Sebastian Vael

"Andraste said, '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 contender for the title of 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, but achievements "Flirtatious" and "Romantic" won't be unlocked.

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. Embracing his new role, Sebastian took vows of poverty and chastity to become a sworn brother of the Chantry... until word of his family's deaths forced him to take up worldly concerns once again.

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

Armor


Sebastian's armor upgrades can be found at the following locations:
 * Act 2 – – available at Olaf's Armory in Hightown. +(0.5 * ATK(LVL)) attack.
 * Act 2 – – available at Armor Shop in the Gallows Courtyard. Extra rune slot.
 * Act 2 – – found in the Harimann Estate during the Repentance quest. +2% critical chance.
 * Act 3 – – found on the Templar Lieutenant in Hightown during the Best Served Cold quest. Extra rune slot.

Other
– starting weapon – see – 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!"
 * "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?"
 * "Who better serves the Maker:a brother of the faith, or a prince who can sway a whole city?"
 * (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."

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.
 * David Gaider said that if he could write another Dragon Age comic, it would be dedicated to Bethany. He mentioned that he wanted her to adventure with Sebastian Vael in Starkhaven, and maybe Nathaniel Howe.

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 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. (Does not appear to work on PC or PS3 as of at least patch 1.04)
 * 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.