Character Profile: Varric

[DRAGON AGE]: Varric is back! That's the good news, but what kind of trouble has he gotten himself into this time?

[MARY KIRBY]: Remember in Dragon Age II how Varric was being interrogated by Cassandra, who was working with Leliana and a large number of folks wearing eyeball symbols?

[DA]: Of course.

[MK]: That was the fledgling Inquisition. Divine Justinia V had questions, and Varric was the guy with all the answers.

[DA]: Ah, so his reputation preceded him. Do you think he's starting to regret that?

[MK]: Well, in Inquisition, he's still answering a lot of pointed questions. If he hadn't already figured this out at the start of his meeting with Cassandra, he's definitely finding out now that sometimes it's not so good to be the guy connected to every part of the story.

[DA]: After all that Varric has endured—being betrayed by his brother and interrogated by Cassandra spring to mind—are things finally starting to look up for the poor guy?

[MK]: In Inquisition, things are definitely worse for Varric in just about every possible way. He's hundreds of miles from home.  Not a friend in sight. And the things that are happening around him are apocalyptic. 

[DA]: Varric just can't seem to catch a break.

[MK]: Remember, this was the guy who found the Wounded Coast too far out of his comfort zone. Snark and wild stories are all that's going to get him through this ordeal.

[DA]: Varric's trademark charm is probably his most visible quality, but what would we see if we dug a little deeper?

[MK]: Thedas knows him primarily as a storyteller, but Varric is first and foremost extremely loyal. He tells stories to rewrite events he's lived through and make them less senseless, the people in them more inspirational, and to drag some meaning out of the mess that surrounds people he cares about. It doesn't always work. But at least he's turned Cassandra into a Hawke fan. That's something.

[DA]: He seems to have a way with words that keeps him out of unnecessary altercations.

[MK]: Varric would always prefer to talk his way out of trouble. He isn't as enthusiastic about leaping into battle as Cassandra or the Iron Bull. But he's completely confident in Bianca and her ability to get him out of any fight in one piece, and he's always willing to show off. He loves an audience, and he especially loves making everyone around him envious of Bianca.

[DA]: Since this is your second go-around as Varric's writer, is there anything that you're particularly pleased to have written for him?

[MK]: I got to write my favorite scene of the entire Dragon Age series this time. It may involve a game of Wicked Grace. I won't spoil it.

[DA]: Varric is one of the more popular characters among the Dragon Age community. He's a pretty easy guy to get along with, but how does he fare with his new travel companions in Inquisition?

[MK]: Varric will at least try to get along with most people in the Inquisition. People who are not Cassandra, anyway.

[DA]: Oh?

[MK]: He's still kind of bitter about that whole "book-stabbing interrogation" incident.