Key Takeaways
- Calpernia and Imshael were considered by BioWare as companions in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
- Calpernia would have represented Tevinter, and Imshael would have been an interesting addition because of his status as a demon.
- A Sareebas companion was also considered.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is an experience constructed around its companions, a ‘found family’ brought together to protect the world from a great and ancient evil. As with any party-based RPG, there is a wild array of opinions on these characters, with only a couple of characters finding universal appeal. However, The Veilguard’s recently released art book shows off some of the companions that were considered but ultimately cut.
A page of companion concept art was posted to the Dragon Age subreddit by the user PugThatNeedsHugs, and it reveals a couple of companions that were under consideration by BioWare that ultimately didn’t make it into the game. The first is Calpernia, a compelling character from Dragon Age: Inquisition that a lot of players may not have even encountered. This is because Calpernia only appears in-game if you decide to recruit the Templars instead of the mages, the less popular decision. If you normally recruit the mages, you’ll be more familiar with Samson, the leader of the Red Templars who join the Venatori.
Two Morally Questionable Companions
However, if you do recruit the Templars, then you’ll encounter Calpernia instead. Calpernia was a slave in Tevinter whose dream is to see the Imperium reborn free of corrupting influences. This is why she joined the Venatori and aided Corypheus. The Elder One had evil intentions for Calpernia though, which can be revealed by the Inquisitor. Even if Calpernia isn’t persuaded in Inquisition, she doesn’t die on-screen, meaning she could appear in The Veilguard without interfering with canon.
Calpernia would have been an interesting representative for Tevinter and would likely have replaced Neve Gallus. She’s ex-Venatori and decidedly morally questionable which would have been a refreshing contrast to the rest of the party, which tends to be quite selfless and righteous.
Speaking of characters of questionable moral fibre, the other cut character that appears on the page is Imshael, an ancient Desire Demon, or Choice Spirit, depending on your definition.
Imshael is an antagonist in a side quest in Inquisition and has even fewer redeeming qualities than Calpernia, as he’s shown to actively manipulate the beings around him with malicious bargains. The concept art shows Imshael in various forms as, being an ancient demon, he can appear in any form he wishes. It’s unknown why Imshael would be interested in stopping Ghilan’nain and Elgar’nan, but it’s likely because he can’t play on mortal desire if all the mortals are destroyed by the Blight.
A Sareebas (magic-wielding Qunari) was also considered as a potential companion but was ultimately scrapped.
There’s also art for old designs of several of the game’s final companions. The concept art for Lace Harding is relatively similar to her final design, but Taash’s art is more feminine and rogue-like. There’s a version of Lucanis with shorter hair and more formal clothes, and art of Davrin with Dalish/Grey Warden hybrid armour.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.