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HISTORY:
The wiki pages for the storyline of Dragon Age: Origins and the City Elf origin.
Since there are multiple choices within the game that affect the storyline, these are the important choices Olwyn made:

She did not agree to Vaughan's bribe, killed him and accepted sole responsibility, leading Duncan to invoke the Right of Conscription into the Grey Wardens.

All companions were recruited. Olwyn romanced Zevran, though for the companionship and physical relationship rather than a true romantic love.

At Redcliffe, she defended the village and helped them prepare for attack. Bevin was found and his sword returned to him. Connor was saved via Jowan's ritual, with Morrigan entering the Fade.

The Urn of Sacred Ashes was not poisoned.

Olwyn supported the Mages at the Circle. First Enchanter Irving survived, and she did not agree to Cullen's request to carry out the Rite of Annulment.

She brokered peace between the Dalish Elves and the Werewolves, and the curse was lifted.

Olwyn chose Bhelen to become King of Orzammar. She supported Caridin and destroyed the Anvil of the Void.

At the Landsmeet, Olwyn spared Loghain's life and had him become a Grey Warden. Anora and Alistair were to marry and rule jointly.

Olwyn refused Morrigan's offer to make an Old God baby with Loghain. At the Battle of Denerim she defeated the Archdemon herself, with her death in the process.

PERSONALITY:
Olwyn tries her best to present herself as a leader. She's very aware of the immense problem the blight poses and the enormous responsibility on her shoulders in stopping it before it spreads throughout Ferelden. She finds herself quite daunted by the sudden leadership position thrust upon her, the transition from poor alienage elf to Warden recruit to leader of the group responsible for stopping the blight and representative of the Wardens in Ferelden happening so rapidly that she doesn't really have the time to stop and process it. The recent horrors that have befallen her, between the murder of her groom and her abduction on her wedding day, surviving the Joining and the massacre at Ostagar, also weigh heavily on her, and she just doesn't have the time to compartmentalise any of that. She makes the most of what quiet moments she can get in camp, and turns her attention outwards, both towards solving the threat of the blight and towards the problems borne by her companions, rather than making an effort to get the space she needs to properly adjust. She's often serious and contemplative, and is determined and focused. She takes her role very seriously, though is aware that she has no experience in it, and learns from those around her.

One thing Olwyn is determined to do is to use her position to do as much good as she can. Having grown up in the Denerim alienage, she is used to being among the poorest and least privileged of Ferelden's citizens. One thing she likes about being a Warden is the respect and social status it confers on her: for the first time, the people in charge have to listen to her; for the first time she has the power to influence the way things are. This is notable in Orzammar, where she deliberately disregards the wishes of the late King Endrin to appoint Lord Harrowmont as his successor, instead choosing Prince Bhelen as the new king, as he was a more progressive candidate and wanted to encourage trade with the surface and allow greater opportunities for Casteless dwarves. She feels a sense of pride and contentment from having a hand in potentially changing the lives of so many for the better, though she knows from her own experience that she shouldn't trust the word of those in charge to actually live up to their promises to help anyone but themselves.

This scepticism toward authority becomes more prominent when Olwyn and her companions meet the Dalish elves living in the Brecilian Forest: in the alienage, the Dalish were almost mythical, and Olwyn had nursed idealistic fantasies of running away to live with them in the forest. This image was largely destroyed by her dealings with the Dalish Keeper Zathrian, losing respect for his covering up his involvement in the cursed werewolves, as well as endangering his clan to the curse. She manages to end the curse, though she has to provoke Zathrian to combat in order to do so, and still has mixed feelings over killing another elf even if it was necessary to lift the curse.

The cynicism that Olwyn has following her experience with Zathrian and her ambiguous feelings over Bhelen, as well as the systematic prejudice toward elves that she's experienced her whole life and the death of her groom at the hands of the son of an Arl, is somewhat balanced, however. First there is Valendrian, the Hahren, or Elder, of the alienage where Olwyn lived. She has always looked up to him as wise and fair, and is still racked by guilt that she didn't get back to the alienage in time to stop him from being shipped off to Tevinter as a slave. Second is Duncan, the Warden Commander of Ferelden to whom Olwyn owes her life, a debt she was never able to repay due to his untimely death at Ostagar. She draws on her own memories of both men, as well as Alistair's reminisces of Duncan, as he had been a mentor to him for far longer, to try to become someone they'd be proud of, both as a leader making tough decisions, and as a young woman discovering herself away from the place she's grown up for the first time.

All of this leads to Loghain Mac Tir. Initially Olwyn was set on revenge against Loghain, both for the death of Duncan and for besmirching the reputation of the Grey Wardens in accusing them of killing King Cailan, as this had been her one chance for a more decent, respectable life. However as she proceeds on her journey through Ferelden and is continually faced with the hard decisions of leadership, both in the choices she has to make and in witnessing the effects of the poor choices of others, she begins to realise that it isn't as straightforward a situation as Loghain wanting to seize power and betray Cailan. Having already divided opinion among her companions by choosing to proceed with a marriage between Alistair and Loghain's daughter Anora, she then decides to spare Loghain's life. This is a decision that Olwyn does not take lightly, being well aware of Loghain's role in enslaving the elves in the Denerim alienage, but she's also learned from Zathrian that vengeance only causes more pain than it solves. Alistair's need for Loghain's blood is part of what resolves her not to spill it, needing him to be a fair king and not one whose reign started with an act of vengeance.

In the final battle against the archdemon, Olwyn chooses to sacrifice herself to kill the archdemon and end the blight. Partly this is a selfish choice, to end the pain and conflicted feelings warring inside her that she will never truly be able to address or process now. Partly it's completely unselfish, knowing that everyone will have to honor her as an elven Warden who ended the blight, and therefore have to think differently about how they treat elves as a whole. And partly it's because it's a choice between her and Loghain as the Wardens there in the final battle, and Olwyn knows that Loghain is a master tactician and will be a far more practical choice to lead the Grey Wardens than she would - she may be the hero Ferelden deserves, but she's not the one it needs right now.

Overall, Olwyn is a serious, sensible, responsible woman. She cares deeply for the welfare of others, but also has a selfish streak that's tied into the fact that she comes from a very low place in society and wants to make sure she doesn't experience that sort of poverty again. She does not stand for intolerance of any kind, and has risked getting in deep trouble for standing up to injustice. She is curious about the world around her but is learning to scrutinise what she sees. She has been thrust into a leadership role and tries her best to live up to it, but she also craves a mentor of her own to guide her. She is proud of her status as a Warden, but feels daunted at having to live up to it.

ABILITIES:

Grey Warden Abilities: Having consumed darkspawn blood through the Joining, Olwyn is linked to the hive mind of the darkspawn. This allows her to detect the presence of darkspawn. Side effects include terrible nightmares, decreased fertility and a shortened lifespan, however it also means that she is immune to any further taint of the blight. Since there are no darkspawn in the game setting, this ability is rendered moot, but Olwyn will still suffer the side effects.

Rogue Abilities: Olwyn is a Rogue, and later learned the Assassin specialisation, taught to her by Zevran. Her combat expertise is primarily with daggers, and she is skilled in stealth, moving swiftly and evading blows, and can pick locks. She is not physically very strong though and will avoid direct combat when possible, preferring to sneak attack instead.

Elf Abilities: Elves can see in the dark better than humans, and their eyes glint in the dark in a way similar to cat eyes. Since Elves get bonuses to willpower and magic, even though Olwyn cannot use magic herself she has a high defense to it.

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