oh, and I found another fix for DA. http://social.bioware.com/project/8310/ - If you tell a certain Blood Mage to 'Run, I never want to see you again', there's supposed to be a follow up quest. I never have done that, though. Maybe I should have done that with my stupid mage who actually had a crush on the wet wag.)

 

 

EDIT: 'I loved her, too, but what man can compete with a god?' is one of my favorite lines from this game. Simple, I know, but I could write story after story about that. Hm... after Inquisition comes...

[Thimblerig]

So Sten reckons I'm his besty? Yayy!

 

I just couldn't see letting Connor live as anything but cruel - assuming we did successfully extract the demon, what would happen next? He goes to the Tower - that place that just fought off an extremely nasty bout of blood magic and demonic possession and is mourning its many dead would not look kindly on the kid, and there seemed pretty good odds of him being made Tranquil or slain out of hand. Or leave him in Redcliffe, rebuilding after the death and destruction caused by his poor decisions - that wouldn't end well either. Tell Isolde to take him out of the country, maybe, but she hadn't managed to keep him clean the first time, and she said herself that members of her family with magic all became corrupt and dangerous. So let him die bravely now. Let him die with his soul still his own. Let him be remembered a hero.

 

I got a "Did you ever kill an innocent?" dialogue branch with Zevran not long after, and his answer was... not exactly comforting, but added perspective.

 

 

 

Still runs off with Isabella in DAII, which is my biggest issue with him.

 

It would depend on the PC I was playing, and on choices made during the game, but I might not mind too much if he strayed a little. My cats wander in the night, but we're all very clear on where their hearts lie. Depending on the PC.

 

Leliana doesn't seem interested in romance, but we're getting on pretty well even so. After she admitted she was a bard and rather knowlegeable about politics she got invited to the Cookie and Chess Circle. Presumably the potential love interests are lurking in the shadows feeling green. They wish they could make it to the Friend Zone.

 

 

 

For a long, pretty cool quest chain, your MAIN CHARACTER has to have at least one point in stealing (or one point in stealth; rogues only).

 

Oops, I think I already told that guy that I didn't pick pockets. Oh dear. (Next run, maybe.) I am simply awesome at lockpicking though. After the first time I had to leave loot behind because it was in a chest, I took steps. High Coercion is also very fun. Intimidating burly fighters twice my size is never going to get old. Also, I've got a lot of combat abilities that run off high Cunning, so I have absolutely no reason not to boost that stat to insane levels.

 

Come to think of it, I haven't gone back to the Alienage yet. Dear old home... (there's something nasty waiting there, right?)

[Twani]

Oh, man, I forgot the biggest Dragon Age tip:

 

Loser dwarves who claim you have a discount are dirty rotten liars, unless they're Gorim. Seriously, don't sell at camp. Gorim is a good choice, as you can get an actual discount from him. Warden's Keep is another good choice, if you have the DLC. Just remember to buy back what you want before the end game starts. (The game is pretty obvious in that 'YOU ARE AT THE END'... a few quests do disappear after the actual Landsmeet, though (Slim's do if you haven't started them), so do quests before it, I think.)

 

And... er... no, everything is sunshine and bunnies in the Alienage! Really! I swear! >.>

 

As for Connor, I think kid would do alright. More importantly, I don't believe in taking choices away from people if I can avoid it: while Anders would have you believe that the Circle is the most horrible place in the world, Wynne and Finn seem content there (and able to leave at basically their choosing). Connor would probably be alright; if he chooses to commit suicide later in life, that's his business, but giving him the ability to live till he can make that choice seemed better to me.

 

(Besides, I'm pretty sure the circle would blame Jowan for Connor's possession. Because everyone hates Jowan, and it is sort of Jowan's fault for badly teaching a child (and Isodele's for taking him away when the kid was partially taught).)

 

(Pulling a Jowan. Heh.)

 

For me, it's like... well, I suppose it's not to spoilery to mention that yeah, Isabella is in DAII, and Zev is in DAII, and when they run in to each other again, sparks! And if your romancing Isa, you can be like "HEY", and she's like, "Oh, come on, threesome!". And so it goes. That's cool by me.

 

But Zev wandering off on my crazy mage (who is crazy, and evil, and generally should not have any power given to her period >.>) and sleeping with his ex? I think my mage'd kill him. Not cool, Zev. At least write a letter first. 'CAN I SLEEP WITH AWESOME EX? Y/N? WILL THINK OF YOU WHOLE TIME? :D'

 

In random, running with Wynne, Leianna, and Ali... first, it's weird to have a party that gets along so much. >.> And second, I think Lei and Ali really would make a good couple, ala Dark Spawn chronicles. She'd make an awesome and loveable Queen, if they could get over her accent... and the Queen's brother and the son of a Teyern were both able to marry Orlasians, so I don't see why they couldn't. Too bad I can't hook them up.

