History Characters / DragonAgeIINonPlayableCharacters

!!!'''Voiced by''': Rachel Atkins

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Christine Roberts (English), Heide Domanowski (German)

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Christine Roberts

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Jean Gilpin

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JimWard

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/RickDWasserman

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Christopher Godwin

* HalfHumanHybrid: All Human/Elf children are fully human, but he invokes this in hopes that simply being elven born will help the Dalish accept him. It's mostly an issue growing up, since being raised by an elven parent gives him away to most humans, and his human appearance prevents him from fitting in among elves. If he [[spoiler:leaves for Tevinter, he's able to pass as a fully human mage to study his abilities, and his mother is able to move back with the Dalish since she doesn't have a human child in tow]].

* WasOnceAMan: [[spoilers:After her battle with Hawke, she was transformed into a solid crystal statue. Normally, this would be the death of any Red Templar, but she somehow was revived as an undead being of pure red lyrium known as the Crimson Knight.]]

* TakenForGranite: [[spoiler:Is frozen into a statue after overtaxing the Lyrium Idol by trying to go OneWingedAngel. Also, according to Varric in ''Inquisition'', she hasn't been moved because everyone is too afraid to touch her. At some point, however, her remains get moved to the Black Emporium and placed in a cage.]]

A member of the enigmatic Seekers, who interrogates Varric in order to find the true story of the Champion.\\

** And for all her crackdowns, not only did the Templars completely fail to stop [[spoiler:Quentin]], but in one of the companion quests, a ''[[spoiler:literal Tevinter magister]]'' can waltz into Kirkwall with impunity. (And out again, depending on Hawke's actions.)

* MisplacedRetribution: [[spoiler:Calling for the [[ThePurge Right of Annulment]] in response to the destruction of the Chantry. Meredith knows that Anders was never a resident of the Gallows; she had been looking for an excuse to annul the Circle for some time, and Anders gave her exactly that. Her excuse was so flimsy that several Circles revolted on the spot when news reached them, and those that didn't started on the path toward total war.]]

* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: For much of the story, her harsh methods ''can'' be justified by the chaotic conditions in the city, the terrible abuses magic enables and her desire to bring some manner of order... until [[spoiler: she decides to exterminate the Kirkwall Circle of Magi for a crime they did not commit.]] She has many opportunities to achieve her goals without extremism -- or at least without acting on it. By the ending, it's clear she's in it for the bloodbath. She's a one-woman example of how extremism erodes well-intentioned aims.

* RabidCop: Her natural inclination.

* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:Claims that Fenris wanted his lyrium markings and competed for them (which WordOfGod has disproved--Fenris competed to free his family, but didn't know the lyrium marks would be his other "prize"), but she also lied about wanting to reconnect with Fenris to lure him into a trap, and says so pretty spitefully after Fenris almost kills her for her betrayal. Though, since it was more than a decade ago, and she wasn't there to see him get the marks, it's entirely possible she's just saying what she thinks happened.]]

* [[KillEmAll Tranquilize Em All]]: Bear in mind that most mages view being made Tranquil as a FateWorseThanDeath.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even the Arishok is personally disgusted by the racial injustice Kirkwall's elves suffer, and pulls no punches telling Aveline as much. (He's also sickened by the number of people languishing in poverty while Kirkwall's elite grow fat off their labor.)

!!!'''Appears in:''' ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''

* MeaningfulName: InUniverse, almost a NamesTheSame. Feynriel's name is an awful lot like Fen'Harel, who is [[spoiler: responsible for creating the Veil, and both he and Solas travel the Fade often]].

->'''Voiced by''': Rachel Atkins

->''"We will never have peace unless we try to understand one another."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Christine Roberts

->''"My order will soon realize the Qunari presence is more than a test of faith -- it is an open challenge. But for now, I must act on my own."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Jean Gilpin

->''"Cold corpses speak louder than abstract freedoms, do they not?"''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Jamie Glover

->''"This isn't how it should be. Templars protect mages. We should stand together, against demons, not fight amongst ourselves. Before Meredith, things were different."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': James Daniel Wilson

->''"Be strong, my love..."''

