Shale

"The darkspawn are an evil that must be destroyed it's true. Though not as evil as the birds... damnable feathered fiends!"

Shale is a potential party companion who can be recruited from the town of Honnleath. Shale's character (and associated quests) have been the subject of much discussion; originally intended to be a joinable NPC in the shipped game, Shale was cut by developers who wanted to concentrate on further polishing the game prior to release in 2008. When the game release date was pushed back to Q4 2009, developers spent time re-integrating Shale back into the game. Although still not included in the shipped version of the game, Shale is available as free Day One DLC to all purchasers of either the Standard or Collector's Edition of Dragon Age: Origins who download The Stone Prisoner. For those who obtain a second-hand copy of the game, The Stone Prisoner is available for purchase for US$15. There was originally an expiration date on this offer but people who have used the Xbox Live, PSN or PC code past the expiration date have had no problems downloading it.

Shale does not use the usual armor and weapons, but, much like Dog, has specialized equipment--in its case, taking the form of crystals. Shale may equip Small Crystals (classified as weapons in the inventory) that grant a bonus to attack damage, as well as converting all damage to that type, and Large Crystals (classified as armor in the inventory) that can grant a defensive bonus and resistance to certain types of damage.

Background


Shale is one of the last dwarven war golems. The knowledge to create such golems was presumably lost after the invasion of the darkspawn and the sealing of the Deep Roads. She is extremely proud of being a golem and hates the villagers of the town of Honnleath, citing the expression that "familiarity breeds contempt", and that after 30 years of watching them, it has become very familiar with them. Its hatred of the townsfolk may also come from their habit of dressing the golem up in festive garb during holidays or the fact that they spread bird seed around the golem's inert body, which brought near her most dreadfully hated enemies, the birds.

Shale may be present in Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne under the command of Wilhelm, as Wilhelm and a golem served under Maric to help him regain his throne. Wilhelm also served Moira the Rebel Queen. When she was killed, the golem and Wilhelm stayed with the rebel army and awaited for Maric to come back.

Dragon Age: Asunder
Shale is a character in the novel Dragon Age: Asunder, where she accompanied Wynne to the Adamant Fortress in western Orlais, an abandoned Chantry outpost overlooking the Abyssal Reach which was known to be regularly plagued by Darkspawn incursions. Their goal was to seek the counsel of an old friend of Wynne's, a Tranquil researcher named Pharamond, who was conducting an experiment authorized by the Divine regarding the possibility of using the Rite of Tranquility in a new manner: to sever a mage's power and connection to the Fade, but without causing the emotional disruption and the loss of the ability to dream, essentialy turning a mage into a commoner without magical power. Wynne was open to this idea as well but she also believed that Pharamond's research might prove useful for helping Shale to return to her original female dwarven form (at least that is what she said to the others that came with her). She arrived at the fortress only to find that it was overrun by demon possessed corpses of the keep's original inhabitants, and sensing Pharamond to having become an abomination. She left Shale behind to guard the entrance to the fortress in order to prevent anything from leaving its gates, whilst she returned to Val Royeaux to ask for aid from the Divine to procure the aid of some mages from the White Spire to help her with a ritual to go into the Fade and restore Pharamond's sanity and destroy the demon who possessed him. She ended up recruiting her enstranged son Rhys and his friend Adrian, both of them senior enchanters, despite the protests of the Lord Seeker Lambert who was now in charge of the White Spire. Also accompanied by Knight Captain Evangeline, Wynne, Rhys and Adrian journeyed back to Adamant Fortress and reunited with Shale, and proceeded to go inside the fortress to locate Pharamond's laboratory. They found him trapped by his own accord inside a circle which he had warded with blood magic to prevent himself from escaping should he become possessed, which ultimately happened, becoming a Pride Abomination.

Gifts
Shale has a preference for "remarkable" gemstones. There is an issue with the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions which causes Shale to not give the standard for the first gem; instead you receive, which decreases as usual, so that after receiving four of the gems, Shale seems uninterested in the others ("So I'm to keep this then, am I? Fine."), giving only  for the rest, giving a measly 18 approval for giving them all to Shale. Therefore, you have to rely on conversation and your actions to get higher approval.

