Sten/Dialogue

Sten's dialogue contains a list of the conversations that Sten shares with other companions, in which they discuss each other's backgrounds, and their reactions to the game's events. It also contains a list of the conversations that Sten shares with The Warden.

Sten and the Warden
The dialogue options shown here are currently only partial lists and do not include every conversation option. The approval number shown represents the change in approval for that specific conversation option and not for the entire conversation. For the total change in approval add up each option you intend to select.

Lothering
Immediately after freeing Sten the following conversation is available:


 * I think we should talk for a moment.
 * Are you all right? You were in that cage for weeks.
 * You said you were in the army.
 * Why would the Qunari send soldiers here?
 * Doesn't that make your view of things a little skewed?
 * Well.... good question.
 * True. Lets go.


 * What were you doing in that cage?
 * Very funny.
 * Cute. You're the silent type, I see.
 * Any of the four options (5th option returns you to the same four)
 * I have a question.
 * Why did you come to Ferelden?
 * You came all the way for that?
 * You don't like me much, do you?
 * What was the question?
 * What's an arishok? (only appears once)
 * Why does he care about the Blight?
 * I'm a Grey Warden. It's my job.
 * Ferelden is my home.
 * Don't you have to report back, then?
 * Well, I can see you're right on top of that.
 * So what are you still doing here, then?
 * I'm sorry.
 * Well, you can stay with us.

Talking to Sten immediately after gaining enough approval will result in him thinking you aren't as "callow" as he first thought.


 * Callow? You thought I was callow?
 * Why did I let you out of that cage again?
 * Well, I find plenty of things puzzling about you, too.
 * I don't think you're that simple.
 * You like swords? Me too!
 * I could put you back there.
 * So will you tell me now why you were caged? (only appears once)
 * Any of the three options
 * That sounds like what happened to me at Ostagar.
 * A few darkspawn beat you? That's pitiful.
 * Either option
 * And then?
 * That's terrible!
 * If you're that prone to panic, maybe you did desert.
 * Couldn't you search for it?
 * Where did you fight the darkspawn?
 * Don't worry, we'll find it.
 * I have a question.
 * Do you find Fereleden very strange? (after the first time through, this branch leads to a single option: Actually, never mind)
 * Don't the qunari ever want to change their lot in life?
 * Maybe he was meant to be a merchant.
 * How do you find your purpose if you don't look for it?
 * But that makes the turtle stronger.
 * I suppose that's true
 * Duty can be forgotten.
 * Is there anything you like about Ferelden? (only appears once)
 * Cookies?
 * I'll keep that in mind.
 * You sound a bit homesick.
 * You left out rotting garbage.
 * Dogs don't smell that bad.

Camp
Sten initiated conversations in camp

The Blight - How will you end it?
 * 1) We have to fight the archdemon.
 * 2) I thought we'd just ask the darkspawn to please leave.
 * 3) Why do you ask?
 * 4) Wait, you doubt I'm really a Warden?
 * 5) What have you heard?
 * 6) What does this have to do with anything?
 * 7) I'm new to the Wardens.
 * 8) What, you think you could do better?
 * 9) I'm not here to impress you.

Conversation starting with: '''I don't understand. You look like a woman'''. (female only)


 * Any of the three options.
 * Grey Wardens can't be women?
 * That's not a Universal truth, women fight.
 * You think they can't be women, because women don't fight?
 * I'm a woman and I'm fighting.
 * But a person can choose what to do. (+1 Approval)
 * We're going around in circles here.
 * But a person can choose what to do. (+4 Approval)

This allows you to ask about Children...


 * Don't tell me qunari children are always serious?
 * You were a child once, you must remember it.
 * They must play sometimes.
 * They're children, it's what they do.
 * That's not what Priests do.
 * Their parents, of course.
 * You must know what parents are.
 * So only your Priests have children?

(+11 approval)

After giving his sword back and 100 approval. It could be possible to have this conversation before 100 approval but this is just where it triggered for me.

"I have been mistaken." ''"You are a soldier worthy to stand among the Beresaad. I did not think so when we first met." (Will change slightly depending on your first choice)'' (No negative approval change found)
 * What do you mean?
 * You only noticed this now?
 * I know.
 * What changed your mind?
 * Thank you.
 * I'm not really a soldier, you know.
 * Why not?
 * You think the qunari will invade Ferelden?
 * What are you talking about?
 * I hope I won't see you then, too.

