Isabela

"The ship is the best teacher. She will guide you with her sighs... her shudders, her gentle swaying as she rides the crests of the waves."

Isabela is the captain of the pirate ship The Siren's Call. She can teach the Duelist specialization to the Warden in Dragon Age: Origins, and is a companion and romance option for either male or female Hawke in Dragon Age II.

Background
Isabela is originally from Rivain, but has traveled far and visited many places during her life. She was once married to the original owner of The Siren's Call, until he was killed by Zevran for unknown reasons, leading her to inherit the ship. She doesn't seem too regretful over her husband's death, calling him a "greasy bastard", explaining her rather cordial relationship with Zevran. She has picked up a special fighting technique during her travels, one that depends on speed instead of strength. Since she has learned this technique by dueling many different warriors, she calls herself a "duelist".

Isabela can be found in The Hanged Man during act 1 after you recruit Anders. Go to the Tavern when no quest is there and you should find her. It is possible to fully skip recruiting Isabella by not going to the Hanged Man at all, as she does not develop any major essential plot point later on in the story.

Dragon Age: Origins
{{SpoilerDAO| {{clr}} Isabela can be found at The Pearl. Her ship is staying in Denerim to let her men fill up on supplies and other "pleasures from dry land". Zevran knows her from before and—if brought along—will announce that she is the "Queen of the Eastern Seas and the sharpest blade in Llomerryn".

In order to convince Isabela to teach the Duelist specialization, there are two options: Beat her in a game of cards, or "get to know each other better" by following her to bed.

Once you have learned the specialization from her, Isabela will no longer be available at The Pearl.

To beat Isabela in the card game, the Warden will have to be dexterous enough to catch her cheating or subtle enough to cheat. If Zevran or Leliana are in the party, they can also help the Warden to win, but will only offer assistance if their approval is high enough.

For Isabela to take the Warden up on his offer to get to know her better, the Warden will have to be persuasive (Coercion * 25 + Cunning bonus must be at least 75, so three points in coercion by itself will do the trick regardless of cunning). If the Warden is in a romance (love) with Morrigan, an unhardened Leliana or an unhardened Alistair, then the Warden's romance partner will publicly disapprove and Isabela will not go to bed with the Warden. However, if either Leliana or Alistair is not only in a love-relationship with the Warden but has also been "hardened" following their personal quests, then they will actually join in the fun for a threesome (or possibly a foursome) and their approval will increase. If Zevran is in the party, Isabela will invite him as well (regardless of his relationship status with the Warden). If the Warden accepts, Zevran's approval will increase. Nevertheless Zevran will decline the offer if Alistair is included. The following combinations are thus possible:


 * Isabela-Warden
 * Isabela-Warden-Leliana
 * Isabela-Warden-Zevran
 * Isabela-Warden-Alistair (female Warden only)
 * Isabela-Warden-Leliana-Zevran

Reactions

 * If you have flirted with Leliana but her personality has not been hardened by the time you speak to Isabela, she will get jealous, ask "what about us?", which will trigger Isabela taking back her offer to sleep with the Warden.
 * If you are female but not in a relationship with Alistair, he will wonder if he's dreaming, and then tell you he's going to jump in the ocean. This doesn't occur if Leliana or Zevran joins in.
 * Morrigan is not nearly as open-minded about Isabela as the other romanceable companions. She will strongly disapprove if you bed Isabela and tell you to rinse off the stench after you are done "rolling around in the gutter". If the Warden is romantically involved with Morrigan a different dialogue occurs. Morrigan gets furious and states that she will not touch the Warden again if he goes through with it. The Warden will not be allowed to bed Isabela in this case. (The only way then is to make sure she is not in the party)
 * (If the Warden is female) If Oghren is in your party, he will faint if the Warden and Leliana go to bed with Isabela.

Approval
Inviting one of your companions to bed with Isabela nets the following approval changes:

}}
 * if he joins.
 * if she joins and the Warden is female.
 * if you accept Isabela's invitation for him to join.
 * if you deny Isabela's invitation for him to join.

Fate
Like all of Hawke's companions Isabela has the possibility to remain with Hawke or leave to Ostwick at the end of Act 2 and continue to adventure still. Depending on how high your friendship or rivalry level is with Isabela she may return after she leaves with the relic at the end of act 2.

Romance
Isabela was the first announced for both male and female Hawke.

You can initially only flirt with Isabela in Act 1, but can later pursue a romance through proper dialogue in Act 2 and eventually solidify it in the final moments of Act 3. However, unlike other love interests Isabela will not move into your home.

In Act 2, Isabela will approach you in your home. If you choose to engage in the romance scene, you can quest her about love, allowing her to reveal the circumstances of her past: her mother sold her into marriage with her husband for a goat and some coins against her will. She was forced to remain with him until Zevran assassinated him, allowing her to take over the ship and become captain herself. Isabela will also reveal she has only truly loved someone once, a man of unknown name, but it only broke his heart in the end. Though she will seem annoyed at you questioning her emotions on the matter, she will walk away with +10 approval if you do.

Armor
In Dragon Age II, you cannot change what armor your companions wear but you can upgrade it. Isabela's armor may be upgraded by using the gift mechanics in Dragon Age II. You will find companion armor upgrades that can be purchased at shops in the tab designated by the Gem Icon. Her armor has four slots available for upgrades. These upgrades may be purchased or found at various locations in the game. Upgrading a companion's armor once unlocks the "A Friend In Need" achievement and fully upgrading a companion's armor unlocks the "I Got Your Back" achievement.

