Dragon Age - Cut content that should have been kept

[thejboy88]

As we all know, not everything the game developers work on will make it into the final version of a given game. In the game "Dragon Age Origins" we have one such example, and in my opinion, it's something that harmed the game a great deal by being left out.

If the player goes through the games as a mage, as user of magic, then they have the option of picking a number of specializations in that field. One of which is called "blood magic". According to virtually every character and the world they live in, this is a forbidden art, and those who use it are seen as evil by default, often being hunted for this practice.

And yet, even if gamers choose this option of using blood magic, nobody will call you out on it, even if you do it right in front of the people whose job it is to hunt blood mages. This was not always the case however, which is where the cut content comes into play. Originally, there would have been a confrontation between the player and various game characters (Wynne in particular) regarding your status as a blood mage, even resulting in terrible consequences if you confess to being one.

But, for whatever reason, this was cut from the final version of the game. To me, this was a bad call. Having the cast call you out on blood magic will show that there are real consequences and penalties for making the skill choices that you do, and leaving it out makes a complete disparity between gameplay choices and the story.

It makes even less sense for people to be quiet about it in the sequel, Dragon Age 2, as that game was pretty much set in the world's capital for prejudice against blood magic. I have no idea why the game's creators ultimately decided to leave this out of the game, but as far as I'm concerned, it was a real missed opportunity.

 

[Mikejames]

That's parallel to my disappointment in not being able to recruit Jowan. I did everything I could to get that poor idiot amnesty, but using the Right of Conscription was apparently scrapped early on.

 

[Legion]

There's a funny comic based around that kind of thing in DAII, let me see if I can find it.

Spoiler: Here we go:

When you consider the above also applies to blood magic which is considered to be even worse, it does get kind of ridiculous how nobody feels the need to mention it.

It's kind of story breaking as well, seeing as the harsh treatment of mages is pretty much the main focus of the games plot. For them to allow it when it comes to Hawke, Merril and Anders because of "reasons", is pretty idiotic, and goes against a lot of established characters.

It's even worse to now find out that they did actually consider implementing it but decided not to.

 

[GoGoFrenzy]

They should have cut all of Dragon Age 2 as well.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

There's a funny comic based around that kind of thing in DAII, let me see if I can find it.

Spoiler: Here we go:

When you consider the above also applies to blood magic which is considered to be even worse, it does get kind of ridiculous how nobody feels the need to mention it.

It's kind of story breaking as well, seeing as the harsh treatment of mages is pretty much the main focus of the games plot. For them to allow it when it comes to Hawke, Merril and Anders because of "reasons", is pretty idiotic, and goes against a lot of established characters.

It's even worse to now find out that they did actually consider implementing it but decided not to.

To be fair, they tried to explain it why they allowed Mage Hawke to walk around. She stays in hiding for the first years in the city, and then she suddenly makes it rich. By then, the Templars know that they can't just storm her house and arrest her. Would cause too much of a scene, arresting such an important citizen. And then, when she saves the city from the Arishok and the Quinnari, she's untouchable. The First Templar (what was his name...? Started with a C I think) says as much: "Surely you are the only mage in Kirwall who can approach Meredith in such a way..." He knows that they are breaking the law by allowing Hawke to run wild, but he also knows that touching her would stir up even more trouble. Anders is allowed to be free because, as Meredith threatens, he's friends with Hawke, but that will only go so far. Merrill they just never figure out she's a mage I think. Elf and all that.

But, I do agree. Blood Magic is always shown as "Hush, no, bad!" and yet no one ever calls you on it if you use it. It breaks the entire point of the second game, and is a bit jarring in the first one. Hopefully they will address it if the player uses it in the third game. They had better, seeing as a war is being fought over the stuff now.

 

[ResonanceSD]

They should have cut all of Dragon Age 2 as well.

And let's be honest, there wasn't a whole lot in that game TO cut.

