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Chronicles of Maxwell: Part 1 - A Hero is Something...

Tags: #Dragonborn1721  #Dragon Age  #DA:I  #Chronicles of Maxwell 
  • October 23, 2018

                                                           A Hero is Something, Something, Something...Inspirational Message?                                                  

    This is the first entry into the Chronicles of Maxwell, obviously, you'd know if you'd read something written by me before. 

    My name is Maxwell Trevelyan, youngest son of House Trevelyan, minor noble house of Ostwick, and as many are keen to remind me, overall disappointment and lazy son of a bitch (which results in bloody noses…nobody disrespects my mother) who will never accomplish anything other than dying in a gutter.

    Ahem. My memories of my life are somewhat jumbled, I’ve heard that being launched out of the fade (or Maker knows what else) isn’t exactly good for your long-term memory and can cause slight issues for those that aren’t…well Mages. I do obviously remember something of my reputation, clearly remember my family but individuals outside my direct family (two brothers, a younger sister, my mother and father and old Nanna) are a bit of a blur to me now. Regardless, it is fair of me to inform you that I am a dashing Rogue, not a Chantry Sister, Brother or Templar or anything else that you may guess (though some are tipped off by the lack of Robes or Lyrium reinforced Armour, but some people aren’t intelligent). That doesn’t mean I’m a heathen, it just means I found my life in picking a few pockets, unlocking doors and fighting with daggers rather than those bulky swords that require ‘strength’ to use.

    Right, focusing…Nobody ever tells you how difficult it is to write these things without getting side-tracked (wonder how Varric does it with his stories?). I mentioned earlier that thing about the Fade, yeah well turns out somebody opened a giant Breach? Tear? Hole? Eh the point is the Fade was ripped open above this little town called Haven and I have a mark on my hand (that burns hotter than any fire I’ve stuck my hand in) that can close the smaller versions that are popping up everywhere. As soon as I woke up (and after taking a sword to the face…in the completely non-sexual way), I was marched up to the Temple of the Sacred Ashes and told to close the Breach. It mostly worked, but now we’re off to find some Templars or Mages or something to get them to help me. Not sure about that honestly, both parties are obviously led by power-hungry morons (though Fiona is easier on the eyes than…Templar Guy… Can’t remember his name, honestly just not a pretty man) who will do just about anything to kill the other party. Mages are bad, Templars are bad, so we’ll have to see what they want with a few meetings (hopefully...That Lord Seeker fella said something about killing me, but I tuned him out after his Templars punched a Rereved Mother, she might have been annoying, but you still kind of need to be an asshole to punch an old woman).

    That’s really all there is to it. Fun times in Fereldan, and I wish I just stayed up home.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

    Dragonborn's Notes

    Yep so here it is, I wanted to write something regarding my second real Inquisitor, but couldn't really figure out how to do it, so just jumped into it and started writing something and this happened. I've got a few more 'Chapters' written, though it's not entirely a story (which is why I didn't post it as a Blog), because now I'm going to talk about Combat/Gameplay for a bit.

    Essentially the character is simple. Traps and Poison. Go into Stealth. Backstab a LOT. Later on I'm hoping to ditch the Traps (love that you can change your perks at any point in the game) and run a Tempest/Stealth/Daggers combination, just think it'll be really fascinating to run something that feels quite different than other playthroughs I've done...That and I like the idea of half-focusing on Potions, Bombs and Poisons as I play. At the moment though it's honestly a bit tough, I'm running Cassandra, Blackwall and Vivienne at the moment (because I can't stand Solas and don't have Dorian) but I'm not sure about the need for a Mage...honestly might just grab Iron Bull so I get a bit more combat potential, that or I'll grab Dorian instead and run him as a bit more of a DoT Mage. Anyway, the Party works and all but my role is minor at best...I like it though, I essentially just pop in and out of stealth, dealing chunks of damage to anything that's about to die and getting away scot free, which works to a certain extent. As you may guess by that main image, I am mainly focusing on Dual Daggers for now, a few points in Stealth and plans to get the Poison perks at least, but mostly just focusing on becoming a bit more effecient at the whole 'Killing Enemies' part of the game.

