Do you ever play a game intentionally without a romance? Do you like the romances? Do you feel they add a significant amount to thhis game? Do you like them? :)

Poll Information
This poll contains 1 question(s). 40 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: Romances: Are they important to you? (40 votes.)

Romances: Are they important to you? (Choose 1)
* Yeah, I like them. - 88% (35)
* Nope, don't like 'em. - 13% (5)

I love having a party, and I love all the banters. Romances are an extension of that, so I love 'em.

None of my BG2 runs would ever be complete without building them around a relationship that buds between my NPC and a certain druid. :love:

Yes, I was very surprised and pleased when I discovered there are romances. The first one with Anomen was very nice. Fortunatly I missed the conversation about sex ("Would you go to bed with me ?") because of resting in the dungeon and found out much, much later, otherwise I would have been quite shocked.
Now, every time I walk into Red Dragon's lair it reminds me of crimson rhodelia :)

These days I play Edwin's Romance.
For my male PC, Viconia is the only choice.

I like them , unfortunatly they never have a happyand, becose at the and i'll become a god.
Solar is a better choise for me :)

Well, i think romances make the game more interesting, and it adds to the whole experience.

It certainly adds to the experience but still I had rather seen some more quests instead of romances. And JansenBanter is imho much better than all romance dialogues.

Too few options in the poll.
Yes, the romances are a very good addition to the game.
No, they're not important to me anymore, but when the game was new they were.

Well, you could try to get one either way... although as two are priestesses you could get into trouble with the collegues :)

Actually, my first playthrough I romanced Jaheira, and that's reason I chose to remain mortal and not ascend to godhood. So yes, I'd say they are important :)

After several replays I still go the romance way every time I play. It's always fun, and it gives some dialogs in otherwise "silent" parts of the game.

The romances are not essential to me but I feel they add to the game.. The first time I played SoA through I played a female fighter and since I couldn't stand Anomen there was no romance. When I played through ToB with Vicky I just let the romance develop and it was fun.

I think the poll should have had a third choice: Romances add to the game but are not necessary.

mildly amusing first time around for the novelty, then I steer clear of them.

^ I feel similarly to Gilden; it's not something I look for when choosing a party.

When I found out there were romances, though, I did play them to see what they were like. But now I don't normally bother again as I don't feel they're an important part of the game.

Like them and they are something too few games have: inter-party relationships. Not only that, but they actually took them a step forward with those romances that aren't aimed only for children. In this aspect, BG2 raised the bar and it's sad that there aren't any companies willing to take the challenge... :(

I always make room for atleast one romanceable charecter.
It just makes the game more interesting. Add to that the flirt pack and :banana:

The characters aren't believable if you just see them as pixellated monster-slayers. The romances add a lot more depth to the game, although I would contend that only one or two of them are "believable". Anomen is insufferable enough that I fail to see WHY anyone would romance him, while Aerie is cute and sweet but insipidly weak and Viconia's romance reads like a 15-year-old's fantasy woman. I only really "buy into" the Jaheira romance. I feel that Solaufein is a bit hurried (fair, since he's only available after the Underdark), and I haven't installed any other romance mods. I imagine that Valygar will be a good one.

As for the whole Ascension part, having a character romancing an NPC makes that decision (and progression) so much more of a role-playing experience. Would you abandon your lover for power, or to take responsibility for your strength? Could you dump a pregnant woman to become a god (Aerie), or force her to relive the loss of her husband (Jaheira)? An evil character would, but a neutral or good one? The only reason why I've ever taken the power with a good character is because I wanted to see the epilogues - after playing through the whole series with Jaheira at my PC's side, there's no way he'd leave her.

[ Bravo! :thumb: ] - Beren

[ February 24, 2005, 04:26: Message edited by: Beren ]

I'm still on my first run but I'd say the romances add a lot.

To be honest, the romances don't do that much for me. Admittedly, I've only seen the original ones (I've read the information on Kelsey's and Solaufein's and Chloe's mods, but they didn't sound very interesting), but I prefer non-romance related banter.