Sten and Leliana

 * Leliana: I saw what you were doing back there.
 * Sten: Oh?
 * Leliana: Don't play innocent with me.
 * Sten: What are you talking about?
 * Leliana: Outside, you were picking flowers!
 * Sten: ...No, I wasn't.
 * Leliana: You were!
 * Sten: ...They were medicinal.
 * Leliana: You're a big softie!
 * Sten: We will never speak of this again.
 * Leliana: Softie!

--


 * Leliana: Sten, I saw you back there.
 * Sten: I don't know what you're talking about.
 * Leliana: I saw you playing with that kitten!
 * Sten: There was no... I was not.
 * Leliana: You were too! You were dangling a piece of yarn for it!
 * Sten: I was... training it.
 * Leliana: Heh, who knew? Under all that stern gruffness you're really just a big softie!
 * Sten: We shall never speak of this again.
 * Leliana: Softie!
 * Sten: *Embarassed sigh*

--


 * Sten: You were in the Chantry. You are a priest?
 * Leliana: No, no. I was a lay sister of the Chantry.
 * Sten: Which means?
 * Leliana: I lived and worked in the Chantry, but I did not take any vows.
 * Sten: So you... dabbled in priesthood, then?
 * Leliana: Oh no, the lay sisters don't have the same sorts of duties as priests at all.
 * Sten: So you were not a priest, did none of their duties, and took no vows, but you lived among them?
 * Leliana: Yes!
 * Sten: ...You were a houseguest of the Chantry?
 * Leliana: Um... sort of...

--


 * Sten: You sing a great deal.
 * Leliana: Yes, I do. Music lifts my spirit. Would you like me to stop?
 * Sten: I didn't say that. Was that part of your Chant?
 * Leliana: (Laughs) No! It was a ballad about a highwayman and the tavern girl who loved him. Could you not tell?
 * Sten: All your language sounds the same to me. I thought you were singing of vegetables, actually.

--


 * Sten: Stop that.
 * Leliana: (Giggles) Stop what?
 * Sten: That. looking at me and giggling.
 * Leliana: I can't help it! You are so big and stoic! Who would have thought you'd be a big softie?
 * Sten: Stop saying that. I am a soldier of the Beresaad. I am not a "softie."
 * Leliana: (Giggles) Softie.
 * Sten: ...I hate humans.

--


 * Sten: (Sigh) Leliana, what do you want from me?
 * Leliana: Nothing! I'm just curious. There's a lot we don't know about you, Sten. ...Except that you're a big softie.
 * Sten: Please stop saying that.
 * Leliana: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you. There's nothing wrong with having a heart, Sten. It's just not what I expected.
 * Sten: Why?
 * Leliana: You're so qunari! All the stories speak as if you were a hurricane or an earthquake rather than people.
 * Sten: Qunari are most dangerous because we are thinking men and not unthinking force.
 * Leliana: I don't understand. What do you mean?
 * Sten: For your sake, I hope you never find out.

--

--
 * Leliana: I've heard stories about the qunari, you know.
 * Sten: Oh?
 * Leliana: They conquered nearly all of the north. Tevinter, Rivain, Antiva... Much of the land was laid waste. In the northern kingdoms, they say the qunari are implacable. Relentless. More like a landslide than an invasion. It took three Exalted Marches to drive them back to the sea.
 * Sten: We'll do better next time.

--
 * Sten: Why are you here?
 * Leliana: What do you mean?
 * Sten: Women are priests, artisans, farmers or shopkeepers. None of them have any place in fighting.
 * Leliana: I have no idea how to answer this...
 * Sten: It is not done. There is no more to it.
 * Leliana: Do you mean your people have no female mages or warriors?
 * Sten: Of course not. Why would our women wish to be men?
 * Leliana: What are you talking about? They don't wish to be men.
 * Sten: They shouldn't. That can only lead to frustration.
 * Leliana: Sten... no, never mind. Let's drop this.


 * Leliana: Are there qunari bards?
 * Sten: Why wouldn't there be?
 * Leliana: I don't know. You don't seem like very musical people to me.
 * Sten: You base this on me? I am a soldier. The ansaam does not do battle with lutes.

