Follower overview: Varinia - Omni-guides/Tuxborn GitHub Wiki

‼️ This follower is available only in the Tuxborn 1.2 beta build. So all info on this page is relevant only to players using that build. Content here will be subject to updates as testing on the beta continues. ‼️

Varinia is an Imperial ex-spy who will seek to join forces with you if you speak to her in Candlehearth Hall in Windhelm. She's another follower by the same modder who created Remiel! So if you enjoy Remiel, you might want to give Varinia a look.

More information about Varinia can be found at her page on Nexus.

Where and when to recruit her

Varinia's initial location is on the upper floor of Candlehearth Hall. After a brief conversation, she'll ask to speak to you privately in Windhelm's Hall of the Dead. Assuming you choose the appropriate dialogue paths, she will then become your follower.

There is no known level requirement for recruiting Varinia. So if you happen to start your game near Windhelm (for example, if you take the Left for Dead start and you spawn near Steamcrag Camp), you can pick her up pretty much out of the gate.

How to summon her

As per her page on Nexus, Varinia has three crows you can use to call her to you. This feature is not available immediately; you'll probably need to interact with Varinia for a bit before you unlock it.

Best follower use

Since Varinia has been working as a spy, she has a talent for picking up rumors and even knowing things that can help you get through vanilla quests faster. So players long familiar with vanilla quest content might want to take advantage of this.

Playtests of Varinia in our load order showed her primarily using frost magic in combat. So she's an option to consider if you want a mage follower.

Level of commentary to you

Varinia is on record as having around 1,500 lines, and this will include commentary to you. She does have an option though that will reduce how many idle lines she'll throw, in which case you'll need to talk to her directly to get her opinions on current events.

Level of commentary about main quest, side quests, factions, and mods

Varinia's Nexus page says she's able to respond to the following vanilla quests:

• Main Quest
• Faction Quests
  • College of Winterhold
  • The Dark Brotherhood
  • Thieves' Guild
  • Companions
• Daedric Quests
  • Discerning the Transmundane
  • The Whispering Door

Her creator also says:

She is aware of all the usual stuff followers are aware of: Cities and towns, weather, and time.

In general, Varinia is a newer follower than Remiel, and she has fewer recorded lines than Remiel does. So the scope of what she can comment on is narrower than what Remiel can cover. If you like less talkative followers, take this into consideration.

Level of commentary with other followers

Varinia currently has no banter on record with any other followers, including Remiel.

And, given that Varinia and Remiel are created by the same modder, you might wonder if they can talk to each other! Answer: no. Their creator has said on Varinia's page that this is not in her plans for the characters.

With this in mind, Varinia might work best in playthroughs where she's the only active follower.

Some important notes

One: you may be wondering if Varinia and Remiel sound similar, given that they're created by the same modder. Answer: no! Maplespice does vary up her delivery of lines for the two characters.

Two: Varinia has a custom outfit system. She will frequently change out her outfit and what wig she's wearing when you're traveling, as well as when you enter specific types of locations. Whenever she does this, she has a dialogue line to signal the change.

And she does this a lot. The good news is, though, that you can turn this off if it bugs you. She has a dialogue option you can take with her to ask her to stop doing this.

Three: Varinia is a follower of Mephala, and she is not subtle about this. She tells you this point blank in your initial conversation with her, so this isn't exactly a secret.

If you see your Dragonborn as being actively anti-Daedric-Prince, Varinia may not be a good follower choice for you. Be mindful as well that since Varinia does not have any recorded banter with other followers, this also means that you may have some narrative dissonance if you're also running Lydia or Xelzaz, since both of those followers are actively hostile about the Daedric Princes, or at the very least the ones generally considered to be evil.

On the other hand, she might be a good fit for any Dragonborn who is not hostile to the Daedric Princes, especially if you're playing a Dunmer who actively worships the Reclamations (Azura, Boethiah, Mephala).

Four: Varinia cannot be romanced or married.

And five, an advisory, quoted from her creator on Varinia's Nexus page:

This mod deals explicitly with suicidal ideations. The writing handles this as heartfelt as possible, but also very blatantly. Varinia is at best nihilistic. If this is something that triggers you, I'd suggest you pass on this one.

We support this advisory. So take this into consideration as well when deciding if you want Varinia as your follower.