My thoughts were "There's a lot of mini-quests around here" and "What's with all the evil magic people?" Because seriously, for every douchey anti-magic guy, there's always some kind of hapless mage person who harbors phenomenal cosmic power or an evil mage dude.
I mean, there's a lot of sketch going on in Kirkwall and the only good people that are left to stop it are fighting each other.
I think that the magical influence in Ivalice can lend its inspiration to Eastern attitudes of the supernatural. Like, if the Mist is something that's always part of the environment, then using Mist can be just as natural as training your body if that makes sense. Like, being able to use the energies of your surroundings and combining it with your inner chi so that it'll be concentrated into a form of power. I think that magic in Ivalice has greater unity in the mind and body for it to be able to be used in almost everyday life (at least for the adventurer). I mean, I'm willing to bet that if street urchins Vaan and Penelo can learn it then anyone can.
In contrast, I think that the Fade tends to be more spiritual and psychological, since that's the domain of spirits and dreams. Spirits and demons that are there seem to emulate the virtues and vices of the mortal realm, but I don't think that the entirety of the supernatural can be so simply explained as being personified human values. But perhaps it is? Perhaps the Fade is really the collective unconscious of all conscious beings in Thedas. That would certainly be supported by having dreams taking place in the Fade. I also like to think that spirits and demons as they are aren't powerful until when confronted with something from the physical world. For example, I think Pride demons would truly manifest their characteristics only when a person has communicated with it and that person would act as like a mirror of itself. I mean, if there weren't mages running around tempting magical beings with their mere existence, what would those demons/spirits be doing? Would a Pride demon just be arrogant at its worst or boastful at its best? Would a desire demon just look around for conscious vessels to fulfill its need to desire something? Justice really would be just a concept until it actually experiences life through Anders' eyes. In contrast, it seems as though the Gods and Espers of Ivalice seem to maintain a kind of individuality as well as being able to exist in the mortal realm without the aid of humans pulling them out.
But I digress. I have read both vieralynn and yours' discussion and I agree with both.
Re: BTW, totally playing Dragon Age 2 now.
I mean, there's a lot of sketch going on in Kirkwall and the only good people that are left to stop it are fighting each other.
I think that the magical influence in Ivalice can lend its inspiration to Eastern attitudes of the supernatural. Like, if the Mist is something that's always part of the environment, then using Mist can be just as natural as training your body if that makes sense. Like, being able to use the energies of your surroundings and combining it with your inner chi so that it'll be concentrated into a form of power. I think that magic in Ivalice has greater unity in the mind and body for it to be able to be used in almost everyday life (at least for the adventurer). I mean, I'm willing to bet that if street urchins Vaan and Penelo can learn it then anyone can.
In contrast, I think that the Fade tends to be more spiritual and psychological, since that's the domain of spirits and dreams. Spirits and demons that are there seem to emulate the virtues and vices of the mortal realm, but I don't think that the entirety of the supernatural can be so simply explained as being personified human values. But perhaps it is? Perhaps the Fade is really the collective unconscious of all conscious beings in Thedas. That would certainly be supported by having dreams taking place in the Fade. I also like to think that spirits and demons as they are aren't powerful until when confronted with something from the physical world. For example, I think Pride demons would truly manifest their characteristics only when a person has communicated with it and that person would act as like a mirror of itself. I mean, if there weren't mages running around tempting magical beings with their mere existence, what would those demons/spirits be doing? Would a Pride demon just be arrogant at its worst or boastful at its best? Would a desire demon just look around for conscious vessels to fulfill its need to desire something? Justice really would be just a concept until it actually experiences life through Anders' eyes. In contrast, it seems as though the Gods and Espers of Ivalice seem to maintain a kind of individuality as well as being able to exist in the mortal realm without the aid of humans pulling them out.
But I digress. I have read both vieralynn and yours' discussion and I agree with both.