The next Warden

[owlmoose]

Apologies for the crosspost spam to those of you who follow me on Tumblr (and apologies for Dragon Age spam to those of you who couldn't care less), but I'm looking for advice regarding which Warden I should play next. I've narrowed it down to Brosca (dwarf commoner) or Mahariel (Dalish elf), but from there, I'm stuck.

I finished my Alim Surana runthrough today -- Origins, Awakening, Witch Hunt. It was fairly enjoyable overall, although I feel bad for Alim, because I didn't leave him in the best place, emotionally. I worked through some of those demons with a quick fic fix, which is so far only on Tumblr; I expect I'll clean it up for proper posting here and on AO3 later.

So, what next? Not Amell, not yet; I just played a mage, and I wasn't all that crazy about doing so. I plan to play one eventually for the DA2 import, but not this time. I can't tell you why Tabris isn't particularly speaking to me right now, but it's not, and so that leaves me with Mahariel or Brosca.

Brosca: The dwarves are my favorites, and I’m really excited by the idea of experiencing the Orzammar quest line from the other side. But it wouldn’t really gain me any new content for DA2, unless I betray Alistair at the Landsmeet, and I’m not sure my heart can take doing that again.

Mahariel: I’m so curious about the effects of having a Dalish Warden on DA2. On the other hand, I just played an elf, and this is the origin with the least connection to the Origins plot line.

So basically, I feel like I’m having to decide between playing the DA:O game that I most want to play, or setting up for the DA2 game I most want to play. In either case, I think I’d be playing a Chaotic Good Warden, which is something new and exciting, and a style I think both origins would lend themselves to.

Thoughts, opinions, advice? Thanks!

Comments

[sarasa_cat]

Both Brosca and Mahariel feel like good starting points for a chaotic good warden. The DA2 connections with Mahariel are potentially intriguing and even though Mahariel is an elf, Dalish is not the same as City Elf so it might trigger a few different lines and options during Nature of the Beast and the Alienage bits before Landsmeet??

and I’m not sure my heart can take doing that again.

Heh. Yeah. I suspect there are certain things in DA:O and DA2 that I will only do once: killing Anders in DA2 (did it, not sure I want to see that scene ever again), having Alistair do the US after declaring his love for the Warden (haven't done it, haven't watched the video, will do it once and only once).

[owlmoose]

I found, while playing Surana, that people were more likely to react to his mage-ness than his elf-ness; was this your experience as well? (This, incidentally, is why I played my Surana as not being anti-Chantry, for the most part; elves and humans are treated the same in the Circle, and he liked that aspect of not feeling lesser.) Sometimes it came into play, though; Velanna said something about it, for sure.

I'm sure there are different lines for Mahariel during Nature of the Beast, but because the Dalish clan we visit in DA:O isn't her clan, you don't get the same sense of coming home that a dwarf gets at Orzammar, or a mage does for the Tower. And while Cousland never goes home, the attack on Howe during the Denerim quest line is intensely personal. That's what a Mahariel game seems to be missing, from my POV; I'm glad they gave it more resonance with DA2, but that only helps with the next game out.

I probably won't be able to start until Wednesday at the absolute earliest, and more likely Friday, so I have some time to contemplate...