Hawke could only have three personalities: Blankfaced Negotiator, Inappropriately Timed Funny Guy, and Unreasonable Dickwad. Attempts to characterise your PC beyond those three was wrecked by DA2:s genius "we'll have dialogue options but we'll let the game choose for you" mechanics. Such as one of my attempts, playing a fairly simple character who allowed for some complexity but still was within the framework of options of your usual Bioware game (I thought): someone who was loving and caring towards friends and family but short and wroth towards others, and particularly ruthless when the family were threatened. I thought it would be fitting because the themes of family and such that seemed important to the plot (not that they were, as I'd find out upon progressing further into the game. Can't have any attmpts at emotional depth, let's just throw away these characters left and right and then never mention them again!). Of course, despite only acting nice and supportive towards my family, I soon gathered up enough Unreasonable Dickwad points from being rude to strangers that they outweighed my Negotiator points, and then the game went "Aha! This guy is playing a character who is a dick to people!" and had me act as a dick towards my family too whenever it was coded to have one of those "lets let the game choose your dialogue option for you" moments.
In short, unless your character fit into one of the above three personalities and acted exactly the same towards everyone, the game would eventually have you acting in different degrees of out of character just because it thought it knew your character better than you did.
This.
If DAIII uses the same conversation system as DA2 (and I don't doubt that it will), then that alone is reason enough to avoid purchasing it. I'm not paying for a game so "streamlined" that it has dialogue options colour-coded with icons just so people don't have to read five or six words. That's just insulting, and really indicates that BioWare is targeting a completely different audience.
Torment, Project Eternity, and Wasteland 2 are going to rip this game to shreds. Even The Witcher 3, a series I am not at all fond of (to put it mildly), will probably be vastly more enjoyable. The only way DA3 will surpass these games is in graphics and the amount of money blown on voice acting...and in the amount of price-gouging Day 1 DLC.
But Bioware loves colors! It is part of their artistic integrity!
the endings of DA3 will probably be something like purple explosion- kill all demons, but magic is destroyed along with mages and Templars. why Templars? has something to do with the lyrium they eat. bioware doesn't need to explain anything more! nonsensical is logical to them! yellow explosion- control all demons, but you die. rainbow explosion- become one with the demons. yay lets be friends! I wonder if we are compatible. on second thought, lets change the subject 0.0
Hawke could only have three personalities: Blankfaced Negotiator, Inappropriately Timed Funny Guy, and Unreasonable Dickwad. Attempts to characterise your PC beyond those three was wrecked by DA2:s genius "we'll have dialogue options but we'll let the game choose for you" mechanics.
Your play experience does not match my own. If I were to boil down why I like DA2 so much down to one primary factor, it is how amazingly well I was able to establish a character that felt like MINE down to some fairly subtle nuances. The only character I've played in an RPG that felt more mine than Maria Hawke is characters I've played in pen-and-paper RPGs.
In fact, my Hawke was successfully established as the sort of character who acted differently towards family and friends than towards strangers, so I'm curious as to why that worked well for me and not for you.
As i said before, judging from what i saw at the panels and what info was released so far, i am cautiously optimistic.
DA2, although ok, was not that good imo, but it's not the story that it lacked, and they seem to address those points, so far at least.
The combat will have a bit more of an action feel, which is inevitable. For several reasons.
First, you have to admit, in BG type games, fighter characters just autoattack and gulp potions. It's just wait and see what happens. It's not bad, i grew up with it, but it needs to evolve at some point.
Second, they are making mages wear heavy armor, and warriors fur, or leather if they wish. That means free armor system, up to a point. That means armor will have more of an impact on your gameplay, aka slow you down, make you heavier and clunkier a la demon/dark souls. This means more action for combat, adding the "army roll" to the equation. That doesn't mean of course that tactics will not be involved, but it probably implies that micromanagement will be heavier in this game, because of tactics and added action individually for each character.
And so on.
From what we saw in the demo, the feel of the game feels instinctively alright to me. The only way to know for sure, is to wait and play it.
It does however, seem more promising than DA2. At least compared to what you saw in the trailer, and what you could do in game.
