Dragon Age Central

Quote: Posted 05/28/09 08:48 (GMT) by Tindle-m8
What I want to know is whether the Qunari can use magic, or whether they're dead to the fade like dwarves.

They... can use magic. That is all I will say.

Quote: Posted 05/28/09 14:09 (GMT) by levi.porphyrogenitus
Well, it has been pretty much stated that Orlais is very close to Medieval France, while Tevinter is very much inspired by the Medieval Roman (Byzantine) Empire. Ferelden is probably closest to Britain (most likely Anglo-Saxon Britain, if the Normans had been kicked out again). the Qunari are functionally similar to the Arab-Turk peoples, but their religion is probably a lot farther from Islam than the Chant is from Christianity (which the latter two are rather different in many respects).

This is pretty accurate. There are analogues to much of medieval Europe present in Thedas, although the comparison doesn't hold up in all cases. Saying that the qunari are either the Arab-Turks or the invading Mongol hordes isn't a bad place to start.

Quote: Posted 05/26/09 10:48 (GMT) by Cogitation
Do they ever marry without such prearrangement? If not, have there been exceptions that have occurred? Is the subject taboo? Is marriage considered a responsibility more than a union perhaps?

They aren't often pre-arranged, actually. Matches are approved by the Keeper, and sometimes -- if the clan elders feel it is warranted -- they will go out of their way to find a match for an eligible member of the clan (especially if it involves going to another clan) but it's not as if the Keeper is picking and choosing who marries whom without any input from the parties involved. If two clan members fall in love and the Keeper approves, the match will be encouraged. If they're incompatible, the match will be discouraged -- but even then it's not unknown for a Keeper to be persuaded to allow a love match to stand.

Male Dwarf Noble warrior. The dwarves have (imo) the most "political" nature to them in the game. I also like to swing the massive 2-handed mauls and love to walk around Orzammar.

Quote: Posted 05/24/09 22:55 (GMT) by Dalish-Elf

Is it:
"Day-lish"

"Dal-ish"
or
"Daw-lish?"

So far I've been saying it "Day-lish." Can anyone clarify? The technicalities are driving me crazy lol.

The first one is correct. The Dalish get their name from the Dales, the last homeland of the elves.

Quote: Posted 05/24/09 07:00 (GMT) by Saltamontes
And how about the Dalish? Do they match within their own clan or do they seek partners in other clans? I presume the former due to the fact that dalish clans rarely encounter each other. In that case each clan should be a large extended family. Or maybe I'm getting it all wrong?

The Dalish provide matches within their clans, yes, and such matches are always approved by the Keeper -- probably because, as you surmise, you end up with a group that's very much an extended family. There is occasionally an infusion of new blood, if a city elf arrives from the outside and integrates, but that's not always possible. Fortunately individual clans tend to be pretty large.

Even so, that's suddenly raising this whole Ozarks image in my head which I find incredibly amusing. I'm totally going to have to write in a remote, hillbilly Dalish clan at some point.

Quote: Posted 05/21/09 17:03 (GMT) by Juhy
They dont seem to be into nature at all. They just hate humans. Nature is just the only place they have left.

Not quite true. The elven traditions that they are trying to resurrect are, in fact, nature-based. Ancient Arlathan existed within a great forest, after all. This is doubly true for the Keepers, whose magic is nature-based. Calling them druids or tree-huggers may be going a bit far -- they don't protect nature or see themselves as one with it. They bend it to their will.

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 17:43 (GMT) by Mansse

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 17:35 (GMT) by David Gaider
Really, the end result is that you're not going to find many elves in smaller settlements.

Why? Are people more condesending there? Would it not be a good thing to not live in a walled of part of the town? Or do elves prefer to be amongst their own?

The walls keep humans out as much as they keep elves in. Guards and stone walls keep your more racist neighbors from deciding to burn your house down in the middle of the night.

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 17:43 (GMT) by Mansse
Why? Are people more condesending there? Would it not be a good thing to not live in a walled of part of the town? Or do elves prefer to be amongst their own?

A bit of column A, a bit of column B. And really, what are elves going to do in a small town? The few that can get work on farmholds or are lucky enough to open a shop or something in a small town are likely going to have it best -- they're going to be treated roughly as equals except by the truly bigoted (which do exist, and quite frankly elves in that situation would not be protected from them). The chances to do that are few and far between, however.

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 17:32 (GMT) by ForgeHand
so are there alienages in most towns or only in the major cities?

You need a wall around a settlement in order to have an area that is literally walled-off from the rest -- and that's only gong to happen in major cities. Other settlements might have an elven quarter, and they might even call it an alienage, though really as such settlements get smaller the point of considering any part of it "seperate" becomes lost. Really, the end result is that you're not going to find many elves in smaller settlements.

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 03:08 (GMT) by lucy_glitter
Can we visit any of those places?

Not in DAO. Those are places in Orlais, and DAO takes place entirely in Ferelden.

