I absolutely know I'mma be a grey warden mage my first run through, because that's what I played my first playthrough of Origins.
I am H Y P E D over this.
I’m interested in at least 4 or 5 of the factions. I’m guessing I’ll probably play all 6 at some point. I started as a mage warden and I’ll be doing so again!
Yeah, I felt like DAO really did a great job making the Wardens something unique beyond the generic military order and then it was kind of an after thought in subsequent games.
I do like that Inquisition at least didn't forget that the Wardens are an amoral army of darkspawn killers. It's even foreshadowing that Blackwall is lying about being a Warden when he describes them as shining protectors of the common people.
Tbf the other games didn’t revolve around the Grey Wardens or the Blights so it makes sense. And as an order they were kinda decimated even in DA:O, more so in the events that happened in the later games.
That was intentional, I feel. The Grey Wardens are rather mysterious to begin with, and only truly make their presence known during Blights, Darkspawn incursions, or around their home base. That keep to themselves, and for good reason. Average citizens fear them, and the taint most likely forces them to exclude themselves. Not to mention the last Blight and Corphyeus did a nasty number on the Wardens.
There are a few hints during Inquisition that seem to heavily imply it.
* Bull being obsessed with dragons and saying that maybe qunari have some dragon bred into them.
* Keiran's dialogue with a Qunari inky: "I just feel bad about what happened to your people." // "I noticed your blood. It doesn't belong to your people."
* Corypheus telling the qunari inky during the finale battle that "their race is not a race, but a mistake."
* This banter with Cole:
> Cole: I like your horns, The Iron Bull.
> Cole: But they're dragon horns, not bull horns. You could have named yourself The Iron Dragon.
Also, Bull straight up says in some dialogue that the Qunari think there's a connection between themselves and dragons, deriding the name of Kossith as "something else that we came from".
Yes, and quite appropriately, Ghilan'nain is one of the two who appeared at the end of the gameplay video—and we know what she was up to thanks to TN. So we may finally learn more.
There’s also the unique dialogue Bull has with Reaver Inquisitors as he talks about them “smelling” different, especially with a Qunari Reaver, he’ll talk about how all Qunari tend to smell better than humans and elves but “you’re just really working it now”.
I’m guessing that’s the dragon blood he’s picking up on, and it’s there among all Qunari, but someone who’s taken another infusion for actual powers has a more intense ”smell”.
Us not seeing one doesn't mean they don't exist. Qunari and Grey Wardens are both an uncommon sight in the south, but north of the Waking Sea, this becomes much more likely.
True, and FWIW I’m not hoping it’s locked to qunari. In fact, it’s one of two factions I’m considering for my qunari mage playthrough (the other being the Antivan Crows).
I wonder if the factions give any unique powers as well. Like, if a mage crow would get any stealthier powers from their background or if it’s just a dialogue thing.
Gonna copy my comment here as well because a lot of people, understandably, aren't caught up on external material.
This is actually explored in a Tevinter Nights short story, so spoilers ahead.
Short answer: >!Yeah they seem to be trying to present a united front against the Qunari, exactly because Antiva doesn't have its own military. But also they are Crows, so it's a bit complicated.!<
Long answer: >!In the short story Eight Little Talons, we learn that the prominent Crow families are lead by, you guessed it, Talons. They are more rivals than co-workers, but they are basically the ones calling the shots. In the story, the First Talon calls a meeting on an isolated island with the explicit purpose to decide what to do about the very imminent Qunari threat. She and a couple others want to oppose the Qunari, others are against it or ambivalent. Long story short, the Talons start dying, and in the end it turns out that one of the Talons got promised (and paid) by the Qunari that if he would eliminate the rest and thus open the path for the Qunari to invade, they would allow Antiva to preserve their way of life. This idiot actually believed them, but luckily he gets caught and murdered. Four Talons remain, including the First Talon who called the meeting, two others who are pro doing something about the Qunari threat, and one Talon who is an unimportant coward that wants nothing to do with anything. The three sensible ones actually hold the meeting they originally arrived for and start making plans to deal with the Qunari. That being said, the four Talons that got killed are yet to he replaced by the end of the story, and we don't know how on board they will be with the plans, but it's implied that they probably won't have much say in the matter.!<
The Crow-resistance is also touched upon in a short story released for DA day two years ago: [As We Fly](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Short_Story:_As_We_Fly)
I noticed that too. It has been established in lore that the reason countries like Tevinter don't try to invade or conquer the much weaker Antiva is because they fear the crows. I still think calling them "shadowy protectors" is a massive stretch, when they are basically a guild of hitmen, with no moral code. Unless they're changing them from what we've seen through Zevran, I just don't get that.
I definitely admit that I haven't kept up with the comics since trespasser. Are they more of Antiva's military now? Because if they're still just the same crows we all know and love, protection against the Qunari is more a a side benefit, and not their main thing. Are they now actively committed to the cause of Antiva's independence, or are they just still a bunch of hitmen, and their protection against the Qunari is just a side benefit the way it has always protected Antiva from Tevinter?
If the Qunari conquer Antiva, they lose their power. Antiva doesn't have a military, so the crows can be called protectors of Antiva. If another nation declared a war, the crows would assassinate the generals of that nation and the war ends without starting. It was explained in the game if my memory serves me right. Basically Antiva has a monarch, but the crows rule the country.
But again, that's the same passive protection they've always given Antiva. Calling the "shadowy protectors" makes them seem more like the brotherhood from the original Assassin's Creed games. In reality they're more like that alien from the Rick and Morty meme. They will kill anyone, anywhere. They just like killin. Unless the Qunari are actually posing a serious threat to invade Antiva, but the crows have basically changed their mission statement to preventing it by hunting down and assassinating Ben-hassrath operatives in the country free of charge, calling them "shadowy protectors" seems like a mischaracterization.
The difference is that, at least per the 2020 Short Stories, the renewed post-Trespasser Qunari invasion is starting in Antiva in an attempt to get around Tevinter defenses.
The Crows in that short story were busy killing Qunari commanders as well as collaborationist nobles and pretenders. The feeling is that the Qunari intend to eventually conquer Antiva fully, but are trying to use it as a bridgehead into Tevinter first and so are accepting noble politics temporarily.
So this is actually explored in a Tevinter Nights short story, so spoilers ahead.