    I do have to say that Rogue's just aren't as fun as Warriors/Mages IMO, I guess there's something about Guard that I really enjoy (which might sound weird, but I love the concept) and Mages are just designed to work well with the game. Rogues feel mostly pointless, and I feel like they could benefit from a stacking Crit Rate or something whenever they kill enemies and that resets when they get hit. Just something that makes them a bit more potent, or makes playing a Rogue feel more rewarding. 

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  • October 23, 2018

    I like this one even more than the first one because here you show some of his personality. I've played Rogues in both DAO and DA2, so far it's only DAI where I played a mage to the end. And tbh, I can't say which I prefer, both have their pros and cons.

  • October 23, 2018
    I like this one even more than the first one because here you show some of his personality. I've played Rogues in both DAO and DA2, so far it's only DAI where I played a mage to the end. And tbh, I can't say which I prefer, both have their pros and cons.

    That's the main focus here, trying to...I suppose work on my writing/character work while also having fun :D Maxwell's a lot of fun to play at the moment, being a bit cocky and flirting (or joking) around with just about everyone, makes for a rather, relaxed atmosphere most of the time. 

    Honestly I don't think I've ever finished a playthrough with a Rogue...in any game that I can think of, but especially not Dragon Age. I didn't enjoy them all that much in DA2 or Origins, though a lot of that could be my tendency to playthrough the first game as a pure Gameplay experience and build myself around whatever companions I enjoy. So with Origins I enjoyed Morrigan, Lelliana and Alistair the most, so those three came along making a Warrior the logical choice. With DA:2 I liked Varric the most (with Isabela and Fenris as other options) making a Mage/Warrior the most logical. Then I got hooked on Mages in 2, so I kind of never played Rogues.

    So not entirely used to playing them, which makes it feel really fresh and interesting. Playing around with Stealth is a lot of fun (and the Poisons/Grenades should be good) :D

  • October 24, 2018

    I feel quite dissatisfied with the origins in DAI. They don't have any potential for a personal dilemma that I so love, except maybe the elven Inquisitor. But tbh, I'm not a big fan of elves in DA, in fact, I made the only elf in my DA story very different from any elven thing there is, basically a guy who is an elf in nothing but the body. So I altered the origin.

    A warrior is never my first choice, so for me it was mainly a choice between a rogue and a mage. I enjoyed playing both, but RP-wise, the rogue was more fun for me. In DAO I went for a stealthy rogue with two daggers and in DA2 I had an archer. Gameplay-wise, the mage in DA2 was more interesting, but I just like Bethany, so I wanted to keep her)) My party was Bethany, Varric and Fenris, sometimes I replaced Fenris with Aveline.

    In DAO though I had much more dilemma in the choices of my party. I love Sten and Oghren, but they are both warriors. I'm also fond of Wynne, but Morrigan seems a more effective mage. And where's also Shale... you see))) So in the end, I mostly went with Morrigan, Sten and Alistair but sometimes replaced them with Oghren, Wynne and Shale.

  • October 24, 2018

    I feel quite dissatisfied with the origins in DAI. They don't have any potential for a personal dilemma that I so love, except maybe the elven Inquisitor. But tbh, I'm not a big fan of elves in DA, in fact, I made the only elf in my DA story very different from any elven thing there is, basically a guy who is an elf in nothing but the body. So I altered the origin.

    Urgh, yeah they were...strange. I mean they were obviously a trigger fix for the people that complained about Dragon Age 2's lack of options, but it really feels like there might as well not be anything. I know there are small little bits in War Table Missions, but they don't really change anything, and the only real difference that your Origin seems to make is that you get the Human/Elf/Dwarf/Qunari/Mage dialogue options.

    Really didn't add anything to the game, which makes it pretty much pointless IMO. Yeah, I feel like Elves have the issue of only their Lore being interesting, and even then we don't get enough to make them more interesting than the Qunari or Dwarves IMO (though I don't really play as Qunari, they're just interesting to me). So I definitely get the dislike of them, they're just not that interesting really.

    A warrior is never my first choice, so for me it was mainly a choice between a rogue and a mage. I enjoyed playing both, but RP-wise, the rogue was more fun for me. In DAO I went for a stealthy rogue with two daggers and in DA2 I had an archer. Gameplay-wise, the mage in DA2 was more interesting, but I just like Bethany, so I wanted to keep her)) My party was Bethany, Varric and Fenris, sometimes I replaced Fenris with Aveline.

