Children of a Warden (2024)

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I was thinking would not the child or any children of a Grey Warden and a non- Warden or of a mating of two Grey Wardens have the Taint in their blood? And would said child be immune to the effects of said taint, especially the living only 30 years and dying in battle in the Deep Roads?. Also would not the child or children have the same benefits of sensing the Darkspawn as their Warden Parent or Parents?..Anya McDonald (talk)

I don't think there's a definitive example of it yet in the canon; the only ones I can think of to have children after a Joining are Fiona, and her situation was wacky given The Calling's plot, and of course whoever does the ritual with Morrigan if it's chosen, but in that case, Morrigan's counting on taking in some of the taint in order to draw the Old God's soul as part of the magic of the ritual. Neither situation strikes me as typical, so don't make good examples for Wardens having children after Joining. LynMars (talk) 03:10, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

And Alistair said to my cute female warden that a warden never have children after their joining and never with each other, my guess is that the joining makes them sterile and that only a ritual from powerful dominatrix I mean witch like Morrigan can overrule that. I don't think my warden will ever have a child with Alistair no matter how many times they try.

-rphb- (talk) 10:36, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

Alistair wasn't sure, actually; he said he'd only heard of Wardens having children before Joining, but didn't know for certain, and there was no real time to ask Riordan. The lifestyle isn't usually conducive to child raising anyway, so it's likely none of the Wardens he knew before Ostagar really mentioned it. LynMars (talk) 13:40, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

"So when are you two Wardens going to have kids?"

"I don't know, we tried six times last night."

I'd assume the kid is just more resistant to the taint and not born a Grey Warden, there's no official answer though. --Aedan Cousland (talk) 11:38, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

I would assume that is possible to have kids. If they Grey Wardens for one reason or another were unable to recruit new members, children could be an answer. However if a child is born I would assume it would have to go through the joining even though there is some taint in the child. The best example would have to be Morrigan, she needed a child with some taint to draw the old god to the child. But even then, since one the child is probably only a zygote I would assume some more magic was needed. That means a "tainted" child may still have to go through the joining. Though if it is worse or better is anyone's guess. Doctalen (talk) 13:23, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

Grey Wardens can have kids, it's just uncommon as the taint affects fertility <snicker>. It would seem that Grey Wardens become less and less fertile as time passes, that's why Morrigan needed it to be either The Warden or Alistair to do the ritual, and why the young and relatively new recruit Fiona was still able to get pregnant. --Aedan Cousland (talk) 13:48, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

Like I said above, I think Fiona and Morrigan's situations were odd, though. Morrigan used magic to assist the ritual and ensure pregnancy. Fiona had that accelerated taint and then reversal. However, there are the epilogue slides where it's possible for Morrigan to be pregnant without the Ritual, if the Warden slept with her at some point. So maybe, for newer Wardens after all (though again Morrigan could have pulled a Flemeth to ensure pregnancy for some reason). LynMars (talk) 16:18, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

I think Morrigan might have been using more mundane means to assist in getting pregnant, herbs and what not. If anything the rapid corruption that Fiona experienced should have decreased her fertility not increased it. Since the corruption was reversed by the Warden mages at Weisshaupt, Fiona would have been several months pregnant by the time she was cured of it. Also, what exactly do you mean by "pulled a Flemeth"? --Aedan Cousland (talk) 16:34, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

Flemeth's tendency to get purposely pregnant for her own goals, mainly the body swapping, but Morrigan has most of that training now. Thinking of the accelerated taint Fiona had, it does seem to make it even less likely she would have gotten pregnant by Maric unless it was after, but that doesn't seem the case either. LynMars (talk) 17:35, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

I can see the title now, Dragon Age 52: Children of the Grey Wardens. Ok corny, but works for me. Anya McDonald (talk)

The short answer is yes, a warden can have children with a non warden and the child won't be born with the taint. And no, two wardens can't have children with one another (but it might be possible with the aid of magic).

