Morrigan (Dragon Age)

Morrigan is a fictional character from BioWare's Dragon Age franchise, first appearing as a party member in Dragon Age: Origins. She is a shapeshifting Witch of the Wilds, one of innumerable sorceresses whose legends originate in the wilds of the kingdom of Ferelden, the setting of Origins. Raised and taught by her mother, Flemeth, Morrigan would be called upon to leave her home to become a companion to the protagonist of Origins, the would-be Hero of Ferelden.

Morrigan
Dragon Age character
Promotional art of Morrigan for Origins
First appearanceDragon Age: Origins (2009)
Voiced byClaudia Black
In-universe information
RaceHuman
HomeKorcari Wilds, Ferelden
ClassMage
SpecializationShapeshifter

Morrigan also appears in Dragon Age: Inquisition as a supporting character. While she is not a playable companion in Inquisition, she is a major participant in the continuation of a lengthy plotline which began about midway through Origins, which would culminate in a milestone moment for the character.[1]

Morrigan is one of the most popular and recognizable characters in the Dragon Age series. The character was featured prominently in promotional material and advertisements released by Bioware's parent company EA leading up to the release of Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Morrigan is voiced by Claudia Black.[2]

Character Overview

Morrigan's upbringing is drastically different than most characters encountered in Thedas, the setting of the Dragon Age series, and as a result she has not had many interactions or relationships with others because of it. The practice of magic is sanctioned and regulated by the Chantry, the dominant religious organisation of Thedas, and it is obligatory for all individuals with potential for magical powers to enroll in the Circle of Magi. Morrigan's refusal to comply makes her an apostate, a rogue mage who is isolated from civilization. She's "the other", "the outsider", the one who doesn't represent a facet of the world[3]; she is thus presented as a cynical and antisocial witch in a world where many mages are feared for their power.

Concept and characteristics
“I had Morrigan talk a lot about herself in Dragon Age: Origins, and considering how [Origins] ended, players walked away thinking, ‘how much of that is true?’” Gaider says. “You’d be foolish to recognize [her enigmatic qualities] and then not have her take advantage of it, right? She knows the power that she has...”

—David Gaider in an interview with Gameinformer [4]

Morrigan was mainly written by David Gaider, the lead writer of Origins. He claimed in an interview that he did not care if Morrigan comes across as being likeable, noting that there is "a certain kind of freedom when you don’t have to worry about making a character likeable because that’s a hard thing to sell.”[5] Ray Muzyka, the co-founder and CEO of BioWare, explained in an interview that the inspiration behind creating characters like Morrigan came from the writing team, the design team and the art team working together to create a character they felt was compelling, and they would do that for every companion character that the player could bring into the game. He described Morrigan's personality as "challenging", although he does like the character on a personal level.[6]

Claudia Black, the voice actress of Morrigan

The creation of Alistair and Morrigan as character concepts, as they play the largest role in the game's plot, took far longer than other characters.[7] Morrigan was originally conceived to be similar to Flemeth, speaking whimsically. However, Gaider was not satisfied and decided to completely rewrite her personality. As a result, she was redesigned as a "blunt" individual who has a strained relationship with Flemeth and always acts in defiance towards her mother.[8] There was also an idea early in the developmental cycle for Origins to have an old lady narrate the origin story with a historical framing, as though it happened to her many years ago. The player would have initially thought it was Flemeth; an elderly Morrigan would be revealed as the narrator by the end of the game[3].

BioWare considers finding a suitable voice actor for Morrigan to be one of the most critical elements to a character concept. Claudia Black did not actually audition for the role of Morrigan; instead, she sent in a recording she had done to let BioWare know she is interested in future projects. At one point BioWare settled on a different voice actress, but like Morrigan's initial conception, would decide that she just wasn't working for what they envisioned. Gaider decided to cast her as the voice of Morrigan as he was familiar with Black's work as Aeryn Sun in the Farscape television series.[4] A few years after the release of Origin, Black would reprise her role as Morrigan for a promotional trailer of Dragon Age: Inquisition released in 2013; her delivery was very well received by Bioware staff.[4]

Visual Design

Morrigan's appearance in the Dragon Age series was based on a model named Victoria Johnson.[9]

