Leliana

"In the cloister, away from the fuss and the flurry of the cities, I found peace. And in the stillness, I could hear the Maker."

Leliana is an Orlesian bard who can accompany the Warden through Dragon Age: Origins. She came to the village of Lothering seeking the refuge of the local Chantry, where she expected to spend her time in meditation and prayer to the Maker, asking Him for forgiveness for her past deeds. She is a possible companion and romance option for either gender. She can also teach the bard specialization.

She is the protagonist of Leliana's Song, a DLC revealing more of her past.

Background
Leliana was born in Orlais, but her mother was Fereldan, and so she considers herself such, as well. After her mother's death, she was raised by Lady Cecile, an Orlesian noble. Leliana's mother had served Lady Cecile during the Orlesian occupation and followed her to Orlais after Ferelden's liberation. Living in Orlais, Leliana learned a great deal about the royal court and Orlesian culture.

Dragon Age: Origins
Leliana believes she has received a vision from the Maker which compels her to assist the Warden in thwarting the impending Blight.

{{DAOSpoiler| Leliana is first encountered at Dane's Refuge, a tavern at Lothering. When the Warden is set upon by soldiers loyal to Loghain, Leliana will aid the Warden in the battle. When the battle is over, she will say that she wants to join the party due to her vision. Despite the Chantry's claim that the Maker does not communicate directly with people, Leliana is firm in her belief. This causes Alistair to suspect she is mentally unstable.

If Leliana is rejected initially, it is possible to ask other people in Lothering about her. She will be waiting at the exit from Lothering and will ask to join the party again. At this point, Alistair will suggest accepting her. If not accepted at this point, she will not be seen again. It is confirmed, however, that she does survive the blight regardless of the Warden's actions.

The Urn of Sacred Ashes
During The Urn of Sacred Ashes, the Guardian briefly talks to each of the party members about their past. When the Guardian speaks to Leliana, he states that the Maker only spoke to Andraste, and accuses her of making her vision up, stating that she feared her life would become dull after joining the Chantry, so she fabricated the story of a vision from the Maker himself, reveling in the negative and positive attention it brought her. Affronted by the accusation, Leliana in disbelief will deny creating a fake vision for vanity.

Due to her devout nature, Leliana will not stand idly by if the Warden chooses to defile the Ashes of Andraste. If she is in the party, she will attack, resulting in her death. She can be intimidated to avoid this; she will not forgive the Warden for the desecration, but cannot go against the Warden and will stay as a companion. If she is not in the party at the time, she will confront the Warden at the Party Camp. If she cannot be persuaded, she will leave permanently.

Marjolaine
Eventually, when Leliana reveals sufficient amount of her past to the Warden, Marjolaine sends assassins after Leliana. The assassins reveal that Marjolaine is in Ferelden. Leliana will prompt the Warden to come with her to meet Marjolaine and settle her situation. During the quest, Leliana's personality can be "hardened" through certain dialogue options. Doing this will make her less likely to object to evil actions taken by party, will change her attitude towards Morrigan, and will alter her possible endings.

Awakening
Leliana never appears in Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening and is only mentioned once. If she was in love with the Warden at the end of Dragon Age: Origins then the following entry may appear in the epilogue of Awakening:

''Some claimed the commander reunited with the red-haired bard known as Leliana, and that they adventure together still. The pair were spotted together in Denerim a year after the Blight's end. No matter the truth, the commander never did return to Vigil's Keep.''

There is also a letter from her to her love interest.}}

Romance
The Warden's first opportunity to kiss her occurs when her approval reaches "Adore" (71 or higher) and the Warden is not already in a romance with another party member. She starts a conversation in camp with the opening sentence "I enjoy the nights at camp. The night always seems more peaceful, to me. Safer." Nevertheless she isn't interested in a fling and will only bed the Warden once she's fallen in love with him/her. She will not fall in love with the Warden until her quest has been completed and her approval rating has reached 91 or higher. To increase her approval, talk to her a lot, listen to what she tells you, be supportive, avoid criticizing her when she talks about the Maker, give her gifts that are personally meaningful to her, do good deeds while she is in the party, and avoid evil acts (or at least avoid having Leliana in the party when performing them).

Note: Although it isn't clearly a romantic advance on the Warden's part, asking "She was special to you, wasn't she?" starts a romance when talking about what happened with Marjolaine during Leliana's personal quest. This happens regardless of what dialogue choices you make after that, even if you don't ask about her current romantic interests. Take care not to select this option if you only want to be friends.

Gifts
Leliana prefers gifts with "Andraste" in their name, as well as other symbols of the Chantry. The white flowers called Andraste's Grace work particularly well. She loves shoes, too. Leliana can also be given a pet nug from the Idle Dwarf in Dust Town. It will stay with her throughout the game.

Origins
Relative Attribute Weightings on Auto-Level: Strength 0.6, Dexterity 1.2, Willpower 0.4, Magic 0, Cunning 1.2, Constitution 0.6.

