“Lead Them or Fall”
Dragon Age: Inquisition|Platform: Xbox 360|Developer: BioWare Edmonton|Publisher: Electronic Arts|Released (North America): November 18, 2014|Released (Australia): November 20, 2014|Released (Europe): November 21, 2014|Originally Played From: August 18, 2016 – September 30, 2016
Mages and soldiers marched towards a fort atop a hill. Suddenly, a massive blast blew them all away.
Meet Sophya, a free human mage who tried to work with fellow free mages to negotiate with Templars. It didn’t go well.
Alas, you can’t directly import your characters and world states from Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II. I had to fill out the world state in the Dragon Age keep.
Sophya was among the mages when the blast occurred. She woke up in a rocky landscape. Spiders chased her, but she saw a female golden figure ahead of her, like a ghost. She reached out to the figure, and her hand swirled with green energy.
The next thing she knew, she woke up in a cell. Her hand crackled with green energy.
Seeker Cassandra Penteghast, accompanied by Leliana, interrogated Sophya.
Cassandra said that she was the only survivor of the Breach opening up and consuming the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Divine Justinia V also perished, taking the Divine Conclave and their hopes of peaceful negotiations with the mages and Templars with her.
Cassandra says that the mark on Sophya’s hand was killing her, and that it could close the Rifts that have opened up all over the Frostback Mountains.
“The Wrath of Heaven”: Go with Cassandra to close a nearby Rift. Eventually, they find Varric Tethras and an elven mage named Solas fighting demons.
Sopyha and Cassandra help fight them off, and Sophya closes the Rift.
Solas was able to control Sophya’s mark and keep it from killing her.
The makeshift party goes to the forward camp to talk with Leliana. Chancellor Roderick immediately asked for Sophya to be taken to Val Royeaux for execution.
When is a chancellor ever a good guy in fiction?
But Cassandra needed the Rift above the Temple closed. She asked Sophya if they should attempt a direct assault, or sneak through the mountain path. Sophya chose the latter.
Roderick: “On your head be the consequences, Seeker.”
He wanted to retreat. Cassandra wanted to rescue lost soldiers from the Temple.
We took the mountain path, saved the soldiers, and closed the Rift.
Next, the Breach. The poor souls caught in the explosion – their bodies were frozen.
A male voice said that it was the hour of truth, and he asked for a sacrifice.
There were red lyrium crystals at the Breach site.
The male voice and the voice of Justinia were a flashback from the Fade.
A Pride Demon emerged from the Rift. After we defeated it, Sophya closed the Rift and was unconscious for three days.
Unlocked The Wrath of Heaven and Skilled. 2/54
An elven servant (slave?) found Sophya just as she awoke. The servant was so skittish. It makes me worried about how they treat elves around here, but Solas seems fine.
One of the changes in this game is that you can jump.
As a mage, you no longer mash the button to keep using your staff. Instead, you just hold the button down.
The tactical camera helps you determine where everyone is, as well as their attributes.
The Frostback Mountains are pretty.
The Friend/Rival system of DAII is gone in favor of DA:O’s approval system.
I have four skill trees for spirit, storm, fire, and ice magic.
Learning certain skills boosts your base stats.
Despite Roderick’s protests, Cassandra evoked the Inquisition to deal with the Breach. But we have no Chantry support now, no numbers… basically, very little power.
The woman who runs the requisition used to work for Loghain. She said that he spends all his time fighting Darkspawn.
Solas seems adventurous and artistic. He journeys into the Fade to see the dreams of spirits and demons.
Cassandra believes that mages could channel their magic into Sophya’s mark to strengthen it. Cassandra introduces Sopyha to Commander Cullen and diplomat Josephine to discuss their options.
Leliana said that Mother Giselle of the Chantry wanted to see Sophya, but Giselle was caught in the Hinterlands. She was trying to help refugees of the Mage-Templar conflict…
Giselle will only help us if we rescue the refugees.
Some are calling Sophya the Herald of Andraste because they believe that they saw Her when Sophya was expelled from the Fade.
Unlocked Well-Prepared and Customized. 4/54
We can now go to Val Royeaux to speak with clerics, but I wanted to explore the Hinterlands first.
Unlocked Trailblazer, Sharp-Eyed, and Cavalier. 7/54
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