Dragon Age Dev On The Veilguard’s “Spicy” Romances: “You May Or May Not Wake Up In A Coffin”

BioWare recently shared more details on its upcoming fantasy-RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which is set to launch on October 31. Among those details are some rather interesting comments from game director Corinne Busche regarding the game’s steamier scenes.

“We really did want to keep [the companions] relatable, more grounded,” Busche said in a recent interview with IGN. “Some of them are quite sensual, some of them are more physical, some are more romantic, some are more spicy.”

“You may or may not wake up in a coffin,” Busche added implying that getting up close and personal with certain companions may lead to one of them trying to murder you in your sleep. (Though fans of Baldur’s Gate 3’s bloodthirsty warrior Lae’zel will likely find themselves right at home in this sort of situation.)

We already know that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be showing a fair bit of skin in its romance scenes, but art director Matt Rhodes revealed in a recent Discord Q&A that players may be able to woo other NPCs in addition to the main seven.

Responding to a question asking if players could romance Manfred–the bony BFF of one of the game’s main companions, Emmrich–Rhodes replied, “I would say ‘not that skeleton,’ but we’re not saying ‘no skeletons.'”

Busche also revealed that players’ choices with regard to romance will also have an effect on combat.

“I romanced Emmrich,” Busche explained. “What I also loved is–as I’m synergizing with him [in combat] as we’re doing combos–just having him refer to me as ‘my dear’ on the battlefield. ‘Well done, my dear!’ It just fills me with joy every time.”

Busche also explained the reasoning behind Lace Harding’s appearance in The Veilguard, as she’s the only companion to return after appearing in Inquisition.

“Players fell in love with her [in Inquisition], and we heard them,” Busche said. “I felt like it was kind of a no-brainer for us to bring back Harding.”

The Veilguard features a total of seven romanceable companion characters:

• Davrin, a charming Grey Warden
• Taash, a risk taker and ally of the Lords of Fortune
• Lace Harding, a dwarven scout who originally appeared in The Veilguard’s predecessor, Dragon Age: Inquisition
• Lucanis Dellamorte, an assassin working with the House of Crows
• Bellara Lutare, a Veil-jumper with a flair for the romantic
• Emmrich Volkarin, a necromancer with a resurrected, skeletal manservant named Manfred
• Neve Gallus, a powerful mage hailing from Tevinter, and member of the local rebel group, the Shadow Dragons.

Busche also revealed which companion has the steamiest romance scene.

“I’d have to say Taash,” Busche shared. “When I got to that scene and saw the finished version of that cinematic, I was hollering. Hollering!”

Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Series X|S on October 31. For more info on BioWare’s long-awaited RPG, check out everything we know about Dragon Age: The Veilguard.