A Dragon Age Fan Has Theorised The Factions Of The Veilguard’s Seven Companions

There’s a lot of excitement around Dragon Age: The Veilguard (how do we feel about the name?). We’re going to learn a lot on Tuesday when BioWare shows 15 minutes of gameplay, but we’ve already gleaned some information, primarily through an interview from BioWare’s general manager Gary McKay with IGN’s Kat Bailey.

Regarding the companions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, McKay revealed there are seven companions, with each “intended to represent a unique faction or element from Thedas.” McKay followed this up by saying, “We’ve tapped into Dragon Age’s deep lore and exploited its most iconic factions to bring each of the seven companions and their stories to life.” He also announced that the companions will be playersexual, which I’m not a fan of, but alas.

Andarateia (Andy), a well-known Dragon Age buff on X (formerly Twitter), has produced a fantastic graphic with their predictions of which factions will be represented in The Veilguard, which I guess is what we’re calling our merry(?) band.

Factions

The basis for Andy’s predictions is what aspects of worldbuilding BioWare have focused on since the release of Inquisition in its various cross-media endeavours. This includes comics, short stories, a novel, the animated series Dragon Age: Absolution and the teasers we’ve already seen.

A couple of the obvious ones are the Antivan Crows and Grey Wardens, which have had a presence in the lore since Dragon Age: Origins and could certainly be described as ‘iconic’. The ‘Thedas Calls’ teaser released in December featured Antiva and The Anderfels (location of the Grey Warden HQ) so these two seem like safe bets.

Likewise, the Qunari have shaped Thedosian politics ever since their prominent role in Dragon Age 2, so it stands to reason that you’ll have someone on board representing the Qun. Currently, northern Thedas is subject to an Antaam (military wing of the Qun) invasion that is not sanctioned by the whole of the Qun. Andy (and I) imagine we’ll have a non-Antaam Qunari in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Then, there are the Veil Jumpers of Arlathan Forest. This group appear in the anthology novel Tevinter Nights and the Dragon Age: The Missing comic. They are Dalish Elves trying to police a darkness spreading in the Arlathan Forest, likely because of Solas’ interfering with The Veil.

Andy predicts a companion will be a member of The Lords of Fortune, a treasure-hunting guild out of Rivain. I wouldn’t describe this faction as ‘iconic’ but three separate stories in Tevinter Nights featured a member of this faction, so BioWare has plans to feature them in some role. They are also one of the only aspects of Rivain that has been expanded upon in the lore, and Rivain was one of the areas featured in the Thedas Calls trailer.

The post believes the final two factions will be the Shadow Dragons (an anti-slavery resistance group in Tevinter) and the Mortalitasi, a group of necromancers responsible for mummifying the dead of the Nevarran elite. The latter is more likely, in my opinion, both because they received a dedicated story in Tevinter Nights, and also because, from a gameplay perspective, necromancy is an interesting mechanic.

These are solid predictions, and I think a few of them are extremely likely. I keep coming back to McKay’s use of the word ‘iconic’ though, and there are a couple of notable exceptions not included in the list. The Chantry will surely have a representative in the player’s companions, whether that be a seeker, a former member of the Inquisition or something else.

I think there will also be representation from one of the Circle of Magi successors, the existence of which depends on who becomes the Chantry’s Divine at the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition. I imagine we’ll be tied to someone from either the new Circle of Magi or the more autonomous College of Enchanters.

We will certainly have the Dalish in some capacity, but what of the Dwarves of Orzammar? They’re far away and have less ‘skin in the game’, but I’d be surprised if we didn’t see some kind of surface dwarf companion given they’ve been a mainstay since the series’ beginning. I hope it isn’t just Varric again, though.

I wrote an article prior to the name change announcement predicting that Morrigan could be a returning companion in The Veilguard. However, I don’t believe that any original companions will return as companions now that we know they’re all available for romance, as it could conflict with the series’ past romances.

We’ll know more about Dragon Age: Veilguard’s companions on June 11 at 8am PT / 11am ET / 5pm CEST.

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