Sure, I like to write. But I may also be a tiny bit smitten with Dragon Age, Mass Effect and video games in general. Thus, I've decided to dump my collection of photos here, wherein I cosplay Josephine from Dragon Age. 

"Common ground is the start of all negotiation!"

Costume made my me and Olivia Mears of Avant-Geek.

I finished the Dragon Age: Inquisition DLC, "Jaws of Hakkon" the other night and here are my [spoiler-free] thoughts:

I know, I know. I finished the DLC before some people even have it. To the Void with me. Anyway. 

When reading information about it before playing, I kept seeing it described as a simple fetch-quest type mission, six(ish) hours of a new area and new gear and not a lot of new story. True, it does not progress the main story from Inquisition forward, exactly, but it most certainly does have story to it. It is the story of what happened to your predecessor, the former Inquisitor Ameridan, and what has become of his final resting place in the Frostback Basin, a particularly treacherous and bogfisher infested area (seriously - my companions wanted nothing more than to slay all the poor bogfishers). Sounds interesting but not particularly necessary, right? Well, if there’s anything I’ve learned about Dragon Age DLC, it’s that however extraneous it may seem at the time, it’s usually pretty important later.

Because you are on the trail of a historical figure, it also gives more insight into religious and historical lore of the universe. This is endlessly fascinating to me; I could talk about it for days, but I will spare you (Arlathan! Andraste! Tyrdda! Shartan! Eluvians!). Suffice it to say, there’s a lot of talk about gods (what makes a god, anyway?) and religion in the series. In this DLC we get insight into the culture and gods of the Avaar. Personally, I grow increasingly convinced that all of the nation’s religions are connected to each other and that history has forgotten (or the Chantry has erased) the important pieces that connect the larger puzzle.

I won’t give spoilers, and perhaps I am searching for something where there is nothing, but I felt that “Jaws of Hakkon” was a small piece of a puzzle given to our Inquisitor. It might not be the puzzle I’m trying to piece together -indeed, it could be something totally different- but the main story line in the DLC definitely reveals some very interesting information to our heroes that will surely have larger repercussions in Thedas. The reveal, to me, was beautiful and went along so nicely with everything else we’ve been slowly learning over time.

So, I recommend “Jaws of Hakkon”  – it can be played before or after the end of the main storyline. If you play it after, there is a little bit of awkward party banter where your companions seem to have forgotten you defeated the evil wannabe god every so often. If you play it before, which I have not, you’d have access to one extra party member who I think would be very interesting to haul around in this particular area.

My final piece of advice is this: When given the chance to search for the Nox Morta, do it. You won't be sorry.

That’s all I’ve got – Maker watch over you, dareth shiral (and may the Dread Wolf hear my, er…never hear my steps.)