Game Groups > Dragon Age series

Dragon Age is a series of role-playing games by BioWare. The games are set in the fictional medieval fantasy world of Thedas, which has its own background history, races, and ideologies. Dragon Age games are party-based, and utilize BioWare's signature "real-time-with-pause" combat system.

Setting

The continent of Thedas is divided into several countries, such as Ferelden, Orlais, Free Marches, and others. It is populated by the sentient races of humans, elves, dwarves, and the humanoid qunari. Elves are presented as reclusive and mistrustful of humans; dwarves live a rigid caste-based society; the qunari follow a strict moral codex that is often incomprehensible to the humans. A major religion of Thedas is the worship of the Maker and his spiritual wife, the prophet Andraste. The church that practices this religion is called the Chantry; organizations associated with it include the Seekers, reminiscent of a secret police, and the militant Templars. Opposed to them are the Blood Mages, renegade sorcerers who draw upon demonic powers to cast their spells. Another important organization are the Grey Wardens, who fight tainted creatures known as the Darkspawn. The storylines of Dragon Age games usually involve conflicts between these and other factions; the player is sometimes able to choose a faction to side with.

Gameplay

The first Dragon Age (2009) signified a return to tactical battles and heavy character customization, similar to BioWare's own Baldur's Gate games. There are three basic character classes in Dragon Age games: warrior, mage, and rogue. Each class has unique specialization areas, e.g. mages that focus more on healing, elemental spells, inflicting status ailments on enemies, etc. They can also evolve into specialized classes, such as for example berserker for the fighter class. Abilities and skills are learned by distributing corresponding points when leveling up. Main character attributes can also be increase in that way. Much attention is paid to the relationship of the main character with his/her companions; the protagonists are able to have romantic relationships with them, depending on the player's conversation choices and other decisions during the course of the game.