A fantasy story is nothing without a good villain, andDragon Age: The Veilguardis no exception. The game is absolutely packed to the gills with baddies, from the elven gods Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain to the antagonists of each companion’s personal story to, of course, the Dread Wolf himself, Fen’Harel aka Solas.Dragon Age: The Veilguard’svillains are creepy, compelling, and effective - and, best of all, they subvert the frustratingly common fantasy trend of having minimal female villains who are only present to provide some fanservice.
While gaming isn’t without its iconic female villains - such as Lady Dimitrescu fromResident Evil Village,Ultimecia fromFinal Fantasy 8 -they are few and far between. And, with a few key exceptions, likePortal’sGLaDOSorMetroid’sMother Brain, these antagonistic ladies are mostly focused on sex appeal.Dragon Age: The Veilguardbucks the trend by having tons of female villains, only a handful of which are conventionally attractive “fanservice” types.
This article contains spoilers forDragon Age: The Veilguard.
The Female Villains OfDragon Age: The Veilguard
There are a number of female villains inDragon Age: The Veilguard,including one of the game’s key bosses fought in the main story and several antagonists appearing in various companions' personal quest lines. They are:
In addition, while most of theHigh Dragonsin the game cannot be considered outright “evil” because they are simply aggressive, predatory creatures following their nature, one, Kataranda the Stormrider, is explicitly female, and Taash calls a few of the others “she” as well. Also, while not necessarily a “villain,” the elven goddess Mythal can become angry at the player and serve as a tricky boss fight in her draconic form.
Rather than having a single “token” female villain,Dragon Age: The Veilguard’slady antagonists equal or perhaps even outnumber its male baddies. Ghilan’nain, in particular, is one of the game’s most frequently encountered antagonists, with her male counterpartElgar’nanpreferring to stay out of the fight until nearly the end of the game. Similarly, the “Dragon King” encountered in Taash’s companion story is a coward who prefers to make his pet dragon do the fighting for him.
Veilguard’sFemale Villains Are So Much More Than Their Looks
There’s nothing wrong with a female villain being gorgeous -Lady Dimitrescucaptivated the Internet for good reason - but it is refreshing to see some bad ladies who are not just nice to look at. While Aelia is good-looking and Zara Renata is attractive, if one can get past the whole “bathing in blood” thing, Hezenkoss is short and elderly, Isseya is irreparably blighted, and Ghilan’nain is a twisted, tentacled creature that wouldn’t be out of place in an HP Lovecraft story.
These female villains are also some ofThe Veilguard’sbest characters. Johanna Hezenkoss is a half-lich whose pursuit of immortality and cavalier attitude towards death is elegantly contrasted with Emmrich’s fear of mortality and respect for the deceased. Isseya is a tragic figure who truly wanted what’s best for the griffons at some point in her life, but has become so affected by the blight that she is no longer thinking clearly. AndGhilan’nain- well, Ghilan’nain is terrifying, and players get an intimately detailed look at how she turned from the kind figure Solas remembers to the terrifying antagonist they find themselves facing.
