The new focus on a powerless protagonist doesn’t mean that Dragon Age 4 won’t include the Inquisition at all, however. Though players had the opportunity to disband the Inquisition in Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC, there are still plenty of ways the Inquisition and the Inquisitor will likely be involved in the plot of the upcoming game.

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The Events Of Trespasser

At the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC the Inquisitor lost the arm which had the Anchor in it, and had the opportunity to disband the Inquisition or to have it serve under the Chantry’s Divine Victoria. In the case that the Inquisition continues to exist, its role in Dragon Age 4 seems far more clear.

Dragon Age 4 is confirmed to take place in the Tevinter Imperium, which has its own Imperial Chantry under its own Divine. Nonetheless, if the Inquisition continues to exist after the events of Trespasser, it is likely that players will encounter agents of the Inquisition operating in the northern part of Thedas.

If the Inquisition was disbanded, the effect of some of the Inquisitor’s biggest decisions will still likely be felt. Whether the Inquisition sided with the Circle of Magi or the Templars will almost certainly have had a huge impact on the Tevinter Imperium, where magic is legal and mages like Inquisition’s Dorian Pavus serve in government as Magisters.

The Inquisitor will still likely have a powerful presence in Thedas as well. Just as Dragon Age 2’s protagonist Hawke returned in Inquisition, it seems likely that the Inquisitor will appear as an NPC in Dragon Age 4. It’s hard to imagine that the Inquisitor will leave hunting down Solas to someone else, especially a female Elven Inquisitor who could have romanced Solas in the last game. Indeed, many Dragon Age fans will be wondering how the next game will find a way to connect Solas and the new protagonist considering how personal his betrayal was in the last game.

The Dragon Age 4 trailer which premiered at the Game Awards 2020 already established the return of fan-favorite companion Varric Tethras, which again makes the Inquisitor’s return as an NPC seem likely as well. Whether or not the character actually returns as the official leader of the Inquisition will naturally depend on the player’s choices in Trespasser.

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Echoes Of The Inquisition

There are other hanging plot-threads linked to the Inquisition which will also likely make the organization’s presence felt in Dragon Age 4. The series has been hinting at one key reveal for a long time. The Executors are a mysterious group who speaks on behalf of “powers across the sea.” In Inquisition, markings left by the Executors begin appearing at Inquisition outposts across Thedas. This leads to a decision where the player can either listen to Leliana, who wants to investigate, or Cullen, who believes it’s a waste of time.

If the player listens to Cullen, three Inquisition outposts on the border with Nevarra are found abandoned with no sign of struggle. The Inquisitor receives this mysterious note from the Executors:

“We hold your Inquisition in high esteem. Thedas’ present troubles are great, but you have the strength to meet and conquer them. More will come. We prepare for the day and hold vigil. Do not look for your men; do not mourn them. They have given themselves of their own free will to a higher cause.

On behalf of powers across the sea,

The Executors”

Though the Inquisition itself could be disbanded by the time of Dragon Age 4, the fate of these missing Inquisition agents is heavily tied to the Executors. Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights also hinted that the mystery of the Executors may finally be solved in the next game. At a meeting of Thedas’ top spies, a hooded Executor appears, and is described as having a voice which seems to lack both age and gender.

If Dragon Age 4 reveals more about the Executors it will also likely reveal what happened to these missing Inquisition agents, who may not even know that the Inquisition disbanded. If nothing else, the Inquisition is likely to be heavily referenced throughout Dragon Age 4 as the game develops plot-threads which began in Inquisition and involved characters from that organization.

The Future Of The Inquisition

Even if the Inquisition disbanded, it’s likely that the major political forces across Thedas, including the Tevinter Imperium, will take note of just how many former members of the Inquisition hold important political positions by the time Dragon Age 4 takes place. The Divine Victoria, whether its Leliana, Cassandra, or Vivienne, is always a former member of the Inquisition. It is revealed in Trespasser that Varric was elected the viscount of Kirkwall, and that Dorian is now a Magister attempting reform within Tevinter’s rigid societal hierarchy.

The dissolution of the Inquisition will likely have done little to dissuade concerns that many of Thedas’ leaders and even the Dread Wolf himself are connected through their former membership of the organization. If the Inquisition still exists, the fact that the Andrastian Chantry now effectively has a massive continent-spanning military wing will likely not go unnoticed either.

The presence of the Inquisition or its former members throughout Thedas could be a great way for the writers of Dragon Age 4 to create contrast between the new protagonist and the Inquisitor. While the Inquisitor commanded a whole organization, the presence or echoes of the Inquisition in Dragon Age 4 could be a constant reminder of the player’s lack of power and their outsider status. While it seems unlikely that the Inquisition as a whole will be central to the next game’s plot after the final decision of Trespasser, it seems equally likely that the Inquisition will  have some role to play in Dragon Age 4.

Dragon Age 4 is in development.

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