Early Veilguard art shows Solas being stabbed with a Lyrium dagger

Summary

  • Dragon Age: The Veilguard concept artist shares early sketches of Solas.

  • Solas was undoubtedly the primary villain of Dragon Age: The Veilguard before the narrative changed.

  • The Lyrium dagger was an early part, as evidenced by its appearances in the sketches.

Nick Thornborrow, a former concept and storyboard artist at BioWare, often shares early concept art for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf (eventually renamed Dragon Age: The Veilguard). While Thornborrow emphasizes that his sketches are pre-development and as such cannot be considered “cut content”, it's still interesting to see what ideas were floating around The Veilguard before the release of the final product.

Thornborrow recently posted some images of the once titular Dread Wolf, who was originally the main antagonist of another Dragon Age game before being reworked into a kind of frame. In Thornborrow's early sketches, we can see a more sadistic Solas toying with Rook in their dream sequences. We can see Rook bending overhead, holding their head in his hands as the shadow of the Dread Wolf watches on.

Wrath of the dire wolf

Dragon Age The Veilguard Concept Art Solas Rook Dream Sequence
Credit: Nick Thornborrow

The dream sequences did end up in the final game, but the nature of those scenes were reworked to be more straightforward conversations between Solas and Rook, rather than anything resembling psychological torture. Although Solas is transparently trying to manipulate Rook in these scenes, the tone is more cooperative than competitive, even when you try to choose more hostile dialogue.

Some of the other sketches feature the Lyrium Dagger that has become such an integral part of The Veilguard plot. We get to see Solas wielding a weapon against the horned creature and a dramatic glimpse of someone running a dagger through Solas. Whether it's supposed to be Rook, the Inquisitor, or someone else is unknown. It's clear from the tone of these images that Solas was originally meant to be the primary threat to Thedas, rather than a reluctant anti-hero.

Explaining what stage of development these sketches are produced at, Thornborrow said: “When cuts are made, it's usually at a more advanced stage of production that involves more disciplines. While sketchy sketches like these are useful in pre-production to see what resonates because “They're quick to draw and the emotional toll of throwing them away is minimal.”

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in BioWare's fantasy RPG series formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. The direct sequel to Inquisition focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.

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