Nobody Expects the Pony Inquisition! · 12:41am Mar 3rd, 2015
art by Metal-Kitty
This blog was delayed by a combination of some minor internet troubles and an addiction that has me spending nearly every unpromised, waking hour playing a most amazing game. Guess which one. 
Honestly, I could create an entire blog just singing the praises of this game. I fully expect that some future gaming-related blog post (such as "On Karma") will feature it as an example of things done right. But for now, considering that it is months too late for a review, I'll just recommend it strongly and point out what are for me few of the game's highlights.
When writing Fallout: Equestria, I strove for characterization and world-building. Both of these are elements that the Dragon Age games excel at, and this newest game delivers both at an exceptional level. The game gives you interesting, fleshed-out characters, and allow those characters to interact with each other as well as your character. The game provides a seemingly endless treasure trove of background information which you can discover and read to fill and enhance your understanding of the world you are playing in.
With pictures like the one above, I cannot help but imagine the world-building and story potential of blending ponies and Dragon Age: Inquisition. I think I'd love to read a well-done story like that.
Iron Bull -- why My Little Inquisition would totally need a buffalo
Two other aspects that I must mention are the war table and the game's impressive handling of sexuality. In regards to the latter, the primary characters in the game's world each possess their own sexuality and gender identification, and each is treated with respect. To quote part of the review from Gamesradar:
One of the men in [Iron Bull's] cohort is a transgender character, but if you act surprised by this fact, him and the rest of his gang will laugh at you for being weird about it. [del] It's a huge step up from the standard romanceable characters in most games, which usually consist of two-dimensional partners, either straight as an arrow or pansexual enough to be interested in your character whatever magical being or alien race you are. Dragon Age Inquisition bucks that trend, because screw you, player - you're not the centre of everyone's world. Sexy mage Dorian likes men. Quirky archer Sera likes women. Solas only likes elven women. Deal with it, because that's what actual humans are like - not everyone will like you.
I am impressed. Very impressed. The game earns my respect.
Meeting Iron Bull's Chargers -- I sense a side story!
The last highlight I want to mention is the War Table. All too often in computer RPGs, you are the the leader, head of a huge organization... and yet you are required to go out and deal with every little problem yourself -- right down to gathering resource materials. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, you are a powerful figurehead and you lead the small and elite strike forces on critical missions... but you also have an increasing movement building around you that comprises diplomatic and military forces, spies and assassins. You don't have to do everything on your own. Your author friend is struggling with someone anonymously writing an unauthorized and utterly cringe-worthy sequel to his work? Dispatch a few spies to ferret the person out. Need a variety of research materials? Arrange a training exercise that will net what you need. With the War Table, you chose which forces you think are best suited to handle minor missions and put out small fires so that you can focus on bigger things. And these missions can build on each other, or intersect with your own work in the field. Need watchtowers built in the Hinterlands? Scout out the best locations yourself, then jump back to the War Table and assign troops to do the construction. I find the War Table simply brilliant!
Gathering at the War Table -- oops, sorry, wrong link!
So I'm off again to continue playing. In the meantime, I have a question for everyone. In the last few months, I've done headcanon write-ups for locations in the world of Fallout: Equestria that offer a lot of gaming or story potential, I've written a blog-exclusive story, and I've answered a few more of your most frequently asked questions. I enjoy regularly blogging as a show of appreciation for everyone who has chosen to follow me. At the moment, whoever, I'm running a little dry on ideas for what to blog next. So I'm open to suggestions. What would you like to see in an upcoming blog?
"Regular Maintenance" by BurningMyElectronics
i have heard of someone who has taken a crack at making a dragon gae based story. i am personally meh about it to be honest, but who knows. though it is not based on inquisition, but the previuos ones.
........... considering what you did with fallout, could you do something similar with dragon age?
An announcement of a new story you've written that has nothing to do with Fallout: Equestria.
If not that, your thoughts on the Fallout: Equestria-based winners from the More Most Dangerous Game.