In the lead-up to Inquisition's release, BioWare released character kits for the major characters of Inquisition in order to assist cosplayers; Morrigan was the first character.[10] During her initial appearance at a ball in Inquisition, Morrigan wears a black and purple gown decorated with feathers and black lace, bound by a leather corset which allows her some flexibility in the event she needs to cast any spells. The design of her dress "slyly layers the natural upon the ostentatious". While the gown is designed in the style of the Orlesian court, it is a "cavalier, twitchy thumb to the nose of the pastel hues favoured by Orlesian fashion". The dress was recreated and exhibited by a cosplayer during the PAX Prime event in 2014.[10]

Appearances

In Dragon Age: Origins

Morrigan joins the player's party early in the game in the Korcari Wilds, shortly after the battle at Ostagar. Morrigan is quick to show her amoral worldview; she disapproves of actions that benefit people she perceives as worthless and/or which do not further the Warden's personal cause, such as helping a beggar or settling a dispute in Lothering. Her outlook on life is best described as "survival of the fittest", and she will approve if the Warden's choices match her beliefs. If the player chooses to play as a male protagonist, Morrigan can be romanced.[11]

Morrigan's personal quest involves a search for Flemeth's Grimoire, a book of spells and secrets from which Morrigan intends to learn. The player is later tasked with the slaying of Flemeth, who, according to Morrigan, is a demon who gives birth to a daughter and then, as Flemeth nears death, takes over the body of her offspring. This cycle repeats, and thus Flemeth lives on as if immortal. Upon the completion of the quest (the player has the choice to either slay Flemeth in combat or let Flemeth go and lie to Morrigan), Morrigan appreciates the effort and may even offer the player to 'join her in her tent' (provided the player is not already in a relationship with another party companion).

Aside from leaving because of a low approval rating, Morrigan may also leave the party near the end of the game before the slaying of the Archdemon (or return to the party to offer the ritual if she had already left the party). She reveals that a Grey Warden need not die in order to slay the Archdemon as long as the Warden, Alistair, or Loghain (if he has replaced Alistair) impregnates Morrigan with a child, who will then carry the soul of the Old God upon the Archdemon's death and thus spare the life of the Grey Warden who dealt the final death blow. If the player refuses to sleep with Morrigan (or is female) and does not ask Alistair or Loghain to do the deed, she will become infuriated and leave the party permanently.

In addition to Origins, Morrigan appears in the game's DLC Witch Hunt, which explores her whereabouts following the end of the Blight and is presented as the conclusion of her storyline. The player character tracks Morrigan down two years after the Blight's end, finding her activating an Eluvian that will transport her to an unknown location and claiming that Flemeth is still alive regardless of the player's previous actions (this is explained in Dragon Age II). The player is given the choice of stabbing Morrigan (causing her to fall through the Eluvian), letting her go, or, if the player romanced Morrigan, going in with her.

Morrigan also appears in the game's Darkspawn Chronicles DLC as an enemy, with it being an alternate retelling of Origin's events where the player character dies at the start and Alistair is left in charge, and the player playing as the darkspawn. Towards the end of the DLC, the darkspawn successfully kill Morrigan as well as her allies, and would eventually succeed in overrunning Ferelden.

In Dragon Age: Inquisition
Morrigan as she appears at the Winter Palace in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Morrigan plays a significant role in the plot of Dragon Age: Inquisition, where she has managed to secure herself the position of arcane adviser to Empress Celene of Orlais. She meets the Inquisitor when the former is sent to the Empress' Winter Palace to foil an assassination attempt. After the threat has been dealt with, Morrigan is assigned by imperial decree to act as a liaison on behalf of Orlais and returns to the Inquisition's base. Depending on the decision made by the Warden in Origins, she may appear with bring her son, Kieran (who will be in possession of an Old God soul if the ritual was taken or is a normal child if the Warden slept with Morrigan but did not go through with her plan). Morrigan proves invaluable during the Inquisition's mission to thwart the Elder One from reaching the Well of Sorrows, an ancient magical pool that contains the knowledge of the elven people. When they reach the Well, Morrigan announces her desire to absorb the powers of the Well for herself but if the Inquisitor is a mage, she can be convinced to stand down and allow them to drink instead. If Morrigan's ritual was performed, Leliana will call the Inquisitor, telling them that Morrigan ran through an Eluvian after Kieran disappeared. Morrigan and the Inquisitor find Kieran in the Fade with Flemeth, who sensed his Old God soul. When the pair try to attack her, Flemeth reveals herself to be the embodiment of the long lost elven goddess Mythal and uses her magic to paralyse whoever drank from the Well. Flemeth delivers an ultimatum: she keeps Kieran and Morrigan is free to go or Kieran is returned to his mother but they will forever be hunted by her. Morrigan demands Kieran back and Flemeth agrees, absorbing the Old soul before departing. If Kieran is not in possession of the Old God soul or was never born, Flemeth is encountered after Morrigan performs a ritual with the Inquisitor at the Shrine of Mythal. If Morrigan drank from the Well, she gains the ability to shapeshift into a dragon and battles Corypheus' dragon. After the battle, Morrigan (and Kieran if he was born) leave the Inquisition for parts unknown. She also serves as the narrator of the epilogue for Inquisition.

