History Characters / DragonAgeInquisitionCompanions

[[redirect:Characters/DragonAgeInquisition]]

Subpage for the Companions of [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Dragon Age Inquisition]]. For other characters, [[Characters/DragonAgeInquisition see here]]

[[foldercontrol]]

!!!The Warriors

[[folder: Blackwall]]
!!Blackwall
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blackwall_1446.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"All a Warden is, is a promise. To protect others, even at the cost of your own life."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' ''Alastair Parker''

Warden-Constable Blackwall is a Grey Warden who was once stationed in Val Chevin, and elects to join the Inquisition. He is a romance option for female Inquisitors of any race.

Written by Sheryl Chee.
----
* AllThereInTheManual: Blackwall's first name, Gordon, is only given in ''World of Thedas Vol. 2''. [[spoiler: The real Blackwall, that is. It's unknown if Thom Rainier even knew Gordon's full name.]]
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Inverted. When you first speak to him at Haven, Blackwall will tell a non-human Inquisitor that he expected them to be one. The Inquisitor can say that s/he appreciates the honesty, but Blackwall will admonish himself for thinking something so foolish.
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: He pretends to be Warden Blackwall to atone for accepting a bribe, ordering his troops to slaughter an Orlesian general and his family, and deserting his post, allowing his subordinates to be punished in his stead.]]
* BadassBeard: Was streaked with silver in concept art. Some later party banter between him and the Iron Bull reveals that [[spoiler:he grew the beard specifically to hide his face and make it less obvious that he wasn't the real Blackwall]]. He's fully aware of how the trope applies to him, too:
-->'''Sera''': Do all Grey Wardens have beards?\\
'''Blackwall''': No, just me. I stole all the beards (''dramatic voice'') and all the power within! ''[[Franchise/{{Highlander}} There can be only one.]]''
* BadassGrandpa: He was a Warden-Constable, e.g. second-in-command of the Grey Wardens in Orlais, at the time of the Fifth Blight. That was more than ten years before ''Inquisition''. We don't know how old he is, but he can't be young. [[spoiler: Well, the real Blackwall wasn't young. From what is revealed about Rainier, he seems to be in his mid-forties; not exactly a grandpa.]]
* BashBrothers: He best fits this with Iron Bull. Cassandra might have also fit [[spoiler:before TheReveal.]]
* BeardnessProtectionProgram: [[spoiler: He grew the beard to keep others from realizing that he wasn't really Blackwall, as well as to help distance himself from his old identity of Thom Rainier.]]
* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler:If he was taken to the Grey Warden after the battle against Corypheus, he will survive the Joining and become a true Grey Warden. In the Trespasser epilogue, it is stated that between his duties as a Grey Warden, he will continue to do what he did while disguised as Blackwall despite having no reason to continue acting this way. Furthermore, if you romance him, you'll have a proof that he become Warden Constable (second most important Warden in a whole country) which is the same title as the real Blackwall.]]
* BirdsOfAFeather: If you're romancing him as a female Dwarf, you are both [[spoiler:ex-criminals trying to make a new life. Blackwall will acknowledge the similarity himself.]]
* BrokenPedestal: He's on both ends of this trope.
** Giving on: During the Warden questline, he's shocked to see the actions his fellow Grey Wardens would do when hearing the Fake Calling and it ultimately is nearly shattered completely by the end. [[spoiler:Given that he respects them because he isn't actually one, it makes sense why he does.]]
** Receiving: The party, for the most part, all respect Blackwall and see him as a good man and a fine example of a Warden. [[spoiler:When it turns out he's not the real Blackwall, most of the party vehemently dislike him. The biggest example is Cassandra, who goes from seeing Blackwall as a ally and friend to practically regarding him as an enemy, and only working with him because he may still be in the Inquisition. The only people to respect and like him still are Varric, Sera and Cole (who always knew Blackwall's secret and therefore wasn't surprised or bothered). Iron Bull, Dorian and Solas ease up a little, Cullen will eventually forgive him in the Trespasser DLC, and Cassandra eventually seems to warm up a ''little'' through some banter, or at least becomes less hostile to him.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: Both off-screen and during the game. He goes from [[spoiler:an amoral mercenary captain and murderer to champion of the weak.]] Then, just after he's earned a position in the Inquisition and the respect that goes with it, he gives it all up and [[spoiler: surrenders himself to save one of his men facing execution for following his orders.]] If he doesn't go to the Wardens, then two years later you find [[spoiler: he's started using his old name again and has been tracking down and speaking to his men. And getting punched a lot, but he can take it.]]
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Feels that the Grey Wardens' role should not be restricted to fighting Darkspawn, but also protecting the innocent on all occasions. Not a sentiment shared by most Grey Wardens.
* CompensatingForSomething: When Sera asks why Dwarven architecture is so large when dwarves are so short, this is Blackwall's explanation. When Sera turns that back at him by pointing out that he swings around a big sword, he replies "That's not compensation. [[BiggusDickus That's a counterweight]]."
* CulturedWarrior: As read from his speech to his recruits after the massacre of Ostagar. He surprises Vivienne with detailed knowledge of the trappings of Orlesian nobility.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler: Of the original Blackwall.]]
* DeathFakedForYou: During his sidequest, one option is to have [[spoiler:Leliana's agents swap him with a double]] so that his death is faked a second time.
* {{Determinator}}: Described as "The Resolve" of the team.
* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler:As Thom Rainier, he was cowardly enough to let his men butcher children to avoid revealing his deception, then fled justice while letting them hang.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: A transcript of one of his speeches during the events of ''Origins'' appears in ''The World of Thedas''. [[spoiler:Except he isn't the Blackwall that wrote that speech, he's just pretending.]]
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: A part of being a Warden is enhanced strength and stamina. The surgeon even asks if she can study him. [[spoiler:Ultimately, of course, it doesn't apply to him. However, he does become one once he takes his Joining and survives sometime two years later.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When the Inquisitor finds Blackwall, he's using his status to teach victims how to stand up for themselves, and when a bandit shoots an arrow at the Inquisitor's back, he blocks it without even knowing who he's protecting.
* ExactWords: In the Warden plotline, if asked if [[spoiler:Corypheus's fake Calling]] is affecting him and if he's a threat. Blackwall says bluntly that [[spoiler:Corypheus]] has no hold on him. [[spoiler:Later it turns out that Blackwall is actually a wanted criminal named Thom Rainier, meaning Corypheus ''literally'' has no hold on him.]]
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: If you're not a human, when you first speak to Blackwall at Skyhold, he reluctantly admits that he was expecting you to be one. The Inquisitor will actually praise him for being honest. A Dwarf Inquisitor will, in fact, ''literally'' say, "At least it's not 'I was expecting you to be taller.'"
* FakingTheDead: In his backstory, [[spoiler:he used the real Blackwall's death]] to fake his own.
* {{Foreshadowing}}[=/=]SpottingTheThread:
** When you first recruit him, he makes a very solemn and saddened face while stating that Grey Wardens can inspire someone to be better than they think they are.
** And his quote? The promise is all wrong. [[spoiler: Gray Wardens are sworn to end the Blight, in whatever way possible, moral qualms be damned.]]
** On another level, if you ask him directly about the more secretive stuff about the Grey Wardens, he's extremely vague and tends to sum it up as "It's a Grey Warden thing." [[spoiler: He doesn't actually know, for example, how you kill an Archdemon for good, thinking it's just a matter of stabbing it enough times until it's dead. [[Videogame/DragonAgeOrigins It's not.]] This is something an experienced Warden would definitely know.]]
** During the Warden plotline, [[spoiler: he never actually confirms he can hear Corypheus' false Calling, claiming only that Corypheus "has no hold" over him.]]
** In one party banter, he asks Sera, who was a child in Denerim at the time of the first game, if she saw many Grey Wardens during the final battle. [[spoiler: A real Warden, especially one as high ranking as the real Blackwall was at that time, would know that there were only three Wardens in that battle (the Hero of Ferelden, Alistair/Loghain, and Riordan) because of Loghain's betrayal of King Cailan at Ostagar.]]
** In the Fade, the Nightmare says, [[spoiler:"Ah, there's nothing like a Grey Warden. And you are ''nothing'' like a Grey Warden."]] Also, the gravestone [[spoiler: in the Fade]] which describes his worst fear simply says "Himself".
** After the Siege of Adamant, when he starts describing what does and does not make one a Warden, he hesitates before saying that the Joining doesn't, [[spoiler: likely because of his claim to be a Warden despite not performing it. Or possibly because ''his'' Joining was the traumatic experience that led to the death of Blackwall and the birth of "Blackwall".]] The next sentence he says is the quote at the top.
** During his banter with Cole, at one point Cole will remark "So many masks...", and Blackwall assumes he means the masks worn at the ball. Cole replies "Not at the ball. ''Here''." [[spoiler:The "masks" Cole's referring to are the ways Blackwall is hiding his true identity.]]
** A charred letter is found on one of the bandits encountered during Blackwall's introduction. The letter claims that the person to whom it's addressed has no chance of ever reclaiming his honor, and that he'd be better off joining the bandits to make use of what "that bastard taught you". [[spoiler:After his personal quest, it's clear that the letter was addressed to one of Blackwall's men, which explains why Blackwall seems oddly regretful after putting the bandits down.]]
* GirlOnGirlIsHot: He asks Sera for details about her sexual conquests. When questioned about it, he replies that he [[FetishFuel "can't stop thinking about it"]].
* GoodIsNotNice: During the Blight, Loghain wouldn't allow for more Warden reinforcements simply because they would come from Orlais. When Blackwall learned of this, despite being a committed Grey Warden, he was entirely willing to allow Ferelden to fall to the Blight as punishment for Loghain's stupidity. [[spoiler:This isn't that Blackwall.]]
* GrayEyes: Hits several archetypes associated with the attribute: a lone-wolf mentor figure, a resolute, iron-willed idealist [[spoiler: and a history as a calculating, amoral killer]].
* HaveWeMet: A nobleman in the Winter Palace will insist that he's seen Blackwall somewhere before, but can't quite place him. He suggests [[{{Foreshadowing}} maybe if the beard didn't hide his face...]]
* HeelRealization[=/=]VillainousBSOD: [[spoiler:He's in the eternal aftermath of one.]]
* HehHehYouSaidX: His party banter humor can occasionally veer into this territory.
-->'''Cole:''' Your knife is big.\\
'''Blackwall:''' ''[snickers]'' It's a sword.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: He tells the Inquisitor that he was in Ferelden during the Fifth Blight, killing his "fair share" of darkspawn. [[spoiler:No, he wasn't - see above. The ''player'' knows this, but the Inquisitor has no reason not to believe him.]]
* HeroicResolve: His marketing title was even "The Resolve;" he believes in protecting people no matter what, and that a Warden's first duty is really about that. [[spoiler:He will keep this mindset even when officially becoming a Grey Warden.]]
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: His greatest fear is himself - he's full of self-loathing, and never sees himself as a hero, no matter how much good he does.
* HeroicVow: Takes the perceived and inherent notion that a Warden exists to protect to extremes: he believes that this is what they must be for, above anything else.
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Gender-inverted. If you begin flirting with Blackwall, he will quickly become flustered and state that he's not used to female praise or attention. However, he admits that he very much enjoys your company. If the flirting continues, he'll later try to dissuade you by saying that you're at too high a status and much too respected to settle for a guy like him.
* InsecureLoveInterest: He doesn't believe himself good enough for a Female!Inquisitor, and warns her he should not get too attached as he is just another soldier. [[spoiler: This makes sense considering TheReveal that he is not really Blackwall.]] It's also why, if neither of them are romanced, he refuses to court Josephine, despite Cole's hints that [[TwiceShy she feels some attraction towards him as well]].
* InitiationCeremony: His ceremony for induction into the Wardens was [[spoiler:interrupted when his recruiter was killed by darkspawn.]] Blackwall doesn't understand why [[spoiler:the real Blackwall insisted on stopping and sending him to kill darkspawn and bring back their blood.]] Anyone who's played the first game knows ''exactly'' why that happened.
* IOweYouMyLife: If the Inquisitor [[spoiler:frees him during judgement]], despite learning what he's done, this is his reaction.
* IWorkAlone: He prefers solitary work due to his high moral standards. [[spoiler: And because being alone in the wilderness reduces the chances of someone recognizing him.]]
* JumpedAtTheCall:
** The Inquisitor just wants to know if he can explain why the other Wardens have vanished; it's Blackwall who decides to join them.
** He's also one of the increasingly few Grey Wardens that wasn't conscripted by force. [[spoiler: As it turns out, the real Blackwall found him while he was on the run, but was ambushed and killed before the Joining ceremony.]]
* JustFollowingOrders: Inverted. [[spoiler: Blackwall considers himself more responsible than those who personally killed the Calliers, as they didn't have all the facts and were only doing what they'd been trained to do.]]
* KnightErrant: Wanders Thedas alone protecting the innocent. [[spoiler:It's both to atone for his past and to reduce the chances of being recognized.]]
* KnightInShiningArmor: Brave, noble, and protective. [[spoiler: He throws himself into the ideal to atone for his past.]]
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Towards the legendary Grey Wardens of old. [[spoiler: And to the real Blackwall, whom he idolized.]]
* LastNameBasis: No one ever uses Blackwall's first name, and it's not even revealed in-game until ''Tresspasser'', and even then only if his personal quest was not completed. [[spoiler:The most likely explanation is that Thom Ranier never knew the real Blackwall's full name.]]
* LegacyCharacter: After a fashion. [[spoiler:If forgiven and welcomed back, the Inquisitor can suggest accepting "Blackwall" as the title to which he must aspire.]]
* LiarRevealed: How straight this gets played during his personal quest varies. [[spoiler: Specifically, it varies with the companion after he gets found out for a fraud. Cassandra, who held him in high regard, is disgusted, and their relationship never recovers; judging by Blackwall's own comments if asked about the Inquisition advisors, this is Cullen's reaction to him as well. Solas is equally grumpy, though his opinion softens later on. Sera, Varric, the Iron Bull, and Dorian are more forgiving, with Bull in particular trying to raise his spirits by [[NotSoDifferent finding parallels with his own situation]], and Dorian, who previously did not get along with Blackwall, ending up respecting his genuine desire to atone. And Cole, who always knew, tries to make him see [[CharacterDevelopment how much he has changed]].]]
-->'''Blackwall:''' [[spoiler:Cole, if you knew what I am, what I'd done, why didn't you tell the others]]?\\
'''Cole:''' Everyone hides dead things. Everyone pretends. [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner You wanted to fix it]]]].\\
'''Blackwall:''' [[spoiler:I'm a murderer]].\\
'''Cole:''' [[spoiler:You don't want to be. You made a new you. You are Blackwall. You killed Rainier]].\\
'''Blackwall:''' If only that were possible.\\
'''Cole:''' [[spoiler:You would stand between Rainier and the carriage. But you can't. It doesn't work like that. So you carry the bodies to remember]].\\
'''Blackwall:''' [[spoiler:I suppose I do. ]]
* LittleNo: If the Inquisitor [[spoiler:banishes the Grey Wardens from Orlais.]] It breaks his heart to see that happen to the group he idolizes so much.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: [[spoiler:Like all Grey Warden recruits, he was not told what the Joining involves or why he was supposed to kill a Darkspawn and collect its blood. So when his recruiter was killed in an ambush, he didn't know that he did, in fact, have proof that his recruitment was legitimate.]]
* LostForever: If you don't recruit him before the siege at Adamant Fortress, you can never get him.
* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: [[spoiler:Since he's not really Blackwall, but a criminal, he feels unworthy of the Inquisitor and before TheReveal will often warn her to break things off with him under the pretense that his life as a Warden will be a hindrance to their relationship. After his identity is found out, the Inquisitor may choose to forgive him or punish him, and also to either break up with him or give him another chance. If he is not romanced, this is also the reason why he does not make his feelings for Josephine known.]]
* MeaningfulRename: In Trespasser, [[spoiler: he discards the Blackwall identity entirely and is known solely as Thom Rainier, including on the character select screen. In this case, the meaningful rename is that he is able to go back to his original identity.]]
* MightyGlacier: The best tank out of the three warrior companions thanks to his Champion specialization. However, making Blackwall more useful as a tank requires sacrificing the mobility of the other two.
* MultipleChoicePast:[[spoiler: In-universe.]] If you've gotten this far and are a bit confused [[spoiler: by what happened to the original Blackwall and what Thom Rainier did while impersonating him]], we're sorry.
* MushroomSamba: If Blackwall is taken to the Hissing Wastes, he shares a story about a disastrous assignment to the Silent Plains. At one point, he and his men lost all of their food to a flash flood, so they ate some berries a noobie had found. Blackwall spent two nights hallucinating a ring of nugs singing sea shanties at him.
* NoodleIncident: After the MushroomSamba incident, Blackwall and his men awoke to find themselves surrounded by a bunch of ghasts that had stolen their weapons and armor.
--> '''Inquisitor:''' How did you escape?\\
'''Blackwall:''' You'd be surprised what a man armed with a rock and a headache can do.
* NotSoAboveItAll:
** Iron Bull asks him what's the maximum number of pieces he's chopped an enemy in with one swing.[[note]]Apparently, it's sort of an [[BloodKnight obsession]], see Bull's quote. [[/note]] Blackwall is not amused:
--->'''Blackwall:''' For the Wardens, battle is a sacred duty, a vigil kept to guard the world against destruction. It's not a game.\\
'''Iron Bull:''' Right. [[BlatantLies Same here]].\\
''[{{beat}}]''\\
'''Blackwall:''' Do heads count?
** He takes great joy at the prospect of telling Cullen that Bull and the Inquisitor [[spoiler:or Dorian]] have had sex on the war table.
** He is very curious to know if Solas has done anything sexual with spirits.
** In general, Blackwall's sense of humor is barely more mature than Sera's.
* NotStayingForBreakfast: Following his romance path will have the Inquisitor waking up alone after their first night together.
* NumberTwo: Was once the second-in-command to the Orlesian Warden-Commander. [[spoiler:At least, his namesake was.]]
* OddFriendship:
** The quiet and selfless Blackwall gets along very well with the loudmouthed and selfish Sera. Much of it stems from their mutual dislike of the aristocracy, and [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike rather juvenile sense of humor]]. In the ''Trespasser'' DLC Sera's journal can be found stating that he hugs harder [[spoiler: as Rainier than he did as Blackwall]].
** Blackwall and Iron Bull are pretty similar in some ways. They find more common ground if [[spoiler:Bull becomes a Tal-Vashoth and Blackwall is exposed as Thom Rainier.]]
* OldSoldier: He has yet to hang up his coat.
* TheParagon: He sometimes "conscripts" victims of bullies, bandits and thieves to fight back against their antagonists. He does this so that the next time, they won't need him to teach them how. This is how you meet him, in fact.
* PersonalHorror: The Nightmare demon identifies Blackwall's greatest fear as "himself." [[spoiler:Played painfully straight.]]
* ThePigPen: Dorian, Vivienne, and Cole all comment on Blackwall's hygiene, or lack thereof.
* PrecisionFStrike:
** Notably, he drops the very first F-bomb in the games themselves.
--->'''Inquisitor''': The Inquisition needs all the help it can get, but what can one Grey Warden do?\\
'''Blackwall''': Save the fucking world if pressed.
** Also doubles as a neat little minor CallBack[=/=]ShoutOut to ''Origins'', since that's effectively what the Hero of Ferelden did.
** He drops another one in the lead up to his personal quest.
--->'''Blackwall:''' There's always some dog out there. Some fucking mongrel who doesn't know how to stay away.
* RealMenHateSugar: He complains that the Orlesian marketplace sells too many "frilly little cakes" these days.
* ReformedButRejected: [[spoiler:Especially if you choose to condemn him]] for his past misdeeds.
* RomanceSidequest: For any female Inquisitor.
* SchmuckBait: His [[LimitBreak Focus Ability]], Counterstrike, draws all enemies to attack him, to which he will respond by counterattacking.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** Once his approval drops below a certain point, he will leave no matter what you say.
** In his backstory, [[spoiler: when Gaspard denied any involvement in the murder of Callier and his family, he ran and left his men to take the fall.]]
* SophisticatedAsHell: Occasionally. In ''Trespasser'', when Sera's freaking out about demons, Blackwall's reassurance goes: "Easy, Sera, we're old hands at this. Just stare them square and remember these sage words: ''Fuck 'em''."
* StalkerWithACrush: Vivienne accuses him of "shadowing" Josephine around Skyhold, though Cole will reveal in party banters that his feelings aren't ''entirely'' one-sided.
* StoneWall: As a Champion, he is potentially the most difficult companion to damage, let alone kill, and can periodically make himself invincible for a few seconds with his Walking Fortress ability.
* StraightMan: He tends to be this during party banter, depending on who else is in the conversation.
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: He and Sera both wonder if Solas has ever been intimate with a Fade spirit. Even if Sera is never recruited, he comes to wonder on his own and decides to risk a fireball to the face to ask.
* SurvivorGuilt: His main motivation is feeling guilty for the death of the Warden that recruited him. [[spoiler:Who was the real Blackwall. This is combined with the men who died taking the fall for him, as well as the criminal for whom you swap him (if you choose to do so).]]
* TakingUpTheMantle: He's not actually [[spoiler:the man named Blackwall. He's a former soldier named Thom Rainier, who got caught up in the power struggle between Celene and Gaspard. After he and his troops murdered the family of one of Celene's allies, Gaspard disavowed them and he went on the run. He met the real Blackwall and intended to join the Grey Wardens, but Blackwall died before it could happen. An inspired Rainier took his name and cause to atone for his past mistakes.]]
* TeethClenchedTeamwork:
** He and Dorian can't ''stand'' each other. On Blackwall's part, he hates Dorian for being a pampered and spoiled blueblood, and he shows signs of FantasticRacism against him for being both from Tevinter and a mage. To their credit, they try to find some middle ground during late-game banter.
** He tries to be friends with Vivienne at first, but she keeps rejecting him to the point where they barely tolerate each other and snipe insults ''constantly''. They do, however, have a very polite moment in party banter following her personal quest, suggesting that they respect each other despite the animosity.
* ThatManIsDead: Played with - [[spoiler: Cole feels that he "killed" his former self when he became Blackwall, but if he shows up in ''Trespasser'' it's under his original name once again.]]
* ThatsWhatSheSaid: His romance chain is a series of these, starting with him asking if the female Inquisitor "needs any heavy lifting" and then commenting that she has "the world at her feet, and him as well". She practically purrs with delight in her response to both.
* TragicHero: With a definite admixture of [[spoiler:AntiVillain.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: He develops this relationship with Dorian once both of them come to understand and respect the other's past and motivations.
* WalkingSpoiler: See all the pretty blank space? Don't click it if you don't want to know what's really going on.
* WalkingTheEarth:
** When the Inquisition finds him, he's travelling alone to recruit for the Order.
** He can resume this in the epilogue for ''Trespasser'', seeking out the condemned or vulnerable to give them hope.
* WorthLivingFor: He comes to see the Inquisitor as this if romanced.
-->'''Blackwall:''' There's always something to die for. But something worth living for? That doesn't come every day.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: What he spends time doing on his own. [[spoiler:Because it's something he desperately needs to believe for himself. Some characters, like Cole, believe he qualifies.]]
-->'''Blackwall:''' Grey Wardens can inspire. Make you better than you think you are.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cassandra Pentaghast]]
->''"At this moment, you are the only threat I see."''

A former member of the Seekers who joins the Inquisition in order to find a solution to the chaos raging across Thedas.

''For more info, see [[Characters/DragonAgeRecurringPartyMembers this page]].''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Iron Bull]]
!!The Iron Bull (AKA Hissrad)
[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ironbull_2056.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:''"What's the most pieces you've ever cut someone into in a single swing? I'm up to three. But I have some ideas."'']]

->'''Voiced by''': ''Freddie Prinze Jr''

The Iron Bull is a captain of a mercenary company, and a Ben-Hassrath qunari who doubts his allegiance to the Qun. Officially, he joins the Inquisition to report back to the Qunari, but unofficially he's there to protect the innocent, and of course kill demons for pay. A romance option for Inquisitors of any gender or race.