I wasn't surprised at all with their even-handed approach to non-binary gender, considering how they handled Cortez's story in Mass Effect 3—no one even questioned his homosexuality or was given the opportunity to call it to attention when he mentioned he had a husband that passed away in the Reaper invasion. It was just a normal part of life, and you were there to help him mourn. It was probably one of the most touching moments I've ever played through in all of video game history. No, that didn't surprise me about DA:I at all, because BioWare's always been great about that.
What I was most impressed with, and what no other game seems to know how to do properly, or is too scared to approach the subject with anything serious to say, was DA:I's handling of religion.
Every single perspective towards, against, and apathetic to Andrastianism was given its fair share in the limelight, including those of other religions. There are reasonable and unreasonable people on every side of the debate, some driven by fear or others by vengeance. You get people like Dorian who "believes" in Andraste, but not the Chantry, you get Mother Giselle who is incredibly adherent to her faith but recognizes the Chant as being old and misinterpreted and tainted by human hands, you get people like Varric who just doesn't give a shit (and why that matters), you get people like Cassandra and Leliana who realize how beautiful the Chantry can be and what it can do for people at its finest, and you get so many other characters...
Then, then you get yourself, a bona fide Jesus, and you see what that does to people, what kind of power and influence you wield and how your decisions will impact the faith of millions of people around the world. I roleplayed an atheist character in that game, but every single time someone asked me, "Were you blessed by the Maker?! PLEASE TELL ME" I could hear the desperation in their voices, and eventually I couldn't just tell them no anymore, because... by the Maker, they so wanted it to be true, and who was I to tell them they were wrong when even I didn't know the answer?
And so many people asked, bringing their own personal experiences to the table. Through so many perspectives, we got to see religion as being terribly evil, wonderfully healing, constantly misinterpreted, always up to question, a cause for fear, a passionate motivator, a catalyst for great good and greater evil... but most importantly, as something that seriously impacts society in a powerful and meaningful way, as an essential, vibrant part of human society. And I adore it for that. It makes several hundred statements about a topic that people are far too scared to talk about, even though our stance on religion and spirituality and the very fabric of our existence is an essential part of who we are as human beings.
This game has reignited a conversation that we all need to be having, with ourselves and with each other, about what our faith, and the faith of others, means for us as individuals and as a society. And it's beautiful.
But enough about that. Who did you bed. TELL ME. It was Josephine wasn't it I KNEW IT
either battles fought during the war or the back story of gawd or the talons.
either fine by me.
my headcannon about is that she is secretly train by rainbow dash which explains her whole loyal thing to the job thing.
Yikes. I had to trade in my copy because it was so bland and boring. Maybe it was because I didn't really complete the other two? (Because I didn't like those either.) Dragon Age simply doesn't have the magic that Bethesda's action RPGs have. Inquisition was marred by a bland story, uninspired characters, repetitive side quests, and overall game design that doesn't respect the player. It's not a horrible game by all means, and I suppose it's decent for hardcore RPG fans and people accustomed to playing MMOs, but for me, it was a waste of funds. Far Cry 4, on the other hand, is the opposite. While the story in FC4 isn't by all means incredible, almost every aspect of its design improves on 3 and respects the player...besides the fact that you can't skip cutscenes. Alex Hutchinson really dropped the ball on that one bit.
To add: for example, they could have allowed you to access the War Map from anywhere in Thedas. Instead, you're forced to return to the same hub over and over again. This is an even worse inconvenience that having to return to the Normandy all the time in Mass Effect. At least that made sense in its context.
I agree Skyrim is really cool
I've never played the Dragon Age games myself, but now I'm thinking I might have to!
As for what to blog about next, have you considered a post of your reviews/thoughts on some of Fo:E's spinoff stories? You've written about some before and seemed generally positive about them. Do you have any favorites? What do you think of the more famous side stories like Project Horizons or Pink Eyes? Are there any diamonds hidden in the rough that you don't want people to miss?
