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What's the benefit of romances

BlackageddonBlackageddon Member Posts: 4
in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
Is there any reward doing the romances in BGII EE?
Is it possible to do all of the romances, or do you complete only one?
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Comments

  • jsavingjsaving Member Posts: 1,083
    Minimal reward and you can only do one.
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 6,002
    jsaving wrote: »
    Minimal reward and you can only do one.

    infact, worse yet, if your partner gets infected with;
    vampirism

    that character is going to lose out on a WHOLE bunch of XP as well

    the only benefit of a romance is that its a neat RP game play element, other than that, notta
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    edited January 2020
    You can only do one romance in the unmodded game, as sooner or later other potential love interests will force you to choose who to pursue further, and who to break it off with.

    There's minor rewards for some romances, such as e.g. a Ring of Wizardry looted from one of the enemies involved in Jaheira's romance, or the Dark Elven Chain from an enemy in Viconia's romance.

    None of the rewards are particularly gamebreaking, though, and romance is mostly for the RP rather than tangible rewards.

    If you want to be a polyamorous paramour and entertain the entire squad at once, you'll have to resort to mods.

    There's also a (less detailed) NPC-to-NPC romance that can spark between
    Haer'Dalis and Aerie.
    It may lead to some love triangle dialogue if you're also wooing her.
  • ChiricoChirico Member Posts: 15
    edited January 2020
    For what it’s worth (and I personally think it’s worth quite a bit, but I’m speaking only of my personal preference), in addition to being what I think is a great story in its own right, Jaheira's Shadows of Amn romance earns
    100,000 quest XP on completion (one of the biggest such rewards in SoA if memory serves), and with the best outcome, Jaheira gets the Harper Pin, with +5 to Spell Saving Throws.
  • ilduderinoilduderino Member Posts: 773
    edited January 2020
    I agree with Chirico, Jaheira romance gives a nice item and a wadge of xp, the romance itself also gives some good items from battles you fight but wow the romance is (or was) buggy, takes forever and foreknowledge helps as to when to rest outside, wait etc
  • BlackageddonBlackageddon Member Posts: 4
    Thanks for all the replies.
    At the moment Viconia is in my party and the romance dialogues have started.
    However, I'm playing a "good" party, and have to kick her out in favour of Keldorn.
    Since the romance will end by doing this, I was afraid I had to play through the romance to not lose out on anything.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    You will loose a couple of good battles and the hottest romance, but not much more of that, unless you play a good oriented party with viconia
    in ToB is even possible to have her change her alignment
    But without an useful inquisitor.
  • ChiricoChirico Member Posts: 15
    Zaxares wrote: »
    (Jaheira's romance gives a whopping 100k XP, as Chirico mentions, as well as bonus XP for the PC himself if he's also Good-aligned.)
    This last I hadn’t heard before. But I usually play Neutral protagonists, so I wasn’t likely to find out on my own in the foreseeable future. Another reminder of just how much there is to these games. Thanks.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @Blackageddon You'll just miss out on an emotionally abusive and manipulative relationship. So don't feel bad about dumping her.
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    Personally I quite like the Viconia romance precisely BECAUSE it's so different. She's a drow, she can't help her upbringing. Adjusting her emotional state to the needs of another is not something that comes easy to her. Exploring that was very interesting to me.
  • BlackageddonBlackageddon Member Posts: 4
    I really see the charm in the different romances.
    It gives the game depths and "colors".
    Still, I've been trying to play through the BG's since the release back in the days more or less, but never quite made it. Basically because I've had a tight schedule since late 90's.
    I can only play the game for like 30 minutes a day on my mobile, between the different appointments and commitments.
    Because of this, I'm trying to go through the game doing _most_ of the different quests and still follow the storyline.
    However, from where I stand at the moment, I wont start a new game anytime soon as I've still got NWN and IWD to play through...
    Arrrrhhh what a hassle.... All in the name of nostalgia...
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,330
    Chirico wrote: »
    This last I hadn’t heard before. But I usually play Neutral protagonists, so I wasn’t likely to find out on my own in the foreseeable future. Another reminder of just how much there is to these games. Thanks.