Written by Patrick Weekes.
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* AcquiredPoisonImmunity: At one point he gets stabbed by poisoned knives [[spoiler:if he decides to leave the Qun]], but since he's been drinking the antidote to that particular poison, all he feels is a sting. Especially impressive, since said poison is ''saar-qamek'', a nerve agent that induces insanity and death.
* AllThereInTheManual: ''World of Thedas Vol. II'' details the incident that led Iron Bull, then known as Hissrad, to turn himself into the reeducators. [[spoiler:Hissrad's sanity had already been hanging by a thread for several years when one of his oldest friends turned Tal-Vashoth. The resulting bloodbath included many non-combatants and children.]]
* AnythingThatMoves: He's pansexual and he will sleep with anyone interested he's reasonably sure he won't break.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: When listing the Warden-y things that Blackwall repeatedly talks about, he lists "Grey Wardens and honor and sacrifice and ''griffons''".
* AwesomeMcCoolname:
** It's common for Qunari to have nicknames. In his case, the name is an obvious reference to the shape of his horns. At one point, Cole notes that they're not really bull horns, they're ''dragon'' horns, so he could have called himself "the Iron Dragon."
--->'''Bull''': Oh! ...Shit. That ''would'' have been better.
** Discussed with Varric, who wonders why Bull didn't choose a less brittle metal, like steel. Turns out that "The Steel Bull" was taken by a pit fighter in Antiva City, "The Veridium Bull" is a pair of identical twin exotic dancers in Llomerryn, and "The Silverite Bull" is a tavern in Rialto. After that the alternatives were textiles, which would send the wrong message.
* {{Badass}}: "There are very few things in the world that he can't kill if he needs to, which puts him at ease most of the time." While most companions are obviously martially skilled, Bull is certainly the one who has the most emphasis on being ''cool'' and deadly.
* BadassBaritone: Has a pleasantly deep voice.
* BadassBack: Most promotional shots of him were from behind.
* BadassBoast: Note the quote.
* BadassBisexual: He's attracted to men and women, that is when he's not killing things. ''Lots'' [[BloodKnight of things]].
* BaldOfAwesome: Not a hair on this mighty Qunari warrior's head.
* BashBrothers:
** He and the Chargers, sure enough. Especially Krem.
** In the party, he and Blackwall are the Warriors who best fit. Their banter involves their combat history and what their ideal weapons would be made from.
* BattleCouple: He can form one half of one with the Inquisitor, but he can become part of one even if you don't undertake his RomanceSidequest [[spoiler:with Dorian]].
* BecomingTheMask: While he still sends reports to the Ben-Hassrath, he doesn't know if he is still a Qunari agent masquerading as a mercenary or if he is a mercenary deluding himself into believing that he's still Qunari. [[spoiler:His personal quest forces him to choose.]]
* BigBrotherMentor: He plays this role to Cole during party banter.
* BiggerIsBetterInBed: There are multiple references to people, possibly including the Inquisitor [[spoiler:or Dorian]], walking funny after spending the night with Bull. [[CovertPervert Josephine]] is also impressed when she accidentally sees him naked during his romance arc.
* TheBigGuy: He quite easily outsizes the rest of the Inquisitor's teammates and is even larger than a Qunari Inquisitor. He's also referred to in promos as "The Muscle".
* BlatantLies: You can ask him if he ever thinks what it would be like if the Inquisition was conquered by the Qun. He muses that while Cassandra and Cullen [[TheFettered would be assimilated rather quickly]] if they didn't die fighting, Solas would never be able to get away with Fade-walking as a mage, Vivienne's political posturing would come to a quick halt, and Varric and Sera would mouth off until the re-educators [[MindRape completely broke their minds]]. Then he tells you, no... he doesn't think about this much at all.
* BloodKnight: Really gives off this vibe. Just check out his character quote. [[spoiler: Interestingly, this is also his greatest fear, since his gravestone in the Fade says what frightens him most is madness. As long as he can see himself as "just a weapon" in the service of the Qun, he doesn't need to feel guilty about enjoying fights and killing. If he breaks off during his personal quest, he becomes terrified of turning into a murderous Tal-Vashoth like the rebels he put down as a Ben-Hassrath.]]
* BoisterousBruiser: In stark contrast to the more dour, deadpan Qunari we've met before, he leads men into battle and taverns with equal enthusiasm.
* BrainsAndBondage: It's all but stated that he practices S&M with his sexual partners, and he's also a GeniusBruiser.
* BreakTheHaughty: His life as a Ben-Hassrath had an effect on his psyche.
* CastFromHitPoints: His Dragon Rage ability, common for Reaver specializations.
* ChivalrousPervert: Iron Bull makes no secret of the fact he really enjoys sex and offers both Dorian and Cassandra the chance to sleep with him. Cassandra outright tells him it'll never happen and he immediately apologizes and says he won't make another offer. Cassandra tells him that any flirting they have is just for fun, which works for Bull. If Iron Bull is in a relationship with the Inquisitor, he's very caring and passionate as well as refusing to talk about their sex life to Varric since what happens in that room is for Bull and the Inquisitor only.
* ConflictingLoyalty: He's torn between his allegiance to the Qun and his new life as a mercenary captain. [[spoiler:During his personal quest, he'll eventually have to choose one over the other.]]
* ConsummateLiar: It's literally [[spoiler:his name: Hissrad is the Qunlat word for "liar". If Bull is encouraged to leave the Qun, he leaves this part of himself behind and becomes more honest with both himself and others. If he is encouraged to stay with the Qun, than he lives up to his name. It becomes particularly apparent in ''Trespasser'' with how easily he slips into acting like he is still friends, and possibly even lovers, with the Inquisitor even as he is already planning to kill them.]]
* CoveredWithScars: Looks like someone's used his back (and front, and face) as a whipping post.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Before he became a mercenary, he was assigned to hunt down rebels and other dissidents in Qunari territory. For unknown reasons, this eventually caused him to "break" and suffer from [[ShellShockedVeteran post-traumatic stress]], forcing his superiors to [[KickedUpstairs kick him upstairs]] and reassign him as a spy in Orlais.
* DatingCatwoman: Played straight with any romance he enters if he remains loyal to the Qun, as the belief system expressly forbids romance and having sex for love. Notably:
** If neither are romanced, he and [[spoiler: Dorian]] can begin a relationship, despite the fact that their people are at war with each other.
** A relationship with any Inquisitor while he's loyal to the Qun is this, but ''especially'' with a "Qunari" (more accurately, Vashoth) Inquisitor. Bull has spent most of his life hunting down Tal-Vashoth, which are deserters. [[note]]The Vashoth Inquisitor is ''not'' Tal-Vashoth; s/he has not deserted/rebelled against the Qun, because s/he was not raised to follow it. His/her parents, however, ''would'' be classed as Tal-Vashoth.[[/note]]
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Due to living under the Qun most of his life. One of the stranger ones is that he can easily accept transgender individuals (to the point that he considers them to be the gender they identify as and only that), but not violations of gender roles. As a result, he automatically mentally files female warriors like Cassandra as men while they're wearing armor. In general, though, he doesn't find other races' cultures as baffling as [[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins Sten]] did, having spent a great deal more time with them.
* DentedIron: Bull's life as a warrior has clearly taken its toll. He's missing an eye and parts of some of his fingers, he's covered in scars, and he wears a brace on one leg.
* DoNotCallMePaul: He dislikes his Qunari title and ''much'' prefers that you call him The Iron Bull. Plus the Inquisitor can't pronounce it right.
* DoubleAgent: A very... open, and fairly light, example. If you allow him to send reports to the Ben-Hassrath about the Inquisition's activities, he will cheerfully give you information that their other spies send to him in turn.
* EyepatchOfPower: He sports a fancy eyepatch on where his left eye used to be.
* ExposedToTheElements: If you recruit him before gaining Skyhold, he'll gladly stand around shirtless in the snow outside the stable at Haven, and he's recruited in the pouring rain. Somewhat odd, considering past Qunari have complained that Ferelden is much too cold and [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration even had a weakness to cold spells]].
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Depending on approval and the outcome of his "Demands of the Qun" quest, he may side with the Qunari against you in the Trespasser DLC, forcing you to kill him.]]
* FaceOfAThug: Bull is large and intimidating, but is also generally friendly and gets along well with all of the rest of the party.
* FakeDefector: His cover story while spying is that he left the Qun. [[spoiler:However, during his personal quest you can choose to have him leave the Qun for real.]]
* FashionableAsymmetry: Especially noticeable when he's wearing his eyepatch.
* FastballSpecial: Wants to try this with Sera; she's less than receptive to the idea.
* AFatherToHisMen: Bull is very proud and protective of his mercenary company and [[spoiler:the Inquisitor can persuade him to pick them over serving the Qun]].
* {{Fetish}}: He prefers the approach that non-Qunari cultures have toward sex, partly because among the Qunari it's a more formal and ritualized business, but also because other races have redheads.
-->'''Iron Bull:''' Mmmm...''redheads''.
* {{Foil}}:
** To Leliana, oddly enough. They're both rather [[SpyFiction stale beer]] spies; but Leliana is stoic while Iron Bull has bravado, Leliana is a precise archer while Iron Bull has his wide hitting two-handed weapons, and Leliana is exhausted by her job while Bull enjoys it. To put it simply, Leliana is a JohnLeCarre spy, while Iron Bull is a shirtless version of IanFleming's [[Franchise/JamesBond "blunt instrument"]].
* GayOption: Pansexual and can be romanced by male Inquisitors.
* GeniusBruiser: He's huge and a talented warrior, but he's still smart enough to play chess with Solas ''in his head''. Being a spy, he's also very good at concealing his own emotions while reading other people's faces and body language. He guesses Cullen's an ex-Templar without actually saying a word to him and lists an astounding number of tiny details that clued him in that a "baker" was actually a spy from the Venatori. He also proves to be highly knowledgeable about architecture and archeology if taken to the Hissing Wastes, even lampshading how odd this seems to the other characters.
* GenreSavvy: He figured that trying to hide his status as a Ben-Hassrath spy from a group called ''the Inquisition'' wouldn't last very long, so might as well be up-front about it.
* GlassCannon: The Reaver class is all about taking damage and dealing it back. As a result, Iron Bull can deal the most raw damage of the three warriors, but also has the lowest defense, [[TropesAreNotBad not that this hinders him]]. If the Inquisitor takes the Champion spec, he notes that he's just too big a target to be a defensive fighter.
* GoingNative: His years spent away from the Qun has led to him adjusting to the life of the locals.
* TheHedonist: Has learned to enjoy the pleasures of life after several near-death experiences.
* HeroesWantRedheads: By his own admission, he has a weakness for redheads. Sadly, the game's programming doesn't specify which of the hair colors counts as "red" and he won't acknowledge a ginger Inquisitor as particularly attractive.
* HiddenDepths: Not only is he a Ben-Hassrath spy, which requires a certain amount of skill and intelligence, but he's picked up some surprising interests over time. He can play mental chess, and if you have him around for the tomb hunting quests in the Hissing Wastes he'll have a fair bit to say about dwarven architecture and history.
* HornedHumanoid: Has the most impressive set of horns we've seen on a Qunari to date. They're huge and shaped like bull's horns, hence his name.
* HotBlooded: When comparing the companions to food, his writer said he would be a chili dog, because it's a delicious bad decision.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Or Huge Guy, Tiny Guy if the player is so inclined. Bull can be romanced by an Inquisitor of any race or sex and towers over everything but his fellow Qunari (and even then, he's bigger).
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: Iron Bull and Cole may become friends, and Cole will mention that Iron Bull took an attack for him despite hating demons. Iron Bull will say "You might be a weird, squirrely kid but you're ''my'' weird squirrely kid."
* INeedAFreakingDrink: [[spoiler:If Bull is Tal-Vashoth and joins the Inquisitor in the final push against the Qunari, after refusing to join the Viddasala, he comments that he needs a lot to drink after fighting a bunch of his former comrades. This however doesn't stop him from continuing and even tries to convince his former comrades to stop fighting the Inquisition.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: He claims to have once skewered a Vint on each horn during a fight. Unfortunately, they were stuck there for the rest of it.
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: He gets really turned on watching Cassandra's battle prowess and hints that he is attracted to Blackwall for similar reasons. This also seems to be a large part of why he likes dragons so much, if his shouting "Taarsidath-an halsaam"[[note]] Translation: "I will bring myself sexual pleasure later, while thinking about this with great respect"[[/note]] during a fight with one is any indication.
* InsultBackfire:
** When Varric asks him whether or not he knows Tallis since they're both Ben-Hassrath, Bull retorts if he happens to know some random grumpy dwarf he met on the road. Varric responds that as a member of the Merchants' Guild, chances are he not only knows said dwarf but that they owe him money, at which point Bull is simply forced to say that he doesn't actually know Tallis.
** During the encounter with Command in Old Crestwood, Iron Bull can suspiciously ask the spirit if she intends on taking their minds if they do what she wants. She tells him she has no interest in ''his'' mind. After a {{Beat}}, Bull says that works for him.
* InVinoVeritas: Bull normally only starts calling the Inquisitor "Kadan" after the Inquisitor has made it clear that s/he is serious about the relationship, but if the drinking scene after killing the first high dragon is triggered after sleeping with him the first time, he lets it slip before complimenting the Inquisitor on his/her "fantastic ass/tits".
* IronicNickname: Varric dubs him "Tiny".
* IsThatTheBestYouCanDo: He yells this near the end of ''Tresspasser'' if he's in the party [[spoiler:and did not join the Qunari forces himself]].
-->'''Iron Bull:''' Is that all you've got!? I lived through ''Seheron'' you pieces of shit!
* JoinTheArmyTheySaid: Has this attitude if he's taken along [[spoiler:into the Fade]], blaming Krem for talking him into it.
-->'''Bull''': ''[imitating Krem's voice]'' "Hey, Chief. Let's join the Inquisition! Good fights for a good cause!" ''[normal voice]'' I don't know, Krem. I hear there are demons. ''[Krem voice]'' "Ah, don't worry about the demons, Chief. I'm sure we won't see many!" ''[normal voice, grumbling]'' Can't believe I was so...''asshole''!
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Though he knows that dragons are dangerous, he also thinks they're ''really'' badass. According to him, dragons are admired by all Qunari, and their name for them in Qunlat even translates to "the glorious ones". After Cole brings it up, Bull ''really'' regrets not naming himself "The Iron Dragon" instead.
* LargeAndInCharge: He's an absolutely enormous Qunari who leads a mercenary company.
* LeeroyJenkins: As implied by the "bad decisions" comment from his writer.
* LifeDrain: As a Reaver, Bull has access to the Devour ability. It goes a long way toward improving his durability.
* LostForever: If Krem is not spoken to in Haven [[spoiler:before it gets destroyed]], it becomes impossible to recruit Bull.
* MadeOfIron: Gets stabbed by assassins with poisoned blades if [[spoiler:you convince him to leave the Qun]], but brushes it off. If they really wanted him dead, they would have known to do better; it isn't an attack, it's a ''formality''. He also recalls an incident where he was stabbed so deeply that he felt the sword hit the back of his ribs, and a piece chipped off.
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Whether Bull ends up with the Inquisitor or [[spoiler:Dorian]], the party can learn, courtesy of Cole, that they haven't only been having sex in bed... but also against the wall, ''and'' on the War Table.
-->'''Blackwall:''' ''[if he's in the party]'' I look forward to informing Cullen.
* ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex: He's very conscientious about avoiding this. He'll only have sex with people he's sure he won't break in half, and even then he still establishes a {{safeword}} just in case.
* MeaningfulName: His role in the Qun, Hissrad, most closely translates to [[spoiler:"the liar".]] Bull is not happy about it.
* MortonsFork: If pressed, Bull [[HiddenDepths can admit]] that this is how he sees the consequences [[spoiler:of going Tal-Vashoth. Either he'll go mad and kill innocents and people he cares about, or he won't go mad and will have to face the possibility that many of the Tal-Vashoth he killed in the past didn't either.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:If he defects from the Qun, he is terrified about going mad like the Tal-Vashoth he fought in the past, but he's just as terrified of not going mad because that would mean that many of the Tal-Vashoth he has killed were actually fully sane.]]
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch:
** For a Qunari, a race who's known for being rather stoic, Iron Bull is quite boisterous.
** Also in PartyBanter with Varric about the Arishok(s), Varric comments about how everything was on fire. Bull comments that the Antaam does that a lot, suggesting their behavior irks him.
* TheNicknamer: Not to Varric's extent, but he does like to give people nicknames. As it's explained to the Inquisitor when s/he is properly introduced to the Chargers, Bull was the one who shortened "Cremisius" to "Krem." He calls the Inquisitor "boss," instead of "Inquisitor" like the other companions do, and he also calls Leliana "Red", Blackwall "Big Guy" or [[PerpetualFrowner "Furrows"]], and Cole "Kid". He tries to call Vivienne "Viv", but she promptly shuts that down and from that point on he addresses her more respectfully as "Ma'am". In Trespasser, [[spoiler:If he ends up turning against the Inquisitor, "boss" becomes "bas"]].
* NotSoDifferent:
** He claims to Cassandra that the Ben-Hassrath as an organization is this with Seekers.
** Claims this personally with Dorian as well, which makes sense given their complex relationships with their home countries.
** After his companion quest, he can either agree or disagree that he's this with Blackwall, depending on the outcome and [[spoiler: whether Blackwall's past has been revealed.]]
** He also claims the Qunari as a whole are actually quite similar to the rest of Thedas. A baker wakes up and worries about if she has enough flour or whether the dough will rise properly, whether she lives in Val Royeaux or Par Vollen.
* NothingPersonal: [[spoiler:He says this if he decides to betray you to the Qunari in the Trespasser DLC.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: If the player flirts with him, he appears [[ObliviousToLove totally oblivious to it]], save for one moment [[spoiler:after the Fade]]. During the first romance scene with him, he admits that he actually ''did'' catch the Inquisitor's hints, but he's played dumb since he isn't sure if the Inquisitor knows what they're getting into by romancing him - and considering how big he is and [[SafeSaneAndConsensual how rough he likes to get]], his concerns aren't unwarranted.
* OddCouple: If neither are romanced, he'll end up with [[spoiler: Dorian.]] Doesn't get much odder than a [[spoiler: [[AntiMagicalFaction Qunari]] with a [[TheMagocracy Tevinter mage]].]]
* OddFriendship:
** With Vivienne, who, despite being both a mage and very uptight, keeps him on a rather short leash. He eventually begins to suspect that between her [[IronLady normal demeanor]] and that horned hat, she's activating the part of his brain that instinctively defers to Tamassrans.
** Despite hating demons, the Bull sees Cole as an odd kid who would probably be normal if he could just get some booze and sex.
** Cassandra and Iron Bull often talk about how similar their roles are in their field, and they playfully flirt every now and then; both acknowledge that they're JustFriends and respect one another deeply. Iron Bull makes it clear that he respects Cassandra a great deal as a warrior and compliments her choice of armor instead of using something impractical.
** Blackwall and Iron Bull are pretty similar in some ways and they understand one another pretty well if [[spoiler:Bull becomes a Tal-Vashoth and Blackwall is exposed as Thom Rainier.]]
* OhCrap
** Very little besides demons and magic can faze Bull, but he has a pretty spectacular moment when he realizes [[spoiler:Solas' suicidal strategy has set him up for checkmate.]]
** If taken to the Still Ruins, he lets out a loud "Craaaaaaaap!" when he sees that the Fade Rift is no longer frozen.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: A Qunari's true name is more similar to a pedigree or a Social Security number than a name as we think of one. Iron Bull's rank in the Qun is also unknown to his companions in the Inquisition and his fellow mercenaries, though the player learns it during his personal quest. Thus his current moniker, which is typically shortened to just "Bull". [[SerialEscalation So he's known by nicknames on top of nicknames]].
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Bull speaks with a pretty distinctive tone, but occasionally it vanishes and he just sounds like [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 James Vega.]]
* OpenSecret: He's supposed to be undercover in the Inquisition, but to avoid trouble with the agents, he comes clean from the start. If questioned on this, he points out that if a group called "The Inquisition" didn't find out anyway, it would just be sad.
* OptionalPartyMember: You can choose not to recruit him.
* OvertOperative: Can't get much more overt in a person than a hulk of muscle topped with bull horns that tells you he's a spy within a minute of meeting you. When Varric points this out, Bull notes that practicing espionage and manipulation lets everyone know you're a spy while fighting, drinking and sending the occasional note back home gets the job done with little fuss.
* PairTheSpares: If you do not romance him or [[spoiler: Dorian]], and bring them together often enough, they get together.
* PermaStubble: In contrast to other Qunari characters, who've all been clean-shaven. Except for Salit, [[spoiler: [[{{Foreshadowing}} a Tal-Vashoth]].]]
* ThePowerOfBlood: He has the Reaver specialization. If a Reaver Inquisitor asks about it, he claims he hasn't actually trained as one and "stumbled" on something similar.
* PowerTattoo: Like a Qunari Inquisitor, Bull uses toxic face-paint in lieu of helmets. Most of his higher level armor also has him wear Vitaar on his chest and arms instead of metal plating, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation but that is purely a cosmetic difference]].
* PrecisionFStrike:
** [[spoiler: Delivers one if you help him work out his frustration after fighting the Nightmare.]]
--->'''Bull:''' And who killed you!? That's right! Iron fucking Bull!
** If he is [[spoiler: encouraged to leave the Qun.]]
--->'''Bull:''' Tal-Va-fucking-shoth.
** Also, during his romance quest, after Cassandra walks in (though this may be because it was after Cullen and Josephine as well)
--->'''Bull:''' ''[upon Cassandra walking in]'' Oh, for fuck's sake.
* PrivateMilitaryContractor: On paper, he's an ex-Qunari who runs a mercenary company for rich clients. In reality, he works as a mercenary to spy on said clients for the Ben-Hassrath.
* PungeonMaster: Bull occasionally shows a fondness for bad puns. Krem is a frequent victim.
-->'''Bull:''' ''[upon seeing icicles hanging from a statue's breasts]'' Hey, look up: lady with giant titsicles.
* RealMenWearPink: At one point during his and Blackwall's PartyBanter, they talk about what kind of stone is best for forging swords, and Iron Bull says he'd pick Dawnstone. Blackwall points out that not only is Dawnstone brittle, it's ''pink''. How does Bull respond? "It's pretty." Dawnstone equipment actually is pretty good since Dawnstone is a third tier crafting material.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: He was once the best Ben-Hassrath of all, but then one day, he "broke". His commanders reacted by sending him off to Orlais to spy on the humans.
* ReassignmentBackfire: The Ben-Hassrath sent him to spy in Orlais because his mind was "broken" and the job was fairly unimportant and simple. However, it's entirely possible that his time away from other Qunari has rendered him ''more'' likely to leave, rather than showing him what a mess life outside the Qun is. [[spoiler:And given just a little prodding, he'll gladly leave the Qun in favor of his mercenaries.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRescue: [[spoiler:After ''Trespasser'', if Bull is Tal-Vashoth and in a relationship with Dorian, assassins are sent after Dorian to prevent his new faction from gaining traction. Bull and the Chargers put a stop to it.]]
* RomanceSidequest: An option for all Inquisitors, provided you get along.
* SafeSaneAndConsensual: If romanced, it's all but stated that sex between him and the Inquisitor has at least ''some'' elements of [=BDSM=]. However, Bull treats the whole thing pretty respectfully; he establishes a safe word early on, makes it clear that he'd never hurt the Inquisitor without their permission, and isn't upset if the Inquisitor decides not to pursue this kind of relationship with him. If he hooks up with [[spoiler:Dorian]], this is made a bit more explicit, and Cole can go into detail in party banter.
* SafeWord: He establishes one when the Inquisitor gets in a relationship with him. He uses the word "Katoh". Later, he speculates on what he thinks the other characters might use as their own safe word.
* ShamelessFanserviceGuy: He isn't bothered in the slightest when Cullen and Josephine walk in on him naked during his romance path (though he does get annoyed when Cassandra also walks in), and he claims to be a firm believer in "No Pants Fridays".
* ShellShockedVeteran: He suffers from PTSD, which is part of the reason he was KickedUpstairs to Orlais as a spy.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: He can go toe-to-toe with Solas, although there's some cultural confusion over the names of pieces. It should be noted that this game is in their minds.
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: He insists that it's "''The'' Iron Bull". [[LampshadeHanging It sounds more authoritative that way]]. Cole is the only character that addresses him fully as The Iron Bull.
-->'''Iron Bull:''' I like having an article at the front. It makes it sound like I'm not even a person, just a mindless weapon, an implement of destruction... That really works for me.
* {{Squee}}: He comes very close to this if brought along to kill dragons. He gets especially giddy in the Western Approach, when the Inquisitor lays out bait to lure the Abyssal High Dragon.
-->'''Iron Bull:''' Boss? I just want to say... ''you're the '''best'''.''
* TakingTheBullet: Or the flail, in this case. It's how he lost the eye. And it was for some random guy he didn't even know.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: [[spoiler:Most of the party becomes hostile to him if he stays with the Qun and sacrifices the Chargers.]]
* TrueCompanions: He's very loyal to people who are on his team. As much as he hates demons, the Bull has no real problem with Cole, who may be one.
* UndyingLoyalty:
** The Bull's Chargers uniformly adore their leader, and are willing to die for him without a second thought.
** Bull also has this towards the Inquisitor if [[spoiler:he decides to leave the Qun]]:
--->'''Bull:''' Boss, just so you know, whatever I miss, whatever I regret, this is were I want to be. If you ever need an ass kicked, the Iron Bull is with you.
* UnstoppableRage: Bull's [[LimitBreak Focus Ability]] is Rampage, which increases his damage and attack speed while letting him drain the health from anything he hits. The health drain effect overrides the cost of his Dragon Rage ability, producing an extremely powerful combination when used together.
* UseYourHead: Blackwall asks him if he's ever tried using headbutts as part of his fighting style, but Bull replies that since he's so big, he has to lean down to make it work, and most people would see him coming.
* VitriolicBestBuds:
** With extra vitriol. Most of the time he and Solas speak, Solas lashes out against the Qun. But if Bull winds up [[spoiler:being declared Tal-Vashoth, Solas will support him when he worries about going mad. And a rather long chain of party conversations between them later is essentially Solas distracting Iron Bull from his worries by deliberately provoking him into playing a mental game of chess.]]
** Iron Bull and Krem. They snark at one another all the time, but their loyalty and strong friendship is easily visible and Iron Bull has absolutely no problems with Krem being {{transgender}}.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: According to him, because of their horns and the warm climate of their homeland, male Qunari rarely ever wear shirts or breastplates. Naturally this is mocked by his second in command Krem, who asks if he needs tips for binding his "pillowy man-bosoms". This leads to plenty of EatingTheEyeCandy from female characters, however, including a freaking ''nun'' from Haven's chantry (if he's recruited before the end of Act 1).
* WallBangHer: Cole announces to the rest of the party that Bull likes doing this.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Demons. He almost quotes this trope word for word in [[http://youtu.be/8_CApsY-K6c?t=50s his trailer]]. From what Cole picks up from his memories, he's feared and hated demons since he was very young.
-->'''Cole''': Lying awake, sheets soaked in sweat, afraid to call the Tamassrans. Shadows make shapes in the dark. If it gets in my head, how do I cut it out? Itching, shaking, tears slide cold down my cheeks. "Tama, I'm scared..."
* YouAreWhatYouHate: His worst fear is "Madness". Since he was a child, he displayed a gleeful affinity for hitting and lying. He is afraid that the Qun is the only thing that keeps him in check, and he hates AxCrazy Tal-Vashoth bandits because they reflect what he could become. [[spoiler:And what he ''does'' become if he chooses the Chargers over the Qun. If asked, he'll admit that one of the reasons being Tal-Vashoth hurts him so much is because he isn't sure if he's become insane like those he hunted, or if those he hunted were actually sane.]]
[[/folder]]

!!!The Mages

[[folder: Dorian Pavus]]
!!Dorian Pavus
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pavus_dorian_9188.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I'm here to set things right. Also? To look dashing. That part's less difficult."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' ''Ramon Tikaram''

Dorian is an extraordinarily talented Tevinter mage from the well-established and respected Altus-class House Pavus. He opposes everything that his homeland stands for and is on a crusade to reform the Imperium. He is a romance option for male Inquisitors of any race.

