Character Leliana
Race:	Human
Gender:	Female
Class:	Rogue
Title:	Chantry Lay Sister
Specialization:	Bard
Location:	Lothering
Quests:	Leliana's Past
Voice:	Corinne Kempa
Appearances:	Dragon Age: Origins Leliana's Song Dragon Age II Dragon Age: Asunder

Leliana is an Orlesian bard who came to the village of Lothering. She sought the refuge of the local Chantry, where she expected to spend her time in meditation and prayer to the Maker, asking Him for forgiveness for her past deeds. Leliana is a possible companion to the Warden, as well as a romance option for either gender in Dragon Age: Origins. She can also teach the bard specialization.

Leliana is the protagonist of Leliana's Song, an additional campaign for Origins revealing more of her past as a bard before she joined the Chantry.

Background Edit

Leliana was born in Orlais, but her mother was Fereldan, and so she considers herself such as well. After her mother's death, she was raised by Lady Cecile, an Orlesian noble. Leliana's mother had served Lady Cecile during the Orlesian occupation and followed her to Orlais after Ferelden's liberation. Living in Orlais, Leliana learned a great deal about the royal court and Orlesian culture.

“We now have a dog and Alistair is still the dumbest one in the party.” — Morrigan This article contains spoilers for Dragon Age: Origins. Click here to reveal them.

In time she began to work as a bard for Marjolaine, with whom she fell in love. During this period she ran errands for her lover and became a merciless killer and thief. However, her mentor took advantage of her devotion and framed Leliana for espionage, a crime punishable by death. Lured, captured, and beaten, Leliana was thrown into prison. She promptly escaped, and, after investigating the extent of Marjolaine's treachery, fled Orlais, branded as a traitor. Leliana eventually made her way to the village of Lothering and joined the local Chantry.

Involvement Edit

Dragon Age: Origins Edit

Leliana believes she has received a vision from the Maker, which compels her to assist the Warden in thwarting the impending Blight.

“We now have a dog and Alistair is still the dumbest one in the party.” — Morrigan This article contains spoilers for Dragon Age: Origins. Click here to reveal them.

Leliana is first encountered at Dane's Refuge, a tavern in Lothering. When the Warden is set upon by soldiers loyal to Loghain, Leliana aids the Warden in the skirmish. When the combat is over, she explains her interest in joining their party and mentions her vision. Despite the Chantry's claim that the Maker does not communicate directly with individuals, Leliana is firm in her belief. This causes Alistair to suspect she is mentally unstable.

If Leliana is rejected initially, the Warden will gain dialogue options with the residents in Lothering who talk about her, and she will be found waiting at the village's exit to request to join the party a second time. At this point, Alistair suggests accepting her. If not accepted, she will never be seen again.

The Urn of Sacred Ashes

During The Urn of Sacred Ashes, the Guardian briefly talks to each of the party members about his or her past. When the Guardian speaks to Leliana, he states that the Maker only ever spoke to one mortal, Andraste, and accuses Leliana of making her vision up. He states she fabricated the story to get attention because she feared her life would become dull in the Chantry. Affronted by the accusation, Leliana denies the Guardian's version of things.

Due to her devout nature, Leliana will not stand idly by if the Warden chooses to defile the Ashes of Andraste. If she is in the party, she will attack, resulting in her death. She can be intimidated to avoid this; she will not forgive the Warden for the desecration, but will remain as a companion. Even if she is not in the party at the time, she will confront the Warden at the Party Camp. If she cannot be successfully persuaded, she will leave permanently.

Marjolaine

See also: Leliana's Past

Eventually, when Leliana reveals a certain amount of her past to the Warden, Marjolaine sends assassins to kill her. Upon defeat, the assassins confess Marjolaine is in Ferelden. The Warden will be prompted to join Leliana in settling her score with Marjolaine. During the quest, Leliana's personality can be "hardened" through certain dialogue options. Doing this will result in her being less likely to object to evil decisions, will alter her attitude towards Morrigan, and affect her possible endings, particularly in relation to the Warden.

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

Leliana never appears in Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening but is mentioned once. If she was in love with the Warden at the end of Dragon Age: Origins, then the following entry may appear in the epilogue of Awakening:

Some claimed the commander reunited with the red-haired bard known as Leliana and that they adventure together still. The pair were spotted together in Denerim a year after the Blight's end. No matter the truth, the commander never did return to Vigil's Keep.

