Approval (Origins)

Although it is possible to play through Dragon Age: Origins using only the character you create, the game is designed around a party of four adventurers, selected from among the many prospective companions you will encounter throughout Ferelden. Your party members are not just important for combat; they often have personal connections to your quests and may ask for your help with quests of their own. Gaining or losing their approval will have significant effects.

Your party members have their own agendas and personalities and demonstrate strong reactions to your decisions. You can track a character’s approval rating on his or her character record. Lowest possible approval rating is -100, highest possible is 100, and initial approval rating is 0. When party members’ approval ratings rise, you are able to engage them in longer conversations at the party camp, which may lead to new quest options or, for certain characters, the possibility of romance. Highest approval rating is capped at 74 until you have completed companion's personal quest or are in romance with him/her.

Approval and Attribute Bonuses
Characters who are confident in your leadership may also earn attribute bonuses to their primary attribute, ranging from "minor" through "moderate" and "major" to "massive", depending on approval rating as follows:

The attribute that is increased depends on the character, and is usually related to their role. For example, Alistair gets a bonus to Constitution. To find out which attribute gets increase see the specific page for each character.

When a party member’s approval falls, however, bonuses degrade and you risk abandonment or betrayal. If approval reaches critical level of, companion will try to leave the party. You will have a single chance to talk him/her out of it, which you won't be given if they reach crisis for a second time. Alistair will not leave the party, however, and cannot be removed from the group.

The choices you make in Dragon Age: Origins will affect your party member's approval of you. Because your party members differ so much from each other, it is difficult to keep everyone happy. But when you disagree on matters of substance, you can always buy their loyalty through gifts.

Approval and Party Members
Dragon Age: Origins does not posses a "morality scale" akin to other popular rpgs like Fable and Mass effect, but the approval of your party members can often reflect morality. Alistair, Leliana, and Wynne tend to approve of moral choices where the player goes out of their way to help all the characters they encounter and spare the life of innocents. Morrigan, Sten, and Zevran appear to be more in favor of darker and brutal choices. Oghren, Shale, and your dog appear more neutral.

Personal agendas and quirks may also set the tone for a character's approval. Some examples:


 * Sten is a hard character to please, he is very blunt and straight-to-the-point, thus will see many choices the PC can make as distractions and weaknesses, and many conversation choices can lead to disapproval. You can start off with if you ask him if he`s alright after being caged so long. If confronted by Sten about what your plans are for the blight, the dialogue choice "I'm not here to impress you" will earn  on his approval. Upon reaching the village of Haven Sten may challenge the player to a fight, and defeating Sten in this duel assures him you are a strong leader and will earn  to his approval rating.


 * Shale's reaction to the events at the end of "A paragon of her kind" is very significant, and your choices at the end of said mission can earn you or more points for siding with Caridin or lose as many as  for the reverse decision. Adding gems to Shale can also bring up dialogue. If the player comments that the new gems are "quite slimming" or "so pretty" this can earn some approval. (read more on Shale for and explanation on why this occurs.)


 * Oghren seems to favor at least one choice where the character accepts material rewards. If the PC accepts dwarven armor from the smith in Redcliffe (after completing the sidequest to find his daughter) this can earn some approval. The reverse is also appears true, where Oghren shows disapproval if the PC returns the sword he acquired to a family he borrowed it from during the events of Redcliffe. Oghren is generally in favor of bravery. Calling Dwyn a coward earns approval. Shouting "Death First" when confronted by Ser Cauthrien earns approval. Using the brothel in the Pearl gives a.


 * Zevran approves of pragmatic actions such as agreeing to side with Sophia Dryden in Soldier's Peak.


 * Leliana, unsurprisingly, is influenced by charitable actions which include aggreeing to help Dagna in Orzammar and taking the sister's side against the unscrupulous merchant in Lothering.

The Warden and Companion Dialogues

 * Alistair's Dialogue
 * Leliana's Dialogue
 * Morrigan's Dialogue
 * Shale's Dialogue
 * Sten's Dialogue

Encounter Dialogues

 * The Hungry Deserter
 * Lothering Merchant
 * Broken Circle: Templar Quarters
 * Redcliffe Castle - Basement
 * Lost in the Castle
 * Finding Valena
 * Redcliffe Castle - Arl of Redcliffe
 * Kolgrim