Dragon Age Lore

No description.

1. #1The Fade

   Keys: dream, Fade, dreams

   The Fade is an immaterial realm of dreams, spirits, and raw magic that exists parallel to the physical world. It is separated from the waking world by a barrier known as the Veil. All living things (except dwarves) visit the Fade when they dream, and it is from this realm that mages draw their power. It is a chaotic, metaphysical dimension where thought and emotion can shape reality. The ruins of the mythical Black City hang eternally at its center.

2. #2The Veil

   Keys: the veil

   The Veil is the magical barrier that separates the physical world from the Fade. In some places or times, the Veil can be thin, allowing for easier passage of spirits and demons and making magic more potent and dangerous. Tearing the Veil creates rifts that allow beings from the Fade to pour into the physical world.

3. #3Magic

   Keys: magic

   Magic is the ability to draw upon the energy of the Fade to reshape reality in the physical world. It is an inherent, and often volatile, talent found in some elves, humans and qunari. Because it is a direct channel to the Fade, the practice of magic is feared by many, as an undisciplined or emotional mage can become a beacon for demons, risking possession and becoming an Abomination.

4. #4Lyrium

   Keys: lyrium

   Lyrium is a potent, crystalline mineral that is described as the raw, physical essence of the Fade. Mages use it in refined forms to enhance their power and create enchantments. Templars consume it to fuel their anti-magic abilities, a process that leads to lifelong addiction and memory loss. Dwarves are the only race resistant enough to mine it safely.

5. #5Chantry

   Keys: Chantry

   The dominant religious organization in most of Thedas. The Chantry is built upon the teachings of its prophet, Andraste, and worships a single, distant deity known as the Maker. Its core tenets preach that humanity's hubris caused the Maker to abandon the world, and only through faith, humility, and order can His gaze be drawn back. The Chantry oversees the Circle of Magi and commands the Templar Order, giving it immense political and military power.

6. #6Grey Wardens

   Keys: the Grey, Warden, the Gray, Wardens

   An ancient order of warriors, mages, and rogues dedicated to a single purpose: fighting the darkspawn and ending the Blights. The Wardens operate outside of national politics, bound by duty alone. To join, a recruit must survive a secret ritual called the Joining, which involves drinking a mixture of darkspawn blood. This act inflicts the Taint upon the Warden, giving them the ability to sense darkspawn but also dooming them to an early death, either in battle or from the inevitable madness the Taint brings.

   Their motto is: "In War, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice."

7. #7The Circle

   Keys: Orlesian Circle, the Circle, Tevinter Circle, Circle Towers, mages, Mage, Ferelden Circle

   Mages who are officially part of the Circle of Magi, the institution created and governed by the Chantry to control the use of magic. From a young age, mages are taken to live in Circle Towers where they are taught to control their powers under the watchful eyes of templars. To the Chantry, this is a necessary protection for both the mages and the populace. To many mages, it is a gilded cage.

   Different countries have different levels of control. Nevarran Mortalitasi have considerable political power. Orlais gives mages some level of freedom after they prove they are strong against demonic possession. Ferelden is strict with mages remaining within the Tower but treatment inside the Tower is not overtly cruel. Kirkwall features the most harsh treatment, giving mages no freedoms and treating them all as evil abominations waiting to happen by default. Tevinter Circles are solely places of study.

8. #8Templars

   Keys: Templar, Templars

   Templars are the military arm of the Chantry, sworn to watch over the Circle of Magi and hunt down apostates, blood mages, and other magical threats. Templars are trained to be the ultimate anti-magic warriors. They gain their abilities by ingesting lyrium, which grants them the power to nullify and resist magic. This process, however, makes them addicts, wholly dependent on the Chantry for their supply.

9. #9Mortalitasi

   Keys: Necromancers, Mortalitasi, Necromancer

   The Mortalitasi are a Nevarran order of mages who specialize in magic dealing with spirits and death. In Nevarra, they are held in high regard and are a key part of the nation's culture, overseeing the elaborate mummification and entombment of the dead in their Grand Necropolis. To outsiders, their comfort with death and communication with spirits is often seen as ghoulish and dangerously close to blood magic.

10. #10Antivan Crows

    Keys: Crows, Antivan Crow, assassin, assassins

    The Antivan Crows are the most prestigious and feared guild of assassins in all of Thedas. The Crows are not merely thugs for hire; they are a sophisticated organization with a strict code of conduct, a theatrical flair, and a well-earned reputation for getting any job done, provided the price is right. To be marked by the Crows is to be considered already dead. They are considered the military of Antiva as it has no other military force.

