Cullen Rutherford (2024)

During the Magi Origin, Cullen is the templar assigned to execute the Magi if they were to fail their Harrowing and become an abomination. It is later revealed that he had feelings for a female mage and hated the idea of having to be the one to kill her. However, if the Warden tries to pursue relations with Cullen, he becomes extremely nervous and runs away, claiming that other duties require his attention.

Cullen is also encountered during the Broken Circle quest, trapped inside a magical prison conjured by Uldred. Initially, he tries to dismiss the Warden as just another illusion. He reveals that blood mages have been trying to get into his head, sifting through his thoughts to give him visions that would break him. None of his comrades survived this treatment. If the Warden is a female mage, he further reveals that the blood mages used his "ill-advised infatuation" with her, his "shame," to tempt him. The Warden's companions remark that Cullen looks exhausted, and that he must have been denied food and water.

Once Cullen has calmed down, he will try to convince the Warden to kill all the mages in the Harrowing Chamber, not just Uldred and the abominations, as he fears they may be blood mages in hiding.

If the Warden does not side with him, then he will try one last ditch effort to get the mages killed by complaining to Knight-Commander Greagoir. However, Greagoir values Irving's word more. When siding with Cullen, the Warden will have the chance to agree with his complaint to Greagoir, which in turn leads even Irving to agree. Should this happen, the mages are all put under Cullen's watch until their fate can be decided.

There are several rumors about Cullen's fate after the Fifth Blight, which are revealed if the Warden was a mage or sided with him during Broken Circle. If the Warden sided with Cullen, or was a mage who did not grant the Circle Tower autonomy, then the rumors say that Cullen will eventually become Knight-Commander of the Circle Tower after Greagoir retires, his regime stricter and more cruel than even Greagoir's was. If the Warden was a mage who did not side with Cullen and gives the tower autonomy, the templar endures festering mental scars from his experience in the tower. This leads to an eventual mental breakdown during which he kills three mage apprentices before fleeing. These rumors are later revealed to be untrue.

Cullen is encountered during the Slay the Healer quest, fighting alongside Knight-Commander Greagoir, Wynne and a few templars in the Denerim Market District. He must be slain to gain access to the Denerim Alienage.

Cullen was sent by Knight-Commander Greagoir to the Circle in Kirkwall, where he was promoted to Knight-Captain and second-in-command to Knight-Commander Meredith. He eventually becomes a recurring associate of Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall.

Hawke first encounters Cullen during Enemies Among Us as he threatens the templar recruit Wilmod into revealing information about the recent disappearances of other recruits. After Wilmod reveals himself to be an abomination, Cullen asks that Hawke continue the investigation in his place, as no one in the brothel the recruits frequented will speak to a templar. After Hawke uncovers the truth, that blood mages have been turning templar recruits into abominations against their will, and rescues Keran, one of the missing recruits, Cullen immediately moves to strip Keran of his commission. However, if Hawke assures him that Keran isn't possessed, Cullen agrees to let the recruit stay in the Order on a ten-year probation.

Later, if a non-mage Hawke does not take Bethany to the Deep Roads, it is Cullen who takes Bethany to the Circle.

Conversations with Cullen reveal that he sees the duty to monitor the Circle of Magi, bring apostates to the Circle, and rein in rogue mages as the Templars' divine right. As a result, he has devoted his efforts to enforcing the Templar Order's authority. He believes that mages cannot be treated like people since they can devastate the world in a fit of pique. He also says that templars fight a losing battle, as new mages are born or come into their power every day. To make matters worse, Kirkwall's populace, in part driven by dark rumors of Meredith's treatment of the mages, does not fully cooperate with the templars in hunting apostates, with some actively helping them escape through the mage underground. Cullen thinks that the best way to remedy the Order's dire situation is to win over the hearts and minds of Kirkwall's citizens so that rogue mages no longer receive their support.^[9]

Furthermore, since the templars are the largest army in Kirkwall, Cullen thinks that the templars are Kirkwall's best defense should the Qunari wage open war. Thus, he sympathizes with Knight-Commander Meredith, who must undertake the daunting task of containing or quelling such threats. For the sake of maintaining order in Kirkwall, Cullen has supported Meredith.

Hawke can also bring Ser Alrik's "Tranquil Solution" to Cullen's attention. He admits that it has been discussed among the templars, but that there are no plans to go through with it. He says that the Harrowing has served them well enough and that it'll be up to the mages if they push the templars to more stringent measures. He does not openly support or condemn the plan, but says that there is an argument to be made about applying the Rite of Tranquility more widely.^[10] Later, Cullen alerts Hawke to the accusations against Aveline.

As years pass, Cullen confesses to Hawke that Meredith is leading the Kirkwall Templar Order down a path he does not support. Cullen maintains that the Templar Order's purpose is not only to protect the population from magic, but also to protect the mages that the templars are sworn to oversee. However, this tenet is tested as Meredith's methods become harsher. By 9:37 Dragon, Meredith's reclusive and tyrannical behavior has concerned him enough to give credence to the accusations that she's gone mad. As a result, he begins to have doubts about his loyalty to Meredith versus his loyalty to the Templar Order. However, he still supports Meredith when mages and templars attempt to depose her. After Meredith invokes the Right of Annulment following the destruction of the Kirkwall Chantry, Cullen joins the other templars in attacking the Gallows.

