Rook is the playable character protagonist of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The player is able to choose the character's race, gender, class, first name and voice set.
Involvement
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Rook joins Varric Tethras in Minrathous to track down Neve Gallus, a local investigator and Shadow Dragon for assistance in locating Solas to stop him from tearing down the Veil. Not long after taking to the streets, Solas begins his ritual in Arlathan Forest, causing disruptions in the Veil that allow demons to pour into the city from the Fade. Varric and Rook rush forward to find Lace Harding saving a civilian from demon attacks. Together, the three fight off demons while tracking Neve, eventually discovering that she allowed herself to be taken by Venatori cultists and had freed herself when demons began assaulting the city. She joins Rook and their allies in finding Solas's eluvian and using it to travel to his ritual site in Arlathan Forest. When they arrive at the ritual, Varric confronts Solas in an attempt to turn him from his ambitions. Rook, Harding, and Neve fend off demons until Rook suggests they interrupt the ritual while Varric distracts Solas. Despite Neve's warnings of potential consequences stemming from such an interruption, Rook decides to target the supports holding up a large elven statue in the ritual area, destroying much of the site and pulling Solas's focus from the ritual. The interruption inadvertently allows two elven gods, Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan, to escape their imprisonment while trapping Solas in the Fade. In the commotion, some of Rook's blood interacts with the ritual, permanently connecting Rook to the Fade.
Rook and their allies awaken in the Lighthouse, a base within the Fade once used by Solas. The group decides to return to Arlathan Forest where they are rescued from demonic attack by Strife and Irelin, two Veil Jumpers who had previously joined forces with Varric and Harding to protect an artifact known as the crucious stone from Solas and the Venatori, though Solas had already retrieved the stone before they could locate it. Strife and Irelin are searching for fellow Veil Jumper Bellara Lutare and eventually find her with Rook's assistance. Rook and their allies encounter Darkspawn, a surprise to Bellara who notes that Darkspawn do not usually appear in Arlathan as the Deep Roads from which they emerge are not close to the forest. Bellara also notes that the group is within a "Veil Bubble" and assists them in escaping by locating and activating an artifact called the "Nadas Dirthalen" (meaning "the inevitability of knowledge" in elven). The artifact is destroyed in the process, but only after revealing itself to house an Archive Spirit. The group decides to return to the Veil Jumper camp where Bellara intends to repair the Nadas Dirthalen.[1]
Character creation
The character creator is divided into five categories: Lineage, Appearance, Class, Faction and Playstyle, each with a range of subcategories.[2]
Lineage
There are four playable races to choose from: human, elf, dwarf and qunari.
Appearance
Character appearance is fully customizable, with more options than in past games. In addition to face customization, there are now body-sliders between body types as well as individual sliders for specific body parts. The sliders are not tied to the voice or pronouns in any way. In fact, gender and pronouns are also separate categories. Available pronouns include she/her, he/him and they/them. There are preset appearances for each race for people who wish to use them.
The character creator offers different lighting options to reflect what the character will look like in various lighting conditions.[2] Character appearance can also be changed at any time during the game after exiting character creation.
There are four voices to choose from: two feminine and two masculine voices, one British and one American for each. There is also a pitch shifter that further lets you customize Rook's voice.
Starting gear and casual wear, which differ depending on class and starting faction, can be previewed in the character creator, as can "aspirational armor," meaning mid-to-late game armor.[3]
Class
The three standards class, Warrior, Rogue and Mage, return, each with three specializations.[2]
Specializations
Three specializations are available per class. While specializations can be previewed during character creation, they are not available at the beginning of the game. You'll unlock your specialization as you progress through the game.[4] Each specialization is associated with one of the six starting factions.
- Reaper: uses night blades to steal health from foes, risking death to gain supernatural abilities.
- Slayer: uses two-handed weapons for simple but strong attacks that have increased damage.
- Champion: uses weapon and shield, focusing on tactical defense and tanking hits from enemies.
- Duelist: uses two blades for rapid strikes and has the fastest movement of the rogue specializations, focusing on dodges and parries.
- Saboteur: uses traps and tricks to turn the tide of battle.
- Veil Ranger: uses a solely ranged style of combat to hit enemies from afar with a bow.
- Death Caller: uses necromancy magic.
- Spellblade: uses melee attacks infused with magic.
- Evoker: uses elemental fire, ice, and lightning magic.
Faction
- Main article: Factions (The Veilguard)
You can pick Rook's faction when making your character. Each faction has its own set of casual clothing and gives you three distinct buffs, such as bonus damage against a certain enemy type or the ability to carry more potions. There are six factions to choose from.
- Grey Wardens: An ancient order sworn to fight darkspawn & monsters. Wardens undergo secret rites that grant them supernatural powers.
