In a recent video posted to Dragon Age's YouTube channel, Creative Director Mike Laidlaw has given us a brief glimpse at how having certain characters will change how the party functions in battle, and how certain story scenes play out differently. In the video, linked above, the player and their party are moving through Redcliffe Castle in search of a wizard, who seems to be the source of at least some of the world's savagery. Along the way, they meet one of their party members, who, having been captured and likely tortured by the guards inhabiting the castle, will have a rather different opinion of the lead Inquisitor in the future.

Both styles of combat play out within the video too, the real-time combat, which looks bright and flashy and is honestly a bit hard to follow at this stage, though relatively speaking, I haven't actually played the game myself. The other form is in a isometric tactical view, where you queue up actions for all of your party members, and plan efficiently to maximize damage and minimize risk. It appears as though the mages will be doing a lot of the legwork, in terms of combat, as they're able to output a lot of spells and damage quickly, while the frontline brawlers keep them and the rangers safe.

But, as far as party composition is concerned, one of the newly revealed characters, Dorian, has a relationship with this mage, in that Dorian was the mage's apprentice at one point in time. There's no telling how the scene before and after the battle might play out, though I suspect that it wouldn't be too dissimilar. In any case, it's at least nice to know that there is some leeway being offered to people who pick favorites in parties, as was the case with Mass Effect for many. With the game's release a mere three months away, you can be sure that there will be more content from BioWare about Inquisition to come.