Origin Stories

Dragon Age: Origins immerses you in an epic story that will sweep you from one end of Ferelden to the other.

Unlike other games where you concentrate on your character's stats and class abilities, in Dragon Age: Origins, the story has a huge impact on your game experience. Many of you will put story above all else, and that's fine.

If so, you can work backward on your character generation and choose the origin story you would like to play first and select the correct race and class for that origin. Read through these six backgrounds to see which is the best origin story for you.

Dwarf Commoner

Deep beneath the Frostback Mountains sits Orzammar, largest and proudest of the two remaining dwarven cities.

Once the seat of an underground empire, Orzammar now stands alone, cut off from the world by the darkspawn, still clinging to the memory of its former glory.

Below the vast statues and gilded halls where the noble families play at politics, the lower castes live in their shadows, scurrying to serve like their ancestors before them. Below that... is you.

You are casteless, the dirty secret staining Orzammar's perfect society, forced, along with your sister, to sell your services to the crime lord, Beraht.

To the rest of Orzammar, you are proof that the casteless deserve their fate; but you know that you do what you must - the same as everyone - just to survive.

Dwarf Noble

Deep beneath the Frostback Mountains sits Orzammar, the larger of two known remaining dwarven cities.

Orzammar was once the seat of a major empire connected by tunnels, called Deep Roads, which stretched thousands of miles.

The city now stands alone, cut off from the rest of the dwarven ancestral lands by the darkspawn incursion. Secure in Orzammar's impregnable construction, the dwarven noble houses continue their centuries-old power struggles.

Assassination and blackmail are commonplace, but the appearance of honor is paramount. You are the second child of King Endrin of House Aeducan - the ninth Aeducan ruler elected by the Noble Assembly.

You grew up in a world rife with political intrigue and have struggled against brothers and cousins for honor and prestige. Today, a feast celebrates your first military commission, the opening move toward real power in the ever-changing game of dwarven politics.

City Elf

Denerim is the largest city and capital of Ferelden. Long ago, the elves lived as slaves to humans, and although they have been free for many generations now, they are far from equals.

Here they live in a walled-off community known as the Alienage, working as servants and laborers when they can.

Despite these hardships, Denerim's elves are a strong people who take pride in their close community. This is the only world you've ever known...until now.

Dalish Elf

You were born amid the Dalish elves: noble wanderers who refuse to join the society of humans who subjugated their homeland so long ago.

The Dalish travel the land in tightly knit clans, struggling to maintain their half-forgotten lore in a human world that fears and despises them.

You spend your time hunting with your clan-mate Tamlen in the forests, and as is sometimes the case, your quarry is not always the local wildlife...

Human Noble

For generations, your family, the Couslands, has stewarded the lands of Highever, earning the loyalty of your people with justice and temperance.

When your country was occupied by the Orlesian Empire, your father and grandfather served the embattled kings of your land.

Today, your elder brother takes up House Cousland's banner in service to the Crown - not against the men of Orlais, but against the bestial darkspawn rising in the south.

Magi

On a cliff overlooking the dark waters of Lake Calenhad stands the tower fortress that is home to the Circle of Magi.

This tower is the only place in Ferelden where mages may study their art among others of their kind. Within the high stone walls, the Circle practices its magic and trains apprentices in the proper use of their powers.

But the Circle Tower is as much a prison as a refuge; the ever-vigilant templars of the Chantry watch over all mages, constantly alert for any sign of corruption.

This gilded cage is the only world you know. Found to be sensitive to magic at a young age, you were torn from your family and grafted here as an apprentice. Now, that apprenticeship is nearly over and all that remains is the final test: the Harrowing.