\\

->''"Once you're Tranquil, you'll do anything I ask."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Timothy Watson

->''"The only certainty in their precious Qun is death before the righteous."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/MarkLewisJones

->''"What if one of the women who died was [[{{Foreshadowing}} someone you loved?]]"''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/JimWard

->''"Blood magic, where do you NOT see blood magic? My people cannot sneeze without you accusing us of corruption!"''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Kellie Bright

->''"There is no way for a mage to live by the Chantry's laws."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': James Daniel Wilson

->''"I would rather die a mage than live as a Templar puppet."''

\\

->''"For twenty years, I was locked up! Never had a real drink or cooked something for myself. Never stood in the rain or kissed a girl."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Tim Bentinck

->''"I have done the impossible. I have touched the face of the Maker and lived."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Kellie Bright

->''"With a body like mine, men rarely have time to give me their names. They're too busy doing other things."''

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->'''Voiced by''': Susan Duerdan

->''"With a wave of a hand, I could do more than a templar can achieve in a lifetime. Yet they command us? Absurd! We should be ruling them. We should rule you all!"''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Chris Nayak

->''"If I weren't half-human, we'd be living with the Dalish. I'd be trained by a Keeper, not hustled into the Gallows like a bad secret."''

\\

->''"Kirkwall should be mine. Then my children will have a whole city to play in."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Chris Nayak

->''"I am a visionary. I've seen our destiny. I know what fate holds for the elves. The humans keep us down because they're afraid of the magic within us."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Tom Chadbon

->''"You weren't always this way, Fenris. Once upon a time you had affection for me. I remember it fondly."''

\\
A Tevinter magister and Fenris's former master.

->'''Voiced by''': Susan Duerden

->''"I know Fenris, and I know what he's searching for. If he wants me to betray Danarius, he'll have to pay for it."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/MirandaRaison

->'''Voiced by''': Carolyn Seymour (''Dragon Age: Origins''), Kate Binchy (''Dragon Age II'')

->''"There are few things in this world more powerful than a promise kept. Remember that."''

\\

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/da2_fenarel.png]]
->'''Voiced by''': Creator/YuriLowenthal (''Dragon Age: Origins''), Alec Newman (''Dragon Age II'')

->''"[Merrill] was our First once. The Keeper loved her. More than she loved the clan, it seems."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/YuriLowenthal

->''"To most elves I know, the only difference between them and humans is how much coin they have. Coin is the great equalizer, not living free."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/RickDWasserman

->''"Friend and enemy blend together in this sea of filth. I can barely discern one group from another."''

\\
The leader of the Qunari army. He appears in the "Destiny" trailer as Hawke's opponent.

->''"If you force choice, it is not choice. Your doubt does not make me wrong."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/KeithSzarabajka

->''"I know what I am. I don't need to belabor it."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Christopher Godwin

->''"I am losing my sense of how to balance this nightmare."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Daniel Curshen

->''"I had so many doubts. Qunari had none."''

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->'''Voiced by''': David Sterne

->''"I am not going to lose my son because a handful of elves make up ridicuous stories."''

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->'''Voiced by''': Jamie Glover

->''"That elf girl. She had no right to be so beautiful, so perfect. The demons said she needed to be taught a lesson, like all the others."''
\\

->'''Voiced by''': Daniel Curshen

->''"Aveline? You're a beautiful sight. I mean, uh, I was on patrol and they came out of nowhere..."''

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->'''Voiced by''': Alec Newman

->''"A dangerous thing, taking sides. I avoid it wherever possible."''

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->'''Voiced by''': John Rubinow

->''"For all my damned coin, I'm still only an elf to these shemlen."''
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->'''Voiced by''': April Banigan

->''"Qunari take my people! My siblings forget their culture, then go to the Qun for purpose. We're losing them twice!"''

