Let's see, qunari have cannons and seem to be advancing due to their resentment of magic. I know several people who say qunari tech instantly, but let's see it from the magic perspective. While their technology seems to be keeping them above the rest, it only has one function: war. Meanwhile, magic can be used for many things. A powerful mage can set crops on aflame with a snap of his fingers. Entropic mages can use bodies as puppets to fight for them. A healer can restore soldiers instantly, given the resources. a mage in the spirit school can summon spirits to enhance the army. an elemental mage can summon windstorms and snow to slow and even kill enemy soldiers. finally, if there are more schools of magic that are undiscovered or swept under the rug, these can be used against enemies as well.Nyuurocks (talk) 05:19, September 11, 2010 (UTC)--Nyuurocks
Simpley magic>technology if we could heal wounds with magic and summon fire balls from the sky and shoot lighting from our fingertips what use would we have for guns or cannons. The only reason the Qunari use these is because they dont allow magic in any but the most basic forms.--Gdubs (talk) 06:01, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
I'd assume Qunari have technology specialized for more than just war, it would be odd for them not to. In the long run the technology might be better. Though even if the Qunari invent new technology they won't be able to keep all of it from spreading outside their borders. If the mages were to steal and duplicate their tech then the Qunari would be kind of screwed. --Aedan Cousland (talk) 06:08, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
Its similiar to this, If you could teleport somwhere rather than taking an airplane wouldnt you? They might take the same amount of time except you dont have to invent the airplane.--Gdubs (talk) 06:18, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
Perhaps a side point, but that's one drawback to magic...no means of transportation. The Qunari could end up inventing more advanced means of travel than the horse-drawn carriage. But to the original point, the Qunari do seem to be a very formidable force, even without magic. It's even mentioned in the codex that the primary reason they haven't been able to dominate entirely is due more to them being less numerous than humanity than because of magic trouncing their technology. Keep in mind, Sten said they'd do better next time. --NecroFeelYa (talk) 06:47, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
@NecroFeelYa I was using it as something comparable it wasnt meant to be taken literally.--Gdubs (talk) 07:52, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
- The Cardinal Rules of Magic only mention that no one has figured out a means of fast travel, there is no indicator that it's impossible. Quite the contrary really, Shapeshifter's should be able to transform into a faster being so they can cover ground faster. We are also told that just about any spell effect can be made permanent with enough lyrium, it stands to reason that an enchantment could be made to allow for flight. Maybe a hang-glider powered by magical wind. We mustn't forget that advancements can be made in magic as well. --Aedan Cousland (talk) 07:48, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
I would have to go magic. Mages will use tech Horn heads will not use magic. One of the many reasons they spend there time fighting only to gain nothing. The have one Island and only becuase no one else wnats it. In the end if we have had healers we would never use doctors.--IceStar100 (talk) 06:52, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
@IceStar100 Who said nobody wanted the Islands, also horn heads? dont start some kind of Qunari based bigotry.--Gdubs (talk) 16:19, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
- From what we know about the islands the Qunari live on they seem kind of like Singapore but with more dangerous wildlife (like the Amazon maybe). Beyond the heavily guarded port cities there is dangerous jungle where the Qunari have to constantly battle the local wildlife. It's also a pretty sure bet that the Qunari port cities are heavily guarded from attacks from the sea (they are a naval superpower after all). Taking the cities would not be easy since the jungle would cause significant problems for the invading forces infantry (think Singapore). I'm fairly sure that the wildlife is reason that Tevinter Imperium hadn't taken control of the islands before the Qunari had landed in Thedas. They also have more than one island, the two large ones are Seheron and Par Vollen, and there are a number of smaller islands in between the two they likely control. --Aedan Cousland (talk) 08:10, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
I dunno... the way I see it, magic is comparable to mass relay technology in mass effect... It, sort of, limits the ability of a person or race to think outside the box since a path has been laid in front of them... so magic could be thought of as a branch of technology and it has its own forks and roads. It would be pretty hard to shift into another path of technology much like modern power production. It's pretty darn hard to go away from our dependence on fossil fuels, isn't it? Another example would be natural selection in humans. I've read somewhere that human brain cells have slowed down in evolving. The reason being that humans have come to rely on intelligence to solve problems rather than simple evolving or relying on natural selection. I think I lost my point but magic could be thought of as a "technology" that could be used to adapt to a situation. So maybe, it's all about the determination of the different races? I dunno...
