NPC romance reviews
energisedcamel
Member Posts: 110
Hi all! So probably no one really cares, but I've decided to try and slowly but surely make my way through all of the romances available for the vanilla NPCs. What I mean by that is, I want to try to all the Bioware romances, all the Beamdog romances and all the mods that cover any of the NPCs that can join the party in the base game (not new mod characters). Ambitious? Yes. Stupid? Probably! But I've been playing this game on and off since they were released when I was a kid, and I've grown pretty attached to the characters.
I know all the cool kids probably think that game romances are lame, but I've always appreciated that they can add that extra element of depth and another emotional tie to the story, when done right. And I love reading and hearing other people’s thoughts about which mods are worth installing, so I thought I’d share my own reviews.
Here's the list of all the characters I believe have some sort of romance, either vanilla or mod:
So pretty much all of them. Good god, why did I decide to do this?! Let me know if I'm missing any! Korgan romance, anyone?
OK, so I'll write a short summary of my feelings, and then provide a bit more detail in spoiler tags. I’ll be using the following criteria to help me review the romances:
A few things to note:
a) I have so, so much respect for anyone who mods and even if a mod gets a lower score, that doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that it’s not to my taste
b) I’m gonna add to the list in the order I play, which depends on what class/game I feel like playing in the moment.
c) I’m a gay man, so that will probably skew my opinions somewhat God damn it, where’s my gay Valygar or Haer’Dalis romance mod, people
Without further waffle...
Rasaad
It was a little thin. The relationship developed too fast, but it also went too slowly because of a noticeable lack of romance talks, which made it feel kind of empty. I wish it had explored his loss of faith a little bit more, specifically why. There also seemed to be a bit of a disconnect between SoD and BG2 and it felt like the relationship took a step backwards, but it was never acknowledged. Also, I never liked that his quest spans throughout the whole saga. This is my story, move out the spotlight! Obviously, his quest ties into the romance, so it wasn't my cup of tea.
Shar-Teel
Available here
Too complicated. Any fun I had was drained by variable checking constantly. It was really hard to keep the romance going because I had no idea what would cause it to end. She’s a difficult lady to please! The author had a tough job from the start with a character like her, so props to them. A romance for a man-hating psychopath is so ambitious and insane, I’m impressed at how well it worked out in the end. At the start, I couldn’t possibly understand why any man would want to pursue the relationship, but I think by the end I kind of got it. It’s kind of cool watching her slowly but surely open up to the PC and soften just a little (while staying true to her character).
Glint
I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Probably the last character I’d choose for a romance option, especially when m/m romances are underrepresented as is , but by the end I quite enjoyed it. The dialogues were a bit oddly paced, but that's a problem for all of the SoD lot. Obviously, you can’t expect too much from an expansion pack romance because there just isn’t enough time to develop anything, but it was light-hearted and fun.
Skie
Available here
Very light-hearted. This was written before SoD was released, so you have to keep that in mind. Not really to my taste as it has a lot of colloquialisms that are out of place in the setting and the style doesn’t really match the original. Plus, the translation from the original language is not perfect. She was a bit quiet compared to other NPCs (interjection-wise), even in places where I expected her to comment, but she did have a few here and there. There were some surprisingly sweet and mature themes addressed, which were the parts I enjoyed the most (her father’s death in the original game, etc.)
Dynaheir
Available here
Not at all in style of BG writing, but enjoyable. I played it years ago, but I appreciated it a lot more this time around. A bit lore heavy, and I didn’t like some of the PC response options, but I like that it gives you a chance to roleplay a little more. In general, I like that the romance ties so closely to Bhaal, but I feel like there was more that could have been explored outside of Rasheman and the prophecies.