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->'''Voiced by''': Aoife [=McMahon=]

->''"He may never forgive me for sending him there [the Circle], but I'd rather him alive and furious than dead and buried."''

\\

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/da2_nyssa.png]]
->'''Voiced by''': Lora Brovold

->''"I used to dream of him returning. But not like this. He's changed, and I don't know him anymore."''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/KeithSzarabajka

->''"Useless! What am I paying you blighters for?!"''

\\

->'''Voiced by''': Nicholas Boulton

->''"WELCOME. TO THE. BLACK. EMPORIUM."''

\\

* JerkassHasAPoint: As terse and uncooperative as he is, the Arishok is not wrong about how casually corrupt, exploitative, and chaotic Kirkwall is. He's not wrong that the city runs on a small elite of lazy, corrupt, incompetent nobles getting fat off the labor of the three starving lower towns, and how these societal roles are assigned by birth rather than merit like in the Qun. He's also one of the ''very few'' characters in the game to show disgust over the systemic injustice against elves. This causes several characters (including party members) to se the Arishok in a morally-fuzzy way. The Arishok may be a jerk, but he's not exactly wrong.

* AmbiguousDisorder: He shows some signs of schizophrenia, given his auditory hallucinations.

[[/folder]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: {{Played with}}. Elthina is ''usually'' willing to listen to the various groups in a conflict from a rather neutral position, break up immediate fights between their leaders... and that's basically it. Elthina does absolutely nothing to soothe tensions or pursue any kind of resolution to Kirkwall's problems, instead content to let them bubble beneath the surface, fostering more anger and resentment all around and pushing things closer to the boiling point. In addition, she often undermines the efforts of those who do seek some kind of resolution, including but not limited to having Hawke ''lie to the Divine'' about just how serious the Mage/Templar problems in Kirkwall are. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Unsurprisingly, the various political factions in Kirkwall get tired of Elthina doing absolutely nothing which causes the situation to spiral even out of Elthina's control]]. Twice. She does, however, bring up some valid points on why she doesn't explicitly take a side, as that would only increase tensions. At the same time, her claim that her power is less than it seems falls flat because the Chantry Hierarchy places Elthina as Meredith's direct superior, and there is no indication that Elthina is actually doing anything about Meredith's flagrant violations of Chantry law. Hawke can also make the argument that staying neutral is effectively the same as siding with the Templars. Still, her death is what causes the tense stand-off to culminate in all-out slaughter.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Gaining freedom seemed like a great idea until she learned the hard way that Tevinter's economy is completely structured around slave labor. If you're not already a wealthy slave-owner or a slave yourself, there's pretty much no way to make a living (since wealthy slave owners won't bother to pay someone for work when they can make their slaves do it for free), so you're left out to dry. Not to mention the FantasticRacism against free elves in Tevinter...

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Lia is filled with pity for Kelder when Hawke meets her, because she can tell [[ReluctantPsycho he doesn't want to hurt her and is tormented by "demons."]] However, in the long run pitying her kidnapper doesn't undo the damage he caused her. If Hawke kills him, then she joins the city guard to protect other children like her. If Hawke refuses to kill him, then knowing the man who hurt her is still out there abducting and killing other unsuspecting children ([[WhatYouAreInTheDark and there are others like him]]) unravels her mental health, and she becomes afraid that [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse every man she meets is a "monster in disguise."]]

* IrrationalHatred: Should Hawke let her go at the end of the "Act of Mercy" quest, she still [[spoiler: shows up [[spoiler:and kidnaps someone close to Hawke, refusing to let them then go, and tries to kill Hawke]]. Part of this is due to her blaming Hawke for killing Decimus (even though she clearly saw that Hawke acted in self-defense) and her own failure to escape the Templars. [[spoiler: Once she falls in battle, she comes back as a ''Pride'' abomination]], which makes it clear that she's too proud to admit to her failings that she projects her resentment onto Hawke instead.

