Sten

Sten is a warrior of the Beresaad, the vanguard of the qunari race. He is a stoic and disciplined man with a strong code of honor, and the way he treats others depends on whether or not they have his respect, which he does not give easily. He is a potential companion to the Warden and can only be recruited in Lothering.

Background
Sten is not his actual name. Instead, it is a title meaning he is an infantry platoon commander in the Beresaad. If he trusts the Warden enough, he will reveal that he was sent with a group of other qunari to discover what the Blight is. His group was attacked by darkspawn and he was rendered unconscious. When he awoke, his comrades were dead and his sword was gone. To a qunari, their sword is their soul. If he were to return to his homeland without it he would be killed. Out of rage from losing his sword, he murdered the farmers who woke him with his bare hands.

Involvement


The Warden can choose to have Sten join the party after freeing him from Lothering in the quest The Qunari Prisoner. Sten is a strong, proud and noble warrior who refuses to elaborate on discussions regarding his people or his predicament and most of his comments are terse. He is a firm believer in everyone having a fixed role in life determined by their birth; if The Warden is female, this belief will also be expressed by stating that a woman's place does not include the battlefield, but he may finally admit to being surprised by the Warden and their skills towards the end of the main quest.

If Sten is in the active party when they reach Haven, he may attempt to overrule the warden and gain control of the group as he tires of the aimless wandering around. If the Warden can reason with him by means of sufficient coercion skills, it is possible to end this encounter without violence. To do so, the player must first choose the dialogue option "It'll never see this coming.", then "it will help stop Loghain." followed by "It's something I have to do" (might not be obligatory) and finally "He killed Duncan." This should result in +4 approval points. The subsequent dialogue options may still trigger a physical confrontation with Sten: after defeating him, his approval increases by an additional +7 points. Sometimes, if your approval with Sten is high enough, he will say he has "spoke his mind" and will not try to fight you. This can cause you to get or love approval depending on what you said to him. Following the above choices will give approval, but most others will give varying disapproval.

As always, standing up to Sten (example responses including "I'm not here to impress you") will always gain approval points. A good place to earn several approval points with Sten is Redcliffe: recruiting people such as Lloyd and Berwick into the local militia appeals to Sten's views of honor and duty.

As with Dog, Oghren, Wynne and Shale, it is impossible to romance Sten.

Quests Given

 * Sten's Lost Sword.

Initial Statistics
Class: Warrior.

Specialization: None to start with.

Starting Talents:

Warrior: Powerful, Threaten, Precise Striking, Taunt.

Two-Handed: Pommel Strike, Indomitable, Sunder Arms, Mighty Blow, Powerful Swings.

Strategy
Fill out Sten’s Two-Handed school as soon as possible and capitalize on some of the top-tier talents quickly, which will seriously increase his damage potential and make him an excellent damage oriented companion. As with rogues, Sten should allow the tank to control enemy mobs and then attack from the rear or flank. Because Sten is so durable, he doesn’t have to watch his spacing as much as a rogue, and he can off-tank if the Warden needs him to grab a creature that the tank can’t hold threat on. His skills are best used with heavy or massive armor and two-handed weapons, and crossbow suits for ranged attacks.

Gifts
Sten has a liking for paintings. This may seem uncharacteristic of him but his appreciation is actually based in his being impressed by the artist's control of the brush. The official strategy guide likens an artist's discipline to that of a warrior.

Quotes



 * "These mages have an unnatural preoccupation with women holding bowls"
 * "If I were indeed hostile, you would be bleeding."
 * "I like swords, I follow orders; there's nothing else to know about me."
 * "Either you have an enviable life, or a pitiable memory, to know nothing of regret."
 * "No one has a place here. Your farmers wish to be merchants. The merchants dream of being nobles, and the nobles become warriors. No one is content to be who they are."
 * "Happiness is fragile. Nothing can be built upon it that will last. Only duty endures."
 * "I thought their warriors would have at least been taller."
 * "What is -- parshaara. Perhaps it will be safer to study the floor."
 * (upon entering Tapster's Tavern in Orzammar) "Is this... some sort of mass suicide?"
 * "Where is the cake? I was told there would be cake! The cake is a lie."

Dialogue

 * Warden "Cookies?"
 * Sten: "Yes. we have no such things in our lands. This should be remedied."

--
 * Warden: "Tell me about the qunari."
 * Sten: "No."
 * Warden: "Well, that wasn't what I expected to hear."
 * Sten: "Get used to disappointment. People are not simple. They cannot be defined for easy reference in the manner of: 'the elves are a lithe, pointy-eared people who excel at poverty.'"

--
 * Warden: "What were you doing in the cell?"
 * Sten: "Sitting, as you observed."

--


 * Warden: "There is wisdom in the Chant, you know."
 * Sten: "Then it should be released into the wild. It is in danger of dying out."

--
 * Sten: "I don't understand. You look like a woman."
 * Warden: "Are you flirting with me, Sten?"
 * Sten: "Flirting? I don't know this word. Speak the common tongue."

Cheat for Infinite Approval
Once Sten has joined the party speak to him until the option "Why did you come to Ferelden?" appears in the list of questions. Continue the conversation with any of the listed options until the option "Why would the qunari care about the Blight?" appears. Select it then select "I'm a Grey Warden. It's my job." Then select "Did you find the answer to his question." Now the option "Why would the qunari..." will appear again creating a loop. Each loop is worth 4 approval.

Trivia



 * Of all the companions besides the Warden, Sten only seems to genuinely like and respect Shale, as he calls her 'kadan', the same title he bestows on the Warden.
 * Sten loves cookies and once even stole some from a child, claiming that he was relieving the child of spoils.
 * Sten is very fond of paintings, which are the key to increasing his approval rating.
 * Sten also has a softer side, as demonstrated when Leliana catches him picking flowers, although Sten denied it, claiming he picked them for their medicinal properties. There's also another instance in which Leliana catches him playing with a kitten, although Sten claims he was "training" it.
 * Sten's sword is named Asala which means "soul" in the qunari language.
 * Sten is a Scandinavian word for stone
 * When Sten says "Where is the cake? I was told there would be cake. The cake is a lie.", it is a reference to the game Portal by Valve. With 'The Cake is a Lie' being written on walls predominantly through many of the game's levels.
 * If you have Sten and Alistair in your party, Alistair will ask Sten what he did while in the cage. Sten will tell Alistair he played a game similar to "I spy". Sten will then tell him "There are a lot of things in Lothering that start with a 'g'."
 * There appears to be a few dialog options under "I'd like to discuss something you mentioned" that only show up if you have Sten in your party when visiting certain locations. Of note two in the Circle Tower, both of which don't open a dialog and he says it while exploring. When entering the tower, Sten will say something about how the Tower is unlike the "prison" the Qunari keep their mages in. You can later ask him about mages in his homeland. Later in the library, Sten will make a comment about the people failing to hold onto their knowledge. You can later ask him about this which leads into a conversation about his people and the pursuit of wisdom. Two further dialogue triggers are outside Redcliffe Chantry, where he makes a comment about The Chantry and wisdom (though may be the same dialogue as the Circle library mentioned above), and a party conversation with Zevran regarding qunari in Antiva, which triggers a chain of dialogue regarding the Tal'Vashoth, qunari who have left the Qun. All of these chains have the potential for substantially increasing Sten's approval.