Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Murderous Horny Companions

Some of the spelling in here is making my inner self scream.

It's all optional guys. Don't want to bone someone, don't do it. No effing hard.

I am not saying that everyone says that but it's what I usually see people say.
I also reject this notion that '' boobplate '' would be dangerous... Unless we're talking about VERY extreme examples and only under very specific circumstances.
And I also think that asking that kind of a question is dumb in fantasy armor in general and is never consistently applied, if you're going to ask questions like these then most fantasy armor falls apart and even a lot of irl armor that was worn in combat.
Our ancestors didn't obsess so much about '' maximizing practicality '' as people think that they did, because in truth plate armor was incredibly resistant and there were liberties you could take in style and self-expression.
They literally used to wear breastplates shaped as corsets and other crazy concave shapes.

Also, accentuating masculinity was at the core of armor design historically.
Armor constantly changed with the times to accentuate masculinity based on what was considered masculine at the point of time, if women wore armor to the extent that they'd even be taken into consideration at all in the process of developing armor then armor would've adapted to accentuate femininity all the same.
The same argument that you're making against '' boobplate '' is precisely the mentality that actually did go into armor design historically.
And the mentality was very much that the male body was the peak of beauty and '' sexy '' by those standards, it's why naked male statues and in art were so common and if you read historical documentations of men especially kings and nobles the writers and their descriptions are incredibly thirsty.
The mentality going into developing armor historically was essentially the '' sexy armor '' mentality if you take the context of the times into consideration. It's not like today, back then masculinity was the most beautiful thing.

What I am saying too is that the sexual nature of breasts is severely overblown and that it's absurd to think that a piece of metal curved after a womans chest is sexualized.
The more extreme cases of '' boobplate '' too where it's literally two rounded individual cups only tend to exist in very heavily fantastical settings where people run around with gigantic Dragonslayer from Berserk style swords and helmets that have lighting shooting out of them.
And it being an aesthetic is my pov and I think any person that is in actual control of their own sexuality ( regardless of that, sexy is an aesthetic too ).
I am well aware that men can be creepy and make unwanted comments, but those same types of men are the ones that do look at this kind of armor as '' oversexualized ''.

'' Boobplate '' only exemplifies that attitude if you actually share that mentality, my point is that you don't know that.
It's unfair to assume that just because someone likes it or an artist designs it then it means that they did it for '' horny reasons ''. That was my whole point.
I don't think that I've ever interacted with an artist before that actually thought that way, it's a mentality I only ever see from people who don't like it just like how probably these same exact people believe that sex scene in games exist for fap material.
It's such an insanely narrow-minded view and I also think is indicative of some weird sexual issues irl.
Like I dunno where you're from but where I am from people aren't that easily aroused and breasts aren't a big deal and I also don't believe in allowing the most sensitive people to set the standards on behalf of everyone else.

Edit: Just for interests sake ( video ).
Ultimately I think that arguments about what is and isn't '' realistic and practical '' in a fantasy setting that isn't a simulator are kinda silly unless we're talking about extreme cases.
I mean even with '' chain bikinis '', loincloths warriors are still a thing in Baldur's Gate.
But thematically I can at least understand the argument against '' chain bikinis '' in a setting like Baldur's Gate.
Even if the equivelant but in leather still exists and uh, there's plenty of male NPC's already in loincloths and random pieces of plate the equivelant of '' chain bikinis ''...

With this I definitely agree. This isn't a problem with the companions or romance though. Just bad and somewhat lazy writing

The fact Wyll is jealous is even more preoccupying because he's got his mistress to care about. Even if he says it's over, he's still up to saving her. And the way he talks about the situation, it's not exactly clear whether their relationship is over or not. He's quite ambiguous on the matter, to say the least.

So if there is someone who shouldn't feel anything about a one night stand with another character, it's him. The reactions should be more nuanced and asynchronous according to their back story. At the moment, it looks like some events trigger exactly the same reaction to all the companions. And yeah, it smells bad writing to me.

be gentle! pretty sure a lot of users here are not native english users (like my self :P )

I’m so confused by this whole thread. There seem to be several issues going on.

Yes, Larian has some conversation bugs where choices aren’t correctly recognized or conversations are missed due to timing issues. I would expect them to fix this eventually.

But as for all 5 of the companions pushing sex at you? I just don’t see it, at least not in the half dozen games I’ve played. Some of the NPC may express interest in spending time with you at the party . . . but that can mean many things. It seems to me some people are reading more into it than is actually there.

