Group items tagged

As I said in our previous post, one of the things that the Sisters have pondered is how magic and technology affect daily life in Thedas. We've been taking note of technology in the Dragon Age world that is based in scientific principles or that has been replicated with magic. For RPing and writing purposes, we have put together a list of magical and non-magical tech in Dragon Age so that we have a handy reference guide for what is canon (which implies what is theoretically possible) in the world of Thedas. Hopefully our lists will be useful to the fandom in general. We will update the list to reflect new information as we get new information or reread old sources. Our plan is to focus on the lesser known items from the games, books, comics and other media. If you have noticed anything we have missed, please add it via reblog or messages.

One of the things that the Sisters have pondered is how magic and technology affect daily life in Thedas. We've been taking note of interesting tech in the Dragon Age world that is based either on scientific principles or that has been replicated with magic. We have put together a list of magical and non-magical tech in Dragon Age so that we have a handy reference guide for canon items, which in turn implies what is possible, for RPing and writing purposes. Hopefully our list will be useful to the fandom in general.

how does magic word in da? does it only come from a mage's hands? so if a mage was an amputee without their hands they wouldn't be able to perform any magic at all? No, a mage amputee could absolutely still perform magic!

Nevarra's history with the interwined forces of magic and death is a long one, so much so that it is impossible to speak of one without also discussing the other. Since the earliest days, magical advisors have sat at the right hands of the Nevarran Kings, a role which remains prominent into the modern age. Indeed, Nevarra's history of magic remains incredibly rich, diverse, and significant, from the controversial Nevarran Accords, to the gilded dome of the Circle of Magi's leading body, the College of Enchanters, and the massive gardens and bathhouses of the Grand Necropolis populated only by the Mortalitasi mages and the dead. Much is shaped by these arcane forces, originally born of the cultural clash between Tevinter's Magocracy and the Chantry of Kordillus Drakon, culminating in a rich belief system with regards to magic, death, spirits, power, and politics that is uniquely Nevarran.

Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him. Foul and corrupt are they Who have taken His gift And turned it against His children. They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones. They shall find no rest in this world Or beyond. -Transfigurations, 1:2 [...] Which is to say, the Chant says you're supposed to use magic - the Maker's gift - to help people, not oppress them. The Chantry says you're not supposed to use magic because it corrupts the world. And the difference is the fault of Tevinter imperialism.

So my post on non-magic medicine in Thedas has gotten popular. And I've been seeing some posts wondering about magical healing lately. So I decided to make a post about magical healing. Then decided I should make a series and later adress blood magic and necromancy because apparently I can't do anything small.

So. Blood magic can create communicable diseases. Ancient elves did blood magic. The Blight is a communicable disease. Red lyrium (which is Blighted) grows in people, probably specifically their blood, since that seems to be the usual magical element. Technically, lyrium is 'blood' too-Titan blood-but I'm really not sure how to factor that here, since it's clearly not at all the same as regular blood (incidentally if lyrium is supposed to be liquid, which is possible, then Thedas as a continent has the most amazing case of gout).

my understanding of English is terrible so I apologize but where did you get the idea that the ancient elves were into magical texting? I think something flew over my head --- Happy to clarify. If you were referring to our post about Lyrium and Magical Technology, we got this idea from the Dragon Age movie, Dawn of the Seeker.

This is a collection of posts and conversations about healing and medicine, both magical and non-magical, in Thedas. A lot of it is necessarily headcanon, but reading through some or all of these may help people formulate their own ideas of how these work, for writing purposes.

Wondering how blood magic works? Who uses it and why? What it's good for? Defenses against it? According to canon, this is what we know.Please note: the discussion of blood magic by its very nature means that any of the videos and codex entries linked herein are likely to contain references to or onscreen depictions of self-harm, murder, abuse, manipulation, torture, and blood and gore.

