The Inquisitor

"For almost a thousand years, the world believed it was in the hands of the Maker. And now many believe you are the agent of His will. Whatever the truth is, that belief gives you power."

- Vivienne

The Inquisitor, known to many Thedosians as the Herald of Andraste, is the player-controlled protagonist of Dragon Age: Inquisition. The player is able to choose the character's race, gender, class, and voice set.

Dragon Age: Inquisition
{{SpoilerDAI| The Veil has torn across Thedas. The Inquisitor is the sole survivor of a tear, referred to as "the Breach," that occurs during a peace conference between the leaders of the Chantry, the Templar Order and the Mage Rebellion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Finding themselves in the Fade with no memory of how they got there, the Inquisitor remembers being chased by giant spider-like creatures. The Inquisitor notices it had been granted a mysterious magical mark on their left hand which activates when they reach out to a feminine spiritual entity. Emerging from the Breach, the Inquisitor passes out and is captured by Chantry forces. The Inquisitor is interrogated by Cassandra Pentaghast and Leliana, accused of causing the Breach, given that the mark has the same magic as it. The Inquisitor's mark spreads each time the Breach expands - thus slowly killing them. Yet it also has the power to seal the Fade rifts.

Due to the Inquisitor's unique ability, Cassandra brings the Inquisitor to attempt to close the Breach. At the site of the first Fade rift, an echo of the past reveals that the Inquisitor was present when Divine Justinia V was being held captive by an unknown male entity and had called to the Inquisitor for help, but the Inquisitor has no memory of this event. The Inquisitor then used the power of the mark to stop the Breach from growing but not sealing it. Some time afterwards, people who witnessed the Inquisitor's actions, as well as hearing of the Inquisitor's account of a feminine spirit they reached out to in order to activate the mark, believed the entity to be Andraste and the Inquisitor to be Andraste's Herald. Many view the Inquisitor as a symbol of hope and others blame them for causing the Breach in the first place. The Inquisitor is inducted into the reborn Inquisition and aids their efforts in strengthening the Inquisition's influence, sealing the tears, and putting an end to the chaos.

After either allying or conscripting the mage rebels or templars, the Inquisitor is able to close the Breach. But the victory is short-lived, as Haven comes under attack by Corypheus. The Inquisitor distracts him long enough for the village to be evacuated before causing an avalanche to bury his army. When the Inquisitor reunites with the Inquisition, the Herald leads them to Skyhold, where the Inquisitor is formally declared their leader.

In 9:41 Dragon, Adamant Fortress is reoccupied by the Orlesian Grey Wardens, who had allied with the Venatori. Sacrificing their own warriors, enthralled Warden mages began summoning demons, ostensibly to march into the Deep Roads to kill the Old Gods. However, the fortress came under siege by the Inquisition, due to the Wardens sheltering Magister Livius Erimond, a member of the Venatori. When the Inquisitor, Hawke and a Warden ally reached Warden-Commander Clarel, they are able to convince her that Erimond is in league with Corypheus, an ancient darkspawn. In the resulting battle, the Inquisitor, Hawke, the Warden ally and their party escape into the Fade. There they meet a spirit posing as Divine Justinia V, who is revealed to be the same spirit that was believed to be Andraste and led the Inquisitor to the Breach to escape as they were chased by demons. The spirit briefs the Inquisitor that they are in the realm of a Nightmare demon who is controlling the Grey Warden mages and that the Inquisitor must recover the memories it took from them. As the Inquisitor recovers these memories, they remember how the mortal Divine was bound by Grey Wardens and sacrificed to power an orb. The Inquisitor interrupted their ritual and when Corypheus lost control of the orb, the Inquisitor picked it up and gave them the mark. After escaping the Fade with the spirit's help, with either Hawke or the Warden ally staying behind to fight the Nightmare demon, the Inquisitor has the option of either allying with the surviving Wardens or exiling them from Orlais.

The Inquisitor attends a ball held by Empress Celene I at her Winter Palace in Halamshiral after learning of an assassination plot against her. The Inquisitor's actions resolve the Orlesian Civil War and decide who holds the throne of Orlais.

In 9:42 Dragon, Corypheus is pursued to the Temple of Mythal in the Arbor Wilds, where he attempts to gain the knowledge to use the eluvian network and so reenter the Black City. The Inquisitor foils his plans, and in desperation Corypheus retreats to the Temple of Sacred Ashes to reopen the Breach. The Inquisitor finally defeated Corypheus by killing his red lyrium dragon, thus stopping Corypheus' ability to leap into other bodies. The Inquisitor then ends Corypheus by using the Anchor, i.e., the Inquisitor's mark, to banish Corypheus to the Fade, destroying his body in the process. Afterwards they reseal the Breach.

Jaws of Hakkon
After the Inquisition establishes a presence in the Frostback Basin, the Inquisition is spurred by Professor Bram Kenric's archaeological findings to discover the fate of Inquisitor Ameridan - the Herald's predecessor. The Herald align themselves with the Avvar tribe of Stone-Bear Hold and discover that the hostile Jaws of Hakkon seek to unleash their imprisoned god, Hakkon Wintersbreath, on all of Thedas out of revenge. The Inquisition discover that Ameridan has been keeping the dragon vessel of Hakkon confined with time magic, and after his bindings fail - passes on the duty to finish what he started to the Herald. The Herald foils the Hakkonite's plans and slays the dragon vessel of Hakkon.

The Descent
Following the Battle of Haven, a string of violent earthquakes grip the Storm Coast region. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have been brought to the Inquisitor's attention, but the quakes aren't subsiding and are threatening the Inquisition's vital lyrium trade with the dwarves of Orzammar, collapsing mining tunnels and causing casualties. The Inquisitor is asked to meet with a Shaper on the scene named Valta.