Lae’zel – Yes, she is horny, I have no idea what turns on Githyanki but whatever. She has never actually been interested in my character and ends up with someone else. The whole conversation comes across more about her insecurities and trying to push her ‘my race is better than yours’ thing than anything else. But I do feel bad for Wyll . . . his interaction with Lae’zel sure didn’t sound consensual!!

Astarion – Yes, he wants sex, which seems to fit with his character perfectly. You had a couple conversation choices before he blurted it out and it was straightforward to turn him down. I’ve been propositioned in real life, its not that big a deal to say no and move on.

Gale – He wants to talk more about his situation and the romance scene should only trigger if you have previously initiated it in the weave scene. As far as I can tell it’s up to the player to initiate the romance options with Gale.

Shadowheart – Much like Gale, Shadowheart’s offer of spending time together is about getting to know each other, sex isn’t even an option. And again, you have multiple dialogue choices between moving toward romance or friendship.

Wyll – Isn’t even a thing yet in Early Access I believe?

So No, All your companions don’t all push sex on your character.

None of this seems like a problem to me (other than Larian needing to clean up the bugs). Its great that Larian is including options, I don’t really like Astarion at all but there are already fan sites, fan art, and apparently plenty of people out their thirsting after him! To each their own. And the writing for either Shadowheart or Gale romances seems much better/more mature than most game romances.

None of these disgusting companions are worthy of licking my boots, let alone sharing my bed: a githyanki savage and two males who I allow to accompany me for now; perhaps they will make a nice gift to the Matron Mother, perhaps I will sell them to the fighting pits. As for the others, the darthiir made me sick just looking at him, he's in the dirt where he and all his traitor kin belong, and the cleric made a fitting sacrifice to Lolth to beseech her aid.

II like you.

LMAO! I love this.

This is what I have encountered as well. You have to choose the romantic options, for them to take place, in my multiple playthroughs.

obviously you have to choose the romantic options for the actual romantic cinematics to take place.
but if you simply choose friendly options throughout the playthrough and happen to have enough approval, any/all of the companions all of a sudden come on to you during the same night.
There are very few flirting/hinting at romance dialogue options before that night, so it comes as a shock and ruins immersion/the relationships you thought you were building with the companions

Quite so.

I just don't think this is true.

Shadowheart and Gale do NOT come on to the player unless you have already selected romance options. I suspect that which options are considered friendly or romantic is part of the confusion (and why some games now include Heart tags so the player doesn't accidently initiate romance). 'ninjamanced' has been a thing in games for years. And Wyll doesn't romance at all yet.

Astarion & Lae'zel are the only two companions that come on to the player on their own . . . which I think makes total sense for Astarion and well, Lae'zel is Lae'zel.

I have seen many youtube playthroughs (of various games) where players picked romance options and were then surprised by the outcome. They typically weren't paying much attention to what they were selecting. Also it's possible that some language translations confuse the intent.

Really? "get some sleep . . . and try not to dream of tying me up?" "dahrling I thought you would never ask" "unless you'd like another nibble?" "I've been watching you and I like what I see" . . .

It doesn't come out of nowhere, the companions flirt with you and hint that they are interested in you way before the celebration night

Friend zone trigger would be nice. I am still a bit shocked after that queer vampire tried to screw my male mage.

Do you think that will make her MORE of a demanding bitch that you don't like or LESS of one? Being understanding works wonders.

Of course if you choose to suffer through her being even more of an ass then she already is, then by all means continue. I think that might even be your goal. People often overlook how counter productive it is to "be an ass yourself" which causes complication in reality. So simply tossing it in incase it's overlooked.

As for Lae'zel herself, she's a demanding bitch because she's afraid of not being in control. Of having her control taken away from her. I'm observant enough to know how people "tick". But what REALLY nails it home is how she'd rather take her own life then turn into a mind flayer. Her fear of course leads to hypocrisy and trying to kill the party (optional if she's not picked up the first time?) but that's what fear does. Make you what you hate. If we liked her and she was a mary sue we'd probably hate her more. But here we at least have context. Along with Shadowheart (who is afraid and mistrustful for other reasons) and other companions.

Pointing out that fear is counterproductive to making good sex happen. Lae'zel at least keeps hers in check more often then not. Shadowheart on the other hand stalls, hesitates, fixates on negatives... Ignorance (partly from memory loss) also factors in. If anyone is a cold bitch that won't show affection, it's her. Shes difficult for the sake of being difficult due to mistrust. Lae'zel on the other hand will be direct and upfront with you provided you are with her and show you have a brain. And make things happen quicker then shadowheart to boot. Though Lae'zel does have a bit of a closed minded nature, yet she can be challenged and listens to reason if pushed (and your logic adds up). Shadowheart on the other hand is more like to pull "deaf ears and turned backs". Of which can cause more harm.