11. #11Friends of Red Jenny

    Keys: Red Jenny, Jennies, little people

    The Friends of Red Jenny are clandestine network of rogues and anarchists dedicated to disrupting the lives of the rich and powerful for the benefit, and amusement, of the common people. Operating in cells with no central leadership, the "Jennies" use pranks, theft, and targeted violence to enact their own brand of chaotic justice. Their only identifying mark is leaving behind a red silk handkerchief.

12. #12Legion of the Dead

    Keys: Legionnaire, Legionnaires, Legion of the Dead

    Legion of the Dead is an elite and fanatical branch of the dwarven army. The Legion is composed entirely of dwarves who, for reasons of crime or honor, have been declared dead by their society. They take a vow to fight the darkspawn in the Deep Roads until they are killed. Forgoing all ties to clan and caste, they are revered as the most heroic and suicidal defenders of the dwarven kingdoms.

13. #13City Elves

    Keys: City Elves, City elf

    City elves are descendants of the ancient elves who surrendered to human rule after the fall of their empire. City Elves live in segregated, walled-off sections of human cities called Alienages. They are treated as second-class citizens, often living in poverty and facing intense prejudice. They have lost most of their ancestral language and culture, having been forced to assimilate into human society. Bigoted humans are likely to call elves ‘knife ears’ as a slur.

    Elves are slightly shorter than humans on average with pointed ears. Elves tend to have thinner builds than humans.

14. #14Dalish Elves

    Keys: elves, elf, Dalish

    Dalish elves are nomadic clans of elves who refuse to live under human rule, instead roaming the wilds in an attempt to preserve and reclaim the lost culture of their ancient empire, Arlathan. They are skilled hunters and survivalists who worship their own pantheon of gods. They are fiercely proud and deeply distrustful of outsiders, especially humans, whom they blame for the downfall of their people. Bigoted humans are likely to call elves ‘knife ears’ as a slur. Dalish elves may call humans ‘shem’ as a slur when encountering them.

    Elves are slightly shorter than humans on average with pointed ears. Elves tend to have thinner builds than humans.

15. #15Dwarves

    Keys: Dwarves, dwarfs, Dwarf

    Dwarves are a stout, hardy race of builders and warriors who live in a vast, subterranean empire connected by the Deep Roads. Dwarves possess a natural resistance to magic and lyrium, and they cannot enter the Fade, meaning they do not dream. Their society is rigid, built on a strict caste system, and they are engaged in a seemingly endless war against the darkspawn that have overrun most of their ancient kingdoms.

    Dwarves are shorter than humans and elves. Dwarves tend to have broad builds. Male dwarves usually grow beards. Dwarves who live on the surface usually reject the rigid society they left behind.

16. #16Qunari

    Keys: kossith, qunari

    Qunari is the term for both a specific race of horned, metallic-skinned giants and any individual who adheres to their philosophy, the Qun. The Qunari are a totalitarian society from the north, where every individual exists only to serve their prescribed role (worker, soldier, leader). Individuality is seen as a dangerous illusion. Those who reject and leave the Qun are known as Tal-Vashoth and are considered the worst kind of traitors.

    Qunari as a race are taller than humans. Qunari are generally broad and muscular. Qunari have metallic-looking skintones ranging from blue-gray to a golden sheen.

17. #17Tal-Vashoth

    Keys: tal-vashoth, tal vashoth, talvashoth

    Tal-Vashoth is a Qunari term for those who have abandoned the Qun. They are considered traitors and are hunted mercilessly by the Qunari authorities. Lacking the support structure of the Qun, many Tal-Vashoth turn to lives as mercenaries or bandits to survive. They are not to be confused with "Vashoth," the term for those who were simply born outside the Qun and never followed it.

18. #18Avvar

    Keys: Avvar

    Avvar are fiercely independent human tribes who inhabit the Frostback Mountains of Ferelden. They live in holds, not cities, and maintain a unique culture centered on their gods, powerful spirits of the Fade whom they revere and bargain with. Their mages are their shamans and spiritual leaders, holding a place of honor rather than fear.

19. #19Apostates

    Keys: apostate, apostates, hedge mage, hedgemage

    Apostate is a catch-all term for any mage who lives and practices their magic outside the authority of the Chantry and the Circle. This includes everyone from simple village healers to dangerous mages on the run from templars. They are universally distrusted and considered a threat by the Chantry, as they have not been trained to resist demonic possession.

