app - soul_campaign [complete]
[ PLAYER INFORMATION ]
Player Name: Missa
Age: 24
Timezone: GMT +5
Personal Journal: takewing
Contact Information: Email: mmkoetz (at) gmail (dot) com, AIM: eloquencies
Current Characters: Kurt Hummel/couragemantra
Links to Activity Check: Here.
Beta-reader: I decided to skip on this!
[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]
Name: Marian Hawke
Age: 30...ish. (Using context clues from the game, Hawke is probably about thirty at the end of Act 3.)
Gender: Female
Canon: Dragon Age II
Timeline: Act 3, before Anders blows up the Kirkwall Chantry.
Character History:
Hawke's general background information can be found here, though since her class in the game (mage, warrior, or rogue) and the choices the player makes shape parts of her history as well, I will elaborate a bit further on her history myself, based on the class and player choices I've chosen.
In addition to her father and her younger sister being a mage, Marian Hawke was also born with magic. She grew up with her family avoiding the Templars (mage-hunters) but generally experiencing a healthy childhood in the town of Lothering. Her father taught her and her sister how to control and harness their magical power, but sadly he ended up dying three years before the Hawke family began fleeing Lothering. Hawke would have been about 21 at that point, making her around 24 when the family flees their Darkspawn-infested town.
While fleeing, her sister Bethany is killed in a fight against Darkspawn and the family meets Aveline Vallen and her husband, who is a Templar, and who also does not make it out alive. Aveline and the Hawke family eventually make it out of the country of Ferelden and to their mother's ancestral home of Kirkwall in the Free Marches, where Hawke and her brother Carver are sold into indentured servitude to a smuggling ring for a year in order to gain passage into the city, which is filled to the brim with Fereldan refugees from the war against the Darkspawn.
After a year, Hawke and Carver meet Varric Tethras, a surface-dwelling dwarf with a brother ambitious enough to attempt an expedition into the Deep Roads, a series of tunnels and old Dwarven cities beneath the ground that they believe to be filled with treasures. Hawke, seeking work and fortune, gathers money and allies (Fenris, Merrill, Anders, and Isabela in addition to Carver, Varric, and Aveline) doing quests throughout town in order to help fund the expedition and make her fortune.
Despite Carver's protests that he wants to come along, Hawke leaves him behind when it comes time for the expedition. While they are gone, Carver joins the Templars, though he promises that despite any quarrels the two siblings had int he past, he won't sell out his sister and force her to be taken into custody of the Circle of Magi. During the quest into the Deep Roads, Hawke and Varric discover a mysterious idol made of pure lyrium, a magical ore of great power. Varric's brother Bartrand ends up locking them in after taking the idol, however, and this causes Varric to harbor a grudge against his brother, even though he and Hawke manage to escape and also find plenty of gold and other expensive artifacts, as well.
The game then skips about three years, revealing that Hawke has made quite a name for herself and now lives in a mansion as opposed to a little hole in the wall. There is a mass murderer of women in the city, and Hawke's investigations into his identity and whereabouts unfortunately lead to her realization that her own mother, Leandra, has been kidnapped by him. The man, a blood mage, used blood magic to create a replica of his long lost bride using pieces of the women he murdered - this "corpse bride" has Leandra's face, and Hawke gets to speak with her briefly after she slays the murderer and before her mother finally passes away. The loss of her mother hits Hawke hard, though her companions, especially Fenris, are there for her in her time of need.
There are four romance options in Dragon Age II: Fenris, Anders, Merrill, and Isabela. Within these four options there is also the option to pursue a friendly romance where both parties get along beautifully and agree on most issues, or a rival romance, where they... kind of don't. My Hawke chose the potentially foolish option of romancing Fenris, a magic-hating ex-slave elf who wouldn't bat an eye if every mage were to be executed upon birth. Somehow, despite some hiccups early on (mainly, they sleep together only for Fenris to leave in a panic shortly after, breaking things off for three years), the two of them eventually come together again once Fenris's past has been dealt with.
In addition to these personal issues, tensions are high in the city between a group of Qunari living on the docks and the mostly human population of Kirkwall. Soon a plot is revealed in which the Viscount's son is murdered by a Chantry sister who believes that framing the Qunari for the act will incite change in the Viscount's eyes and cause him to pressure the Qunari into leaving. This Chantry plot is brought to the grieving Viscount who decides to leave the problem alone for the moment.
This inaction leads to trouble, as clearly something needs to be done about the Qunari. They are getting restless and impatient as it is revealed that the only reason they have stayed so long in Kirkwall, a place for which their leader harbors no love and only disgust, is that they are looking for an important relic - a book that Hawke's pirate companion Isabela helped to steal from them. Hawke follows an important lead and tracks down the book with Isabela, hoping to give it to the Qunari so that they'll leave Kirkwall and ease tensions in the city, but Isabela ends up taking it and running away, leaving the party and leaving Hawke without the book.
