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Pro-Templar run on DA2: some thoughts
I just finished my third time through Dragon Age 2. Default Garrett Hawke, two-handed warrior, purple to the core, rivalmanced Anders, friends with everyone else but Merrill, supported the Circle and the templars from the very beginning. I'm glad I did it, for science, but I don't know if I can ever do it again, at least not a solid pro-templar character. Although the situation is a complicated one, in the end my personal sympathies still lie with the mages, and playing a pro-templar game has helped solidify that for me.
Other things I have learned:
1. I don't like purple Hawke nearly as much as a lot of people seem to. He's kind of a jerk a lot of the time, even more so than the supposedly "mean" red Hawke. Maybe it would come off differently with an f!Hawke.
2. I am also not a fan of the rivalmance with Anders. It's very different dynamic from the Fenris rivalmance, which struck me as a healthy relationship between two people who just happen to have a significant point of disagreement. Hawke can rival Fenris while still supporting him, but I don't know if that's possible with Anders. I actually ended up restarting this game because I was having a hard time solidifying their rivalry the first time through, because if you're even a little supportive of him personally -- regardless of what you say about mages and templars -- he is either neutral or you get friendship points. So in the end, it didn't really work for me. At least with Anders, I prefer the friendmance all the way. (I still need to try the Fenris friendmance sometime. But Isabela is my next priority.)
And yes, Garrett did execute him. He also refused to help Anders sneak into the Chantry, although to my surprise that didn't end the relationship (Anders stayed in the house and would continue to join the party). It put them on the outs, though. Garrett was a devout Andrastian, with high respect for Elthina, so it makes sense to me that he would want to see Anders punished for her death. At the very end of the game, Varric said his usual line about how all the companions left him, eventually... except for Anders, and although I knew about that bug, I still winced pretty hard. Anders may be dead, but his ghost will haunt Garrett forever. Could he have done more to help his lover? Could he have done something differently, prevented this tragedy? The anguish in his voice, when he said "I could have stopped this!" was probably the most heartbreaking part of the scene for me. He'll never know, and for someone who likes a lot of control over his life, the questions are sure to eat at him.
3. Bethany went to the Grey Wardens, and oh, poor bitter girl. Although it was a little weird, playing Legacy before Finding Nathaniel (I ran through Legacy early in Act 3), because she seems so much more resigned to it in Legacy, while her anger is quite near the surface in Finding Nathaniel. By The Last Straw, I can see the resignation, the acceptance of it as her purpose. (I think this is now officially my backstory canon for the Warden Twins AU that I play with sometimes.)
4. Playing as a two-handed warrior was pretty fun, but mage is still the hands-down winner. Every time Bethany came back, and I got to start mowing through crowds with force magic, I missed my Marrisa. Whatever else I do, I'm definitely going to be a mage next time.
What next? Well, Alim Surana was the Warden in this universe, so I could start again DA2 again, using Kasia Brosca's backstory, although there's nothing really unique about that in terms of DA2 content I haven't seen. I also have my Loral Mahariel DA:O game, which I had been playing on my Mac, but I find it much more difficult than playing the PlayStation (I am totally stuck on the battle with the Lady of the Forest right now, and it's much more frustrating than fun). So I might give up on the siren call of screenshots and mods (I haven't even done anything with mods) and start over again on the PS3. Especially since I have much more DLC on the PS3. And I've been wanting to see what the DA2 universe is like with a Mahariel Warden, so maybe that should be next. With almost a year and a half until Inquisition, I have plenty of time for it.
Other things I have learned:
1. I don't like purple Hawke nearly as much as a lot of people seem to. He's kind of a jerk a lot of the time, even more so than the supposedly "mean" red Hawke. Maybe it would come off differently with an f!Hawke.
2. I am also not a fan of the rivalmance with Anders. It's very different dynamic from the Fenris rivalmance, which struck me as a healthy relationship between two people who just happen to have a significant point of disagreement. Hawke can rival Fenris while still supporting him, but I don't know if that's possible with Anders. I actually ended up restarting this game because I was having a hard time solidifying their rivalry the first time through, because if you're even a little supportive of him personally -- regardless of what you say about mages and templars -- he is either neutral or you get friendship points. So in the end, it didn't really work for me. At least with Anders, I prefer the friendmance all the way. (I still need to try the Fenris friendmance sometime. But Isabela is my next priority.)
And yes, Garrett did execute him. He also refused to help Anders sneak into the Chantry, although to my surprise that didn't end the relationship (Anders stayed in the house and would continue to join the party). It put them on the outs, though. Garrett was a devout Andrastian, with high respect for Elthina, so it makes sense to me that he would want to see Anders punished for her death. At the very end of the game, Varric said his usual line about how all the companions left him, eventually... except for Anders, and although I knew about that bug, I still winced pretty hard. Anders may be dead, but his ghost will haunt Garrett forever. Could he have done more to help his lover? Could he have done something differently, prevented this tragedy? The anguish in his voice, when he said "I could have stopped this!" was probably the most heartbreaking part of the scene for me. He'll never know, and for someone who likes a lot of control over his life, the questions are sure to eat at him.
3. Bethany went to the Grey Wardens, and oh, poor bitter girl. Although it was a little weird, playing Legacy before Finding Nathaniel (I ran through Legacy early in Act 3), because she seems so much more resigned to it in Legacy, while her anger is quite near the surface in Finding Nathaniel. By The Last Straw, I can see the resignation, the acceptance of it as her purpose. (I think this is now officially my backstory canon for the Warden Twins AU that I play with sometimes.)
4. Playing as a two-handed warrior was pretty fun, but mage is still the hands-down winner. Every time Bethany came back, and I got to start mowing through crowds with force magic, I missed my Marrisa. Whatever else I do, I'm definitely going to be a mage next time.
What next? Well, Alim Surana was the Warden in this universe, so I could start again DA2 again, using Kasia Brosca's backstory, although there's nothing really unique about that in terms of DA2 content I haven't seen. I also have my Loral Mahariel DA:O game, which I had been playing on my Mac, but I find it much more difficult than playing the PlayStation (I am totally stuck on the battle with the Lady of the Forest right now, and it's much more frustrating than fun). So I might give up on the siren call of screenshots and mods (I haven't even done anything with mods) and start over again on the PS3. Especially since I have much more DLC on the PS3. And I've been wanting to see what the DA2 universe is like with a Mahariel Warden, so maybe that should be next. With almost a year and a half until Inquisition, I have plenty of time for it.