Written by David Gaider.
----
* TheAce: He's good-looking, clever, a talented mage from a society that values magic above all, and born in a prestigious family.
* AgentPeacock: He's openly gay, values aesthetics, wears eyeliner, is described as fashion conscious by the writers, and is one of the most talented mages in all the Imperium. Fitting, as his last name is "Pavus" (Latin for Peacock).
** One of his party banters with Varric has him pestering the dwarf to declare who the best-dressed mage in the Inquisition is. Varric isn't dumb enough to answer.
* {{Ambadassador}}: In ''Trespasser'', he is not only a full-on Magister, he's also a Tevinter ambassador.
* AngerBornOfWorry:
** Tends to snap at a romanced Inquisitor when he's frightened for them.
** He also does this for an Inquisitor with whom he has become close friends. After [[spoiler: the events in the Fade during the Adamant quest]], he snaps and snarks his way through the conversation - the Inquisitor's increasing bewilderment is very clearly written on his/her face. Finally he breaks down and admits that he was scared of losing his dear friend, and urges them to ''please'' be more careful in the future.
** He gets another moment if the Inquisitor [[spoiler: drinks from the Well of Sorrows.]]
* ArrangedMarriage: He narrowly escaped one with a sharp-tongued woman named Livia Herathinos. Dorian suspects that she's as happy to have avoided it as he is.
* TheAlcoholic[=/=]DrowningMySorrows: He mentions drinking and being drunk more than any of the other companions and the game heavily implies that drinking is a form of coping mechanism for him. It's hinted that he picked it up from his mother. He's never actually shown being inebriated, however.
-->'''Dorian:''' At any rate, time to drink myself into a stupor. It's been that sort of day.
* AlcoholicParent: He implies that his mother was a LadyDrunk.
* AllGaysArePromiscuous: Heartwarmingly subverted. At first Dorian appears flippant and takes a casual approach to sex if you bed him as a male Inquisitor. However, the reality is that his snarky behavior is a coping mechanism which he uses to hid his insecurities, and in fact he desires nothing more than a committed, monogamous relationship with a man he loves. Of course, since he's of noble birth and was pressured to marry and continue the Pavus bloodline from an early age, Dorian had practically zero chance of finding such a relationship in his homeland.
* TheArchmage: [[spoiler:After Halward is killed by assassins, Dorian takes his place on the Magisterium.]]
* {{Badass}}: One of the greatest mages from a country known for its great mages, and if you first meet him in Recliffe's Chantry, you find him ''beating'' a ''demon'' to death with his staff. Enough said.
* BadassBookworm: His preferred spot in Skyhold is the library, and he occasionally complains that the selection and organization aren't up to his standards.
* BadassGay: He doesn't let the discrimination he faces in his homeland for being gay stop him from being a badass.
* BadassMustache: He's a skilled mage and he has a rather awesome 'stache.
* BadPowersGoodPeople: He's a rather idealistic and noble soul, but he has no problem with using necromancy.
* BattleCouple: With a male Inquisitor, or he can form one half of one [[spoiler:with Iron Bull]].
* BerserkButton: He hates the Venatori, seeing them as the embodiment of everything wrong with Tevinter. His personal sidequest consists of tracking down several Venatori agents and killing them all. Each time you kill one Dorian greatly approves.
* BlueBlood: House Pavus is an "Altus" house, who can trace lineage back to the ancient dreamer priests of the Old Gods of Tevinter.
* {{Brainwashed}}: Narrowly avoided it. His father [[spoiler:was planning to forcibly change his sexuality through a blood magic ritual,]] which was a large part of the reason why Dorian left Tevinter.
* BrokenPedestal:
** Alexius, and his country in general. [[spoiler:He also lost any admiration he had for his father when he tried to use blood magic (something his father taught him was a crutch for the weak) to make him straight]].
** He still believes that his country can do great things, but he is fully aware that it is has moved the wrong way for that to happen.
** The Pedestal is shattered even further after he finds out about the Elder One's identity, since it proves that ancient Tevinter magisters really ''were'' responsible for the Darkspawn appearing on Thedas. People are taught differently in Tevinter, and while Dorian didn't quite believe everything, he still hoped there was a grain of truth in what he was taught.
* BulletTime: Dorian's [[LimitBreak Focus Spell]] is Haste, which substantially slows the rest of the world while the party continues to act normally.
* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler:His personal quest is all about confronting his father for trying to make him straight through Blood Magic. You can convince him to either reconcile with his father or to completely cut him out of his life.]]
* TheCharmer: His confidence comes at least partly from the high stature of his bloodline.
* CommonalityConnection:
** He and Solas discover that they share a passion for obscure, half-forgotten magic and ancient artifacts.
** He and Cassandra both came from privileged backgrounds and could have lived out their lives without any obligations beyond getting married. They both rebelled at the IdleRich lifestyle and waves of uninteresting suitors.
* CulturalCringe: Painfully aware of the problems with the Tevinter Imperium, though he still thinks it has enough redeeming qualities to be worth saving. At one point he will attempt to apologize to Solas for what Tevinter did to Arlathan. Solas rejects this, pointing out that Arlathan was an empire no better or worse than Tevinter. He also claims that if Dorian really feels bad about what Tevinter did or didn't do, he should be trying to solve the present-day problems in the Imperium like slavery. Otherwise, any apologies he gave would be hollow. [[spoiler:At the end of the game, Dorian may make plans to do just that.]]
* CureYourGays: Thankfully Dorian managed to avoid going through this, since it's a very dark example of the trope; [[spoiler:his father was planning to ''rewire his brain'' using blood magic so that he would be straight, even though there was a high chance that such a ritual would have lobotomised him. When Dorian discovered the plan, he was so enraged and hurt he turned his back on his family more or less for good.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil[=/=]LightIsGood: As an extremely nice and idealistic {{Necromancer}} who dresses primarily in white, he fits both tropes.
* DatingCatwoman: If neither are romanced, he and [[spoiler:Iron Bull]] can begin a relationship, despite the fact that their people are at war with each other.
* DefectorFromDecadence: He caught wind of something nasty the magisters were planning and promptly defected from Tevinter.
* DeadpanSnarker: His wit is described as being sharper than any blade.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Growing up in Tevinter as a member of the nobility meant growing up with slaves. For most of his life he didn't really see anything wrong with it as a result, though that's starting to change.
* EatingTheEyeCandy:
** If the Inquisitor is male, his approval is very high and you've flirted at least once, Dorian will offhandedly comment that he could watch you walk around Skyhold all day.
** During a game of Wicked Grace, Dorian is perfectly happy to watch Cullen's walk of shame back to the barracks, as he [[HumiliatingWager bet all of his clothes]] against a hand with Josephine.
** A romanced [[spoiler: Iron Bull]] will constantly offer to flex for him.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Doesn't like that Varric gives him the nickname Sparkler... until he comes to the conclusion that [[ActuallyPrettyFunny it's actually clever.]]
* EvilLaugh: When Sera asks why he doesn't do this, he explains that you're not allowed until you get your Magister License.
* EvilMentor: He was trained by Gereon Alexius, Magister of the Tevinter Imperium and an agent of the Venatori. [[spoiler:Subverted, however, in that Alexius isn't really ''evil'' - just maddened by grief. He lost his wife to a Darkspawn attack, and his only child was infected with the Blight in the same event. His [[WellIntentionedExtremist entire motivation]] in joining Corypheus is to save his son, and Corypheus lured him with false promises of assistance.]]
* {{Foil}}: To Vivienne. Both are mages that come from very high society in two very haughty nations, both are vain and are [[InsufferableGenius annoyingly confident in their talent]]. However, Vivienne seems to only be in it for her own advancement, while Dorian honestly wants to make a better world simply because it's the right thing to do, even if it puts him at odds with the society that bore him. Dorian was also born in a society where mages are the [[TheMagocracy de facto power]] (and even is the son of one such elite mage), while Vivienne had to claw her way to the upper echelons of a society that distrusts mages.
* GayBestFriend: To a friendly female Inquisitor, particularly if she's romancing Cullen. He's even willing to playfully flirt with her, despite both of them knowing it means nothing.
** Moreover, if he and [[spoiler:Iron Bull]] are not put in the active party together often enough to make the romance common knowledge, he can decide at the victory celebration that he doesn't want to return to Tevinter just yet, mostly because "it lacks the presence of my best and only friend."
* {{Gayngst}}: He's gotten over it, but the Tevinter Imperium is all about perfection, with a focus on the strongest magical bloodline and anything that falls outside of this ideal, such as homosexuality in Dorian's case, [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain is considered a defect]]. This is one of the many reasons he was cynical of the Imperium culture long before he actually decided to leave.
* GayOption: For male Inquisitors.
* GenreSavvy: Dorian is pragmatic and politically aware, so he often highlights actions and problems that other companions gloss over or take for granted.
** Often [[LampshadeHanging draws attention]] to the Inquisitor's body count and the fact that they wander around "killing random strangers."
** If romanced, he's fully aware that, from a political point of view, he's one of the worst choices of partner the Inquisitor could have made. He's very sensitive to the effect that being around him has on the Inquisitor's reputation, and goes out of his way to avoid giving people reasons to assume that the Inquisitor is being influenced or manipulated by him. When Mother Giselle more or less accuses him of having undue influence over the Inquisitor (either because they're in a romance or because they're close friends), he is visibly distressed.
** Like Varric, he realizes that heroes like the Inquisitor usually die gloriously. [[AngerBornOfWorry Hence his habit of panicking when the Inquisitor does something dangerous]].
** He notices that it's the Inquisitor that's always running around Skyhold to talk to people, and wonders why no one ever goes to the Inquisitor.
* GuiltyPleasures
** Fereldan beer.
** PlayedForDrama in that [[spoiler:this his how Dorian sees his relationship with the Iron Bull. Bull doesn't put up with it, which causes some problems early in the relationship. Dorian eventually gets over it.]]
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Variant. He's not surprised that the Inquisitor wants to sleep with him, but he ''is'' surprised if they want to risk their political and social standing to ''stay'' with him.
* IllTakeThatAsACompliment: When Sera asks if there are more non-scary Tevinters who keep their magic to themselves.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: After his personal quest.
* IncompatibleOrientation: Dorian to his former [[ArrangedMarriage betrothed]], much to his parents' frustration. Also to a female Inquisitior, particularly one who flirts with him but doesn't realize he's gay till he spells it out for her (to which she can respond he led her on). If they have high relationship values when she finds out, he can even sympathetically respond, "In another life." Dorian is also attracted to Cullen, but does not pursue him because he already knows that this is the case.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Downplayed. There are moments when he, as a very high-status Altus in a {{Magocracy}}, is shown to be somewhat blind to how racism affects elves and slaves. He's not ''too'' blind though, he wouldn't be a Companion if he was truly insulated from how corrupt Tevinter is.
* InsecureLoveInterest: Though he practically oozes self-confidence in regards to his looks and intelligence, he's surprisingly insecure when it comes to relationships. He mentions his lack of suitability as a partner several times, and offers the Inquisitor many opportunities to break off the relationship. His society's contempt for homosexuality has left its mark.
* InsistentTerminology: One thing that annoys him is how the Southerners use the term "Magister" for any mage from Tevinter. As he clarifies, while he is a mage from Tevinter, this does not make him a Magister, which is a rank all on its own rather than just being any Tevinter mage as commonly thought by "Southern barbarians". In fact, he is an Altus, though he does become a Magister by the Trespasser DLC [[spoiler:after inheriting it from his father, who was assassinated.]]
* InsufferableGenius: Has a massive ego regarding his skills and appearance.
* InternalReformist: [[spoiler:In the epilogue of ''Trespasser'', Dorian makes good on his plans to return home and fix Tevinter, forming the new Lucerni faction alongside Maevaris Tilani.]]
* KissingCousins: After checking through some family records, it turns out that the Human Inquisitor is a very distant cousin of his (so distant that it's pretty much a formality at this point). House Trevelyan was once a branch family of House Pavus that settled in Ostwick. If you like, the Inquisitor can respond by asking if this means they can still flirt. He assures you that you're good to go by about three ''Ages''.
* LieBackAndThinkOfEngland: How his parents wanted him to overcome his IncompatibleOrientation regarding his ArrangedMarriage (so he could sire an heir for them), but something that Dorian refuses to do.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: His relationship with a female Inquisitor who maxes out their friendship is basically this. There is a great deal of affection in their interactions, and when she returns from [[spoiler:the Fade]], he's one of the only companions to ask if ''she'' is all right, rather than needing to be comforted in some way. It's even more pronounced if she romances Cullen; see ShipperOnDeck, below.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: Even without the IncompatibleOrientation issue, what little Dorian says about his mother and his betrothed implies he was heading in this direction.
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Dorian is ''mortified'' when Cole starts announcing to the others places where he and [[spoiler:Iron Bull]] have had sex, including on the war council table. Most of the group is just amused; Blackwall's comment is that he can't wait to tell Cullen.
* MalignedMixedMarriage:
** Comes up if he's romanced by in the Inquisitor. Regardless of race or even personal beliefs, the Inquisitor comes to embody the ideals of the ''Southern'' Chantry, and is essentially its de facto leader in the absence of a Divine. The Southern Chantry historically has a ''very'' negative view of Tevinter, whom they blame for the death of their prophet Andraste, and is also a land where mages rule. Therefore, Mother Giselle cautions the Inquisitor about the public perception of the Inquisition should it be revealed that a Tevinter mage is romantically involved with the Inquisitor. Notably, the stigma the Inquisitor and Dorian face as a couple has almost nothing to do with their same-sex relationship, but is solely because of Dorian's nationality and magical abilities, since Thedas generally has a very tolerant attitude towards homosexuality (it's usually considered a curiosity but not immoral).
** And if he's not romanced by the Inquisitor and the Inquisitor isn't in a romance with [[spoiler: Iron Bull]], they end up together, even though Tevinter and [[spoiler: the Qunari]] have been at war for ''centuries''. Although they don't face any stigma from the Inquisition (unless you're playing a {{Jerkass}} Inquisitor), they are both obviously aware of how taboo their relationship is in the eyes of their people.
* ManInWhite: Highlights his status as a pariah, given that ''The World of Thedas'' describes Tevinter fashion as generally quite dark.
* MeaningfulName: The most notable aspect of the name "Dorian" is its use in ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray'', and "Pavus" is Latin for peacock. There appears to be a vanity theme, which is fitting given his cocky behaviour and pride in his magic.
* MrFanservice: Dorian is one of the first men in the series to have a shot of his backside on display if romanced.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Has this opinion when dealing with any Magisters (or ''any'' of his countrymen for that matter) allied with the Venatori.
* MyBelovedSmother: He alludes to this if he's brought to the Winter Palace. It's [[DeadlyDecadentCourt so much like the parties back in Tevinter]] that he expects his mother to materialize and drag him off by his ear. He expresses the belief that she doesn't quite grasp that he grew past the age of five.
* MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting: Dorian had always despised the falseness of the mageocracy, but the conspiracy he discovered among the magisters was the tipping point that caused him to separate himself from Tevinter entirely.
* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: When you approach the apostate stronghold in the Hinterlands.
-->'''Dorian:''' Do you feel that? My magic sensing nose is tingling.\\
'''Sera:''' Bullshit.\\
'''Dorian:''' It can also sense gullible morons.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Stands out as the first Tevinter mage in the franchise to not participate in the Tevinter system. He even calls Alexius out for "acting just like the cliche villains any outsider expects us to be".
* {{Necromancer}}: His specialization.
* NiceGuy: The very first Tevinter character who can honestly be described as this. Despite being a Tevinter and a necromancer (not to mention being an InsufferableGenius about his skills and more than a little vain at times), he's a noble soul who honestly wants to help the Inquisition. He refuses to participate in the Tevinter system; he wants to reform it, to save his homeland from itself. While he gets exasperated that others think him nefarious due to his background, in private conversations, he patiently tries to overcome misconceptions about the Imperium.
* OddCouple: With [[spoiler: The Iron Bull]], if neither of them are romanced. [[spoiler: Dorian expects Bull to put him in chains or sew his mouth shut, as [[AntiMagicalFaction that's what Qunari do to their mages]]. The Bull replies that [[SafeSaneAndConsensual he buys a person dinner before tying them up]].]]
* OddFriendship:
** With Cullen, who is an ex-Templar. They play chess together.
** With Cole, who is a Spirit of Compassion and possible demon.
** With Sera, who dislikes mages ''and'' nobles, while he is both.
* TheOneThatGotAway: Cole implies that Dorian has one of these in his past.
-->'''Cole:''' He would have said yes.\\
'''Dorian:''' I'll thank you not to do that again.
* OnlyChildSyndrome: Dorian's conflict with his family is aggravated by the lack of siblings who could carry on the Pavus legacy in his stead. Justified by the fact that Dorian's parents hate each other and would have only wanted to spend as much time together as necessary to produce an heir. By the time they realized that putting all of their eggs in one basket had backfired, it was probably too late.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The normally flippant and sarcastic Dorian completely flips his shit at his dad for what the man tried to do to him.
* OpenMouthInsertFoot: There's more than a few moments where his tendency to snark at everything results in him not shutting up when he really should.
* PairTheSpares: If you do not romance him or [[spoiler: The Iron Bull]], and take them together often enough, they get together.
* TheParagon: Ridiculously talented and of an esteemed bloodline, he uses the admiration he is afforded to make himself an example as he rebels against the Imperium.
* TheParagonAlwaysRebels: From the Tevinters' point of view. From the perspective of ''everyone else,'' though, it's more akin to a HeelFaceTurn.
* PardonMyKlingon: He occasionally makes a Tevene (Tevinter language) cuss of "Vishante kaffas" - it means "You shit on my tongue."
* PlatonicLifePartners:
** If you gain "Friend" status and don't romance him, he swears his loyalty to you and says he will fight for you against anything, so long as you'll have him.
** This leads to a sweet moment during the celebration after the final battle, if you did not have Dorian and [[spoiler:Iron Bull]] in the party together often enough to begin a relationship, [[spoiler:or romanced Bull yourself]]. The Inquisitor with whom he is friends can ask if he still plans to return to Tevinter, to which he replies that he intends to remain in Skyhold for the time being since Tevinter "lacks the presence of my best and only friend."
** He apparently had this relationship with Felix during his studies with Alexius. He denies he ever had any romantic involvement with Felix since that would have meant taking advantage of his mentor's hospitality.
* PrecisionFStrike: When confronting his father.
-->'''Dorian:''' You wanted the best for ''you!'' For your ''fucking'' legacy! Anything for that!
* PrettyBoy:
-->'''Iron Bull:''' Watch yourself. The pretty ones are always the worst.\\
'''Harding:''' Dorian's awfully pretty, isn't he?
* RebelPrince: He's of high rank in the Imperium, yet throws it all away for his ideals.
* RedemptionQuest: Specifically, he wants to redeem his country. Near the end of the game, he may discuss plans to return home and improve things (as opposed to leaving because you just don't get along - see below). He may decide to postpone this if you're in a romance or on good terms.
* ReligiousBruiser: Dorian doesn't mention religion often, but if questioned he'll admit that he believes in Andraste and the Maker. He simply views the ''Chantry'' (Orlesian and Tevinter) as an outdated relic.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere If you lose enough approval with him and make enough decisions he disapproves of, you will find out he has booked a ship back to go back to Tevinter after stopping [[spoiler: Corypheus.]] Depending on what you say/do, he may choose to leave right there.
* SeriousBusiness: He takes misfiled library books very personally - there are punishments for that in some places!
* ShipperOnDeck: In a few instances.
** He finds the female Inquisitor's romance with Cullen to be "adorable," and seems to be fond of Cullen as well.
** He also approves of the Inquisitor and Josephine, or at least [[TheGadfly how flustered it makes the latter.]]
* SideBet: Has ''many'' of these going on with Varric.
* ShockAndAwe: He displays no particular elemental preference in-game, but promotional materials show him using lightning to [[FireIceLightning match]] Solas' fire and Vivienne's ice.
** Though all the comments he or others make about his magical abilities are about fire spells rather than lightning ones. The first staff he comes with is also a fire one.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Subverted; he's a learned man and plays chess with Cullen, but he cheats. [[CheatersNeverProsper Cullen still beats him.]]
* StepfordSnarker: His wit is driven by his jaded attitude towards his country.
* StopBeingStereotypical: His opinion of his fellow Tevinter mages.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: To his father.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Blackwall. The two hate each other mutually. On Dorian's part, he thinks Blackwall is DumbMuscle and [[spoiler:(correctly)]] guesses that, like many Wardens, Blackwall was a criminal or some other kind of social undesirable before being conscripted. He also finds Blackwall's rhetoric about honor, sacrifice and heroics to be self-righteous. He mellows considerably after [[spoiler: Blackwall's true identity is revealed]]. Eventually, they try to find some common ground.
* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: After [[spoiler:your trip into the Fade]], Dorian suggests keeping quiet about it. He believes that people aren't ready to know that it ''is'' possible to [[spoiler:physically enter the Fade]], given all of the problems that happened the last time someone tried it.
* TooCleverByHalf: He's a genius and he knows it. Sometimes this causes problems.
* TooMuchAlike: Regardless of his sexuality, Dorian implies that [[ArrangedMarriage he and Livia]] dislike each other for this reason.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Grapes. Especially ones that have been hand-peeled and fed to him.
* {{Tsundere}}: He has shades of this during his party banter with the Iron Bull, who gets a major kick out of teasing him. [[spoiler:If neither of them are romanced and they hook up, it becomes even more apparent.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds:
** He and Vivienne enjoy tearing into one another, but it's all good fun to them. She even defends his relationship with a male Inquisitor to an outsider, according to party banter.
** He also develops this relationship with Blackwall once both of them come to understand and respect the other's past and motivations.
* WellDoneSonGuy: According to what Cole picks up from Dorian's memories (and some dialogue from Dorian himself), he used to revere his father.
-->'''Cole:''' "Anything to make him happy. ''Anything.''" Why isn't that true anymore?\\
'''Dorian:''' ''[choked]'' Cole, this... is not the sort of discussion for walking around.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Solas]]
!!Solas
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/solas_6383.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I have seen things in my journeys that most can only dream of. Literally."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' ''Gareth David-Lloyd''

A raggedy hedge mage who is an expert on the subject of the Fade. He sees the Breach as an opportunity to finally put his unique knowledge to good use, hoping to challenge a few preconceptions along the way. He is a romance option for female elven Inquisitors.

