Lothering — recruit before it is gone
Recruit Leliana and Sten, complete local quests, then choose the first treaty destination.
Lothering is deliberately temporary. Treat it as a complete-the-town-now hub: recruit both optional companions, clear merchants and boards, and finish anything you care about before resolving several treaty quests elsewhere.
Route at a glance
Deal with the highwaymen
On the road into Lothering you encounter bandits demanding payment. Fight, persuade or intimidate your way through. Continue into the village and listen to the argument near the chantry to establish the refugee situation.
Work the village from south to north
Visit Barlin’s tavern, the merchant area, the chantry and the Chanter’s Board before leaving. Pick up every quest you intend to complete; once Lothering is destroyed later, its NPCs and turn-ins are gone.
Recruit Leliana
Enter Dane’s Refuge. After the confrontation with Loghain’s men, speak with Leliana. Accept her offer and she becomes a permanent companion. If your party is full, she can still join the roster.
Recruit Sten
Find Sten locked in a cage at the north side of town. Speak to him first, then obtain permission/key access through the Revered Mother in the chantry. Persuasion and companion-specific dialogue can change how easy this is.
Complete Chanter’s Board work
The board quests send you outside town to clear bandits, bears and other threats. Do these while the local map is still available. Turn them in before leaving if you want the rewards immediately.
Finish merchant/crafting errands
Barlin and Allison provide small gathering/crafting tasks. If you are using the older trap-making repeat turn-in behavior, this is also where that exploit is performed; otherwise simply finish the normal quest once.
Leave only when the town is clean
Before exiting toward a treaty objective, buy any gear or recipes you want and verify Leliana/Sten are recruited. After enough main-story progress, returning to Lothering is no longer possible.
- Leliana and Sten can be missed if you leave Lothering and advance too far.
- Lothering merchants, board quests and local turn-ins disappear when the village is destroyed.