I assume that's a mod, right? The base game doesn't have body hair or...nipples?
With Geck being released, you'd probably see more than just body hair and nipples, just saying. 
On a more serious note, yeah, that's a mod. Part of the appeal for Beth games are mods after all. The visual novel looks interesting, I may pick it up when it comes out.
With Geck being released, you'd probably see more than just body hair and nipples, just saying.
On a more serious note, yeah, that's a mod. Part of the appeal for Beth games are mods after all. The visual novel looks interesting, I may pick it up when it comes out.
Geck???? What is that, you peeked my interest! A link to their progress or a demo, or something? 
Geck???? What is that, you peeked my interest! A link to their progress or a demo, or something?
GECK is the official modding kit from Bethesda. They plan to release it this month for PC, and next month for consoles. Basically instead of simple texture swaps and basic scripting like we have now, with that people will be able to create new missions, NPCs, assets, big changes to the interface (like SkyUI for Skyrim), and so on. A month after GECK is released there will be a way bigger selection of mods (or even earlier, since their games use the same engines, and the kit will be similar to the Creation kit for Skyrim, and the previous GECK for FO3).
Geck???? What is that, you peeked my interest! A link to their progress or a demo, or something?
GECK is the modding kit from Bethesda, and they allow modders to mess around with animations, interface, and creating their own models in the game. In Skyrim, they were able to bring in characters in the game like Ellie from the last of us, Shepard, Garrus, Kaidan, Vega from ME, Dante from Devil May Cry. They were even be able to update Skyrim graphics to new generation, creating their own story and expansion. With animations, modders could even make explicit sex scenes, you can have sex with almost anything in Skyrim, and it's extremely explicit as well. GECK is already released for BETA testers and will be released sometimes this April.
GECK is the modding kit from Bethesda, and they allow modders to mess around with animations, interface, and creating their own models in the game. In Skyrim, they were able to bring in characters in the game like Ellie from the last of us, Shepard, Garrus, Kaidan, Vega from ME, Dante from Devil May Cry. They were even be able to update Skyrim graphics to new generation, creating their own story and expansion. With animations, modders could even make explicit sex scenes, you can have sex with almost anything in Skyrim, and it's extremely explicit as well. GECK is already released for BETA testers and will be released sometimes this April.
I've been following this thread for quite some time now (page 62 I believe) and have seen many great discussions in here! It makes me a bit sad to see this thread so inactive now.
Anyway, I have finally worked up the courage to post my thoughts and try contributing to the discussions.
I stopped following this thread for a bit when Fallout 4 was released to avoid spoilers and have (mostly) caught up.
Thanks to the recommendation by daveliam, I recently finished reading/playing Pendragon Rising. As far as romance, setting, story, and friendships go, it pretty much gave me everything I have wanted from the Dragon Age series ever since I first played Origins in one short story. The romance subplot was implemented quite well. Gawain is everything I've wanted in a Dragon Age gay romance. It really felt like a loving, natural, and genuine romantic bond between Arthur and Gawain. It was adorable how he would often blush and act awkwardly and become more confident and romantic as the romance progressed. He was a strong, noble warrior and very supportive of Arthur. I also enjoyed how others reacted to the relationship between the two. It also didn't hurt that he is my type as far as looks go!
It's a bit disappointing that after three games, we have yet to receive a romance option like this in the Dragon Age series. Aside from Anders (who is definitely not a KISA), I haven't enjoyed any of the options we've been presented with. There's no reason why characters like Cullen, Alistair, and Sebastian can't also be available to men. (I'd definitely have a much more difficult time going through DA2 if Sebastian had been an option!)
I've only been through Pendragon Rising once, but that was enough for me to fall in love with it. It did a great job including a diverse cast of characters and making it feel like your choices make a difference. It's definitely made me feel even more disappointed with the direction the Dragon Age series has taken, straying so far from what made me fall in love with it...
I'd really like to see a romance as sweet and as genuine as the one between Arthur and Gawain in the series. It was really well developed in comparison to what BioWare has offered.
With that said, how would everyone feel about a "Prince Charming KISA"?
Pendragon Rising also made me think about this. Gawain is a prince (who definitely swept me off my feet!) and Arthur can become king, but that doesn't stop the two from having a loving relationship.
We could've had this, in a way, with characters like Sebastian and Alistair. Imagine what it would have been like if Alistair had been a bisexual option and Ferelden had not one but two kings? No better way than that to establish a setting free of homophobia!
