Hawke

Hawke is the central protagonist of Dragon Age II. Hawke is fully voiced, can be either male or female, and has a fully customizable appearance. As with in Dragon Age: Origins, Hawke can be a mage, warrior or rogue. The default given name for Hawke is Garrett for males and Marian for females.

Background
Hawke is a human who lived in Lothering during the Fifth Blight in Ferelden, escaping the darkspawn attack by fleeing north to the Free Marches and eventually rising to become "the single most important character in the world of Dragon Age". Along the way the title of "The Champion of Kirkwall" is earned. Over the course of the game's ten-year timeline, players' actions and choices will determine Hawke's history, relationships, and regrets to determine Hawke's rise to power.



Hawke's father, Malcolm, was an apostate mage, who died three years before the beginning of the game, while their mother, Leandra whose maiden name is Amell, is a noble from Kirkwall. Hawke has two younger twin siblings, the mage Bethany, and the warrior Carver, who are both potential mutually exclusive companions.

Hawke is between the ages of 20 and 25 at the start of Act I, but it is never explicitly stated as to how old Hawke is. Hawke is at least 20 since he/she is older than Bethany and Carver and they were both 18 when the family fled from Lothering a year earlier. Hawke can't be older than 24 since Gamlen states that Leandra left with Malcolm 25 years ago and it is an assumption that Leandra was not pregnant when they left.

During a conversation with Bethany after getting the will, she says "Mother watched her cousin lose so many children to the circle. It was her worst fear [to lose her own children]...[a]nd then one of them became the hero of Ferelden and saved us all!" From this we can conclude that The Warden was their second cousin only if the Warden was from the Human Mage Origin.

Personality
Based on what dialogue options the player chooses, Hawke exhibits one of three personalities.


 * Diplomatic / Helpful: Light green / Light blue highlight (Olive Branch / Angel Wings and Halo)
 * Humorous / Charming: Purple highlight (Comedy Mask / Diamond)
 * Aggressive / Direct / Attack: Red highlight (Fist / Hammer / Twin Swords)

The first dialogue choice the player chooses sets Hawke's personality. As the player keeps choosing similar dialog options, the number of times that attitude is chosen will "stack". If the player decides to change Hawke's personality in the later stages, it will take more than twice the amount of dialog lines to activate that version of Hawke's voice. The idea behind this system is to ensure a consistency in Hawke's delivery throughout each Act. After a certain number of specific dialogue choices, Hawke's personality is effectively crystallized. It is possible to check Hawke's personality by switching to a companion and talking to them. If Hawke says something funny, for example, they are Humorous/Charming.

At the start of each Act, Hawke retains his or her established personality, but the "stack" of previous personality choices is reduced. This gives the player an opportunity to change Hawke's tone. For more information on the Dialogue wheel, see Dialogue wheel.

Quotes

 * "Didn't I kill this once before? Why is it still here?" (approaching Varterral | A Murder of Crows)
 * "Oh, yes, demons are very helpful, right up until they take your mind and turn you into a monster." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke | Long Way Home)
 * "Didn't Fenris say that all Tevinter wines were made with the blood and tears of slaves? I do hope he was exaggerating." (If Fenris is a rival)
 * (Referring to the bottle of wine) "Fenris said Danarius left this at the mansion." (If Fenris is a friend)
 * "Is that...? Isabela! Who carves that into a stairwell?".
 * "You taught my dog how to gamble?" (to Varric about Dog)
 * "Let's make Kirkwall a better place for everyone." (Diplomatic Hawke)
 * "Where are we going? How should I know? Do I look like the leader of this merry band of misfits?" (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke)
 * "Hawke this, Hawke that. Why does everything fall to me?" (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke)
 * "So I shouldn't slit my wrists and dance naked under the moonlight just to fit in?" (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke | Best Served Cold)
 * "When in doubt, run away and let me handle it." (Diplomatic Hawke)
 * "It looks like they took him to some bolt hole on the Wounded Coast. I wonder if that's near the Injured Cliffs? The Limping Hills? Massive-Head-Trauma Bay? No? Just me? Forget I said anything." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke | Wayward Son)
 * "At least it can't get any worse. Not today, anyway. It's pretty late." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke | Following the Qun)
 * "Someday, I'd like to go one week without meeting an insane mage. Just one week." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke | On the Loose)
 * "So, Sundermount looks very... mountainous today, doesn't it? Lots of rock... and hillside." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke to Merrill | Long Way Home)
 * "A bow is much better. You can't shoot your family at a bandit and stop him dead between the eyes." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke to Sebastian | Starkhaven Longbow)
 * "They say your life flashes in front of your eyes before you die. Any helpful flashes yet?" (Aggressive Hawke | Finders Keepers)
 * "I... will not... be... toyed with!" (to Idunna | Enemies Among Us)
 * "Oooh, cloak and dagger phrases! How about... the queasy crow... flies at midnight?" (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke)
 * "Seems to me, the last man standing gets final say on who is right or wrong." (Aggressive Hawke | Blackpowder Promise)
 * "I had better be swimming in gold after all this." (Hawke, any personality | The Deep Roads Expedition)
 * "I'm sure someone thought far too long about my name." (to Carver | Family History)
 * "Look what I found — your reason for living." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke | The Remains of Sister Plinth)
 * "Remedy that — Potion shop — you, my good man, are priceless." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke | Herbalist's Tasks (Act 1))
 * "If they're not dead, watch out for a bunch of boneless women flopping through the streets." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke)
 * "I was wondering when you were going to come back to bite me in the ass." (Sarcastic/Charming Hawke)

Note

 * With The Black Emporium DLC, Hawke can get Dog, the Hawke family Mabari war hound, which can be summoned as a small fifth party member akin to a DAO Ranger summoning animals. It is not related at any point with Dog, the Mabari of The Warden.

Trivia

 * Hawke is the second cousin to the human Warden from the Magi Origin through Leandra, whose maiden name is Amell.
 * If played as a warrior or rogue, Hawke is revealed to have been part of the King's army at Ostagar, before their flight from Lothering.
 * The default male Hawke seen in the Destiny trailer is a mage. He uses the Staff of Parthalan.
 * If the players purchase and play Dragon Age 2 logged on, they will receive Dragon Age Legends Bioware Signature Pack which unlocks Hawke as a companion.
 * In Dragon Age Legends he wears the Mantle of the Champion (mage) and fights with the Staff of Parthalan despite some scenes showing him fight with a two-handed sword.
 * His war cry in Dragon Age Legends is "Thanks for buying Dragon Age 2!".