I said I was gonna curb the DA comics but then I didn’t
January 19, 2015
4:17 am
I swear to god no matter how ancient and sacred and sealed away from society a temple I crash is, I can pretty much bet across the board on either finding parts for Bianca or scattered chapters of Hard in Hightown.
Literately the only intake/info I have of this game comes from your comic and it has made me want to buy/play it… right now (2am in the morning).
Doooo iiiiiiit
I disagree, personally. I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy Dragon Age for some reason. It may have been the companion AI, or the fact that everyone was just a constant smartass, but something just drove me away. Tankfully I got the game for free from EA, or it would have been a waste of money. If you enjoy it, cool, but I didn’t.
question, HOW? and is the offer still up?
It was Origins that was free. And it isn’t any longer.
I must agree. A friend loaned it to me the first one after I praised Final Fantasy 12’s fight system, saying it was the same. It was not. Then we ended up in the same apartment and he made me play the second to “redeem” himself. So much worse. I refuse to go near them again. The lore is semi-interesting, but very bloated. The gameplay is a big meh. The only thing they do notably well is the relationship mechanics, and those still come off as a cheap dating site, at least for the first two. I hear the third is miles better, but I will never buy a game just for the relationship mechanics. But yes, these comics definitely make it seem far better than it is.
That should say “dating sim” rather than “dating site.” Blasted auto correct.
As someone who also hated the first two games with a fiery passion, I highly suggest trying out Inquisition. Totally changed my mind about the franchise. Fixed a LOT of the problems the first two games had.
Same here, except i’m broke and have no idea were I could even find the game. Also, this is gonna sound REALLY stupid so forgive me ahead of time, but what do you play Dragon Age on? Is it a computer or gaming console?
Both.
Look to Steam, or Origin, but preferably Steam.
Thank you
It’s probably the same people who distribute health and ammo packs in other sealed ruins.
and red painted barrels filled with explosives.
No, that last one’s the blessing of the Goddess of Explosions. What, you never played Hyper Princess Pitch?
Oh great. Never mind the fact that it’s going to be nearly impossible to restore the wall & whatever was written/painted on it, they ruined that lovely architecture for a *partial* blueprint & an *partial* script of some fanfic…
Worth.
Varric’s worse than Link,though…At least broken pottery is easier & cheaper to replace than ancient temple walls.
O.o
Partial blueprint isn’t really correct, it’s a blueprint for a part.
Hey, it gets pretty boring and lonely in those ancient sealed away places. Even spirits have to find SOME way to pass the time.
I honestly think the canon reason for the “Hard in Hightown” is that it really is that popular. When Varric is like, “How badly is my publisher screwing me?” I’m like, “Oh, bb, you need an agent. Hire Josephine.”
At this rate it wouldn’t surprise me if the Darkspawn are also fans of Hard in Hightown.
I’ll bet there’s a group of Twilight-Mom style Broodmothers waiting for Varric to come back to the Deep Roads so they can get their copies of “Swords and Shields” autographed.
The Architect probably has a standing request for an autographed copy.
If you haven’t yet, you may want to go to a shop on the upper levels of Val Royeoux and purchase the ‘mystery box.’ Knowing you, I’m excited to think of your reaction on twitter if you do end up doing it.
Damn now I want to get the mystery box!
You want to get the mystery box.
I don’t know if he’ll trade in what he has now for what he can get for that. But it’ll be epic either way
Faith doesn’t protect you from your enemies, cool crossbows do!
DA is great, but especially with Bull-flavored romance :)
Serrated greatsword with butterfly handle and what seems to be a blunt pommel
Good choice Iron Bull
Varric – A dwarf so awesome he transcends space, time, and logic.
… It does lead me to a strange theme in Bioware games though – short, crossbow wielding storytellers writing books and subsequently getting screwed by their publishers.
Deekin was no where near as great as Varric, though.
Did it all begin with Jan Jansen? I forget.
My name is Yon Yonson.
I come from Visconson.
I verk in a lumberyard there…
Sorry, turnip reflex.
I like to think Jolee wrote a book after kotor, and retired from the galaxy thinking “I’m too old for this shit.”
If only they made his specialisation more usable :(
Hey now, Deekin was the first to pave the road for Varrick to follow!
He even accidentally became a shopkeeper in NWN2!
I *like* BioWare, but you see the same thing repeated over and over. A lot of DAI reminds me of Jade Empire.
I’m afraid it’s about to get worse.
