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. Hawke can be a mage, warrior or rogue. The default given name for Hawke is Garrett for a male and Marian for a 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 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.

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)
 * Sarcastic/Charming: Purple highlight (comedy mask/diamond)
 * Aggressive/Direct: Red highlight (fist/hammer)

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 their established personality, but the "stack" of previous personality choices is reduced. This gives the player an opportunity to change Hawke's tone.

Quotes

 * (To Carver during Family History) "I'm sure someone thought far too long about my name."
 * (Approaching a varterral in A Murder of Crows) "Didn't I kill this once before? Why is it still here?"
 * (To Varric about Dog) "You taught my dog how to gamble?"
 * (Diplomatic Hawke) "Let's make Kirkwall a better place for everyone."
 * (Sarcastic/charming Hawke) "Hawke this, Hawke that. Why does everything fall to me?"
 * (Diplomatic Hawke) "When in doubt, run away and let me handle it."
 * (Sarcastic/charming Hawke during On the Loose) "Someday, I'd like to go one week without meeting an insane mage. Just one week."
 * (Aggressive Hawke during Finders Keepers) "They say your life flashes in front of your eyes before you die. Any helpful flashes yet?"
 * (Sarcastic/charming Hawke) "Oooh, cloak and dagger phrases! How about... the queasy crow... flies at midnight?"
 * (Aggressive Hawke in Blackpowder Promise) "Seems to me, the last man standing gets final say on who is right or wrong."
 * (Aggressive Hawke in Raiders on the Cliffs) "Anyone who leaves, is a deserter. And we all know what happens to deserters..."
 * (Sarcastic/charming Hawke to Isabela during Mark of the Assassin) "You have pretty eyes."
 * (Sarcastic/charming Hawke in Mark of the Assassin)) "Next time, could we hunt something small and cuddly? Maybe vegetarian?"
 * (Sarcastic/charming Hawke in Mark of the Assassin) "Looks like the Duke... has fallen from grace."
 * (Sarcastic/charming Hawke 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."

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 blood mage, apparently in a romance with Isabela, and uses the Staff of Parthalan.
 * If the players purchase and play Dragon Age II 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 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!"
 * Hawke is roughly 24 or 25 at the start of Act I. Gamlen states that Leandra left with Malcolm 25 years ago and Malcolm states that Leandra was pregnant when they left.
 * The name Amell means "power of an eagle". This may be why Hawke's name is that of a bird's.
 * During Act 1, an additional plot was supposed to address Hawke being a mage, but it was ultimately cut since the story, which involved going into the Fade, was complicated and didn't work very well.