The first time through, I romanced Aerie, because she was the first one outside the canon party that I met, and I thought Jaheira was annoying. I enjoyed the ease of the relationship with Aerie, which appealed to my sensibilities as a 15-year-old boy who was having difficulties in my own romantic life.
A few years later, I played through it again, and this time I pursued Jaheira. I forced myself to let go of my preconceptions about her character (that she was annoying and overbearing, a holdover from BG1) - and I was pleasantly surprised by the result. Her character development was strong, and offered plenty of story content, and ended with her receiving a unique character-specific item. I couldn't have been happier with the results.
I have yet to play through BG2 as an evil character, or as a character who would want Viconia around at all. I've heard her romance is good, but I just haven't given it a chance yet. With Aerie (Cleric/Mage) and Jaheira (Fighter/Druid) in my party, adding Viconia (straight-up Cleric) into the mix always seems a mite irresponsible.
Maybe next time, though, if I play as a spellcaster. I'll pick up Jan, and ditch Aerie for Viconia, and see where it takes me.
...so, I went mod crazy and played the good the bad and the ugly, and prefer not to be judged, but:
Kivan, Kelsey, Haer'dalis, Nalia, Aerie, Jaheira, Anomen, Nathaniel, Tsujatha, Saerileth, Ajantis, Arath, Darian Fade, Faren, Tasha and Solafein have all been in my party and romanced to some extent.
I liked Kivan. I also appreciated the Imoen-Kelsey side romance. They were cute.
Anomen...was so nasty, then he gets better, but still not great. Haer'dalis seems good for Aerie, trying to get her to be stronger and more confident.
The first time I played BG2, I immediately went for as much of a melee party as I could get aside from one mage (Imoen/Nalia). So that meant Keldorn, Minsc, Valygar, and Anomen. Thanks to that, I hadn't a clue that romances existed.
...so, I went mod crazy and played the good the bad and the ugly, and prefer not to be judged, but:
Kivan, Kelsey, Haer'dalis, Nalia, Aerie, Jaheira, Anomen, Nathaniel, Tsujatha, Saerileth, Ajantis, Arath, Darian Fade, Faren, Tasha and Solafein have all been in my party and romanced to some extent.
I liked Kivan. I also appreciated the Imoen-Kelsey side romance. They were cute.
Anomen...was so nasty, then he gets better, but still not great. Haer'dalis seems good for Aerie, trying to get her to be stronger and more confident.
I like in-party romances, there should be more of them. It seems unfair that only Charname gets to shag some elf chick (or human pig) but the rest of the party remains celibate for the entire adventure. It's a shame Aerie and Haer'dalis didn't work out. Imoen and Kelsey seems like a good fit though, curious about that. Is there a mod for more inter-party romances? Valygar and Nalia? Korgan and Mazzy?
lol, aerie is the easiest (according to everyone i've talked to) but also my favorite. I just can't resist turning away when someone needs help, and i honestly believe that neither of the two really needed you there, except to free jeheria from the cell and viconia from the mob.
I always fancied Imoen... more so now. Especially in BG2. I am disappointed that it isn't included in the game proper. I guess I understand why, she being your half-sister (not even full!) after all but I figure that if the related half is a god it doesn't really count.
Nalia and Viconia were the others... and even Jaheira. Certainly not Aerie.
@unseeyingeye hey, no aerie bashing, she's my favorite, but did you play the imoen romance mod? and lol, i don't really buy into the the half sister thing, since knowing bhaal, probably half the people you meet have a piece of him in them (or did at some point :P )
I usually romance Jaheira. She's as blunt, mean, hard to deal with and annoying as me . For a little more serious note, I like her most because she's neither as needy (at least at the beginning) as Aerie (not that I don't find giving an emotional support as something good) nor as unberable to me as Viconia (since I usually play as a good character).
The first romance I played through was Aerie's. I was 13 years old and the simple do-gooder nature that won her over so easily made it a pretty attractive offer, and it was only later did I recognize how insanely whiney she is. I haven't used her in my party since.
When I revisited the game a couple of years later I experimented with the others. Viconia's romance was well played out and it was fun trying to change her from her psychotic ways but I found her attitude irritating at times. I finished the romance with her on my Human Wizard Slayer and never had her in my party again either.
The last romance I finished was Jaheira's, and I found it the most interesting, from both a canon and a gameplay perspective. I can't really explain why other than that I just like her personality and voice more than the others. Her BG1 portrait that I shadowkeeper'd in is also the most attractive portrait for any of the characters.