Written by Patrick Weekes.
----
* AboveGoodAndEvil: He refuses to believe in bad and good, thinking that such oversimplifications are precisely what led to the current crisis.
* AdmiringTheAbomination:
** He doesn't perceive some demons as demons, but merely spirits whose desires/functions have gone wrong. For example, where one might see a Pride demon, he simply sees a Wisdom spirit.
** Upon seeing a dragon, he mentions admiring the purity of such raw power.
* AllForNothing: All of his efforts to [[spoiler:reclaim the Orb from Corypheus]] fail in the end [[spoiler:when it is destroyed in the final battle.]]
* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler: Resolved as of Trespasser: the elven gods, of whom he is one, were never really gods at all, simply powerful magic users that progressed from war leaders to kings to being worshipped as gods. The closest equivalent are the Tevinter magisters - and, ironically, Solas' plan is basically the same as Corypheus', even with similar reasoning.]]
* AmIJustAToyToYou: A potential response to [[spoiler:his breaking off a relationship with the Inquisitor. She can scream at him to tell her she was just some casual dalliance, but he can't bring himself to do it.]]
* AnarchyIsChaos: Subverted. During banter with Sera, he proposes various ways for the [[TerroristWithoutACause Friends of Red Jenny]] to be more effective at what they do. Hearing [[NiceGuy Solas]] talking about overthrowing political order, establishing a new authority and then "disposing" of the agents that have now become obstacles to the reformation leaves Sera freaked out.
* AnimalMotifs: Solas seems to have an affinity for wolves, as seen by his jawbone necklace, wall murals, and tarot cards. Cole asks him what he thinks of wolves, and he says they're smart, practical, misunderstood animals.
* ApologeticAttacker:
** [[spoiler:In TheStinger, he tearfully tells Flemeth that he should be the one to pay the price for giving Corypheus the Orb - but the People need him. Then he drains... something from her, apparently killing her.]]
** During "All New, Faded For Her", he apologizes to [[spoiler:the Wisdom Spirit, but it tells him not to be sorry and requests a MercyKill]]. Surprisingly, he does ''not'' apologize if [[spoiler:you choose to attack the spirit while it's corrupted into a Pride demon instead of freeing it from the binding circle]].
** At the end of ''Trespasser'' he'll go more into his plans. [[spoiler: These involve destroying the world by tearing down the Veil and letting the magic come back.]] If you have high approval he'll admit this is a terrible thing, and you have shown him that he has been wrong before. But he feels it must be done. If you state that you will try to show him the world is worth saving, he will all but beg you to prove him wrong.
* AppropriatedAppellation: [[spoiler: Solas actually is his real name. Fen'Harel was an insult from his enemies, one that he eventually took as a badge of pride.]]
* TheAtoner:
** [[spoiler:He's the reason Corypheus has the orb that allowed him to open the Breach, but believes himself too important to the fate of the elves to accept death as punishment, so he must make amends by stopping the Elder One instead.]]
** ''Trespasser'' reveals that [[spoiler: Solas was also the one who created the Veil which separates the physical world from the spirit world, the latter of which is the source of all magic. Since elves were intrinsically tied to the Fade, being cut off from it caused them to age and their society to crumble, which left them easy pickings for the human Imperium. He ''deeply'' regrets his hand in the elves' downfall, and seeks to remove the Veil to restore what he took from the elves. He's open to alternatives, he just doesn't think there are any]].
--->'''Solas:''' I would ''treasure'' the chance to be wrong once more, my friend.
* AuthorAppeal: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKtvrK34rzc Solas absolutely hates tea]], especially caffeinated tea - it keeps him awake and thus unable to enter the Fade in dreams. Incidentally, Patrick Weekes doesn't like it either.
* BadassBookworm: He's a powerful mage, and upon moving into Skyhold, you'll find a note on his desk stating that he's requested at least a dozen books on the Fade, plus more to be delivered from libraries across Orlais and Ferelden.
* BadBoss: [[spoiler: He's suggested to have been Felassan's superior from ''The Masked Empire'' and killed him. Cole also makes a comment that suggests this ingame.]]
-->'''Cole:''' His friend had to die, because he thought they were people. A slow arrow breaks in the sad wolf's jaws.
* BerserkButton: There's only one thing that will always consistently make Solas lose his cool: denying living creatures their freedom. Whether these are spirits, people living under the Qun, mages, slaves, or anything else, he will always get heated, and sometimes even outwardly angry about this topic.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Normally calm and civil, but if something pushes a BerserkButton too hard, he's more than willing to KillItWithFire. Also note that his specialization, Rift Mage, is the most destructive of the three.
* BigBad: [[spoiler: His plan to merge Thedas with the Fade makes him this post-''Inquisition.'']]
* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:With a romanced female Lavellan near the end of ''Trespasser'', which [[IntimateHealing he uses to remove the Anchor]] and save her life.]]
* BilingualBonus: He occasionally speaks in full Elvish (unlike most elves, who just [[PoirotSpeak pepper a few words here and there]]), and rarely bothers to translate this. You can learn a bit more about him if you take the time to translate it yourself. You can also catch him [[MetaphoricallyTrue altering the translation]] of some phrases.
* BoomerangBigot: A mild example, as he's not terribly fond of other elves. He particularly disapproves of the Dalish, though he's not one himself. [[spoiler: The reason for this ends up being that he feels current elves are mere shadows of what they once were.]]
* BornInTheWrongCentury: Listening to Solas talk about the ancient elves gives one the distinct impression that he feels everything was better then, and he frequently mentions seeing it would be spectacular. [[spoiler: It turns out he ''was'' born in the wrong century; he's an ancient elf from the days of Arlathan. No wonder he prefers the past; he was ''there''.]]
* BrutalHonesty: He is perfectly happy to break down a comfortable lie regardless of being seen as rude, and prefers people who are genuine and honest. He respects Cassandra for this reason, in spite of their disagreements.
* CantSpitItOut: WordOfGod says that at the culmination of his romance, he was planning on admitting [[spoiler:everything, including his [[GodInHumanForm true identity]]]], but backed out, and decided to tell you the truth about [[spoiler:your vallaslin instead.]]
* CaughtTheHeartOnHisSleeve: During his second romance scene, he very nearly leaves when he decides it would better in the long run not to pursue the Inquisitor, only to be stopped this way and give in.
* ChastityCouple: As with Josephine, the Inquisitor's romance with Solas is never confirmed to be sexual, leaving it to the player to determine what they prefer to imagine. In ''Trespasser'', [[spoiler: it is confirmed that Solas would not "lay with [the Inquisitor] under false pretenses," though his phrasing is still pretty ambiguous. Is he saying he never slept with the Inquisitor, or that he slept with her as himself (Solas) rather than Fen'Harel, or denying that he manipulated her through sex and romance? You decide!]]
** It's semi-implied through certain dialogue options that [[spoiler: Solas and Lavellan have slept together]].
-->'''Lavellan:''' You're being grim and fatalistic in hope of [[spoiler: getting me into bed]], aren't you?
-->'''Solas:''' I ''am'' grim and fatalistic. [[spoiler: Getting you into bed is just an enjoyable side benefit.]]
* ChessmasterSidekick: He's the one who originally knows about Skyhold's location, but sets it up such that the Inquisitor appears to "find" it for the growing masses following them, ensuring they look like an inspiring leader [[spoiler:rather than someone who just won a heavy PyrrhicVictory by destroying Haven]]. At the Winter Palace, he has himself introduced as "the Inquisitor's elven serving man" and no more, despite the fact that his role in the Inquisition is as an expert in the Fade.
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: For Cole, a little bit. Cole can converse much more readily and more on the same level with Solas than most other people, and Solas sometimes offers translation when Cole gets a bit too metaphorical to understand.
* CommonalityConnection:
** Initially seems to be a {{Foil}} to Dorian: raggedy versus pristine, apostate versus [[TheMagocracy magister]]. But Dorian is ''not'' a magister; he is, in fact, a DefectorFromDecadence, something Solas greatly appreciates. They bond over magic and artifacts.
** Played with in several of his conversations with Dorian too, he approves of his DefectorFromDecadence status, but criticizes him for running away from it rather than really trying to change it. [[spoiler: Little does Dorian know, Solas also blames himself for the downfall of the elves, and is working to change it.]]
--->'''Solas:''' If you wish to make amends for past transgressions, free the slaves of all races who live in Tevinter today.\\
'''Dorian:''' I... don't know that I can do that.\\
'''Solas:''' Then how sorry are you?
* ConstantlyCurious: Ties into his intellectual nature, sometimes even offending people. He also likes it when '''others''' are curious. One of the most consistent ways to gain approval with him is to ask questions of everything.
* CoolOldGuy: Solas is in his forties. He and Blackwall occasionally have "kids these days" talks. [[spoiler:Actually, he's a couple thousand years older, but it still applies.]]
* CrazyPrepared: Implied in Trespasser. [[spoiler: Upon learning that he created the Veil to imprison the Evanuris, and plans to destroy it to restore the elves, the Inquisitor can state that destroying Veil will release the Evanuris from their imprisonment, which would be a ''very'' bad thing. Solas merely replies he has plans for when that happens, but does not elaborate.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: He doesn't practice BloodMagic himself, but nor does he see it as inherently worse than any other school. He draws the line at trying to manipulate the Blight, however.
* DeadpanSnarker: While normally fairly polite, snark seems to be his default method of dealing with people he doesn't like. Putting him in a party with Vivienne results in some epic SnarkToSnarkCombat.
-->'''Vivienne:''' So, an apostate?\\
'''Solas:''' That is correct, Enchanter. I did not train in your Circle.\\
'''Vivienne:''' Well, dear, I hope you can take care of yourself, should we encounter anything outside your experience.\\
'''Solas:''' I will try, in my own fumbling way, to learn from how you helped seal the rifts at Haven. Ah, wait! My memory misleads me. You were not there.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Implied in his backstory. [[spoiler:It's not clear if Solas was actually one of the evanuris at some point, but if the statuary and iconography found in Mythal and Dirthamen's temples are anything to go by, he used to be a pretty important guy. He later rebelled against the elven gods and fought to free their slaves, [[BeingGoodSucks earning himself the name Fen'Harel, and a couple millennia of vilification for his efforts]].]]
* DestructiveSaviour: [[spoiler:He was responsible for creating the Veil long ago, sealing away the other cruel elven "gods"... at the cost of sapping elves of their immortality and the destruction of all their magic-reliant wonders. His current plan is to restore what was lost by removing the Veil... which would cause untold devastation on the current world.]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: [[spoiler: When he let Corypheus find the Orb, he expected Corypheus would blow himself up unlocking it, leaving Solas to take the Anchor. He didn't count on his dupe being able to jump bodies. Thus, the explosion that destroyed the Conclave and the resulting Breach are his fault. His joining the Inquisition was his means of cleaning up the mess he's made as much reclaiming his Orb.]]
* DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu: His flustered reaction to Blackwall's inquiry on the subject suggests he may or may not have been intimate with [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent a Fade Spirit]], which are extremely otherworldly by most standards. [[spoiler:And then there's the fact that he's Fen'harel, which would seem to make him a DivineDate for the Inquisitor. While ''Trespasser'' reveals that the elven pantheon weren't divine, exactly, their power and age was great enough that difference is troublesome from a mortal perspective.]]
* DivineDate: [[spoiler:Teased to be this for a romanced female Lavellan with the epilogue reveal that he is Fen'Harel, ultimately discredited when Trespasser reveals that the ancient elven "gods" were not world-creating entities so much as exceptionally powerful mages. It's worth noting, however, that they/Solas were/are so far beyond mages post the Veil in power that the distinction may not actually matter, depending on your point of view.]]
* DoNotGoGentle: In banter with Varric, Solas evinces bewilderment as to why the dwarves have let themselves become a DyingRace, and states that nothing could be worse than simply giving in. [[spoiler:Probably because he can remember the days when the durgen'len were in their golden age.]] Varric is actually ''offended'' by this, since he considers the surface dwarves like himself a separate culture and ''they're'' thriving.
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:No one suspected that the [[MysteriousStranger mysterious]], [[NiceGuy mild-mannered]] elven apostate was the one responsible for giving Corypheus the orb, or that he was subtly shaping the Inquisition into a force that he could use to retrieve the aforementioned artifact. Doubles as a StealthPun, since Solas is the [[AnimalMotif Dread Wolf]] of elven legend.]]
* DoesNotLikeSpam: He hates the taste of tea, partly because it's a stimulant that keeps him from engaging in his favorite pastime of dreaming in the Fade, and partly because [[SweetTooth it's just too bitter]]. There is more than a dash of AuthorAppeal here, as Solas's writer Patrick Weekes has stated that he too dislikes tea.
* {{Dreamwalker}}: With time, he mastered the ability to visit places in the Fade no others could. It is similar to lucid dreaming.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Has shades of this in some of his interactions. Despite having extensive knowledge of [[DreamWorld the Fade]] and ancient elven culture, he claims that both humans and the Dalish look down on him. He's especially bitter towards the Dalish, probably because [[spoiler:he's remembered as the BigBad of their legends, even though the actions they accurately accuse him of (sealing away the elven "gods," and being directly responsible for the downfall of elvhen magic and immortality) were born out of a desire to free them, not to spite them.]]
* DyingAlone: His worst nightmare, according to the Fear Demon.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Appears in the background at the tavern in Varric's character trailer set before the creation of the breach.
* EarthyBarefootCharacter: Like many elves. He commonly wears footwraps that cover his heels but leave his toes ExposedToTheElements, but spending so much time outdoors has left him able to stand in the snow with no complaints.
* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: He learned to draw his power directly from the Fade after many years of isolation, introspection, and Fade exploration.
* {{Envy}}: Minor case; he admires spirits like Cole for their simple and uncomplicated lives, and admires Sera for her simple and uncomplicated purpose.
-->'''Solas:''' I am not a spirit, and sometimes it is hard to remember such simple truths.
* ExactWords: Solas very rarely outright lies. However, he is more than willing to omit information and twist his phrasing in order to [[spoiler:hide his identity, and his role in [[NiceJobBreakingItHero instigating the plot]].]]
* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: He is vehemently against such sentiments. If anyone expresses such a sentiment (like, for example, espousing the virtues of the Qun), Solas ''will'' give them a tirade on how it's tantamount to slavery or worse. He's big on free agency.
* FallenHero: [[spoiler: He was once the leader of a rebellion against false gods. Come ''Trespasser'', he declares himself willing to commit mass murder on an ''unprecedented'' scale in order to restore the old world. If you have a high enough approval with him, he will state that he hopes the Inquisition can prove to him the world is worth saving.]]
* FantasticRacism:
** He despises the Qun and considers its followers worse off than slaves since slaves can at least struggle for their freedom while Qunari are conditioned to accept their lot in life. Of course, he shows respect towards ones [[spoiler:like the Iron Bull (possibly)]] who turn away from the Qun.
** In conversation with a Vashoth Inquisitor who has earned his respect, he will state that he believed that ''all'' Qunari were inherently savage creatures and the Qun was the only thing that kept them in check. He even asks if the Anchor must have altered you somehow.
** He is racist towards the Dalish as well, scathingly mocking them for attempting to reclaim elven culture and saying they're nowhere near being able to do so and looks down on them. [[spoiler: One the player knows he's Fen'harel it makes sense, but it doesn't make it right.]]
** In the ''Trespasser'' DLC, [[spoiler:he admits that when he first woke up, he didn't see modern people as ''people''. The fact that none of them had more than the barest connection to the Fade made them seem like a world of Tranquil. If the Inquisitor gained his respect, he reverses this stance (though he's still planning on removing the Veil)]].
* FirstGuyWins: He's the first romanceable male you meet (albeit only if you're a female elf), being introduced along with the non-romanceable Varric soon after Cassandra.
* {{Foil}}:
** His humble brown clothing contrasts with Vivienne's pearl and gold. Additionally, he's an apostate, whereas she's a pro-Circle mage, and his spirit-friendly attitude challenges her own views. Surprisingly, however, he too relishes the DeadlyDecadentCourt.
** Also to Sera. She's brash, mouthy, and has no interest in anything not immediately important to her pranks and everyday life. He's quiet, thoughtful, and consistently interested in ancient history, especially elven history. However, both of them distance themselves from other elves.
** To Briala. [[spoiler:As Felassan notes, the two of them are very much alike. Both of them are rebels who try to use the Eluvians to improve the lot of the elven people. While Briala has rejected Elvhenan and seeks to save the elves through political reform, Solas believes that the only way to save the elves is to restore Elvehanan.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Cole says he feels different from the other companions, and detects an unspecified guilt from Solas' past. Solas is also able to wall off his feelings from Cole, who is a spirit who specializes in sensing feelings, particularly those of pain.
--->'''Cole:''' They sleep, masked in a mirror, hiding, hurting, and to wake them... ''(gasps)'' Where did it go?\\
'''Solas:''' I apologize, Cole. That is not a pain you can heal.
** While discussing their shared histories of war, Blackwall asks if Solas was part of some "elven skirmish". Solas hedges and says Blackwall wouldn't have heard of it.
** If the Inquisitor says they'll use [[spoiler: the power of the Well]] to make the world better, he emotionally asks what they'll do if they [[spoiler:"wake up" in the future]] and things are even worse.
** He wears the lower jaw of a canine around his neck. It can be seen under his armor, but it's most obvious when he's not decked out and ready for battle.
** The penultimate quest for the main storyline is [[spoiler: "What Pride Had Wrought".]] One guess on the meaning of Solas's name!
** At one point Solas says that [[spoiler:no god needs to prove himself]] and anyone who tries is mad or lying. This becomes meaningful later ''twice''; once if [[spoiler:the Inquisitor asks why Mythal didn't reveal herself, and she replies "Reveal myself to whom?" and again when you find out Solas himself is Fen'Harel.]]
** Iron Bull notes that every self-taught warrior he has seen, even the good ones, always has something that "clunks" in their fighting style; Solas uses magic effortlessly and with great skill. The elf retorts that, since Bull is not a mage, he probably can't see the awkwardness. However, fellow mages Vivienne and Dorian never notice anything off about his magic. In fact, he and Dorian often geek over obscure magic and artifacts.
** If you bring him along to [[spoiler:the Temple of Mythal]], you might notice that he has a lot more in common with [[spoiler:Abelas and the sentinels]], in terms of facial structure and build, than he does with most modern elves. [[spoiler: He looks like an ancient elf because he ''is'' one. [[GodInHumanForm In some shape or form]], at least.]]
** His mental game of chess with the Iron Bull in party banter subtly reveals more about his true character [[spoiler: and how he pursues his goals]] than perhaps all other examples combined. [[spoiler:He moves a seemingly innocent and inconsequential pawn (the Inquisitor) during a critical juncture of the match, which the Bull ignores, but is unaware that the pawn is in a perfect position to force Bull to defend himself in a way that leaves a gap for Solas to move in for the kill with his mage/bishop (himself).]]
*** [[spoiler: Solas' strategy seems bizarre, even suicidal at first with his sacrifice of his towers/rooks, but shows he's willing to play the LongGame, distracting his opponents with valuable but short-term gains, even placing enemies perilously close to his King, all the while arranging the board so he can move in unimpeded for the ultimate prize.]]
*** [[spoiler: The cornerstone of his strategy has him creating an opening by sacrificing his queen, which can both reference Solas sacrificing Mythal (an old friend, and queen of the Elvhen 'gods') and a romanced Solas sacrificing his relationship with Lavellan (queen of his heart) to succeed in his goal.]]
*** [[spoiler: It is also debatable as to whether he actually 'sacrificed' his towers/rooks, as he was more focused on maneuvering his weaker pieces into position and cared less about defending his more powerful but less useful ones (the game's RealLife player, Adolf Anderssen, explicitly used this game to demonstrate that 'two active pieces are worth a dozen inactive pieces'). Either way, it hints at Solas' ruthless and pragmatic nature.]]
*** His final move is very telling. [[spoiler: The mage/bishop, deep in enemy territory and previously thought to be harmless, checkmates by moving right next to the King, showing that Solas is not adverse to putting himself in mortal danger and personally infiltrating his enemies if it means he can succeed in his goals.]]
*** His final move also [[spoiler: has him protected and all his opponent's escape routes covered by his two Knights. ''Trespasser'' has shown that Solas/Fen'harel has an extensive spy network that even Leliana could not discover, and Bull calls the Knight pieces 'Ben-Hassrath', the Qunari equivalent of spies or Seekers, which further describe Solas' machinations.]]
*** More prosaically, the chess game he and Bull play is a move-for-move copy of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_Game The Immortal Game]] (link to TheOtherWiki). [[spoiler: The name is rather fitting, don't you think?]]
** His personal quest name is [[spoiler: a SignificantAnagram. "All New, Faded For Her" -> "Dread Wolf Fen'Harel".]]
** Promotional material released prior to the game showed the Inquisitor with all of the companions and advisors [[http://imageserver.moviepilot.com/dragon-age-inquisition-romance-facts-speculation.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080 standing around a table a la The Last Supper]]. Solas is [[spoiler:in Judas Iscariot's spot]].
** During In Hushed Whispers, Solas immediately understands Dorian's explanation about what happened to him and the Inquisitor. Comment on it and Solas responds with "You would think such understanding would stop me from making such terrible mistakes. You would be wrong." It's presented like a throwaway line, probably the result of [[spoiler:the BadFuture]] getting the better of him. [[spoiler:Or so you'd think. Turns out that Solas has a very, very good reason for blaming himself.]]
** During "What Pride Has Wrought", there is a small window where Morrigan mentions that [[spoiler:ancient elves were adept travelers of the Fade. What does Solas spend his spare time doing again?]]
* FormerTeenRebel: He makes constant references to mistakes made when he was younger, many dark and sad, while some just silly. When Sera asks him if he ever pissed magic by accident, he has to stop and think about it ("We were all young once"). [[spoiler:Since he's actually Fen'Harel, who is theorized to be the elven God of Rebellion, this is a bit more literal than most examples]].
-->'''Blackwall:''' For all your experience, Solas, you don't carry yourself like a soldier.\\
'''Solas:''' You should have seen me when I was younger. Hot-blooded and cocky, always ready to fight.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Not Solas himself, but when the Inquisitor shares a dream with him, he reshapes [[DreamWorld the Fade]] to resemble [[spoiler:Haven, before it was wiped out]], as he knows the place will always hold meaning for you and it would be easier to talk there than someplace less familiar.
* FriendlessBackground: His only friends prior to the events of the game are Fade spirits; the Inquisitor can either tell him that this is quite sad and they don't count as "real" friends, or express approval of his unusual social circle. Notably, his biggest fear is dying alone.
* GeniusLoci: Mentioned in his backstory about the Fade: since he never grew up with the Andrastian fear of the Fade, it isn't physically as scary to him.
* GenreSavvy:
** When you meet him in [[spoiler: the BadFuture]], he immediately starts telling you what's happened since you left. When you ask why, he says [[spoiler:if you manage to get back to the past, knowing what happened might be useful in preventing it.]]
** In the ''Trespasser'' DLC [[spoiler: he refuses to give any but the vaguest details about his plans, since if he mentioned anything specific the Inquisition would probably figure the whole thing out.]]
* GratuitousIambicPentameter: Half the time he speaks in it, [[GeniusBonus though it's hard to notice]]. You even get approval for responding back in pentameter.
* GreyAndGrayMorality: He tends to take this stance regarding history, judging that people's tendency to see things in black and white and erase complexities is what landed them in the mess they're in.
* TheHermit: Grew up isolated from those who would cage him, and would be quite happy to spend his life sleeping alone in ruins. But ironically, his greatest fear is dying alone.
* HermitGuru: Although it seems that he sought out the Inquisitor rather than the other way around.
* HiddenDepths: He's the last person you'd expect to be comfortable in the DeadlyDecadentCourt of Orlais, but he actually ''relishes'' it.
* HiddenElfVillage: Claims he's from one, though it was so small that you'd likely not find it on any map. When Leliana finally tracks it down [[spoiler:after he leaves, it's nothing but centuries-old ruins. He may or may not have lived there in the past, but it was obviously much longer ago than his physical age would suggest.]]
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Played with. [[spoiler:As Fen'Harel, Solas is vilified by the Dalish, despite his devotion to freeing the elven people from slavery. However, he is still directly responsible for the loss of elven magic and immortality. And while his creation of the Veil was arguably an act of desperation born of noble intentions, it was done, at least in part, to punish the Evanuris for murdering Mythal. So the Dalish are technically correct when they accuse Fen'Harel of sealing the Creators away out of spite, even if they're missing a lot of important details.]]
* HotBlooded: Says he was when he was younger; he appears to have matured beyond it now, but the devs have compared him to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_bonnet_%28pepper%29 Scotch bonnet]] candies.
* HumansAreBastards: He appears to hold this opinion to some extent, best exemplified by this banter with Varric.
-->'''Varric:''' You really spend most of your time in the Fade ?\\
'''Solas:''' As much as is possible. The Fade contains a wealth of knowledge for those who know where to look.\\
'''Varric:''' Sure, but I don't know how you dream, let alone wander around in there. Especially when the shit that comes out of the Fade is generally... cranky.\\
'''Solas:''' So are humans. But we continue to interact with them ...[[NotGoodWithPeople when we must]].
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Well, not humans ''specifically'', but mortals. While mortals eschew demons and are wary of spirits (because they tend to become demons), he says that this is a SelfFulfillingProphecy. Spirits are shaped by the thoughts and feelings of those around them. Thus, if a mortal mind expects to find a demon, or is loaded with negative thoughts and feelings, the spirit will absorb them and take them all upon itself, becoming a demon in the process.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** When it's discovered that Blackwall [[spoiler:is living under a fake identity]], Solas rips into him, calling him out for talking about honor and knowing nothing of it himself. [[spoiler:Of course, since Solas is actually Fen'Harel, just about anything he says of Blackwall could be said of him as well.]] He does later apologize for this, acknowledging that Blackwall is at least trying, which is more than most ever do.