Have you talked about what happened to Baltimare or Trottingham during and after the war? I was planning a story involving those places, or places near there, and was hoping for a little info. Until next time,
-Sphinx
Call me a Heretic, but I wouldn't mind seeing something... not Fallout Equestria.
I'm flipping out. Your Inquisitor looks 100% identical to my own, even the class and outfit.
I'm not even joking in the slightest. Jesus Christ you had me confused.
I had a chuckle, probably for unwholesome reasons.
2844723
You just get it.
Josephine forever....
Maybe you cold do reviews of episodes from MLP? Or random fanfic reviews?
I'm finding that a lot of people who play this game do so as a rogue.
Does anyone have any thoughts on that?
Personally, I play as a mage, (my Warden, my Hawke, and my Inquisitor are all mages)
My reasoning behind that is because I feel more involved in the story, in addition to the specializations that allow you to excel as a front-line combatant while still having the gift of the Maker. (Arcane Warrior/Force Mage/Knight-Enchanter for the win!)
Seriously, I LOVE fighting dragons as a Knight Enchanter.
I like how you can generate barrier simply by attacking, but since barrier constantly drains, you need to keep attacking.
It adds a level of intensity and danger.
Gotta- *swing* -keep- *swing* -barriers- *swing* -up!
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/163/pony-age-origins there's a link to a dragon age fic for anyone who wants to read it. If you wish to write your own, though, nothing will stop you. He's only done the first game, plus awakening, so you could be the first inquisitor.
Your Inquisitor looks frighteningly similar to mine. I think they might be twins.
One thing I'm interested in is information about the coastal regions of Equestria, especially after the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows. Would maritime trade pick up at all, at least between coastal towns/cities and ports? What other nations are near Equestria, besides the zebra territories? If left alone, would these ports have been able to establish maritime trade even with the cloud cover, perhaps with other nations?
I'm on board with 2845089, hearing your thoughts on actual show canon could be very interesting.
Very interesting article! Had thought about not buying Inquisition but this blog post is making me think of putting it on my wishlist now! Now to just finish a long ass list of games I need to finish and free up my harddrive T-T.
But anyway, I'd really love to read blog posts concerning the New Canterlot Republic, such as how it's government works, if it has any subfactions (like any other democracy would have (sadly)), and what would be it's greatest challenges in your opinion? Wanted to ask since I'm featuring the NCR in my side fic as one of the few major factions my character would interact with. And I wanted to get them in a way that respected the way you wanted them to be, but making them complex to the point where while they're a well meaning organization, they have various flaws (kinda like back in New Vegas, which was one of the reason why I loved that game more than 3). I've been wanting to speak with you on that, but I never seem to be able to reach you at a good time -_-.
hi hi
I played Dragon Age: Origins, which I think was the first of the bunch, but really didn't like it at all. It would be nice to know that Bioware learned from their past mistakes though. Still, the unpleasantness of my experience with the first does make me a little hesitant to consider putting money down. Perhaps I will have to watch a let's play.
I can't really comment on the first point, since that is the kind of thing that does not come intuitively for me. (When I'm GMing or writing stories, I often times end up rolling randomly for the NPCs, because I don't really trust myself to fairly represent if I choose by fiat.)
On the second point though, it has been interesting for me to see the levels in which players are willing to delegate. In my experience, many players have a strong aversion to letting NPCs do any of the work, if there is any chance of failure. I'm kind of curious about what sorts of methods they used to make delegating not only a viable thing, but a desirable thing. Are the sorts of quests that the minions can do simply not available for your main character to attempt? I suspect that often times, players either don't want to miss out on part of the story, or they want to ace everything.
As for another blog, I admit that my most recent curiosity about Fallout Equestria has been about addiction. LittlePip's struggle with addiction was, for me, one of the more compelling threads. It has been said that the zebras didn't have the same cultural taboos that Equestria had on drugs, but even if Pinkie Pie didn't admit that she had a problem, she still had a problem. I wonder how society at large handled drugs, both the zebras and the ponies. They were certainly found all over the wasteland, squirreled away in various places.
