Something I often think about regarding Dragon Age 4 is the next protagonist. Who they could be, what is their story, and how will they become our new hero? But most importantly - what will set Dragon Age 4's new protagonist apart from previous main heroes?
The Inquisitor was an incredibly powerful figure throughout Southern Thedas - one who's fame severely grew throughout the events of Inquisition's narrative. To date, the Inquisitior is (certainly) the most infamous, powerful character in the entire franchise, period!
They only grew bigger in power, with an influence that could set the very scales of justice. In many cases, the Inquisitor personally could decide the very fate of Thedas, like impacting the decision of the new ruler of Orlais, and the election of the next divine.
The Inquisitor and their army proved to be a force not to be reckoned with! One that wouldn't give up without a fight with many delegates fighting diplomatic and military battles, both ready and able to change the tides of any war.
Lets not forget that the Inquisitor has fought through sheer political turmoil, a demon uprising attempt and the very rise of an ancient Tevinter adversary! They've gone to the Fade and back with their battles, only to succeed against any opposing force.
So my question is... how in Andraste's knickers are we going to get a new protagonist who can beat, rival or match the reputation, respect and power of the Inquisitor? Well, simply put, I don't think we will...
Judging by the ending of Tresspasser, we're certainly going to play as a new protagonist - someone we've never even heard of before - no matter the case, that's just how the cookie crumbles when it comes to the main playable character in Dragon Age.
Based on Project Joplin's initial concept, we know that the main protagonist was "going to be a spy" with a plot emphasized on pulling of heists around the Tevinter Imperium.
(Although that sounds like an epic narrative, and something that we should speculate the heck out of. I am working on a separate video exploring the dynamics of playing as a potential spy protagonist).
It's quite the divide from experiencing the life of our glamorous Inquisitor with their Pinkquisition... to now seemingly playing as a thief in small gang. Hear me out, I'm not against the change-up, after all, variety is the spice of life. I'm just curious about how BioWare will handle this drastic change for us.
This is (of course) subjective, however, something that I personally fear(?) for Dragon Age 4 is accommodating a new protagonist when in the past, we've already been given such a significant and relevant hero with the Inquisitor.
How are we - the players; going to adapt to a new protagonist having fulfilled the role of our Inquisitor? I'm apprehensive for the contrast of the two protagonists, but also the relevance of the same plot with a new hero.
The narrative going forward is the Inquisitor's story, Solas is their 'problem', and only they should be the one responsible for dealing with him. So, they both can reach an ending in the story they've equally started and shared together.
For this tale to be handed over and reduced to a new hero, it's in the opposing direction. I worry for the lack of significance for this new protagonist, that they may feel dis-attached to this story, and have no relevance to it.
What could they possibly add that the Inquisitor couldn't? How will this new main character stand out, what can they do differently and how can they rival Solas? Well, I have an idea that satiates the approach to a new protagonist, whilst keeping the significance of the Inquisitor.
What if we have two playable protagonists for Dragon Age 4? Something that I'd like to call a dual protagonist.
Perhaps we play as the Inquisitor for the first mission in Dragon Age 4, introducing the narrative and developing the time spent and changes since Inquisition's events. And after the prologue, we're then introduced to our new protagonist who will be a spy embarking on heists throughout Tevinter.
75% of the game can be spent delving into our new protagonist adventuring throughout Tevinter, gearing up for epic heists and further building established lore.
25% of the game can then be spent taking the role as our Inquisitor! They may not be fit to fight, but they can certainly fit an advisory role, dealing with many delegations and diplomatic disputes, building up the narrative against Solas, and mentoring our new protagonist alongside them as their protégé.
For the main journey we would be spending the majority of our time through our new protagonist's shoes, and then at major key plot moments, we'd switch to playing as our Inquisitor.
This way we can enjoy playing as a new hero entrancing into Tevinter and all of its mayhem! Filled with new smaller adversaries, many narrative threads, plenty of lore, and overhaul attempting to follow the Inquisition's mission.
On top of that, we can still enjoy delving into our Inquisitor's story as they continue to stop Solas and his scheme to destroy the veil.
We had Hawke return as an NPC in Dragon Age: Inquisition, who served to offer many insights to fight against Corypheus. While that was great, I would like the Inquisitor to return in Dragon Age 4 as a playable protagonist. Not as a party member, but as a separate hero with small segments of the game strictly dedicated to them.
This two character mechanic was actually utilized in Mass Effect: Andromeda. For one key mission towards the end of the game, we'd switch and play as our other sibling, furthering the story. And I actually quite liked it, so much so, that I'm hoping that this mechanic can extend to the next Dragon Age game.
We can cultivate throughout the entire narrative as our new spy-hero, they can follow new quests, characters, romances, locations, etc. However, when the main narrative kicks in and things become gritty, the Inquisitor takes the main focus as the playable protagonist.
Outside of that, the Inquisitor can serve as an adviser or informant on all things Solas related, pushing the narrative forward with rumors and threads they've uncovered, and then sending our new hero out into the Thedas on many grand quests.
In summary, the main tale of Dragon Age 4 belongs to the Inquisitor, it's their journey and Solas is their friend, adversary or even lover. For this narrative to be kacky-handed to a new protagonist without any establishment of the Inquisitor is how it will fail. To some capacity, the Inquisitor must return for Dragon Age 4.
It doesn't have to be via the method of a dual protagonist. Personally, as an Inquisitor fan boy, I'd like it to be that way, because we can see how BioWare are adapting to this dual mechanic, with both Hawke and the Ryder twins building on the scope of this feature within the Frostbite engine. They worked out how to pull this feature off in smaller cases, with much innovation, I could see this concept becoming a reality.
In other inquisitive regards, I have talked about how the Inquisitor should return in Dragon Age 4 plenty of times on my channel, but adding to the list, I would love to play as them once more as a dual protagonist in Dragon Age 4. They deserve to see the end of Solas's narrative, they even swore in Trespasser that they would either redeem or kill him. It'd be outright ludicrous if the Inquisitor were never to return.