When you boot up BioWare’s long-awaited RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard on October 31 and create your custom character, you’ll be asked what Faction your protagonist Rook came from before the game starts. As you’ll notice as you recruit new teammates throughout your journey, each of these Factions has a corresponding party member. When I was making my character during a hands-on preview at publisher Electronic Arts’ Redwood City studio earlier this month, I started to wonder, if I wanted to get closer to a certain character, would it benefit me to choose that character’s Faction so we’d have common interests and history? I asked BioWare at the event and it sounds like while relationships won’t be locked behind your Faction, the shared background may bring new layers to some relationships.
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I played as a Shadow Dragon, a member of a resistance group in the magical land of Tevinter who is fighting back against the corrupt, magic-driven leadership of the country and the slavers who force people into servitude. It seemed like a good place to start the game, as I knew the intro began in the Tevinter capital Minrathous, and the idea of being a freedom fighter in a magical cyberpunk city was a hook I could get behind. Then as I played through the opening hours, I met Neve Gallus, a detective in the city who also was part of the Shadow Dragons’ efforts to reform Tevinter. When we had a moment alone to chat, she remarked “you know me,” to which my Rook, who had known her for hours, at most, rightfully responded, “do I?” Neve said that we were both Shadow Dragons and from Minrathous, so even if we’d never met face-to-face, our work most certainly had.
I was able to respond that Shadows have to stick together in Tevinter, and I wondered at how many points throughout The Veilguard I’d be able to connect with Neve over our shared plight. That’s a common occurrence in the Dragon Age series, as mage players can discuss their shared experiences with mage party members, or elves can get into debates with characters like Sera and Solas in Inquisition about their people’s history and future. Hell, in Inquisition, the Solas romance was exclusive to elven heroes. So, while at the hands-on preview, I asked creative director John Epler about how your Faction can affect relationships with your teammates, and it’s one of the multiple ways your Rook’s background affects your connections to others However, BioWare doesn’t want your Faction to block any potential romances or friendships.
“I wouldn’t say it makes for the deepest relationship [to be the same faction as a party member], it would be a different relationship,” Epler said. “We never want you to feel like, ‘if I want to romance this character, [I] have to be this,’ but you’ll get different content. That’s true of both faction, but it’s also true, for example, if you’re an elf and you talk to Bellara. You’re gonna have a very different conversation with the [elven] gods being out than if you are a human or a dwarf or qunari. Because there is that shared link. These are your gods out in the world versus for example, a dwarf or human and qunari who may have a lot of empathy and sympathy, but they’re not sharing the same experience. But again, it’s not more content, it’s just different content.”
So, there you have it. Your Faction won’t prevent you from entering into certain relationships, but it will give it a different flavor. Almost makes me want to be a Grey Warden so me and the handsome elven warrior Davrin can bond over our both being doomed by the narrative. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on October 31.