Carver Hawke

"Once again I find myself in your debt... and your shadow."

Carver Hawke (born 9:12 Dragon) is Hawke's brash, younger brother and Bethany's fraternal twin. He specializes in two-handed weaponry.

Appearance
Carver will have one of several facial structures, depending on which preset the player starts character creation with for their Hawke. The same applies for Bethany, Leandra and Gamlen.

There are three base facial shapes that each family member can have. Hawkes using the default Hawke appearance or any of the first three presets will get the first head shape, Hawkes using the second three presets will get the second head shape, and Hawkes using the final three presets (or any modded presets past that) will get the third shape.

Each of the three head shapes has three variations - one with a pale skintone, one with a medium skintone, and one with a dark skintone, and each with a different hairstyle. Which of these variations is used by the game depends on Hawke's skintone; the first four skin tones will result in the light-skinned version of Carver, the second four in the medium-skinned version, and the final four in the dark-skinned version. All versions of Carver will have black hair.

Involvement
{{SpoilerDA2|style=short| If Hawke is a warrior or rogue, Carver will be killed during the attack on Lothering when he charges an ogre in order to protect Leandra. However, if Hawke is a mage, then Bethany will die instead; Carver will survive and accompany his family to Kirkwall.

Carver will be particularly bitter in the Free Marches city. He feels no real connection to the city and believes Leandra is trying to force a past on the family that she had long left behind. As Hawke gathers money to pay for the Deep Roads expedition, Carver gradually sees why people fear magic. Having grown up surrounded by magic, Carver did not see it as something to fear, though he never truly understood it, until he witnesses the darker side of it from Kirkwall's blood mages. He eventually shows more sympathy toward templars, particularly after learning he was named after the templar who freed Malcolm Hawke from the Circle of Magi.

Left home
If Carver is left at home when Hawke sets out for the expedition, he will willingly leave the Hawke family to join the templars. His training and duties as a new templar prevent him from joining his older sibling throughout their time in Kirkwall.

During the Second Qunari Invasion of Kirkwall, he is present with Knight-Commander Meredith as she leads a group of templars in Hightown.

As hostilities between mages and templars increase, Carver will be kidnapped by Grace and Thrask who are inciting a rebellion to overthrow Meredith, believing that the Champion is working for the Knight-Commander regardless of their allegiances in the mage-templar struggle.

During the Kirkwall Rebellion in 9:37 Dragon, Carver will be supporting the templars who are tasked by Knight-Commander Meredith to annul the Circle of Magi. In a last attempt to make Hawke join the templars, he will ask if the Champion will fight their brother, giving Hawke the option of responding that Carver has been itching to fight them for a long time. Or Hawke can question him if he's willing to fight his sibling as well, to which Carver responds that it isn't what he wants and begins to express doubts before Meredith reminds him of his duty as a templar. When the Champion goes to confront Meredith, Carver with Cullen will side with Hawke, stating that he will not murder his sibling for her. Carver may help out Hawke during the conflict. He will automatically join his sibling if Hawke does not have a full party.

Taken on the Deep Roads
If Carver comes with Hawke to the Deep Roads, he will contract the Taint. If Anders was also brought along to the expedition, the mage will reveal that a group of Grey Wardens are nearby. Should Hawke choose to find the Wardens, Carver will be saved, at the cost of his leaving to undertake the Joining. It is later learned that Carver survives the Joining to become a Grey Warden, but the new recruit does not come back to the Hawke family. If Anders is not present, or if Hawke chooses not to seek out the Wardens, Carver must be put out of his misery.

During the Second Qunari Invasion of Kirkwall, Carver can appear as a Grey Warden passing through Lowtown with Stroud or Alistair and other Wardens. However, he cannot join Hawke to save the city from the Qunari.

If Hawke is asked to find Nathaniel Howe in the Deep Roads, a Grey Warden Carver will be seen fighting darkspawn. If Hawke has high enough friendship with Carver, Carver thanks Hawke for helping him; otherwise, he starts arguing about his sibling sticking their nose into everything, before being interrupted by Nathaniel who asks if they know each other.

As hostilities between mages and templars increase, Carver will be kidnapped by Grace and Thrask who are inciting a rebellion to overthrow Meredith, believing that the Champion is working for the Knight-Commander regardless of their allegiances in the mage-templar struggle.

During the Kirkwall Rebellion in 9:37 Dragon, a Grey Warden Carver will seek out Hawke and ask them to let him fight by their side, thanking his sibling for saving his life. }}

Friendship and rivalry
Carver is very prideful and takes value in proving his worth to his family and comrades. Aggressive behavior impresses Carver, he is also a pro-Chantry supporter and supporting the Chantry's actions impresses Carver.