Safana
I never liked the inclusion of Safana in SoD, so she this romance was always going to be a bit of an uphill battle. She seemed like such an odd choice. I’m not sure this can really be classified as a romance, due to the length. It's more like tepid "flirting". To be honest, I don’t think this romance added very much to my experience, as most of the talks are very shallow and don’t give us any greater insight into Safana as a character. In fact, one of the most interesting things about her personality (her outlandish story-telling) is kind of ignored completely. The voice acting also made literally everything seem disingenuous. Even the more “tender” (???) moments.
Edwin
Available here
So I feel like this is a mixed bag (details below), but I definitely liked it and had fun. I really enjoyed the option to bicker with Edwin. In fact, it's a really significant part of the romance, which is a good thing! It’s fun to have that back and forth. I will say, you can influence his alignment and after that, the romance loses a bit of steam because he loses his edge. That’s the price of character growth, I suppose.
Coran
Available here
OK, this has to be one of my favourite romances that I’ve tried so far. I will say, I used a component from the SCS mod that moves NPCs to more convenient locations and opens up the Cloakwood areas early, so I recruited him almost from the get-go. I’m not sure the length of the mod was designed with this in mind, because I had finished all the love talks prior to returning to Candlekeep. That being said, it’s really enjoyable, and it apparently has different branching pathways. I had a few technical difficulties, the most frustrating of which was near the end when he needed to leave the party and then didn’t respawn where he said he would. However, after some fiddling and reloading, it seemed to fix itself.
Imoen
Available here
So I played the original version of this mod many, many years back (mainly because I wanted an expanded Imoen, not because I was particularly interested in the romance aspect), and I have to say it has greatly improved since then. The dialogue has been cleaned up and a lot of the awful joke PC responses have been removed. That said, there is just too much focus on the brother-sister aspect. The mod really expands her character and interaction (which is 99% of why I like romance), but definitely with a darker focus. Honestly, I think the mod would work better as a friendship mod, but there are some dreams (which I don’t particularly like) in chapter 2 that make it hard to ignore that it’s a romance. Special shout-out to the music in the mod. There's like a whole album!
Hexxat
I have to admit that I don’t have much experience with Hexxat outside of this playthrough. This was definitely not my favourite romance. I’m sensing a theme with the EE companion romances in that they’re all a bit less meaty than the Bioware ones. I have a special place in my heart for Chult so I was excited to learn a bit more about her past there, but the romance barely references where she is from (if at all). In fact, when they mentioned it in the ascended epilogue, I was kind of confused and started to think I had missed a bunch of dialogue. Even her vampirism is only mentioned in passing! I get the sense that the Beamdog romances are trying to avoid being the therapy sessions that the original romances turn into.
I know all the cool kids probably think that game romances are lame, but I've always appreciated that they can add that extra element of depth and another emotional tie to the story, when done right. And I love reading and hearing other people’s thoughts about which mods are worth installing, so I thought I’d share my own reviews.
Here's the list of all the characters I believe have some sort of romance, either vanilla or mod:
- Ajantis
- Branwen
- Coran
- Dynaheir
- Edwin
- Faldorn
- Garrick (kind of)
- Imoen
- Jaheira
- Kivan
- Montaron
- Safana
- Shar-Teel
- Skie
- Viconia
- Xan
- Dorn
- Neera
- Rasaad
- Corwin
- Glint
- M'Khiin
- Voghiln
- Aerie
- Anomen
- Haer'Dalis
- Keldorn
- Mazzy
- Nalia
- Valygar
- Yoshimo
- Sarevok
- Hexxat
So pretty much all of them. Good god, why did I decide to do this?! Let me know if I'm missing any! Korgan romance, anyone?
OK, so I'll write a short summary of my feelings, and then provide a bit more detail in spoiler tags. I’ll be using the following criteria to help me review the romances:
- Seamless integration (How well did it fit into the base game vs. vanilla romances, writing style, PC responses, etc. A low score isn’t necessarily bad, but it just means that the content screams NOT BIOWARE, NOT BIOWARE)
- In character (Does the romance dialogue match the character’s personality, history and motivations from the base game)
- Quality of writing (Spelling mistakes/grammar, quality of the prose)
- Character development (Do we learn anything about the character that we wouldn't otherwise? Do we gain some fresh insight?)
