Dragon Agehas always been known for its companions, but sometimes these characters do not make it past the concept stage or off the cutting room floor. For example,Dragon Age: Originswould have made Jowan a permanent companion before that was cut, and Fiona was considered a possiblecompanion forDragon Age: Inquisition. These changes are very common in companion-based games and game development at large, withDragon Age: The Veilguardbeing in a similar situation.
The recent release of theDragon Age: The Veilguardart book, simply titledThe Art of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, has seen a few details about scrapped and changed companions released in the wild. This includes new looks at beloved characters who made it into the game, from concept to final design, as well as the various environments, weapons, and armor. Perhaps the most interesting is seeing who, at one point, was considered to make it into the game.
The art book shows concepts ofLace Harding, whose return seems to have been decided early in development, and she remains pretty similar at her core. However, it turns out that Taash was a rogue wearing “dragon skin” armor at one point, while Lucanis was supposed to be a Tevinter agent. An Antivan Crow dreamer companion was cut, with Lucanis seemingly taking her place. Perhaps Neve was born out of this, as it makes more sense to have a Mage represent Tevinter, but of course, that’s impossible to say. The art book also draws attention to one or two possible Qunari companions, including a Saarebas and/or a Saarebas turned “dapper spy.” And it seems two characters could have returned fromInquisition, this time as companions: Imshael and Calpernia.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Scrapped/Cut/Changed Companion
For those who don’t remember, Imshael calls itself a choice spirit, but it is also one of the Forbidden Ones and one of the first demons to come into contact with humanity. InDragon Age: Inquisition, players can confront and defeat Imshael during the Emprise Du Lion side quest, Call Me Imshael. Meanwhile, Calpernia leadsthe Venatori for Corypheus, serving as his right-hand Mage. If players recruit the Mage, she is never encountered but is revealed to be cataloging artifacts for the Corypheus. She also appears in Magekiller.
While none of these characters, except perhaps Harding, made it into the final game, it’s still an interesting peek intoDragon Age: The Veilguard’s development. For now, fans have seven fun companions to play alongside in the official release.