There is also a letter from her to her love interest.

Dragon Age II Edit

“There are men who embrace destiny; these are the ones that change the world forever.” — Flemeth This article contains spoilers for Dragon Age II. Click here to reveal them.

The developers have confirmed that Leliana survives the events of Dragon Age: Origins, even if the Warden seemingly kills her in the Gauntlet.^[1] Her codex entry in Dragon Age II is supposed to reflect one of her four possible fates (romanced, not romanced, killed, or not recruited) but due to a persistent bug, it seems to always default to the path where she was recruited but not romanced. Regardless of whether she was actually recruited, she speaks as if she has accompanied the Warden.

Leliana first appears in The Exiled Prince DLC, during the Act 3 quest "Faith". She now goes by the alias "Sister Nightingale" and, according to Grand Cleric Elthina, functions as "the left hand of the Divine Justinia V", whom she knew as a Revered Mother during the events of the Leliana's Song DLC. Leliana has been sent to Kirkwall to assess whether an Exalted March against the city will be necessary.^[2] While tracking down a shadowy group known as "Resolutionists", she encounters Hawke and asks the Champion and Sebastian to convince Elthina to flee Kirkwall and seek shelter in the Grand Cathedral of Val Royeaux. However, the Grand Cleric refuses to leave and is ultimately killed in the endgame quest "The Last Straw", just as Leliana had feared.

During their conversation, Hawke has a chance to ask Sister Nightingale whether she is "the Leliana" who helped the Warden in defeating the Blight, and she will confirm this. If an Origins save file where the Warden has romanced her was imported, Leliana will say that the Warden is "dear to her heart"; if not, she says that she has not seen the Warden in years, or, if the Warden married Anora or Alistair, that they are "a good King/Queen".

Leliana's second appearance is a brief cameo in the Mark of the Assassin DLC, as a guest of the Orlesian Duke Prosper. A short dialogue reveals that she is very well acquainted with Tallis, but she doesn't play any role in the events of the DLC.

Lastly, Leliana appears in the finale of Dragon Age II. She has been tracking down the Warden to gain her old ally's aid in stopping the Mage-Templar War that broke out after the events of the game. In this encounter, she wears the armor bearing insignia of the Seekers of Truth, just like Cassandra's.

Dragon Age: Asunder Edit

“I spent my time cleaning. Like a servant.” — Shale This article contains spoilers for Dragon Age: Asunder. Click here to reveal them.

Leliana appears in the novel Dragon Age: Asunder as a minor character and an agent of the Divine Justinia V in Orlais, seeking a solution to the ongoing Mage-Templar War following the events of Dragon Age II. She assists several of the major characters during the course of the novel as they struggle to determine the future of mages in Thedas. She attends and sings at Wynne's funeral near the end of the book.

Romance Edit

See Leliana/Romance for a detailed walkthrough on romancing her.

See Romance: Love Triangles for information regarding simultaneous romances involving both Leliana and another companion.

The Warden's first opportunity to kiss her occurs when her approval reaches "Adore" (71 or higher) and the Warden is not already in a romance with another party member. She starts a conversation in camp with the opening sentence "I enjoy the nights at camp. The night always seems more peaceful, to me. Safer." Nevertheless she isn't interested in a fling and will only bed the Warden once she's fallen in love with him/her. She will not fall in love with the Warden until her quest has been completed and her approval rating has reached 91 or higher. To increase her approval, talk to her a lot, listen to what she tells you, be supportive, avoid criticizing her when she talks about the Maker, give her gifts that are personally meaningful to her, do good deeds while she is in the party, and avoid evil acts (or at least avoid having Leliana in the party when performing them).

Note: Although it isn't clearly a romantic advance on the Warden's part, asking "She was special to you, wasn't she?" starts a romance when talking about what happened with Marjolaine during Leliana's personal quest. This happens regardless of what dialogue choices you make after that, even if you don't ask about her current romantic interests. Take care not to select this option if you only want to be friends.