Sten and Alistair
-- --
 * Alistair: Don't you ever talk? You know, make polite conversation just to put people at ease?
 * Sten: You mean that I should remark upon the weather before I cut off a man's head?
 * Alistair: ... Nevermind.
 * Alistair: Were you really in that cage for twenty days?
 * Sten: It might have been closer to thirty. I stopped counting after a while.
 * Alistair: What did you do? I mean... twenty days is a long time to sit in one place and do nothing.
 * Sten: On good days, I posed riddles to the passersby, offering them treasures in exchange for correct answers.
 * Alistair: Really?
 * Sten: No.
 * Alistair: Awww. Too bad. That's got serious potential.


 * Alistair: You know, you never did tell me how you passed the time in that cage for so long.
 * Sten: No, I didn't.
 * Alistair: So... what did you do in there?
 * Sten: A training exercise. I would observe an object and then try to think of all the words in your language which began with the same letter as its name.
 * Alistair: That... wait. Just wait. You're joking again, aren't you?
 * Sten: No.
 * Alistair: You are not telling me that you played, "I Spy," against yourself for twenty days.
 * Sten: There are a lot of things in Lothering that begin with, "G."

--
 * Alistair: Hmmm... I spy with my little eye, something that begins with... "G."
 * Sten: Is it a Grey Warden? Is it, in fact, you?
 * Ailstair: Oooh. You're really good at this.
 * Sten: (Sigh)


 * Sten: Draw your weapon.
 * Alistair: Are you talking to me?
 * Sten: Your weapon. Draw it.
 * Alistair: Why? Are we under attack?
 * Sten: I want to see what you can do.
 * Alistair: You want to fight me? Just like that?
 * Sten: You are a Grey Warden. How are you going to face an archdemon if you cannot face me?
 * Alistair: It is a mystery, I'll admit.
 * Sten: I should let your weakness damn us all? Draw your sword. I'll try not to injure you permanently.
 * Alistair: I don't have to prove anything to you. Forget it.
 * Sten: So you do have a spine. Pity you don't use it.

Sten and Zevran
-- -- -- --
 * Sten: I knew one of your countrymen once, elf.
 * Zevran: Oh? Have you been to Antiva, then?
 * Sten: No. Until I came to Ferelden, I had never left the islands. She came to Seheron twice a year with the traders who bought spices from the northern jungle. Only she among the traders would speak to the antaam. Questions about the rainforest, its depths, and the things to be seen there. We humored her. She was... an unfortunate soul.
 * Zevran: Unfortunate in what way?
 * Sten: She was a Crow, as you were. Sent to assassinate the kithshoks, leaders of the army of Seheron, for the Tevinter Imperium. We knew this, and pitied her.
 * Zevran: I'm surprised you did not simply slay her.
 * Sten: There was no need. Her questions were meant to show her the way through the jungle towards our fortifications. And so one day, she snuck into the jungle to find her target. We found the pieces of her body in a tree, where the spotted cats kept them for later. We had never told her that our kithshoks were the ones who negotiated all the trades at the port.
 * Zevran: Then she was a fool. That's not very sympathetic, I'm afraid.
 * Sten: It was her ignorance we pitied, not her mistake. She believe we hoarded things we cared for as her own people do. We were sorry for her, that she thought only some people were important.
 * Zevran: I understand that there are elves in the qunari lands, Sten.
 * Sten: There are elves everywhere.
 * Zevran: Hm. Yes. Well, I've heard that the qunari actually put the elves in charge? Over the humans? Is that true?
 * Sten: Some of them.
 * Zevran: Only some? Which ones are they?
 * Sten: The ones who belong in charge. That is the way of the Qun.
 * Zevran: How does this Qun determine who belongs in charge?
 * Sten: The tamassrans evaluate everyone and place them where their talents merit.
 * Zevran: But elves, in general, merit higher places than humans in qunari society?
 * Sten: Some of them.
 * Zevran: Back where we began. It's like talking to a water wheel.
 * Zevran: "Sten", it's not a name is it?
 * Sten: Do you always begin conversations this way?
 * Zevran: It's your rank is it not? I've met a few qunari in Antiva you know. Not much for conversation but some of them were quite easy on the eyes.
 * Sten: ...Those are not qunari.
 * Zevran: No? They are what then, very large dwarves with comical accents?
 * Sten: They wear the faces of qunari but they are Tal'vashoth, fiends of Saharon. They have abandoned the Qun.
 * Zevran: With titles like your own though, which makes me curious. What is your real name then?
 * Sten:"Sten" is enough.
 * Zevran: But it is not your name.
 * Sten: It is who I am.
 * Sten: Why do you call yourselves "Crows"? Crows are scavengers, not killers.
 * Zevran: I heard that at one time they considered calling us the Kestrels. But you know. It didn't sing. It didn't dance.
 * Zevran: You seem to have quite the disdainful attitude towards elves, my qunari friend.
 * Sten: Don't take it personally, elf. I have a disdainful attitude towards everyone.

