Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third main video game in BioWare's Dragon Age series, is the most successful video game launch in BioWare history based on units sold. The game features a large number of characters who are members or potential allies of the organization known as the Inquisition; its formation was sanctioned by Divine Justinia V of the Andrastrian Chantry, the dominant religious organization in the Dragon Age series, prior to the events of Inquisition. The organization's primary purpose is to restore order to the continent of Thedas, the setting of Inquisition, where civil unrest and civil wars have already plunged entire nations and societies across the known world into chaos. A supernatural calamity in the beginning of Inquisition led to the deaths of the Divine and the majority of the Chantry leadership, and the subsequent opening of a mysterious metaphysical tear in the sky called the "Breach", which is unleashing dangerous demons upon the world and sends Thedas deeper into crisis.
The characters of Inquisition were created and written by a team of writers employed by BioWare, led by lead writer David Gaider. The leader of the Inquisition is the "Inquisitor", whose race and gender is chosen by the player. The Inquisitor has a glowing "mark" on their hand which is capable of closing the Breach, and is viewed by some Theodosians as the "chosen one" of their revered prophet Andraste. The Inquisition eventually discovers the true enemy behind much of the chaos: Corypheus, a returning villain from the Dragon Age II downloadable content (DLC) pack, Legacy. The conflict between the Inquisition and Corypheus' forces forms the core narrative of Inquisition.
The Inquisitor is supported by several "companions", or party members, who join the Inquisition to stop the demons that have invaded the world of Thedas. Several characters, such as Morrigan and Leliana, return from previous games in the series, and two of the companions have previously appeared in the second game. Nine companions appear in all: Cassandra Pentaghast, Varric Tethras, Solas, Vivienne, Sera, Iron Bull, Blackwall, Dorian Pavus, and Cole. Inquisition features eight possible romance options; six of them are party companions, the remainder are two of the three non-playable characters who serve as the Inquisitor's advisors. The advisors assist the Inquisitor by planning operations and handling situations across southern Thedas; in gameplay terms, these generally lead to rewards and often deeper explorations of plot and lore.
Inquisition's cast of characters is noted for its diversity and have received generally positive reviews from gaming magazines and websites.
Concept and design The setting of Inquisition is a world that has been described as a dark fantasy setting, and events primarily occur within the Theodosian nations of Ferelden and Orlais; a significant focus of the narrative is character-driven, and revolves around how its characters deal with the weight of cataclysmic destruction and carry on through hardship.
The creation process for Inquisitions characters each began with a concept artist, who was supplied with a very short blurb by the writers, rather than being written in advance. This was done in order to keep the concept artists from always having to "play catch-up". After several initial stages of visualization, the character is refined through a collaborative process until the details are just right. For example, senior artist for Inquisition Rion Swanson recalled that a lot of "back-and-forth" had occurred to ensure that the character of Vivienne met the studio's quality standards, and that BioWare's concept artists were instrumental in locking down her final design.
For Inquisition, they wanted the characters to be more recognizable, and BioWare stated they preferred "realistic" characters over "the embodiment of perfection". In deciding the cast for their games, Mike Laidlaw commented that BioWare looks at its major themes, and uses the party members to help pose "high-level questions" to the player and allow them to humanise issues. BioWare tries to create a party dynamic. Mark Darrah, the game's executive producer, noted that generally they tried to balance the characters between the classes, genders, romance options, and other things.
Several characters from previous Dragon Age games return in Inquisition. It was important that any returning characters made sense. Darrah commented that they were unlikely to reuse any previous romance options as companions due to the "baggage" that comes with them, though they could appear in cameos. He gave one reason that a character might return is an incomplete arc, pointing to Isabela's return in Dragon Age II. Unlike the previous Dragon Age games, no DLC companion was ever planned for Inquisition. Creative director Mike Laidlaw commented how due to the nature of their companions part of the DLC companion had to be on the disc, and some controversy was caused by players believing they were paying for companions they already owned.
Gaider acknowledged in a BioWare forum post uploaded in January 2014 that the company's video games have become known for its optional romantic side story content. He claimed that characters, not the story, is what BioWare does best as they are often "done to a level that few other games even attempt, with an element of agency that strikes a chord in our players", and highlighted romances as a "natural outgrowth" of their work in developing these characters. Gaider noted there would an "inevitable reaction" from disappointed fans when the romance options in Dragon Age: Inquisition are revealed, and that the developers expected to receive a hostile reception from certain players who may feel slighted for any number of reasons as they could not please everybody. In spite of this, he said that a significant number of players have consistently expressed their enjoyment of the romance content, and expressed doubt that BioWare would stop developing romantic side content altogether in their future games as it has become a signature aspect of the company's creative output.
