Trespasser unequivocally reveals that they were mortal.
The elven Creators appear to have been real, although whether they were gods or powerful rulers is unknown.
All Myths Are True: A surprising amount of the ancient lore in Thedas comes into play during the game, though not necessarily as one might expect:.
except that it is "alive," and it's blighted.
Alien Kudzu: The Red Lyrium sprouting up in places where regular Blue Lyrium normally doesn't would qualify, if it were alive and not a mineral.
The candidate with the most points at the end of the game is ultimately elected the next Divine in the epilogue, with a priority list reflecting their respective political clout used to break ties (from the most politically savvy to the least: Vivienne, Leliana, Cassandra). As explained in-depth here, each candidate has a hidden score (independent of the regular Relationship Values) that starts out at 0 at the beginning of the game and goes up or down by anywhere from 1 to 10 points any time the Player Character makes a decision that directly or indirectly supports their future claim and preferred policies.
Algorithmic Story Branching: At the start of the game, the current Divine of the Chantry dies, and towards the end, three high-ranking members of the Inquisition announce their claims as her successors.
If he is executed following judgment at Skyhold, Dorian laments that the man he used to idolize had fallen so far from what he used to be. Dorian comments that he used to look up to Alexius as a role model, someone who wanted to improve the Imperium and make it a better place, but all of that changed when his wife was murdered and his son infected in a darkspawn attack. It's heavily implied that the only reason he joined the Venatori in the first place is because Corypheus promised to help save his son from a Blight infection.
The trope overall most definitely applies to Alexius.
The way they hold their knees after several hits or indeed fall down on them as their legs are taken out is almost pitiful.
This also applies to the new giant enemy.
The developers wanted to convey that while dragons are a vicious menace to society, they are still living creatures. Taking out a leg causes the dragon to roar pitifully and start limping.
The new combat system for dragons allows you to attack their limbs, much like Dragon's Dogma.
Downed characters are still instantly revived after combat, however not only that, but (also for the first time in the series) they can even be revived during combat by the active character, without needing a specific potion to do it. For the first time in the series, your health doesn't automatically refill as soon as the fighting stops. During that interview the game is also described as a "stealth-action-adventure with an intriguing dual-personality mechanic, gigantic levels, and a densely wrought aesthetic inspired by Tolkien's own drawings". The creature starts out as a prisoner in Barad-dûr, a fortress in Mordor, but eventually you will traverse more of Middle-Earth, with the developer promising "giant, persistent environments, each harbouring several questlines and a range of friendly or unfriendly faces" in an interview with Edge Magazine in early 2020. It's been unveiled as one of the confirmed upcoming PS5 games, and will arrive sometime in 2021 to let you play as Gollum. And thankfully, that's exactly what Daedalic Entertainment is going to give us. We are all so intrigued to see what a game where you play as the dual-personalities of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will actually be like.