Carver despises being inferior to his sibling, selecting dialogue that makes Hawke "selfless" will make him dislike Hawke with the sole exception of family matters. He also does not approve of pro-mage options that try to be merciful to mages.

Quests
Prologue

Act 1

Mark of the Assassin

Gear
An upgrade for Carver's companion armor, Fereldan Man-at-Arms Issue, is available in Act 1: , in the Estate Vault during the Birthright quest. (scales 10% of armor value)

Carver specific gear , Carver's initial weapon , requires Warrior Item Pack DLC. , requires Legacy. , requires Warrior Item Pack II. , requires Mark of the Assassin.

Ability tree
(from Act 2)

Quotes

 * (Defending his mother from an ogre) "You soulless bastards!"
 * (After learning that Gamlen left the Amell will in the estate's vault) "What kind of daft bastard leaves that behind?"
 * (To Fenris after he realizes Hawke is a mage) "If you've got a problem with my brother/sister, you've got a problem with me."
 * "It's like Mother, taking everything out on us. She was just scared. I don't have a place in the life she is trying to bring back."
 * (After joining a male Hawke in Act 3) "The Hawke brothers together again just like old times."
 * (After Hawke asks him why he joined the Templar Order in Legacy (quest)) "We spent so long running, and why? Because of magic, money, the Blight, and abuses. Well I'm no mage. I'm no Warden, and you didn't need me. But maybe... maybe there's one thing I can do. Father believed in a templar. Why can't I?"

Dialogue
 * Bethany: We should've run sooner, why did we wait so long?
 * Carver: Why are you looking at us? We've been running since Ostagar!

(alternatively, if Hawke is a mage and unable to serve in the king's army)
 * Bethany: We should've run sooner, why did we wait so long?
 * Carver: Why are you looking at me? I've been running since Ostagar!


 * Varric: (About Anso ) "Bartrand used to be like that. Got jumpy every time he stepped outside."
 * Carver: "I'd pay to see that."


 * Carver: Varric.
 * Varric: Carver.
 * Carver: Still think you're helping while burying us in debt to your brother?
 * Varric: Still riding side-saddle while bitching at your betters?
 * Carver: Drinks later?
 * Varric: Never miss 'em.

Trivia

 * Lukas Kristjanson wrote Carver for Dragon Age II.
 * Carver is related to the human Warden from the Magi Origin through his mother, whose maiden name is Amell.
 * In Act 1, Hawke will receive a letter addressed to Carver from a woman in Lothering named Peaches. If Hawke is male, Peaches will have an obvious crush on him which Carver clearly disapproves of, as he refused to introduce them. If Hawke is female, the letter makes reference to an implied sexual encounter between Carver and herself in Barlin's barn.
 * When talking to Leandra, she will reveal that she gave "eighteen years of loving and feeding, and raising" to Carver, thus making him eighteen years old at the time of The Destruction of Lothering. Which would make him 19 at Act 1, 22 at Act 2, and 25 at Act 3.
 * In dialogue at Gamlen's house, Hawke refers to Carver as the 'second child', implying Carver is the older of the Hawke twins.
 * In Act 1, during the quest named "Family History", Carver will find out that his namesake was a templar who had allowed Malcolm Hawke, Leandra's husband, to get out of Kirkwall and have the family move to Lothering, in Ferelden.
 * In the Dragon Age II Demo, Carver is wearing the recoloured armor of the Kirkwall City Guard which is also worn by Hugh, during the expanded intro if he is present during it, despite the fact that he never wears it in the game. When Varric amends his story, Carver will be wearing his normal outfit.
 * During Act 1, if you take Carver to talk to the Arishok he will sometimes say "we only had one Qunari in Lothering but that was enough", referring to Sten in Dragon Age: Origins.
 * In Dead Space (a game also published by EA) there is a character called John Carver. Like Carver, John also has a shaky relationship with the game's protagonist.
 * During party banter, it is hinted Carver may be romantically interested in Merrill.
 * If Hawke romances Merrill, Hawke and Carver can have a brief in-party conversation during the Legacy DLC where Carver asks if Hawke and Merrill are together and then coldly states he's "happy" for them, to which Merrill confusingly asks if she missed something yet again.
 * Carver's hairstyle and skintone will change automatically depending on Hawke's skintone, but his hair will always be black, regardless of Hawke's hair color.