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“The darkspawn are an evil that must be destroyed, it's true. Though not as evil as the birds... damnable feathered fiends!”


Shale is a stone golem and potential companion in Dragon Age: Origins. It can be recruited from the town of Honnleath through The Stone Prisoner DLC.

Background

Shale is one of the war golems created by Paragon Caridin to defend the dwarven thaigs against the darkspawn during the First Blight. As such, it has been a golem for almost 1000 years. However, Shale seems able to remember only the events of approximately the last 30 years, and its knowledge of what it did prior to that is mainly based on what it has heard from others.


This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Origins.


According to Caridin, Shale was the best warrior of King Valtor and member of House Cadash and the only female dwarf to volunteer to become a golem. As a golem, Shale was very loyal to Caridin, even standing with him as he objected to Valtor's use of the Anvil of the Void. But, after Caridin was turned into a golem, he sent her away, “out of mercy.” Sometime after leaving Caridin, Shale became deactivated in one of the lost thaigs.


Shale 1

Shale standing frozen in Honnleath

Eventually, in the latter part of the Blessed Age, a deactivated Shale and its control rod were found by Wilhelm, a mage who was exploring various abandoned thaigs in the Deep Roads. Wilhelm reactivated the golem and, for many years, used it to his own ends: Shale became an object of study, a trophy, and a weapon during the Fereldan Rebellion, for both Moira Theirin's and later Maric Theirin's rebel forces.

After the war, Wilhelm settled in the village of Honnleath, taking Shale with him and continuing his study of the golem. While under Wilhelm's control, Shale was experimented on, paraded around the village like a pet, and even chiseled down to a smaller size so that it might more easily fit through the doorways in Wilhelm’s home.

Wilhelm was eventually found dead outside his tower, with a deactivated Shale standing frozen over his body. Though there were no witnesses to the event, Shale was believed to have killed him. In response to the mage's seeming death at the golem's hands, Shale's control rod was sold to a merchant by Wilhelm's wife, in the hopes that Shale would never be activated again.

But, though it was deactivated, the golem was still aware of its surroundings. Shale remained that way for decades, awake but unable to move.

Involvement

The Stolen Throne


This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne.


Shale is seen under the control of Wilhelm when Maric and Loghain meet the main rebel camp. Shale is also encountered when the party returns to Gwaren.


Dragon Age: Origins


This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Origins.


After The Warden encounters a merchant called Felix de Grosbois at Sulcher's Pass, they obtain the control rod to a Golem located in the village of Honnleath. After rescuing several trapped villagers including Matthias, Wilhelm's son, The Warden re-activated Shale and convinced it to join in their fight against the Blight.

During the mission to rescue the Paragon Branka, the Warden will encounter Caridin. If Shale is present at the time, Caridin will reveal much of Shale's past and trigger the quest A Golem's Memories. If the Warden sides with Branka they will be forced to kill Shale as well. Alternatively if they side with Branka and Shale is not present, a conversation in camp will trigger where the Warden can simply say they do not know what happens to Caridin and then the next time Shale is brought into the Deep Roads the quest will activate.

Shale will remember it was found in Cadash Thaig where the party will discover a registry of Dwarves who volunteered to become Golems in order to fight the Darkspawn. The list includes Shale's original identity: Shayle, a female warrior of House Cadash.


Dragon Age: Asunder


This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Asunder.


Shale appears accompanying Wynne to an abandoned Grey Warden outpost in Orlais where Pharamond, a Tranquil researcher and personal friend of Wynne's, is investigating the nature of the Rite of Tranquility. According to Wynne, Pharamond's research might give insight into how to return Shale to its original female dwarven form. When Shale and Wynne arrive at the outpost, they find it overrun by demon-possessed corpses. As Wynne leaves to find help in Val Royeaux, Shale stays behind to ensure nothing escapes the outpost. After confronting the abomination, Shale was to stand watch while the others entered The Fade, but was drawn through The Veil with them. After rescuing Pharamond, Shale goes to the Circle of Magi in Montsimmard so the information about the Rite of Tranquility could be disseminated among the circles quickly. Later Shale joins Evangeline and Wynne in their raid on the White Spire and destroys the Phylacteries stored there. Shale is also present at Wynne's funeral.