Chaos erupts soon after, with Qunari attacking the city and killing the Viscount. Hawke and her party engage the Qunari in battle, killing their leader and effectively saving the city of Kirkwall. This is how Hawke won her name as the Champion of Kirkwall.
Three years later, the tension between the leader of the Templars, Knight Commander Meredith, and the Circle of Magi has finally heated up to boiling. Hawke is used as a pawn between the Knight Commander and the First Enchanter, each trying to gain leverage against the other. Also, Hawke and her companions meet up with Varric's brother Bartrand once more. It's revealed that even though he sold the lyriium idol they found in the Deep Roads, he still kept a small piece of it and has been driven mad by it. Ultimately Varric kills his brother, but doubt over the safety of the idol that Bartrand sold and the small piece left behind lingers.
But not for long. As it turns out, Anders (a mage companion of Hawke's who is obsessed with pursuing justice for the mages) sparks the beginnings of the final battle in Kirkwall when he blows up the Chantry, killing Kirkwall's religious leaders in an act of rebellion. The Templars are not pleased and plan to execute every mage for Anders' crimes. The First Enchanter recognizes how unfair this is, and once again Hawke is forced to take sides and choose either to support the mages or the Templars.
Recognizing the injustice of killing innocent mages for the crimes of one man, Hawke chooses to support the Circle of Magi and prevent the slaughter. Her entire party - even Fenris, who still fears and hates mages - agrees to help in this endeavor. However, she must also decide what to do with Anders, who is now no better than a terrorist. She can choose to kill him for his crimes, let him go but force him to leave the party, or allow him to continue to fight with the party. She can't abide by what he's done, however, and tells him to leave. Her decision remains unchanged when he offers to join the fight again later on.
The final confrontation between Hawke and Meredith reveals that Meredith, too, has been driven insane by the lyrium idol their party had found in the Deep Roads - the same idol that had driven Varric's brother insane. Unfortunately, the idol (now molded into Meredith's sword), also gives her great power. The party finally ends up beating her, however, and from that point on the world of Thedas is changed forever. Mages rebel, the Circles disintegrate, the Chantry's power on the world is lessened, and Hawke is forced into hiding.
(Note that the canon point I am taking Hawke from is just BEFORE Anders blows up the Chantry, but for the sake of making this history complete I went beyond that point! Also, events and companions from the downloadable content of DA2 are omitted because I haven't played them.)
Character Personality:
As noted in Hawke's wiki link, she has three distinct general personalities: diplomatic, charming and sarcastic, or direct and aggressive. The game picks one based on the very first dialogue choice made and further dialogue choices stack up to determine which general personality the character has when speaking dialogue that is not player-chosen.
Overall, she appears one way but has the potential to do or say anything, pretty much, which is what makes Hawke's character so fun to play around with. The general personality I envision for Hawke is the sarcastic and charming personality, though I leave wiggle room because no character is always sarcastic, just as an aggressive Hawke should not react to every situation aggressively.
Technical aspects of the game aside, however...
Hawke is one of those people who use humor to cope and react to many things - whether it's fighting endless hoards of Darkspawn or having to flee Templars or her own brother reacting in a bitterly jealous manner to nearly everything she does. Toss a carefree remark about it and go on your way feeling like less of an emotional wreck - that's her strategy. She does know when to stop, however, and if she senses her humor is largely lost on someone or that they consider a situation far less humorous than she does, Hawke will sigh and look away with some guilt and approach the situation with the respect that it deserves.
There are some situations, also, that are just not funny - her sister Bethany's death, the way Fenris was treated while he was a slave, her brother's betrayal, and her mother's murder are among but a few. She knows when a joke is ripe for picking, but also knows when to wait. Her personality is obviously also not always cheery. Serious matters - those where the people she loves are in danger or when she observes some kind of injustice or exploitation going on, for example - prompt her more diplomatic side almost always, if not her aggressive side as well if the situation gets too dicey. She's also known to panic a bit in very scary situations, and that's seen while she's tracking down her mother and her mother's kidnapper, fearing the worst but hoping that it'll be okay.
Hawke is also very responsible. As the eldest sibling, she sees it as her responsibility to take care of what remains of her family, which is why Carver's joining the Templars and her mother's death affect her so much. They were her only remaining family, and she felt responsible for losing them in both cases. She worked so hard to finally make it in Kirkwall and live among the nobility there. She wanted to make the Hawke name something to be proud of. But over time, in doing so she essentially became the only Hawke.
This responsibility doesn't just apply to Hawke's family, either. It applies to her companions and even random strangers. She'll cover up her helpful nature sometimes (especially if the quest is boring or particularly stupid) by demanding coin for doing them, but even so it says a lot that Hawke is willing to help out strangers. Even when there's no coin to be had, she tries to do what she believes is right. As a supporter of mage rights and freedom, many times during the game Hawke will help innocent mages escape the Templars, sometimes at great risk to herself. If something doesn't seem quite right or if she senses that she's being lied to, Hawke will not stand for it and will use her own moral compass to guide her actions.
