#codex entries

[partystoragechest]

These bots just do not understand that when I go into the Cullen Rutherford tag, there is literally only one ass I am trying to see.

#codex entries #cullen rutherford #always remember to report + block

[elusianknight]

Meditations of a Vampire Lord (Cazador's Journal)

Full text under the cut.

[The journal of Cazador Szarr. It records the movements and actions of his spawn, with particular attention paid to Astarion. Every order, failure, and punishment is recorded with cold calculation - only the most recent entries seem to betray any emotion.]

Astarion failed to return from his hunt this night. Godey informed. He will have the pliers ready when the boy shows himself again.

---

Still missing. I ought not to be surprised - the boy has always been troublesome. But to disappear now, when we are all but ready? It is unconscionable, even for him.

I have dispatched the brood. They will find him and bring him home. And when they do, I will make him scream for this.

---

it has been days and he is still missing. No amount of pain has motivated his brothers and sisters to find him. It seems Baldur's Gate has swallowed him whole.

I am searching further afield, but my reach outside the city is limited. In the meantime, the hunt continues here.

---

Dalyria and Petras returned from today's hunt, rushing to report that they had seen him in Wyrm's Crossing.

Their tale was fanciful, but they believe it to be true. Astarion, standing in the sun's light? Willing and able to disobey me? Inconceivable.

It seems he has become more than troublesome - he is now a liability. But he will be brought to heel.

He will come home, take his place with the others, and complete his purpose.

[end]

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 #cazador szarr #is the 5 tag thing still a thing? #bg3 astarion #codex entries

[dalishious]

The Pros and Cons of the Codex

Good roleplaying games tend to have a lot of lore packed into the world; it’s one of the most appealing aspects to players like myself, who enjoy spending countless hours studying these creations. But how do you fit all that lore into a game that is already very large? For many franchises, this is where collectible extra bits of reading come in. Assassin’s Creed has its database, The Elder Scrolls has its many books and letters, and Dragon Age has its codex. But there are both pros and cons to this function in a game.

Dragon Age codex entries are written in the perspective of people living in the world. For example, many take the form of excerpts from books written by the Chantry scholar, Brother Genitivi. Or they might be little notes left behind by a person, then found by the player. Or they might be letters written between two people who may never even actually, physically appear in the game, but leave their presence through the codex.

The great thing about this is, the flavour added is extra spicy when it feels like it is coming from an actual person. Someone took the time to write something down, that your character then comes across, without breaking immersion. It gives you the player more information about the world, while at the same time gives the character you’re roleplaying as more information about the world. It feels much more real than if you, the player had knowledge that your character wouldn’t realistically ever be able to know.

But there is trouble with in-universe written codex entries as well: The biggest being, this perspective can be biased. If you’re reading something about the Qunari written by a Chantry scholar, chances are it will refer to them in a very poor light, compared to how the Qunari would refer to themselves. Why? Because within universe, the Chantry is full of racist zealots. So when your character comes across something like this in Dragon Age Inquisition:

Scrawled Note You've heard how the Dalish would hang trespassers. Hung them from trees, is what they say! Would you believe you can still see them? I swear on the Maker's beard, when I saw that face in the tree, I just about pissed myself. The screaming face of a murdered bastard, right in front of me. I was afraid if I stayed long, I would hear it howling. I hadn't even been drinking. Don't believe me? Go see for yourself! Brien.

There is nothing to dispute what this person has written. A naïve player may take it at face value, without accounting for in-universe biases against the Dalish. Now, if you’re thinking that’s too far-fetched to believe anyone would do so, then I must say I am very jealous of your fandom experience being so different from mine. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who lack critical thinking skills, whether it be for real life or engaging with media. Hell, I will fully admit to falling for real life propaganda myself, so I certainly would not say I’m above it either.

Dragon Age Origins had a great way of getting around this: Depending on your character’s origin, you unlocked different versions of the same codex entry. For example, the codex entry on city elves has three different variations: One written by a human Chantry sister that any non-elf character unlocks, one written by a city elf that a city elf character unlocks, and one written by a Dalish elf that a Dalish character unlocks. Each version paints the city elves and history in a different light. Not only does this cover different bases and makes it crystal clear that the writing is founded on an in-universe bias, but it also adds to replay value, because you are collecting something different each time you play. Unfortunately, Dragon Age II and Dragon Age Inquisition did away with this.