Sten and Wynne

 * Wynne: Aren't you chilly, Sten?
 * Sten: "Chilly"? I don't know this word.
 * Wynne: It's much warmer where you're from, isn't it? Don't you feel cold?
 * Sten: I suppose.
 * Wynne: I don't imagine we can find a cloak in your size, can we? Hmmm...
 * Sten: What?
 * Wynne: Nothing. Nothing, don't mind me. Now, I wonder where I could get a skein of good wool yarn...

--
 * Sten: Why do you keep looking at me like that, mage?
 * Wynne: I beg your pardon. I didn't mean to stare. I've never seen a qunari before.
 * Sten: You can blink once in a while. I'll still be here.

--
 * Sten: Why are you here?
 * Wynne: I beg your pardon?
 * Sten: Women are artisans, or merchants. Or farmers, though you don't seem particularly... earthy. They have no place in war.
 * Wynne: I can't even begin to tell you what's wrong with that idea.
 * Sten: It is not done. There is no more to it.
 * Wynne: I do not understand. Do the qunari have no female mages? No female warriors?
 * Sten: Of course not. Why would our women wish to be men?
 * Wynne: Do you believe I wish to be a man?
 * Sten: You cannot wish to be a man. It will lead you only to frustration.
 * Wynne: Hmm. I believe this discussion does the same. Let us speak no more of it, Sten.
 * Sten: As you wish.

--
 * Wynne: You can stop flinching, Sten. I'm not going to harm you.
 * Sten: I do not fear harm to myself.
 * Wynne: What is that supposed to mean?
 * Sten: An unbound mage is like a wildfire. As prone to consume itself as it is to devour all that surrounds it.
 * Wynne: I do wish you wouldn't refer to mages as, "it".

--
 * Wynne: Are all qunari as quiet as you are?
 * Sten: Are all mages as chatty as you?
 * Wynne: ... That's fair.

Sten and Morrigan
-- -- -- -- --
 * Morrigan: You are very quiet, Sten.
 * Sten: Only compared to some.
 * Sten: Do you know of the kasaanda? The... sundew, in the common tongue?
 * Morrigan: I do not believe so.
 * Sten: No? You are so alike, I thought you kindred.
 * Morrigan: What is that supposed to mean? What is the sundew?
 * Sten: A flower.
 * Morrigan: Oh? I am a flower, am I? How unexpected.
 * Sten: That entraps and devours insects.
 * Morrigan: Ah, now that I expected. (Chuckles)
 * Morrigan: I am led to understand that the qunari have their own mages as well. Is that so?
 * Sten: You would not understand.
 * Morrigan: Not understand? Is it mental capacity that you believe I lack? Or are you worried I will sympathize with my so-called brethren?
 * Sten: Take your pick.
 * Morrigan: (Chuckles) Is that supposed to make me angry?
 * Sten: It means I find myself wishing that your people held proper, civilized attitudes towards magic.
 * Morrigan: Hmm. That is a rather hostile thing to say.
 * Sten: And yet you continue speaking. Astonishing.
 * Morrigan: So are you going to continue staring at me as if I am covered in eels?
 * Sten: Eels would be something.
 * Morrigan: Prudery! How charming. I expected paranoia. This is much better. I prefer to be stared at lustfully, if at all.
 * Sten: Keep trying, then.
 * Morrigan: Oh? Then shall I demonstrate an act or two? And you may tell me hot or cold?
 * Sten: I'll save time. Cold.
 * Morrigan: (Chuckles) You are a tease.
 * Morrigan: So have you changed your mind, Sten? I dream about you and I, if you must know.
 * Sten: You would, even were I interested in a small thing like you. The qunari act is... unpleasant.
 * Morrigan: Unpleasant? Unpleasant how? Now I really am interested.
 * Sten: Deadly.
 * Morrigan: And what if I didn't mind? I enjoy a little... animation.
 * Sten: You'd be less animated afterward.
 * Morrigan: It sounds as if I am arousing your passions already, my dear Sten.
 * Sten: Parshaara. Why do you pester me?
 * Morrigan: (Chuckles) Because 'tis amusing, that is why.
 * Morrigan: You seem so deep in thought, my dear Sten. Thinking of me, perhaps? The two of us, together at last?
 * Sten: Yes.
 * Morrigan: I... what did you say?
 * Sten: You will need armor, I think. And a helmet. And something to bite down on. How strong are human teeth?
 * Morrigan: How strong are my teeth?
 * Sten: Qunari teeth can bite through leather, wood, even metal given time. Which reminds me, I may try to nuzzle.
 * Morrigan: Nuzzle?
 * Sten: If that happens, you'll need an iron pry bar. Heat it in a fire, first, or it may not get my attention.
 * Morrigan: Perhaps it would be better if we did not proceed.
 * Sten: Are you certain? If it will satisfy your curiosity...
 * Morrigan: Yes. Yes, I think it is best.