 

[synobal]

The cool thing is on the PC I have a mod or maybe it is a couple mod that readds that cut content. mods are the best!

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Yes, well not being able to recruits Jowan does sort of out-rank that for me as far as "things that I wish hadn't gotten cut"

Also - there were a few reasons party members might up and leave you and I think they just didn't want to be that punitive to a player who just selected a specialization - I mean, yes, from the game lore you should know that Blood Magic = Bad Consequences, but in all fairness, once you select a specialty it's not like you can deselect it afterwards and lots of players probably - ones who didn't y'know, pay as much attention as they should have perhaps - would shave been caught out with half their party leaving them over what was a simple "oh hey, this is a thing, maybe it's helpful" click.

Now, to remedy that - probably they shouldn't have had it as a playable specialization AT ALL, but it IS hard to get - you have to go in and fight the demon AND make the deal to get it in the first place, it's not like someone teaches it to you or you pick up a random book, so, other than completion types or people who are just into making deals with demons, how often did it really come up in DA:O? I'd have to see some numbers to really say if it's as great a loss as hardcore fans (like myself and obviously the OP) might perceive it as - remember, games are made for the general audience more than for the fanatics in their beginnings.

The DA2 lack of mage recognition was? another thing badly done in a game that only got maybe half of what it was trying for right, if we're being generous - and for the record I do accept and even like the game, but even we who like it know it has glaring flaws in abundance.

 

[Saltyk]

This isn't uncommon for developers to cut content. KOTOR2 had lots of content that never made it into the final game. Something that does bug me as the game, as is, feels very unfinished when it comes down to it.

Let's be honest, though, they would really need to have added a lot in for other magic specialties, too. Morrigan's Shape Shifting magic was also stated to be unsanctioned and something that was unique to her and Flemeth. And Arcane Warrior was a lost art.

Actually, I wanted more Mage specialties in that game. If you didn't want to use Blood Magic, you were going to be picking up one, or even two, specialties that you didn't want. Having one that specialized in elemental magics would have been a nice addition.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Yeah.. the specialization system in both games is incredibly contrived and utterly separate from the story.

Personally, I would say limit the player to one specialization and treat it like an advanced class, i.e. each one might open particular interactions just as base classes do. That way, the player's sense of who the character is remains relatively coherent, rather than being a muddled mess of two or three completely distinct concepts, and is thus much easier to implement through the story.

On the broader subject of magic in DA2, I should probably point out that Morrigan in Origins is also an apostate and very clearly casts spells in front of people. I think it's a broader problem of story and gameplay being kept in different rooms, which is kind of inevitable in a game like this.

 

[LostCrusader]

There's a funny comic based around that kind of thing in DAII, let me see if I can find it.

Spoiler: Here we go:

When you consider the above also applies to blood magic which is considered to be even worse, it does get kind of ridiculous how nobody feels the need to mention it.

It's kind of story breaking as well, seeing as the harsh treatment of mages is pretty much the main focus of the games plot. For them to allow it when it comes to Hawke, Merril and Anders because of "reasons", is pretty idiotic, and goes against a lot of established characters.

It's even worse to now find out that they did actually consider implementing it but decided not to.

To be fair, they tried to explain it why they allowed Mage Hawke to walk around. She stays in hiding for the first years in the city, and then she suddenly makes it rich. By then, the Templars know that they can't just storm her house and arrest her. Would cause too much of a scene, arresting such an important citizen. And then, when she saves the city from the Arishok and the Quinnari, she's untouchable. The First Templar (what was his name...? Started with a C I think) says as much: "Surely you are the only mage in Kirwall who can approach Meredith in such a way..." He knows that they are breaking the law by allowing Hawke to run wild, but he also knows that touching her would stir up even more trouble. Anders is allowed to be free because, as Meredith threatens, he's friends with Hawke, but that will only go so far. Merrill they just never figure out she's a mage I think. Elf and all that.

