Dragon Age: Inquisition "romance guide" spills the beans on love in a land of demons

BioWare RPGs are known for a lot of cool things, not least among them the option to enter into romances with various NPCs. The upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition will of course be no exception, and to help steer players through the battlefield that is love, BioWare today released a handy guide explaining who you can get with and what it will take to make the magic happen.

Why a romance guide? Because Dragon Age: Inquisition is a big game and romances take a long time to develop—and, as Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw explained, "You could play the game for a significant length of time before discovering that a follower isn't interested." And while some people prefer to uncover those mysteries on their own, others would rather avoid "having their hearts set on a particular character, only to end up disappointed."

Laidlaw said that no matter what type of character a player chooses, there will be multiple romantic options available, but he also noted that simply because an NPC can be won over, there's no guarantee that he or she will be. "These characters have their own agendas and opinions, and the choices a player makes during the game have a definite impact on their affections," he wrote. "That's intentional."

It's an interesting list. Some characters are interested in males or females exclusively while others are less particular, and one of them is only down with elves. There are also some members of the "core cast" who aren't available to romance at all. "While we know this may disappoint some fans who were interested in them, we don't believe that they lose out, as each character engages in their own meaningful story," Laidlaw wrote.

To avoid the risk of accidentally leaking spoilers—and bear in mind, this is super-spoiler-y stuff—we're not going to reproduce the list of potential romantic partners here; if you want it, consider yourself warned and then click over to the BioWare forums .

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.