The Inquisition and Da Vinci's Last Supper

Fans (many fans) have noticed the similarities between the final shot of the Dragon Age: Inquisition gameplay trailer and Leonardo Da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper (see for yourself):

 

 

 

There's no doubt the similarity is intentional, but that doesn't mean that it foreshadows events in the game.  However, with five months before release this is exactly the kind of thing that's fun to speculate about.  Here's a quick comparison of positioning (identification of disciples in the Da Vinci painting comes from here; I'm accepting the companion identification from here), from left to right:

 

Bartholomew / Cullen

James (son of Alphaeus) / Vivienne

Andrew / Varric

Judas / Cole

Peter / Solas

John / Cassandra

Jesus / Inquisitor

Thomas / Iron Bull

James (son of Zebedee) / Dorian Pavus

Philip / Leliana

Matthew / Sera

Jude / "scribe"

Simon the Zealot / gray warden

 

Beginning with the obvious, the Inquisitor mimics Jesus' position (incidentally, they both have their hands on the table).  Both are leaders, and the overt religious association of the Inquisition (has anyone made that comparison yet?) is another similarity.  Could our character be sacrificial?  Do we die for the cause?  I suspect it's a possibility, albeit the same existed for the Hero of Ferelden (Origins).  I like the idea that the Inquisitor can choose to be either a punishing, uncompromising leader just like the historical Inquisition, or go the route of Jesus in trying to bring peaceful resolution and compromise to the various factions.

 

There's all sorts of diverse folklore and theories about the disciples (a basic overview is here), but that's less relevant than the creative team's intentions and we don't know what those are.  Accepting that there's some meaning in it, I'd guess the broadest possible associations are the most likely to matter (there's no real payoff in picking something obscure because players won't get the connection).  The most intriguing parallel is the location of Judas (the disciple who betrays Jesus) in the Dragon Age image, which matches that of Cole.  Is he the kind of character who would sell out and betray the Inquisitor?  Or is the image broader than that, suggesting several of the companions and NPCs could do so?  Betrayal is an interesting story element.  It's worth noting that Varric's pose is similar to Judas' (both lean on the table [quick correction: Varric is not leaning]), even if he's in the wrong place in the lineup, but the idea of the affable dwarf selling out the Inquisitor is an intriguing one.

 

 

 

Other than Judas (whose story is well-known), what about the other disciples?  Putting aside scholarly debate, we'll start with the best known:

 

Peter (Solas).  The staunch disciple (the "rock", which is what "peter" means in Greek--his actual name was Simon) who famously denied knowing Jesus three times (and then became one of the pillars of the church).  If there's anything to take from this, I'd say that Solas is extremely devoted to the Inquisitor.

 

John (Cassandra).  A former follower of John the Baptist who was known as the "beloved disciple."  Faithfulness is the primary component I'd draw from this, although Cassandra (like the disciple) has switched who she follows (from the Chantry to the Inquisitor).

 

Matthew (Sera).  Best known as a former tax collector (a "sinner") who became a disciple when called.  If there's a connection to be made it could be that she begins on a side opposed to the Inquisitor (or at least not in agreement with the Inquisition principals), but changes her mind when she's heard what the Inquisitor has to say.  It could even be as simple as Sera being a "sinner" prior to the Inquisition, although that connection seems too flimsy to be meaningful (as it doesn't require the biblical reference).

 

Moving on from the best known, we'll look at the other disciples:

 

Andrew (Varric).  The brother of Peter, but initially a follower of John the Baptist; I can't see how the sibling connection matters (Varric-Solas), although one could certainly say Varric has moved on from following Hawke (John the Baptist) to the Inquisitor.  If Bioware had followed the standard of using Scottish accents for dwarves we might have had more substance to work with here (Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland).

 

James, son of Zebedee (Dorian Pavus).  The brother of John, but otherwise only noted for being hot-headed; presumably Dorian has a temper (as with Varric above, the sibling relationship--Cassandra--makes no sense).

 

Philip (Leliana).  Most notable for asking Jesus questions; perhaps Leliana will be the one who wants the Inquisitor to justify his or her actions.

 

Simon the Zealot (gray warden).  Little is said about Simon, but the fact that he's called a Zealot (those who used violence against the Roman regime in Judea as an attempt to drive them out), might suggest that our unnamed gray warden prefers violent resolutions to problems.

 

Bartholomew aka Nathanael (Cullen).  There's very little to glean here, although he's associated with Philip (Leliana); the only possible connection I can make is that both Cullen and Leliana are assumed to be NPC's, so that's an association of sorts.

 

James, son of Alphaeus (Vivienne).  There are no specific actions or attitudes attributed to him, so I have nothing to add for Vivienne.

 

Jude aka Thaddaeus ("scribe").  Much the same problem as above, as there's no real substance to grab onto and ascribe to our most mysterious companion/NPC.

 

Does any of this matter?  Likely not, but we'll find out October 7th.  If any of you can add to this please let me know!

