The Problem with Politics - Let's Play Dragon Age II

Due to unforseen circumstances that is my father deciding TODAY IS THE DAY he will put Windows 8 on my freeze-prone gaming pc, I find myself in a bit of a time crunch. Let's Play Dragon Age II like we mean it!

Final update batch is go.

Have one wild stab at who we'll be fighting now if you haven't played the game before >_>

And imgur starts acting up... we'll see if it all makes it through.

After defeating Meredith, you're done controlling your character. From hereon out it's all stills of cinematics and animations.

Two to go...

And this is it. This is the last update, the final 20 images of the LP. Ladies, gentlemen, assorted gentlebeings, we made it. We actually made it.

Congrats on finishing this! It was a great read overalll. Very interesting.



Looking forward to a DA3 LP.

Okay, thread. Let's talk.

First up, to celebrate us finishing Act 3 and indeed the entire game:



Now...

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started this thread. I wasn't expecting it'd be two months plus a week's time of work (on the date, actually, if you count from the first post, which was on October 15th), I wasn't expecting much interest. I wasn't expecting how much of a pain in the ass imgur and my crash-prone browser would prove in unison. I wasn't expecting to do much except talk to myself and the one or two people would follow.

I wasn't expecting you guys. Lurkers, posters, those who were here from the start, those who who caught up on the way, those still trying to catch up if the likes on older posts coming in these last fews days is any indicator. I wasn't expecting to find people liking this game as much as I did. I wasn't expecting the entirely new way I came to view the game through your comments, your opinions, and your perseverance. I wasn't expecting how much you'd hang on, both those of you I can tell was reading and those I can't. First of all: Thank you. As I started mentioning yesterday, it's helped me to keep going day after day, to be patient when imgur stopped uploading for the 6th time in as many hours. Ultimately it's thanks to you and for you we made it here as efficiently and enjoyably as we did.

The one thing I didn't expect, maybe exactly, as much as wanted when I embarked on this was, as I believe my first post here actually says... to share this game, this game I think for all its failings and headdesk-inducing moments and FUCKING ANDERS, SHUT UP SEBASTIAN-ness is truly great. I can only hope if nothing else you at least don't walk away from this doubting this is and probably always will be one of my favourite games, and that I find it's terribly underrated. I don't expect you to agree, of course, unless you want to. I see it in an entirely new way myself by the end of it, but I think I said that a few times along the way as well.

So here we are. The game is over and I can stop swearing at imgur for a few days. Since Awakening seems a bit obscure compared to DAO in people's minds and I think it's a fitting other piece of the puzzle in understanding what happens in DA2, I'll probably pick that up in a few days. However, that does not mean I will order this thread to flicker and die like an ember.

We have 5 new updates of events to discuss for one. We have the entire game laid out so if we want to talk outside spoiler tags, we now can. I give you the word and what you decide to do with it, or not to, is entirely up to you. For me, anyway, the between-posts talk was often what made me proud to have started this thread and now there's no danger we're irritating new readers by having pages and pages of talk between game updates. I suppose I can reveal now that my gaol was if nothing else as long as the LP ran to have at least one update per page after it started and it's easily met it.

So, there we go. If, like me, you want to hang on to the game a bit longer, here's first half of the game credits (I'm not sure why they don't have the second - it's set to what I believe is In Uthenara, Merrill was quoting it earlier and Leliana sings it at your campfire in DAO)



I'd name you all by name and thank you, but I'm too worried I'll accidently forget someone, but let's just accept the presmise if you read your way to here, you're pretty much awesome and I want you to know that.

Whew. Some journey, eh?

Congratulations! Thank you for LPing this; you did an excellent job and it's been a pleasure to read. :D

I'm kind of surprised Zevran didn't turn up for the final free-for-all; I don't think he's ever failed to for me as long as I finished his sidequest. I usually get Nathaniel helping out too.

Also, crazy as Meredith is, I'm always impressed by how badass she is in the final scene. Not just the kicking my ass part, but the voicework... although her in-battle speeches always seem to get lost in sound effects when I play. It took a while for me to realize she was taunting me when she singled Fenris out to impale with extreme prejudice.

I am very glad to know it ^^ A game like this, you better make sure you at least try to do it justice (no pun intended, go away, Anders), I figure.

He's never not done it before. I don't know if I simply didn't give him time. I forewent my usual rule and actually used spells on Meredith so it's entirely possible she died too fast since I usually get at least one stun from her as well and didn't this time. Damnit, Joyce. Why do you and Boob Staff have to be such hard hitters?
As for Nate, some ungodly sense of cruel programming has him flagged as dead in nearly all my DAO saves, even if he was going with me to fight the final boss fight, so I barely ever see him ;_;

Aye! I enjoyed reading this, and the characterization you gave to Joyce through the journal format, it was very clever! Can't wait to see how you approach Awakenings, if you end up doing it soon.