    Upon reflection, I think that the deciding factor may actually be your Reputation rather than your alignment. My party basically hovered around 18+ most of the time. If I remember correctly from looking at the romance dialog files, the bonus XP for Gorion's Ward is basically given out if Terminsel would approve of you, so to speak.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Lord_Tansheron wrote: »
    Personally I quite like the Viconia romance precisely BECAUSE it's so different. She's a drow, she can't help her upbringing. Adjusting her emotional state to the needs of another is not something that comes easy to her. Exploring that was very interesting to me.

    Abusive relationships don't work the way the game shows though. An abuser is somebody that you need to break off with asap. They don't just turn around and suddenly everything is okay. Trying to "fix" them is a real common way people get trapped in abusive cycles.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    Lord_Tansheron wrote: »
    Personally I quite like the Viconia romance precisely BECAUSE it's so different. She's a drow, she can't help her upbringing. Adjusting her emotional state to the needs of another is not something that comes easy to her. Exploring that was very interesting to me.

    Abusive relationships don't work the way the game shows though. An abuser is somebody that you need to break off with asap. They don't just turn around and suddenly everything is okay. Trying to "fix" them is a real common way people get trapped in abusive cycles.

    @ThacoBell your points of view towards Viconia's romance have been discussed at length in this post :

    https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/65343/romance-viconia-or-jaheria

    Well, as for the OP I think that Romances add as much as they would in a PnP Rpg , which is further character development. In PnP if you just level up and explore dungeons you might get bored with your character after a while , on the other hand friendships and romances make you feel that he or she is more alive, thus making the roleplaying experience more rewarding.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @DJKajuru And I will discuss it whenever it comes up. The way the game portrays abusive relationships isn't just a taste thing, its downright dangerous if any players try to "fix" a real life "Viconia."

    As for romances in general, I love em. Character interaction is my favorite part of any narrative, and romances give a great look into another side of your companions.
  • SkitiaSkitia Member Posts: 1,088
    In fairness, I think most can differentiate fantasy from reality, where in one world you can make huge adjustments, we know that isn't as easily the case in real life.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    @DJKajuru And I will discuss it whenever it comes up. The way the game portrays abusive relationships isn't just a taste thing, its downright dangerous if any players try to "fix" a real life "Viconia."

    As for romances in general, I love em. Character interaction is my favorite part of any narrative, and romances give a great look into another side of your companions.

    And I won't try to stop you from doing so, but what about Dorn's romance? Bg npc's Project Coran Romance? Safana's SoD romance? They're all selfish pricks as well but it doesnt mean that people play them because they appreciate toxic relationships. In fact, I'll either romance them or bid them farewell based on how I would roleplay my character.
  • IseweinIsewein Member Posts: 578
    edited January 2020
    In real life, there are no clear cut black and white boundaries between abusive and healthy relationships. I would argue Jaheira falls on that spectrum as well, by the way, but that may be my interpretation of the character. Viconia's turn may be unlikely, but far less so than the vast majority of other power of love stories we have been telling each other for millennia. Personally, I find troubled relationships such as hers much more interesting to explore in fiction than the standard blissful couple threatened only by external tragedy, but to each their own. :) That's why we have mods like Kelsey, Sarah, Isra, etc., I suppose.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,093
    Other than Jaheira, who only needs a few minor tweaks IMO, the romances are kind of bad. Aerie is ridiculous, Anomen is, well, yeah... I haven't tried Viconia's, because I always play good-aligned parties, so no comment on that one.

    However, Isra is exceptionally well done IMO, and while I haven't completed it, so far Sirene is very well written too. When done well, it adds a lot of flavor to the game. I know, at least for me, my last run was vastly more fun with Isra as a love interest for my female mage PC.
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    Don't forget Saerileth, the best-written, most realistic mod romance out there.
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    @DJKajuru And I will discuss it whenever it comes up. The way the game portrays abusive relationships isn't just a taste thing, its downright dangerous if any players try to "fix" a real life "Viconia."

    As for romances in general, I love em. Character interaction is my favorite part of any narrative, and romances give a great look into another side of your companions.

    people know they can't fix a person like that in real life but they can in a video game. theres a difference between fiction and reality.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    megamike15 wrote: »
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    @DJKajuru And I will discuss it whenever it comes up. The way the game portrays abusive relationships isn't just a taste thing, its downright dangerous if any players try to "fix" a real life "Viconia."