Sten and Shale

 * Shale: I have never heard of such a thing called a qunari.
 * Sten: Then you have not been listening. We did not row to shore last year, we have been about for centuries.
 * Shale: I have listened. I have done little else, in fact, and yet I do not remember anyone mentioning such a qunari in all my years in the village.
 * Sten: Relying on humans as a source of education is a fool's errand.
 * Shale: They are rather ignorant, aren't they? And feeble. At the best of times.
 * Sten: We have creatures on Par Vollen that are similar. The humans call them "monkeys". They are dull, cowardly vermin. They cry out shrilly when threatened and throw their own feces.
 * Shale: That is an excellent comparison. I wonder if they are related?
 * Sten: Possibly.

-- --
 * Sten: I do not understand what a golem is. Why would anyone create such a being?
 * Shale: Why would one create a sword? To strike at its enemies.
 * Sten: But you are no sword, golem. You speak like a living creature, but act like a possession. I do not know what to make of you.
 * Shale: (Snorts) I am no possession, not now that the control rod is broken.
 * Sten: No? It is still in your heart. Do you even realize this? "Age by age have men stood up and said to the world, 'From what has come before me, I was forged, but I am new and greater than my forebears.' And so each man walks the world in ruin, abandoned and untried. Less than the whole of his being."
 * Shale: It is a riddle?
 * Sten: (Sigh) It seems so.
 * Shale: So are all of your kind similarly powerful, qunari?
 * Sten: I am not here to satisfy your curiosity, creature.
 * Shale: That is true. I suppose I sounded like a human, chattering away? I apologize.
 * Sten: No, it is I who should apologize. You are no human. You are a vastly superior construct.
 * Shale: That's kind of the qunari to say. If all of your people are like you, it is a wonder you haven't crushed the humans under your heel.
 * Sten: I have wondered this same thing.
 * Shale: One just need to look at them. They're so...
 * Sten: Small?
 * Shale: Exactly.
 * Sten: You and I, we are of the same mind, kadan.

--
 * Shale: What do you estimate are the chances of success, qunari?
 * Sten: For the Grey Warden? Little to none.
 * Shale: So, why does it follow? I do not risk death, but it does.
 * Sten: My mission is no different from the Grey Warden's. I must see this through to the end.
 * Shale: It would rather perish than give up its quest?
 * Sten: Indeed. There is honor to be salvaged in such a quest, no matter it's chances.
 * Shale: Honor is a curious thing. It is far better to be practical.
 * Sten: What use is practicality when it leads to cowardice and emptiness? It is better to live well, than to live.
 * Shale: An, uh... interesting theory.
 * Sten: There is worth in your life, Shale. There is value, but only if it is used.

