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[DanielR]

Dear Bioware Team,

 

I recently finished Dragon Age Inquisition and would like to give you a feedback on my experience.

Let me start by thanking you for the great amount of content, the game offers. While playing Dragon Age Origins and Awakening on PC, for Inquisition I switched to the german PS4 version. I tried to play Dragon Age 2 beforehand but wasn`t able to finish it.

 

Just like in books or movies I am looking for certain things in a game, especially if it`s a RPG.

1. A vivid atmosphere

2. A quality story

3. Interesting caracters

 

If I get that, I am more than willing to lower my sights on graphics and handling. To give you an idea of my taste, here are some games I really liked: Game of Thrones by Cyanide, Mass Effect trilogy, witcher series. And some I can`t stand: Everything Bethesda did and Dragon Age Inquisition. In about 110 hours DAI gave me only one single „goosebump-moment“ (when mother Giselle startet singing the Dawn will come), one exciting quest (in your heart shall burn) and one area with continuously great atmosphere (Chateau d´Onterre in the Emerald Graves). That`s simply not good enough. From my point of view you failed your core competence: Rich stories and unforgettable characters, and as a fan of your work in BG, DAO, ME, KOTOR and to some extent in SWTOR, Inquisition left me really disappointed.

 

To give you a more detailed review, I will take a closer look on 1) handling 2) graphics

3) atmosphere and 4) story, naming the things I perceived as positive or negative. And since it is easy to criticise, let me finish by showing you how I would change the story to improve it.

 

Handling

 

positive:

1. The character creator gives you a lot of possibilities

2. I liked the crafting

3. The war council. Especially the combination of ingame events and war table missions

4. Skyhold and its variety of options to personalize it (although it should have included a secret passage and the rebuilding efforts should have taken more time)

negative:

1. Combat system. Give us either a real action oriented system with active parry and dodging or true tactical combat like you did in Origins. I´d say the tactical approach is a better fit for a party based Rpg, but ultimately that doesn`t matter. Just don`t half-ass it. I don`t want a Diablo-like button mashing game, where it is enough to hold one button and the closest thing to tactical significance are some combos.

2. The Mmo – ish character classes. Warriors as tanks, rouges as damage dealers, mages as support. It needlessly limits the character development. The restriction of certain gear for certain classes makes no sense either. Why shouldn´t a warrior be able to use two weapons, a dagger or a bow. Why shouldn`t he be able to wear light armor?

   On a side note: A second set of weapons would have been nice.

3. I guess it`s a console issue, but only beeing able to use 8 abilities although you have learnd more kind of sucks.

 

Graphics

 

positive:

1. Overall good graphics

2. Amazing dragons

3. Excellent level design (except Val Royeaux)

negative:

1. Most weapons have wrong proportions. The hilts are too long, the blades are too big. Some weapons – like the „Sweetish Fingers“ - are downright ridiculous.

2. I don`t like the combat animations at all. The standard warrior- or rogue attack is fine (except the arrowless machine-gun-bow), but their special abilities? Good fantasy is always believable. A standing backflip followed by shooting several arrows at once while still beeing in motion is not. And how am I to believe that a warrior who is so strong, his strikes make the earth tremble won´t automatically cut every old bandit who comes along in half?

   With the mages it´s the other way around. Their special abilities look gorgeous, but when it comes to their standard attack I`d say a staff wielding Kung-Fu-Mage lacks some dignity.

3. Battles tend to be frantic and confusing. When every member of the party uses some special ability, the whole battleground is glowing in various colours, shaking and explosions cover every other sound.

4. Within a certain class of enemys there is no variety. Mages look the same as do demons.

 

Atmosphere

 

negative:

1. You might have guessed that I prefer low Fantasy. But as noted before, good Fantasy always needs to be somewhat realistic. You need familiar stuff to dive into the world. Some guy who hits the ground with his axe and causes lava to break free no matter where he stands, is unrealistic beyond all measure and therefore hurts the atmosphere.

2. Almost no NPC has got a daily routine, which causes the scenery to be very static. You don`t get the feeling, the world around you is alive, so ultimately what does it matter if those peasants die? If my memory serves me right, this has always been an issue with Bioware games. Well it`s 2015 now and there are various other games that set a higher standard already.

3. There are close to no ingame reactions to the supposed murderer of the Divine and future saviour. You don`t transfer the atmosphere some cutscenes create to the actual game.