* IJustWantToBeFree:
** Freedom is very important to him. He disapproves of anything or anyone that subjugates others whether it be tradition, slavery or oppressive systems. The Qun is a particularly sore point for him because it explicitly denies freedom and, worst of all, claims that this is a ''good'' thing. For this reason, he approves of a full alliance between mages, and disapproves of a full alliance between templars; one is enabling the freedom of a people, the other is subjugating it, in his mind.
** He believes that ''any'' large-scale organization will, given enough time, inevitably grow more concerned with sustaining itself than its original purpose. If the Inquisitor suggests they'll share power with others in the future, he considers it noble but misplaced - a selfless ''individual'' might walk away from power, but he cannot think of any ''group'' to ever do so.
* InsultBackfire: [[spoiler:"Dread Wolf" was an insult from the rest of the Evanuris. Solas, however, [[AppropriatedAppellation appropriated it for his own use]] - inspiration for his followers, terror to his enemies - to the point that even his friend Mythal calls him by that name]].
* IntergenerationalFriendship: He develops a bond with Cole as they discuss the nature of spirits, though which one of them is the elder of the two is subject to some scrutiny, although certainly almost every character considers Cole to be both young physically and mentally.
* IntimateHealing: [[spoiler: When the Inquisitor catches up with Solas in ''Trespasser'', he confirms that the mark ''is'' killing you and you're out of time. If not romanced, he removes the anchor with a hand gesture. If romanced by a female Lavellan, he heals her with a BigDamnKiss. [[note]]Just before the kiss, his eyes glow the same way they did when he stopped the mark from spreading when you first approached him, and after the kiss her arm looks less solid than before, slowly breaking up into green plasma, the same way it did with non-romanced Inquisitors.[[/note]] ]]
* InVinoVeritas: Played with. While the servants being "eager to refill his glass" at the Winter Palace does cause him to slip from NiceGuy Solas into a more calculating personality [[HiddenDepths with a love of court intrigue]], he doesn't reveal [[spoiler:his true identity or intentions]]. If the Inquisitor [[PullingTheThread questions him about his odd behavior afterwards]], he will hastily brush off their questions, saying that he knows it all from the Fade. Notably, this is one of the only times your questions will earn ''dis''approval.
* IronicNickname: Varric calls him "Chuckles" despite seeing him as rather dour and humorless. If you befriend him, or listen to his banters, you'll find he does have a sense of humor.
* ItsNotYouItsMe: Although he doesn't [[spoiler:reveal his true reasons for breaking up with the Inquisitor]], he makes it clear that she's not the one at fault, and feels he's doing it for her own good.
* ItIsDehumanizing: Averted. He insists that a Spirit of Wisdom is an "it" if the Inquisitor has PronounTrouble, but obviously holds it in high regard and calls it his friend. [[spoiler:When you meet said spirit, it somewhat resembles a woman and has a feminine voice.]] He refers to Cole using masculine pronouns, however, so it's likely that being called "it" was the spirit's choice.
* JumpedAtTheCall: The moment the Breach appeared, he showed up at Haven offering his expertise. [[spoiler:Subverted by the end, when it's revealed that he was the one who gave Corypheus the orb in the first place. He didn't so much [[JumpedAtTheCall Jump At the Call]], as he [[NiceJobBreakingItHero set out to fix his mistake]].]]
* LickedByTheDog: By Trespasser, [[spoiler: Solas' true identity as Fen'Harel and willingness to do terrible things to obtain his goals has been revealed to the player. How does WordOfGod get across that Solas is not all bad? Have TheEmpath and TagAlongKid Cole take a firm stance that Fen'Harel is NotEvilJustMisunderstood.]]
* LikeGoesWithLike: Only a female elf can romance him. No other Inquisitor of any other gender or race can even flirt with him. He is the only companion or advisor who has this restriction. [[note]]aside from Leliana or Cole, neither of whom have any flirtatious dialogue options with anyone.[[/note]] If a female elf romances Sera, he comments that he finds it natural to desire a fellow elf.
* LittleNo: Upon discovering evidence that [[spoiler:mages have corrupted his spirit friend into a demon]], he lets out a whispered string of, "No. No, no, no, ''no''."
* LonersAreFreaks: He's an introvert, his opinions concerning the Fade don't match any Thedosian civilizations, and he freaks out Andrastians and Qunari alike.
* ManBehindTheMan: Hinted at in the main game's epilogue, and confirmed in ''Trespasser'', is that [[spoiler:Solas manipulated Corypheus by allowing him to come into possession of the Orb in the belief that Corypheus would unlock it and be destroyed by the resultant explosion, leaving it for Solas to reclaim. With that power, Solas planned to tear down the Veil he himself created to imprison the elves' false and tyrannical "gods". He, personally, is Fen'Harel, the trickster god of ancient elven lore. Knowing the decline of the elves is his own fault, he now seeks to undo it and restore the elves' civilisation and immortality at the expense of the world as it is now and all the races that reside within it. He's still pursuing that agenda despite the failure of his plan, making him a very likely candidate for prime antagonist of the ongoing series]].
* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: [[spoiler:Like Blackwall, he doesn't reveal to anyone his true identity and plans, and that is likely what makes him break up with the Inquisitor if she romances him.]]
* MayDecemberRomance:
** Implied. In an argument with the Elf Inquisitor about the Dalish, the Inquisitor refers to Solas as "hahren" (elder) and Solas refers to them as "da'len" (young one).
** [[spoiler:Played straight with the revelation he's at least thousands of years old, which means it's likely a MayflyDecemberRomance as well.]]
* MeaningfulName: Solas means "pride" in Elvhen. [[spoiler:He does express grief that he did foolish things when he was younger, but is deliberately vague about them.]]
* MerlinAndNimue: With a female elf mage Inquisitor that is romancing him, and to a lesser extent any female mage Inquisitor. Could even be extended to any female Inquisitor, period, as their mark gives them MagicKnight capabilities over Fade rifts.
* MoralityPet: [[spoiler: The Inquisitor becomes this to him, particularly a romanced female Lavellan. He admits he didn't even see his companions as people before the Inquisitor became his friend and proved his preconceptions wrong. Notably, despite caring for the Inquisitor greatly - and, in Lavellan's case, obviously loving her - this doesn't change his mind about the perceived necessity of his plans, and he abandons them to carry them out. This can also be seen of him hardening himself to do what he feels must be done, particularly as he calls Lavellan 'vhenan'/heart]].
* MrImagination: He likes to spend his free time in the literal land of dreams.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Touched upon when he asks the Inquisitor [[spoiler:what they would do if they woke up to find the world had changed for the worse due to their actions. The player doesn't know it then, but Solas is really thinking about his own choice to seal away the elven gods, which both spelled the end of elven civilization, and removed people's conscious connection to the Fade, which he compares to walking through a world of Tranquil]].
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: If you ask him about other elves, he says the Dalish are too stuck on trying to hold to traditions that none of them even remember, and those in the Alienages do the same while remembering ''even less''. If they aren't able to remember, and don't have members who can use the Fade to see the past as he does, then they ought to learn new ways to live that make sense in the present.
* MysteriousStranger: After the explosion at the Temple, he showed up, surrendered to Chantry forces, and offered his aid. That's about all anyone knows of him, other than the fact that he was in some random nearby village during the actual explosion (and thus couldn't have been responsible). [[spoiler:Actually, he ''was'': the Orb Corypheus used was his, given to him for an unknown purpose. He is actually Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf of elven legend, and never intended for any of the events of the game to happen.]]
* NayTheist:
** He believes the old elf pantheon existed, but hesitates to call them "gods." He approves of the idea of The Maker, a deity that does not need to prove its power to anyone, but does not believe.
** [[spoiler:TheStinger reveals that he's closer to AGodIAmNot than a true NayTheist. His general attitude seems to imply that he thinks the elven pantheon were neither divine nor worthy of worship. That he's technically a member doesn't seem to change his feelings on the matter.]]
* NecessaryEvil: In the ''Trespasser'' DLC, it is revealed his intentions are to [[spoiler:tear down the Veil which will return the world to what it once was, but will devastate, if not destroy the waking world.]] He states that it pains him to do so and wishes there was another way, adding that his assistance in dealing with Corypheus and the Qunari was to give the world comfort and peace before [[spoiler: its destruction. Solas even hopes that the Inquisitor can prove to him that the world is worth ending his plans for.]]
* NiceGuy: While he is genuinely nice, polite, and caring towards the destitute, [[spoiler: he has a pretty important dark side that he hides, and endeavors to appear as a simple apostate.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: He took a nap, and then [[spoiler:woke up too weak to activate his focal orb, so he gave it to Corypheus to unlock its power. Naturally, Corypheus decided to take the orb for his own uses.]]
** ''Trespasser'' reveals that he [[spoiler:[[UpToEleven broke the entirety of Elvhenan]] when he put up the Veil.]]
* NightmareFetishist: By most people's standards, his love for everything Fade-related is somewhat creepy. This is especially the case for Vivienne (who, as a mage, is constantly open to possession by demons) and the Iron Bull (who isn't fond of demons in general).
* NoExceptYes: Blackwall asks for tips on fighting demons, to which Solas tells him to "survive the first thirty heartbeats." Blackwall accuses him of telling him to just TryNotToDie, but Solas points out that demons are fairly unoriginal and will exhaust all their battle tactics very quickly; once you know what they're capable of, you can find a way to beat them. He then adds that one also must try not to die.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Mature and cerebral he may be, but that doesn't mean he can't give resident troll Sera a run for her money when he really wants to. He also can get dragged into catty sniping with Dorian or Vivienne when they goad him.
* NotSoDifferent:
** He shares many traits with Morrigan, such as being a skilled apostate who lived in the wilderness, which makes [[{{Foil}} the ways in which they clash]] stand out more starkly.
** To Cole. They both joined the Inquisition to help and often approve of the same decisions, particularly those [[NiceGuy which help people even if they give little immediate reward]], and share a distrust of Templars and Grey Wardens. [[spoiler:They're also both OlderThanTheyLook, and out-of-touch with modern Thedas due to spending too much time in the Fade - Cole because he formed there, Solas because he was asleep for several thousand years.]]
** To Sera. While very different in temperament, they both share a strong desire not to be judged simply for being an elf, a derision of other elves for clinging on to remnants of history (although in different ways), as well as a general distaste for authority and a sympathy for the poor and needy. Solas will sometimes remark on this (although it doesn't endear her to him), but it's generally lost on Sera, who thinks of Solas as being almost everything she doesn't want to be.
** [[spoiler: ''Trespasser'' reveals that his goals are very much similar to Corypheus', as they both want to restore their respective peoples to the past glory they remember. Even his nature as a god is what Corypheus wanted to achieve - Solas isn't a god and never was one, but he began to be worshipped as one eventually.]]
*** It extends even deeper to their backgrounds: [[spoiler:Both woke up from a long sleep to be shocked by the current state of the world. Both are angry and lament how far "their people" have fallen and how said people no longer remember their past properly. Both are depicted in myths as villains for their actions.]]
*** And it goes even ''deeper.'' Though rather than [[spoiler:Corypheus]], it's for the Inquisitor themselves. [[spoiler: Before he created the Veil, he was the leader of a faction of former elven slaves, fighting to free themselves from the more tyrannical of the Evanuris. He likened his faction to the Inquisition; as with the Inquisitor, his followers were loyal to him, and some even saw him as divine, regardless of his wishes not to be.]]
* OddFriendship: With Cassandra. He's pretty much a complete heretic according to Chantry standards and she is a heavily devout Andrastian. They have a deep respect and admiration for each other.
** If you take Cassandra with you [[spoiler: when the Vidisala reveals that (she believes) Solas is an agent Fen'harel, her only response is an ''incredibly'' heartbroken "What?"]].
* OrSoIHeard: He knows a lot of things that have been forgotten over the centuries, all from watching Fade memories. Or so he claims. [[spoiler: Not that he was there or anything]]...
* PardonMyKlingon: If the Inquisitor falls in battle, he'll sometimes swear in Elvish. No official translation has been given for ''fenedhis'', but popular theory is it means "wolf dung" or similar. [[note]]The first syllable, ''fen'', is definitely "wolf", but it's unknown if the other two syllables are one word or two, or what they mean.[[/note]]
* PetTheDog: Part of the reason for his romance is to show that Solas has other sides to him besides being mysterious [[spoiler:and vaguely villainous]]. It's also why he has a friendship with Cole, and is surprisingly polite to Cassandra, whom he very emphatically admires for her innate nobility.
* PlayingWithFire: His [[LimitBreak Focus Spell]] is the incredibly powerful Firestorm and promotional materials show him using fire.
* PowerPerversionPotential:
** Sera and Blackwall want to know if any of his Fade spirit friends are "[[FriendsWithBenefits more than friends]], [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre if you know what I mean]]." Solas's reaction is to [[NotSoStoic freak out]] and exclaim that [[OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous such matters are not simple at all]]. He also tells Iron Bull that acting out sexual fantasies with spirits tends to attract demons. Whether he learned this from firsthand experience or not is not known.
** If a Dalish female Inquisitor kisses him in the Fade, he ''immediately'' returns the physical affection and says that such things are always easier for him to do in the Fade.
* TheProfessor: He's an expert on the Fade, and if the Inquisitor is friendly with him, he'll be glad to share parts of his knowledge and attempt to teach. The easiest way to gain his approval is to ask questions.
* PsychicBlockDefense: While he can't hide all of his grief from [[TheEmpath Cole]], he ''is'' able to keep the details of his past a secret. All Cole can find is a vague [[TheAtoner sense of regret]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero for something he did]]. [[spoiler:So, yes, even Cole is unaware he's really Fen'harel - which explains ''how'' he's got the defense in the first place.]]
* PsychicPowers: His unmatched mastery of the Fade allows him to catch and interpret glimpses of past events. [[spoiler:After he leaves, he's even able to use his powers [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzWGSBJowqA to fog Cole's ability to find him, then wipes his memory of that happening afterwards.]]]]
* PurpleEyes: Solas is a Dreamer mage, capable of bending the Fade to his will, with the unheard of talent to witness the historical memories of a place by sleeping near it. His eyes are a fittingly mysterious and mystical color. [[spoiler:He's also an ancient elf and the Dread Wolf. Notably, the only other character ever known to have purple eyes is Felassan, his agent and fellow ancient elf, which gave partial credence to the now {{Jossed}} theory that Solas had possessed Felassan.]] Atypical to most examples of this trope, Solas's violet eyes are of the more realistic kind, rather than an amethyst-purple, meaning they can appear blue or grey depending on the lighting.
* RealityWarper: He has come to develop powers to control the Fade's effects on reality. [[spoiler:And that's parlor tricks compared to Solas' most powerful act: ''creating the Veil itself''. His powers have also progressed to the point that he can kill people by ''thinking'' about it.]]
* Really700YearsOld: [[spoiler:TheStinger of the game after the credits reveals him to be Fen'Harel, The Dread Wolf, a figure from ancient Elven lore.]]
* ReverseArmFold: He spends much of his conversation in ''Trespasser'' striking this pose; fitting, [[spoiler: given he's gained a huge power boost and is no longer hiding his age or ruthless nature.]]
* RomanceSidequest: For a female Elven Inquisitor only.
* SarcasticConfession: At one point in ''Inquisition'', he can sarcastically say that the only way he can think of to truly save the elves would be to [[spoiler:destroy the Veil and use the Fade to reshape reality.]] ''Trespasser'' reveals that he actually intends to do this.
* SeriouslyScruffy: Not as easy to tell, since he's bald, but life as an elven apostate is full of hardships, and his wardrobe shows it.
* ShooTheDog: To [[spoiler:his Dalish Inquisitor girlfriend]], if things go that far.
* SignificantAnagram: The name of one of his personal quests, [[spoiler:"All New, Faded For Her" can be rearranged to form Fen'harel, Dread Wolf]].
* TheSmartGuy: He's an entirely self taught expert on the Fade, and takes a more nuanced approach than most in his everyday life. Promotional material also referred to him as "The Mind" of the Inquisition.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: He and Bull play during banter after [[spoiler:Bull truly goes Tal-Vashoth, as a way to assuage the distress Bull is having from it]] - that is, they call out moves and the "board" exists in their heads.
** He is apparently a terror in Diamondback, as Blackwall warns you after losing all his clothes when he taught Solas how to play the game.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: At best, he and Vivienne will spend most of their dialogue trading zingers.
* StealthPun: His name means "pride" in elven. [[spoiler:Which takes on a new significance when you reach the endgame mission "What Pride has Wrought." It's a subtle hint that Solas is responsible for both Corypheus's rise to power, and possibly the fall of elven society - the latter of which is only emphasized as you fight your way through an ancient elven ruin.]]
* StopWorshippingMe: [[spoiler:''Trespasser'' reveals that he tried to invoke this trope back in ancient Elvhenan when he was a rebel leader freeing the slaves from their false god masters. It's because of that last bit that Solas ''despises'' the idea of people proclaiming godhood: it basically ruined the ancient elves.]]
* SweetTooth: Unlike [[RealMenHateSugar Blackwall]], he enjoys the little cakes sold in the Orlesian marketplace.
* TaughtByExperience: Solas never received a formal education in magic. [[spoiler: Not that he needed one, considering he's really a god.]] Iron Bull points out how odd it is that Solas is so skilled, since experience has shown him that even the best self-taught warriors have "clunks" in their technique.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork:
** He ''really'' does not like Vivienne. His snark at her actually goes for the mean, [[InsultBackfire not that she cares]]. He does, however, acknowledge her intelligence, stating that despite their disagreements he does not consider either of them to be fools.
** His whole involvement with the Inquisition is a form of this, as he has no love for the Chantry as a whole, though he does concede that it does some good and has nothing but the greatest respect for a friendly Inquisitor.
** During "What Pride Had Wrought", he and Morrigan do not get along at all. [[KnowNothingKnowItAll Probably because she keeps acting like an expert on Elven history when she's actually confusing it with Elven lore]].
** Initially does not get along with Iron Bull because he's a Qunari, and Solas despises the Qun. Their relationship can either get better or worse [[spoiler:depending on the results of Iron Bull's personal quest.]]
** Potentially with the Inquisitor, if his approval gets low enough. It can get to the point where he can piss the Inquisitor off with his snarky comments enough for them to punch Solas.
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''Trespasser'', we see that [[spoiler: whatever he absorbed from Flemeth has made him powerful enough to turn people into statues just by ''thinking'' about it.]]
* TranquilFury: During his personal quest "All New, Faded for Her" he does [[NotSoStoic momentarily lose his cool]] when he discovers [[spoiler:a group of inept mages have summoned his ActualPacifist spirit friend and forced it to fight, turning it into a demon]], but after the fight, the only clue he's about to [[spoiler:kill the three mages]] is a glint in his eyes and an edge to his voice.
* TricksterArchetype: He likes them in tales, another sign of his intellectual bent (since tricksters win through smarts and by moving outside established thinking) and asks Varric why there aren't any in dwarven literature. [[spoiler:Also, he's really Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf who tricked the Fade and mortal worlds apart in elvish mythology, sealing away the gods and their opposite numbers in their respective realms. He's also responsible for Corypheus gaining the knowledge he needed to merge the fade, and the Inquisitor's Anchor. Ultimately, Solas uses his intellect and cunning to get things done.]]
* TryNotToDie: Says this once to Blackwall rather glibly (see above), and then again to Cole with more seriousness.
-->'''Solas:''' There will always be plenty of negative emotions to fuel Rage and Desire demons. The gentler spirits are much rarer; that is why we cannot afford to lose even one Spirit of Wisdom... or Compassion.\\
'''Cole:''' I shall try not to die, then.\\
'''Solas:''' Do that, please.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans:
** Occasionally expresses this view in the main game.
--->'''Solas:''' Sometimes to achieve the world one desires, one must take regrettable measures.
** ''Trespasser'' takes it further as [[spoiler: Solas, now outed as Fen'Harel, reveals that he intends to remove the Veil that he created in the first place, in order to restore the elves' lost glory, immortality, and society. He knows that doing so will likely destroy the world and most living beings in it, yet he feels it's a necessary price to pay for the ideal world he wants to restore.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: Solas is the expert on all things Fade-related and some things magical and Elven-related. The vast majority of the time, he is right on the money about everything. He is, however, fallible like any other source of information in the series. [[spoiler:Especially since much of the time he's flat out lying or only giving ''pieces'' of information.]]
* VetinariJobSecurity:
** If the Inquisitor manages to get his approval low enough, they'll eventually have an argument in which he points out that you ''don't have'' another expert on the Fade around to replace him. He's right: no matter how mad you make him, you can't get rid of him. [[spoiler:You ''can'' punch him in the face, though.]]
** His Codex profile has Leliana assure Cassandra that since he's the only person that has a clue what's going on, they need to keep him around no matter what.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With extra vitriol. Most of the time he and Iron Bull speak, Solas lashes out against the Qun. But if Bull winds up [[spoiler:being declared Tal-Vashoth, Solas will support him when he worries about turning vicious. And a rather long chain of party conversations between them later is essentially Solas distracting Iron Bull from his worries by deliberately provoking him into playing a mental game of chess.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: [[spoiler: His real identity as Fen'Harel is a major twist and he is one of the main instigators of the plot.]]
* WarriorPoet: He's [[BadassBookworm well-read]] and [[CulturedBadass knows a thing or two about courtly intrigue]], paints [[FanArt a fresco of the Inquisitor]] in his spare time, and discusses the delicate balance of passion in a warrior's life with Blackwall: [[HotBlooded too much]] and a man is likely to [[LeeroyJenkins die in a fool-hardy way]], too little and he is likely to die because he is uncommitted to the fight or to simply leave the life of a warrior for safer, more sedate pastures.
* WellIntentionedExtremist:
** He sympathises with the mage rebellion, seeing the violence as an unfortunate step towards something better. He has no such patience for the Grey Wardens, who he views as ignorant and too quick to use duty as a catch-all excuse.
** Then there's [[spoiler: his own arc. After witnessing how badly sealing away the elf pantheon backfired, he resorts to giving Corypheus a powerful artifact that he's too weak to unlock himself. After ''that'' blows up in his face too, he leaves the party on a mission he does not want any of his friends to share in.]]
** In the ''Trespasser'' DLC, [[spoiler:Solas reveals his plans to tear down the Veil he himself created, restoring the world to how it once was...even if it kills countless people in the process. He takes no pleasure in any of it, wants everyone's last days to be as peaceful as possible, and if you promise to prove him wrong he seems half-hopeful you'll succeed.]]
* WhatDidIDoLastNight: Implied in a banter with Sera:
--> '''Sera''': So you can create magic whenever you want? Did you ever piss it by accident?\\
'''Solas''': No. Wait... No.\\
'''Sera''': How could you not remember somethin' like that?\\
'''Solas''': We were all young once.
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:Though whether you can call him heroic at this point is debatable, in Trespasser, when the Inquisitor learns that Solas plans to tear down the Veil, which would devastate Thedas and kill untold amounts of people to recreate the world he used to live in, the Inquisitor can call him a monster who doesn't care about anyone but his elves.]]
* WrittenByTheWinners:
** When it's pointed out that the visions seen in the Fade can be distorted, Solas points out that the same things happen to a living person's memories and also in history books; no one recollection is perfect or free from bias. The way things ''are'' is not necessarily the way a person ''thinks'' they are, but which is most important in their future decisions?
** He gives one specific example: [[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins Loghain withdrawing his troops during the battle at Ostagar]]. Some remember a sneering villain discarding the lives of those inconvenient to his goals. Others remember a beleaguered commander trying to salvage troops from a battle that was already lost, though it meant abandoning his foolhardy king.
* WrongContextMagic: Solas' abilities to command the Fade and view the history of places is completely new and foreign to Thedosian mages, not to mention Thedosian society in general. [[spoiler:This is a hint to [[GodInHumanForm his actual nature]].]]
* YouAreACreditToYourRace:
** Some of his comments and a lot of his banter borders on or falls outright into this territory. Once you get his approval high enough, he outright asks the Inquisitor if the Anchor has altered their morals in some way, as their behaviour doesn't match his expectations of their people (especially Dalish, dwarf or Qunari).
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: In ''Trespasser'', [[spoiler:a fully befriended Inquisitor can tell him that they never imagined that he was someone who would destroy the world to rebuild his old one. Solas looks deeply shocked and moved, then replies, "Thank you."]]
** In the last conversation you can have with him before the final battle, he may tell a befriended Inquisitor of any race that "you have not been what I expected," and express his admiration for their goodness and depth of character.
* YouCannotKillAnIdea: After [[spoiler:his friend the Wisdom Spirit]] dies, he says that if the idea giving a spirit form is strong enough, it will one day reform in the Fade, though the spirit that was will not truly be resurrected. [[spoiler:His friend is still truly gone.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vivienne]]
!!Vivienne
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vivienne_1448.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Magic is dangerous, just as fire is dangerous. Anyone who forgets this truth gets burned."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' ''Creator/IndiraVarma''