- Bonded in Blood: gain reputation with the Grey Wardens more quickly
- Blight Killer: deal increased damage vs. darkspawn
- Vigilant Training: base defense and health are slightly increased
- Veil Jumpers: Explorers of ancient elven ruins. They welcome anyone brave enough to face Arlathan's reality-warping magic.
- Close to the Veil: gain reputation with the Veil Jumpers more quickly
- Attuned Strikes: deal increased damage vs. Fade-Touched
- Keen Eye: deal slightly increased critical and weakpoint damage
- Shadow Dragons: A resistance group opposing corrupt rulers and slavery in Tevinter. They are determined to bring justice to the people.
- Light in the Dark: gain reputation with the Shadow Dragons more quickly
- Never to Rise: deal increased damage vs. Venatori
- Resourceful: your class-specific resource regenerates slightly faster
- Lords of Fortune: Explorers, hunters, and treasure-seekers from Rivain who are famed for their daring exploits and narrow escapes.
- Together in Glory: gain reputation with the Lords of Fortune more quickly
- Healthy Competition: deal increased damage vs. mercenaries
- Relentless: perform takedowns on enemies with slightly less effort
- Mourn Watch: An elite necromantic order that tends to Nevarra's sprawling Grand Necropolis, where undead walk and spirits dwell.
- Recognized Name: gain reputation with the Mourn Watchers more quickly
- Return to the Grave: deal increased damage vs. Undead and Demons
- Acute Afflictions: you can apply an additional affliction stack on targets
- Antivan Crows: Swift knives in the dark, these ruthless assassins are respected and feared as Antiva's shadowy protectors.
- Under their Wing: gain reputation with the Antivan Crows more quickly
- Open Contract: deal increased damage vs. Antaam
- Hidden Pouch: holds an extra potion
Last name
Rook's last name is not customizable, but changes based on the character's starting faction.[9] Characters will sometimes address Rook by their assigned surname, though "Rook" remains the more common term of address regardless.[10]
- Grey Wardens – Thorne
- Veil Jumpers – Aldwir
- Shadow Dragons – Mercar
- Lords of Fortune – Laidir
- Mourn Watch – Ingellvar
- Antivan Crows – de Riva
First name
The first name is determined by the player. There is a name generator included in the character creator for those who want some help coming up with their character's names.[9]
Playstyle
Playstyle lets you tailor the game's difficulty to your preferences beyond preset difficulty settings.
- Storyteller: Here to build a party. A plunge into story with more forgiving combat.
- Keeper: Here for action and adventure. A balanced combat experience that emphasizes party composition and equipment choices over reaction times.
- Adventurer: Here for action and adventure. A balanced experience that places equal emphasis on combat, party composition, and equipment choices.
- Underdog: Here to be pushed to the limit. Overcome punishing odds and save the world from unforgiving enemies.
- Nightmare: Here for brutality. Overwhelming battles that give no quarter. Requires a mastery of combat, equipment, and skills to survive.
- Unbound: Here to chart a new path. Customize all settings.
Notes
- Blood Mage will not be an available specialization for Rook, as Rook is said by the developers to have "reasons to avoid blood magic."[9]
Gallery
References
- ↑ Wesley LeBlanc (June 18, 2024). "Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Returning to the Magic, pp. 28-39" (archive) Game Informer.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chris Tapsell (June 11, 2024). "Whisper it, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard has me thinking the unthinkable: it looks like BioWare is back" Eurogamer.
- ↑ Wesley LeBlanc (July 4, 2024). "Bespoke Armor, Transmog, And Other Aspects Of Gear In Dragon Age: The Veilguard" (archive) .
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wesley LeBlanc (June 18, 2024). "A Deep Dive Into Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Combat, Abilities, Skill Tree, And More" (archive) Game Informer.
- ↑ Edwin Evans-Thirlwell (June 11, 2024). "The first 45 minutes of Dragon Age: The Veilguard feel as much like Mass Effect 2 as Inquisition" Rock Paper Shotgun.
- ↑ Alex Donaldson (June 11, 2024). "Dragon Age: The Veilguard is impressive, beautiful, and will inevitably split opinion" VG247.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Wesley LeBlanc (June 25, 2024). "Breaking Down Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Classes And Factions" (archive) Game Informer.
- ↑ Joshua Duckworth (June 11, 2024). "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Preview - Here We Go Again" Game Rant.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 BioWare (June 14, 2024). "DA: The Veilguard: Discord Q&A with Developers!" YouTube. Retrieved on June 14, 2024.
- ↑ Christine Miller (June 15, 2024). "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Reveals Details About Combat and Character Features" Game Rant.