4. Most dialog is flat and sounds put on. True emotions are very rare and if you make use of them like you did in the quarrel between Cassandra and Varric, you don´t savour the moment but rather finish it off too quickly. In addition to that, the german speakers seem to read off instead of playing a role.

5. You hardly get any connection with your character, because the prologue is rushed. There`s no information on where he comes from and what has moulded his personality so far. In addition, the possibilities of developing your character over the course of the game, the possibilities of playing a role, are very limited. While you even had the chance to beat up a reporter in ME, in Inquisition every dialog option more or less seems to have the same result, and what`s even worse, no significant impact on group dynamics.

6. So you don`t get the possibility of playing a badass egomaniac. That`s fine. But you don`t get to feel very heroic either, because the game fails to portray true misery and despair. In general, the things you experience ingame don`t fit the story that is beeing told. In a world torn apart by chaos and war, where people dwell in misery and fear, the scenery and especially those miserable people are too neat and tidy.

7. The use of codex entrys to create atmosphere. Why do I have to read the diary of a hunter where he describes an attempted rape, instead of portraying a disappointed and broken man who turned his back on the world, neglecting his responsibility of providing food for his people? When it comes to atmosphere, experiencing something always trumps reading about it.

8. Open world. Why is everyone getting excited about open world games? Apart from the Gothic series, I can`t remember playing an open world concept, that didn`t sabotage the story. Especially when it comes to stopping the evil overlord from destroying the world. Frodo went straight to Mount Doom and didn`t turn around to become a Vampire-Masterthief of the Assassinsguild in wherever the sun doesn`t shine, just because vampires are cool. It would have made him an egomaniac or a moron, as it makes my character, the so called Herald of Andraste, implausible when he doesn`t save the empress at once but chooses to exermine some far away temple in the desert instead.

9. And to stick with the example: The evil overlord strives to kill empress Celene to spread chaos, but instead of rushing to her aid I am free to travel from one end of the map to the other. Visit some temple (that has nothing to do with the story). Examine some shards (that have nothing to do with the story). And after that week to month long travel, Celene is still alive. Where`s consequence, where`s logic?

   In my opinion there are only two reasonable approaches to an open world game. Either you go without the overwhelming end-of-the-world-arch, or you build in sandbox-areas at the right time.

10. The romance is a joke. I`ve chosen Cassandra, the one who is hard on the outside, but carries a soft spot in her heart. The one who puts duty above everything else. And I got in her pants by bringing her candles, flowers and a poem – once. Try that in real life. And there is no followup after you get together. No questions if you are able to put the mission above her life when necessary, no doubts that you can stay together, when she is considered to become the new Divine.

11. The dragon-fights. Ok, the dragons are probably the best animated dragons I´ve ever seen in a game and the fight in the Hinterlands is beautifully choreographed, but I don´t think four people should be enough to kill a dragon, let alone a good dozen of them. It takes away from their fascination and danger. By the time I confronted Corypheus`dragon, I had already slain ten of them, so he didn`t put up any challenge. And is a lack of excitement really the atmosphere you want to establish in your final confrontation? And if you insist on your pile of dragons, why has every encounter to be the same? There is no variety, except maybe the different types of resistances one has to care about. Why can`t we weaken one dragon by poisoning a herd of cattle, why can`t we attack another with an army? Why can`t we curse one`s hoard and bury another one under a landslide? And why does every dragon stay, untill it`s dead? Don´t they have wings?

     

Story

 

negative:

1. Standard saviour of the world story. ME proves that it can work, but why has it always to be an end of the world type scenario? In DAO we had to slay an archdemon, now it`s and ancient Tevinter Magister trying to become a god. The next title is probably about batteling old elven gods returning to power. What`s next? Eventually you will run out of exciting challenges. And deeds that are worthy of dedicating an own game to them, like ending the civil war and reestablishing order in the most powerfull realm in Thedas are dispatched when passing by.

2. Again, the things you experience ingame don´t fit the story that is beeing told. You are telling the story of a person who goes from beeing the most hated criminal of the continent to a symbol of hope and over the course of the game developes into the leader of an organisation, that tries to reestablish order in a world of chaos. Yet the game rushes trough important and defining parts of the story. Less than one hour into the game, the supposed murderer gets handed a weapon and is trusted with a decision that affects the live of several good soldiers. Concerning the depiction as a symbol of hope, the quest „in your heart shall burn“ does a good job, but the closing of the Breach as well as the identity-establishing march to Skyhold are dealt with in a cutscene.