I don't think the character being a noble/prince should stop him from being available to men. Thedas already has several powerful LGBT figures in its world. The King/Queen of Ferelden can be in a same-sex relationship while ruling alongside Alistair/Anora. Divine Justina is at the very least bisexual, and Divine Victoria can be in a loving relationship with another female. The most important, I'd say, is Empress Celene who is confirmed to only be interested in females regardless of player choice. With so many prominent same-sex female relationships...there really isn't an excuse for not giving us a prince charming KISA.
I feel like they really missed great opportunities by having Alistair and Sebastian as straight options, as well as Cullen (even though he isn't a prince).
With the series moving away from what I loved about it and the next game likely taking place in Tevinter...I am losing hope that I will get an amazing story/romance experience from one of my favorite franchises. I'd really just like to have a KISA romance that feels genuine and is naturally paced and ties in with the main story instead of feeling like it is separate from the world.
As far as Fallout 4 goes, I feel like Bethesda gave me two incredible options in one game while Bioware has had none over three games. The options in Fallout 4 are quite diverse and there is something there for everyone. I (naturally) went for Danse as suggested by many here and found myself quickly falling in love with him. In the end though, I think it was MacCready who stole my heart. The romance paths for both were very well done and I enjoy getting the "lover's embrace". 
While not as in-depth as BioWare when it comes to story content, the romance paths just seemed to flow quite well.
The two are quite different from each other and there are many things to like about them. I have yet to decide who my "canon" choice will be.
It's disappointing that I can't get this excited/happy about BioWare's options...
I'd gladly take options like Gawain/Danse/MacCready over Dorian/Fenris/Zevran/Bull.
[...]
Ferelden seems fairly "traditional" approach: they do not tolerate an elf/dwarf/same sex consort at the throne ...
Zevran annoyingly flirting with every woman, however he is also quite loyal, but that does not change the fact that he seems immoral. Alistair would be good option (very good ... I like him).
In DA2 first I loved Anders, then I gave Fenris a chance, and Fenris stole my heart. Hes appearance was weird at first, and later used to it. I think: he are very good opcion. He are hot, and loyal and have strong morality, not promiscuous, than Zevran or Bull. Lovable. What's wong with him? (But yes, despite his protective nature, he is not a "KISA".) Sebastian are more interesting character than it seems at first sight, but I do not really like him.
I do not like Dorian's backstory: terribly stereotypical (so much so that I was totally surprised ...). Bull strange to me, but now I'll give him a chance. Cullen and Blackwall would be nice option for me, instead Dorian or Bull (or both...)
I do not have problem with promiscuous characters, but it would be good more another option as well, not only Fenris and Dorian. That does not paint a very good picture of the gay / bi people, and/or it shows a one-dimensional image. Not to mention it to the knight-like characters can give more romantic.
Since we've discussed pretty much everything we could, and after Fallout 4 came out there has been an RPG drought, the thread died down a little. I'm hoping EA Play will give us enough Andromeda/new IP material to fuel this place.
Anyhow, don't despair, AlistairMacCready, Tevinter being the setting will have little effect on the next gay romance (and it will probably be one of 2 countries to be featured in DA4). They already did Dorian, so we're not going to get a similar story to his in the next game. And our party is always composed of people from all over Thedas. It's not that unlikely that we'll get a Rivaini rogue or an Anders warrior. Moving away from Ferelden is a good thing, with so many countries and cultures, it would be a shame for DA to become stale, because of sentiment.
Concerning prince charming - I personally wouldn't want a romance like that. I didn't really care Alistair, Cullen, and Sebastian weren't romanceable. The trope just doesn't do much for me. But if BW did someone like Danse, I'd be more than happy. I love the Knight in Sour Armour trope, and it'd be awesome to get a gay character like that. The mixture of stoic, stern, but underneath kind (Danse, Derek from Teen Wolf) is really appealing to me.
Still, Danse's arc was dropped in the middle, and FO4 did character interaction way worse than DA, so I'll be putting more faith in BW and MEA/DA4 for the next gay romance than Bethesda and TESVI/FO5. Anders and Garrett are my favourite gay relationship in any media, so I'm not going to be discouraged by the fact DAI didn't have an option that I loved.
^ Wasn't FO4 Bethesda's first foray into that kind of thing? I think many of us have been spoiled by Bioware characters and romance options, but not many in the industry put as much work into them as Bioware does, and it really shows. BUT I think FO4 was likely a good learning opportunity for Bethesda; they can only build on that experience.