- Overall satisfaction (Did it add to the overall gaming/story experience?)
A few things to note:
a) I have so, so much respect for anyone who mods and even if a mod gets a lower score, that doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that it’s not to my taste
b) I’m gonna add to the list in the order I play, which depends on what class/game I feel like playing in the moment.
c) I’m a gay man, so that will probably skew my opinions somewhat God damn it, where’s my gay Valygar or Haer’Dalis romance mod, people
Without further waffle...
Rasaad
It was a little thin. The relationship developed too fast, but it also went too slowly because of a noticeable lack of romance talks, which made it feel kind of empty. I wish it had explored his loss of faith a little bit more, specifically why. There also seemed to be a bit of a disconnect between SoD and BG2 and it felt like the relationship took a step backwards, but it was never acknowledged. Also, I never liked that his quest spans throughout the whole saga. This is my story, move out the spotlight! Obviously, his quest ties into the romance, so it wasn't my cup of tea.
- Seamless integration - 3.5
Pretty similar to vanilla romances, but the score was lowered because there were less talks and there was no vampire abduction, which is pretty important to me because it’s supposed to be an emotional moment in the saga and romance. - In character - N/A
- Quality of writing - 3
I mean, it’s fine. Nothing mind-boggling? It matches the quality of the Beamdog content in general, which I personally felt was fine, but not as good as vanilla) didn’t quite match the original in terms of style. - Character development - 1
I really didn’t feel like the romance added anything to the character that I wouldn’t get from just following his quest-line. He’s awkward and bad at jokes. That’s about all I learned - Overall satisfaction - 2
I don’t think this romance added to my playthrough, and I wouldn’t play it again, hence the score
Shar-Teel
Available here
Too complicated. Any fun I had was drained by variable checking constantly. It was really hard to keep the romance going because I had no idea what would cause it to end. She’s a difficult lady to please! The author had a tough job from the start with a character like her, so props to them. A romance for a man-hating psychopath is so ambitious and insane, I’m impressed at how well it worked out in the end. At the start, I couldn’t possibly understand why any man would want to pursue the relationship, but I think by the end I kind of got it. It’s kind of cool watching her slowly but surely open up to the PC and soften just a little (while staying true to her character).
- Seamless integration - 1
The dialogue formatting itself has action text *energisedcamel thinks about what to write next, finger hovering over the keyboard*, lots of PC responses - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and the responses are very long. In the vanilla game, PC responses are rarely more than 2 or 3 lines max, but here you’re presented with like 3 options of 3 or 4 lines - In character - 5
I mean, BG characters are pretty bare bones. She loves blood shed, hates men, hates the flaming fist and despises weakness. Sounds about right to me.Even as the relationship develops and she realises there might be a man in the world she doesn’t want to skewer with her sword, she still stays true to her roots - Quality of writing - 4
Now, this might be controversial, because I know lots of people like to point to the flirts as examples of bad writing. However, I don’t agree (maybe because I turned off flirts). I like the writing style used as it’s appropriate for the setting. The prose is better than I could do, that’s for sure - Character development - 5
You get a lot of insight into her history and why she is the way she is, and it’s believable. That’s what I want in a romance - the chance to see new facets of the character that we wouldn’t see otherwise - Overall satisfaction - 2
It was just too easy to break the romance. I felt like I couldn’t play the game how I wanted to play because I was just trying out different responses in the love talks to see what worked. I’m glad I played it, but I wouldn’t consider doing it again
Glint
I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Probably the last character I’d choose for a romance option, especially when m/m romances are underrepresented as is , but by the end I quite enjoyed it. The dialogues were a bit oddly paced, but that's a problem for all of the SoD lot. Obviously, you can’t expect too much from an expansion pack romance because there just isn’t enough time to develop anything, but it was light-hearted and fun.