3. Many side quests don´t fit the story. I am the leader of the Inquisition, right? So why do I have to fetch cough syrup for some pesants wife? Why do I have to hunt rams, collect resources, occupy stone pits, deal with bandits and so on? What are all my „subjects“ for? There must be something more important worthy of my attention, right? Maybe the evil overlord trying to become a god and drowning everything in darkness.

4. No consequences. Yes, you can decide if you want to side with the mages or templars, who is to drink from the Well of Sorrows and who is to become emperor of Orlais. But none of these decisions have a noticable impact on the world. I supported Celene, but wouldn´t the Grand Duke be a better fit, considering that it is war and he is a proven commander? Doesn´t matter, because at no time the actual military clout of my army is of any importance. I sided with the mages, but did it alienate the common folk or cause any kind of uprising, because the common folk is oh so fearfull of magic? No. Did it matter that I turned down an alliance with the Qunari for the lives of some sellswords? Nope.

5. Numerous logic errors. A cult in the Hinterlands wants me to seal a fade rift in order to prove that I am truly the Herald of Andraste.However, the rift is located in the same ruin, the cult is living in. Why is everybody still alive? In Emprise du Leon you have three neighboring dragons. I always considered dragons to be loners with a very distinct territorial behaviour, but if they are indeed bff`s and get along well, why can you kill one by one without the others intervening? In the middle of the desert a woman is searching for her ring, she herself has thrown into a cave. You can have a horserace in an area with two fade rifts and some demonic wolves. And last but not least, would the Inquisition really endanger the life of the only person able to seal fade rifts, by letting him run around and solving everyones problem?

6. Companions and other NPCs are boring, one-dimensional and disposable. First off, because

   there is no group dynamics. No quarrel (except a glimpse of it between Varric and Cassandra), no distrust, no love, no true friendship, no betrayal, no sacrifice, no nothing. Second off, because no one undergoes a real development. And if you present an interesting approach, like the revelation of Blackwalls true identity, you discard it without consequences. The murdered aristocrats could have been friends with Vivienne, who now demands reparation or starts plotting for vengance, if the player chooses to reprieve Blackwall. Third off, because you only travel with three companions. Instead of contributing to the game, the others stay at home and fade into insignificance. Why are there no quests where you can play as one of your companions?

7. You managed to screw up Alistair and Morrigan. After ten years as king of Ferelden, Alistair still comes across as a whiny jokester. As for Morrigan, to me she has lost much of her flair. I would have liked her to be more manipulative and independent. Instead she seems to be quite tame. If the Well of Sorrows is that important to her, why does she step aside and let the Inquisitor drink from it? The possibilities of a Leliana and Morrigan reunion are completely wasted. Hearing Leliana talk about her, you don´t get the impression that these two have history together, let alone defeated an archdemon.

8. Corypheus is a dreary and vague antagonist. Throughout great portions of the game, neither he, nor his plans are present. On top of that, his actions make no sense. How could he seriously believe in becoming a god through entering the fade, or the Black City for that matter? He did it before and didn`t become one. As a god, what does he need an army for? Why does he need to kill Celene to spread chaos, when there is already turmoil because of the civil war? Wouldn´t eliminating one pretender to the throne result in establishing the other one as emperor and sooner or later in ending the war? If Corypheus perceives the Inquisitor as a rival, why doesn`t he try to kill him? Why doesn`t he attack Skyhold? Considering the many guests visiting the Inquisitions headquarters, it`s location can´t be a well hidden secret. Plus he has a dragon. Speaking of the dragon, why did Corypheus anchor his power of reincarnation into a creature that can be killed and takes it to the battlefield? And if he wins by entering the fade, why doesn´t he sit down on his dragon and flys his numbskull over to the Breach? That is how you enter, right? Or do you need the Inquisitors mark to do so? Then how come the Inquisitors companions entered the fade with him when they all fell from Adamants walls?

9. The ending is flat out bad. Bioware took a lot of criticism for ME3s ending, but instead of better, it has only gotten worse. Instead of giving us an ending like DAO or ME2, the allies you make during the game don´t matter again. We don´t even get to see our army in a cutscene. And to crown the insignificance of your companions, only the three party members you happen to walk around with, play a part in the ending.

