Mask or Menace App

[rebelhealer]

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉

NAME: Arawing

AGE: 30

JOURNAL: arwingyoshi

IM / EMAIL: arwingyoshi33@gmail.com

PLURK: arwingyoshi

RETURNING: Yes


〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉

CHARACTER NAME: Anders

CHARACTER AGE: Late 20s to early 30s

SERIES: Dragon Age

CHRONOLOGY: A day after Hawke is made Champion

CLASS: Hero

HOUSING: Roommates are fine


BACKGROUND:
Anders was born in a small village in Ferelden. His father originally came from the Anderfels, but he came to Ferelden as a boy, and eventually started a family there. When Anders was twelve, he and his family discovered he was a mage when he accidentally set his family’s barn on fire. His mother wanted to protect him, but his father called the Templars, who took Anders away in chains.

Anders didn’t take to the Circle very well, and refused to speak to anybody. Since he wouldn’t even tell them his name, everybody simply called him “Anders”, and the name stuck. Anders attempted to escape seven times after coming to the Circle, only avoiding severe punishment because the First Enchanter didn’t take his escapes seriously and felt they were the actions of a stubborn child. Eventually, Anders met an older boy named Karl, and they fell in love. After their Harrowings, however, Karl was sent to Kirkwall’s Circle, the Gallows. Anders escaped again, this time so he could try and get to Kirkwall. After he was brought back, Anders was put in solitary confinement, during which his only companion was the Circle’s mouser, Mister Wiggums.

Anders’ final escape attempt, and subsequent recapture, led him to the Warden Keep, shortly after the Blight had ended. Darkspawn attacked the keep and killed the Templars, but Anders was able to fight them off. It was then that he met the Hero of Ferelden, now Warden Commander of Ferelden. Anders joined the Warden in saving the Keep, and in order to keep him from going back to the Circle to face execution, the Warden conscripted him into the Gray Wardens, something Anders welcomed and the Templars protested.

Anders travelled with the Commander as they uncovered a new threat to the world. Some Darkspawn had gained sentience, and the ability to speak. These talking darkspawn were divided into two factions, one following the Architect (the darkspawn who gave them sentience in the first place), and the other following the Mother (a sentient broodmother). During their missions to stop the hoards, the Commander recruited more Wardens, including a spirit of justice who accidentally possessed the body of a dead Gray Warden. During these adventures, Anders learned where his phylactery (a vial of enchanted blood that’s used to track a Circle mage) was being kept and asked the Warden to help him get it. This turned out to be a trap set by some Templars, intent on taking Anders, despite the fact that he was now a Warden and thus legally out of the Chantry’s grasp. The Warden Commander defended Anders and they killed the Templars. This act of defiance to the Templars caused Anders to warm up to the Hero. Eventually, the Mother’s forces attacked the city of Amaranthine, and the Warden helped to defend it before going to face the Mother.

Anders stayed with the Wardens a little while longer, but found himself in a tough position when the Warden left to find their friend Morrigan. A Templar joined the Wardens to spy on Anders and look for a chance to bring him back to the Circle, showing that the Templars would stop at nothing to make an example of him. Meanwhile, Justice’s body was starting to decay beyond use. Scared for his life, and fearing that Justice might die without a body, the two made plans for Justice to possess Anders, which would also give Anders the power to fight back against his oppressors, and thus help other mages. The Templar Warden eventually accused Anders of being an abomination, and brought along several other Templars and Wardens to arrest him. Feeling that they had run out of time, Anders and Justice rushed forward with their plan, and Justice possessed Anders. The initial merge left them angry and confused, and they killed the Templars and accompanying Wardens in self-defense. Afterwards, Anders fled for Kirkwall.

Upon arriving in Kirkwall, Anders opened up a free clinic in the Darktown district, where the poorest of the poor lived. The people of Darktown and certain parts of Lowtown came to rely on Anders, since he was the only person helping them without thought for coin. The lower class appreciated Anders’ work, to the point where some were willing to lay down their lives to protect their healer.

