Dragon Age: The Veilguard - A Gay Guide

There are three things guaranteed in a Dragon Age game. The first is that there will be dragons, obviously. The second is that you’ll start as a scrappy do-gooder who will eventually become a legendary hero. And the third is that it’ll be gay. Dragon Age games are gay, and if you were wondering if that makes you gay, then the answer is yes, of course it does. 

As a writer with a long history of writing about queerness within video games throughout the years, I’ve been a fan of Dragon Age for a long time and am well aware of how the fantasy series has been a haven for queer gamers throughout the years. So much so that the fantasy series existence has often felt like an ‘attack’ to a more conservative audience and so, alongside its sci-fi cousin, Mass Effect, has been featured on right-wing media like Fox News. Often as beacons of mass hysteria, created solely to promote ‘homosexual deviancy.’ And while LGBTQ+ rights have improved since then, a sharp rise in homophobia and transphobia within government policies of the West have once more made it feel unsafe to be queer.

At times like this, sometimes the solace of a game where you can simply be yourself is all you can ask for. And in that regard, the Dragon Age series has always excelled.

Having had the opportunity to play the game two weeks before its official release, I wanted to take the opportunity to create a guide for queer players looking to jump into their next adventure in Thedas.

Be warned that this will contain spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, from companions, and romances to character creation and customisation. 

Character Customization And Character Identity

Character creators have always been a game’s way of letting players explore their identity, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard is no exception to this. With 4 playable races (Human, Elf, Qunari, and Dwarf), body and face sliders, as well as a range of skin tones and features, it’s never been easier to create a Rook that represents you. 

To touch on body sliders briefly, you’re able to adjust your Rook’s body shape via a triangle with three extremes – skinny, muscular, and fat. Companions also have unique body types – Davrin is more muscular, whereas Emmrich is thinner. Taash is tall and lean, whereas Harding is more stocky. This is a far cry from previous Dragon Age games, where characters shared the same model regardless if they were a hardened warrior or a book-reading mage. 

You are able to give your Rook scars, which include top surgery scars, a first for the Dragon Age series and, as far as I’m aware, RPGs in general. But it isn’t the first time for EA, the publisher behind Dragon Age, who also allowed players to do so with their Sims in The Sims 4. You can further craft a trans/non-binary Rook in the character creator by picking their pronouns such as she/her, he/him, and they/them. You unfortunately cannot go the she/they, he/they, she/him route. That said, Veilguard’s character creator does let you go one step further in crafting your gender identity by letting you select the way your Rook presents to others, and how they present to themself. For example, I was able to create a Rook who presented as she/her by NPCs and companions but knew themself as they/them. 

You’re further able to acknowledge your gender identity during Rook’s room in the lighthouse, where you get the option to decorate it with items, such as Varric’s mirror. When you look into it, Rook can identify key parts of themselves such as their scars and tattoos, but also their identity – aka, declaring that they’re happy with the way they look now, or mentioning the journey they had to get to where they are now. It’s a really nice touch, and while video games have allowed you to be non-binary in the past, it’s rare that the game and its world acknowledges it with the level of care shown in Veilguard.

Companions

The full list of people you can romance is Neve, Taash, Lucanis, Harding, Bellara, Emmrich, and Davrin. You’re unable to romance any NPCs like you were able to do in previous Dragon Age instalments. 

Rook is able to have a romantic relationship with each member of the Veilguard, regardless of their identity choice, as each companion is pansexual. However, that doesn’t mean the companions are free from having preferences, and some will be mentioned throughout the companion’s questlines. For example, Bellara states that she’s only had one romantic relationship and it was with a woman (Irelin), whereas Taash’s preferences (as stated by another character) are pointed towards women, more than men. Lucanis doesn’t show a particular preference for one or the other, but he does mention to Emmrich that he once tried to woo a man with a dagger, and the man in question is implied to be Viago.

However, companions are not static and can form relationships with one another. I romanced Bellara in my run, and so I was able to get all three relationships that companions can form with either one another, or someone outside the Veilguard. These relationships are.

• Neve and Lucanis

• Taash and Harding

• Emmrich and Strife 

As far as I’m aware, these relationships are unavoidable, and will occur regardless if Rook doesn’t take certain party members along. If you do end up taking them along (outside of Strife), you’ll be able to hear them talk and flirt more often. What’s more, these romantic banters can also happen inside the Lighthouse, and not just during missions, so be aware of that if you’re trying to get these specific pairings together.

Two companions are also much harder to romance, depending on the choices that you make during Act 1. If you decide to save Minrathous, Lucanis will leave the party. If you save Treviso, then so will Neve. This doesn’t mean you can’t romance them, but forming a relationship with them is significantly more difficult and comes with its own hardship.

Last but not least, your gender identity is acknowledged by your romance option. I mentioned it during Bellara’s romance scene, and to summariae, she says she loves Rook for them. I’m unsure if this is the same for all of the romance options or just Bellara, but I’d assume the former rather than the latter.

Questlines

Like previous games of the series, each companion has their own personal questline. One companion, Taash, has a quest based on exploring their own identity. It starts with them interrogating Neve about what they wear, which eventually leads to a discussion on how they present themself through their clothing and jewellery. Neve (and Rook) can mention that they know people who can help Taash explore their identity, particularly with the Shadow Dragons as all of the leaders of the faction are trans. It’s a sweet scene, but as someone who is genderfluid, the discussion can feel lacking in finesse and could have done with feeling a lot less… modern. But, it works for what it is and doesn’t feel inauthentic. A tad condescending, as if your means-well uncle was trying to explain transphobia to you at the dinner table, but hardly offensive.  

There’s also a scene where Taash effectively comes out to their mother, which is met with confusion as it directly contradicts the different roles assigned to people under the Qun. Without going into specific spoilers, Rook can react to this in multiple ways and the questline itself can go in multiple directions depending on whether you encouraged Taash to embrace Rivaini or Qun culture.

Regardless of the twists and turns, the heart of this quest is about Taash becoming comfortable in their own identity – both as a warrior and as a person. It’s a very heartfelt quest, and while I don’t think it will work for absolutely every trans person out there, it meant a lot to me, someone who is still very early in their journey of understanding their gender identity. 

And that’s all you need to know from Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s gay guide. Is the game perfect? Not at all, if you’re looking for a fantasy adventure that fully acknowledges queer people as part of its world, then this is the game for you.