For a more detailed answer, by David Gaider himself, I'd recommend:

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/47/index/455504%26lf%3D8#455902

It should answer most, if not all, questions on the topic. Enjoy!:) - Kerethos (talk) 19:58, August 3, 2010 (UTC)--

Below is an excerpt from the above BioWare Social Network link.

David Gaider wrote:A Grey Warden can have a child... just not with another Grey Warden. So in the case of Alistair being married to a female PC the only possible result is no heir (unless Alistair has a child with someone other than his wife, I suppose). Grey Wardens have a limited chance of conception with a non-Grey Warden, but it does happen... and the child is not tainted in any fashion.

Insofar as how long a Grey Warden could remain on the throne, it depends. The taint will make a Grey Warden age faster, so someone like Loghain isn't going to be able to stay a Grey Warden for very long as he's no young man. The "thirty years" quote is about the maximum, but the reality is that it depends on how often one is exposed to the corruption and sometimes just personal variance-- even so, for a monarch to stay on the throne upwards of thirty years is no mean feat. I don't really think that's the limiting factor when it comes to this sort of thing.

Demeira wrote:Well, there goes my fairy tale! I was hoping for a loophole somewhere that would make my fanfiction plausible. I had this all planned out that Alistair and Orlaine (my PC) would have twins because of some ancient Tevinter fertility charms given to them by some sorceress out of Orlais and somehow the act of having these children born of two Wardens would somehow give Alistair and Orlaine an additional 20 years and would somehow dilute the taint. And these twins would start bloodlines that would play into the next two Blights. Looks like that idea is scrapped...

David Gaider wrote:Well... just because it's never happened doesn't mean it never could, I suppose. There are always exceptions. So if you involve some mysterious Tevinter fertility charm... why not? Really I'm just talking about the fact that Grey Wardens never produce offspring together naturally. Unnaturally is an entirely different story.

I'll point out that Alistair does bring this up, and in fact breaks up with a female player because he feels it's his duty to bear children -- unless she convinces him that there are more important things, like being happy.

If being able to marry the man you love is insufficient because you must also bear his children in order for you to be happy, then sure. I guess you'll be unhappy -- barring some kind of unforeseen circ*mstance occuring.

And my second post was not a pat-pat on the poster's head to make her feel better... there are always ways that these sorts of rules can get circumvented. Alistair did not, after all, say to you "two Grey Wardens cannot have children, except for the extremely rare possibility of them recovering the Holy Elixir of Saradesh or somehow purging their blood of the taint through unknown sorts of blood magic... but normally? Not a chance."

As far as anyone (including Alistair) knows, under normal circ*mstances two Grey Wardens cannot have children with each other. I didn't mention unknown exceptions because they're unknown -- that should just be assumed. And that's just the way it is.

What this says to me is that there are unknown circ*mstances where two Grey Wardens can have children, it is just that Allister being new to the Grey Wardens he does not know. Anya (talk)22:27, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

I imagine a self-insert shipper is the sort of fan you should take most care to placate. Well, keeping narrative options open is also smart... DokEnkephalin (talk) 22:22, August 3, 2010 (UTC)

I say that if you are a Mage you should be able you get prego in the end. If Morrigan uses magic to get prego so can you. I wish I had the choice to do that in the game. Then I could live happily ever after. Marcymariehunter (talk) 00:10, August 6, 2010 (UTC)

I would have to throw my 2 cents in and say wardens could probably have kids even with each other even with the taint what might happen to the child is they would come out looking darkspawn ish and they would be resistant if not immune to the taint but there is no real reason they shouldn't be able to. if they were sterile then the warden would not be able to impregnate morgan period even with magic. know if the taint needs to be diluted well a possibility is using the same white flower that you use to cure the dog from the taint could dilute it enough for them to have kids like a type of drug which would go over the herbal remedy, so like someone earlier said it is possible that way.--Awar King (talk) 07:37, August 6, 2010 (UTC)

i like it hope is always good.Marcymariehunter (talk) 12:54, August 6, 2010 (UTC)

=======Gaider's second comment...I'm going with that one!!!!!

