The Warden

 The Warden is the player-controlled protagonist of Dragon Age: Origins''. The Warden can come from one of a wide spectrum of Ferelden's social strata, from the lowliest castes of dwarves and elves to the height of dwarven royalty and human nobility. After playing one of six unique origins, the Warden will join the Grey Wardens during the events of Dragon Age: Origins and eventually rise to the rank of Warden-Commander in Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening.

Character Creation
The player begins by selecting the Warden's gender, race (human, elf or dwarf), and class (warrior, rogue or mage), though the mage class is not available to dwarves and Dalish elves. The origins stories available to choose from are dependent on the race or class the player picks. The player can then choose a first name, customize the character's appearance and portrait, and choose a voice set. Attributes and skills are selected next. If playing as a warrior or rogue, talents are selected; mages select spells instead. Finally, the player selects his or her preferred difficulty level and the story begins.

First Name
A default name is offered according to the Warden's gender and origin, but this can be changed to whatever the player chooses.

''Note: No one will call the warden by name, but it does show up in some dialogue choices.


 * Male
 * Human Noble: Aedan
 * Human Mage: Daylen
 * Elf Mage: Alim
 * City Elf: Darrian
 * Dalish Elf: Theron
 * Dwarf Noble: Duran
 * Dwarf Commoner: Faren


 * Female
 * Human Noble: Elissa
 * Human Mage: Solona
 * Elf Mage: Neria
 * City Elf: Kallian
 * Dalish Elf: Lyna
 * Dwarf Noble: Sereda
 * Dwarf Commoner: Natia

Last Name
While the player can select the first name of the character freely, each origin has a set surname:


 * Human Noble: Cousland
 * Human Mage: Amell
 * Elf Mage: Surana
 * City Elf: Tabris
 * Dalish Elf: Mahariel
 * Dwarf Noble: Aeducan
 * Dwarf Commoner: Brosca

Starting Abilities
Each character begins the adventure with two specific skills and one talent or spell already known. Additionally, one skill and two talents or spells are chosen at character creation. The free starting abilities depend on class and origin. On the Xbox 360, in addition to other skills, the Warden also gets one additional rank in Combat Training.

Story
After the origin story is played out, The Warden is sought out by Duncan, the leader of Ferelden's recently reformed Grey Wardens, to join them and aid King Cailan Theirin and his troops against an incoming army of darkspawn in Ostagar. This is where the main plot of Dragon Age: Origins begins. The Warden's main task is to gather an army to defeat the Blight. However, they must also deal with political tensions threatening to distract the country from the impending Blight.

The actions of The Warden are entirely decided by the player. Unlike many other RPGs, choices are not tracked by a single meter or bar, rather each of the companions have their own meter that reflects how they feel about The Warden's actions.

An interesting side note is that the "potential wardens" not selected by the player seem to still exist, fulfilling other roles. Their existence is usually hinted at or made plain in dialogue with certain NPCs. It is also interesting to note that it is Duncan's influence in each origin that alters a presumably bleak fate for each of these characters.
 * Human Noble: He or she could either have been slain during the siege of Highever, along with Fergus' wife and son, or managed to escape through the secret passage in the cellar. Since Duncan does not appear until the Couslands are united in the cellar, it is quite likely that he or she managed to survive until this point. However, as it is Duncan who convinces him or her to leave Bryce and Eleanor, it is quite likely the human noble elects to die defending his/her parents without Duncan's persuasion.
 * Dwarven Noble: According to many NPCs in Orzammar, the second son of King Endrin is exiled to the Deep Roads or is never heard from again. Never meeting Duncan's expedition, it is likely the dwarven noble dies there. According to Lord Harrowmont, Endrin regrets this choice of action on his deathbed.
 * Dwarven Commoner: According to Leske, he (the corpse is male in appearance) simply stops eating one day and starves to death in Beraht's prison as a result of a lost bet. The body can be searched for some loot. Note that the same corpse appears in the jail cell even while playing as a Dwarven Commoner. Albeit without Leske to explain his origins.
 * Dalish Elf: According to Ariane, he or she becomes deathly ill from coming into contact with an Eluvian mirror. Without Duncan's suggestion to take the Joining to survive, he or she dies soon after of the darkspawn taint. This is also hinted at in Dragon Age II by Merrill.
 * City Elf: Lacking Duncan's weaponry, he or she fails to reach Vaughan. Soris is arrested and the City Elf is presumably executed. Shianni is later released when Vaughan is arrested by Rendon Howe's men. It is also possible that the City Elf simply took Vaughan's offer, and left Soris to take the blame.
 * Circle Mage: No mention is made of the Circle Mage, though it is very probable he or she survived the Harrowing, as Jowan would have needed help destroying his phylactery and escaping the Tower, before ending up in Redcliffe. Without Duncan's presence at the tower to invoke the Right of Conscription, the mage would have been arrested for his or her actions, and likely made tranquil or executed for such. Templar Cullen mentions to have had to kill one mage too weak to complete his/her Harrowing.

