u/Complete_Spring_4596

Just thought I'd share some screens from my Dwarf Commoner's journey, I just recently finished the game with her, first time for that origin. I'd played another DC before many, many years ago but never went past Ostagar at the time. Still very much enjoyed it, though, and decided it would be a nice change of pace from my usual Human Noble, so I made another DC and took her all the way to the end this time.

Had a blast the whole time, it was really refreshing seeing the journey from a different perspective. Going to Orzammar (or back, in this case) was very different from how I'd experienced it before and wasn't easy for Tasha - my Dwarf Commoner, named and modeled after my first gf who passed away unexpectedly in 2011 after we'd shared seven challenging but wonderful years together. She was short, too, barely 5', so I really felt connected to this character in a personal way.

I hadn't originally set out to create my character with my gf in mind, it just sort of happened as I was messing around trying to decide which origin to do and what appearance I wanted the heroine to have. But it felt right somehow, so I stuck with it.

Anyway, I really enjoyed my Brosca's arc from dirt poor street thug to the hero of Ferelden who ended the Blight. She never wavered in her convictions, saving everyone who could be saved because after growing up in Dust Town and seeing all the suffering there, she wanted to do all she could to alleviate it in others now that she had the chance and make up for her time working as Beraht's lackey.

Although she does play a bit looser with the rules than my Cousland typically does (not hesitating to help Slim Couldry, for example, or accept Ignacio's assassination quests to get the Crows off her back and strike blows against Loghain), she still strives to do right by others as much as she can and be more than the worthless, immoral duster brute most back in Orzammar expected her to be and saw her as.

I also see her as being very curious about the surface, to the point of spending evenings at camp just lying on the ground staring up at the stars and marveling at a world without a ceiling. Also makes it easy and understandable for her to choose many of the "what's that?" sort of dialogue options too since it would make sense for her in most cases.

I did use a mod to allow her to marry Alistair and become queen since I wanted a happy ending for them and didn't want Anora on the throne - anyone who seeks power that eagerly shouldn't be allowed anywhere near it imo. In my headcanon, since she supported Bhelen and was accepted into the royal family as his sister, by the time of the Landsmeet this makes her technically dwarven nobility, in fact if not yet by law, and she uses that to her advantage to get the Landsmeet to accept her. Along with the fact that (at least in my headcanon) Ferelden law never actually specified that the queen had to be human. It was merely assumed but never explicitly stated, since no one ever expected that the king would choose a non-human bride.

And I get the feeling that Alistair would secretly enjoy seeing the stuffier nobles of Ferelden have a fit of collective apoplexy at the sight of him taking a dwarf as his queen lol. On the political side, I also feel it would make relations between Ferelden and Orzammar a lot smoother, especially since the dwarven ambassador is also Tasha's sister, Rica, and they (at least in my case) have always been close and love each other dearly.

Anyway, sorry this went on so long. Just wanted to share about my most recent journey through Thedas and how much I enjoyed it. I've also included a link below to a gallery with a lot more screens than I could possibly include here, if you're interested in seeing them.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/qNzk4JS

He's still the most natural straight man I've ever seen in a game yet has some pretty hysterical moments, especially since in most of them he's not even trying to be funny. I've also found the way he's often so blunt and obvious to the point of near absurdity ("Are you going to answer my question?" "I did.") to be very amusing as well.

And if you haven't seen his banters with Morrigan when he responds to her flirting with dead serious comments implying how forceful Qunari mating can be, to the point where she abruptly loses interest in him, try having them in your group together for a while. It's a riot, right up there with Zevran pining relentlessly after Wynne's bosoms lol.

My dwarf commoner girl fittingly got the killing blow on the Broodmother, and I managed to get this shot of her standing triumphantly on its back. I really like it so I just thought I'd share it, I'm not sure what the rules are for that sort of thing here.

Incidentally, I feel it was a missed opportunity not to have a scene after this battle (perhaps during the first camp after beating this boss) where a female Warden, now that she understands what a Broodmother is and where it comes from, struggles with fear and worry about what was effectively a glimpse of her own possible future.

Whoever the female Warden was romancing (in my case, it would've been Alistair, even for my dwarf commoner) could've then comforted her somehow and given her assurance that he would never let her become the nightmare she saw.

>!Alicia's disfigurement and disabilities. I was somewhat disappointed at how little it was directly referenced, as if Sandfall was afraid to really explore it. Nobody seemed to grieve it as a loss except Alicia/Maelle herself. pVerso was the only one who actually did address it, albeit to pAlicia rather than Alicia herself, who was never given the same validation of her worth in spite of her disfigurement and disabilities that pAlicia was.!<

>!Renoir dismissed what happened to her, basically shrugged it off, and acted as if being able to see, hear, and talk with her again as she was before the fire meant nothing to him. And while Clea does encourage her in the Endless Tower, she never mentions her state outside the Canvas or validates her worth out there as a person, that she still IS a person and not a little shadow anymore. Alicia is never given any reason by anyone to believe she'll ever be accepted in the outside world the way she is now.!<

>!It just makes me feel like Sandfall didn't consider what happened to her as a loss at all. Even in the Act 2 epilogue, her condition is barely referenced - and only by her, internally. And once that part of the game is over, the game itself seems to forget for the most part about what happened to her, as do most players, seemingly. Once it's no longer there in front of you, it's easy to forget.!<

>!I'm tired of games and stories always seeming to treat death as the only form of loss there is and can ever be. Imo Alicia's disfigurement and resulting disabilities, along with the difficulties both physical and emotional surrounding them, were enough of a loss to have centered the game around all on their own without adding a death in the family to take attention away from them. Just for once, I'd like to see an RPG really explore a form of loss OTHER than death. Because death has been done over and over and over again and it's tired and no longer original.!<

>!What happened to Alicia IS a loss, one that imo should've been grieved just as much as Verso's death. The loss of who she had been, all that she was and can never be again, the loss of her voice, the loss of half her sight, the loss of - in her mind, at least - her beauty (though I'd argue she's still quite beautiful even with her scars), the loss of her self-esteem and self-confidence, the loss of her health, the very likely loss of a full lifespan due to her injuries, and more. When Aline and Clea are saying she's weak, they're not being insulting, they're just reminding her of her compromised physical condition.!<