This also goes for her companions, all of whom she considers her friends - even the ones she doesn't get along very well with. When Merrill uses blood magic and tries to fix a magical mirror that will no doubt bring harm to her and possibly everyone around her, Hawke fights her about it from the start, complete with sarcastic commentary. Even though she is a mage, Hawke doesn't succumb to the temptation that many mages have, to strike a deal with a demon in order to use their own blood to boost their powers. This is blood magic, and since she was a child she has been weary of the use of it. Also, Hawke's arguments with Fenris about mages and how they are treated get her really riled up and often incredibly frustrated. How can a former slave not empathize with his fellow second class citizens, the innocent mages locked away in the Circle? Eventually, however, she begins to understand his reasoning even as he starts to understand hers. She helps him exact revenge on his tormentor and former master, partly because she too despises him after everything she hears about Danarius. Justice and doing the right thing are very important to Hawke, especially where her friends and family are involved.
As for those she's friendlier with, Hawke has all the more reason to help out those friends - whether it's Anders with what she believes to be plans to exercise the spirit of Justice from his body, Isabela and her problems locating the Qunari artifact, Aveline and her quest for true love, or Varric and his deeply seeded brother issues, Hawke is always there to lend a hand and gladly so, no matter what other chaos might be going on.
Hawke is helpful, responsible, and a problem-solver. She is determined not to give up in everything she does and resolves to always find a way to achieve her goals as well as the goals of her friends, the oppressed mages she encounters, and the people of Kirkwall in general. She is a true leader who really reaches out to people, and even if she takes a few gold pieces for a job well done she'll also take pride in having done the job at all and helped someone in need. Though often her decisions aren't the best, they are made with the best of intentions in mind.
Character Abilities you would like to expand on further:
Hawke is a mage. This means that she is able to cast spells and also use a staff as a long range weapon that shoots out various elemental attacks. Information about the mage class in general can be found here, and information about the spells used in Dragon Age II can be found here. At her canon point, Hawke will have gained two additional specializations - Force Mage and Spirit Healer. She will not know every spell listed on the spells page, but will have primarily focused on spells used for elemental and spiritual attack, personal defense, and the healing of both herself and her companions.
She is also competent at close hand combat with her staff, though she is not particularly strong and most of the damage from close combat is magical in nature.
As mentioned before, Hawke is a natural leader, as well, and is able to read the situation well enough to be diplomatic... if she wants to be. Often it's just not worth it and a witty remark is preferable to anything else she could possibly say.
Other than that, her strong moral code and self-control could also be considered strengths, as they've gotten her through many rough patches in the past.
Character Weaknesses you would like to expand on further:
A lack of brute physical strength and endurance means that in a melee fight, especially without her magic, Hawke is not at her best. In fact, she lacks any great skill in combat without her magic, beyond a certain gracefulness at using a staff weapon.
Despite this lack of strength, magic is a very powerful weapon, especially when one knows the variety of spells that Hawke knows. There is a class of warriors in the Dragon Age universe called Templars, however, and they possess abilities that can suppress mages' abilities. These abilities allow them to catch and bring even the most powerful mages back to the Circle. Like all mages, Hawke is vulnerable to Templar abilities in the game.
As for personality-based weaknesses, she is stubborn and very set in her ways of thinking. Compromises and friendships can still be formed if she disagrees with people, but they will manifest in rivalry. She is also slightly impatient and unwilling to put up with bullshit, and is not beyond acting catty or rude to those she feels deserve such treatment.
[ SOUL CAMPAIGN SECTION ]
What abilities will your character retain in Soul Campaign?
-Leadership and a certain amount of diplomacy and problem solving skills
-The ability to swing a staff around and knock people in the head with it
What weaknesses will your character lose or gain in Soul Campaign?
-As for weaknesses gained, since Hawke will no longer have her magic... that is her main form of offense and defense. So that is a weakness right there. She'll be very out of sorts without her magic.
-No weaknesses will be lost, unless you count the fact that Templar's abilities to suppress magic won't work anymore.
The wish Death the Kid made to the BREW in 2009 was to “rescue Death City and stop the waves of Madness from overtaking the world.” By whatever means necessary. Pretend you are the BREW. Why would you choose to bring this character to Death City?
BREW's logic behind bringing Hawke is quite obvious - she's skilled, diplomatic, and doesn't hesitate to get any job done, despite the odds stacked against her. She's a renowned hero in her world and despite everything isn't even all that big-headed or arrogant about it. She's results-minded and good in a fight, even without her magic, and honestly? Being taken into another world and told to fight their battles for them sounds an awful lot like just another quest.
You'd better make it worth her while, Shibusen.
If your character has difficulty verbally communicating or can’t verbally communicate at all (mute or non-humanoid), elaborate on how this will be treated in the game. (Skip if this doesn’t apply)
[ MEISTER ONLY SECTION ]
Why is your character a Meister and not a Weapon?
