At the end of April I posted a blog on what we knew about Dragon Age: Inquisition and since then enough additional information has come out (or to my attention) that I wanted to update and augment that content. Spoilers ahead for the first two games (and books/comics), so be forewarned.
The premise has been out for quite some time (it's nicely recapped in the most recent trailer), but here's the gist:
A cataclysmic event plunges the land of Thedas into turmoil. Dragons darken the sky, casting a shadow over lands on the brink of chaos. Mages break into all-out war against the oppressive templars. Nations rise against one another. It falls to you and your allies to restore order as you lead the Inquisition and hunt down the agents of chaos.
Cameron Lee expanded on this considerably in an interview with AusGamers:
at the beginning of the game when the head of the Chantry and the head of the Mage's faction they're going into the Temple of Sacred Ashes to this peace talk, and they're all killed. There's this massive explosion and this breach in the sky opening up, and the Chantry's in absolute chaos. It's headless. You've got infighting between different factions, you've got people saying screw it let's all retreat back to Val Royeaux and elect a new leader et cetera. So the formation of the inquisition is kind of always like a plan B that the head of the Chantry was considering, and then Cassandra starts to bring this all up after the events at the temple. And she's doing that because she knows that the Chantry was considering it and that the Chantry is just going to run off and talk about stuff rather than taking any action. So she sets things in motion via this loophole, picking up the Inquisition, but then as a player you need to go through a process of "well do people believe me? Do they know I didn't cause the explosion? Do they trust me enough? How do I start leading? How do I build it up slowly to the point where it's the Inquisition I want it to be as a player?" And that starts to develop through the plot and the side content.
As Inquisitor, you have a great deal of political power:
you have rights and powers that other citizens don't have, and you can use those to great effect. At the same time you also have to make decisions, moral decisions, about what's going to happen. Do you want to save a village from burning, or do you want that village to burn down?
That power is important, because not everything in the game involves violent confrontation. As Lee explains (link above):
There are a couple of different facets from that [politics]. There is one plot in particular which is very much a political plot, it's very much backroom deals and court intrigue and how you influence people based on your reputation. Sort of what can you pull off and at what cost to other people? There's a whole plot dedicated to that kind of experience, and it's bloody as well. Like Game of Thrones, I guess, is definitely a bloody type of politics--it's similar with us. Dragon Age has always had the blood and gore and the dark concept of politics and this plot is a great representation of that.You mention that the Inquisition is a powerful political faction and that is absolutely true. All throughout the game you will slowly build up the Inquisition to be in a position of power, people recognise you for who you are and what authority you wield. The Inquisition has three main pillars right, they have a military force lead by one particular character, you've got a secret facet with spies and assassins lead by Leliana from DAO and then you've got a political pillar, which is all about the politics, the backroom deals and the connections you have... not just through nobles but also through merchant houses and stuff like that. And the area you decide to invest in both in terms of how you decide to grow and customise your Inquisition but also the types of content you decide to engage in is all up to the player. So if someone wants to play that kind of Game of Thrones-y political aspect they can definitely do it and that flavours the whole game and it impacts the whole game. They're still going to have to go around and kill some things themselves, but having that powerful political organisation will be reflected as well.
Your Inquisitor is male or female of any race (the only restrictions seem to be that the Elves must be Dalish and the Qunari must be Tal-Vashoth), who has the unique ability to close the tear in the veil (caused by an unknown antagonist). Four different voice actors were used for the lead (two male, two female, with British/American accents as the possibilities), so we can pick the one we like best (doing more voices than that is apparently impossible due to the amount of disc space that would be required). The game will take place in Orlais, Fereldan, and the Dales (the latter is a region between the other two countries; Xbox magazine also says Nevarra, but given the errors they've made about the game in the past I'd take that with a grain of salt), three years after the events of Dragon Age 2.
Thematically the game will continue to deal with race-prejudice (Elves specifically), the persecution of mages, while also exploring the problems of war, betrayal, and corruption.
