Key Takeaways
- David Gaider’s personal connection to Dorian’s story makes it more authentic and impactful.
- After writing the confrontation scene between Dorian and his father, Gaider cried harder than he had ever cried in his life.
- Dorian is a fan favourite.
David Gaider, lead writer of Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition, has been regaling fans with behind-the-scenes tales of writing Dragon Age’s various characters. He’s delved into the origins (pun intended) of Morrigan, Fenris, Shale and others, with his most recent post on Bluesky being a personal one about Dorian Pavus.
For those not aware, Gaider is a gay man, something that’s especially relevant given that Dorian shares this sexuality. He revealed how emotional the experience of writing Dorian was for him, especially the relationship between Dorian and his father, Halward.
Dorian’s Story is Very Personal
“Catty gay man isn’t digging very deep, no surprise to anyone who knows me, and it had an extra layer of being so fun because Dorian was confident. He sparred verbally. I loved it,” Gaider begins. “There was more to it, however. The conflict between Dorian and his father… ugh, how so I say this? Let’s be clear: Dorian’s story is not my story, but it’s also not far off.”
“I wrote the entire [confrontation between Dorian and his father] in one go. After I was done, I probably cried harder than I have ever in my life,” Gaider explains. He goes on to say that when he passed it to his editor, she told him the scene was “good” with tears in her eyes.
“Here’s the thing. Not everyone is going to agree with this, but: I don’t think a writer needs to be a minority in order to write a minority. Sometimes those characters should simply exist, and we want them to. But if that character’s story is about their experience as a minority? That’s different. Dorian’s story didn’t need to revolve around his sexuality – and, honestly, it only did so as a tangent to his family issue, but they’re so bound together it’s probably irrelevant to split them – but my writing him meant it could be. It allowed me to say something. That felt good, it felt right,” he finishes.
Dorian is a fan favourite character in Inquisition and The Veilguard, and one major reason for his popularity is how authentic his story and writing feel. Gaider deserves a lot of credit for his writing, which helped shape the world of Thedas, a world that many have fallen in love with over the past decade and a half.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is the third in the popular action RPG series from BioWare, and serves as a sequel to the events of Dragon Age 2. You must travel the continent of Thedas in order to seal the ‘Breach’, a kind of portal that is sending demonic enemies into the world.