Hawke has a strong personality and a strong resolve. Despite sometimes complaining about her status as leader, she fits that role well. Her ability to strategize and think critically are best employed if she is the Meister, the one responsible for moving and planning attacks. Her resourcefulness with various kinds of spells also makes her an ideal Meister, since Weapons come in all shapes and sizes and abilities. If anything, she'd be a bit disappointed that she couldn't have more than one Weapon partner.
What is your character’s Meister Ability? Why?
1. Soul Descent - When the attack is initiated, the Meister sends out a shock wave of power that knocks the opponent off their feet. The stronger the Meister, the stronger the effect and the longer it takes for the opponent to recover. The power can vary from something as weak as a small shove to knocking larger opponents off their feet.
Why? Because this attack is very similar to the attacks Hawke can do as a Force Mage.
2. Soul Determination - They are able to take a mortal blow once and withstand it. While it does not heal them, they are given the strength to continue on in battle.
Why? Because even if her physical strength and endurance aren't the best, Hawke does possess that single-minded determination to win even when the odds are stacked against her.
3. Soul Leader - The meister is stronger, faster, and has more stamina when leading others.
Why? Because Hawke is the glue that holds all her companions together. She calls the shots and everyone else can either follow or go home. She's a natural leader and that carries over even in a different world.
[ SOUL INFORMATION ]
Describe your character’s soul with six adjectives.
Sarcastic, determined, charming, diplomatic, compassionate, willful.
What does your character’s soul look like? Be creative.
The soul itself is a dark, maroonish red like dried blood. Her lips are curled up into a smirk, most of the time, with bits of short messy hair sticking up from the top of it.
[ SAMPLES ]
Provide a First Person style sample in the form of a post to the DEMISE network.
Hellooooo? Are there actual people who can hear me if I speak into this magical box thing? Hello? No one is answering...
[ And she sounds rather upset about that, not realizing that you have to hit send before people will see any message posted to the network. There's a bit of shuffling around before the audio feed switches to video, showing a woman in long, intricate robes with a bit of a pout of her face. ]
Oh! And now it's acting as a mirror... how quaint. What other surprises will this strange place hold in store for me?
[ She sounds almost excited, looks almost amused. And yet... ]
I really need to get back in time to stop those two bickering ninnies from arguing themselves into a stupor. So, people within the magical box, thank you very much for the tour of your surprisingly clean and freshly-scented city, but I am going to have to decline your hospitality, at least for now. Check back in another day or two, though, and I'll surely be ready to help you out! [ There's a smirk. ] Preferably for a price, but that's negotiable. The part where you send me back home where I came from is most definitely not, however. Also, I'd like my magic back. That would be ideal.
[ Negotiations over with, now, more shuffling around and hitting of touchscreen buttons commences... ] Maker, this thing is a nightma-
[ Before it finally shuts off. ]
Provide a Third Person sample set during the last minutes on their world and/or their first few moments in the Kishin Chamber.
"Do not trifle with me, mage, my patience is at an end!"
Ah, just in time. Hawke had come up to the two arguing leaders at a fast jog. Their voices, raised in argument with one another, carried quite a long way, though only now was she allowing herself to pay any attention to the First Enchanter and Knight Commander. Supposedly, she was here to play diplomat and convince Meredith that no, it was indeed not a good idea to start a merciless inquisition of the mages in the Circle.
Right now, however, she felt less like a diplomat and more like a magistrate entrusted with the duty of figuring out which half of a separated couple got the family's chicken coup. Not that this issue was petty, but hadn't it been beaten into the ground long enough? What was so hard, exactly, about realizing that mages were people with rights, too?
It was tiring, is what it was. And Hawke was slightly out of breath when she spoke. "The way you two carry on... people will talk!"
Of course, Meredith didn't like that. And Orsino only barely tolerated it long enough to reveal that he was the one who'd summoned her here.
And oh, wonderful, yet another crazed monologue from the Knight Commander. What a surprise. Hawke raised her hand to her temple and rubbed at it, tuning Meredith's craziness out for the time being and shutting her eyes briefly. She didn't notice when the background noise of Meredith's rant ceased at all, but when she opened her eyes it was considerably darker, and worse, the scenery had somehow changed.
Maker's breath... had Meredith's ranting literally managed to kill her? What had happened?! Hawke went to draw her staff, only to realize it was gone. "Shit..."
Instead, she began casting a rock armor spell to help protect her against possible attack... only to realize halfway through that she seemed completely unable to access her impressive pool of mana as well. Andraste's ass, had she been made tranquil and locked up? But no, the tranquil couldn't panic like this! Feeling completely helpless, Hawke assumed a defensive position and slowly began backing toward a wall.
But suddenly, there were people. People all around her of all shapes and sizes and in some cases, species, literally appearing out of nowhere. Perhaps Hawke hadn't been the only one snatched away, after all.
Not that that was particularly reassuring.
[ NOTES ]
Note that the two instances of spoken dialogue (other than "Shit...") in my third person sample are ripped directly from the game. I make no claim to them, and simply needed them there to provide context for the scene I described.
