Changes: Bianca

Revision as of 05:08, 7 July 2015

This article is about the crossbow. For the dwarf, see Bianca Davri. For upgrades, see Bianca Upgrades.

Bianca is Varric's signature crossbow. It is made by carved-wood stock and adorned with brass embellishments. During melee combat, a retractable bayonet slides out of a slot under the bolt.

Background

Varric's crossbow is a marvel of dwarven craftsmanship, clearly the work of a master. However, she bears no smith's mark.

When asked how he procured the weapon, Varric has a few claims. He could have won it in a game of Wicked Grace against Paragon Branka, it could've been a gift from a mysterious old beggar who disappeared into thin air, and it's possible he bought it off a crooked merchant in Lowtown with the previous owner's hand still wrapped around the trigger.

None of those explanations is very likely and continued questioning simply results in Varric grinning and walking away.

—From Codex entry: Bianca

When asked about the story behind how Bianca got her name, he replies that it involves a girl and a promise, and that it is the one story that he can never tell. Bianca is the name of Varric's unseen and mentioned dwarven lover. He has put the story to song, but will not sing it, instead humming the tune during battle.

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age II.

During the events of Legacy DLC, Hawke meets Gerav, Varric's old Carta acquaintance who tried to design a repeating crossbow before, but has to kill him upon discovering that he had been driven insane by the darkspawn taint. Afterwards, Varric explains that it was Gerav who built Bianca – his first and only design to actually work.

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Until We Sleep.

During Varric's nightmare when trapped in the Fade as a result of shooting the Magrallen, his signature crossbow is revealed to have been named after its real designer and Varric's old flame, Bianca Davri.

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Inquisition.

After the Inquisitor encounters Bianca Davri in person during Varric's personal sidequest, Varric will reluctantly reveal why he never told anyone about his crossbow's real inventor and even lied to Hawke about it being built by Gerav. Since many underworld powers would want to acquire the secret of the repeating crossbow design, Varric judged that it would be safer for the real Bianca if he publicly claimed that his weapon was invented by a mad Carta engineer who has long since passed away.

Trivia

Bianca is called as such "because Mirabelle was taken". This is a reference to BioWare's Jade Empire, in which a powerful musket called Mirabelle can be acquired.^[1]
From a real-world perspective, Bianca is named after a young woman looking for true love in "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare.^[2]
There is a longbow with the Absolution model named Bianca in Dragon Age II game files (item code gen_im_wep_rog_arc_lore_03).
Bianca is the only usable crossbow in Dragon Age II and Dragon Age Inquisition.

References

↑ In an interview with Gamespot, Mike Laidlaw notes that "...nor will he ever tell you how Bianca got her name except to say Mirabelle was taken, and the really old-school BioWare fans will get that."
↑ Kirby, Mary. "Varric Tethras: Chest Hair & Dwarven Goodness 2.0 **Finest Dwarven Craft**". BioWare Social Network. Retrieved 2011-04-16.

[1] In an interview with Gamespot, Mike Laidlaw notes that "...nor will he ever tell you how Bianca got her name except to say Mirabelle was taken, and the really old-school BioWare fans will get that."

[2] Kirby, Mary. "Varric Tethras: Chest Hair & Dwarven Goodness 2.0 **Finest Dwarven Craft**". BioWare Social Network. Retrieved 2011-04-16.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{About|the crossbow|the dwarf|Bianca Davri|upgrades|Bianca Upgrades}}
+{{Missing info|info from WoT2 detailing real origins of the crossbow}}
 <onlyinclude>{{ItemTransformer
@@ Line 10: / Line 11: @@
 |icon        = Crossbow red DA2.png
 |material    = Red Cedar
-|damage      = 5 + 5.38 * LVL physical damage
+|damage      = 5 + 5.38 * LVL physical damage <small>(''Dragon Age II'')</small><br>45 <small>(''Dragon Age: Inquisition'')</small>
+|runes       = 1 or 4 <small>(''Dragon Age II'')</small><br>1 <small>(''Dragon Age: Inquisition'')</small>
-|runes       = 1 or 4
 |requires    = [[Varric Tethras]]
 |stats       = see [[Bianca Upgrades]]
@@ Line 36: / Line 37: @@
 * Bianca is called as such "because Mirabelle was taken". This is a reference to BioWare's ''[[w:c:jadeempire:Jade Empire|Jade Empire]],'' in which a powerful musket called [[w:c:jadeempire:Mirabelle|Mirabelle]] can be acquired.<ref>In [http://www.gamespot.com/shows/now-playing/?event=now_playing_dragon_age_ii20110222 an interview with Gamespot], Mike Laidlaw notes that "...nor will he ever tell you how Bianca got her name except to say Mirabelle was taken, and the really old-school BioWare fans will get that."</ref>
 * From a real-world perspective, Bianca is named after a young woman looking for true love in "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare.<ref>Kirby, Mary. [http://social.bioware.com/unofficial%20http:/social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/4458888/352#5346144 "Varric Tethras: Chest Hair & Dwarven Goodness 2.0 **Finest Dwarven Craft**"]. BioWare Social Network. Retrieved 2011-04-16. </ref>
-* There is a longbow with the [[Absolution]] model named Bianca in game files (item code ''gen_im_wep_rog_arc_lore_03'').
+* There is a longbow with the [[Absolution]] model named Bianca in ''Dragon Age II'' game files (item code ''gen_im_wep_rog_arc_lore_03'').
 * Bianca is the only usable crossbow in ''Dragon Age II ''and'' Dragon Age Inquisition''.
-* Using console commands to add another Bianca to the game for any other companion besides Varric results in a non-appearing weapon for its user.
 == References ==