Carver Hawke

"It seems I am again in your debt... and shadow."

Carver Hawke (born 9:12 Dragon) is Hawke's 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 skintones 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| After his father died, Carver started down a military path and partook in the Battle of Ostagar. Loghain Mac Tir's betrayal forced the Ferelden army into a rout and forced Carver to flee with his family once the darkspawn had attacked Lothering. 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 spend a year working with his elder sibling in servitude to repay the debt that got the family into 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. Even so, Carver cares deeply for his family and will work for their welfare in Kirkwall. Carver and Hawke plan on joining The Deep Roads Expedition as it is their last resort to acquire enough wealth and influence to cow the templars from scrutinizing them too closely. 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. After amassing the fifty sovereigns needed to fund the expedition, Carver will volunteer to join his elder sibling in the Deep Roads venture. His mother however, will beg him to remain at home. Carver will protest, but the final decision will be made by Hawke.

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. Carver believes that joining the templars will be his chance to prove himself and escape his elder sibling's shadow. Though resentful for being left behind from the expedition, he tells Hawke he does not intend to reveal that they are a mage. His training and duties as a new templar prevent him from joining his older sibling throughout their time in Kirkwall. A letter reveals that Carver found his calling among the templars but he is wary of the Order's extreme elements.

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 isn't what he wants and begins to express doubts before Meredith reminds him of his duty as a templar. If the Champion sided with the templars, Carver will express surprise that it was the Templar Order which brought the siblings closer together. 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. If Hawke sided with the templars, Carver will express surprise that Hawke, who is a mage, is helping Meredith annull the Circle. }}

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

Armor
An upgrade for Carver's armor, Fereldan Man-at-Arms Issue, is available in Act 1: – in the Estate Vault during the Birthright quest.

Other
– initial weapon – requires Warrior Item Pack DLC – requires Legacy – requires Warrior Item Pack II – requires Mark of the Assassin

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) "If you have a problem with my brother/sister, you have 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."
 * (About Carver's namesake in Family History) "A man who let him look ahead. It would always mean 'skill thoughtfully applied.' Not exactly 'master of all blades' but... Father actually thought there was worth to a swordsman."
 * "A hundred ways to run, and we choose backward. Whatever you say, but chasing an old name isn't really starting over."

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!

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.
 * 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.