Player Name: Missa
Age: 24
Timezone: GMT +5
Personal Journal: takewing
Contact Information: Email: mmkoetz (at) gmail (dot) com, AIM: eloquencies
Current Characters: Kurt Hummel/couragemantra
Links to Activity Check: Here.
Beta-reader: I decided to skip on this!
[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]
Name: Marian Hawke
Age: 30...ish. (Using context clues from the game, Hawke is probably about thirty at the end of Act 3.)
Gender: Female
Canon: Dragon Age II
Timeline: Act 3, before Anders blows up the Kirkwall Chantry.
Character History:
Hawke's general background information can be found here, though since her class in the game (mage, warrior, or rogue) and the choices the player makes shape parts of her history as well, I will elaborate a bit further on her history myself, based on the class and player choices I've chosen.
In addition to her father and her younger sister being a mage, Marian Hawke was also born with magic. She grew up with her family avoiding the Templars (mage-hunters) but generally experiencing a healthy childhood in the town of Lothering. Her father taught her and her sister how to control and harness their magical power, but sadly he ended up dying three years before the Hawke family began fleeing Lothering. Hawke would have been about 21 at that point, making her around 24 when the family flees their Darkspawn-infested town.
While fleeing, her sister Bethany is killed in a fight against Darkspawn and the family meets Aveline Vallen and her husband, who is a Templar, and who also does not make it out alive. Aveline and the Hawke family eventually make it out of the country of Ferelden and to their mother's ancestral home of Kirkwall in the Free Marches, where Hawke and her brother Carver are sold into indentured servitude to a smuggling ring for a year in order to gain passage into the city, which is filled to the brim with Fereldan refugees from the war against the Darkspawn.
After a year, Hawke and Carver meet Varric Tethras, a surface-dwelling dwarf with a brother ambitious enough to attempt an expedition into the Deep Roads, a series of tunnels and old Dwarven cities beneath the ground that they believe to be filled with treasures. Hawke, seeking work and fortune, gathers money and allies (Fenris, Merrill, Anders, and Isabela in addition to Carver, Varric, and Aveline) doing quests throughout town in order to help fund the expedition and make her fortune.
Despite Carver's protests that he wants to come along, Hawke leaves him behind when it comes time for the expedition. While they are gone, Carver joins the Templars, though he promises that despite any quarrels the two siblings had int he past, he won't sell out his sister and force her to be taken into custody of the Circle of Magi. During the quest into the Deep Roads, Hawke and Varric discover a mysterious idol made of pure lyrium, a magical ore of great power. Varric's brother Bartrand ends up locking them in after taking the idol, however, and this causes Varric to harbor a grudge against his brother, even though he and Hawke manage to escape and also find plenty of gold and other expensive artifacts, as well.
The game then skips about three years, revealing that Hawke has made quite a name for herself and now lives in a mansion as opposed to a little hole in the wall. There is a mass murderer of women in the city, and Hawke's investigations into his identity and whereabouts unfortunately lead to her realization that her own mother, Leandra, has been kidnapped by him. The man, a blood mage, used blood magic to create a replica of his long lost bride using pieces of the women he murdered - this "corpse bride" has Leandra's face, and Hawke gets to speak with her briefly after she slays the murderer and before her mother finally passes away. The loss of her mother hits Hawke hard, though her companions, especially Fenris, are there for her in her time of need.
There are four romance options in Dragon Age II: Fenris, Anders, Merrill, and Isabela. Within these four options there is also the option to pursue a friendly romance where both parties get along beautifully and agree on most issues, or a rival romance, where they... kind of don't. My Hawke chose the potentially foolish option of romancing Fenris, a magic-hating ex-slave elf who wouldn't bat an eye if every mage were to be executed upon birth. Somehow, despite some hiccups early on (mainly, they sleep together only for Fenris to leave in a panic shortly after, breaking things off for three years), the two of them eventually come together again once Fenris's past has been dealt with.
In addition to these personal issues, tensions are high in the city between a group of Qunari living on the docks and the mostly human population of Kirkwall. Soon a plot is revealed in which the Viscount's son is murdered by a Chantry sister who believes that framing the Qunari for the act will incite change in the Viscount's eyes and cause him to pressure the Qunari into leaving. This Chantry plot is brought to the grieving Viscount who decides to leave the problem alone for the moment.
This inaction leads to trouble, as clearly something needs to be done about the Qunari. They are getting restless and impatient as it is revealed that the only reason they have stayed so long in Kirkwall, a place for which their leader harbors no love and only disgust, is that they are looking for an important relic - a book that Hawke's pirate companion Isabela helped to steal from them. Hawke follows an important lead and tracks down the book with Isabela, hoping to give it to the Qunari so that they'll leave Kirkwall and ease tensions in the city, but Isabela ends up taking it and running away, leaving the party and leaving Hawke without the book.