I am going with Gaider's comment about the Tevinter charm crap!! Seriously!! I know that my Female Warden is gonna make a badassed Queen, but how is she supposed to rock out with her (metaphorical) co*ck out if she can't have children. Giving Ferelden an heir solidifies her seat on the throne. Gaider has to know that the female fans of this game are fuming that the female Warden can't have kids. I really hope this guy takes the women fans of the game to heart!! Please Gaider, let Rhiannon (my Warden)have children!!05:33, August 9, 2010 (UTC)~~RhiannonCousland

Yea we need kinds, if they can't have kids she would be like Joséphine de Beauharnais Napolions love and consort, there is no happy ending without children. Going down to die in the deep roads at the age of forty is depressing, but it would make everything so much easier if you had a little prince and princess to say goodbye to. The Castle would soon be very empty without them, and Alastair would ultimately have to take in a second consort just to produce a hair, pushing you in the background, as the barren Queen who already served her purpose and everyone is now just waiting for to die.

Think about it. Eamon would certainly push for Alastair to divorce you, so he can have him marry a fertile women. even if he don't want to he would be pushed by talk of "duty". Without the possibility for pregnancy, everyone would just be so much happier, if you could just disappear.

Centuries later, your body could be found by a scavenger in the deep roads next to a mountain darkspawn bodies, dumping your skeleton he would take your arms and armer, who you were would long since have been forgotten. -rphb- (talk) 10:06, August 9, 2010 (UTC)

It may not be an issue if you choose to be simply Wardens in the end. Not everyone wants or needs children to have a fulfilled life. For royalty though, that's not always an option. Heck, even if a Human Noble or Alistair marries Anora, an heir isn't assured, given how difficult it is for Wardens normally, and she's likely barren (in Return to Ostagar, Eamon was pressuring Cailan to divorce her). If Anora's a single ruler, she doesn't even try to remarry. Have to wonder how she resolves the needing an heir issue. For myself, I'm not surprised that naturally, it's impossible for two Wardens to have kids. It makes sense given what Wardens are and what they have to do.

Fereldan is a world full of magic though, so it's really not hard at all to find a way to use in the various fanfictions on swooping_is_bad and other Alistair-centric fan communities to make it so he and the female Warden live "happily ever after" with a kid or two (though I have to say that in two of the more interesting fic series I've read, Alistair wasn't with the Warden). For instance, if Morrigan actually cares about the Warden as a friend, maybe she does something as a parting gift before vanishing forever. Or the Wardens go back to Soldier's Peak to pester Avernus about his cleaned-up research to see if he can do anything.

But Gaider has spoken, so why worry? It's not possible for Wardens to have kids without aid--like plenty of couples in the real world have to deal with. It keeps options open for Bioware as well as for fans. LynMars (talk) 15:54, August 9, 2010 (UTC)

I know that the options are open. However, I don't want them to be forgotten. I'll stop worry about it when I actually know for sure little wardens will be in the story. I have to ask Lyn, where did you see these made up fan stories? I am interested in seeing them myself: )RhiannonCousland.

It seems they're moving the focus from Wardens in DA2, so who knows. But consider how many people in game have Wardens in their family history (from the Howes to the Drydens, and possibly even Alistair if the speculation about "The Calling" novel plothooks are more than a tease). As for the fiction, at the bottom of Alistair's wiki entry, there are external links to various Alistair fan communities. swooping_is_bad is a popular one on livejournal for stories. There's also a Zevran community, and Circle Tower on LJ for folks to write stories that somehow involve their favored aspects of DA. And of course, fanfiction.net has the usual mix of stories if one searches for DA there. Most of it is so-so, sometimes you can stumble on a neat idea and/or well-written story though. LynMars (talk) 03:55, August 11, 2010 (UTC)