A Free Marches-born and Orlesian-raised mage who was the official enchanter to the Imperial court and First Enchanter of the Montsimmard Circle before the entire Circle of Magi went rogue. A staunch supporter of the Circle system, she joins the Inquisition to support her fellow "loyal" mages (and her own agenda) in any way she can.

Written by Mary Kirby.
----
* AbsoluteCleavage: The outfit she's wearing when she's introduced, as well as other mage armor you can equip her with.
* ActionGirl: As Irving and Orsino demonstrated, you don't become First Enchanter without knowing how to kick ass.
* ActionFashionista: As described on her character kit, "A thousand arrows would pierce her breast before Vivienne would don beaten steel for so base an urge as protection." Also, when Varric reveals that he's [[WriteWhoYouKnow basing the villain of his latest book on her]], she demands that his writing describe her wearing nothing but the latest fashions.
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: She's absolutely delighted about being the villain in Varric's planned trilogy of novels set in Orlais. A good portion of her banter with him is talking about how the story will go and how accurate it'll be.
* AnIcePerson: In the promotional materials, Vivienne is always shown wielding ice spells, suitable to her demeanor, and she is introduced using one on a troublesome noble.
* TheArchmage: She was a First Enchanter before the Circles rebelled. Her ultimate goal pre-rebellion was to become Grand Enchanter.
* AuthorityInNameOnly: She calls herself the First Enchanter of the last loyal mages, but since there aren't too many of those, that title doesn't mean much beyond being an indicator of her skill as a mage, something she acknowledges openly.
* BadassBoast: Vivienne is quite an expert at this:
-->'''[[TheStrategist Cassandra]]''': Varric, expect a standard formation of ranged enemies on the walls and expendables gathering there.\\
'''Vivienne''': My dear, we'll render them all expendable.
* BaldWomen: Without her headgear, Vivienne has a closely shaven head.
* BarrierWarrior: As a Knight-Enchanter, Vivienne specializes in using barrier spells to stay in a fight while delivering devastating damage.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: While she brings a lot more grace and magic into it, Vivienne is not above reversing Sera's pranks back on her. When Sera sticks a snake into her drawer, Vivienne enchants it to give it legs, then sends it back to Sera. .Also, when Sera remarks that she could dig up Vivienne's past and use dirt she finds against the mage, Vivienne [[TranquilFury gently]] warns her that all people are this way, and if Sera wants to try that, Vivienne will be more than willing to pay her back in kind. [[OhCrap It shuts Sera up quickly.]]
* BeneathTheMask: There is a part of Vivienne that actually cares for Cole as a person. She doesn't like it, but part of her is genuinely worried he could be hurt. Cole agrees not to tell anyone. She is also [[NotSoStoic absolutely distraught]] when [[spoiler: all of her efforts still fail to save Bastien's life.]]
* CleavageWindow: Some of her outfits have this too.
* CombatMedic: Vivienne's [[LimitBreak Focus Spell]] is Resurgence, the only true healing spell that can be cast in combat.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: While she's perfectly willing to leverage all of her assets (magical and otherwise) to her own benefit, she also strongly believes that magic, like all power, comes with responsibility. She's not sympathetic to the rebel mages because she believes that the actions of certain rebel mages -- Anders blowing up the Kirkwall Chantry, the attempted assassination of Divine Justinia, the killing of innocent people caught in the crossfire, and the killing of fellow mages who didn't want to rebel -- prove that they are being irresponsible with their magic and simply don't ''deserve'' the freedom they crave.
* ControlFreak: She ''must'' be in control. It starts with herself and her emotions, but given the opportunity she will expand upon it.
* CourtMage: Her actual pre-war position was official Enchanter to the Imperial Court, and according to Leliana she was the first to transform it into something meaningful.
* CruelMercy: How she deals with the Marquis who insults the Inquisitor, if he's spared. If the Inquisitor says they don't care how she deals with him, Vivienne will give him such an especially scathing ReasonYouSuckSpeech (in front of everyone he knows) that one can't help but wonder if killing him would have been the kinder choice. After the encounter, Vivienne will confirm that he will be disgraced and disowned, and will probably join the war effort in the Dales to either [[DrivenToSuicide go out]] [[DoNotGoGentle in a blaze of glory]] or try to earn back some semblance of self-respect. Suddenly, asking her to kill him doesn't seem ''quite'' so needlessly cruel.
* DeadpanSnarker: Vivienne is very skilled at verbally destroying people who get in her way:
-->'''Vivienne:''' I know you are only seventy-third in line for the Nevarran throne, but that is hardly so lowly a position as to relegate you to trailing after Comtesse Montbelliard in the hope that she might give your suit a moment's thought. She won't, my dear. She only likes men with self-respect. Perhaps you might sober up and acquire some?
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Invoked. Party banter between Vivienne and Cole reveals that Vivienne intentionally set up the noble she humiliated at the salon she invited both him and the Inquisitor to so her first appearance to the Inquisitor would be as impressive as possible.
* EvilReactionary: Despite being one of the protagonists, she has all the hallmarks of this trope, being ultraconservative and rigidly pro-establishment in a time of such revolutionary change that even the otherwise conservative Cassandra admits that maintaining the status quo, especially regarding the Circle, is both impossible and immoral. She has a very nostalgic, rose-tinted view of the Circle that almost no one else in the series shares, and if [[spoiler: elected Divine, she's the only one who resorts to violence to restore the Circle.]]
* {{Foil}}:
** The silver clad pro-establishment counterpoint to the raggedy apostate Solas (not to mention she's the [[spoiler: staunchly loyal companion vs Solas' fair-weather friend who sets out to destroy the world the instant it's saved from Corypheus]]). And the poised, impeccably dressed aristocrat to the anti-authority street rat Sera.
** Vivienne is a Circle-trained mage who is a master of Orlesian politics to further her own agenda; in contrast Morrigan is an apostate who sneers at politics but gains Celene's favor to further ''her'' own agenda. To make it visually obvious Vivienne is dressed in white Orlesian fashions while Morrigan ignores all fashion and wears black. The fact that they hold each other's way of life and mage training in utter contempt, but are very similar [[{{Pride}} in]] [[LackOfEmpathy other]] [[LoveIsAWeakness ways]], is even better.
** Across the series itself Vivienne and Anders could not have led more dissimilar lives; Vivienne thrived in the Circle until she became the well-dressed and respected member of high society, while Anders frequently tried to escape from the Circle's abuse and lived on the run in slums to become an apostate revolutionary. It's no wonder that both have polar opposite views on mage rights and freedoms.
* FairyTaleMotifs: Slight, but present. In addition to her Malificent-esque horned hat, Vivienne's dialogue and story reference fairy stories - usually the older, bloodier versions. She was elevated to her status by a wealthy suitor. One of her personal quests is named "Bring Me the Heart of Snow White." When Cassandra suggests no one could fill the Divine's shoes, Vivienne says they'll find someone, even if they have to trim off her heels and toes, as occurs in some versions of Cinderella. She references (jokingly) (probably) feeding a man his relative in a stew, and the party member whose personality clashes with hers the most is [[spoiler:essentially a big bad wolf.]] Finally, her personal quest is to restore the health of a loved one who is mortally ill.
* FullCircleRevolution: [[spoiler: If she becomes Divine and the mages are allied, she declares war on them to restore the Circle as it was.]]
* GreenEyedMonster: If the Inquisitor romances Blackwall, some party banter between Blackwall and Vivienne has her being particularly scathing towards him about his and the Inquisitor's relationship, saying that the Inquisitor is far out of his league. Blackwall retorts that the real reason she's being so critical is because she's envious of the Inquisitor being able to love anyone she wants, with no worries about her reputation. Since this is the only time during their banter that he's able to stun Vivienne into silence, he's probably right.
** Cole discovers that Vivienne practically ''seethes'' in jealousy about how some 'uncultured barbarian witch' was able to simply waltz into Celene's favor without going through any Circle training or ruthless Orlesian politics like she had. The fact that Morrigan could easily duel her in wit, self-confidence and magical power doesn't help.
* GuileHero: This was wired into her as an Orlesian, allowing her to rise so high in station as to be considered the [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman jewel of the high court]] in spite of being a mage in such a DeadlyDecadentCourt.
* HiddenDepths:
** According to Cole, part of her does care about him, she's just convinced she ''shouldn't''.
** She also really enjoys pulling counter-pranks on Sera. Vivienne finds inventive methods to best her at every turn, and has a lot of fun with it. Sera is less than pleased.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Vivienne's standard pro-Circle points have a lot to do with mages needing to be supervised, being naturally dangerous and it being important to control them... however, Vivienne herself would never volunteer to be controlled, and always struggles to have total control over her own situation, it being her greatest desire to be the one holding the leash instead.
** In the Nightmare, it's discovered her greatest fear is irrelevance. She absolutely cannot stand not having a say in anything happening in her life, or being forced to support an agenda or organization she doesn't agree with. Her response to the Mage Rebellion, or to a pro-mage liberation Inquisitor, is that mages should shut up and deal with it.
** For someone who advocates all mages going to the Circle and enduring Templar supervision, she herself spends as little time as possible actually in the Circle. (Instead living in her duke lover's chateau, frequenting lavish parties and making appearances at Court.) Granted, she herself notes that she did her time and "proved" herself responsible with her increased freedom and feels other mages can do the same, but still... Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her casually threaten and possibly take the life of a helpless party guest with her magic. Doubtful that would have flown had she been under the Circle/Templar supervision she feels should be the case of every other mage. And yet she remarks at one point that the Circles were probably ''too'' permissive.
* IceQueen: She's a pretty haughty individual. The only people she seems to respect are people who are either noble or otherwise highly influential. She looks down on everyone else. Almost everything she says is layered in icy, razor-sharp politeness and she gives away her true feelings about as freely as other people give up their limbs.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: According to her gravestone [[spoiler: in the Fade]], her greatest fear is "irrelevance". The idea of being unimportant, of being caught up in someone else's agenda or war and having no part or say in her own fate, both terrifies her ''and'' pisses her off.
* ImmortalitySeeker: She asks the Inquisitor for help making a potion that reverses aging. [[spoiler: Subverted when you learn she is making it to cure her lover of a disease. Unfortunately, even if you don't decide to [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential replace the ingredient she needed]], the potion doesn't work and her lover dies.]]
* ImprobableAge: Vivienne's exact age is unknown, but her codex entry notes that she was voted First Enchanter at an age "young enough to cause scandal".
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Part of the reason she so vehemently dislikes Cole might well be because his read of her indicates she wishes she weren't a mage, fearing that her magic could control her and eclipse her identity (whether by demonic possession or by the lack of status that mages have). Rather than allow that, she's made her magic ''into'' her identity, something for others to fear rather than something she herself fears. Solas may also comment on it, adding that it must annoy her that magic is all that makes her special.
* InsistentTerminology: She doesn't like nicknames (except for "Madame de Fer" or Varric's "IronLady") and insists on being referred to by her name or title, though she will accept being called "Ma'am".
* InsultBackfire: As a part of her unflappable demeanor, most insults shot at her will be twisted to suit her.
* IronLady:
** Invoked by her in-universe moniker "Madame de Fer". Also used by Varric when addressing her.
** A letter released by Mary Kirby has her demonstrate this, addressing an ambassador that she's heard is planning to gate-crash a party she would be hosting, politely reminding him of her position, before proceeding to verbally tear him apart and suggest that if he knows what is best for him, [[BewareTheNiceOnes he'd do well]] [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry not cross her]].
** Also pretty well demonstrated by her intimidating ''Iron Bull''. She haughtily shuts him down after he calls her "Viv," and from that point on he calls her "Ma'am" and goes along with her ideas on improving his wardrobe.
* ItIsDehumanizing: Repeatedly calls Cole "it", and/or the Inquisitor's "pet".
* ItsAllAboutMe: Several sources imply that most of what Vivienne does is at least partially self-serving. Vivienne ''must'' have a say in anything that affects her life directly or indirectly. For example, [[spoiler:the Nightmare demon taunts her with the fear that she'll be living as an apostate forever and never reclaim the influence she once held. Cole also reads her mind and finds a very painful memory of her Harrowing where she was desperate to not do ''anything'' that would turn Templars against her. Also see XanatosGambit below.]] Even her "advice" to the Inquisitor on who to support as a new Divine is self-serving because she wants a Divine that will restore the Circles (where she had power). She's not a "bad" person, per se, but self-serving certainly.
** If [[spoiler: Leliana is saved and the mages are allies, Vivienne, in spite of the vast majority of Southern Thedas's mages following the emancipated College, ''still'' recreates the Circle, for no other reason than wanting to be in control of it.]]
* JerkassHasAPoint: While many of her opinions on the war and non-human cultures can range from ignorant to outright offensive, she also brings up a fair number of valid points: Anders not only blew up a Chantry full of innocent people, but a mage later attempted to assassinate Divine Justinia. Conversations with Cole and the Inquisitor also point out that the mages who gained their freedom used it to hurt even more innocents. While the Grand Enchanter never forced anyone to follow into rebellion, mages who didn't want to be rebels were quickly killed by their fellows, as shown in dialogue between Vivienne and Cole. She also calls the idea of mage freedom foolish since the Circles were also created to ''protect'' mages from people who would lynch them out of fear, a fear that now very justified in the chaos of the Mage/Templar war.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** Vivienne is condescending, ambitious, and ignorant over certain matters -- however, she does genuinely want to save Thedas from the Breach and the Mage-Templar war. She also displays a number of PetTheDog moments, as seen down below.
** During the siege of Haven, if Vivienne is in your party she will advise you to leave the villagers to die, as they will slow the group down. Ignoring her advice and saving them anyway will give you approval from her.
** If the Inquisitor befriends her, she proves to be a loyal and steadfast friend who happily does all she can to help the Inquisitor no matter what.
* KickingAssInAllHerFinery: She dresses to make an impression everywhere she goes. When she finds out that Varric is making her a character in one of his books, she insists he research Orlesian fashion so that he describes her wardrobe properly.
* LackOfEmpathy: Vivienne accuses the rebel mages of lacking perspective on how the rest of Thedas views them due to being "safe in their towers". [[JerkassHasAPoint While she raises several valid points]], her own easy time in the Circle has given Vivienne a distorted perspective of how bad it could be and why so many mages gave up on changing things peacefully. While Vivienne pays lip service to the idea that mages should not be abused by the Templars, she does so only as an afterthought and [[SelectiveObliviousness either doesn't notice or doesn't care]] that abusive Templars have many ways to silence their victims.
* LadyOfBlackMagic: She's regal and graceful, and in battle she can be seen KickingAssInAllHerFinery by using ice spells to turn her opponents into frozen statues.
* LadyOfWar: A Knight-Enchanter, Vivienne is very calm and regal. She's most at home wearing the finest silks and jewels and enjoying court life in Orlais, and is able to conjure a LaserBlade for melee combat.
* LoveIsAWeakness: As someone who has apparently struggled to get where she is, she believes sentiment is a liability and a privilege for those with less responsibility than herself. To illustrate the point, during a conversation with Vivienne back at Haven, the Inquisitor can suggest a relationship with Vivienne, but Vivienne replies, "I don't see how that benefits me at all, my dear". She has great and genuine affection for the Duke to whom she's mistress, however, which might at least explain her refusal from that perspective.
* MagicKnight: Vivienne is a Knight-Enchanter, and wields magic-created weapons and shields in combat.
* MiseryPoker: Although it's up to the player to decide who is engaging in it: Vivienne complains that the mages are being selfish by rebelling and causing a war that's getting the common people (as well as loyal Circle mages like Vivienne) caught in the crossfire. If the player agrees with the mages, they can decide Vivienne is engaging in misery poker by using the complaints of the common people to shut down the mages' viewpoint. If the player agrees with Vivienne, the player can decide that the mages are playing misery poker to shut down the viewpoint of people like Vivienne.
* TheMistress: A large part of Vivienne's political power comes from the fact that she's the mistress to an Orlesian duke. When asked what the duke's wife thought of this, Vivienne responds that they got along very well and planned many parties together. She also notes that the lady passed away a few years ago; Vivienne misses her.
* MoralMyopia: She believes that the Rebel Mages support mass murder by association, since the rebellion started amidst an act of terrorism that killed innocent people. However, for ''centuries'' now, Templars have had the Rite of Annulment and the Rite of Tranquility at their disposal, and she doesn't argue against the idea that the Templars and Seekers who associate with those who abuse those powers are just as complicit. To her, because ''some'' Circles and ''some'' Templars don't support such abuse, they must be seen as the norm and those that do abuse them are just an outlier. Furthermore, she considers Rebel Mages that are killed by this war to have made their own beds for starting it in the first place...except the Mages didn't actually "start" a war--they didn't do anything but vote for independence. The ''Templars'' started the war to rein in the Mages. The Loyalist Mages, by virtue of being [[http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Mage-Templar_War allies of the Templars]], are the ones that logic should apply to, but Vivienne sees their deaths as [[ThisIsUnforgivable utterly unforgivable]].
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Vivienne is largely unsympathetic towards the plight of the mages because she feels they are the ones responsible for instigating the war. Being Pro-Circle, Vivienne also argues that complete mage independence is a selfish idea.
* MysticalHighCollar: This probably has to do with her being an Orlesian, too.
* NiceHat: She wears a large and very ornate hat - not surprising, given the love that mages and Orlesians have for this trope.
* NonAnswer: When asked if the mages had a valid reason to rebel, Vivienne doesn't actually address the mages' grievances, namely that an entire Circle was annulled and mages in other circles were stripped of their few freedoms and the legal channels that supposedly enabled them to advocate for themselves, all [[MisplacedRetribution for the actions of one apostate]] and because the mages were outraged and had a kneejerk reaction to a particularly egregious abuse of Templar power. Vivienne makes no mention of any of that and lectures about timing and public opinion from non-mages.
* NotSoAboveItAll: If a Female Inquisitor approaches her on advice for a gift for a romanced Sera, Vivienne suggests [[spoiler: shaving something vulgar into her privates.]] Vivienne seems to enjoy Sera's pranks in general, especially when she can turn them around and one-up her. Sera put snakes in her bed? No problem; Vivienne will just enchant them to have ''six'' legs and send them right back.
* NotSoDifferent: Admits this in dialogue with Solas, that they both believe magic is quite dangerous, and that neither of them are fools with their training.
* NotSoStoic: Cole brings Vivienne out of her [[IronLady Madame de Fer]] persona by seeing past all her masks and wordplay effortlessly. ''She does not like this one bit.''
* OddFriendship:
** With the hedonistic Iron Bull, whom she keeps in line.
** She and Varric get along spectacularly, despite the fact that he lives like a commoner and is proud of it. His idea of using her as base for a villain in a new book only endears him to her.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Implied by [[spoiler:the Nightmare demon, who suggests that part of the reason Vivienne is so desperate to restore the Circle of Magi is from a fear of being ''too old'' to recreate her power base in a new system.]]
* OnlyOneName: According to Mary Kirby, she has no last name that she'll admit to. The Imperial Court calls her "[[IronLady Madame de Fer]]."
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Vivienne's default reaction to being insulted or threatened is to snark, demolish the offending party with politeness, or just use old-fashioned passive-aggressiveness. When the Nightmare makes a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech that preys upon her worst fear, she reacts ''entirely'' differently.
-->'''Vivienne:''' Not. One. Word.
* OptionalPartyMember: You can choose not to recruit her, or simply not go to her party at all.
* PaperTiger: Vivienne tries to present herself as a formidable and invaluable ally to the Inquisition, but the player soon learns that what little she has to offer can be easily obtained from other characters. When she and the Inquisitor first meet, she promises all the resources remaining to the Circle--which doesn't include enough mages to seal the Breach, so the Herald still needs to seek out the rebel mages or Templars. Vivienne is a potential mage ally, but so are Solas and Dorian (who both give more insight into the magic that caused the Breach and the people behind it). She promises her connections at the Orlesian Court, but that doesn't amount to much more than a few War Table missions and some advice at the Winter Palace. Even her presence at the Winter Palace proves irrelevant since Morrigan has replaced her as the official enchanter of the Imperial court. Finally, if she becomes angry enough at the Inquisitor, the worst she can do is [[PassiveAggressiveKombat move around some furniture]].
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: If you sufficiently upset her, she starts hiring people to refurbish your room... specifically, moving all your furniture out of it.
* ThePerfectionist: She has some extremely neurotic memories of striving to be perfect for [[DeadlyDecadentCourt The Game]] that Cole digs up.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: During banter, Iron Bull compares her to a Qunari dreadnought. At first, he thinks he offends her, but she enjoys it. Iron Bull also mentions that Vivienne has a swagger when she walks, "like she's the most dangerous thing in the room, and she knows it."
* PetTheDog:
** If the Inquisitor and Dorian enter a relationship, regardless of her friendship level with the Inquisitor, she'll defend the pair from a pompous noble calling their relationship "horrendous".
** If you choose to express self-blame in the aftermath of Haven, Vivienne is quick to offer kind, comforting words, telling the Inquisitor they didn't fail the people of Haven, and to honor the men and women who died.
** In a companion conversation, Cassandra expresses regret over being unable to attend the Conclave, and believes she could've done something to save the Divine. Vivienne gently disagrees with that, and tells her not to blame herself and that she did all she could.
** For all her vitriol for Cole for being a spirit or demon, after you do his companion quest, she attempts to goad and insult him one more time... before Cole reads her mind and realizes that she actually ''does'' care about him, but refuses to admit it because she believes "caring will hurt [her]" and because of what he is. She doesn't really try to deny it, and Cole promises he won't tell anyone before dropping the subject.
** [[spoiler:If Vivienne or Cassandra became Divine Victoria and In Hushed Whispers was completed, then two years after the defeat of Corypheus, after a fight against the rebel mages, she will allow their own college to remain alongside the new Circle of Magi, out of respect of the Inquisition.]]
* PragmaticHero: Places survival above sentiment.
* {{Pride}}: Solas seems to consider it one of her main faults. She's not exactly fazed.
-->'''Solas:''' Enchanter. Any Pride Demon you met would just walk away, shaking its head and laughing uncontrollably.\\
'''Vivienne:''' Oh, darling, [[InsultBackfire more than one already has.]]
* RagsToRiches: Vivienne was born into an impoverished family. The Circle, in addition to removing the fear of freezing or starving to death, gave her the avenue to considerable wealth and power.
* RedHerring: The marketing hinted at her having a secret agenda, and companions will sometimes recommend you keep an eye on her while valuing her advice. In reality, Vivienne is totally up-front about her politics and motives for joining you; the one time she gets cagey with information, it's for a very personal reason. [[spoiler: Blackwall and Solas are hiding much bigger secrets.]]
* TheRemnant: As a pro-Chantry and Circle Mage, her entire world has been turned upside down with the outbreak of the Mage-Templar War. The Circle has been dissolved, the Templars have gone rogue and the Chantry has been left in complete disarray.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Andrastian mages can't legally possess any form of political power, but she overcame those restrictions through sheer force of character, becoming an adviser to the empress of the most powerful nation in Thedas. She encourages other mages to do the same... unless they happen to be an apostate and achieve it from outside the system like Morrigan.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: [[spoiler:If Vivienne is elected Divine, Cassandra accuses her of perverting the Chant of Light for her own ends, and bluntly calls Vivienne a tyrant]].
* SelectiveObliviousness: Vivienne tends to do this regarding the Circle's problems, to the detriment of what would otherwise be valid arguments, such as when she lectures other mages about how it's better to change the system from the inside, while offering no explanation for how that should be done when the mages had been stripped of every legal channel that was supposed to allow them to advocate for themselves. Vivienne claims that of course mages should protest abuses by the Templars, but makes no mention of the tendency of abusive Templars to retaliate by accusing their victims of practicing forbidden magic, accusations that typically result in an already abused mage being [[CorporalPunishment beaten]], killed, or [[FateWorseThanDeath made Tranquil]].
* SilkHidingSteel: Or iron, as it were. Her impeccable manner and dress rarely slip even when talking to people she despises or confronting enemies.
* SketchySuccessor: [[spoiler: The Inquisitor generally has to be lock-step in agreement with her policy aims in terms of Mages and Templars in order to get an outright positive ending. Otherwise, the Mages can form a new College, the Templars will outright refuse to rejoin the Chantry, and the Chantry itself will be divided. She ''can'' emerge triumphant, but only after a lot of bloodshed. In ''Trespasser'', Cassandra outright calls Vivienne a tyrant.]]
* SkewedPriorities: More concerned about how things look in the Fade than all the demons wanting to devour their souls.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: She and Solas trade quips regarding their politics or preferred combat styles.
* StaticCharacter: Unlike some other companions, Vivienne doesn't change as a person. Rather, the player can choose to learn more about facets of her personality.
* StepfordSnarker: Her ruthless and snarky attitude began as an act she put on to disguise her fear of the templars.
* TakeAThirdOption: Since Divine Justinia V is [[spoiler:murdered at the beginning of Dragon Age Inquisition, it becomes necessary to choose her successor. The two stated candidates are Leliana and Cassandra Penteghast, but Vivienne might become Divine if your Inquisition acts the way she would or supports her.]]
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Vivienne insults quite a few members of the party in her banter with them.
** She considers Blackwall meek, and the Grey Wardens an aged relic who take far more than they need to defeat the Blight (and that's before [[spoiler: she learns of the problems at Adamant]]). Blackwall frequently snipes with her as well, although she does accept his condolences when [[spoiler: Bastien dies]].
** She and Solas can't stand each other. Their personal morals and lifestyles are so divergent that most of their banter is icy insults and barbs. They have exactly ''one'' civil conversation discussing The Elder One, during which Solas concedes that despite their differences he recognizes that neither of them is a fool.
* TermsOfEndangerment: She's known to say "dear" and "darling" a lot, but when she's faced with an enemy, it takes shades of this trope.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Out of all the companions, Vivienne endears herself the least to the party members and refuses to resolve hostilities regardless of their CharacterDevelopment. The only exception is Dorian and possibly the Inquisitor. Even [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Cole]] makes more friends.
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: Solas accuses her of being too proud for a {{Pride}} demon. [[InsultBackfire She agrees]].
* TranquilFury: Her speciality.
* TheUnfettered: She allows nothing to stand in the way of what she desires.
* UnknownRival: While she downplays it, reading between the lines - and Cole's reading of her - shows that she ''despises'' Morrigan for usurping her position as Celene's magical adviser. Morrigan only acknowledges her when Vivienne calls out her self-serving behavior at the Well of Sorrows, something Morrigan quickly reverses to Vivienne.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Whether she's being serious or not, she states that if she ruled over mages, she would rule as a tyrant with an iron fist and kill any mage who did not re-enter the Circle. [[spoiler: She makes good on the threat if she becomes Divine, ''declaring war'' on the rebel mages when they try and form a new College.]]
* VetinariJobSecurity: What Vivienne ''lives'' by. Anyone who isn't irreplaceable at their job becomes a ''liability'' to their job and it's only a matter of time before they're replaced or killed. Thus, she believes that every person who takes up a role needs to appear awe-inspiring at it (including the Inquisitor). This explains a ''lot'' about her personality. (See IJustWantToBeSpecial.)
-->'''Vivienne:''' If you are no longer necessary to move the faithful, you're a liability, a rival to those who would use the power you've amassed.
* VitriolicBestBuds: She and Dorian enjoy tearing into one another, but it's all good fun to them.
* {{Workaholic}}: Vivienne never quite switches off. Even after [[spoiler: Bastien's death]], when she's as vulnerable as she ever gets, she can't stop thinking about the arrangements she'll need to make. [[spoiler: If you helped her find the wyvern's heart, she uses your efforts to comfort Bastien's relatives, gain their support for the Inquisition, and increase her own power all at once.]]
* XanatosGambit: Her personal quest turns out to be one. [[spoiler:By providing her with the medicine that can supposedly save Bastien, you provide her with two possibilities for success. Even though Bastien dies, she still ingratiates herself and the Inquisitor in his family's good graces for ''trying'' to save him, providing greater prestige and political power for both. If Bastien had lived, saving the man she loved would have been its own reward.]]
[[/folder]]

!!!The Rogues

[[folder:Cole]]
!!Cole
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cole_5038.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"It doesn't matter that they won't remember me. What matters is I helped."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' ''James Norton''

A spirit of compassion that took the form of a young mage who was killed by Templar abuse. First appeared in the tie-in novel ''Literature/{{Asunder}}'', and returns in ''Inquisition''.

