Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s character creator is easily the most expansive that developer BioWare has ever put in one of its RPGs, with its most notable additions this time around including options to select your character’s gender and pronouns independent of any aspects of their body, and top surgery scars to signify protagonist Rook’s possible trans identity. However, the game’s handling of trans identity goes beyond just options you can choose in the character creator that may support your own personal headcanon. In The Veilguard, BioWare has given you the option to actively declare in-game that your hero is transgender, in a way that’s reflected in dialogue throughout the game. Historically this has been the kind of thing that players have had to just apply to a game’s hero through their own imaginations, so I was happy to see BioWare went the extra step to codify it for those who want to play a trans Rook.
This option doesn’t take place in the character creator itself, though you’re able to find the aforementioned pronoun and gender selections and top surgery scars there. Rather, it comes a few hours into the game when you unlock Rook’s quarters in the Lighthouse base. This isn’t something you can miss, so if you’ve started your own playthrough and haven’t seen it yet, don’t worry, you just haven’t gotten to this point in the game. When you’re setting up Rook’s room, one of the items you’ll put down is a handheld mirror. This gives Rook a moment of self reflection and you the opportunity to add some backstory to your character based on things you included in the character creator. Personally, I chose to talk about my tattoos and speak a little lore for my hero into the universe. But there’s one option that allows you to touch on Rook’s gender identity, specifically stating that your character is transgender. This isn’t tied to anything specific in the character creator, so no matter what options you choose while making them, you can still have a trans Rook in your story.
The three options include “I’m getting there,” “I love who I am,” and “Feels good to see the real me,” so you can designate your trans identity and also color in where you think they are in their personal journey. This will unlock some dialogue options throughout The Veilguard that allow you to discuss this aspect of your identity with other characters, so it’s not just a thing you have to internalize. However, as far as I can tell after finishing the game, if you don’t pick this option when you’re setting up Rook’s room, it doesn’t come up again later. So be sure to go down this dialogue path when you’re examining the mirror if you want to play as a trans Rook and have it be recognized in dialogue. It just might give you a point of common connection with some characters that will enrich your story throughout.
