‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ Returning Characters Ranked By How Emotional I Got
WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Proceed with caution!
Dragon Age: The Veilguard features a new protagonist and a group of brand-new companions to accompany them in the fight of their lives against ancient, blighted elven gods hellbent on destroying the world. But in true BioWare fashion, Veilguard also features characters from past games in various roles, from companion (Scout Lace Harding) to advisor (Varric Tethras).
Multiple characters also return from the Dark Horse Dragon Age comics, including companion Neve and faction leaders for the Veil Jumpers, Grey Wardens, and Antivan Crows. The Tevinter mage Maevaris also returns and is a key player in one of Rook’s major world choices.
However, for the sake of this ranking, we’ll be focusing solely on returning characters from past Dragon Age games. Here’s a breakdown of Veilguard’s returning characters based on how emotional I got when they appeared.
Stop here if you do not want to be spoiled for Dragon Age: The Veilguard!
8. Xenon the Antiquarian
Choices have consequences in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which unfortunately includes losing access to weapons, armors, Mementos, and other items. But fear not: Xenon the Antiquarian has opened the Black Emporium in Mynrathous and he has many goods for sale. Rook will receive an invite at some point after Act 1 and can visit the store for the rest of the game, which conveniently also has a Wardrobe station to apply “appearances” to their weapons and armor and their companions’.
Shopping at the Black Emporium feels like a staple of the Dragon Age series at this point, and it’s so great to see it return.
7. The Inquisitor
While Rook fights Elgar’nan, Ghilan’nain, the Blight, the Venatori, the Antaam, and darkspawn in northern Thedas, the Inquisitor fights in the south. Players can create a custom world state in the Veilguard character creator that includes their Inquisitor, their Inquisitor’s romance, and whether the Inquisition disbanded or was absorbed by the Chantry. These decisions impact how Rook interacts with the Inquisitor, including dialogue options.
Recreating my Inquisitor in the new character creator was a unique challenge and I am ultimately very satisfied with the results. Her involvement in the Veilguard story and her interactions with Rook and the other characters feel very meta, but no more than bringing Hawke into Inquisition.
6. Solas
Solas, the Dread Wolf, the trickster god of lies and deceipt, who played the part of an elven mage and sliced off the Inquisitor’s hand in Trespasser. In Veilguard, he wants to tear down the Veil separating Thedas from the demon realm to restore glory and immortality to the elves—but his plans go awry when Rook, Varric, Harding, and Neve interrupt his ritual. Now he has to figure out a new plan while the rest of the characters fight Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain…
Going into Veilguard, I wanted nothing more than to throw Solas off a cliff or, at the very least, punch his bald head. After playing the full game, my feelings are more complicated because his storyline was great, but I still feel very little affection toward him.
5. Lady Morrigan
Lady Morrigan has worn many hats in the Dragon Age series, all of which she recalls in Veilguard. In Inquisition, she took on the goddess Mythal’s memories after Solas killed her mortal form, AKA Morrigan’s mother, Flemeth. Although she doesn’t host the goddess’s entire spirit, her ability to recall Mythal’s memories is important to the fight against Elgar’nan, Ghilan’nain, and Solas.
Lady Morrigan’s return in Veilguard was revealed in the first full-length trailer and I yelled at the top of my lungs. I absolutely adored her storyline in this game and only wish she could have had more screentime as a full-time advisor.
4. Isabela
Pirate queen Isabela returns in Dragon Age: The Veilguard as leader of the Lords of Fortune, intimately connected with the companion Taash and their mother, the Qunari scholar Shathann. Isabela is as willing as ever to throw her hat in the ring to fight the elven gods, especially for someone her old friend Varric hand-selected to hunt down and stop Solas.
Even though the introduction to the Lords of Fortune clearly positioned them as a pirate faction, I didn’t want to hold out too much hope for Isabela appearing in Veilguard. Then she appeared and I nearly threw my controller. I was even more pleasantly surprised when she stuck around through the rest of the game, giving me multiple opportunities to chat with and fight alongside her, just like old times (Dragon Age 2). I only wish we could have flirted.
3. Scout Harding
Scout Lace Harding joined the Inquisition after soldiers came through her small village in Ferelden and she provided them with information from her astute observations of the locals. She loves her ma and is incredibly good at what she does, adept with a bow and arrow and great at sneaking around enemies and learning their secrets. In Veilguard, she’s a companion abruptly burdened with an intimate connection to the Stone she didn’t previously have as a Surfacer. It changes everything.
I waited a decade to romance Lace Harding and cried through the majority of her storyline in Veilguard. Her romance is incredibly sweet, but beyond that, her companion quests are centered around discovering the truth behind the Titans, navigating trauma, and defining personhood. I’m so happy.
2. Dorian Pavus
Tevinter Magister Dorian Pavus’s storyline in Dragon Age Inquisition makes me cry almost every time I play and his romance is absolutely gorgeous. In Veilguard, he’s as confident as ever, acting on behalf of the Shadow Dragons as their inside man and providing information as often as possible. He still loathes blood magic and the Venatori and he’s willing to put it all on the line to save the world, just like he was a decade ago.
I hoped for a Dorian cameo in Veilguard and got so much more than that. Although his initial appearance is brief and potentially anticlimactic depending on Rook’s faction, just seeing him and hearing his voice made me burst into tears. I’m so, so glad he came back and that he plays such an important role.
1. Varric Tethras
Varric Tethras is a rogue with a heart of gold whose devotion to his friends is unmatched. He fights side by side with Hawke through every horrible moment in Kirkwall (Dragon Age 2) and then saves the world a second time alongside the Inquisitor. In Veilguard, he gets stabbed by Solas while trying to talk his old friend down from destroying the Veil and spends the rest of the game recovering from his injuries, advising Rook to the best of his abilities.
At least, that’s what Rook thinks, thanks to mind manipulation from Solas. Varric actually dies in the opening sequence of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, meaning Rook talks to his ghost for the remainder of the game until they say goodbye to him in the Fade. I was shocked to see Varric “survive” his stabbing, but assumed BioWare just didn’t want to kill off such a beloved character… And then when the truth was revealed near the end of the game, I wept at my desk for a long, long time.
In my second playthrough, it’s much more obvious that Varric isn’t really there and that Rook is the only person who can see him. It makes the whole experience that much more heartbreaking, and even though I understand and even respect the decision to kill him, I’m heartbroken about it. Varric has always been one of my all-time favorite Dragon Age characters. I’ll miss him terribly.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is available for PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC via Steam and Epic Games. The Standard Edition retails for $59.99 and the Deluxe Edition retails for $79.99.
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