Anyone who spends enough time in theDragon Agecommunity will eventually hear people expose the idea thatDragon Age: Inquisitionis significantly lighter and softer than it’s predecessors. While that is debatable, some worry thatDragon Age: Dreadwolfmight not treat its subject matter appropriately. This concern is particularly acute givenDragon Age: Dreadwolf’s setting of Tevinter, whose penchant for slavery and human sacrifice is a well-established part ofDragon Agelore.
Fortunately, there is no evidence that BioWare intends to pull its punches in regard to depictingthe Tevinter Imperium’s crimes inDragon Age: Dreadwolf. It’s quite the opposite, with creative director John Elper describing how BioWare wants to properly explore Tevinter society in a way that does not gloss over its unpleasant aspects. This will most likely turn out to be the correct decision for how BioWare should approach the Imperium in the upcoming fourthDragon Agegame.
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Tevinters' Sins in Dragon Age
The Tevinter Imperium is one of the most powerful nations inDragon Age’s setting of Thedas, serving as its equivalent of the Roman Empire. At the height of its power, the Imperium stretched across nearly all the known world. However, Tevinter built that empire on the back of an incalculable number of human and elven slaves, many of whom were sacrificed in blood magic rituals. It was also a group of Tevinter Magisters, the powerful mages whogovern Tevinter society inDragon Age, who created the Darkspawn during a misguided attempt to reach the Golden City at the center of the Fade.
The Tevinter Imperium was eventually defeated, but not destroyed, byAndraste’s followers in Dragon Age’s backstory. The Imperium would even convert to a version of Andrastianism, though one that deviates significantly from the southern Chantry’s beliefs. However, the religion’s prohibition on slavery and blood magic was not enough to permanently end either practice. While the Tevinter that exists during the events ofDragon Ageis not the same country as the Imperium at its height, it remains the only nation in Thedas where slavery and blood magic are accepted parts of society.
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Tevinter in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf
The Tevinters themselves did not have a massive role in the first twoDragon Agegames, mostly being minor antagonists.Dragon Age: Inquisitionwas the first game where Tevinter played a prominent role in the form of the Venatori.Inquisitionalso introduced the mage Dorian,Dragon Age’s first Tevinter party member. He also offered a window into Tevinter society from the perspective of someone from its upper echelons, albeit one who isn’t totally on board with all the Imperium’s excesses.
The depiction of sympathetic Tevinters like Dorian and the framing of the Venatori as radical extremists might lead some to fear thatDragon Age: Dreadwolfmight whitewash Tevinter. If it wanted to, nothing is stopping BioWare from downplaying the slavery, blood magic, and cruelty of many Magisters to make the nation more palatable. However, John Elper has explicitly said that that’s not the direction BioWare is going.
“The most important thing for us was […] to make sure that we didn’t shy away or gloss over the sins of Tevinter, especially when you go to such an extreme country,” said John Elper during a December 2022 interview with Polygon on the depiction of Tevinter inDragon Age: Absolution. He went on to say thatsettingDragon Age: Dreadwolfin the Tevinter Imperium"provides us with opportunities, in the future, to go more into those places with a conflict. What do people living in there that are actually genuinely good people, not just people who see themselves as good people, look like?"
That should be reassuring for anyone concerned about how the nextDragon Agegame might depict the Imperium.Dreadwolf’s Tevinter needs to be more nuanced than just spiky gothic buildings and scary blood mages, but it also can’t shy away from depicting how its ruling class stays in power and treats the people it rules over. If BioWare can simultaneously humanize the Tevinters while depicting how horrific Tevinter society is, it givesDragon Age: Dreadwolfa unique opportunity to explore difficult moral questions through the characters BioWare creates.
