Tales of the Blight II: The Inquisitor

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

Two years after the defeat of Corypheus, the Inquistor finds himself and his remaining comrades summoned by the Divine Victoria to an Exalted Council to determine the future of the Inquisition. While the Court of Orlais maneuvers to control them, the Nobles of Ferelden - nervous at having a free standing army at their doorstep, would prefer to see them disband entirely. Talks are disrupted when Qunari saboteurs are detected within the palace, and while Leliana deactivates all their hidden gaatlok explosives, the Inquisitor's team chases them through an elven magic mirror through the fade where they face both Qunari and ancient elf spirits.

Feeling he can help ease their suffering, Cole decides to remain with the spirits while the rest of the party reach the Qunari base of operations. Here, Iron Bull sides with his people and is killed by Cassandra while Sera deals with the Qunari pet dragon. This buys time for Inquisitor Trevelyan to pursue the Qunari leader through more mirrors, the anchor in his hand becoming more painful and powerful through each one - until he finally catches her - but she has already been turned to stone by Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf of elven legend - better known to Trevelyan as Solas.

Solas reveals it was his orb Corypheus had been using, as he intended the magister to simply power it up and get killed in the following explosion. He didn't realize Corypheus had a way to cheat death at the time. With the orb destroyed he had to resort to killing Flemeth to take her power of Mythal instead, with the goal of freeing his people from the fade by removing the barrier to it altogether... and destroying the current world. With the power of the anchor now killing him, Trevelyan still vows to prove to Solas that this world is worth saving. The elf cuts off Trevelyan's arm (to save him) and departs - telling him to enjoy what time he has left.

Critical hit in the feels!

Back at the Exalted Council, the Qunari disavow all actions of the terrorist splinter group that caused the disturbance, promising their continued alliance to Divine Victoria. As for the Inquisition, it is disbanded effective immediately. This is both to retain balance in the realm and to hide their next move against Solas, who is all too familiar with their inner workings. In secret, Trevelyan, Cassandra and Leliana decide to find people Solas doesn't know about to help stop his world ending plot.

And Sera goes back to doing whatever.

Insight: I was getting wrecked when starting the Trespasser DLC, mainly because I didn't realize I wasn't wearing my armor. Duh! Check your gear before going into battle!

Tales of the Blight II: Hawke

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

It has been years since the CHAMPION AND LEADER OF KIRKWALL went into hiding (Hawke gets a lot of time skips huh?) in an attempt to protect the city from any repercussions from his actions, but even he could not ignore the threat Corypheus posed, nor the letter requesting his aid from his good friend Varric.

He went to meet Inquisitor Trevelyan and his colorful troupe with useful information in hand, and was surprised to learn that Seeker Cassandra had thought of naming Hawke the Inquisitor from the outset but continued to be protected by Varric with whom the Seeker was now furious with. Hawke laughed as he had enough titles already anyway.

Is he talking about the quality drop in Dragon Age 2?

More importantly, he had located the missing Grey Wardens. Somehow all of them began experiencing "the Calling", thanks to Corypheus, and while most headed to the Deep Roads for their final journeys the more cowardly ones had turned to the Venatori to become unwillingly enslaved to the enemy, either through mind control or being turned into demons. An army of them, all gathering at Adamant Fortress.

With a clear target in their sights, Hawke went with the Inquisition army to face these worthless Grey Wardens who had the support of Corypheus' dragon. With high casualties on both sides, the remaining Grey Wardens eventually found their courage and joined the Inquisition as the dragon fled. Alas, Hawke would not survive to see the end of this battle.

Insight: For a rogue I recommend learning stealth quickly and if you graduate to tempest like Sera, those lightning jars make you OP.

Tales of the Blight II: Sera

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

Didn't think I'd like her, but she ended up being my favorite companion.

I told them I'm not an elfy elf but I get sent to the stupid forest anyway! Should have been Dorian who'd be all Tevinter about this ancient bullshit. Or Cassandra, but she's got a thing for the Inquisitor, busy with her thing and his thing... doing things.

Trees are stupid. Just like people fighting their other people about some other rubbish god as if Corypenis isn't bad enough. And what's with all the bloody spiders!? Ugh, water everywhere. Everything is dank and chafy. I need to find a place to pee. Well, this is rubbish. Let's do whatever and get out.

Shrines are bad. Who doesn't know that? Another nutter trying to become a god. Right, I can see why everyone fights over this. No I can't. You're smart, but you're sort of stupid. Stupid magic ruins everything. You're not even very good at it. Don't care. Stupid gets arrows. Hey! Look at this! I've got something for you! It's my butt! That's a surprise, innit arseholes? Arrows. Arrows come next.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. I even made a bear friend! Maybe I can teach it knitting. Knitting is brilliant! It's stabby sewing!