    For my second playthrough (which was RP focused) that was pretty much my party. I'm a bit of a sucker so I took Isabela as well, which honestly wouldn't have worked out if I hadn't gone Spirit Healer/Force Mage and could pretty much adjust the field to whatever suited me (and didn't really suffer from not being able to unleash damaging attacks since I could still use Control Spells). Didn't make much sense but I did kinda like Isabela. But early on I did like Bethany because, well she was actually nice and all (unlike stupid Carver...couldn't stand him at any point)

    I haven't played an Archer yet in any Dragon Age game...Huh might have to get on that sometime soon (maybe Dragon Age 2, feel like it works best in that game).

    In DAO though I had much more dilemma in the choices of my party. I love Sten and Oghren, but they are both warriors. I'm also fond of Wynne, but Morrigan seems a more effective mage. And where's also Shale... you see))) So in the end, I mostly went with Morrigan, Sten and Alistair but sometimes replaced them with Oghren, Wynne and Shale.

    I'm pretty similar. I think the only Companion I didn't love was Zevran but I think I missed out on a lot of stuff with him because plenty of people enjoyed him. But yeah Alistair, Morrigan, Sten, Oghren, Shale, Wynne, Leliana, the Mabari Hound, all of them just were fun. Though I can easily skip out on Dog or Leliana, definitely a better case than the later games.

  • October 24, 2018

    Urgh, yeah they were...strange. I mean they were obviously a trigger fix for the people that complained about Dragon Age 2's lack of options, but it really feels like there might as well not be anything. I know there are small little bits in War Table Missions, but they don't really change anything, and the only real difference that your Origin seems to make is that you get the Human/Elf/Dwarf/Qunari/Mage dialogue options.

    Really didn't add anything to the game, which makes it pretty much pointless IMO. Yeah, I feel like Elves have the issue of only their Lore being interesting, and even then we don't get enough to make them more interesting than the Qunari or Dwarves IMO (though I don't really play as Qunari, they're just interesting to me). So I definitely get the dislike of them, they're just not that interesting really.

    It's not just that they don't add anything interesting, actually I found the letters from Shokrakar quite funny. Maybe it's just me, but the way the origins are made in DAI doesn't give you more freedom to develop your character, it's the opposite, they limit you. The Origins of DAO only give you the situation you live in, and nothing tells you what kind of a person your character is. Your mage can be a sweety or an evil Blood mage with equal chances. Your casteless dwarf can be a thief and a bastard without a slip of moral or a nice guy who tries to be as good as he can despite everything. You can be a loving child or an egocentric asshole. But in DAI, the origin kinda tells you what kind of person you are, it gives you not just the situation but also some decisions you have made. I'm saying that only the elven origin is somewhat interesting because it's the only one that actually lets you be something different than a generic human-like guy. As a Dalish elf, you can actually be a Dalish elf. As a Dwarf, you are a surface fellow, basically a human in the body of a Dwarf. As a qunari, you are a Vashoth, a human in a qunari body. Or you are a human. When I want to play a Dwarf or a Qunari, I want to play a character with the Dwarven or Qunari mindset, not a human in a different body. That's why I dislike the origins.

    For my second playthrough (which was RP focused) that was pretty much my party. I'm a bit of a sucker so I took Isabela as well, which honestly wouldn't have worked out if I hadn't gone Spirit Healer/Force Mage and could pretty much adjust the field to whatever suited me (and didn't really suffer from not being able to unleash damaging attacks since I could still use Control Spells). Didn't make much sense but I did kinda like Isabela. But early on I did like Bethany because, well she was actually nice and all (unlike stupid Carver...couldn't stand him at any point)

    Lol. My mage Hawke was Neutral Good, female and somewhat of an introvert. It created the impression of a wise older sister and a foolish sulky little brother. And I had the silly little bro join the Templars. Bethany, on the other hand, joined the Wardens, and it plays a big role in my story even in Inquisition (because my canon Hawke is the Neutral male rogue, not the mage). I'm not a fan of Isabela, for the whole game I felt like she is somewhat of a bad influence for Hawke. And since there's also Anders and Merril, well, too many morally doubtful people around.

    I'm pretty similar. I think the only Companion I didn't love was Zevran but I think I missed out on a lot of stuff with him because plenty of people enjoyed him. But yeah Alistair, Morrigan, Sten, Oghren, Shale, Wynne, Leliana, the Mabari Hound, all of them just were fun. Though I can easily skip out on Dog or Leliana, definitely a better case than the later games.

