Alistair

"That's what I'm here for. To deliver unpleasant news and witty one-liners."

Alistair is a playful and compassionate Grey Warden and one of the companions in Dragon Age: Origins. He is a potential romance option for a female Warden.

Dragon Age: Origins
{{SpoilerDAO| The newest of Ferelden's Grey Wardens, Alistair is the first party companion that joins the Warden when he helps them prepare for the Joining. He is proud to be a Grey Warden, and informs the Warden of several of the sacrifices that being a Grey Warden entails. However, even his knowledge of the difficult path that Grey Wardens travel does not stop him from being devastated when Duncan and the rest of Ferelden's Grey Wardens die at Ostagar. Alistair takes his responsibility to end the Blight seriously and will stand by The Warden to see this done, even if The Warden acts in a way he disapproves of.

Family is important to Alistair. Despite sleeping in the stables when under Eamon's care, and Isolde being responsible for his being sent to the Chantry, helping save them all is very important to him. Alistair also longs to be reunited with his half sister Goldanna. However their reunion does not go well. While on the quest Alistair's Family the Warden will have the opportunity to permanently harden Alistair's personality by telling him, "Everyone is out for themselves. You need to learn that." after leaving his sister's home. If the Warden reinforces this advice in follow-up conversations, Alistair will gain confidence and put himself first more often. This means he is more willing to become king, and to put his personal feelings above his sense of duty.

The Landsmeet is a critical event for Alistair. As the only known living child of King Maric, Alistair has a strong claim to the throne and he can become king, ruling by himself, with Anora, or with a female Human Noble Warden. However, despite his willingness to overlook other actions the Warden has taken, if the Warden accepts Riordan's advice to let Loghain undergo the Joining, Alistair will leave the party for good. He can still be persuaded to marry Anora, therefore becoming king, but he will not serve alongside Loghain under any circumstances. Also, if he has called for Loghain's death and does not marry Anora, she will call for his execution to secure the throne. The Warden can intervene to save his life, or allow Alistair to die.

{{Note|If Alistair is executed, a chest appears in the Arl of Redcliffe's Estate with all his equipment. If he simply leaves the chest is not present.}}

After Morrigan's Ritual has been accepted the Warden can choose to involve Alistair by asking him to sleep with Morrigan. If Alistair is in love with the Warden and Morrigan's offer is accepted, he will have sex with Morrigan, though this will not change his feelings for the Warden. If the Warden is a male, you can accept her offer or convince Alistair to accept it. Whatever the choice, Alistair will accompany the Warden into the final battle.

If Alistair is in love with the Warden (either in an active relationship with her that is at the Love level of approval, or having reached Love, but with the relationship having then been ended by him after the Landsmeet), and Morrigan's offer is declined, then Alistair will sacrifice himself to slay the Archdemon. There is no dialogue option to prevent this. Telling him that his decision is crazy, or accepting it and telling him that he won't be forgotten, will lead to Alistair kissing the Warden one last time before he kills the Archdemon. The only way for Alistair to remain alive at the end of the game under these circumstances is to either convince him to accept Morrigan's offer, or to not select him for the final party.

Epilogue
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 * If he is not hardened and Alistair becomes King of Ferelden, he travels frequently during his reign, ruling with a "common touch".
 * If he is hardened, he will surprise many by studying governance, though he still likes to sneak out of the castle to visit local taverns. He will also be willing to continue his relationship with the Warden if it has occurred (if they are not of Human Noble origin). Spending time after with his love before leaving for Weisshaupt - promising to return shortly.
 * If Alistair does not become king, and is in a romance with the Warden, he can stay with the Grey Wardens, not leaving his love's side except to make a memorial for Duncan.
 * If Loghain is conscripted into the Grey Wardens and Alistair is not married to Anora, he leaves Ferelden and becomes a wandering drunkard.
 * If the Warden makes the Sacrifice and Alistair has not been made king, he stays with the Grey Wardens for a time. Later, saying he doesn't "feel right anymore", and after making a memorial for Duncan, Alistair disappears.

Approval


The Warden can increase Alistair's approval rating through gifts (covered below), dialogue, and plot decisions. Alistair responds well when you ask him to speak about himself. Typically, Alistair will try to deflect your question with a joke, which you can move past either by joking (often leading to humorous conversation) or calling Alistair's bluff. Neither approach will affect his approval. Alistair is, in a sense, shy and speaks often of Duncan and the Grey Wardens. In many ways, Alistair views Duncan as a surrogate father. Always affirm his emotional responses, and his approval rating will increase.

When speaking of one's post-Joining experiences, Alistair approves of responses that reflect his own. Admit to nightmares, increased appetite, etc. to slightly bump his approval. When the hero speaks to Alistair about other personal things (such as sex), Alistair admires answers which suggest both strength and experience. Do not mock him for his own softness and relative inexperience, however, as these will negate any approval benefits the hero receives through insisting on his own prowess.

Gifts
Despite being raised by the Chantry to be a templar, Alistair has a deep interest in the arcane and occult, as evidenced by his preference for gifts of statues and rune stones. His plot items, however, are his mother's (repaired) amulet, found on the desk of the Arl of Redcliffe in Castle Redcliffe and Duncan's Shield, found inside Market Warehouse, in Denerim Market District.