Personaly I "kind of" like Lae'zel. At least to an extent. But even if I wasn't biased I'd consider her the lesser evil. Shadowheart worships a god that deals with loss (though she doesn't really belief in losing what matters) and this means she's more likely to ditch your ass in a time of need. At least until you get past her brick wall. Where Lae'zel's can be knocked down if you know how to do so, Shadowheart is... delicate and fragile. Weak even. Learning, getting stronger, but between Shadowheart and Lae'zel, Lae'zel clearly has the experience. She doesn't fixate on negatives as much as Shadowheart does. Has more of a "can do" attitude. regardless of what one thinks of her that's something to be respected.

I'll give you astarion, because it's very obvious he's a flirty sexual being. It matches with his character that he'd offer to sleep with you. His advances make sense.
But the other characters? There are still few lines. (Are there more than 1 or 2 SH lines than you quoted? What about Gale? Wyll? Lae'zel?)
And *importantly, you can't say you're uninterested in response to these (rare) flirty lines. No matter how you respond to the above ^ lines, I'm pretty sure if approval is high enough, the NPC remains interested in you. So what happens is: the relationships go from mostly platonic (again, slightly less so for astarion) to bam everyone is jumping your bones during the same night. And as others have said, get jealous if you decide to sleep with others. It subverts any friendships you're trying to roleplay building.

Aside from being contrary to KillerRabbit's quotes, you say that Wyll doesn't romance at all. However, others in this thread say that Wyll gets jealous that the player chooses to sleep with other companions. I'd argue that these two scenarios are one and the same; all the companions are interested in the player, and reveal their interest (through jealousy or "you want some fuck?") in the same night which makes it surprising, overwhelming, and disconcerting.

Either/and:
-all the companions should approach the player in different nights, as soon as their approval reaches some point
-there should be flags set earlier, where the companions are more overtly flirty and you can deny their interest
-the player initiates romance, and after the player flirts enough the npc starts flirting back

The problem is not any individual character. Each NPC can individually be interested in the player, fine. The problem is that all of them are. At exactly the same time.

No there is really only the one spontaneous flirty line, one line if you show interest, the tadpole use which tells you she is attracted and the smile that comes with the night orchid comment. But I think with her the few signs of affection is true to type because Shar isn't a goddess of hope and new beginnings she wants her clerics to embrace loss and sorrow. For SH new relationship is threat to the relationship with her goddess.

I can't really speak to Gale because I can't complete a playthrough with him. He just irritates me too much and I either kick him out or abandon the play-through. Perhaps on final release I'll make a half orc barbarian who is blind to his insults and manipulations. Not saying he's badly written but he's like Anomen -- well written and annoying.

Of course I'll have make sure the barbarian never puts on the band of intellect.

It isn't clear if Wyll is actually interested or if his ego is bruised because you didn't approach him. He seems to be in love / hate relationship with his patron and I'm guessing she the thing she asked for but couldn't give was for her to have his child.

I'm all for more dialogue! Give me walls of text. Give me longing, give me eye contact, let me notice her watching me when she thinks I'm not looking, let me notice body language, let me listen for the cadence of her breathing, tone of her voice, notice the hairs on her skin when I approach etc. But to give us more they would need to move the romance out of camp like BG2 did.

And again, the combination of we may die tomorrow but tonight we're heroes doesn't seem like a bad premise to me.

Don't mistake me I'm not a reflexive defender of devs -- I can be pretty critical -- but I kinda like these romances. SH is my favorite and Wyll's story intrigues me.

You failed the dice roll to get noticed.
You also failed the dice roll to establish trust when logic adds up.
You also fail the dice roll to not be seen the worst of and this creates mistrust.

... Basically I'm saying they better not pull too many dice rolls in this area. It completely takes me out of the experience. It seems a bit much that "understanding and trust" is watered down to dice rolls instead of debates and conversions with real weight that can enhance intimacy. We had that in BG2. Remember how you get Jaheira a necklace and she overreacts and becomes extremely jealous in the drow city? I'm actually poly myself so I'm biased (and I'm also good at addressing such concerns) so I'll start by saying I'm on the "other side of the fence" in that area, but blazes dues it feel "real" and like it can actually happen. And no cheap dice rolls to mask the outcomes of the situation either. You either say the right thing or the wrong thing. You either use good logic or bad logic. No dice rolls. Just "the logic itself". I feel like we might be missing that in places here. Then again not every conversation has a dice roll. But to GET to those conversations you need a dice roll. Unless that's just to get to it sooner and then come across it later perhaps? Someone will have to test that.