So ... just wondering. Do we know anything more about DA4?
I also noticed, Tawm, that I forgot to answer your question (whoops!) - i.e. this:
Tawmis wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 12:10 pm
That said - am I misremembering or was that (Templars vs Mages) not always a thing? I could swear I remember that even in Origins; but it was far more subtle because the big issue was Darkspawn.
I looked it up. In Origins, Templars distrust and fear Mages because of the
potential that Mages could become Abominations. Mages spend some time in the Fade, so that fear is reasonable.
Mages (at least the ones in the Tower, near Lake Calenhad) understand that fear and do their best to assuage that fear, and placate the Templars. Such mages include Wynne and Irving, the First Enchanter.
Of course, Mages
outside of the Tower (e.g. Morrigan, Jowan, Blood Mages etc.) don't see any reason to placate the Templars.
They believe that the Tower is a prison, that the Mages are prisoners, and that Templars are prison guards. They believe Mages should be free! FREE!!!
On the other hand, Qunari (like Sten) believe that Mages
should be imprisoned. He takes the Templar POV up to 11.
Which point-of-view you believe depends who you are, where you are, and what your upbringing is. But there is an uneasy, if complicated, more-or-less peace between the Templars and the Mages.
All that was shattered, of course, when Anders/Justice went completely nuts at the end of DA2. But even before that, the Templars in the city of Kirkwall were much more vigilant and restrictive against the Mages there. I'm not sure if there is one incident that can be blamed for the Templar-Mage War that we see in DAI; it's more likely that one incident piled on top of another, until - like a faulty pressure cooker - things exploded.
We can see the aftermath in DAI.
So, perhaps, DA4 could be dedicated to healing the rifts between the Templars and the Mages.
That would be good to see. Perhaps the PC could start out helping someone (perhaps the leader of the Chantry?) to do this. Of course, there would be extremists on both sides who would say no, it's gone too far - they could form some quests.
As we know by the end of DAI, the major antagonist is Fen'Harel, the elven god of betrayal or rebellion (also known as the Dread Wolf). So ... perhaps it could turn out that he was behind the war between the Templars and Mages? *thinks* By encouraging rivalry, and weakening attempts for cooperation, he encouraged them to turn on each other, and rebel against a common cause. This gave him the strength he needed to manifest himself again. How does that sound?
Tawmis wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 12:10 pm
Personally, I am tired of Darkspawn. They were the big bad in the first game.
I would rather see the world develop and show other things to look at.
That said, Darkspawn is fine in the end; if they do some kind of variation. Some new evolution of Darkspawn.
Well ... how about this: Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf, turns out to be as powerful as any of the Archdemons. (He would be, being an Old One). He wants to call the elves together -- especially those in alienages -- and reclaim their ancestral lands from the humans!
Depending on the situation at the end of DAI, some elves join him (huzzah! Glory to the elves! Down with the human oppressors!) and some don't (Don't be stupid! We're so close to reaching a negotiated peace with the shemlen! Don't throw it all away!)
The simmering tensions between elves and humans draw in a new variety of Darkspawn, those who have evolved to live in the darkest corners of Ferelden's oldest forests. (Perhaps they see themselves as freedom-fighters like Robin Hood (let's overthrow the elves
AND the humans!) Or, perhaps, all they want a corner of Ferelden to call their own, settle down, and -- maybe -- rediscover what they were
before they became darkspawn? Like the werewolves in Origins.
For instance, qunari + broodmother = ogre; human + broodmother = hurlock, etc. So maybe one of the darkspawn found a way to
reverse the process -- through blood magic, maybe?)
What do you think? Could it work?
They've been milking this trope since DA2, and the worst part of it all? They made this rubbish up! 
It didn't exist in DAO. Mages and Templars had their disagreements, sure, but they didn't declare war on each other. They didn't eat red glowing crystals for breakfast. And they definitely weren't boring. Now? Please. Give me darkspawn any day.