--
 * Shale: I have a question of religion, qunari.
 * Sten: For you, kadan, I will answer.
 * Shale: Would its "qun" accept a convert that was a golem?
 * Sten: I do not know. It has never happened. We accept beings of all walks of life, so long as they are willing to accept their place in the world.
 * Shale: And what place is that?
 * Sten: One of equality. Within the Qun, an individual exists to serve.
 * Shale: Hmm. That is less appealing. Would it consider birds to be its equal as well?
 * Sten: Birds? Birds are... but animals. Enlightenment does not await them.
 * Shale: Excellent. That sounds very promising.

--
 * Shale: I have heard an interesting tale of the Qunari.
 * Sten: Speak, kadan.
 * Shale: I am told that the Qunari put mages on leashes. Leashes! What a delightful concept!
 * Sten: It is not something that one should take pleasure in. It is done because it is necessary.
 * Shale: Why not put them out of their misery? Crush their skulls and be done with it. Fast. Efficient. Fun.
 * Sten: You have been offended by such men, so your bloodlust can be forgiven. But these ones you speak of are to be pitied. Even so, they must serve, just as any other must serve. All must find their place within the Qun.
 * Shale: It does sound like a delightful place where it comes from. Mages on leashes. What will they think of next?
 * Sten: I can not say that they would not wish to put a leash on you as well, kadan.
 * Shale: Hmm... That does sound less fun. Yes.

--
 * Shale: The qunari mentioned something of equality when we last spoke.
 * Sten: I said that all were equal under the Qun, yes.
 * Shale: What of humans? Surely they would not be as equal as others.
 * Sten: All who accept the Qun have their place, as any other. In the lands we occupy, even the Elves have come to embrace this concept.
 * Shale: And if this place is at the bottom?
 * Sten: If that is where one belongs, then that is where one should be.
 * Shale: The Qunari are a very practical people, Sten.
 * Sten: It is as I have always said. But I thank you.

--
 * Shale: I wish to say that it has been pleasant fighting at the qunari's side.
 * Sten: I feel the same. You are a remarkable construct, kadan. A warrior to be feared.
 * Shale: No more than the qunari, surely. The way it strikes down it's foes, marvelous!
 * Sten: I smile each time you roar a battle cry, knowing our foes tremble.
 * Shale: I could watch you fight all day long--the skill you display, the form, how the light plays on its muscles... I mean... yes. Well done. With the fighting.
 * Sten: You, as well.
 * Shale: Right.

Sten and Oghren

 * Oghren: C'mon. Who ate the cabbage?
 * Sten: Why ask me?
 * Oghren: I guess you thought we could all share in the bounty?
 * Sten: (Sigh)
 * Oghren: Stand up to it, you giant ass! You've birthed a cloud to be proud of!
 * Sten: Humph.
 * Oghren: I hope you've thought of a name. Whew.

--


 * Sten: Dwarf.
 * Oghren: What?
 * Sten: Stop tripping me.
 * Oghren: Stop tripping yourself!
 * Sten: If you were significant enough to notice, I wouldn't step on you.
 * Oghren: Oh, well... your mother!
 * Sten: ... That was disappointing. I expected better from you.
 * Oghren: Sorry, I was in a rush.

Sten and Dog

 * Sten: Snarls.
 * Dog: Growls angrily.
 * Sten: Lets out a terrifying roar.
 * Dog: Barks angrily and lunges at Sten.
 * Sten: "You are a true warrior, and worthy of respect."
 * Dog: Barks excitedly.


 * Dog: (Dog peers up at Sten, tail wagging)


 * Sten: We don't have time for this now.
 * Dog: (Dog continues peering, a little more determined)
 * Sten: No, absolutely not.
 * Dog: (Whines)
 * Sten: There is no time. We have work to do.
 * Dog: (Whines)
 * Sten: (Sigh) ... Fine. Bring me the stick. But this is the last time, I swear it.
 * Dog: (Happy Bark!)


 * Dog: (Barks)
 * Sten: I don't understand you.
 * Dog: (Whines)
 * Sten: ... Are you trying to say something about a child in a well?
 * Dog: (Dog gives Sten a quizzical look)
 * Sten: No? Never mind, then... (This is, and a similar moment in Fallout 2 when the Vault Dweller had a conversation with a dog, who was giving him instructions that boy is in a well, are pop culture references to the American television show 'Lassie')