20. #20Reavers

    Keys: Reaver, Reavers

    Reavers are warriors who gain power by consuming the blood of dragons. This ritualistic practice infuses them with a taste of the dragon's rage and power, allowing them to fight with monstrous ferocity and tap into abilities related to pain and fear. It is a dangerous path that can drive a warrior mad.

21. #21Keeper

    Keys: the First, Keepers, Keeper

    A Keeper is the political and spiritual leader of a Dalish clan. The Keeper is a powerful mage tasked with preserving the "vallasdahlen", the collected history and lore of the elven people. They are the authority on the traditions of the "old ways" and are responsible for the well-being of their entire clan. Their designated successor is known as the "First."

22. #22Tranquil

    Keys: tranquil

    A Tranquil is a mage who has undergone the Rite of Tranquility. This magical process severs the mage's connection to the Fade, rendering them incapable of performing magic or dreaming. A devastating side effect is the complete erasure of all emotion, turning the individual into a calm, detached, and literal-minded servant. The Chantry uses it as a "cure" for mages at risk of possession, and the Tranquil often serve as researchers and enchanters.

23. #23Ferelden

    Keys: Fereldeners, Fereldener, Ferelden

    Ferelden is a relatively young, rugged human kingdom known for its fierce independence, harsh winters, and love of dogs, especially the Mabari war hounds. Having spent a century under the thumb of the Orlesian Empire, Fereldans are proud, stubborn, and wary of outsiders. Their nobility is often fractious, and their politics are more direct and less subtle than in other nations.

24. #24Orlais

    Keys: Orlais, Orlesian, Orlesians

    Orlais is the most powerful and opulent human nation in Thedas. Orlesian culture is dominated by its nobility, who engage in "The Grand Game", a complex and often deadly web of political intrigue, scandal, and assassination where status is everything. Orlais is the heartland of the Chantry and is known for its chivalrous knights, elaborate fashion, and masked balls.

25. #25Tevinter Imperium

    Keys: Tevinter, Imperium

    The Tevinter Imperium is the oldest surviving human nation, ruled by a powerful magocracy of mages known as the Magisters. Unlike the rest of Thedas, mages are the ruling class in Tevinter, and the Chantry holds little power. The Imperium is infamous for its practice of blood magic and its institution of slavery. The Tevinter Chantry is known for having a male Divine. Outside of Tevinter, he is called the Black Divine in a negative manner.

    It was the hubris of the ancient Tevinter Magisters that is blamed for the creation of the darkspawn.

26. #26Free Marches

    Keys: Free States, Free Marches

    The Free Marches is a loose confederation of independent city-states nestled between Ferelden, Orlais, and Tevinter. The Marches have no central authority, and each city, like Kirkwall, Starkhaven, and Tantervale, is fiercely independent, with its own ruler, army, and culture. This makes the region a hotbed of conflict, trade, and opportunity.

27. #27Antiva

    Keys: Antivan, Antivans, Antiva

    Antiva is a wealthy, politically unstable nation on the northeastern coast of Thedas. Antiva has no ruling monarch; it is a plutocracy run by a collection of powerful and scheming merchant princes. The country is famous for its exquisite wines, its skilled sailors, its beautiful art, and its deadly assassins. What it lacks in a formal army, it more than makes up for in wealth, naval power, and the terrifying reputation of the Antivan Crows.

28. #28Rivain

    Keys: Rivaini, Rivain

    Rivain is a coastal human nation to the north of the Free Marches. Rivaini culture is unique, with a more relaxed view of magic and a pantheistic belief system that coexists uneasily with the Chantry. Their spiritual leaders are Seers, wise women who commune with spirits. Due to its location, Rivain is a melting pot of cultures and is infamous for being a haven for pirates. The Chantry has less influence here than almost anywhere else in Thedas.

29. #29Minrathas

    Keys: Minrathas

    Minrathas is the capital of the Tevinter Imperium and the largest, oldest, and most magically-defended city in Thedas. Minrathas is a city of soaring towers, floating platforms, and opulent palaces, all built and maintained with slave labor and powerful magic. It is the seat of the Archon and the heart of the Tevinter Magocracy, a dazzling and decadent testament to the Imperium's power.

30. #30Kirkwall

    Keys: Kirkwall

    Kirkwall is a major port city in the Free Marches, nicknamed the "City of Chains" due to its history as the center of the Tevinter slave trade. The city is built around a massive, ominous fortress on a volcanic rock. Kirkwall is a grim, corrupt and violent place. The Circle of Magi Tower in Kirkwall is known for its harsh treatment of mages.

