Was Imshael really the only desire demon in Inquisition?

[Drake Ravenwolf]

I was looking at the wiki, but I honestly can't remember seeing Desire Demons in DA:I...
https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Desire_demon

[Drake Ravenwolf]

How much you want to bet that if there are desire demons in DAV - they'll either be another Imshael or else a floating boob plate with pink neon lights inside?

[simeon369]

I have a feeling they're going to make it a guy...

[Quacksalber]

What's wrong with male desire demons? Do spirits even have innate genders? A desire demon specifically would be best at doing their thing if they could change gender, like the incubus in bg3.

[Kalli_Opeia]

Publicado originalmente por EH!:

What's wrong with male desire demons? Do spirits even have innate genders? A desire demon specifically would be best at doing their thing if they could change gender, like the incubus in bg3.

Having female and male ones is fine for me but they should be desirable. Not just "a dude" or "some woman". That's the whole point, no?

[Kirara]

Publicado originalmente por Kalli_Opeia:

Publicado originalmente por EH!:

What's wrong with male desire demons? Do spirits even have innate genders? A desire demon specifically would be best at doing their thing if they could change gender, like the incubus in bg3.

Having female and male ones is fine for me but they should be desirable. Not just "a dude" or "some woman". That's the whole point, no?

Desire demons in Thedas are not just about lust. It's about desire for power, influence, knowledge, family and so much other things,
In fact desire demons were never intended to look like sexy succubus. That was miscommunication between writing and art team and was discovered too late in DAO development to change. It was kept like this in DA2 because team had too little time to develop something else.

[Kalli_Opeia]

Sounds like a excuse to me that's really not needed. There is nothing wrong with a desire demon to look desirable. Temptation and desire have been depicted like that for ages and in all kinds of different countries and there is a good reason for it. We even see that in advertisment today, on TV and with influencers: sex sells. It sells the desire to have something and to be a certain way. So a sexy desire demon reflects culture and even the present.

I liked the DAO desire demon. She looked like a demon and like desire. That's all I need.

[Kalli_Opeia]

I would love to see both and see what the art team can come up with. It would be so much more creative than generic NPC.

[pr1mus]

Publicado originalmente por Aerieanei:

The fact that he was just a standard human male npc really makes his inclusion terrible. He didn't even transform into anything unique. Wasted potential.

do you also have a problem with characters like Gaunter O'Dimm?

[Goldi:AI]

One could also argue that Gaunter comes from a different lore background. One of the main points of the Witcher is that humans and monsters are sometimes so alike that you cannot tell them appart or might mistake one for the other. This mainly points to how they behave but it is reflected in their character design. We often see monsters disguise themselves as humans and change upon discovery. Or, rarely, just move on with their life.

That wasn't really much of a part of Dragon Age lore as shown in the first games. Demons were demons. Humans were humans. Demons looked as fantastical as they behaved. If at all they posessed humans rather than looking like humans themselves.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would say that changed in Inquisition. It wasn't just Imshael, but also the Lord Seeker demon (and I completely forgot what it was).

Frankly, though, if you do that, I would say the character itself should be outstanding. Otherwise you're left with a dude who did a thing, and a shrug.

I loved the old pride demon and desire demon designs. I remember what they looked like and what they stood for. I don't think I'm sold on Imshael or that floating neon spikes thing. Maybe I'm just getting old. One is a dude and the other a cheap energy drink advertisement.

[Goldi:AI]

Good point. Was there any other that was just an NPC? Or was the desire demon the only one who got the short end of the stick?

[The Ghost]

Publicado originalmente por Kalli_Opeia:

I would love to see both and see what the art team can come up with. It would be so much more creative than generic NPC.

Would be fun if it changes models according to your choice of romantic interest. However, we all know that we're not going get any in the style of DA:O or DA2.

[Kirara]

Publicado originalmente por Kalli_Opeia:

Sounds like a excuse to me that's really not needed. There is nothing wrong with a desire demon to look desirable. Temptation and desire have been depicted like that for ages and in all kinds of different countries and there is a good reason for it. We even see that in advertisment today, on TV and with influencers: sex sells. It sells the desire to have something and to be a certain way. So a sexy desire demon reflects culture and even the present.

I liked the DAO desire demon. She looked like a demon and like desire. That's all I need.

What excuse? Bioware's lead writer - the one who creataed these characters, already confirmed years ago that Desire demons were never meant to look like purple boob ladies as they are meant to represent much more than just stereotypical lust/sex. Do remember how many quests with Desire demons there was in DAO and DA2 and then how many of them involves lust and sex. Ffs, there are at least two quests in Origins that involves Desire demon and children.
Old dev team wanted to get rid of these purple misunderstandings as early as DA2 and replace them with something more fitting, but could not due to time restrains. We are yet to see how new lead writer deals with them.

[Kalli_Opeia]

Why is it only and stereotypical lust/sex just because they have breasts and look sexy? To me they also look dangerous, confident, beautiful and magical like something that shows up when you make a dangerous wish and something that will hunt you down if you try to mess with it.

[Drake Ravenwolf]

Publicado originalmente por Goldi:AI:

Good point. Was there any other that was just an NPC? Or was the desire demon the only one who got the short end of the stick?

One desire demon took the form of a cat in the Shale DLC, but otherwise I think Imshael is the only one that looks like a bland boring human male - unless they are possessing a human body

[Kirara]

Publicado originalmente por Kalli_Opeia:

Why is it only and stereotypical lust/sex just because they have breasts and look sexy? To me they also look dangerous, confident, beautiful and magical like something that shows up when you make a dangerous wish and something that will hunt you down if you try to mess with it.

Because that is what booba defenders are usually saying while defending Desire demon's old looks. To them it always boils down to looking sexy and lustful temptresses - ideal Desire demons in their little heads. They are completely ignoring fact that her design directly clashes with ingame content like quests and lore and has already been revealed to be result of misunderstanding.
Not to mention that it looks ridiculous when she is trying to use her 'womanly charms' on straight female or gay male chars. It simply does not works with old design.