Dragon Age: A serious discussion on Mages.

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Ah man, I hated the ending of DA2 so much for that reason. I pretty much thought the templars were a bunch of pricks throughout, but that ending totally proves them right! Every mage is just a tantrum away from turning to blood magic.

Yeah, that pissed me off. I was a mage. I had a blood mage in my party. I'd sided with Mages on everything for the entire game. I'd protected them, and I was still protecting them by holding off the Templars.

AND then all the people I was protecting turn into fricken monsters and attack me. Seriously guys? Not a single one of you can cast a single blood magic spell without becoming demon-infested? If you were gonna try, could you not have, I dunno, TALKED to the blood mage IN MY PARTY for a FAQ on how to do it properly? I just spent all day saving your worthless butts, so you repay my efforts by committing suicide on my staff?

**sigh**

For the record - DA2's ending pissed me off WAY more than ME3's ending. I'd rather have colored lights that make some small difference rather than having to personally murder the allies I'd just saved so that the game can end the same way no matter what.

Merrill was protected by a thick layer of Plot Armour; I don't think that there is a possible way to make her succumb to blood-magic, just like Ander won't succumb/get rid of Justice/Vengeance. How the rest of the mages acted was exactly how I thought they would given all the exposition about demons: one small crack in your mental armour, and the demons will smash it open and take control (and turning to blood magic in fear and anger was exactly that). Even Orsino, the best among them, wasn't able to stop it, and that's what makes mages so dangerous.

I don't think they should have railroaded us into having to fight both the Mages and the Templars, but it really seems like the only way to set up the sequel properly. If they did things more realistically (i.e. allow you and your party to prevent Orsino and his Circle from using blood magic, either with words or a judicious use of force), they would have told a kind of boring tale of "Oppression Bad, Free Will Good" rather than the nuanced "Oppression Bad, But Sometimes Necessary To Stop Gribbly Things Beyond Mortal Ken From Eating Your Grandmother."

 

[Ryotknife]

what angers me about the whole mages vs templars/chantry/circle thing is that both sides recognize that it is generally a crappy situation and niether are really happy about it, but no one (as far as i can tell) does anything to actually "solve" the problem.

Like, developing a method to stop demons from manipulating mages (without making them tranquil), or something that can detect abominations long range so that the templars can apply maximum force the moment it appears. Both sides HAVE to know that this arrangement and tension can not last forever and something will eventually give.

considering the insane cost of locking these mages up this way, maybe spend some of that on research. Or have the mages go full tilt towards research since they have nothing better to do.

 

[Souplex]

If I wasn't a mage I'd ignore them, because you don't really get many mages in Orzammar for it to be an issue.
If I was a mage, I'd go apostate and flee to Orzamar, as the chantry has no authority there.

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

If I wasn't a mage I'd try and have sex with as many as possible. I don't know why but I just have this urge to have sex with different things as long as they're human-looking enough (Mages, elves, aliens, goddesses). I'd probably be all for mage freedom too because the world of Thedas is very dangerous already so whats the harm in a little more danger?

If I were a mage I'd probably go on a mad power trip, make deals with demons and be a general power mad fool.
Probably be mauled by demons or slaughtered by Templars very quickly but hey, thats life.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Merrill was protected by a thick layer of Plot Armour; I don't think that there is a possible way to make her succumb to blood-magic, just like Ander won't succumb/get rid of Justice/Vengeance. How the rest of the mages acted was exactly how I thought they would given all the exposition about demons: one small crack in your mental armour, and the demons will smash it open and take control (and turning to blood magic in fear and anger was exactly that). Even Orsino, the best among them, wasn't able to stop it, and that's what makes mages so dangerous.

I don't think they should have railroaded us into having to fight both the Mages and the Templars, but it really seems like the only way to set up the sequel properly. If they did things more realistically (i.e. allow you and your party to prevent Orsino and his Circle from using blood magic, either with words or a judicious use of force), they would have told a kind of boring tale of "Oppression Bad, Free Will Good" rather than the nuanced "Oppression Bad, But Sometimes Necessary To Stop Gribbly Things Beyond Mortal Ken From Eating Your Grandmother."

First of all, I found it a little unlikely that Orsino would resort to Blood Magic given that my character was clearly an unstoppable killing machine, a fact he well knew from the last 10 years in game. The others... well, they were living in Kirkwall too. Shoulda known better.

As to Merrill, well yeah - so did the Warden in DA:O. Doesn't mean that she couldn't have run a quick "here's now to not turn into a monster" lecture, particularly if they were all in agreement about going Blood Mage.