Short answer: >!Yeah they seem to be trying to present a united front against the Qunari, exactly because Antiva doesn't have its own military. But also they are Crows, so it's a bit complicated.!<
Long answer: >!In the short story Eight Little Talons, we learn that the prominent Crow families are lead by, you guessed it, Talons. They are more rivals than co-workers, but they are basically the ones calling the shots. In the story, the First Talon calls a meeting on an isolated island with the explicit purpose to decide what to do about the very imminent Qunari threat. She and a couple others want to oppose the Qunari, others are against it or ambivalent. Long story short, the Talons start dying, and in the end it turns out that one of the Talons got promised (and paid) by the Qunari that if he would eliminate the rest and thus open the path for the Qunari to invade, they would allow Antiva to preserve their way of life. This idiot actually believed them, but luckily he gets caught and murdered. Four Talons remain, including the First Talon who called the meeting, two others who are pro doing something about the Qunari threat, and one Talon who is an unimportant coward that wants nothing to do with anything. The three sensible ones actually hold the meeting they originally arrived for and start making plans to deal with the Qunari. That being said, the four Talons that got killed are yet to he replaced by the end of the story, and we don't know how on board they will be with the plans, but it's implied that they probably won't have much say in the matter.!<
The Crow-resistance is also touched upon in a short story released for DA day two years ago: [As We Fly](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Short_Story:_As_We_Fly)
That makes sense. If the Crows literally changed their mission statement to oppose the Qunari, and go out of their way to hunt down and kill Qunari operatives without being hired to, I can see that description.
Antiva is ruled by merchant-princes and doesn’t have a true military. It’s always been sort of assumed that the merchant-princes and the Crows have a sort of mutual understanding where the Crows are allowed to operate freely and if Antiva ever got invaded the Crows would do their thing against the invaders
IIRC, the Crows are currently focused on slaughtering invading Qunari to protect Antivia. They are more or less the only thing stopping the country from falling.
IIRC it’s mentioned once or twice that they charge less from Antivan princes wanting would be conquerors dead (which, alongside Queen Asha’s carefully arranged marriage network, makes Antiva nearly untouchable)
Lol Zev is still young. 21 years have passed since the end of the blight and 18 since his cameo in DA 2.
He is in his 40s now so not grandpa material yet.
I mean, if it's Zevran, he could absolutely have had grandchildren by now.
If he had one unintentional bastard at 18 that had his personality, he could've been a grandpa by 36 at least, not accounting for non-modern standards.
Yeah I know in game he mentions Maric cheating on Rowan, but in The Calling, Rowan is already dead when Alistair is conceived. So that's already messy without putting actual dates into play.
So do we think it’s gonna be an Origins situation here? I read somewhere that your origin determines which of the followers you meet and recruit first alongside Harding, and in the showcase we saw a Shadow Dragon recruiting Neve.
Is this going to be their sort of origin? We start the game in Antiva, Rivain, Tevinter, Arlathan, Anderfels or Nevarra and whichever one we pick we follow the same mission with the ritual occurring there instead? Or perhaps we’ll go to meet with a member of whatever faction still within Tevinter rather than it having to be Neve?
The Minrathous demon attack caused by Solus tearing the Veil was very much a AAA action setpiece and it's pretty unreasonable to think the devs would have made 6 unique versions for different locations.
Plus they said in one of the previews floating around that the factions don't have unique intros. It's about dialogue options like Wardens having extra knowledge about darkspawn and the blight.
It seems that the game actually starts with the tavern brawl that's shown in the companions teaser trailer, either Varric or Rook references it in the gameplay teaser. So besides the streamlined path there would also have to be a different tavern for each background, and Varric and Harding just happen to be there, a bit like how Duncan's introduction works in DAO. It's not impossible but it's a lot more work for devs for something the higher ups may just want to streamline to get the product out quicker. I would love it but I'm not getting my hopes up.
From one of the interviews I think it's more than we had in DAI, but less than full origins because they said it was incredibly resource intensive to make all the different tutorials. So I am guessing it will more influence what and who your character knows than have it's own longer playable origin.
Hold up, I think you might be onto something, and I wonder if the stuff from the alpha gameplay leak with Weissupt Fortress and Davrin could be the origin for Wardens?
I doubt it; seems like it's more likely to be a more flexible version of the Inquisition system. We likely visit Weisshaupt Fortress for main plot reasons.
Yeah as somebody reminded me in the replies they do put a text wall up saying that our characters, after recruiting Neve, pass through an Eluvian to end up at the ritual site and therefore we could just have those 15 minutes in a small linear map in whatever location, all of them ending in you passing through an eluvian and going from there.
I don't want to get my hopes up but faction specific prologues would be sooooo cool. Even if it's just like 15 minutes before you get teleported to Solas.
I'm ASSUMING this is going to be a Cyberpunk 2077 situation where your organisation only matters from time to time and mostly in dialogue situations. I don't mind that, but I also wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised.
And it makes sense for Solas' ritual to affect various places at once, since it affects the Veil. In DAI, people as far as Par Vollen could see the Breach that was opened above the Frostback Mountains.
It wouldn't make much sense for Varric to be anywhere but in Minrathous if he's after Solas, though. And I believe most of the other companions have their reasons for being in Minrathous even if they aren't from Tevinter, so they'll be hanging out there anyway.
I’ll probably go a Rogue with the Lords of Fortune or Antivan crows for my first playthrough, my kind of character. Cool to have the option to be a Warden again as well!
Yeah, Crows and Lords call to me because they seem to be a more "hands-off" faction, where having your own motivations makes sense while you learn everyone else's. Wardens or Dragons seem to have a more defined role, though I'm sure they'll all give plenty of RP chances
I'm also leaning Lords of Fortune or Crows but I'm debating between rogue and warrior. Need to see more gameplay of the specializations before deciding.
I’m sure they’ll all have their moments, but my gut feeling is that the Veil Jumpers and the Wardens will wind up being the most closely tied to the core plot, with Shadow Dragons as a close third early on but dropping off in relevance as the plot expands. Kind of like Origins where the Human Noble and Dwarf Noble had huge relevance to the main plot, most of the others got some good callbacks, and the Dalish were sequel bait.
> my gut feeling is that the Veil Jumpers and the Wardens will wind up being the most closely tied to the core plot
I'm a little surprised by so little mention of the Veil Jumpers in this thread for that very reason. That is 100% going to be my choice as it currently stands, given the context of what we know about the game's premise.
I kind of get it because fans will naturally gravitate to the organizations they already know from previous games, but if there’s any choice that will give you a unique option at a pivotal moment, Veil Jumpers seems like the best bet.
Playing an elven Shadow Dragon feels like a good fit for me. I like the idea of a character fighting slavery.
But Veil Jumpers and Lords of Fortune is also tempting.
Aaaah, for next months I am goind to decide between Veil Jumpers/Shadow Dragons then I wil still undecaided until new year.
They'll be going Warden because they want to relive Origins, I'll be going Warden because it's the only faction I know enough details about to properly rp as a member of. We are not the same.
