Known these days as a staple in Bioware games, romance has become the bread and butter of the Dragon Age franchise. While Dragon Age Origins was not the first game from the company to feature interesting romances, the developer team created what would become some of the most iconic characters in company history. So much so, that fans still prop them up as not only the quintessential progenitors of all things romance but also as characters that must have a place in every new installment -no matter what.
Diversity
In Dragon Age: Origins, players are faced with choosing between four companions to romance as they travel through the land of Ferelden, in a quest to defeat the Blight and its Archdemon. To be as inclusive as possible; and to stick to their goal of making games that reflect the player; Bioware took this opportunity to offer a variety of choices that would allow fans to explore relationships -both straight and bisexual. With the former, being represented by Alistair and Morrigan, and the representative of the latter, being Leliana and Zevran.
Alistair
A bastard son of King Merrick, Alistair’s story is one of those unforeseen and unwanted heirs. When the player meets Alistair for the first time, it is hard to imagine that he comes from the royal line. His awkwardness and unashamed lack of worldly knowledge, make him seem more naïve than the player would expect from the fabled and famed Grey Wardens. And, yet it’s this sense of almost innocence and naivety that quite often endears the would-be King to so many.
Throughout his romance, players learn (a great deal) about Alistair’s backstory: where he came from, how he became a Templar, and the circumstances behind him becoming one of the newest Wardens to join the order. With every interaction, the player comes face to face with a character that is charming and kinder than you would think -while also being a man who is far too often a few steps behind and almost too comfortable with being led, rather than leading. These traits, however, do not pose a problem in the grand scheme of things as they allow the player (as the Warden) to lead by example -giving them the agency needed to make the story their own.
To start a romance with Alistair, female player-characters need only to speak to him kindly, joke with him when appropriate, and be respectful when discussing the loss of his mentor (and makeshift father figure,) Duncan. Alistair is coded as the good guy with good intentions, so doing or saying anything perceived as evil will quickly kill any chance for romance. After garnering enough approval, Alistair will mention he still has family in Denerim. Completing this quest will be essential in solidifying the romance and putting him on track to become king -allowing the player to become either his mistress (non-human or mage) or his queen (noble origin) at the end of the game.
Leliana
An Orlesian Bard by profession, Leliana’s backstory is shadowed in mystery from the moment the player meets her. Found serving the Chantry in the small town of Lothering, she is one of the first companions the Warden can choose to recruit to the party. During the first encounter, within the village’s local tavern, she intervenes when the Warden is accosted by soldiers serving Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir -the secondary antagonist of the main plot. Her attempt at diplomacy, however, fails and leads to a bloody confrontation. Afterward, she tells the party the Maker told her to go with them.
With a strong moral compass and a questionable moral background, Leliana is one companion in Dragon Age Origins that can be somewhat controversial. Her personality is generally sweet, empathetic, and morally good, but once the details of her past come to light many players find she seems to overcompensate out of guilt. Whether that is true or not, is a matter of interpretation, but her willingness to help others makes her a companion worth having.
Her romance in Dragon Age Origins brings to the fore the first of two bisexual characters the Warden will meet. While its progression is straightforward: it exemplifies, in contrast, the differences in how Bioware handled bisexual characters in general. Leliana specifically is coded as “the not-so-innocent one, playing innocent,” until the player does her personal quest. This is where the Warden finds out that Leliana was once a spy and had been betrayed. The romance culminates with a confrontation with said betrayer, Marjolaine, wherein Leliana can decide whether to kill her or let her go. Subsequent games shed more light, on the fate of their relationship, should it be continued post-game.
Zevran
The second of the two bisexual characters available in Dragon Age Origins, Zevran is one of those companions that players could unintentionally miss during the plot. Not because the Warden doesn’t come across him, but because their initial meeting is violent. A member of Antiva’s notorious assassins’ guild, the Antivan Crows, Zevran gets contracted by Loghain to kill the Warden and their party. During the confrontation, defeating Zevran results in a conversation where his final fate is left to the player: to accept him as an ally or finish him off. Mercy is needed should the player wish to start his romance.
The first of several examples of the bisexual disaster trope in the Dragon Age series, Zevran is one of those characters whose backstory is rooted in the seedier side of society. Son of a prostitute, he was sold off to the House of Arainai at a young age and trained to be an assassin. Using his skills and attractiveness as an Elf, he capitalizes on his potential seductive powers to get close to his targets and eliminate them.
Being the more sex-positive, hypersexual, and easy-going romantic character, Zevran’s personality reflects his upbringing. Sarcasm and innuendos are his verbal forte, and he doesn’t hesitate to put them both into good use whenever the situation demands. Romancing Zevran is arguably the easiest among all the companions. So long as the player flirts with him at every possible moment, the easy-breezy romance will start and progress rather quickly. Completing his personal quests; by defeating Taliesen and his group of Crows coming to retrieve Zevran by force; ensures that he will stay by the Warden’s side, throughout the final act and beyond -should they wish it.
Morrigan
Arguably one of the biggest characters in the history of Dragon Age, Morrigan is a character -so iconic- that fans practically demand her inclusion in every subsequent game in the series. And it’s not hard to see why: given that her existence has been so integral to the game’s over-arching narrative, and her influence (and that of her mother’s) can be seen throughout its entirety. Her ties to the Elven Pantheon, revealed in later games, solidify her status as a must-see character and ensure her inclusion in any narrative even slightly involving the gods of old.
The adoptive daughter of the fabled Witch of the Wilds, Flemeth, Morrigan is first introduced to the soon-to-be Warden during the quest The Grey Warden Cache -where she informs the player that the documents they are seeking are no longer in the ruins but being held by her mother. After the conclusion of the Battle of Ostagar; when Duncan, King Cailan, and his forces are betrayed and lose their lives; the Warden and Alistair are miraculously saved by Flemeth and charged with taking Morrigan with them to help in their quest.
Morrigan’s personality makes her a strong and forceful person. She is seen as both confident and a little overbearing, with a penchant for often being too blunt and hard-hearted. It takes a considerable amount of time for a male Warden to break down her walls, but should they succeed in doing so, the romance will bloom. Her personal quests; collecting her mother’s grimoire and defeating her; are fairly important to her story arc, but where the romance’s fate ends relies solely on the final battle. Should the Warden refuse her offer, to do the ritual and create a child that could serve as a vessel for the Archdemon’s soul, the romance will end. Should the player accept, Morrigan will still abandon the Warden and disappear.
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