Hawke

"There are men who struggle against destiny, and yet achieve only an early grave. There are men who flee destiny, only to have it swallow them whole. And there are men who embrace destiny, and do not show their fear. These are the ones that change the world forever."

- Flemeth

Hawke is the player-controlled protagonist of Dragon Age II. Hawke is fully voiced, can be either male or female and has a fully customizable appearance. Hawke can be a mage, warrior or rogue. The default given name for Hawke is Garrett for a male, and Marian for female.

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.

Hawke's father Malcolm was an apostate mage who died three years before the beginning of the game, while his/her mother Leandra (of the Amell family) is a noble from Kirkwall. Hawke has two younger twin siblings - the mage Bethany and the warrior Carver - who are mutually exclusive potential companions.

Personality
Based on dialogue options the player chooses, Hawke can exhibit three distinct personalities.


 * Diplomatic/Helpful: light green/light blue highlight (olive branch/angel wings and halo)
 * Sarcastic/Charming: purple highlight (comedy mask/diamond)
 * Aggressive/Direct: red highlight (fist/hammer/twin swords)

The first dialogue choice the player chooses sets Hawke's personality. If the player frequently chooses dialogue from the same type, that attitude will "stack". If the player decides to change Hawke's personality, one of the other two attitudes must be selected more than twice as many times as the current one has. The idea behind this system is to ensure a consistency in Hawke's delivery throughout each Act (though past a certain point, Hawke's personality is effectively crystallized as there will not be enough dialogue remaining to 'overcome' the dominant attitude). The current personality can be confirmed by having a companion right-click Hawke (if they says something funny, for example, they are sarcastic/charming). At the start of each Act, Hawke retains the established personality, but the "stack" of previous choices is reduced, making it easier to change Hawke's tone.

Quotes

 * (To Carver during Family History) "I'm sure someone thought far too long about my name."

Diplomatic/helpful Hawke:
 * (During Raiders on the Cliffs) "Evet's Marauders, they're just men. Flesh and bone. Flesh can be torn. Bones can be broken. Alone, they will pick you off one by one; together, we are unstoppable! On me!"
 * "Let's make Kirkwall a better place for everyone."
 * "When in doubt, run away, and let me handle it."
 * "Something else I can help with?"
 * "Onward! There's much to be done."
 * "Excuse me. Was I in your way?"

Sarcastic/charming Hawke:
 * "Oooh, cloak and dagger phrases! How about... the queasy crow... flies at midnight?"
 * (During On the Loose) "Someday, I'd like to go one week without meeting an insane mage. Just one week."
 * (In Mark of the Assassin)) "Next time, could we hunt something small and cuddly? Maybe vegetarian?"
 * (In Legacy) "I'd like to know who this "Corypheus" is. With a name like that, he's bound to go "mwa-ha-ha" at some point. I just know it."
 * (To Varric Tethras) "Is it brilliant or horrible that you play diamond back with my dog?"
 * "Hawke this, Hawke that." Why does everything fall to me?
 * "Where are we going? How should I know? Do I look like the leader of this merry band of misfits?"
 * "We do a lot of walking, don't we?"
 * "So what have you thought of the weather lately?"
 * "What earth shattering matter requires my attention this time?"

Aggressive/direct Hawke:
 * (During Finders Keepers) "They say your life flashes in front of your eyes before you die. Any helpful flashes yet?"
 * (In Blackpowder Promise) "Seems to me, the last man standing gets final say on who is right or wrong."
 * (In Raiders on the Cliffs) "Anyone who leaves, is a deserter. And we all know what happens to deserters..."
 * "You better have a good reason for bothering me."
 * "I don't like it when people interrupt my thoughts."
 * "Why are you pestering me for?"
 * "This is not the time for chatter."
 * "What is it?"

Trivia

 * Hawke is the second cousin to the Human Mage Warden through Leandra (see Amell family).
 * If played as a warrior or rogue, Hawke was part of King Cailan's army at Ostagar.
 * It is worth noting that many of Hawke's companions are powerful figures within the world of Dragon Age; Sebastian is prince of Starkhaven, Aveline is Guard-Captain of Kirkwall, Varric commands a large spy network and Hawke's sibling is potentially a Grey Warden.
 * Those who purchased and played Dragon Age II and logged on prior to March 15, 2011 were eligible for the BioWare Signature Pack for Dragon Age Legends, which added Hawke as a companion; his war cry is "Thanks for buying Dragon Age 2!", however with the release of the single-player version of Dragon Age Legends, his war cry was changed to "A Champion always strikes twice!".
 * Hawke is roughly 24 or 25 at the start of Act 1. Gamlen states that Leandra left with Malcolm 25 years ago and Malcolm states that Leandra was pregnant when they left. This would mean that by the end of the game, Hawke is 30-31.
 * An additional Act 1 plot for a mage Hawke was ultimately cut, since the story (which involved entering the Fade) was complicated and didn't work very well.