Cassandra Pentaghast

Cassandra Pentaghast is a fictional character in BioWare's Dragon Age franchise. She is the "Right Hand" of the Divine, the leader of the dominant religion in the Dragon Age setting, and a Seeker of Truth, an order of said religious organization. The character made her debut in 2011's Dragon Age II, where she appeared as part of the game's framing device. An anime film prequel, Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker, was released in 2012, covering the character's backstory. She appeared again in 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition, where she serves as a party member.

The character was designed to be "severe and dramatic", and has a heavily angular face representing her "hard edge". The developers wanted the Seeker armor to be easily recognisable, and it has a "strong and graphic" silhouette. Longer hair proved difficult to animate in the game, leading to her current short hair. It was intended that Cassandra visually display her authority and power.

Cassandra received a positive reception, with attention being drawn to her layered personality, as well as her place as one of Inquisition's diverse cast of women.

Characterization
The character is presented as a member of the Seekers of Truth, a "quiet" order dedicated to protecting and policing the Chantry, "granted ultimate authority in its investigations", and answering directly to the Divine. Robert Purchese of Eurogamer roughly equated the Chantry and the Divine to the Christian Church and the Pope, respectively. Originally a noble, the Pentaghasts being the ruling family of Neverra as well as famed dragon hunters, Cassandra joined the Seekers after her brother died. In addition to being a Seeker, she is the Right Hand of the Divine.

Cassandra's writer in Inquisition, David Gaider, attributed to her "a sense of propriety and duty", though felt she did what she felt was "right and just" over following "law or duty". He described her as "very practical in battle", and primarily focused on protecting the helpless or innocent over style or "showing off".

Her voice actor in the games, Miranda Raison, called the character a "toughie", yet noted her vulnerable side. Raison described her as "not just masculine, she's just a girl who's not a girly girl". Both Raison and Gaider noted her hidden sense of romanticism, an aspect which Gaider felt made her "quite fun" to write. Gaider commented he had yet to make a character quite like her.

Design
The character was intended to be "severe and dramatic", with associate art director Matt Rhodes likening her appearance to being "queen of the vampires". The in-universe country Cassandra came from influenced her appearance, Nevarra being closer to the equator and Nevarrans generally having darker-tone skin and black hair as a result. Art director Matthew Goldman attributed her with an "austere" beauty, reflective of her intelligence and devotion to good. Creative director Mike Laidlaw stated:
 * "And then, obviously, we wanted to make sure she was hot. To dial her to eleven, to make her absolutely gorgeous, really enticing—yet at the same time, she's powerful, she's strong, she's wearing platemail."

In the series, Cassandra has "hair as short as her temper". The character was originally designed with long hair. However, the long-hair proved difficult to manage, especially in Dragon Age II where the character was in dark lighting for almost the entirety of the game. The shorter hair tried to remain "severe" while working better in the game engine and not causing bugs with her armor.

Cassandra's face has various elements to keep her unique, such as "narrow eyebrows, heart-shaped face, strong jaw, darker lips, and walnut hazel eyes". The choice of walnut hazel eye colour served to further her authoritative look, appearing a bit warmer than blue eyes and giving her a harder edge. Similarly, her portraiture is heavily angular, to reflect her "hard" demeanor. For her appearance in Inquisition, concept artist Casper Konefal decided to ignore the subjective criteria of "beauty", and try to focus her design on presenting her "power and authority", trying to give her "a strong aggressive forward visual flow".

The character is depicted in heavy armor, fitting in with her "tough" character. Cassandra's "uniformed, practical attire" also acts to show her lack of love for "comfort or convience". BioWare wanted the Seeker armor to be "instantly recognisable" or "iconic". The Seeker symbol, emblazoned on the armor, is an altered version of the Chantry symbol (a sun) with an eye in the middle, representative of the Chantry "seeking the truth". Her armor lets her cast a "strong and graphic" silhouette, again illustrating her "hard" demeanor.