 

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Dragon Age Inquisition: Adversaries and Localities

 

 

In the eleven months since E3 a lot of information has trickled out about Dragon Age: Inquisition.  I gave an broad overview earlier in the week and thought I'd go a little deeper and take a look at what we know about the adversaries and locations in the game.  Developers have emphasized a multiplicity of factions that must be dealt with, which stands in stark contrast to Origins (DA1) and Dragon Age 2, both of which focused on one central problem (the Blight and the conflict between mages and templars respectively).  While the next iteration of Dragon Age has an as yet unknown main antagonist, it has a much broader swath of fires for the Inquisitor to put out.  Be forewarned of spoilers ahead (from all canonical material).

 

Locations

The Inquisition will battle from Ferelden to Orlais, although the bulk of the action appears to take place in the latter.  Specific large locations revealed include: the Frostback Mountains (the boundary between the two kingdoms), the Dales (the Orlais side of the Frostback's), the Western Approach (southwestern Orlais), Nahashin Marshes (northwestern Orlais), and The Arbor Wilds (south of the Dales).  A number of more specific, smaller localities are also known (via the initial link above unless otherwise noted): Halamshiral (north of the Dales), Exalted Plains (the Dales), Crestwood (in Ferelden, likely near the Frostback's), Griffin Wing Keep (Western Approach), the Southern Desolation (the Western Approach?), The Waking Wood (the Arbor Wilds?), the Dust Plains (the Western Approach?), and The Adamant Fortress (southern part of the Western Approach; a location from the Dragon Age: Asunder novel).

In addition, we know the Inquisitor will spend at least some time in the Fade and that he or she will visit the Deep Roads and a Dwarven thaig (this could be Orzammar, although as the franchise seems keen on not revisiting previous locations, Kal-Sharok (in the southern Anderfells) or an entirely new thaig).

 

 

 

Adversaries

 

The background entering Dragon Age: Inquisition includes the Orlaisian civil war between Empress Celene and Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons (along with an Elven rebellion in Hamalshiral).  The war is at the heart of The Masked Empire novel, but the book does not resolve the conflict.  None of the information provided by the developers has touched on how this material will impact the Inquisition (albeit from the E3 teaser we can deduce Morrigan is involved), so it's difficult to judge how much the Inquisitor will deal with it directly (scenes from Hamalshiral imply interacting with Celene, and some believe Briala from the aforementioned book is shown in the concept art below, but that's as much as we can say).

 

 

Another piece of the backdrop is the war between the mages and the templars, whose seeds were sown by Anders in Dragon Age 2, reaching the point of outright war in the novel Dragon Age: Asunder.  There are few specifics about how this conflict will impact the Inquisitor either (for the Red Templars, see below), although the attachment of the templar Cullen and former circle mage Vivienne to the Inquisition form connection points--as does Cole's inclusion (a character from Asunder).

 

Beyond the background, the major plot point of the game is the breach in the Fade, allowing demons to directly access Thedas.  There's been no indication of organisation amongst the demons, so they don't seem to represent a faction.  Frankly, other than mentioning the breach itself and showing a few demons nothing has been revealed.  Closing the breach would seemingly end the demon problem--something that does not address the other issues faced by the Inquisition.

 

Somewhat akin to demons, we know multiple dragons pose a serious threat to the Inquisitor.  Dragons seem to be largely solitary enemies, although given all the dragon imagery associated with the Inquisitor, plus Flemeth's involvement, it's likely they mean more than just a few difficult fights.

 

Much more speculatively, it's possible the Qunari could feature in a small way, although my feeling is that if they do they would be attached to the Iron Bull's story and not part of the main plot.

 

 

The Red Templars have been very prominent in released material.  This organised group seems to be composed of templars who switched from taking regular lyrium to red lyrium (the substance discovered in Dragon Age 2 that drove both Meredith and Varric's brother Bartrand mad).  We know nothing about their goals, but I'd speculate it relates to Meredith's final solution of killing all the mages.  The game's pre-Alpha demo showed the group near Crestwood, although it's unlikely that is the only area they will be encountered in.

  

 

Another group featured in released material are the Venatori cultists, but we know even less about them.  In the same demo above they were found in Griffin Wing Keep, and an earlier demo it was confirmed that the Western Approach was an area of particular interest for them.  Given the Tevinter symbols on the cultist pictured above (perhaps what's been meant when I've heard that Tevinter mages are enemies to be encountered), they have a connection to Imperium, and as such I don't think they will be strictly localised.

 

That, as far as I've been able to discern, is that.  Other factions may exist and there's a host of details missing, but it does paint a picture of the kinds of issues and locations our Inquisitor will tackle.  I suspect political and diplomatic tactics will differentiate the backdrop problems from those of the Fade or fanatics like the Venatori, but time will tell.  If I've missed anything, or if you spot errors, please let me know!

 

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Dragon Age: Inquisition (What We Know So Far)

 

 

The announcement of the release date for Dragon Age: Inquisition has brought the hype and excitement around the third instalment of the franchise to an all-time high.  As someone who enjoyed both Origins and Dragon Age 2, I've kept a keen eye on developments and with pre-order's available and the game at a complete Alpha stage, I thought I'd put together what we know.  Spoilers for the first two games (and books/comics) ahead, so be forewarned.  A note: most of my information comes from a trio of Youtubers: Lady Insanity, Ability Drain, and gamermd83 (check them out!).

