2. Solas

At first, Solas is one of the less remarkable characters in Inquisition’s roster. He’s characterized by his knowledge of Fade-related magic, has some cool hat tricks to show you in his early conversations, and altogether seems a bit smug and judgy. Things start to change, though, as he reveals he is the source of Big Bad Corypheus’ magic. He shows frustration with the ways of the modern world, his personal quests solidify and reinforce his anger at how flippantly people view spirits, and when all is said and done, he leaves the Inquisition without a word. Then it’s revealed why Solas feels like a person out of time: He is the Dread Wolf, an elven trickster god having awoken to find himself written in history as a traitor to his people. Solas reveals in Trespasser that he barely viewed his friends in the Inquisition as people, and was using them to further his plan to tear down the Veil that separates the real world from the spirit one and bring back the elves’ long-lost immortality. That all changed as he grew to care for the friends he made along the way, but his mission can’t bend to newfound sentimentality. Underneath Solas’ pompous exterior is a man ravaged by guilt for what he did several millennia ago. Should he succeed in tearing down the Veil he created, that guilt will be replaced with a new one as he watches the world burn to correct his mistake. We’ll see what happens in The Veilguard, but Inquisition sets him up as the most compelling antagonist the series has ever put forth.