Is Inquisition lackluster because I have forgotten?

I wonder if my irritation with Inquisition's lackluster appearance is a result of something of my own doing. Am I failing to appreciate Inquisition because the time between installments in the franchise is creating a disconnect between what there was and what there's now? Have I simply forgotten the nuances and am I remembering the broad strokes without a clear picture of what I did or didn't do on consecutive playthroughs of the older titles? Would I enjoy Inquisition more if it was a continuation of a story that's fresh in my mind, providing cohesiveness to the continuity?

Dragon Keep is a great tool to create a worldstate where the craziest things have happened while making sure Warden Loghain makes a cameo, but it doesn't succeed in making the events in Inquisition feel natural. I have set a parameter and now people hate the Hero of Ferelden. It sounds great on paper, but in reality it lacks context in Inquisition. For me, it seems that I must have 'lived' the decision in the actual game. Flipping a switch to get a reaction appears to me as forced and mechanical.

So I decided to return to the basics. I owned both the earlier games on the 360 and some of you might remember how disappointed I was with DA2 mechanics, especially in the achievement-department that in the end turned out to be broken... Not having those games anymore I went and rebought them on Origin. For Origins I bought the Ultimate collection, that has the entire game complete including Awakening for a very sweet price. DA2 was another matter as only the game is cheap now, but the DLC for it is still as expensive as it ever was. Yet, I never bought the DLC for DA2, disgusted as I was with the game back then. This time around I'm actually looking forward to playing the DLC I have not played before. I admit to experiencing anticipation to play something new in the franchise that belongs in the past.

It means that I won't have access to several super-specs in Origins from the start. You might remember that the ability to become a battle-mage is locked away behind the douchebag-choice with the Ashes of Andraste. Once you have unlocked it, it remains unlocked for other playthroughs. However, the Battlemage spec is extremely overpowered and it makes the mage very effective and dangerous. No wonder those people where locked away in Circles.

Since the mage is my favorite class in many RPGs, I rolled a mage for this journey through the franchise. The up and coming Hero of Ferelden will be the one thing all the people in Thedas fear, a demon inviting asshat that flirts with Blood-Magic, named Majhika Amell.

Other considerations to roll a mage are that the Amells and the Hawkes are related by blood. And since the entire premise of Dragon Age is the fact that mages are responsible for the Blight, the destruction of the Kirkwall chantry and the mage-templar war, playing a mage has several hooks and angles to it that I find interesting from a roleplay perspective. I have not yet played a human mage in Inquisition so I don't know if the human mage inquisitor is related to the Amells or the Hawkes, but if the inquisitor is then the whole story takes on a different load. Thedas will be shaped effectively by three female mages from one family. Varric will need all his skill to explain that in his books!

Straight from the start, Majhika is in over her head as we're placed at the start of her harrowing, the final test of a mage-apprentice that'll either see her dead at the hands of over-zealous templars or victorious over the demons in the fade that seek to possess her and so gain a foothold in the waking world. Majhika also gets introduced to head-enchanter Irvine and Knight-templar Graigor. Almost immedeately Majhika feels that the two men hardly see eye-to-eye, their friendship mainly a facade that stops them from openly ripping eachother's hearts out. With people like that in power, demons are Majhika's least of worries it seems.

Irvine tries to impart some final wisdom on Majhika, but Graigor is very much interested in throwing Majhika to the wolves as unprepared as possible and so Majhika finds herself in the fade without really understanding how she got there. All she knows is that she is supposed to overcome a demon. Pretty soon she meets a mage who failed his harrowing and remained in the fade eversince. Known only as Mouse, the mage offers to tag along all the while whining about the unfairness of the Harrowing and the murderous intent of the templars. The wander on and meet a Spirit of Valor, who's arrogance blinds him to Majhika's smarts. Outwitted by Majhika's mental gymnastics, Valor grants Majhika a staff.

Making off with her treasure, Majhika eplores the fade further and so they happen onto a Slothdemon who appears to mimic a bear with bizarre spikes allover his body. The Slothdemon is not at all interested in Majhika's plight, until Mouse suggests that the demon teaches Majhika how to become a bear. It's not as easy as it sounds as Majhika still has her corpereal body and so is not capable of shifting form. Mouse however is and the Slothdemon offers to teach Mouse how to become a bear if Majhika solves three riddles. At least she isn't ordered to kill rats. The riddles offer no challenge to Majhika and the Slothdemon teaches Mouse how to become a bear.

Now armed with a staff and knowledge, Mouse feels that Majhika is now ready to face the demon that was called to devour her soul. Pretty early on after meeting the demon, Mouse's true nature is revealed. It seems that in order to sustain himself in the fade, he struck a deal with the demon to trick mages on their harrowing to their doom, providing nourishment for him and the demon. He still helps Majhika to dispatch the demon but Majhika isn't done. She grills Mouse with superior reasoning and forces Mouse to drop all pretence. Mouse reveals himself as the demon that Majhika had to best all along. Mouse takes great pleasure in being defeated and respects Majhika deeply for it. He sens her back to the waking world after telling her that she has no equal in the waking world. He basically tells Majhika that she's One-Eye in the land of the blind and that he is very interested in seeing what the future holds for her. (Sadly, Mouse never returns. It would've been awesome if he periodically would check in on Majhika and chats with her. A demon being friends with the one mage in Thedas unable to be possessed would've been an awesome sub-story.)

Back in the waking world, Majhika learns that no one ever had such an awesome Harrowing as that she had. Everywhere she goes, mages and templars alike are in awe. Majhika's friend Jowan is even more jealous and worried about not yet being called to his own Harrowing, but Majhika isn't much interested in Jowan's snivveling. Irvine wants to talk to her and she has places to be.

I love pestering Jowan. There isn't a playtrough where I didn't grab every chance to mock him and the game offers plenty of opportunity to make the friendship between the two very lopsided. From the moment you get to call him a demon you know that Jowan has to be your mage's punching-bag. The same goes for Cullen, who if you play a female mage is secretly in love with you. Through all three games I couldn't help but mercilessly mock the man.

Irvine introduces Majhika to Duncan, who's a Grey Warden. The Wardens are warriors sworn to protect Thedas from the Blight. It makes total sense that the Wardens recruit mages, who are responible for the Blight, the help fight it. Easy targets to demonic possession, mages are really cut out to fight demons. Sadly, Majhika has no options to call Duncan out on that lapse of judgment and they spent some time together where Duncan pitches the Wardens as the only true answer to Blights and the Archdemons that lead it. Majhika shows a passing interest but it doesn't go further than that. Jowan is being his own snivveling self with more motivation than usual and that's way more interesting than Grey Wardens, Blights and Archdemons.