 

The premise has been out for quite some time (it's nicely recapped in the most recent trailer), but here's the gist:

A cataclysmic event plunges the land of Thedas into turmoil. Dragons darken the sky, casting a shadow over lands on the brink of chaos. Mages break into all-out war against the oppressive templars. Nations rise against one another. It falls to you and your allies to restore order as you lead the Inquisition and hunt down the agents of chaos.

The Inquisitor is male or female of any race (the only restrictions seem to be that the Elves must be Dalish and the Qunari must be Tal-Vashoth), who has the unique ability to close the tear in the veil (caused by an unknown antagonist).  Four different voice actors were used for the lead (two male, two female, with British/American accents as the possibilities), so we can pick the one we like best (doing more voices than that is apparently impossible due to the amount of disc space that would be required).  The game will take place in Orlais, Fereldan, and the Dales (the latter is a region between the other two countries), three years after the events of Dragon Age 2.

 

 

 

Players cannot directly import their saves from the previous games, but Bioware has set up a system (Dragon Age Keep) whereby those choices can be added into the game.  For those who never played the previous titles or want a completely new start, the default background is: a Dalish Elf was the Hero of Fereldan (Origins) and died ending the Blight (Alistair becomes king), while Hawke is a mage (Dragon Age 2) and sided with them against the templars.

 

The Inquisitor (whose last names, dependent on race, have been revealed: Trevelyan (human), Lavellan (Elven), Cadash (Dwarven), and Adaar (Qunari)).  He or she will have nine companions in addition to NPC's (judging from the final scene in the trailer, three NPC's are part of the main crew).

 

 

 

Some of these characters have been revealed, while others remain a mystery.  The following companions and/or NPC's are confirmed (left to right): Cullen (DA1-2), Vivienne, Varric (DA2), unconfirmed, Solas, Cassandra (DA2), the Inquisitor, Iron Bull, unconfirmed, Leliana (DA1-2), Sera, unconfirmed, and unconfirmed.  This leaves four unidentified characters.  Two we can say something about: one appears to be Cole (from the novel Asunder; the first unconfirmed on the left), and another a grey warden (far right).  This leaves two largely unknown characters: the male may be Dorian Pavus (also this link), but there are virtually no clues who the woman is ("scribe" is the most common term I've seen, although it's worth noting Lady Insanity refers to her as an "archer").

 

Varric, Cassandra, Vivienne, Sera, Iron Bull, and Solas are confirmed as actual companions.  We also know that Cullen is an NPC; it's believed Leliana is also.  The fact that the latter two have no weapons in the picture above has given rise to the theory that those without them are all NPC's (thus, intimating that the "scribe" is the other).  Whatever the case, as in both previous games the active party will consist of the Inquisitor and three companions.

 

Other characters from previous games have also been confirmed in unknown capacities: Morrigan (from DA1; she was featured in the E3 teaser from last summer), Flemeth (DA1-2), Alistair (DA1-2), Dagna (DA1), and I think Sandal (DA1-2), but I can't find a link for that so take it with a big grain of salt.  There's also an unidentified character from the novel The Masked Empire who can be encountered in a side mission.

 

The developers have hinted that Hawke and the Hero of Fereldan (if alive) will be involved or referenced in some capacity, but in my opinion they are unlikely to appear given the huge amount of variables those characters can have via players choice in the other games (even though cameos have been reported, later changed to a "solid possibility", I don't believe that guarantees they will be in person).  Bioware has emphasised that characters who appear from the previous games will be more than simple drop-ins, as they were in Dragon Age 2.

 

Various dangling plots, like the Architect, Morrigan's Old God baby (both from Origins), or Corypheus from Dragon Age 2, will not significantly impact the Inquisition storyline given that it can be played without those elements being present.  However, those plot lines will be addressed in some way if they were involved in your story in the previous versions.

 

As for the gameplay itself, the story can be played in 40-50 hours for those who eschew side quests and speed through the main story line, but there's 100 hours of play available.  There are four unique endings, along with about 40 major variances based on your choices (there are hundreds of minor differences beyond that).  Romances are back, but so far only Cullen and Cassandra are confirmed as potential partners.  Players will be able to heavily impact their environment as they extend the influence of the inquisition.  In terms of your enemies, they will not level with you (ala Elder Scrolls), so you will have to be cautious when you fight.  The tactical camera from Origins is back (as an option--you aren't locked in), so it will be much easier to manage battles.  In an effort to make combat more interesting/challenging, players will no longer auto heal after an encounter.  You can watch a thirty-minute demo from the pre-Alpha stage (from November) to get a sense of it (the demo also illustrates the kinds of choices you will face in the game).

 

I'm not sure how much more will be revealed over the next five months--we'll learn the names and identities of the other companions, at least.  The game's official site already has class-specific and world-specific tidbits to comb through and I expect much more along those lines will be added before October 7th.

 

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)