Creating custom classes with minimal impact on the game

This tutorial will be useful to anyone that wants to create a new class for Dragon Age: Origins or a stand-aone module using the Dragon Age game engine; I will assume that you have installed the toolset successfully and have read through the tutorial Creating modules for Dragon Age. This will contain much of the existing custom class tutorial, but expanded on to include details on creating new abilities and skills, as well as making sure these function properly in Bioware's official Expansion and stand-alone DLC. It may include guidance for creating content specific to the class that will transfer from the base game to official expansion\DLC content as well.

Designing the new class

There are a number of things that need to be considered when creating a new class for Dragon Age; how does it fit into the existing game lore, what abilities will it have, what races and origins will be able to use it, and are those abilities Stamina-based or Mana-based. New Specializations, which are created in the same manner as classes have to take these factors into consideration as well.

Lore considerations

When designing a class that will be used in Origins, Awakening, Golems of Amgarrak and Witch Hunt, you need to consider how the class fits into the lore of Thedas; when I created the Tevinter Warden Class (using a previous class creation tutorial) I initially intended for the Warden class (the original name) to be a fusion of the Ranger and Druid from Dungeons and Dragons. After careful consideration, i felt that since the game lore did not provide a way to justify "earth spirits" granting spell-like abilities, I would make them into a group of highly trained Warriors with arcane spellcasting abilities. I also felt that the origins of the class should tie into the setting in such a way as to give it the feel of something that Bioware would have created if they had desired to.

Designing classes for stand-alone modules may or may not be similar, depending on the setting used; an module set in Thedas obviously should follow the above guidelines, but modules set in other places (like the BAldur's Gate 2 Redux mod) should be made more loosely tied to lore.

Equipment

Your new class (and specializations as well) will need items that they can use; you can just equip them with basic armor and weapons, but they should also have specific items that are only usable by that class. As an example, in my Tevinter Warden class mod, I added starter versions of custom armor and weapons that had specific properties that would benefit the class. One thing you need to do, especially if you intend for your class to be usable in Origins, Awakening, Golems of Amgarrak and Witch Hunt, is make sure those items are set as Core Game Resources owned by your Origins class module; this will enable them to transfer into the expansion and DLCs without your character ending up naked. This is what Bioware did with the items from the Return to Ostagar DLC, but was not used for Stone Prisoner or Warden's Keep.