Cullen Rutherford

"No one ever listens, not until it's far too late."

Cullen Stanton Rutherford (born 9:11)  is a Fereldan templar.

Background
Growing up as a child in the village of Honnleath, Cullen was fascinated by the templars and begged them to teach him. Eventually the local Knight-Captain spoke to Cullen's parents on his behalf and, with their blessing, he left home to join the order at the age of thirteen.

Romance
Cullen is a potential romance option for a female Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition, although only for humans or elves. He is also one of the few romance options whose romance can be initiated before the completion of his personal quest.

His romance can be initiated shortly after the Inquisitor arrives at Skyhold. Provided one is playing as a female human or elf, a short conversation with Cullen in the courtyard can be had as he is attempting to martial his troops, during which he pledges to the Inquisitor that he will never allow another crippling defeat such as Haven to occur again. Later, the female Inquisitor can initiate a romance with Cullen by asking if he has "time to talk". They take a stroll out onto the battlements, during which the Inquisitor confesses her feelings towards him. Provided that the Inquisitor fits Cullen's specifications (female and human/elf), the feelings are mutual and they share their first kiss. Cullen says later that he'd been wanting to kiss the Inquisitor "longer than he should admit". Throughout the rest of the game, the Inquisitor will have several cutscenes and unique conversations with Cullen if the romance option was selected.

If you are romancing him during Perseverance or after the quest, Cullen will call it off or refuse to enter a relationship if you told him to go back onto lyrium. In a discussion about the sacrifices required in a Templar lifestyle, he justifies the breakup by saying, "I wasn't the same after Ferelden. I tried putting that behind me and clearly I don't know how. Until that's possible, I shouldn't be with anyone." You can still romance him, however, if you tell him you'll find a better way later for him to break his addiction.

After a mage Inquisitor encourages Cullen to continue to refuse lyrium, he can express regret for his attitudes in the previous game and state that, "The way that I saw mages...I'm not sure I would have cared about you. And the thought of that sickens me."

Later on, Cullen will ask the Inquisitor if she'd like to accompany him while dealing with some business in Ferelden, accepting will take you to a lake. Cullen will tell you that he used to come here as a child to get away from his siblings and the last time he was here was the day he left for Templar training, saying that his brother gave him a coin, saying it was lucky, which he has kept. He will then ask the Inquisitor to indulge him and give the coin to them. The Inquisitor may either accept the gift or ask him to keep it. Neither option will affect the romance.

As with all other romanceable characters, if the inquisitor romances Cullen, two Orlesian nobles in the throne room will comment on the romance at each progression.

Dragon Age: Origins

 * "Maker turn his gaze on you. I hope your compassion hasn't doomed us all."

Dragon Age II

 * (To Hawke, Enemies Among Us, Act I) "I was at the Circle Tower in Ferelden during the Blight. I saw firsthand how templars' trust and leniency can be rewarded. I still have nightmares of Uldred's depravities."
 * (To Hawke, Enemies Among Us, Act I) "Mages cannot be treated like people. They are not like you and me. They are weapons. They have the power to light a city on fire in a fit of pique."
 * (To Hawke, Enemies Among Us, Act I) "There is a vigil before templars take their arms, but the gravest danger they face is falling asleep."
 * (To Hawke, Act I) "The image of the poor, chained apprentice is a powerful one. And one the mages are more than willing to exploit."

Dragon Age: Inquisition

 * "Kirkwall's Circle fell. Innocent people died in the streets. Can't you see why I want nothing to do with that life?"
 * "Inquisition! With the Herald! For your lives! For all of us!"
 * (At the war table) "If you squint, Lake Calenhad looks like a bunny."

Trivia

 * Cullen shared quarters with Samson when he was transferred to Kirkwall. He thought Samson was a "decent man" at the time.
 * His full name is revealed by the herald at Empress Celene's ball in Inquisition. (Ser Cullen Stanton Rutherford of Honnleath)
 * If the imported Origins story featured a Human Magi Origin Warden, Cullen will refer to them in the beginning of Dragon Age II Act 2, e.g. "I knew an Amell once. She was a special woman. Never met her like again." in the case of a female Warden and "There was an Amell in the Ferelden Circle, he left before Uldred attacked and came back to save us all." in the case of a male Warden.
 * If the imported Origins save is a female Mage Warden, his Dragon Age II Codex makes a reference to his feelings for the Warden while they were at the Circle Tower.
 * Originally, Cullen wasn't a romance option for Dragon Age: Inquisition, but according to Mike Laidlaw, BioWare changed his role as a love interest when they extended the game's development for a year.
 * If the imported worldstate to Inquisition involved a female Mage Warden from Origins Cullen will refer to her, though the dialogue differs if he is romancing the Inquisitor. If Leliana romanced a female Mage Warden in Origins and Cullen is not being romanced by the Inquisitor, he will try to ask Leliana about the Warden during War Table banter.
 * If Hawke sided with the templars during the Kirkwall Rebellion, Cullen was promoted to Knight-Commander of Kirkwall. Otherwise, he remained Knight-Captain, even though he was the de facto commander in Kirkwall. However, at the Winter Palace during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, the herald will announce Cullen as "former Knight-Commander of Kirkwall", regardless of his actual title.
 * Cullen enjoys chess, and often played against his sister as a child.
 * Cullen was written by Sheryl Chee in Origins, Jennifer Hepler in Dragon Age: II , and Brianne Battye in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Bugs

 * In Inquisition, an Inquisition agent in Cullen's office in Skyhold will tell the Inquisitor that Cullen has gone to speak with Cassandra. However, if the Inquisitor has completed Sera's unmarked "prank" quest prior to this conversation, the Inquisitor might not be able to interact with this agent. This will render it impossible to find Cullen (which is otherwise accomplished by clicking on Cassandra), and he will never return to his office. Any further interaction with him becomes impossible, as does the completion of his questline (Supposedly fixed with Patch 6, though there are still reports of the bug occurring after the patch).