Level
As is typical for role-playing games, a character's level will display the progress of the character's career and personal power. When the character levels up, certain things are automatically increased (health and stamina/mana), while other things (talents and attributes) must be manually increased, unless Autolevel is activated. There is a "hard" level cap of 25 in Dragon Age Origins. Since enemies do not re-spawn, there is only enough content in the game (including DLC) to reach between levels 17-24, depending on how many side quests and Codex entries are completed. A well-used rogue can gain the party significant experience over the course of their adventures by picking locks and disarming traps. Level 25 can be reached with some methods, such as donating profusely to the Allied Supply Crates in the Camp.

In Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, the level cap is raised to the level of 35. The level cap raise also affects The Golems of Amgarrak and Witch Hunt DLC.

Equipment
Player characters have the following equipment slots:

Warden Specific Items
Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

Dialogue

 * Morrigan: "'Tis cold in my tent, all alone..."
 * Warden: "Then get a thicker blanket."


 * Leliana: "I think I'll retire to my tent."
 * Warden: "I think I'll stay up and write in my journal."

(to Isabela)
 * Warden: "She bites too."
 * Leliana: "I do not!"


 * Sten: "Interesting strategy. Tell me: Do you intend to keep going north until it becomes south, and attack the archdemon from the rear?"
 * Warden: "It'll never see this coming."


 * Warden: "A Chanter says, 'What?'"
 * Chanter Devons: "What?"
 * Child: "Oh, you got him to talk!"
 * Chanter Devons: "Err... what hath man's sin wrought?"
 * Child: "Oh, he cheated!"


 * Warden: "You're sort of a ruthless bitch."
 * Queen Anora: "I prefer to think of it as having staunch determination. Was there a point you wanted to make?"
 * Warden: "No, I just wanted to say it."

(After the Warden wins the Landsmeet)
 * Warden: "Hah, you lose! "

(to Knight-Commander Greagoir)
 * Warden: "Don't you feel guilty about wanting to slaughter everything?"

(Upon finding the blood-stained alter in Haven)
 * Alistair: "Used for food preparation perhaps?"
 * Warden: "Does meat bleed that much?"

(to a city guard during The Assault on Amaranthine)
 * Warden: "They will bow to my might."
 * Guard: "Eh... Then it's good to have you here, ser."

(during Oghren the Family Man)
 * Oghren: "All I'm good at is killing things."
 * Warden: "He's right. He is good at killing things."

Trivia

 * According to certain Circle apprentices, The Warden once bedded a lady pirate and three greased nugs. Independent of whether you actually did this.
 * Hawke is related to the human Warden from the Magi Origin through his/her mother, whose maiden name is Amell, her first name is revealed to be Revka by Leandra in Dragon Age 2.
 * The Human Noble Warden and the Dwarf Noble Warden are the only ones to have their surnames spoken by NPC's while the rest of them are simply called "(Grey) Warden" or "My Lord/Lady"). However, a Dalish Warden imported into Dragon Age II will be referred by Merrill and her clan as "Mahariel", namely the Dalish Warden's surname.
 * Even when playing with an imported save file from Dragon Age: Origins during Dragon Age II, conversations referencing The Warden's whereabouts vary. King Alistair says the Hero of Ferelden is due back in Denerim soon, approximately six years after the death of the Archdemon and significantly after the events of Witch Hunt, though it is plausible the events in Witch Hunt occurred shortly after King Alistair's mention of the Warden-Commander in Dragon Age II. Furthermore, during the final sequence Leliana and Cassandra (both Chantry Seekers looking for the Warden and the Champion of Kirkwall respectively) state that both the Champion and The Warden have completely disappeared even if The Warden did not disappear with Morrigan through the Eluvian.
 * If the Warden died in Origins and that game is imported into Dragon Age II, reference to 'The Warden' is still made by Cassandra at the end of Dragon Age II. But the Orlesian Warden from Awakening could be the one talked about if the Warden was from Orlais, or even the body of the Warden if he/she died in Origins.
 * In the CGI trailers, the Warden is portrayed fighting with a sword and shield, in moderately heavy armor. It is presumed that he is a Warrior, however at some points his eyes glow in what appears to be a magical way. It is possible, therefore, that he is an Arcane Warrior. This is supported in the trailer The Calling, where he momentarily lights his weapon aflame, a la Flaming Weapons. There is also the possibility that he is a Reaver or maybe a Spirit Warrior.