Aerie: Always be nice, no matter how annoying her whining gets. Turn her down when she offers herself to you because you care about her. Be nice some more. Profit.
Viconia: Don't be nice, be a douche. Be blunt. Call her out on stuff. This one is the toughest because she's so moody.
Jaheira: Be polite and stand firm in your beliefs, and agree with her on matters of balance and such. It's not too difficult; I finished this romance without a hitch even though I insulted the harpers every chance I got.
As a female pc, Anomen was the only option in an unmodded game, and I didn't know there were mods until, oh, now. I hope that in the enhanced edition of Shadows of Amn, they add at least one more male love interest. I played a male paladin once and romanced Viconia, just because I thought it would be funny and because I wanted to try for the alignment switch. Funny enough, in a game where the Anomen romance broke on me, I talked to Sarevok enough to get his alignment to switch. It was never flirty, but I was never able to do it again, which was weird.
lol, aerie is the easiest (according to everyone i've talked to) but also my favorite. I just can't resist turning away when someone needs help, and i honestly believe that neither of the two really needed you there, except to free jeheria from the cell and viconia from the mob.
I'm a gnomish Illusionist/cleric. So given my race I'm pretty happy to get anyone. Not even a badass gnomish barbarian can get Viconia or Jaheira interested in them. I don't play the game modded too.
I don't mind getting rid of the racial requirements (within reason) but don't turn off the sexual. When is say within reason, viconia is an outcast drow, she's still picky, but i don't know her response to a gnome. Jahera on the other hand, i get rid of most any race requirement because you comfort her though her loss, and there would deffinatly be a romantic spark there. If she can see past the hole 'she's mentoring you (many say mothering but i never got that feel)', she should be able to get over most anything.
Viconia. I preferred her because she had own desires, opinions, and standards. Though I didn't appreciate having to be callous to draw her attention, I did appreciate being honest with her - I never had to lie about the quest, our chances of survival, and or my plans for the future. She respected me for who I was, and I did the same for her.
Jaheira is... recently widowed. Something moral is forcing me to allow her space, and time to adjust. Khalid was my friend. He died on MY adventure - because of ME. I could never replace him, not in Jaheira's heart, and not in my own. I only hope that Jaheira found her own peace without me.
Aerie is a child. She needs time to grow up, or good role models for advice and parenting I can't provide. I can't even think about her in a romantic fashion - its impossible. Like Merrill in Dragon Age 2, she is too young for her years.
Anomen is a dull and lifeless creation - a wet blanket and a soggy piece of toast. His opinions and personality are arbitrary and not insightful and he's completely malleable to the events of his life. He is an arrogant adolescent who garners no sympathy. Keldorn, a warrior of greater virtue and longer years of service, shows that the rigors of a bloody but monastic life need not contain your spirit and your exuberance. There is no excuse for Anomen's plain behavior and uninspired dialogue. I see nothing loveable about him, a fact of which, if he was aware, would do nothing to change him, as he is essentially without personality.
I'll always be a fan of Jaheira. I like that a relationship with her evolves overtime, as you've potentially been traveling with her since the beginning of BG1 and actually have time to get to know one another. I consider it a bit more realistic in that sense. She's also a strong woman, which I personally find very appealing.
Since it's new, though, I'll probably try out the wild mage in EE.
As a gnome, Aerie was the only option. But, actually, she would probably be the one I'd pick anyway. For BG:EE, I hope to use the concurrent romance mod and mod that removes racial restrictions to romances to check out the others.
Aerie for me, followed closely by Viconia. On over 30 playthroughs of BG2 I've never managed to complete a Jaheira romance because she is just so infuriating.
It's funny that everyone calls Aerie the whiny one, personally I found Jaheira to be far more whiny and irritating. She keeps blubbing on about Khalid, preaching about morals that contradict her actions, bringing the mood down with her interjections. I found her to be such a drag.
I always play girls, and I can't stand Anomen. I am really really looking forward to Dorn and that monk guy. Oh god I can already see my poor Bhaalspawn falling for the asshole half-orc. >_<
In BG2 I always went for mods. Angelo for BG2 is a fantastic mod which I would recommend to anyone, even if you don't want to romance him. Hell you can even hit on him if you are a guy, although he'll turn you down. My personal favorite is Sarevok in ToB, I got to beta test that mod when it was being made and it is my all time favorite.
@EpitomyofShyness That Angelo mod I always found to be a rather strange experience. At first I was totally repulsed by the idea of having him in my party, as at that point I viewed him as an absolute arsehole smug snake who killed off Scar (One of my favorite npc's who isn't in your party for some strange reason) but then I read a fanfic out there somewhere that really humanized his character and gave him plenty of redeeming qualities and lo and behold, the same author had also written the mod.
