Dragon Age: Origins/Characters/Playable Characters: Difference between revisions

*** If the quest ''Secret Rendezvous'' and Alistair's {{spoiler|appearance as king}} during ''DAII'' are any indication, the Warden ruled Amaranthine for six years, and was competent enough to quickly turn Arl Howe's den of provincial aristocracy corruption into a powerful rival of Kirkwall itself, so apparently Asskicking equaled [[Reasonable Authority Figure|competent authority]]

* [[BFSBig Freaking Sword]]: A special mention to the Dwarven and Elven Wardens: If they wield a two-handed weapon [[Up to Eleven|it's bigger than their whole fricking body!]]

* [[Blessed with Suck]] / [[Cursed with Awesome]]: Congratulations! You've been selected as a Grey Warden recruit -- therecruit—the highest honor you could ever aspire to! It means any birthright or title you had is now forfeit. But wait, you have yet to become a Grey Warden -- firstWarden—first you have to {{spoiler|drink darkspawn blood, which will often kill you right away. If it doesn't, congratulations on becoming a Grey Warden! You can now sense the darkspawn and destroy archdemons at the low cost of obliterating your soul if you try the latter. Of course, they can sense ''you'' just as easily as you sense them. Oh, and you have about thirty years to live until the taint starts turning you into a darkspawn, at which point the Grey Warden instruction troubleshooting manual tells you to go on a suicide run against the darkspawn hordes. Oh, and good luck ever having children, especially if the other parent is also a Grey Warden.}}

* [[Celibate Hero]] and/or [[Really Gets Around]]: As with the hero -- antihero—anti-hero status, the Warden can be anywhere in-between these two. The hero can get [[Up to Eleven]] by having a foursome with Zevran, Leliana, and Pirate Queen Isabela. And then taking the edge off by sleeping with male hookers, female hookers, [[But You Screw One Goat!|nugs]], a transvestite ''dwarf'', or having some rather unusual things done to you using some rather [[Noodle Implements|interesting tools]].

* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: Despite having established surnames for every origin, only two of these ever seem to get used: Cousland for the human noble and Aeducan for the dwarf noble, since both are tied to the main story. The other names -- Amellnames—Amell for a human mage, Surana for the elf mage, Brosca for the dwarf commoner, Tabris for the city elf, and Mahariel for the Dalish elf -- appearelf—appear only in the character creation screen.

* [["Join the Army," They Said|Join the Grey Wardens They Said]]

* [[Knight in Sour Armor]]: Can be played like this. A natural fit in particular for an elf--evenelf—even if you're a Dalish who regards the Grey Wardens and Ferelden as an [[Enemy Mine]] situation at best, every human assumes you care about their kingdom.

** Possibly subverted in ''Witch Hunt'', where if romanced, the Warden can decide to leave with Morrigan and {{spoiler|enter the Eluvian to meet their child.}} Of course, one could argue that since itsit's been ''twoa years''year since the end of the Blight and Ferelden is at peace, there is simply no need for the Warden anymore.

* [[Modest Royalty]]: If you are a Human Noble, your entire family is this. Despite being the most powerful nobility besidebesides the King, they frequently talk to each other and allies informally. The Human Noble often has the option to ask other Nobles to just use his given name in lieu of a title when they recognize you as being a Cousland.

* [[SchrodingerSchrödinger's Player Character]]: Actually averted. No matter which of the Origin stories you choose to play, you'll come across hints in the main storyline that the others played out, with only the fact that Duncan happened to be around during your chosen origin story determining which of the potential player characters became the protagonist.

* [[The Unchosen One]]: Went from random idiot who survived because Duncan and Flemeth happened to be around at the right times to Hero of Ferelden in about a year. If you complain that you don't have a choice in the matter, Morrigan and Wynne will be quick to point out that you could just sit on your ass and do nothing to stop the Blight--ultimatelyBlight—ultimately, you do choose.

[[File:Alistair_9351Alistair 9351.jpg|frame]]

* [[Knight Templar]]: He was training to be one, though only in job description--hedescription—he flat out states that a life devoted to single-mindedly hunting down maleficars was not for him, and didn't get to choose whether he would be raised as one or not.

* [[Orphan's Plot Trinket]]: Averted--heAverted—he had an amulet from his mother, but threw it at a wall and smashed it. The player can find it {{spoiler|after his foster father Arl Eamon painstakingly glued it back together}} and give it back as a gift, but it has no further relevance to the story.

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* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: With Zevran, perhaps as a small homage to [[The Lord of the Rings|Legolas and Gimli.]] And again with Anders in ''Awakening''.

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* [[Another Side, Another Story]]: We will see what became of Shale in the next novel, ''Dragon Age: Asunder''.

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* [[BFSBig Freaking Sword]]: Like most qunari warriors, he's extremely attached to his. {{spoiler|Even though he no longer has it.}}

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* [[Hot Witch]]: [[Lampshade|Lampshaded]]d, not that it's all that unusual for the setting.

* [[No Sympathy]]: A big part of her character. Morrigan just doesn't do empathy. She may surprise you every now and then, however--oncehowever—once befriended, she genuinely cares about the PC and their feelings, expressing sympathy over their mother's death or having girl talk with the Grey Warden.

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** Parodied by Shamus Young [https://web.archive.org/web/20130805044653/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/stolen-pixels/6848-Stolen-Pixels-148-Dragon-Aged here].

* [[Hidden Depths]]: You really wouldn't expect a sweet, grandmotherly old woman like Wynne to know so much about alcohol; one of the best gifts for her other than books is a bottle of wine. She even enjoys ''Oghren's homemade ale''--[[Gargle Blaster|the same stuff that can KO the Warden if his or her Constitution is too low]]--and—and manages to correctly identify the ingredients he uses for spicing. {{spoiler|This surprises Rhys, Adrian, and Evangeline in Asunder, when they stop at a local inn to rest and eat.}}

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* [[Gallows Humor]]: It's his preferred way of dealing with a bad situation, as you will discover if you interrogate him when you have him at your mercy after his failed attempt to assassinate the party. [[Parental Abandonment|Given]] [[Training Fromfrom Hell|his]] [[Freudian Excuse|backstory]], it's almost certainly another defense mechanism.

* [[Training Fromfrom Hell]]: Take him along to the Circle Tower and watch his nightmare. That should give you a general idea.

* [[Troubled but Cute]]: An elf with {{spoiler|[[The Casanova|layers]] upon [[Sad Clown|layers]] upon [[Angst? What Angst?|layers]] of defense mechanisms [[Hidden Depths|covering up]] an [[Parental Abandonment|incredibly]] [[Training Fromfrom Hell|traumatic]] [[Heartbroken Badass|past]].}} He goes to great pains to [[Subverted Trope|deny this]] until befriended/romanced deeply enough.

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: With Oghren, perhaps as a small homage to [[The Lord of the Rings|Legolas and Gimli.]]