whilst magic can get stronger and is already devastating, the warriors of thedas seem to have no use for technology yet, and only the mages have access to the devastating repertoire of spells. the qunari on the other hand can train anyone to fire a cannon or hold a pistol. if anyone could learn to be a mage, then id give it to magic, but technology will advance cnstantly and be accessible to all of the qunari--Googlemooglemaximus (talk) 10:24, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
Qunari dont have pistols.--Gdubs (talk) 12:02, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
I'd say magic, I think at some point Sten mentions that the reason the qunari were pushed back to Par Vollen was because of the mages of tevinter (Might not be Sten, might be in the codex, I forget), Qunari not having many mages to combat them. I'd wager that Qunari tech is more effective at destroying enemy settlements, but they lack the defensive powers of magic. That might be why the Qunari managed to conquer some towns but yet were unable to defend them. KingTrentus (talk) 13:48, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
It is a "TIE" both Qunari Technology and Thedas Magic have there strengths and weaknesses. That is why the Teventer Imperium could not conquer the Qunari and the Qunari could conquer Thedas. Now if one were to have both Technology and Magic in their arsenal they would be able to conquer any land they wanted and no one would be able to stand in their way. Personally, I believe that Sten and his party came to Fereldan for three reasons;
1) To find out what the Darkspawn were and what a Blight was. Since it appears the Qunari have never seem a Darkspawn or suffered a Blight.
2) To see how the people of Thedas treat their Mages and how the Mages feel about the people, especially the Chantry.
3) To see if the legends of the Gray Wardens are true or not.
What Sten and company did not count on is getting ambushed by Darkspawn their first week in Fereldan. But, they did and Sten was not killed and then robbed of his gear and weapons, except his Armor. He kills the whole family who had nursed him back to health and is arrested. I also think he somehow knew or suspected that a Gray Warden would find him and quite possibly take him along. Why do you think he survived so long in the cage. Once he is in the Wardens party and vows to help with fight the Darkspawn, he realizes that he has an opportunity to see first hand what a blight is and how to stop one. Sten has found the answers to all three of the Questions he was sent to discover. Now once he returns and reports back to his leaders they will know what they need to do in order to conquer all of Thedas and if they can defeat the Gray Wardens as well.
Is all of this just idle chattering? Not really, because that is what I would do if I was the leader of a Nation that wanted my neighbors lands. Anya (talk)19:09, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
@ Anya I just don't see them doing it. They follow the Qui to the letter with no bend room. This is how you fight and no other way is accept. It's like when the English first started to fight the Amricans durning the war. They where still stuck in the line up and fire style. While the other side was killing officers a big no no and shooting from hiding places. Adapt or die. Maybe later but as they are now they may have the might to take but not the ability to keep. Oh and I'm keeping horn head.--IceStar100 (talk) 22:20, September 11, 2010 (UTC)
I think magic just inches it, only just. Also the Qunari own a settlement on the north coast of Rivain called Kont-Aar. This is on the main continent of Thedas. Desmond Cousland (talk) 01:09, September 12, 2010 (UTC)
@IceStar100 Yes, But the Line of fire was more effective in open spaces, it was only in towns and forests where the Colonial "Sniping" was the more effective technique.--Gdubs (talk) 13:57, September 12, 2010 (UTC)
Sten is from Par Vollen and and the Qunari from there are most likely trying to not only conquer Thedas, but also Seheron after all two Qunari Kingdoms under two different Rulers(as such) does not sit well with the Leaders in Par Vollen, so they would see an adapt or die as a motivation to change. Just a guess mind you. Anya (talk)18:08, September 12, 2010 (UTC)
Sten is from Seheron according to this comment "I miss the smells of Seheron, tea and incense and the sea." And I think that Seheron and Par avaollen are still united.Aggerz
Well, either way my theory still holds. Anya (talk)10:23, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
The Qunari also do have some magic, although they see Qunari people prone to magic as defective and don't particularly utilise them. Desmond Cousland (talk) 15:33, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
from the high survivability of the qunari, i reckon that a cannonball to a human chest will be more damaging than a fireball to a qunari one. especially with the circle being so damaged at the moment. there were maybe 50 mages left at the end of the broken circle mission, and all 12 of mine died in denerim. i reckon the cannons have it, if the timelines start in the same place and DA2 spans 10 years. how many mages can they train in that time --Googlemooglemaximus (talk) 16:12, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
- There are far more Circles in Thedas than the one in Fereldan. Some of the other Circles are probabaly a lot larger than the one in Fereldan aswell (it's not exactly the most populous nation in Thedas). You also need to remember the populations we see in game aren't exactly representative of the amount of people actually there. There would have been far more mages and Templars in the Circle Tower than we see and it would have been larger than five stories. As a general rule most communities are scaled down in games and lore wise are much larger than we get to see. --Aedan Cousland (talk) 16:39, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
You're not counting apostates there... --Dairydian (talk) 16:37, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
Four words "Storm of the Century".--Gdubs (talk) 16:22, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
And Earthquake too. I want to see a cannon taking aim with the ground shaking. --Dairydian (talk) 16:37, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
A Qunari cannon would be difficult to fire in a blizzard. And your not counting blood mages, and their ability to use mind control, it would be useful against the Qunari. Desmond Cousland (talk) 16:59, September 13, 2010 (UTC)
How about Earthquake=Blizzard=Inferno, keep them off their feet, freeze them with Blizard and then fry them with Inferno. And, there you have it "SHAKE&BAKE FREEZE DRIED Qunari." look out Birdseye. Anya (talk)17:29, September 13, 2010 (UTC)