Leliana

"In the cloister, away from the fuss and the flurry of the cities, I found peace. And in that stillness, I could hear the Maker."

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 also the protagonist of Leliana's Song DLC.

Background
"In Orlais, bards travel throughout the land, trading entertainment for the hospitality of the aristocracy while simultaneously plying a more sinister trade: Often, they are secretly spies or assassins. Leliana, however, speaks little of her history as a bard, having left her life behind long ago. She came to the village of Lothering seeking refuge in the Chantry, where she has assumed a life of quiet contemplation and prayer to the Maker, asking Him to forgive a life of deeds that her fellow sisters can only guess at. But although it is the last path that Leliana would ever choose for herself, she believes that the time will soon come to take up that old life once again. A higher calling awaits her, and with it a road to true redemption. The Maker has told her this, and she believes."

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 Cecilie, an Orlesian noble. Leliana's mother had served Lady Cecilie 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.

Leliana takes care to honor the Lothering cloister that took her in, and keeps symbols of Andraste's blessings close to her heart.

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

{{SpoilerDAO| Leliana is first encountered at Dane's Refuge, a tavern in Lothering. When the Warden is set upon by soldiers loyal to Loghain Mac Tir, 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
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.}}

Romance


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.

Gifts
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.

Dragon Age: Origins




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
(Improved) (Expert - level 8) (Master - level 12)

(Improved) (Expert - level 10)

Starting abilities (PC)
Bard:

(level 8) (level 11) Rogue:

(level 6)

(level 12) Archery:

(level 7) (level 9) (level 10)

Leliana's Song
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)

(Improved) (Expert)

(Improved) (Expert)

Abilities
(2 available points) Bard:

Rogue:

Dual Weapon:

Archery:

Dragon Age: Origins
Initial gear

Leliana specific gear

Leliana's Song
Initial gear

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

Quotes



 * "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?"
 * "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!"
 * (Leaving the party) "I weep for Ferelden. If all it has standing between it and the Blight is you, then we are all doomed!"
 * (About 'The Game', Leliana's Song DLC) "The only way out of this game is to kill or be killed."
 * (Prologue to Leliana's Song DLC) "Do you want to know a secret? This tale of foolish people long ago... I know what happened, and what is true... but I don't know how it should end. Let me tell it one more time, and perhaps together, we will see."
 * (Epilogue to Leliana's Song DLC) "Do you want to know a secret? That moment, I keep, because even now, I don't know what ending serves best. But being able to choose, That is the truth of this story. The rest, it changes with the audience. All things change... when they find purpose."
 * (From Dragon Age: The Masked Empire) "The elves are the children of the Maker, just as we are, and just as deserving of His grace."
 * (From Dragon Age: The Masked Empire) "I have...been comrades-in-arms with elves. I would not see them harmed."

Trivia

 * Leliana looks like Sharwyn from Neverwinter Nights, they both are bards and redheads and their personalities are similar. She also bears a resemblance to Imoen from Baldur's Gate.
 * In her BioWare's character file, her appearance is described as: "Red hair, pale, slender."
 * Leliana is one of three companions who appears in the Sacred Ashes trailer. Her CGI model in the trailer is based on adult model Alexandra "Alleykatze" Stein.
 * When imagining a single-note scent for Leliana, Sheryl Chee likened her to "sugared roses, incense and candy floss."
 * If Leliana is given the Cute Nug, she will name it Schmooples. (To see for yourself, hold down tab on the version to highlight your companions names or left trigger on the console versions to note all names in the vicinity.)
 * 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 armor during the coronation; however, if she remains unhardened, she will simply wear a dress.
 * Statistically, Leliana is the most commonly-picked romance option in Origins.
 * If you talk to Bethany Hawke 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."
 * Leliana's aliases include "Sister Nightingale".
 * Despite an Orlesian accent, Leliana's features are strikingly Fereldan and reflect her heritage

Bugs

 * 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 magi Warden 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.
 * 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.


 * A male human noble who is arranged to marry Anora will also receive the heartbroken speech from Leliana even if they weren’t in a romantic relationship.