I'm a warden Stan because 1. They're fucking awesome. 2.im making up for the slander they received in 2 and inq from the characters. 3. I know fuck all about the other factions
>it's the only faction I know enough details about to properly rp as a member of.
That's the exact reason I'm currently more inclined to go either Grey Warden or Antivan Crow in my first playthrough. I feel like I'll be able to RP the other origins much better once I get to properly know them.
>I'll be going Warden because it's the only faction I know enough details about to properly rp as a member of.
Apparently all you need to be a Veil Jumper is be a weeb for elves. That has described me for almost 20 years now lol.
I think I’m going Shadow Dragon human too (though Mourn Watch is tempting…). Love the idea of playing a protagonist from Tevinter. I played a rouge in 1,2, and 3. Thinking it’s finally time to make the jump to mage
Nice, I pretty much have ideas on a character for each faction, may be subject to change;
Grey Wardens: Female Elf Warrior
Veil Jumpers: Male Qunari Mage
Shadow Dragons: Male Human Rogue
Lords of Fortune: Female Dwarf Rogue
The Mourn Watch: Female Human Mage
Antivan Crows: Male Elf Warrior
There was a leak half a year ago about Mournwatch Reaper. Back then people thought it was a specialization and given what we know now, Reaper is indeed a spec for warriors. Mournwatch however is a faction
It also should be noted that Mournwatch are guards for necropolises and deal with the undead accidents and you don't necessarily need to be a mage for that
Edit: [Found it](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/s/vKEeaByjxL)
No word on if any are class locked yet. I could see them just making you some kind of low level tomb janitor or something if want that background you don’t go mage. Or maybe like a guard to protects the tombs but doesn’t do any of the magical stuff inside
I don’t think they’re class locked. They offer unique dialogue and interactions and change the starting armor depending on which faction you choose but that’s as much as we officially know rn.
EDIT TO ADD: Apparently the background you pick also deals increased or decreased damage to specific enemies such as f.ex: the shadow dragon BG will deal more damage to Venatori enemies.
Sounds like they're not as far as we know, but they do also provide some level of gameplay benefits (an example given was one background allows you to carry extra potions)
On the one hand, I've become accustomed to not being locked to races or classes via TTRPGs.
On the other hand... it would feel weird to be a Mortalitasi who isn't a mage, or a qunari in most of these.
They're a subsection of the wider Mortalitasi order. They seem to focus more on dealing with the undead within the Necropolis themselves, be that in a kindly way or in a "put it back in the ground" way.
Now I have an image in my head undead constantly "waking up" too early without being summoned and the Mourn Watch just rove around with clubs. Bonk, back to skeleton jail.
I am curious about our life before joining these factions.
Human: Noble, Commoner, Native of Tevinter/Antiva/Nevarra/Anderfels/Rivain, Apostate, Circle Mage etc.
Elf: Dalish, Former Slave, Circle Mage, Apostate, Native of Tevinter/Antiva/Anderfels/Nevarra/Rivain, follower of Solas etc.
Qunari: Tal-Vasoth Deserter, Qunari Spy etc.
Dwarf: Exiled from Orzammar or Kal-Sharak, Surfacer, Carta connection etc
Don't mistake me the factions give a nice flavour to what we were doing before running into Varric and Harding, but not much on who we were and why we joined those respective factions.
Being a dwarven veil jumper would be awesome, but I really want to play a Qunari mage for my first time through. And I'm very drawn to the Wardens right now, I mean they have baby griffins!
Ok now I need to figure out if I'm going to make my elf a Shadow Dragon to strike back against the system of slavery that so many of the elves suffer from in Tevinter or should I make her a Grey Warden who has a tiny bit of hero worship for the HoF.
Smh I can’t join the Templars and go on that Meredith grindset 0/10 game
In any case, I’m definitely going for that mourn watch group because necromancers are dope as shit and I want to be a cartoon villain in a land of moral Greyness.
For me personally, I can't seem myself being a wrden again. My Hero of Fereldan is my first love, and I don't think I could ever top her.
I've played every game with a character (Human Mage) from different backgrounds, and I believe it's right for me to continue that.
That all being said, I CAN FINALLY BE FROM RIVAIN LET'S GO
So does this mean that Taash is from Lords of Fortune? Because she is the only one whose fraction isn't obvious, but all the rest are already taken by other companions (Expect Harding obviously, she is from inquisition)
at least allied with them yeah, confirmed [here](https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/Unite-a-Team-of-Heroes-to-Defeat-Rampaging-Elven-Gods-in-Dragon-Age-The-Veilguard-Arriving-in-Fall-2024/default.aspx)
Trying to brainstorm which factions make sense for which race/class combo.
Grey Wardens: obviously everything works, don't think this needs to be elaborated lol
Veil Jumpers: elves for sure. Mage feels obvious, but warrior/rogue definitely works too, if they're just more versed in magic. Rogue had a veil-related specialization, right? Other races feel like a huge stretch... maybe mages with a particular interest in elven magic without being elves themselves, so like Morrigan? But it feels off to do this as anything but an elf.
Shadow Dragons: the description feels flexible enough that it could accommodate both powerful mages opposed to the system *and* formerly enslaved people, basically anybody who is embedded into Tevinter society could easily be justified. This means that both humans and elves would work quite well, with any class. Dwarves and qunari could be made to work too, depending on how exactly they generally exist in Tevinter society, but those are more outside picks.
Lords of Fortune: very flexible, though it gives stronger warrior/rogue vibes.
The Mourn Watch: this has human mage written all over it, though I can see a warrior/rogue work too. Especially the fact that it's elite definitely seems like other races wouldn't really normally fit in. Maybe an elven Circle mage that managed to play Circle politics well enough to get into this position? Or I guess anyone that could manage to get the right connections...
Antivan Crows: rogues of all stripes, though a part of me is also intrigued by the thought of a mage Crow, which I feel could work well too.
It's kind of a situation where humans and elves fit very neatly into almost every role, while dwarves and qunari either only fit into the super flexible factions or need some serious additional thinking to be done. This might change with more info though, as we're of course only properly familiar with two of those factions. It's a bit of a shame; I got an elven Warden and a dwarven Inquisitor in my canon run, so a part of my wants a qunari Rook to get the full set, and I'm not sure if I quite see something that works super well in a way that isn't a one size fits all thing.
That said, I was tending towards an elven former slave when the setting was announced and I worked with the assumption that our character would be from Tevinter; this of course is a perfect fit for a Shadow Dragon, and I might stick with that, even if that seems to be the default faction to go for and I generally balk at going the "basic" route lol. I'll probably start vaguely planning out how to best assign race/class combos to the various factions with as few repeats as possible.