 

Summary

In my opinion, Inquisition is a huge step back when it comes to storrytelling and showcasing interesting characters. Yes, you did an excellent job with the level design, but looks don´t make an RPG. It´s the characters that bring you in, the story that takes you along and the athmosphere that makes you forget you are actually playing a game. In that sense, Inquisition reminds me somewhat of the Hobbit-Trilogy: Nice to look at with a few moments but no heart and no soul. What pains me most, is knowing that you can do much better. So what has happened? I simply refuse to believe that the same Bioware I have come to know and love thinks this game can hold a candle to Origins or even Mass Effect for that matter. I`ve recently red a comment by EA, that Inquisition is your biggest financial success so far – and I`m happy to hear that. I wish you all the success in the world, but you don´t need to dumb down your products in order to make money. Look at GoT: Far better story, far better written characters and still a huge draw. Saying this, I sincerely offer you my assistance for any future projects and to prove I am capable of supporting you, here`s

 

What I would do to improve the story

1. Corypheus is so poorly portrayed, I would make him the puppet of another villan. Let the nightmare demon be the puppet master, who convinced him that he could become a god by entering the fade. The demon himself strives to leave his realm, because he is no longer satisfied with the distant echo of fear he gets to experience in the fade. He wants to taste real terror while walking the earth. Since he deserves a powerful vessel to carry him around, he chooses Corypheus, who instead of becoming a god by entering the fade would only present himself to the demon on a silver plattern. After he occupies Corypheus body, he wants to spread terror with his demon army, raised by the former Tevinter Magister.

2. A more detailed and personal Prologue like we had in DAO. This way we get to know a little more about our background and why we attend the conclave. Introduction of a confidant (relative, mentor, squire) who accompanies the protagonist to the conclave and is nowhere to be found after the explosion, resulting in a personal bond to the story. The missing confidant can later be acquired as a companion. Blackwall could be a fit.

3. Deepen the criminal-theme. After closing the first rift, the character stays a prisoner of the newly founded Inquisition. While his mark gets examined, he is also used as a tool to seal smaller rifts in the area (an area, where mages and templars are at each others throats). In doing so he is able to redeem himself from the suspiction of beeing the murderer. At least little by little. In the dungeons he can become friends with a later companion like Varric or Solas, to further his connection to the story. Let Leliana or chancellor Roderick be the driving force behind the incarceration. To avoid the irreversible direction of negative feelings towards the later counsellors, each of them can seek talks with the protagonist, ending with him beeing brought into the war council. Haven can be explored in the company of Inquisition guards. Build in small scenes with the inhabitants, to establish a personal bond to the town. The more rifts are sealed, the more refugees seek shelter in Haven. Illustrate the bad supply situation and the need of a new home that is able to accomodate the rising number of inhabitants. The name Skyhold should be tossed around already.

4. A first try to seal the Breach by the Inquisition alone. The mission fails horribly and the protagonist is the one to save the day – or the remnants of the Inquisitions forces including some of the leaders. In the aftermath of the defeat, a factional dispute between conservatives and reformers evolves. The reformers led by Cassandra and the other council members come out on top and start a new policy. The need of gaining new allies and investigating the nature of the Breach become focal concerns. The status of the protagonist changes from a prisoner to a member of the Inquisition, which is why the conservatives headed by Roderick leave Haven to reunite with the Chantry. Do you let them go or do you decide to murder them, in order to avoid anti-Inquisition propaganda to be spread?

5. Many soldiers died during the attempt on sealing the Breach. Others left with Roderick. The supply situation has gotten worse and some refugees start rioting. The Inquisition has to consolidate itself and stop criminal subjects from taking advantage of its weakness. Here`s an opportunity to introduce a later companion like Sera. However, Haven should be upgraded and personalised as well.

6. Demonic temptation. Through the protagonists constant connection with the fade, he is open to demonic insinuation (by the nightmare demon). Start with vague visions and develop them into nightmares and actual temptations over the course of the game. Reward evil deeds with unlocking powerfull abilities of the anchor, but punish them with appropriate companion reactions. Give the player the possibility and a reason to play a darker Inquisitor. And build in an internal struggle. Can a simple man bare the weight of beeing a symbol of hope for thousands and is he willing to pay the price.

7. Corypheus henchmen. So Corypheus knows what happened at the conclave and he wants his anchor back. Consequently his henchmen try to abduct the protagonist.

8. In search of allies, the Inquisition turns to Orlais. Planning to appease the chantry and to strike a deal with Celene about gold, supplies, land grant, etc., the party travels to Val Royeaux. On the way, the repercussions of the civil war become self-evident.

9. In the capital, you deal with a disoriented and quarreling church and finally break away from the chantry, proclaming the Inquisition as an independent force. Witness the exodus of the templars.