Players cannot directly import their saves from the previous games, but Bioware has set up a system (Dragon Age Keep) whereby those choices can be added into the game. As Lee explains (link above, but also here):
What we wanted to do with the Keep is have that ability for people to be able to recreate their save -- particularly for Gen 4 platforms -- and that's quite a detailed list. There's hundreds and hundreds of choices in there, and most of it's narrated and there's pictures and text and stuff like that. So they should be able to recreate to the same detail their save file through that Dragon Age Keep online process, and then pull that save game down onto any platform. The thing I love about that is personally, say, I played on PC but I don't want to upgrade my PC so I want to play on Xbox One or PS4, I can still bring my experience across. That was the biggest goal that we wanted to accomplish, and I think the Keep definitely does that. Direct Save Imports... I just don't know. I hope we get there, but right now I'm not too sure. There's so much work still to be done.
For those who never played the previous titles or want a completely new start, the default background is: a Dalish Elf was the Hero of Fereldan (Origins) and died ending the Blight (Alistair becomes king), while Hawke is a mage (Dragon Age 2) and sided with them against the templars.
The Inquisitor (whose last names, dependent on race, have been revealed: Trevelyan (human), Lavellan (Elven), Cadash (Dwarven), and Adaar (Qunari)). He or she will have nine companions in addition to NPC's (judging from the final scene in the trailer, three NPC's are part of the main crew).
Some of these characters have been revealed, while others remain a mystery. The following companions and/or NPC's are confirmed (left to right): Cullen (DAO-2), Vivienne, Varric (DA2), unconfirmed, Solas, Cassandra (DA2), the Inquisitor, Iron Bull, unconfirmed, Leliana (DAO-2), Sera, unconfirmed, and unconfirmed. This leaves four unidentified characters. Two we can say something about: one appears to be Cole (from the novel Asunder; the first unconfirmed on the left), and another a grey warden (far right). The other two: the male may be Dorian Pavus (also this link), but there are virtually no clues who the woman is ("scribe" is the most common term I've seen, although Lady Insanity refers to her as an "archer"). It's worth noting these will be the only companions--no DLC characters (ala Sebastian from DA2) will be added.
Varric, Cassandra, Vivienne, Sera, Iron Bull, and Solas are confirmed as actual companions. We also know that Cullen and Lelianna are NPCs. The fact that the latter two have no weapons in the picture above has given rise to the theory that those without them are all NPC's (thus, intimating that the "scribe" is the other). Whatever the case, as in both previous games the active party will consist of the Inquisitor and three companions. For those who've noticed the similarity of the group shot above to the Last Supper, I wrote a blog exploring the idea recently.
For insight on characters (confirmed or unconfirmed) that don't have official descriptions of yet (via the DAI website), here's what the 2012 survey leak said about them (keep in mind this must remain speculative, but I have more to say about the leak and its information below):
Cole: A long time ago, a young man died a cruel death is dark place. And now, somehow, there is Cole. Was he a spirit or a demon? Is he human now? Cole is not sure it matters any more. Hounded by memories that aren't his own, invisible in a world he can stalk like a shadow, the rogue must decide between joining the living or preying upon them
Dorian Pavus: a Tevinter magister. The title conjures fear of arcane master who once enslaved nations. Dorian may wield the power of the magisters, but he delights in not being what you would expect. Brazen and clever, this outcast is on a crusade to rid his homeland of its corruption
Iron Bull: a long way from home, and he prefers it that way. A slap in the face of typically humorless Qunari (Kossith), he loves drinking, killing and looting- but not necessarily in that order. The head of a vicious mercenary company, he's known for excellent pay and brutal punishment. It's been a decade-long party, but the Bull may find that old loyalties die hard.