Gifts

Shale has a preference for "remarkable" gemstones. There is an issue with the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions which causes Shale to not give the standard +10 for the first gem; instead you receive +5, which decreases as usual, so that after receiving four of the gems, Shale seems uninterested in the others ("So I'm to keep this then, am I? Fine."), giving only +1 for the rest, giving a measly 18 approval for giving them all to Shale. Therefore, you have to rely on conversation and your actions to get higher approval.

If you have the Feastday Gifts and Pranks DLC, however, you might also compensate for this bug with the thoughtful gifts and sugar cakes available from Bodahn Feddic. No matter how many are given, a Thoughtful Gift is always worth Approves (+10), while a Sugar Cake is worth Approves (+5).


Name Notes Description

Remarkable Amethyst
Remarkable Amethyst
Located: Alimar
A deep, clear purple stone.
Remarkable Diamond
Remarkable Diamond
ps3PS3xbox360Xbox360Can be purchased from Garin.
A brilliant cut, colorless stone.
Remarkable Emerald
Remarkable Emerald
Located: Figor
This dark green gem has murky depths, like an overgrown pond.
Remarkable Garnet
Remarkable Garnet
Unobtainable via normal means
A gem the shade of dried blood, dark red, nearly black.
Remarkable Greenstone
Remarkable Greenstone
Blue-green stone with a pattern like a turtle's shell.
Remarkable Malachite
Remarkable Malachite
Located: Circle Tower
This stone is patterned with odd bands and ripples of color, like the contents of a witch's cauldron.
Remarkable Ruby
Remarkable Ruby
Deep red and nearly indestructible, these are prized by royalty.
Remarkable Sapphire
Remarkable Sapphire
Located: Legnar
A star-cut sapphire, almost the color of the night sky.
Remarkable Topaz
Remarkable Topaz
Located: Faryn
A brilliant gem the color of sunshine.

Initial statistics

Attributes

Relative attribute weightings on auto-level:

Strength Dexterity Willpower Magic Cunning Constitution
1.4 0.25 0.5 0 0.145 1.9

Talents (PC)

See Shale talents for a list of all Shale talents.
Shale's Talents

Shale talents

Warrior Powerful Powerful PowerfulThreaten Threaten
Precise Striking Precise Striking Precise StrikingTaunt Taunt
Shale Pulverizing Blows Pulverizing Blows Pulverizing BlowsSlam SlamQuake Quake
Stoneheart Stoneheart StoneheartBellow BellowStone Roar Stone Roar (level 12)
Rock Mastery Rock Mastery Rock Mastery (level 8)   Hurl Rock Hurl Rock (level 9)   Earthen Grasp Earthen Grasp (level 13)
Stone Aura Stone Aura Stone Aura (level 10)   Inner Reserves Inner Reserves (level 11)

Equipment

Shale fighting

Shale fighting deepstalkers

Shale does not use conventional weapons or armor. Instead, much like Dog, the golem has two slots for specialized equipment:

  • Small Crystals, which act as weapons and appear on Shale's wrists; they grant a bonus to the corresponding elemental attack damage, convert all damage to the crystal's element type, and can (depending on their quality and type) grant bonuses to various attacks, attributes, and health/stamina regeneration. Because Shale's damage is largely elemental based, Vulnerability Hex and Affliction Hex are helpful in boosting damage.
  • Large Crystals, which act as armor and appear on Shale's shoulders and legs; they grant a bonus to the corresponding elemental resistance and can (depending on their quality and type) grant bonuses to various defenses, attributes, and health/stamina regeneration.

