Dragon Age: The Veilguardhas launched as the successful and long-awaited sequel to Inquisition, providing an expanded look into unseen parts of Thedas alongside its revamped approach to gameplay. With all four playable races returning from the previous game and a new level of character customization, Rook has found a place as the protagonist of the series with the most flexibility yet. Despite this, one aspect of building a player character inDragon Age: The Veilguardcan fall short in terms of developing Rook’s backstory: Lineages.
The series began by using thetitular system ofDragon Age: Originsto establish player backgrounds that were specific enough to separate the races of Thedas into separate cultures of their own.DA2went on to sacrifice Hawke’s customization for greater personal depth, whileInquisitionutilized an open-ended system that mostly associated its backgrounds directly with racial options.The Veilguard’s array of choices, known as Lineages, may match their predecessor’s general diversity, but can end up clashing with various lore details about Rook scattered throughout the game.
The Dynamic Between Lineages and Factions Makes for One of Dragon Age’s Best Character Creation Systems
Covering the Breadth of The Veilguard’s Extended Setting
A new form of background in the form of Factions has been layered on top of the previously available choices between Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Qunari. Unlike in previousDAgames, where choice of race was typically tied to the player’s backstory, being a member ofDragon Age’s Grey Wardensor Mourn Watch has more influence on interactions and lore this time around. This allowsThe Veilguardto explore a more complex set of roles in society and helps to further build out Thedas, but it also means that there are more chosen details about Rook to be kept track of than prior protagonists.
The Immersive Freedom of Rook’s Identity
Customization inDA:TVhas reached new heights in terms of appearance editing, offering a granular level of details that easily outshines previous BioWare releases. The freedom ofRook’s gender options inDragon Age: The Veilguardfurther underscores the title’s commitment to allowing the player to personally shape their character, but this kind of attention to specifics isn’t necessarily mirrored on the lore integration side.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Presentation of the Franchise’s Lore Doesn’t Always Compliment Rook’s Lineages
Inconsistencies Arise From the Loss of Subraces in Backgrounds in Favor of Factions
WhileDragon Age’s races were originally delineated into subgroups with their own cultures in character creation, the approach toLineage options forDragon Age: The Veilguard’s raceshas lost some of that nuance by presenting them as more monolithic. This has left Factions to largely fill in that gap, while certain racial lore doesn’t always add up. Rook can be an Elf and customized to have the Vallaslin face tattoos of the Dalish, but later passively reveal that they have been a City Elf all along, or vice versa. Playing as a Qunari Mage and only later learning that Rook used to be associated with the Circle can shatter a player’s personal backstory that had been brewing, but this might have been a trade-off which was tough to avoid.
Design decisions such as tying the player’s name to Faction choice and the reduction of background detail provided by racial options all seem to indicate thatDA: The Veilguardhas been geared toward its new take on backstories over the old. There is plenty of unique dialogue and character interactions related to Factions which maintain more lore consistency, and their presence among the party members ensures that they feel like a greater whole that Rook is a part of. While keeping Lineage options open still leaves many roleplaying opportunities, the lore of Thedas' races has taken a backseat toDragon Age: The Veilguard’s Factions.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
Enter the world of Thedas, a vibrant land of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities – steeped in conflict and secret magics. Now, a pair of corrupt ancient gods have broken free from centuries of darkness and are hellbent on destroying the world.Thedas needs someone they can count on. Rise as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. Be who you want to be and play how you want to play as you fight to stop the gods from blighting the world. But you can’t do this alone – the odds are stacked against you. Lead a team of seven companions, each with their own rich story to discover and shape, and together you will become The Veilguard.