But Bioware loves colors! It is part of their artistic integrity!
the endings of DA3 will probably be something like purple explosion- kill all demons, but magic is destroyed along with mages and Templars. why Templars? has something to do with the lyrium they eat. bioware doesn't need to explain anything more! nonsensical is logical to them! yellow explosion- control all demons, but you die. rainbow explosion- become one with the demons. yay lets be friends! I wonder if we are compatible. on second thought, lets change the subject 0.0
The fighting style played in games of this type have much more in depth than you mention. If played on a high difficulty you must control your toons the whole fight hence the pause feature creating intense battle often with a feeling of impending doom. The strategic elements of combat have not been the issue with the title the folly was in greed and impotence. Over use of maps and the fashion in which they were used was appalling killing any immersion the game might have had. The combat was fine in DA one and as far as I remember 2 as well unless there is pvp in a game combat really means little. We play these games for the fantasy and immersion we are adventurers and If you create very flawed worlds there is no reason to enter them.
My problem with DA2 was the hugely repetitive dungeons and the poor storyline.
I can't really remember the details, but I remember doing stuff because it felt like the game demanded, not the story or the characters. I didn't *care* about doing mini quests to save money to go to the feel roads, because I'd been given no good reason to go there.
But Bioware loves colors! It is part of their artistic integrity!
the endings of DA3 will probably be something like purple explosion- kill all demons, but magic is destroyed along with mages and Templars. why Templars? has something to do with the lyrium they eat. bioware doesn't need to explain anything more! nonsensical is logical to them! yellow explosion- control all demons, but you die. rainbow explosion- become one with the demons. yay lets be friends! I wonder if we are compatible. on second thought, lets change the subject 0.0
hmmm... something about this sounds familiar
Beatin' that dead horse, are we?
but why not! it still happened and it still wasn't fixed. I am being really carefully optimistic about DA2, and I expect the worse and hope for the best. I honestly do not care for Dragon Age as I did for Mass Effect so even if they make a good game that I play and like I still cannot forgive them for destroying the game that I loved. Heck I brought assets over to the Fallout games because it has been sad not being with the companions for a year so I needed to at least have people like Tali and Garrus by my side in a different universe that hasn't been screwed up by it's makers.
My problem with DA2 was the hugely repetitive dungeons and the poor storyline.
I can't really remember the details, but I remember doing stuff because it felt like the game demanded, not the story or the characters. I didn't *care* about doing mini quests to save money to go to the feel roads, because I'd been given no good reason to go there.
Living in poverty in a dirty shack as a war refugee and seen as a burden on the entire city seems like pretty good motivation to strike it rich to me.
but why not! it still happened and it still wasn't fixed. I am being really carefully optimistic about DA2, and I expect the worse and hope for the best. I honestly do not care for Dragon Age as I did for Mass Effect so even if they make a good game that I play and like I still cannot forgive them for destroying the game that I loved. Heck I brought assets over to the Fallout games because it has been sad not being with the companions for a year so I needed to at least have people like Tali and Garrus by my side in a different universe that hasn't been screwed up by it's makers.
I don't know if you're aware, but creative works don't get "fixed" on the whims of the fans. They did what they could with what they had, and released free DLC to expand and tweak the ending as an apology. It's time to move on.
My problem with DA2 was the hugely repetitive dungeons and the poor storyline.
I can't really remember the details, but I remember doing stuff because it felt like the game demanded, not the story or the characters. I didn't *care* about doing mini quests to save money to go to the feel roads, because I'd been given no good reason to go there.
Living in poverty in a dirty shack as a war refugee and seen as a burden on the entire city seems like pretty good motivation to strike it rich to me.
but why not! it still happened and it still wasn't fixed. I am being really carefully optimistic about DA2, and I expect the worse and hope for the best. I honestly do not care for Dragon Age as I did for Mass Effect so even if they make a good game that I play and like I still cannot forgive them for destroying the game that I loved. Heck I brought assets over to the Fallout games because it has been sad not being with the companions for a year so I needed to at least have people like Tali and Garrus by my side in a different universe that hasn't been screwed up by it's makers.
I don't know if you're aware, but creative works don't get "fixed" on the whims of the fans. They did what they could with what they had, and released free DLC to expand and tweak the ending as an apology. It's time to move on.
well what it really sad was that in an interview recently Mac Walter literally admitted that they gave the player no choice in the end because he didn't think we would be attached to our Shepards as much as we were. He admitted he gave us no choice and they didn't decide to do anything about it! Why do we play RPGs if not for choice? Also I wasn't supposed to be attached to my Shepard? He is a video game representation of me and they thought I wouldn't care about him? Now that makes no sense and I don't think he should be making RPGs. Maybe go make a shooter? I wish I could find that interview right now but I am not home. I think it came out about two weeks ago?