Other appearances

Morrigan appears in a short prequel web comic set also titled Dragon Age: Origins by the Penny Arcade artists, released on September 4, 2009. It tells the tale of a band of templars who were tasked with finding Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds.[12]

In 2010, Morrigan was included in DC Unlimited's Dragon Age themed range of video game figures, along with Duncan, Loghain, and a Genlock.[13]

Morrigan appears as a companion in the flash based Facebook and Google+ game Dragon Age: Legends, if the player unlocks "Morrigan Room" and places it in their castle.

Morrigan appears alongside Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect series as cameo characters in MySims SkyHeroes, the sixth game in EA's MySims franchise.[14]

Morrigan, known as "The Scornful Sorceress", appears in Dragon Age: The Last Court a text-based, free-to-play browser game that is set between Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition. She is on a mission for Empress Celene to rebuild an eluvian. She makes a detailed study of the Marquis of Serault's lineage, and particularly their great-grandfather, an apostate mage who is known as "The Shame of Serault".

Reception
"Wicked and twisted to the core, Morrigan was a witch that always had alternative motives for her choices in Dragon Age: Origins. Romancing Morrigan and trying to turn her to the ‘light’ side was even more fascinating since her dialogue responses were even more cleverly written. Troubled with her history with her controlling mother, and riddled with dark intentions, Morrigan was a book that every player wanted to read from front to back".

— Dakota Grabowski, Gamezone [15].

Morrigan has received mostly positive reception from video game journalists since her debut appearance in Origins. Oli Welsh, writing for Eurogamer, called Alistair and Morrigan the "stars" amongst the companions of Origins, but criticized their storylines as being "contrived", and the dialogue "wooden".[16] In his review of Dragon Age: Origins, Dave Snider of Giant Bomb noted that while the game features superb voice acting all around, Claudia Black's performance as Morrigan stole the show.[17] Alec Meer from Rock, Paper, Shotgun was amused by Alistair and Morrigan's bickering and that it evoked sexual tension, wishing they would just "get it on".[18]

Several sources drew attention to the character's spiteful personality as being particularly memorable. Welsh mentioned Morrigan as an example of Bioware's ability to create fascinating and memorable characters that players will recall years later.[16] Meer commented that Morrigan "seemed a textbook line in sneery, sultry know-it-alls", though he is certain there are "many more stings to be found in her self-confident tale".[18] Kieron Gillen, also from Rock, Paper, Shotgun stated that though he could not stand Morrigan, he claimed to have a clear image of her and her personality burned into his mind.[19] During an interview with Muzyka, VideoGamer.com's interviewer claimed that "Morrigan will go down in history as one of the greatest RPG characters ever created", even though he called her a "hard to please bitch".[6] GamesRadar's Jordan Baughman identified Morrigan as an example of "The Recalcitrant Shrew", a minimally dressed and needlessly combative female companion character archetype found in other BioWare titles.[20]

In her article Game Characters as Narrative Devices. A Comparative Analysis of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2, Kristine Jorgensen identifies Morrigan as a character of crucial importance for the plot development of Origins. Morrigan's decision to reveal her true intention to join the Warden's party and to offer male members of the surviving Grey Wardens the opportunity to perform the ritual with her following the conclusion of the Landsmeet has two functions: she noted that Morrigan is positioned both as the Wardens' benefactor during their struggle to liberate Ferelden from the darkspawn hordes while preserving their lives at the same time, and as a potential antagonist in a sequel given the sinister implications of her giving birth to a child with the soul of a malevolent deity; it also works as catharsis[note 1] by adding a second point of no return situation for the player to experience.[21]

Commenting on her return to the Dragon Age series in Inquisition, Kimberley Wallace suggests that fans and critics of the Dragon Age series are captivated by Morrigan's enigmatic mystique, biting wit, and especially her bickering banter with Alistair.[4] Marshall Lemon from The Escapist praised her cryptic personality and her tendency to keep others in the dark about her true intentions. He claimed that by the end of Origins, "players hadn't even learned half of her mysteries".[1]