Written by David Gaider in ''Literature/{{Asunder}}'' and by Patrick Weekes in ''Inquisition''.
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* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: He is fond of this: he refers to red templars as "dead and dark and done", and says that [[spoiler:Envy]] "forced their fury, their fight." [[spoiler: It slips away if he chooses to become more human during his personal quest.]]
* AllLovingHero:
** Yes, in spite of his willingness to kill. His mind-reading ability is specifically tuned to whether someone is suffering emotionally, and/or whether he can do anything to remedy it. Consequently, his empathy is so universal that he even sees the fear and confusion constantly afflicting [[spoiler:[[DarkMessiah Corypheus]].]]
** However, this is amusingly subverted in one specific conversation. Cassandra asks Cole if he can see any hidden pain in Magister [[SmugSnake Livius Erimond]]. Cole simply replies, "No. Erimond is an ''[[OutOfCharacterMoment arsehole]]''."
* {{Angst}}[=/=]AngstWhatAngst: Both sides of this are played with. Cole is driven by, and feels, other peoples' Angst and is thus compelled to act to end it. However, he says that feeling it doesn't have a demoralizing effect on him at all; he uses it to help people, and that's it. However, he ''does'' have his own angst: regret over the murders he committed for the sake of helping people, shame for Rhys rejecting him and viewing him as a monster, and rage for the real Cole's treatment at the hands of the Templars.
* AntiHero: He's very sympathetic, but he's still an ex-serial killer. His genuine [[TheAtoner grief]] over the whole thing does help take off some of the edge, mind.
* {{Asexuality}}:
** Originally, being a spirit. Discussed in banter between him and [[MentorArchetype Solas]].
--->'''Solas:''' Have you felt no interest in women since you came through the Veil?\\
'''Cole:''' No.
** If he [[spoiler:becomes more human]], he begins to display interest in relationships, though he confesses he'd rather not rush into one immediately. As of ''Trespasser'', [[spoiler: he is in a relationship with Maryden, the bard from the Inquisition tavern.]]
* AssShove: After reading Cassandra's mind one too many times, she dares him to see what she's thinking about now...
-->'''Cole:''' My hat wouldn't fit there...
* TheAtoner: Ironically, while he was ''definitely'' more ambiguous back in the day, Cole's desperately trying to become an IdealHero instead, quite possibly making him the most purely heroic character in the party throughout the game itself.
* BadassBoast:
** For all his airiness, he manages to pull off a few.
--->'''Cole:''' Can you see me?! You ''will'' see me!
** Or when seeing Venatori.
--->'''Cole:''' Venatori. Hungry, hateful, ready to hurt people. And they're afraid. They should be.
** In the final battle, [[spoiler:if he's more of a spirit when Corypheus attempts to turn him against the party]]:
--->'''Cole:''' I am unbound, and ''you'' are undone.
** Alternately, [[spoiler:if he is made more human]]:
--->'''Cole:''' I am no demon, and you are no god.
* BecomeARealBoy: He has gone far down this road, compared to most spirits. [[spoiler:Varric can take him even further.]]
* BeenThereShapedHistory: It eventually comes out in party banter that Cole is responsible for a number of important unsolved crimes, including the assassination of a previous Lord Seeker, as well as a string of murdered mages, events which greatly escalated the mage-templar conflict.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Being a spirit of mercy and compassion has the side effect of making him a terrifyingly effective assassin.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Evokes this in nearly all other party members - some from the start, some only after a period of adjustment:
** In a late conversation, it turns out Vivienne ''does'' care about Cole, but believes she shouldn't because of what he is. Cole promises to keep quiet about this revelation.
** Sera is terrified of him and would rather "it", or "that thing", stay away from her, though there are some occasions when she treats him more like an irritating younger brother than a demon. Later on she slips up and calls Cole "him", which Cole is utterly delighted by, much to her chagrin.
** Blackwall takes an immediate dislike to Cole for poking around in his thoughts and memories. However, later he warms up to him. Cole seems equally sad for and wary of Blackwall. [[spoiler:Depending on how Cole grows, either as a spirit or as a person, he can be more antagonistic towards Rainier. They can promise to kill each other if they become their old selves.]]
** Varric 'adopts' (or at least Blackwall thinks so) him, nicknaming Cole 'kid'. Varric teaches Cole about clothes (such as why the spirit's hat could be disturbing, but useful, and that he should not talk to his shoelaces), how to play cards, and how to tell knock-knock jokes. [[spoiler:He tries to help Cole become more human. TeachHimAnger is part of the process.]]
** Iron Bull is terrified of spirits in general, but nobody messes with Cole on his watch. In his own words, "You may be a weird squirrelly kid, but you're ''my'' weird squirrelly kid." Bull hires a girl to 'help' him, but since he is a spirit of compassion, it doesn't go the way the Qunari expected.
** Dorian and Cole are curious about each other. Their questions develop from how Cole exists (if he can change his form, if he bleeds on purpose) to Dorian's personal pain (about his father). When Cole inevitably prods too much and upsets Dorian, the mage is initially hurt and angry...but then he calms down, apologises, and explains to Cole that he understands how confusing his friend must find his feelings, but he can't deal with that topic at the moment. Later, after thinking it over, he'll do his best to explain his situation to Cole in a way the spirit understands.
** Solas, due to his familiarity with spirits, is the one person who has no problem understanding or talking with Cole about what he sees and senses, or explaining things in a way that Cole can grasp. Usually no one else has any idea what they're talking about. Solas doesn't mind, but Cole sometimes does.
** This can also be invoked with the Inquisitor, if you complete his personal quest and allow him to remain. Asking questions of him on visits to Skyhold deepens the attachment; he isn't quite comfortable explaining himself, but will tell you what you want to know because "you kept me out of kindness."
* BizarreAlienSenses: Cole can 'hear' and feel magic in ways that surprise the party mages. He approves if the Inquisitor becomes a Rift Mage, as they and Solas remind him of the Fade. He's less fond of Necromancy, as it involves manipulating wisps that might become spirits. He also describes magical whispers as being so loud he can ''see'' them, to the Inquisitor's confusion.
* ButNowIMustGo: In the Epilogue of ''Trespasser'', if he's [[spoiler:become more of a spirit,]] he returns to the Fade to seek out other hurts to heal, though he says he'll return when/if he's needed.
* CannotTellAJoke: Varric tries to teach him knock-knock jokes. It's an uphill struggle, to say the least.
* ChasteHero:
** First seen in ''Asunder,'' when he doesn't seem to understand the real reason why Evangeline would be perturbed by the thought that he saw her changing. It doesn't even occur to him that others would object to him watching until that conversation. When she kisses him on the forehead later, he stumbles back in confusion.
** At one point, Iron Bull tries to buy him a prostitute to sort him out. [[spoiler: [[PlatonicProstitution They dance, Cole helps her work out her problems with her mother, and she lets him use her real name before they part as friends.]]]]
--->'''Bull:''' Well. That was five royals well-spent.
** He's confused when he realizes other spirits who have come through the Veil and taken a human form now "want a woman" when they never wanted one before. [[spoiler: He eventually slips out of this if he chooses to become more human during his personal quest.]]
** [[spoiler:Averted completely if he's more human, as he shacks up with Maryden Halewell, the bard. He mentions how her bodice [[SmellsSexy smells nice]], then [[DidISayThatOutLoud tries in vain to make everyone "forget" he said that as he used to be able to do]]. That's right, Cole got to Second Base.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: Since ''Asunder'', Cole has learned to be brave and now seeks to use his powers to help others.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Cole does his best to help people. Sometimes this means doing things like chucking turnips into a fire, leaving peeled plums lying on windows, stealing cheese and mint and leaving them in bowls around the place. However...
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: If the Inquisitor is patient with Cole and doesn't force him to stop doing the odd things he does, it turns out there are reasons behind his actions. For example, the burning turnips [[spoiler:make a smell like the turnip soup a dying soldier's mother used to make; before he died, he thought he was home]]. Every weird thing he does has a gentle purpose.
* CreepyBlueEyes: When visible under his fringe and his hat, they're disturbingly pale, prominent and bulging. Interestingly, they also signify his general [[InnocentBlueEyes innocence]].
* CreepyGood: He's thin and unkempt to the point of looking like a malnourished scarecrow, he speaks in an odd cadence, and says other people's thoughts out loud. And you can't forget that he's a spirit who exists outside the Fade in a human shape, which to most people automatically equals 'demon' or 'abomination'. The majority of the Inquisition's inner circle initially distrusts or is freaked out by him, and he doesn't make much effort to endear himself to them. Despite all that, though, he is the most determinedly moral member of the group (barring only the Inquisitor, possibly), his every action dedicated to helping people. [[spoiler:Even if you choose to let Varric help him become more human.]]
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: He has prominent dark circles under his eyes, which serve to make his appearance all the more unsettling.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: The original Cole was starved to death by the Templars in one of the cells in the Spire's Pit. This Cole is a spirit or demon that decided not to let Cole die alone and assumed Cole's identity after he died, eventually forgetting its true nature.
* DespairEventHorizon: One of these is apparently his greatest fear. [[spoiler:Makes sense because, as a spirit, total despair would be akin to losing his purpose, which leads to transformation into a demon.]]
* {{Determinator}}: Seen in ''Asunder''.
** He followed the party through half of Orlais to keep Rhys safe after he becomes convinced Evangeline might be a threat. This is despite having no memory of life outside the White Spire and being absolutely terrified of most of his surroundings.
** In the fight with [[spoiler:Lambert]] at the end of the novel. Even after an absolutely ''vicious'' NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, he wouldn't back down.
* DirtyMindReading: Mainly for RuleOfFunny. Occasionally he'll sense thoughts related to lust or UnrequitedLove, and like with other thoughts he tends to blurt them out...such as when Blackwall thinks about Josephine and her dress and also what's under her dress.
-->'''Cole:''' The Iron Bull, a woman in the last village wanted you to pick her up and take her clothes off.\\
'''Iron Bull:''' ''(not missing a beat)'' Most people do.
* DualWielding: He's primarily focused on Dual Daggers.
* EasilyForgiven: Subverted. He's a spirit of Compassion, but forgiveness is not a prerequisite. His first reaction to seeing the Templar that killed [[spoiler:the original Cole]] is to murder him. He also feels this way about the Grey Wardens if you don't banish them from Orlais; he is ''not'' pleased that they hurt so many people. And finally, he feels this way about ''himself'', and still feels terrible about what he did during ''Asunder''. During his personal mission, [[spoiler:Solas teaches him to also look at the pain a repentant man feels for past crimes. He also sternly warns Blackwall "don't do it again" during party banter, and the two can agree to kill each other if they fall back to their old ways.]]
* TheEmpath:
** Halfway between this and {{Telepathy}}. Cole can read thoughts and emotions, but only in people who 'need help.' This translates to half of the people in Skyhold fortress, including all of your companions and advisers. Oddly, it does not apply to ''you'', even though you're bearing the burden of saving Thedas. He explains this as being a result of the Anchor blocking out anything else. He can somewhat get around the Anchor by feeling how the Inquisitor's emotions affect others.
** It's unknown what kind of "upper limit" his abilities have. He can recall a tryst that occurred at the tree that became Sera's bow, and if [[spoiler: Iron Bull leaves the Qun,]] he can sense the corresponding pain of [[spoiler: Bull's old teacher]] despite them being continents apart. This is taken even further if you choose to [[spoiler:make him a full spirit]]. His Empathic abilities become far more sensitive and acute, allowing him to notice tiny sorrows he wouldn't have before.
--->'''Cole:''' It has to be hurt. Or something to help the hurt.
** Speaking of his 'upper limit', Cole can [[spoiler: sense events from the MassEffect series.]]
* FateWorseThanDeath: Considers becoming a demon to be this. He is very disturbed when the Nightmare claims they are already NotSoDifferent.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Several of the things he says hint at later companion developments.
** During a conversation with Solas (if the Inquisitor romanced him), Cole actually uncovers a ''lot'' of his backstory, but doesn't understand the context.
--->'''Cole:''' He hurts, an old pain from before, when everything sang the same. You're real, and it means everyone could be real. It changes everything, but it can't. They sleep, masked in a mirror, hiding, hurting, and to wake them... ''[gasps]'' Where did it go?\\
'''Solas:''' I apologize, Cole. That is not a pain you can heal.
** [[spoiler:He's fully aware of what Blackwall did in his past]].
--->'''Blackwall:''' They say you're a demon.\\
'''Cole:''' Yes. Or spirit. I want it to be spirit.\\
'''Blackwall:''' Either way, I know you're dangerous.\\
'''Cole:''' Yes. Like you.\\
'''Blackwall:''' What?\\
'''Cole:''' A sack on the side of the road, struggling. The boy runs from it, crying.\\
'''Blackwall:''' Fine, so you're ''dangerous'' and ''insane''.\\
'''Cole:''' You would stop it if you could. That is enough. But don't do it again.
** He randomly starts singing a song that's implied [[spoiler:to be the song the nobles' children were singing when Blackwall killed them]].
--->'''Cole:''' ''Mockingbird, mockingbird, quiet and still, what do you see from the top of that hill? Can you see up? Can you see down?''\\
'''Blackwall:''' Wait.\\
'''Cole:''' ''Can you see the dead things all about town?''\\
'''Blackwall:''' How do you know that song?\\
'''Cole:''' It just came to me. Everyone says everyone knows it. The children knew it.
** Blackwall asks him a question to which Cole doesn't know the answer. [[spoiler:So Cole asks one to which Blackwall doesn't know the answer.]]
--->'''Blackwall:''' How does a spirit become flesh anyway?\\
'''Cole:''' I don't know. How does a Warden become Grey?
* FreakOut: He goes into a shrieking fit if [[spoiler:he is brought into the Fade during "Here Lies the Abyss"]]. He notes that it should be familiar but it instead it feels all wrong, as though he shouldn't be there, and suggests it causes both him physical and psychological distress. He's still upset once you return, describing it as like "looking at a picture of a picture" of himself. Both his muddled nature as a "physical" spirit and [[spoiler:that area of the Fade being very unlike the place he originated from]] seem to play a part.
* GhostAmnesia: Though he may or may not be a ghost, he has no clear memory of his previous life.
* GuardianAngel: If you let Solas encourage Cole to reaffirm his nature as [[spoiler:[[OurSpiritsAreDifferent Compassion]], Cole becomes even more skilled at seeing into people's hearts, [[http://youtu.be/wgNZg52q9_g?t=12m24s which he uses to comfort and reassure them as much as he possibly can, for anybody.]] ]]
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: He may be creepy, but Cole joins the Inquisition simply to make people safe. His hair, when you can see it under his NiceHat, is a near-translucent pale blond.
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Cole loves being able to sense others' needs, as it means he gets to figure out how to help them.
* HumanityEnsues: If you side with Varric on Cole's personal quest, [[spoiler:Cole becomes visible to everyone and can no longer wipe people's memories, but his emotions become more complex, and his ability to think like mortals do is considerably improved. He can still read other people's thoughts and emotions, though, and he claims he'll always be able to as long as he still has his memories of the Fade.]] By the end, Cole becomes so human that [[spoiler:if brought into the Final Battle, he resists Corypheus' attempt to bind him with a simple "no". He is ''very'' pleased with himself afterwards.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: Subverted. Cole's pretty eerie, and certainly ''not'' truly human, but he's kind, humble, and only wants to help.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: The original Cole died blaming his magic for the misery in his life. That is why the Spirit of Compassion that took his form is a rogue instead of a mage.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Given his ability to sense what causes people pain, Cole has unique insight to the psyches of many people. Unfortunately, he tends to vocalize what he senses, which tends to bring up traumatic memories and emotions for others (or if he's doing any DirtyMindReading, memories and emotions that are just plain embarrassing). Cole doesn't seem to understand why someone might not want him to do this - spirits in the Fade do it as readily and effortlessly as speech. [[spoiler:He starts to improve on this front if he becomes more human.]]
* IsThisWhatAngerFeelsLike: When he meets [[spoiler:the real Cole's killer]], he goes into a ''murderous rage''. Both Solas and Varric offer solutions to help him deal with it, and you must choose which one to follow. Varric's method is more in line with this trope, [[spoiler:to help Cole learn to deal with emotions and use them to grow.]]
* IWasNeverHere:
** His power to make people forget him allows him to help them without them realizing it. He also explains that it's a defense mechanism, because if he screws up, he doesn't have to fear reprisal and can always [[SaveScumming make another go at it]]. [[spoiler:He can't do this anymore if he becomes more human. On the plus side, this forces him to actually think before doing anything. He is also able to start learning from his mistakes.]]
** He also has an Assassin specialization skill with this exact name.
* KleptomaniacHero: Because people don't notice him, and he can make them forget him even if they do, he often simply walks away with things. Apparently, several daggers have gone missing throughout Skyhold, but no one can remember who they saw taking them; he's got a whole barrel full of them hidden somewhere. [[spoiler:Of course, Cole was merely stashing them so their owners wouldn't use them in a fit of rage later.]]
* KnifeNut: He uses a knife throughout ''Asunder'' and was once a serial killer. He's also a double dagger-wielding Rogue in ''Inquisition''.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The way he describes his powers is that he removes himself from the person's memory, and "then their mind makes a shape that makes sense" to them without him.
* LetsWaitAwhile:
** If Cole was made more human and does not accompany the Inquisitor [[spoiler:in the final battle with Corypheus]] when spoken to in the Great Hall, Cole expresses possible interest in intimacy in the future.
--->'''Cole:''' The servants are drinking. Some of them are drinking while lying down.\\
'''Inquisitor:''' Do you have interest in joining them?\\
'''Cole:''' I don't know. Not now. It makes things more complicated, and I'm not ready. Someday, maybe.
** When exploring the dialogue further, it is revealed the Cole wasn't referring to the drinking.
--->'''Inquisitor:''' I don't think it was about the drink. I think it was something else.
* LiteralMinded: He doesn't necessarily get jokes (as referenced above), terms and euphemisms, and speech devices. For example, he thinks the term "friendly fire" implies Dorian's fire spells won't hurt him, and is confused if Dorian asks him if a wooden duck he left on his bed "was him".
* MadOracle:
** He has shades of this: he speaks very cryptically, has trouble understanding concepts most find self-evident (like how people refer to the Inquisition "like it's a person"), and has no real idea of what he is metaphysically although the Litany of Adralla can affect him, making it clear that he's a Fade being of some kind. He also has empathic and/or telepathic abilities and can [[spoiler:enter another person's mind, which helps the Inquisitor self-exorcise Envy after Cole got dragged in on the demon's coat-tails by accident.]]
** More confusingly, he can be found making references to real-world movies, TV and other games. He even makes references to Bioware's [[Franchise/MassEffect other sprawling RPG franchise.]]
* ManChild: He's taken on the form of a young man in his early twenties, but he's very childlike in mentality, to the point that both Varric and the Iron Bull call him "Kid" and Blackwall sometimes compares him to an infant. Since he's a spirit, it's unclear just how old he ''really'' is, or if something like age even applies, but his lack of experience with the real world can come across as childlike when it's not just alien. His personal quest is essentially deciding how he will mature: will it be as a spirit, or as a human?
* TheMatchmaker: Serves as this [[spoiler: if he becomes more spirit-like]]. This comes to the forefront in ''Trespasser'', as he plays matchmaker with Maryden, the Inquisition's bard, [[spoiler: who he would have dated himself had he become more human-like]].
* MathematiciansAnswer: He says it's better that the people he helps forget him afterwards; it's "frightening" if he stays.
-->'''Inquisitor:''' For you, or for them?\\
'''Cole:''' Yes.
* MercyKill:
** His victims are all people who were in such misery that death would be a relief. Eventually subverted when he stops killing people because he realizes that doing so only brings Rhys trouble and makes him unhappy. He still prefers mercy killings to letting people rot in prison, as the original Cole died from his jailers' neglect.
** In one conversation, you can either let him do this to a patient in agony or persuade him to give them a chance. He generally disapproves of imprisonment and approves of execution.
* MessyHair: Bordering on BlindingBangs. Cole doesn't really seem to care about his appearance much, even when he's not hiding from Templars in their own stronghold. [[HypocriticalHumor Amusingly]], he calls Blackwall's hair a mess of tangles in need of a hairbrush. And that's only on the ''outside''.
* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: Subverted. Cole seems lost and miserable all of the time, and he always feels someone else's pain. If the Inquisitor mentions feeling sorry for him, Cole doesn't understand why. He doesn't have a problem with feeling others' pain because means he can help them fix it.
* MyGreatestFailure: Considers his inability to do anything for the original Cole other than hold his hand during his last moments to be his greatest failure as a spirit of Compassion. The entire reason he became "Cole" was to honor the original Cole's memory and allow him to live on in some way.
* TheNeedless: Due to his nature, he doesn't need to eat, sleep or really do many "normal" things at all to sustain himself. [[spoiler: If he becomes more human, it's mentioned that he may need to start eating, though he doesn't seem too fond of the idea yet.]]
* NiceHat: He wears a large hat in ''Inquisition''. He will always be wearing this hat at the home base regardless of whether he has other headgear equipped. During party banter he actually takes slight umbrage to Dorian criticizing it - maybe the one purely mortal oddity he has is how much he likes hats.
-->'''Dorian:''' Did you enjoy the Winter Palace, Cole?\\
'''Cole:''' There were so many wonderful hats!
* NiceMeanAndInBetween: How the three mage companions regard him: Solas is completely understanding of his nature as a spirit, and helps Cole cope with his quasi-spirit/human nature, Vivienne regards him as a demon and a [[ItIsDehumanizing thing]], and Dorian's curiousity is piqued, often asking InnocentlyInsensitive questions towards Cole, and often being stumped by Cole's responses.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: David Gaider teased his appearance in the game before it was confirmed by tweeting that he pictured Cole as looking like Creator/EvanPeters.
* NoSocialSkills: Despite being a Spirit of Compassion who can [[TheEmpath sense people's pain]] and does his best to help them, he hasn't quite figured out how social skills work.
* NotQuiteHuman: Cole looks the part of a young man, if perhaps a slightly unkempt one, and when the team debates whether or not to allow him to stay, Solas insists that, for all intents and purposes, he may as well be one as far as the Inquisition is concerned - but Cole is a spirit.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Before he met Rhys, Cole went around {{Mercy Kill}}ing mages and genuinely believed he was helping them. Rhys convinced him that killing them was wrong, and he now says that he was a demon during that time.
* OddCouple: With...[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} most of the characters, actually.]] He seeks to help Leliana in secret knowing what happened to her and can be seen feeding her birds. Likewise Blackwall, Varric and Bull know he's not all there and seek to help him out. He can end up with Maryden, as said below, or get her and Krem to hook up.
* OfficialCouple: In the Trespasser DLC, he may decide to date Maryden the bard [[spoiler:if he becomes more human]].
* OptionalPartyMember: The Inquisitor can refuse to let Cole join the Inquisition because there's a good chance that he's the very type of being the organization is trying to fight.
* OurSpiritsAreDifferent: He is some sort of Fade being that took human form without having to possess someone. Solas suggests in a conversation that he may be a Spirit of Compassion, which is confirmed by the Spirit of Command in Crestwood.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When a Cole who has embraced his spirit side is asked how he feels killing enemies, he says that it hurts him, but they made their choice and so he will be merciless.
* PutOnABus: If you don't complete his personal quest, then Cole eventually leaves the Inquisition and doesn't appear in ''Trespasser''.
* PrecisionFStrike: "Erimond is an ''arsehole''."
* PsychicBlockDefense: His personal quest is about acquiring one to ensure no one can bind him and use him to hurt people. One method is an amulet that makes him immune to binding spells, but it doesn't work unless [[spoiler:he's more completely a spirit. If brought to the final battle, it will indeed protect him against even ''Corypheus''. Afterwards he's beside himself with gratitude for the Inquisitor bothering to keep him safe.]]
* PsychicNosebleed: After overusing his powers near the end of ''Asunder''.
* PsychicPowers: He can sense other people's pain, misery and sorrow, and is driven by a means of correcting it by any means necessary. Also, while he can't see the "future", per se, he has astounding powers of reasoning. For example, he knows the right time to take other people's weapons so that they won't injure someone later that day in the heat of the moment.
* SaveScumming: What his memory wiping power allows him to do when using words to soothe someone's woes. If he doesn't get it right, he wipes the last moment from their memory and tries again.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: If his approval drops low enough, he decides the Inquisitor doesn't care about people and leaves, making them forget him if necessary.
* SecretKeeper: Played with. Cole's PsychicPowers combined with his [[NoSocialSkills lack of social graces]] means he gets access to a lot of extremely personal (and occasionally embarrassing) information, much of which he tends to blurt out on the spot. In the case of [[spoiler:Blackwall and Solas however, he is very much aware of who [[DeadPersonImpersonation they]] [[GodWasMyCopilot are]], and chooses to keep their identities secret until the former comes clean on his own, and the latter leaves the Inquisition.]]
* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler:The real Cole's father killed his mother after learning that Cole was a mage. Cole accidentally asphyxiated his sister while trying to quiet her when they were hiding from their father. Cole eventually managed to kill his father with the knife that... whatever ''this'' being that believes itself to be Cole uses throughout ''Asunder''.]]
* SerialKiller: He once stalked the dungeons of the White Spire Circle, [[MercyKill mercy killing]] the mages who were imprisoned there.
* SeriouslyScruffy: He seems to dress himself in whatever rags he finds lying around. Could be out of necessity, since he can't really go and buy clothes somewhere, but it's also clear from various bits of dialogue that Cole's grasp of the concept of "clothing" is hazy at best. In fact, in one set of armor he has the shirt on backwards.
-->'''Cole:''' ''[upon seeing Cullen naked]'' It comes off! I didn't know it came off!
* ShipperOnDeck:
** Cole is definitely not an authority on romance, but he delights in other people's happiness and is an enthusiastic supporter of anything that gives them joy, including relationships. Particularly notable with Dorian, over whom Cole tends to fret.
** In the ''Trespasser'' DLC, he may decide to ship Maryden the bard with either Krem or [[spoiler:if the Bull's Chargers were sacrificed]] Zither [[spoiler:if he becomes more of a spirit]].
** An interesting case with Solas and Lavellan in that [[spoiler: he becomes an avid shipper ''after'' Solas breaks up with her, and tries to tell Lavellan his plans twice (contrary to his usual role as SecretKeeper) in an attempt to get them back together. In Trespasser, when the Qunari reveal that the "agent of Fen'Harel" they're hunting is Solas, a female romanced Lavellan who chooses the heart icon ("We have to save Solas") earns disapproval from every companion ''except'' for Cole, who "Greatly Approves," even if you maxed out his approval before. Cole really, really ships these two.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: To [[spoiler:the Envy demon]] in "Champions of the Just." He happened to be around and accidentally got dragged into the Inquisitor's mind, where he decided to do as he always does: help. Even if the Inquisitor saves the Apostates instead, Cole still interferes by tagging along with the Red Templars to Haven and helping the Inquisition there.
* StealthExpert: His personal Assassin tree is filled with boosts to augment his stealth skills, fitting for a boy with the power of {{Invisibility}}.
* SympatheticMurderer: He only killed because it was the only way he knew to sustain himself. He even asked for the victim's permission.
* TagalongKid: He presents himself this way to the Inquisition, saying he only wants to help and will make sure he's no trouble to anyone. While other characters continue to call him "kid" throughout the game, [[SubvertedTrope he's actually quite useful]].
* TeachHimAnger: Varric's approach to helping Cole. The Inquisitor can later agree in a followup conversation.
* TomatoInTheMirror: In ''Asunder,'' Lambert manages to banish him with the Litany of Adralla, forcing Cole to accept that he is indeed a Fade spirit.
* TookALevelInBadass: He eventually discovers how to use his invisibility to give him a huge advantage in combat.
* UndyingLoyalty: He would go to the ends of the earth to save his only friend, Rhys. In ''Inquisition'', he extends this to anyone who uses their power to help people.
** [[spoiler: WordOfGod says that Cole knew who Solas was all along. In spite of this, he never comes close to revealing his identity - or at least not on purpose. Contrast Blackwall, whose identity he was also aware of from the start, and with whom he has several conversations containing veiled references to the Warden's crimes.]]
* {{Unperson}}: Happened to him sometime in the past. With the exception of Rhys, the people that see him forget him shortly after. It eventually turns out that the Templars erased all evidence of the original Cole to cover up the mistake they made by accidentally killing him.
* VerbalBackspace: Combined with UnPerson and IWasNeverHere. If Cole makes a mistake while trying to help a person, he can cause them to forget and then try over and over until he gets it right.
* WalkingTheEarth: In ''Trespasser'', [[spoiler:if Cole becomes human, than Cole and his girlfriend Maryden wander Thedas spreading joy wherever they go.]]
* WasOnceAMan: Sort of.
* WeHelpTheHelpless: He joins the Inquisition because he wants to help those in need in whatever way can, without caring if anyone will even remember him for it.
* WhatIsThisFeeling: If you choose to [[spoiler:make him more human]], Cole will struggle to grasp the concept of {{angst}} and wonders when it will go away. You can choose several answers for him.
* YouAreNotAlone:
** Cole makes sure of this, even if you can't remember exactly that it was him.
** [[spoiler:If Varric is allowed to help Cole become more human, people will more often remember that it was Cole who talked to them. While this makes it harder to do things over if he makes mistakes, being more human means he understands the right thing to say more often; he also notes that knowing there's an identifiable person who cares about your pain is far more comforting to people than a vague sense of not being alone.]]
* YouCanSeeMe: He's pleasantly surprised if someone can see him, and doubly so if they ''remember'' him.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: When Vivienne accuses him of wanting to claim Solas as a host so he will never have to return to the Fade, Cole claims that he ''can't'' return to the Fade. [[spoiler:If his nature becomes more spirit-like, he says he could go back if he wanted at any time, but he wants to stay and help.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sera]]
!!Sera
[[quoteright:253:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seraaa_5560.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:253:''"Bad things should happen to bad people. We find someone not so bad, maybe he'll end up not so dead."'']]

->'''Voiced by:''' ''Robyn Addison''

Sera is an elven rogue archer, and previously a member of the Friends of Red Jenny. She is impatient, brash, and has little sympathy for powerful leaders. However, she sees potential in the Inquisition and joins representing the interests of the common folk. She is a romance option for female Inquisitors of any race.