BTW if I were in a position to make Mass Effect what it should have been but to do so I had to give up my job, didn't get paid for my work, and then had no money and needed a new job when I was all done, I would take that opportunity. If Bioware doesn't care then I still care. Instead they are just going to start there sequals and spin offs and milk the cash cow, if there is any money left to be made. Only time will tell if Mass Effect is still profitible without giving into the fan demands.
In fact, my Hawke was successfully established as the sort of character who acted differently towards family and friends than towards strangers, so I'm curious as to why that worked well for me and not for you.
If your Hawke fit into one of the 3 options available, then, yes, it was 'yours'. If it did not, then you were playing out somebody else's pre-written Hawke. The latter was my experience - I was watching somebody else's character. Even worse - I tried to RP and do what I thought my character would do, and ended up with the elven keeper girl hopping into bed with my character, even though that was not my intentention and there was no obvious opt-out. And did you know they wear lame heart thongs in TheDAS?
The redundant areas were a huge detractor, as well (this happened in ME1 too, BTW).
Don't get me wrong; I'm happy that somebody loved this game. I, however, did not. If the portion of DA2 players that liked the game is large enough, DA3 will be commercially successful and spawn 4, 5, 6... However, they will have to do it without my financial support, as I'd rather re-play something I already have than rehash the (caveat: this is MY opinion) awful game-play and overall experience that was DA2 or what will be like DA2. The game was so bad that I didn't replay it to experience the DLC, which is saying a lot (and none of it's good).
In fact, my Hawke was successfully established as the sort of character who acted differently towards family and friends than towards strangers, so I'm curious as to why that worked well for me and not for you.
If your Hawke fit into one of the 3 options available, then, yes, it was 'yours'. If it did not, then you were playing out somebody else's pre-written Hawke. The latter was my experience - I was watching somebody else's character. Even worse - I tried to RP and do what I thought my character would do, and ended up with the elven keeper girl hopping into bed with my character, even though that was not my intentention and there was no obvious opt-out. And did you know they wear lame heart thongs in TheDAS?
How did you manage that? The flirt dialogues are clearly marked. If you didn't want her falling in love with you, why did you click on all those giant, golden, glowing hearts?
And, I'm going to have to disagree on the RP elements. I've been able to play a Hawke that is snarky yet vengeful when wronged, is greedy as all hell, is judgemental of lawbreakers to a fault, and is friendly and supportive to his companions except when they start talking nonsense like Anders' talk of rebellion - just fine. If your experience was the norm, I would not have been able to manage that.
I find a lot better to spend my money in BG2:EE (I still having the original (not the BG1 original, I had it long time ago, but in those time I didn't knew english nor how to save, and I never could pass the Prologue :P) running and working), and then for BG3 (unless they don't use 2nd Edition Rules).
@Schneidend How did I manage? I wasn't looking at the icon in the middle, more than the words (simplified as they were) in the dialogue tree. I didn't go heart-heart-heart either - I'm not a moron. I tried to match the text line with the character and got stuck with *that*.
Anyway, defending DA2 to me is as pointless as discussing its perceived faults to you. I said I was glad that some people liked it, for their own sakes, as it means fewer people were sold a poorly scripted B Movie for Blockbuster prices.
Absolutely loved DA:O, bought it on Steam (complete with all DLC) for $15 or so a few years back and I thought it was an incredibly engaging game.
Heard nothing but bad about DA2, tried a demo, hated the "fake" way that characters swung weapons the size and weight of automobiles like they were butter knives (the weapons in DA:O felt huge if they were huge, your characters actually had to rear back and slowly throw themselves forward during shield smash, etc). The voice acting was horrible, I didn't even get more than 30 minutes into the game after finally buying it for $5 on Amazon.
Will I try 3? If I hear it's like DA:O, you bet. If I hear it's more like DA2, I'll pass. I don't have the time for many games like I used to anyway
I am getting tired of seeing my old favorite franchises butchered though. Used to be a huge Ace Combat fan back in my high school days. I've seen the latest version on Steam for $4 and still don't think it's worth a buy.
Same will be said for DA3 if it's anything like DA2. With that said even, I cannot justify spending $60 on a game I'll get to play for 2 hours every few months. I'll wait for it to be $15 or less on Steam before I jump on it if it looks promising.
My problem with DA2 was the hugely repetitive dungeons and the poor storyline.
