You’ve probably seen the hundreds of out-of-context or clickbait videos by now about the characters in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The companion characters are some of the game’s most polarizing aspects. However, Lucanis, the demon-possessed assassin, is what I consider to be one of the better companions. I have nothing against him as a Dragon Age companion; we’re bros, even if he whiffed a rather important assassination.
I do take issue, however, with how the game missed its shot, by giving me Lucanis instead of Ashur aka the Viper. Just look at him, left side:
You get to meet him in Minrathous, which is pretty early in the game. His name is Ashur but he wants everyone to call him “Viper” (let’s not kink-shame).
In any case, you’ll find no sense of style sharper than that in Thedas. And I’m willing to bet he’s sharp enough to have succeeded where Lucanis failed in one of the game’s spoilerific moments. He’s like the Dragon Age’s version of the Mandalorian or Boba Fett — mysterious, broody without trying too hard, and everyone’s got a crush on him, sort of. You know, like both platonic man-crush and regular crush? Whatever. Here’s proof.
So you can imagine how disappointing it was to find out that the game doesn’t let you recruit him. No, you’re stuck babysitting the assassin version of Anders from Dragon Age 2.
This felt like one of the game’s most blatant missed opportunities. Dragon Age: The Veilguard only presents you with a rather limited seven companions and the edgy character slot was occupied by Lucanis instead of the Viper.
It Was Matt Mercer All Along
And guess what? The voice actor for the Viper is none other than Matt Mercer, only the most legendary and revered Dungeon Master of Dungeons and Dragons. That’s probably part of the charm.
Again, Lucanis is a good character, but the Viper would’ve presented a better opportunity for a relatively unique character interaction if he was available as a companion. Most characters in Dragon Age: The Veilguard wear their emotions and identities on their skin (and they even strictly remind you with every cutscene).
They lack mystery and layers. The Viper has both, especially layers — whether it’s clothing or figurative.
The most dedicated Dragon Age fans have already dealt with someone like Lucanis since I mentioned that his character gimmick or quirk is a little too similar to Anders from Dragon Age 2 except he was possessed by a demon instead of a spirit.
Viper as a character was also a lot more interesting. He’s some kind of cloak-and-dagger Robin Hood in Minrathous, helping the slaves of the Tevinter Imperium rebel and then fading back into the shadows. You can’t get more political than that.
So yeah, huge wasted opportunity there. Seeing as there’s not going to be any DLC or expansion for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, we can only grieve and ponder on what we could’ve had as a companion. Perhaps modders can come to the rescue.
