Sten

Sten is a warrior of the Beresaad, the vanguard of the qunari race. He is a stoic and disciplined man with a strong code of honor, and the way he treats others depends on whether or not they have his respect, which he does not give easily. He is a potential companion to the Warden and can only be recruited in Lothering. According to Dragon Age 2 lore, Sten is an atypical qunari as he was born without any horns.

Background
{{DAOSpoiler| If Sten trusts the Warden enough, Sten will begin to reveal his past. Sten is not his real name, but a title for infantry platoon commanders in the Beresaad; when saving Sten in the Broken Circle main quest, his qunari companions refer to him as 'the sten'. He was sent with a group of other qunari to discover what the Blight is. His group was attacked by darkspawn, and during the battle he was rendered unconscious. When he awoke, his comrades were dead and his sword was gone. To a qunari warrior, the sword is the soul (the name of Sten's sword, Asala, literally means soul). If he were to return to his homeland without his sword, he would be hunted and killed. Out of panic from losing his sword, he murdered with his bare hands the farmers who woke him from unconsciousness.

Involvement
The Warden can choose to have Sten join the party after freeing him from Lothering in the quest The Qunari Prisoner. Sten is a strong, proud and noble warrior who refuses at first to elaborate on discussions regarding his people or his reason for being in Ferelden. Most of his comments are terse or laconic, but he does seem to have a modicum of a sense of humor, and a fondness for cookies.

Sten is a determinist, believing that the proper rule of all people is determined at birth. If the Warden is female, Sten will extend to expressing that women have no place on the battlefield (he also expresses this opinion to Leliana during banter conversation), though he can come to be impressed by a female Warden's skills.

In Redcliffe, recruiting Lloyd and Berwick into the local militia appeals to Sten's views of honor and duty, even if it requires resorting to intimidation. However, if the Warden chooses to travel to the Circle of Magi to get the mages' assistance in entering the Fade to save Connor, and Sten is in the active party when the mages start the ceremony, he will express a disgust for magic.

As he carries himself with a self-assured, hardened demeanor, and has a tall and imposing physique, Leliana is surprised to discover through banter conversation that Sten does have a softer side, and he can develop a perhaps unexpected fondness for Dog. However, as with Oghren, Wynne and Shale, Sten cannot be romanced.

Standing up to Sten during conversation usually results in an increase in his approval of the Warden.

Dissatisfaction with the Warden
If Sten is in the active party when the party reaches Haven, he may attempt to resist the Warden and gain control of the group as he tires of "aimless" wandering. This conversation should occur just after speaking to the guard who tries to deter the Warden from entering Haven. This can result in several possible outcomes:
 * If the Warden can reason with Sten by means of sufficient coercion skills, it is possible to end this encounter without violence.
 * Without sufficient Coercion skills, Sten will attack the Warden. The altercation cannot end in Sten's death, but the Warden can make Sten leave the party.
 * Having high approval can result in Sten not taking the dispute to blows, and he will state that he has spoken his mind.
 * With very high approval, the Warden can simply ask Sten to be trusting. The correct dialogue choice can reveal that Sten trusts the Warden with his life.
 * Having not yet completed Sten's quest, The Sword of the Beresaad, will reduce the number of dialogue options available during this conversation, as well as opportunities to gain approval points.
 * As with other conversations with Sten, standing up to him will gain approval points.

Epilogue
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 * Depending on the Warden's choices in handling the end-game dilemma, the Warden can talk to Sten before leaving. Sten will say he intends on going home to Seheron. The player can chose to join him for the journey; Sten will approve and say to meet him at the docks in a few days.
 * If the Warden made the ultimate sacrifice and Sten was at "Friendly" approval, it is revealed that he bowed before the Warden's remains. Also, when he returned to Par Vollen (the qunari homeland) his Beresaad brothers asked him if he met anyone honorable while he was in Ferelden, to which he replied he only ever met one.

Gifts
Sten has a liking for paintings. This may seem uncharacteristic of him but his appreciation is actually based in his being impressed by the artist's control of the brush. The official strategy guide likens an artist's discipline to that of a warrior. Sten also likes gifts found by Dog, i.e. the Found Cake or the Dirty Pair of Pantaloons.

Initial Statistics
Relative Attribute Weightings on Auto-Level: Strength 2, Dexterity 0.25, Willpower 0.25, Magic 0, Cunning 0, Constitution 1.2.

Class: Warrior.

Specialization: None to start with.

Skills: Combat Training level 4

Starting Talents:

Warrior: Powerful, Threaten, Precise Striking, Taunt.

Two-Handed: Pommel Strike, Indomitable, Sunder Arms, Mighty Blow, Powerful Swings.

