How to Recruit Leliana in Dragon Age: Origins
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The Definitive Guide to Adding the Nightingale to Your Party
The charismatic and deadly Leliana is a beloved character in Dragon Age: Origins, and her recruitment is a crucial part of the game for many players. This guide provides a comprehensive answer to the question “How do I recruit Leliana?” and covers other commonly asked questions, ensuring you don’t miss out on this valuable companion.
Step-by-Step: Recruiting Leliana
Leliana can only be recruited during your visit to Lothering, a village you’ll encounter early in the game. This is a very time-sensitive recruitment because, once you leave Lothering and complete one of the main story quests (such as investigating the Arl of Redcliffe or the Circle Tower), Lothering is destroyed by the Darkspawn, making it inaccessible forever. If you miss recruiting Leliana or Sten here, they will be lost for the entire playthrough. Here’s the step-by-step process:
- Arrive in Lothering: You’ll reach Lothering after escaping Ostagar. Make your way into the village.
- Enter the Dane’s Refuge Tavern: You’ll find the tavern near the center of the village. It’s one of only two buildings you can enter. The other is the Chantry.
- Trigger the Encounter: Upon entering Dane’s Refuge, you will be confronted by a group of Loghain’s soldiers.
- Fight the Soldiers: You’ll need to engage in combat against these soldiers.
- Leliana’s Intervention: During the fight, Leliana will intervene and assist you.
- After the Fight: Once the soldiers are defeated, Leliana will speak to you. During this conversation, you’ll have the option to invite her to join your party. Accept her offer, and she will become a loyal companion, and you have successfully recruited her.
Key takeaway: Recruit Leliana before leaving Lothering! Once the main quests begin, you’ll have no opportunity to return. Ensure you visit the tavern as soon as you reach Lothering to meet her, especially if you are planning to have her in your playthrough.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Leliana
Here are some frequently asked questions related to Leliana’s recruitment, romance, and her role in the Dragon Age universe:
1. Can you miss recruiting Leliana?
Yes, absolutely. If you do not recruit Leliana before completing a main story quest and causing the destruction of Lothering, she will be gone for the rest of your playthrough. Lothering is destroyed soon after leaving, and you cannot return to it. The same goes for Sten.
2. How do you unlock Leliana’s romance?
To romance Leliana, you must first achieve a high companion approval rating with her. This involves making choices and providing gifts that align with her values. Additionally, you must complete her personal quest, “Leliana’s Past.”
3. What is Leliana’s personal quest and how do I trigger it?
Leliana’s personal quest is triggered by conversing with her in camp. The correct dialogue options to start it are:
- First, ask her: “What is someone like you doing in a Chantry?”
- Then, ask her: “I heard that in Orlais minstrels are spies”.
The next time you enter a random encounter while having her in your party, a group of assassins will attack you. This encounter will trigger the start of “Leliana’s Past.”
4. Can I recruit Leliana after Lothering is destroyed?
No, you cannot. Once Lothering is destroyed, it’s impossible to return, and Leliana cannot be recruited.
5. Where is Leliana first found in Dragon Age: Origins?
Leliana is first encountered in the Dane’s Refuge tavern in Lothering.
6. What happens if Leliana dies in Dragon Age: Origins?
Despite her possible death in Dragon Age: Origins, Leliana reappears in Dragon Age: Inquisition as the Inquisitor’s spymaster. She will explain that, after her death, she awoke in the temple and believes she was resurrected by the Maker.
7. Should I “harden” or “soften” Leliana?
Whether you should “harden” or “soften” Leliana depends on your preference and desired character development. A softened Leliana will commit to being more than what she was created to be and believe in her potential, while a hardened Leliana will believe that ruthlessness gets the job done, and she was meant to be as the Divine made her. This impacts her outlook, dialogue, and her reaction to certain events in later games.
8. How does hardening Leliana affect the game?
If you harden Leliana, she becomes more accepting of morally ambiguous or “evil” decisions and will not react strongly to some choices that would normally displease her if she were “softened”. For example, if she is unhardened and you defile the Sacred Ashes, she will turn on you instantly. However, if she’s hardened, you can talk her down.
9. Is Leliana a spy?
Yes, Leliana is a talented spy. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, she is the spymaster for the Inquisition. Prior to this she became known as “Sister Nightingale” while heading the spy network of Divine Justinia V.
10. Why do I need high approval for Leliana?
High approval ratings are needed not only to romance Leliana, but also to unlock key conversations and content within her character development, which eventually leads to her personal quest. Giving gifts and making choices she favors are the best ways to increase her approval.
11. Can Leliana have a pet nug?
Yes, you can get Leliana a nug! When speaking to her in Orzammar, if her approval is above 80 (approximately), she’ll tell you how cute she thinks nugs are. This triggers a dialogue option with the Idle Dwarf in Dust Town, who will catch a nug for you.
12. Who would make a better Divine, Cassandra or Leliana?
Both have their merits. Cassandra is less passionate and prefers solving problems with a blade, while Leliana is more social and has an actual desire to be Divine. Leliana’s social skills and understanding of politics might make her a much better Divine in the long run.
13. Is a hardened or softened Leliana better?
Neither is inherently better. They just have different views. A “soft” Leliana believes in faith and destiny, whereas a “hard” Leliana has become disillusioned with these stories. The “better” choice depends entirely on what kind of character you want Leliana to be and your choices in your own playthrough.
14. Can you romance both Leliana and Morrigan?
Yes, it is possible to romance both Leliana and Morrigan. You can fully romance Leliana and then initiate a romance with Morrigan without breaking up with Leliana.
15. Can an elf romance Leliana?
Absolutely, any race can romance Leliana. Your character’s race doesn’t affect your ability to romance her.
This detailed guide should provide everything you need to successfully recruit and understand Leliana in Dragon Age: Origins. By understanding the importance of Lothering and her personal quest, you can make sure you fully explore this amazing character and her story.