ORIGINS OF SPIRITS/DEMONS
According to the Chantry, the spirits of the Fade are the first children of the Maker. He turned his back on them because they lacked a soul – they could twist the Fade to their liking, but lacked the ability to imagine and create, and thus emulate their creator. The Maker created a new realm, separated from the Fade by the Veil, and this realm would be one that his new children could not alter at will. These new children had the spark of the divine within them, and the Maker was pleased. Supposedly, ever since the Maker created His new children, the spirits from the Fade have watched humanity with curiosity and, in the case of the more malicious spirits, envy and desire.

The malicious ones among the Maker's first children were jealous. They called out to the mortals, drawing their sleeping minds across the Veil and saw the land that the Maker had created for them in their dreams. They coveted the spark within them, but did not understand it. They shape the Fade to create the land that they see in the minds of men, and seek to draw the spark from them without truly understanding where it might actually come from.

DESCRIPTION
All the denizens of the realm beyond the Veil are spirits. Their very bodies are formed from the ether. Spirits are not physical entities and are therefore not restricted to recognizable forms (or even having a form at all), one can never tell for certain what is alive and what is merely part of the scenery. (It is therefore advisable for the inexperienced researcher to greet all objects he encounters.) They are intelligent creatures capable of speech.

It is said that spirits lack imagination and creativity; everything they make is based off something made by mortals. Whether benevolent or malevolent, most spirits cannot help but mine a Fade visitor's mind for their thoughts and memories. They then mimic the pieces of life they see by shaping the Fade into various realms that cater to the unconscious desires of the living, providing experiences to the sleeping that become their "dreams." Because of this lack of creativity, and the fact that spirits don't really understand the things they create, their creations tend to feel wrong to observers from the mortal world: One man describes it as translating a passage into a different language, then getting drunk and trying to translate it back. Spirits range in power from those who rule the dream realms to minor spirits that have little influence over the ether.

TYPES OF SPIRITS
When I say "type", I mean that there are two main types of spirits—benevolent and malevolent. Benovolent spirits are often called Spirits, whereas malevolent ones are often called Demons. Within these two groups are many different spirits, many of which choose their own titles and names.

There are five widely known benevolent spirits, as far as typing goes. But these overall typings can be broken down into many different words and phrases. It's really up to you what you want your spirit to focus on. The strongest spirits on this list are Spirits of Faith and Hope. However, Spirits of Hope rarely appear in the waking world because there's not a lot of hope in a lot of people. Wisdom and Purpose are another pair of rarely encountered spirits.

Compassion
Valor
Faith
Hope
Justice

Now, when it comes to Demons, or malevolent spirits—"Spirits wish to join the living, and a demon is that wish gone wrong." — Solas
Need we say more? Demons are what occur when a Spirit is warped and corrupted by a desire to join the waking world... you can read more about how spirits can become demons later.

WHAT SPIRITS CAN BECOME WHAT DEMONS?
Spirits and demons are not separate entities; instead they are one and the same creature. A Spirit of Faith can become a Demon of Despair, Demon of Doubt, or Demon of Pride. We've listed a few of the common spirit-to-demon (or demon-to-spirit) changes. For anything that doesn't have a listing, use your imagination. There is no wrong or right way to have your demon or spirit change what they are! If you need help with this, talk to a staff member and see what they suggest! Or, maybe, hit up the members on the site for ideas.

Affection
Anguish
Anxiety: Humility
Apathy: Compassion, Serenity
Avarice: Generosity
Awe: Fear
Compassion
Confidence: Pride
Contempt: Love, Loyalty
Conviction: Desire, Pride
Curiosity: Desire, Envy
Desire: Curiosity, Love, Passion, Purpose, Will
Despair: Hope
Diligence
Doubt: Faith
Effort
Envy: Faith
Euphoria
Faith: Despair, Doubt, Pride
Fear
Gratitude: Envy
Grief
Happiness
Hatred
Honesty: Depravity, Pride
Hope: Despair
Humility: Anxiety, Loathing
Hysteria: Joy, Serenity
Joy: Hysteria
Justice: Vengeance
Kindness
Loathing: Humility
Love: Desire
Loyalty: Contempt
Mercy
Passion: Desire
Patience: Sloth
Persistence
Pride: Confidence, Faith, Will, Wisdom
Rage: Valor
Purpose: Desire, Sloth
Remorse
Sacrifice: Hunger
Sloth: Composure, Patience
Sorrow: Ecstasy, Joy
Temperance: Sloth
Terror
Valor: Rage
Vengeance: Justice
Wisdom: Pride
Worry: Faith

QUESTIONS
Q: How can a spirit become a demon?
A: There's many ways for this to happen, but I've listed some of the most common ones! In fact, Imshael (a Forbidden One) insists on being known as a spirit of choice, indicating he feeds off of spirits who are making difficult choices. So please be aware, there is no definitive list of spirits or demons, and no wrong way to answer the question 'what kind of spirit/demon possess your character'.

The spirit can already embody something mortals would perceive as a vice or an ambiguous concept. (Ex: Torpor, Choice)
The spirit can reflect or imitate human perversions of a virtue, or possess a mortal with distorted values. (Ex: Allure, Vengeance)
The spirit can oversimplify the application or fulfillment of its virtue. (Ex: Compassion)
The spirit gains ego, ambition, longing, or a thirst for power. (Ex: Nightmare)
The spirit can be driven insane by outside forces, particularly manifesting into the real world prematurely or against its will. (Ex: Rift demons)
The spirit can be denied its original purpose, particularly through blood magic binding (Ex: Wisdom).

Credit: This page is heavily copied and paraphrased from The Dragon Age Wiki Entry, "Spirit".