- Seamless integration - 4
Tone-wise, pretty seamlessly integrates. Obviously, SOD romances can’t fairly be compared to vanilla BG2 romances - In character - N/A
- Quality of writing - 3.5
Glint is not a serious character, and I think that plays more to Beamdog’s strengths - Character development - 3
You get to understand his character a bit better, but nothing major. I was hoping he’d reveal a more convincing reason for joining the army! - Overall satisfaction - 3.5
As I said, I went into this with low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s not meant to be that serious. I recommend changing his portrait though
Skie
Available here
Very light-hearted. This was written before SoD was released, so you have to keep that in mind. Not really to my taste as it has a lot of colloquialisms that are out of place in the setting and the style doesn’t really match the original. Plus, the translation from the original language is not perfect. She was a bit quiet compared to other NPCs (interjection-wise), even in places where I expected her to comment, but she did have a few here and there. There were some surprisingly sweet and mature themes addressed, which were the parts I enjoyed the most (her father’s death in the original game, etc.)
- Seamless integration - 1
I know the author’s English has improved a lot since this was released, but the use of modern day English really took me out of it. Skie is like a teenage girl from our times, transported into the BG universe, talking about makeup, fashion design, etc - In character - 4
I’d say the author hit the nail on the head, really. She’s spoiled, a bit vapid and whiny, but there are some more grounded moments in the romance that stop her from being completely obnoxious - Quality of writing - 2
I found it varied from talk to talk, because the occasional serious ones were way better than the frequent light-hearted ones. As I said, this mod was translated from another language and is old enough to be pre-EE, so there’s quite a lot of instances where the English just seems off, or out of place. Despite that, these problems were no way near bad enough to cause misunderstanding - Character development - 3
I gave this a 3 because I think the more serious talks provide a glimpse of a Skie we haven’t seen before. She’s mourning the death of her father - pre-SOD, remember - and trying to find her way in the world and where she belongs. She often expressed doubts about her usefulness to the party, but I would have liked to see more growth over the talks, because by the end of my game, she was a trap-setting killing machine and SPOILER - a mother! - Overall satisfaction - 2
There are things I like about the mod, but I’m not sure the light-hearted, modern tone works well with the BG2 story. I don’t want to listen to you talk about your dreams of being a fashion designer after I’ve just been horrifically tortured, Skie! I enjoyed parts of it, but by ToB, it kind of petered out
Dynaheir
Available here
Not at all in style of BG writing, but enjoyable. I played it years ago, but I appreciated it a lot more this time around. A bit lore heavy, and I didn’t like some of the PC response options, but I like that it gives you a chance to roleplay a little more. In general, I like that the romance ties so closely to Bhaal, but I feel like there was more that could have been explored outside of Rasheman and the prophecies.
- Seamless integration - 1
Nothing about it fits in with the game, from the action text, to the PC responses - which for some reason let's thy PC speakst like this, which doesn’t make any sense given in no other conversations can the PC speak like that. - In character - 4.5
[OK, maybe this could be a 5, but there’s always room for improvement. Base game Dynaheir is haughty, self-assured and proud, a little mysterious and clearly very intelligent. The characterisation in the romance fits all that. - Quality of writing - 4
So despite not fitting into the base game at all, the author of the romance is clearly an avid reader and knows how to write nice prose. Props to them for putting up with all the thees and thous. - Character development - 3
As I mentioned in the summary, I felt like the romance didn’t necessarily teach me much about Dynaheir as a person. You learn about her motivations and her objectives, and sure, you definitely learn about Rasheman, and realmslore, but I was hoping to see another side to her personality. - Overall satisfaction - 3.5
A nice solid effort. I’d play again. I believe the mod author was a heterosexual female. I wonder how this would have turned out had the author been male, because I think it might not be that appealing to straight men (I say, as a gay man, so what do I know?).
