The world of Thedas, as depicted in Bioware's fantasy series Dragon Age, is one that has a political plot or intense character drama for every magical catastrophe in its storied history. As a setting, it takes the implications of its world-building and characters seriously and the moral greyness that accompanies this has led to some of the most memorable antagonists in gaming history.
While this approach can often leave fans feeling sympathy for a villain, Dragon Age treads a fine line between understandable villains and irredeemable monsters that makes that style of redemption much harder to earn. While Dragon Age has its fair share of out-and-out bad guys, there is also no shortage of villains that are simply trying to do what they believe is best for themselves, their people, or even the world.
10 Knight-Commander Meredith Is Rightfully Wary Of Magic
The Templar order is a complicated subject at the best of times, and Dragon Age 2 saw a villain in the form of Kirkwall's Templar leader Meredith. Meredith lost her entire family to a demon when her mage sister turned to blood magic in an attempt to escape Templar control.
Since then Meredith has viewed all magic as a curse, and feels completely justified in any draconian measure she must take to ensure people are safe from the mages of Kirkwall, even if it means treating them like second-class citizens and denying them basic rights. Seeing the effects of blood magic again and again through the series it is hard to argue that she doesn't have good reason for thinking her actions are best for everyone.
9 First Enchanter Orsino Is Backed Into A Corner
Orsino is and elf and a mage living in the city of Kirkwall, which means that he is at the very bottom of the social totem pole in Dragon Age 2. As such his goal to see his fellow Kirkwall mages given basic freedoms and respect is a noble one. Sadly, the constant pushback and harsh restrictions handed down by the Templars lead him down an all too common road for people in his position.
Out of fear of rising tensions, and with his back against the wall, he turns to blood magic and becomes the very thing the templars always feared. But it is hard not to sympathize with the man given the situation he was in, and it stands to reason that if the Templars were a little less militant maybe things would have never needed to go so far.
8 Magister Gereon Alexius Just Wants To Save His Son
Alexius is a Tevinter Magister who is conscripting mages against their will in Dragon Age: Inquisition. At first it seems that he is doing so merely because he is power hungry, but as most things in Dragon Age it is more complicated than that.
Alexius is building an army to help the Elder One rebuild Tevinter and trying to save his son from a magical wasting disease known as Blight Sickness. His methods may be cruel but his motivations, if not noble, are at least understandable.
7 Raleigh Samson Has Good Reasons To Hate The Chantry
Samson is a former Templar and is the second in command to Corypheus, the main villain of Dragon Age: Inquisition. Samson has convinced many survivors of the Mage-Templar war to serve him in his war to overthrow the corrupt Chantry.
Samson is complicit in or an active participant to many of Corypheus' crimes, yet he does all of this in service of taking vengeance on the Chantry. While vengeance is not the purest form of motivation it is hard to blame Samson for hating the Chantry for its policy of getting Templars addicted to lyrium so they can be easily controlled.
6 Anders/Justice Is Right About How Mages Are Treated
Anders is a former member of the Ferelden Circle of Mages who has caused trouble for most of his life. In his youth he would routinely attempt to escape his confinement only to be recaptured again and again. Eventually he escaped during the events of Dragon Age: Origins and was not recaptured. He also winds up partially possessed by a spirit of Justice that compels him to become more and more militant against his former prison guards.
His descent into zealous freedom fighter climaxes in him blowing up the Kirkwall Chantry towards the end of Dragon Age 2. Despite his disregard for the rules and his sometimes-extreme actions Anders is not a bad person in his heart. He joins the Grey Wardens to help people in need during the events of Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening and feels deep sadness over the actions he feels he must take to show people the injustices mages face. He can also be a stalwart ally or even a lover during the events of Dragon Age 2.
5 Jowan Is Just Trying To Survive
Jowan is a mage at Ferelden's mages tower and is even a companion during the Mage Origin in Dragon Age: Origins. He is also a blood mage and the man who poisoned the Arl of Redcliffe.
Despite these crimes he was largely forced into by circumstance he also is willing to perform a powerful and dangerous ritual to save a young mage boy from being possessed by a demon. Jowan may not be a hero but he certainly could have been in a kinder world.
4 Witherfang/Lady of the Forest Just Wants An End To The Bloodshed
Centuries before the events of Dragon Age: Origins an elf named Zathrian bound the Lady of the Forest to the great wolf Witherfang to take vengeance on the humans that ruined his life. This resulted in many people being cursed by lycanthropy and becoming werewolves.
When Zathrian asks the Grey Warden to destroy the werewolves and their leader they find out that those who wronged Zathrian have been long dead and those that live in the forest of Brecillian now just want to end the curse and be at peace. The great wolf is revealed to be nothing but a tired victim of old magic who just wants to put an end to the cycle of violence.
3 The Arishok Is Right About Kirkwall's Corruption
The Arishok is the leader of the Qunari that find themselves stranded in Kirkwall during the events of Dragon Age 2. The Arishok is hard to pin down, but he clearly has a code and hates corruption. He embodies the Qun, the rigid philosophy to which all members of the Qunari people are bound.
While this philosophy can make him act severely it also has its merits. The troubles in Kirkwall do not get better when the Arishok is gone and it is worth questioning just what is so bad about the Qun. Had the Arishok taken over Kirkwall like he wanted it may have been better for everyone.
2 Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir Feared Orlais More Than The Blight
In the final moments of the first act of Dragon Age: Origins an entire generation of RPG players found a new favorite villain to hate in Teyrn Loghain. Loghain abandons his own king to die in a hopeless battle against the darkspawn just for the sake of his own power, or at least that is how it appears. The truth of the matter is that Loghain made the choices he did out of fear.
After spending his youth at war with the neighboring kingdom of Orlais, this Ferelden noble could not see the darkspawn as the primary threat. He tried to counsel the king against trusting outsiders, and against being in the front lines of battle, all to no avail. In the end Loghain did what he did in an effort to save his people from destruction, not out of a desire for personal gain.
1 Flemeth Is More Than Just An Immortal Witch
Without a doubt one of the most iconic villains of the Dragon Age series is Flemeth. In the first game Morrigan, one of Flemeth's daughters believes she is an immortal who raises daughters just to steal their bodies and live forever. Later in the series it is revealed that Flemeth is actually the willing host of the Goddess Mythal the Protector and that she would never take a body that was unwilling.
The witch of the wilds appears in all three main entries in the series and has her motivations firmly shrouded in mystery even to this day. But the revelations at the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition imply she is on the side of good.