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[Poecile]

Vaalyah wrote...

Mystery X wrote...
I didn't realize there were romances for the player character in the OC.

Funny... me neither! <_<

Since we are in a spoiler forum...
SPOILER
if you're a male character, you can romance Aribeth, if you are a female, Aaring Genth (or how it is written)
END SPOILER

 This is a SPOILER forum for NWN, so you can come right out and say that the romances are Aarin Gend for female PCs and Linu and/or Sharwynn for male PCs, Aribeth isn't really part of the henchman romance path until HotU.

 Establishing a connection or fondness between the Player and his/her pixel pals goes back to the earliest of games, like the early Ultimas on the PC, or X-Com, where you'd have your favorite marines fighting against the UFO menace... Heck, even a boy/girl can play with his/her dolls or action figures and develop a fondness for some over others.  

 I think it is simply just the reciprocation of affection that can make a difference, it doesn't necessarily have to be a full-blown whirlwind romance.  NPCs that admire your PC, or are in awe, or have a crush, or whatever.   

  When you combine the growing affection for your characters with meaningful conversation, that propels the pixel pals into something more impactful.  It brings you further into their world and makes you feel a part of it, and that is really the point of RPGs, afterall.


  Your actions and pursuits in the game take on more meaning as you're motivated by those you begin to care about and find endearing, for me, Minsc is a good example of the latter.  I mean Minsc was the best at making me want to crush some skulls and Jaheira, well...  She was a tremendous character and she also provided my character with great motivation.  

 And Aribeth, well    play the modules in my links.  

Modifié par Poecile, 29 octobre 2010 - 03:19 .

[Vaalyah]

I know that this is a spoiler forum, but many times people that have not finished the game just come for having a look or searching for suggestions, etc. So, since it costs nothing to write "SPOILER", there's not problem in that :-)



What you have said it's true, but notwithstanding that, there are good romances and bad romances in games. And I can assure you that OC romances are BAD. Tremendously bad. From my point of view, obvious. But I think that a lot of players share my opinion :-D

We surely improve with HotU.

What can I say... as I've already stated... I HATE ARIBETH! :-D (the avatar is just because it was the only female of a game that I actually played, but as soon as I'll install DA:O I am going to change it, finally!). And my idea of her can be wonderfully summarized as here:

http://epantiras.dev...llery/#/d1v430g

by the way, Epantiras's comics about bioware games are WONDERFUL! :-D

[Poecile]

Vaalyah wrote...


What you have said it's true, but notwithstanding that, there are good romances and bad romances in games. And I can assure you that OC romances are BAD. Tremendously bad. From my point of view, obvious. But I think that a lot of players share my opinion :-D
We surely improve with HotU.
What can I say... as I've already stated... I HATE ARIBETH! :-D (the avatar is just because it was the only female of a game that I actually played, but as soon as I'll install DA:O I am going to change it, finally!). And my idea of her can be wonderfully summarized as here:
http://epantiras.dev...llery/#/d1v430g
by the way, Epantiras's comics about bioware games are WONDERFUL! :-D

  I agree that the OC's 'romances' were lacking in comparison to other RPGs, I don't think you'd have to twist anyone's arms to agree with that, unless NWN is the first CRPG you've ever played.  

  Baldur's Gate established a high mark when it comes to 'romances', and I quote 'romances' because it can mean different things to different people. 

  Nathyrra (Isn't she an avatar choice, she used to be?) was probably a better overall 'romanceable' character, in terms of content and execution, than any other in the NWN/SoU/HotU series.
 
 I don't really consider Aribeth in HotU as being the same character I knew in NWN because of the way they needed to pander to those who killed her in Maugrim's Estate.  Her romance path was also rushed because of the timing of it all, and that there was a glitch that omitted a conversation. 

 Linu and Sharwyn are fine characters in their own right, and they are indeed memorable, unlike some in the SoU campaign.  For me, they are also likeable and endearing, but yeah, their 'romance' could have been better executed.

  Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic have really polished romances, and Dragon Age does as well.

Modifié par Poecile, 29 octobre 2010 - 08:03 .

[Vaalyah]

Have you tried also NWN2?

I liked Valen romance in HotU, even if I had to spent a lot of time trying to create a mental image of his personality. However, yes, BG2 romance was really good. (No, Nathyrra is not an avatar choice, if it was, I would undoubtedly chose her!)

