Dragon Age: The Veilguard will see the return of Inquisition's protagonist, and you'll be able to customize their appearance and voice

Veilguard character kind of opening their mouth and smirking while talking.
(Image credit: BioWare)

An IGN video preview of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's character creator included a pretty shocking revelation about how it will account for our choices in previous games: The protagonist of Dragon Age: Inquisition will appear in the game, and we'll be able to customize their voice, background, and appearance to match our original saves.

The relevant section comes at the 4:36 mark of IGN's preview video, showing a portion of a "Customize World State" menu in The Veilguard. We'll be able to select from the major character background choices from Inquisition, even choosing which of the four potential voice actors from that game will represent them. Class selection notably seems to be absent, but we'll be able to tweak their appearance using the same character creator as for Rook, Veilguard's new protagonist.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Preview: BioWare Finally Nails The Character Creator I’ve Always Wanted - YouTube Dragon Age: The Veilguard Preview: BioWare Finally Nails The Character Creator I’ve Always Wanted - YouTube
Watch On

It looks like the Inquisitor will have a nifty little Guts robot hand to account for primeval trickster god and worst friend ever Solas having chopped it off at the end of Inquisition's capstone Trespasser DLC, and won't that be an awkward reunion? My money is on the Inquisitor being a major home base NPC like Cullen or Leliana in Inquisition, and I gotta say I love that they're rocking a variation of the same awful grey jim jams they wore as a casual outfit back in their home game.

Their story hardly seemed finished with Trespasser, but given the time elapsed and how customizable they were, I'm still surprised and impressed to see BioWare implement the character like this. Having the Inquisitor's various potential voice actors return is particularly cool, implementing four different performances for the same character when they aren't even the game's protagonist this time around. This isn't the first time this has happened in Dragon Age, though: Dragon Age 2's Hawke played a major role in Inquisition's story, and could similarly be customized in that game. You can also check out our preview of six early hours in The Veilguard⁠—spoiler alert: It's looking pretty good.

TOPICS
Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

Read more
Dragon Age Manfred skeleton with crystal eyes looking shocked
BioWare considered bringing the hero of Dragon Age: Origins back for Veilguard, but with a horrifying catch: 'Do not let her see me like this'
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Neve kiss
All the Dragon Age: The Veilguard romance options and what you should know about them
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is my third-favorite game of the year, and I don't care who knows
Avowed first and third person
Avowed's newly-revealed character creation backgrounds tripped my RPG sicko radar, offering funky fantasies like 'Noble Scion,' 'Court Augur,' and 'Vanguard Scout'
Dragon Age Dreadwolf antogonist, Solas the elf, with a huge wolf walking next to him through smoke
Dragon Age voice actor says his favourite way to play Inquisition is as a woman who romances himself, which is apparently 'the best'
Morrigan, the Witch of the Wilds in the Dragon Age serries, shown wielding magic in front of a Darkspawn.
Is this the end of Dragon Age? Veilguard was good, but BioWare needed an all-timer, and I'm nervous about what's next
Latest in Dragon Age
Dragon Age Dreadwolf antogonist, Solas the elf, with a huge wolf walking next to him through smoke
Dragon Age voice actor says his favourite way to play Inquisition is as a woman who romances himself, which is apparently 'the best'
BioWare has reportedly lost at least half its staff, with fewer than 100 people left and the studio a ghost of its former self
Dragon Age character Varric looking confidently forward
'Dragon Age isn't dead because it's yours now,' former BioWare writer reassures fans: 'EA/BioWare owns the IP but you can't own an idea'
Morrigan, the Witch of the Wilds in the Dragon Age serries, shown wielding magic in front of a Darkspawn.
Is this the end of Dragon Age? Veilguard was good, but BioWare needed an all-timer, and I'm nervous about what's next
Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Lace Harding looks inquisitive in a dark inn
Dragon Age: The Veilguard game director departs BioWare after 18 years at EA after an offer to build a new RPG she 'couldn't turn down'
Cullen from Dragon Age: Inquisition stares at the player amidst a snow-cloaked backdrop.
Dragon Age voice actor arrested on multiple charges over allegations, including revenge porn and harassment
Latest in News
Three sheep with big guns in Palworld.
It was 'super popular to hate Palworld' after launch, says community manager: 'A lot of companies might crumble under the threats, under the pressure'
Palworld Ancient Civilization Parts - Grizzbolt with a minigun
'It was a very depressing day': Palworld community manager reveals studio's reaction to Nintendo lawsuit
CS 1.6 remade in CS: Legacy.
A gorgeous ground-up remake of Counter-Strike 1.6 is on its way to Steam, and one of the game's original creators says 'it really gives me old vibes'
Portal P3 pinball table
There's a new Portal game and it costs $12,500
MrBeast posing in front of a stack of cashing, promoting Beast Games season 2
Beast Games opens casting for season 2: MrBeast lost a ton of money on season 1 but apparently not enough that he won't do it again
Image for
Rise of the Ronin's PC troubles continue as players report disappearing saves on Steam