One day, a refugee named Hawke, and some of her friends, came looking for him, since he had maps to the Deep Roads that they needed for an expedition. Anders agreed to hand over the maps if they helped him get Karl out of the city. The group met at the Chantry that night, where Karl was to meet them, but Karl had been made Tranquil (had his magic and emotions stripped away) and used as bait to arrest Anders. Anders (with Justice taking control) and his new allies killed the Templars, and Justice’s presence allowed Karl to regain his emotions long enough for him to beg Anders to kill him, saying that being dead was better than being a Templar slave with no emotions. Anders sadly complied with his former love’s request. After this incident, Anders joined Hawke’s group and they soon became friends.

Anders accompanied Hawke on her expedition into the Deep Roads, along with their friend Varric and Hawke’s sister, Bethany. Down there, they were trapped in a cavern by Varric’s greedy brother, fought a powerful demon and made off with plenty of treasure. Unfortunately, Bethany contracted the Blight, but Anders revealed that her life could be saved if she became a Gray Warden. Anders led the group to a band of nearby Wardens, who agreed to take Bethany with them. Hawke bade her sister goodbye before the party finally made it back to the surface. Anders continued to run his clinic while Hawke used the money to buy back her mother’s estate, which her uncle had sold to pay off his gambling debts years before.

Three years went by, during with Anders continued to quest with Hawke’s group. He also joined up with a group that smuggled mages out of the Circle, among other acts to subvert the Templars’ authority, known as the mage underground. Anders soon asked for Hawke’s help in exposing a Templar, Ser Alrik, who was using the Rite of Tranquility on Harrowed mages despite that being illegal (it’s also heavily implied he was turning female Tranquil into sex slaves), and was planning to use the Rite on every mage in the Gallows. The group sneaked into the Gallows in time to witness Alrik threatening to make a young mage Tranquil. This sight angered Justice enough to take control of Anders, and the group killed Alrik and his cronies, but Justice frightened the young mage, calling him a demon. Anders/Justice nearly killed her in a blind rage, but Hawke managed to get through to them and they fled. Anders almost fled Kirkwall, ashamed and afraid at what he and Justice nearly did, but Hawke talked him into staying.

Anders was there when the Qunari Arishok attacked Kirkwall, and Hawke dueled him to the death over the fate of their friend, Isabela. Hawke was subsequently made Champion of Kirkwall.

Another three years go by, during which things only get worse for the mages in Kirkwall. The Templars, led by the cruel and ruthless Knight-Commander Meredith, tighten their hold on the mages, taking away what little freedoms they have, which in turn causes more mages to take desperate measures just so they can live another day, let alone escape. Anders knows that time is running out for the mages, since Meredith has called for the Rite of Annulment (killing every single mage in a Circle), and he knows that she’s going to go through with it any day now, with or without the Chantry’s permission. Anders, who up until this point has tried to get change through peaceful means only to be stonewalled, realizes that drastic action needs to happen or else the mages in the Gallows will all be murdered behind closed doors and nothing in Thedas is going to change. So he once again calls for Hawke, this time asking her to help him get some unusual ingredients, claiming that it’s for a potion, so Hawke may have plausible deniability. In truth, it’s a bomb, which Anders plants in the Chantry. Anders does everything to make sure he alone takes the blame, and so it may appear that he acted alone.

The climax of the game comes when Anders detonates the bomb, killing the Grand Cleric, who’s inaction allowed Meredith to get away with her crimes. Meredith calls for the Rite of Annulment, even though the Circle had nothing to do with Anders’ actions, thus showing the world that the Templars will look for any excuse to slaughter mages, and exposing the Circle for the injustice that it is. Hawke sides with the mages, allows Anders to come with her, and the group help defend the mages before a final battle with Meredith at the Gallows. Meredith is left petrified, thanks to exposure to red lyrium, and Hawke’s group, along with the surviving mages, leave the Gallows, before fleeing Kirkwall altogether.