I can't really remember the details, but I remember doing stuff because it felt like the game demanded, not the story or the characters. I didn't *care* about doing mini quests to save money to go to the feel roads, because I'd been given no good reason to go there.
Living in poverty in a dirty shack as a war refugee and seen as a burden on the entire city seems like pretty good motivation to strike it rich to me.
Indeed.
"We need to gather a huge amount of money to escape poverty!" "Yeah! But how?" "First we need to gather another huge amount of money to spend on the first amount of money!" "Can't we just use the first huge amount of money we get hold of?" "What? That's completely nonsensical!" "But it turns out I'm really good at this 'massacring people' thing and it pays really well! And I'm part owner of a big mine now and I found a vein of priceless lyrium in it! Can't we just keep doing what we've been doing so far?" "Hawke, dammit! What have I said about applying logic to the plot! We're doing it the ridiculously convulated way and that's it!"
And that's not even going into the validity of Hawke's informed "poverty" that s/he's apparantly living in despite constantly selling and purchasing items and armor for more than most peasants and paupers would ever see in their whole lives.
he is swinging that huge sword quite fast. if memory serves Oblivion had more two handed weight than that, but then I would need a comparison to be able to say that for sure.
The physics and anatomy look really bad. The fire and smoke looks good if you pretend there is no wind or that the wind and sway matches in the scenes where they both have effects.The more I watch it the worse it looks in the first two panned out scenes there are objects that look completely out of place. That could be an old video though and grafix mean nothing if the game is made well otherwise.
Edit: I watched the demo vid after the one above its a much better show of game play though those filming are horrid and scream for no reason through the whole thing. The combat system looks like an improvement players can choose between action rpg or strategic rpg play like the others but you can pan out more for a full aerial view that looks a lot like bg at least in the scene shown. Of course there was really nothing wrong with the combat.
Edit 2: I think no matter what they show they are going to have a huge confidence problem and more people will pirate the game rather than buy it but its a win win. Even if the game is trash those that paid for full price for 2 will get a partial refund. If its a good game it will restore the titles popularity but 4 will most likely end the cycle do to shortcuts needed to make a game with no funding. I really have no interest in the title above raging about 2 a bit on the forums so much so I wouldn't even take the time to pirate it. It is obvious when people don't care about what they are doing and at least to me it is unforgivable.
In DA:O, my first character was an evil dwarven rogue who specialized in the two-handed maul. I loved playing him and attempting to make the character work as rogues were either suppose to be archers or two weapon fighters. I had fun crit striking enemies with a slow wind up swing from the shadows, instantly crushing the majority of them to death.
When DA2 came out, I wanted to recreate Hawke in that type of mold. I was disappointed when that option, that little bit of creativity was taken away from me. I didn't mind the story or the hawke I played because I always felt like he was someone elses creation from the get go and not mine. I was being told a story, not creating one.
It is looking like DA3 is going to be less restrictive in character creation, so I have my hopes I can create something unique again; however, a compelling story is what is going to sell it to me. So far I have seen nothing on that front.
"We need to gather a huge amount of money to escape poverty!" "Yeah! But how?" "First we need to gather another huge amount of money to spend on the first amount of money!" "Can't we just use the first huge amount of money we get hold of?" "What? That's completely nonsensical!" "But it turns out I'm really good at this 'massacring people' thing and it pays really well! And I'm part owner of a big mine now and I found a vein of priceless lyrium in it! Can't we just keep doing what we've been doing so far?" "Hawke, dammit! What have I said about applying logic to the plot! We're doing it the ridiculously convulated way and that's it!"
And that's not even going into the validity of Hawke's informed "poverty" that s/he's apparantly living in despite constantly selling and purchasing items and armor for more than most peasants and paupers would ever see in their whole lives.
You need 50 gold to invest in Bertrand's expedition. You end up making thousands from the expedition and buy your family's mansion from the state.
Also, gameplay-story segregation plays into most of this. Obviously, Hawke doesn't just have this pile of money he can spend solely on magical staves and flaming swords, the same way CHARNAME does not. Obviously, feeding the family, maintaining weapons and armor, and buying lyrium are expenses the enterprising mercenary incurs.
"We need to gather a huge amount of money to escape poverty!" "Yeah! But how?" "First we need to gather another huge amount of money to spend on the first amount of money!" "Can't we just use the first huge amount of money we get hold of?" "What? That's completely nonsensical!"