Class: Rogue

Specialization: Bard

Skills: Stealing level 2, Poison level 1, Combat training level 2

Starting Talents:

Bard: Song of Valor

Rogue: Dirty Fighting, Below the Belt, Deft Hands, Improved Tools

Archery: Pinning Shot, Crippling Shot, Rapid Shot, Shattering Shot

Leliana's Song DLC
Class: Rogue

Level: 10

Specialization: Bard

Attributes (1 available point)
 * Strength: 20
 * Dexterity: 26
 * Willpower: 18
 * Magic: 14
 * Cunning: 18
 * Constitution: 10

Skills (no available points)
 * Stealing, Improved Stealing, Expert Stealing
 * Poison-Making
 * Combat Training, Improved Combat Training, Expert Combat Training

Talents (2 available points)
 * Bard: Song of Valor
 * Rogue: Dirty Fighting, Combat Movement, Coup De Grace, Below the Belt, Deft Hands, Improved Tools
 * Dual Weapon: Dual-Weapon Training
 * Archery: Pinning Shot, Rapid Shot

Plot skills
As you befriend Leliana and gain her approval she will gain additional abilities, including the following:

Quotes



 * "I tried to be merciful!"
 * "The righteous stand before the darkness, and the Maker shall guide their hand."
 * "I came to Ferelden and the Chantry because I was being hunted. I walked where the Maker led me and he has rewarded me for my faith. I found you."
 * "Walking corpses? Do you think it's something in the water?"
 * (When entering combat) "I never liked this part!"
 * (Getting up at the end of combat) "My bruises form a pretty pattern!"
 * (When badly injured) "I can't go on like this."
 * "There were many lovely young initiates in the Lothering cloister -- all of them chaste and virtuous. Ah, it added to their mystique."
 * (At Redcliffe village) "Ooh! A windmill. I once took a ride on the sails of a windmill. Didn't turn out well."
 * (When confronted with floor puzzle) "Ooh, this looks fun! I'll bet we'll have to work together, join hands, and sing a happy song to get across."
 * "Look at what that woman's wearing! Is she drunk or does she just have bad taste?"
 * "I suppose violence is a solution... sometimes!"
 * "Try not to look too incompetent, it's embarrassing!"
 * (At the gates of Denerim if you bring her with you to fight the Archdemon) "You are my dearest friend and my love; you lit my path through darkness and I will stand with you, to whatever end. This day, we will forge a legend of our own."
 * (At the gates of Denerim if you do not bring her with you to fight the Archdemon) "You are my Grey Warden, and our savior. Win this war for us my love and... come home."

Trivia

 * In Bioware's character file for her, her appearance is described as: "Red hair, pale, slender."
 * Leliana's CGI model from the Sacred Ashes trailer is based on adult model Alexandra "Alleykatze" Stein.
 * When asked to compare a list of NPC companions to food, BioWare employee Mary Kirby described Leliana as "A sticky cinnamon bun. No question."
 * Sheryl Chee described her as, "a macaron; very French and very girly."
 * If Leliana is given the cute nug, she will name it Schmooples. (To see for yourself, hold down tab on the PC version to highlight your companions names or left trigger on the console versions to note all names in the vicinity.)
 * At one point when discussing Orlais fashion with Leliana, she will mention how one trend had shoes with soles "as big as bricks." This is obviously a nod to platform shoes, similarly fashionable a few years ago and just as impractical.
 * Leliana is one of three companions who appears in the Sacred Ashes trailer.
 * If Leliana's approval is high enough, it is possible that she will hum a little melody when the player takes control of Leliana.
 * When in the fade, there are 2 NPCs that look like Leliana.
 * In Leliana's Song, Leliana's hair is tied up, while in Dragon Age: Origins, her hair is down.
 * If you talk to Bethany in the chantry in Dragon Age II she will say:" I miss the Lothering Chantry. Sister Leliana told the best stories."
 * If you talk to Aveline in the chantry in Dragon Age II she will comment about feeling uncomfortable around chantry sisters due to a "red-haired trickster in Lothering."

Bugs

 * One important dialogue option that leads to Leliana's background quest can be lost if you get her approval too high without talking to her. Therefore, do not simply shower Leliana with gifts -- talk to her and make sure you choose "I heard that in Orlais, minstrels are often spies" when that option appears. As her approval increases further, you can no longer ask it. Leliana's background quest requires her to first tell you a lie about her background, and then feel bad and come clean on it. If the question about spies disappears from the dialogue options before you ask it, you will never learn of Leliana's past and you will not get the quest to seek out her former bard master, Marjolaine. Using Feastday Gifts and Pranks is also a useful way to deal with this problem for those still encountering it.


 * A female human noble Warden who does not engage in a romance with Leliana and becomes Alistair's queen during the Landsmeet can still get a heartbroken speech from her back at camp on the topic if her approval rating is high. Oddly, it is possible to squeeze a few more approval points out of this dialogue if you are regretful about having to "end it" with Leliana, even if you were never in a romance with her to begin with.
 * If you give Leliana lots of gifts and have her at 100 approval, in Orzammar's Proving Grounds, when you are in the championship battle and are almost finished, Leliana will blurt out, "Oh thanks, that's wonderful!" as though she has been given a gift.
 * When Leliana asks elven mages about living in the Alienage, there is no option to say that you don't remember the Alienage. This occurs even if you have already established that you remember nothing in the origin story.
 * Leliana has blue eyes, yet when she has blood all over herself her eyes turn a greenish colour.
 * If an Awakening or Witch Hunt (instead of Origins) save game is imported in Dragon Age II, the game will not acknowledge active romance between Leliana and the Warden (and she will not refer to the Warden as "dear to her heart"). This is because the unmodded DA2 checks imported approval ratings instead of romance flags to determine Origins romance, and while the flags are imported properly, neither Awakening, nor the DLC campaigns keep the approval ratings of absent party members. An unofficial fix exists to address this problem.