As for who I love I nearly alway's use modded romances as I've done the main ones to death (My favourite being either Viconia or Aerie.) and my two favorites so far are the Naila and Yoshimo romance mod's, though the latter hinges on whether you like MAJOR downer ending's or not!
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A few years later, I played through it again, and this time I pursued Jaheira. I forced myself to let go of my preconceptions about her character (that she was annoying and overbearing, a holdover from BG1) - and I was pleasantly surprised by the result. Her character development was strong, and offered plenty of story content, and ended with her receiving a unique character-specific item. I couldn't have been happier with the results.
I have yet to play through BG2 as an evil character, or as a character who would want Viconia around at all. I've heard her romance is good, but I just haven't given it a chance yet. With Aerie (Cleric/Mage) and Jaheira (Fighter/Druid) in my party, adding Viconia (straight-up Cleric) into the mix always seems a mite irresponsible.
Maybe next time, though, if I play as a spellcaster. I'll pick up Jan, and ditch Aerie for Viconia, and see where it takes me.
Kivan, Kelsey, Haer'dalis, Nalia, Aerie, Jaheira, Anomen, Nathaniel, Tsujatha, Saerileth, Ajantis, Arath, Darian Fade, Faren, Tasha and Solafein have all been in my party and romanced to some extent.
I liked Kivan. I also appreciated the Imoen-Kelsey side romance. They were cute.
Anomen...was so nasty, then he gets better, but still not great. Haer'dalis seems good for Aerie, trying to get her to be stronger and more confident.
It's a shame Aerie and Haer'dalis didn't work out. Imoen and Kelsey seems like a good fit though, curious about that.
Is there a mod for more inter-party romances? Valygar and Nalia? Korgan and Mazzy?
Nalia and Viconia were the others... and even Jaheira. Certainly not Aerie.
When I revisited the game a couple of years later I experimented with the others. Viconia's romance was well played out and it was fun trying to change her from her psychotic ways but I found her attitude irritating at times. I finished the romance with her on my Human Wizard Slayer and never had her in my party again either.
The last romance I finished was Jaheira's, and I found it the most interesting, from both a canon and a gameplay perspective. I can't really explain why other than that I just like her personality and voice more than the others. Her BG1 portrait that I shadowkeeper'd in is also the most attractive portrait for any of the characters.
Viconia: Don't be nice, be a douche. Be blunt. Call her out on stuff. This one is the toughest because she's so moody.
Jaheira: Be polite and stand firm in your beliefs, and agree with her on matters of balance and such. It's not too difficult; I finished this romance without a hitch even though I insulted the harpers every chance I got.
Jaheira is... recently widowed. Something moral is forcing me to allow her space, and time to adjust. Khalid was my friend. He died on MY adventure - because of ME. I could never replace him, not in Jaheira's heart, and not in my own. I only hope that Jaheira found her own peace without me.
Aerie is a child. She needs time to grow up, or good role models for advice and parenting I can't provide. I can't even think about her in a romantic fashion - its impossible. Like Merrill in Dragon Age 2, she is too young for her years.
Anomen is a dull and lifeless creation - a wet blanket and a soggy piece of toast. His opinions and personality are arbitrary and not insightful and he's completely malleable to the events of his life. He is an arrogant adolescent who garners no sympathy. Keldorn, a warrior of greater virtue and longer years of service, shows that the rigors of a bloody but monastic life need not contain your spirit and your exuberance. There is no excuse for Anomen's plain behavior and uninspired dialogue. I see nothing loveable about him, a fact of which, if he was aware, would do nothing to change him, as he is essentially without personality.
Since it's new, though, I'll probably try out the wild mage in EE.
It's funny that everyone calls Aerie the whiny one, personally I found Jaheira to be far more whiny and irritating. She keeps blubbing on about Khalid, preaching about morals that contradict her actions, bringing the mood down with her interjections. I found her to be such a drag.
In BG2 I always went for mods. Angelo for BG2 is a fantastic mod which I would recommend to anyone, even if you don't want to romance him. Hell you can even hit on him if you are a guy, although he'll turn you down. My personal favorite is Sarevok in ToB, I got to beta test that mod when it was being made and it is my all time favorite.
As for who I love I nearly alway's use modded romances as I've done the main ones to death (My favourite being either Viconia or Aerie.) and my two favorites so far are the Naila and Yoshimo romance mod's, though the latter hinges on whether you like MAJOR downer ending's or not!