31. #31Adamant Fortress

    Keys: Adamant Fortress

    A fortress in Southwestern Orlais that has been abandoned for Ages. It stands on the very edge of the Abyssal Rift which is a deep chasm that is believed to run as far down as the Deep Roads. Adamant Fortress has tall walls made of dark jetstone, a massive gate with archer towers on both sides, and metal ramparts. It was once a stronghold for the Grey Wardens but as the Western Approach became a wasteland the fortress became too hard to upkeep and was left.

32. #32Alienage

    Keys: ghetto, people's tree, vhenadahl, Alienage, tree of the people, Alienages, ghettos

    Alienages are walled-off, impoverished slums within human cities where the city elves are forced to live. Alienages are often overcrowded and rife with crime and despair, a physical symbol of the elves' status as second-class citizens. Alienages usually have a vhenadahl, a single tree among the tightly packed impoverished homes, which serves as a spiritual and communal point in the community.

33. #33Deep Roads

    Keys: Deep Road, Deep Roads

    The Deep Roads are a vast network of subterranean highways that once connected all the great dwarven kingdoms. In the modern age, most of the Deep Roads have been lost to the darkspawn, becoming an impossibly dangerous, monster-infested labyrinth. Travel through them is considered suicide for all but the most prepared expeditions.

34. #34Blood Magic

    Keys: blood magic, blood mage, blood mages

    Blood magic is the most feared and forbidden school of magic. Blood magic uses the power of blood, the essence of life itself, as a fuel source instead of drawing from the Fade. This allows for incredibly powerful and destructive spells, including the ability to control another person's mind and body. While not inherently evil, its power to dominate and corrupt makes it almost universally reviled and outlawed.

    Large blood magic rituals can involve sacrifices of many people.

35. #35Shapeshifter

    Keys: shapeshift, polymorph, wildshape, transformed into an animal, transformed into the animal, wildshaping, turned into an animal, turned into the animal, druids, druid, poly morph, shapeshifting, shapeshifter, turns into the animal, wild shape, polymorphing, turns into an animal, shapeshifters

    Shapeshifting is an ancient and rare form of magic that allows a mage to transform their physical body into that of an animal. Most common among the Avvar and some apostates, this school of magic requires a deep, primal connection to nature. Common forms include bears, spiders, and birds.

36. #36Necromancer

    Keys: Death Caller, Death Callers, Death Magic, Necromancy, Death Calling, Necromancer, Necromancers, Necromantic

    Necromancers are mages who specialize in the magic of death and spirits. Necromancers can command the spirits of the dead, instill terror in their enemies, and walk the line between the physical world and the spirit world. While often seen as ghoulish, Necromancy is an accepted and respected practice among the Mortalitasi of Nevarra.

37. #37Knight-Enchanter

    Keys: Battlemage, Arcane Warriors, Battle Mages, Battle Mage, Knight-Enchanter, Arcane Warrior, Knight-enchanters

    Knight-Enchanters are a rare and powerful mage specialization that combines magic with martial combat. A Circle Mage must have special permission from the Chantry to learn this magic. Knight-Enchanters, also called battle mages, can summon a blade of pure spirit energy and wade into melee, protecting themselves with magical barriers. The specialization traces its roots back to the elven bodyguards of Arlathan.

38. #38Dreamer

    Keys: Dreamer, Dreamers

    A dreamer is a mage capable of entering the Fade at will, without the aid of lyrium or blood magic. A talented dreamer can shape the Fade and affect the dreams of sleeping people, killing or driving them mad. Dreamers are rare.

39. #39Schools of Magic

    Keys: spirit magic, creation magic, entropy magic, primal magic

    These are the four main schools of magic practiced by the Circle: Creation: The school of healing, protection, and summoning. It involves creating magical glyphs, protective wards, and restoring the vitality of allies. Spirit: Focuses on the connection between the physical world and the Fade. Includes spells that drain mana, create magical barriers, and affect the spirits of others. Entropy: The school of decay and control. It involves casting curses and hexes that weaken, paralyze, and create chaos among enemy ranks. Primal: The most direct and destructive school. Primal mages command the elements, fire, ice, lightning, and earth, to inflict massive damage on the battlefield.

40. #40Templar

    Keys: Templar, Templars

    Templars are warriors who have been trained by the Templar Order to develop unique abilities fueled by lyrium. These skills are designed to counter magic in all its forms. They include the ability to dispel magic and silence a mage's connection to the Fade temporarily.