The Jedi Consular questline in the starting planet in Star Wars: The Old Republic has your first companion declare you the Herald of the Scorekeeper, the deity he worships. Sound Familiar, anyone? Once is awesome, twice is “Dammit, Bioware!!!”
They really needed to build area specific loot tables >.>
you are stuck farming sadly….
but there is one area that is pretty much guaranteed to drop the best gear. the cradle of sulevin
Don’t you dare post less Dragon Age comics!!! I think we’re playing it at the exact same rate as that’s the exact part of the story that I’m on too! :D
Which temple is this supposed to be? The god of secrets?
Shhh! It’s a secret.
Agreed. Keep going. This make me happy.
It would make sense that a schematic for Varric’s crossbow would be found in weird places seeing as how the one who built the crossbow wanted to make sure that NO ONE discovered how to mass-produce the crossbow.
It would lead to a new era of warfare where honourable melee warriors are cut down by a hail of bolts all while the soundtrack “The Final Charge” from The Last Samurai is being played in the background.
Fairly certain the invention of the longbow would have already had that effect.
at least longbows require raisig the archer from a young age and years of training and practice. And all you had to do to shorten the supply of the enemy’s archers while getting nobilitiy points for returning your prisoners, cut off the pointer and middle finger. There is a popular myth that the reason brits find a certain variation of the victory sign highly offensive is that the french did that to them.
On the other hand, if you loose your squad of crossbowmen, you just find another batch of peasants to slap some cheap helmets on and hand them crossbows. people may have been butt sore over british firing at super long range with their huge longbows, but the sheer rage felt by the knights when their cousn fell to a group of peasants recruited last week?
Mate the FIRST Dragon Age had crossbows, its just bianca is bianca NO on else gets an xbow now to ake bio-wares dwarf special.
Bianca is a more powerful crossbow than any other crossbow in Dragon Age. Varric already said that Bianca is an easily used crossbow that fires faster, reloads faster and can be aimed better. Bianca could even be customized to become more powerful.
It’s even worse in different places in Mass Effect. You’re exploring ruins of alien races, some long dead, and their fantastically-complex technology is 100% compatible with yours. “Why, this schematic that you salvaged from an otherwise blasted-to-shit krogan ruin on Tuchanka will work perfectly for our heating system! Thanks, Shepard!”
Considering all tech in mass effect is reversed from the same sources it makes sense. Especially since most races become stagnant once they join the interstellar community. Pretty much every problem in the Mass Effect universe is solved by introducing a new race.
Actually, humans are the greatest wind of change in Mass Effect universe (this is where I roll my eyes). In Mass Effect 1, the best armor is made by humans, not some alien race that has been making stuff for thousand years. Omnigel and medigel were also invented by humans. In Mass Effect 2, the very powerful Claymore shotgun that is said to break arms of anyone but Krogan is actually manmade. Then there’s the nuke launching heavy weapon, manmade, black hole gun, manmade. And the hyperadvanced instantainous quantum entagled communication used on Normandy 2 was invented by humans.
The list goes on and on, even Normandy, the ship that was co-developed with Turians has all the stealth technology made by humans, since no other race before could ever make a stealthy ship. Even the whole race of geniuses, salari, haven’t contributed to new technologies as much as humans. It’s ridiculous, really.
Mass Effect is quite racist actually, with humans being the best and brightest, hardest fighting, reaper-stopping lifeform in the galaxy. The only thing that slightly balances it out is that humans are also very often evil and racist. But they still are pretty much the Mary Sue on galactic scale.
The stealth tech came from the salarians. The big problem is that the asari are running everything and they like staying on top so they slow progress to the point where nothing is moving until the asari already have it. Humans are ignoring the rules and foricing things so they’re catching up.
Your Varric dialogue was great, I keep reading it in his voice.
Hey! Iron Bull finally got that Dawnstone Blade he always wanted!
I made it for him, Fade-touched dawnstone over dragon bone everything with a Superb demonslaying rune so he doesn’t have to be afraid of the dark, it ended up with a higher overall DPS than the Sulevin blade that you have to find by killing four revenants and reassembling the pieces. It’s just like Asala, if he loses it he isn’t allowed to come home.
Love the effects…..but you are splitting the bonuses and crippling his stats.
Essence of perfection, Dragonbone….then stormheart for attack % and pure strenght (as a reaver constitution for higher health is not needed much). The handle and pommel should follow the same pattern.
With the right schematics you could get up to some 65% dmg bonus (between attak and strenght bonus) and 20% defense damage bonus which is what you want from a damage dealer like him.