If you have the Feastday Gifts and Pranks DLC, however, you may also compensate for this bug with the thoughtful gifts and sugar cakes available from Bodahn Feddic. No matter how many are given, a Thoughtful Gift is always worth, and a Sugar Cake,.



Initial statistics
Relative attribute weightings on auto-level: strength 1.4, dexterity 0.25, willpower 0.5, magic 0, cunning 0.145, constitution 1.9

Plot skills
As you befriend Shale and gain its approval, it will gain additional skills:

''Note: These approval bonuses do NOT stack. Instead of 13 extra strength, you get 6.''

Quotes



 * (If removed from party) "Pigeon crap."
 * "The darkspawn are an evil that must be destroyed, it's true. Though not as evil as the birds... damnable feathered fiends!"
 * "I wonder what it is like to float...or drown."
 * (Battle cry) "Death to all pigeons!"
 * (If given one of the Remarkable Gems) "Oooh, Shiny!"
 * (When heavily injured after battle) "Oh look! I think I got chipped after that last fight!"
 * "I would appreciate it if it didn't spread around that I said anything. Humans might start to get the wrong idea. They might start thinking their race is not completely hopeless."
 * "Now, let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?"

Dialogue

 * Shale: "I see it found some augmentation crystals. I was not even aware it knew about them... well done! So? What does it think? They don't make me look any wider, do they? I find I am already too wide as it is."
 * The Warden: "No, no, they're quite slimming"
 * Shale: "They are, aren't they? I so adore them! I think it should find some more as soon as possible. I want to glitter from ear to ear... so to speak!"


 * Leliana: "You aren't all stone, Shale. There is a person inside of you."
 * Shale: "If so, it is because I ate him."

Trivia

 * Shale has an undying hatred for birds. Apparently, roosting birds frequently left their mark on her during her imprisonment.
 * Shale stomps on a chicken when leaving Honnleath after its release.
 * On Soldier's Peak (after Levi has set up shop), the camp ravens slowly migrate towards Shale and begin to follow her around.
 * Since Shale, like Dog, uses no weapons, when Frost Weapons, Flaming Weapons, or Telekinetic Weapons is used, the visual effect is applied to Shale's entire body.
 * Shale's dialogue includes an in-joke reference to how the size of the original graphics model caused development issues.
 * Shale mentions that she used to be 10 feet tall, but was shrunk (with a chisel "and a lot of nerve", as Shale puts it) by her mage owner Wilhelm.
 * Originally, her design called for it to be the same size as other golems encountered during Dragon Age: Origins. The reason for the size reduction was that she couldn't fit through doors in the game.
 * You can see a full-sized version of her during her nightmare in the Fade.
 * When your companions are wishing you luck before the final battle, if Shale has not been chosen to join you her parting statement will be "Have fun storming the castle." This is a quote from the film The Princess Bride from a scene just before the heroes invade a castle to win the day.
 * Shale's sex before she became a golem appears to be a mystery to those who do not know it:
 * For example, if Shale is the Warden's champion at the Landsmeet, Loghain says, "I think the odds might be slightly in his favor at a test of strength." (Another quote from The Princess Bride)
 * The description of Renewed Assault refers to Stona Aura, instead of Stone Aura.
 * Shale's character and attitude towards "fleshy creatures" is similar to the hunter-killer droid HK-47, from an earlier Bioware game, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In the latter, HK-47 refers to organics as 'meatbags', and also comments on how they are weak due to their organic nature.
 * Shale was originally intended as part of the base game and not downloadable content. The golem was to be found in Redcliffe Village, along with the Golem Control Rod and Wilhelm's Cottage.
 * In Dragon Age II, Corff the Bartender in the Hanged Man indirectly mentions Shale when asked about recent news, saying, "Apparently the pigeon population in Ferelden has taken a nose dive. Who would prey on those weak little birds?"
 * During the epilogue of Dragon Age II, a picture of Shale chasing some chickens is also present when Varric is flipping through Cassandra's book.