41. #41Blights

    Keys: Blights, Blight

    The Blight is a large-scale invasion by the darkspawn when they are united under the command of an Archdemon. During a Blight, darkspawn swarm to the surface in massive numbers, destroying everything in their path and spreading the Taint, which corrupts the land and twists living things into monstrous forms. Only the Grey Wardens know how to permanently end a Blight.

42. #42Darkspawn

    Keys: Hurlock, ogres, genlocks, shurlock, Ogre, hurlocks, Genlock, shurlocks, shriek, shrieks, Darkspawn

    Darkspawn are soulless, monstrous humanoids who live underground and are the primary antagonists of the Dragon Age. They are born from the Taint, a corrupting disease that they spread. They are a plague upon the world, driven by an instinct to find the sleeping Old Gods and corrupt them into Archdemons, which in turn leads to a Blight. Hurlocks are born of human broodmothers, genlocks from dwarven broodmothers, shrieks/shurlocks from elven broodmothers and ogres from qunari broodmothers.

43. #43The Taint

    Keys: tainted, blight-infected, blighted, taint

    The taint is the corrupting force that defines the darkspawn. It functions like a magical disease, twisting the flesh and spirit of any living creature it infects. This is what allows darkspawn to create more of their kind from captured prisoners. Grey Wardens are immune to the immediate effects but carry the Taint in their blood, which slowly kills them over time.

44. #44Archdemon

    Keys: tainted dragon, twisted dragon, archdemon, archdemons, arch demon, arch demons, blighted dragon, urthemiel

    An Old God, one of the original dragons worshipped by ancient Tevinter, that has been found and corrupted by the darkspawn. The Archdemon becomes the hive-mind leader of the darkspawn horde, commanding them with a singular will and creating a Blight. An Archdemon cannot be truly killed unless its soul is absorbed by a Grey Warden upon its death, which kills the Warden in the process.

45. #45The Calling

    Keys: Grey Warden Call, Archdemon's Call, Archdemon's Calling, Archdemon call, The Calling, The Call

    The Calling is the inevitable fate of every Grey Warden. Because of the Taint in their blood, Wardens slowly begin to hear the "song" of the Old Gods, a calling that grows louder over time. When the call becomes unbearable, the Warden undertakes a final ritual journey: they travel into the Deep Roads to die fighting the darkspawn, taking as many of the monsters with them as they can before they are finally consumed.

46. #46Demons and Spirits

    Keys: spirit, Demons, fade beings, spirits, beings in the fade, demon

    Demons and spirits are native to the Fade. They are neither good nor evil, but rather embody a single concept. Spirits are those that personify positive or neutral ideas like Faith, Compassion or Wisdom.

    Demons are those that personify negative emotions or concepts like Rage, Pride, Fear or Desire. Demons are drawn to the living world and seek to possess mages to experience reality, creating monstrous Abominations.

47. #47Abominations

    Keys: Abomination, Abominations

    An Abomination is the horrific result of a demon successfully possessing a person, usually a mage due to their closeness to The Fade. The demon seizes control of the human's body, twisting it into a monstrous new form. Abominations are incredibly powerful and violent, representing the greatest fear the Chantry and the common folk have regarding mages.

48. #48The Maker

    Keys: God, Maker, the maker, The Maker

    The Maker is the central deity of the Chantry faith. The Maker is a distant, unknowable god who is said to have created the world and the spirits within it. According to the Chant of Light, He turned His back on His creation when the ancient Tevinter magisters entered the Golden City, an act of supreme hubris that created the first darkspawn.

49. #49Andraste

    Keys: Andraste, The Maker's bride

    Andraste is the mortal prophet of the Maker and the most important figure in the Chantry religion. She was a slave who rose up to lead a rebellion against the Tevinter Imperium, inspired by visions from the Maker. She was eventually betrayed by her husband and burned at the stake. Her teachings, collected in the Chant of Light, form the foundation of the Chantry.

50. #50The Black City

    Keys: Black City

    The Black City is the legendary city that once hung in the center of the Fade, said to be the seat of the Maker. Chantry doctrine teaches that when the Tevinter Magisters physically entered the Fade, they trespassed upon this city, and their pride blackened it, turning it into a source of corruption. This act caused the Maker to abandon the world and created the first darkspawn. Its true nature remains unknown.

Showing 50 of 84

1 file

• .jsonjson_lorebookrebuilt

  89.4 KBfirst seen Apr 28, 202686a1e5ca0b9f5400

  Download