    I didn't like Zevran much either. The only thing I really liked about him is what he says to you before the battle in Denerim. Idk why everyone think he is so cool, imo he's just another city elf who just happens to be an assassin.

    Didn't felt much for Leliana in DAO, probably because I'm not a fan of the Chantry, neither is any of my characters. Though I totally adore Dog. I didn't mention him because I have a mod that gives you a special slot for him, so I can have him in my party always.

  • October 25, 2018

    It's not just that they don't add anything interesting, actually I found the letters from Shokrakar quite funny. Maybe it's just me, but the way the origins are made in DAI doesn't give you more freedom to develop your character, it's the opposite, they limit you. The Origins of DAO only give you the situation you live in, and nothing tells you what kind of a person your character is. Your mage can be a sweety or an evil Blood mage with equal chances. Your casteless dwarf can be a thief and a bastard without a slip of moral or a nice guy who tries to be as good as he can despite everything. You can be a loving child or an egocentric asshole. But in DAI, the origin kinda tells you what kind of person you are, it gives you not just the situation but also some decisions you have made. I'm saying that only the elven origin is somewhat interesting because it's the only one that actually lets you be something different than a generic human-like guy. As a Dalish elf, you can actually be a Dalish elf. As a Dwarf, you are a surface fellow, basically a human in the body of a Dwarf. As a qunari, you are a Vashoth, a human in a qunari body. Or you are a human. When I want to play a Dwarf or a Qunari, I want to play a character with the Dwarven or Qunari mindset, not a human in a different body. That's why I dislike the origins.

    That's probably a much better way to phrase what I meant :P

    Lol. My mage Hawke was Neutral Good, female and somewhat of an introvert. It created the impression of a wise older sister and a foolish sulky little brother. And I had the silly little bro join the Templars. Bethany, on the other hand, joined the Wardens, and it plays a big role in my story even in Inquisition (because my canon Hawke is the Neutral male rogue, not the mage). I'm not a fan of Isabela, for the whole game I felt like she is somewhat of a bad influence for Hawke. And since there's also Anders and Merril, well, too many morally doubtful people around.

    Hmm, I can only strongly remember my latest Hawke. My first Hawke was a fairly 'Lawful Neutral'/'Lawful Good' sort of person, you know an almost sickenly good person. The latest Hawke was a bit more interesting because I'd fully planned out his story and had planned from the beginning for him to have a journey that went from pretty good to nearly evil. Bethany dying was sadly a part of that, then the last straw was when Hawke's mother died...After that he was pretty much broken by the fact that his entire family (well...I guess Gamlen was alive...) was killed, with Bethany being someone who he felt a lot of guilt for.

    Isabela is...I don't disagree, and she's one of the few companions that I think doesn't  have much more depth to her (in a way). She's pretty much the same character when you meet her that she is by the end of the game (unless she dies). 

    I didn't like Zevran much either. The only thing I really liked about him is what he says to you before the battle in Denerim. Idk why everyone think he is so cool, imo he's just another city elf who just happens to be an assassin.

    Didn't felt much for Leliana in DAO, probably because I'm not a fan of the Chantry, neither is any of my characters. Though I totally adore Dog. I didn't mention him because I have a mod that gives you a special slot for him, so I can have him in my party always.

    Yeah, I can understand that apathy for Lelianna. I think I enjoyed her once you got past the boring Chantry stuff. Under that she's an actually interesting story and I love seeing her in Inquisition and she hardens. Damn, I do need that Dog Mod though :D

  • October 25, 2018

    Hmm, I can only strongly remember my latest Hawke. My first Hawke was a fairly 'Lawful Neutral'/'Lawful Good' sort of person, you know an almost sickenly good person. The latest Hawke was a bit more interesting because I'd fully planned out his story and had planned from the beginning for him to have a journey that went from pretty good to nearly evil. Bethany dying was sadly a part of that, then the last straw was when Hawke's mother died...After that he was pretty much broken by the fact that his entire family (well...I guess Gamlen was alive...) was killed, with Bethany being someone who he felt a lot of guilt for.

    Isabela is...I don't disagree, and she's one of the few companions that I think doesn't  have much more depth to her (in a way). She's pretty much the same character when you meet her that she is by the end of the game (unless she dies). 

