Sebastian Vael

"The Maker is king in the heavens, but it is the kings of Thedas who must recreate his worldly glory."

Sebastian Vael, a Chantry Brother and Prince of Starkhaven, is a potential companion in Dragon Age II available through the The Exiled Prince DLC which is included with the Signature Edition. A highly skilled archer from the Vael family; only a female Hawke can pursue a romance with him.

Background
The Vaels believed that their youngest son of three, Sebastian, was a disgrace to the family name, and would be a weight around his brothers' necks. They forced him into the Chantry, exiling him from their principality of Starkhaven. While he was not without faith, Sebastian did not wish to give up his life in service to Andraste so early in his existence, and with the aid of the compassionate Grand Cleric Elthina, escaped. Elthina helped him to regain his faith however, and after reflection, Sebastian returned to the Chantry, this time willingly, and through the front door.

Now, Sebastian is forced to re-enter the viper's nest of princely politics when his family is brutally murdered, leaving him as the sole surviving heir.

Involvement
Banding together with Sebastian and his unshakable loyalty and excellent aim, Hawke must choose to either avenge Sebastian's murdered family to reclaim his title or direct his holy vengeance on their enemies in Kirkwall.

Romance
Even though a romance can be made with Sebastian, he will never actually sleep with Hawke due to his vow of chastity.

Friendship and rivalry
Friendship with Sebastian can generally be earned by encouraging him to stay with the Chantry, by siding with the Chantry and the templars and by being helpful to those in need.

Rivalry with Sebastian can generally be earned by pushing him to retake Starkhaven, by siding against the Chantry and by making aggressive, disagreeable or otherwise "dishonorable" choices.

Quests
Act 1

Act 2

(gift)

Act 3

Mark of the Assassin

Gifts

 * The Starkhaven Longbow

Gear


Sebastian's armor upgrades can be found at the following locations:
 * Act 2: Reinforced Bracers, purchased at Olaf's Armory in Hightown. +77 attack.
 * Act 2: Enhanced Articulation, purchased at Armor Shop in the Gallows Courtyard. Extra Rune Slot.
 * Act 2: Mail Undertunic, found in the Harimann Estate during the Repentance quest. +2% critical chance.
 * Act 3: Protection of the Faith, found on the Templar Lieutenant in Hightown during the Best Served Cold quest. Extra Rune Slot.

Sebastian specific gear , Sebastian's starting weapon, requires The Exiled Prince. , requires The Exiled Prince. , requires Rogue Item Pack. , requires Rogue Item Pack II. , requires Mark of the Assassin.

Quotes

 * (To Grand Cleric Elthina) "It is my right, my duty, to show these assassins there's nowhere in the Free Marches to hide."
 * "Varric, would but the Maker approve, you and I could be so much more than the best of friends."
 * (Said if he is in the party when accepting Justice from Anders) "Huzzah! He's seen the light!"
 * (Rivalry goodbye in The Last Straw) "To victory my friend, by any means necessary."
 * "The demon didn't lie. I used to be bitterly jealous of my brother. I wanted to be prince. Now everything he had is mine and he lies in ashes. I keep asking myself, do I want this because it's right or simply to have what I never thought I could?"
 * "You cannot think the knight-commander is worse than blood mages?"
 * "This is why the Chantry instituted the Circle in the first place. Mages need to be protected from themselves."
 * "Elthina is risking her life by not deserting her flock. Could I do the same?"
 * "Andraste said "the Maker is king in the Heavens but it is the kings of Thedas who must recreate his wordly glory".
 * "Who better serves the Maker:a brother of the faith, or a prince who can sway a whole city?"
 * "The prince of Starkhaven and the viscountess of Kirkwall? It would be the strongest alliance the Free Marches has ever seen."
 * (To Anders questioning the origin of the darkspawn during Legacy) "The Chantry would not make such things up! The story is true, or as true as we can ever known."
 * (About Elthina and mages during goodbye in The Last Straw) "She was like a mother to me, to all the brothers and sisters in the Chantry. He never even took a moment to get to know her. But not all of these mages are Anders. We're here to protect those who have suffered unduly at our hands."


 * Meredith: "Still... without proof of Orsino's direct involvement, the grand cleric will never believe as I do."
 * Sebastian: "Because Her Grace cares for peace, not your mad theories."

Trivia

 * Sebastian was written by Jennifer Hepler.
 * Sebastian "Seb" Hanlon, a part of the BioWare team, was at a time assigned to do most of the bug fixing and such for the character. The main reason for this was because of their similar name and it did not please him. The shared name also caused some confusion for Hanlon as every time someone mentioned the character, Hanlon thought they were directing their comments toward him.
 * If one is to calculate Sebastian's age from what info he tells about himself, Sebastian says he was thirteen when his grandfather made a promise to give him the Starkhaven Longbow, and he was given to the Chantry some time after this. In Act 3, he states that he hasn't been to Starkhaven in fifteen years. That makes Sebastian's age at least twenty-eight by Act 3.

Bugs

 * A bug can occur where Sebastian's loyalty bonus will apply as a negative value to Hawke even though he is not in the party. The normal bonus is 5% damage resistance, therefore during the bug it applies as -5% damage resistance. This bug stacks upon each reload of the game with Sebastian in the party adding -5% each time.
 * Infinite Friendship of +10 can be earned by talking to the Grand Cleric Elthina in the Chantry. This must be done before completing Following the Qun. Talking to her about "helping the community" will yield that. Infinite Rivalry can also be obtained the same way, but by choosing the "You're Useless" dialogue option when talking to the Grand Cleric in Act 2.
 * A bug can occur in Act 2 and Act 3 when after finishing Repentance or Faith quest Questioning Beliefs won't trigger even if character has required amount of Friendship or Rivalry points. This cannot be prevented and leaves player unable to complete romance with Sebastian.