BioWare has only confirmed a few main details about Dragon Age 4 so far. Players will be travelling to the far north of Thedas, where the sprawling Tevinter Imperium operates under the iron-fisted rule of a mage upper-class that isn’t above using blood magic and slavery to consolidate its power. There, they will fight Solas, the Dread Wolf of Dalish legend who has returned to tear down the Veil he once created to separate the material world from the magical realm of the Fade.
Dragon Age, like most BioWare series, is known for its followers. Dragon Age 4’s premise may be compelling, but it's unlikely to stick the landing without an interesting cast of companion characters surrounding the player. The marketing materials released so far have given some clear hints about just who some of the characters might be, and the groups they’ll represent. Here’s every Dragon Age 4 companion BioWare has hinted at so far.
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Varric Tethras
Varric Tethras is the only previous companion character that BioWare has unambiguously confirmed to be returning in the next game. This won’t come as a surprise to many Dragon Age fans. Varric has been a franchise mainstay since Dragon Age 2, and the dry-witted Dwarf is a fan-favorite.
In Dragon Age 4’s Game Awards 2020 trailer, Varric narrates: “we’ve got your back. I’ve got your back. Demons, dragons, darkspawn, even the Dread Wolf.” With a new protagonist taking the reigns, Varric could be a vital connection to Solas and the events of Inquisition, where both the Dwarf and the Dread Wolf were followers.
Last players left Varric, he had been elected the Viscount of Kirkwall, the city state setting of Dragon Age 2. Whether he will still hold that title during the events of the next game remains to be seen, but fans can expect Varric and his crossbow Bianca to be making their triumphant return in Dragon Age 4.
Davrin
A character named Davrin was confirmed have a role in Dragon Age 4 when BioWare dropped an official behind the scenes teaser trailer at Gamescom 2020. Part of that teaser showed voice actor Ike Amadi recording some of his lines for Davrin. While the character hasn’t been confirmed as a follower, it seems unlikely that the teaser would have spotlighted him if he wasn’t. It also revealed a few key details about his character.
Davrin is a Grey Warden – the line Amadi delivers is “for the Wardens!” – and his role as a Warden could be particularly interesting in Dragon Age 4. The Silent Plains are in the south of Tevinter, and were the location of the final battle of the First Blight, where the first Grey Wardens defeated the first Archdemon.
The area’s Dalish tribes were in contact with the Dread Wolf while he was still wandering the Fade. It’s likely that the Veil is thin in a place where so much blood was shed, and a conspicuous spot on the map named “Solas” hints that it could play a big role. The Darkspawn have their origins in the fade when the Magisters Sidereal first breached the Veil, so Solas’ plan could reveal a lot about the Blight and by extension Grey Wardens like Davrin themselves.
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Bellara
The other character spotlighted in the behind the scenes trailer is named Bellara, voiced by Jee Young Han. In the trailer she delivers the line “no no no, that’s okay… that’s the good kind of rumble.” Unlike Davrin, however, the character's lines don’t give much away when it comes to her characters origins. Based on the character’s American accent she’s unlikely to be from one of the usually European-accented countries in Thedas like Orlais or Nevarra, but beyond that much remains to be revealed.
The Concept Art
There are a few pieces of Dragon Age 4 concept art which hint at some of the other followers characters might have in the game. One piece shows the silhouettes of eight characters, almost certainly the player’s companions. One of those characters in clearly a female Qunari, and a female Qunari also appears in another piece of art revealed so far.
Five of the companions could be humans or Elves, though the visibly round ears on the figure standing third from the left indicates a human companion. One of the characters appears to be holding a weapon over their shoulder which resembles a rifle, which could be a first in the Dragon Age universe. Tevinter has already been shown to be more advanced than the south, which magical store signs and floating palaces. That same figure with the gun-like weapon is slightly stouter than the others and could be the first female Dwarf companion in the series.
Perhaps most interesting is the figure on the far right of the piece, whose face is covered by what looks like a strange green flame. This character could be an Executor. The Executors were introduced in Inquisition only as a shadowy group representing unknown powers across the sea. It isn’t known if they’re a separate race or if they’re made of members of other races. Depending on the Inquisitor’s choices, some Inquisition agents might disappear, with the Executors sending a letter to the Inquisitor to say that their agents left voluntarily to join a higher cause. This could imply that they're made up of multiple races.
In Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, an Executor appears with their face covered, and their voice is said to evade identification by either gender or age. The flame over this character’s face could be a realization of that same concept once their mask is revealed. Another piece of Dragon Age 4 concept art shows what looks like a skeletal mage with a similar green glow around their face, so it’s also possible that this is related to some sort of necromancy practiced in Tevinter
While the exact line up of Dragon Age 4’s followers has yet to be fully confirmed, it does seem to contain more firsts than Dragon Age: Inquisitionexplored. The journey they will accompany the player on, however, has yet to be revealed.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
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