Also….corruption rune would affect waaaay more enemies ( tho I know with you used that one)
Btw….love your comics :-D
That sword wasn’t made to be the absolute perfect stats, it was a sword made to fit the Iron Bull.
The Iron Bull loves killing dragons, and pink, and hates demons. So dragonbone, pink Dawnstone, and demon slaying rune.
I do the same thing for all my companions (that I like. So Solas can suck on his basic looted items). I made Blackwall a shield called ‘The Black Wall’
Cassandra has ‘The Seeker’, since she’s the last seeker.
They are all supposed to be ledgendary weapons that go into the ages as desired by everyone who knows about weapons, spreading the legends of the Inquisition everywhere they go
I do it for the armors
Ever seen Iron Bull in full battlemaster mail (not armor..mail)? Or Cass?
Simply a treat…even tho not the best stats
Cassandra is hardly the last seeker. Sure her order was nearly wiped out by Lord Seeker Asswipeyius, but she says out right that due to the nature of her order, it’s almost certain other members survived merely due to how spread out they were, allowing them to not get sent to their deaths and she intends to track them down and restart the Seekers with a new goal, at least if you encourage her to far as I can tell.
If you ally with the templars and get Cullen of the lyrium Morrigan says most of the remaining templar kick it too and become seekers ( assuming she does not become divine…which she does not in my game since I pick Vivienne)
I made Cas a Superb Shield of the Dragon out of dragon bone and dawnstone that is optimized for dragon fighting.
‘The Pentaghasts’ New Dawn’ symbolizing a return to the classical ways of dragon conflict tat the Pentaghasts became so famed for. Also, it looks cool.
I go the opposite route. I craft good weapons and armor but deliberately refuse to name them. I always roleplay an Inquisitor who is extremely uncomfortable with their new status and deliberately downplays it whenever possible. If people want to start calling the random greatsword he/she used to chop off a dragon’s head a “legendary” weapon, fine, but their not going to encourage them by naming the thing.
Iron Bull’s expression in panel 5 is priceless.
That look of “Why didn’t you bring Dorian instead, or at least Goat Guy.”
I won’t say no to Varric being drawn more.
Don’t apologize, I just started DA:I…so the comics are appreciated.
Wait….Artie???? The same Artemisia from the pixie trix forums?
A-yep…and yes, I’m playing DA:I…
Awwww -loves on- always knew there was a reason I liked you so
If you romance Sera let me know your perspective.
…Is it just me, or does Solas look a lot like Lex Luthor?
Nice touch giving The Iron Bull (never forget the “The” ^^) a bloodstone sword, it’s his favorite weapon material, because it looks pretty:).
Crap, I meant dawnstone, I’m going to go kick myself in shame now for making that error.
It’s why I crafted him one.
Did you also give him pink armor though?
Maker preserve me and convert to the Qun! Where did you get that schematic?
The Warrior Schematics Inquisition Perk from Cullen.
During Iron Bull’s quest, it’s possible for the quest NPC to die before starting his conversation. The result? Hilarity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSTEY1yTgNM
Please feel free to keep making more :-)
I haven’t played Dragon Age since the first one, but these comics kinda makes me want to give it a shot again.
These DA comics are priceless, especially since I’ve been re-working my way through the series.
The wording in panel 4 is ambiguous. Does he mean, “we’ve bashed walls before, and that’s how we found this shrine”, or is he blatantly lying and saying, “it was already like this when we got here”?
DA:I is full of crumbling walls warrior-class characters can smash down to access loot rooms. So not lying, exactly. Just, you know, exaggerating the state of disrepair the wall was in when they found it.
I love your Dragon Age comics personally, so thanks for not curbing it too soon!
Love your work and stay on this Dragon Age kick as long as you want. One and all they are hilarious.
You can never have too much Dragon Age anything
But this comic needs more Cole
Actually, all comics need more Cole.
Cole is like bunnies, there needs to be more in everything.
Cole’s there, he’s just doing his invisibility ‘we don’t notice him’ thing.
My headcannon has Cole in the background of EVERYTHING.
So far, all the ruins I have explored that had “hard in hightown” chapters in it also had a bunch of recently killed scavengers, so that’s a possible explanation.
But yeah, it’s surprising how often you find parts for Bianca. Do Orlesian engineers just make random gadgets because they feel like it, and in some kind of bizarre extremely unlikely twist of fate some of these happen to fit Bianca perfectly, or something?