Quests Edit

Dragon Age: Origins Edit

Dragon Age II Edit

Gifts Edit

Leliana prefers gifts with "Andraste" in their name, as well as other symbols of the Chantry. The white flowers called Andraste's Grace work particularly well. She loves shoes, too. Leliana can also be given a pet nug from the Idle Dwarf in Dust Town. It will stay with her throughout the game.

Name	Notes	Description
Andraste's Grace	Located: Redcliffe Village, West Brecilian Forest, Elven Alienage Plot Item	A small white wildflower, commonly known as Andraste's Grace.
Blue Satin Shoes	Located: Old Tegrin	Powder blue satin shoes with long ribbons that circle the ankle. Gold lace trim and dangling gold charms shaped like puppies add the finishing touches.
Bronze Symbol of Andraste	Located: Lothering	A small bronze plate with the symbol of a flame stamped into it.
Chantry Amulet	Located: Circle Tower	This amulet is similar to the ones worn by members of the Chantry. The carving on the amulet depicts Andraste's undying flame.
Etched Silver Symbol	Located: Ortan Thaig	A simple holy symbol, made of etched silver.
Golden Symbol of Andraste	Located: Orzammar	An elegant gold disk suspended from a ribbon that bears the mark of andraste's flame.
Cute Nug	Located: Dust Town, Idle Dwarf Plot Item	The nug's nose twitches as it stares at the world with clear inquisitive eyes. It seems to enjoy being stroked.
Silver Sword of Mercy	Located: Old Tegrin	An ornate silver amulet in the shape of a Sword.
Steel Symbol of Andraste	Located: Denerim Market District	This holy symbol is crafted from polished steel and has a severe look to it.

Initial statistics Edit

See Companion Strategies for suggestions on how to develop Leliana.

Origins Edit

Relative attribute weightings on auto-level: Strength 0.6, Dexterity 1.2, Willpower 0.4, Magic 0, Cunning 1.2, Constitution 0.6.

Class: Rogue

Specialization: Bard

Skills: Stealing level 2, Poison level 1, Combat training level 2

Starting abilities: pc

Bard: Song of Valor

Rogue: Dirty Fighting, Deft Hands, Improved Tools, Below the Belt (level 6 Leliana)

Archery: Pinning Shot, Crippling Shot, Rapid Shot, Shattering Shot (level 7 Leliana)

Leliana's Song Edit

Class: Rogue

Level: 10

Specialization: Bard

Attributes (1 available point)

• Strength: 20
• Dexterity: 26
• Willpower: 18
• Magic: 14
• Cunning: 18
• Constitution: 10

Skills (no available points)

• Stealing, Improved Stealing, Expert Stealing
• Poison-Making
• Combat Training, Improved Combat Training, Expert Combat Training

Abilities (2 available points)

• Bard: Song of Valor
• Rogue: Dirty Fighting, Combat Movement, Coup De Grace, Below the Belt, Deft Hands, Improved Tools
• Dual Weapon: Dual-Weapon Training
• Archery: Pinning Shot, Rapid Shot

Gear Edit

Dragon Age: Origins Edit

Initial gear

Leliana specific gear

Leliana's Song Edit

Initial gear

Plot skills Edit

As you befriend Leliana and gain her approval, she will gain additional abilities, including the following:

Quotes Edit

Main article: Leliana/Dialogue

• "I tried to be merciful!"
• "The righteous stand before the darkness, and the Maker shall guide their hand."
• "I came to Ferelden and the Chantry because I was being hunted. I walked where the Maker led me and he has rewarded me for my faith. I found you."
• "Walking corpses? Do you think it's something in the water?"
• (When entering combat) "I never liked this part!"
• (Getting up at the end of combat) "Oh, look! My bruises form a pretty pattern!"
• (When badly injured) "I can't go on like this."
• (When badly injured) "I hate this part."
• "There were many lovely young initiates in the Lothering cloister -- all of them chaste and virtuous. Ah, it added to their mystique."
• (At Redcliffe village) "Ooh! A windmill. I once took a ride on the sails of a windmill. Didn't turn out well."
• (When confronted with floor puzzle) "Ooh, this looks fun! I'll bet we'll have to work together, join hands, and sing a happy song to get across."
• "Look at what that woman's wearing! Is she drunk or does she just have bad taste?"
• "I suppose violence is a solution... sometimes!"
• "Try not to look too incompetent, it's embarrassing!"
• (At the gates of Denerim if you take her with you to fight the Archdemon) "You are my dearest friend and my love; you lit my path through darkness and I will stand with you, to whatever end. This day, we will forge a legend of our own."

