Character Creation

Your character will be pre-written for you, with a personalized brief that contains secrets, connections and relationships to draw you into the world. We will have a questionnaire for you to complete to let us know about what origin you would like to play, what class you would like to be in, and anything that you would really like to play with (or anything you desperately want to avoid!)

Player characters can be from one of the following origins: 

  • Fereldens

  • Dwarves

  • Dalish elves

  • City elves

  • Qunari 

There are three classes (as you’d expect!) - warrior, mage and rogue, with three specialisations within each class. These will be clarified in our ruleset, which will be published in early 2026 after playtests.

Rogues will be characters who are - dual wielding, archers, poison makers, spies

Warriors will be characters who are - sword and shield users, wielders of great weapons

Mages will be characters who are - healers, elemental fighters, etc

We would ask that player characters are not -

  • Abominations. We are happy for you to play mages who are interested in spirits and want to pursue that in game, but at the game start, your character should not be an abomination, and we will not write them as such.

  • Established Dragon Age characters. Though named characters may feature in backstories or plots, you will not be as connected to them as you’d like, and you will not be playing them.

  • Your player character from the games. No, you aren’t dating Hawke - as much as we’d all like to be. The characters you will be connected to will be those around you

Origins

Below are the phys-rep and costuming requirements for each of the available player origins, as well as some background about each origin.

Feel free to suggest any character concept that you would want to play, the examples given below are intended to spark ideas and give you a stepping stone. As long as your suggestion isn’t world-breaking, we will consider it when creating your character.

“They are the coarse, wilful, dirty, disorganized people who somehow gave rise to our prophet, ushered in an era of enlightenment, and toppled the greatest empire in history.”

Ferelden

The Kingdom of Ferelden is a wild, untamed place - and her people are much the same. Orlais learned that when the Fereldens rose up against their conquerors, and the Tevinter Imperium learned that when her most famous daughter, Andraste, led the First Exalted March.

The doglords rule from the Waking Sea to the Storm Coast, their bannorns and arlings all serving under the newly crowned King Alistair Theirin. But it is not a place of content rule. Ferelden has been torn asunder by the Fifth Blight, and though her people rebuild with what little they have left, the corruption of the blight still lingers. Resentment simmers from the supporters of Loghain mac Tir, and there is talk of rebellion even yet.

Ferelden people, regardless of whether they are commoner, tradesfolk or nobility, are proud, stubborn and loyal to a fault. They prize their dogs, the fearsome Mabari warhounds, above most things, and though they are often underestimated by their peers in Orlais and the Free Marches, they rarely lose a fight - which is why the Battle of Ostagar remains a sore, sore memory.

Ferelden characters are likely to be:

  • Tradesmen and farmers, yeomen and peasantry

  • Templars, Chantry sisters and other layfolk 

  • Nobility, particularly banns, arls and teyrns or their family.

  • Circle mages, or apostates

Phys-rep Requirements:

  • Humans have no specific requirements, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make yourself look different to usual!

“Drink deep of the ale while it’s still cold.
Marvel at the breadth of the hall.
Once you couldn’t move for the host.
The Stone now embraces them all.”

Dwarves

A once vast underground empire, the Dwarven kingdoms are now fractured. Few thaigs remain, and some dwarves have retreated to the surface in order to prosper. 

Dwarves as a whole are strong and resilient, and no greater craftsmen exist across Thedas. Singularly unique is their complete lack of connection to the Fade, which has allowed them to mine the lyrium ore that much of dwarven trade with the surface relies on, but renders them entirely unable to use magic.

Surface dwarves are beginning to outnumber those who still reside in their ancestral halls, and seem to be either respectable and influential merchants within the guilds or thugs and mercenaries within the Carta. 

During the Blight, the Hero of Ferelden visited the Kingdom of Orzammar seeking dwarven aid, and in the process managed to get involved in all manner of statecraft, including supporting King Bhelen in his bid for the throne and funding the founding of the first Dwarven Chantry. For this the Wardens as a whole are thought of as heroes and villains both, depending on which faction you ask.

Dwarven characters are likely to be:

  • Crafters and merchants

  • Carta members

  • Mercenaries for hire

  • Members of the Legion of the Dead

Phys-rep Requirements:

  • Masc presenting dwarves must have a beard

  • Hair must be decorated

    • Examples: intricate/decorative braids and plaits, beads and gems, hair jewelry

  • Dreadlocks are NOT appropriate

“We are the Dalish: keepers of the lost lore, walkers of the lonely path. We are the last of the Elvhenan, and never again shall we submit.”

