Characters of Dragon Age II
Several returning characters from its antecedent Dragon Age: Origins may appear in a major or minor capacity, including Flemeth, Anders, Merrill, Isabela, Alistair, Zevran, Leliana, Marethari, Bodahn and Sandal Feddic.
[2] The overarching narrative of Dragon Age II chronicles Hawke's rise from an impoverished refugee of the Blight to become the Champion of the city-state of Kirkwall in the Free Marches.
Former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider explained that the friendship-rivalry meter is expressive, not something that a player needs to fill up in order to be playing the game correctly.
The video game's introduction shows him captured and interrogated by Cassandra Pentaghast, a Seeker of the Chantry; thus Varric becomes the narrator of the Dragon Age II story.
She fled Lothering to escape the Blight with his family, and travels arrives to Kirkwall, where the City Guard is denying access to all Fereldan refugees.
[22][23] A former Grey Warden, Anders left the Order prior to the events of Dragon Age II, and agreed to host the spirit of Justice to help mages fight for freedom from the Chantry.
She first appears as a minor non-player character in Origins who teaches the Warden the "Duelist" specialization, and is an optional companion and potential love interest in Dragon Age II.
Depending on the player's choices, she may return to Hawke's side and hand the artifact back to the Arishok, supreme leader of the Qunari army.
[13] He lost his memory due to lyrium, a hazardous liquid substance with magical properties, being infused into his flesh, rendering him averse to physical contact but also giving him superhuman combat abilities.
Fenris is a brooding pessimist who is unable or unwilling to live a happy life; he has no memory of his past name, and resents mages due to the suffering he endured under Danarius.
His specialization, Tevinter Fugitive, involves channeling the power of the imbued lyrium in his body to improve combat efficiency, allowing Fenris to move faster and do more damage as he gets hurt.
She was an elven slave in the Tevinter Imperium until the Qunari liberated her and she converted to the Qun, where she was given several names before being assigned to the Ben-Hassrath as Tallis (Qunlat for "To Solve").
Bartrand Tethras is Varric's elder brother, a merchant prince who organizes an expedition into the Deep Roads in Act I of Dragon Age II.
The Arishok is the leader of the Qunari military branch, who is stranded in Kirkwall with his men, after their ship was wrecked in a storm chasing after the thief who stole their relic.
After Meredith invokes the Rite of Annulment, Orsino admits that he had ties to the deranged necromancer Quentin, who murdered Hawke's mother and several other women in Kirkwall.
Kirkwall quickly becomes a police state that Meredith rules with an iron fist, giving free rein to her cronies amongst the Order to do as they please in abusing the mages and dominating the civilian population of the city.
The destruction of the Chantry gave her the opportunity to unilaterally invoke the Rite of Annulment, an order to kill every member of the Kirkwall's Circle of Magi, without official sanction from a Grand Cleric or the Divine.
Corypheus, also known as The Conductor of the Choir of Silence, is mentioned in the Chantry's Chant of Light as collaborating with the high priest of Urthemiel, known as the Architect of the Works of Beauty.
Tallis enlists Hawke's aid to infiltrate Duke Prosper's home, the Château Haine, and steal the "Heart of the Many", a gem which he supposedly has no right to possess.
Cassandra Pentaghast is a member of the Seekers of Truth, a secretive and powerful faction within the Andrastian Chantry answering directly to the Divine in Val Royeaux.
[32] Shortly after the Battle of Ostagar, Leandra escapes with her family from Lothering's destruction, where they had lived for several years, fleeing with portions of the Darkspawn horde in pursuit.
When Hawke investigates the mystery of missing women in Act II, Leandra is abducted and murdered by an insane serial killer while en route to visit Gamlen, as her face resembles his deceased wife.
Leandra is included in a list of notable RPG mothers compiled by RPGFan; her abduction and death is noted as one of the more emotional scenes in Dragon Age II as she had been a constant presence at Hawke's side.
[29] Flemeth is the legendary "Witch of the Wilds", an ancient, transcendent and apparently immortal shape-shifting mage affecting the appearance of an eccentric old woman or a high dragon depending on the situation.
Later in the game it is revealed that regardless of what happened in Dragon Age: Origins, she survived by putting a part of her soul in a medallion that she then gave to Hawke in exchange for safe passage to Kirkwall.
[33] In Origins, Marethari is preparing her clan to flee Ferelden, and venture north into the Free Marches, both in response to warnings from Duncan about the impending Blight and tensions with a neighboring human settlement.
Cullen is the Knight-Captain and second-in-command to Knight-Commander Meredith by the events of Dragon Age II, after he was transferred from the Ferelden Circle and received a promotion.
In Dragon Age II Bodahn and Sandal journey to Kirkwall in the aftermath of the Fifth Blight, providing provisions for the Deep Roads expedition organised by House Tethras.
She refuses to openly take sides in the conflict between Meredith and First Enchanter Orsino of the Kirkwall Circle of Magi, claiming that she is seeking to balance the needs of everyone.
During his reign as viscount, the Templar Order has grown extremely powerful in Kirkwall: it has become the center of Chantry strength in eastern Thedas and holds its Circle of Magi in an iron grip.