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 03:23 (GMT) by Yomond
How common is the elf language. The dalish still speak it but do any city elves know it? They seem to still use some of the words but could they learn. I mean you could still learn Latin today but it be hard to find someone who actually spoke conversational Latin. If a human wanted to pick it up for what ever reason what are his chaces?

The Dalish know some of the language. Their mastery of it is far from complete, but most Keepers will encourage their clans to use it as much as they can, but even they will mix it with the King's Tongue when they must. Many Dalish, in fact, will only use the most common phrases because that's all they know. City elves, meanwhile, use some of the words like "shemlen" or "vhenadahl" because that's become part of their lexicon -- but ask the average elf what those words actually mean and they probably wouldn't be able to tell you. "Shemlen" is "human" to them, but not "quick children". The tragedy of the Dalish is that, while they profess to stubbornly hold to elven tradition, the damage to those traditions is likely permanent. The Dalish traditions of today no doubt barely resemble the elven traditions that once were and are instead a hybrid of human and elven ways despite their insistance that it isn't the case.

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 03:03 (GMT) by PsychoBlonde
Do disparate groups of Dalish become culturally separate and develop their own customs and behavior patterns, then? I know they're loosely organized around the idea of preserving ancient Elven history and language, but the pressure of day-to-day living tends to change people. I just think it'd be interesting if there were, say, Mountain Dalish and Desert Dalish and Marsh Dalish.

Something to explore with the P&P game, perhaps.

The Dalish have the Gathering every 10 years, where all the clans are supposed to gather and the Keepers of each clan share their knowledge with each other. This is also where Dalish-wide issues are dealt with, and ideally the Gathering is supposed to keep the Dalish roughly in step with each other. In practice, though, you are correct. Each clan tends to go the way that its Keeper dictates. Some clans are very militant, almost xenophobic. Some are little more than bandits in whatever wilderness they've staked out (this is often the case in Tevinter, for instance). A few are quite benevolent and live in peace with nearby humans -- the Rivaini city of Llomerryn is known to have a semi-permanent Dalish encampment on its outskirts, and trade with the elves for their crafts is encouraged.

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 02:47 (GMT) by PsychoBlonde
Out of curiosity, is Thedas substantially less densely-populated than Europe? Than Europe was, I mean. One of the biggest problems with the nomadic lifestyle is that you need a lot of space in order to practice it.

I would say yes, that is so. Some nations are less densely-populated than others -- Ferelden, for instance, is quite sparsely-populated everywhere outside of the Bannorn. In central Orlais the population is incredibly dense, but even in the Empire there are a number of far-flung areas where the Dalish could roam relatively freely: the Arbor Wilds, the Hunterhorn Mountains, the Nahashin Marshes, etc.

Quote: Posted 05/20/09 02:26 (GMT) by PsychoBlonde
Small populations of Sephardic Jews adopted a more nomadic lifestyle as doctors or moneylenders, whatever professions they could find, moving on when the authorities started to get a bit edgy about their presence. On occasion they'd find a more tolerant ruler (such as in Turkey) and stay for a generation or so--until the *next* Sultan or King or whatever found it expedient to throw them out again.

They were still living as part of the societies they migrated to, however. The Dalish do not. At best they'll camp too near some human settlement and eventually the local ruler will drive them out, or they will leave voluntarily before things get too tense, but for the most part the Dalish live entirely seperated from human society.

Quote: Posted 05/19/09 21:54 (GMT) by Niemroth
Are there oportunities in Thedas or Ferelden for elves in human societies to gain fortune and wealth (for example: as a merchant, as an artist or as a craftsman)?

It depends on the society. In Ferelden it's probably a bit easier than elsewhere, solely because Ferelden is a bit more of a meritocracy. Even so, as with any oppressed group the opportunities are going to be pretty few. An elf living in a Fereldan alienage is going to have to struggle against a lot of obstacles, but there at least is no legal impediment to their social advancement.

Quote: Posted 05/19/09 17:57 (GMT) by Tinxa

I didn't know the Dalish were that reclusive. I thought the groups would interact more.
So an average alienage elf could go through his whole life and never see a Dalish elf?

Most people, regardless of race, never see a Dalish in their lifetime. The Dalish plan for avoiding another Exalted March is to present no visible target.

Quote: Do the Dalish never visit the alienages and try to "preach" about old elven ways or try to recruit some when their numbers are too few?

As far as the Dalish are concerned, City elves are basically pointy-eared humans. The Dalish themselves barely remember the old ways, they don't need to dilute their culture with ignorant knife-ears. Not to mention that making trips to and from the cities just invites humans to follow them and wipe out their clan.

Quote: Do alienage elves ever try to escape and find the Dalish?

Occasionally. This is the equivalent of running away to join the circus, though. Nobody would ever consider this a wise or even remotely sensible thing, and the people who do it are regarded as gullible idiots.