History Characters / DragonAgeOrganizations

* AllPowerfulBystander: While each Grey Warden is a OneManArmy, their political neutrality means that they cannot get directly involved in political matters. Unless it's darkspawn-related, they either feel obligated not to entangle themselves in politics and risk blunting their effectiveness, or really ''don't'' see it as [[BystanderSyndrome their problem]].

* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores:
** This is largely the reputation they have in Thedas, and it's not entirely undeserved. They often invoke the Right of Conscription on apostates and condemned criminals, and outside of Blights, willing recruits are rarely to be found. While the supreme importance of their mission means that people rarely make an open stink about it, the idea that the Wardens are a "haven for criminals and [[EvilSorcerer maleficar]]" (as Rylock puts it) is a very prevalent one.
** The one time in recent memory that the Grey Wardens stepped in to fight when there wasn't an active Blight was against an extremely [[TheCaligula corrupt king.]] It didn't end well for them, or the people they were fighting since no one comes off well fighting Grey Wardens, but they got kicked out of Ferelden and it was only recently that King Maric allowed them to build up their numbers again.

* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:In the aftermath of the quest "Here Lies The Abyss" in Dragon Age Inquisition, the Wardens in southern Thedas have this realization: their extremist mentality (IE: going straight to the most extreme solution instead of escalating) nearly led them to aiding one of the very men that precipitated the Blight in the first place. If the Inquisitor allows them to stay, they atone by adhering to something more like Blackwall's rosy view of them instead of just fighting Darkspawn.]]

** The deconstruction is shown explicitly in ''Inquisition''. [[spoiler: Warden Commander Clarel, under the suggestion of a Venatori magister (at this point, the southern Thedas should have known the Venatori threat after Corypheus' attack at Haven), orders her troops to begin sacrificing each other to fuel a blood magic ritual to summon a demon army to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Old Gods. While she and her group were fooled by a shared false Calling, they were quick to assume the worst and indulge in atrocities offered by a transparently evil manipulator rather than question the situation. Someone did question the situation, yet they branded him as traitor without any trial involved. This foolishness can end with said dissident Warden or the Champion of Kirkwall killed. And if the Inquisitor finds their acts unforgivable, it will also lead to the entire Orlesian branch exiled from southern Thedas and the entire Order being denounced continent-wide, reducing their reputation into tatters.]]

** The deconstruction is shown explicitly in ''Inquisition''. [[spoiler: Warden Commander Clarel, under the suggestion of a Venatori magister (at this point, the southern Thedas should have known the Venatori threat after Corypheus' attack at Haven), orders her troops to begin sacrificing each other to fuel a blood magic ritual to summon a demon army to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Old Gods. While she and her group were fooled by a shared false Calling, they were quick to assume the worst and indulge in atrocities offered by a transparently evil manipulator rather than question the situation. Someone did question the situation, yet they branded him as traitor without any trial involved. This foolishness can end with said dissident Warden or the Champion of Kirkwall killed, and if the Inquisitor finds their acts unforgivable, it will also lead to the entire Orlesian branch exiled from southern Thedas and the Order being denounced continent-wide, reducing their reputation into tatters.]]

A list of the major organizations and non-national factions in the Franchise/DragonAge franchise. For a list of the various races in the setting, '''[[Characters/DragonAgeRaces go here]]'''. To return to the master character index for the whole franchise, [[Characters/DragonAge go here]].

* InterserviceRivalry: While they and the Venatori both serve the Elder One, neither faction is fond of the other. They won't directly undermine their rivals, if only out of fear of the Elder One's wrath, but will gladly take advantage of any of their rivals' failures to enhance their own position.

* InterserviceRivalry: After the creation of the Red Templars and their absorption into the Elder One's forces, the Venatori and the former become bitter rivals for their master's favor. While the two factions don't directly undermine each other for fear of the Elder One's wrath, they will gladly capitalize on any failures from the other side to strengthen their positions as his top servants.

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** The deconstruction is shown explicitly in ''Inquisition''. [[spoiler: Warden Commander Clarel, under the suggestion of a Venatori magister (at this point, the southern Thedas should have known the Venatori threat after Corypheus' attack at Haven), orders her troops to begin sacrificing each other to fuel a blood magic ritual to summon a demon army to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Old Gods. While she and her group were fooled by a shared false Calling, they were quick to assume the worst and indulge in atrocities offered by a transparently evil manipulator rather than question the situation. Someone did question the situation, yet they branded him as traitor without any trial involved. This foolishness can end with said dissident Warden or the Champion of Kirkwall killed, the entire Orlesian branch exiled from southern Thedas, and the Order being denounced continent-wide if the Inquisitor finds this unforgivable.]]

** The deconstruction is shown explicitly in ''Inquisition''. [[spoiler: Warden Commander Clarel, under the suggestion of a Venatori magister (at this point, the southern Thedas should have known the Venatori threat after Corypheus' attack at Haven, orders her troops to begin sacrificing each other to fuel a blood magic ritual to summon a demon army to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Old Gods. While she and her group were fooled by a shared false Calling, they were quick to assume the worst and indulge in atrocities offered by a transparently evil manipulator rather than question the situation. Someone did question the situation, yet they branded him as traitor without any trial involved. This foolishness can end with said dissident Warden or the Champion of Kirkwall killed, the entire Orlesian branch exiled from southern Thedas, and the Order being denounced continent-wide if the Inquisitor finds this unforgivable.]]