The Inquisition descend into the Deep Roads to find the cause of the worsening earthquakes with Valta and a Legionnaire of the Dead named Renn. Along the way they battle the monstrous Darkspawn and the the dwarven Sha-Brytol guardians. Renn was a casualty of an ambush by the Sha-Brytol. During their adventure, they discover that the source of the earthquakes is a recently stirred Titan. Valta uncovers information about the ancient titans from old lyrium etchings and piece together its relationship with lyrium and the Sha-Brytol. Eventually they reach a verdant cavern that is surmised to be the inside of the titan itself. At the heart of the cavern is a massive stone of raw lyrium which strikes Valta with lyrium energy and knocks her unconscious. Rocks and stone armor the raw lyrium and form a rock-lyrium guardian that the Inquisition defeats.

Following the guardian's defeat, Valta regains consciousness but is pained by a loud song until she releases a wave of telekinetic force. Valta reveals that the raw lyrium's energy blast established a connection between her and the titan. She reveals the titan was disturbed by The Breach but seems to have calmed now that it has established a connection with one of its "children". Valta has come to believe that everything that has transpired went according to the titan's plan. Though she admits that she is now different, she assures the Inquisitor that she is still the same shaperate she once was and wishes to stay in the verdant cavern to commune with the titan. She hopes in time, its song will reveal more knowledge about the dwarves and their mysterious history. The Inquisitor respects Valta's decision to stay with the Titan and tells her to be careful as they part ways.

Trespasser
}}

Character creation
The player begins by selecting a gender, race (human, elf, dwarf or Qunari), voice set, and class (warrior, rogue or mage) for the Inquisitor. (The mage class is unavailable to dwarves.)

Origins
Race selection determines the Inquisitor's background.


 * Human: A member of the noble Trevelyan family from Ostwick in the Free Marches. The Trevelyan family has close ties with the Templar Order and warrior and rogue Inquisitors were raised to be devout and loyal Andrastians (though they do not necessarily have to relish this role). They are sent to the Chantry conclave to aid their family in the proceedings. Human mages lived a cloistered, protected life in the Ostwick Circle before the Templars attempted to kill them, forcing them to flee and join the mage delegation at the Chantry conclave.  Human Inquisitors receive one extra ability point upon character creation.
 * Elf: As a warrior or rogue, the elven Inquisitor is a Dalish Hunter. If a mage, they are First to the Lavellan clan's Keeper. All elven Inquisitors are sent to the Chantry conclave by the Keeper to spy on the proceedings. Elven Inquisitors receive a 25% bonus to ranged defense upon character creation.
 * Dwarf: A surface dwarf and member of House Cadash, a prominent family within the Carta. They are sent to the Chantry conclave as a spy. Dwarven Inquisitors receive a 25% bonus to magic defense upon character creation.
 * Qunari: A Vashoth Qunari who was never introduced to the Qun. Regardless of the player's chosen class, all Qunari Inquisitors are members of the Valo-kas mercenary company and are sent to the Chantry conclave as hired security. Qunari Inquisitors receive a 10% bonus to physical resistance upon character creation.

Voice sets
The Inquisitor is a voiced protagonist. However, unlike with Hawke, the player is able to choose the sound of the protagonist's voice, with two voices available for both genders: one with a Southern English accent and one with a North American accent.

Last name
The Inquisitor has a last name, which varies based on race. This cannot be changed, as it is spoken in some voiced dialogues where the Inquisitor is introduced as, for example, "Mistress Adaar" or "Lord Trevelyan."
 * Human – Trevelyan
 * Elf – Lavellan
 * Dwarf – Cadash
 * Qunari – Adaar

First name
A default name is offered according to the background and gender, but this can be changed to whatever the player chooses. It has no effect on dialogue as the Inquisitor is always referred to by their last name.
 * Male
 * Human – Maxwell
 * Elf - Mahanon
 * Dwarf – Edric
 * Qunari – Kaaras


 * Female
 * Human – Evelyn
 * Elf - Ellana
 * Dwarf – Malika
 * Qunari – Herah

Quotes

 * (Playing Wicked Grace with companions) "I think we need another round of drinks!"
 * (When judging Storvacker, the bear) "Alright, I wouldn't want life in the hold to become... UnBEARable."

Trivia

 * According to Cassandra Pentaghast, she and Leliana originally looked to Hawke as their initial choice for the Inquisitor, unless the player creates a World State where the Warden survived, in which case Hawke was their second choice.
 * During Here Lies the Abyss the Inquisitor views the Fearlings (who take the form of what their enemies fear) as spiders, suggesting the Inquisitor is at least slightly afraid of spiders.
 * The box-art of the game and in promotional material depicts the Inquisitor's mark on their right hand, however in-game it is on their left.
 * The Inquisitor is potentially the first female qunari (member of the qunari race) to appear in a Dragon Age game. However, the first female qunari to appear in the franchise as a whole was Rasaan. The first female Qunari (follower of the Qun) to appear in general was Tallis, an elf and the first major female Qunari (the race) to appear in the game not counting the Inquisitor is the Viddasala.
 * Similar to The Warden, it is implied that all of the "potential" Inquisitors existed, but the ones not chosen by the player were among the casualties of The Breach.
 * The Inquisitor follows a certain pattern where the player character originates from the country of the previous game, starting from Dragon Age II onwards. Similar to how Hawke originally came from Ferelden (the country of the first game), the player character is originally from the Free Marches (the country of Dragon Age II, the second game).