The characters were made before deciding who the romance options will be, and how many options there are; this is in order to ensure the characters are built-up and "real" first. The developers try to balanced making the romances nuanced while not spending too much time developing "essentially optional" content. The romances in Inquisition tried to explore new ground rather than repeat narratives seen in earlier romances. Unlike previous games, Inquisition is said to favor event-driven content over approval ratings. Romances can vary between falling for heated rival or "fooling around with a friend", depending on the player's choices, in addition to the more traditional route of falling in love. The sex scenes in Inquisition are intended to be more "mature and tasteful", with cinematic director Jonathan Perry noting that controversy wasn't just a matter of concern, but also a limit on budget and the expense of animation fidelity. The developers wanted to focus not on the sex itself, but rather on that it was "the culmination of spending a lot of time with a character and getting to know them".
To help cosplayers, fan-artists, and others, BioWare released character reference kits that detail their costumes. The first one released was Morrigan.
The Inquisitor
The player character of the game, the Inquisitor is the sole survivor when a giant Fade tear called "the Breach" erupts over a peace conclave between leaders of the Chantry, rebel mages from the former Circles of Magi, and the Templar Order. The character is initially known as the Herald of Andraste, after eyewitness accounts of a feminine entity believed to be Andraste who was seen with the survivor when they escaped from the Fade through a dimensional rift. The Herald becomes part of a reformed version of the historical Inquisition, tasked with stopping the Fade tears and investigating their source. After closing the Breach and facing the Elder One, they are placed as the Inquisitor, head of the Inquisition. The Inquisitor is customizable, with the player given the choice over their gender, class (mage, rogue or warrior), race, and voice set. Most of their responses are controlled by the player through a dialogue wheel.
With the Dragon Age series, developers wished to focus more on the world than build an arc around a single protagonist. Mark Darrah noted how Hawke, the protagonist of Dragon Age II, was "really a leaf in the wind", and contrasted them against the Inquisitor, acting on the world instead of reacting to the world "pushing down on you".
Although BioWare initially stated that the Inquisitor would be human-only, it was later announced that their race is customizable, much like the silent protagonists of Origins. In addition to being able to be a human, dwarf or elf, Inquisition also introduces the option for the player to make their Inquisitor a "Qunari", a large horned race. The developers wanted there to be some sort of significant impact to the player's choices, both from characters and the storyline.
The Inquisitor has two different voices for each gender, with the choice between either a British or an American accent. Alix Wilton Regan, provider of the Inquisitor's British female accent, believed there should be a sense of "strength, authority" to the Inquisitor, and so used a more "chesty" voice instead of more high and in the throat. Regan has said she is proud to be voicing a female protagonist for BioWare, focusing on the importance of inclusion.
As the warrior class had been the signature Warden in Origins and the mage the signature class of Hawke in II, for Inquisition artists experimented more with how a rogue would look in a position of power. Many different archetypes were used, and as directions began emerging the artists tried to ensure designs would translate across gender and class. They wished for all the Inquisitor's design elements to be interchangeable, allowing them then to make armor based on specific classes, factions or races in the knowledge they would fit with other clothing. The designs of the rank-and-file Inquisition forces were made in tandem, and allowed them then to refine the visuals for each possible class. The Inquisitor's helmet, considered to be a "first face" of the protagonist, went through the most different designs.
Companions Cassandra Pentaghast
Cassandra is a member of the Seekers of Truth and the former Right Hand of the Divine. She first appeared in Dragon Age II, where she interrogates Varric Tethras about Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall. By Inquisition, she is one of the few Seekers remaining loyal to Divine Justinia V, after the Order formally broke away from the Andrastrian Chantry along with the Templar Order. As a co-founder of the Inquisition, she invoked the Divine's writ to reform the organization and was heavily involved with the fledgling organization's decision-making. Should the player play as a male Inquisitor, she is a romance option for all races.
Cassandra is described by Bioware as the "Believer" in promotional materials for Inquisition. Cassandra's specialization is "Templar", based around nullifying magical effects, fighting demons, and providing support and buffs for other party members.