Gifts (Origins)

Gifts can be sold to merchants or given to certain companions to influence their approval ratings. The party members appreciate their gifts, more or less, depending on each gift's value and their personal motivations. There is a limited number of gifts in the game. Additionally, if the same gift is given to a character more than once, the approval bonus you get from each subsequent gift decreases to a minimum of +1 per gift, excluding plot-specific ones.

Gift Mechanics
The approval from gifts works as follows:


 * 1) Any gift at all gives a base +5 approval bonus when given, with diminishing returns.
 * 2) The minimum you can get per gift is 1 point. Even specific gifts (excluding plot ones) eventually become just 1 point.
 * 3) Each gift given imposes an increasing penalty upon subsequent gifts. So the first gift would give +5, the second would generally give +4, etc.
 * 4) The bonus is halved when you are at negative approval.
 * 5) Once you have reached the highest possible approval rating with a companion (i.e. 100), you will no longer receive approval points for gifts.

Approval can also improve companion abilities:


 * If you work to increase your approval with a companion (through dialog or gifts), they can initially receive a small skill upgrade as they are "inspired" by your leadership
 * This skill upgrade is typically related to one of their primary abilities (ex: Allistair -&gt; constitution)
 * This skill upgrade increases as your approval increases as well (25% = +1, 50% = +2, 75% = +3, 90% = +4)
 * See the specific page for each companion.

Note that the bonus skills from a high approval are not strictly related to gifts. You can gain the bonus skills without using any gifts at all.

Specific Gifts
These specific gifts give a base +10 bonus approval (with diminishing returns, as explained above) when given to the proper character, with the exception of the plot-specific gifts. If a gift is specific to a certain character, attempts to give it to anyone else will be met with refusal.

Gifts for Alistair
Alistair has a preference for strange rune-stones and figural studies of arcane creatures. Duncan's Shield will turn into a real item, allowing Alistair or another party member to equip it. If you have Alistair using a one handed sword, he will automatically equip this shield in his other hand.

Gifts for Dog
Dog has a preference for foods and bones, but his approval rating will always be 100% so you can boost one of your other companions' ratings with gifts originally meant for Dog. Shale generally responds better to Dog's gifts than the other companions. If you talk to the dog after giving him one of those gifts, he will usually find a good item.

Gifts for Leliana
Leliana has a preference for holy symbols of Andraste, as well as shoes.

Gifts for Morrigan
Morrigan has a preference for gifts of jewelry and those items relating to her own appearance.

Gifts for Oghren
Oghren has a preference for alcoholic beverages.

Gifts for Shale
Shale has a preference for the nine “remarkable” gemstones that can be found in Ferelden. However if you have given Shale two of Dogs gifts she doesn't respond as well to receiving the remainder of the remarkable gems saying only "So I'm to keep this am I? Fine." with only +1 approval. Although they may help, the best way to gain Shale's loyalty is through well chosen dialogue options as the approval rating for gifts drops far more quickly, it seems, than it does with your other companions.

Gifts for Sten
Sten has a preference for paintings.

Gifts for Wynne
Wynne has a preference for books and scrolls.

Gifts for Zevran
Zevran has a preference for leather items and bars of precious metals. He is also one of only two characters to make use of the gifts you give him. Once you give him the boots, he will equip them.

Gifts for the Secret Companion
The secret companion has a preference for maps of Thedas.

Generic Gifts
These gifts always give a base +5 approval (with diminishing returns) and are not specific to any one person.

Duplicates of plot gifts
It is possible to get two of the Golden Mirrors and three Golden Rope Necklaces for Morrigan, as well as three Andraste's Graces for Leliana. Morrigan will give you the same conversational response the second time you give it to her as the first and you will get the same amount of approval points, while Leliana treats subsequent gifts as +5 gifts without the cinematic conversation.

Lookup table
There are two types of gifts: regular gifts and special character gifts. Regular gifts have a base approval bonus of +5, and special character gifts have a base approval bonus of +10.

Each time you give a particular companion a gift, the approval amount decreases by 1. So it is possible to get 5 or less approval from a gift they would normally love, if you have already given them many gifts. However, you will always get at least a bonus approval of +1.

Legend:


 * Refuses =
 * Accepts (base of +5) =
 * Likes (base of +10) =
 * Plot Gift (Triggers conversation) =