I also find myself a little bit curious about the Enclave Griffon war that supposedly took place a couple generations ago, from Calamity's reckoning. I'm not sure if there's enough there to fill a blog post, and that it may have been a throwaway line, but I know that in my game, I've made use of that little bit of history. Ponies might not think much of it, but for the griffons of Pinion City or Plumeburg, I figured they hadn't forgotten about such a bitter defeat.
Were there any other Stable experiments that you thought up, but never had a chance to use in the story? Perhaps any that turned out well? (I seem to recall that the Pony and Zebra stable turned out relatively well, with its problems not really being a product of the experiment itself.)
Gloomy topics aside, more songs by Little Gloom are always fun.
Ahh. So many games I still need to get around to playing. I'm going to try getting through some of my current Steam, Humble and GOG lists before adding this one to any of them, though
By the way, Kkat, a handy trick I discovered a while ago: there's no need to upload thumbnails as separate images on imgur - it can generate them itself
Just add s, m, l (for small, medium, large) behind the imgur code in the url, just before the file extension, to get a thumbnail:
Original: http://i.imgur.com/Zi7HaZX.jpg
Small: http://i.imgur.com/Zi7HaZXs.jpg (90x90)
Medium: http://i.imgur.com/Zi7HaZXm.jpg (320 width)
Large: http://i.imgur.com/Zi7HaZXl.jpg (640 width)
Considering the job you did with Ponies and Fallout, that's just unfair teasing.
...please don't be just teasing? *puppyeyes*
The game always reminds me Mass Effect 2 when I play it. But a Mass Effect 2 with freedom and space. The irony.
Maybe you could do an episode by episode analysis of a show you love beside MLP like Babylon FIve perhaps? Thank you also for the parts on the depictions of sexuality in the game. It sounds like a step in the right direction. And with my two cents given I am off to buy this awesome looking game! And to start a Dragon Age/Pony fanfic! After much research of course!
Perhaps you could do something like an autobiography in multiple blog posts. I find autobiographies very inspiring and a I think a lot of people do too.
I keep hearing mentions of this game, all positive, but this is the only full recommendation I've found. I need to look into playing this.
Looking it up on Steam now. Just so I'm adding the right game to my wishlist, this is Dragon Age: Origin, right? Couple of different versions here. Probably safest to just grab the ultimate edition that has everything.
2847020
The game I am playing is Dragon Age: Inquisition. Dragon Age: Origins is the first in the series. That game is worth giving a shot -- it has a similar richness of characterization, and is noteworthy for having multiple very different beginning scenarios, depending on your character choice. I did, however, find combat to be lackluster.
Notably, Dragon Age: Inquisition has a bonus feature called the Keep, which allows you to enter every major and minor decision you made in your Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 playthroughs. Inquisition will then adjust its world to reflect your choices -- everything from alterations in the lore to changes in missions and NPCs.
2847076 Thanks for the info. Unfortunately it seems that Origin is the only one I can find on Steam, and I don't have an Xbox or Playstation. That's really strange since I keep finding evidence it's available on PC. Guess Steam's library can't have every PC game. I'll still keep Origin in mind next time I'm looking for a new adventure game.
2847076 It's not done yet, and I don't know how long it will take, but I'm giving the Dragon Age story a shot. Greetings Kkat, I am Cannicus Palentine. I haven't got through all of your story yet (longer then the Lord of the Rings! How did you accomplish this?) but I do like what I've seen so far. So I figure since you've told a story about how Equestria fell to greed and fear, I'd tell one of how that land came to be in the first place. Going back to before the founding of Equestria, before the founders, to a time when prejudice and treachery were as common as peas in a barrel, a time when Magic was feared and oppressed, the time of Starswirl the Bearded, or as he's known in this story, Starswirl Greymane, Apprentice Mage of the Albeisian Circle of Magii. The story follows him, his Templar brother Swift, and 4 other lost souls as they combat the return of the Mørkfolk (a collection of the Sirens, Changelings and other corrupted creatures), who seek to absorb and destroy everything in their path. But more is going on here then a simple invasion, for this is simply a diversion for an even greater plan, the details of which I won't spoil here.
