Everything New We Just Learned About Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Companions [Update]

BioWare changed Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s title to Dragon Age: The Veilguard to better represent its story. This new name refers to your party as a whole, and the characters who make it up were the stars of the new cinematic trailer the studio showed off at the Xbox Games Showcase. But if you’re a Dragon Age diehard, you might recognize some of these characters from books, comics, and past games. We finally saw a few of these characters in action during a lengthy combat showcase, but BioWare has also provided some more story details and confirmed the game’s voice cast, so we know what they will probably sound like. Here’s what we know about Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s party.

The Veilguard will feature a new protagonist, as has been Dragon Age tradition. This time we’ll be playing as Rook, who is recruited by returning companion Varric Tethras to stop the elven god Solas from possibly destroying the world. Their ties to the conflict become much stronger after the game’s opening hours, and they get pulled into a Thedas-spanning adventure to stop the end of the world. Players can customize their Rook to be a human, elf, dwarf, or qunari, as well as determine what faction they represent in the world of Dragon Age, which helps flesh out their backstory.

Players will be able to choose between four different voice options, which will be usable across different body types and pronoun choices. This includes Cyberpunk 2077 and Telltale Game of Thrones actor Alex Jordan, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Good Omens actor Bryony Corrigan, Apex Legends actor and Dimension 20 regular Erika Ishii, and Battlefield 1 and Persona 3 Reload actor Jeff Berg.

First up, we have Scout Lace Harding. This dwarven rogue is probably the most recognizable confirmed party member, as she played a pretty pivotal role in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Harding was the player’s scout in the 2014 RPG, and as has become a tradition in Dragon Age, a fan-favorite side character is getting a bigger role in a sequel. BioWare describes her as having a “big heart, a positive outlook, and a ready bow,” which all lines up with what we’ve seen of her so far. But what is surprising is that Harding will have “unexpected magical powers,” so there’s still plenty more to learn about our old friend this time around.

The official character bio describes Harding as loving “adventure, animals, and nature and is fiercely protective of her family and friends.” As an archer Rogue, most of her abilities are suited for long-range combat. Here are her abilities.

• Seismic Shot
• Heavy Draw
• Shred
• Adrenaline Rush
• Soothing Potion

Harding is voiced by Ali Hillis, who reprises her role from Dragon Age: Inquisition. BioWare fans will know her best for her role as Liara T’Soni in the Mass Effect series, but she also is prominent in the Final Fantasy series, having voiced Final Fantasy XIII protagonist Lightning in the XIII trilogy and various spin-offs.

Next, we have Neve, a human mage operating out of the Tevinter capital Minrathous. Neve is a detective who appears in the Tevinter Nights anthology book, as well as the comic book series The Missing. Neve has been investigating the extremist mage faction called the Venatori, which puts her in the sightlines of the Inquisition. She helps the group investigate Solas, the Inquisition-party-member-turned-Veilguard-antagonist, and it seems her involvement is only going to continue in the game when it launches this fall. BioWare describes her as a “cynic,” but she is fighting for a better future as part of the Shadow Dragons faction that fights to end slavery in Tevinter.

Neve comes from a “working-class neighborhood” in Minrathous, and it sounds like that has affected her view of the magic hierarchy in Tevinter. She “does not believe” in mage superiority like others, but she still uses her magical capabilities to great effect. Her ice-based build includes the following ability loadout:

• Icebreaker
• Blizzard
• Glacial Pace
• Time Slow
• Replenish

Neve is voiced by True Blood actor Jessica Clark, who is making her video game debut in the role.

Bellara is one of the newcomers in The Veilguard. She’s an elven rogue “Veil Jumper,” part of a group introduced in The Missing comics who formed to protect the Arlathan Forest in the Tevinter Imperium. BioWare describes her as “creative and romantic” and “obsessed” with discovering secrets of the universe. She’s seen jumping through an Eluvian mirror’s portal in the cinematic trailer with a smile on her face, even as she gets pulled back in by some kind of tentacle monster.

BioWare says Bellara has “a strong sense of self” and a “clear idea of who she is and what she wants.” Though it sounds like that headstrong nature might lead her to “push herself to her limits” in order to learn more about elven history. Her electricity-based kit includes:

• Fade Bolts
• Enfeebling Shot
• Replenish
• Time Slow
• Galvanized Tear

Jee Young Han, known for her roles in Perry Mason and Unprisoned, will voice Bellara. BioWare fans may recognize her as Sentinel Dax from Anthem.

Emmrich, the human Tevinter mage, is giving “Dorian Pavus’ grandpa.” The mustache-sporting necromancer was also featured in the Tevinter Nights anthology in which he’s shown to be a master of the dark arts of life and death. He’s part of the Mourn Watch, a group that are essentially keepers and maintainers of the dead. He’s so skilled in resurrecting and controlling the dead that he has a skeleton assistant named Manfred.

Despite working with some scary magic, Emmrich is described as “serious about his duty to protect innocents from the occult.” His necromancy build includes:

• Final Rites
• Replenish
• Entangling Spirits
• The Bell Tolls
• Time Slow

Call of Duty actor Nick Boraine will voice Emmrich, while Critical Role star Matthew Mercer will voice his skeleton assistant named Manfred.

Another newcomer in The Veilguard is Davrin. He’s brand new to the series, but his faction isn’t. Davrin is a member of the Grey Wardens, the Darkspawn-killing order that has been a figurehead in Dragon Age since Origins. BioWare says he’s “bold and charming” and is apparently a notable monster hunter. He’s also my new husband, probably. Maybe. If Lucanis doesn’t steal my heart. Look, we’re all scouting these characters out for who we’re gonna smooch and we can apparently wife up whoever we want. Don’t judge me.

Before he was a Grey Warden, Davrin was raised in a Dalish clan, but left his nomadic family because he “craved excitement and adventure” and would “rather make history than reflect on it.” His sword and board Warrior build includes:

• Battle Cry
• Death from Above
• Heroic Strike
• Assan Strike
• In War, Victory

Davrin is voiced by storied video game voice actor Ike Amadi, who BioWare fans will recognize as Javik in the Mass Effect trilogy.

The lone Qunari companion this time around is Taash. She hasn’t appeared in any other Dragon Age media, but if the character trailer is any indication she’s clearly an adventurous fighter who is willing to take on whole-ass dragons by herself. Taash is part of the Lords of Fortune, a group of treasure hunters from the country of Rivain.

Though Taash seems like she has a one-track mind, focusing on treasure and “hitting things with an axe,” BioWare says she’s “deeply knowledgeable about many topics.” Her dual-axe build gives her the following abilities:

• Fire Breath
• Dragon’s Roar
• Dragonfire Strike
• Spitfire
• Fortune’s Favor

Star Trek: Picard and Total Eclipse actor Jin Maley plays Taash.

While Varric doesn’t seem to be a party member, the fan-favorite companion from Dragon Age II and Inquisition appears to be in some kind of leadership role in The Veilguard. He’s shown talking to Harding about recruiting all of these chucklefucks, so odds are he’ll play a major part in wherever the story goes. This guy’s been on the frontlines for two games now, so maybe it’s good that he gets out of the scrap for once.

That’s what we know about this new crew so far. Whether they live up to the highs of the past games remains to be seen. It’s gonna be hard to live up to characters like Dorian Pavus and Morrigan, but after ten years, I’m eager to see BioWare rise to the occasion. Varric’s long-time voice actor Brian Bloom will reprise the role in The Veilguard.