Aveline Vallen

Hawke saves Aveline and her husband, Ser Wesley, from imminent death while escaping Lothering. When Flemeth indicates Wesley will die of the darkspawn taint, either Hawke or Aveline delivers a mercy blow to him. Wesley's death leaves Aveline with few options, and she accompanies the Hawke family to Kirkwall.

Upon arriving at Kirkwall, the group finds the guards must be bribed in order for them to enter the city. Hawke's uncle provides contacts who can help them, in exchange for mercenary services from the Hawkes through the next year. With no other options, Aveline assists the Hawkes in entering the city; if Hawke chooses to help Athenril in dealing with Cavril, the merchant's cheating ways incense Aveline, and she deals with him very effectively.

Act 1

After entering the city, Aveline joins the Kirkwall City Guard to make a living. If Hawke aids her in her companion quest, The Way It Should Be, Aveline and Hawke will uncover a conspiracy involving Jeven, the current Captain of the City Guard, and the Coterie. Hawke and Aveline discover that Jeven has been sending guardsmen on dangerous patrols with a satchel of valuable city information in order to sacrifice them to the Coterie so that the thieves could obtain the information with out looking suspicious. When Jeven's scheme is revealed to the authorities, Jeven will be arrested by his own guardsmen and Aveline will replace him as the new Captain of the Guard for her role in ending Jeven's corruption. Aveline will still be the Captain of the Guard, though considered "interim", if Hawke does not aid her in her companion quest since the previous captain left suddenly and Aveline with her previous military experience made her the most viable replacement. Aveline's guard and Guard-Captain positions allows her to deal with certain people effectively, namely other guards and scoundrels.

Act 2

When Hawke visits Aveline three years later and her companion quest, The Way It Should Be, was completed, she warns Hawke that their new found wealth and influence has changed the fortunes of many people in Kirkwall—and not always for the better. When asked how she was settling into her new position as Guard Captain, Aveline complains that they are spread thin and how the templars are unwilling to requisition a few of their men to fight for the city guard as it was considered "demeaning". Even so, many of the guardsmen seem to have rallied under her leadership. If her companion quest was not completed, she states that the previous captain left suddenly, and she now realizes why running the guard is so difficult. The viscount is weak and is unwilling to commit the resources she needs for the city guard. Not only because her position is only "interim", but also because he fears it would upset the templars. If Hawke encourages her to just leave the guard and work for them, she says that she knows the type of trouble Hawke gets into and that a casual relationship with them suits her just fine.

Hawke can also assist Aveline in her relationship with Guardsman Donnic Hendyr; if helped, she marries him at the Hawke Estate. If not, Aveline remains single.

If brought into the Fade during Night Terrors, the desire demon will succeed in turning Aveline against Hawke by using her memory of Wesley; after returning from the Fade, Aveline confesses her worries in Doubts that Linger.

If brought along, Aveline disapproves of accusing Grand Cleric Elthina of wrongdoing in Offered and Lost.

Like other companions, Aveline has a gift, The Shield of the Knight Herself. Regardless of what Hawke has done with Ser Wesley's Shield, Aveline will complain about having to replace it when she is presented with the new shield. To avoid rivalry points, Hawke must explain that the shield is a gift for a friend or take it back.

In Prime Suspect, Aveline requests Hawke's help in silencing Emeric's investigations into a series of murders. Aveline explains that she and the guards followed his leads but were made fools of themselves by the noble Gascard DuPuis, who was the prime suspect of the case. Emeric will later be killed. In All That Remains, Hawke's mother Leandra is kidnapped and killed and DuPuis' mentor is revealed to be the serial killer. Aveline will attempt to console Hawke for their mother's death in The Captain's Condolences. Hawke can assure her they're fine or confide their sorrow to her for friendship points. In seeking to comfort Hawke, Aveline offers to tell a story about her father. Hawke can also blame Aveline's incompetence for Leandra's death for rivalry points. In response, Aveline dismisses the accusation by focusing on Hawke's grief.

In the quest Demands of The Qun, Aveline enlists Hawke's aid in trying to arrest two fugitive elves who have been granted religious sanctuary in the Qunari Compound for converting to the Qun. The elves murdered the guardsman who raped their sister after their complaints were dismissed by the Guards. The Arishok takes offense to the attempted arrest of his new converts and counterattacks, marshaling his forces to conquer the city and convert it to the Qun.

Act 3

When Hawke visits Aveline three years after the Qunari attack, she states that without a viscount, the templars have been trying to influence the city guard more.

Aveline can meet Jeven again in her companion quest, Favor and Fault. Since his fall from grace, Jeven has taken up with base types who hold prejudiced views against Fereldans like Aveline and Hawke. He became the leader of a dangerous group of insurgents who attempted to have Captain Aveline expelled by forcing anonymous complaints that she was coddling her men. Jeven even attempted to coax guards into joining his cause. In addition to getting revenge for his arrest at Aveline's hands if Aveline's first companion quest was completed, the scheme was intended to reduce what Jeven saw as excessive Fereldan influence in Kirkwall, though the plan backfired when Captain Aveline confronted him in the sewers of Kirkwall. He was killed after attacking Aveline.

Aveline's attitude towards her position as Guard-Captain depends on Hawke's friendship or rivalry status. If Aveline has a friendship status, she is proud of her efforts in reforming the Kirkwall City Guard and is thankful to Hawke for encouraging her. Aveline allows every guard to choose their patrol and promotes from the bold and the cautious. Both the Guard and most of the citizenry approve of Aveline's efforts to turn the Kirkwall City Guard into a force of order and stability for the city. If rivalry, Aveline becomes disillusioned with her efforts as Guard-Captain and is plagued with doubts. In a rivalry relationship, Aveline is stricter and more demanding of the Kirkwall City Guard in order to maintain its reputation as a competent and respectable police institution. Aveline only retains the employment of the guards who are tough enough by her appraisal. Even so, casualties amongst the city guard are down thanks to her leadership. Her high-handed measures and stringent leadership have led to discontent among some of the guards (several of whom benefited from Jeven's corruption and favor), while others believe they need her leadership to keep the Kirkwall City Guard from falling apart. If some of her guardsmen were killed in Jeven's attempted insurrection she may even consider resigning from her position.

During the Last Straw, Aveline does not approve of allowing Anders to live; if Hawke does, and puts both Aveline and Anders in the party, she will tell him to turn himself in. Aveline always joins Hawke who sided with the templars. In most cases she also immediately joins Hawke who sided with the mages.

However, Aveline initially refuses to support Hawke who sided with the mages if her Act 3 quest Questioning Beliefs has not been completed and Hawke has 100% friendship or rivalry with Fenris and has completed his last personal quest. Later Hawke meets Aveline in the Gallows courtyard. Hawke can still convince Aveline to join the party at this point. Otherwise Aveline walks away and then shows up inside the Gallows with a group of city guards. She refuses to fight Hawke in battle because she owes her life to Hawke. Instead, she angrily leaves stating that she wants nothing to do with Hawke anymore.