Dragon Age/Narm

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Dragon Age may itself turn out to be quite non-narmy. However, one cannot help but find this trailer incredibely narmariffic.
    • Dragon Age is a splendid game... but BioWare really does need to work on picking its trailer music. And not just trailer music, either. "This Is War" by 30 Seconds To Mars in the end credits of a fantasy game? Airy LOTR-esque soprano in a sex scene (that is worth mentioning in itself - especially with character models/animations that can only do so much and a PC who can barely change expression when doing anything)?
    • Every time the PC and his/her love interest kiss, there is a little tinkly musical flourish that's just embarrassing.
    • Leliana is supposed to be a bard, so she must sing at some point. However, both the buildup to the scene and the execution leave a lot to be desired.
      • When she uses any of her song abilities in battle, she appears to lean her head back and howl.
        • She doesn't mysteriously change voice actress, either.
    • In one area, you're asked to help stop a group of werewolves who have recently attacked a group of elves. When you talk to the elves, you are asked by one man if you would look for his wife, who he believes has become a werewolf. When you find her, she's is, in fact, a werewolf, and is obviously in a great deal of pain and doing her best to fend off the savage nature of the werewolf. She asks you to kill her to make the pain stop. The voice acting and storytelling are both handled in such a way that this is actually quite a moving moment . . . until a moment after she is dead, at which point you realize you can loot the corpse. FOR A WEREWOLF PELT.
    • On a related note, whenever you are given an option to kill a character in a cutscene (with the notable exception of Loghain), your character will pull out a dagger and stab him/her. Even if you're playing a mage and have never even carried a dagger, you'll bring it out for the cutscene executions. Plus, it happens so fast that it often looks like you hit the victim with a rock.
  • Similarly, at the end of the game, if your Warden survives to slay the Archdemon, he/she pulls out a sword to deal the killing blow, despite their class. Just imagine seeing your petite elven mage doling out some BFS justice and try not to go, "Huh?"
    • Alter a character's armor and cutscenes - the best and/or most stirring ones included - involving that character will change their appearance accordingly. This includes if you remove their armor altogether, which players are often encouraged to do before Guest Star Party Members are Lost Forever. Cue Daveth flailing at Duncan's feet choking to death from the Taint in his underwear.
    • This also happens with Mhairi in Awakening. It's also especially hard to take Alistair giving you a What the Hell, Hero? and leaving if you strip him down beforehand (otherwise, you will likely lose powerful, rare and valuable equipment).
    • Speaking of Duncan, the part during the Joining where he talks about mastering your taint is incredibly funny if you're immature.
    • The scene at the Landsmeet should you choose to execute Loghain is a touching farewell between father and daughter, with suitably moving music, right up to the point where Anora gets a patented Dragon Age blood bath.
    • Dragon Age II has its own narm. During the Dissent quest, for example, Justice makes a dramatic entry which leads to a battle against a dangerous templar. Then the battle is over however, and Justice just keep ranting like an angry child and getting into a squabble with a mage that you're trying to save, possibly killing her for being afraid of him.
    • Romance scenes in Dragon Age 2 can often turn into this. Particular standouts include the ridiculous Isabella scene, and the awkward body positioning of the Merril scene.
    • YMMV a bit on this one, but Sebastian's cry of "MAKER, NOOOO" upon seeing the destruction of the chantry is unintentionally hilarious to some people.

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