spoiler Discussion- Your take on the Grey Wardens? One of their members?

[grannywils]

I also think of the "Grey" as being more symbolic, as in somewhat between human (dwarven, elvin, whatever) and darkspawn. It should also be remembered that since they only have about 30 years of life left once they are recruited, and apparently quite a few of them end up "meeting their maker" at some point during the blight, it might be a moot point about what they should be doing in their "off time". But perhaps practising their skills somewhere in the deep roads might be best for all concerned. One cannot help but see them as being dutiful, noble and dauntless characters; for in spite of much criticism and the difficulty of the tasks before them they continue to press on with the hope of little or possibly no reward, simply to protect and defend the pitiful and sometimes mindless Fereldans they serve. At least that is how I see them.

[OldBook3]

I think David Gaider is probably a David Gemmell fan, or at least a fan of similar dark fantasy fiction. He also seems to have picked up on the post 9-11 "What is justified" line of political feeling in America.

 

I see the Grey Wardens as combat veterans in what was until just before the start of the game (relative) peacetime. They think of themselves as the sheepdogs who guard the flock from the wolves. That's a necessary perspective. Someone has to protect farmers, tradesmen, women and children, or civilization falls. Someone in the DA world has to stand against the Darkspawn.

 

On the other hand, when you think of yourself and your fellows as sheepdogs, that makes everyone else a sheep or a wolf. Arogance and abuse of power are major themes in DA, and you see them among the Grey Wardens as much as anywhere else. From little things like Duncan's casual thievery in the novels (and look at his reaction if you're caught stealing in camp, or if you tried to free Jowan in the Mage's origin) to Sophia Dryden's attempt at a coup, the Grey Wardens are as likely to abuse their power as anyone else.

 

Of course, "anyone else" includes the Chantry and the Nobles, and even the Dalish. No one in power has clean hands in Dragon Age.

 

Like veterans in peace time, or back home in war time, the Wardens scare some people and are put on a pedestal by others. Look at the number of NPCs who had a relative in the Wardens who help out in small ways or express support; look at the gossips eager to accept the lie that the Wardens were faking the Blight. Look how fast people lined up behind the Wardens when it was clear the threat was real.

[roninsoul7]

My take on the Grey Wardens. I would have to say that they ARE the sheepdogs of the world of Thedas. They exist to serve one purpose only, to kill darkspawn and end blights. They are a force of soldiers beyond boundaries, which is why they are feared. They exist outside of the system to protect everything living within it. Power does corrupt, and that being said, even a corrupt warden will only be a problem for at most three decades. During the off-blight times, I think that they should have been more focused on hunting in the deep roads yes, but not all of them. Without the Grey Wardens being in plain sight at all times, people would forget about them and what they are there for. Out of sight, out of mind, was a term coined and used so often because it was true. During times of peace, everyone has mixed opinions about soldiers, fully outfitted and trained killers on a leash, only during wartimes do people finally understand why a standing military force is kept. A good example is the United States, during peace times the military is cut to almost nothing, only when something comes up does the government start grinding out soldiers in haste to compensate. On the other hand, look at Israel, a small country (actually about the size of the Canadian city of Toronto all told) which is in an ever present state of war, they have a steady highly trained military that has proven time and again to be up to the task of dealing with threats. (Side note I am not exemplifying or villainizing any countries, just pointing out a very simple piece of each of them, please keep the real world political debates in the real world, thank you) In the end, the Grey Wardens could not function if they were ONLY active during blights, they would always be scrambling to make up for a lack when it happened. The instance with your character becoming a Grey Warden is unique in that all the senior Grey Wardens with ties to everything are dead, and only two junior members without all the preparation are left to deal with the situation. That means mistakes will be made along the way, while the barely (in Alistair's case) or not at all trained (in the PC's case) attempt to deal with a situation that is entirely beyond what they are accustomed to dealing with.