[Mystery X]

The fact that I never knew there were romance possibilities in the OC probably says something about the personalities of the characters I played. They never showed interest in anyone else by prompting, "Tell me something about yourself..." unless they thought it could lead to material rewards.

[Sepehr]

Vaalyah wrote...

I am perplexed by OC romances. You just see a character few times and you just speak... or better, listen to him/her while s/he speaks about his/her story. At the end of this, s/he just says something like "I feel really in touch with you, hmmmm I think I'm falling for you"
WHAT???  you just don't know ANYTHING about me (true because s/he is the only one who is always speaking). How is it possible to develop a romance with those NPCs? I mean, I can't feel the involvement of a romance developed in this way.

I would like to hear your opinions about that.

[Sepehr]

i cannot speak English so well

[BelgarathMTH]

I mostly just use my imagination a lot to fill in the blanks of what is actually written in the games, so I can turn it into something satisfying to me personally.



There is virtually no way that a gamewriter could do this for me, since I am in the very, very small percentage of m/m gamers.



Some examples: I installed a mod that allowed me to romance Allistair in DAO. Having the dialogues make sense often took some quick rewriting in my head.



When I play Baldur's Gate, I start a female character and then use Shadowkeeper to turn every visible and audible on-screen attribute to male, thus allowing me my m/m romances. Once again, making minor and a few major rewrites in my head becomes necessary.



I don't think there's any way for me to do this in NWN1 or NWN2, so I just ignore the romances. The castle scene with Elanee in NWN2 is quite awkward for me, since I have to give Elanee all of the "just friends" dialogue options, which are not really what I would be telling her. I would be wanting to trust her and let her know how much I care about her by being honest with her about my true "preference" in romance.



I also was unaware of romances in NWN1, since I always take Tomi, and always imagine a bit of extra "business" and/or "friendship" going on between him and me.

[Vaalyah]

I took Tomi too, but the NWN1 romances are Aribeth and Aarin, as far as I know...

NWN2 characters are more deep and by the half of the game you would already consider them as long time friends. But I have to do the same thing you did: to use my imagination to fill the voids! To few scenes regarding the romance, so the first time you just speak with an NPC and the second time he's already doing avances to your PC o_O

[Poecile]

Vaalyah wrote...

I took Tomi too, but the NWN1 romances are Aribeth and Aarin, as far as I know...
NWN2 characters are more deep and by the half of the game you would already consider them as long time friends. But I have to do the same thing you did: to use my imagination to fill the voids! To few scenes regarding the romance, so the first time you just speak with an NPC and the second time he's already doing avances to your PC o_O

  Vaalyah, Aribeth is not a romance in NWN1, only HotU.  Sharwyn and Linu are the female NPC romanceables in NWN1.

[Vaalyah]

Sorry, from what I read I always thought that she was a romance option... I remember having read somewhere that in the end, when you defeat her, if you had a relationship with her, you could convince her to surrender... or something like that...

[Poecile]

Vaalyah wrote...

Sorry, from what I read I always thought that she was a romance option... I remember having read somewhere that in the end, when you defeat her, if you had a relationship with her, you could convince her to surrender... or something like that...

  Oh, yeah, that is true, but she gives you her ring if you are open and engaging with her; allowing her to confide in you in Port Llast.  It isn't really a romance, just lending someone a shoulder to lean on, but at the end of the game, there is a hint of developing affection from Aribeth.

 Linu and Sharwyn are the conventional henchperson romances.

Modifié par Poecile, 02 novembre 2010 - 11:11 .

[BelgarathMTH]

For any Aribeth lovers out there, there is a module on the vault that you can play where the whole story is based on her and romancing her. I think it's called "Aribeth's Redemption" or something like that. Sorry, but I don't know how to link it - any search engine will probably find it, though.

BTW - are there any male romanceables in NWN1? Like I said, I never explored it in NWN1 because the game engine is so inflexible when it comes to choices. I don't even think it's possible to mod in new dialogues and/or dialogue triggers the way modders can with both NWN2 and DAO, and even Baldur's Gate.

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 03 novembre 2010 - 12:22 .

[Vaalyah]

Aarin Gend (or how it is written). But as previously stated, it is not a romance. He simply speaks a long monologue (in episodes :-P ) about his story. Then, all of a sudden, he declares himself. Quite absurd... and stupid...