Another struggle with codex entries is the fact that they are collectibles, and therefore only unlocked if the player happens to come across them. While this can add a secondary goal for the player to find all the codex entries possible when playing, it also leads to any missed codex entries meaning missed information about the world. In some cases, that’s not that big a deal; in the grand scheme of things, who cares if we know the story behind the wyvern head mounted on the wall of a café in Val Royeaux? But in some cases, rather informative writing on a hot in-universe topic is tucked in a note found behind a locked door somewhere. Such is the case with the following codex entry in Dragon Age Inquisition, for example:

The Annulment at Dairsmuid When we heard of the injustices against our fellow mages at the White Spire, the Circle of Magi in Val Royeaux, I feared what was to come. Our Circle at Dairsmuid is small and isolated; it exists largely as a façade to appease the Chantry. When the other Circles rose up, the Chantry sent Seekers across the bay from Ayesleigh to investigate. They found us mixing freely with our families, training female mages in the traditions of the seers, and denounced us as apostates. Perhaps they thought we were spineless robes who could be intimidated with a little bloodshed. Before I was first enchanter, I was the daughter of Captain Revaud, of the Felicisima Armada. I know how to plan a battle. They brought with them a small army of templars. We fought. And we might have won. But they invoked the Right of Annulment, with all the unrelenting brutality that allowed. It is their right to put screaming apprentices to the sword, burn our "tainted" libraries, crush irreplaceable artifacts under their heels, tear down the very walls of our home. No mage has the right to disagree. We of the Dairsmuid Circle wait now, behind barricades. I have sent word to our brother and sister mages of this outrage. When they break through, we will not die alone. —Final journal entry of First Enchanter Rivella, slain in Dairsmuid, 9:40 Dragon

This codex entry is the last words of a dead woman, murdered in what is, in my opinion, a hate crime based on her being a Rivaini mage practising culturally traditional magic. Veteran players of the world of Dragon Age are already familiar with the viciousness and cruelty of the Chantry, but new players are not. And with Dragon Age Inquisition already so Chantry-focused, it is exceptionally rare in this game to hear of any disputes from sources not painted as an antagonist. So if you, the player, never unlock this codex entry, you, the player, may never read one of the few examples of the Chantry’s corruption.

Fortunately, thanks to fandom archiving efforts, all codex entries can easily be found online. But that is only because of fans who lovingly record all the content of the game, not because of anything from the actual game developers.

I believe that codex entries have a proper place in the world of Dragon Age. At this point they are a staple feature of the franchise, and I enjoy reading them. But I do not enjoy having to collect them in order to do so, and I do wish that there was a function that perhaps after you beat the game, you automatically unlock all codex entries, or if BioWare themselves were to publish all the codex entries online instead of fans having to do the work ourselves.

—–

Like these kinds of meta pieces? Please consider supporting me on Patreon, where you could have viewed it a few weeks earlier!

#dragon age #codexes #codex entries #meta

[flowersonpebbles]

Dallas Surana

The Hero of Ferelden, Grey Warden-Commander:

The Fifth Blight was a true Blight despite some people's theories and arguments and it began in the swamps of the Korcari Wilds on the southeastern border of Ferelden in the year 9:30 Dragon. Believed to have woken the Archdemon, an Eluvian had been activated by Dalish hunters and thus it all began... 

The Hero of Fereldan, Dallas Surana, belonged to the Circle of Magi in Fereldan, residing in the tower at Lake Calenhad since he was 6 years old. Before the Circle, Dallas lived on a farm with humans, working as a farmhand until his first burst of magic blasted back everything and everyone around him. He ran in fright and Templars found him. He went with them in hopes of not hurting anyone else. 

First Enchanter Irving had highly recommended Dallas to Grey Warden Commander Duncan shortly after his Harrowing. The Circle was forced to give Dallas to Duncan after he forced the Right of Conscription upon Dallas whom had aided a blood mage in escaping though. Duncan was later informed that Dallas had not thought Jowan to be a blood mage. Duncan was still impressed that he would aid a friend so passionately. 