I've never played DA:A , so I never got to see Nate. He seems like a cool guy though. I think that bug happens to everyone, unless they fixed it very recently.. That sucks ;(.
Plus Zev, It's always neat when he shows up to help you out. Odd you didn't even get the LI "in peril" comments, so I guess you did kill her a mite too fast, but that's ok! I think it does take them some time for them to show up- Tried to look it up, but just simply said the list of order companions may show up in. I said Zev would show up with Isa or Var in the group, so may have just been unlucky. That, or he was hiding in some mobs!

(Screams). Despite knowing how primal her scream is, it's just hilarious to see in screenshot form with subtitles. Hahaha.

Edit: Ah, found it (The Nate Bug)

And it's just "screams" for screen after screen after screen. I thought of editing it out, I usually do, but it was a bit too funny to just leave it there going on and on XD

I will probably start on it after Christmas. Tomorrow's my birthday, then Christmas Eve, then probably a lunch with the half of the family we didn't celebrate Christmas with, so the bext 3-4 days will be busy. Awakening being a lot less of a massive undertaking, I think I can work up the energy fairly fast. Now I know some people don't even know of Nathaniel, I MUST! *sparkles*

I actually never got the peril comments. I suppose if you play at Casual she always dies too fast so she at best gets one stun-and-speak. Fenris was the third to run in after Varric and Aveline, which I thought was a nice touch. Sebastian came in straaaaaaight after >_>

Ooh. Yeah, I wonder if it's also tied into having him in your initial party? I did love that touch, having all of your friends run in and help you in a big battle. They wove you!

And there's no rush, ever! Happy early birthday, then have fun with the family! Especially after DA2's "Family is family, dudes" message, aha.

Oh dear, what have I done! Now Nate's going to go everywhere with us in Awakenings? I am not opposed.

Now THAT there is a very high likelihood of XD. I won't leave everything up to vote. The way I play Awakening is a question of who takes the last spot with Anders and Nate each warming one.

Now to look at that workaround...

I approve. Nathaniel is fantastic and probably my favorite thing about Awakening. <3

Thank you ever so much for doing this LP~
-insert everything that everyone else said because I agree-
I couldn't discuss much seeing as I've never played the game and consequently don't have a lot of experience with it. Or exposure to it outside this LP ^^"
But following this has deeefinitely made me seriously consider getting the game 8'D
ignore the fact that I have a lot of other games to finish and haven't seen aaaany other DA games whatsoever aahaahaahaa

Kasu, so immensely pleased to hear it! Ultimately, I think that's what a good LP needs to do.

It does occur to me playing Awakening after this is a callback to my RPG history. I played TSL before KotOR, too, so this reverse flailing seems to be my thing. I guess at least this time I initially played them in order...

Now that we're at the end, I can safely say that I enjoyed this game more than I thought I would. Hopefully I will get to actually play it some day. Thank you so much for LPing!

Just to chip in & say thanks. As I said up thread, this LP made me go back to the game, first time round I never got past act I, and I really enjoyed it, so cheers Davian

You are both very welcome, and I'm glad it garners interest. I think if it had presented itself a bit better from the demo, it wouldn't have the poor reputation it garnered somewhere. I can say for myself, despite countless digital facepalms, it is and remains one of my favourite games, and it's not everything I have shown here, so there's a lot of content waiting to be uncovered outside the core story - for example what the game plays like with Bethany there instead of Carver. I hope you, Nerys, can get to see it one day, and you, wisbechlad, will continue to enjoy what I think is a truly excellent RPG in its own, sometimes immensely frustrating right.

And since the 24th is about 10 minutes away where I sit, I would like to take this moment to wish everyone still reading here a very merry Christmas.

And if your friends tell you they need to collect dragon dung, do yourself a favour and make excuses.

Ah, I found my way to the end of the thread again (for the last time). Thank you so much for doing this, Davian! I really enjoyed reading about Joyce the Champion, discovering the things I missed in my playthroughs, and reading peoples different perspectives on the story. And I must say, I'm super impressed that you got this LP done in just over 2 months. Your patience and diligence deserves awards, seriously. Well done ;)

I'm sorry for the price being people had problems keeping up with my crazy updating schedule, but I must say I am really proud it didn't take me longer. I remember when I did the first update I was ready to bail because I had no realistic idea about how long playing a game the way you have to for an LP takes. An hour to get the prologue and three acts stretching before me. I mentioned it before, but I think what really made me grit my teeth and take the mountain on was that I knew it mattered, and that's the reader's credit. I was really glad to do this for you all, and I'm even gladder you taught me and showed me new angles on everything along the way. DA2's probably even more clearly my favourite game now, and that wasn't a given considering, again, an LP is such a strange way to play a game.

