In Dragon Age: Origins (DAO), if Leliana dies, she is permanently removed from your party and cannot participate further in the game's story or the Awakening expansion. However, her demise in DAO introduces a profound and intriguing mystery that echoes through subsequent games in the Dragon Age series.
How Leliana Can Die in DAO
Leliana's death in Dragon Age: Origins is not a common occurrence and typically results from specific player choices during her personal quest, "Leliana's Song" (if the DLC is not played, her personal quest is "Leliana's Past"). If her approval rating is low and you make certain dialogue choices revealing her past as a Bard and attempting to silence her or dismiss her faith, she can turn hostile. Should she be defeated in combat at this point, she dies and is irrevocably removed from your group.
Immediate Consequences in Dragon Age: Origins
If Leliana perishes during your playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins, the immediate impacts are straightforward:
- Permanent Party Removal: She is gone from your party roster forever.
- Loss of Companion Skills: You lose access to her rogue abilities, including archery, lockpicking, and her unique bard specializations.
- Unfinished Quests: Any of her personal quests or companion dialogues that have not been completed become inaccessible.
- Missed Interactions: You will miss out on her unique banter with other companions, her insights into the world of Thedas, and her contributions to the main storyline.
- Impact on Endings: Certain epilogue slides or political outcomes that might be influenced by her presence or support will no longer be possible.
The Enduring Mystery: Leliana's Fate Beyond DAO
While her death in Dragon Age: Origins should logically be the end of her story, the lore of Thedas and the continuation of the Dragon Age saga reveal a surprising and unexplained phenomenon:
| Aspect | Immediate Impact (Dragon Age: Origins) | Long-Term Impact (Dragon Age: Inquisition) |
|---|---|---|
| Party Role | Permanently removed from the party and cannot be re-recruited. | N/A (would not normally appear, but a unique exception exists). |
| Companion Quests | Her personal storyline concludes abruptly; her unique quests are lost. | Not applicable for quests from DAO. |
| Later Appearances | Does not appear in the Awakening expansion or Dragon Age II. | Mysterious Reappearance: Can still appear and even become Divine Victoria. This implies a profound connection between the Fade and the Chantry, suggesting her "survival" through a supernatural means. |
| Story Progression | Specific story paths or outcomes tied to her presence become unavailable. | Her potential influence as Divine Victoria has major implications for the future of Thedas, regardless of her "death" in DAO. |
Despite being killed in Dragon Age: Origins, Leliana can inexplicably reappear in Dragon Age: Inquisition and even ascend to the position of Divine Victoria, the supreme leader of the Chantry. This profound plot point suggests that her death in DAO was not a permanent end, but rather a transformation or a mysterious event.
The implication is that if she was killed by the Warden in Dragon Age: Origins and later becomes the Divine, she doesn't simply disappear from the world. Instead, it is theorized that a "Lyrium Ghost" or some similar ethereal manifestation comes to embody Divine Victoria. This unique continuity anomaly suggests a previously unknown, deeper connection between the Chantry and the Fade, the realm of spirits and dreams. This unexplained "survival" of Leliana, particularly in a spiritual or spectral form, remains one of the more enduring and enigmatic mysteries in the Dragon Age lore, indicating that even death might not be the final word for some individuals in Thedas.