10. Start the quest „Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts“ here. But instead of centering it around Venatori activities, let it be about the two warring parties scheming against each other. The goal is not to rescue Celene and unite Orlais, in fact the player should not even come all that close to the empress or her cousin. The goal is to leave the player pissed off about these aristocrats, who much rather play the game than deal with something more important like the Breach. Depending on his reputation level, the player can gain some advantages for his organisation. For the exciting/action portion of the quest, you can use a religious fanatic who is trying to harm the Inquisition. The Winter Palace is still a good place to introduce Morrigan, and you can easily integrate Vivienne too.

11. Since visiting Val Royeaux hasn`t been all that successfull, the search for allies continues. Now the player is to decide whether he wants to side with the templars or the mages (Champions of the Just or In Hushed Whispers).

12. The second attempt on sealing the Breach is successfull and can be shown in a cutscene.

13. In your Heart shall Burn. Corypheus destroys Haven, but this time he has no dragon. Let him explicitly target the upgrades to the town, enslave some beloved NPCs and kill one of the companions. I`d say Varric is the best choice. A villain who threatens you personally, takes away your toys and kills those closest to you, drags you much deeper into the story than an abstract Destroyer of Worlds. Position the protagonist as a hero and leader.

14. Make the search for and march to Skyhold a quest. Shine a light on the companions and how they deal with the situation. Let the protagonist stand out and establish him as the sole leader and only one who is able to bind the remaining forces together. On the march the party needs to scout, hunt for food, survive the cold, or storms, or avalanches, defend itself against wild animals or Corypheus henchmen, who are on their heels, and so on and so forth.

15. The ruins of Skyhold are occupied by a high dragon. This way you incorporate a dragon into the story and give it a purpouse instead of wasting it`s potential as a pretty but useless boss battle. It is the only dragon in the game and you don`t kill it. You expel it, to unlock a dragon-hunting-quest later on.

16. With the treasure from the dragons lair, the Inquisition can start to rebuild Skyhold, but since it is also in need of supplies and new recruits, scouts and ambassadors need to be send out. So you open up some Sandbox areas, where the player can establish contact with lokal rulers, protect trade routes, hunt down wolfpacks, find smugglers`nests, topple warlords, defend villages from marauding deserters, exorcise strolling demons, etc. Instead of having the protagonist solve every other problem, let the player slip into the role of a respective companion. That way they`ll get important and vivid. The expelt high dragon in search of a new lair, the effects of the Orlesian civil war and Corypheus henchmen trying to infiltrate important positions of power within Celenes an Gaspards armies should serve as a bracket.

17. As we go along, the Inquisition establishes itself as the supreme peacekeeping power in the region. That of course attracts attention and day after day, the danger of beeing discovered by Corypheus rises. After several clashes with his spies and assassins, the protagonist decides to leave Skyhold. A To draw Corypheus away from the Inquisition B To find out more about him and his plans.

18. Here you can open up some more Sandbox areas, where the protagonist and some of his companions visit a far away temple to find out details about demons and the nature of the fade, travel to ancient Tevinter ruins and learn more about the Magisters of old, and get on to a conspiracy designed to install a group of Venatori within the heart of the Orlesian armed forces. You can also offer a variety of quests that have nothing to do with the story but only serve to increase the protagonists reputation (thus causing more attention and drawing Corypheus away from the Inquisition), like „Still Waters“ in Crestwood.

19. In the meantime, the rest of the companions stays in Skyhold. But they don`t sit around doing nothing. Now that the Inquisitor is gone, let them deal with some aristocrat, who thinks it`s a good time to challenge the Heralds rule. Let them neutralize a traitor, who wants to sell them off to Corypheus and let them track down the high dragon, only to find it`s new lair empty and devastated.

20. You could start „Here Lies the Abyss“ now, but to be honest, I don`t like the events centered around the Grey Wardens by any means. Since Corypheus isn`t presented as an evil genius and the Call doesn`t get illustrated at all, the wardens don`t come across as tragic figures, but as rather naive fools. Apart from their cameo appearance / shock value because they are bad guys now, their sole purpose is to deliver a demon-army and that can be achieved without diminishing the glamour of one of Dragon Ages classiest fractions.

21. Considering that it is Corypheus goal to enter the fade, I would skip the Grey Warden story arch completely and go straight for „What Pride had Wrought“ - minus the to armies batteling it out (which we didn`t get to see anyways). In the end, Corypheus has failed to enter the fade and is forced to try a more worldly approach to rise to godlike power.