King Cailan Theirin was swift in responding to the darkspawn threat, gathering the royal army, every Grey Warden in his country, and sending a call for aid to the Fereldan nobility and wished to have the Orlesian chevaliers and Grey Wardens there as well but they would not arrive on time. The assembled armies laid a trap in the ruins of Ostagar, hoping to crush the force before it reached civilization. But they failed.

Darkspawn overran the defenders of Ostagar and decimated the king and his army. Loghain and the soldiers under his command to flank the enemy had survived because of his tactical retreat only. The darkspawn continued their advance into Ferelden unopposed. Only two Grey Wardens, Alistair Theirin and Dallas Surana, managed to escape the slaughter. And only because of their mission for the Joining of Dallas they came into possession of ancient treaties, which compelled all the races to join arms against the massing horde.

The Wardens were saved by Flemeth, a witch of the wilds, and her duaghter, Morrigan. Together, Alistair, Morrigan and Dallas journeyed to Lothering. On the way there, Dallas had found a mighty hound to aid them, he named him Griffin but Alistair called him Barkspawn. 

In Lothering, they met Leliana and Sten. They recruited the well spoken archer and strange qunari warrior gladly. And helped the people of Lothering best they could and encouraged the citizens to flee. They also met a merchant, Bodahn Feddic, and his adopted son who could make and do enchantments, Sandal, who accompanied them on their journey. 

The surviving Wardens sought Arl Eamon, uncle of the late King Cailan, in the hopes of mustering troops from the Ferelden nobility. Upon arriving in Redcliffe they learned that the arl had fallen ill and was near death. His knights had gone in pursuit of the fabled Ashes of Andraste, Eamon's only hope for a cure, and the village surrounding the Keep was beset by a host of animated corpses. The heroes helped the townspeople and Taegin through the night's battle. The Wardens found that Eamon's son, Connor, had been possessed. And Jowan, Dallas' friend who escaped, was the one who poisoned Eamon. He trusted Jowan to look after the castle whilst they go to the Circle to find help for the boy. Dallas himself stopped the demon behind the undead with help of the Circle mages. Once the people of Redcliffe were safe, they joined the search for Eamon's cure.

No one is certain if the Wardens actually located the final resting place of Andraste, but whatever they found saved the arl of Redcliffe. It was later known as The Temple of Sacred Ashes where the Conclave had been held before it's destruction. The town nearby, Haven, the first base of operations for the Inquisition thereafter. 

The Wardens made their way to Kinloch Hold, home of the Ferelden Circle and Dallas, and conscripted the mages after helping them fight blood mages and demons. They recruited Wynne, a powerful spirit healer, into their ranks. 

In desperation to find more allies, the Wardens journeyed into the Brecilian Forest, seeking the Dalish. The elves, too, joined the growing army after the Grey Warden helped them solve a dispute against Werewolves. Dallas had been very intrigued by the bloodwriting and traditions of the Dalish elves. 

Into the Deep Roads the surviving Wardens went, searching for Paragon Branka in hopes she could settle the unrest in Orzammar and unite the dwarves in the battle against the Archdemon. Branka had gone mad and the Wardens worked with another Paragon: the legendary Caridin to not only stop Branka from misusing the Anvil of the Void once more but also forged a crown that ended all question of succession. 

Bhelen Aeducan was crowned king of Orzammar, and the dwarven armies marched for the surface.

Despite their successes, though, greater challenges were yet to come.

Upon his recovery, Eamon Guerrin called for a Landsmeet and he and the Wardens traveled to Denerim.

There, they had to save Queen Anora from Arl Howe, free the city elves from being sold into slavery that was permitted by Loghain and help various unrests in the city. 

The gathered lords and ladies of Ferelden found Teyrn Loghain guilty of a number of crimes. He was sentenced to join the Grey Wardens to atone for his deeds. Furthermore, the Landsmeet bore witness to the betrothal of Queen Anora to Alistair Theirin, the lost son of Maric and a previous Grey Warden mage, Fiona.

The Archdemon clashed with the allied forces at the city of Denerim and was eventually slain, but at terrible cost. Much of the city lay in ruin. Dallas, who rallied the armies was named the Hero of Ferelden and accorded the highest honor. The first Grey Warden to have survived slaying an Archdemon thanks to his good friend, Morrigan. But now he had a son he'd never meet, as to Morrigan's wishes. 

