Dragon Age: Who Is Sten of the Beresaad? (2024)

The introduction to Sten of the Beresaad in BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins is strange and confusing, as he's first encountered in a cage near the edge of Lothering. The first Qunari to be introduced into the franchise, to say Sten is an accurate representation of his people would only be half-right.

An obvious follower of the Qun -- the Qunari code of honor -- Sten is solid, focused, stoic and oftentimes difficult to read. However, a Grey Warden player character who wins his respect will find themselves with a powerful and unflinching warrior in their arsenal against the darkspawn.

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As the player and party enter Lothering, they may hear whispers about the man imprisoned on the outskirts of town. Heading through the square and along the path toward the edge of Lothering brings the player to a caged giant who's as unwilling to talk about himself as he is to offer any kind of insight into why he's been caged.

If the Grey Warden already has Leliana in their party, she will note that leaving him in that cage is as good as sentencing him to a brutal death, as Lothering ispreparing to evacuate to escape the oncoming darkspawn horde. Most of the party tends to agree that leaving him to his fate is unconscionable. The player can talk to the Revered Mother in the Chantry and ask to take responsibility for the Qunari, but she is hesitant. The Revered Mother explains that he was captured after murdering a family, and he deserves his fate.

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Leliana can convince her to hand over the key, as can a Warden with high enough persuasion. The play can also attemptusing intimidation. Either way, Sten is surprised when the player returns, confessing he didn't think the Revered Mother would offer up the key. He also notes he would rather die in battle than in a cage, and agrees to join the Warden in their fight against the Blight, so long as their actions prove honorable.

Making conversation with Sten after the party arrives in camp is difficult. He often only offers oneor two word answers and refuses to elaborate when pressed for more information about himself or his actions. Only through repeated attempts at conversations, gifts that raise his approval and dialogue choices that define the player's role as a Warden does Sten begin to warm to the Warden.

OnceSten's approval begins to rise, the player will be able to hold conversations withhim that delve deeper into the Qunari in general. He is an incredibly focused individual and will often not take kindly to the Warden diverting from their cause without respect and purposeful explanations for doing so.

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If the Warden does not manage to earn Sten's respect, he will actually attempt to take over the party. The player will have to face him in one-on-one combat. Defeating him is enough to earn his respect, and he will yield to the player's command.

As he reveals more about himself, the Qun and his role within it, the Warden learnsthat Sten is not his name; it is his title and role within the Qun. With high enough respect, he will explain his situation to the player, confessing that his Arishok sent him to Ferelden to investigate news of a blight. His men were killed and Sten was knocked unconscious in a darkspawn attack.

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When he awoke, his sword was gone, and he went crazy because, to a Qunari warrior, his weapon is the very thing that defines him. The player can accept a personal quest to relocate Sten's sword and return it to him, and doing so raises his respect and approval immensely. He will enter into the final battle against the Archdemon, honored to be a part of the Warden's mission.

Though Sten has not appeared in subsequentDragon Age games, he did have a cameo in the Dark Horse companion comics Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep.Set after events in Kirkwall during Dragon Age 2, Sten replaces the Arishok who met with Hawke and works with Alistair, Varric and Isabela throughout the story after Alistair defeats him in one-on-one combat.

As the franchise progressed, it became clear in Kirkwall and duringInquisition that the Qunari were a dominant and focused force to be reckoned with. Sten's introduction provided some insight into their purpose and culture, but just as the player can discover with The Iron Bull, one's culture can shape their life, but it may not necessarily define them.

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The Qunari work hard as a united force, discouraging individuality and promoting unwavering service to the Qun. Everyone has a specific role assigned to them at birth, and the fact that Qunari rarely interact socially with outsidersensures that the majority of their people stick to those values.

Sten's interactions with the Grey Warden and their party showed him another side of life. Though henever fully wavered from the Qun,Sten did embrace his individuality when the Warden proved their power as a warrior and leader. The changes his time in Ferelden wrought are later reflected in his choices as an Arishok, especially when he chose to work with Alistair in the companion comics.

With Dragon Age 4 rumored to take place in Tevinter, where the Qunari have been battling the magisters for centuries, it is possible players will finally see Sten again. This time, he'd likely be a powerful Arishok, though it's unclear if he would befriend or foe.

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