5. Romancing The Varric
BioWareDragon Age II may not have been the strongest BioWare game to-date but it at least it offered up a smattering of memorable companion characters to make the repetitive, dreary areas less dull. Of these companion characters, none was more compelling than Varric. This characters significance in the game cannot be understated; indeed, the entirety of Dragon Age II is shown through the lens of Varics questioning at the hands of the Seekers. It is because of this pivotal role in the games story that it came as no surprise to learn that Varric would be returning for the third instalment in the series. He may be a surface dwarf but the crossbow-wielding rogue is so unlike any other fantasy dwarf that he is immediately conspicuous to the player. The idea of a beardless dwarf by no means finds its genesis in Varric Bioware themselves featured a clean-shaven dwarf, Grimgnaw, in Neverwinter Nights nearly a decade before the release of Dragon Age II. However, it is Varrics memorable charisma and word-weaving which really differentiates him from other mountain-dwellers. With the recent revelation announced by one of the games writers, David Gaider, that outcast mage Dorian would be the developers first legitimately gay character, the internet has been flooded with rumours that the more developed sexualities of Inquisitons characters would mean that Varric becomes a romance option. Though this would definitely be hilarious to experience, the dwarf has made it clear that his crossbow, fittingly given the female name of Bianca, is the only partner for him.