The Mysteries of Elven Gods in Dragon Age: Inquisition - A Tattoo Cheat Sheet for Players

If you've already played any Dragon Age game, you're probably familiar with the "free" elves, the Dalish. If you haven't, well the Dalish elves have a unique customisation option, that sets them apart immediately from any other ordinary lowly city elf - a face tattoo.

Those face tattoos are called the vallaslin, and are basically a right of passage for the young Dalish elves, representing deities in the Elven Pantheon.

Meaning if you choose to play as a dalish elven character you get to adorn them with their very own face tattoo, no pain involved. Now, If you’re into lore and role playing at least one tiny little bit, this is the post for you. Good to know which God you’re “promoting”, am I right?

But first, let's start with the only God, or "Demigod", who doesn't have a tattoo of his own, and who you'll hear mentioned in the games a whole lot...

Fen'Harel

... you've probably heard him mentioned in elven curses quite a lot throughout the series (If not, you might have encountered him in the working title of the new Dragon Age game, at least until it got changed into the Vielguard).

AKA He Who Hunts Alone, Lord of Tricksters, The Great Wolf, Roamer of the Beyond, and Bringer of Nightmares.

A charming fellow to be sure.

Known primarily for a single act: Treason. Because of it, the elves lost all their gods, and because of his actions, their empire and civilization collapsed as a result.

So, let’s say he is considered an “evil” God, but the elves turned to him for help anyway, even though every favour of his came at a cost.

The First, as the elven clans call the apprentice of the clan leader (a mage), is also supposedly dedicated to protecting the Clan from Fen'Harel, for this exact purpose. You might have noticed (if you’ve played Origins), that the Dalish always carry wolf statues with them, placing them away from the Clan, thus directing the dread wolfs gaze at anyone who would like harm the clan. Hence the curse: May the dread wolf take you!