Dragon Age: Origins Preview
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There are similarities to more than just Baldur's Gate and D&D, however. Perhaps the most striking comparison is that of the dark fantasy world of Warhammer. Created for the tabletop wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Warhammer universe shares many similarities to the Dragon Age universe. Perhaps the three most notable are the inclusion of magic-hunting religious fanatics, the process by which the army of Darkspawn was created, and the plight of the Dwarven people. In the first case, the Templars are one of the most notorious of the Dragon Age factions, being subject to a particularly revealing comic by Penny Arcade. They are religious fanatics that kill off those that practice magic without supervision due to intense devotion to the Chantry and the desire to never see another swelling of Darkspawn. In Warhammer, these fanatics are called the Witch Hunters (or Inquisitors) and they root out those who practice magic that is not licensed by one of the eight schools in the name of Sigmar, as an amateur magician acts as a beacon for the reality-tearing forces of Chaos.
The forces of Chaos and the Darkspawn are also very similar to one another. In the case of Dragon Age, the Darkspawn were (supposedly) created by magic running awry and altering those that practiced it, turning them into bloodthirsty monstrosities that begat more monsters. In the case of Warhammer, the ranks of Chaos are bolstered (but were not created) by the practice of rogue magic, which warps and changes the wielders according to the whims of the Chaos gods. In both cases, magic users end up as gibbering abominations that swarm across the land and tear down kingdoms, forcing those in peril to fight back at intense and bloody costs.