Mark of the Assassin
My personal headcanon is that this happens in between Acts 2 and 3.

Hawke is contacted for a meetup, which turns out to be a trap. They’re saved by an elf named Tallis, who offers Hawke a deal. She wants Hawke to go with her to Orlais and rob a Duke, who’s holding an annual wyvern hunt. Hawke agrees, taking two others with her.

The group slays a wyvern, and afterwards attend the celebratory party. Hawke and Tallis go off alone to sneak into the manor, but are captured. It’s revealed that Tallis is a Qunari convert, and was really there to kill her old mentor, who had turned against the Qun and is going to give the Duke Qunari secrets. Tallis gets them out, and they meet up with Hawke’s other two companions. Once they escape the manor, they run across the Duke meeting Tallis’ former mentor, who provides the Duke with a list of names. The Duke is unsatisfied with this and kills the former Qunari. After a fight that ends with the Duke’s death, Tallis takes the list, revealing that it’s a list of Qunari spies, including those who left the Qun. Tallis leaves the group after this.

Legacy
I tend to headcanon this adventure taking place some time during Act 2.

Hawke is attacked by Carta Dwarves, and so is Bethany. Taking along Varric, Anders and Bethany, Hawke tracks the Carta out into the mountains, where an old Dwarven fortress is located. The Carta claims to be working for someone named Corypheus, who wants the blood of a Hawke.

The group descends into the fortress, where they meet a Warden named Larius who is on his Calling, which is what the Wardens call it when they go down into the Deep Roads to die fighting Darkspawn once their immunity to the Taint starts to wear off and threatens to consume them. Larius tells them that Corypheus is an ancient darkspawn that’s been imprisoned for a very long time, and was imprisoned by Hawke’s father, Malcolm. So the Carta want his children’s blood to free him.

As they descend deeper, Anders begins to hear Corypheus speaking in his mind, trying to take control of him. Anders fights it off as long as he can, but eventually Corypheus overpowers his will and forces him to fight his friends. Hawke snaps him out of it, and the group go on their way.

The adventures ends in a final battle with Corypheus, who reveals that he’s one of the original magisters who accidentally created the darkspawn. Once he’s defeated, Anders finds a necklace on him that may verify his story, which leaves him shaken, though Hawke assures him that Corypheus’ actions shouldn’t be used to punish mages in the present day.

World State
The Warden was a female elven mage
The Warden recruited all companions in Origins and Awakening, and did their personal quests
The Warden survived (talked Alistair into doing the ritual)
Amaranthine was saved
The Architect was spared
Hawke was a female rogue
Bethany became a Gray Warden
Hawke recruited all companions, befriended them and did their personal quests
Hawke earned the Arishok’s respect and dueled him for Isabela’s fate
Hawke sided with the mages
Hawke sided with Larius in the Legacy DLC
Hawke agreed to help Tallis in the Mark of the Assassin DLC

Choices regarding Anders
Hawke befriended Anders
Anders didn’t kill Ella
Hawke agreed to help Anders with his plan in Act 3
Hawke condoned Anders’ actions and spared him
Anders went on both DLC adventures



PERSONALITY: If there’s one word to describe Anders, it’s selfless. Anders is a spirit healer, meaning that he specializes in using magic for healing. It’s rather telling that the first thing he does upon getting to Kirkwall is open up a free clinic in the dirtiest, lowest part of the city for those who can barely buy food, let alone pay for healing. He does this because he wants to help people, even though he risks the Templars finding out about him and arresting him. Anders also wants to see his fellow mages free to live their own lives outside of the Circle, because he knows that the treatment of mages in Thedas is inhumane and he wants to create a world where no mage goes through what he and countless others have gone through. He can have a “with us or against us” attitude when it comes to mage rights, which causes him to lash out at people who agree with the Templars or Chantry, and get testy with people who are on the fence.

