Do you need to have played dragon age origins 1 to understand dagon age 2?

I've recently just watched Filicia Day's Dragon Age: Redemption, and thought it was amazing! So for dragon age origins, do you need to play the first one to understand what is going on in the second one? Just because the second one is the most up to date so I would probably get that one, or are they completely different stories? I've never played either before as you can probably tell. Thank-you! RachelxxxDo you need to have played dragon age origins 1 to understand dagon age 2?
No, you can understand DA2 just fine without playing DAO. There are a few neat little references to the first game, though, plus some old characters show up.

In my opinion, even though you don't have to, you should still play them in order. DAO gives you a HUGE understanding of the way the world works. The status of the mages, the Dalish, elves in general, etc. Plus, once you complete DAO, you can upload all the decisions (and believe me, there are a LOT of unique decisions that have impact on the second game) when creating your character in DA2, so that all the things you made happen in the first game apply in the second, and characters react to this, personally I got all nostalgic but that's just me.

Also: If you do play DAO, download the expansion Awakening, since there's a further three very important characters you meet there who are in DA2, plus there's a few more things that impact, and also it's just a fun game in general, consideing it's a DLC.

DAO is my favourite game, ever, and I strongly recommend you play it before DA2. Even though it's not necessary, if you want to get the best out of the series, that's the way to go.

Ps: Hope you enjoy it!