Sorry for the necro, and it's a double-post at that, but the chibi-maker thread gave me an idea.

SO ADORABLE.

I KNOW, RIGHT? That thing is eating up all my free time right now, so I thought I might as well spread the cuteness.

Unfortunately there was no model for Boob Staff.

You did well enough without it! I was fooling around again and gave up due to the lack of elf ears.

Aaaaaa those are all so cute!

*grumble* I suppose I can't leave out Sebastian, really. Last bump!

For the purposes of chibiland, the Gem of Keroshek is now a giant strawberry and... fork that icecream over, Seb and I might put you in my party again when I play DA2.

Well, thanks to this LP I have just now joined the ranks of those who completed the game and loved it. I believe I started reading this sometime in December, started playing (and stopped reading so I could save a few spoilers) mid/late December, and finished last night.

Fantastic game, and much thanks to DK for making this stellar effort.

Also, DAMNIT Anders and WTF Orsino fully apply for my "kick Anders out of the party early" and "support the mages because well, Bethany, and genocide doesn't sit well with me. Sorry Fenris." playthrough. The Orsino thing *could* have been handled better with just a bit more work on BioWare's part to show his rising stress and such. And no, I did not know of his Quentin connection in this playthrough. It did not come out. Which well, fully supports my "This might be the best Bioware game I've ever played" theory ... or maybe that's just afterglow.

Also, I must say the default Meredith appearance really really works in the end there.

I did unfortunately get the Merill bug which may or may not have prevented me from getting the rest of Fenris' quests, or maybe I just didn't get his meter far enough in either direction. Either way, having the Merill questline unfinished (after I made the wrong choice and got the tribe wiped out :( ) kinda sucked, considering how overall weighty it was.

I posted my Hawke in the character thread, here.

Firstly, thank you Marcin for sharing your thoughts! My best experience with this LP was hands down realizing I wasn't as alone as I thought in my thoughts about this game, what it did well and what it didn't do well. (Also that Merrill bug is fucking pain - I was almost sure a patch fixed it since I don't seem to get it anymore)

Now... 'pologies for the bumb, but I thought this was pretty interesting in regards to the LP. BF voting followed much of the wider trends for the things I allowed people to decide! (A friend was so good as to link this to me just now).

Since you just bumped this, I don't feel bad about saying that I've been playing DA2 (finally!) and I'll wait till I finish it to go over my many, many mixed feelings, but now I appreciate all your comments about the voice acting, because it really is excellent. Now I have even more of a crush on Fenris.

Please do come relate them when you do! (I figure now it's a completed LP section a bump is less of a serious problem - though I promise I'll stop kicking the thread upwards for now).

The voice acting really is wonderful and I'm glad you got to experience it. Gideon Emery is a genius, and I've no doubt he has a big hand in why Fenris is the most popular romance (that and... well... Anders after the first playthrough...)

The voice acting really made the characters for me - Aveline and Isabella could come out totally cliche on paper, but the voice acting made them fierce.

Also, as someone who romanced Anders on the first playthrough, the Fenris romance was both healing and frustrating - because it was so damn subtle. Where's my melodrama? I can handle it when video games treat relationships respectfully!

I have to thank Marcin, because I wanted to thank Davian so much for this LP but I couldn't because I was worried about necro.

So, DK, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I think I enjoy Anders's romance (and character) more now that I know how it ends. Because DELICIOUS DRAMA AND GUILTY PLEASURE.

Argh, I really, really need to find the time to play DA 1 & 2, especially with DA 3 on the horizon (apparently Hawke and the Warden may pop up if you load your save data!).

Also, completely random question; you know how female Shepard is generally referred to as Femshep? Was there ever a generally excepted name for female Hawke?

Not quite so widespread as "FemShep," but LadyHawke seems pretty common, mostly thanks to there being a movie by that title. I'm pretty sure FemHawke also sees use.

Attention, people who know Dragon Age far better than I! I come seeking your wisdom!

Which are the better written romances to pursue for a female Warden in DAO and LadyHawke in DA2? For DAO, in currently looking at either Alistaire or Leliana, and for DA2, probably Fenris with a mage Hawke for ULTIMATE HATESEX. That said, I'm completely open to suggestions.

