TheDragon Ageseries puts players in control of some very powerful and important characters within its universe. Throughout the games, players stop a blight that could have destroyed the world, eventually lead the city of Kirkwall, and run the Inquisition on a holy quest. These roles help put players in interesting positions in the game’s world, but also let them make important decisions, the impacts of which have rippling effects onDragon Agetitles to follow.
This understandably makes newDragon Agegames have to accommodate numerous possible decisions that players have made, which is no small task. This is especially true when it comes to the characters ofDragon Agethat can be changed in numerous ways throughout a playthrough. Many of them could even end up dead and not show up in future titles at all. This is especially true for the characters that a player controls, such asHawke fromDragon Age 2. However, withDragon Age 4in development, fans have started wondering just how Hawke and The Warden fromDragon Age: Originscould play into the new title, which will depend a lot on how players left those characters in the past.
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The Warden in Dragon Age: Origins
One of the biggest changes to the Warden that players make inDragon Age: Originscomes at the start of the game, when players decide the Warden’s race and backstory. This can include possibilities like an elf living in the slums, a human noble, or a wizard training away from their family. Either way, the Warden eventually joins with the Grey Warden Duncan to help the group of elite soldiers fight back the surge of evil darkspawn threatening to destroy the world - known as the blight. Many fans theorize that thedarkspawn will play into the villain’s plan inDragon Age 4, which could lead to the Warden appearing in the new title.
However, that may not be possible, as at the end ofDragon Age: Originsplayers discover that a Grey Warden must be sacrificed to stop the blight. This can be either the player’s Warden or one of their companions, unless players decide to perform a dangerous ritual with the witch Morrigan. This decision is very important in determining the Warden’s state at the time ofDragon Age 4, as they can either be dead or become theruler of the Grey Wardens, like at the start of the DLC forDragon Age: Origins.
The Warden’s Involvement in Dragon Age: Origins' DLC
In the Awakening expansion forDragon Age: Origins,the Grey Wardens are given the fortress of Vigil’s Keep to rule over the Arling of Amaranthine. However, it is revealed that the darkspawn have yet to retreat after the end of the base campaign, and the Warden discovers that the darkspawn split into two warring factions led by mysterious figures known as the Mother and the Architect. This comes to a head when the Mother splits her army to attack both Vigil’s Keep and the city of Amaranthine, which forces the Warden to decide which to save. This choice also has a big impact onDragon Age’s world statemoving forward. Either way, the Mother is defeated and the Architect offers the Commander peace if they and their darkspawn are left alone in peace. The Warden can either slay the Architect or leave them alone as requested.
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Dragon Age: Origins' Witch Hunt DLC sees the Warden hunting down Morrigan after the events of the game while also trying to find a magical mirror that allows travel behind Thedas and the Fade. At the end of the DLC the Warden finds Morrigan after learning about theterrible things that Morrigan has done throughoutDragon Age’s history. The Warden can then make three different choices. Primarily, they can stab Morrigan, sending her tumbling into a portal so her ultimate fate is unknown, or they can let her travel through the portal to the Fade undisturbed. If players completed Morrigan’s ritual at the end ofDragon Age: Origins, however, they can also choose to leave their role as a Grey Warden and join Morrigan in walking through the portal.
The Warden’s Whereabouts in Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition
The Warden does not make much of an appearance inDragon Age 2,but is referenced a few times throughout the game. The Warden is first brought up at the start of the game when Varric is being interrogated by Cassandra, and them Hawke asks Bodahn Feddic about their association with the Warden when they first meet. Hawke can also run into Alistair when fighting through the streets of Kirkwall ifAlistair survivedDragon Age: Originsand stayed with the Grey Wardens, otherwise he can be met at the Viscount’s Keep if he was made the King of Fereldan.
If the Warden survived inDragon Age: Originsthey can also bereferenced on multiple occasions inDragon Age: Inquisition. Throughout conversations in the game, it is revealed that the Warden is searching for a way to prevent The Calling, which sees Grey Wardens being driven mad as a consequence of their interactions with the darkspawn. Grey Warden tradition sees Wardens venturing into the Deep Roads to slay as many darkspawn as they can before ultimately dying from The Calling themselves. The Inquisitor can also send the Warden a letter and receive one back, meanwhile different conversations throughout the game will reference the Warden’s relationship with various characters.
It will be interesting to see howDragon Age 4deals with the numerous different possibilities from the decisions that players have made across these three games. There are undoubtedly a lot of choices that the game will have to account for, but if it is able to do so well, it could make for a very special experience. HopefullyDragon Age 4will bring back the Wardenand other player characters from throughout the series, while also introducing some great new characters.
Dragon Age 4is currently in development.
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