But, I do agree. Blood Magic is always shown as "Hush, no, bad!" and yet no one ever calls you on it if you use it. It breaks the entire point of the second game, and is a bit jarring in the first one. Hopefully they will address it if the player uses it in the third game. They had better, seeing as a war is being fought over the stuff now.

I thought they tried to explain the blood magic use away in DA:O by saying that it was allowed to be used by the Grey Wardens, being a necessary evil to fight the darkspawn.

 

[teebeeohh]

There's a funny comic based around that kind of thing in DAII, let me see if I can find it.

Spoiler: Here we go:

When you consider the above also applies to blood magic which is considered to be even worse, it does get kind of ridiculous how nobody feels the need to mention it.

It's kind of story breaking as well, seeing as the harsh treatment of mages is pretty much the main focus of the games plot. For them to allow it when it comes to Hawke, Merril and Anders because of "reasons", is pretty idiotic, and goes against a lot of established characters.

It's even worse to now find out that they did actually consider implementing it but decided not to.

To be fair, they tried to explain it why they allowed Mage Hawke to walk around. She stays in hiding for the first years in the city, and then she suddenly makes it rich. By then, the Templars know that they can't just storm her house and arrest her. Would cause too much of a scene, arresting such an important citizen. And then, when she saves the city from the Arishok and the Quinnari, she's untouchable. The First Templar (what was his name...? Started with a C I think) says as much: "Surely you are the only mage in Kirwall who can approach Meredith in such a way..." He knows that they are breaking the law by allowing Hawke to run wild, but he also knows that touching her would stir up even more trouble. Anders is allowed to be free because, as Meredith threatens, he's friends with Hawke, but that will only go so far. Merrill they just never figure out she's a mage I think. Elf and all that.

But, I do agree. Blood Magic is always shown as "Hush, no, bad!" and yet no one ever calls you on it if you use it. It breaks the entire point of the second game, and is a bit jarring in the first one. Hopefully they will address it if the player uses it in the third game. They had better, seeing as a war is being fought over the stuff now.

I thought they tried to explain the blood magic use away in DA:O by saying that it was allowed to be used by the Grey Wardens, being a necessary evil to fight the darkspawn.

This.
Grey wardens can pretty much do what they want. And in dao you were a hunted fugitive anyway so everyone who talked to you was probably ok with it.

And according to da2 every mage will resort to blood magic if inconvenienced anyway

 

[DementedSheep]

I vaguely remember it being said for DA:O that they cut it out even though they wanted to do it because being outed as a blood mage would screw up the plot and it would end taking more resources to do it properly than they wanted to invest. Anders in Awakening dose have a line changed if you make him a blood mage but otherwise no one comments on the specialisation.

It also has shit like you being able to pass for a guard and successfully convince people you're someone else despite being a Dalish elf with tattoos on your face so everyone just seems to have blind spot as far as your character is concerned.

There's a funny comic based around that kind of thing in DAII, let me see if I can find it.

Spoiler: Here we go:

When you consider the above also applies to blood magic which is considered to be even worse, it does get kind of ridiculous how nobody feels the need to mention it.

It's kind of story breaking as well, seeing as the harsh treatment of mages is pretty much the main focus of the games plot. For them to allow it when it comes to Hawke, Merril and Anders because of "reasons", is pretty idiotic, and goes against a lot of established characters.

It's even worse to now find out that they did actually consider implementing it but decided not to.

To be fair, they tried to explain it why they allowed Mage Hawke to walk around. She stays in hiding for the first years in the city, and then she suddenly makes it rich. By then, the Templars know that they can't just storm her house and arrest her. Would cause too much of a scene, arresting such an important citizen. And then, when she saves the city from the Arishok and the Quinnari, she's untouchable. The First Templar (what was his name...? Started with a C I think) says as much: "Surely you are the only mage in Kirwall who can approach Meredith in such a way..." He knows that they are breaking the law by allowing Hawke to run wild, but he also knows that touching her would stir up even more trouble. Anders is allowed to be free because, as Meredith threatens, he's friends with Hawke, but that will only go so far. Merrill they just never figure out she's a mage I think. Elf and all that.

