My guide to get back into Thedas

With less than one month left until Dragon Age: Inquisition is released the hype is higher than ever, and while the both first games where really good, if you forget about the lack of impact you really had to the story outcome in the second game, it's been well over three years since the second game came out and you might be in as much need of a lore refresh as me.

Sure, you can replay both games and be done with it. I'm on the other hand see more good releases now than I have time to play, which means that spending 20 hours per game for a quick play through just won't cut it. So, then what do I do to get myself into the lore?

First, there is this wonderful YouTube channel which have a lore series episode come out every Tuesday up to the release date. That's 12 episodes, every with 6 minutes of easy digestible chunks about a specific part of the lore. From races to nations to the Fade. I watched their series on Elder Scrolls before the launch of ESO, and it really got me into the game more. All the effort these guys have put into making these episodes make them such a delight to watch.

The next part of this short two step program is the comic books from Dark Horse Comics. I've read the first part, The Silent Grove, of three comics in the series following Alistair, Isabela and Varric in Antiva. And don't worry, this is the hardened version of Alistair that willingly became king, not the whiny one from the first parts of the game that can end up drunk in Kirkwall. The story is centered around Alistair and his mission of finding answers to his past, but also broadens Isabelas story, which hasn't had as much focus as Alistair's.
I can strongly recommend reading this comic, firstly as the story has been written by David Gaider, the game series lead writer of the game series. Secondly, the comic is beautifully drawn, and full of dark humor and the quick, sometimes snide, dialogue that made the first game, and every other BioWare game, such joy to play. This comic series is also one of the closest one to Dragon Age: Inquisition, happening two years before the game starts, making it a perfect way to fast forward to the current part of the lore.

While I eagerly wait to get my hands on the next comic book, and for the next episode to air, I'm trying to decide what to play in Inqusition and the only thing I've decided so far is that it's not going to be a mage, probably.