spoiler What is your opinion of the Chantry...

[LobselVith66]

My view on the Chantry is that they're a corrupt organization that needs to be dismantled. The Chantry is all about subjegation. They stole the Dales from the elves and forbid the practice of any religion but their own, they force their religion throughout Thedas, and they treat the mages as their own personal slaves and make certain that the templars are drug addicts in order to control them. The policy of the Chantry is to have armored and armed drug addicts police mages, who enforce the theft of children from their mothers, the lobotomy of mages to become emotionless drones who live only to serve as slaves, and kill teenagers if they run away from the tower. They also seem to have stamped out all other kinds of magic - even a Magi Warden has never heard of the magic that Morrigan uses to change her form. The templars even hunt down Dalish mages, despite the elves not being part of the Chantry or under the rule of the Crown. Forcing the Chantry's religious views on people throughout Thedas is a big part of their goals, I'm hoping it's possible to dismantle and destroy it in DA2 to allow people freedom from an institution that's destroyed the homeland of the elves and placed the mages under their boot.

[xneseyx]

@ Stardusk

...future DA products should shed some light on the true origins...

 

They did. in DA2 Legacy they tell you the truth. I'd tell you, but this is a DAO spoiler thread.

 

But I don't like the chantry. all their religious claptrap. they kicked the dalish out of their homeland, and then when you go to talk to the lady in lothering, she's all like, "will you be making a donation...?" and my dalish elf is like, "excuse me?" and then she gets mad at me. oh well. lol

Edited August 28, 2012 by xneseyx

[Carley910]

I'd say that the Chantry is authoritarian, controlling and oppressive towards mages. They tear families apart, lock people in a tower and destroy the ability of some to even feel emotions.

 

Their ideology also includes a requirement of converting others to their religion. This justifies invasion into other territories and oppressive behavior towards people of other cultures who don't believe in the Maker. They used this justification to screw over/subjugate the elves and steal their land. They even take Shartan out of their chant, (presumably to make people forget the promise that they are breaking to the elves so the populace feels that they are in the right in going to war) and they generally act like terrible people. Maintaining their own personal army and keeping them addicted to lyrium so that they can maintain even more control is also super sketchy.

 

They also provide explanations for the origin of darkspawn that scapegoat the mages, and that don't necessarily have any basis for truth. People are encouraged to blindly believe in the Chantry's legends rather than admitting that they don't know why darkspawn, or anything else exists. Generally, admitting that you don't know the answer to something is a prerequisite to being able to honestly search for answers.

 

The chantry also seems to have a strong relationship with the monarchy in Ferelden, one could say that it adds legitimacy to the throne by performing the coronation of the next ruler. There is probably a "divine right to rule" thing going on here. This reinforces the idea of the ruling classes ruling because they are somehow meant to be in that position. If someone is the ruler, it's because the Maker favors them rather than because the social system is set up to favor them.

 

So, there are the obvious points that the Ferelden monarchy is not a system that is going to be accountable to the people and that it focuses on a kind of blood-supremacy. Also a union with the public expectation to procreate is pretty gross. It's way too much pressure/focus on the Queen being pregnant, and would force a gay ruler into the closet and into a loveless pairing. I would say that the thought of people spending the rest of their lives with each other for political reasons and to produce babies with the rest of the nation looking in on them is unappealing. After all this, their kids still might suck at ruling. That sort of concentration of power is a bad plan. The Chantry is providing legitimacy for this. It also provides tacit justification for anything terrible a king/queen of Ferelden might do through the implication that they were made king/queen through the Makers will.

 

Also, they exert control over the sex lives of their Chantry Sisters/Brothers/Mothers, uncool. Some people are also left on the Chantry's hands at an early age and are raised to enter into the Chantry in some way. Providing shelter and an education is of course a positive, but they show their controlling/power seeking side yet again by forcing those people into becoming templars/priests/whatever else.

 

On the other hand, the Chantry seems to do a lot of good among the working people. Their buildings act as sanctuaries in times of need. They also have a system set up that enables people to help each other and will even pay money for people to do this. The Chantry seems to be a place that people can turn to when they are struggling. I don't really see any other place that people can go to if they are having trouble making ends meet other than the Chantry in Ferelden society.

 

Sooo, it's got its pros and cons.

 

From a gaming standpoint I'd say it's a pretty complex and interesting system and it was fun to write about :)

Edited February 4, 2013 by Carley910