…Also, I don’t think you ever actually find out who created Bianca. In that DLC for DA2 you kinda find and kill someone Varric claims to be it’s creator, but in DA:I every time someone asks him about it, he gives a different story.
If you talk to Varric after his personal quest, he pretty much admits that Bianca made it, in so many words.
Varrics personal quest involves a dwarf smith called Bianca, who Varric claims to be the most brilliant smith ever. And they seem to have an extensive history tougether
Solas:……..What? HOW!?
Varric: My Fans get around.
Solas: THIS DEFIES LOGIC AND PHYSICS! AND THIS IS COMING FROM A MAGE!
You know how Marvel Movies have after-credits scenes.
DA:I has one too.
Watch it.
Simple: The Doctor is a fan of Varric’s work.
http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/11/24/ser-timothay-gunn
Keep drawing these dragon age comics as long as you want. We love them!!!!
So I guess Hard in Hightown is the new running gag in Dragon Age, kind of like cheese and Dalish slaughter. There’s probably a publishing branch in Par Vollen too.
The new Arishok is probably going to be a fan after he gets his copy. Either that or he’ll be a fan of Swords and Shields.
Iron Bull will probably wind up having to ask Varric to autograph a copy of both.
Considering who the new Arishok is, I find that unlikely, unless Varrick got some kittens or dogs in there somehow. Ah, hell, it’s Varric he totally found a way to fit something like that in. Or maybe he brought cookies into the book somehow…
Considering who the Warden was… Sten would probably like the book because its characters’ actions have something of a similarity to my Warden. He tended to break rules when they got in the way of him fulfilling his role too.
My goodness, you should draw Varric more often. That is … that is some impressive dwarf, right there.
Oh yes, please continue with the DA:I comics :) Though I love all your characters and I am starting to miss Mr Fish a bit.
The loot is funny like that. Like finding Inquisition scout hats in ancient temples or tombs. Its like either being one of my scouts has a higher mortality rate than Leliana lets on or the random loot has no regard for locale.
You should do one for the cheese shield coelasquid.
I almost peed myself when I found it. You’d probubly make me actually pee.
I squeed when I found out that the “Murder Knife” is an actual craftable item.
Don’t forget the Sad Weapon
This is going to be a pedantic post about how to hold medieval weapons, since you’ve been drawing a lot of them lately, and I’m like obsessive about that stuff. So if you don’t care and want to skip reading this, that’s cool, because your comic is still totally awesome without me nitpicking, and a seven-foot, 300-pound bull-man can swing a weapon however he wants, technically.
When you have a hafted weapon like a hammer or an axe over your head, one hand is close to the top, to hold the weight, and the other hand is at the base, ready to start the swing. When you swing, the back hand slides down the haft to put power in it (like swinging a sledgehammer). Choked up like the Inquisitor is, you could do quick chops (like swinging a baseball bat) but that’s not really what it’s shaped and weighted for. It’d be like using a shovel to eat cereal; doable but awkward. like that, the part of the haft below your hands is possibly going to hit you in the torso, and you won’t be getting any real speed. In your comic where they meet Bull for the first time it makes more sense for him to swing like that, since from how you framed it, it looked like a really close fight without enough room to gear up fully, but against a wall you’d just square up and whack it.
Bull’s sword grip in this scene is prolly just like that so he can show off his shiny-pretty sword, the devil that he is, but normally he would have just a tiny gap between his hands. When your hands are pressed against each other, your wrists bend at an uncomfortable angle. You lose some power from your swing since your wrists strain against each other to follow the arc, and thrusting is very awkward since you can’t balance the weight as effectively. You can choke up like that for overhead chops since your hands don’t need to flex so much, but it’s still uncomfortable. Slashing horizontally or diagonally while choked like that can also make you turn the blade’s edge slightly off of the center of your strike, making it easier to glance of armour.
Again, sorry if this is too pedantic, and thank you for all these awesome, hilarious comics you make.
I’m gonna be honest I stopped reading after “This is going to be a pedantic post”, but they’re pommel striking with a pommel strike pose I referenced from the pommel strike animation in the game.
Varric’s work is so popular, even Fade Spirits like Cole enjoys them. Yes, Varric has fans in the Fade.
Perhaps Dorian takes Varric back in time for marketing purposes to the Ancient Elves after the game? I once remember banter where they planned something like that.
Is it wrong that I find the fourth panel funnier than the punchline?
Something about their expressions…
I love how the Iron Bull has his pink dawnstone sword. You rock that sword, Bull!