(Part 3) Top products from r/dragonage

Pick up the trilogy written by Gaider and published by Dark Horse and read them in this order: The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak, Until We Sleep. Alternatively, the Library Edition compiles the three comics into a nice hardcover already in the proper order and with interesting marginalia by Gaider himself explaining the thought process behind a lot of the decisions in the comics.

The comics miniseries Dragon Age written by Orson Scott Card and published by IDW you can pretty much skip. It's really badly written, it features no known characters, it connects to no plot at all that we currently follow through the games, it piles up Twilight level of terribad romance clichés and it's just... really not good mmkay.

As for personal opinions of the Gaider series... there are soft spoilers here, kay. I can dig where he takes Alistair as a character, although his Alistair is clearly a softie, because a hardened Alistair comes to that same place about ten years earlier during the Blight itself. So there's definitely some cognitive dissonance with my personal playthroughs there, but well. I enjoy seeing Alistair beyond DAO in any form, so I just deal with it. I like that Maric's story gets some closure, even if it's... let's just say, not anyone's ideal scenario, for the sake of avoiding major spoilers. I don't have to necessarily like how a character's fate turns out to acknowlege that this is what happened to them and it's what we have to deal with. I like the deeper insights into Varric's and Isabela's pasts and how it's shaped them, for better or worse, and find it very humanizing that there are some secrets we hold so close that even Hawke never managed to get it out of them.

I don't like that we have an adventure set entirely in Antiva, involving the Crows, and all Zevran gets is a teeny tiny namedrop and that's it. I don't like that we have an adventure entirely set in Tevinter, involving magisters and slaves, and Fenris doesn't even get a teeny tiny namedrop for his trouble. I don't like that in the only chance we'll ever have of seeing Alistair, Cailan and Maric interact, Cailan is reduced to a namedrop. What a wasted opportunity for a truly punch-in-the-nuts emotional scene, damn. These things are rather minor, but missing details like these make the universe of the comics seem disconnected, like they exist in a bubble of their own. I would have appreciated a little more effort to make it seem like the things and people that shape these characters' lives matter more.

But overall, I enjoy them. I love that we get to see Antiva and Tevinter first hand, even if only for a brief glimpse, it's much better than relying on third party narrative forever. Some scenes in the Fade made me cry, I won't even front it. Maevaris is the baddest bitch in the place, I would play a whole spinoff series based solely on her. I love Yavanna, and I love that, in true older sister form, she thinks Morrigan is just a whiny brat. I love the full circle of mutual respect that Alistair and Sten's sort of not-really-friendship comes to. I live and breathe for Varric lampshading His Royal Highness Alibooboo's special snowflake syndrome in his most perfectly timed deadpan. The comics are not without fault, but there is certainly a lot to like in there.

LOL, very good! Can we play too?

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Sera - Etiquette and Decorum: A Guide For Young Ladies

Oghren - Decorum and Etiquette: A Guide For Young Dwarven Nobles

Sera - Winning at THE GAME (of wife): How to Make Your Woman Love You, Want You, & Adore You, Like Never Before actual book title!

Josephine - A Bard's Life: How To Lose The Game And Keep On Winning

Solas - Radical Honesty: How to Transform Your Life by Telling the Truth
another real book title

Morrigan - Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirits of Mothers so many layers of meaning to this one!

Also, as far as I know, it's kinda difficult to find bundles for ALL the comics out there. You can purchase the separate comics with their issues all bundled together.

There are, however, a few series: First wave of comics (that I'm aware of) are The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep series. These are about King Alistair employing Varric Tethras and Isabela for a quest he personally needs to see through. It takes place right after the events of DA II, but before Inquisition (8 years after archdemon's death). It's my absolute favorite Dragon Age related piece of art. It's written well and I'm not saying that just because Alistair and Varric are my favorite characters in the DA universe. You can find the omnibus (all three comics) for that one online, but mostly it's sold out in a lot of places:

https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-Omnibus-David-Gaider/dp/1506702759

The next one in the chronological series is Dragon Age: Magekiller. It takes place right before the inquisition, and it's about Tessa and Marius, who end up traveling to Minrathous for dealing with the Venatori. It's fun, and you get to meet Archon Radonis, but overall a meh story in my opinion.

https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-Magekiller-Greg-Rucka/dp/161655634X

Next ones are Draagon Age: Knight Errant and Dragon Age: Deception. I haven't read them yet. I heard Knight Errand is a-ok, and Deception is a fun read.

Out of all of these, The Silent Grove is my absolute favorite, because it's nice seeing Alistair actually act like a less whiny person, and he ends up learning something BIG about himself. I don't know if it'll ever translate into the games in any way, but it's nice to think about the possibilities of what it means for Thedas.

> 'I would prefer if you made a note of when you are going to say a particular thing'

This is the absolute wrong onus. From the point of view of the person making the request, it seems on the surface to be reasonable. However, from the point of view of the person making the speech/content/art the logical conclusion is seven billion different "reasonable" points of view about notices for specific content. The correct onus is for the reader/lister/viewer to be mindful of offensive content, and act appropriately for themselves when that content presents itself. Anything else is absolutely bonkers.