Anders was taken to the Circle when he was 12 years old, and this has shaped him in many ways. Unlike most mages who were taken when they were even younger, Anders remembers what it was like to have a life and a family, and was never fully indoctrinated into believing that the Circle is the best place for a mage. Since he was old enough to know better, he can see that the Circle is a prison and Templars are just jailors. Anders, like many Circle mages, suffered hardships and abuses within the Circle, and he saw his fellow mages get abused all the time, which left him traumatized. He hates the Circle for keeping him and his kind locked away never to see the outside world again, he hates the Templars for oppressing and abusing mages, and he hates the Chantry for preaching hatred towards mages, elves and various other groups of people within Thedas. Despite his hatred for the Chantry and everything associated with it, Anders is Andrastean. He believes in Andraste and the Maker, but he hates the Chantry itself for using Andraste’s words to preach hate. Thanks to the Chantry’s teachings being shoved down his throat since he was twelve, he tends to deal with internalized self-loathing.

One thing Anders can’t stand are blood mages. He believes that blood magic is inherently bad and dangerous, and the more mages turn to blood magic, the harder it’s going to be for mages to gain freedom because all the common folk will see are blood mages. This blinds him to the fact that blood magic can be used for good so long as it’s used responsibly.

Anders is a romantic, as shown by his romance with Hawke, and even his flirting with the Warden in Dragon Age: Awakening. He’s less flirty in Dragon Age 2, but he does still occasionally flirt with Hawke should the player pursue a romance with him. Despite this, Anders is hesitant when it comes to romance. In the Circle, relationships between mages were discouraged at best and at worst, it gave the Templars something to use against a mage. In his words “it gave the Templars too much power if there was something you couldn’t stand to lose”. This was reinforced when Anders’ first love was taken away from him. It’s implied that he had some casual affairs within the Circle, but by the time he gets to Kirkwall, he’s no longer interested in casual sex. He also has a jealous streak, as shown when he disapproves of Hawke dating anybody he doesn’t approve of or if Hawke flirts with anybody else while in a relationship with him.

Anders has some sense of humor. It was more pronounced in Awakening, but it is still there in Dragon Age 2. Anders used to use humor to mask his own trauma and pain, since he was always angry about Templars and how mages are treated, but he just chose to hide his negative feelings. By the time he’s merged with Justice, he’s simply decided not to mask his pain any longer. He does still make quips and jokes on occasion, such as when he banters with Varric. It really depends on his mood when it comes to how funny he gets. If he’s in a good mood, he’s more likely to make quips, and is less likely to do so if he’s feeling sad or dour.

Some time in between Dragon Age Awakening and Dragon Age 2, Anders started sharing his body with a spirit of justice. Anders believes that he corrupted Justice with his anger towards the Templars, though whether this is true or not has been debated within the fandom. His and Justice’s anger is towards people who hurt others and abuse their power, like Templars, or those who sit back and do nothing to help the oppressed. Justice is the reason Anders is more proactive in helping others than he was in Awakening, where he was mainly concerned with keeping himself safe, because he felt powerless to actually do anything. Even still, the two clearly hadn’t fully prepared themselves for the merge and just assumed it would go smoothly. Justice often feels trapped within their body, since Anders is the one in control most of the time, which makes him frustrated. Justice can also be impatient, and doesn’t understand why Anders can’t do anything right now about the injustice mages suffer. Justice sometimes lashes out when he’s extremely angry, which in turn terrifies Anders, because he’s afraid they may hurt friends or innocents.



POWER: Anders’ first two powers are ones he has in canon, while the third is non-canonical.
Magic
Anders is a skilled mage, and knows a variety of spells. His speciality is healing magic, with half of his unique skill tree being based on the Spirit Healing specialization. Anders can learn any spell the player wants him to, granted he has access to the spell tree. These are some of the spells I usually give him in my playthroughs, and some have been omitted so that he isn’t too powerful. All his spells are based on his Dragon Age 2 skill set, rather than his Awakening skill set.

Healing - Heals anything from major wounds like broken bones, to small cuts. The worse the wound, the more magic he has to use, and this can leave him low on mana.