Insight: Frostback Basin is another DLC area, which means it will match your level when it loads up (minimum level 20). The dragon here is the hardest available in the game and has all the tricks too. Use cover when it flies, and frost resist potions are especially handy for his adds, who you need to clear out as soon as they show up.

Tales of the Blight II: Dorian

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

It's freezing! Why is a desert freezing? Cold desert wasteland. "Let's send Dorian!"

I read somewhere you can sink into sand. Just... whoop! Down you go. Do they have sand worms here? Giant sand worms? No? Ah, the Venatori. It will be wonderful to rid the world of these cretins. Just what are my fellow countrymen up to all the way out here? I know I'm supposed to just be "observing" but I was never good at doing what other people wanted, and I need to prove that Tevinter isn't the source of everything bad and evil in the world.

Tevinter's sparkliest mage.

Dwarven ruins on the surface. That must be a year's worth of argument for the scholars. An enchantment designed to keep people out. A warning, or possibly a test. Someone should do something about that. Are they really searching for more artifacts for Corypheus after he pulled an archdemon out of his arse? Oh, look—a dragon. What a perfect way to ruin our day. I can't decide if it's impressive or disconcerting.

So much for that. Our dear commander might crack a smile for once. Well, I’m rather sick of this place and I shouldn't keep them waiting, it's so impolite.

Insight: The deserts are finally an area where you should use a mount for travel. Otherwise, mounts are best used to jump off cliffs because they negate all fall damage somehow.

Tales of the Blight II: Cassandra

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

My ancestors hunted dragons here ages ago. Hard to picture what it was like then. Some call them majestic beasts. Majestic? Say that after you see a pile of dragon shit bigger than your house. Now these Exalted Plains are a contested battlefield of the civil war, but upcoming peace talks have left the battlements barren, save for the dead. And the dead do not rest here.

Ugh, that smell. This... this is blood magic. A last resort of the desperate deserters, blindly following a Venatori master to sow chaos against Empress Celene's army. They will not succeed. I will not let them. "Into darkness, unafraid."

When it is done, I would like to be with the Inquisitor again. He has grown quickly into someone I truly care for. It has been too long since we have traveled together. I have missed it.

Smutty literature is the way to her heart!

Insight: The lightning dragon here is fought in a swamp. For obvious reasons, try not to stand in the water when in breathes at you!

Tales of the Blight II: The Herald

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

The Herald of Andraste's second attempt at closing the breach is a success, now that he is backed by the Redcliffe mages conscripted to the Inquisition - but the victory party is short lived as a massive enemy force descends upon the hamlet that night: An army of templars, dubbed "Red Templars" by Varric, as they are all clearly under the effect of red lyrium like the templar leader in Kirkwall slain years ago.

A young boy named Cole manages to alert the town in time to get their trebuchets and other defenses ready which eliminates much of the enemy force, but not enough to stop a red lyrium dragon and the Elder One. The Herald confronts him alone to buy time for the others to escape, and this Elder One who calls himself Corypheus accuses the Herald of stealing the "anchor" from him - using his big magic ball to try reclaim the rift power in the Herald's hand... but fails.

I love fondling my magic ball.

Accepting he'll have to find another way to achieve his goal of god hood, Corypheus tries next to simply kill the Herald, but an avalanche that destroys Haven forces him to flee and buries the Herald in a cave. Somehow touching Corypheus' ball has made the anchor grow more powerful - and the Herald uses it to blast his way out of the mountain and regroup with the survivors.

With the village lost, it falls to Solas to lead the Inquisition to Skyhold, a forgotten fortress high in the mountains to begin anew - and it is here where Cassandra proclaims the official leader of this Inquisition to be the Herald, now officially "the Inquisitor", to the cheers of many.

Insight: If you are a kleptomaniac like I am, you'll want to get the perks which increase inventory space. You'll also want the fine tools perk to open the "harder" locked doors.

Tales of the Blight II: Varric

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

The Herald of Andraste, that's what they're calling him now - and because of that some muscle brained Avvar barbarian down in the mire decided to challenge him to a duel to the death. The chosen of their gods against the chosen of ours, with only the lives of some hostages at stake. I could not make this shit up if I tried, and believe me - I've made up a lot of shit in my time.

So while the Herald deals with that, I now find myself in the ass-end of nowhere recruiting people and horses and mercenaries for this new Inquisition. At least I'm no longer a prisoner said the Seeker, yet here I am doing what she asked. Did I just get downgraded to a slave? That's a funny thought.

He still has some of the best lines.

Not many are willing or able to join though, not with Blondies' war still going on. Mages and templars, and innocent people caught in the middle. At least the rebel mages in Redcliffe are willing to meet, but it turns out they've basically sold themselves to some Tevinter magister who wants to personally negotiate with the Herald.

