The castle of Skyhold is essentially your Normandy in Dragon Age: Inquisition, a base of operations where companions are brought into the fold, quests are initiated and the fate of the world is decided. You can also do some interior decorating.
In an interview over on the Inquisition website, producer Cameron Lee fills players in on exactly what they can expect from their customisable fortress.
”Skyhold can be customized to reflect what sort of Inquisition you’re leading,” explains Lee. ”You choose what to do with major parts of the castle such as towers and the courtyard as well as decorations like statues, windows, drapes, furniture, and even the heraldry your Inquisition forces will take into the world.”
Merchants across the world of Thedas will sell new ornaments and furnishings for Skyhold, while others can be gathered by completing side-quests and exploring hidden nooks and crannies. This suggests you might find the ideal pair of curtains hidden in a dragon’s lair, which would be hilarious.
Skyhold is of course a lot bigger than Mass Effect’s Normandy, which served a similiar purpose. As well as providing shelter to your allies and companions, and a horde of merchants and tradesmen, the castle is apparently full of things to discover.
”Skyhold is filled with interesting places to visit!” Lee claims. ”There’s a tavern where Inquisition followers are having a drink. A dungeon with your defeated enemies rotting away. Your throne room, where you’ll pass judgment on your enemies (but we’ll get more into that later). There’s a large library with a research assistant, and a garden where you can choose which plants to grow for making potions. Other locations you can visit include a vault, kitchen, guard tower, rookery, training ground… and that’s still not a complete list of all the places you can visit.”
On a more immediately practical level, the forges, enchanting rooms and stables of Skyhold let you customise your character’s arsenal and gear for approaching each mission. ”When you’re ready for another adventure or battle, you may want to visit the crafting rooms to forge, enchant, or upgrade armor and weapons. You also can brew potions and poisons at the crafting table. Next, walk over to the stables where you can pick which mount you’ll ride on your adventure.”
This is part one of a big Skyhold interview, the second half of which is coming sometime this week. Stay tuned for more. Dragon Age: Inquisition comes out on PC and consoles this November 18 in North America and November 18 in Europe.