Plot Skills
As you befriend Sten and gain his approval, he will gain additional skills:

Quotes



 * "These mages have an unnatural preoccupation with women holding bowls."
 * "If I were indeed hostile, you would be bleeding."
 * "I like swords, I follow orders; there's nothing else to know about me."
 * "Either you have an enviable memory, or a pitiable life, to know nothing of regret."
 * (upon seeing the Urn of Sacred Ashes) "Congratulations! You have found a wastebin."
 * "No one has a place here. Your farmers wish to be merchants. The merchants dream of being nobles, and the nobles become warriors. No one is content to be who they are."
 * "Happiness is fragile. Nothing can be built upon it that will last. Only duty endures."
 * "I thought their warriors would have at least been taller."
 * (during Captured!) "Are we being subtle now? I couldn't tell."
 * (upon entering Tapster's Tavern in Orzammar) "Is this... some sort of mass suicide?"
 * (upon approaching the Deep Roads in Orzammar) "Why would such a small people make things so tall? They must own an impressive array of ladders."
 * (upon seeing the Circle Tower from the Lake Calenhad Docks) "Humans over-compensating, as always."
 * (Sten consoles a widow) "The man you love has died. It seems you could have chosen better."
 * "Where is the cake? I was told that there would be cake. The cake is a lie."
 * "The Arishok asked me, 'what is the blight?'. Now, I stand looking into its very eyes and still I have no answer for him. Though I expect you do. You have carried us this far, do not doubt that."

Dialogue



 * Warden "Cookies?"
 * Sten: "Yes. We have no such things in our lands. This should be remedied."

(When entering the Circle Tower for the first time.)
 * Warden: "Can't we work something out?"
 * Carroll: "Hmm... I don't know. Y'know, I am feeling a little peckish, though.
 * Warden: "There must be food at the tower lets go."
 * Sten: "Parshaara! Here! Munch on these if you like."
 * Carroll: "Ooh, cookies!"
 * Sten: "I am content to part with them if it saves us from this fool."
 * Warden: "Where'd you get those?"
 * Sten: "There was a child--a fat, slovenly thing--in the last village we passed. I relieved him of these confections. He did not need anymore."
 * Warden: "You stole cookies from a child?"
 * Sten: "For his own good."


 * Warden: "Tell me about the qunari."
 * Sten: "No."
 * Warden: "Well, that wasn't what I expected to hear."
 * Sten: "Get used to disappointment. People are not simple. They cannot be defined for easy reference in the manner of: 'the elves are a lithe, pointy-eared people who excel at poverty.'"


 * Warden: "What were you doing in the cage?"
 * Sten: "Sitting, as you observed."


 * Warden: "Why is Ferelden so..terrible?"
 * Sten: "The Smell of wet dogs."
 * Warden: "Dogs don't smell that bad..."
 * Sten: "Skunks don't mind the smell of other skunks either."

Cheat for Infinite Approval
Once Sten has joined the party speak to him until the option "Why did you come to Ferelden?" appears in the list of questions. Continue the conversation with any of the listed options until the option "Why would the qunari care about the Blight?" appears. Select it then select "I'm a Grey Warden. It's my job." Then select "Did you find the answer to his question." Now the option "Why would the qunari..." will appear again creating a loop. Each loop is worth 4 approval.

Also, When doing his Personal quest (his sword), after you get his sword, you can do the converstion to start his quest another time without acctually redoing the quest, mean you get a max of +20 the first time, and then another +20 the second time.

Trivia

 * "Sten" is Danish, Norwegian and Swedish for 'stone' and also a common first name in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
 * Sten is an old Norse name.
 * Sten is one of the three companions who appears in the Sacred Ashes trailer. Of the characters featured in the trailer, he is the only one to have no dialogue.
 * Of all the companions besides the Warden, Sten only seems to genuinely like and respect Shale, as he calls it kadan, the same title he bestows on the Warden.
 * Sten also seems to be very fond of Dog, more than most other party members. He respects Dog as a strong warrior, and feels a sort of a kinship with him. After recovering his sword, he has a brief encounter with Dog (triggered by the Warden initiating a conversation with Dog) which ends with Sten saying "You too, know what it is like to have a weapon that is a part of you. Few others do." (or something to that effect).
 * Sten also has a softer side, as demonstrated when Leliana catches him picking flowers; although Sten denies it, claiming he picked them for their medicinal properties. There's also another instance in which Leliana catches him playing with a kitten, although Sten claims he was "training" it.
 * If the Warden asks Sten what he was doing in the cage, he would reply that he was sitting, but in the Warden's first encounter with him, you can clearly see that he was standing.
 * Sten's sword is named Asala, which means "soul" in the qunari language.
 * When Sten says "Where is the cake? I was told there would be cake. The cake is a lie," it is a reference to Portal by Valve Corporation. "The Cake is a Lie" is written on walls predominantly through many of Portal's levels.
 * When Sten challenges the Warden in Haven, he will state that they are going north; however, the map clearly indicates that Andraste's Ashes are to the southwest.
 * During a certain dialogue option, you find out that Sten is fond of cookies, and wishes that his people would adopt them to their lands, he refers to them when asking the warden as "small sweet circles made of dough" or something to similar effect.


 * A scared colonist says halfway through one of his lines of dialogue that "They got Sten too!" on Horizon in Mass Effect 2.
 * Sten is the only character in the game who can only learn one specialization rather than two (excluding the dog and Shale who are unique warrior specs who learn no other). He is also the only character who has no specialization to begin with. In the Darkspawn Chronicles DLC, he is specced as a Reaver.
 * The Sten (or Sten gun) was a family of British 9 mm submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War.
 * Strangely, while Sten will express his opinion of women having no place in war to Leliana, Wynne and a female Warden, he will have no such discussion with Morrigan.