If your money's on this being a trap, you were right. Dorian, an apprentice of this magister with the most sparkly Tevinter mustache you'll ever see, confirmed his master is part of the "Venatori" - some radical group serving "the Elder One". With a few well placed bolts and some magical protection from Sparkles, the magister was convinced to hand over both the mages and the Elder One's plans which involve the assassination of the Empress or Orlais and a demon army. Like I said, I could not make this shit up if I tried.

Insight: In the mire map, walking into the water spawns undead. Contrary to what is suggested, do not avoid it. Spawn as many undead as you can to level up. There's also a fire dragon in the Hinterlands whose fight is almost exactly like the high dragon in Dragon Age 2, where is summons adds and flies to unreachable places to snipe. Have potions ready for it!

Tales of the Blight II: Trevelyan

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

Trevelyan awoke as a prisoner of Seeker Cassandra (who has changed much from the last time we saw her). With some missing memories, he had no answers to the charge of killing the Divine (the "pope" of the Chantry) by exploding her entire temple and leaving a huge breach to the fade in its place, nor to how he walked out of it alive with a strange green glow his left hand now possessed.

At least we know where to go!

As evil spirits and demons were now entering the world, Cassandra had no choice but to trust the elven apostate Solas, self proclaimed scholar of the fade, who suggested this power might be able to close the breach if Trevelyan got close enough. With a few chantry soldiers and her personally led expendable forward team of Solas, Trevelyan and dwarven prisoner Varric, they pushed through the numerous demons, closing the smaller door-sized rifts on the way before reaching the main breach. With much strain, Trevelyan uses his new power on it and... passes out.

He awakes in the small, snowy village of Haven - where survivors salute and kneel before him, coining him "the Herald of Andraste" since he was able to make the breach dormant (but not closed entirely). With this momentum, Cassandra declares the Inquisition reborn - to uncover who created the breach and killed the Divine to bring them to justice.

Insight: Interrupting rifts can stun and debuff the demons around it, but this was only most useful against the armored pride ones or the annoying despair ones that hop around. For all other types it was often fastest to just fight and kill them directly (unless they got too far).

Rimworld: Year One

[Part of the Adventures in Space journal]

It is already winter when Rattlesnake is able to return to menial duties. While hauling animal carcasses he meets Kaelun the pistoleer who is being chased by another of Vladinas Porcupine pirates. The Marauders defeat her pursuers and take her in, learning that the pirates have a base nearby. The NWH offer a bounty to whomever can take it out.

The Marauders accept and after a day or so of preparation El Duce, Syn and Kaelun head out while Silverlight, Wroughtfield and Rattlesnake defend the home base. It takes a day to reach the enemy camp, guarded by three opponents and an auto turret - but due to foggy conditions El Duce decides to hold off on attacking for a few more hours. Syn, unable to take it, has a mental break and starts wandering around in a daze.

Fortunately the fog clears soon after and El Duce and Kaelun engage the pirates - luring them out of the base. El Duce ends up killing them all with his rifle while Kaelun is severley beaten, losing a toe. El Duce quickly snipes the battery powering the auto turret which completes the mission, and then uses the pirates own base and supplies to patch up Kaelun - which takes days.

This delay means the trio suffer from starvation on their return trip as the pirates had very little food, but they make it back home safely regardless. Come spring and the anniversary of their arrival on this planet, the homestead is in good shape again and with the nearby ally tribe and colony, Silverlight knows their new home is going to be ok (and I'm giving up on it since this game is boring).

A screenshot of the actual game. Better graphics are to be desired.

Insight: Bring lots of food when you traverse the world map. Unforeseen delays can really muck things up!

Rimworld: Killer Robots

[Part of the Adventures in Space journal]

A call from Wroughtfield leads to a visit from friendly the colonists of the Northwest Histheberium, his old crew, who provide much needed medicines for Rattlesnake in exchange for Syn's huskies. Syn is understanding but unhappy at this. Silverlight is also feeling down as her cheating advances towards El Duce while her husband is still in recovery is rebuffed. This affects her shooting when a scout of Vladinas Porcupines attacks. Luckily, Rudy saves her with his trusty club.

Within a few days a trade caravan from the Abanqueiro of the Ocean also arrives, with more medicines and furs for the coming winter. It is a busy time at the homestead, and in that moment Rudy breaks through a mechanical wall in the nearby mine - releasing killer robots that slaughter him! The machines then advance to the settlement in an attempt to kill everyone with their blades and guns.

It's like Skynet was just waiting!

