Leliana

A lay sister of the Chantry who can beat the stuffing out of trained mercenaries would be notable enough, but one who also claims to have been sent to fight the darkspawn by the Maker Himself is... unusual to say the least.

There's more to Leliana than had even been apparent at Lothering, however. She spent much of her life as a bard in Orlais: a minstrel, assassin, and spy employed by the nobles of Val Royeaux in their elaborate games of intrigue.

Leliana at a Glance

Starting Attributes

• Strength: 18
• Willpower: 18
• Cunning: 19
• Dexterity: 22
• Magic: 14
• Constitution: 10

Class: Rogue

Recommended Build: Lockpick Extraordinaire

Build up Leliana's lockpick skills to open locked chests and doors. Once you get up to Device Mastery at level 12, she will be invaluable for entering areas you wouldn't have had access to without her nimble fingers. She can shoot a bow better than anyone else in the group.

Starting Talents

• Bard: Song of Valor
• Rogue: Dirty Fighting, Below the Belt, Deft Hands, Improved Tools
• Archery: Pinning Shot, Crippling Shot, Rapid Shot, Shattering Shot

Location:

Lothering

Unlock Condition

When you enter Dane's Refuge in Lothering, Leliana will join up with you after you smack around some mercenaries causing a ruckus.

Combat Advice

Arm Leliana with a pair of daggers and let her Dual Weapon talents kick in. At higher levels, you can equip her with rune-slotted daggers and load up on damage bonuses to really shred through targets.

She has the basics to be a quality archer from the start, and you can pour more talent points into Archery if you want to develop her as a ranged expert. However, concentrate most of your talents in the Rogue school and the bard specialty.

The Rogue talents can improve her backstab, which is really where she shines against enemies, and the bard talents help with crowd control.

Once you reach Captivating Song, Leliana can single-handedly lock down a handful of foes, which is an exceptional ability when swarmed by several difficult assailants.

In combat, let the other companions lead and Leliana will gladly follow. She can either shoot at range with her bow, or wait a few seconds for the field to set and then maneuver in for flank attack or backstab tries from the enemy's rear.

You want her to move quickly, so don't overload her with armor; top-notch leather is probably her best option or else the fatigue penalty gets too harsh and she won't get off as many abilities.

Personal Quest

Similar to Alistair and his personal quest with his sister Goldanna, you can "change" Leliana to be a tougher, sterner person by encouraging her to stay an assassin when the dialogue opportunity arises.

If you tell Leliana that she is a natural killer and shouldn't fight it, she will "change" her demeanor and become more accepting of events such as you sleeping with Isabela.

Changing her also affects her clothing at the end of the game: normal Leliana will appear in Chantry robes, while changed Leliana will appear in leather.

• To embark on Leliana's main personal quest, you must do the following, in order:
• Talk to her in camp and eventually ask her, "What would someone like you be doing in Lothering's Chantry?" She will bring up being a minstrel.
• Get Leliana's approval rating to warm (approval 25+).
• Talk to Leliana in camp about how minstrels are sometimes spies.
• Leave the camp and come back to the camp. Talk to Leliana again (must still be warm approval). She'll talk about how she lied about Orlais.
• The next random encounter should be Leliana's assassin's encounter. The last human male surrenders when you beat him, and he'll talk about who sent him. You can decide to kill him or not, then leave the encounter and Leliana will talk. She will tell you all about a former love interest, Marjolaine.

Dialogue Choices

As with any companion, Leliana has dialogue choices whenever you interact with her, and sometimes she will initiate a topic.

However, at important points in the game, you should know about plot-specific and camp-specific dialogue that could change the game for your companion. Listen to all her stories to know more about her (and to increase your approval rating). If your approval gets high enough, she will even sing a whole song just for you.

Crisis Moment

Certain game choices will force a companion to reconsider you as their ally. At the end of the "Urn of Sacred Ashes" quest, you have the option of destroying the ashes. If you choose to do this, Leliana will turn against you (as will Wynne if she is in the party).

Romance

Leliana may be difficult to start a relationship with; however, she will with either a male or a female (male is easier).

If you are male, when you talk to Leliana initially about her time in the cloister, you just have to talk to her in camp. You don't even have to be at warm. Follow these dialogue choices:

• "I'd like to talk."
• "What was someone like you doing in Lothering's Chantry?"
• "You know, a beautiful charming woman like yourself."
• "Those initiates can't have been more lovely than you."
• Romance will be started.

If your approval is 50+ with Leliana and you are female, you can talk to her in camp she'll say (only once), "I... have I ever told you I really like the way you wear your hair?" Respond with the following dialogue choices:

• "My hair? Thank-you."
• "Dear Maker!"
• "Well we are friends aren't we?"
• "And do you enjoy the company of other women?"
• "I think I might giggle and maybe look coy?"

If you finish the Marjolaine personal quest, talk to Leliana. She'll say something like, "I know that look- you have something on your mind don't you?" Respond with the following dialogue choices:

• "We need to talk."
• "Are you feeling better?"
• "Er, I think I see what you mean."
• "She was special to you wasn't she?"
• "I'm sorry it ended so badly."
• "Everyone changes unfortunately."
• "I can only hope to one day be as special as she was to you."

If you're looking to seduce Leliana, you have to be in a romance with her and she has to be in love with you, which means you have to have your approval at 100.

Talk to her in camp. If she gives you the line, "It has been some time since I left Lothering. When I stepped out of the cloister I had no idea where my path would lead." Keep being nice and eventually she'll invite you to her tent. This only happens once.

Gifts

Leliana enjoys higher-priced religious jewelry or a random critter. Some personal dialogue will open up with Leliana if you give her Andraste's Grace or the nug, which can be acquired from a young dwarf in Orzammar's Dust Town, but only after Leliana mentions that she finds "those little bunny pigs adorable."

Take advantage of these gifts because you want her approval high if you plan on starting a romance.

Highlights

• Leliana may teach the bard talents if she warms up to you.
• Leliana is very religious and chooses the morally proper path in most cases.
• Despite her religious upbringing, Leliana is not all that she seems. Complete her personal quest to discover the truth.
• Leliana doesn't enter relationships lightly. She must have an approval of 100 to be in love with you and consider inviting you to her tent.