The Fifth Blight ended before most of Thedas knew it had begun. But it left a terrible wound on Ferelden. The losses suffered at Ostagar and Denerim greatly compromised the security of the kingdom. Southern Ferelden from the Korcari Wilds to the edge of the Bannorn are, to this day, a wasteland. It's uncertain how far the ripples from this event shall travel, or what waves it has already stirred.

After defeating the Archdemon and ending the Fifth Blight, the Hero of Ferelden took up the mantle of Warden-Commander. He began the task of rebuilding the Order in Ferelden, serving with honor until his disappearance several years later.

The Inquisition has discovered that he has gone west in search of a way to cure the Calling. For he wished to die old with his beloved Zevran. 

—From A Report of the Fifth Blight and The Hero Warden-Commander of Ferelden, by Flowers on Pebbles

"I wish that I had helpful information regarding Corypheus, but due to my own limited training during the Blight, I know less of ancient darkspawn lore than most Wardens do. I am engaged in a search of my own. All Grey Wardens who do not fall in battle eventually fall to something known as the Calling, a magic that preys upon our own connection to the Blight and the darkspawn. Rather than such foul magic eventually leading to my death, I have determined to find a way to negate this Calling and save all Wardens from its effects.

As I have little useful information to offer, please accept the accompanying gifts instead. If, in my quest, I find anything that may be of use to you in your fight against Corypheus, I will send it to you immediately.

Part of me wishes that I could help your Inquisition more personally because the danger of Corypheus and the Breach approaches the threat of even another Blight. Regardless, Zevran and I have our own battles to fight, and I can only offer my confidence that you have matters well in hand.

Yours, Warden-Commander Surana of Ferelden"

#dragon age #codex entries #long post #warden surana #dallas surana #zevran arainai #zevran x warden #dragon age origins #hero of ferelden #grey warden #warden commander #dragon age inquisition #lore dump #oc lore

[wonderful101gecs]

sometimes i just think about Overwatch and just get sad

#literal codex entry

[myths-of-fantasy]

Codex Entries (Tulua): Eidolons

Within the ranks of the tuluan military there is one mostly unspoken but highly regaled rank. Once referred to as The King’s Hands, Eidolons are a special force of agents with a certain disposition and sense of honor instilled in them from birth. Historically, the first Eidolons were the highest ranking members of the Royal Guard - the people who carried out the King’s orders directly against the people - who grew disgusted and uncomfortable with the suffering of the commoners. Eventually they teamed up and doxxed not only the crimes committed by their kings but also security flaws in their palace, their true homes, where they slept and the blueprints to their palaces.

All the original King’s Hands were executed for their actions but they are credited with being the ones responsible for official starting the rebellion that would eventually be known as King’s Fall that saw the bloody end of the monarchs in just 30 years.

Though Eidolons had become an unofficial force within the tuluan military long before the turian Hierarchy angrily went after them for activating all the mass relays within their space, when they were faced with the existence of many other species - most of whom didn’t jive with their culture - the tuluan Union wordlessly began actively appointing Eidolans.

Picking the most promising military recruits and individuals with a personal flare and evidence of grand potential that ping on individual members’ radar. Eidolons receive no official training prior to their appointment and though their existence is known about throughout tuluan space, no Eidolons are known by name and there is no officially kept record of the number of Eidolons in operation.

Despite their lack of training, there is a wordless bottom-line that Eidolon perspectives are expected to meet;

They must be fluent in at least two xeno-languages without the use of a translator excluding languages of their own species.

They must be comfortable walking the line between law enforcer and fugitive, understanding that there will be times that the Union cannot and will not protect them.

They must prioritize the safety and sanity of those incapable or merely less capable of protecting and defending themselves over those that can and especially over those of law enforcement

They must be willing and capable of making hard choices when defending the innocent and vulnerable, willing to bloody their hands to preserve others

Everything an Eidolon touches is liable to wrapped in red tape and scoured with a black-out marker, filed under the agent’s codenames. Despite all this, Eidolons do have a biochip that is untraceable by most technologies that operate as a form of digital badge when encountering other Eidolons who possess the only readers of this information. The tuluan Union isn’t stupid either and ensure that each recorded code-name has all the missions that agent was on and if there’s proof that an agent is going rogue, another Eidolon is sent after them.