Safana
I never liked the inclusion of Safana in SoD, so she this romance was always going to be a bit of an uphill battle. She seemed like such an odd choice. I’m not sure this can really be classified as a romance, due to the length. It's more like tepid "flirting". To be honest, I don’t think this romance added very much to my experience, as most of the talks are very shallow and don’t give us any greater insight into Safana as a character. In fact, one of the most interesting things about her personality (her outlandish story-telling) is kind of ignored completely. The voice acting also made literally everything seem disingenuous. Even the more “tender” (???) moments.
- Seamless integration - 3.5
Hard to judge a SOD romance vs. a vanilla romance, but in terms of writing style and PC responses, it’s OK. I will say, in vanilla BG, the PC responses don’t really convey too much personality, whereas here, the PC can have a more defined one - sadly, none of the options really matched the character I was trying to play, but ho hum... - In character - 2
As I said, I feel like they didn’t cover all of Safana’s personality traits. Her biography mentions her as a tale-spinner who loves exaggerating about her past adventures. The Safana in SoD is just sarcastic and a bit jaded. I wouldn’t even say she’s manipulative in the romance, just demanding! - Quality of writing - 2.5
It’s hard to write a charismatic character. You can’t just tell me someone is charismatic, you have to show me as well, and I think that was the problem with the romance for me. She’s kind of obnoxious, because the majority of the romance is being promised a kiss in response to demands she makes. Now, a romance doesn’t necessarily need to be written with the objective of making the player like the character, but it certainly helps. - Character development - 1
I literally learned nothing about her, except that she responds better to being complimented on her talent rather than her beauty, which was hardly a revelation) - Overall satisfaction - 1
Really not my cup of tea.
Edwin
Available here
So I feel like this is a mixed bag (details below), but I definitely liked it and had fun. I really enjoyed the option to bicker with Edwin. In fact, it's a really significant part of the romance, which is a good thing! It’s fun to have that back and forth. I will say, you can influence his alignment and after that, the romance loses a bit of steam because he loses his edge. That’s the price of character growth, I suppose.
- Seamless integration - 3
There’s just too much text in one go. Vanilla romances tend to have strings of dialogue, separated into 2 or 3 sentences and the occasional PC response. In this mod, it’s one block. This is also true for the PC responses, which are too long and numerous - but really entertaining and full of personality. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make the mod stick out from the vanilla game. Also, there is some questionable voice acting and some odd portrait choices. That said, in terms of scale, it’s about right. Not too long, not too short, and it included the Bodhi abduction. - In character - 4
So I think this is a pretty faithful characterisation of Edwin. He’s stubborn, rude and frustratingly arrogant. I knocked it down to a 4 because a) I don’t think his evil nature is quite captured fully and b) by the end, he loses some of these qualities. - Quality of writing - 3.5
The prose is too modern for me. That being said, in general, it was good enough (and fun). The romance definitely captures some of Edwin’s more verbose tendencies. Also, a big plus is that there’s a lot of content, and I can’t think of any glaring grammar or spelling mistakes. - Character development - 5
The mod really dives into all things Edwin. You definitely get to know more about him on a deeper level, including his past and his motivations - Overall satisfaction - 4
Flaws aside, I just found this a really fun experience. It has its heavy moments, but it’s quite playful, which is fitting, given Edwin is often used as comic relief in the base game. I will say, there is a fight in this mod that is really hard. I’m pretty awful at this game, even after all these years, and I was crushed within a minute. In the end, I had to put the game on Story mode.
Coran
Available here
OK, this has to be one of my favourite romances that I’ve tried so far. I will say, I used a component from the SCS mod that moves NPCs to more convenient locations and opens up the Cloakwood areas early, so I recruited him almost from the get-go. I’m not sure the length of the mod was designed with this in mind, because I had finished all the love talks prior to returning to Candlekeep. That being said, it’s really enjoyable, and it apparently has different branching pathways. I had a few technical difficulties, the most frustrating of which was near the end when he needed to leave the party and then didn’t respawn where he said he would. However, after some fiddling and reloading, it seemed to fix itself.
