Marius is a stoic former slave from Tevinter. Tessa is a loudmouthed noblewoman from Nevarra. Together, they work as Magekillers, those who hunt mages when the Templars won't suffice. One day, the two of them accept a strange job that sends them on an adventure.
This comic series contains the following tropes:
- Asshole Victim: The narration makes it fairly clear that three of the four Venatori leaders Tessa and Marius must kill are not very nice people.
- Attack the Mouth: Marius kills a pride demon this way.
- Big Damn Heroes: Marius and Tessa save a handful of villagers in Issue #3 by creating a wall of ice using frostrock, a mineral used for crafting in Dragon Age: Origins.
- Brains and Brawn: Tessa does the planning, Marius does the fighting.
- Brick Joke: Dalish, from Bull's Chargers, insisted in Inquisition that her staff is a bow. When she show up along the rest of the Chargers in Issue 4, her staff is actually shaped as a bow.
- The Cameo: Issues 1-5 might as well be called "Dragon Age: Cameo Appearances." Calpernia appears in Issue 2 as one of Marius' targets. Charter shows up in Issue 3 to recruit Tessa and Marius and is present in the next two issues. Dorian and the Bull's Chargers, sans the titular Iron Bull himself, assist Tessa and Marius in Issue 4, and Leliana shows up in the very last panel. Issue 5 actually starts in Skyhold and briefly features Maryden and Harding, as well as an extended appearance by Sutherland's company.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Marius first appeared in the short story, "Paying the Ferryman." Now he's one of the main characters of this tale.
- Archon Radonis was originally mentioned in Dragon Age: Inquisition in conversations with Josephine and could even potentially become an ally of the Inquisition.
- Covers Always Lie: The cover of Issue 5 depicts Inquisition forces battling Red Templars with Corypheus' orb squarely at its centre. The orb never appears and there are no Red Templars.
- Distressed Dude: In the first issue, Tessa and Marius save a young nobleman from his former lover.Tessa: It's an old story. You've probably heard it. Boy Meets Girl, they fall in love, girl turns out to be an apostate blood mage. Goes downhill from there, as they say.
- The End of the World as We Know It: The second issue ends with Tessa and Marius witnessing the creation of the Breach.
- The Ghost: The Inquisitor comes up in dialogue several times, but never appears in person, with the Doylist explanation being that their status as a customizable character means that they simply cannot be depicted without breaking individual player canon, and the Watsonian explanation being that the characters of the story usually do seek out the Inquisitor, only to find that they are no longer available due to the events of the game proper.
- Happiness in Slavery: Flavius, Archon Radonis' personal attendant, views his status as "neither insult nor shame." It probably helps that he's a high-status slave (akin to tutors and the like in Ancient Rome) and thus probably lives a more comfortable life than most free people.
- Hat of Authority: Archon Radonis has a rather massive hat.
- Irony: Tessa and Marius were lured to Minrathous to assassinate a handful of Venatori leaders. They end up being smuggled out of the city with the Venatori's help.
- Job Title: Also a One-Word Title and a Portmantitle.
- Knew It All Along: After telling Marius flat-out that his plan to contain a Fade Rift won't work, Tessa exclaims "I knew that would work" after they've evacuated the villagers.
- Lower-Deck Episode: A good chunk of the storyline follows events relevant to the main storyline of Dragon Age: Inquisition, often exploring the game's story missions from different angles, though the characters of Magekiller never have a direct affect on anything that is depicted by the game proper.
- Mexican Standoff: Of the "blades held at each other's throat" variety between Tessa and Charter.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Marius refuses to finish his mission to assassinate the Venatori leadership because their last surviving leader is his former lover Calpernia. When Corypheus opens the Breach three months later, he has a skilled general for his cult. Whoops.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Marius defeats an arcane horror and three rage demons offpanel.
- One-Word Title: Also a Job Title and a Portmantitle.
- Portmantitle: Also a One-Word Title and a Job Title.
- Razor Floss: Tessa and Marius use a strip of wire stretched across an entrance to grievously injure the blood mage in the first issue.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Tessa is loudmouthed, while Marius is quiet.
- Running Gag: Issue #4 continues the joke of Dalish from the Bull's Chargers insisting she's not a mage.
- Shout-Out: Sutherland finally gives his full name as Donal Sutherland.
- "Shut Up" Kiss: Charter delivers one to Tessa in the fifth issue.
- The Stoic: Marius seldom lets his emotions show.
- Wreathed in Flames: Marius has Dorian set him on fire to assault the Venatori camp in the fourth issue. He consumes a potion beforehand to prevent being burned.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Marius and Tessa suspect that Radonis will try to have them killed after they assassinate the Venatori leaders so no one will be able to trace the assassinations back to Radonis. Once they fail to kill the fourth target, he sends assassins after them anyway, apparently out of spite.