22. In order to do so, he has already placed his agents within Celenes and Gaspards armies. This way he was able to manipulate both sides to stay at war with each other (through false flag operations and manipulated information), preventing Orlais from uniting under one ruler and posing a military threat. The second step of his plan is to invoke a vast number of demons in the middle of a battle. Instead of the Wardens, Celenes and Gaspards soldiers, tricked into fighting each other, serve as involuntary blood sacrifice. However, since the Inquisition has sealed the Breach and put some pressure on Corypheus, he won´t be able to summon that many demons at once, at least without potent magical paraphernalia. So he smuggled tons of Red Lyrium to the battlefield and orderes his henchmen to prepare the invokation-ritual in a mad rush.

23. But again, the protagonist beats him to the punch. Already knowing that there is something going on within the ranks of the Orlesian army, he gets to the heart of the conspiracy and reveals the identity of Corypheus agents. The upcoming battle between Celenes and Gaspards forces doesn`t take place and hundrets of soldiers owe him their lives. The invocation gets cancelled as well. Let the player find out, that there was something else going on, but not what was.

24. Now you let the player go on a power trip: Beeing fed up with foolish and incompetent aristocrats, he swears those thankfull soldiers to the Inquisition and marches them to Val Royeaux. There he unseats both, Celene and Gaspard, and declares himself protector of the realm.

25. In the meantime Corypheus strikes back. He subjects the high dragon and gains knowledge of Skyholds location. Then he attacks. Now you implement a quest, where the remaining companions have to defend the fortress, and when their inevitable defeat becomes evident, try to flee the onslaught. End the sequence with them beeing captured.

26. Start the next sequence with an obviously tortured companion barely making it to Val Royeaux. He deliveres a message from Corypheus: If the Inquisitor wants to see the others again and in one piece, he shall meet him at Skyhold for their final encounter.

27. Let us take a breake and go back to the true villain of the story for one second: The nightmare demon still wants to obtain Corypheus body as a vessel, but his puppet has failed to enter the fade twice now. Plus the Breach is sealed, and since Corypheus does not control the anchor, it wouldn´t help if he miraculously finds a way through. The demon could very well overwhelm the Magister, but would still be trapped within the fade, because he doesn`t control the power to open it. To succeed, he basically has two options: A Lure the Inquisitor into the fade and take over his body and the anchor with it. B Let someone open a fade rift and use Corypheus as a blood sacrifice during an invocation. He adopts a two-pronged approach. We have already established the demonic insinuation over the course of the game. Now the nightmare demon confronts the Inquisitor directly, tells him a story like „the people fear Corypheus more than they fear me. I won´t take a backseat to some puny mortal“, and offers him the knowledge of how to kill Corypheus. The Magister is able to reincarnate in every body that has been touched by the darkspawn taint, red templars, (captured) wardens and actual darkspawn. In order to kill him once and for all, the Inquisitor has to open a rift and slay Corypheus inside the fade, where he is isolatet from such influence.

    Then the demon tells Corypheus what he has just told the Inquisitor, assures him of his support and convinces him to once again prepare the mass-invocation of demons during the upcoming battle with the Inquisition. Only this time the spell is altered and the nightmare demon himself will get conjured too.

28. The Inquisition calls to arms and has a final war council meeting, before marching on Skyhold.

29. The final battle needs to be epic. Overthrowing an ancient Tevinter Magister, his cult of fanatics and a high dragon is a big enough task to spread on many shoulders. Every single ally, the player made during the game needs to play a part. Every single companion needs to get a task. Let someone sneak in through the secret passage and open the gate. Someone has to conduct a mock assault. Someone has to free those companions who are still held hostage by Corypheus. Some parts of the wall need to be conquered and defended. Corypheus generals need to be dealt with. Then there is the dragon...

30. When confronting Corypheus, the Inquisitor opens up a fade rift and tries to force him through, but the only just freed hostages intervene. Since they believe in Corypheus becoming a god by entering the fade, they do everything in their power to prevent that from happening. They even battle the Inquisitor, because they know nothing about his plan and may think he has gone mad. All the while the invokation starts and the dead rise again as demons. In the unfolding chaos, Corypheus gets killed before entering the fade, allowing the nightmare demon to occupy his body. The final task should either be to exorcise the nightmares minions or to slay the dragon. When the dust settles, the Inquisition has won but Corypheus aka the nightmare demon is still standing. He thanks the player for his kind assistance and walks off – and there you have your content for the add on.