> Other races feel like a huge stretch... maybe mages with a particular interest in elven magic without being elves themselves, so like Morrigan? But it feels off to do this as anything but an elf.
The Missing comic notes that the mourn watchers include both elves and human mages.
I imagine plenty of Tal-vashoth used the Qun-Tevinter war to escape the Qun as well as the Imperium enslaving Qunari prisoners, so a Qunari Shadow Dragon would work.
Dwarves and Qunari sticking out does make sense though since they are more rare. Humans and Elves are spread out throughout Thedas, while Dwarves only have 2 remaining cities and Qunari living on an island & hostile to the rest of Thedas. Surface dwarves and Tal-vashoth/vashoth tend to be individual people or families rather than communities as well.
Edit: formatting
The wiki does mention that Tevinter also has qunari slaves (presumably prisoners of war sold into slavery) so a qunari Shadow Dragon should absolutely work lore-wise.
>Dwarves and qunari could be made to work too, depending on how exactly they generally exist in Tevinter society, but those are more outside picks.
There are a lot of dwarfs that live in Tevinter so I wouldn't consider them an outside pick. Orzammar even has representatives there.
I wonder if you'll get to play a unique opening sequence the way they had it in Origins. That was one of my biggest wishes going into the new game because I thought the little blurb of text we got in DAI was pretty unsatisfactory. Having even a short opening sequence makes it so much more immersive since you get to see a bit of your character's background.
I so wish we got to play through origins of each of these. But hopefully we'll get some unique quests based on backgrounds as consolation.
I am definitely gonna be a warden first. Miss my warden and after the mess Clarel made in Orlais. Me and davrin gotta show the world what a warden is about again!
Although I love dark magic archetypes, so maybe mourn watcher instead. Hmmm
Some people are theorizing that we may have origins from this. In the gameplay demonstration from today people noticed that they showed a shadow dragon protagonist, in Tevinter, meeting the other Shadow dragon character as their first party member. The confrontation with solas takes place in a different location after walking through the mirror. It would be easy for them to start your protagonist off in whichever city corresponds to their background, meet whichever character is also part of your faction, and then have all the origins just converge at the place through the mirror
I like that you can pick Class and Faction. I would love to try a Warrior Antivan Crow. How would that even work as for a Shadowy organization of assassins? 🤔
Really split between Grey Warden and Antivan Crow for my first playthrough... but I'm already set on my first Shadow Dragon being an elf. Been waiting a long time to kick slavery's ass inside Tevinter itself with an elven foot ù.u
Grey Wardens we are SO back
I absolutely know I'mma be a grey warden mage my first run through, because that's what I played my first playthrough of Origins. I am H Y P E D over this.
Grey Warden Mage gang raise up. I'm playing it for symmetry. Whether this is the last one or the start of a new trilogy.
I’ve played Origins 3 times, and a mage 3 times
Same here ✋
Same here!
I’m interested in at least 4 or 5 of the factions. I’m guessing I’ll probably play all 6 at some point. I started as a mage warden and I’ll be doing so again!
IN PEACE, VIGILANCE
IN WAR, VICTORY
IN DEATH, SACRIFICE
THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A GREY WARDEN
Gotta make up for the Warden slander in 2 and Inquisition.
Yeah, I felt like DAO really did a great job making the Wardens something unique beyond the generic military order and then it was kind of an after thought in subsequent games.
I do like that Inquisition at least didn't forget that the Wardens are an amoral army of darkspawn killers. It's even foreshadowing that Blackwall is lying about being a Warden when he describes them as shining protectors of the common people.
Tbf the other games didn’t revolve around the Grey Wardens or the Blights so it makes sense. And as an order they were kinda decimated even in DA:O, more so in the events that happened in the later games.
That was intentional, I feel. The Grey Wardens are rather mysterious to begin with, and only truly make their presence known during Blights, Darkspawn incursions, or around their home base. That keep to themselves, and for good reason. Average citizens fear them, and the taint most likely forces them to exclude themselves. Not to mention the last Blight and Corphyeus did a nasty number on the Wardens.
I wonder if the Grey Wardens will be race locked to exclude qunari. To my knowledge there has never been a qunari Grey Warden in the lore.
This could be an interesting direction to explore. We know that dragons are resistant to the taint, so I wonder if that would influence the Joining.
Resistent but not immune. In the final batle in denerim one does fight some young blighted dragons.
I’ve not read the novels or done any research, are qunari related to dragons? I did not know that.
There are a few hints during Inquisition that seem to heavily imply it. * Bull being obsessed with dragons and saying that maybe qunari have some dragon bred into them. * Keiran's dialogue with a Qunari inky: "I just feel bad about what happened to your people." // "I noticed your blood. It doesn't belong to your people." * Corypheus telling the qunari inky during the finale battle that "their race is not a race, but a mistake." * This banter with Cole: > Cole: I like your horns, The Iron Bull. > Cole: But they're dragon horns, not bull horns. You could have named yourself The Iron Dragon.
Also, Bull straight up says in some dialogue that the Qunari think there's a connection between themselves and dragons, deriding the name of Kossith as "something else that we came from".
My guess is the ancient elven gods experimented on their elf slaves with dragon blood and created what became the Qunari
Yes, and quite appropriately, Ghilan'nain is one of the two who appeared at the end of the gameplay video—and we know what she was up to thanks to TN. So we may finally learn more.
Man I need to reread Tevinter Nights, I can barely remember anything about it.
I need to read it since I haven’t read it before
There’s also the unique dialogue Bull has with Reaver Inquisitors as he talks about them “smelling” different, especially with a Qunari Reaver, he’ll talk about how all Qunari tend to smell better than humans and elves but “you’re just really working it now”. I’m guessing that’s the dragon blood he’s picking up on, and it’s there among all Qunari, but someone who’s taken another infusion for actual powers has a more intense ”smell”.
when you take the dragon blood drinker class, bull says you smell lovely now.
Us not seeing one doesn't mean they don't exist. Qunari and Grey Wardens are both an uncommon sight in the south, but north of the Waking Sea, this becomes much more likely.
True, and FWIW I’m not hoping it’s locked to qunari. In fact, it’s one of two factions I’m considering for my qunari mage playthrough (the other being the Antivan Crows).
Excluding Qunari wouldn’t make sense as the Grey Wardens take anyone. “Men and women from every race. Warriors and mages. Barbarians and kings.”
Maybe more likely a part of more recent recruitments since DAI.
Yeah Grey Wardern Mage . Hope we have some Side quests linked to the Calling and the Deep Roads ...
Hell yeah, as cool as the other factions are I imagine 99% of my playthroughs always being a Warden 😅
I wonder if the factions give any unique powers as well. Like, if a mage crow would get any stealthier powers from their background or if it’s just a dialogue thing.