Anyway I just wondered since you said you might give a well written Dragon Age story a chance if you'd be interested in this one when I'm done with it, and even if you wanted to chip any ideas you might have.
Now for your viewing pleasure here's my current draft of the Prologue to give you an idea of what I'm working on, just if you want to read it of course.
......and so is the Golden City blackened
with each step you take in my halls.
Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting.
You have brought sin to heaven
and doom upon the world.
Book of the Celestials verse 8:13
The Celestial Temple teaches us, that it is the Hubris and greed of the Dragons that first brought the Mørkfolk into our world.
In a time long before the founding of our nation Equestria, the Dragons ruled our world. Under their thrall were three lesser races, the cunning and fierce Wolf men, the Caenii, the brave and fearsome Griffons and finally our ancestors, the Equii.
The Dragons ruled over all of them, at first with reason, logic and compassion, and for a time we were content and prosperous under their rule, but as time went on some grew proud and arrogant, taking advantage of the trust their subjects put in them to deliver to them wealth uncountable, at first just gold and precious stones, but soon they demanded our food stores, and then our own kin as Slaves. Powerless to stop them on their own, our ancestors appealed to the rulers of the Dragon race, to bring Justice to their wayward brethren. But little did they know their tormentors had already begun to seize power away from those who would help their starved subjects. Over time these Dragons would usurp the seat of the Dragon Throne and overthrow their wiser and more compassionate kin, enslaving and killing everything that defied them.
Then at the height of their folly, they committed perhaps one of the greatest sins of all. Discovering ancient and unknown magic buried in the darkest pits of the world, a group of Dragon Mages attempted to gain control of heaven itself, to raise the Dragons to Godhood. But in their arrogance, they instead destroyed Heaven, the Sun and Moon's cycle was broken beyond repair, forever more requiring the effort of magic to move them across the heavens.
Those Dragons who took part in the ritual were cast out, forever changed and twisted, along with their servants, returning as monsters. They became a blight upon the world, unstoppable and relentless. The Caenii Kingdoms and the remnants of the corrupted Dragon Empire were the first to fall, and from their lairs in the dark tunnels beneath the Northern mountains, the newly named Mørkfolk drove at us again, and again, until we neared extinction.
Until the Grey Wardens came....
An alliance of heroes from every race, Warriors and Mages, Kings and Paupers, the Grey Wardens risked everything to stem the tide of darkness, and prevailed.
It has been five hundred years since that time, and the destruction the Mørkfolk have inflicted on us has healed. But the world is far from peaceful. Those Dragons who survived have disbanded their Empire and exiled themselves to the furthest reaches of the world, leaving the three races left behind to pick up the pieces, and the very vices and sins that divided the Dragon Empire started to infect the lesser races too.
We now live in a world divided by mistrust. Though we are at peace longstanding rivalries and the need for land and resources continue to influence the politics and behavior of all three races. And regardless of what everyone now thinks, our victory was not Total.
Some of the Demons who led the horde were unaccounted for after the last battle, their bodies never found. Many are content to see this is just as good as dead, but I don't. Even if they are too weak to fight, they are out there, waiting. As long as they live the Wardens oath shall never be fulfilled, and the world is still in danger from them.
One day they will come back, and when they do, the Wardens will be waiting.
'In Peace, Vigilance.
In War, Victory!
in Death, Sacrifice.'
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well you did very well with fallout equestria in this regard maybe you should give it a shot. the only reason i ever wrote a fanfic was cause i wanted to read it and it turned out others liked it as well but that was on a different site.