"Are you seriously saying the amount of money necessary to buy equipment or go on a quest is less than the amount of money necessary to reclaim my family lands and prestige and live in the luxury of a noble, untouchable by the Templars despite the fact I've got heretic mages all up in my business and possibly am one myself?"
"Well... yes. Yes it is."
"But what about my mine?"
"That's the mine you only have part ownership in and that keeps getting attacked by monsters, right?"
"That's the one."
"Well, mining's a pretty marginal profit business, usually. If you want to wait twenty years or so then maybe it'll work, yeah. You must really love living with your uncle to be willing to be so patient."
"..."
"That sort of family loyalty is so touching, Hawke."
"Stuff it, let's go on the expedition."
"Wonderful! Oh, and do try to recall you can just borrow the money from shady sources if you don't want to do a ton of sidequests to gather it legitimately. Not that I'd ever advocate such a thing."
In DA:O, my first character was an evil dwarven rogue who specialized in the two-handed maul. I loved playing him and attempting to make the character work as rogues were either suppose to be archers or two weapon fighters. I had fun crit striking enemies with a slow wind up swing from the shadows, instantly crushing the majority of them to death.
When DA2 came out, I wanted to recreate Hawke in that type of mold. I was disappointed when that option, that little bit of creativity was taken away from me. I didn't mind the story or the hawke I played because I always felt like he was someone elses creation from the get go and not mine. I was being told a story, not creating one.
It is looking like DA3 is going to be less restrictive in character creation, so I have my hopes I can create something unique again; however, a compelling story is what is going to sell it to me. So far I have seen nothing on that front.
I will certainly agree that being unable to play two-handed weapon Rogues in DA2 was a sad thing. It didn't affect me too much, because I virtually always play warrior-types, but I knew it was an option denied to others.
Enh. Like most articles about DAIII, it doesn't enthuse me much. A lot of DAII-bashing and focus on boring things that are in a hundred other fantasy RPGs already. Of course, that's all the sort of thing that was in DA:O (only bigger and theoretically better), so it should appeal to those who liked Origins.
Comments
the endings of DA3 will probably be something like
purple explosion- kill all demons, but magic is destroyed along with mages and Templars. why Templars? has something to do with the lyrium they eat. bioware doesn't need to explain anything more! nonsensical is logical to them!
yellow explosion- control all demons, but you die.
rainbow explosion- become one with the demons. yay lets be friends! I wonder if we are compatible. on second thought, lets change the subject 0.0
hmmm... something about this sounds familiar
In fact, my Hawke was successfully established as the sort of character who acted differently towards family and friends than towards strangers, so I'm curious as to why that worked well for me and not for you.
DA2, although ok, was not that good imo, but it's not the story that it lacked, and they seem to address those points, so far at least.
The combat will have a bit more of an action feel, which is inevitable. For several reasons.
First, you have to admit, in BG type games, fighter characters just autoattack and gulp potions. It's just wait and see what happens. It's not bad, i grew up with it, but it needs to evolve at some point.
Second, they are making mages wear heavy armor, and warriors fur, or leather if they wish. That means free armor system, up to a point. That means armor will have more of an impact on your gameplay, aka slow you down, make you heavier and clunkier a la demon/dark souls. This means more action for combat, adding the "army roll" to the equation. That doesn't mean of course that tactics will not be involved, but it probably implies that micromanagement will be heavier in this game, because of tactics and added action individually for each character.
And so on.
From what we saw in the demo, the feel of the game feels instinctively alright to me. The only way to know for sure, is to wait and play it.
It does however, seem more promising than DA2. At least compared to what you saw in the trailer, and what you could do in game.
I can't really remember the details, but I remember doing stuff because it felt like the game demanded, not the story or the characters. I didn't *care* about doing mini quests to save money to go to the feel roads, because I'd been given no good reason to go there.
The redundant areas were a huge detractor, as well (this happened in ME1 too, BTW).
Don't get me wrong; I'm happy that somebody loved this game. I, however, did not. If the portion of DA2 players that liked the game is large enough, DA3 will be commercially successful and spawn 4, 5, 6... However, they will have to do it without my financial support, as I'd rather re-play something I already have than rehash the (caveat: this is MY opinion) awful game-play and overall experience that was DA2 or what will be like DA2. The game was so bad that I didn't replay it to experience the DLC, which is saying a lot (and none of it's good).
And, I'm going to have to disagree on the RP elements. I've been able to play a Hawke that is snarky yet vengeful when wronged, is greedy as all hell, is judgemental of lawbreakers to a fault, and is friendly and supportive to his companions except when they start talking nonsense like Anders' talk of rebellion - just fine. If your experience was the norm, I would not have been able to manage that.