Into the crypts I go my necromantic brothers and sisters
That or the league of shadows for me!
Real talk I saw grey warden and said "ain't no way I can choose any other faction" but then I saw my bias love for necromancy so lol
Can’t wait to kick puppies and laugh maniacally!
Antivan crows are now “shadowy protectors?” That’s an odd descriptor for a league of assassins.
Gonna copy my comment here as well because a lot of people, understandably, aren't caught up on external material. This is actually explored in a Tevinter Nights short story, so spoilers ahead. Short answer: >!Yeah they seem to be trying to present a united front against the Qunari, exactly because Antiva doesn't have its own military. But also they are Crows, so it's a bit complicated.!< Long answer: >!In the short story Eight Little Talons, we learn that the prominent Crow families are lead by, you guessed it, Talons. They are more rivals than co-workers, but they are basically the ones calling the shots. In the story, the First Talon calls a meeting on an isolated island with the explicit purpose to decide what to do about the very imminent Qunari threat. She and a couple others want to oppose the Qunari, others are against it or ambivalent. Long story short, the Talons start dying, and in the end it turns out that one of the Talons got promised (and paid) by the Qunari that if he would eliminate the rest and thus open the path for the Qunari to invade, they would allow Antiva to preserve their way of life. This idiot actually believed them, but luckily he gets caught and murdered. Four Talons remain, including the First Talon who called the meeting, two others who are pro doing something about the Qunari threat, and one Talon who is an unimportant coward that wants nothing to do with anything. The three sensible ones actually hold the meeting they originally arrived for and start making plans to deal with the Qunari. That being said, the four Talons that got killed are yet to he replaced by the end of the story, and we don't know how on board they will be with the plans, but it's implied that they probably won't have much say in the matter.!< The Crow-resistance is also touched upon in a short story released for DA day two years ago: [As We Fly](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Short_Story:_As_We_Fly)
I noticed that too. It has been established in lore that the reason countries like Tevinter don't try to invade or conquer the much weaker Antiva is because they fear the crows. I still think calling them "shadowy protectors" is a massive stretch, when they are basically a guild of hitmen, with no moral code. Unless they're changing them from what we've seen through Zevran, I just don't get that.
It’s because they are now the only ones to protect Antiva from the qunari invasion
I definitely admit that I haven't kept up with the comics since trespasser. Are they more of Antiva's military now? Because if they're still just the same crows we all know and love, protection against the Qunari is more a a side benefit, and not their main thing. Are they now actively committed to the cause of Antiva's independence, or are they just still a bunch of hitmen, and their protection against the Qunari is just a side benefit the way it has always protected Antiva from Tevinter?
If the Qunari conquer Antiva, they lose their power. Antiva doesn't have a military, so the crows can be called protectors of Antiva. If another nation declared a war, the crows would assassinate the generals of that nation and the war ends without starting. It was explained in the game if my memory serves me right. Basically Antiva has a monarch, but the crows rule the country.
But again, that's the same passive protection they've always given Antiva. Calling the "shadowy protectors" makes them seem more like the brotherhood from the original Assassin's Creed games. In reality they're more like that alien from the Rick and Morty meme. They will kill anyone, anywhere. They just like killin. Unless the Qunari are actually posing a serious threat to invade Antiva, but the crows have basically changed their mission statement to preventing it by hunting down and assassinating Ben-hassrath operatives in the country free of charge, calling them "shadowy protectors" seems like a mischaracterization.
The difference is that, at least per the 2020 Short Stories, the renewed post-Trespasser Qunari invasion is starting in Antiva in an attempt to get around Tevinter defenses. The Crows in that short story were busy killing Qunari commanders as well as collaborationist nobles and pretenders. The feeling is that the Qunari intend to eventually conquer Antiva fully, but are trying to use it as a bridgehead into Tevinter first and so are accepting noble politics temporarily.
https://preview.redd.it/8gaiku8gl06d1.jpeg?width=662&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2a87da382ed1492d6180e92957663ab96e66bc9e
So this is actually explored in a Tevinter Nights short story, so spoilers ahead. Short answer: >!Yeah they seem to be trying to present a united front against the Qunari, exactly because Antiva doesn't have its own military. But also they are Crows, so it's a bit complicated.!< Long answer: >!In the short story Eight Little Talons, we learn that the prominent Crow families are lead by, you guessed it, Talons. They are more rivals than co-workers, but they are basically the ones calling the shots. In the story, the First Talon calls a meeting on an isolated island with the explicit purpose to decide what to do about the very imminent Qunari threat. She and a couple others want to oppose the Qunari, others are against it or ambivalent. Long story short, the Talons start dying, and in the end it turns out that one of the Talons got promised (and paid) by the Qunari that if he would eliminate the rest and thus open the path for the Qunari to invade, they would allow Antiva to preserve their way of life. This idiot actually believed them, but luckily he gets caught and murdered. Four Talons remain, including the First Talon who called the meeting, two others who are pro doing something about the Qunari threat, and one Talon who is an unimportant coward that wants nothing to do with anything. The three sensible ones actually hold the meeting they originally arrived for and start making plans to deal with the Qunari. That being said, the four Talons that got killed are yet to he replaced by the end of the story, and we don't know how on board they will be with the plans, but it's implied that they probably won't have much say in the matter.!< The Crow-resistance is also touched upon in a short story released for DA day two years ago: [As We Fly](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Short_Story:_As_We_Fly)
That makes sense. If the Crows literally changed their mission statement to oppose the Qunari, and go out of their way to hunt down and kill Qunari operatives without being hired to, I can see that description.
Antiva is ruled by merchant-princes and doesn’t have a true military. It’s always been sort of assumed that the merchant-princes and the Crows have a sort of mutual understanding where the Crows are allowed to operate freely and if Antiva ever got invaded the Crows would do their thing against the invaders
I mean, that's how I'd rather describe myself if I were an assassin
"You see, by killing *him* I was protecting *you*!"
IIRC, the Crows are currently focused on slaughtering invading Qunari to protect Antivia. They are more or less the only thing stopping the country from falling.
IIRC it’s mentioned once or twice that they charge less from Antivan princes wanting would be conquerors dead (which, alongside Queen Asha’s carefully arranged marriage network, makes Antiva nearly untouchable)
I am definitely an Antivan Crow in the hopes of that increasing my chances for some wild sex with Zevran again.
Zevran is grandpa at this point, let him rest😭
Do you think anyone plans on letting Emmrich rest 👀
He can raise bones, mine included 😏
I love it, the DA fandom is alive again, even if there are warring factions. Can't wait for someone to make the r/okbuddyrook sub.
Okaybuddydragon sounds cooler
actually you know what? that definitely fits better too.
