The Art of Dragon Age: The Veilguard dropped some major revelation: we almost had a whole squad of unexpected companions that could’ve joined our journey through Thedas. Yep, characters who were fully conceptualized, sketched, and nearly written in, only to be cut just before the final build.
Some of these were familiar faces from Inquisition, ready to return to the fray, and others were completely new ideas that would’ve taken the story in wildly different directions.
Also Lace Harding, everyone’s favorite scout, was initially planned to make a comeback. Her design barely changed throughout development, so she was practically a lock.
But others weren’t so lucky.
Taash, for instance, was originally conceived as a rogue rocking dragon-skin armor.
That alone could’ve made him/her one of the coolest companions in the game, right? Lucanis, on the other hand, was first imagined as a Tevinter agent before they shifted his character in a completely new direction.
Then there was an Antivan Crow dreamer concept—a character who ultimately didn’t make it, with Lucanis stepping in to take her place.
Furthermore there were some wild ideas on the table about a Qunari companion, including a mage-slash-spy (a “dapper spy,” no less) with a sleek, dangerous vibe. James Bond, Qunari edition? We could’ve had it all.
Some familiar faces almost came back as well, which would’ve totally thrown a wrench into our plans. Imshael, the chaos-loving spirit from Inquisition, was one step away from becoming a full-fledged companion.
Calpernia—Corypheus’s ex-right hand—was in the running, too, ready to bring her powerful magic and dark past to the squad.
Thinking about these characters gives you a real sense of what could’ve been.
Each one represents a version of The Veilguard that almost changed the lore of Thedas entirely.
So, while none of these characters made it to the final cut (except Lace Harding), it’s pretty amazing to see how much thought and creativity went into The Veilguard’s development.
Who knows—maybe some of these scrapped ideas will find their way back in a future DLC. Here’s hoping!