Panacea - Generates a healing aura around himself and enhances his healing powers. Anybody around him while this mode is active has minor wounds healed. He cannot use offensive magic while this mode is active. This is a sustained spell.

Group Heal - Heals up to four people at once, including himself. Weaker than the normal healing spell. Will completely heal minor wounds, but won’t fully heal major wounds.

Revive - Revives an unconscious person and heals any minor wounds.

Fireball - Shoots a ball of fire from his hand

Winter’s Blast - Shoots a ball of frost from his hand that freezes the target

Cone of Cold - Makes ice spikes come out of the ground

Chain Lightning - Shoots lighting that hits a single target, and then the lightning “chains” off the target to hit up to three other opponents. This spell also leaves opponents stunned for a few seconds.

Mind Blast - Telekinetic blast that repels opponents away, sending them flying backwards

Haste - Makes an ally move faster for about 30 seconds

Heroic Aura - Nearby allies become stronger and tougher. Allies’ physical and magical attacks do more damage, and minor attacks from opponents may be shrugged off. This is a sustained spell.

Glyph of Repulsion - Casts a glyph on an ally that repels anybody who gets near them for 30 seconds.

Glyph of Paralysis - Casts a glyph that renders the target immobile for 30 seconds.

Like many video games, spellcasting has a “mana meter” in Dragon Age. All spells use mana, with the more powerful spells requiring more mana. Sustained spells take up a fraction of the mana meter, meaning that while a sustained spell is active, Anders has less mana for spellcasting until the sustained spell is dropped. Too much spellcasting in too short an amount of time is also going to leave Anders exhausted. Mana can replenish on its own, but it regenerates slowly during battle. Once a battle is over, mana instantly replenishes.

Spirit of Justice
Anders is possessed by a spirit of justice, and sometimes this spirit will come to the forefront and take control of his body. Justice grants Anders some unique abilities, seen in gameplay as well as supplementary materials. When Justice is in control of their body (basically Justice acts the same as a sustained spell in terms of gameplay), Anders can survive wounds that would normally kill him, as demonstrated when a Templar stabbed him in the heart and he shrugged it off. Justice also enhances any spellcasting Anders may do. Justice’s gifts seem to only work when he’s in control of their body.

For the sake of not overpowering him, Justice no longer prevents Anders from surviving fatal wounds if he’s in control of their body, nor with Justice gain control over his corpse like any other spirit normally would. If Anders dies in the game, Justice dies too. If Anders dies and get resurrected, Justice comes back to life inside him.

Justice doesn’t know how to cast healing spells, so he has to give Anders control again if they want to heal themselves or allies.

Friend to All Cats
Non-canon power. Any cats in close proximity to Anders (like within a few yards of him) are drawn to him and become super friendly. As long as the cat is within close proximity to Anders, the cat is also blessed with good luck. Only works on house cats, including strays. Does not work on anthropomorphic cats or wild cats.

Anders also has special abilities related to being a Gray Warden. For the purpose of freeing up a power slot for the third power, I would like to say that the importer stripped him of the Taint and thus these abilities are gone.



〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉

COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
[It took Anders a while to figure out how this weird magic mirror works. Someone had to explain it to him twice how to use it. He’s been told it’s ‘technology’, which he figures is just a fancy word for magic. How else could it work?

Obviously he figured it out, since there’s a rather scruffy looking man wearing feather pauldrons holding the device up.]

I have questions. First, is it true that this world has no Templars? Really, truly has no Templars? Mages and those with powers are just allowed to live their lives like everybody else?

[And yet this world isn’t one big Tevinter Imperium or burnt to the ground. Shows what the Chantry knows after all.]

Second, I need to know where I can get a new staff. I left mine back home.

Third, where can I get a cat? Preferably a tabby, but I’ll take other breeds too. Tuxedos are cute, for example.



LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
Test Drive Meme



FINAL NOTES: Anders is coming over with his usual outfit, with all upgrades stripped from it (the player can buy upgrades for it), a short knife, and a few gold coins.