The Game

AKA:
The Grand Game
Annoying

Constantly being played by the upper classes of Orlais, the Grand Game is the name of the social and political dance that shapes the Empire. Usually shortened to just the Game, it is an ever-shifting web of intrigue, perception, lies, deals, back-stabbing (literally and metaphorically), power plays, and other annoying things that do not particularly interest me. The Game is inescapable for anyone dealing with the Orlesian nobility, as every one of them has enemies and allies that will notice and try to take advantage of any new player, big or small. Though the Game is primarily the pursuit of nobles, virtually everyone in Orlais, from peasant to Chantry sister to the Divine herself, participate to some degree, even if they themselves don’t know it. The masks constantly worn by Orlesian nobles are part of the Game, as you might expect. Though, despite the fact that they are supposed to be unique to each house, I seem to recall seeing the same few masks over and over. As large gatherings of players, balls like the one I attended in Halamshiral are fertile grounds for the Game, and I was forced to play during that eventful evening. When a player needs to eliminate another participant, they often use well-trained, deadly, and silly-looking rogues called Harlequins that work for their house. My best memory of these clowns is booting one out of a high window of the Winter Palace. Though most players are associated with a particular family, there are relatively independent players of the game as well. Bards are free agent spies and assassins who pose as minstrels while they play their part, whether for the purposes of someone who hired them or just their own. Both Leliana and Josephine spent time as bards in the past, with very different levels of success. As you can tell, despite the fact that I have proven to be quite good at navigating it, I find the Game exasperating and a waste of time. And don’t worry, this isn’t some revelation that will cost me standing in Orlais, they all know I hate it. I think it amuses them.