    As for romances in general, I love em. Character interaction is my favorite part of any narrative, and romances give a great look into another side of your companions.

    people know they can't fix a person like that in real life but they can in a video game. theres a difference between fiction and reality.

    That not everyone distinguishes between. Especially when the character interaction is fairly realistic compared to the rest of the game's fantastic elements. Especially if the game is played at a young age. I've seen enough people wish for a real girlfriend like Viconia over the years to know better.
  • SkitiaSkitia Member Posts: 1,088
    edited January 2020
    Maurvir wrote: »
    Other than Jaheira, who only needs a few minor tweaks IMO, the romances are kind of bad. Aerie is ridiculous, Anomen is, well, yeah... I haven't tried Viconia's, because I always play good-aligned parties, so no comment on that one.

    One difference I note between mod NPCs and the Bioware ones, the Bioware ones are like broken birds, and have more of that internal conflict going on. Mod NPCs have more external conflict going on. I actually am more with Isewein and like the Bioware ones for that very fact, they develop very strongly from one point to another, and very few mod NPCs have that same level of growth, which is why Aerie is a favorite for me. I'm not sure about the Beamdog ones, I've never played any of their romances yet, though I want to try Rasaad's.

    Isra and Sirene have similar styles, so if you like one, you'll definitely like the other. They're probably the model I am going to use for inspiration in terms of romance, they don't get too steamy, weird, or cringy, and their writing is enjoyable to read.
    Lord_Tansheron wrote: »
    Don't forget Saerileth, the best-written, most realistic mod romance out there.

    I've only ever read the dialogue from the mod files for this mod and never played it, but it honestly has potential to be quite decent with revisions. If we're talking strictly romance, I would rate Rjali's romance lower. It makes just about every character it crossmods with (Petsy, Sirene, Bioware NPCs) and really destroys their character for cringey M-rated scenes, and I'm not sure if many mod authors would be okay with that. I'd rather play Saerileth over that mod.

    In fact one thing that is a shame Saerileth's makers didn't do is make more use of that feedback. It is hard to get feedback on NPC mods in 2020, let alone downloads, and I would take feedback on anything, even the most brutal, to make my mods better, which are far from perfect. Thus, I wish I started years ago rather than in 2019, but am still happy I finished anything at all.

  • ChiricoChirico Member Posts: 15
    Zaxares wrote: »
    Upon reflection, I think that the deciding factor may actually be your Reputation rather than your alignment. My party basically hovered around 18+ most of the time. If I remember correctly from looking at the romance dialog files, the bonus XP for Gorion's Ward is basically given out if Terminsel would approve of you, so to speak.
    I see. I play non-Evil aligned parties, and typically reach and maintain similar Reputation levels by the time it becomes relevant to this storyline, enough at least that Jaheira gets her best outcome. And I have yet to receive an additional XP award, so far as I can recall offhand. I’ll keep an eye out the next time I’m in that part of the game.
  • jsavingjsaving Member Posts: 1,083
    You do eventually receive an XP reward and a Harper pin that would have been quite helpful at character creation. But Jaheira's plotline is so poorly designed time-wise that most players never actually reach the concluding Terminsel encounter, and even if you do, the XP reward barely offsets the huge time investment that might have been better spent pressing the rest button in an XP-rich part of the game. I typically pick her anyway because I like the character but wouldn't encourage anyone to make that choice just because they've heard there is an XP reward and a Harper pin at the end of the journey.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,093
    Well, part of the issue with Jaheira is that she did have a pretty traumatic event that, frankly, makes the whole romance ridiculous beyond measure. Stretching it out at least retains a shred of credulity, but, as you point out, means that a lot of people never get to the end of it.
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    i think the main issue with Jaheira's romance is it starts going around i want to say talk 4 or 5. and thats way to soon if your playing at a certain pace.
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    edited January 2020
    megamike15 wrote: »
    i think the main issue with Jaheira's romance is it starts going around i want to say talk 4 or 5. and thats way to soon if your playing at a certain pace.
    Totally within canon, if you count the novel ;)

    IIRC, there she starts the romance while Khalid is still alive. And in the party.
  • AerieAerie Member Posts: 226
    Jaheira's romance is soo overrated and broken.

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