Sometimes if you put Alistair into your party, he may respond as if he has just received a gift that has improved his approval to you by +1

Initial statistics


Relative Attribute Weightings on Auto-Level: Strength 1.5, Dexterity 0.8, Willpower 0.4, Magic 0, Cunning 0, Constitution 0.9.

Class: Warrior

Specialization: Templar

Skills: Expert Combat Training

Starting Talents:

Templar: Righteous Strike

Warrior: Powerful

Weapon and Shield: Shield Bash, Shield Pummel, Shield Block, Shield Cover

Gear
Initial gear

Alistair-specific gear

Plot skills
As you befriend Alistair and gain his approval he will gain the following additional abilities:

Dragon Age: Origins



 * (To Morrigan) "Yes... Swooping is bad..."
 * "You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together."
 * (After the Joining) "Two more deaths. In my Joining, only one of us died, but it was... horrible. I'm glad at least one of you made it through."
 * "Just so you know, if the king ever asks me to put on a dress and dance the Remigold, I'm drawing the line. Darkspawn or no."
 * (After first giving advice on Archdemon-dreams) "That's what I'm here for. To deliver unpleasant news and witty one-liners."
 * (After Redcliffe) "Now that the warm and fuzzy part of the day is over we can get back to the ritual dismemberments. Oh wait, it's not Tuesday is it?"
 * "You smell great; is that death you're wearing? It really suits you."
 * (Revived from unconsciousness) "We won? We did? Yay!"
 * (After battle, heavily injured) "Injured! As in me, as in Ow!"
 * (After battle, when injured) "Injured, here... Just so you know."
 * "Have you ever licked a lamp post in winter?"
 * (On Queen Anora) "Oh, and she turned on us. What a shock. She seemed like such a nice despot."
 * (Prior to entering the Brecilian ruins, occasionally) "I think this is it. Werewolf city...  a kind of flea heaven, isn't it?"
 * (During the first visit to Redcliffe, being asked about if there's anything more the Warden should know) "Aside from my unholy love for fine cheeses and minor obsession with my hair, no. Just the Prince thing."
 * (While in Fort Drakon) You know, there's something about being trapped in a fortress full of people that want me dead that makes me think... being a templar might not have been so bad.

Dragon Age II

 * "I'm Alistair, uh... King of Ferelden. And this is Teagan, my uncle. Sort of."
 * "I was hoping we could talk. Would've been better timing before being emasculated by Meredith, but I'm not picky."
 * (Drunk Alistair to Isabela) "You sound like Morrigan."

Dialogue
(Leliana's second attempt to join the party, if she was refused the first time)
 * Warden: "Alistair, she's one Archdemon short of a blight."
 * Alistair: "Yes, but she seems more... "Ooh, pretty colors!" than "Muahaha! I am Princess Stabbity! Stab, kill, kill!"

(Presenting a rose to a female Warden)
 * Alistair: "Here, look at this. Do you know what it is?"
 * Warden: "Your new weapon of choice?"
 * Alistair: "Yes, that's right! Watch as I thrash our enemies with the mighty power of floral arrangements! Feel my thorns, darkspawn! I will overpower you with my rosy scent!"

(Gossiping about the other companions)
 * Alistair: "I've got this nefarious plan to go around to each of them, and secretly tell them all the nasty things you said. That way they'll mutiny, and I shall become the group leader!" (evil laugh)
 * Warden: "If you want to lead, all you have to do is ask."
 * Alistair: "What? Lead? Me? No, no, no. No leading. Bad things happen when I lead. We get lost, people die, and the next thing you know I'm stranded somewhere without any pants."

Trivia

 * When asked to compare a set list of NPC companions to food, BioWare employee Cori May said that Alistair was most comparable to "strawberries and cream, sweet and wholesome and delicious, and a little goofy." While writer Sheryl Chee says "Alistair is an apricot. Cute, sweet and just a little fuzzy."
 * Writer Sheryl Chee has said that when going out for a drink Alistair would "have half a pint and giggle uncontrollably for the rest of the night."
 * In writing Alistair, David Gaider was inspired by Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. Gaider also wanted Nathan Fillion, who played Mal, to be Alistair's voice actor but it was decided to choose a British actor instead.
 * Alistair was originally supposed to be a "grizzled Grey Warden veteran". That didn't work well for a character that needed to join the player early, and he was rewritten.
 * Alistair is David Gaider's favorite NPC from Dragon Age: Origins.
 * The name Alistair can mean "Defender of the People", or "One who holds off the enemies." Alistair was named this due to David Gaider watching several TV shows with actor Alistair Appleton when writing him.
 * Alistair seems to have a persistent fear of mages turning him into a toad.
 * David Gaider apparently once compared Alistair to a "gateway drug", causing Sheryl Chee to question Gaider in shock believing him to have said "date-rape drug". To this Gaider responded "I said a GATEWAY drug!"
 * Alistair's surname after becoming king has been confirmed as Theirin in the comic series, but it is unknown if he takes this name after his coronation or holds it since birth.
 * Alistair's romance bears some resemblance to that of Sir Anomen Delryn, from Baldur's Gate II Shadows of Amn (One of Bioware Corp's first RPG'S). They both will give the main character a flower to announce their romantic interest in them.
 * Alistair is the companion appearing in the biggest number of series' media.