 

 

I should probably go on media blackout for Inqusition. I've seen OGB, the conclusion of someone's romance, a royal couple, heard about killing dragons and pissing off Cass, and tons of other various dramas. I already know too much about it; I don't want to accidently spoil the ending (I already got spoiled on a lot of Cass stuff, which is sad).

 

As for Last Court, I think I made friends with some demon creature in the forest. Not... quite... sure I was supposed to do that. >.> And I broke open the Chantry the Divine sealed. Oops? And now someone is trying to act against me and all my 'friends' at Court, so I think I will kill them slowly, oh yes. I'm playing 'Dignity Above All' Huntress character, utterly ruthless and beautiful in all things. It's fun.

 

 

EDIT: Spoiled myself *majorly* on a Varric plotpoint. Okay, I'm going to keep away from the spoiler board from now on. Somehow. That would have been so much cooler to find out in game. >.>

[InKal]

Well I like the NWN 2 OC more than MotB. And I really liked Sand, Bishop, Neeshka (I dont think, that she fits the Imoen personality - she is more chaotic and childish certainly, well she is very different) and I liked Shandra as well. True, MotB characters are certainly more developed in the end. But I missed the sarcasm of Sand and Bishop. And the story of the OC was ok as well. It wasnt really good for the first half of the game (just a classic story of a hero), but I really liked the explanation of the fall of the empire (and the hero of the empire). And the battle for your fort was satisfying. The game should have really end there. My personal problem with MotB was, that your character usually does not fit in (http://nwn2db.com/build/?153641 - he was a great match for the OC story with the ford defending etc.). Well and the whole storyline does not fit to the setting. I mean why making a planescape like game in Forgotten realms, when you can use actual Planescape? Still, MotB was very good.

 

About VtM: Bloodlines... The game has many quirks. But it has so many great places and quests... The Ocean Hotel or Downtown Hospital. Searching for the plague origin in Downtown. The quest to get together the old killer twins in Chinatown. And I could really go on and on. And when you play for a Malkavian, it gets even better. Btw I had so much fun with the TV. And the radio adverts about the senator elections - oh that was funny. Personally I thing, that the game is better when you use guns and rifles though. Melee fighting seems like fun at first, but it gets boring after a while. And there are very bad locations as well - catacombs were horrible, just four or so levels of fighting.

 

hmm.... on NWN 2 oc being better than MotB - Yes! YEs! Yes! yES! yesyesyes! YES! I completely disagree with you.

 

 

Do you rage against the machine?

 

Wobbly are the walls of my mind.

[Twani]

Spent around ten hours playing DA:I (using VPN to pretend I was in Korea) so far.

 

...I like it.

 

I've been spending a ton of time goofing off on side quests, but I gather if you wanted to, you could just skip that (IE, I'm taking out every templar, mage, smuggler, merc, and BEAR (there are a lot of those, they're mean) that stands against me and going on every crappy little quest someone pokes me on, but I think I could just push to story as soon as I'd gotten enough power). I haven't gotten my main base yet- still in Haven- but I've recruited everyone but Iron Bull, Dorian and Cole, and I have a mission to recruit the first and second (in fact, I'm in the middle of Dorian's mission). (No idea where the third is hiding at this moment; wherever there are people to shiv + turnips?) I'm running with Blackwall, Solas, and Sera (who is a very odd woman, but sort of entertaining) and a female elf, as well as spending some time with Cullen and Josie at the keep (I'm keeping Iron Bull for later playthroughs). I really like Cassandra, though. Flirted with her, and she didn't shoot me down at the moment, but I'm sure it's coming. Flirted with Viv, too, but she shot me down hard. Ah well. Romance is for the dogs.

 

(Killed a lot of those, too. Miss having a doggy.)

 

So far, I've seen some light touches to my import, and saw a book character (woo?). I keep going back and forth on people's approval at the moment... it's hard to find balance. I'll probably switch around my party to try and get more approval everywhere.

 

I'm around level 8 so far, and managed to take down a rift that was level 12. A dragon that's level 12, though? We ran screaming. Yeah.

 

So far, I've only explored one area: the Hitherlands (and I guess the starting area, plus I wandered through one city). There's still a lot to go.

 

Bard music in this game is gorgeous. Leianna (who looks adorable, and very real now) must be jelly.

[Thimblerig]

I killed Andraste Reborn so my dog could get a really good bone to chew on. He took the finishing blow, too. Good dog!