I've been writing in my Avvar!Hawke series again recently, and one of the things that came up (in banter with Sebastian, as it happens) was the reminder that before she was the Prophetess, Andraste was an Avvar. The sources are remarkably cagey about this fact, I discovered when I went to dredge up more details on her background. They volunteer up front the knowledge that her husband Maferath was Avvar (this seems to be held as a point of rancor between the Avvar and the Andrasteans, since Maferath betrayed Andraste, therefore the Avvar are evil and not to be trusted.) And her biography also states clearly that she was born to Avvar parents - "her mother was an Alamarri[2] woman named Brona and her father was the chieftain of one of the largest Alamarri tribes in what is now northern Ferelden.[3]" Yet they seem reluctant to come out and say straight out that Andraste herself was an Avvar.

A post I'm making because I thought I made it before and now I can't find it, and I just had to do all the maths again.

It took me a while to gather everything (you can find all this info at the bottom of my profile tab) and there are still some dates that are rather vague, but everything here is taken from in the game, the game years are used as comparison or are directly pulled from the World of Thedas book. Hope everyone enjoys! And of course if you have canon knowledge that can be added with more specific dates, let me know and toss me the source! :D

So, I just got tired of trying to figure out which Archon went when, and I went down the list and put them in order, where the dates of their reigns were noted. And then where they weren't noted, I made some guesses based on the order of historical events (those are marked). And then there's a couple at the bottom where I have zero fucking idea.

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.

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.

The Cradle of Sulevin is the final resting place of the shards of the one renowned Sulevin Blade, the finest weapon ever made. During the Exalted Marches, the Dalish made blood sacrifices of innocent humans captured by their forces here at a place one describes as "a place that was once sacred". The sacrifice goes horribly wrong, and in an attempt to prevent the process from ever happening again, one of the Dalish mages seals away his companions with the shards of the shattered blade. Since that day, the blade has been lost.

Query: Do we ever see ancient elven writing? That is, "letters or characters that serve as visible signs of ideas, words, or symbols". We see runes, which you interact with by having, essentially, visions, complete with feelings. We see 'books', which appear to be similar, and are also described as memories (with a question mark, as if description were confusing or difficult because of an unfamiliar concept). But do we see anything (whether we're able to read it or not) which appears to explicitly be symbolic, non-magical ancient elven text?

i just really love that despite actual familial relationships, teagan just. adopts alistair and connor. alistair only refers to teagan as his uncle, never eamon (except in one letter to eamon that he never sent). there's cut content of teagan helping connor get away from the circle and asking hawke for help. in the mark of the assassin dlc, when someone asks teagan "how is your nephew" he says "which one" and talks about both of them (and how both of them are annoying eamon on purpose)

Let me first start out by saying that he comes easiest to me because we're very similar people. That doesn't help anybody, so I hope I've articulated some tips that work well. This is purely how I view the character, so all opinions and observations are my own. If they help veer you into the right direction, bully. If not, then just ignore.

A list of all titles your Warden ends up with, whether inevitably, by origin, or from quest choices.

So if you're describing a character writing or reading, then remember that what they are reading is probably going to be blocky, rune-like characters and not swirly, flowing script!

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...

I've been thinking about the social dynamic of Dalish clans and how they might be organized (in terms of assigning jobs, domestic tasks, and education). Do you have any suggestions what to look up to maybe base my HC off of that?

Take into consideration that elderflower is used for its medicinal properties such as relieving pain and swollen joints when applied topically. I have no doubt Cullen applies a form of elderflower salve to reduce his withdrawal pains. As for oakmoss, it can be used as a restorative to diminish damage within the body and return it to it's "original" state. In this case I can see it being used to heal damage done by years of ingesting lyrium, but this is all speculation/headcanon.

I had hoped to be able to offer a complete and error-free version of the DAI codex entries, but (as is their wont) Fate and Fail interceded to thwart my efforts, by bugging a number of entries from the final DLCs to the point where I have no idea what they were even intended to be. (working links as of 2017-01)

Well, this has been sitting untouched on my hard drive for ages, so I may as well throw it up! Top image is Ferelden and eastern Orlais, using the newest base map from Inquisition. Bottom left is all of Orlais (and some of Nevarra). Bottom right is the version of the top image that I prefer, but because of the overlay of the DAO/RPG map it is busier to look at.

Flow chart for dialogue that Cullen has with the female mage during the mage origin story in Dragon Age: Origins. Blue boxes are Cullen's dialogue and the text on the arrows are the PC's options. (scroll down for links to the rest)

Many countries in Thedas do not have male-preference inheritance, male-preference primogeniture, or, for that matter, even gender-neutral primogeniture. Ferelden definitely does not have any of these things. Please stop having your "she can't be queen/teyrna/heir/etc." tragic plots and arguments. We have canon evidence that last names and families, at least in Ferelden, do not pass only through the male line. Please stop having "oh I only have daughters it's the end of the family line" tragic plots and arguments.