Fort Triumph: No Comeuppance

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Lady Aveline leads the survivors to an old scriptorium where her librarians have researched a solution to counter Avathas' immortality. The arrival of Cyron spells the end of his nameless researchers though, but through a combined effort they finally manage to slay the skeleton mage as unexpected help arrives in the form of Trynne Ocean! (For real, the starter mage was dead but apparently the story needed a mage to say some lines so they gave us a new one, lol).

With a second squad of their friends (Este, Ames, Little Pirate, Garrett and Iris) covering them from enemy mercs and disrupting the flow of enemy beetcoins (yes that is the currency, which you farm for), Aveline's party with her original hires go to confront Avathas in his lair, using magic pillars Trynne summons and activates to weaken him. It is Anythera that eventually crushes his skull to permanently end him.

Pleased with this result Lady Aveline pays them in full and clears their name, returning to her estate while Gharbarak quietly vanishes to his goblin commune. A happy ending for everyone?

That was a pretty short campaign and obviously Fort Triumph caters more for PvP with various factions, but other than their graphics the hero units seem functionally the same. Not sure if I'd recommend it.

Fort Triumph: Backstabbing Everybody

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Even underground, bounty hunters and mercenaries manage to track the squad but the Cocks find a surprising ally in Cyron - an undead bone mage who claims the goblin warlord is wielding a scepter that enslaves the dead. Cyron helps the team defeat their pursuers and the weak undead serving the goblins but upon beating up General Gharbarak he quickly betrays them and steals the scepter for himself before vanishing.

In exchange for his aid and information, Gharbarak - who works for Lady Aveline - is spared from execution as he explains Cyron works for Avathas and the scepter is his backup plan should he be killed: Cyron will raise him as a lich!? Clearly Cyron knows how to use the scepter much more proficiently than the goblin.

In hopes to stop this, the team and Gharbarak pursue Cyron into the deeper crypts where they find Lady Aveline and her quickly diminishing troop being ambushed by undead! Rushing to her aid once more they fight off waves of undead, followed by her raised guards, followed by more mercenaries who manage to slay the sorceress! Only, the slay the wrong one - stabbing Rue to death before being eliminated. Down a member the entire party must really flee when Avathas the Lich arrives as he is invulnerable to attack!

Fort Triumph: The Assassin is You

[Part of the Cursed story line]

An increase of goblin activity leads Lady Aveline to hire Even, Rue, Macius, and Anythera to sort it out. While going from village to village the team meets up with Paladin Lord Avathas who is also taking measures to stem the goblin threat but instead of allying with the Cocks, he orders them to stand down as to not take away from his glory.

The team go to Lady Aveline's residence to report this just in time to save her from some mercs (though she probably could have handled them herself given her magic proficiency), and she persists that they go out-do her political rival Avathas. They proceed to engage the main goblin army led by their goblin general Gharbarak who also has some skeletons in his ranks? Avathas is also here and already attacking, but he is assassinated mid-engagement by a human soldier!

Outnumbered by the goblins the team drops pillars and trees on their enemies (the game strongly encourages scenery destruction) while retreating to the underground. Soon after Lady Aveline convinces the rest of the realm that they were the ones who murdered Avathas and promises to bring them to justice.

Tales of the Blight II: Blood Politics

[Part of my Dragon Age 2 play through. Spoilers ahead!]

With the viscount dead, there is continued squabbling among the leadership of the anti-magic templars and safe-magic Circle of who to take charge. Only the leader of the religious chantry provides the balance to prevent a war between these two, and while Hawke is away slaying a high dragon who destroyed the mines and helping Merrill rebuild a demonic mirror which EVERYONE says is bad a idea, paranoid Anders goes the terrorist route and blows up the entire chantry proving once and for all that ALL MAGES ARE BAD AND MUST DIE.

It was me! I was the bad guy the whole time!

This notion is built upon even more when Merrill kills her entire ex-clan when they confront her about her own illegal magic. As usual it is up to THE CHAMPION OF KIRKWALL to sort this mess out, by killing Merrill and executing Anders. Luckily, the templars share Hawke's views and assist him and his remaining allies Aveline and Varric (whom they first have to rescue from said mages) in storming their local headquarters to massacre them all. As they say, the only good mage is a dead mage!

Once the dust settles it is revealed the leader of the templars is also a bit crazy thanks to her sword being infused with the cursed idol she had bought from Varric's brother years ago. Knowing Hawke would be the next one to challenge her authority someday, she orders him executed immediately but is easily slain by her quarry.

Fearing for their lives, the remaining soldiers and citizens kneel down to worship their new, rightful leader: Hawke, who orders Aveline and her guards to do horrible things to anyone breaks any of his laws and sends Varric to start hunting down and executing mages in the surrounding areas. Not bad for someone who arrived as a penniless refugee.

Insight: The two hardest fights of the game for me were the initial assault on the circle mages HQ as they had barricaded themselves well and the high dragon, who cheats a lot / is a very smart dragon. As a rogue, stealth and lots of stam and HP pots were the key to winning.

Tales of the Blight II: The Peacekeepers

[Part of my Dragon Age 2 play through. Spoilers ahead!]

