Hawke

Lore & Background

Hawke is the eldest child of the renegade Ferelden mage Malcolm Hawke and the Free Marcher noblewoman Leandra Amell. During character creation in Dragon Age II, the player decides Hawke's gender, character class, and given name. If played as a warrior or rogue, Hawke would have been part of the Ferelden army at Ostagar alongside their brother Carver. If played as a mage, Hawke is an apostate mage who, like their sister Bethany, has managed to evade the Chantry religious institution and its Templars while growing up in the Ferelden village of Lothering. Hawke's choice of class determines whether Bethany (for warriors and rogues) or Carver (for mages) survive the journey from Ferelden to Kirkwall. Hawke's physical appearance is fully customizable. Later in the game, the player's choices also determine Hawke's overall personality, combat specialization, and political affiliation. Over the course of Dragon Age II, Hawke can exhibit one of three personality types, achieved through cumulative dialogue choices favored by the player. The tone of Hawke's voice will be decided by their personality type whenever the character is not directly controlled by the player. Each of the three established personality types unlocks additional dialogue options for the player when dealing with non-player characters. For example, a sarcastic Hawke has access to a big range of humorous dialogue options.

In Their Own Story

The story of Dragon Age II is told through flashbacks from the perspective of Varric Tethras, one of Hawke's companions who relates Hawke's life story to his interrogator, Cassandra Pentaghast, who is trying to locate Hawke's whereabouts and determine their role behind the war between the Mages and Templars of Thedas. A few days after the disastrous Battle of Ostagar, the Hawke family flees Lothering from the Darkspawn hordes. Although one of Hawke's siblings is killed by the Darkspawn, the group is saved by the timely intervention of the Witch of the Wilds, Flemeth. Alongside a fellow survivor named Aveline Vallen, the Hawke family travel across the Waking Sea to the Free Marches, arriving at the city of Kirkwall. Hawke's personal story arc is the driving force behind the narrative of Dragon Age II as opposed to an epic quest to repel a monstrous invasion and slay an ancient evil. Players get to determine Hawke's "history, relationships, and regrets" through their actions and choices across the game's ten year timeline. Hawke is a pivotal figure behind the origins of the worldwide conflict between mages and the Templar Order, and also plays an important role during a subsequent extradimensional invasion of Thedas by demonic beings as depicted in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Reader's Guide

Hawke is defined by their adaptability and the weight of player agency. Whether a mage, warrior, or rogue, they serve as the lens through which the tragedy of Kirkwall is viewed. Their arc spans ten years, moving from a family seeking safety to a leader commanding armies and making life-or-death decisions for the city. Their skills are versatile, ranging from heavy combat and spellcasting to social manipulation and theft, depending on their chosen class and specialization. Key moments include the rescue of their siblings in the Deep Roads, the confrontation with the Qunari invasion force, and the final showdown against a corrupted apostate who threatens to destroy the city. Ultimately, Hawke's story is one of consequence. Every decision made regarding the Templars, the Mages, or the Qunari shapes the ending, determining whether Kirkwall remains free, falls under siege, or burns to the ground.

Did You Know?

• Hawke was originally developed early in the production of Dragon Age II as a magician type character the development team dubbed 'Biker Mage'.
• British actors Nicholas Boulton and Jo Wyatt voiced the male and female Hawke respectively.
• A version of the character who is male and a mage was featured prominently in marketing and promotional material for Dragon Age II.
• Lead writer David Gaider described Dragon Age II's approach towards storytelling to be novelistic, with an unreliable narrator who picks and chooses what aspects of Hawke's life story he wants to tell.
• A major unused storyline involved a mage version of Hawke's struggle to withstand demonic possession while being trapped in his or her own mind, which Gaider deeply regretted being cut from the final game.