With the launch of Dragon Age: Inquisition, players were given a choice they'd never before been offered: a Qunari player character. With four background options to choose from, each option managed to put the player right in the middle of the action when the Temple of Sacred Ashes exploded and the Breach appeared in the sky.

When the character was thrust out of the Fade by what people believed to be Andraste herself, their memories of the events that landed them there were fractured, causing grave suspicion among the agents of Divine Justinia V as they rescued the unconscious victim. The gathering members of what would soon become the Inquisition took the victim back to their headquarters at Haven, where an apostate named Solas did everything in his power to stabilize the strange glowing mark embedded in their hand and heal them to gain answers.

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the Inquisitor closes a rift with green light

With the Divine killed in the explosion, the Chantry was in chaos as the mage/templar war raged through Thedas. What the future Inquisition needed was a hero, a herald who'd been gifted to them by the Maker's bride, to lead them through the chaos and close the demon-spilling tear that rent the sky. Regardless of the player's origins, the people of Thedas began to refer to them as the Herald of Andraste, as they were certain this herald was a sign of hope in what was sure to be a dark and troubled time. Oddly enough, it didn't matter to them nearly as much as it had in the past if the Herald was human, elven, dwarven or Qunari, male or female. All that seemed to matter was the power they so obviously held in the literal palm of their hand, for surely that power would save them all.

While the Inquisitor could choose from the standard classes offered in the franchise, like mage, rogue or warrior, the player character also had unique abilities that stemmed from the mark on their hand. The mark, known officially as the anchor, allowed the Inquisitor to manipulate the Fade, even if they were not a mage. This offered them opportunities to close Fade rifts discovered all across the land after defeating the demons spilling out of them. As the player evolved, they eventually gained a power called "Mark of the Rift" that allowed them to banish all demons in the area before the next wave emerged from the rift.

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Each race is granted a specific boon during character creation. For example, humans are given an extra ability point, while dwarves are granted 25% magic resistance. Like Hawke in Dragon Age 2, the Inquisitor was voiced; however, there were two voice options for each gender: an American accent and a Southern English accent. Each Inquisitor also had a default first and last name, and while the last name could not be changed due to occasional references by name in the game, the player could alter the first name to whatever they liked.

Inquisitor Trevelyan

Born of noble House Trevelyan in Ostwick, the Trevelyan family were deeply pious in their beliefs. Supporters of the Chantry and the templars. It was not uncommon for the youngest born child to be expected to devote their life to Chantry service, either as a templar or a lay brother or sister.

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In 9:41 Dragon, the Trevelyans attended the conclave at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, hoping to offer their support to the Chantry and see an end to the war between mages and templars. Among the attendees was Bann Trevelyan's youngest child. If a rogue or a warrior, they were in attendance with the family; however, a Trevelyan mage was there as part of the mage delegation from the Ostwick circle.

Inquisitor Lavellan

Clan Lavellan was a Dalish clan of the Free Marches. Their position put them at some distance from the war between the mages and the templars, but when word of the Chantry Conclave reached the clan's Keeper, she knew it could very well affect everyone in Thedas.

She sent spies to the Conclave to find out what was happening and how it would affect them. If the player character was a warrior or rogue, they attended as a hunter. The mage player character was the Keeper's First, attending in her place.

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After becoming Inquisitor, numerous War Table options could either aid and save Clan Lavellan or see them all but wiped out. There are also dialogue strands that discuss the unlikelihood of a Dalish elf being a herald for Andraste, given that the Dalish still worship the elven gods.

Inquisitor Cadash

The dwarven Inquisitor hailed from a powerful surface family known for their involvement in lyrium smuggling and organized crime. A member of the organization known as the Carta, they were exiled from Orzammar generations prior to the Dragon Age. However, the details about their exile were kept within the Shaperate. It was later discovered that their dark and ruthless methods for obtaining information about a war golem earned them exile.

When House Cadash heard of the Chantry Conclave at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, they sent spies to monitor the proceedings, knowing that whatever happened at the conclave would deeply impact the lyrium trade. After becoming Inquisitor, there are some dialogue options noting Cadash's ties to the Carta, indicating their criminal nature.

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Dragon Age: Origins companion Shale was also of House Cadash, and it's quite possible that the war golem they sought information about was Shale.

Inquisitor Adaar

For the first time since the launch of the franchise, players could choose to play as a Qunari character. A member of the Valo-kas mercenary company, Adaar was present at the Chantry Conclave because their company was hired as security.

Adaar was what is known among Qunari as Tal-Vashoth, one who turns their back on the Qun, though the character had never followed the Qun because their parents abandoned it before they were born. The player can be a rogue, warrior or mage, and if a mage, there are dialogue options with the Iron Bull about what they do with mages under the Qun.

After Corypheus was defeated, the Inquisition was forced to disband during the Exalted Council in the Trespasser DLC, as the nobles in power feared the organization was gaining too much power and their original purpose, defeating Corypheus and closing the Breach had been achieved. The Inquisitor was forced to sacrifice the anchor to their former companion, Solas, during the DLC, which resulted in the loss of their left arm. What happened to the Inquisitor afterward is impossible to say, but given the loss of their arm to the Dread Wolf, and the army he is surely rallying to his cause to tear down the Veil, one can almost guarantee the Inquisitor will appear again to either save a friend from his own hubris or defeat the foe who cost them their arm.

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