Trivia Edit

• In her Bioware's character file, her appearance is described as: "Red hair, pale, slender."^[3]
• Leliana's CGI model from the Sacred Ashes trailer is based on adult model Alexandra "Alleykatze" Stein^[4].

• When asked to compare a list of NPC companions to food, BioWare employee Mary Kirby described Leliana as "A sticky cinnamon bun. No question."^[5]
• Sheryl Chee described her as, "a macaroon; very French and very girly."^[6]
• If Leliana is given the cute nug, she will name it Schmooples. (To see for yourself, hold down tab on the PC version to highlight your companions names or left trigger on the console versions to note all names in the vicinity.)
• At one point when discussing Orlais fashion with Leliana, she will mention how one trend had shoes with soles "as big as bricks." This is obviously a nod to platform shoes, similarly fashionable a few years ago and just as impractical.
• Leliana is one of three companions who appears in the Sacred Ashes trailer.
• If Leliana's approval is high enough, it is possible that she will hum a little melody when the player takes control of her.
• If Leliana is hardened, she will be clad in armour during the coronation, however, if she remains unhardened, she will simply wear a dress.
• If you talk to Bethany in the chantry in Dragon Age II, she will say, "I miss the Lothering Chantry. Sister Leliana told the best stories."
• If you talk to Aveline in the chantry in Dragon Age II, she will comment about feeling uncomfortable around chantry sisters due to a "red-haired trickster in Lothering."

Bugs Edit

• One important dialogue option that leads to Leliana's background quest can be lost if you get her approval too high without talking to her. Therefore, do not simply shower Leliana with gifts—talk to her and make sure you choose "I heard that in Orlais, minstrels are often spies" when that option appears. As her approval increases further, you can no longer ask it. Leliana's background quest requires her to first tell you a lie about her background, and then feel bad and come clean on it. If the question about spies disappears from the dialogue options before you ask it, you will never learn of Leliana's past and you will not get the quest to seek out her former bard master, Marjolaine. Using Feastday Gifts and Pranks is also a useful way to deal with this problem for those still encountering it.

• A female human noble Warden who does not engage in a romance with Leliana and becomes Alistair's queen during the Landsmeet can still get a heartbroken speech from her back at camp on the topic if her approval rating is high. Oddly, it is possible to squeeze a few more approval points out of this dialogue if you are regretful about having to "end it" with Leliana, even if you were never in a romance with her to begin with.
• If you give Leliana lots of gifts and have her at 100 approval, in Orzammar's Proving Grounds, when you are in the championship battle and are almost finished, Leliana will blurt out, "Oh thanks, that's wonderful!" as though she has been given a gift.
• When Leliana asks elven mages about living in the Alienage, there is no option to say that you don't remember the Alienage. This occurs even if you have already established that you remember nothing in the origin story.
• Leliana has blue eyes, yet when she has blood all over herself her eyes turn a greenish colour.
• ps3xbox360 In Leliana's Song, if you put a point in Coup De Grace, it will vanish when Leliana levels up,
• If an Awakening or Witch Hunt (instead of Origins) save game is imported in Dragon Age II, the game will not acknowledge active romance between Leliana and the Warden (and she will not refer to the Warden as "dear to her heart"). This is because the unmodded DA2 checks imported approval ratings instead of romance flags to determine Origins romance, and while the flags are imported properly, neither Awakening, nor the DLC campaigns keep the approval ratings of absent party members. An unofficial fix exists to address this problem.

Gallery Edit

Leliana in the Sacred Ashes trailer

Young Leliana, Leliana's Song

Leliana in Dragon Age II

Leliana as "Sister Nightingale" in Dragon Age II

Leliana in Mark of the Assassin

Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

See also Edit

References Edit

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ The Exiled Prince Video
3. ↑ Dragon Age: Origins Resource File: leliana.chr
4. ↑ The Girls of 'Dragon Age: Origins'
5. ↑ Mary Kirby, Dragon Age Central^{[dead link]}
6. ↑ Sheryl Chee, Dragon Age Central^{[dead link]}