As to the ending - like I said, people ***** about having no choice in ME3, but I felt much more robbed of choice in DA2. No matter what I do, everything ends up the same. I might as well have not bothered - it would have been better if I just said "screw it" and left the city after killing Anders.

At least in ME3 I got to press the button.

 

[shadow skill]

Realistically there would be wars all the time, just because the simplest action of non magic users would be to heard mages into concentration camps. It would mean that mages would constantly be revolting, you would probably end up with a hundred Magneto type figures all trying to fight back against the non magic users. The only solution would be to simply leave the planet and send anyone with magical ability to the other world if some means of blocking possession could not be found.

 

[dekuton]

Mages in Thedas....During Dragonagerigins and awakening i found the way they were treated kind of crappy. then i played part 2..... holy monkey balls blood magic every bloody where. sure the templars were harsh but did the mages really have to prove them right repeatedly?
Templar: your a mage. you must be watched constantly to make sure you do not become aN ABOMINATION!
mage: im being opppressed cause i might become an abomination or do blood magic or both! treated horribly! i know! i have the best idea ever! ill use BLOOD MAGIC and becomes an ABOMINATION (maybe) to fight back against the templar opression!
me:*facepalm*
anders: I know what IM DOING
me: *eyes wide* you bloody idiots....

Given all that,i believe a middle ground should be reashed.I personally believe the Templars should act as a sort of police force for when various mages get dumb....but they shouldnt be ripped from their family.Sure they should be required to apprentice to go to a mage college. If only to learn how to protect themselves from Demons. Otherwise wait and see. When mage goes bad. them templars drop em. Essentially

 

[jackinmydaniels]

In real life, if I wasn't one, judging from the past couple games I'd prefer they be kept under close watch. It was like every chance they got they turned to blood magic and went totally fuckin' bonkers.

But if I was one, I'd probably be okay just hanging out wherever they put me, I don't like the idea of never being able to leave the tower ever. That seems a bit harsh, but I'd probably understand the need to keep us under watch.

 

[godofslack]

I'd be against the restrictions of rights of mages regardless if I were one or not, with proper education you could greatly reduce the numbers of blood mages, and even they aren't really evil, the Grey Warden's have recruited blood mages since the order's creation, and has had minimal cases of abominations in their midst (This is largely conjecture, based upon the Wardens' interest in maintaining a positive image and their continued allowance of blood mages into their midst). Nothing sort of the tranquil solution could completely end the threat of abominations, and as long as templars and mages continued to seek out abominations and destroy them with great prejudice the issue could be handled without the sacrifices levelled towards the mages. It's very likely we will have to pick sides in Dragon Age 3, more so than 2.

 

[Fuhrlock]

The chantry system for dealing with mages as a whole is very flawed as they feel oppressed but are given enough freedom to cause some harm if they choose to actively rebel. On the oposite ends of the scale is the Qunari system where mages hae no freedom and as a result cause very little harm to their society and alternatively you have the tevinter system where templars exist to respond as necessarry but mages are essentially free.

Of these approaches I find the tevinter system the most agreeable, it's just that in practice Tevinter fails because the templars fail to stop mages from abusing their power and only really respond to abominations and thishas led to a ruling class of mages. However a more 'moral' country tried this approach and made sure templars did their jobs (and no more than that) I think the system would probably result in far fewer mages turning to demons out of fear.

 

[woodaba]

One thing we have to remember about DA II is that, if your read certain notes, you learn that Kirkwall was designed specifically by the Tevinter Magisters to be a kind of Conduit for Blood Magic and Demons, and that it is implied that Mages in Kirkwall feel a subconscious compulsion to turn to Blood Magic. So, you shouldn't say that all Mages are crazy just because 90% of the ones in Kirkwall turned to Blood Magic (which totally isn't true, but that's a whole other can of worms). Personally, I think Mages should be allowed to live free, but expand the Templar order greatly so you have a squad in every major settlement in case one turns to Blood Magic.

 

[putowtin]

Ok so this is how I see the Mage situation in Thedas...

The Imperium
Magic was the source of the Imperium's power, after the Magisters tried to enter the Golden City they were turned into the first Darkspawn, this act could be seen as the reason so many fear the mages, this and the...

The Chantry
the Chantry became the new dominant force in Thedas after the Golden City was turned black. They all but forbid the use of magic, Blood magic was banned, and any that were able to use magic were taken. At first, these detained mages continuallly lit the eternal flame in every chantry in Thedas, eventually the mages protested. This lead to the creation of the Circle of Magi as well as the creation of the Templar Order to watch the mages.

