@Sten is a warrior of the Beresaad, the vanguard of the @The Qunari people. He is a stoic and disciplined man with a strong code of ethics, and the way he treats others depends on whether or not they have his respect, which he does not give easily. He is not a typical @Qunari as he was born without horns. As with all @Qunari appellations, "Sten" is not a name but a rank.
The first Thedosian records of the soldier who would become @Sten of the Beresaad comes from a correspondence between Antiva City and an Antivan Crow writing from Seheron in 9:03 Dragon. The Crow described a hornless boy soldier who watched them with an odd intensity, and inquired to the meaning of "silver" in the common tongue. The Crow was puzzled, having hardly heard the Qunari talk among themselves let alone a stranger, but indulged his curiosity. Several Rivaini traders also noted the young soldier in their missives home. Hornless Qunari are rare, but a curious Qunari was unheard of. He interrogated nearly every delegation entering or leaving the port during the three years he was stationed there, and in most cases, his questions pertained to the common tongue. He couldn't understand how one could tell whether a word was being used as a noun or a verb, and wondered as to which limbs and other body parts were also actions.
After disappearing from outside notice for several years, the young Sten-to-be next surfaced during the @Qunari assault on the@Tevinter Imperium in 9:12 Dragon. The Kathaban of the @Qunari navy struck at the Tevinter mainland with a fleet of warships, and the entire beresaad kith was sent with them as a landing force. Among them was a young karasaad who now commanded an excellent knowledge of the common tongue and even Tevene. The Kathaban's campaign initially made great progress, but was dealt a crushing blow when the Tevinter military retaliated en force. The Kathaban was forced to withdraw the fleet to @Seheron, and the entire antaam was shaken by the defeat. In the campaign's aftermath, the young beresaad officer voiced concerns to the Arishok regarding the Qunari strategy to Tevinter. The argument "went on for some time and was notable, not only because Qunari argue so rarely, but because it is unheard of for an officer of any rank to disagree with the Arishok". The young vanguard believed the mainland could not be taken by force, and the antaam should devote more of its resources to gathering information if they were ever to secure victory in the south. The Arishok dismissed the notion, but it nevertheless startled the Tevinter spy present; for the Qunari learning subtlety or political ability presented a worrying thought.
Proving himself an honorable and valuable member of the beresaad, Sten earned the Arishok's trust and was entrusted to investigate rumors of a Blight in southern @Ferelden.
If @Sten of the Beresaad trusts the player enough, he will begin to reveal his past. He was sent with a group of other @Qunari to discover what the Blight is. His group was attacked by @Darkspawn, and during the battle he was rendered unconscious. When he awoke, his comrades were dead and his sword was gone. To a @Qunari warrior, the sword is the soul (the name of Sten's sword, Asala, literally means "soul"). If he were to return to his homeland without his sword, he would be hunted and killed. Out of panic from losing his sword, he murdered the farmers who found him and their children with his bare hands. Once he came to his senses again he realized that because of what he had just done, he had lost his honor, and so he chose to remain to pay for his crime. Days later he was arrested and brought to Lothering, where the @Revered Mother of Lothering sentenced him to die in the cage where he is found.
Sten has been imprisoned for killing a family. The player can convince him to seek atonement by joining the battle against the Blight, but must find a way to release him from his cage. The player can choose to have Sten join the party after freeing him from Lothering.
@Sten of the Beresaad is a strong, proud and noble warrior who refuses at first to elaborate on discussions regarding his people or his reason for being in @Ferelden. Most of his comments are terse or abrupt, but he does seem to have at least a little bit of a sense of humor (as demonstrated in some conversations with the players companions) and a fondness for cookies.
Sten is a fatalist, believing that the proper role of all people is determined at birth. He alludes to his fatalist beliefs saying that he did not "choose" to be a warrior, just as the Warden did not "choose the circumstances you find yourself in". If the player is female, Sten will extend to expressing that women have no place on the battlefield (he also expresses this opinion to Leliana, Morrigan and/or Wynne during banter conversation), though he can come to be impressed by a female Warden's skills. Sten believes it is the duty of every person to embrace their predetermined role in society in order to be in harmony with the world. Sten justifies his fatalist beliefs by arguing that it would be foolish to expect the world to change in order to suit one's desires and thus must change oneself in order to suit the world.
Sten believes that wisdom is as vital to life as breathing, but the only way to attain wisdom is to seek it out and discern it from life's experiences. Sten disapproves of the @Chantry because it encourages its followers to be complacent in the Maker's intervention or influence to solve their problems rather than seek out the wisdom to solve it themselves. Although the player can argue that faith in a higher power can inspire people to change, Sten argues that sometimes people use faith as an excuse not to change.
Sten thinks that life outside of the Qun is cruel since the people have no Tamassrans to guide them on how to seek wisdom or find their proper role in life. Since people outside the Qun are not raised to know themselves or what they are for, they will most likely clash against the world and struggle in life. Furthermore, because the @Qunari are trained to serve the interests of the collective @Qunari and not of the individual, Sten is devoted to the protection and upholding of @Qunari values and society. Sten thinks anything that subverts @Qunari culture can lead to devastating ruin and thus views treacherous anti-Qunari men with the same severity as a plague or natural disaster. It is for this reason that Sten dehumanizes Tal-Vashoth and kill them in order to protect his people.
Sten is certain that the Antaam will one day invade the lands of @Thedas in order to convert them to the enlightenment of the Qun but seems to regret its necessity as he hopes he does not live to see that day.
As he carries himself with a self-assured, hardened demeanor, and has a tall and imposing physique.