Chaos erupts soon after, with Qunari attacking the city and killing the Viscount. Hawke and her party engage the Qunari in battle, killing their leader and effectively saving the city of Kirkwall. This is how Hawke won her name as the Champion of Kirkwall.
Three years later, the tension between the leader of the Templars, Knight Commander Meredith, and the Circle of Magi has finally heated up to boiling. Hawke is used as a pawn between the Knight Commander and the First Enchanter, each trying to gain leverage against the other. Also, Hawke and her companions meet up with Varric's brother Bartrand once more. It's revealed that even though he sold the lyriium idol they found in the Deep Roads, he still kept a small piece of it and has been driven mad by it. Ultimately Varric kills his brother, but doubt over the safety of the idol that Bartrand sold and the small piece left behind lingers.
But not for long. As it turns out, Anders (a mage companion of Hawke's who is obsessed with pursuing justice for the mages) sparks the beginnings of the final battle in Kirkwall when he blows up the Chantry, killing Kirkwall's religious leaders in an act of rebellion. The Templars are not pleased and plan to execute every mage for Anders' crimes. The First Enchanter recognizes how unfair this is, and once again Hawke is forced to take sides and choose either to support the mages or the Templars.
Recognizing the injustice of killing innocent mages for the crimes of one man, Hawke chooses to support the Circle of Magi and prevent the slaughter. Her entire party - even Fenris, who still fears and hates mages - agrees to help in this endeavor. However, she must also decide what to do with Anders, who is now no better than a terrorist. She can choose to kill him for his crimes, let him go but force him to leave the party, or allow him to continue to fight with the party. She can't abide by what he's done, however, and tells him to leave. Her decision remains unchanged when he offers to join the fight again later on.
The final confrontation between Hawke and Meredith reveals that Meredith, too, has been driven insane by the lyrium idol their party had found in the Deep Roads - the same idol that had driven Varric's brother insane. Unfortunately, the idol (now molded into Meredith's sword), also gives her great power. The party finally ends up beating her, however, and from that point on the world of Thedas is changed forever. Mages rebel, the Circles disintegrate, the Chantry's power on the world is lessened, and Hawke is forced into hiding.
(Note that the canon point I am taking Hawke from is just BEFORE Anders blows up the Chantry, but for the sake of making this history complete I went beyond that point! Also, events and companions from the downloadable content of DA2 are omitted because I haven't played them.)
Character Personality:
As noted in Hawke's wiki link, she has three distinct general personalities: diplomatic, charming and sarcastic, or direct and aggressive. The game picks one based on the very first dialogue choice made and further dialogue choices stack up to determine which general personality the character has when speaking dialogue that is not player-chosen.
Overall, she appears one way but has the potential to do or say anything, pretty much, which is what makes Hawke's character so fun to play around with. The general personality I envision for Hawke is the sarcastic and charming personality, though I leave wiggle room because no character is always sarcastic, just as an aggressive Hawke should not react to every situation aggressively.
Technical aspects of the game aside, however...
Hawke is one of those people who use humor to cope and react to many things - whether it's fighting endless hoards of Darkspawn or having to flee Templars or her own brother reacting in a bitterly jealous manner to nearly everything she does. Toss a carefree remark about it and go on your way feeling like less of an emotional wreck - that's her strategy. She does know when to stop, however, and if she senses her humor is largely lost on someone or that they consider a situation far less humorous than she does, Hawke will sigh and look away with some guilt and approach the situation with the respect that it deserves.
There are some situations, also, that are just not funny - her sister Bethany's death, the way Fenris was treated while he was a slave, her brother's betrayal, and her mother's murder are among but a few. She knows when a joke is ripe for picking, but also knows when to wait. Her personality is obviously also not always cheery. Serious matters - those where the people she loves are in danger or when she observes some kind of injustice or exploitation going on, for example - prompt her more diplomatic side almost always, if not her aggressive side as well if the situation gets too dicey. She's also known to panic a bit in very scary situations, and that's seen while she's tracking down her mother and her mother's kidnapper, fearing the worst but hoping that it'll be okay.
Hawke is also very responsible. As the eldest sibling, she sees it as her responsibility to take care of what remains of her family, which is why Carver's joining the Templars and her mother's death affect her so much. They were her only remaining family, and she felt responsible for losing them in both cases. She worked so hard to finally make it in Kirkwall and live among the nobility there. She wanted to make the Hawke name something to be proud of. But over time, in doing so she essentially became the only Hawke.
This responsibility doesn't just apply to Hawke's family, either. It applies to her companions and even random strangers. She'll cover up her helpful nature sometimes (especially if the quest is boring or particularly stupid) by demanding coin for doing them, but even so it says a lot that Hawke is willing to help out strangers. Even when there's no coin to be had, she tries to do what she believes is right. As a supporter of mage rights and freedom, many times during the game Hawke will help innocent mages escape the Templars, sometimes at great risk to herself. If something doesn't seem quite right or if she senses that she's being lied to, Hawke will not stand for it and will use her own moral compass to guide her actions.