- Seamless integration - 1.5
Like the other BG NPC project romances, this romance doesn’t necessarily try to copy the original romances, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s a lot of action text (my pet peeve) and the PC responses are longer and more plentiful than the base game responses, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the romance. - In character - 5
I think this is a really great characterisation of the bare-bones NPC we have in the base game. The author did a great job of making him seem like an incorrigible flirt, cad and rascal, without seeming like a complete slimeball. He’s just a cheerful thrill-seeker, which is a bit of a refreshing change of pace from a lot of the more melancholy characters and romances. - Quality of writing - 4.5
I think this is really well-written. The author’s prose is just really pleasant to read, if a little on the flowery side (but hey, this is a romance with an elf, what do you expect?). I noticed one or two lines that sounded a little off, but they were barely noticeable, and I think they were limited to some of the more obscure flirt options. Again, does it fit in with the game dialogue? Not necessarily. Does that make it bad, not at all! - Character development - 5
Coran is full of fun stories about his past escapades that make him seem like a real person. As I mentioned before, he’s actually pretty charming, and I think he lives up to his mighty 16 charisma. I like the potential to influence his alignment, depending on your choices (although I played an innocent goody-two-shoes, so I didn’t explore that path - I had a cheeky look in the files though). Base game Coran is, like most BG characters, a trope, but in the romance, he is a fully-fleshed character. - Overall satisfaction - 4
I knocked it down a point because of the aforementioned bug-fiddling, but I think this romance absolutely added to my gaming experience and I would definitely play it again!
Imoen
Available here
So I played the original version of this mod many, many years back (mainly because I wanted an expanded Imoen, not because I was particularly interested in the romance aspect), and I have to say it has greatly improved since then. The dialogue has been cleaned up and a lot of the awful joke PC responses have been removed. That said, there is just too much focus on the brother-sister aspect. The mod really expands her character and interaction (which is 99% of why I like romance), but definitely with a darker focus. Honestly, I think the mod would work better as a friendship mod, but there are some dreams (which I don’t particularly like) in chapter 2 that make it hard to ignore that it’s a romance. Special shout-out to the music in the mod. There's like a whole album!
- Seamless integration - 1
I mean, she has her own dream sequences, and way more content than the vanilla romances. The tone is also a bit darker, because of Imoen’s torture. You’d never mistake it for a romance from the game itself. It also straddles the line of taking the spotlight away from the PC and giving it to Imoen, but if any character can get away with it because of their place in the story, it’s Imoen. There’s also action text. - In character - 4
I wasn’t sure what to put here, but I think the mod is the right balance of Imoen’s levity and her sad-girl persona of early BG2 where she’s processing what she’s been through. As I said, it might lean a little too dark to be a 5 - Quality of writing - 3
I noticed a few mistakes, like misplaced commas and stuff, which considering the sheer size of the mod, is not that bad. Again, the quality is miles ahead of what it used to be in the old days, pre-TOB release - Character development - 5
OK, now if I could get an NPC expansion mod of this size and scale for all the NPCs, I’d be in heaven. This mod really goes into Imoen’s psyche, her dreams, her fears, even her history and parentage. The Imoen of the mod is definitely a lot more well-rounded than vanilla Imoen. Obviously it’s just one interpretation of her character, but it’s interesting. - Overall satisfaction - 3.5
So, the mod scores quite high on all metrics, but I can’t give it a higher than 3.5 because such a huge focus is on getting past the brother-sister thing. Maybe it’s realistic, but I think it kind of soured the romance for me. It could have been dealt with in a talk or two, if the mod had just categorised it as a girl-next-door romance with someone who has no biological relation to you. I’ll definitely play with it again, though, ignoring the romance aspect
Hexxat
I have to admit that I don’t have much experience with Hexxat outside of this playthrough. This was definitely not my favourite romance. I’m sensing a theme with the EE companion romances in that they’re all a bit less meaty than the Bioware ones. I have a special place in my heart for Chult so I was excited to learn a bit more about her past there, but the romance barely references where she is from (if at all). In fact, when they mentioned it in the ascended epilogue, I was kind of confused and started to think I had missed a bunch of dialogue. Even her vampirism is only mentioned in passing! I get the sense that the Beamdog romances are trying to avoid being the therapy sessions that the original romances turn into.