Dragon Age II
Cassandra first appeared in Dragon Age II, in 2011, as part of the game's frame narrative. The game opens with her interrogation of Varric Tethras, a party member in the game, who then recounts the story of Hawke, the refugee-turned-"Champion of Kirkwall" and player character. As the story plays out, Cassandra occasionally interrupts to either call Varric out on lying at certain parts or to offer commentary on the events. At the end of the game, it is revealed that mages and the Templars, a Chantry group dedicated to watching over or "imprisoning" mages, have both gone rogue and are warring in the streets, and Cassandra seeks Hawke to help resolve the conflict, no longer blaming them for starting the conflict. Laidlaw commented that, in his view, Cassandra has in some ways the "biggest transformative arc" of all the characters in the game.

Dawn of the Seeker
Cassandra next appeared in Dawn of the Seeker, a CGI-anime film by Funimation released in 2012, which explores her backstory. The choice to center the film on Cassandra as it tied into the themes the series had been building, giving "a new take" on the events and groups of the franchise. Mike McFarland, voice director of the film, felt the character had been well received in the second game, so seeing her again would be good for fans.

The character's design was altered for the film. Being younger, Funimation lengthened the character's hair and lightened her male-up in order to give her a "more innocent" appearance. A ponytail was chosen for its practicality, as it wouldn't obstruct vision during a fight. In addition to her heavy armor, the need for stealth led to the creation of light armor for the character. Early sketches explored the possible designs for these armors.

Inquisition
In 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third main game in the series, Cassandra is a party member, and a possible love interest if the player chooses to play a male Inquisitor. The character is of the Warrior class, designed around close-range combat, and by default uses a sword and shield combination though this can be changed if the player wishes. Unlike other party members, she has access to the "Templar" skill tree, which is based around nullifying magical effects and fighting demons, one type of enemy found in the game, as well as providing support and buffs for other party members.

The character is introduced interrogating the Inquisitor at the start of the game, who is the sole survivor of a large explosion that has ripped open the sky, causing demons to fall out, and killed the Divine, many mages, and many templars during their peace talks. She immediately joins the party and, after the Inquisitor temporarily seals the "Breach" in the sky, protests the player's innocence and forms the Inquisition, breaking away from the Chantry. Depending on the player's choices throughout the game, she may at its end be crowned Divine. If so, she ushers in an age of reform.

Her personal quest, which each party member has, concerns her discovery that the other Seekers are all going missing. If the player chooses to complete it, they discover that Lord-Seeker Lucius has been luring the Seekers away to be killed, intending to wipe out the order due to their duplicity, attributing the on-going mage/templar war to them. Lucis hands Cassandra a book full of Seeker secrets, and after Lucius is defeated and the Inquisitor and Cassandra return to base, Cassandra reads it and discovers the Seekers had knowledge vital to stopping the war. The player may choose to encourage her to rebuild the Seekers reformed, leave them, or let her make her own decision.

Cassandra was originally written by Jennifer Helper, though then-lead writer David Gaider took up the character after Hepler left the company. Laidlaw noted how, after the events of Dragon Age II Cassandra's opinions could change, while Gaider commented that "what we find in Inquisition is a Cassandra who's realizing the world doesn't work like she believed it does", saying that she is walking a path of doubt. In contrast to II, Raison commented that the Cassandra in Inquisition has a more human, if "not exactly softer", side to her, and called her "angrier" in the second game.

Reception
Prior to the release of Inquisition, Kimberly Wallace of Game Informer considered the potential of her return to the series, and thought she could be interesting due to the mystery surrounding her, what she could bring to the group, and how he could develop.

After Inquisition's release, Cassandra received a positive reception. Ray Ivey of Just Adventure noted how, while she seemed "cold and unappealing at first", she grew on him. Joe Juba, also from Game Informer, called the character his new "Garrus", a popular party member in the Mass Effect series. He appreciated her "detailed and believable character", as well as how she took a more measured approach instead of dealing in extremities. Wallace also included the character in their list of the "the 10 best sidekicks" in 2014, commenting "she battles with you, but she's also an amazing adviser."

Inquisition got attention for its female characters. Danielle Riendeau, writing for Polygon, praised the female characters, stating that they all were "written with care, attention to detail, and enormous respect". Susan Arendt noted how the majority of the Inquisition's leaders were female, and how this was not made a point in Inquisition. Arendt commented that had Cassandra been a man, little would change, "but that's exactly why it's so encouraging for her to be a woman". GamesRadar's Ashley Reed and Andy Hartup listed her as one of the "most inspirational female characters in games", writing "Cassandra's an unstoppable storm, but one with a calm and quiet eye, too."