So I have a lot of headcanons about magic in Thedas and the ways in which it can be used to make everyday life a little bit easier, at least in theory: I love the idea of boring, mundane, unprepossessing or just downright silly spells that aren't flashy and don't do anything spectacular (or have any sort of combat application). Because I'm waiting for the tumble dryer to finish, here is a list of some of my favourites.

But now we have Vivienne, and unlike… pretty much all of the Circle mages we've met before her, Viv has figured out how to navigate the very narrow space left open to her, and actually succeed. She's skilled enough at magic that no one doubts her prowess, and anyone who tries to tempt her - demon or scheming enchanter or templar alike - is going to be faced with nothing but a firm denial. I think that was probably so essential to her initial survival among Orlais' cutthroat Circle politics that it more than explains how unnerved she is by the likes of Cole. Tolerance of things that are even remotely questionable by chantry standards is evidence of 'corruption', and that could be used to condemn her, or halt her progress. For Vivienne to succeed in the environment she was brought up in, she had to be skilled, and there had to be no question that her skills came from purely acceptable schools of magic. Anything else could be ammunition for rivals, or an excuse for the templars.

A talk with "Surgeon" in Skyhold nets a good look at the state of medical science in Thedas. It's quite interesting because for all that the world of Dragon Age seems to have healing magic it's ideas about medicine seem to be quite primeval.

kiwi-xeet: We know Tevinter Magisters were able to use it to physically cross the Veil into the Fade. But what could blood magic do if you preformed it physically in the Fade?I apologize if this is common knowledge or speculation that I have missed.Tagging people that I follow who may have insight or ideas @ourinquisitorialness @geeky-jez @emmadirthera @corseque @higheverrains @feynites OKAY TRYING AGAIN, lol.

random thought on Templars, lyrium and reavers and i cant be the first to think this either but... The Descent revealed that lyrium is the blood of dead titans right? Wouldn't that in a way make Templars titan-blood Reavers? And following that line of logic, doesn't that mean that Templars are technically using blood magic? I mean this is not the first instance of the Chantry condoning the use of blood magic, no matter how unwitting the use of lyrium is but still...

Q:On a semi related note, we still don't know where 5 of the 7 Sidereal Magisters are, just that at least 3 survived, + it seems like the 2 we do have got powers related to their titles (see the wikia pages for the old gods). The Architect has control of physical progression of the Taint + Corypheus (conductor of silence) can mind control Tainted ppl. Sure it's all Blight magic, but schools of magic. Interesting to think what the other titles might be, powers-wise.

Sans magic and game mechanics, what do we know about what they actually do? Here's what I can find. I have left out any herb for which no in-world use or effect is given besides crafting, for brevity's sake. I have also left out herbs which appear to be strictly poisonous. This is all information from the wiki, so if anyone has more information from, say, the RPG guide, I'd love to add it.

*kicks in door* I HEARD GERM THEORY WHAT Here are my two cents: If we assume that Skyhold is eventually the home of some of the best Thedas has to offer, I'm inclined to believe germ theory isn't prevalent in their medicine. Given the existence of the surgeon hanging around, and the fact that I don't see any traces of microscopes in the Thedas that we know, there's no hint to imply that Theodosians are even aware of the possibility. And why should they? We're told that Theodosians bar Qunari are heavily reliant on magic; the study of non-magical science itself is most likely stunted from this.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but there's definitely a history of spirits as instructors of magic all the fuck across Thedas, and I'm really pretty sure it all comes from Elven tradition.

The ritual described thus far is probably the baseline for all Joinings, the most basic of components needed to successfully create a Grey Warden. The rest of what Isseya does, however, was a variation that employed blood magic to force the griffon she was performing the ritual on to accept the taint. So is this the same ritual that created our warden, Alistair, and the rest of the Grey Wardens? Does this prove that you only need lyrium, darkspawn blood, and a drop of archdemon essence to do the Joining? Eh, depends on who you ask. Last Flight describes the Joining ritual, but so does the RPG Core Rulebook.