Summary
Varric has always been a fan-favourite forDragon Agefans, but when the wise-cracking Dwarf appeared in promotional material for the upcomingDragon Age: The Veilguardsporting a long mane of hair and a beard, fans went even wilder for him.
Despite his popularity, Varric has never been romanceable in a Dragon Age game. Ex-BioWarecreative director Mike Laidlaw revealed this is partially becauseVarric’s original writer Mary Kirby doesn’t enjoy writing romances, and the team wanted a few companions who weren’t available for romance.
Of course, we know that every companion in Dragon Age: The Veilguard has a full-fledged romance attached to them. Alas, Varric isn’t listed as a companion, though he does at least appear in the game’s opening section of Minrathous.
We’d All Romance Varric If We Could
Corrine Busche (game director), John Epler (creative director), Ali Hillis (voice of Lace Harding) and Ashley Barlow (creative performance director) recentlysat down with GameSpotfor a game of Friend, Romance or Banish, a sort of PG version of another well-known social game.
It went as you’d expect, with the more controversial characters like Solas having more nuanced answers. Epler says he would have to banish Solas because after working on The Veilguard for so long, he sees too much of himself in Elf and “there would be problems.” Busche was unapologetic in her answer, saying “Romance. My Solavellan heart. I can change him.”
There arereturning characterslike Harding and Varric in The Veilguard, and Epler has promised even more. With a decade since the events of Inquisition, we’ve heard nothing of the whereabouts of the Inquisitor. The Solavellan diehards are waiting with bated breath.
When Varric was presented, there was no hesitation from the assembled developers. “Will we say it together?” Hillis says. “Romance,” all four exclaim after a countdown. Dragon Age’s resident storyteller is beloved by both BioWare and the fandom. Epler admits that any relationship with Varric would be open considering his attachment to his crossbow Bianca. However, we saw the potential demise of Varric’s true love in a20-minute gameplay snippetreleased during Summer Game Fest.
There weren’t many calls for banishment besides those for Solas, and since Dragon Age’s second-most controversial companion Anders wasn’t posed as an option, most of the characters were deemed to be strong friendship candidates, namely Lace Harding and Alistair.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard doesn’t have a firm release date yet, but it is expected sometime this Fall.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