Dalish Elves

The Dalish are a nomadic people, refusing to stay in one place for too long in order to avoid attracting attention. It is not uncommon for the red sails of the aravels to be spotted amongst the woodlands of Ferelden, the halla grazing on the roadside, but the clans will keep themselves to themselves unless they need to trade, ignoring human company in order to stay safe. Other clans stay away from human settlement all together, preferring to stay high in the mountains and rely on hunting and foraging to keep their people alive.

Unlike their kin residing in human settlements, they maintain their worship of the elven pantheon, and mark their reverence plainly on their faces in the form of vallaslin. They keep to the ancient ways of Elvhenan and tell the ancient tales through storytelling, song and poetry. There is little that the clans do not know - but they rarely tell outsiders. Relying on the leadership of their Keepers, and their Firsts, they speak Elvhen more than they do Trade.

Nobody truly knows the cost of the Fifth Blight to the Dalish. When the tide of darkspawn flooded Ferelden, many were too busy surviving to think of those who travel the roads. There was some talk of land set aside for them - but how many live to populate that land is yet another question.

Dalish characters are likely to be:

  • Hunters, foragers and herbalists

  • Mages with specialisms in spirit and blood magic

  • Followers of the Elvhen gods

  • Halla herders and their guards

Phys-rep Requirements:

  • Pointed ears, achieved via prosthetics

    • Elvhen ears are not long like the Night Elves from World or Warcraft, but are slightly longer than those of the Lord of the Rings elves

  • Vallaslin, achieved via face paint or temporary tattoos

    • It will be specified on your character sheet what vallaslin your character will have, with example images and references provided

    • Designs imitating tā moko or kakiniit are NOT appropriate

“And perhaps the day will come when the humans come and try to take the alienage from us, too. If that day comes, I swear they shall regret it”

City Elves

Like much of Thedas, the elves of Ferelden who do not keep the ancient ways live within alienages in the major cities, segregated from their human fellows around the vhenadahl that grow at their hearts. The alienages are brutal, difficult places to live in, but the elves in Ferelden are equal under the law, and paid for their work - mostly. They are led by the hahren, an elected leader for each alienage, and though the old ways are fading, they are kept, and the gods venerated in quiet temples. Some have converted to Andrastrianism, following the example of Shartan.

Elves who venture beyond the alienage often find the human world hostile, and keep their heads down as they trade, travel and work beyond the city walls. Some see this safe haven of home as a good thing - others push against the human world and the way they remain locked in, and with good reason.

The Hero of Ferelden was one of theirs. Tabris was a city elf, a proud warrior who fought to save Ferelden, and many see this as a point of pride and proof that they are more than the Chantry and the world has ever given them credit for. To some, Tabris is a hero - to others, they are proof that leaving the alienage can only result in death.

City elves are likely to be:

  • Tradesfolk and information gatherers

  • Fighters who work as mercenaries amongst human forces

  • Followers of the old Gods, or converts to Andrastrianism

  • Circle mages - or apostates, if they can keep themselves hidden

Phys-rep Requirements:

  • Pointed ears, achieved via prosthetics

    • Elvhen ears are not long like the Night Elves from World or Warcraft, but are slightly longer than those of the Lord of the Rings elves

“How much abundance the world carries
If every fistful of sand
Is an eternity of mountains.”

Qunari

Large, grey-skinned and usually bearing horns, the term “Qunari” actually refers to all those who follow the religious teachings of the Qun, though it has become almost a pseudonym for the people as a whole. Followers of the Qun are rarely seen outside their homeland of Par Vollen and the disputed territory of Seheron. The Qun dictates every part of Qunari society, giving all following it a fixed place in society.

There are some who have rejected the Qun, or who are simply born outside it. They are known as Vashoth, or Tal-Vashoth if they actively reject the teachings. Often they find work as mercenaries, from people who take comfort in the protection of such an intimidating presence.

The Warden travelled alongside a hornless Qunari by the name of Sten, who was one of their fiercest companions and friends. Rumours have spread of the warriors love for sweet treats, as they are apparently not found in Par Vollen. 

Word has reached Ferelden shores of a massive contingent of Qunari landing in Kirkwall, led by an Arishok, though that sounds like a Free Marches problem to most.

Qunari are likely to be:

  • Agents of the Qun, sent on information gathering missions to the south of Thedas

  • Tal-Vashoth mercenaries, mages and merchants

  • Former Saarebas, fleeing the Qun and their Arvaarad bodyguards

Phys-rep Requirements:

  • Horns

    • Qunari horns are reminiscent of sheep/goat horns rather than antlers, but can be any style or shape within that framework and can be decorated

  • Grey skin

    • This can be achieved using body paint or using a body stocking in the correct colour