* [[SubvertedTrope Not-So]] SimpleStaff: [[BladeOnAStick The thing's adorned with several sharp blades]] and [[PlayingWithFire it's fire-elemental as well]].

* StupidSacrifice: Mary Kirby, the writer for Merrill's story arc, stated that Marethari's "sacrifice" and Merrill's various sacrifices were an example of how some women’s instinct to willingly sacrifice and suffer for the sake of their loved ones cana become vicious and toxic.

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Marethari ''believes'' Merrill is going down a dark path due to her belief that the eluvian, blood magic, and spirits are all inherently dangerous, and does everything in her power to prevent Merrill from restoring the eluvian. However, Merrill is shown to always mean well with her actions and uses every precaution to restore the eluvian slowly and carefully, with minimal risk to herself or others. Even if there was no complete guarantee that Merrill would be able to keep everything under control, Marethari's efforts to sabotage Merrill's research by any means necessary do far more harm than any of Merrill's research itself, [[spoiler:culminating in Marethari allowing the demon to possess her behind Merrill's back.]] Marethari ends up doing far more harm trying to prevent Merrill from researching the mirror than Merrill herself.

* IGaveMyWord: Downplayed. When Merrill approaches Marethari to ask for the arulin'holm to repair the eluvian, she invokes a right where she performs a service for them, to which then they are honor-bound to fulfill her request. When said request is performed, Marethari does give the arulin'holm, but she gives it to Hawke rather than to Merrill in the hopes that they will withhold the artifact from Merrill. Marethari may have agreed to give the arulin'holm, but was never specific on who to give it to.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: For all her flaws she has shown in her disagreement with Merrill and how she handles it, Marethari proves to be capable of governing ''other'' matters properly, like in Feynriel's case.

* StupidSacrifice: Merrill’s story arc writer Mary Kirby stated that Marethari’s “sacrifice” and Merrill’s various sacrifices were an example of how some women’s instinct to willingly sacrifice and suffer for the sake of their loved ones, becomes vicious and toxic.

---> '''Bran''': You don't watch a child become a man and not feel something when he is lost.

* IdiotBall: Like many Kirkwall residents, even after it becomes clear that her plan has failed and what she hoped to achieve wouldn't have been possible even if Hawke hadn't interfered, she becomes enraged by Hawke interfering anyway and attacks them. However, her words before attacking Hawke implies that she knows she's already done and decides to just go down killing more people while she still can.

* SanitySlippage: It's clear that she's not all there. It's implied that she's been poisoned by the ''saar-qamek'', which helped erode her sanity.

** She is notorious for using the [[FateWorseThanDeath Rite of Tranquility]] at the slightest provocation, even on mages who have passed their Harrowings, which is explicitly forbidden by Chantry Law. One such instance described in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' was using the Rite on a mage who was having love letters passed between himself and a Templar lover using another Templar as a willing intermediary. The charge was "corrupting the moral integrity of a Templar." Cullen then says that this was ''[[UpToEleven not]]'' Meredith's most egregious abuse of the Rite. [[spoiler:This was all years ''before'' she got a hold of the [[ArtifactOfDoom lyrium idol]].]]

** If she is sent to the Circle, in her letter, Bethany will mention him as a "creep" and one of the Templars she specifically avoids. The [[BigBrotherInstinct Big Brother/Sister Instinct]] goes UpToEleven when you find out what kind of man he is - especially since his target, Ella, is one of Bethany's apprentices.

* FreudianExcuse: Her sister was an apostate-turned-abomination who killed their family (apart from Meredith, obviously) and many villagers before eventually being slain by the Templars.

* AdultFear: His daughter was kidnapped by a known SerialKiller, and law enforcement won't do a thing about it.

* HumanMomNonhumanDad: Reversed. He has a Dalish mother (Elf) and an Antivan father (Human).