The fantasy world of Dragon Age is one that is populated with many different characters that fit perfectly into the setting, such as a secret Prince living like a Pauper, or an elf living on the fringes of society amidst the flora and fauna of the world. But that is not to say Dragon Age is a series full of whimsy.
Thedas is also home to some characters that verge on the darker side of the fantasy genre, and they have stories to match this darkness.
8 Morrigan
Morrigan, or the Witch of the Wilds as some have accused her of being, is one of the darkest characters. She embodies the evil witch in the woods stereotype from fairy tales, who are always the villains enacting nefarious deeds against the Princess and her knight, even though she is not a villain in the Dragon Age series. The attire she wears certainly lends itself to the evil witch aesthetic too, with a patchwork leather skirt, dark purple shirt, and feather accouterments.
Morrigan's story is almost one of tragedy, with her living a sheltered life under the yoke of her mother far away from any cities, and the forays she takes to society often end bitterly. But Flemeth was protective for another reason: she planned on absorbing her daughter, meaning that her life was just a means for her mother to prolong her own.
7 Cullen Rutherford
From a glance, Cullen certainly does not stand out as one of the dark Dragon Age characters with his golden hair and knightly aesthetic, but his exterior hides hidden darknesses that all stem from what his character has endured, and how it has affected him and his growth throughout the series.
In both Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 Cullen worked under the Chantry, tasked with protecting the mages in the Circle and hunting down apostates. During his time in the Circle in Origins, Cullen would suffer trauma from the horrors he witnessed that would follow him for the rest of his life and taint his view of mages. Not only this, but Cullen suffers from an addiction to lyrium, which firmly grounds the horrors of his character in reality, as both PTSD and addictions are very serious problems people in real life struggle with.
6 Fenris
Judging from looks alone, Fenris stands out as one of the darkest Dragon Age characters with glowing, magical tattoos and his black armor that definitely has a dark edge to it. But beyond his exterior is a story that shares this darkness, tainted by tragedy and trauma.
Fenris has endured some of the worst horrors someone can endure in Thedas, being kept as a slave in Tevinter where slavery is rampant with some saying the Tervinter empire was built on their backs. Along with being a slave to the Tevinter magister Danarius, Fenris endured plenty of abuse at his hands, including the lyrium-infused markings that while granting him some dangerous abilities, also cause him physical pain.
5 Loghain
One of the strongest warriors in Ferelden, Loghain prides himself as one of the country's protectors, willing to make the hard decisions that no one else would. As such, this does make him one the darkest characters in the franchises, as he is not above sacrificing people.
Once a loyal soldier to Maric Theirin, Loghain continued his duties to the throne once his young and naive son Cailin, acting as something of an advisor to him, and staunchly advocating against the involvement of the Grey Wardens in the battle against the darkspawn. In the end, Cailin ignored Loghain's objections which was the tipping point that caused Loghain to betray the King and pull his army out of the battlefield, leaving Cailin's man and the Grey Wardens to be slaughtered. Yet, Loghain defends his actions and carries out a smear campaign against the Grey Wardens.
4 City Elf Grey Warden
Dragon Age: Origins gives players the freedom to completely customize their Grey Warden from their gender, class, and appearance all the way to their origin story, which delves into their life before they became a Grey Warden, and how they ended up being recruited by Duncan. There are six total to choose from, with the City Elf origin being among the darkest.
In the world of Thedas, elves are treated as second-class citizens and forced to live in the wilds or in alienages, specific parts of a city reserved for elves. In this origin story, it is the wedding day of the player character and their cousin, before a group of human nobles arrive to create unrest. The humans abduct all the women during the ceremony with the horrific intention to assault the women. It is undoubtedly a dark origin story that can be tough to sit through, and no one could blame the City Elf Warden for being mistrusting of all humans.
3 Hespith
During their exploration in the Deep Roads, players will encounter the dwarf Hespith, who with her pallid, greying skin and the eerie poem she recites in a deadpan voice, elevates the dark horror of the Deep Roads. The poem is not merely flowery nonsense, however. Hespith is reciting what happens to the women who are taken prisoner by the darkspawn, foreshadowing the boss fight they are about to come across.
Before she met this unfortunate fate, Hespith was a Warrior caste dwarf and a member of House Branka, meaning she had a fairly good life in Orzammar. But joining Branka's expedition into the Deep Roads in search of the Anvil of the Void, Hespith met the unfortunate fate of seeing other members of the expedition fall to the machinations of the Darkspawn.
2 Knight Commander Meredith
Knight Commander Meredith stands out as one of the most tyrannical and darkest characters in the series, always leveraging zealotry against the mages as she suspects all of them corruptible, and sees it her duty to keep them all tightly locked away from the rest of Kirkwall. Citizens do often deem her actions as too much and too far, but few would dare to stand against her out of fear of what she would do.
An orphaned child who has been a citizen of Kirkwall all her life, Meredith seemed to find her calling among the templars, quickly rising through the ranks and finding methods to bring even more rigid order to the Gallows. Even with this accomplished career under he belt, she became fanatical which drove her to the levels of madness players witness at the end of Dragon Age 2.
1 Corypheus
Once a human magister by the name of Sethius, Corypheus always had visions of godhood, believing himself deserving of more. Heeding the call of Dumat, one of the old Gods who promised him Godhood, Sethius took on the name Corypheus and entered the Fade in the hopes of claiming the Golden City. However, his pride and the greed of him and other magisters corrupted it and turned it black, causing them to be cast down, twisting Corpypheus into the form the players recognize in Inquisition.
His backstory alone is dark enough, but his character furthers this along, with his twisted appearance and his dark desires to revisit the Fade and return Tevinter to its former glory through the blood and sacrifice of however many it takes. His disregard for the lives of others is undoubtedly a villainous and dark outlook on life.