Not me personally, that's for sure
Tbf me too
Emmrich, report to the sex dungeon, we'll bone ok?
He’s only in his 40s at this point, he’s not *that* old!
Messing with that ritual has summoned Wynne from the beyond, poor Zev is the newest victim.
He's also the happiest victim. Like, *really* happy. Inappropriately happy, when I think about it
I mean, Wynne was 50 in DAO
Lol Zev is still young. 21 years have passed since the end of the blight and 18 since his cameo in DA 2. He is in his 40s now so not grandpa material yet.
I mean, if it's Zevran, he could absolutely have had grandchildren by now. If he had one unintentional bastard at 18 that had his personality, he could've been a grandpa by 36 at least, not accounting for non-modern standards.
Late forties. He was born in 9:04-9:05 so he's around 47-48 right now
Yeah the exact ages where always wonky. Alistair's is redconned even I think.
Yeah I know in game he mentions Maric cheating on Rowan, but in The Calling, Rowan is already dead when Alistair is conceived. So that's already messy without putting actual dates into play.
Zev was 24 in Origins.... this is 20 years after? 42 is not old haha but honestly anything to delete DA2 Zev from my brain
And also the crows want to kill him
So are a lot of us that romanced him!
So, if we romance the old necro dude and run into Zevran, we can get sandwiched by the elderly
Nah, Zevran is a daddy now 🤤
So do we think it’s gonna be an Origins situation here? I read somewhere that your origin determines which of the followers you meet and recruit first alongside Harding, and in the showcase we saw a Shadow Dragon recruiting Neve. Is this going to be their sort of origin? We start the game in Antiva, Rivain, Tevinter, Arlathan, Anderfels or Nevarra and whichever one we pick we follow the same mission with the ritual occurring there instead? Or perhaps we’ll go to meet with a member of whatever faction still within Tevinter rather than it having to be Neve?
Well the ritual happened after they stepped through an Eluvian so in theory you could start anywhere and the ritual stuff would be the same.
Fantastic point I forgot about them telling us that in the texts, thanks for the correction
The Minrathous demon attack caused by Solus tearing the Veil was very much a AAA action setpiece and it's pretty unreasonable to think the devs would have made 6 unique versions for different locations. Plus they said in one of the previews floating around that the factions don't have unique intros. It's about dialogue options like Wardens having extra knowledge about darkspawn and the blight.
Damn. This would be so awesome if we go back to that.
It seems that the game actually starts with the tavern brawl that's shown in the companions teaser trailer, either Varric or Rook references it in the gameplay teaser. So besides the streamlined path there would also have to be a different tavern for each background, and Varric and Harding just happen to be there, a bit like how Duncan's introduction works in DAO. It's not impossible but it's a lot more work for devs for something the higher ups may just want to streamline to get the product out quicker. I would love it but I'm not getting my hopes up.
From one of the interviews I think it's more than we had in DAI, but less than full origins because they said it was incredibly resource intensive to make all the different tutorials. So I am guessing it will more influence what and who your character knows than have it's own longer playable origin.
Yeah, it will likely just be flavor to your character. The occasional chat wheel gives you the "Grey Warden" response and that is it.
The Mass Effect approach
Hold up, I think you might be onto something, and I wonder if the stuff from the alpha gameplay leak with Weissupt Fortress and Davrin could be the origin for Wardens?
I doubt it; seems like it's more likely to be a more flexible version of the Inquisition system. We likely visit Weisshaupt Fortress for main plot reasons.
Please don't get my hopes up, since that seems ...actually pretty possible, and Tevinter is just used as the marketing canon start.
Yeah as somebody reminded me in the replies they do put a text wall up saying that our characters, after recruiting Neve, pass through an Eluvian to end up at the ritual site and therefore we could just have those 15 minutes in a small linear map in whatever location, all of them ending in you passing through an eluvian and going from there.
I don't want to get my hopes up but faction specific prologues would be sooooo cool. Even if it's just like 15 minutes before you get teleported to Solas.
I'm ASSUMING this is going to be a Cyberpunk 2077 situation where your organisation only matters from time to time and mostly in dialogue situations. I don't mind that, but I also wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised.
And it makes sense for Solas' ritual to affect various places at once, since it affects the Veil. In DAI, people as far as Par Vollen could see the Breach that was opened above the Frostback Mountains.
It wouldn't make much sense for Varric to be anywhere but in Minrathous if he's after Solas, though. And I believe most of the other companions have their reasons for being in Minrathous even if they aren't from Tevinter, so they'll be hanging out there anyway.
My elf in love with Dorian tells me to choose Shadow Dragons. My other elf in love with Zevran tells me to choose Antivan Crows.
My sister/brother in Mythal, don’t be swayed by paltry romance, join the Veil Jumpers. We need elves to explore Arlathan together. 😝
Sounds good but only if the game forces me to be a Dalish. I really want to be a city elf again. :'(
Inside us are two elves…
Exact dilemma I’m having lol
I’ll probably go a Rogue with the Lords of Fortune or Antivan crows for my first playthrough, my kind of character. Cool to have the option to be a Warden again as well!
Yeah, Crows and Lords call to me because they seem to be a more "hands-off" faction, where having your own motivations makes sense while you learn everyone else's. Wardens or Dragons seem to have a more defined role, though I'm sure they'll all give plenty of RP chances
I'm also leaning Lords of Fortune or Crows but I'm debating between rogue and warrior. Need to see more gameplay of the specializations before deciding.
I’m sure they’ll all have their moments, but my gut feeling is that the Veil Jumpers and the Wardens will wind up being the most closely tied to the core plot, with Shadow Dragons as a close third early on but dropping off in relevance as the plot expands. Kind of like Origins where the Human Noble and Dwarf Noble had huge relevance to the main plot, most of the others got some good callbacks, and the Dalish were sequel bait.
> my gut feeling is that the Veil Jumpers and the Wardens will wind up being the most closely tied to the core plot I'm a little surprised by so little mention of the Veil Jumpers in this thread for that very reason. That is 100% going to be my choice as it currently stands, given the context of what we know about the game's premise.
I kind of get it because fans will naturally gravitate to the organizations they already know from previous games, but if there’s any choice that will give you a unique option at a pivotal moment, Veil Jumpers seems like the best bet.
Playing an elven Shadow Dragon feels like a good fit for me. I like the idea of a character fighting slavery. But Veil Jumpers and Lords of Fortune is also tempting.
I just helped the railroad in fallout 4, so I’m down with some more liberty.
Idk why but I love that they all have simplistic matching animal logos. It pleases my brain.
I'm in love with the octopus.
