In the midst of the current Dragon Age drought, I’m continuing my new community-led discussion-based series where I compose my own topical, heavily opinionated video and then throw the conversation at the community for a follow-up video featuring as many of your unique, funny and amazing ideas as possible.
Today I’m exploring many things I’d like to see regarding the next hero, ranging from their identity, background, customisation, plot points and their rise to power in the next Dragon Age. As I share my own desires, have a think and let me know in the comments down below what you’d like to see for the next Dragon Age’s new protagonist, you can be as silly or serious as you’d like. I’ll gather the most unique comments and feature them in a sequel video soon.
Anyhow, with that said, here’s my own desires for the next protagonist, I’m going to kick this off by looking at who the next hero could be. Fortunately, we do have a few official insights on the identity of the next protagonist.
As confirmed in the Dragon Age 4 2020 Game Awards Trailer, the next hero will be someone who the evil forces of Thedas will never see coming. There will be no magical anchor and no ancient prophecy, this time around, the next hero will seemingly come from humble tidings and will have little influence compared to the Inquisitor and their dominance.
Patrick Weekes confirmed in the Dragon Age Behind The Scenes Trailer that the next story will be exploring what happens when the next hero doesn’t have much power, and is surrounded by powerful people in charge who aren’t willing to address the current issues.
“For the game we’re working on now, we want to tell a story – what happens when you don’t have power, what happens when the people in charge aren’t willing to address the issues.” Patrick Weekes (Lead Writer)
Seemingly, the next hero is going to take matters into their own hands when ignored by many of Thedas’s leaders, seizing a conclusion to the world’s current problems.
With that said, that’s all that is currently confirmed on the next hero - that they’re going to be someone completely new and somewhat ordinary embarking on a politically charged journey.
While that broadly covers who they could be, there’s been a lot of talk, teases and concept art about factions in the next Dragon Age. Which ties into, you guessed, the biggest thing I’d like to see in the next game, which is faction-based origin stories and unique backgrounds.
Faction-Based Origin Stories & Unique Backgrounds
I know, I’ve talked about this return to Origins feature for ages, but I’m not going to stop anytime soon. I know for a fact the majority of the fandom would love the opportunity to choose between multiple factions as a character backstory or origin. While faction-based origin stories have not been confirmed, the varied faction concept art pieces and relevant Tevinter Nights stories are showcasing a significant amount of many faction’s presence in the next game. The main question is, can the next hero choose to be a part of one of them?
The prominent factions teased in Tevinter Nights and concept art are:
The Lords Of Fortune, Tevinter Siccari/An Anti-Slavery Tevinter Movement. The Mortalitasi, The Antivan Crows, Ancient Elves/The Executors, and The Grey Wardens.
If the next hero has the ability to choose between one of these factions as an origin story - that’d be a tremendous introduction to Northern Thedas - as the player could discover more about their chosen faction while adapting to the new regions. For example, the new hero could witness the joining of the Grey Wardens in Fortress Weisshaupt surrounded by previous Grey Warden cameos like Alistair, Carver or Loghain, these characters unknown to your new hero, however, introduced with new and different interactions.
Even further, the player would be able to refine and create a more distinct character with a less determined background like the Inquisitor. This in-turn, allows the player to relate to their character a lot more as they get to create their hero’s previous experiences - you could have a field day writing up original backstories and other fiction with this approach, which really does mean something to a lot of people in this community.
And most obviously, faction-based origins would add plenty of replay value as multiple choices and consequences could be based on the hero’s faction that then tie into the main story and other dilemmas surrounding the narrative.
You get the gist, you’ve heard my rambles on this mechanic for a while now. Regardless, it seems like the next hero is going to have many dealings with significant factions surrounding Tevinter, so at least these factions will have some prominence in the next story, here’s hoping the next hero is a loquacious individual.
With that covered, let’s move onto something else I’d like to see, which is more character customisation.
More Character Customisation
The Dragon Age franchise has always been about giving the player the freedom to create and play as whoever they want, dealing with dire situations in whatever way they so choose. Sometimes players want to relate to their hero, other times they enjoy creating a completely unique character.
For the next Dragon Age, we’re all hoping to create brand-new, epic heroes who will stand against the tide of whatever Thedas wants to throw at us. Given that stance, I want BioWare to give the players more tools to essentially create whoever they want. For instance, I’d like to see a wider range of skin tones, better, unique hairstyles, body tattoos, scars, musculature, height, and ultimately, trans and non-binary options for the main character. A great example of how to do this would be if the player could choose between multiple body types, different masuline and femine voices, and many pronouns to choose between.
As another aspect of customisation, I’d like to see real-time hair growth and more refined hairstyles and facial hair. That way, the heroes' looks change overtime and the player has to monitor and maintain their character’s aesthetic otherwise they’ll see realistic and distinct changes, like a bigger beard or longer hair.
In a similar direction, I’d like the ability to dress up for pivotal occasions. Tevinter and Antiva both have their own incredible moods. I'd love my hero to dress up and resemble each of these nation’s fashion sense. And as a bonus, I’d like to wear fun witch hats and capes.