    I constantly felt that the game just doesn't let you be really good. You just had to be an asshole one way or another. So I made my Hawke a bit of an asshole (not too much) just so the story feels natural. The end result is definitely not my most favorite of characters, but rather dramatic and interesting one. He was a bit like my Brosca, a man who would fare much better if he had a purpose greater than him. He feels that the Qun maybe could give him that, but doesn't allow himself to think of it. Instead, he dedicates himself to his family. Bethany is alive, but she is now a Grey Warden and Hawke feels that he failed her.Then his mother dies and he doesn't have any purpose anymore. Fenris, who is his romantic partner, has too much of his own issues and cannot help him. He doesn't become more evil, but he descends more and more into despair. There's no happy end for this character, the end of DA2 is not really the end of his story. I have a short story set between the events of DA2 and Inquisition that kind of continues Hawke's story and also starts the story of the future Inquisitor, though his story really ends only in Inquisition.

    Yeah, I can understand that apathy for Lelianna. I think I enjoyed her once you got past the boring Chantry stuff. Under that she's an actually interesting story and I love seeing her in Inquisition and she hardens. Damn, I do need that Dog Mod though :D

    I felt much more sympathy for her after her DLC. It explains where her love for the Chantry comes from. But in Inquisition she is so much better.

    Sadly, I don't remember where I took the Dog Mod. But it seems very popular, probably easy to find.

  • October 26, 2018

    I constantly felt that the game just doesn't let you be really good. You just had to be an asshole one way or another. So I made my Hawke a bit of an asshole (not too much) just so the story feels natural. The end result is definitely not my most favorite of characters, but rather dramatic and interesting one. He was a bit like my Brosca, a man who would fare much better if he had a purpose greater than him. He feels that the Qun maybe could give him that, but doesn't allow himself to think of it. Instead, he dedicates himself to his family. Bethany is alive, but she is now a Grey Warden and Hawke feels that he failed her.Then his mother dies and he doesn't have any purpose anymore. Fenris, who is his romantic partner, has too much of his own issues and cannot help him. He doesn't become more evil, but he descends more and more into despair. There's no happy end for this character, the end of DA2 is not really the end of his story. I have a short story set between the events of DA2 and Inquisition that kind of continues Hawke's story and also starts the story of the future Inquisitor, though his story really ends only in Inquisition.

    I think that was an aspect that DA2 did perfectly (and it's similar to how Inquisition ends), it sets it up so that no matter what there's no real 'win' it's just a different loss depending on your actions, and the world is both better and worse because of what Hawke does. There's no point where Hawke has any real control over much of anything. In some way he loses his family no matter what, he doesn't have any control over the Templar/Mage issues, and honestly doesn't accomplish anything even if he entirely sides with one party. He does stop the Qunari, but that's only good to a certain extent and you could argue that by stopping them he allows the Mage/Templar war to happen. Same with the Deep Roads, he makes it rich but that's part of what resulted in the discovery of Red Lyrium, and the death of his mother. 

    It's just constant slaps in the face, and then his story continues, and he still never really manages to win. At least a Hero of Fereldan has a chance to inarguably make Fereldan a better place...not perfect, but better. The Inquisitor...well I'll have to play Trespessar I suppose but I'd argue that they're a bit more similar to Hawke (I don't think you can win with Orlais, or the Mage/Templar choice). 

  • October 26, 2018

    I didn't get the feeling of no-win in Inquisition, even after Trespasser. Yes, you don't get to have an Ultimate Victory and Happily Ever After butthat's totally ok. Your character still can have fulfillment though. It depends on their personality and goals. I guess a certain type of Hawke can have a win too, it's just that mine was a not entirely selfish one... or at least he thinks he is not. It's not as much about making the world better as it is about the character's personal evolution. For my Hawke there wasn't any evolution at all, it was a descent, a road to despair. And no matter how he tries, he cannot pull himself out of that hole. He can't even in Inquisition. Not because it's impossible, but because he can't make himself do it.

    Yes, he cannot stop the war, but he can at least face the situation with honor. He also can face the conflict with the Qunari with more or less honor. He loses his family but in some outcomes he can at least see his sister/brother more or less happy.

    In DAO you can have either a win or a no-win depending on the character and the choices you make. But In DA2 you cannot shake off the feeling that you are an asshole no matter what, that's what I found disturbing.