GameBanshee Forums

hello. i've been lurking about for quite some time, and have finally decided to make myself known.

so, we know that anomen is our only choices-which choices do you wish had been available for romance, and why?

Jan.

Have you ever seen his dialogues? Can you immagine him falling in love and the history? The dialogs? With golodon the unnamed becoming the fisrt stone of a solid love?

Jan Rules.

I like turnips, he likes turnips... wats not to love?

as much as i adore jan, i'm not sure i could see him in a romance . . . my vote goes to edwin odeisseron.

Hi Lady Pirate,
welcome to the forums! Great name btw.

Ah yes.... the lack of choice for female NPCs, thank the gods for those individuals that make NPC mods.

But to the question you ask, I selected Valygar. I'm always a hopeless sucker for the silent, brooding types..

Male NPc Options....

Oh, the unfairness of it all! Male main characters get three love options, while females only get one! There should at least be a bad ("evil") guy to fall for if you are of the not-so-nice persuasion. I think a romace with Edwin would at least be an interesting change from Anomen's knightly behavior and poetic ramblings. At least the dialog would be more amusing.

Haer'Dalis could be awsome if it's well-done...

I would also want a romance for gnomes/halflings... like a Romance with Jan or Mazzy could be funny (Especially Jan )

From what I have heard, there were romances planned for Haer'Dalis and Valygar (I *think*) as well, but the developers ran out of time. Of course, you'd have thought they might have worked on them in a way so that the four available game romances broke down to two apiece...

The thing is.. I'm not sure they quite anticipated the enormous popularity the game would have amongst women, so in all probability they pitched it to a male market.

To anyone who has not, I definitely recommend trying out the romanceable NPC mods created for female players, they are very well done.

Valygar was definitely planned. I've heard that some of the romance involved his backstory, which explains why he seems somewhat colorless as currently configured.

I'd have to say "None", because 1) none of the NPCs are right for my characters (including Anomen), and 2) my characters don't have time for a romance that follows the typical BG2 pattern: tentative flirting, dealing with a bunch of personal issues and having to babysit when things get emotional, breaking up, making up, then not living happily ever after since a child of Bhaal can never really settle down. I just can't seem to work it into my roleplaying.

Thank you Dragon Wench. I confess I fall for those type too. Probably why I have the Soulafein mod installed.

Solaufein is probably the best romance for females... there's a *TON* of dialogs! And I love the discussions between Uncle Sola and Imy

@Lady Pirate, lol! Yes indeed, Solaufein is probably my favourite add-on NPC Out of interest, since I'm pretty comfortable with this sort of thing I also downloaded Chloe (female kensai that will romance either your female PC or Imoen), and she is really well done too, I was very impressed.

Kelsey is fun too and very well developed, but he doesn't really fit into the 'dark and brooding' category... he comes across more as the sweet 'boy next door'. Oh if only I preferred those types, my RL existence would be so much simpler

It seems that there is a Valygar romance mod in the works that is currently in the Beta testing phase, you can check it out here: http://forums.fwstudios.net/index.php?showforum=93

A clarification: when I made my previous remarks, I thought we were only talking about romances with the existing NPCs that would be just like the original romances with Anomen, Jaheira, Viconia, and Aerie. I have trouble envisioning "out-of-the-box" romances that would really excite me. A brooding Valygar who has to come to terms with his new view of Mages? A suicidal Haer'Dalis in a love triangle with Aerie? An earnest but deluded Minsc who doubts his own worth? A heartbroken Keldorn who has just been divorced by his wife? A power-obsessed Edwin who finds himself smitten in spite himself? I don't think the original designers would have been bold enough to take the necessary risks to make those romances truly heart-pounding or heart-fluttering.

MODs, on the other hand, are a completely different story.

A while back, some of us discussed what an Edwin romance might look like. The type of romance I had in mind would be intriguing to me if someone could pull it off. (I don't think I could do it myself.) But to me, it would be more of a character study than the kinky, sadistic experience that other people envisioned. So I won't be too hasty in saying we really need an Edwin Romance MOD.

I think anyone who attempted an Edwin mod would have to handle it with a lot of care and sensitivity. If done properly, I think it could be a very complex and compelling story. I'm not saying there should not be any humour, but I agree with Von Dondu, it should encompass more than a kinky S&M relationship. Edwin is extremely narcissistic, I could see a romance using an angle like that. Perhaps Edwin would be self-serving initially and only in it for the sex and power he could dervive from his association with the PC, then there could be different paths the relationship could take, depending on how the PC responded to his dialogue. Would there be something at core that might make him begin to question his obsession with self? Would he and the PC have a relationship based solely on mutual lust, while engaged in affairs that triggered a double standard of possessiveness and jealousy?

There could even be a quest inspired by his experience with the girdle that plays with Edwin exploring different questions surrounding his gender.

I think possibilities like this could make for a really intriguing relationship.


As a side note.. I just noticed that so far Jan is winning the votes... Okay.. I really like Jan's character.. but well... uh.. he's a gnome!!!! That is just.. well... weird... I think there is a reason all romances (both ingame and mods) restrict this element to the human and elvish category....