- Seamless integration - 3
With a lot fewer talks, a different tone and no Bodhi abduction, it’s very clear that this is not one of the original romances. However, there’s nothing glaringly out of place in the romance. - In character - N/A
- Quality of writing - 2.5
Obviously as official content, you would hope that there wouldn’t be any spelling or grammatical mistakes, and in that regard, the romance is very professional. However, the romance is just kind of boring. Nothing really happens! There’s no arc whatsoever, no hurdle to overcome, nothing. Most of the romance consists of very vague flirting, and even that is boring. I just can't give this category a high score. - Character development - 1
As I said, her past is barely mentioned and we get no extra insight into her motivations and goals. The only time we really hear from her about this is during her quests, which are not part of the romance anyway. I wanted to know more about how she became a vampire, more about how she felt about it, her past, literally anything! - Overall satisfaction - 1.5
I’m a bit disappointed because Hexxat could be a really cool character and the romance could potentially be pretty interesting, but it falls short. I doubt I’d ever play it through again.
Post edited by energisedcamel on
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Comments
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/68711/mod-skie-the-cost-of-one-girls-soul
Ohhh yeah, I remembering seeing this, and it seems to be well-received, so I'll definitely give it a go at one point in the future. Unfortunately it doesn't include a romance, as far as I know, so I'll probably leave it off the list.
By the way, I really enjoy your own review threads. They're partially what pushed me to actually post this, because at first I was just gonna write the reviews for my own curiosity and entertainment.
I'm curious as to why you think Dynaheir might not be appealing to straight men. Personally I thought she was by far the best of the BG1 NPC romances (although it's slightly unfair to Xan, whose story really comes into its own in BG2). Elegant, witty, melancholic, seamlessly integrated into the story and actually adding new emotional twists to it... Then again, I'm neither male nor straight so what do I know! The only thing I could find to complain about it was the inconsistently pseudo-Shakespearean language, although I headcanoned it as her having learned the language of the Sword Coast from antiquated books and lacking real-life practice.
I'm glad if you enjoy it ☺
I always enjoy reading mod reviews for a game that I will play forever, hopefully there will be more people writing reviews
I'm also an obsessive planner, so I have a huge Google Document of all the of the characters that I want to play through each of the romances with, their parties, as well as the custom soundsets I want to make for them all (don't ask me why this is fun for me, it just is
Regarding Lady D, I don't know why I think that to be honest! I guess I'm just curious to hear some other people's opinions. From what I've observed, Viconia and Morrigan types tend to be more popular, and they have quite a different vibe to Dynaheir. I can deal with the pseudo-Shakespearean language when Dynaheir uses it, but why are half of my PC responses the same...? I imagine it's supposed to be a courtly romance thing, but it seemed very out of place to me
Wrote these awhile ago but finally updated with Coran, Imoen and Hexxat. I'm feeling ready for another playthrough after a few months off...
Started another playthrough recently, and I definitely feel you
Good to see you are still updating this thread～
I really liked the Dynaheir one as well. I'm a straight male but I can't say I'm typical either. I more or less agree with your points though I'd probably give it a 4 out of 5. I have Sirene and Aura in my party now so we'll see if anything develops ...
Thank you! You are truly doing Lathander's work with these.
I just started a new heavily modded EET playthrough and I am on the fence between Branwen or finally doing an Aerie run.
Glad to see you are continuing these.