Hawke

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Character
Name: Hawke
Occupation: Champion of Kirkwall
Relationships: Leandra (mother), Malcolm (father, deceased), Bethany (sister), Carver (brother), Gamlen Amell (maternal uncle), various potential love interests
Fandom: Dragon Age II
Other:
Hawkes by kleineHerz featuring the default character designs for both versions of Hawke.
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Hawke is the player character in Dragon Age II. There are as many Hawkes in fandom as there are players, since every player creates a unique character. Players can control:

  • Whether Hawke is male or female.
  • Hawke's class: warrior (two-handed or weapon and shield), rogue (dual weapon or archery), or mage.
  • Hawke's personality: diplomatic/helpful (blue), charming/sarcastic (purple), or aggressive/blunt (red).
  • Whether Hawke is pro-mage or pro-Templar.
  • If Hawke follows a friendship or rivalry path with his/her companions and love interest(s).

Garrett Hawke is the default male Hawke, while Marian is the default female Hawke. Players can also create custom Hawkes with different names and appearances.

Fandom

Hawke is a popular focus for fanworks, although some people are uncomfortable reading about a character who can quite easily serve as a self-insert. Some fans of the Dragon Age franchise dislike Hawke, especially when compared to The Warden.

As many others before me have said, one of DA II's problems was that Hawke had no real drive or purpose, no goal to work towards beyond becoming wealthy, which they accomplished in the first act. Hawke was very passive and inactive IMHO, little more than a vocal bystander, while The Warden was always working towards something.

King Cousland[1]

In contrast to the Warden and the Inquisitor, fannish depictions of Hawke tend not to vary much from the default design, for both male Hawke and female Hawke. This may because the player has less options in creating Hawke (they are restricted to human). However, some fans have commented that, unlike the Warden or Inquisitor, Hawke has an established backstory and relatives, making them feel more like a developed character than a blank slate player avatar.

Don't get me wrong, I adore Hawke, DA2 is even my favorite game in the series and I love playing as Hawke, but it never feels like that is my character, which most likely stems from just how defined Hawke's backstory is and how personal the DA2 story is. In the end, I don't even have a canon Hawke, I just have many different iterations of Garretts and Marians with the default appearance which are mostly the same character.

CaptainAnaAmari[2]

I’d have to agree. I’ve developed backstories and have a connection with my Warden and Inquisitor. While I enjoyed played Hawke and loved her story, it’s her story, not mine. She has a backstory and family, and I can’t come up with my own for her. I just can’t take ownership of her the way I can the others.

grumpy__growlithe[2]

Hawke has five potential love interests in canon: Anders, Fenris, Isabela, Merrill, and Sebastian Vael (only with the Exiled Prince DLC, and while playing as a female). Hawke can also engage in a one-sided flirtation with Aveline Vallen, and has the opportunity to flirt with (or have sex with) a variety of secondary characters, including Dragon Age: Origins' Zevran. The most popular Hawke pairings on the Dragon Age Kink Meme include Hawke/Anders and Hawke/Fenris. Other pairings that occur with lesser frequency on the meme include Hawke/Cullen, Hawke/Varric, and Hawkecest pairings (Hawke/Carver or Hawke/Bethany).

Artist Jakface created the meme Sassy Gay Hawke as a parody of the male, sarcastic Hawke play-type.

Pairings

Fanworks

Cosplay

Female Hawke

Male Hawke

Gallery

Fanart

Cosplay

Resources

References

  1. ^ "Your ideal RPG?" topic on the Dragon Age Wiki forum
  2. ^ a b "[Spoilers All] Does anybody else feel like Hawke isn't really "your" character?" post on r/dragonage
  3. ^ "Floral - Dragon Age" by Mo Morris on Behance