Don't forget that male Gnomes can romance Aerie (think of winged baby Gnomes ), and why shouldn't there be some romance for "the small folk" ?

[QUOTE=dragon wench]I think anyone who attempted an Edwin mod would have to handle it with a lot of care and sensitivity. If done properly, I think it could be a very complex and compelling story. I'm not saying there should not be any humour, but I agree with VonDondu, it should encompass more than a kinky S&M relationship...[/QUOTE]
If you read the thread I was referring to, you'll see that someone has actually attempted such a MOD. I haven't seen it for myself (I don't know if it has even been finished), so I can't comment on it. In the thread, we mostly talked about our own perceptions of Edwin. I said that I could envision him as a character like Henry Higgins in Pygmalion. I do think there should be plenty of black humor and jokes at Edwin's expense, but I would like to see such a romance treated in a serious way, with plenty of sympathy for Edwin in the end. Fable countered with the argument that Edwin is incapable of self-examination. I don't want to put words into Fable's mouth, but if I remember correctly, to him, Edwin is the stereotypical "evil wizard" (like you would see in comics, I guess), although he bumbles a lot and ends up being laughable. If that's the characterization for Edwin, I don't think a "romance" (if such a thing were possible) would be much more than an opportunity to laugh at Edwin's expense. The other alternative I remember, which Uncle Scratchy suggested, is that Edwin would rebuff anyone who was nice to him but fall in love with someone who was mean to him. Then they'd have lots of kinky sex. I'm probably missing something, but the point is that we all had different interpretations.

On Mods: I should check out the other romance mods (like Chloe and Kelsey)

On Edwin: I agree with Dragon Wench and Vondondu on this one. It was rather sad that Edwin only had a negative (if funny) closing epilogue. Edwin is somewhat the 1 dimensional arrogant evil power-hungry wizard, and as funny as that is I was dissapointed in the lack of real character development for him. Recall the first exchange in BG II between Edwin and the pc:

"Edwin!! Don't you remember me?"
"The past hardly matters. ..."

It seems to me, that this and several other lines, could if written properly, play out some depth in Edwin's 1-dimensional character. Is it only me, or could this line hint at some regret, some acknowledgement of a kind of friendship between Edwin and the pc? I would be very interested to see what some one would do with it. If properly written it could be very interesting. I would have a go at it myself, if only I could figure out the technical aspects of mod building.

[QUOTE=Lady Pirate]

On Edwin: I agree with Dragon Wench and Vondondu on this one. It was rather sad that Edwin only had a negative (if funny) closing epilogue. Edwin is somewhat the 1 dimensional arrogant evil power-hungry wizard, and as funny as that is I was dissapointed in the lack of real character development for him. Recall the first exchange in BG II between Edwin and the pc:

"Edwin!! Don't you remember me?"
"The past hardly matters. ..."

It seems to me, that this and several other lines, could if written properly, play out some depth in Edwin's 1-dimensional character. Is it only me, or could this line hint at some regret, some acknowledgement of a kind of friendship between Edwin and the pc? I would be very interested to see what some one would do with it. If properly written it could be very interesting. I would have a go at it myself, if only I could figure out the technical aspects of mod building.[/QUOTE]

It really seems to me that Edwin's character would probably have to be modified a bit in a romance version of him, because as everyone has said, his original personality does not leave a lot of room for much depth or dimension. I suppose this would not be entirely out of step, since many people (including his creator) admit that Solaufein as a joinable NPC is a departure in many ways from the individual you briefly encounter in the unmodded version. Though of course... Edwin always has been joinable, and he has a long history that begins in BG1.. so this probably makes messing with his character slightly a bit more difficult. He would need to undergo some kind of realistic and believable epiphany..... perhaps Minsc could be involved in some way??? Or maybe even Valygar and the Planar Sphere quest????

Just my thoughts though, I could well be way off the mark

And yes, I do think that remark about the past does have a lot of potential for development.. it is certainly ambiguous enough in its meaning.... It almost seems to suggest a sort of bitterness that relates not only to the PC but perhaps a whole host of other issues. Maybe he is even trying to forget or avoid the past for some reason???

I know what you mean about the mod building, I'm reasonably sure I could create the dialogue and develop plot and personality.. but the technical stuff completely eludes me.. *sigh*

To me, Edwin has always seemed the most immature possible candidate for your NPC party. Edwin's all about infantile needs: want, take, have. He sees everyone around him as objects for manipulation; nobody exists as a person. The quote you gave glances at part of the problem:

"Edwin!! Don't you remember me?"
"The past hardly matters. ..."

For Edwin, desire rules, and his focus is entirely on a future in which he achieves one goal, and immediately craves the next. He never analyzes his own past actions, or his effects on others. He is bright and ingenious, but those very qualities cause him to improperly assume those who don't reveal those characteristics are necessarily fools. Aerie, for all her innocence, has ten times his understanding. Even Korgan snubs Edwin. Korgan's reality is built upon experience, troubling as it may be. In Edwin, he recognizes someone who plays at life, and will never learn from it. Just my two cents.

I'd be very interested in a mod that changes that.