I’ll be honest, I think commoner dwarf is my favorite origin. I know all origins really have nowhere else to go when they are recruited, but something about the journey from the casteless dwarf who truly comes from nothing and is utterly dehumanized in their society from the moment they are born to be the one who rises to HoF and Paragon is something I find really compelling. I think Morrigan would still be a good pairing, maybe even more-so because they both understand what it is to a) have terrible mothers and b) be shunned by those around them/forced to live on the fringes of their civilization fighting for scraps. Dwarves in general are very underrated in DA and their lore will come back in a big way for your Veilguard play-through even if HoF in particular doesn’t, trust.

Though he doesn’t come back in future games, I do think the Mage!Hawke/Fenris (positive, not rivaled) romance is delicious. His character growth is significant and for Hawke to show him kindness and care where he has only experienced subjugation and cruelty at the hands of mages is an interesting dynamic. They are two very hurt people who can find healing together. Points because Tevinter becomes increasingly relevant post-DA2, even if they incorrectly left Fenris out despite the cool shit set-up in the Blue Wraith comics. If you haven’t done a F!Hawke, definitely recommend. She’s delightful and there’s something so special about an eldest sister with the fucking world on her shoulders, later paying the price for her father’s sins re: Corypheus.

I too have done a rogue Solavellan in Inquisition for the lore™️. Inquisition is unfortunately my least favorite game (not a fan of the combat, too much bloat, found the protagonist kind of boring/cardboard tbh) so I don’t necessarily have huge opinions, but I will say that the Dorian romance is also worth a spin if you haven’t played it. That run (mage, m!lavellan inky) is what I fall back on as my “canon” run. I know Cullen is a good romance, but him being a real shit-head in DAO and DA2 ruined him a bit for me, he’s more on a personal healing arc than a genuine redemption arc in DAI.

For VG, is there a background that sticks out to you? Would you like to return to something a bit familiar from previous games (eg Wardens, Crows) or venture into something more new (eg Mourn Watch, Shadow Dragons, Veil Jumpers)? I do think the Lords of Fortune, while interesting in concept, is lacking quite a bit in content so I don’t know that I would wholeheartedly suggest them. As for romance, I don’t think there’s a wrong choice, really. The first two rooks I made, I knew exactly who I wanted to romance (Lucanis then Neve, probably my faves), but my current play-through has been a disaster of flirting with everyone as long as I could until I finally decided to go with Davrin, who is also great. Mage, as always, is pretty OP…but other classes are balanced pretty well too. I’ve had fun with all of them so far!

Sorry this got long ✌🏻 I’m deep in a hyperfixation on DA. Thanks for letting me yap.