When it happens...

I cannot speak for other module-makers but the first thing I set down when I started this module was - it should be different. Not completely alien with a new world with it's own lore and mechanics but should have something that makes it stand out from the crowd...at least in my own eyes. What could I do? Integrate the story with the official established canon. The two books - The Stolen Throne and The Calling - are pretty detailed about most of the happenings but there are some obvious gaps (well, maybe not gaps but interesting settings that haven't been explored fully) that can be exploited to tell a story.

Blood and Lyrium will seek to do that - weave a tale about already established settings, sneaking in canon events from the novels to influence the various threads. The story is set during Maric's struggle to regain Ferelden's crown and it is possible that the player might meet some of the key characters from the rebel camp. I haven't yet thought through the plot lines that extensively so it is also possible that you might not meet them at all - I don't want to give a tacked-on quest just for lore integration.

That said, this module will come with a race/background restriction for the player - Dalish Elf. This might turn off a lot of players but it is critical for the storyline - it wouldn't make sense for anybody else to play this story as it unfolds (except maybe one other race/background but that is for another post)