There are a total of 50 different crystals: 25 small crystals, 25 large crystals. Both sizes of crystals come in each of the five elemental types and in five varying degrees of quality.

Equipping Shale with a small and large crystal of the same elemental type will grant an additional set bonus of +10% to the corresponding resistance.

Plot skills

As you befriend Shale and gain its approval, it will gain the following additional skills:

Name Benefit Requirement
Inspired: Minor Strength Inspired: Minor Strength +1 strength 25% approval
Inspired: Moderate Strength Inspired: Moderate Strength +2 strength 50% approval
Inspired: Major Strength Inspired: Major Strength +4 strength 75% approval
Inspired: Massive Strength Inspired: Massive Strength +6 strength 90% approval
Note: These bonuses are non-cumulative, i.e. the total bonus is +6, not +13.

Quotes

Shale - Dragon Age Legends

Shale in Dragon Age Legends

Main article: Shale/Dialogue
  • "The darkspawn are an evil that must be destroyed, it's true. Though not as evil as the birds... damnable feathered fiends!"
  • "I wonder what it is like to float...or drown."
  • (If given one of the Remarkable Gems) "Oooh, Shiny!"
  • "I would appreciate it if it didn't spread around that I said anything. Humans might start to get the wrong idea. They might start thinking their race is not completely hopeless."
  • "Now, let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?"
  • (While conversing with Sten about the Qun) "Does sound like a delightful place where it comes from. Mages on leashes. What will they think of next?"

Dialogue

  • Shale: "I see it found some augmentation crystals. I was not even aware it knew about them... well done! So? What does it think? They don't make me look any wider, do they? I find I am already too wide as it is."
  • The Warden: "No, no, they're quite slimming"
  • Shale: "They are, aren't they? I so adore them! I think it should find some more as soon as possible. I want to glitter from ear to ear... so to speak!"

Trivia

Shale

Shale's Concept Art

  • Shale, the golem control rod, and Wilhelm's Cottage were originally intended to be found in Redcliffe Village and therefore be accessible in the base version of the game.
  • Like Dog, Shale uses no weapons. So, when Frost Weapons, Flaming Weapons, or Telekinetic Weapons is enabled, its visual effect is applied to Shale's entire body.
  • Shale mentions being chiseled down to a smaller size by Wilhelm at the behest of his wife, who complained that the golem couldn't fit through the doors of their home. This refers to difficulties the developers had with getting Shale to fit through many of the game's doorways when they used the original golem graphical model for it. A full-sized version of Shale can be seen during its nightmare in the Fade.
  • At Soldier's Peak (after Levi has set up shop), birds will migrate towards Shale and follow it around.
  • To capture the ambiguity of Shale's gender, the voice actress's already gravelly voice was pitch-shifted down to sound deeper and more masculine.[1]
  • Shale is referenced twice in Dragon Age II:
    • Corff the Bartender indirectly references Shale when he mentions that “the pigeon population has taken a nose dive in Ferelden.”
    • During the epilogue, a picture of Shale chasing some chickens appears on one of the flipping pages of Cassandra's book.
  • If you complete its personal quest, Shale's codex entry says it became a golem “300 years earlier,” presumably 300 years earlier than the current events in the game. However, if Shale was made by Caridin, this cannot be the case.
  • Shale was to appear in the cut plot "Finding Shale" for Dragon Age II. The plot was replaced with Finding Nathaniel.[2]
  • Shale is the only member of the party who cannot throw the Stick for Dog to fetch.
  • In Dragon Age Inquisition, If the Inquisitor is a Dwarf, their surname is also Cadash.

Gallery

See also

Codex entry: Shale Codex entry: Shale

Codex entry: The Journal of Enchanter Wilhelm Codex entry: The Journal of Enchanter Wilhelm

References

  1. BSN Rob Bartel (November 10, 2009). "Is Shale a....?" . The BioWare Forum. Retrieved on July 14, 2014.
  2. BSN David Gaider"Your Random Dragon Age Question?" . The BioWare Forum.
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