Anyway, defending DA2 to me is as pointless as discussing its perceived faults to you. I said I was glad that some people liked it, for their own sakes, as it means fewer people were sold a poorly scripted B Movie for Blockbuster prices.
Heard nothing but bad about DA2, tried a demo, hated the "fake" way that characters swung weapons the size and weight of automobiles like they were butter knives (the weapons in DA:O felt huge if they were huge, your characters actually had to rear back and slowly throw themselves forward during shield smash, etc). The voice acting was horrible, I didn't even get more than 30 minutes into the game after finally buying it for $5 on Amazon.
Will I try 3? If I hear it's like DA:O, you bet. If I hear it's more like DA2, I'll pass. I don't have the time for many games like I used to anyway
I am getting tired of seeing my old favorite franchises butchered though. Used to be a huge Ace Combat fan back in my high school days. I've seen the latest version on Steam for $4 and still don't think it's worth a buy.
Same will be said for DA3 if it's anything like DA2. With that said even, I cannot justify spending $60 on a game I'll get to play for 2 hours every few months. I'll wait for it to be $15 or less on Steam before I jump on it if it looks promising.
Before it got lost in the gears of the hate machine, I did mention that DA3 is going back to weightier weapon animations.
Check the video:
"We need to gather a huge amount of money to escape poverty!"
"Yeah! But how?"
"First we need to gather another huge amount of money to spend on the first amount of money!"
"Can't we just use the first huge amount of money we get hold of?"
"What? That's completely nonsensical!"
"But it turns out I'm really good at this 'massacring people' thing and it pays really well! And I'm part owner of a big mine now and I found a vein of priceless lyrium in it! Can't we just keep doing what we've been doing so far?"
"Hawke, dammit! What have I said about applying logic to the plot! We're doing it the ridiculously convulated way and that's it!"
And that's not even going into the validity of Hawke's informed "poverty" that s/he's apparantly living in despite constantly selling and purchasing items and armor for more than most peasants and paupers would ever see in their whole lives.
*changes to "Will not buy"; I've seen enough, thank you...*
Edit: I watched the demo vid after the one above its a much better show of game play though those filming are horrid and scream for no reason through the whole thing. The combat system looks like an improvement players can choose between action rpg or strategic rpg play like the others but you can pan out more for a full aerial view that looks a lot like bg at least in the scene shown. Of course there was really nothing wrong with the combat.
Edit 2: I think no matter what they show they are going to have a huge confidence problem and more people will pirate the game rather than buy it but its a win win. Even if the game is trash those that paid for full price for 2 will get a partial refund. If its a good game it will restore the titles popularity but 4 will most likely end the cycle do to shortcuts needed to make a game with no funding. I really have no interest in the title above raging about 2 a bit on the forums so much so I wouldn't even take the time to pirate it. It is obvious when people don't care about what they are doing and at least to me it is unforgivable.
When DA2 came out, I wanted to recreate Hawke in that type of mold. I was disappointed when that option, that little bit of creativity was taken away from me. I didn't mind the story or the hawke I played because I always felt like he was someone elses creation from the get go and not mine. I was being told a story, not creating one.
It is looking like DA3 is going to be less restrictive in character creation, so I have my hopes I can create something unique again; however, a compelling story is what is going to sell it to me. So far I have seen nothing on that front.
Also, gameplay-story segregation plays into most of this. Obviously, Hawke doesn't just have this pile of money he can spend solely on magical staves and flaming swords, the same way CHARNAME does not. Obviously, feeding the family, maintaining weapons and armor, and buying lyrium are expenses the enterprising mercenary incurs.
"Well... yes. Yes it is."
"But what about my mine?"
"That's the mine you only have part ownership in and that keeps getting attacked by monsters, right?"
"That's the one."
"Well, mining's a pretty marginal profit business, usually. If you want to wait twenty years or so then maybe it'll work, yeah. You must really love living with your uncle to be willing to be so patient."
"..."
"That sort of family loyalty is so touching, Hawke."
"Stuff it, let's go on the expedition."
"Wonderful! Oh, and do try to recall you can just borrow the money from shady sources if you don't want to do a ton of sidequests to gather it legitimately. Not that I'd ever advocate such a thing."
http://kotaku.com/the-next-dragon-age-is-crazy-ambitious-1232404991/@MikeRougeau