The Qunari are a strange, horned race and their leader Arishok insists that despite having been in Kirkwall for years now, they are unable to go home. Almost daily, anti-Qunari sentiment grows as Hawke tries to keep everyone calm. Aveline is too busy trying to get into the pants of one of her subordinates to help so he relies instead on the magical talents of Merrill and Anders, and the "other" talents of Isabella who he has a fling with.

Since Isabella is also seeing Fenris, Hawke gets roped into defending him against cronies of his old masters who tell Fenris about his long lost sister. Despite promising to spare them for the information, Fenris kills them, solidifying to Hawke that the white haired elf shouldn't be trusted.

That's a lot of bad guys! Glad I have stealth... :)

When assisting a dreamer from magical nightmares (by going into his dream), Hawke also learns he can't really trust Merrill who puts her clan above her loyalty to him (despite them exiling her), and Isabella who "likes big boats" and all things materialistic. Indeed, only paranoid Anders seems to be the only reliable companion. Him and Varric that is.

While Hawke's team is running around, beating up people to convince them violence isn't the answer, Varric finally finds and kills his brother who left them in the Deep Roads. Surprisingly, there is proof he had sold the cursed idol to some unfortunate buyer. Varric hopes whoever that was is long gone from Kirkwall.

There's no time to look though as Hawke's mom is abducted by the resident Kirkwall serial killer, a mage who is using pieces of his victims to Frankenstein his own mother back to life. They are too late to save anyone, but the experience certainly instills in Hawke a huge distrust in all mages. Sorry Anders. It seems only Varric can be trusted!

Varric has the best lines.

Insight: For the casters, learn the spell Rock Armor. It's super effective! Also after each time skip expect to be exploring the same areas you've already explored to fight things you've fought before in other areas. Nice game design... not!

Tales of the Blight II: Band of the Hawke

[Part of my Dragon Age 2 play through. Spoilers ahead!]

One of the tasks Hawke's team undertakes is to be the unsuspecting assassination target in place of elven ex-slave and mage hater Fenris. This results in Hawke and company killing their smuggler employer and moving onto the more lucrative task of clearing out some baby dragons nesting in the local mine. Soon after, Hawke finds Fenris' counterpart, ex-Grey Warden mage Anders who hates all the things that oppress mages and is willing to donate some maps for the Deep Roads expedition.

Finally ready with a heavy coin purse, Hawke and Beth join the dwarves on their expedition - spelunking with Varric, Bianca (his crossbow) and Isabella, an ex-pirate captain and tavern regular with low morals who is on the lookout for some special relic. During this time Varric's brother finds a cursed idol and abandons the team in a bad spot, resulting in Beth's demise but the rest of the party return richer than before... so much so that Hawke buys a mansion in the posh high town over the next three years (another time skip!?) for his mother.

Isabella is a klepto.

During this time, Aveline is promoted to guard-captain, Merrill now fully exiled from her clan moves into Kirkwall's elven alienage in the low town slums, Anders continues being paranoid in the dark town sewers, and Isabella and Varric waste all their earnings at the tavern. Before he can get too out of shape, Hawke is summoned by the viscount of Kirkwall for a most important task: to keep the peace between the populace and the Qunari who have been given an encampment down at the docks district.

Insight: If you play a thief, get stealth ASAP. Without it you get smashed easily. With it you are OP as you can just wait for your potion cool downs or even run off to abuse enemy leash mechanics, meaning you can come back to pick off piece meal what was once a big group.

Tales of the Blight II: Kirkwall Refugees

[Part of my Dragon Age 2 play through. Spoilers ahead!]

With darkspawn coming from all sides, Hawke flees with a handful of other refugees into the wilds and is saved in the nick of time by a huge red dragon, who turns out to be the witch Flemeth. In exchange for delivering an amulet of hers, she helps them reach the harbour where Hawke and the remaining survivors sail to Kirkwall (and not to Dunwall, too many Dishonoreds there) to meet his uncle at the gates. Alas said uncle has squandered the family fortune, so he sells Hawke, his sister Beth, and traveling companion Aveline into a year of indentured service to some smugglers while taking Hawke's mother through the city gates.

One handy time skip later and a year has passed, during which time the Hero of Ferelden stopped the blight. Knowing this is the prime time to enter the Deep Roads (home of the darkspawn) in search of treasure, a dwarf named Varric and his brother begin setting up an expedition to delve below. Hawke is welcome to join if he can front the gold as a partner, and knows this is the opportunity to change his family's fortunes now that he's no longer a slave. With zero coin to his name it's time to look for work, starting with his old friend Aveline - now part of the Kirkwall guard who is so good at her job, she finds proof the current guard-captain a corrupt scum and gets him fired.

Guess who is back to eat more of her daughters?

With Beth, the trio can finally also deliver Flemeth's amulet to the Dalish gypsy camp up the mountain where apprentice in exile Merrill performs some blood magic at a mountain top altar, revealing the necklace was a phylactery. Her spell revives a thankful Flemeth, who transforms again into a dragon and flies off. Since none of this really helps his financial situation, the trio soon head back to the smugglers to look for work - at least this time they'll get paid!

Insight: Inventory space is limited so always sell the junk treasure and buy the bag that increases the holding capacity. Also, geez - what a decrease in quality from Dragon Age: Origins!