In order to maintain a decentralized rule of Eidolons, not everyone in the Union knows most or even many Eidolons. It’s generally accepted in fact that you will only know the Eidolons you coined and any that chose to work alongside them. This was  the problem the Citadel Council ran into when they discovered the first Eidolons who were operating outside the Paradise Systems and tried to demand the identities of all current Eidolons. When the Eastern wing head, Ahat flatly informed them that she knew of exactly one Eidolon - who was dead - they switched gears and instead pressured the tuluan Union into accepting the SPECTERs and Eidolons’s Agreement.

The agreement dictates that the Citadel Council can direct and give missions to Eidolons as if they were SPECTEREs and within Citadel Space, obeyed Council laws. If a rogue Eidolon begins causing galactic wide problems, the Citadel is allowed to punish them - up to and including, stripping them of their Eidolon status. Though the agreement was signed, there is still some lingering resentment from the Paradise Systems towards the Council about this considering the Asari Justicars were left relatively untouched by Council law.

Eidolons are officially classified as a sub-branch of SPECTERs in the Council databases and all information about Eidolons is suffocated and hidden for fear that the other races - particularly the Krogan despite their own lack of centralization - may follow in their lead with high-flying secret agents.

The nature of Eidolons as a form of “dirty secret” often results in the Council quietly ordering them to perform missions and deeds they can’t afford their precious SPECTREs taking part in for fear of political retaliation. These are frequently missions that occur in the Terminus Systems, interacting with both the heads of Omega and making under the table deals, erasing “dangerous intelligence” from the databases.

#codex entries #projects by ankh #mass effect fanfiction #mass effect alien #worldbuilding #alien military #alien culture #alien history #the citadel #the citadel coucil #mass effect au #mass effect #eidolons

[kaltacore]

isn't it wild that warden-commander invoked the right of conscription on anders with direct permission of the queen/king of ferelden and templars still didn't leave him be. isn't it wild that some of them were willing to drink darkspawn blood and bound themselves to another order just to get to him even though he was proven to be under warden-commander's protection. isn't it wild that the wardens had always been a golden ticket for mages who tried to get away from the circle and it was working perfectly fine for everyone else and then in his case it just didn't

#i know we all treat his short story as his little cannibalism moment but other implications here are truly something #like. there was literally no escape for him since the beginning #he was trying to run away again and again and again and when he thought he finally managed it it didn't save him anyway #one of da2 codex entries calls him paranoid but man. after all that templars infiltrating grey warden ranks shit. who wouldn't be #anders #dragon age

[yuelaos-codex]

The Almighty Vampire Ascendant and His Dark Consort

(all they ever do is gossip, really)

#not me getting sad when i colored her eyes red 🥲 #they hold masquerades just for the piping hot tea #ascended astarion #batstarion #bg3 #bg3 tav #yue’s codex entry: selene #appendix entry: astarion #hannya art #x: wherever you stray i follow

[hejee]

a fool in love (somebody help them)

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #solavellan #inquisitor lavellan #lavellan #solas #solas dragon age #dragon age fanart #took me like several tries to get the colors right #look i don’t wanna render the whole thing so ignore the sketches #there’s an entry in dao codex that fenharel is scared of dogs idk but the recent official art on the dragon age twitter says otherwise #he’s petting the mabari and im like 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹😭😭😭😭😭 #trying out a new brush AGAIN #myrella im so sorry but ur entering a world of pain if u romance the fad expert #please ignore that i forgot his wolf jaw necklace it's 4am here #hey it’s my art

[partystoragechest]

Feeling mushy so I want to say thank you to everyone reading Unwanted. I never expected it to get much attention, given that it heavily involves original characters and there's not any smooching going on. But that does make me all the more appreciative of the small audience who read it, and like, and reblog. I love your tags and replies. I cheer when you turn up in my notifications. I worry about you when you don't appear for a while. Please stay safe out there, my heart can't take it.

