Cole

"It doesn't matter that they won't remember me. What matters is I helped."

Cole appears to be a human male Hedge mage who lives in the White Spire Circle of Magi at Val Royeaux in Orlais. He is also a potential companion in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Background
"He is a ghost in the shadows, walking unnoticed through crowds. He can slit an enemy's throat before they even realize he's there, and slip away, never to be seen again. Those few who do notice him soon forget he ever existed… and Cole isn't certain that he does exist."

Approval
Cole approves of those who go out of their way to help the helpless or the hurt. He approves of killing or punishing those who hurt people. Allow him to help but do not condone his past of killing mages nor asserting to stop him if he kills innocents as that will net disapproval. Be wary of imprisoning people in your judgments as that also nets disapproval.

A few side quests in the Hinterlands and the Exalted Plains where you help people in dire circumstances gains him moderate approval whether he is in the party or not.

Instances that will yield "Greatly Approves" include:


 * Judgment of Mistress Poulin - Have Mistress Poulin help Sahrnia.
 * Subjected to His Will - Complete the quest.

Dragon Age: Asunder

 * "Now I walk within the shadows. I can see the light, but it never finds me. I reach for it, but it slips through my fingers. In the shadows you are always alone, the world oblivious to your passing."
 * "Look into my eyes..."

Dragon Age: Inquisition

 * "The 'Inquisition' isn't real unless it has something real to make it. It's like a spirit."
 * "It is dangerous when too many men in the same armor think they're right."
 * "I want to help. I can be hard to see. I can kill things that would hurt people."
 * [To a demon of Envy] "Dark and desperate, death to make yourself alive. I used to be like you. I'm not anymore. You shouldn't be either."
 * "A broken body, bloody, banged on the stone cell, guts gripping in the dark dank, a captured apostate. They threw him into the dungeon in the Spire at Val Royeaux. They forgot about him. He starved to death. I came through to help... and I couldn't. So I became him."
 * "This world taught me that changing means losing your friends. But now I know it doesn't have to be true. I have enough self to know what I felt was foolish. Isn't it wonderful?"
 * "He thought if he didn't have magic... I'm what he wanted to be. Him, but normal. So no one would hurt him."
 * "I don't steal the pain. The nightmare demon at Adamant did that, it made them less so it could grow. I help them heal."

Trivia

 * When spoken to in Skyhold, Cole will often speak cryptic lines in greeting. Many of these lines reference events or plot elements from Inquisition, other Bioware games, or from popular culture.
 * In promotional material for Dragon Age: Inquisition, he is described as "The Spirit."
 * While he was originally written by David Gaider in Dragon Age: Asunder, he is written by Patrick Weekes in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
 * Cole is originally from Ferelden.
 * Cole is described as different and seeing everything differently, since he’s not like other people.
 * Cole's greatest fear is despair.
 * According to Patrick Weekes, Cole was his most difficult companion to write in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
 * According to Patrick Weekes, there is no "win" option in his quest, as either choice has positive and negative aspects. As a spirit, Cole is happier and more at peace, and yet losing parts of himself; if more human, he is less happy but far more relatable. This was done to demonstrate that there is no right or wrong decision.