PERSONALITY
Varric is one of the first companions you meet in Kirkwall in Dragon Age II. He shows up just after Hawke has been turned down by his brother Bartrand for an expedition into the Deep Roads, arriving just in time to stop the petty thief who'd just made off with Hawke's coinpouch with a well-aimed and well-timed arrow. Retrieving said pouch with derisive insults towards the failed attempt and then turning on the charm as he gives Hawke the proposition that sets the game in motion, Varric's unintentionally responsible for just about everything that follows for the party.
He doesn't see himself as a major player in these events, however. He's not the type to take center stage in epic tales and grand adventures. Indeed, most times he diminishes his own involvement in favor or embellishing on the companions around him, especially Hawke, who he enjoys spreading impressive tales about all over the city, to anyone who will listen. He's a storyteller, a teller of tales, and his wild imagination only builds on the unbelievable adventures he stumbles into while in Hawke's company.
Varric refers to himself as a "professional younger son" which is a semi-disparaging view of his place in his family and his family's place in the standing of things among his kind. His older brother Bartrand is the head of the house now, making the decisions for the family and the family fortune and Varric is more than happy to let him shoulder that responsibility, preferring to lend his aid in more subtle ways. He does this by playing up his veneer of idle languor in the local pub, where he can often be found drinking and gambling and gossiping. It's all a cover for his real purpose of maintaining a spy network so deeply embedded in Kirkwall that very little happens in the city without him knowing about it. His skill and charm in this area make him an invaluable companion to all his friends because its often his bribes to the guards that keep them unmolested or invisible, or retrieves important pieces of information in the pursuit of their own goals. He is a loyal friend and he is one of the only companions of Hawke to never contemplate leaving, no matter what decisions the hero makes.
He has a quick wit and a charming personality, often the jovial voice of humor no matter what situation they're in. He can often be heard calling taunts and jests out to Hawke and his companions in battle in good humor and competition as they fight. He's known to toss out witty observations about the places they visit or people they encounter, but often includes information Hawke might need in the veneer or humor.
He's modest, to a certain extent. Always very reluctant to take credit for what he does do for his friends. He never wants his legend spreading throughout the city so tends to deflect it off on others around him. And when his companions notice the consequences of his actions and protectiveness, he tends to shrug or laugh it off rather than accepting their gratitude. He is always looking out for the people important to him, however, even when he doesn't like them much. Most of Hawke's companions he's close with, although he tends to have more of a subtle rivalry with Carver and an outright one with Sebastian. The girls he's both charming and protective of, although Aveline requires nothing of the sort and he tells her multiple times that she scares the shit out of him. It doesn't keep him from looking out for any of them though.
Some of his fondness is shown in his tendency to make up nicknames for them. Most of these are given with the fondest of intentions (like Sunshine for Bethany or Daisy for Merrill) or sometimes just to be a pain in the ass (which is why Carver gets Junior and Fenris gets Broody). Aveline is the only one to never get a nickname, something she points out to him once and he tells her he hasn't found an appropriate one yet. Even Hawke gets one at one point, as Varric refers to him as Chudkles at one point, although typically he is just Hawke.
Varric is always telling stories. They're often the talk of Kirkwall and newest installments often spread like wildfire. He's known for writing "Hard in Hightown" and "Swords and Shields" and often his companions make not-so-subtle cameos in his tales. He composes them while adventuring or while nursing an ale at the tavern and it's often commented on in party dialog. Sometimes Isabela gets in on it, especially when there is "friend-fiction" to be written about fellow party members. A particular favorite is a romance about Aveline and her lover in the guard, which the pair write for the sheer sake of scandalizing the warrior. Occasionally they read excerpt out loud in her hearing for added amusement.
While 90% of Varric's personality could be described as "jovial wastrel" and "clever informant", the events that wind around his family are a hard hit to him. It's pointed out that while he isn't particularly close with his brother Bartrand, he's always been loyal to him, standing by his side and supporting him even when he doesn't always think it wise. Bartrand's betrayal in the Deep Roads cut him deeply and set him on a path of revenge for the stab in the back. His Hawke kept him from following through, and in part he can see where the idol was to blame, but it's not something he's found it in himself to forgive just yet.
While he's taken over the family business with Bartrand "indisposed" after being ruined by the idol, he maintains his anonymity and has the family trade registered under a slew of aliases that range from imaginary relatives to pets, preferring to maintain his cover as the useless younger son with no ambition or involvement of his own.
He says of himself that he lies a lot. In fact there's a good chance that most things that come out of his mouth are, at the very least, embellished a bit. He prefers negotiation and charm and diplomacy - even outright blackmail and bribery - over straightforward violence and thuggery, although when diplomacy fails, he's always good to have at your back.
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