Dragon Age: Inquisition

Available Summary:

"When the sky opens up and rains down chaos, the world needs heroes. Become the savior of Thedas in Dragon Age: Inquisition. You are the Inquisitor, tasked with saving the world from itself. But the road ahead is paved with difficult decisions. Thedas is a land of strife. Factions constantly war with each other even as a larger demonic invasion has begun. And you? You and your band of champions are the only ones who can hold it together. It’s your job to lead them...or fall." -Steam.

Jack's Summary:

Cremisius Aclassi, also known as Krem, is a trans male mercenary whose inclusion in this game I really appreciated when I originally played it. Throughout the game, he discusses being raised by a father who was willing to treat him like a boy, then growing up and serving as a soldier for Tevinter.

Tevinter is a magocracy where those without magical abilities are subjugated and often forced into slavery. The Aclassi family were not mages. After watching his own father sell himself into servitude when his tailoring business was unable to compete with cheap clothes produced through slave labour, Krem enlisted in the army as a man. When the player asks why he decided to live as a man, Krem replies, "I didn’t decide anything. I’ve been like this my whole life."

If the player asks how his family reacted when he came out as a trans man, Krem says, "My mother wanted to throw me out. She said, if I didn’t marry well, I was dooming the family to slavery. She was happy to take the money I sent as a soldier, though. Not that it mattered, in the end. My father… when I was little, he’d angle his mirror down so I could pretend to shave, just like him. He never said anything, but I think he knew."

Regarding his military service and how he met his company's mercenary leader, The Iron Bull, Krem explains, "Women are allowed to serve, but only in certain ranks and disciplines... The healer I’d bribed to sign off on my physical had to tend a sick magister. When the replacement healer saw what was, or wasn’t, in my pants, he made threats. It was slavery or death, so I knocked him out and ran... A tribune and his men caught me in a border town tavern. They meant to make an example of me. Bull killed them. Gave up his eye doing it. He patched me up and asked if I was looking for work. I’ve been putting up with his jokes ever since."

The Iron Bull will defend Krem's identity if the player asks questions, unwavering in his insistence that Krem is a real man.

Depending on the player's choices, Krem has three possible endings; he continues working as a mercenary with Bull, he begins a relationship with a singer named Maryden Halewell and travels with her, or he dies as part of a military operation when the player is forced to choose the lesser evil.

While I could understand people being angry that BioWare's first trans character can be killed off by the player, his death has huge consequences. If Krem and the other mercenaries are killed, Bull will turn on the player later in the game, even if he loves the player and has pledged himself to them in a tradition which is comparable to marriage.

Honestly, I still treasure Krem, and there are only two aspects of his character that I would criticise. Firstly, it would have been fantastic if he were voiced by a trans male voice actor. Secondly, the player is able to ask very personal questions about Krem pretty quickly, including the following:

PLAYER: If you had the chance to use magic, would you change all the way?

KREM: What? No. I don’t want any magic like that within ten yards of my body. When I was younger… I don’t know. Everyone has silly dreams. In Tevinter, dreams like that get you killed. Bull helped me make a good life. Nice armor and a well-placed sock, and I’m happy.

That dialogue feels pretty realistic to questions I have also been asked, even by acquaintances, brand new friends, and friends who have not seen me for a long time. Wanting to know whether I will "change all the way," or whether I am "fully a man," is very typical of people whose curiosity about trans bodies overrides the restraint they would otherwise show when asking people about their genitalia.

While BioWare did consult the trans community when developing Krem, it's clear that they had more to learn. And they did, in fact, learn; while Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024) has flaws, and is arguably an inferior game in terms of its endings and roleplay outcomes, its trans representation is far better. Players can be trans male, trans female, or non-binary, and can choose which pronouns they use. Several characters, if romanced, will comment on the player's identity and insist that they support the player. There is a non-binary main character, a trans female minor character, a trans male minor character, and a non-binary minor character. The last individual is the only person whose trans characterisation feels awkward and forced.