WMG / Dragon's Dogma II

Wild Mass Guessing pages are Spoilers Off. You have been warned.

There will be more than one Arisen competing against us in the game.

There's one line in the trailer, "If he's a mere mummer, then where might our true arisen be?" that suggests that someone is falsely claiming the title of Arisen. It would be interesting to see an antagonist that is also able to command pawns, and uses their own party of pawns against us.

Though that would leave the question open as to why there's more than one Arisen. Has the current Sovran neglected his duties to fight the dragon in favor of accumulating personal power? Is he somehow unable to take the dragon's bargain due to lacking a valid candidate for beloved? That might force the dragon to ascend a new Arisen so the cycle can continue.

• The presence of a false Arisen appears to be confirmed, though it's still unclear what role he plays in the story.
  • Jossed pretty early in the story. The False Arisen is just a figurehead that has been propped up as the new Sovran.

Our Arisen isn't actually an Arisen, but the ascended pawn of an Arisen.

The Arisen appears to have lost their memories, and the scene where their heart is stolen and the dragon marks them as Arisen is told in flashback. Maybe the twist will be that we're not actually that Arisen, but their pawn. Our Arisen fell to the dragon (or was killed before they had the chance to confront the dragon), and we have taken their form and memories due to the bestowal of spirit.

• Jossed

Pawns infected with dragonplague can be turned against the Arisen.

It's still unclear what the "calamity" that dragonplague brings to pawns is. Perhaps an infected pawn is susceptible to being turned against you when fighting dragons (like how dragonkin could control pawns in DD 1), or the false Arisen. It would be a gamble - infected pawns are stronger, but there's a chance they'll betray you in certain circumstances.

It's also possible that infected pawns can turn hostile and attack you when encountered on the field. This might be turned into a plot point - perhaps the reason the beastren of Battahl are mistrustful of pawns is because a large number of their pawns got infected with dragonplague and went on a rampage.

• Jossed. They do not turn on you directly, but resting can cause an infected pawn to become a dragon and kill everyone in the town.