It's not just about companions/love interests. It's about attention to detail, when it comes to the story. Developers like BW, Naughty Dog, Telltale set up a story first, and a game second. Bethesda first creates the game, then fits in a story. Both the companions and the story in FO4 feel often like an afterthought. Characters don't really react to Curie's or Danse's quests, Cait keeps talking about getting wasted after getting clean, Danse shoots down Vertibirds while screaming Ad Victoriam, main quests don't have much of an impact on the world.
After a mission in Skyrim, where you could kill the emperor of Cyrodiil, I realised Bethesda's games are not about experiencing the story, but about giving you a sandbox to play in. It's fine, their formula seems to be working for them, a lot of people buy their games. But it doesn't work with a deeper story. I'm also disappointed that apparently Far Harbour instead of giving new lines to existing companions, added a new one. Which to me seems like Bethesda is not really committed to companions.
I kind of fell out of this thread as it became almost exclusively about FallOut 4, which is a game that I completely lost interest in after 3 weeks or so.
The reviews for Pendragon Rising are encourating me to go download this now. I used to love reading King Arthur novels when I was younger, and it's great to hear that this has a great romance option. That and it's something I can read / play while relaxing on my iPad. Can't wait! Also I'm not sure what Gawain looks like in this storyline but when I searched for Gawain Pendragon Rising this image is someone I would also be attracted to:
As far as AlistairMacCready's question about a Prince Charming KISA - this is something I would totally eat up. I modded the Alistair romance so I could romance him as a guy and while Alistair is not my favorite personality-wise, I did enjoy this kind of romance. I would love to see this archetype as an option if it was fleshed out. Had Alistair actually had been a same-sex/bi option, it would have been interesting to see how politics and professional responsibiltiy would have impacted the relationship, and would have been a far more interesting reason to delve into the need to figure out how to deal with the expectation that one produce an heir instead of this issue showing up in Dorian's questline.
Yeah, provided it stays away from straight up 'I want to be with you, but they'll never accept two men on the throne,' a Prince Charming type, as in a legitimate prince, would be neat. It just needs to be handled right - the romance should not be stymied by the fact that the guy is attracted to men, shouldn't be relegated to the shadows in order to continue (or, in other words, no 'mistressing' of the PC, even if they're considered an open secret or anything). Like, sure, tackle the issues of two men taking the throne - there'd be a question of succession after their deaths, since biological children between the couple wouldn't be possible, but surely, if Tevinter's the place where it's a big issue, and not the other nations, they've had this kind of situations develop. I'm good if he has to retake his throne from a usurper or something, or find some way to legitimize his claim, but don't give him any kind of 'we're in love, but I must choose between that and the throne' story. I might be okay with it being a class issue, but why even open that door?
^ Regarding Alistair, I don't see why his response to a male PC would have been any different than the one he gives to the female PC in that instance: "I will be required to produce an heir," and then with the right dialogue choices he says, "You know what? If I'm going to be the king, then I'll BE the king and do whatever I want."
Don't forget that his concern is that he won't be able to produce an heir with another Warden. Even if he marries the Cousland Warden, he would still likely have to impregnate some other woman. So it follows that if he stayed in a relationship with a male Warden, he would still have to impregnate a woman.
I don't really see Alistair as the best example, since we already have instances in the game where he doesn't stay with the female PC for dynastic reasons. It's not like all of the female PC's get to have their fairy tale ending. Not even all Cousland PCs, since it requires certain paths to be taken.
Even with the Equal Love mod, I can imagine that most of the dialogue regarding that whole issue fits well because the language isn't too gendered toward your PC.
And then of course we have Ferelden's view of sexuality, which is to be discrete; somewhat similar to Tevinter, although not as extreme. In that case, I'd imagine that there might be unpleasant remarks from certain a-hole nobles who are likely to make such remarks about anything (because they're a-holes), but I don't see it impacting the relationship in any great way for the reasons I stated above.
(I'll say that I actually prefer the mistress option for my own PC, and my Warden went into that with the full knowledge of what Alistair might do in the future.)
This is regarding Alistair specifically, and his unique circumstances of being a Warden with the taint as a barrier to producing offspring. I think you would need a more normal circumstance for the gender of the PC to have the kind of impact you're referring to.
I completely agree and I would not want to see this end like Alistair's if you were not a Noble where he ends the relationship to keep the throne, or expects you to be his secret fling on the side. Just...no. But I would like to see how a same-sex couple like this would stand together and address the issues.