Hm, well, it depends upon inclination. Alistair and Leliana's romance is pretty up front about how it's going to be (and I'm ridiculously fond of Alistair so I'm as biased as can be said on that front), but in DA2 to romances each have their... flavor, you might call it. Basically:

Anders: Hello angst train. He is dangerous to loooove, baby, and he will never let you forget it, even if he's the one pushing for a romance. He has his genuinely sweet moments, but if you're going to romance him, it should be on the first playthrough.
Fenris: You'd think his was the angstier one, but no. It's probably one of the more normal love stories you can get up to. Gideon Emery is an outstanding voice actor, and Fenris, in my opinion, is one of the cutest romances in the game. His is the most popular romance as per the charts I posted and he also won the vote to be romanced in this thread, which is probably telling.
Merrill: She's sweet, but very, very stupid sometimes. Think of it, at least on the Rivalry path, as very much a rescue romance. Nothing wrong with it, but her low self esteem really doesn't make for a very equal relationship dynamic (not that Hawke's abusive, but the player may feel called to yell at the screen sometimes - or maybe that's just me.)
Isabela: Probably one of my favourites. You wouldn't think so, but she has a lot going on under that bandana. Also by far the least stressful romance.
Sebastian: SHUT UP, SEBASTIAN (by which I mean it's only halfway there and very tame compared to everything else; also limited to a female Hawke. And I never played it)

My personal biased opinions:

In DAO, Alistair's romance is adorable, and also potentially very frustrating depending on your choices late in the game because it's more at the mercy of the plot. But really I'd say spend some time interacting with both characters and make your choice based on whichever one you like better. I don't think you can go wrong that way.

I like Fenris's romance best in DAII, but I do not find his rivalmance nearly as rewarding as some of the others in the game can be because the difference is mostly that Fenris is more of an ungrateful prick when you try to do things for him. It's not hard to friendmance him with a mage and in my opinion it's worth it. Either way he's still got a lot of frustration and anger and complicated feelings.

I also agree with all of the things Davian said.

I think you should spend your time with both of them and then decide. Alistair romance is better tied with the major plot, but Leliana's romance is more peaceful. Then again, Leliana was the only F/F option in DA:O, so I am a bit biased because of that. Just don't finish all her character arc immediatly, because once it's done, that's it.

Now, DA2, where I love every character and every romance:

Anders: what DK said. I think his romance is worth it, even on a second playthrought, but if the entire "I'M SO DANGEROUS, I SPARKLE" thing pisses you off, it's better to give up and romance him with a m!Hawke later. You get a bit more of backstory instead of those moments. Both rivalmance and friendmance are good, it depends on the way you play it. Also, Adam Howen is really good and makes you care a lot.
His romance is really tied to the major plot.

Fenris: I wouldn't suggest his rivalmance, because there is no reason to do that, he is just angrier and sadder. But his friendmance is awesome. It ties well with his character arc, Gideon Emery is awesome and he and Hawke have a good relationship. Also, you really get to know him. And he appreaciates Sarcastic!Hawke. And it's cute and satisfying. No difference between f!Hawke and m!Hawke.

Isabela: I love her and her friendmance - but her rivalmance is also good. Her romance is well tied with both the character arc and the major plot, also she and Fenris are good choices if you want a solid relationship without too much troubles going on. She and f!Hawke have a good chemistry , she is more sweet with a f!Hawke and she is one of the few characters who is friendly to everyone.

Merrill: You really have to like her character, otherwise it's frustating. It's probably the romance where you are less involved in her character arc, and the romance is not tied to the major plot. Rivalmance and friendmance are different - I don't think it's even a rescue path, it was more a "my girlfriend is doing her thing while I make her coffee" path. There isn't any difference between f!Hawke and m!Hawke - except in the friendmance path, but it's not too much of a difference.

Sebastian: pff, DK is just jealous because he was flirting with Fenris. Anyway, I like his romance despite all his flaws - it's not the best romance in the game and I probably wouldn't suggest it as the first romance, especially because it's a bit tricky and has less content than anyone else. Even so, Í rivalmanced him and despite a big "SHUT UP SEBASTIAN" moment, It wasn't too bad. I heard that Sebastian's friendmance has more romance in it, but there is a big difference between Friendmance and Rivalmance and I almost never have him as a friend.
It's not the most satisfying romance, unless it's your coup of tea. He can be romanced only by fem!Hawke, but male!Hawke can flirt with him (and fail).
Also, you can't flirt with anyone ever but him. You can still go to the brothel however, he doesn't mind.

Personally I never managed to finish any game where I romanced Merrill, Alistair and Leliana because they are way too sweet for me, I lost interest.

Still, it's better to get to know them before deciding, it depends a lot on your Hawke.

I'm just going to say that if you romance Izzy, do it with a FemHawk, because it's seriously cool and will give you a safe place to explore the thin line between admiration and lust. Err, um, or so I heard.

Seb doesn't have a romance, he has a shoujo-manga plot + cliffhanger. Damn that alluring accent for plunging me into the depths of hell (aka the kink meme community. They have some steamy stuff there!)