>This world of 'ideal' free speech you are discussing does not exist.

Agreed. It is the ideal goal, however. A goal which permits the silencing of unpopular opinions is oppressive in nature, and contrary to liberty.

>Ironically, the judgment that "all speech should be permitted regardless of content" is also a false moral absolute - it reflects a particular cultural interpretation of 'freedom' that is not necessarily universal to every place and time.

It may not describe the realities of a given location or time, but it is the best ideal. Liberty is superior to oppression.

>Put yourself in the shoes of someone who is actually oppressed - do you really have 'free speech' when your voice is drowned out

History has demonstrated that your claim is false, by virtue the fact that popular opinion is where it is, and is moving ever more towards greater acceptance. What else has gotten us here except free speech by minority activists?

>'shit, dude, this is offensive, please stop doing that'.

This is absolutely not what they are doing. They are demanding self-censorship over a perceived slight where none exists. They are absolutely the ones who are shutting down speech.

>There is a very valid and nuanced discussion to be had about free speech and its limitations, and I feel that your perspective is too heavily founded on absolutes to adequately reflect that nuance.


At least you have avoided the "fire in a crowded theater" fallacy. Make sure you don't fall into that fallacy's trap by conflating the necessity of absolute freedom of speech with actions and their consequences.

Making a comment on twitter is speech. Publishing a game is an action (and also speech). Losing sales because of offensive content is a consequence. Furthermore, it's the most appropriate consequence to objectionable speech. Demanding self-censorship, especially to sooth a fragile ego, is fucking abhorrent.


e:

> Common ethical standards (by 'common', I mean generally shared by people in that particular cultural space and time) and common decency exist. I am not presuming a universal morality, but rather a time/culture-specific ethics

How do you presume those mores changed over time? They did not change because the cultural majority enjoyed a monopoly on what was decent and what was not. See Rauch: “A liberal society stands on the proposition that we should all take seriously the idea that we might be wrong. This means we must place no one, including ourselves, beyond the reach of criticism; it means that we must allow people to err, even where the error offends and upsets, as it often will.”

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor | $209.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard | MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $89.99 @ Newegg
Memory | Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory | $94.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $105.54 @ Newegg
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $52.92 @ Amazon
Video Card | Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card | $393.98 @ Newegg
Case | NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case | $109.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $89.99 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) | $102.98 @ Newegg
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1250.37
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-22 20:02 EDT-0400 |


I'm thinking this will be my final build version with these blue lights:
http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-CB-LED20-BU-2-Metres-Sensitivity-Sleeved/dp/B0046Y5Z5G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=pc+led


The reason the motherboard isn't the best of the best is due to me not planning to overclock. The reason the k is there is because, believe it or not, the non-k version on PPP is $223 dollars compared to $209.99. Go figure, right?

I'm super excited to build this and play on PC! :D

It's really brilliant of BioWare to have the writers doing playthroughs, and talking (in limited, spoiler-free ways) about them. They aren't professional QA people, but they do know their stuff, and provide another angle on QA, maybe even one that's closer to what we players will experience.

Also, it's hilarious. Plus good PR, to be sure.

EDIT TO ADD: speaking of PR, here's the link to Weekes' new book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Prophecy-Rogues-Republic-Book/dp/1477824715

I don't have the DA tarot deck, but I have the DA playing cards and I have some of them in regular card sleeves stuck to the wall with poster tack. It's nice 'cause it lets me take 'em down and play with 'em sometimes, or swap out which ones I'm displaying fairly easily.

Is the DA deck bigger than poker cards? You can get odd sized playing card sleeves, but I've also used post card sleeves taped over or cut down for bigger decks.

Very nice. I found it on Amazon as well: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B07QFSMY66

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Definitely digging this!

The game is optimized for a 360 controller - the best option is to use a 360 controller emulator (I'm using one for my PS3 controller) if there is one.

EDIT: According to this thread, there should be some sort of DirectInput option on the F510, see if that one works.

What about the art book for dragon age inquisition? It's awesome seeing all the concept work for characters and areas; it's definitely on the top of my Christmas list!

Afaik the actual tarot deck was a limited run and you can only get it second hand. There's one on etsy right now for $125 USD which seems good; last I checked there were only a few and all >$200. There are also two sets of playing card decks that I believe have all the art split between them, which are a more affordable $8 USD per pack. And there's the poster collection, which comes as a book with 20 tear-out pages.

I got this frame from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NLMQ6A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 it's for a canvas painting but it came with a cardboard backing so it works :P I'm definitely gonna find a fancier frame for him

Definitely The World of Thedas Volume 1

There's also a volume 2 due out next May.

I got mine off the iTunes store! It is also on Amazon though, here.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B001I6DFCA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-Origins-Ultimate-Edition-PC/dp/B0045ZB66I

Antivan leather for Zevran.

For Solas, it's this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Relationship-Techniques-Winning-Strategies/dp/146812286X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1450929782&sr=8-5&keywords=making+up+with+ex


Nicholas Sparks books for Cassandra.

New hats for Cole.

Cookie cookbook for Sera.

Razor for Blackwall.

Dolls for Josie.

Bird perches for Leliana?

and Monopoly for Vivienne.