Over time, the gaming industry has gotten better at allowing female characters to truly shine to the same degree as their male counterparts, and this doesn’t just go for heroes and protagonists. Female villains in gaming have played a massive role, particularly in recent years, and companies like BioWare are at the forefront of creating these great characters.
While they have published many great games over the years featuring some fantastic characters, it is the fantastic games developed by BioWare that were considered when creating this great list of female villains, detailing the history of over three decades worth of fantastic storytelling from this brilliant company.
6 Amelyssan the Blackhearted
Appears In Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows Of Amn
Baldur’s Gate 2
- Released
- September 21, 2000
Though BioWare wasn’t involved in Baldur’s Gate 3 in the end, they made a name for themselves developing the first two games in the beloved franchise. As far as villains go, Baldur’s Gate 2 is renowned for featuring Jon Irenicus, one of the most feared and beloved villains in video game history, but Amelyssan, first introduced as Melissan, was a great villain in her own right.
One of the most fascinating things about many BioWare villains is how reasonable they can seem, at least when they’re first met. Amelyssan initially seems like a friend, convincing the protagonist to help defend the city of Saradush before unveiling her true intentions as Bhaal’s right-hand servant looking to massacre the Bhaalspawn.
5 Flemeth
Appears In Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age Origins
- Released
- November 3, 2009
The Witch of the Wilds, Flemeth, is a fascinating recurring character in the Dragon Age franchise. Though she has never been featured in the role of a primary antagonist, she has frequently been shown, and her history described in a way that makes her sound nothing short of terrifying, but simultaneously fascinating.
There are legends around this intriguing character, which state that Flemeth has lived a long time, having fled into the woods to live there after committing a mass murder of some kind. While players don’t get to interact with her as much as they’d like, Flemeth remains a source of great intrigue for Dragon Age players, especially her draconic form.
4 Matriarch Benezia
Appears In Mass Effect
Mass Effect
- Released
- November 20, 2007
One of the most tragic villains in BioWare history, Matriarch Benezia was a secondary antagonist in the first Mass Effect game, though an unwilling one. Benezia was a spiritual leader who brought many of her followers to try and dissuade Saren Arterius from his path, but she and her people became enslaved by the strength of the Reaper Sovereign.
After this, apart from a short lucid moment, Benezia works against Shepard throughout the game, proving with all of her knowledge and power to be an effective second-in-command for Saren. The tragedy of her character, especially when she describes the horror of being controlled in this fashion, doesn’t stop her from being a memorable villain.
3 Lady Aribeth de Tylmarande
Appears In Neverwinter Nights
Baldur’s Gate isn’t the only franchise that BioWare has developed games for set within the Forgotten Realms D&D campaign. games-every-year-2000s/”>Neverwinter Nights and its sequel are both iconic games in their own right and feature some amazing villains. Lady Aribeth was actually chosen to be in charge of the investigations into the Wailing Death, a plague haunting the city of Neverwinter during the first game, but events conspired against her.
First, Aribeth’s lover was wrongly accused of helping a friend turned enemy and hanged. Then, Morag appeared in her dreams and tempted her to join the cult of Maugrim Korothir. She ended up falling into this darkness, inspired by the rage she felt at her lover’s unjust execution, and led the forces of Maugrim in attacking Neverwinter, finally coming face to face with the player’s character in a wondrous showdown. Aribeth’s tragedy is realistic and relatable, which is what helps make her such a great villain.
2 Bodhi
Appears In Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows Of Amn
Vampires are tricky creatures and can make for fascinating villains. Bodhi from Baldur’s Gate 2 is a great example. A close confidant of Jon Irenicus, even called “sister” by him, Bodhi was once an Elf but became a vampire after being banished by her people, and formed a coven of vampires with the goal of simply eliminating her enemies and any who dared oppose her.
Players in Baldur’s Gate 2 can actually choose to side with Bodhi over Aran Linvail and the Shadow Thieves, leading to a significant divergence in the events of Chapter 3. However, Bodhi must be fought regardless of the choices made, proving not only to be an intriguing character and villain, with a great backstory but also a terrifying menace in combat, who surprisingly never returned.
1 Meredith Stannard
Appears In Dragon Age 2
Not only the primary villainous presence in Dragon Age 2, Meredith Stannard was also featured in the Dragon Age: Absolution animated series, making her a very rare case of a female BioWare villain making it into an adaptation. Meredith is a beloved commander, leading the Templars of Kirkwall. Unfortunately, she has a blinding hatred for mages, which takes over her mind and clouds her judgment, as she turns Kirkwall into a police state and attempts to commit a mass extermination of all mages.
Meredith is a fascinating character, another BioWare villain who was corrupted by a specific object, as opposed to being such a paragon of evil without reason. In this case, the Lyrium Idol, which she bought from Bartrand and turned into a sword, drove Meredith insane, increasing her paranoia about mages until she eventually overused it, and it exploded, turning her to stone in the process. Meredith is not only a great and memorable villain, but a perfect example of how BioWare goes about building great antagonists.
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