Sera: young, frenetic, and a brat through and through. She revels in the athleticism of being an elf, of being different. But her culture isn't elven, or for that matter strictly human. It's the underbelly of the city in her network of rogues; what you do it more important than where you're from, and friends open more doors than titles. Robs from the rich to keep for herself
Other characters from previous games have also been confirmed in unknown capacities: Morrigan (from DAO; she was featured in the E3 teaser from last summer and apparently she'll be more "mature"), Flemeth (DAO-2), Alistair (DAO-2), Dagna (DAO), Queen Anora (DAO), and I think Sandal (DAO-2), but I can't find a link for that so take it with a grain of salt (we do know he's in Orlais and serving the Empress). The Alistair inclusion presumably will not occur for those who sacrificed him in Origins, but clearly he's a default otherwise. There's also an unidentified character from the novel The Masked Empire who can be encountered in a side mission.
The developers have hinted that Hawke and the Hero of Fereldan (if alive) will be involved or referenced in some capacity, but in my opinion they are unlikely to appear given the huge amount of variables those characters can have via player choice in the other games (even though cameos have been reported, later changed to a "solid possibility", I don't believe that guarantees mean they will appear in person). Bioware has emphasised that characters who appear from the previous games will be more than simple drop-ins, as they were in Dragon Age 2.
Various dangling plots, like the Architect (DAO: Awakening), Morrigan's Old God Baby (Origins), or Corypheus (DA2: Legacy), will not significantly impact the Inquisition storyline given that it can be played without those elements. However, those plot lines will be addressed in some way if they were involved in your story in the previous versions. As Cameron Lee explained last September (in reference to the Old God Baby):
If players did decide to have a kid with Morrigan, and not all of them did, so that's the thing--I can't talk too much about it, unfortunately--but, you know, certainly if you were to have a kid, you know, that would make you a little bit more human, I would imagine, so you might see something about that.
That's not particularly clear (the Warden is more human? [edit: as some readers have pointed out, this must mean Morrigan is more human]), but it's as much as we've heard regarding dangling plots.
As for the gameplay itself, the story can be played in 40-50 hours for those who eschew side quests and speed through the main story line, but there's 100 hours of play available. The devs don't expect you to be able to do everything in one playthrough (indeed, given that some choices close off possibilities, this seems impossible). Also of interest, there's content intended to be played after the main plot is wrapped up:
the preview states that most of the content in Emprise Du Lion is so difficult that the player won’t even be able to experience them until the post-game, implying that there is going to be more content for the player to explore even after the campaign has ended.
There are a few unique endings, along with about forty major variances based on your choices (there are hundreds of minor differences beyond that). Romances are back, but so far only Cullen and Cassandra are confirmed as potential partners. Players will be able to heavily impact their environment as they extend the influence of the inquisition. In terms of your enemies, they will not level with you (ala Elder Scrolls), so you have to be cautious when you fight. The tactical camera from Origins is back (as an option--you aren't locked in), so it will be much easier to manage battles. In an effort to make combat more interesting/challenging, players will no longer auto heal after every encounter. You can watch an extended demo from the pre-Alpha stage (from September) to get a sense of it (the demo also illustrates the kinds of choices you will face in the game).
I'm not sure how much more will be revealed over the next five months--we'll learn the names and identities of the other companions, at least. The game's official site already has class-specific and world-specific tidbits to comb through and I expect much more along those lines will be added before October 7th.
A final note: it's fascinating to see how little Dragon Age: Inquisition has deviated from the storyline and characters fans saw in the survey leak of 2012 (with yet more confirmation of Cole and Dorian Pavus within). Despite warnings not to take the leak as gospel (including from knowledgeable fans), only a few things seem to have changed: Cullen is an NPC rather than a companion; the number of companions dropped from 10 to 9 (Cullen being the casualty, presumably); a party of five reduced back to four; and the idea of a strictly human protagonist was dropped (and with it the idea of players choosing specific backgrounds). This isn't necessarily bad or a criticism, but just an indication of how strongly shaped the ideas behind DAI were prior to the team specifically collecting feedback about it.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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