Something that struck me throughout Dragon Age: The Veilguard is just how out of place Rook feels. We’re immediately told they’re an old friend of Varric, and for some reason, the person they chose to confront Solas with. Shortly after, an entire party of strangers entrusts them as their leader with no hesitation. None of it feels earned – it’s hamfisted into the opening to get the story going and cement Rook as the leader of The Veilguard from jump, but it didn’t have to be this way.
Dragon Age always introduces a new protagonist in each game, unlike its sister series Mass Effect which stuck with Commander Shepard. But The Veilguard feels the closest to a direct sequel we’ve had so far, following the same characters and story beats from Inquisition. That’s why having a brand-new cast at the centre feels so off. It’s like if we returned to the Normandy without Shepard, but instead as an old friend of Joker no one mentioned before.
All of that could have been circumvented by simply bringing the Inquisitor back as the playable character. They’re actually an old friend of Varric — there’s no need to awkwardly make that fit for a new character — and they have much closer ties to Solas, which would make each betrayal that much more heartfelt. Solas’ bickering with a stranger doesn’t have quite the same weight as it would have with an old travelling compadre they once saved the world with, and possibly even loved.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Never Knows What To Do With The Inquisitor
BioWare clearly understood that the Inquisitor was important to Solas and Varric’s story, given that they appear throughout the main quest and even at the end during our final confrontation with the Dread Wolf. But bizarrely, they also feel out of place.
They show up with Morrigan via handwave-y magic teleportation and say a few vague words of wisdom, tip-toeing around the lack of a world state, and then suddenly appear at the end in casualwear to have a few stern words with Solas, pushing Rook to the side almost completely. None of it feels organic, taking away from these potentially climactic scenes entirely.
The explanation behind the Inquisitor’s absence in the wider narrative is that they’re busy defending the South, but even that rings hollow — why wouldn’t they be in the thick of the action, trying to reason with their old friend? It’s a lot to trust a complete stranger you’ve met once (very briefly) to defeat the Elven gods. There are others who can hold the line in Thedas, like the Hero of Ferelden or Alistair — two Grey Wardens! It’s basically a Blight, they’d have been perfect. The Inquisitor’s excuse, on the other hand, is flimsy at best.
That’s because it’s not a narrative decision at all. The Veilguard is an introduction to the series for newcomers, and an old protagonist makes that much harder to accomplish. Rook is supposed to be a stand-in for those trying Dragon Age for the first time, unearthing its world and story alongside them. But The Veilguard is a direct sequel to Inquisition, so there’s a strange dissonance that makes everything feel at odds with itself.
Rook is out of place because they have no history with Solas, while the Inquisitor is out of place because they should be the main character in this story, but are only given small moments to be involved.
It Would’ve Made Varric’s Story Hit Way Harder
Spoilers for The Veilguard.
Varric isn’t actually in the game. After the prologue, he’s merely an illusion conjured by Solas, so we don’t ever see his relationship with Rook, or the development of and change in their friendship. When the twist that he’s been dead the whole time reveals itself, a lot of the emotions with Rook feel shallow. As players, we’re sad because we knew Varric from past games, but it’s jarring to see that through the lens of someone whose relationship with them is barely established.
That final reveal, pulling back the curtain and realising Solas’ deception, would’ve been an unbelievably powerful moment had it been with the Inquisitor instead.
The whole game, the Inquisitor would believe that their close friend Varric, who they fought through hell with, was recovering and aiding them in another noble quest to save Thedas. When the truth comes out that another friend they once trusted their life with had not only killed Varric, but conjured up his image to deceive them? They, and the player, would be crushed and utterly betrayed. Coming back from that would be unbelievably difficult, and we’d feel every ounce of that heartbreak having journeyed with all of them together ten years ago. But that potential was squandered.
The Veilguard has a lot of problems for a lot of reasons, but Rook is perhaps its biggest issue. They don’t belong, and their role in the story feels painfully artificial. Having the Inquisitor return and break Dragon Age tradition would have been a bold move that would have only heightened the story. What we got was disappointingly superficial instead.
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.