#codex entries #unwanted #i do write smoochy off the record but given i wanted to do an austenian slow burn it just wasnt on the cards for unwanted #and because i know the Best People will be reading these tags i am looking ahead to what i want to write next #and there's a fic idea i planned out but never wrote #it's not as long as unwanted #and it's not a slow burn #and it's a different setting #and there would be smooching #but i want to finish unwanted and have a break before i commit to anything else

[chibigaia-art]

old patho doodles i kept forgetting to post

#pathologic 2 #daniil dankovsky #artemy burakh #pathologic clara #cgdoodles #made these after watching codex entry's vid on the marble nest but #now that ive been thru it personally... oh boy #also saw someone else draw the thank god im normal thing but their version is cuter and IN COLOR so

[shepherds-of-haven]

i dont know if we're allowed to talk about the weapon codex entries here but ive been going through the patron posts and help omgggggg red's hammer is as tall as briony 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 AND TALLER THAN SHERRY 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 ...... almost as tall as riel rip........

It's HUGE and it can get even bigger than that if there's a need for it! *that's what she said* It's a very useful and versatile weapon, and he's getting better at throwing it when it's in its smaller form, too! His family doesn't even really know about it because they'd all laugh at the thought of him carrying any kind of weapon, let alone this giant, brutal warhammer 😭 The only thing funnier to them would be a gun or a sword!

#Shepherds of Haven #Red #Red Antiqua #and yes feel free to talk about the codex entries here - I don't mind!

[artflameball]

I have not played Pathologic

#i've just watched the codex entry videos on it a lot duotduotodtidotifiotdtioduogdfuo #cassie draws #idk what happens in the haruspex route. i assume it's this #pathologic #daniil dankovsky #artemy burakh #ok to tag as ship #sure why not

[flowersonpebbles]

I'm gonna reward myself.

I've finished writing for ZevWarden week but now I'm typing it all out.

I've just finished typing day 1 over.

Now I shall indulge myself and tell you all more about Dallas Surana.

Right after lunch though-

#dallas surana #headcanon #codex entries #oc lore

[wonderful101gecs]

every day i wake up to find someone sad that Wire Mother spits out marginally fewer treats than Cloth Mother did without questioning for a second that maybe we just deserve better than either Cloth or Wire Mother

#literal codex entry #i should just mute that post at this point but im stubborn af

[myths-of-fantasy]

Codex Entries (Tulua): Biology

The tulua are the only species capable of almost matching the Asari in terms of longevity with an average lifespan of 800 years. This alongside their common coloration being shade of blue and purple has led to many biologists speculating that the pronounced presence of eezo and biotics result in longer life spans.

Marsupial-like in nature, tulua give birth to very undeveloped young that spend the first year and a half of their lives inside their parents’ pouch rapidly growing in side and weight. Their kits typically leave the pouch for the last time as a year old although particularly small runts are permitted to stay until they’re too big to fit comfortably anymore.

When AMAB kits reach their twelfth birthday, they begin to grow their manes which historically were used for attracting mates - nowadays while they can impress others with them, it’s usually styled for presentation purposes or to keep it out of the way. Both males and females possess seasonal antlers that used to be for self-defense but in modern times have taken more of an ornamental item. Many kits will go out of their way to dye and decorate them for the short time that they exist.

One of the most famous tuluan trait is the short but powerful jaws which have proved to be capable of fracturing some hardsuites. Coming from an opportunist meso-carnivores, tuluna of the past were known to eat the bones, shells and scales of all they prey. Thought their jaws got smaller when they progressed to cooking their food, they still have easily the strongest bite force of any sapient species in Citadel space and regularly still consume sea-food and small bones as a delicacy.

The whiskers of a tuluan are a very popular topic of fascination. With their muzzles covered in biotic sensitive nodes and the whiskers themselves being biotic sensitive, the tuluans have the ability to identify individuals based on the biotical signature they give off. Describing this as a “song,” they insist that all species have a similar song with individuals varying in pitch, tempo and mood. Tuluans greatly dislike anyone touching their muzzles or whiskers without asking as powerful biotics have the side effect of mechanically flash-banging their senses.

#codex entries #tulua #projects by ankh #worldbuilding #the conduit #lore #mass effect fanfiction #mass effect au #mass effect alien #alien lore #alien biology