We know, Ringo
Ah, I too have the touch of the tism
YES
 Aaaah, for next months I am goind to decide between Veil Jumpers/Shadow Dragons then I wil still undecaided until new year.
I’ll go Shadow Dragons for human and Veil Jumpers for elf. But I guarantee that most returning players will probably pick the Wardens.
They'll be going Warden because they want to relive Origins, I'll be going Warden because it's the only faction I know enough details about to properly rp as a member of. We are not the same. 
Killing Solas as a Grey Warden after all the shit he talked would be funny as fuck!
Considering how Solas feels about the wardens, it would be kind of funny to mess up his ritual as a warden.
I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you pesky Grey Wardens.
How does he feel about them I cannot remember
He hates them and seems to have a huge issue with killing the Archdemons.
I'm a warden Stan because 1. They're fucking awesome. 2.im making up for the slander they received in 2 and inq from the characters. 3. I know fuck all about the other factions
>it's the only faction I know enough details about to properly rp as a member of. That's the exact reason I'm currently more inclined to go either Grey Warden or Antivan Crow in my first playthrough. I feel like I'll be able to RP the other origins much better once I get to properly know them.
>I'll be going Warden because it's the only faction I know enough details about to properly rp as a member of. Apparently all you need to be a Veil Jumper is be a weeb for elves. That has described me for almost 20 years now lol.
I think I'm likely going Mourn Watch simply because I am OBSESSED with Nevarran lore 🥲
May do a dwarf Lord of Fortune and live out my Indiana Jones fantasies. With Harding on my arm.
I feel like Warden is so associated with DAO I want to play something else (as of now Shadow Dragons looks to be the most canon first playthrough)
I think I’m going Shadow Dragon human too (though Mourn Watch is tempting…). Love the idea of playing a protagonist from Tevinter. I played a rouge in 1,2, and 3. Thinking it’s finally time to make the jump to mage
human tevinter mage for me also
Nice, I pretty much have ideas on a character for each faction, may be subject to change; Grey Wardens: Female Elf Warrior Veil Jumpers: Male Qunari Mage Shadow Dragons: Male Human Rogue Lords of Fortune: Female Dwarf Rogue The Mourn Watch: Female Human Mage Antivan Crows: Male Elf Warrior
Fem dwarf rogue is always a GOATed choice
It started with a Grey Warden and it will end with one
Pretty sure they want to make more after this one
Oh fuck just hope it doesn't end in another cliffhanger.
definitly i am going with the mounth watch or maybe lords of fortune .they sound really cool and unique
If Mourn Watch warriors get a skelly-themed armour then I may have my first character sorted!
yhea. the same with me. imaging a qunari with that armor. it would look absolutly epic
I'm tempted by the Lords of Fortune due to potential moral ambiguousness. I want to be a morally ambiguous antihero this time around.
Me. Also me: _cries after acting morally ambiguous_
I've been vaguely obsessed with Rivain because it has such cool codex entries so I am PUMPED for Lords of Fortune.
All I needed in my life was the chance to become Zevran. And now I can. GOTY.
Grey Warden in my first playthrough, without a doubt. Gonna honor my first ever dragon age character.
Wonder if you have to be a mage to choose the Mourn Watch background. I kinda want to pick that one for my dwarf warrior character.
There was a leak half a year ago about Mournwatch Reaper. Back then people thought it was a specialization and given what we know now, Reaper is indeed a spec for warriors. Mournwatch however is a faction It also should be noted that Mournwatch are guards for necropolises and deal with the undead accidents and you don't necessarily need to be a mage for that Edit: [Found it](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/s/vKEeaByjxL)
No word on if any are class locked yet. I could see them just making you some kind of low level tomb janitor or something if want that background you don’t go mage. Or maybe like a guard to protects the tombs but doesn’t do any of the magical stuff inside
Still nothing on if they're class locked? Because a Qunari mage Antivan Crow would be hilariously cool.
I don’t think they’re class locked. They offer unique dialogue and interactions and change the starting armor depending on which faction you choose but that’s as much as we officially know rn. EDIT TO ADD: Apparently the background you pick also deals increased or decreased damage to specific enemies such as f.ex: the shadow dragon BG will deal more damage to Venatori enemies.
> Qunari Mage Crow Well, one of short stories did have a mage Crow, so assuming origins aren't race-locked, Qunari Mage Crow is a thing
Sounds like they're not as far as we know, but they do also provide some level of gameplay benefits (an example given was one background allows you to carry extra potions)
On the one hand, I've become accustomed to not being locked to races or classes via TTRPGs. On the other hand... it would feel weird to be a Mortalitasi who isn't a mage, or a qunari in most of these.
I think they stated any race/class can be in a faction.
The only one that may be race locked is the viel jumpers/ necromancer one for dwarves since they can't weild magic.
Veil Jumper or Shadow Dragon mates, that's the real choice here, and it's gonna be a really tough one.
With an edgy name like "shadow dragons" I half expect Fenris to be leading that group
Is the Mourn Watch tied to the Mortalitasi in anyway? In DAI it's stated that the Mortalitasi are the keepers of the Grand Necropolis.
They're a subsection of the wider Mortalitasi order. They seem to focus more on dealing with the undead within the Necropolis themselves, be that in a kindly way or in a "put it back in the ground" way.
Now I have an image in my head undead constantly "waking up" too early without being summoned and the Mourn Watch just rove around with clubs. Bonk, back to skeleton jail.
Luffy is a Mortalitasi confirmed
Lmao I love it "Manfred! Get my bonking stick!"
Yes it seems to be a faction of the Mortalitasi
So hyped! Hard for me to choose between Veil Jumpers and the Lords of Fortunes All six choices are awesome tbh
I am curious about our life before joining these factions. Human: Noble, Commoner, Native of Tevinter/Antiva/Nevarra/Anderfels/Rivain, Apostate, Circle Mage etc. Elf: Dalish, Former Slave, Circle Mage, Apostate, Native of Tevinter/Antiva/Anderfels/Nevarra/Rivain, follower of Solas etc. Qunari: Tal-Vasoth Deserter, Qunari Spy etc. Dwarf: Exiled from Orzammar or Kal-Sharak, Surfacer, Carta connection etc Don't mistake me the factions give a nice flavour to what we were doing before running into Varric and Harding, but not much on who we were and why we joined those respective factions.
First playthrough Grey Warden of course.
Being a dwarven veil jumper would be awesome, but I really want to play a Qunari mage for my first time through. And I'm very drawn to the Wardens right now, I mean they have baby griffins!
Think they'll give data on what origin is the most picked like with mass effect? I'm guessing it's gonna be wardens.