Morrigan is considered to be a fan favorite, even though she was not designed to be a likeable character.[22][5] Her status as the most iconic of the characters introduced in Origins was noted by Gaider.[3] GameZone listed Morrigan as #7 in their top ten BioWare-created squadmate list".[15] PC Gamer staff included Morrigan in their definitive list of the best squad mates around.[23] Phil Savage likes her sassiness, but speculates that she is potentially less interesting without her combative dynamic with Alistair. Tom Senior thinks Morrigan is cool and mysterious, and that she is in an interesting place on the morality scale who employs dark methods for heroic reasons. The results of a match-up poll of Dragon Age characters hosted by Bioware as part of a March Madness theme in March 2015 revealed that fans voted the Origins Warden protagonist, Alistair, Varric Tethras and Morrigan as preferred party leader, warrior, rogue and mage in an ideal party respectively.[24]

gollark: Can I take *any* slice of your name which is not confusable with someone else?
gollark: What of iologo?
gollark: Mine has 4GB of RAM, a 10-generation-outdated quad-core Xeon, and for about 4 hours a GTX 1050.
gollark: (inference only, no training)
gollark: (it wasn't used for a while)

See also

References
  1. Marshall Lemon (August 14, 2013). "Dragon Age: Inquisition Sees Morrigan's Return". The Escapist. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  2. Bioware (March 27, 2014). "The Art of Voiceover with Brian Bloom and Claudia Black". YouTube. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  3. Robert Purchese (June 30, 2015). "The first draft of Dragon Age: Origins didn't even have Grey Wardens". Eurogamer. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  4. Kimberley Wallace (August 12, 2013). "Dragon Age: Inquisition's Morrigan – Past and Present". Game Informer. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  5. Kimberley Wallace (August 23, 2013). "Creating Dragon Age Party Members". Game Informer. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  6. "Dragon Age: Origins: A retrospective with Ray Muzyka". VideoGamer.com. November 16, 2009. p. 3. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  7. Borkowski, Andy (June 26, 2015). "History of Dragon Age with Bioware Lead Writer David Gaider- Dragon Age: Origins "You Won't BELIEVE What We Cut!"". 102.1 The Edge. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  8. Wallace, Kimberly (August 12, 2013). "Dragon Age: Inquisition's Morrigan – Past and Present". Game Informer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  9. Gerasimos Manolatos (December 14, 2015). "EXCLUSIVE: THE GIRLS OF 'DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS'". Maxim. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  10. Bioware Community Team (February 3, 2014). "From Us to You – Introducing Dragon Age: Inquisition Character Kits". BioWare. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  11. Joe Newman (January 6, 2010). "Dragon Age: Origins - romance and recruitment guide". GamesRadar. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  12. Penny Arcade. "Dragon Age Origins". Penny Arcade. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  13. Luke Plunkett (April 26, 2010). "A Good Look At Dragon Age's Action Figures". Kotaku. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  14. Gudmundson, Carolyn (July 21, 2010). "Commander Shepard has never looked so cute in MySims SkyHeroes". GamesRadar. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  15. Dakota Grabowski (2010-01-08). "Top Ten BioWare-created Squadmates". Archived from the original on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  16. Oil Welsh (November 3, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  17. Dave Snider (November 3, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  18. Alec Meer (November 9, 2009). "Rock Lord: Dragon Age's Number One Guy". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  19. "The Games Of Christmas: December 24th". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. December 24, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  20. Baughman, Jordan (2011-05-03). "Recycled characters you see in every BioWare game". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  21. Kristine Jørgensen. "Game Characters as Narrative Devices. A Comparative Analysis of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2". Eludamos. Journal for Computer Game Culture. 2010 4 (2), p. 315-331. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  22. Aaron Birch (November 18, 2014). "The life and times of the Dragon Age series". Den of Geek. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  23. "The RPG dream teams". PC Gamer. June 9, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  24. David Stonecipher (March 24, 2015). "'Dragon Age: Inquisition' Fans Pick Their Favorite Characters In March Madness Faceoff". Inquisitr. Retrieved February 15, 2020.

Notes
  1. catharsis is defined in this context as a "deeply transformative spiritual event" (Ryan 2001b, p.296) that takes the players through the terror and pity of tragedy, before relieving them as the Archdemon dies and Ferelden is saved.
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