Romantic Entanglements--Dragon Age: Inquisition

Must...make...it...to...Valentine's Day.  Continuing my thoughts and opinions on romantic options in BioWare games we progress onward to the newest incarnation in the Dragon Age series--Dragon Age:  Inquisition.

Inquisition reverted back to character creation options similar to those in Origins--your character can be a member of one of four different races--human, elf, dwarf, or qunari.  I am on my second playthrough with a dwarf as inquisitor and have also played as an elf.  Since I don't have numerous playthroughs under my belt I am simply going to analyze my decisions as I've made them and how I feel about specific characters within the game.

Cassandra.  Tough lady who loves romance novels.

Let's start off with your original party--you are initially paired up with Cassandra Pentaghast.  Cassandra comes off as a really tough lady.  She's a Seeker and also the Right Hand of the Divine so her personality is hard and highly wrapped up in the religious beliefs of the Chantry.  To some, Cassandra might seem slightly off-putting.  As you talk with her you get to know more about her background as a very distant member of the Nevarran royal family and dragon-slaying hero protector of Orlais.  If you talk to her enough you also realize that she's not all steel but also has a softer side.  She enjoys reading Varric's romance novels and begs the inquisitor to make Varric finish writing them.  I've been really surprised to read that many male players choose Cassandra as their romantic option and even describe her as "hot."  I would be more prone to believe that they would choose a slightly more feminine character, someone like Sera or Josephine.  I like Cassandra as a character and am already plotting a male character to be her counterpart--pious and tough.

As you fight through the opening sequence you run into Varric and Solas.  Sadly, Varric is still not presented as a romanceable option.  (I love me some Varric--why, BioWare?)  You do find out more about his own romantic past later in the game when you meet the namesake of his crossbow.

Solas is such a strange character.  I opted to pair him up with my first character--an elf mage, but even then I found him to be odd.  He doesn't really identify with the elves and is obsessed with exploring the fade.  There are some cute moments if you do choose Solas, he will take your inquisitor into the fade and they share some intimate moments, but in the end it turns out poorly (that's all I'm going to say--if you really want to know you should romance him--it's a bummer).  There's something kind of cute about his bald head.  You can only choose Solas if you are a lady-elf.  I like that they narrowed down the preferences of the members of the inquisition--it seems more realistic.

But what about your loyal advisers?  Let's just get it out of the way that Cullen is the equivalent of Kaidan or Jacob from Mass Effect.  He's not that exciting, but he is smokin' hot.  He's very serious but there are some great lighter moments with him.  He is only an option for female human or elven inquisitors.  No dwarf love?  Josephine is also an option for male and female inquisitors.  I like Josephine even with her interest in the the complicated political scene of Thedas.  She's serious but gives off a sense of fun.

Both male and female inquisitors can opt for romances with Iron Bull and Sera.  I have enjoyed listening to Iron Bull's blunt commentary on the qun.  You get a much more detailed understanding of what life is like for the qunari.  He's also pretty funny which seems suprising for a qunari.  I have been maneuvering my current dwarf inquisitor into a relationship with Iron Bull and am curious to see how that turns out.  To me Sera is an odd romantic choice.  Her sense of humor seems immature and she doesn't take anything seriously.  She is more of a fun character but I'm not really sure how I'd pair her up.

Cool mustache bro.

Blackwall and Dorian are also possible romantic options.  Blackwall is another character who I'm not wild about.  He has an interesting backstory that you learn about much later in the game.  Like Cassandra, he's a serious character who doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor but does have a strong sense of duty.  He's not one of my top choices.  Dorian is a much more interesting choice for the male inquisitors.  His backstory is very compelling--he's a Tevinter mage who has fled from his home and family for a variety or reasons (one of them being his own romantic preferences) and who is openly opposing his own people.  He's funny and has a cool mustache.  Why wouldn't you want to choose Dorian?