Written by Luke Kristjanson.
----
* AbusiveParents: Sera doesn't go into it much, but one account was that her human "foster mother" lied to her about giving her cookies, and hid the lie by telling her the cook didn't like elves.
* ActionGirl: A largely self-taught archer whose idea of fun consists mainly of getting into (and out of) trouble.
* {{Adorkable}}: She's like an overeager child.
** Taken UpToEleven in the Trespasser DLC if she was romanced and the Inquisitor says yes when Sera proposes.
* AmazonChaser: She is fascinated with Qunari women. She'll banter playfully with other women, but with a Qunari Inquisitor sometimes the only thing she'll be able to say is "...woof."
* AngerBornOfWorry:
** If romanced, she will lash out at the Inquisitor after [[spoiler: the Fade mission, telling them to never do that to her again as she doesn't know how to deal with the feeling of them stuck in the Fade. It is clearer if she was not present on that mission.]]
** She gets another moment if you [[spoiler: drink from the Well.]]
* AnnoyingLaugh: Of the snorting variety.
* AppealToPopularity: Combined with a bit of MightMakesRight and also WrittenByTheWinners. She mocks Elven religion as "demon-worship" because [[AMythologyIsTrue since the Herald of Andraste, the Golden City, and the Seven Magisters]] are all "proven" to exist, then that means Elven religion is wrong and thus the things they worshipped had to be demons. If you debate this, she says that she'll side with the religion of people that ''didn't'' get wiped out.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: For someone who experiences "weird" things with the Inquisition every day, and is confronted with "proof" behind the "fairy stories" of [[spoiler:the Seven Magisters stepping into the Fade and becoming the first Darkspawn]], which convinces her of the existence of the Golden City and the Maker, Sera is ''very'' unwilling to entertain the possibility of the Elvhen religion having ''any'' basis in fact (beyond "demon-worship").
* AristocratsAreEvil: Is an ardent believer in this. Generally, her approval can be gained by sticking it to nobles, and disapproval by appealing to them.
* BadassGay: One must have a certain level of badass-ness to join the Inquisition, after all.
* BeeBeeGun: After recruiting her, one of the war council missions you'll receive is "Inquisition Needs Beeeeees!" which unlocks a new grenade weapon: a jar full of angry bees, which turn out to be [[LethalJokeWeapon unnervingly effective]] as a weapon.
* BloodKnight: When it comes to dragons, giants, or other powerful monsters (besides demons), Sera is very enthusiastic about fighting.
* BigEater:
** According to Blackwall, she downed a positively ''huge'' meal while dining with him once - he has no clue where she puts it all. In another conversation, she says she eats a lot because she knows what it's like to be truly hungry.
** You can overhear a conversation between Josephine and her assistant over Sera going through the kitchens. She wonders how an elf can eat so much jam!
* BigNo: She rapid fires an entire ''string'' of these if she's in the party when [[spoiler:the Archdemon attacks Haven.]] Makes sense, because she was a child in Denerim during the Fifth Blight, so this is a ''very'' personal fear for her.
* BoisterousBruiser: She's more of a fighter than a thinker.
* BoomerangBigot:
** Despite being an elf herself, she doesn't identify herself as one and seems to dislike anything specifically elven in nature. While it is mostly directed towards the Dalish, she even takes umbrage with helping ''city'' elves, part of the "little people" she claims to champion. She has a few {{Freudian Excuse}}s, as it turns out: [[spoiler:First, she was adopted by an emotionally manipulative noblewoman who tricked her into thinking she was the subject of FantasticRacism]]. Also, due to her upbringing, other elves (city and Dalish) have looked down on her for [[NoTrueScotsman not being "elfy" enough]] all her life.
** This all results in a unique variation of GameplayAndStoryIntegration; Sera can wear "Human-trained" race specific armor, rather than "Elf-trained".
** This attitude has improved by ''Trespasser'', however (see StaticCharacter and TookALevelInKindness below).
---> '''Sera's Journal:''' Elfy Gods [[spoiler: aren't even demons.]] Weird or worse? ... Not as bad for Dwarves as was for Dalish. Maybe.
* BoyishShortHair: Dialogue implies that she cut it herself with a hunting knife when it got too long and covered her eyes.
* BrattyHalfPint: Not quite as young as your average example, but her youth and mouthiness qualify her as such.
* BritishAccents: Has Robyn Addison's natural Derbyshire accent.
* BrutalHonesty: Never afraid to speak her mind.
* BuffySpeak: She uses a ''lot'' of this, to the point that other characters sometimes have a hard time understanding her.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Sera may be childish, irreverent, and vulgar, but she is still one of the best archers in the Inquisition, and self taught at that.
* ButchLesbian: Well, as butch as [[{{Elfeminate}} an elf can get]], anyway.
* CannotSpitItOut: If she was romanced, in ''Trespasser'', [[spoiler: she tries to work herself up to propose to the Inquisitor many, many times by writing it in her diary.]]
* TheChainOfHarm: After the discoveries made by the Inquisition regarding Elvhen history and Dalish legend, Sera [[spoiler:bursts into laughter and gleefully announces that she was right.]] If called on this by the Inquisitor, she states that all her life she's been looked down upon as a "Flat-Ear" by the Dalish and constantly had it shoved in her face about how much was "lost" or "taken" from them by humans. [[spoiler:Thus, she gloats about being right all along, because this is her payback.]]
* CheshireCatGrin: Her battle icon has a very large one.
* CityMouse: Not terribly fond of the great outdoors and not afraid to tell it.
-->'''Sera:''' You know what's not cold? The city!
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Not quite as bad as Merrill, but she definitely doesn't have a filter; what's in her brain is quickly in the air. She also doesn't seem to grasp that other people don't always understand her own personal vocabulary.
* ClusterFBomb: She launches into every curse word she can think of [[spoiler:when she finds herself in the Fade]]. Bull concurs.
* CowardlyLion: She's very inclined to express her fears out loud, especially regarding demonic forces, but she'll fight all the same.
* DarkSkinnedBlond: In her very first concept art, but changed later on in the character process.
* DeadpanSnarker: Occasionally, she'll imitate Solas by taking a serious and deadpan tone and saying something about the Veil. Such as, "The Veil is fat/salty/moist" here."
* {{Delinquents}}: A young woman described as a "troublemaker" who spends her time on the streets.
* DistractedByTheSexy: If the Inquisitor is a female Vashoth, Sera's train of thought visibly derails upon meeting her.
** She expresses her appreciation of Qunari women in the ''Trespasser'' DLC, to which a teammate will remind her not to get distracted since they're the ''enemy'', but she says it's just a perk of fighting them and (if romanced) says she's got better at home anyway.
* DoesNotLikeMagic: She's not crazy about anything magic-related, and is downright terrified if she's in your party [[spoiler: during the Fade quest. The Nightmare doesn't even bother with a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech since simply talking to her is enough to freak her out.]] No matter which specialization a mage Inquisitor chooses, talking to Sera about it will result in a slight loss of approval.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: Sera hates raisins. She isn't too fond of cookies either, though she has a FreudianExcuse for that.
* DontYouDarePityMe: After [[spoiler: the Fade mission]], she makes it clear to Cassandra that she does ''not'' want to talk about it.
-->'''Sera:''' Your face. That sobby, pity face. ''[uncomfortable]'' Why are you aiming it at me?
* EarlyBirdCameo: Maybe. In ''Origins'' there is a sidequest where the Warden delivers a painted box to an unseen person known to be one of the Friends of Red Jenny, and a child can be heard giggling after the delivery. Sera mentions that during the Fifth Blight she was living in Denerim and playing with small painted boxes or burying things she stole. (And she was a child at the time.)
* EveryoneHasStandards: If the Inquisitor helps her play pranks on the advisers, Sera tells them to leave Leliana's locked box alone; they're just trying to have fun, not maliciously dig up anyone's deepest secrets.
* EvilLaugh: Conversed a couple of times with Dorian.
* FalseDichotomy: Following [[spoiler:the Temple of Mythal]], Sera becomes firmly convinced the ancient elves were just demon-worshipers, since earlier in the game she had already wrapped her head around the Maker and Golden City being "real." She figures that since the Maker has been "proven" "real," that means the elven gods ''must'' be fake. (An Inquisitor who tries to point out a [[TakeAThirdOption third]] [[AllMythsAreTrue option]] just loses approval, and a romanced Dalish Inquisitor who refuses to agree [[spoiler: gets dumped for it.]])
* FanOfUnderdog: Said to draw her strength from the common, rather than the already powerful. However, she has rather definite views as to who classifies as "common", and the mages (for example) do not fit because they have special powers others do not share.
* FantasticRacism:
** Towards mages, since she views them as natural elites who have an unfair advantage over everyone else. She can stomach working for a mage Inquisitor, but she grows unhappy if you favor mages in general. However, she doesn't like the templars either and greatly disapproves if you ally with them, since they sometimes attack innocent people because they ''might'' be mages.
** Also towards Dalish Elves. She doesn't like it when they act too ''elfy'', nor does she care for their us-against-them mentality and inability to let go of the past. [[spoiler: If you romance her as a female Dalish elf, she gives your character an ultimatum - either agree with her belief that the Dalish gods were demons, or she'll break up.]] Sera also makes some nasty comments about how "[[BabyFactory the elf always takes the elf so that banging bits will ''mean'' something]]" if the Inquisitor is dating Solas.
* FingerlessGloves: Inverted. Her [[http://blog.bioware.com/2014/06/27/sera-character-kit/ character kit]] shows that she wears an archery glove on her right hand.
* FlashStep: Her [[LimitBreak Focus Ability]], Thousand Cuts.
* FriendlySniper: Especially as she values friends over political power.
* FullCircleRevolution: When Solas asks her why the Friends of Red Jenny don't try to do more with their power and influence, this is her answer. She believes that trying to enact social change by lopping off the top is pointless since it just leaves a new top to frig it all up. Solas concedes the point.
* {{Gayngster}}: In as much as the Friends of Red Jenny can be seen as organized crime.
* GayOption: For the female Inquisitor.
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: As implied by the concept art and the food she's compared to being tequila and Skittles. Her home base at Skyhold (and previously at Haven, if recruited before the move) is also the bar.
* HeroicNeutral: With a couple of meanings in this case: Sera fits the "alignment" part of the trope because she doesn't actively try to hurt anyone, but she has no patience with laws or anything else that would be hurtful to the common people. Also, in your first conversation with Sera back at Haven after recruiting her, Sera will mention that she doesn't side with either the mages ''or'' the templars. You can ask her why not, since most people pick a side. Sera responds that she never even hears about mages until they go all demon-y, in her words, and she never even hears about templars until they go maybe-magey, in her words, and attack or kidnap someone random.
* HiddenDepths:
** If her friendship is high enough, you hear her backstory: [[spoiler: Turns out she was raised by an old, proud noblewoman. The woman bought cookies from the local bakery and passed them off as her own, lying to Sera about how the baker was a bigot to keep her from finding out she couldn't cook. After revealing this, Sera reaches out to her friend/lover to make some cookies with her, because she's never had anyone, parents or otherwise, with whom she could do anything simple like that.]]
---> '''Sera:''' Right, what do you mean, because I am really not used to that... acceptance thing you're doing right there.
** [[spoiler: Surprisingly, she ''does'' know some elevn lore, as she's able to correctly guess the name of an elven god in the Jaws of Hakkon DLC, before calling the Inquisitor an ass for doubting her.]]
** You wouldn't guess by how athletic and hot-blooded she is, but she loves knitting. It's ''[[MundaneMadeAwesome stabby-sewing]]''.
* HotBlooded: She lives in the moment.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: If romanced by a female Qunari character. The only possible relationship with a greater disparity in size between the two characters is an elven or dwarven Inquisitor in a romance with Iron Bull.
** There's also quite the size disparity between herself and Dagna, should they get together.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** She's perfectly fine with the oppression of the mages for the greater good of the common people, but will absolutely not tolerate the suffering of the common folk for the greater good of a cause, nation, or leader.
** Like Solas, she doesn't want to be seen as just another elf, nor does she like people assuming she's "elfy," yet she freely assumes and dismisses most elves she comes across as just that. (Including a Dalish PC.)
--->'''Iron Bull:''' What'd you think of that redhead in the village we just passed?\\
'''Sera:''' Too elfy.\\
'''Iron Bull:''' Suit yourself.
* IdiotHero:
** Very definitely one of the least educated companions in the game, but also not really one for thinking much in general. For example, in one conversation the Inquisitor can compare the Friends of Red Jenny to flakes of snow that add up to break a tree branch. It's very obvious that this fairly simple analogy goes right over the top of Sera's head.
** She seems to be aware that she's less intelligent than others too. After [[spoiler: the Temple of Mythal]] brings up the FalseDichotomy above, Sera can say to a romanced Dalish Inquisitor, "Yes, you can explain it, and no, I won't get it," before insisting that she doesn't care, and some things just "don't fit."
---> '''Sera:''' And say the other bit... "You'd get it if you were ''smarter''. If you understood what it 'meant to be Elven.'" Take your elves. I'm just people.
* IfGhostsThenJesus: Played straight and subverted. After the Elder One's identity is revealed [[spoiler: as one of the Seven Magisters to enter the Fade, set foot in the Black City ([[UnreliableNarrator or so he claims]]), and create the Darkspawn]], Sera [[NonSequiturFallacy sees this]] as "proof" that the Golden City is real, thus the Maker is real, thus everything the Chantry preaches is true. (Depending on your dialogue choice, the Inquisitor can play the [[AgentMulder non-believing skeptic]] to her [[AgentScully avid believer]].) Subverted when it turns out she draws the line at the Elvhen religion. While the [[spoiler: original]] Darkspawn "prove" the existence of the Maker for her, the existence of the Maker doesn't prove (not even the possibility of) the Elvhen religion for her.
* IncompatibleOrientation:
** It's possible for a male Inquisitor to flirt with Sera during their first conversation back at Haven, but since Sera is attracted to women, Sera will scoff and say "Not even!" before getting back to work.
** On the other hand, Sera is attracted to Cassandra, who is straight.
* InternalizedCategorism: Sera applies many negative human stereotypes about elves to all the elves she meets, while at the same time aggressively asserting her "not-elfy" status. [[spoiler: It links back to her FreudianExcuse.]]
* InsultBackfire:
** No matter how hard she tries to taunt Vivienne, she just can't succeed against someone with that much experience in a DeadlyDecadentCourt.
** She also tries this with Varric, stating that "Dwarves are weird," only for Varric to immediately agree, annoying her.
* IRejectYourReality: Sera sees the world the way she ''wants'' to see it, even if shown direct evidence to the contrary. See AppealToPopularity and FalseDichotomy above.
* ItIsDehumanizing: Sera refers to Cole as an "it" or "Creepy" and refuses to talk to him. She eventually slips up and uses "him," to his delight. She does it again in her thoughts while he peers in.
--> '''Cole''': ''[quoting Sera's line of thought]'' Shite. He's wrong. Dead-eyed crazy, shite. I called him a 'him'. Is he alive, is everything alive, shite. [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny I hate raisins]].
* ItsQuietTooQuiet: In the Trespasser DLC, if you talk to her she'll mention that none of the servants at the palace have anything they want the Jennies to do, which she finds ''very'' suspicious. [[spoiler: Turns out most of them are spies, either for the Qunari or Fen'Harel.]]
* JerkassHasAPoint: Is one of the only party members to disapprove of [[spoiler:reconciling Celene and Briala]]. She points out that yeah, it's a "happy" ending, but it doesn't change the fact that a lot of people died as a result of their breakup. Sera thinks a lot of suffering could have been avoided if they had worked things out earlier. It's hard to disagree.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite being somewhat rude and outright mean-spirited alot of times, she does have her redeeming qualities, such as her concern for the common folk. [[spoiler:Blackwall mentions that Sera is the only person, other than possibly the Inquisitor, to remain unambiguously supportive of him after learning the truth about his past.]]
** Despite Dagna's love of magic, it's obvious that they become either very close friends or lovers, and that Sera cares greatly for her either way.
* JudgeJuryAndExecutioner: If she sees a nobleman mistreating a commoner, she judges him an enemy and kills him. The Inquisitor can call her out on this.
* KillSteal: She apparently does this quite often, if the PartyBanter is anything to go by.
-->'''Iron Bull:''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Please. Stop. Stealing. My. Kills. Sera!]]
* LackOfEmpathy: Exactly how much is debated by fans. For some, it's only insofar as a regular lack of empathy from many disenfranchised teenagers and young adults, and for some it's a lack of empathy bordering [=NPD=].
* TheLadette: Judging by how she scandalizes Cassandra while getting wild laughs from the guys, she's a raunchy girl. Exemplified by her second [[http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/File:Sera_alt_tarot.jpg.png tarot card]] in the follower selection screen.
* LeeroyJenkins: Has no patience for fuss or deliberation, as indicated by her "bad decision hair" which she cut with a blunt knife when it got in her eyes.
* LongDistanceRelationship: What her relationship with Dagna becomes, as Sera [[spoiler: often leaves the Inquisition to dedicate herself more to the Red Jennies.]] The epilogue still notes that she goes about her business "With frequent visits to her Widdle, of course."
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: All it takes is a little nudge from the Inquisitor, and she's more than happy to do it on the roof of the bar. The bar in the middle of the courtyard.
* MaliciousMisnaming: Sera refuses to correctly pronounce [[spoiler:Corypheus]] because of how monstrous he is.
* MeaningfulName: Sera means "evening" in Italian, but more interestingly, it's also a diminutive of Seraphina. Seraphina is derived from "Seraphim", the highest order of angels, who in the Greek translation of the Hebrew bible were called dragons.
* MiseryPoker: Although it's up to the player to decide who is engaging in it: Sera complains that she doesn't care about the mages because the war between them and the Templars is getting the common people caught in the crossfire. If the player agrees with the mages, they can decide Sera is engaging in misery poker by using the complaints of the common people to shut down the mages' viewpoint. If the player agrees with Sera, the player can decide that the mages are playing misery poker to shut down the viewpoint of people like Sera.
* {{Mooning}}: One of her very favourite things in the whole wide world. Stealing people's breeches, forcing them to attack pantsless? Defacing Inquisitorial records with drawings of buttocks? Mooning Vivienne whenever the whim strikes her (which is apparently often) even though Vivienne isn't in the least scandalised or shocked? It's all good for Sera. Butts!
* MotorMouth: Although less because she talks quickly and more because people who speak with her are too busy trying to [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} understand what she just said]] to actually respond to her. So she talks some more.
* MouthyKid: Always speaks her mind, and usually does so with the interests of the downtrodden in mind. While she's an adult, her overall personality comes across as pretty childish.
* NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters: While Sera may be a thief, she's a far cry from outright evil. She is a member of the Friends of Red Jenny gang, which works to protect the common folk from the schemes of nobles.
* NeverMyFault: She does absolutely ''no'' self-reflection of her own actions, and if the Inquisitor calls her out on any questionable decisions, she gets ''very'' upset.
* NiceToTheWaiter: You had ''better'' be, because waiters (plus servants, maids, seamstresses, scullery workers, cooks, weavers, farm hands, gardeners, labourers and all the other dozens of little people a single 'big' person needs to keep themselves in luxury) are both the grease and the wheels in the operation of the Friends' network. The quickest way to bring their wrath down upon you is making an enemy of the help.
* TheNicknamer: She refers to the Inquisitor as "Inky" (though she can be asked to pick another one) and Cole as "Creepy". Also, because she refuse to give the BigBad the dignity of saying his name right, she has a couple for him: "[[spoiler:Coryphy-spit]]" and "[[spoiler:Coryphy-whatzit]]". If unromanced by an Inquisitor, she begins seeing Dagna and calls her "Widdle" in her journal entries.
** She also calls Vivienne "Vivi," mainly because of [[InsistentTerminology how insistent Vivienne is on being referred to by her title.]]
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Delivers an absolutely horrific one [[spoiler: to a nobleman who ambushes you in her personal quest, puts down some common people and tries to talk his way out once he realizes the Inquisitor is involved. She gets so crazy and beats him so bad the Inquisitor actually has to scream at her to get her to stop.]]
* NonSequiturFallacy: This is also known as "leaps in logic". Sera concludes that The Maker is real after learning about the Elder One and the Golden City. The logic goes like this: the story of the First Blight is true, so the Golden City is true. The Golden City is true, so The Maker is true. The problem is that ''nothing'' confirms the accuracy of any of these conclusions. Even the story of the First Blight is questionable, although there seems to be ''some'' level of truth to it. (See FalseDichotomy for how she takes this fallacy even further.)
* NothingIsScarier: Sera's greatest fear is "nothingness," and describes the nightmares of the Fade as "''Nothing''. They were... like little empty ''things''. Like, there's nothing in the dark. No point." {{Spiders| Are Scary}} would have been preferable for her.
* NotWhatISignedOnFor: She originally joins the Inquisition to help stop the Mage-Templar and Orlesian Civil wars, as well as the Breach, to get things back to normal and "profitable." When the Elder One and [[spoiler:his archdemon]] shows up, she becomes ''very'' nervous, because this is waaaaay beyond her scope.
-->'''Sera:''' Oh Andraste, what'd I step in...?
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When you first gain Skyhold, Sera actually speaks seriously about the need to [[spoiler:stop Corypheus.]] The Inquisitor is surprised that she actually doesn't sound crazy for a moment; Sera agrees that something must be off.
* OddFriendship:
** The loudmouthed and selfish Sera gets along surprisingly well with the quiet and selfless Blackwall.
** Dorian is both a mage and an aristocrat, yet they become friends given that he is a RebelPrince
** Her attempts to prank Vivienne might also count.
** She also seems to like Cassandra quite well.
* OptionalPartyMember: You can choose not to recruit her and if you want you can tell Sera to leave.
* OrphansPlotTrinket: Played for laughs if you ask if she has any memories of her birth family.
-->'''Sera:''' Well, there is the amulet I had as an orphan that has a missing piece and ''look at your face!'' You believe me!
* PairTheSpares:
** Reading through the diary outside her room after the final battle, if she hasn't been romanced, reveals that she has discovered the existence of Dagna. She likes the girl well enough to give her a nickname, which is something we otherwise only see her do for a romanced Inquisitor.
--->'''Sera:''' Finally someone fun! I'll call her Widdle!\\
''[A drawing of Sera standing back to back with Dagna. Their weapons seem improbable. And awesome.]''
** This becomes official in ''Trespasser'', and the epilogue confirms that they see each other frequently post-game.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: She's of the opinion that if a guy doesn't want to get shivved, that guy should probably act nice. She's willing to settle for [[PokeThePoodle lesser punishments]] for lesser evils. Like a pie to the face.
* PercussiveTherapy: After the Winter Palace, she can be found venting her frustrations at everyone by shooting arrows into her own door. She imagines the last one as a GroinAttack at [[spoiler: Corypheus]].
* PluckyComicRelief: Said by several writers to be hilarious and the most overtly humorous character, which, given the previous games' banter, is saying something.
* ThePrankster:
** Stealing the enemy's trousers is more important to her than stealing their weapons. She even expresses that if a Red Jenny connection was after the Inquisitor, she'd settle for [[PokeThePoodle a pie to the face]] because the Inquisitor isn't hateful enough to outright kill.
** The Inquisitor can also join her in harmlessly pranking Cullen and Josephine. In that case, its revealed to be her method of boosting morale by giving their underlings something to laugh at and make the leaders seem more human.
* ProperlyParanoid: During the Exalted Council summit, she believes that some of the elven servants are acting squirrelly. While it may seem that she's relapsing on her discrimination against other elves, [[spoiler:it turns out that said suspicious elves are agents of Solas and are helping the Inquisition.]]
* RaceFetish: Her comment on Iron Bull is that he makes her fantasize about Qunari women, and female Qunari Inquisitors have a much easier time romancing her.
-->'''Sera:''' Can you imagine what their women must be like? Woof.
** I she's along in the ''Trespasser'' DLC she keeps getting distracted EatingTheEyeCandy when the party fights a mixed-gender Qunari force led by a woman.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: After the Temple of Mythal, she accuses elves of worshipping demons. Come ''Trespasser'', it turns out that the Evunaris (the Elven pantheon) were ordinary elves who commanded power through control over the Fade and spirits. The Forgotten Ones, whom they were supposedly at war with, seem to have been either spirits or other powerful elves who ''became'' spirits. Since demons are for the most part "spirits gone wrong", sera was half-right.
* RomanceSidequest: For female Inquisitors only.
* SatisfiedStreetRat: She rather enjoys being part of a network of thieves.
* ScrewYouElves:
** She dishes on out on Solas when he makes assumptions about her past.
---> '''Sera:''' You think the only reason I'm not elfy is because I had no choice? Poor me, right. Well, I've seen, and I know. Elven life is backwards and boring.
** The revelations of "What Pride Had Wrought" [[spoiler:such as the Elves destroying themselves in a civil war]] have her laughing with glee, since they "prove" to her that the Elves really were just arseholes like everyone else.
* SimpleMindedWisdom: Occasionally makes surprisingly profound statements based on straightforward observations, which stump even the more book-smart party members. For example, when Solas badgers her one conversation too many about organizing the Red Jennies to dispose of the nobility for good:
-->'''Sera:''' What, just lop off the top? What does that do, [[FullCircleRevolution except make a new top to frig it all up?]]\\
'''Solas:''' I... forgive me. You are right.
* SirSwearsALot: Tends to pepper her speech with random, strangely-arranged curses.
* SmallStepsHero: Detests causing people harm for an abstract "greater good".
* SorryImGay: If a male Inquisitor persists in flirting with her.
-->'''Sera:''' We have too much in common, yeah? Because we both like women?
* StaticCharacter:
** Unlike most other companions, she does not have a major shift or development of character, either from the main quest or her personal storyline. There are a few small revelations, but they do not cause any meaningful changes to her personality, and trying to get her to rethink her life will have no result beyond a loss of approval.
** Subverted in the Trespasser DLC, after the two years since she and the Inquisitor last seen each other, she will focus her Red Jenny contact into helping people regardless of who they work for [[spoiler:including possibly working for the Divine]] and admits that her old distaste for anything "elfy" has only made her emotionally tired, even offering some sympathy to a Dalish Inquisitor [[spoiler:once they found out that both their beliefs about the old elven gods were wrong]].
* TagalongKid: Sort of. Cole might be more childlike mentally, but Sera is by far the youngest of the Inquisition. She was a kid during the blight ten years ago, which puts her in her early twenties at most.
* TaughtByExperience: Sera's archery skills were learned entirely from trial and error.
* TerribleArtist:
** According to what Cole picks up from her thoughts, she could potentially be this.
--->'''Cole''': You should ''not'' paint. It would be very bad if you did.
** Considering how many lewd drawings Sera enjoys making, Cole could be referring to that as well. However, in ''Trespasser'' it's revealed that two years of practice have led to Sera becoming an excellent sketch artist who draws from life, subverting the trope - though once her drawing are completed, she doesn't exhibit or preserve them.
* TerroristsWithoutACause: The Red Jenny organization strikes back against those that oppress the common people and... that's it. They have the structure and organization of a massive terrorist or political movement, but no long-term plans or ideas for permanent social change whatsoever. In party banter, trying to wrap his head around this breaks Solas' brain, [[spoiler: and he is literally ''the god of revolution''. Two years later in the DLC does give them more of a cause after working for the Divine.]]
* ThatCameOutWrong: Occasionally she realizes she said something that makes it sound like she's attracted to men, such as when she commented that Blackwall needs to lighten up by suggesting she'd like to see him out of his armor.
-->'''Sera:''' ...Not like that.
* TheMenFirst: She approves of an Inquisitor whose first priority is the people serving under them. For example, when she asks the Inquisitor about [[spoiler:their trip into the Fade in "Here Lies The Abyss"]] and the Inquisitor responds that the only important thing is that people died in the battle, she will approve, stating that the Inquisitor understands what really matters.
* TheSpymaster: She has her own network of spies independent of the Inquisition. Though she isn't any more in charge than any other Friend of Red Jenny.
* TheTrickster: Wants to bring back order not just to protect the innocent, but also to get her playground back.
* TheyDo: In ''Trespasser'', she can marry the Inquisitor if romanced.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks:
** Subverted when she attempts to throw a regular dagger at a noble that angers her in one of her sidequests. The dagger lands flat against his chest and falls to the ground as expected - right before she starts pummelling him.
** Double subverted when it turns out to be ExactlyWhatIAimedAt; it was just a ploy to trick him into bending over to pick it up so she could knee him in the face.
* TookALevelInKindness: Two years later after the battle against the Elder One, she has really matured a good deal. While she still does pranks, she is now willing to work for nobles, provided that they help the common folk and are not an ass [[spoiler:which also possibly extends to the Divine]], a bit more open minded about being wrong, and would even comfort an elven Inquisitor [[spoiler:after learning about what happened in the Temple of Fen'Harel, a far cry from scorn after The Temple of Mythal]].
* TheUnintelligible: A common reaction (even by other characters) is "What the hell is this chick ''saying?!"'' It's mainly due to her accent, {{Motor Mouth}}ing and frequent use of BuffySpeak.
* UnskilledButStrong: An odd variation. While Sera is quite skilled as a Rogue Archer, she doesn't have any actual formal training in Archery and is self taught. She had to learn all of her skills on her own and it took years of practice.
* WhatTheHellHero:
** The Inquisitor can deliver one to her after [[spoiler:her actions lead to the deaths of some of her friends in her personal quest]].
** [[spoiler:A female Dalish Inquisitor can actually scream at Sera after she mocks her culture.]]
* WildCard: Described as such in promos.
* WithUsOrAgainstUs: Dislikes elven culture's "us against them" attitude regarding humans (since she likes "them"), but does have this attitude regarding "big people" and the common folk. If the Dalish Inquisitor is in a romance with Sera, [[spoiler: she'll break up with her unless she says she doesn't believe in the elven religion]].
* WomanChild: Besides her tendency to make farting sounds and draw butts, Sera also shows the emotional maturity of a ten-year-old at times, such as calling people "stupid" or childishly insulting them if they say something she doesn't like. Varric lampshades it in their banter after she blows off his attempts at pointing out the holes in her logic.
-->'''Varric:''' Is this the part where you tell me my face is stupid?\\
'''Sera:''' Your face is stu-- ''[beat]'' Shut up!
* WordAssociationTest: Dorian tries this on her. 'Demon', 'magister' and 'thaumaturgy'? 'Arrows', 'arrows' and 'arrows' (although she needs to ask what the last one means).
* YouAreACreditToYourRace:
** If "nobility" can be considered a "race" (for the Human Inquisitor). She tells the Inquisitor (of any origin) later that one reason she joined him/her is because they were only a minor "big person" at the time they met, so part of her plan was to keep him/her from getting ''too'' big. If befriended, she tells the Inquisitor that s/he is the only "big person" she likes.
** She can invoke this towards a Mage or Dalish Inquisitor who gain a lot of approval from her, seeing as their origins fall under her FantasticRacism.
* YouKnowImBlackRight: Sera will make bitter or spiting remarks about the Dalish right to or in front of a Dalish Inquisitor. You can sometimes call her out on this, but she is fully aware of what you are and isn't concerned with how offended you may be.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Varric Tethras]]
->''"Mages and templars, and innocent people caught in the middle. Some things never change."''

A dwarven storyteller and former companion of the Champion of Kirkwall, Varric joins the Inquisition alongside Cassandra.

''For more info, see [[Characters/DragonAgeRecurringPartyMembers this page]].''
[[/folder]]
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* BettyAndVeronica: As far as being available all races in general for females, he's the Betty (quiet, chivalrous, and humble) to Iron Bull's Veronica. Including both Cullen and Solas, it's a bit more complicated as he's more of a Veronica to Cullen and can interchange between Betty and Veronica for Solas.

* BettyAndVeronica: He's the Veronica (boisterous, hedonistic, and violent) to both Blackwall and [[GayOption Dorian's]] Betty.

* BettyAndVeronica: He's the Betty (good-hearted, noble, and surprisingly insecure) to Iron Bull's Veronica.

* BettyAndVeronica: She's the Veronica (irreverent, devil may care, and humorous) to Josephine's Betty.

* GrayEyes: Normally calm and cool-headed, with great magical powers and a preference for logic, though he does harbor a rather intense passion beneath the surface. Could also been taken as a VisualPun on [[GreyAndGreyMorality seeing the world in shades of grey]]. [[spoiler:And wolves are quite grey, aren't they?]]

* InternalizedCategorism: Sera applies many negative human stereotypes about elves to all the elves she meets, while at the same time aggressively asserting her "human-ness." [[spoiler: It links back to her FreudianExcuse.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: Her snobby, aristocratic, and bigoted attitude grates on more than a few of the other companions.

* BettyAndVeronica: As far as all races in general for females, he's the Betty (quiet, chivalrous, and humble) to Iron Bull's Veronica.

** The silver clad pro-establishment counterpoint to the raggedy apostate Solas. And the poised, impeccably dressed aristocrat to the anti-authority street rat Sera.

* ReligiousBruiser: Dorian is introduced beating a demon to death with his staff, and while he doesn't often mention religion he does believe in Andraste and the Maker. He simply views the ''Chantry'' (Orlesian and Tevinter) as an outdated relic.

-->'''Iron Bull:''' Watch yourself. The pretty ones are always the worst.
-->'''Harding:''' Dorian's awfully pretty, isn't he?

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere If you lose enough approval with him and make enough decisions he disapproves of, you will find out he has booked a ship back to go back to Tevinter after stopping [[spoiler: Corypheus]]. Depending on what you say/do, he may choose to leave right there.

** In she's along in the ''Trespasser'' DLC she keeps getting distracted EatingTheEyeCandy when the party fights a mixed-gender Qunari force led by a woman.