Isabela's armor upgrades can be found at the following locations:
 * Act 2 Robes By Jean Luc Hightown: Supportive Corselet. (Gives Isabela an extra rune slot.)
 * Act 2 Apparel Shop (Tailor) in Lowtown: Rigid Boning. (+38 Defense)
 * Act 2 Lost End Foundry in Lowtown: Lambswool Insoles (+2% Critical Chance): During the "To Catch A Thief" quest, in a crate in one of the upstairs room
 * Act 3 Sundermount Mountain Cave during the A Murder of Crows quest, on a skeleton near the entrance: Boiled Leather Plates (Gives Isabela an extra rune slot.)

If Isabela is romanced, she will update her outfit with a black corset, added goldwork embroidery to the bottom hem of her sash, a piece of red cloth around her right bicep, and replaces the leather pauldron on her left shoulder with a metal one.

Quotes

 * Isabela: Sex is like a sailing. If you do it wrong, you will get sick..
 * Isabela: If we kill them, we get their stuff!
 * Isabela: I like big boats, I cannot lie.
 * Isabela: Oh, look at them! They're like kittens...who want to eat you. (referring to dragonlings)
 * Isabela: And then Isabela went to the Chantry, and saw that it was...boring. Canticle of Isabela, stanza one, verse one.
 * Isabela: I finally got on top in the end, but I still considered it a draw.
 * Isabela: You smell that? Smells like repression doesn't it?
 * Isabela: You're leaving? Just like that? What about sex?
 * Isabela: If you shove your thumb up his ass, I win.
 * Isabela: Hmm... apostate prostitutes? Apos-titutes! (Laughs)
 * Isabela: Looking for a ditch to lay facedown in? I can recommend one.
 * Isabela: Our mistakes make us who we are.
 * Isabela: Really? We're going to just waltz in here and fight dozens of blood mages?  Ourselves?  All right.  I'm game.
 * Isabela: Step 1: We find Velasco. Step 2: Something exciting happens. Step 3: Profit

(While Hawke is exploring/looking at things in his/her mansion)
 * Hawke: All right, so she said to look at the crest sideways, then cover the...Sweet Maker, Isabela! I can't unsee that!
 * Hawke: Isabela seemed disappointed she didn't find anything worth gossiping about. Snoop.
 * Hawke: "Sorry. I was expecting treasure, not spiders. Get well soon. Love, Isabela." Why do I let her drag me into these things?
 * Hawke: "A Hundred and One Uses for A Phallic Tuber." Thanks Isabela, that's a hundred too many.
 * Hawke: Best keep Isabela's books on the top shelf. Don't want to scar Sandal.
 * Hawke: Crude drawing in the margins? (Sighs) Isabela, grow up.
 * Hawke: Is that...? Isabela! Who carves that into a stairwell!
 * Hawke: "Borrowed one of your dresses." Again, Isabela? I have no idea how she manages to fit into them.

Trivia

 * "Isabela" is not her birth name. Her true name (and surname) are unknown.
 * Mika Simmons is not voicing Isabela as she did in Origins; this is to reduce confusion as she also voiced Anora in Origins.
 * In Dragon Age II, she will remember the sexual encounter with the Warden at the Pearl, or lack thereof.
 * Her hair color in Dragon Age II changed to black while in Origins it was brown.
 * Isabela's home base is The Hanged Man tavern, more specifically the bar.
 * In both games, when the player meets Isabela she is attacked by three men who are handily beaten by her and forced to flee.
 * Isabela is one of the few characters known to respond well to sarcastic dialogue, the others being Flemeth and Varric.
 * When encountering the Desire Demon in the side quest Night Terrors, Isabela will say, upon betrayal, "I like big boats, I cannot lie.", a reference to the song Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot.
 * Isabela seems to have a collection of dirty books, and usually refers to sex in conversations with Varric
 * In conversation with Aveline, she makes a sexual innuendo by saying "shank your jory". this may be a reference to Jory from Dragon Age Origins.
 * If you bring Isabella into the Deep Roads she may comment on how she "really doesn't like tight spaces" indicating she is claustrophobic.
 * When initiating the quest, "No rest for the Wicked," Isabela outlines her plan ending with "Step 3: Profit," a reference to the South Park episode "Gnomes."
 * Upon meeting King Alistair in Viscount's Keep, Alistair will say that she looks different, in which Isabela will say "Don't we all." This in probably an in-game joke as to how the characters have changed in appearance over the two games

Bugs
If Isabela is romanced, her outfit may not properly update to the newer version. Using the Maker's Sigh potion from the Black Emporium to respec her skills will update her outfit.

Similarly, if the Supportive Corset has been purchased before romancing her, the rune slot will disappear. Using a Maker's Sigh does not restore the rune slot.

There is also a well documented bug with her friendship bonus- if you have it and remove her from your party the game will remove the attack speed bonus from your base rate instead of the increased one. This effect is cumulative leading to greatly reduced attack speeds. Bioware is working on a patch, but currently the only fix is a combination of this mod which stops your speed from reducing further and using a save game editor to reverse any speed reduction you are already experiencing. The bug is heavily discussed here.

It is possible that Varric will say that she stayed with the Champion, indicating that you romanced her, even if you had romanced someone else. This may happen even if she has left your party.