I hate having a party. And I think there's no one worth an effort out there(Without mods, that is).

Could you dump a pregnant woman to become a god (Aerie), or force her to relive the loss of her husband (Jaheira)? An evil character would, but a neutral or good one?I think that oversimplifies the question considerably. The only reassurance that nothing bad would become of the power Sarevok and Melissan tried to capture for their own evil ends if you don't take it up yourself is the Solar's vague reassurance, and let's not forget that they made a huge mess of the whole Bhaal deal in the first place that you had to fix. As the saying goes, compared to that, Jaheira and <CHARNAME> don't amount to a hill of beans.

For a "good-minded" PC, it's a question of responsibility and possibility. Could he make Aerie happy the rest of her life? Sure. But what greater good might he do? I think that's why the Bioware romances are generally written as being accepting the choice. I let Kelsey show some more bitterness, but even he can't hate the PC for leaving him behind.

What about the Bioware romances makes you think they're written to accept the choice?

I've always felt that the natural thing for a good-aligned character is to remain mortal. We are after all talking about being given a chance to become the god of Murder, not a chance to enter the pantheon as a god of sweetness and light.

The first time I played through ToB I romanced Vicky and chose to remain mortal. Never again at least not for a romance.
I think Truper's reason for remaining mortal is a better one. Although when I did choose to be a God I didn't get the feeling it was necessarily as the God of Murder. IIRC it seemed a little vague.

They're fun, they kind of add to the game.

@ jcompton
That was a supergreathypercritical hit :shame: (about the Aerie which I'm playing)

@ jcompton:

Fair call - I guess it's fairly clear that I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, huh?

And now for something completely :yot: ...

...let's not forget that they made a huge mess of the whole Bhaal deal in the first place that you had to fix.Yes, although Cyric states that Ao himself wants the pantheon to let this play itself out and not to interfere. The question of what will happen to Bhaal's power is not certain no matter what path the PC takes. Valygar cautions the PC against it, that Bhaal's power will eat away at them unless they embrace it. Okay, that's one NPC's point of view, but I feel that point is valid. Even the evil gods would have a reason not to want that power unleashed, since it could be used against them. The Solar seems pretty definite on the plan should you reject the power, and leaving aside any concerns about balance, one would imagine that few good or neutral mortals would be so self-assured as to assume that they could control the energies of a greater power.

The PC didn't choose his/her life and destiny; it was thrust upon them, and the romance partners all assume that you'll take the power. However, I believe that none but the most righteous (or selfish) of characters would want that responsibility, especially since it represents the choice between living on your own terms with the man/woman you love until you die, or an eternity of conflict and struggle in the company of gods and planar creatures who do not truly understand the concept. I'm reading too far into this, but I think the final decision in ToB comes down to what you believe is more important: love, or destiny?

I guess my stance is quite different to most, but given the choice, I know which I would pick. Feel free to disagree with my choice or my reasoning, since this is almost an AoDA line of argument...

Does it not say that you become a GOOD god if you were good when you accept it? Right there it stops being "murder" and starts being something completely different. As it is, the Gods themselves decided their own place in the patheon depending on their views and morals... Cryic, Bhall, and the third guy.. ugh, what's his name? CHOSE what their places would be when they tore down the first god of murder/decay/assassins blah blah. Would it not make sense that the immortal (edit: forgot the "T" and made that a whole different statement LOL) power is basically just a neutral power to be focused by whomever wields it? Plus, once you decide to stay mortal, ALL of the Essense is put into Melissan and then erased from existence. meaning there IS no more Bhall's essense.

so it's not like you're a mortal with the "taint" anymore. So where's the problem?

but of course, i'm an idiot.

Um, wanna include some spoiler warnings? This is a thread about romances, not what happens at the end of ToB

*cough* ... yeah, this is getting a ways off topic.

Having a romance with Viconia is fun and cool!!!!!!!!!! I am tired of all tho "GOOD" characters and I take her to make Aerie or Nalia feeling nasty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!COOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL