this is a scene from early in our campaign, when the party discovered the long-abandoned underground temple of an Archfey-worshipping cult. Dorian took a wooden statuette of their deity and has struck up a communication with her during his trances
Dorian: Roderick, that Chantry fellow who led us through the mountain from Haven? You know he died, I assume. Got us as far as the camp, and then… that was it.
Dialogue options:
General: That’s too bad. [1]
General: I’m surprised he helped. [2]
General: I never liked him. [3] - Dorian slightly disapproves
1 - General: That’s too bad. PC: Oh, that’s too bad. [4]
2 - General: I’m surprised he helped. PC: I’m shocked he helped us instead of running off. Dorian: I imagine being attacked by something undeniably evil changes one’s perspective a bit. [4]
3 - General: I never liked him. PC: I can’t say I feel sad about that. He was… Dorian: I’ve heard. [4]
4 - Scene continues.
I helped him walk. He… talked about you quite a bit. He just needed to be sure you were Andraste’s chosen. He was terrified of what it meant, if it were true. But in the end, he believed. He asked me to tell you he was sorry.
Dialogue options:
General: He was a good man. [5] + Dorian slightly approves
General: Thanks for telling me. [6] + Dorian slightly approves
General: He judged me too quickly. [7] - Dorian slightly disapproves
General (non-Andrastian PC: But I don’t believe. [8]
General (claimed chosen): I’m glad he saw the light. [9]
5 - General: He was a good man. PC: It seems he was a good man, after all. Dorian: Sometimes you discover things where you least expect. [10]
6 - General: Thanks for telling me. PC: Thank you for telling me about that. Dorian: I thought it was important. [10]
7 - General: He judged me too quickly. PC: He shouldn’t have judged me so quickly. Dorian: Even the best of us have been guilty of that, no? [10]
8 - General: But I don’t believe. PC: He believed, even if I don’t? Dorian: You inspire faith, Inquisitor, even if you don’t mean to. [10]
9 - General: I’m glad he saw the light. PC: It’s good he saw the truth, even if it came late. Dorian: Not too late for him to help. [10]
10 - Scene continues.
Dorian: Anyway, we can talk about something else, if you’d rather.
Dorian is looking through the books in Skyhold as the PC approaches.
Dorian: Brilliant, isn’t it? One moment you’re trying to restore order in a world gone mad. That should be enough for anyone to handle, yes? Then, out of nowhere, an Archdemon appears and kicks you in the head. “What? You thought this would be easy?” “No, I was just hoping you wouldn’t crush our village like an anthill.” “Sorry about that! Archdemons like to crush, you know. Can’t be helped.”
Choice specific dialogue:
Didn’t meet Dorian in Redcliffe [1]
Met Dorian in Redcliffe [2]
1 - Didn’t meet Dorian in Redcliffe
Dorian: I suppose a proper introduction is called for, now that we’re not running for our lives. Dorian of House Pavus, most recently of the Tevinter Imperium. I was at Redcliffe when the Venatori assumed command of your southern mages. I only wish I could have given more warning.
3 - Dialogue options:
Investigate: You’re a magister? [4]
Investigate: Tell me about these Venatori. [5]
Flirt: What you did was brave. [6] + Dorian approves
General: I appreciate your help. [7] + Dorian approves
General: Why did you warn us? [8]
General: Why are you still here? [9] - Dorian disapproves
4 - Investigate: You’re a magister? PC: Then you’re a magister. Dorian sighs. Dorian: I know it’s all the same to southerners, but no… I’m not. All members of the Magisterium—and thus all magisters—are mages, but not all mages are part of the Magisterium. Not to imply I’m just any mage, of course, but let’s not start with incorrect assumptions. [Back to 3]
5 - Investigate: Tell me about these Venatori. PC: You mentioned these Venatori when you arrived. They’re a cult? Dorian: The Venatori are fools, so desperate to restore the Imperium’s “glory days,” they’d sacrifice our nation’s soul. They made an offer to your mage rebels to join forces, but I’d bet they didn’t leave the outcome to chance. The result is the army you saw at Haven. This “Elder One” has more magic than you can shake a stick at. [Back to 3]
6 - Flirt: What you did was brave. PC: What you did for us at Haven was very brave. Dorian: It was, wasn’t it? Throwing in my lot with the underdogs, that’s me. [17]
7 - General: Why did you warn us? PC: Why try to warn us at all? Aren’t these “Venatori” your countrymen? Dorian: Only technically. The Imperium theyserve no longer exists. [17]
8 - General: I appreciate your help. PC: I appreciate what you tried to do at Haven. Dorian: For all the good it did. I had an image in my head of rushing in, saving the day. [17]
9 - General: Why are you still here? PC: So you warned us. What are you still doing here? Dorian: The danger’s not exactly done yet, is it? [17]
2 - Met Dorian in Redcliffe
Dorian: Am I speaking too quickly for you?
Dialogue options:
Flirt: I was enjoying the show.
General: We’re all frightened.
General: Not at all. + Dorian slightly approves
General: You’re boring me. - Dorian disapproves
10 - Flirt: I was enjoying the show. PC: I was distracted, that’s all. Dorian: Distracted? By my wit and charm? I have plenty of both.
Dialogue options:
General: You’re very confident. [11] + Dorian slightly approves
General: Perhaps. [12]
General: Are you so sure? [13]
11 - General: You’re very confident. PC: How interesting to find someone so aware of his strengths. Dorian: I’m a man of many talents. What can I say? [17]
12 - General: Perhaps. PC: Today, at least. Dorian: Oh! You wound me. [17]
13 - General: Are you so sure? PC: I’ll be the judge of that. Dorian: I am here on approval. I’ll do my best to be brilliant under scrutiny. [17]
14 - General: We’re all frightened. PC: The attacked was unexpected. We’re all rattled. Dorian: I’m not rattled. I’m the hero of this tale. PC: Then why isn’t Corypheus after you? Dorian: Hmm. Good point. Does that make me a lackey? That’s dangerous work… [17]
15 - General: Not at all. PC: You don’t need to worry about me. I can keep up. Dorian: Yes, I noticed that. PC: Did you now? Dorian: Certainly. If you were a slack-jawed yokel, you’d already be dead. [17]
16 - General: You’re boring me. PC: I was waiting for you to say something worth listening to. Dorian chuckles. Dorian: If I did that, we’d be here all day. PC: There are things worse than silence. Dorian: You’ve clearly never been to the Magisterium’s archive. That silence will eat you alive. [17]
17 - End choice specific dialogue.
Scene continues.
Dorian: I always assumed the “Elder One” behind the Venatori was a magister, but this… is something else completely. In Tevinter, they say the Chantry’s tales of magisters starting the Blight are just that: tales. But here we are. One of those very magisters. A darkspawn.
18 - Dialogue options:
Investigate: They say the Chantry is lying?
General: You seem upset.
General: He could be lying.
General: You were deceived.
19 - Investigate: They say the Chantry is lying? PC: Who does the Imperium say started the Blight? Dorian: You know how it is. “Not us.” They say darkspawn were always there: magisters and the Blight aren’t even related. Is that a surprise? No one wants to admit they shit the bed. But if Corypheus is one of the magisters who entered the Black City and he’s darkspawn… what other explanation is there? [Back to 18]
20 - General: You seem upset. PC: Why does that make you angry? Dorian: Because the Imperium is my home. [23]
21 - General: He could be lying. PC: We only know what Corypheus claims to be. Dorian: True. He might be a convincing liar. Or delusional. Or insane. But how many delusional maniacs are going to have that knowledge? He broke open the Fade. [23]
22 - General: You were deceived. PC: Clearly the Imperium has no idea. Dorian: The Imperium is a land of lies built upon secrets built upon falsehoods. [23]
23 - Scene continues.
Dorian: I knew what I was taught couldn’t be the whole truth, but I assumed there had to be a kernel of it. Somewhere. But no. It was us all along. We destroyed the world.
Choice specific dialogue:
Mages allied [24]
Templars allied [33]
24 - Mages allied:
Dialogue options:
General: You’re not responsible. [25] + Dorian slightly approves
General: It’s not destroyed yet. [26]
General: Why whine about it? [27] - Dorian disapproves
25 - General: You’re not responsible. PC: You didn’t do anything. Those men did. A thousand years ago. Dorian: True, except that one of them is up and walking around right now. Not to mention I have idiot countrymen who would happily follow him down that path again. [28]
26 - General: It’s not destroyed yet. PC: Last I checked, the Blights hadn’t actually destroyed the world. Dorian: Not for lack of trying. If they were more clever, they’d have unleashed something that wouldreallydo the job.(Laughs.)[28]
27 - General: Why whine about it? PC: So you’ll just stand here and whine about it, then? Dorian: I know! Maybe I’ll personally go south and stop Alexius before his plan succeeds! Wait. I already didthat. [28]
28 - Scene continues.
Dorian: No one will thank me, whatever happens. No one will thank you either. You know that, yes?
Dialogue options:
General: Nobody knows that. [29]
General: No one likes a pessimist. [30]
General: I don’t need their thanks. [31] + Dorian slightly approves
29 - General: Nobody knows that. PC: We don’t know what will happen. Nobody does. Dorian: An optimist! Such a rare breed. I’ve stumbled upon a unicorn! [32]
31 - General: No one likes a pessimist. PC: That attitude must be why they kicked you out of the Imperium. Dorian:(Laughs.) They didn’t kick me out! Well, only because they never got around to it. Eventually they might have. [32]
31 - General: I don’t need their thanks. PC: That’s not why I’m doing this. Dorian: I knew there was something clever about you. [32]
32 - Scene continues.
Dorian: All I know is this: Corypheus needs to be stopped. Men like him ruined my homeland. I won’t stand by and let him ruin the world.
Dorian pauses as he walks away.
Dorian: Oh. And congratulations on that whole leading-the-Inquisition thing, by the way.
Scene ends.
33 - Templars allied:
Dialogue options:
General: You’re not responsible. [34] + Dorian slightly approves
General: It’s not destroyed yet. [35]
General: Why whine about it? [36] - Dorian disapproves
34 - General: You’re not responsible. PC: You didn’t do anything. Those men did. A thousand years ago. Dorian: True, except that one of them is up and walking around right now. Not to mention I have idiot countrymen who would happily follow him down that path again. [37]
35 - General: It’s not destroyed yet. PC: Last I checked, the Blights hadn’t actually destroyed the world. Dorian: Not for lack of trying. If they were more clever, they’d have unleashed something that would reallydo the job.(Laughs.)[37]
36 - General: Why whine about it? PC: So you’ll just stand here and whine about it, then? Dorian: I could head south, try to stop the Venatori myself. Spread a warning when they march. Wait. I already didthat. [37]
37 - Scene continues.
Dorian: I have no intention of letting Corypheus win. Not without someone from Tevinter standing against him.
Dorian (if met in Redcliffe and sided templars): It would have been nice if you’d helped stop Alexius, but that’s not how things went. So be it. (Dorian disapproves in this situation.)
Dorian: If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to stay and help the inquisition.
38 - Dialogue options:
Investigate: You’d fight your own people? [39]
Investigate: You could be a spy. [40]
You’re welcome here. (Allow Dorian to join the Inquisition.) [41]
You need to go. (Tell Dorian to leave for good.) [42]
39 - Investigate: You’d fight your own people? PC: You’d really fight your own countrymen? Dorian: Southerners like to think of the Imperium as nothing but slavers and cultists. Why not? That’s all you see. But it’s not true. Some Tevinters are not only handsome and well-dressed but, rather put of by all that rot. So, I’ll happily kill cultists, or anyone who thinks a darkspawn god is the way of the future. [Back to 38]
40 - Investigate: You could be a spy. PC: What if this is a ruse? The Venatori could have captured you, sent you here… Dorian: Rather elaborate, considering they’d need to have assumed you’d escape Haven. But I amthe ideal spy: charming, clever, perfect teeth and hair. It all fits. How about this: let me help and you can hang me later, if you wish. I look good in rope. [Back to 38]
41 - You’re welcome here. PC: We can use all the help we can get. Dorian: No one will thank me, whatever happens. No one will thank you either. You know that, yes?
Dialogue options:
General: Nobody knows that. [43]
General: No one likes a pessimist. [44]
General: I don’t need their thanks. [45] + Dorian slightly approves
43 - General: Nobody knows that. PC: We don’t know what will happen. Nobody does. Dorian: An optimist! Such a rare breed. I’ve stumbled upon a unicorn! [46]
44 - General: No one likes a pessimist. PC: That attitude must be why they kicked you out of the Imperium. Dorian:(Laughs.)They didn’t kick me out! Well, only because they never got around to it. Eventually they might have. [46]
45 - General: I don’t need their thanks. PC: That’s not why I’m doing this. Dorian: I knew there was something clever about you. [46]
46 - Scene continues.
Dorian: All I know is this: Corypheus needs to be stopped. Men like him ruined my homeland. I won’t stand by and let him ruin the world.
Dorian pauses as he walks away.
Dorian: Oh. And congratulations on that whole leading-the-Inquisition thing, by the way.
Scene ends.
42 - You need to go. PC: No. I can’t allow you to join us. Dorian: Ah, I suppose it was too much to hope for. Have it your way, friend. Good luck to your… inquisiting and such. Dorian bows and leaves.
Dorian: Put a leash on the rebel mages, I see. Interesting how they seem to like the idea. As if it’s a relief to be penned in again.
Dialogue options:
General: You disagree? [3]
General: Life as a rebel is hard. [4]
General: It had to be done. [5]
3 - General: You disagree? PC: I take it you don’t agree? Dorian: Not my place to disagree, is it? It just seems like you’re repeating history. [6]
4 - General: Life as a rebel is hard. PC: It can’t have been easy: Life on the run. Hunted all the time. Dorian: Better to be in the fold than out in the wilds? For a sheep, that is. [6]
5 - General: It had to be done. PC: There was no other choice. Dorian: Oh, I’m not arguing. Just pointing out the ridiculously obvious. [6]
6 - Scene continues.
Dorian: It all depends on what you do with these mages later. No guarantee you’ll throw them back into Circles again, I suppose.
Dorian (med/high approval): I mean, unless you’re the dull sort. I suspect that’s not the case. Dorian: (neutral/low approval): I mean, unless you’re as thick as you seem. Which would be sad, really.
7 - General: You disagree? PC: I take it you don’t agree? Dorian: On the contrary, I approve. Heartily. [10]
8 - General: I’ll think of something. PC: Give me time, I’m sure I’ll surprise you. Dorian: I suspect that’s untrue… unless you strip yourself naked and allow the Chantry to flog you into repentance. Now that would surprise me. [10]
9 - General: It had to be done. PC: There was no other choice. Dorian: Oh, there were definitely other choices. You picked the one that’ll shock the children. [10]
10 - Scene continues.
Dorian: I do wonder if you’ve considered what this support of yours will do. For mages in general, I mean. The Inquisition is seen as an authority. You’ve given southern mages license to… well, be like mages back home.
Dialogue options:
Flirt: So long as they’re like you. [11] + Dorian slightly approves
General: Is that so terrible? [12]
General: So they’ll rule us next? [13]
General: I doubt that. [14]
11 - Flirt: So long as they’re like you. PC: If that means they’re anything like you, I approve. Dorian: Ha! There aren’t many mages back home like me. PC: I’d believe that. Dorian: I never fit in. Bloodstains are so difficult to clean, you see. PC: So we’re doomed to a future of blood magic, then? [15]
12 - General: Is that so terrible? PC: What would be wrong with that, exactly? Dorian: Nothing… at first. [15]
13 - General: So they’ll rule us next? PC: So what? They all turn into blood mages, worship dragons, and then take over? Dorian: Not at first, but you’d be a fool to not see where this could lead. [15]
14 - General: I doubt that. PC: I don’t believe that. Dorian: It’s true, the conditions here are different. Southern mages aren’t used to ruling. [15]
15 - Scene continues.
Dorian: Thing is, the Imperium was once just like the South. Templars, proper Circles, all that rot. Then it changed. By inches. Not that this is reason to oppress us. Still, my homeland should be a cautionary tale, not a source of inspiration.