Fortunately they are severely out numbered and only manage to kill three Abanqueiro tribesmen and one of their alpacas before being destroyed. Silverlight thanks them all personally as they groups depart for the journey home. The robot scrap and gear on the corpses (lots on the alpaca) are left for the Marauders, as are the advanced meds and drugs in the robot's den. Also present are three cryocaskets. Unfortunately those only contain more corpses.

Insight: I sort of had to lure the robots into the allies for them to take part in the battle. The Marauders on their own would have had no chance.

Rimworld: Cold Snap

[Part of the Adventures in Space journal]

With an extra mouth to feed the Marauders attempt to hunt a mega sloth for food during a lightning storm. While they manage to slay the beast, this goes badly for Rattlesnake who went into hand to hand with the massive creature. Wroughtfield, a wanderer passing by, hears the gunfire arrives and assists without hesitation - while El Duce uses his medical skills to stabilize Rattlesnake it is Wroughtfield that gets the more mundane tasks like cooking done.

Seems mega sloths also show up in Fallout.

Subsequent expansion to the cabin during an eclipse also accidentally releases a Purple Ridge scout they had captured previously. They let her go as a cold snap then hits the region, prompting the team to stay indoors and sew some jackets. Outside, the some of the animals and crops begin dying. This is actually beneficial in clearing a few of the rice fields afflicted by blight.

A few days later they hear cries of help from outside and find a lady named Syn being chased by Purple Ridge scum. They take down her pursuers and take her and her three huskies in. It is also during this time they learn that Wroughtfield is incapable of violence (on still living things at least), making him useless in combat.

Insight: People don't like barracks style sleeping arrangements, they like individual rooms (preferable square or rectangular) that are lit with potted plants. Mood debuffs are annoying.

Rimworld: Cassandra

[Part of the Adventures in Space journal]

Silverlight, Rattlesnake and El Duce emerge unscathed from the escape pods on this planet designated as "Cassandra", which surprisingly is not inhabited by the Rocks who patrol its space. They get to work assembling their stockpile and shelter knowing that any inhabitants will likely come to investigate the crash. Silverlight even has the foresight to start planting a rice field. Soon enough, tribal scouts of the cannibalistic Purple Ridge Covenant do just that and attack the cabin but are thwarted with the rifle and pistol Silverlight had stowed.

Fortunately their next visitors from the Abanqueiro of the Ocean are a much friendlier tribe, having brought simple supplies to trade. The also assist when a hunting accident turns into a stampede of Ibex, which injures all three of spacefarers. With a fresh supply of meat their new friends return to their own camp a few days away, but leave a gift of a precious metal: Uranium.

"The great spirit also wants you to know we can nuke your settlement at any time."

Once they are fully recovered, El Duce begins research on how best to improve their settlement while the other two are out hunting. They return with an old, wandering wild man named Rudy. Unable to ignore someone in need of help, Silverlight had decided to take him in.

Insight: While there is some building and planning, most of this is actually an idle game.

Dragon Age: Redemption and Dawn of the Seeker

[Day 16 of Blaugust 2015!]

No blights to be found in either! :P

Dragon Age: Redemption

Elven Qunari assassin Tallis (played by Felicia Day) is tasked with retrieving one of their mages who recently escaped from a Chantry prison. Her quest is somewhat complicated when she encounters a Templar going after the same target. Now if all those terms don't make a lick of sense to you, don't fret - the opening scrolling text (not really the best way to do an opening after it was done to death by all movies named "Star Wars") does a pretty good job of describing the little bit of the Dragon Age world you need to know.

She's cute. :3

The story itself is simple but is decent enough for a 40 minute tale which sticks to the game lore very nicely and is coupled with decent camera work to keep it interesting. Yes it is slightly low budget but at least they got the higher tier of LARPers to fill up the back drop. Surprisingly the acting is very good from the main characters and at least on the passable level for everyone else (which is more than I can say for Jurassic Shark for example). The only thing that slightly irks me is the inconsistency of the magic shown. One lightning bolt can be shrugged off, another knocks you down and another is fatal. What?

Still a decent little flick that I actually recommend to Dragon Age or Felicia Day fans and one I wouldn't mind watching again. I give it two randomly powered lightning bolts out of five.

~~~

Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker

Unlike the live action tale above, this one is fully animated and pretty decently too. It follows Cassandra, a Seeker (sect of the Templars) as she stumbles upon and tries to unravel a sinister plot by apostate blood mages seeking to destroy the Chantry in Orlais. Cassandra is one violent chick and there is a good amount of blood coupled with a tiny bit of gore to be had here but again magical inconsistency is somewhat irksome.

Not shy with the blood.

Other than saying it goes longer than Redemption I don't want to say much more in case I give the plot away. All up I give Dawn of the Seeker two and a half magic potions out of five and also wouldn't mind watching it again. Strangely though, despite my own scores,  I'd watch Redemption over this one if given a choice.