So, after finally getting to enjoy the game in its entirety, I can't help feeling some measure of compassion for Corypheus.
Obviously, he was deluded to the extreme, he was too dangerous to the world to be left alive, and he committed/would commit crimes so many and so severe that I understand the hate he garnered from the Inquisitor and all his allies.
Nonetheless, when I take into account all the information the Inquisitor was able to gather over the course of his journey, it seems that Corypheus was as much the victim as the villain. Consider: the account of the Elder One's motivations stated by Corypheus himself; the way he acted in the few face-to-face confrontations with the Inquisitor; all the information the Inquisitor uncovered about the fate of the ancient elves which possibly undermines the chantry-spouted notion of Tevinter Magisters being responsible for the Blight; and the inscriptions we found in the Fade engraved upon the Claws of Dumat.
Taken together, it paints the picture of a poor creature, a once-devout servant of his gods who was driven by sorrow and fear of losing his beliefs to attempt the fools errand of seeking the realm of gods in person (note that this seems to have been an act of desperation rather than arrogance which is usual, e.g. the fall of Numenor in Tolkien's mythos and numerous other comparable examples). Attempting this, the likely half-unhinged Corypheus was confronted with utter nothingness where he scrambled for any straw at all to grasp. Not only that; he was exposed to false whispering of a dead god and corrupted by Blight for his efforts, AND left imprisoned for a thousand years while the Blight worked its corruption within him. I imagine even a fraction of what happened to him would break any man's mind...
So like an all-powerful god-child in his single-mindedness and arrogant sense of infallibility, well-meaning but utterly deluded, he set out to fill the void in himself and in the world the only way he knew how to... Just another deranged religious fanatic out to change the world defined by actions of similar people. Only this one was corrupted with world-rending power and madness in equal measure on top of that.
All that considered, it seemed weird there was no option for the more compassionate Inquisitors to approach his death in a slightly less self-gratifyingly violent manner; for me, it somewhat lessened the immersion.
What my character felt for him was most definitely hatred, obviously. But an equal measure of sorrow as well, for the unavoidable downfall of a deluded, fearful and in the end utterly lonely soul. His story has all the trappings of a grand and classical tragedy, one could say.
So I wish in the end, I'd have gotten the chance to express some of this sorrow, along the lines of "May the Maker grant peace for your soul." or at least "I'm sorry it had to be this way."
Anyone felt the same? --147.231.44.15 (talk) 13:55, January 20, 2015 (UTC)
I definitely felt a lot more pity for him during my templar playthrough, as you get a little more tidbits of information on him throughout the Calpernia quest. Patrick Weekes called him a "burned believer," which I think describes him better than "arrogance personified," which was the description bioware gave prior to release. He was someone who had believed with every fibre of his being, and then had that belief crash down all around him.
And I like how Corypheus' backstory was laid parallel against the elven Inquisitor's story. Throughout the game, pretty much everyone comes around to the fact that you're the Maker's chosen, that your existence is of some divine providence. But while their beliefs are bolstered, yours is crumbling. You find out that the elven gods may not have been the benevolent beings the Dalish painted them as, that the elves, not the humans, may have destroyed Arlathan, and that the markings you wear proudly on your face in honour of the gods are, in fact, slave markings (thanks, Solas).
By the end of the game, I imagine the elven Inquisitor to be in quite a dark place, and confronted with some of the utter nothingness that Corypheus was faced with. And, as you said, I wish the game gave you an option to express some sort of empathy towards Corypheus. --Keladin Storm 14:37, January 20, 2015 (UTC)
I found it interesting that the writers, I forget where I read this, compared Corephyus to Leliana. And Talked about how similar that were at the beginning of the story, with their faith having been betrayed completely on multiple occasions after having given everything to it. Especially if Leliana dies in origins but even if she doesn't. Given the darker ending she can get they definitely have parallels worthy of pity. Corypheus' final line is a fitting symbol of who he is, at the very end he prays out to any gods listening. "If you exist, if you ever truly existed, come to me now" His gods betrayed him though, and considering he saw heaven and thinks it was empty it's hard to blame him for what he did User:JoKr