A recent title update for Dragon's Dogma and Dragon's Dogma: The Dark Arisen has been noted to corrupt some save files and Capcom have issued a general warning urging players to back up their save files. Especially if they're switching from Dragon's Dogma to Dragon's Dogma: The Dark Arisen or haven't played the game in a while.
Capcom are looking into the issue and are hoping to come up with a solution soon.