^ I never saw the mistress option as being secretive. Not being official (marriage, etc), but being in an obvious relationship that is known to everyone is not really the same thing. Alistair does use the phrase, "Carry on with whoever I want."
Also, I'd think that most Fereldens would adore the idea that their new king, a descendant of Calenhad, and the Hero of Ferelden were in a romantic relationship. Falling in love, saving the world together, and living to enjoy it makes for a great song.
Regarding these heir issues, it's something that we've discussed in the Tevinter thread, but I think it would be interesting if you had a gay or bi Tevinter that felt the opposite way from Dorian about this. Part of Dorian's problem is that he has disdain for the way the Game is played in Tevinter; no one is real, people use each other, which includes sex. But if you had a character who was into all that, or simply just went along with it as their way of life, it would create some interesting problems vis-a-vis a romantic relationship, particularly if the PC is not from Tevinter. I can see it being like an Alistair dilemma 2.0, but with a more PC-focused choice; instead of trying to convince the LI to do whatever, the LI's view is fixed and you have to decide if that is what you want in a relationship. I think there are interesting RP possibilities with that.
BUT, I know that there are many people in this thread who would not like this idea, particularly as it plays into the trope that same-sex couples can't have a happy ending. I'm not too keen on it either, to be honest, but I can see the potential. As with any of these things, it all depends on how it's written, and what, if any, options the PC has in response. For example, I don't like either of the main options for the post-Mythal conversation with Dorian and had to write out an entire fanfic to "fix" it so it works for my PC -- I didn't rewrite the conversation, but rather added an additional one later on that explores it.
I'd be interested in a gay romance where you can end up ruling a country/nation together with your prince charming. It'd also help keeping the protagonist in their game, and not be whored out as a cameo in the next, reducing the chances of them dying.
But I sorta feel like that won't happen, since for now, BW hasn't shown much interest in happy male x male relationships that have a happy ending, or for that matter happy noble x pc relationships with a happy ending.
^ I'd say the happy m/m depends on the couple you're looking at. The Zevran romance plays out the same for both and he eventually joins his Warden in DAI. The Fenris romance is also pretty good; a living Hawke who now runs Kirkwall with Varric is probably the happiest m/m scenario across all three games, simply because Hawke is in a stable position. And uh... maybe the Iron Bull/Inquisitor one? I don't really know how that plays out.
And uh... maybe the Iron Bull/Inquisitor one? I don't really know how that plays out.
It ends happily as long as you save the Chargers. If he stays in the Qun ... not so much. (In that respect, it's like the Blackwall romance - you can get that to turn out happily if you pardon him, otherwise he dies.)
I never let the Chargers to die.
1. My Inquisitors can't trust in the Qun. (Don't want a world, where the qun is the prevailing philosophy [religion?])
2. Bull insists his team, and happy, if you save them.
3. Romance with bull ends hapily, as I want (I do not finished yet).
Iron Bull not that LI, what is my ideal, but I gave him a chance. I like now.
It ends happily as long as you save the Chargers. If he stays in the Qun ... not so much. (In that respect, it's like the Blackwall romance - you can get that to turn out happily if you pardon him, otherwise he dies.)
Well I knew that part. I meant how it's presented with him continuing to be a mercenary and all that.
I suppose none of the Inquisitors have a happy ending, even the ones who got married. Regardless of what their LI is doing, the Inquisitor is doing... something in regard to Solas, whatever that is; they're not going off to live on a beach somewhere.
I downloaded Pendragon Rising and it completely captivated my interest and I finished it in one sitting. The Gawain romance was good, but the game-novel left me wanting a bit more. The entire romance is maybe 4 or 5 pages and there is no mention of it in the game's very brief epilogue. If they devoted maybe a few more entries to the romance and also at least had an epilogue slide, that would have been more ideal for me. But it was a nice change from other romances we get.
To fuel this thread with KISA ideas, I'm gonna share the game I was talking about, since the demo is out.
Eldet's kickstarter is here, and it's already funded with 28 days to go, so the project will probably end up being bigger than planned. Sadly, it has a September 2017 launch date. As I've said, the demo is out, it's 100% SFW (the finished game will have optional adult content).
Some screens
And some side romances
I'm really excited for it, the game puts a lot of emphasis on diversity, when it comes to both ethnicity and body types, and I'd really like for BW to do the same.
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