Our latest book is Dragon Age II by Charlotte Reber. "This book is a blueprint for how to preserve a game’s legacy in writing," writes Aleks Franiczek in a review for RPGFan. Below, Legend of the River King author Alexander B. Joy interviews Reber about canon Hawke, favorite companions, and how DA2 fits into the legacy of the series.

Alexander B. Joy: Dragon Age II has a reputation for being the black sheep of the Dragon Age series. Is that reputation deserved?

Charlotte Reber: I’d say it definitely is—but in the best way possible. DA2 was rushed out on the heels of Dragon Age: Origins, which was in development for seven years and, like most games in the series, tells an epic fantasy story of heroes saving the world from evil. With DA2, the dev team was given barely a year to release an entire game, so it simply wasn’t possible to create something on that kind of scale. Instead, they created a game set in a single location over the course of a decade, with a story that focuses on the fates of just a handful of characters, rather than the entire world.

While a lot of players were disappointed with the result, I think trying to compare DA2 directly to Origins (or the rest of the series) does both games a disservice. DA2 is raw and messy and full of rough edges, but it also has some of the best—and funniest—writing of the entire series. And while its rushed development was hell on the dev team, it also gave them freedom to experiment with some unusual storytelling techniques without having time to second-guess themselves, with memorable results like the story’s unreliable narrator, Varric Tethras, who’s gone on to become one of the most beloved recurring characters in the series. 

Why did you want to write about Dragon Age II?

I didn’t play DA2 until a couple of years after it released, but when I did, I fell headlong in love with it for its snarky hero Hawke, its wonderful cast of characters, and its unusual storytelling choices. I became even more fascinated when I learned that BioWare had a permanent team of writers—very unusual for a game developer—and that DA2 had been written in its entirety by just five people in such a short amount of time! I mean, come on, who doesn’t love a story about a plucky group of heroes facing impossible odds? That’s the DA2 story in a nutshell!

What makes Dragon Age II's narrative compelling?

For me, it’s a couple things. I love the moments in which Varric gets called out as an unreliable narrator, and what those moments say about him as a storyteller and a character. I also honestly love that it’s not a high-stakes rush to save the world. Hawke isn’t some kind of prophesized hero or chosen one; they’re just some schmuck trying to make it through the day with enough to pay rent!

But what really hooked me on the game, and which makes me want to replay it again and again, is its wonderful characters, Hawke and Varric included. DA2 has some of the most interesting and well-written characters in any video game I’ve ever played. And that’s not luck, it’s a very intentional design choice on the part of the writers. To paraphrase David Gaider, the game’s lead writer, the player may not care about some fantasy world—but if they care about the characters, and those characters care about the world, then the player begins to care too. As someone who's terrible at remembering game lore, this certainly seems to work on me--I may not be able to remember all the political nuances of dealing with the church mage police, but when it means Hawke’s sister or best friend or lover is at risk of getting incarcerated, I start to care a hell of a lot.

Do you have any behind-the-scenes anecdotes to share that didn't make it into the book?

I had the extraordinary privilege of getting to talk to several of the folks who developed DA2, including members of the writing team, who had lots to say about the daily shenanigans in the writers’ pit. I think the best anecdotes all made it into the book, but Lukas Kristjanson did tell me a pretty funny story about writing a line of dialogue so raunchy it left the entire writing team speechless and forced David Gaider to call in Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw for an official ruling on whether they could include it in the game or not. At the risk of playing coy, I’ll simply say the line did stay in, and you can hear it for yourself if you listen to the late-game banter in which Isabela teases Aveline about married life with Donnic.

Is there anything you hope that people will take from the book?

That DA2 is worth a second look, even if you’ve dismissed it in the past! It’s got charming rogues, disaster bisexuals, dive bars, witty banter, found family, Kate Mulgrew, and a dog who doesn’t take up an entire party slot in combat. There might even be a dragon or two. What’s not to love?

Now  for the questions that Dragon Age fans want answered! Who's your canon Hawke?

My first playthrough was a female warrior Hawke, and it remains my favorite. As for personality, purple/snarky Hawke, of course! Can you believe that every dialogue branch in this game comes with not just the standard “be nice” or “be blunt” options, but also a third “be funny” option? Real life goals.

Who did you romance?

As male Hawke, I romanced Fenris. But as female Hawke, despite repeat playthroughs, I never end up romancing anyone, because I’m devoted to the idea of Hawke secretly being in a relationship with Varric. Which, naturally, couldn’t be a real option in the game, because Varric is desperately trying to conceal the fact from his interrogators.

Which companions form your favorite party?

Varric is pretty much a permanent fixture in my party, and I usually round things out with Isabela and Merrill. Partly because they’re all fairly easygoing companions, which is nice when I’m trying to build friendships instead of rivalries, and partly because I enjoy Merrill and Isabela’s banter conversations so much. Admittedly, combat balance is not our strong suit, but is that really all that impor—oh, whoops, Isabela’s unconscious again. When was my last save?

Read a free chapter from the book now at Aftermath, and then pick up a copy of the book!