This also goes for her companions, all of whom she considers her friends - even the ones she doesn't get along very well with. When Merrill uses blood magic and tries to fix a magical mirror that will no doubt bring harm to her and possibly everyone around her, Hawke fights her about it from the start, complete with sarcastic commentary. Even though she is a mage, Hawke doesn't succumb to the temptation that many mages have, to strike a deal with a demon in order to use their own blood to boost their powers. This is blood magic, and since she was a child she has been weary of the use of it. Also, Hawke's arguments with Fenris about mages and how they are treated get her really riled up and often incredibly frustrated. How can a former slave not empathize with his fellow second class citizens, the innocent mages locked away in the Circle? Eventually, however, she begins to understand his reasoning even as he starts to understand hers. She helps him exact revenge on his tormentor and former master, partly because she too despises him after everything she hears about Danarius. Justice and doing the right thing are very important to Hawke, especially where her friends and family are involved.
As for those she's friendlier with, Hawke has all the more reason to help out those friends - whether it's Anders with what she believes to be plans to exercise the spirit of Justice from his body, Isabela and her problems locating the Qunari artifact, Aveline and her quest for true love, or Varric and his deeply seeded brother issues, Hawke is always there to lend a hand and gladly so, no matter what other chaos might be going on.
Hawke is helpful, responsible, and a problem-solver. She is determined not to give up in everything she does and resolves to always find a way to achieve her goals as well as the goals of her friends, the oppressed mages she encounters, and the people of Kirkwall in general. She is a true leader who really reaches out to people, and even if she takes a few gold pieces for a job well done she'll also take pride in having done the job at all and helped someone in need. Though often her decisions aren't the best, they are made with the best of intentions in mind.
Character Abilities you would like to expand on further:
Hawke is a mage. This means that she is able to cast spells and also use a staff as a long range weapon that shoots out various elemental attacks. Information about the mage class in general can be found here, and information about the spells used in Dragon Age II can be found here. At her canon point, Hawke will have gained two additional specializations - Force Mage and Spirit Healer. She will not know every spell listed on the spells page, but will have primarily focused on spells used for elemental and spiritual attack, personal defense, and the healing of both herself and her companions.
She is also competent at close hand combat with her staff, though she is not particularly strong and most of the damage from close combat is magical in nature.
As mentioned before, Hawke is a natural leader, as well, and is able to read the situation well enough to be diplomatic... if she wants to be. Often it's just not worth it and a witty remark is preferable to anything else she could possibly say.
Other than that, her strong moral code and self-control could also be considered strengths, as they've gotten her through many rough patches in the past.
Character Weaknesses you would like to expand on further:
A lack of brute physical strength and endurance means that in a melee fight, especially without her magic, Hawke is not at her best. In fact, she lacks any great skill in combat without her magic, beyond a certain gracefulness at using a staff weapon.
Despite this lack of strength, magic is a very powerful weapon, especially when one knows the variety of spells that Hawke knows. There is a class of warriors in the Dragon Age universe called Templars, however, and they possess abilities that can suppress mages' abilities. These abilities allow them to catch and bring even the most powerful mages back to the Circle. Like all mages, Hawke is vulnerable to Templar abilities in the game.
As for personality-based weaknesses, she is stubborn and very set in her ways of thinking. Compromises and friendships can still be formed if she disagrees with people, but they will manifest in rivalry. She is also slightly impatient and unwilling to put up with bullshit, and is not beyond acting catty or rude to those she feels deserve such treatment.
[ SOUL CAMPAIGN SECTION ]
What abilities will your character retain in Soul Campaign?
-Leadership and a certain amount of diplomacy and problem solving skills
-The ability to swing a staff around and knock people in the head with it
What weaknesses will your character lose or gain in Soul Campaign?
-As for weaknesses gained, since Hawke will no longer have her magic... that is her main form of offense and defense. So that is a weakness right there. She'll be very out of sorts without her magic.
-No weaknesses will be lost, unless you count the fact that Templar's abilities to suppress magic won't work anymore.
The wish Death the Kid made to the BREW in 2009 was to “rescue Death City and stop the waves of Madness from overtaking the world.” By whatever means necessary. Pretend you are the BREW. Why would you choose to bring this character to Death City?
BREW's logic behind bringing Hawke is quite obvious - she's skilled, diplomatic, and doesn't hesitate to get any job done, despite the odds stacked against her. She's a renowned hero in her world and despite everything isn't even all that big-headed or arrogant about it. She's results-minded and good in a fight, even without her magic, and honestly? Being taken into another world and told to fight their battles for them sounds an awful lot like just another quest.
You'd better make it worth her while, Shibusen.
If your character has difficulty verbally communicating or can’t verbally communicate at all (mute or non-humanoid), elaborate on how this will be treated in the game. (Skip if this doesn’t apply)
[ MEISTER ONLY SECTION ]
Why is your character a Meister and not a Weapon?