But, I do agree. Blood Magic is always shown as "Hush, no, bad!" and yet no one ever calls you on it if you use it. It breaks the entire point of the second game, and is a bit jarring in the first one. Hopefully they will address it if the player uses it in the third game. They had better, seeing as a war is being fought over the stuff now.

I thought they tried to explain the blood magic use away in DA:O by saying that it was allowed to be used by the Grey Wardens, being a necessary evil to fight the darkspawn.

Wynne and Alister definitely would not be ok with it though and Sten probably wouldn't be either. I know they grew wardens do have blood mages. I'm not sure whether they are actually allowed to or whether its something they do on the down low. Without many other grey wardens to have your back I'm pretty sure the templars would try to kill you regardless. They aren't aware that you literally need a grey warden to kill the archdemon.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Eh, the Grey Warden thing will only take you so far on the open use of Blood Magic - it's tolerated within the order, but the order is also obsessed with not looking bad in places it has a shaky position - like Ferelden, so I'm thinking that's not really the deciding factor on people not calling you out for using it.

I suspect it was a specialization meant for Jowan to be tied into and when they cut him being a party member out the rationale got lost and the resources were already spent so it ended up half way to no where and a confusion point all around.

 

[schrodinger]

That's parallel to my disappointment in not being able to recruit Jowan. I did everything I could to get that poor idiot amnesty, but using the Right of Conscription was apparently scrapped early on.

If you have the game on PC, now you can!
Also included with more companions(some aren't voiced, but have large amount of written dialogue), locations, and misc items i believe.

http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1617/?
if you already have this mod, carry on then.

i hope they add the blood mage consequences back in for DA:I. It's an immersion breaker if your character is running around performing various blood magic and no cares, especially in DA2 where BM is a key plot point.

 

[Teh Jammah]

Well, if we're talking about stuff that they thought about putting in but changed their minds about, what about the whole idea of your non-warden companions eventually/possibly contracting the taint and having to be Warden'd? I mean for all that the Darkspawn's tainted blood is built up in the mythos, your companions can pretty much wade arund in the filth of the deep roads, getting knocked out in the proces and come out fine.

I mean i can see why they'd cut it because that's a lot of variables to have to programme in, but it'd have been cool none the less.

 

[Zetatrain]

There's a funny comic based around that kind of thing in DAII, let me see if I can find it.

Spoiler: Here we go:

When you consider the above also applies to blood magic which is considered to be even worse, it does get kind of ridiculous how nobody feels the need to mention it.

It's kind of story breaking as well, seeing as the harsh treatment of mages is pretty much the main focus of the games plot. For them to allow it when it comes to Hawke, Merril and Anders because of "reasons", is pretty idiotic, and goes against a lot of established characters.

For Hawke yes but people did call Merril out on her being a blood mage specifically Fenris and Anders. And Anders isn't even a blood mage.

 

[Ascarus]

They should have cut all of Dragon Age 2 as well.

well stated. if inquisition doesn't pan out i fear for the future of bioware's rpgs. including ME4.

 

[Greg White]

They should have cut all of Dragon Age 2 as well.

And let's be honest, there wasn't a whole lot in that game TO cut.

You do realize there was a great deal more to the story in DA:II than DA:O and DA:A, right?

 

[soren7550]

So, trying to make this a not "everything that was cut from DA:O/DA2 that should be in it" thread, how about the cut romances from the Mass Effect series? From what I remember, there were a few of the romanceables that were supposed to be bi, but only two of the actual main romances got that from what I remember (Liara and Kaidan, but his was only restored in ME3). And if I remember right, they were going to have a few other character be romanceable, but just never made it to the game (Vega being the big one, but his was sorta added into Citadel).