If Hawke sides with the templars, they will be asked to decide the fate of three mages who surrender. If Hawke asks Cullen for his opinion, he questions the necessity of annulling the Kirkwall Circle. He says the situation in Ferelden was much more dire and even then they saved some of the mages. In response, Meredith asks Cullen if he will take responsibility if it is proven that their prisoners are blood mages, Cullen answers that he believes that is what being a templar is about. If Hawke urges the templars to spare the surrendering Circle mages, Cullen orders the templars to listen to the Champion. Otherwise, Cullen orders his men to execute the three mages.

During the final confrontation with Meredith, Cullen orders her to step down when she orders Hawke to be executed, stating that they had agreed only to arrest the Champion. Meredith accuses him and the surviving templars of being blood mage thralls and then attacks. Cullen fights alongside Hawke.

If Hawke sides with the mages, Cullen stands down after Meredith's defeat and allows Hawke to leave the city peacefully. Should Hawke side with the templars, however, Cullen and the surviving templars kneel before Hawke after Meredith's defeat, showing that Hawke has earned their respect. This leads to Hawke being awarded the position of Viscount.

Following the Kirkwall Rebellion, Cullen rallied what remained of the city's templars and restored order. Seeing his potential, Cassandra Pentaghast recruited him into the Inquisition, granting him the rank of Commander. He now leads the military arm of the organization and serves as the tactical advisor to the Inquisitor.^[11] With the Chantry debilitated by the Mage-Templar War and in a state of disunity, Cullen believes that the Inquisition is the only organization that can effectively act to remedy the world's problems and seal the Breach.

When asked about his feelings about mages, he states that he has seen the suffering that magic can inflict and has treated mages with distrust because of it in the past - sometimes without cause. He admits that it was unworthy of him and says that he will try not to do so in the future. However, he still thinks that mages should be checked with safeguards to protect people - including the mages themselves. Though he disagrees with the Templar Order's actions, he sympathizes with their frustrations of having their work taken for granted by the Chantry.

As the war council assembles, Cassandra and Leliana suggest approaching the rebel mages for help with the Breach, since Solas states that the Anchor requires the same level of power to create the Breach to completely seal the Breach—power that they believe the rebel mages can provide. Cullen disagrees, maintaining that it would be better to recruit the templars instead, fearing that pouring too much magic into the Inquisitor's mark may destroy them all; he also believes that the templars' ability to suppress the Breach can suffice in sealing it. Leliana however, argues that his hypothesis about the templars' capability is speculation.

After the Inquisitor seals the Breach with the aid of either the mages or templars, Cullen leads the defense when Haven comes under attack by Corypheus. Ultimately, the Inquisition's forces are outmatched and trapped by the enemy. Cullen suggests using the remaining trebuchets to cause an avalanche to bury Haven, and the Inquisition and their enemies along with it, until Chancellor Roderick reveals a secret pathway for them to escape. Cullen organizes the evacuation while the Inquisitor distracts Corypheus and his dragon. Once everyone is clear, he sends up a signal via fire arrow to let them know that the others are safe, at which point the Inquisitor triggers the destruction of Haven. They escape and regroup with the Inquisition. Once they set up camp, Cullen argues with the rest of the war council on what to do, but tempers are calmed as Mother Giselle sings a hymn for the faithful.

The Inquisitor soon leads the Inquisition to Skyhold to set up their base of operations. Cullen rallies the warriors and others present to accept the Inquisitor as the official leader of the Inquisition.

Cullen later struggles with lyrium withdrawal when he tries to wean himself off of his addiction. He first reveals that he has an agreement with Cassandra to remove him from duty should he prove a liability, and he can later be found arguing with Cassandra to choose a replacement for him because he is doubting his ability to command. The Inquisitor then has the option to either encourage him to fight his addiction or to go back on lyrium.

If the Inquisitor recruits the mages:

Cullen will inform the Inquisitor that the Red Templars are being led by General Samson, a man he has personal history with. If the Inquisitor follows Cullen's advice to investigate Samson, the Inquisition will raid a quarry full of the Red Templars' red lyrium supplies and Cullen will personally aid in the raid of the Shrine of Dumat, Samson's headquarters. Cullen will be present when Samson is brought before the Inquisitor to be judged.

Cullen returns during the events of the Trespasser DLC, set two years after Corypheus' defeat. Cullen commands the Inquisitor's honor guard and rides with the Inquisitor as they approach the Winter Palace. He is later seen adopting a Mabari, ostensibly cast aside by its Orlesian master.

If the Inquisition is disbanded...

If the Inquisition continues on...

During the Exalted Council, Cullen will ask the Inquisitor to marry him. The Inquisitor can agree, or tell Cullen the couple doesn't need marriage.

If the Inquisitor is an elf:

They will have the option to ask Cullen to state their vows in elvish for the ceremony, to which Cullen agrees. The elvish vows the Inquisitor reads are, "Sylaise enaste var aravel. Lama, ara las mir lath. Bellanaris." See the Elven language talk page for speculations on the translation.

If the Inquisitor is human:

Only Cullen will read vows during the ceremonial cutscene.

Mother Giselle marries Cullen and the Inquisitor.

Post-Revelations:

With Samson

Tier progression Knight-Captain Cullen in Heroes of Dragon Age