Moving on, let’s talk about the next hero’s narrative and how, this time around, I’d like to see a completely new take.
A Completely New Take
Dragon Age: Inquisition told an inspiring story about a somewhat regular individual rising to power and becoming the leader of one of Thedas’s most powerful and dominating factions. It was an incredible hero's journey, and the Inquisitor still remains to be one of my favourite protagonists of all time. However, with the next hero rising as a new underdog figure, I’d like to see the narrative encompass such themes, and provide a completely different hero’s journey.
Given the skulduggery themes of the next hero, I want to see what they will do to accomplish their goals without the power and influence that the Inquisitor had. I want the road ahead to be not so easy for the new hero. Instead, I want to see how the next hero may go against the high powers of Thedas for their own ambitions.
For example, the next hero could spark a revolution against slavery in Tevinter, revolting against the Imperium’s entire establishment. Or they could break into the Archon’s Palace, chasing a major lead relating to their next steps.
This narrative would provide a fresh perspective and a different take, exploring what happens when the underdogs are the only ones willing to do something about the main issues present.
Involuntary Narrative
In a similar direction, I’d like to see the next hero originally be involuntarily dragged into the narrative, perhaps they enjoyed their hard, but honest life of tending to the Weisshaupt’s griffons, or they lived for the pleasure of killing high targets under the Antivan Crows. However, somehow, they find themselves drawn to this scrupulous narrative and gain their own motivations and ambitions for stopping the Dread Wolf and dealing with the evil threats of Thedas.
This would provide an initial conflict and it would help motivate the player’s engagement for the next narrative, whether previous fans of the series, or new-comers, each player would be able to relate to this involuntary approach.
More Personal Stakes
The next thing I'd like to see is more personal stakes. I’d like the option to lose to be more common, exactly like in Mass Effect 2 where everything ties into the suicide mission - if you didn’t get certain companions loyal, or upgrade the Normandy, you may lose someone in the final mission.
Dragon Age has never had that high-risk allure, however, with the way the narrative is seemingly going, it seems like this approach may become a reality. Personally, I’d like every choice I make to matter, even if that’s just a character’s opinion of my hero. I would like every choice to reap some kind of consequence. That way I can play Dragon Age on edge as I regard everything my hero says and does, which in-turn has some weight in the world.
The higher the stakes, the more payoff, I say.
Sub-Classes
As a gameplay mechanic, I’d love to see sub-classes developed in the next game. Pretty straight forward with this one. I’d like to play as a mage-archer, or a rogue with a staff-blade. I’d like to see more inventive classes and specializations, especially considering the next game is set in Tevinter.
Relationship With The Inquisitor
The penultimate thing I’d like to see is for the next hero to have a dynamic relationship with the Inquisitor. The perfect way, gameplay-wise for this, would be if the Inquisitor spoke through the pendant they gave Dorian in the Trespasser DLC.
They could speak to you at pivotal points in the narrative without having to show up constantly. That way, resources can be saved, and the Inquisitor can feature heavily in the narrative, without actually being there. Towards the end of the story is when the Inquisitor could physically appear, having established somewhat of a relationship with the next hero.
I honestly think that’s the best way to deal with the Inquisitor going forward, but I suppose we shall see.
Different Dynamic With Solas
The final thing I’d like to see regarding the next hero is for them to have a new, different dynamic with Solas. The Inquisitor and Solas could’ve been lovers, best buddies or enemies, the next hero is seemingly going to be the one to stop his plan. I’d like them to have a different perspective on Solas, witnessing a new side of him.
Perhaps the next hero and Solas could have admirable and deep conversations on his plan for elven restoration, or Solas could straight up see the next hero as a threat, and pursue them as one.
Or maybe Solas will need the next hero’s help? I think we’d be naive to say that Solas will be the main antagonist of the next Dragon Age, especially with the amount of threats that lurk in the Thedas. Who knows, what if Solas gets a taste of the new hero’s prowess, and asks for their help in dealing with the Evanuris. It’d be a most-certainly unique dynamic, and I’d love for my expectations to be subverted like that.
Because I am never, not thinking about what I’d like to see for the next hero, I have a few rapid-fire wishes to share:
I want my next hero to ride a Griffon.
I want my hero to have cute dates in Minrathous and Antiva City.
I want to see the next hero emotionally react to severe situations in the narrative like swearing when things go sour, or being sad when someone dies.
I want my hero to have a slice of life in Tevinter, walk the streets, go shopping, have a meal, etc.
I want my hero to have platonic romance options.
I want my hero to eat food and drink water.
I want my hero to have a customisable hub to their liking.
I want my hero to sleep in a bed with a day/night cycle.
I want my hero to climb, jump, swim and parkour.
I want my hero to look dashing as hell with many different fashion themes.
If Solas is bent on destroying the world still, I want the choice to either redeem or kill him, like it was established in the Trespasser DLC.
So, now it is your turn, let me know down below what you’d like to see for the next hero and you may be featured in the follow-up video.
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