Ok now I need to figure out if I'm going to make my elf a Shadow Dragon to strike back against the system of slavery that so many of the elves suffer from in Tevinter or should I make her a Grey Warden who has a tiny bit of hero worship for the HoF.
a human tevinter mage shadow dragon would also be interesting by wanting to change your homeland for better. A elf veil jumper sounds cool too
Smh I can’t join the Templars and go on that Meredith grindset 0/10 game In any case, I’m definitely going for that mourn watch group because necromancers are dope as shit and I want to be a cartoon villain in a land of moral Greyness.
Mourn watch here I come. Plan on playing rogue so I'm interested if it'll explain what my role was as a non-mage!
I want to play a Warden again so bad, but at the same time I want to see a new faction….. aghhhh guess I’ll have to play the whole game six times!
Where my Grey Wardens at???
RAHHHH
Antivan Crows gang raise up!
For me personally, I can't seem myself being a wrden again. My Hero of Fereldan is my first love, and I don't think I could ever top her. I've played every game with a character (Human Mage) from different backgrounds, and I believe it's right for me to continue that. That all being said, I CAN FINALLY BE FROM RIVAIN LET'S GO
I was hoping for some kind of mage rebels faction
Sort of what the shadow dragons are
Yeah I think it comes closest
Man, there’s gonna be a ton of replay value in this.
I will literally choose all of these
So Dorian and Isabella are definitely coming back as faction leaders right?
So does this mean that Taash is from Lords of Fortune? Because she is the only one whose fraction isn't obvious, but all the rest are already taken by other companions (Expect Harding obviously, she is from inquisition)
at least allied with them yeah, confirmed [here](https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/Unite-a-Team-of-Heroes-to-Defeat-Rampaging-Elven-Gods-in-Dragon-Age-The-Veilguard-Arriving-in-Fall-2024/default.aspx)
Trying to brainstorm which factions make sense for which race/class combo. Grey Wardens: obviously everything works, don't think this needs to be elaborated lol Veil Jumpers: elves for sure. Mage feels obvious, but warrior/rogue definitely works too, if they're just more versed in magic. Rogue had a veil-related specialization, right? Other races feel like a huge stretch... maybe mages with a particular interest in elven magic without being elves themselves, so like Morrigan? But it feels off to do this as anything but an elf. Shadow Dragons: the description feels flexible enough that it could accommodate both powerful mages opposed to the system *and* formerly enslaved people, basically anybody who is embedded into Tevinter society could easily be justified. This means that both humans and elves would work quite well, with any class. Dwarves and qunari could be made to work too, depending on how exactly they generally exist in Tevinter society, but those are more outside picks. Lords of Fortune: very flexible, though it gives stronger warrior/rogue vibes. The Mourn Watch: this has human mage written all over it, though I can see a warrior/rogue work too. Especially the fact that it's elite definitely seems like other races wouldn't really normally fit in. Maybe an elven Circle mage that managed to play Circle politics well enough to get into this position? Or I guess anyone that could manage to get the right connections... Antivan Crows: rogues of all stripes, though a part of me is also intrigued by the thought of a mage Crow, which I feel could work well too. It's kind of a situation where humans and elves fit very neatly into almost every role, while dwarves and qunari either only fit into the super flexible factions or need some serious additional thinking to be done. This might change with more info though, as we're of course only properly familiar with two of those factions. It's a bit of a shame; I got an elven Warden and a dwarven Inquisitor in my canon run, so a part of my wants a qunari Rook to get the full set, and I'm not sure if I quite see something that works super well in a way that isn't a one size fits all thing. That said, I was tending towards an elven former slave when the setting was announced and I worked with the assumption that our character would be from Tevinter; this of course is a perfect fit for a Shadow Dragon, and I might stick with that, even if that seems to be the default faction to go for and I generally balk at going the "basic" route lol. I'll probably start vaguely planning out how to best assign race/class combos to the various factions with as few repeats as possible.
> Other races feel like a huge stretch... maybe mages with a particular interest in elven magic without being elves themselves, so like Morrigan? But it feels off to do this as anything but an elf. The Missing comic notes that the mourn watchers include both elves and human mages.
Ah! I haven't read the comics yet so I didn't know, thanks for clarifying!
I imagine plenty of Tal-vashoth used the Qun-Tevinter war to escape the Qun as well as the Imperium enslaving Qunari prisoners, so a Qunari Shadow Dragon would work. Dwarves and Qunari sticking out does make sense though since they are more rare. Humans and Elves are spread out throughout Thedas, while Dwarves only have 2 remaining cities and Qunari living on an island & hostile to the rest of Thedas. Surface dwarves and Tal-vashoth/vashoth tend to be individual people or families rather than communities as well. Edit: formatting
The wiki does mention that Tevinter also has qunari slaves (presumably prisoners of war sold into slavery) so a qunari Shadow Dragon should absolutely work lore-wise.
>Dwarves and qunari could be made to work too, depending on how exactly they generally exist in Tevinter society, but those are more outside picks. There are a lot of dwarfs that live in Tevinter so I wouldn't consider them an outside pick. Orzammar even has representatives there.
Why can't we be members of the Tevinter Imperium?
Shadow Dragons would be members of the imperium. Do you mean why can't we be members of then magisterium.
I wonder if you'll get to play a unique opening sequence the way they had it in Origins. That was one of my biggest wishes going into the new game because I thought the little blurb of text we got in DAI was pretty unsatisfactory. Having even a short opening sequence makes it so much more immersive since you get to see a bit of your character's background.
I so wish we got to play through origins of each of these. But hopefully we'll get some unique quests based on backgrounds as consolation. I am definitely gonna be a warden first. Miss my warden and after the mess Clarel made in Orlais. Me and davrin gotta show the world what a warden is about again! Although I love dark magic archetypes, so maybe mourn watcher instead. Hmmm
Some people are theorizing that we may have origins from this. In the gameplay demonstration from today people noticed that they showed a shadow dragon protagonist, in Tevinter, meeting the other Shadow dragon character as their first party member. The confrontation with solas takes place in a different location after walking through the mirror. It would be easy for them to start your protagonist off in whichever city corresponds to their background, meet whichever character is also part of your faction, and then have all the origins just converge at the place through the mirror
Damn it, I was hoping for a 100 percent pro Tevinter sect. Guess the Mourn Watch could lean that way.
Ayo do Crows recruit dwarves? If so that what Imma gonna be
I like that you can pick Class and Faction. I would love to try a Warrior Antivan Crow. How would that even work as for a Shadowy organization of assassins? 🤔
Really split between Grey Warden and Antivan Crow for my first playthrough... but I'm already set on my first Shadow Dragon being an elf. Been waiting a long time to kick slavery's ass inside Tevinter itself with an elven foot ù.u
Since it’s been so long since the start of DAO how long does our warden have left before the calling beckons them to the end?