Hawke has a strong personality and a strong resolve. Despite sometimes complaining about her status as leader, she fits that role well. Her ability to strategize and think critically are best employed if she is the Meister, the one responsible for moving and planning attacks. Her resourcefulness with various kinds of spells also makes her an ideal Meister, since Weapons come in all shapes and sizes and abilities. If anything, she'd be a bit disappointed that she couldn't have more than one Weapon partner.
What is your character’s Meister Ability? Why?
1. Soul Descent - When the attack is initiated, the Meister sends out a shock wave of power that knocks the opponent off their feet. The stronger the Meister, the stronger the effect and the longer it takes for the opponent to recover. The power can vary from something as weak as a small shove to knocking larger opponents off their feet.
Why? Because this attack is very similar to the attacks Hawke can do as a Force Mage.
2. Soul Determination - They are able to take a mortal blow once and withstand it. While it does not heal them, they are given the strength to continue on in battle.
Why? Because even if her physical strength and endurance aren't the best, Hawke does possess that single-minded determination to win even when the odds are stacked against her.
3. Soul Leader - The meister is stronger, faster, and has more stamina when leading others.
Why? Because Hawke is the glue that holds all her companions together. She calls the shots and everyone else can either follow or go home. She's a natural leader and that carries over even in a different world.
[ SOUL INFORMATION ]
Describe your character’s soul with six adjectives.
Sarcastic, determined, charming, diplomatic, compassionate, willful.
What does your character’s soul look like? Be creative.
The soul itself is a dark, maroonish red like dried blood. Her lips are curled up into a smirk, most of the time, with bits of short messy hair sticking up from the top of it.
[ SAMPLES ]
Provide a First Person style sample in the form of a post to the DEMISE network.
Hellooooo? Are there actual people who can hear me if I speak into this magical box thing? Hello? No one is answering...
[ And she sounds rather upset about that, not realizing that you have to hit send before people will see any message posted to the network. There's a bit of shuffling around before the audio feed switches to video, showing a woman in long, intricate robes with a bit of a pout of her face. ]
Oh! And now it's acting as a mirror... how quaint. What other surprises will this strange place hold in store for me?
[ She sounds almost excited, looks almost amused. And yet... ]
I really need to get back in time to stop those two bickering ninnies from arguing themselves into a stupor. So, people within the magical box, thank you very much for the tour of your surprisingly clean and freshly-scented city, but I am going to have to decline your hospitality, at least for now. Check back in another day or two, though, and I'll surely be ready to help you out! [ There's a smirk. ] Preferably for a price, but that's negotiable. The part where you send me back home where I came from is most definitely not, however. Also, I'd like my magic back. That would be ideal.
[ Negotiations over with, now, more shuffling around and hitting of touchscreen buttons commences... ] Maker, this thing is a nightma-
[ Before it finally shuts off. ]
Provide a Third Person sample set during the last minutes on their world and/or their first few moments in the Kishin Chamber.
"Do not trifle with me, mage, my patience is at an end!"
Ah, just in time. Hawke had come up to the two arguing leaders at a fast jog. Their voices, raised in argument with one another, carried quite a long way, though only now was she allowing herself to pay any attention to the First Enchanter and Knight Commander. Supposedly, she was here to play diplomat and convince Meredith that no, it was indeed not a good idea to start a merciless inquisition of the mages in the Circle.
Right now, however, she felt less like a diplomat and more like a magistrate entrusted with the duty of figuring out which half of a separated couple got the family's chicken coup. Not that this issue was petty, but hadn't it been beaten into the ground long enough? What was so hard, exactly, about realizing that mages were people with rights, too?
It was tiring, is what it was. And Hawke was slightly out of breath when she spoke. "The way you two carry on... people will talk!"
Of course, Meredith didn't like that. And Orsino only barely tolerated it long enough to reveal that he was the one who'd summoned her here.
And oh, wonderful, yet another crazed monologue from the Knight Commander. What a surprise. Hawke raised her hand to her temple and rubbed at it, tuning Meredith's craziness out for the time being and shutting her eyes briefly. She didn't notice when the background noise of Meredith's rant ceased at all, but when she opened her eyes it was considerably darker, and worse, the scenery had somehow changed.
Maker's breath... had Meredith's ranting literally managed to kill her? What had happened?! Hawke went to draw her staff, only to realize it was gone. "Shit..."
Instead, she began casting a rock armor spell to help protect her against possible attack... only to realize halfway through that she seemed completely unable to access her impressive pool of mana as well. Andraste's ass, had she been made tranquil and locked up? But no, the tranquil couldn't panic like this! Feeling completely helpless, Hawke assumed a defensive position and slowly began backing toward a wall.
But suddenly, there were people. People all around her of all shapes and sizes and in some cases, species, literally appearing out of nowhere. Perhaps Hawke hadn't been the only one snatched away, after all.
Not that that was particularly reassuring.
[ NOTES ]
Note that the two instances of spoken dialogue (other than "Shit...") in my third person sample are ripped directly from the game. I make no claim to them, and simply needed them there to provide context for the scene I described.