The Rebellion
After Anders (the idiot) blew up the Chantry in Kirkwall, the other Circles rose up, many mages died and the right of annulment was used at the circle of Dairsmuid the remaining mages gathered at Andoral's Reach (Orlais) to decide their future, they voted to fight.

My Conclusion
The Chantry unsure of what to truely do with the mages, scared the rest of the population into believing that all magic is evil. Tired of being treated so poorly the mages have no other choice but to build on a poor decision.

And Dragon Age II (if it follows this storyline) should kick arse!

 

[Zeckt]

One thing we have to remember about DA II is that, if your read certain notes, you learn that Kirkwall was designed specifically by the Tevinter Magisters to be a kind of Conduit for Blood Magic and Demons, and that it is implied that Mages in Kirkwall feel a subconscious compulsion to turn to Blood Magic. So, you shouldn't say that all Mages are crazy just because 90% of the ones in Kirkwall turned to Blood Magic (which totally isn't true, but that's a whole other can of worms). Personally, I think Mages should be allowed to live free, but expand the Templar order greatly so you have a squad in every major settlement in case one turns to Blood Magic.

The problem with that is as soon as one does get possessed even when not trying because they are easy to get to from the fade whenever they sleep hundreds of innocent people die plus however many templar's trying to bring it down which if the lore in game is true like 30 of them. Unregulated it would be happening everywhere and the peasants would eventually get pretty sick of being demon fodder and I'm pretty sure you would be too if you were not killed by a possessed mage yourself.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I can't help but feel like Magic in the Dragon Age universe is a very corrupting influence, kind of like using The Force only everything is a potential path to The Dark Side. I say this because of Dragon Age 2 wherein I sided with the Mages, vouched for them whenever I could and then right at the end, they collectively said "fuck it" and summoned blood demons from Hell. If I was a human living in Thedas, it seems like I would be right to fear the Mages. Not hate them but fear them, especially if I WAS a Mage since it seems like you're a living time bomb that could turn into a hideous abomination as soon as my guard is down.

 

[Coffeejack]

If I lived in Thedas, I'd be a human. If I was a human, I'd be a warrior. And honestly, as a player....I freakin' hate Mages. They get to attack AND kill you from afar. You can't even get a chance to get close to them unless you're super powerful. So I'd dislike them. Same with archers but that's another story.

However, I would probably feel bad for them. They gotta be monitored from an early age so they don't turn into monsters, they gotta be always on a leash.
And then there's people like Morrigan. Ah, Morrigan, one of a kind...

That seems most likely, to me. Your average villager would fear and distrust mages, or even hate them. No doubt they would grow up listening to all sorts of demon possession-related horror stories as a child. Warriors would probably see them as ranged cowards or very dangerous. Only the most liberal-minded people would pity the plight of the mages rather than antagonising or simply fearing and avoiding them.

Post-Dragon Age 2, almost all mages will be out of sympathetic friends to call on, the exceptions being those in the service of the Army, Chantry or Grey Wardens. The team healers will be the luckiest of the lot!

 

[God's Clown]

I would join the Qunari personally, if I were in Thedas, but as for Mages, I think they deserve a level of freedom above what they get, as long as they can prove they have good intentions. Blood Magic should still be banned though, as it requires a sacrifice of life.

 

[Lonewolfm16]

I would probably be very pro-mage and adjust to a more Dalish position, where they are to be taught and warned of their power but not controlled. I would especially like to try and use their powers to improve life for the common people. Having the ability to rend the fabric of the universe apart could surely have some uses besides burning people to death. Also I would likely oppose the chantry as I dislike religion, authoritarian religion especially, and if there was a mage rebellion I would give as much support as I could (join if I am a warrior, support with supplies if I was a merchant/farmer ect)

 

[Zeldias]

The Chantry system is flawed. Instead of a jail, it should become part university, part police force, with mages working with Templars. Should be mandatory that mages are registered with the Chantry and attend classes there, while service in the force is voluntary. Blood mages get captured, tried, and executed.

As a person living in Thedas, I'd be terrified that some Mage was either controlling my mind with blood magic or consorting with demons in her/his dreams or being mentally assaulted by them and slowly succumbing. The havoc that a mage can wreak requires appropriate checks and balances. Abusing them and treating them like shit is a terrible idea though, because they're people with the potential to eradicate villages. It's like talking shit to the Hulk because he's green.