Dragon Age: Lore Immersion Checklist
🐉 Diving deeper into the world of Thedas.
When I first saw the news about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf (the original title before it became The Veilguard), I thought: “Why not revisit Dragon Age: Origins for a lore refresher before the new game drops?”
Hah! That ‘small side project’ quickly became bigger than the map of the Hinterlands this year! 🐉
Dragon Age lore is massive, way beyond the games. There are books, graphic novels, comics, shows, short stories, web series, compendiums & more.
Six months later, I was still knee-deep in the Fade. I’ve played all the games, read a handful of books & comics, watched some of the shows, & I’m still not done exploring everything this universe has to offer.
With such rich & expansive lore, I’ve split my posts into subseries. This first one is a quick introduction & summary checklist.
» Mini disclaimer: my knowledge of this universe is limited, so there may be some mistakes. I’ll update them over time, but feel free to explore or let me know!
🐉 Quick Summary Introduction.
Dragon Age was developed by the legendary studio BioWare, with its roots tracing back to around 2004. For most people, the journey into this universe begins with the games, before branching out into the wider expanded media.
Fans of Dragon Age often find themselves familiar with BioWare’s other franchises too, like Mass Effect, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, SWTOR, Baldur’s Gate & more.
Back then, it really felt like one big, nerdy family living under the same roof.
Dragon Age takes place in the high-fantasy world of Thedas, a continent shaped by ancient mysteries, political tension, & ongoing battles against dark forces.
Magic plays a major role in this world. Mages draw their power from a realm known as the Fade, & because of that, they are often feared & closely controlled by the religious & military institutions, such as the Chantry & its Templar enforcers.
Thedas is also home to many other groups & factions. There are the Grey Wardens, a legendary order created to fight darkspawn during catastrophic events known as the Blights. There are also elves, dwarves, Qunari & more, each bringing their own history, culture & perspective to the world.
🐉 Dragon Age Checklist (Simplified).
There isn’t a single standard way to experience Dragon Age, but for a starting point, most people would recommend Dragon Age: Origins, as it’s one of the games that kicked everything off.
From there, you can branch out into other games, books, & media. You could also start with Dragon Age: Inquisition & then backtrack, or watch gameplay cutscenes & lore recaps on YouTube: I’d recommend Ghil Dirthalen & Jackdaw for their in-depth content.
Since a few people have asked about my own lore journey, I decided to create the checklist below. While this list is mainly for my own reference, I hope it’ll be helpful for newcomers, for those looking to refresh their knowledge, or anyone wanting to dive a little deeper into the universe.
Dragon Age timeline can be pretty complex. You can check out a summary here or dive into some spoiler snippets here. For simplicity, I made this list a streamlined version — not exhaustive, but it covers most of the key lore.
Legends:
📚 Books/Novels
📘 Comics/Graphic Novels/Short Stories
📺 Shows/Anime/Webseries/Podcasts
🎮 Games (including dlcs)
(note: all purple text are clickable links)
📚 DA: The World of Thedas (Vol.1 & Vol.2) — This is a separate compendium books, I highly recommend as a lore supplement in between.
🐉 Prequels to Fifth Blight (Timeline: 8:66 Blessed - 9:22 Dragon)
📺 DA: Dawn of the Seeker (anime)
📺 DA: Warden’s Fall (5 parts)
🐉 Major Fifth Blight & Aftermath (Timeline: 9:30 Dragon - 9:38 Dragon)
dlc: Leliana’s Song
dlc: The Stone Prisoner
dlc: The Warden’s Keep
dlc: Return to Ostagar
dlc: DA - Awakening
dlc: Golems of Amgarrak
dlc: Witch Hunt
dlc: The Darkspawn Chronicles (optional, alternate what-ifs)
📺 DA: Redemption (6 episodes)
dlc: The Exiled Prince (in DA2)
dlc: Marks of the Assassin
dlc: Legacy
*Recently published in one book from Dark Horse — DA: The First Five Graphic Novels.
🐉 The Inquisition (Timeline: 9:40 Dragon - 9:44 Dragon)
dlc: The Descent
dlc: Jaws of Hakkon
dlc: Trespasser
📺 DA: Absolution (netflix)
📘 DA: Deception**
📘 DA: Blue Wraith**
**Recently published in one book from Dark Horse — Dark Horse DA: Wraiths of Tevinter.
🐉 Post-Inquisition & The Veilguard (Timeline: 9:52 Dragon)
📚 DA: Tevinter Nights (mix anthology)
🎮 DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD (newly released in Fall 2024)
Side Note: You can also check out other Dragon Age Release List or the more detailed The Archivist List if you’re curious. For items below, in my opinion, they can be enjoyed separately:
DA: Tabletop RPG
DA: Companion short stories
DA: IDW, Penny Arcade, The Revelation web comics
That wraps up my first introductory Dragon Age post. Hope you found it useful! I usually share updates & thoughts on my Instagram, feel free to take a look.
Ma serannas, may the Maker bless you.. ~figu. 🐉