** The deconstruction is shown explicitly in ''Inquisition''. [[spoiler: Warden Commander Clarel, under the suggestion of a Venatori magister (at this point, the southern Thedas should have known the Venatori threat after Corypheus' attack at Haven, orders her troops to begin sacrificing each other to fuel a blood magic ritual to summon a demon army to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Old Gods. While she and her group were fooled by a shared false Calling, they were quick to assume the worst and indulge in atrocities offered by a transparently evil manipulator rather than question the situation. This foolishness can end with the entire Orlesian branch exiled from southern Thedas and the Order being denounced continent-wide if the Inquisitor finds this unforgivable.]]

** This mindset is also deconstructed in that their unfettered approach to fighting the darkspawn means they take the path of least resistance in every situation, even when it's not always intelligent in the long run. A lot of better solutions are closed off in ''Origins'' when the Warden chooses to indulge in extremism, and the best endings are often found when the Warden rises above this trope.
** Shown explicitly in ''Inquisition''. [[spoiler: Warden Commander Clarel, under the suggestion of a Venatori magister, orders her troops to begin sacrificing each other to fuel a blood magic ritual to summon a demon army to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Old Gods. While she and her group were fooled by a shared false Calling, they were quick to assume the worst and indulge in atrocities offered by a transparently evil manipulator rather than question the situation. This foolishness can end with the entire order exiled from southern Thedas and denounced continent-wide if the Inquisitor finds this unforgivable.]]

* NotSupposedToBeAPunishment: Many characters in favor of the existence if Circles insist that they are meant to be viewed a safe havens for Mages in a world unable or unwilling to properly understand them. Often those same characters respond to learning of the abuses Mages suffer with empathetic appalment, paint them a isolated incidents they represent Circle life in general, or try to suggest said abuses had to have some justification behind them. [[spoiler:Anders directly calls out this argument just before he destroys the Kirkwall Chantry, saying that the Circles have failed in this mandate.]]

* AgentProvocateur: A favored tactic of theirs to deal with organizations that could become powerful enemies. They insert undercover agents to sow chaos through propaganda and/or magic to bend them to their will.
* BadSamaritan: One of their tactics for recruiting powerful forces is to pose as benefactors when the target is desperate, then immediately betray their victims and force them to serve the Venatori cause after whatever deal they struck is agreed on. More often than not, Venatori agents secretly caused the circumstances that left the target desperate enough to deal with them in the first place.

* ManipulativeBastard: While they are dangerous in combat, their real specialty is subterfuge and espionage. If they can get their agents inserted in an organization, they'll use every trick in their book, magical or otherwise, to subvert it into serving their cause.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Their consumption of red lyrium makes them paranoid and hyper aggressive towards all life.

* BodyHorror: Red Templars begin to slowly mutate after starting their ingestion of red lyrium. It starts with glowing red eyes, but the mutations escalate until the Red Templar can no longer be considered human. At the end stages, their bodies are twisted masses of crystal and flesh that are completely unrecognizable from their original forms.

* ForceAndFinesse: The "force" of the Elder One's followers who depend almost entirely on direct military might. Given the after effects of [[PsychoSerum red lyrium]], very few of them would even consider more subtle approaches.
* FunctionalAddict: Every Red Templar is addicted to red lyrium, but most remain coherent, if overly aggressive, before the mutations really take hold.

* PsychoSerum: Ingesting regular, blue lyrium causes slow mental degradation. Red lyrium not only does that, but induces extreme aggression and paranoia in a fraction of the time. All while enhancing physical abilities to inhuman levels.

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-->'''Dorian:''' ''(on the Herald getting an Assassination prestige class)'' At any rate, if you ever intend to make it an actual profession, do tell me. The Antivan Crows have ''nothing'' on the Imperium. I know people. Keep it in mind.

** Shown explicitly in ''Inquisition''. [[spoiler: Warden Commander Clarel, under the suggestion of a Venatori magister, orders her troops to begin sacrificing each other to fuel a blood magic ritual to summon a demon army to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Old Gods. While she and her group were fooled by a shared false Calling, they were quick to assume the worst and indulge in atrocities offered by a transparently evil manipulator rather than question the situation. This foolishness can end with the entire order exiled from southern Thedas and denounced continent-wide.]]

* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Oh, boy. The overbearing church that controls the hearts and minds of millions through religious dogma and military might? It's rendered completely toothless by the rebellion of the Circles, the rebellion of the Templars, the Orlesian CivilWar, and the Breach killing most of their leadership -- to such a degree that an unprecedented situation emerges where the highest ranking member of the Chantry's bureaucracy is a ''man.'' Throughout ''Inquisition,'' they are unable to oppose the Inquisitor because there is literally no one left to enforce their will. That said, individual communities are still held together through the efforts of local Revered Mothers and Grand Clerics (the ones that weren't blown up at the Conclave at least), but there is nothing approaching a unified Chantry power in Thedas for most of the game.

* AWorldHalfFull: [[spoiler:If Leliana is elected Divine and her personal quest is completed, she performs radical change to the Chantry to correct the hundreds of years of corruption, propaganda and biased practice which include freeing the Mages to govern themselves, rededicate the Chantry to the principals of charity and open the priesthood to other races]].